News You Can Use

[mes5464]

AI in the court: When algorithms rule on jail time

Not long ago, Jackson would have decided Shepherd’s near-term future based on a reading of court files and his own intuition. But in Cleveland and a growing number of other local and state courts, judges are now guided by computer algorithms before ruling whether criminal defendants can return to everyday life, or remain locked up awaiting trial.

Experts say the use of these risk assessments may be the biggest shift in courtroom decision-making since American judges began accepting social science and other expert evidence more than a century ago. Christopher Griffin, a research director at Harvard Law School’s Access to Justice Lab, calls the new digital tools “the next step in that revolution.”

Critics, however, worry that such algorithms might end up supplanting judges’ own judgment, and possibly even perpetuate biases in ostensibly neutral form.

AI gets a lot of attention for the jobs it eradicates. That’s not happening to judges, at least not yet. But as in many other white-collar careers that require advanced degrees or other specialized education, AI is reshaping, if not eliminating, some of judges’ most basic tasks — many of which can still have enormous consequences for the people involved.

[tribrac]

MSNBC's Joy Reid Triggered by Trump Using the Word "Family" » Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

“Church … family … police … military … the national anthem … Trump trying to call on all the tropes of 1950s-era nationalism. The goal of this speech appears to be to force the normalization of Trump on the terms of the bygone era his supporters are nostalgic for,” tweeted Reid.

Wow, that certainly is a new tactic. after years of shaded attacks while hiding under the guise of "inclusion" and "being Nice" they are now announcing their targets directly: Church is the headliner, followed closely by family.

I don't know if we should be scared or relieved they finally admit what they are fighting against.

This sort of parallels Captain Moroni and the King Men. Reid's response to Trump would fit nicely as a criticism of Moroni's Title of Liberty. As a kid I couldn't understand those blasted Kingmen. Now I kind of do.

[mes5464]

ACLU Complains: "Trump Used the Word 'America' More Than 80 Times"

Tonight, President Trump said the word ‘America’ more than 80 times in his speech. Yet, after a divisive first year, we hear and feel how exclusionary that ‘America’ is, with policies that have harmed so many vulnerable American communities. The ACLU stands ready to protect these communities, both in the courts and at the polls.

[mes5464]

New Mexico bill would force students to apply to college | KOB 4

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) -- New Mexico's high school juniors would be required to apply to at least one college or show they have committed to other post-high school plans as part of a new high school graduation requirement being pushed by two state lawmakers.

The proposal is scheduled for its first legislative hearing on Thursday. If it eventually becomes law, New Mexico would be the first state to require post-high school plans of students, said Jennifer Zinth, who is the director of high school and STEM research at the Education Commission of the States, a Denver-based group that tracks education policy.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Nate Gentry, a Republican, and Daniel Ivey-Soto, a Democrat, would make it mandatory for public school juniors to apply to at least one two- or four-year college. Exceptions would be made for students who can prove they have committed to military service, a vocational program, or work upon graduation in an apprenticeship or internship. Parents and school guidance counselors would have to approve of the students' plans.

[mes5464]

Be on your best behavior because thousands of security cameras will show Super Bowl activity – Twin Cities

Yes, the Super Bowl public safety team is watching you.

And not just with the 2,000 fixed cameras throughout downtown Minneapolis and neighboring areas.

About 2,000 of the 3,000 officers working the Super Bowl have an app that allows them to broadcast any video they take of suspicious activity to the command center where 80 individuals will be stationed to monitor the event.

[mes5464]

Franklin Township family believes Tamiflu led to teen’s suicide | FOX59

A Franklin Township teen took his life, just days after being diagnosed with the flu. His family worries the medicine prescribed to help him may be to blame.

Charlie Harp’s loved ones say he was thriving in his classes and excited about his involvement on the wrestling team. They say they believe the extreme decision to commit suicide may have been caused by severe side effects from the medicine he was taking for the flu.

[mes5464]

In role reversal, drug dealers take the stand at criminal trial of Baltimore Police officers - Baltimore Sun

Sergio Summerville was a small-time drug dealer living out of a storage unit in September 2016 when officers from the Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force blocked him from leaving the facility.

