President Joe Biden arrives at the White House from his trip to Asia. His executive order will bring reforms to federal law enforcement. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption toggle caption Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP President Joe Biden arrives at the White House from his trip to Asia. His executive order will bring reforms to federal law enforcement. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP President Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday requiring new use-of-force rules for federal law enforcement and encouraging local police departments to make similar changes. The measure is the product of months of consultations with police professional groups and reform activists. […]
Martin Kaste
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Officer Alexander Bires of SEPTA, the transit system for the Philadelphia region, speaks with a homeless man about outreach services at the 11th Street stop on the Market-Frankford Line in Philadelphia. Michelle Gustafson for NPR hide caption toggle caption Michelle Gustafson for NPR Officer Alexander Bires of SEPTA, the transit system for the Philadelphia region, speaks with a homeless man about outreach services at the 11th Street stop on the Market-Frankford Line in Philadelphia. Michelle Gustafson for NPR Public transit systems in the U.S. are struggling. Ridership plummeted during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the numbers are still […]
A pill press machine seized by authorities is displayed during a news conference outside the Roybal Federal Building in February 2021 in Los Angeles. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images A pill press machine seized by authorities is displayed during a news conference outside the Roybal Federal Building in February 2021 in Los Angeles. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images American law enforcement is seizing fentanyl pills now at a rate nearly 50-times greater than four years ago, according to a new study published today by the National Institute on Drug […]
A homeless camp on the edge of downtown Seattle. Martin Kaste/Martin Kaste hide caption toggle caption Martin Kaste/Martin Kaste A homeless camp on the edge of downtown Seattle. Martin Kaste/Martin Kaste Do illegal homeless camps generate crime? It’s a sensitive question, but one that’s becoming politically urgent in cities where pandemic-era tolerance policies have allowed the camps to sprawl into more visible areas. In Los Angeles, Sheriff Alex Villanueva has been at loggerheads with city leaders, accusing them of being too lax with camps. In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed recently promised to crack down on the illegal drug economy in […]
A vile containing Pfizer vaccine to be administered is seen ahead of the launch of the VaxuMzansi National Vaccine Day Campaign in South Africa on Sept. 24, 2021. Rajesh Jantilal /Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Rajesh Jantilal /Getty Images A vile containing Pfizer vaccine to be administered is seen ahead of the launch of the VaxuMzansi National Vaccine Day Campaign in South Africa on Sept. 24, 2021. Rajesh Jantilal /Getty Images Virologists are rushing to learn more about a variant of the Covid-19 virus that was first identified in Botswana, and which is rapidly outcompeting other versions of the virus […]
Competing lawn signs are placed outside of a polling place on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in Minneapolis. Voters there are deciding whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety. The election comes more than a year after George Floyd’s death launched a movement to defund or abolish police across the country.(AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) Christian Monterrosa/AP hide caption toggle caption Christian Monterrosa/AP Competing lawn signs are placed outside of a polling place on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in Minneapolis. Voters there are deciding whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public […]
A detainee worker moves a cart of trays containing chicken fajita meals during a 2019 media tour of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Wash. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption toggle caption Ted S. Warren/AP A detainee worker moves a cart of trays containing chicken fajita meals during a 2019 media tour of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Wash. Ted S. Warren/AP A federal jury in Tacoma, Wash., says the GEO Group, which owns and runs a large detention center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, owes former detainees $17.3 million in […]
Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, had his 16th parole board hearing Friday. Members of the California Board of Parole recommended that Sirhan be paroled. Donaldson Collection/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Donaldson Collection/Getty Images Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, had his 16th parole board hearing Friday. Members of the California Board of Parole recommended that Sirhan be paroled. Donaldson Collection/Getty Images Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy during a Los Angeles presidential campaign stop in 1968, was recommended for parole Friday in […]
Critics say American officers should be trained in defensive tactics, especially empty-hand techniques, so that they depend less on tasers and guns. Images by Steve Skinner Photogra/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Images by Steve Skinner Photogra/Getty Images Critics say American officers should be trained in defensive tactics, especially empty-hand techniques, so that they depend less on tasers and guns. Images by Steve Skinner Photogra/Getty Images A couple of summers ago in Poulsbo, Wash., in a crowded park before a fireworks show, a man named Stonechild Chiefstick was bothering people, according to police. They got complaints about him seeming intoxicated and […]
California reported a significant surge in unemployment claims this year for independent contractors, accounting for more than a quarter of all such claims nationally and raising concerns about widespread fraud. Above, a runner passes the office of California’s Employment Development Department in Sacramento in December. Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption toggle caption Rich Pedroncelli/AP California reported a significant surge in unemployment claims this year for independent contractors, accounting for more than a quarter of all such claims nationally and raising concerns about widespread fraud. Above, a runner passes the office of California’s Employment Development Department in Sacramento in December. Rich Pedroncelli/AP This […]
Trump supporters attend a rally hosted by Long Island and New York City police unions in support of the police on Oct. 4, 2020, in Suffolk County, N.Y. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images Trump supporters attend a rally hosted by Long Island and New York City police unions in support of the police on Oct. 4, 2020, in Suffolk County, N.Y. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images In the aftermath of Wednesday’s siege of the U.S. Capitol, attention is turning to the nation’s police: How many sympathized with what happened? The head of […]
The acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Michael Sherwin (left), is overseeing the massive criminal investigation of Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol. Tasos Katopodis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Tasos Katopodis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images The acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Michael Sherwin (left), is overseeing the massive criminal investigation of Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol. Tasos Katopodis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images The acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Michael Sherwin, says “hundreds” of people may ultimately face charges related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, which interrupted a […]
A crowd gathers for a rally to demand justice in the death of Breonna Taylor on the steps of the the Kentucky State Capitol in June. Taylor was killed in her apartment while Louisville police served a warrant. Timothy D. Easley/AP hide caption toggle caption Timothy D. Easley/AP A crowd gathers for a rally to demand justice in the death of Breonna Taylor on the steps of the the Kentucky State Capitol in June. Taylor was killed in her apartment while Louisville police served a warrant. Timothy D. Easley/AP “No-knock” search warrants, which allow police to force their way into a […]
President Trump waves from a motorcade outside Walter Reed Medical Center, accompanied by Secret Service agents on Sunday. Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images President Trump waves from a motorcade outside Walter Reed Medical Center, accompanied by Secret Service agents on Sunday. Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images Secret Service agents generally don’t talk publicly about their work, for obvious reasons. But privately, they’ve been grumbling. “I think there is a lot of frustration,” says J.J. Hensley, a novelist who used to work for the Secret Service. He’s still in touch with colleagues, and […]