Woman acquitted of ethnic intimidation in striking black man
GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — A white woman accused of hitting a black man and using a racial slur at a western Michigan car dealership was convicted of assault recently but acquitted of ethnic intimidation.
An attorney for Shelly Hueckel said she was upset by an appraisal for her car and wasn’t motivated by race last April. Kent County Judge Paul Sullivan agreed, saying she likely would have had a similar reaction with someone who wasn’t African American, WOOD-TV reported.
“How do you do this to a human being and just walk away? ... I don’t have any other words,” Terrance Smith said after the verdict.
Hueckel didn’t testify. The misdemeanor assault conviction carries a maximum punishment of 93 days in jail.
Judge: Prisons must reform treatment of transgender inmates
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois prisons must undergo wide reforms in the treatment of transgender inmates, including training for employees and avoiding cross-gender strip searches, under a court order handed down last month.
The order stems from a 2018 lawsuit filed on behalf of five transgender women who said they weren’t provided with appropriate treatment while in custody.
“This is a sweeping victory for our clients, who have been subject to unspeakable harm by a Department of Corrections that has truly been deliberately indifferent to our clients’ suffering,” said Ghirlandi Guidetti, an American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois attorney who represented the women.
In the lawsuit, the women claimed corrections staff didn’t provide appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria, a medical condition where a person experiences deep discomfort with the gender assigned at birth.
They alleged delays in hormone treatment therapy. In one case, an inmate’s treatment was started only after attempts to self-castrate.
Illinois Department of Corrections officials have until Jan. 22 to provide U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Rosenstengel with steps they’ve taken to following the order. Department officials have declined comment, citing pending litigation.
Among other things, the other said prisons can no longer “mechanically’’ assign housing based on genitalia or physical size and appearance.
Cars get trapped in tumbleweeds on Washington highway
WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Some people spent part of their New Year's Eve trapped on a Washington state highway after tumbleweeds blocked their route, authorities said.
YakTriNews reported that the Washington State Patrol announced via Twitter at about 6:30 p.m. that State Route 240 was closed in both directions near West Richland.
Trooper Sarah Clasen told KAPP-KVEW that vehicles were trapped in a pile of tumbleweeds that stood up to 15 feet tall.
The state Department of Transportation used snow plows to clear the scene.
Trooper Chris Thorson said it took about 10 hours to clear the road, which opened again around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Thorson says five cars and one 18-wheel semi truck where trapped in the tumbleweeds. No injuries were reported.
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