One of the officers said he was with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. He was not. The officers said they had a warrant. They didn’t. They didn’t even know his name — though they tried to bluff, Summerville said.

They ended up taking thousands of dollars out of a sock he kept in his storage unit, he testified in federal court Wednesday, and left without charging him.

[mes5464]

Russian school teaches pupils how to pole dance | Daily Mail Online

Video footage of a schoolgirl learning to pole dance in PE class sparks outrage  
A school in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia teaches the exercise in school
Students as young as five years old are practicing in the controversial sport
Several outraged parents have called learning the sport 'vulgar'

[mes5464]

L.A.'s homelessness surged 75% in six years. Here's why the crisis has been decades in the making

The number of those living in the streets and shelters of the city of L.A. and most of the county surged 75% — to roughly 55,000 from about 32,000 — in the last six years. (Including Glendale, Pasadena and Long Beach, which conduct their own homeless counts, the total is nearly 58,000.)

[mes5464]

Amazon patents wristband that tracks warehouse workers' movements | Technology | The Guardian

Amazon has patented designs for a wristband that can precisely track where warehouse employees are placing their hands and use vibrations to nudge them in a different direction.

The concept, which aims to streamline the fulfilment of orders, adds another layer of surveillance to an already challenging working environment.

[mes5464]

Houstonian wants Mormon Church to stop questioning children about their sexuality - Houston Chronicle

For Sam Young, the routine practice that takes place in the Mormon church is frightening.

Young asks you to imagine going into a small room with an older man, a church elder, closing the door and then being asked about the most intimate, explicit details of your sexuality.

Young explained that he does not have concerns with Mormonism itself or any of the church's teachings. In fact, he remains an active member of the church - and even served as bishop for five years.

[mes5464]

California's budget reserves swell but no rebate in sight | The Sacramento Bee

California’s swelling budget reserves are approaching a point where the state by law can’t save any more money ‑ but don’t expect a tax rebate.

The state is quickly filling up its so-called rainy day fund, the budget stabilization account voters created in 2014 when they passed an initiative that forced lawmakers to save money in flush years. Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal puts the state on pace to fill it with $13.5 billion by July 1, 2019, but the milestone could come even sooner.

[mes5464]

Bitcoin Is Falling Fast, Losing More Than Half Its Value in Six Weeks - WSJ

Bitcoin plunged below $8,000 on Friday, extending its sharp rout since the start of the year in a selloff triggered by a widening regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies.

[mes5464]

Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands. But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord liveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands.

Kissinger: 'Temptation to Deal' with N. Korea by Pre-emptive Attack 'Strong'

WASHINGTON – While he said he agrees with the aggressive statements President Trump has fired at North Korea, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned Congress last week against potential military intervention near Russian and Chinese borders without the world’s support.

The Trump administration has signaled that North Korea would be crossing a red line if it developed nuclear capability for its intercontinental ballistic missile program. Yet some policy officials and military experts claim that North Korea has already crossed that line, or is at least very close to attaching nuclear warheads to its missiles.

Kissinger offered his thoughts on the impending “fork in the road,” in which the administration may consider pre-emptive military action or increasingly tighter sanctions against the regime.

[mes5464]

Town sued over ban on nonresident drivers | New York Post

A road warrior is suing the New Jersey town that has forbidden nonresidents from using its side streets.

Attorney Jaqueline Rosa filed papers Tuesday, claiming that the town of Leonia — which will soon fine nonlocals who use residential streets — is infringing on her right to public roads and violating rights to freedom of travel, according to NorthJersey.com.

[mes5464]

Leaks, feasts and sex parties: How ‘Fat Leonard’ infiltrated the Navy’s floating headquarters in Asia - The Washington Post

As the flagship for the Navy’s 7th Fleet, the USS Blue Ridge plays a critical role in national security by overseeing all U.S. maritime operations in Asia and the western Pacific. The venerable warship is the Navy’s second-oldest active-duty vessel and has survived the Vietnam War, the Cold War and tensions with China and North Korea.

