#Buffalo stills awaits justice

[ausetkmt]

As they sat in the lobby of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washington, D.C., last month, Garnell Whitfield Jr. and others who have lost relatives nationwide to gun violence listened as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland helped dedicate an exhibit honoring those killed.

Garland spoke of some of the victims on the new "Faces of Gun Violence Memorial" wall, including Whitfield's 86-year-old mother, Ruth, describing her as a "mother, grandmother and great grandmother whose door and pantry were always open to family and friends." He said the wall will serve as a reminder to ATF employees of who they are fighting for each day.

In this May 15, 2022, file photo, police sit in front of a Tops Grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

"That in and of itself is progress that they would understand the need to be more empathetic and to realize the impact of gun violence on the people that they're trying to protect and serve," Whitfield, the retired Buffalo, New York, fire commissioner, told ABC News.

This week marks two years since a self-described white supremacist killed 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo. In addition to Whitfield's mother, the other victims were Roberta Drury, 32; retired Buffalo police officer Aaron Salter Jr., 55; Heyward Patterson, 67; Pearl Young, 77; Geraldine Talley, 62; Celestine Chaney, 65; Katherine "Kat" Massey, 72; Margus Morrison, 52; and Andre Mackniel, 53.

"I will always carry the scar of 5/14 and what happened to my mother. I'll always miss her. So, I don't expect to be healed," Whitfield said. "I know that's something everybody talks about. I think that's kind of an unrealistic expectation."

Garnell Whitfield Jr. has dedicated his life to fighting white supremacy in honor of his 86-year-old moth...

Malik Rainey for ABC News

One of the major hurdles to overcoming his grief, he said, is that such racially motivated killings and other hate crimes targeting Black people continue to rise across the country.

An ABC News analysis of the most recent FBI data shows that of the more than 8,500 hate crimes reported nationwide between 2020 and 2022, Black people were targeted in 52.3% of the offenses. Between 2021 and 2022, the numbers rose from 2,217 to 3,421, making Black people four times more likely to be targeted than the overall U.S. non-Hispanic Black population.

Hate Crimes Against Blacks in America 2020-2022

ABC News Illustration / Federal Bureau of Investigation

Among the hate crimes committed since the Buffalo mass shooting was a racially motivated attack at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, that left three Black people dead on May 26, 2023. On Nov. 22, 2023, a white gunman wounded two Black and two white shoppers at a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio, in what police said was a racially motivated shooting. The gunmen in both rampages died by suicide, according to police.

In February 2023, a Florida man and a Maryland woman, both alleged to be white supremacists, were arrested and accused of plotting to attack multiple energy substations with the purpose of destroying Baltimore, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Officials said the pair was fueled by a racist extremist ideology as they "conspired to inflict maximum harm on the power grid" and "lay this city to waste." Both suspects have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are awaiting a trial

"Honestly, we shouldn't even have to look at the FBI statistics to know that Black people in America are still victims of subjugation, of discrimination, of racism, of hate," Whitfield told ABC News. "The fact that's still the case all these years later tells you a lot about this country and what its intent is for us."

'It was a modern-day lynching'

About two months before the massacre at a Tops store in the predominantly Black East Side neighborhood of Buffalo, President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching law, named after a Black teenager who was kidnapped, beaten and killed in Mississippi in August 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman. The law defines lynching as a hate crime and increases the maximum penalty to 30 years imprisonment for anyone convicted of conspiring to commit a racially motivated crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

To date, no one has been charged under the law.

"There was a reason why it took nearly 200 years to pass an antilynching law in Congress. It's because the power of lynching is so much embedded into the society," Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, a professor of law and Africana studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told ABC News.

Browne-Marshall said lynchings were committed to strike fear in Black communities, to "send a message to the community that white men are in charge."

Browne-Marshall described the Emmett Till Antilynching law as "powerful," but said prosecutors have been reluctant to apply it to criminal hate crime cases.

"So few prosecutors are doing their jobs when it comes to lynching. We as Americans have ignored the power of the prosecutor to bring charges," she said.

Gloria Brown-Marshall is a professor of law and Africana studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

ABC News

"Without protest, the prosecutors are sitting back and allowing these cases to be put under the rug," Browne-Marshall said.

But federal prosecutors countered they are using an arsenal of federal hate crime laws to seek justice for victims of racially motivated crimes.

In the Arbery case, the defendants -- Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan -- were convicted on state charges of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, aggravated assault with a shotgun, aggravated assault with a pickup truck, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony. They were all sentenced to life in prison, the McMichaels without the possibility of parole. They were also convicted of federal hate crime charges, including using violence to intimidate and interfere with Arbery because of his race and because he was using a public street. The McMichaels were given additional life sentences, while Byran received a 35-year prison sentence.

“Protecting civil rights and combatting white supremacist violence was a founding purpose of the Justice Department, and one that we will continue to pursue with the urgency it demands," Attorney General Garland said following the sentencing of the McMichaels and Bryan.

"Racially-motivated acts of violence are abhorrent and unlawful, and have no place in our society today," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said earlier this month after a 52-year-old North Carolina man was sentenced to 41 months in prison and three years of supervised release for an unprovoked attack on a Black motorist he shouted racial slurs at and physically assaulted. The attacker, who prosecutors said displayed a Ku Klux Klan flag at his home, was also convicted of physically assaulting a Hispanic neighbor in a hate-filled assault.

"The severe sentence imposed for these vicious hate crimes should send a strong message that perpetrators of hate-fueled violence will be held accountable," Clarke added. "The Justice Department is steadfast in its commitment to investigating and prosecuting hate crimes wherever they occur in our country."

Payton Gendron, the gunman in the Buffalo massacre, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to 15 state charges, including 10 counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. In January, federal prosecutors announced they would pursue the death penalty against Gendron.

