life and death

life and death


Witness who saw friend fatally shot by immigration agent in Texas last year dies in car accident

WASHINGTON (AP) — The passenger in the car when Texas driver Ruben Ray Martinez was fatally shot last year by a federal immigration agent gave a lengthy statement to lawyers for the slain man’s family disputing the government’s version of events. That witness died Saturday in a fiery car crash in San Antonio, according to […]

Read More


Texas man was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent last year during a stop, new records show

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly released records show a U.S. citizen was shot and killed in Texas by a federal immigration agent last year during a late-night traffic encounter that was not publicly disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security. The death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, would mark the earliest of at least six deadly […]

Read More


Fighting Cancer, Facing Deportation and Denied Health Care

Francisco Barahona is recovering at home with a shattered arm after Surrey Memorial Hospital, he says, refused to treat him on the weekend because of unpaid past bills.  The 53-year-old’s health has been deteriorating over the past three years as a cancer hollowed out his bones and he couldn’t afford health care. Now the government […]

Read More


Families of 2 men killed in boat strike sue Trump administration over attack they call ‘unlawful’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Families of two Trinidadian nationals killed in a Trump administration boat strike last October sued the federal government on Tuesday, calling the attack a war crime and part of an “unprecedented and manifestly unlawful U.S. military campaign.” The lawsuit is thought to be the first wrongful death case arising from the three […]

Read More


Tennessee judge grants expanded media access to state-run executions

A judge ruled Friday that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to media members to view state-run executions, after a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press sued on claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting. Before Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles’ order, reporters witnessing lethal injections were limited to […]

Read More


Oakland police won’t release body camera video of ex-NFL player Doug Martin’s in-custody death

The Oakland Police Department has declined to provide the public with access to police body camera videos that would show what happened on Oct. 18, the morning former Oakland Raiders running back Doug Martin died while in the custody of several OPD officers. In response to a public records request by The Oaklandside, the department […]

Read More


Maya, 17, got mental health records by FOI, then killed herself. Her mom wants reform

Maya Cassady was just two months away from graduating high school with honours when she obtained her mental health records through a freedom of information request. Just hours after reading the contents, which included doctors’ ponderings about a diagnosis, the 17-year-old took her own life.  It was March 30, 2023. Since Maya’s death, her mother, […]

Read More


Ontario to strengthen dangerous driving laws in honour of father killed this year

Dangerous driving penalties are set to soon be strengthened in Ontario, as the government has tabled a bill in honour of a father of three who was killed by an alleged dangerous driver. Andrew Cristillo, 35, was killed Aug. 3 in a head-on crash in Whitchurch-Stouffville that also left his wife and their three young […]

Read More


Takeaways from AP’s report on a surge in Palestinian deaths in Israeli custody

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The number of Palestinians dying in Israeli custody surged to nearly 100 people since the start of the war in Gaza, according to a report published Monday by a human rights group that says systematic violence and denial of medical care at prisons and detention centers contributed to many of […]

Read More


Palestinian deaths in Israeli custody have surged. A prison guard describes rampant abuse

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The number of Palestinians dying in Israeli custody surged to nearly 100 people since the start of the war in Gaza, according to a report published Monday by a human rights group that says systematic violence and denial of medical care at prisons and detention centers contributed to many of […]

Read More


Death row, detainment and dire geopolitics cause onslaught of Canadian consular cases

Global Affairs Canada says deteriorating stability worldwide is causing a massive expansion in the work required to protect Canadians abroad, with the department warning Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand that Canadians might need to pay more and expect less. That’s according to the briefing binder prepared for Anand when she took on the role in […]

Read More


Thousands in Gaza are missing 2 years into the war. Tormented families search for clues

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza City (AP) — When Israeli bombs began falling, Mohammad al-Najjar, his wife and six children fled their house in southern Gaza in the dead of night, dispersing in terror alongside hundreds of others from their neighborhood. When the dust settled and al-Najjar huddled with his family in a shelter miles away, his […]

Read More