Bob CollinsMark Conditt was portrayed by authorities as not motivated by hatred, but was upset about his life, so he sent package bombs to people, all of whom happened to be black. Did journalists go along with that depiction because they’re mostly white and Christian, too? The New York Times says ‘no.’ Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Crime and Justice
There is a grace around Richard Phillips that one often sees in people who have been wrongfully convicted and had their lives stolen by a system that, too often, doesn’t work. Read more →
Sex ads sites are shutting down en masse after Congress this week passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, which makes website liable for hosting content that could lead to trafficking.
There’s a limit to free speech and this is but the latest example.
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Sometimes it feels as though rational people are vastly outnumbered. The police department of Sheboygan, Wis., provides today’s evidence. Read more →
The Court’s description of the case reads like a cheap novel you can’t put down. It — and the dealer’s Yelp reviews — will also make you never want to buy a used vehicle again.
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At the rate of Minnesota’s progress, the sun will burn out before its citizens get to see what happens in the state’s courts. Read more →
If you survive civil war in Iraq, we like to think that Rochester, Minn., won’t be a dangerous place. So, Ahmed Muafaq Abdulhu Al Naddf’s killing last week is particularly distressing. Read more →
A 14-year-old girl in southern Minnesota sent a boy an explicit picture of herself. He showed it to friends, so authorities tried to prosecute her under the Minnesota child pornography law even though she was the victim. Read more →
The Lancaster, Pa., Barnstormers, one of the many independent minor league teams, are patting themselves on the back for their sensitivity to domestic assault by cutting a player after police released a video showing Danry Vasquez beating up his girlfriend in August 2016 at Whataburger Field in Texas, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks baseball Read more →
A divided Minnesota Supreme Court today further defined the areas of people’s property where police can’t search without a warrant.
It’s a fascinating case which goes to great lengths to define what area of someone’s property is protected by the Fourth Amendment and what area is fair game for a search by police without a warrant. Read more →
“Can we just stop with this already though?! It’s not funny anymore,” the San Diego reporter said. Read more →
In their lawsuit, four people allege the Department of Commerce doesn’t do enough to unite people with their unclaimed money, and that the state doesn’t pay interest on the money it keeps that is later returned to owners. Under the state’s law, only the principal has to be returned once the money’s owner is found.++ Read more →
Joseph Francis Fernkes, 62, of Willmar, got off with about a $430 fine when he acknowledged being the person who put a pig’s foot on table at a farmer’s market display being staffed by Somalis.
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The civilized world will put up with a lot of incidents of savagery. But killing a dog isn’t one of them.
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A haul of unsecured weapons was found inside the home of a boy with autism who allegedly made a threat at a Vadnais Heights school. His grandfather says they were only family heirlooms. Read more →