life and death

life and death


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 […]

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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 […]

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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, […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Three men arrested, charged in extortion shooting in Surrey, B.C.: police

Two police organizations have announced charges against five men in connection to separate extortion cases in Surrey, B.C. The Surrey Police Service announced on Monday the arrest and charges against three men believed to be linked to an extortion investigation in the city. The RCMP said hours later that charges had been laid against two […]

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US Justice Department official ordered to drop inquiry into Sandy Hook lawsuit against Alex Jones

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has ordered a senior U.S. Justice Department official to drop an inquiry into a retired FBI agent’s involvement in a defamation lawsuit involving Alex Jones’ conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Ed Martin Jr., who leads the Justice Department’s […]

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Manitoba cabinet briefing on landfill search for murder victims not being released

A report that could shed more light on why Manitoba’s former Progressive Conservative government rejected calls to search a landfill for the remains of two murder victims is being withheld under the province’s freedom of information law. Records obtained by The Canadian Press show senior bureaucrats assembled a presentation for cabinet ministers on a potential […]

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Two Canadians likely dead after Lisbon streetcar crash, police say

Local police say there’s a “high possibility” that two Canadians are dead after a popular 19th-century streetcar crashed in Portugal’s capital on Wednesday, The Associated Press reports. The AP has reported that the Portugal’s attorney general’s office said eight victims have been identified so far: five Portuguese, two South Koreans and a Swiss national. It […]

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