A federal grand jury indicted the Buffalo gunman with 27 federal charges, including 14 violations of the Shepard-Byrd Act, a landmark anti-hate crime law signed by President Barack Obama in 2009. The law was named after Matthew Shepard, a gay student who was tortured and murdered in Wyoming in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., a Black man killed in 1998 by white supremacists who abducted him, beat him and dragged him by a chain from the back of a pickup truck.

Garnell Whitfield and Browne-Marshall argued that the Emmett Till Antilynching law should be expanded to include racially motivated mass shootings.

"It was meant to strike fear into our communities, to start a race war and further subjugate us, keep us in our place. So, yes, it was a modern-day lynching," said Whitfield, adding that the only difference was that the killer used an AR-15 rifle instead of a rope.

While the antilynching law requires proof of a conspiracy, both Whitfield and Browne-Marshall alleged that some social media companies facilitated the teenage killer's white supremacist radicalization by allowing racist propaganda to fester on their platforms.

"This is a conspiracy. It's the oldest conspiracy we know – white supremacy," Whitfield said.

But no precedent has been set for criminally charging a social media company as a co-defendant in a mass shooting, and prosecutors have found no evidence the Buffalo shooter entered into an "agreement" with any social media company to carry out his attack, a requirement of federal conspiracy.

In May 2023, Whitfield and other relatives of those killed in the Buffalo attack filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Buffalo in an attempt to hold several social media companies responsible for aiding the killer in his attack.

The gunman was "motivated to commit his heinous crime by racist, anti-Semitic, and white supremacist propaganda fed to him by the social media companies whose products he used," the lawsuit argues, adding that the teenager did not appear to have been raised in a racist family, did not live in a racially polarized community and had no reported personal history of negative interactions with Black people.

Some social media companies named in the lawsuit denied the allegations it is aiding the indoctrination of users of their platforms in white supremacy. Twitch, the Amazon-owned social media gaming site the Buffalo gunman used to live stream the shooting, said in a statement that it closely monitors its site and took down the livestream of the Tops rampage in two minutes.

"We take our responsibility to protect our community extremely seriously, and trust and safety is a major area of investment," Twitch said in its statement in response to the lawsuit, adding it was continuously examining the Buffalo shooting and "sharing those learnings with our peers in the industry to support a safer internet overall."

Google, the parent company of YouTube, which was also named in the lawsuit, also issued a statement denying the allegations, saying, "Through the years, YouTube has invested in technology, teams, and policies to identify and remove extremist content. We regularly work with law enforcement, other platforms, and civil society to share intelligence and best practices."

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, said on its website in February, "We define a hate speech attack as dehumanizing speech; statements of inferiority, expressions of contempt or disgust; cursing; and calls for exclusion or segregation. We also prohibit the use of harmful stereotypes, which we define as dehumanizing comparisons that have historically been used to attack, intimidate, or exclude specific groups, and that are often linked with offline violence. We also prohibit the usage of slurs that are used to attack people on the basis of their protected characteristics."

MORE: Buffalo mass shooting suspect 'radicalized' by fringe social media: NY attorney general

The Buffalo lawsuit followed the release of a scathing report by New York Attorney General Letitia James' office, alleging several online platforms played roles in the Buffalo mass shooting by radicalizing the killer as he consumed voluminous amounts of racist and violent content and allowing him to broadcast the deadly attack.

The KKK is 'alive and well'

The 64-year-old Shepherd, who describes himself as a "reformed racist" and now advocates against racial hate, said he also felt guilt.

He said many of the same practices he used to recruit KKK members are still being followed. But instead of rallies and cross burnings, white supremacist groups today use the internet to grow and indoctrinate their ranks, Shepherd said.

"It's not the robes and hoods, it's the mentality. And that mentality is what we've got to address," Shepherd said. "As I've said before, the internet is a great thing. But that's one of the tools that's being used to radicalize these kids."

'There's nothing special about this day'

On Tuesday, a monument titled "Unity" will be unveiled outside the Tops store where the Buffalo mass shooting occurred. A moment of silence will be held at 2:28 p.m. ET marking the time the massacre unfolded followed by a tolling of the bells, officials said.

The 5/14 Memorial Commission will also reveal the design picked for a second monument to be erected in Buffalo that is being funded by the state.

But Whitfield said that for him, the day will be no different from any other.

"So 5/14 may be significant for some, it's two years now since then. But it's no more significant on 5/14 than it is on 5/13 or 5/12, or today. I have to live the rest of my life without my mother and with what happened to her," Whitfield said.

Whitfield said he'll continue to speak out against white supremacy and is motivated to be as "consistent and determined" in that work as white nationalists are in their deeds.

"Every day since then [5/14] and for the rest of my life, I will honor my mother by doing this work," Whitfield said. "There's nothing special about this day coming up because I've tried to live according to these principles every day. That's how I'm going to honor my mother and my ancestors."

[scarletarosa]

Durga

Hindu goddess of power, strength, courage, war, justice, righteousness, determination, protection, salvation, and divine wrath

Maa Durga is the power of the Universe and is Mother Shakti herself. She is Jagdamba, Mother of the Whole Universe and one of the most powerful manifestations of the cosmic mother, Shakti. She is also known as Ambika (Mother) and Chandika (Fierce). She is beyond everything, beyond all space and time. It is this devi who brings peace, compassion, love, and justice into disorder, while punishing all those who bring evil. Durga is the Divine Mother Goddess who presides over the cycle of life, death, and rebirth and contains absolute power. Her name means ‘the invincible, unconquerable, and unassailable one’ and she is completely free of fear, allowing her to accomplish whatever she desires.  

With the guidance of Maa Durga, we can be filled with her courage and determination so that we can face any obstacle in our paths and become strong at heart. She is blindingly beautiful, with footsteps that shake the very Earth. Her roaring laughter fills the skies and sends chills down the spines of her enemies. Durga is known to be so powerful, that in one myth, she is even described as destroying an enemy with a mere sigh. She was born from pure power and righteous anger, with unmatched might. As the annihilator of pain and fear, she holds the name Durgatinashini, which means “The One Who Eliminates Sufferings”.

