Appeals court upholds, reinstates Texas 'revenge porn' law
AUSTIN, Texas — The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday upheld a 2015 law that made it a crime to post "revenge porn" — intimate photos and videos from a previous or current relationship — on the internet without consent.
The unanimous decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a lower-court ruling that struck down the revenge porn law as a violation of free speech by restricting expression based on the content of the photographs and video that is shared online.
Such speech can be limited, the appeals court found, based on a compelling government interest — in this case a reasonable expectation that the sexual depictions were intended to remain private.
"Disclosing visual material when the depicted person reasonably expected it would remain private is an intolerable invasion of privacy, especially when the visual material shows the depicted person’s intimate parts or sexual conduct," the court said in an unsigned opinion.
"Privacy constitutes a compelling government interest when the privacy interest is substantial and the invasion occurs in an intolerable manner," the court added.
The Texas law also was narrowly written to address, and punish, only those "who were in intimate relationships and then vengefully circulated intimate visual material," the court said.
The Court of Criminal Appeals also rejected arguments that the revenge porn law was so vague that it could have the unintended effect of criminalizing protected behavior, such as forwarding depictions of artwork or images relevant to public discourse.
Journalists assaulted by Minnesota police during unrest, lawsuit says
MINNEAPOLIS — Two Los Angeles Times journalists say Minnesota State Patrol troopers trapped them against a block wall and battered them with blunt projectiles, tear gas and chemical spray while they were reporting on unrest in Minneapolis following the killing of George Floyd.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday night, photographer Carolyn Cole and Houston Bureau Chief Molly Hennessy-Fiske say they were clearly identifiable as press when troopers assaulted them. Cole suffered a corneal abrasion and chemical burns on her eye and skin. A photo enclosed in the civil complaint shows Cole crouched in a brick corner, draped in camera equipment, doused in chemical liquid and screaming in agony. Hennessy-Fiske sustained multiple shots to the legs with projectiles, and the lawsuit also includes photos of her bruised and bleeding limb.
The lawsuit adds to a growing pool of allegations that law enforcement intentionally targeted law-abiding journalists during the protests and riots that engulfed Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
Cole and Hennessy-Fiske traveled to Minneapolis after Floyd's killing to cover the unrest that had become a national story. On May 30, shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew took effect, they had joined a group of other reporters at E. 31st Street and Nicollet Avenue South, near the Fifth Precinct police headquarters. Cole was wearing a flak jacket emblazoned with the word "TV" and carrying a large camera and bag. Hennessy-Fiske wore a press badge around her neck and held a notebook.
—Star Tribune
Activist on Belarus plane forced to land was 'terrorist,' Lukashenko says
Belarus' longtime president, Alexander Lukashenko, on Wednesday defended his internationally slammed decision to force the landing this weekend of a passenger plane with a dissident journalist on board.
"I acted lawfully by protecting people - according to all international rules," Lukashenko told the parliament in Minsk.
Authorities used Sunday's landing to have dissident Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich arrested at the airport in Minsk.
Protasevich is a "terrorist," added Lukashenko, who said the 26-year-old blogger was planning a "bloody uprising" in Belarus.
Lukashenko initially said, without elaborating, that Belarus had received information that there was an explosive device on the plane.
Therefore, he said, the plane, which was on its way to Lithuania from Greece, was diverted to Minsk with the assistance of a fighter jet.
The European Union has launched new sanctions against the power apparatus in Belarus because of the action, including a landing ban for former Soviet republic's airlines and sanctions on leadership.
—dpa
Poll: Eric Adams leads, Garcia and Morales surging in NYC mayor’s race
NEW YORK — A new mayoral poll shows Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia surging in popularity among Democratic primary voters — with Andrew Yang still near the top of the pack but appearing to wane.
The poll, which was conducted by Fontas Advisors and Core Decision Analytics a week ago, found Adams in front with 13% support — up 3 points from the 10% he got in a Fontas poll taken in March.
Yang garnered 8% of support — an 8% dip compared with the 16% he had in March — and Garcia, who was trailing in the previous Fontas poll with only 2% support, now has 8% as well.
Many voters continue to be undecided, according to the poll, but name recognition has shot up for all top eight candidates since the last March poll conducted by Fontas.
More than 50% of those polled reported hearing of all of the eight hopefuls, who also include Comptroller Scott Stringer, former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, former non-profit executive Dianne Morales, former Citi exec Ray McGuire and Maya Wiley, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s former legal adviser.
In March, Morales had only 27% name recognition. In May, that number shot up to 51%.
Garcia, who received endorsements this month from the New York Daily News and The New York Times, saw her name recognition shoot up to 55% from 29% over the same period. McGuire and Donovan also experienced significant jumps in voter familiarity, though their supporters have poured considerably more money into getting their names out.
The latest poll surveyed 800 likely Democratic primary voters and was conducted May 15-18.
—New York Daily News
