NEWS
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Canada issues warning for LGBTQ travelers in the United States
By Kiara Alfonseca On August 30, 2023 The warning cites laws and policies impacting the LGBTQ community. Canada’s travel advisory for visitors to the United States has been updated to warn LGBTQ travelers about laws and policies that may affect the community. “Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons,” the travel…
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Over 30 new LGBTQ education laws are in effect as students go back to school
By Jo Yurcaba On August 30, 2023 Students and teachers have to contend with a variety of restrictions on LGBTQ content and bathroom and pronoun use. Brian Kerekes, a high school statistics teacher in Florida, said he froze like “a deer in headlights” when a student asked him a personal question at the beginning of…
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Dying and disabled Illinois prisoners kept behind bars, despite new medical release law
By Carlos Ballesteros, Shannon Heffernan (WBEZ) and Amy Qin (WBEZ) On August 30, 2023 Phillip Merritt’s dementia is so advanced he’s lost the ability to speak. But with the help of his cellmates at Western Illinois Correctional Center, the 71-year-old still manages to get on the phone with his brother every few weeks. “He has…
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Avalanche of lawsuits accuse New York prison guards of sexually abusing inmates
By Chris Grabb On August 27, 2023 ALBANY – New York State is facing an onslaught of lawsuits accusing prison officers of sexually abusing adult inmates, litigation allowed under a new one-year window for survivors to sue, regardless of when the abuse occurred. A single Manhattan-based law firm, Levy Konigsberg LLP, is handling more than…
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There was a gun in a maximum security prison. Incarcerated people say it was left to them to secure the area.
By Eddie Burkhalter On August 24, 2023 It’s been eleven days since Derrol Shaw walked the hallways of William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility carrying a semi-automatic pistol, and the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has yet to publicly mention the gun or provide the public with assurances that whatever security failures led to the bizarre…
Read MoreSentencing Commission Backs Retroactive Cuts For 1st Timers
By Stewart Bishop On August 25, 2023 A divided U.S. Sentencing Commission has voted to retroactively apply changes to sentencing guidelines that will allow potentially thousands of defendants who were sentenced as first-time offenders to petition courts for a reduction in their prison terms. The criminal history guidelines reform from the commissioners — all of whom were…
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Family of 8-year-old girl killed by police gunfire announce plans to keep her legacy alive
By Susan Snyder On August 27, 2023 The Fanta Bility Foundation aims to help children and families locally and nationally, advocate for better police training and safety measures, and keep Fanta’s legacy alive. Exactly two years ago, 8-year-old Fanta Bility was killed when police fired into a crowd outside a high football game in Delaware…
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The NYPD has stopped tens of thousands of people under Mayor Adams. Just 5% were white.
By Bahar Ostadan On August 25, 2023 The NYPD has stopped tens of thousands of pedestrians since Mayor Eric Adams took office – claiming someone “fit a relevant description” or citing a vague reason like “other.” Just 5% of them were white, revealing racial disparities even starker than at the height of former Mayor Michael…
Read MoreRepeated Police Misconduct by 116 Officers Cost Chicago Taxpayers $91.3M Over 3 Years: Analysis
By Heather Cherone and Jared Rutecki On August 22, 2023 Chicago taxpayers paid $91.3 million to resolve lawsuits that named 116 Chicago police officers whose alleged misconduct led more than once to payouts between 2019 and 2021, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News. In all, the city spent $197.7 million to…
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