Durga is said to be the truest manifestation of Adi Parashakti along with goddess Parvati. Though it is Durga who not only plays the role as the unbeatable warrior, but also as our Mother. So while Parvati represents Shakti’s peaceful and nurturing aspect, Durga is her active and fiery aspect. Durga is deeply nurturing, loving, and protective, but is a terror to her enemies. She is connected to fire, and so is called Jwala or Jyotawali Maa, meaning “Mother of the Divine Flame”. Durga is Karma, Mahamaya, and Moksha (enlightenment). 

Maa Durga’s appearance is that of an alluring young woman dressed in a red silk sari (symbolizing action) and is sitting upon a lion or tiger, representing that she is ready to battle evil at all times and that she is ultimate courage. She has either ten or eight arms with which she holds her magical weapons- a trident, a rope, a thunderbolt, the shield of knowledge, a chakra, a lance, a bow and arrow, an axe, a mace, and a conch-horn for heralding her victory in battle. She may other times be holding a lotus flower and a sword along with the other objects. Durga is shown with having three eyes, which symbolize the earth, moon, and fire. Her many arms represent the fact that she constantly protects everyone from all directions.

                             Durga Slays the Asura King, Mahisha

When the buffalo-asura Mahisha was causing turmoil, none of the gods were able to defeat him due to his boon that he would not be harmed by any of the gods’ weapons. So the gods then came together and combined their powers, which created a blindingly radiant golden light which then formed into the invincible Durga- a direct manifestation of Adi Parashakti (in some versions, the goddesses Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati merge to form Durga). The Matrikas then began to arm the warrior goddess with their magical weapons- a trident to awaken the fullness of her inner-power, a rope to bind illusion, a thunderbolt, the shield of knowledge, a chakra, a lance, a bow and arrow, an axe, a mace, and a conch-horn with which she would blow to herald her victory in battle.  

Durga then rode to the top of a mountain upon a lion and awaited Mahisha to see her. As planned, when the asura king saw the goddess, he was dumbfounded by her beauty and majesty, becoming completely intoxicated by her sexuality and raw power. This caused Mahisha to lose all logical thinking and he proposed marriage to Durga. To which the warrior goddess announced, “I will marry only he who can defeat me in battle.” Lost in his lust and eagerness, Mahisha attacked the goddess with his army without much focus. Finally, after a long and fierce battle, Durga struck down the asura king and blew her conch in triumph. Thus, peace was restored and the gods held Maa Durga in great praise. The tale of this great battle is a metaphor for the war we wage against our ego (represented by the asuras) in order to bring our Divine Selves to light. 

                                Kali emerges from Durga’s Rage

In the Devi Mahatmya, Kali is described as manifesting during Durga’s great battle against the asura Raktabija. As Durga battled him, each time a drop of Raktabija’s blood hit the ground, it formed into a clone of himself. This deeply frustrated and enraged Durga so much that from her forehead emerged the fearsome Kali, with a beautiful youthful form, pitch black skin, wild hair, and wearing nothing but a garland of human heads and a girdle of human arms. The destroyer Kali then began to devour every drop of blood from Raktabija, and fiercely slew all of his duplicates, allowing Durga to finally be able to vanquish him. With help from the eight Matrikas, the entire asura army was annihilated. However, Kali was still drunk on blood-lust and began massacring onlooking worshippers, drinking their blood. Here we see the uncontrollable nature of Kali, how she consumes all in the end of time, sparing none. 

Seeing this act of slaughter, Shiva came to the battlegrounds in order to calm his wife (as he is wed to Shakti). He lays himself on the ground before her as a corpse, symbolizing how Shiva is lifeless without Shakti. When Kali ends up trampling onto his chest, she realizes that she is standing upon her great love. This causes Kali to calm down and take the form of Bhadraka, the tranquil form of Kali whose skin is the colour of a dark blue lotus, and is pleasant in expression. She steps off of Shiva’s body and thus ended the battle’s slaughter. In triumph, the Matrikas danced and became drunk on the blood of their enemies. This glorious battle serves as a metaphor that Durga, Kali, and the Ashtamatrikas (eight mother goddesses) have complete power over life force, symbolized by blood.

Thus, Durga the Unlimited Power and Mother of the Universe is the eternal protector of mankind. She is beyond weaknesses and fears, and assists us in our struggles to help us to become strong as well. She destroys vices from our hearts and purifies us with her love. 

Epithets: Abhavya (the fearful goddess), Anantaa (infinite one), Bahula (she of many forms), Balaprada (giver of strength), Bhavini (the beautiful one), Bhavani (mother of the universe), Brahmavadini (the omnipresent), Buddhi (embodiment of knowledge), Buddhida (bestower of wisdom), Chandi (fierce one), Ambika (mother), Chita (preparer of the death bed), Vaishnavi (the invincible), Sarvasuravinasha (destroyer of evil), Jaya (victorious one), Bhavya (the magnificent)

Offerings: honeyed tea, cow’s milk, lotus flowers, passion fruit, red berries (any), figs, pineapples, ghee, red sandalwood, mahogany wood, tiger eye stone, orchids, pearls, red jade, silverware, gold emblem of the Goddess (Shakti), Durga statue, vanilla flowers (and incense), cobalt element; incense of dragon's blood, cinnabar, jasmine, or musk

[aiw0lf]

Confessing Wild

Nick Wilde still did not like being in a courtroom. Even now, a year after the academy, and not really being in the courtroom he found himself fidgety. He was currently sitting in the holding room where they put witnesses awaiting their turn on the stand when the prosecution or defense doesn't want them listening to other witness testimony. The long narrow room had two rows of chairs both leaned with their backs to the opposite walls. Maybe his discomfort stemmed from his lack of entertainment. His normally ever-present, ever cheerful partner was in the courtroom. He wasn't worried for her, no one the prosecution had called to be witnesses today had any reason to be worried. Except maybe himself and the vixen on the other end of the room. Zootopia had always been a clinical place for a fox.

