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New York police will use drones to monitor backyard parties this weekend, spurring privacy concerns

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Those attending outdoor parties or barbecues in New York City this weekend may notice an uninvited guest looming over their festivities: a police surveillance drone. The New York City police department plans to pilot the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about large gatherings, including private events, over Labor Day weekend, officials announced Thursday. “If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,” Kaz Daughtry, the assistant NYPD Commissioner, said at a press conference.The plan drew immediate backlash from privacy and civil liberties advocates, raising questions about whether such drone use violated existing laws around police surveillance “It’s a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the POST Act,” said Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, referring to a 2020 city law that requires th...

Record number of overdoses in Montreal; two-thirds of drug deaths occur at home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

Montreal’s public health authority is pushing for more supervised drug-use sites, including facilities for drug inhalation, amid an increase in overdoses.Four Montreal organizations currently offer supervised drug injection, whereby visitors can consume their own substances in the presence of trained personnel. However, those sites lack provisions for people to smoke illicit substances, an increasingly prevalent practice, according to Dr. Benoit Corriveau of the regional health authority.“At the moment, supervised consumption centres don’t allow us to have inhalation rooms,” Corriveau said. “But it’s becoming more and more common for people to inhale certain drugs, be it fentanyl or others.”Montreal public health reiterated its commitment to supervised drug-use sites on Thursday as it released new data showing what it says was a record number of non-fatal overdoses in the last year. Officials counted 708 emergency interventions in overdose c...

B.C. woman disappointed by ‘slap on wrist’ for Mountie who dragged her, stood on head

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

A British Columbia woman assaulted by a Kelowna Mountie during a wellness check more than three years ago says she’s disappointed the officer received a conditional discharge and probation this week, calling the sentencing “a slap on the wrist.”Mona Wang was a nursing student at the University of B.C.’s Okanagan campus in January 2020, when Const. Lacy Browning dragged her from her apartment after Wang’s boyfriend asked police to check on her well-being.Surveillance video disclosed as part of a civil lawsuit filed by Wang shows Browning dragging Wang by the arms face down along a carpeted hallway, then stepping on her head in the lobby.The BC Prosecution Service has confirmed that Browning was handed a conditional discharge and was placed on probation for two years during Monday’s hearing after pleading guilty to one count of assault in November 2022.Browning must also complete 160 hours of community service over the first year, and a $200 “...

Man charged after attempting to kidnap 2 Chicago firefighters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

CHICAGO -- The 47-year-old man who was accused of barricading two Chicago firefighters in his basement and attempted to stab them Wednesday has been charged.According to the Chicago Fire Department, crews responded to reports of a fire on the 7700 block of South Marshfield in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood around 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday.Upon arrival, crews discovered a detached garage engulfed in flames. The homeowner, 47-year-old Melvin Jordan, told the CFD crew that he also smelled gas coming from inside his home.A battalion chief and truck lieutenant went inside Jordan's home. The three men went downstairs and the fire personnel said they didn’t smell anything just as Jordan went back upstairs.The Chicago Fire Department reports that Jordan was holding a power tool and removed screws from a board blocking the door. Jordan allegedly barricaded two doors and held a knife towards the two firefighters.The CFD battalion chief and truck lieutenant called for help over their radio and ...

Prosecutor asks Indiana State Police to investigate deaths of several dogs in truck

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

LAKE STATION, Ind. — The Lake County, Indiana Prosecutor's Office has asked Indiana State Police to investigate the deaths of several K9s last month in Lake Station.On July 27, several dogs were being transported from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to a training facility in Michigan when the air conditioning in the back of a truck malfunctioned and they died. Several K-9s die from heat distress when box truck A/C fails It's not clear why the prosecutor's office asked state police to investigate the incident.Authorities in Lake County previously said the K9s came from Europe and the driver was stuck in traffic for two hours and didn't realize the AC wasn't working.PETA previously asked Lake Station's mayor and city council to have its own police department investigate the incident. PETA asks Lake Station mayor to recuse police department after dogs die in box truck The executive director of the Hobart Humane Society, Jennifer Webber, was among the first on the scene and ...

