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The Latest Breaking News from Brickbat

An appeals court in Thailand has sentenced democracy activist Mongkol Thirakot to 50 years in prison for Facebook posts he made that were critical of the country's monarchy. A trial court had sentenced him to 28 years, but the appellate court found him guilty on 11 more counts during his…

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Brickbat: Taking Their Word for It

Canadian officials said that, on second thought, they aren't going to block Maria Kartasheva from becoming a citizen. Just before she was due to take her oath of citizenship, an official informed her she'd been tried in absentia in Russia, her home country, and found guilty of "public dissemination of…

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Brickbat: Filed Away and Forgotten

Officials in Jackson County, Indiana, have agreed to pay $7.25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a mentally ill man who starved to death over 20 days while being held in solitary confinement at a local jail. Joshua McLemore was found lying naked and confused on…

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Brickbat: Making It Up As We Go Along

A report by the New Brunswick, Canada, auditor general's office found that the provincial Department of Public Health could not provide documentation to support any of a sample of 33 policy recommendations it made during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The department was unable to provide requested documentation, acknowledging that they 'did…

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Brickbat: Sorry, I'm Late for an Appointment

In Putnam County, West Virginia, a former U.S. Postal Service carrier faces up to one year in federal prison and a $100,000 fine after pleading guilty to desertion of mail. Michael Burdette reportedly tossed a total of more than 200 pieces of mail into a service station dumpster on two…

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Brickbat: The (Artificial) Grass Is Greener

In 2015, in the midst of a drought, California lawmakers banned cities and counties from prohibiting synthetic grass. The logic behind the law was that artificial turf was better for the environment because it saved water. But state lawmakers now argue artificial turf is bad for the environment because it…

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Brickbat: Tiny Homes, Big Problems

In March, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state would spend $30 million to build 1,200 prefabricated tiny houses across the state, including 350 in Sacramento, in an effort to ease the state's housing shortage. He promised the houses would be ready this fall. But local media in Sacramento report…

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Brickbat: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

An employee of Michigan's Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital, which is run by the state Department of Health and Human Services, alerted a local TV station that children being treated there had not been allowed outside in three months and that the windows to their classrooms had been covered up. The…

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Brickbat: Be Careful Where You Point That

Jarrod Belcher was stunned when he found out Alabama's Jefferson County School system had suspended his 6-year-old son for pointing his finger like a gun while playing cops and robbers with another student. The school system gave his son a class 3 violation, the most serious and the same one…

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Brickbat: Born Behind Bars

An inmate in the Montgomery County, Tennessee, jail gave birth alone in her cell despite having called for help. The woman, who wasn't named by the media, called for help at 11:31 a.m., and a deputy notified medical staff. A licensed practical nurse examined her and left to consult with…

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Brickbat: On Record

When U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Morris, a Special Forces soldier, applied for a concealed carry permit, his local sheriff's office contacted him about several arrests on his record. Morris was confused: He's never been arrested. But his record showed he'd been arrested on several charges, most seriously aggravated…

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Brickbat: Lockdowns Down Under

The government of Victoria, Australia, has agreed to pay about $5 million (about $3.2 million U.S.) to settle a lawsuit brought by residents of Melbourne public housing who were forced into a hard 14-day COVID-19 lockdown with no warning in July 2020. Some 3,000 people may be eligible for compensation.…

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Brickbat: Sorry, I Was Aiming at Your Dog

Tina Hight has sued the Columbia County, Arkansas, sheriff's office, Sheriff Mike Loe and Deputy Brian Williams after Williams shot her while trying to hit her Pomeranian dog. Hight called 911 for help in August 2022 for what she described as a domestic violence situation. But bodycam video shows when…

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Brickbat: You Pay for Our Mistake

First, the city of Atlanta demolished a house owned by Everett Tripodis without properly informing him. Now, city officials are suing him to recoup the $68,000 they claim to have spent tearing down the house. The city wants to force the sale of the lot to pay for the demolition.…

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Brickbat: Adding Insult to Injury

Andy Malkinson spent 17 years in a British prison for rape before DNA evidence connected another man to the crime and a court freed Malkinson. But under British law, Malkinson would have to pay the government for housing and feeding him for 17 years. Under the Criminal Appeal Act of…

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Brickbat: It's Not Easy Being Green

Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said that since 2000, 15.7 million trees have been felled on land managed by Forestry and Land Scotland to make way for wind farms. She said that represents about 7,858 hectares (19,417 acres) of trees. The government is looking to more than double the…

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Brickbat: Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates have ordered the arrest of a man for filming an "arrogant" TikTok video in a luxury car showroom. The video showed an Asian man in Emirati dress accompanied by assistants carrying large sums of cash. The man tosses money at employees and mocks a…

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Brickbat: Medically Questionable

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, the nation's health ministry, has told surgeons theymust consider a patient's race and ethnicity when determining the order in which patients get surgery. The new system creates what is called the Equity Adjuster Score, under which people of Maori and Pacific Islander descent will…

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Brickbat: Oh, You Meant Those Too?

The Telegraph reports that police in the United Kingdom have failed to solve any burglaries in almost half of the neighborhoods in England and Wales in the past three years. Last October, all of the chief constables in England and Wales promised to have an officer respond to every reported…

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Brickbat: Bad Cop

Former Doraville, Georgia, police officer Miles Bryant has been charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of a 16-year-old girl. Prosecutors said that isn't the only crime he has committed. In a bond hearing, they said that on at least one occasion he used his badge to gain access…

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Brickbat: Keep Looking

A report by the British Children's Commissioner found that police in England and Wales strip-searched almost 3,000 children between 2018 and mid 2022. More than half of those searches took place without a legally required appropriate adult present. And the searches did not always take place in police stations but…

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Brickbat: Move It Along

For almost 20 years, stone benches have graced the sidewalks of San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. They were first placed there by residents to make the place more attractive and to give them places to socialize. The sidewalks are very wide. One local TV station measured the distance from the…

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Brickbat: OK, Everyone Is Welcome

Centennial Elementary School in Washington has backed off a plan to create a "safe space" club open only to "black, indigenous and people of color" students. After the club was announced, several white students expressed an interest in joining. Meanwhile, some parents said the idea of a racially segregated club…

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Brickbat: Do You Know Who I Am?

The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission has found that two Detroit judges, Demetria Brue and Debra Nance, violated judicial ethics when they used their positions to try to get a discount on bicycle rentals during a conference on Mackinac Island, threatened to accuse the owner of assault when he refused, and…

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Brickbat: Want To Know Why the Rent Is Too Damn High?

Michael Markellos and his mother own a 10-unit apartment complex in Chicago. He said his tax bill last year for all 10 units combined was $23,674. This year, the bill is $128,282 dollars, up 440 percent. "I was outraged. These are basically simple one-bedroom units for college graduates who work…

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