The bailiff standing near the door to the main courtroom was a warning to all in the cramped holding space. They most definitely could not talk about what happened to bring them all together. Waiting who knows how long until they had the opportunity to tell the judge and jury what they uncovered six months ago. Leading to quite possibly the biggest scandal in Zootopia since the Bellweather incident.

Nick leaned back in his chair with a yawn. Crossing his arms over his head, closing his eyes and stretching out his legs to cross them at the ankle. There were 3 other mammals in the room with him. All sat on the opposite wall facing the door. Their means of escape.

Two chairs to his left sat a young lamb reading a romantic mystery novel. She was turned away from him and her posture of one leg crossed over the other and shoulders leaned in was an effort to make her already small frame look smaller. She had pushed herself as far away from him and the others as possible. Nick didn't know if it was due to the subject of her book. When they first were escorted into the room the ewe bumped into the door dropping all of her belonging on the ground. Nick, Judy, and the vixen tried to gather everything up and hand it to the frantic female, and Nick so happened to be the one to grab the book from under a chair. The threatening look from the vixen had him swallow the jokes he was going to make. Which would have been his entertainment now with his partner was in the other room.

Directly in front of Nick was his boss. Chief Bogo made no effort to make himself smaller despite the cramped room. The Cape Buffalo was busy playing a game on his phone while intermittently taking calls from the Lieutenant he left in charge of Zootopia Police Department's Precinct 1 for the day and Benjamin Clawhuser, Precinct 1's dispatcher and front desk cheetah. The Lieutenant and Dispatch were not getting along from what Nick could hear in the half conversations he was privy to.

Two seats from Bogo's right sat someone Nick had known longer than anyone in this city save for his own mother. The red vixen sat with her legs in the same position as his own but her arms were holding her phone which she had been typing on most of the time they had been in this room, her emerald eyes focused on the screen in front of her.

If both foxes were walking down the street together most animals who passed them would only see two red foxes and not think anymore, unless they were pray then 9 times out of 10 they would cross the street away from the shifty preditors. They would not see that both Nick and this female had the same piercing green eyes. They would also not see the minute differences between them either. Nick, like most males of any given species, has a brighter coat then the vixen's. His held more orange compared to her strawberry-like coloring. His ears and tail are tipped with black, hers white. In fact, the vixen's fur heald more white than the average red fox but Nick always assumed that was due to her mother being an arctic fox.

The exasperated sigh caused Nick to open his eyes and look the vixen's way.

"That frustrating hu?" He said trying to muffle a chuckle.

"I sware public education is turning out more helpless freshmen every year," she said closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the wall. Her phone left in one hand down on her lap.

"You could always stop teaching." Said the Buffalo. As he turned his phone to the side. His tongue was sticking out of his muzzle and a look of excited concentration told Nick his boss was playing the racing game that almost every officer in the station had downloaded. He saw the same look on his best buddy's faces during morning coffee break more times then he could count. Granted the Buffalo could not wag his tail like the timber wolf could.

Ignoring Bogo completely the female fox made eye contact with Nick and illiterate, "I left my students with a simple take-home assignment since I could not find a Student-Teacher to cover my class, and I have an email box full of the dumbest questions. Does no one do their summer reading assignments anymore?"

Nick busted out laughing, unable to contain himself of his amusement at the ridiculous question. He knew the vixen was 100% serious in her annoyance. At least the Lamb at the other side of the room looked interested in the conversation.

"Oh, Professor I can attest as a former student of yours the answer is no" the sheep bayed.

But before they could all continue to mock the vixen the door opened and hopping in was the light of Nick Wilde's life.

NO Wilde. Partner, friend. That's it, put back on the hustle.

The internal monologue he had to repeat several times a day kicked in before Judy Hopps saw him. He calmed his face to show a half-smile just in time for the first bunny cop's violet eyes to look his way with a warm smile, she turned away from Nick and her smile faded to show more sympathy to the vixen.

"They're calling you next Amie." Judy said her hands bunched up in front of her and ears down.

The vixen stood and smoothed her navy pencil skirt before tugging the matching blazer in place, ears erect on the top of her head. Bogo and the sheep's eyes passed between her and Nick and he knew they were all thinking the same thing. If the prosecution wasn't calling Nick right after his partner then they weren't going to call him at all and hope the defense doesn't notice the 2 foxes with the same name.

Amie walked into the quiet courtroom and didn't waste the sideways glace to check out the gally as she headed to the witness stand. It was certainly filled with reporters trying to get the scoop on the newest "Trial of the Century". She buried the regret that started to bubble for deciding to wear the form-fitting navy suit and not a white lab coat once she saw the todd in the jury box directly in front of her stair her up and down. She sighed internally and pushed her glasses up her muzzle as she reached the bailiff that would swear her in. Once under oath, she climbed the two stairs to the witness stand and gracefully sat to face the prosecutor who stood from behind his table and sauntered in her direction. The Bloodhound buttoned his suit jacket before lifting his eyes to her and asked his first question.

"Please state your full name, title, and occupation for the jury."

"Doctor Amelia Natalie Wilde, I am a professor of Forensic Sciences at Zootopia College and University." As Amie spoke she leaned toward the microphone on the edge of the witness stand.

"What degrees in relation to this case do you hold Doctor?"

She suppressed the chuckle from how painstakingly the questions was worded and instead decided to rattle off the previously approved list as quickly and clearly as possible. In the witness prep she did with the bloodhound they focused on how to not bore the jury by going though her whole educational background but also impress upon them her abilities.