X, formerly Twitter, to allow paid political advertising again

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Presidential candidates now have a new place to try to win over voters: social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. For the first time since 2019 the platform says it will allow paid political advertising.Laura Edelson is an assistant professor of computer science at Northeastern University who has extensively researched online political communication. She says X's announcement raises important questions."Are they going to do it responsibly or are they just going to try to get as much money as they can?" Edelson said.She says she found issues with the way Twitter handled previous campaign cycles."Twitter was one of the platforms that did the worst, in terms of actually making sure the political advertisers followed the rules," Edelson said. Elon Musk auctioning Twitter signs, memorabilia  Misinformation concerns led Twitter to stop accepting paid political ads in 2019. Now with Elon Musk leading the company, it's reversing course.Dave Karpf, an associate...

Illinois' first music festival permitting cannabis consumption announced

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

MUNDELEIN, Ill. — Organizers have announced Illinois' first concert that permits cannabis consumption - a two-day event in September that merges music and cannabis culture - set to take place in north suburban Mundelein. The inaugural 'Miracle in Mundelein' lineup includes performances by Cypress Hill, Action Bronson, Stephen Marley, and more, Sept. 9-10, across the street at RISE Cannabis Mundelein Recreational Dispensary, located at 1325 Armour Blvd. Illinois’ marijuana tax revenue is the highest in the country, next to California The festival will feature rolling stations and dab bars. Organizers say complimentary grinders, lighters, papers, and rolling trays will be provided. Bongs or glass pieces will not be issued, however. All cannabis must be purchased from an Illinois dispensary and be in the original packaging. The packaging does not have to be sealed, organizers added.Smoking pens are authorized as long as they meet regulations. Read more: Latest Chicago news head...

Witness, detective accounts shared on third day of 6th Street shooting suspect trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video is KXAN's previous coverage of the trial.AUSTIN (KXAN) – The trial of Sixth Street mass shooting suspect De’ondre White continued Thursday in Austin. PREVIOUS: Witness accounts, autopsy results shared at 6th Street shooting suspect trial White, 21, is charged with one count of murder and 14 counts of aggravated assault. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday in court.On June 12, 2021, 25-year-old Douglas Kantor was killed and more than a dozen others were injured in a mass shooting on Sixth Street. White is accused of firing into a crowd after a confrontation with a group of people.APD Detective Called Austin Police Detective Danny Hernandez has been one of the lead detectives in the Sixth Street mass shooting investigation. He said his work on the case started in the early morning of June 12, when he went to the hospital to interview victims injured in the shooting. One man, Douglas John Kantor, 25, died two days after the event from “complications...

Travis County increasing jury pay rate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Travis County announced its jury pay rate would increase, beginning Friday.Compensation will increase from the current $6 to $20 on the first day of jury services, as well as from $40 to $58 "on subsequent days except for the City of Austin jury trials," per a Travis County release. The increase is spurred by the passage of House Bill 3474, a bill sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) that passed back in the spring during the Texas Legislature's 88th regular session.“Travis County officials are thrilled about this increase in jury pay,” Travis County District Clerk Velva L. Price said in the release. “We hope the pay increase will improve participation and racial and socioeconomic diversity of Travis County jury pools. Combined with online registration and free rides on the public transit system, Travis County is working to make jury service easier and limit the impact to personal and work lives of jurors.”Per the release, the Travis County Dist...

Five questions as the Twins head into September

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:19 GMT

The final stretch of the season is upon us, and the Twins enter the month of September protecting a five-game lead in the American League Central with 28 games left to play.They have led the division for almost the entire season, and they seem well-positioned to hang on and make the postseason for the first time since 2020, where they would be in position to host a best-of-three Wild Card Series at Target Field in early October.As the calendar flips to September, here are five questions with one month remaining in the season:How will Cleveland’s moves affect the race?The Twins were in a tie for first place in the division as late as Sept. 4 last year. A refresher on how that ended: an incredibly injured Twins team tumbled in September and finished in third place, 14 games back of the Cleveland Guardians.A repeat of that doesn’t seem likely.Though the Twins had an opportunity to put more distance between themselves and the second-place Guardians and did not do so this week, losing tw...