But there is one foreign threat against which the Blue Ridge proved utterly defenseless for many years: a 6-foot-3, 350-pound tugboat owner known as “Fat Leonard.”

In a case that ranks as the worst corruption scandal in Navy history, the Justice Department has charged 15 officers and one enlisted sailor who served on the Blue Ridge with taking bribes from or lying about their ties to Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based tycoon who held lucrative contracts to service Navy ships and submarines in Asian ports.

[mes5464]

Sprawling Maya network discovered under Guatemala jungle - BBC News

Researchers have found more than 60,000 hidden Maya ruins in Guatemala in a major archaeological breakthrough.

Laser technology was used to survey digitally beneath the forest canopy, revealing houses, palaces, elevated highways, and defensive fortifications.

The landscape, near already-known Maya cities, is thought to have been home to millions more people than other research had previously suggested.

The researchers mapped over 810 square miles (2,100 sq km) in northern Peten.

Archaeologists believe the cutting-edge technology will change the way the world will see the Maya civilisation.

"I think this is one of the greatest advances in over 150 years of Maya archaeology," said Stephen Houston, Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at Brown University.

Mr Houston told the BBC that after decades of work in the archaeological field, he found the magnitude of the recent survey "breathtaking". He added, "I know it sounds hyperbolic but when I saw the [Lidar] imagery, it did bring tears to my eyes."

[mes5464]

[mes5464]

Gender-bending chemicals found in plastic and linked to breast and prostate cancer are found in 86% of teenagers' bodies

Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in plastic containers, water bottles, and in till receipts
The chemical, used since the 1960s, mimics the female sex hormone oestrogen
Study by University of Exeter tested urine samples from 94 teenagers

[mes5464]

Kenyon College starts 'whiteness group' where no students are allowed to ask minorities questions. | The Weekly Standard

Students protest the production of a 'racist' play and start a 'Whiteness Group' where no white students are allowed to ask minorities questions.

[mes5464]

Prosecutors: Mom Stabbed 2 Children To Death In ‘Ritualistic Incident’ « CBS Boston

Police said the 43-year-old acted alone when she stabbed her five-year-old and eight-year-old sons multiple times.

The eight-year-old boy was stabbed as many as 50 times, said prosecutors.

According to court documents, family members told investigators that Sanders had practiced Voodoo.

The District Attorney did not confirm that the deaths were Voodoo related.

[mes5464]

Are robot cops the future of efficient, bias-free policing?

The era of police hiding behind bushes and catching drivers who exceed 30 miles per hour may be coming to an end. In years, maybe decades, the young officer with a quota could be replaced by a robotic cop car.

Unsympathetic to excuses and invulnerable to flirtation, the robot will flash its lights to pull you over. It will scan your driver’s license, decide whether to issue a warning or ticket, and inform you of its decision before letting you drive off.

The concept is outlined in a Ford patent filing for a self-driving cop car capable of using artificial intelligence "to find good hiding spots to catch violators of traffic laws." An optional human passenger could override settings that prevent the car from breaking traffic laws itself.

[mes5464]

FBI lovers texts show Obama wanted info on Clinton probe | Daily Mail Online

Lisa Page wrote her lover Peter Strzok about the Clinton probe: Obama 'wants to know everything we're doing'
Obama had said he could 'guarantee' he wouldn't interfere and there would be 'no political influence' in the FBI investigation
The September 2, 2016 text message was among more 50,000 texts the pair sent during a two-year extramarital affair
Page was an FBI lawyer, and Strzok was a leading investigator on both the Clinton probe and the more recent Trump-Russia investigation
Strzok, though expected to be nonpartisan, also called Trump 'a f***ing idiot' and texted Page about a cryptic 'insurance policy' against a Trump presidency 
'NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!' President Trump tweeted on Wednesday 

[mes5464]

Chernobyl as you've never seen it before | Daily Mail Online

Photographer Vladimir Migutin travelled to the town of Pripyat in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
The city once housed the families of the thousands of people who worked at the nearby power plant
They were forced to evacuate in the wake of the world's worst nuclear accident on April 26, 1986

[Joel]