"I have a bachelor's in Forensic Science, a Masters's, and a Doctorate of Forensic Toxicology. I also recently completed a Masters Certificat in Criminal Justice Administration." Emerald eyes passed over the 12 mammals in the jury box. She knew exactly which parts of her education made her not only the perfect expert witness in the case but also why she was asked to do what she did for the ZPD six months ago.

She was sure once the Prosecutor was felt the jury could trust her education he then had to jump the hurdle of proving she was contacted because she was the best option not currently working in the department and not her relation to one of the investigating officers. Hopefully, that relation would not come up.

"Very impressive," the prosecutor's pause was thick in the air leading Amie to look out at the audience to see more than one skeptical face, "do you have a specialty in regards to toxicology, Doctor Wilde?"

Zootopia was not used to foxes with extensive degrees. It happened but rarely in criminal justice. Nick just got on the ZPD force barely a year ago and that would have been a media nightmare if Judy hadn't made sure to highlight how much he helped her with the Nigh Howler attacks. Even as a hero in the city his hiring came with plenty of push back.

"Objection" the defense, a hyena, hackled.

"Under what grounds?" The judge's eyes narrowed on the laughing canine.

"The prosecutor has made it quite clear the Doctor has an impressive education."

The bloodhound turned to the bench and placing on his most innocent face possible "This will be the last question to the doctor's capabilities your honer."

"I will allow it, but this better be the last one, or the female will start to sound like she is bosting. You may answer the question Doctor." The judge, a male koala said with a pass of his hand. Amie clicked her teeth to herself and sat up straighter before answering.

"I am able to identify the most popularly used narcotics on sight" Amie said after she turned from the judge back to the prosecutor.

"Would this ability of yours ever be used in substitute for testing a possible illegal drug sample in a criminal forensics lab?" The Prosecutor's eye went wide. The game had finally begun.

"No."

"Would you ever encourage your students to not test possible evidence in a criminal case because proper toxicology reports are expensive to the ZPD?" With more than little theatrics, the representation of the people turned and walked towards the jury box as he asked this question.

"No."

"And Doctor, If a recently graduated student of yours came to you with knowledge of a high ranking individual in the ZPD Criminal Forensics lab refusing to test evidence; sighting your unusual talent and the price of constantly testing multiple samples, what would you tell that former student to do?" the twist towards her put him directly in front of the jury. As she looked at him she could see their faces. He had them hooked. Now to deliver.

"I would inform that student they needed to report their superior for criminal misconduct." Green eyes meet the heated amber of the hounds and she knew he wasn't going to leave it to her word.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Roolf crossed the courtroom in seconds to the evidence table and lifted a bag off of it. He read the evidence number off of the bag and walked steadily closer to Amie on the witness stand.

"Doctor Wilde do you recognize this document?" he gently laid the unbagged paper in front of her.

She picked it up and read a few lines to herself. "Yes, it is a print out of an email exchange between myself and Miss. Woolard."

"And what was the context of this conversation?" Roolf pointed to the paper.

"Miss. Woolard, after graduating from ZCU with a Masters in Forensics was working at the ZPD forensic lab in Savanah Central. She had noticed her superior, the head of the lab Mr. Mustelidae" Amie gestured toward the defense table, "excepting evidence. Marking it was tested with the findings of containing illegal narcotics, and then delivering that finding to the Police without ever testing the sample for its true chemical contents."

"OBJECTION!!! The witness is testifying to hearsay!" The hyena practically jumped across the defense table to get to the judge.

The judge slammed his gavel once in warning to the defense before turning eyes to Roolf.

"Doctor Wild is not testifying to hearsay, she is stating the start of the timeline of events that lead up to Mr. Mustelidae's arrest. Without the Doctor receiving this email the injustice occurring in Savanah Central Criminal Forensics Lab may have never come to light."

"I agree." said the irritated marsupial. "Another outburst like that from you Mr. Banzai and I will though you out of my courtroom." Shaking his gavel in the defense's direction.

"Yes sir." The hyena said as he sank back in his chair.

No more of ADA Roolf's questions to Amie were objected too and the questioning continued. Amie described how she knew Miss Woolard from teaching her in several classes and how she responded to the initial email. Insisting the young sheep report the badger who was destroying the sanctity of the criminal justice system. She did not know what transpired after her correspondence with the former student and before Chief Bogo walked into her office with a newly promoted police patrolmammel Wilde, but she did know that once the Cape Buffalo approached her she was going to be dragged into the mess whether she wanted to or not.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Six Months Earlier

Amie was sitting at the professor's desk in an empty classroom grading papers with her headphones in her ears. Her body swayed with the music as she underlined and x'ed papers with a red pen. She was obviously focused on her work to the point Nick wished he wasn't in uniform carrying heavy ZPD equipment standing next to Chief Bogo. He was missing a prim scaring the pants off of the vixen moment. Instead, Chief Bogo cleared his throat loudly. She didn't even stop swaying.

"Ah, yeah boss let me try." after Bogo grunted his approval. Nick put down the equipment and picked up a balled-up piece of paper that didn't make it into the wastebasket. He then expertly pitched it at the vixen's face like the little league superstar he was. It made contact with its intended target. Amie's face reacted instantly as the paper landed in her hands after toppling her glasses and causing an earbud to fall out of her ear. She turned to Nick and Bogo gasping at the insult. She made eye contact with Nick first.

"Why you little. . ." She threw the paperback at Nick. "That is not how you say 'hay I came for an unexpected visit' twerp." Nick caught the paper as it started to sink in front of him a few inches short of his chest. Bogo cleared his throat again causing her to leave her revenge and acknowledge the Chief of ZPD Precinct 1 was addressing her. "I am sorry Doctor this is not a personal call." Nick saw her shoulders slump as she took the males in. Nick realized it was the first time she had seen him in his duty uniform.

"How can I help you, officers?" Amie suddenly sounded more professional then Nick ever heard her, and he watched her present her dissertation.

"Doctor I would like to have a piece of evidence tested on camera," Bogo said gesturing to the film equipment near Nick's feet. Amie's eyes narrowed on Nick and he gave a light shrug. Why Bogo wanted her to do it was plain. She was the best Toxicolgest at the university. Why he dragged Nick across the city to the university to have an expert unconnected to the ZPD test the sample Nick knew but it was an open investigation so could not share with one of the few mammals he trusted with his life.

"I'll have to cancel my 7 o'clock class" Amie clicked away on her phone presumably emailing her students the change in plans. "It will take several hours for the results." She peered out from the side of her eye at the males still in the doorway of the classroom. Bogo lifted an eyebrow but only said "That will be fine."

Nick and the Cheif only arrived on campus at 5 pm and had to stop in with the Campus precinct before locating Amie. It was now 5:45 in the evening. As they left the classroom they found the vixen in she left a note on the Whiteboard.

Doctor Wilde's 6pm lecture canceled. Online discussions still due tonight!!!

Tonight was underlined 3 times, and Nick wondered how many co-eds will complain they didn't know the assignment wasn't pushed back. The three mammals walked down the hall to the elevator and took it down two levels to a floor of just laboratories. Nick tried not to remember his freshman chemistry class that was on this floor but when the old walrus that taught the class passed them he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hay didn't I light that guys lab coat on fire 7 years ago?" Nick asked once he was out of earshot.

"Yes, and he won't let me live it down. Any time the science department plans a school-wide event he makes sure to say I'm not to go near a bunsen burner." Amie said giving Nick a dirty look. Bogo seamed confused for only a second. Then mumbled under his breath. "So you are related."

Amie stopped in front of a door where though the tinny window near the top only darkness greeted them. Above that door forensics lab, 1 was engraved. She turned the lights on as she strolled in and placed the bag she was carrying on the desk meant for the professors. Nick placed the digital camera case and tripod on the ground next to it and Bogo walked around and whistled.

"No wonder we can't hire you. You have all the shine toys right hear." Bogo said while stopping in front of a piece of machinery Nick couldn't even guess at what it does.

"What do you mean? Most of this stuff is a decade old?"

At Amie's words, Nick and Bogo exchanged a look that could only be described as telling. If Amie noticed it while putting on her lab coat she didn't say anything. She taped a piece of paper to the 2 doors of the lab and locked them. Nick figured they said something similar to the note left on the whiteboard in the classroom, and that she locked the doors because most mammals don't read signs. Working in traffic for the past few months solidified that as a fact in Nick's mind for good.

"What do we got?" Nick watched the Cape Buffalo hand the evidence bag to Amie and he started setting up the tripod. She looked at it briefly before handing it back and started sliding around the lab, turning on machinery and setting up equipment in an almost dance performed by someone who knew where everything they needed was and when they would need it.

The camera was rolling in no time and Bogo handed the bag back to Amie after she identified herself for the camera and he himself. She then described the bag as a ZPD evidence bag read off the case number and that it was initially collected by Officer Nicolas P. Wilde and then tested by an Edger Mustelidae, found to be over two grams of pure cocaine. After saying that out loud Amie looked up from the front of the bag and made direct eye contact with Nick. Her face had a professional what the fuck look to it. Nick again shrugged. Amie clicked her teeth and flipped the bag over in her hands to describe the first evidence seal on the bag had not been cut as it should have been by procedure. Instead, the bag according to her appeared to have been ripped open on the side. This time she looked at Bogo, who just nodded.

She did confirm the yellow evidence tape meant to reseal it was covering the possible hole before cutting into the red tape Nick put on the bag that morning before taking it to the Savannah Central lab. Inside of the bag was another much smaller plastic bag with a zip-top. It was as full of a yet to be determined white powder as it was this morning. Amie emptied the contents of the baggie into a small metal bowl and weighed it. Nick zoomed in on the scales readout as Amie read it out loud.

The vixen continued to her examination of the contents of the baggie. Including putting a small sample of if under a microscope before putting some in a test tube with a soluble solution and running it thought the Mass Spectrometer. As the three waited for the computer to finish analyzing Nick, Bogo, and Amie chatted. Mostly Bogo tried to convince Amie to take a position with the ZPD lab and Amie tried to make fun of Nick's uniform. As a patrolmammel he was wearing the same uniform Judy did. Once they became Corporals or higher they would ware the dress blues to work. Like what he wore to his graduation. Nick knew she knew that, but it didn't stop her from teasing.

"Wheres Judy anyway?" Amie finally asked Nick.

"She went to Bunny Burrow to visit her folks." Nick said not giving the Doctor eye contact. The vixen knew from the moment he got off the graduation stage at the academy he had a crush on the bunny, but he did not want her to know how far he let his feeling go. She knew him better than anyone and instead of pushing the subject she just started to hum. The same song she hummed at the picnic his mother brought for after the graduation. Judy and Nick's mom thought the song choice was related to being a cop would give Nick the opportunity to make the world better when the other females commented on the tune.

The computer's chime brought Nick out of his thoughts and had Amie pushing off in her rolly chair to the screen. "Well, it's not coke. Boys" Amie clicked on the mouse twice and started to roll back to the 2 police officers. Midroll she grabbed a freshly printed page off the printer and presented it to Bogo. Nick was already standing and bringing the camera which they left recording to zoom in over Bogo's shoulder. "Corn Starch, Talc, Magnesium, Silicon, and a bunch of other things but what it boils down to is Baby powder. I can't say brand yet, but I could by tomorrow if I downloaded the composition into the product database." Amie stated smugly.

"No need Doctor. Can you email this to me?" Bogo said standing and giving a good stretch.

"Yes, I can Cheif. It was nice working with you." Amie said shaking paws with the buffalo. Amie resealed the evidence with the ZCU evidence tape and handed the bag back to the chief after signing it, and started cleaning up what was left out. Most of what the Doctor used had already been cleaned and put back while they waited on the mass spec.

"Come on Wild. I'll give you a ride back to the precinct." Chie Bogo yawned and looked at his watch. "My wife is going to kill me."

"If you don't mind Chief I'll take the train in the morning. I think I want to grab some bad Chinese food with the Doc." Nick said. Bogo shrugged. Nick's day off was tomorrow so it didn't matter to his boss what he did that night.

________________________________________________________________________________

Present Day

"Doctor Amelia Wilde." The hyena rolled her name over his tong "You wouldn't happen to be related to Officer Nicolas Wilde of the ZPD? The very officer who investigated the allegations your student Miss Woolard place on my client."

Amie was not surprised by the question. If the defense attorney was worth anything he would need to ask that question.

"Yes, I am related to Officer Nicolas Wilde."

"How?" He smirked as he leaned in close to Amie.

"Our fathers were brothers. We are first cousins." Amie did not mention Nick was the closest thing to a little brother she would ever have or that they were very close as kitts.

Banzai started himself on a roll and he wasn't going to stop until Amie's credibility was shredded.

Don't give them an inch honey.

Amie's mother's voice in her country accent said in her mind.

Or they will take a mile.

Amie put on her best nonchalant face and peered at the cackling hyena through hooded bored eyes.

"You said earlier Doctor that you have the ability to tell "the most popularly used narcotics on sight" is that right?" He asked quoting her own words.

"Yes."

"What narcotics are you referring to in this statement?"

"Powdered cocaine, Nepeta cataria or catnip dried or leaf, and heroin from anywhere from liquid to crack." A female somewhere in the room gasped. "Oh, you do not get to turn the tables on me." Amie thought as she tried not to grind her teeth and struggled to keep her face the picture of professional disinterest.

"How did you acquire such a skill?" Every tooth in the Hyenia's head was visible.

Amie wondered if the hyena was banking on her pleading the 5th and thus discrediting her entire account. Instead, she clicked her teeth, sat back in her chair, and looked up at the defense.

"A professor in my doctorate studies would not sign off on your degree unless you can properly identify three illegal substances on sight. I identified every substance he placed on the table during my final exam. There were 5. One of them was lemongrass. I repeat this test as extra credit to my master's students." She watched Banzai's face fall as he moves away from her as if her words burned.

"No more questions for the witness." The defense said and sat down in his chair.

Mustelidae tried to whisper in his defense's ear probably trying to figure out what just happened. As Amie came down from the witness stand she gave a light smile to the jury. What she saw told her two things about the trial going forward. The jury believed her, and Nick was going to be called to the stand by the defense.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Nick was surprised by how long his cousin was out of the room and started to really worry. He didn't know when he got up to start pacing the room, or when Judy's nose started to twitch but combined with Bogo no longer playing his game just answering calls and watching the clock with ears down pressed by his head. Had Nick feel dread climbing up his throat ready to explode when the door finally opened. "Aims! Straight Aim talk to me!" Nick pleaded, calling her by the nickname only he used. The vixen passed him in a daze, ears down tail dragging behind her, she spilled in the chair directly in front of the door as it closed.

"That bad?" The chief asked looking at the door and swallowing hard.

"No, it went rather well actually." She said sitting up straighter ears perking up. "I just really need a beer"

Nick burst out into laughter. "Well good thing I know a place."

[thereifling]

Batman and the JL: JL Christmas Party at Wayne Manor (aka 4am Fast Food pt. 2)

           Alfred pulled the turkey from the oven. He breathed in the fresh scent sighing in satisfaction. Before placing the tray on the stove, the front door rang. Taking off the oven mittens he hastened to the door.  

           “Heya Jeeves!” Wally West stood outside tightly wrapped in a large coat and holding several pies. “Am I late?” He asked allowing himself in.

           “On the contrary, you are early.”

           “Woah, that never happens.” The red head laughed looking around for the kitchen. Alfred shut the door, keeping the December air out of the house, and ushered his guest to the living room. “So, where’s Bruce?” Wally inquired handing off his coat.

           “Master Bruce is currently on patrol but will return shortly.” Alfred took the pies heading towards the kitchen. “Dinner will be served once everyone arrives.”

           “Man, I’m so hungry I could eat a buffalo.” The front door rang again. “I’ll get it!” Wally rushed back swinging the large oak open to reveal Clark, Diana, and J’onn.

           “Merry Christmas!” Clark beamed. The three of them trudged in carrying several bags and platters of food.

           “Happy holidays Wally.” Diana undid her coat placing it on the rack with the rest of theirs. She gazed passed him frowning. “Where’s Bruce?”

           “Master Bruce is currently on patrol.” Alfred suddenly appeared making Wally jump. He took the bags and the pie in Clark’s hand.

           “It’s ma’s pie!” Clark exclaimed. “And here, let me take some of that.” He followed Alfred back to the kitchen. Diana, J’onn, and Wally made their way to the lounge settling in the cushions. They sat there in silence, feeling very awkward. Diana swore she saw Wally speed around the house several times but continued twiddling her thumbs.

           “Is it not customary-” J’onn suddenly spoke up. “-for the host to be present when his guests arrive?” Wally laughed at that.

           “It is, but we’re talking about Bats here.”

           “I do wish he could take one night of rest.” Diana sighed

           “Yeah well, he better get here soon, I’m starving!” The speedster flumped down on the couch beside her with a huff. Diana smiled sympathetically towards him.

           “Perhaps we should help the process further and head to the kitchen?” J’onn suggested.

           “Hey everyone!” Clark’s voice abruptly hollered from the hall. “I hear the car coming in from the cave. He’s here so we can eat!” Wally hadn’t run that fast in a very long time.

           Bruce laid another sample on the flask peering into the microscope. Coming out of the car he hadn’t bothered to remove the cowl and immediately set to work. Bruce had been working tirelessly for the past three weeks to get this sample and a new burst of determination bubbled up inside. Setting a new flask in, footsteps could be heard coming near.

           “What is it Alfred?” Bruce deadpanned, still gazing into the microscope.

           “Sir, your guests have arrived and are patiently awaiting your presence.” There was a hint of condescendence which made Bruce look up. What did he forget now?

           “Guests? I don’t recall inviting anyone…”

           “Your Christmas Eve party sir, with the founding members of the Justice League.” Alfred informed with a cock of his head. Bruce inwardly groaned.

           “I don’t have time right now.”

           “Sir, I insist that you head upstairs and be courteous to your guests.”

           “Alfred, I’m busy.” Bruce exhaled. “Can’t Dick entertain them?” Alfred erected himself raising an eyebrow at that.

           “Master Richard is out with miss Gordon as he will be unable to tomorrow since we are having Christmas with the entire family. These are your guests and friends whom you invited for today.” Bruce jabbed a finger at him.

           “I did NOT invite them over! You and slap happy Clark planned this while Diana practically had me pinned down. Now I have work to do and it cannot wait.” Bruce grew more serious. “I got a sample of the toxin.” Alfred’s eyes widened slightly.

           “Oh my.”

           “Yes.” Bruce turned back to the glass vials. “I finally acquired Sanders’ poison. I need to find a cure before she infects more people. I’m waiting for the results right now.”

           “As you wait, perhaps you could grace your associates with your presence.”

           “Alfred-”

           “A half hour, sir.” The two men stared at each other, a battle of wills. Bruce glared daggers into the old man. Alfred was giving him the look, one he has so far not been able to beat. With a sigh, Bruce removed his cowl and headed towards the changing room.

           “I’ll be up in five minutes.”

           “Very good sir.”

           When Bruce finally came up, having changed into a t-shirt and cargo pants, Shayera and John had just arrived. Wally practically forced them in their seats and seemed ready to throttle Clark for demanding to say grace before digging in. Bruce grimaced at the display of food. There were at least ten pies, several unidentifiable casseroles, pork, turkey, all forms of potatoes, a couple cakes, and many more sugar infested delicacies. He couldn’t eat most of it, not if he wanted to double his workout for the next week. He observed the rest of the guests and their lack of needing a restraint. Clark had a moderate portion, far less than he could handle, Wally had half his food stuffed in his mouth while simultaneously pouring more onto his plate. Bruce sighed, thankful that the others brought meals. Poor Alfred. At the far end of the table John and Shayera were flirting again, and that’s when he noticed Diana had been placed next to his spot. Nice try Alfred. J’onn ate very little more interested in his conversation with Clark. They were discussing tomorrow’s plans for Christmas. Bruce sighed again. These were all his friends, perhaps his only ones besides Jim. He could take a half hour off for them. A smile tugged at his mouth, resigning his fate to the party.

           “Diana, would you please pass the salad and the Greek dressing?” She beamed back at him.

           “Here you are.”

           “Thank y-” The bowl clattered on the table the moment he grasped it. Salad splattered across spreading all the way to Clark on Diana’s right. The room went silent, all staring at Bruce. He glared at them and began to pick up the pieces along with the sudden appearance of Alfred.

           “Sorry Bruce.” Diana whispered as everyone picked up their conversations again.

           “It’s all right.” He finished retrieving the last piece.

           “I will be back with more.” Alfred informed and promptly disappeared. Bruce nodded to him and reached for his glass. The way his hands shook did not escape him. Bruce flexed his other hand under the table. His muscles were stiff and achy. The past couple of days must have caught up to him making it act quicker. He growled to himself, taking a sip. He saw Clark eyeing him, a look of concern. Bruce mouthed I’m fine to only have the Kryptonian roll his eyes.

           “So, presents or a game?” Wally jumped up. They had finished eating and were now sitting in the main room. The speedster pulled several board games out of his bag handing them to Clark.

           “Oh!” Diana exclaimed. “I have heard of Scattergories, it sounds like fun.” She pulled it from Wally’s hand looking it over.

           “I’m in.” Clark nodded towards the box. J’onn, John and Shayera agreed as well. “You playing Bruce?” He turned to the billionaire. Bruce was slumped in a leather chair by the gigantic glittering tree.

           “I don’t play games.” He huffed.

           “You play chess with me.” Shayera smirked.

           “Chess is a strategic and mind building tool. I play enough games with the Riddler and Joker as it is, I don’t need another.”

           “Fine, suit yourself.” Wally shrugged, helping Diana unpack the box. Bruce sunk more into the chair. He hadn’t been feeling good since dinner and the constant noise was stabbing his head forming a headache. The chair felt amazing as his energy seemed to drain with every moment. His head swam. It felt heavy as he leaned against his hand on the armrest. Bruce checked his watch grimacing at the time. An hour over what he promised Alfred, but he just couldn’t will himself out of the chair just yet. Clark had asked him if he was all right several times and received a plate in the face when he tried to x-ray him. He was such a worry wort.

           “Yes! More food!” Wally cried. Alfred walked in with a tray of snacks placing it on the coffee table. Half of it was gone by the time anyone else got to it. Wally only stopped because of John’s glare.

           “Bruce, would you like some?” Diana inquired. Bruce stared off out the window, he couldn’t look at it, feeling nauseous.

           “No.”

           “Bruce, you hardly ate anything at the dinner.” Diana frowned, becoming concerned.

           “Are you sure you’re all right?” Clark joined in. Bruce clenched his jaw, this was getting annoying. He needed to keep up appearances, but their constant asking was really irritating.

           “I’m fine! See!” He grabbed some sort of pork and onion from the tray and plopped it in his mouth. He immediately regretted it. Nearly gagging, Bruce ran to the nearest trash and let it go. He heaved losing his lunch from earlier, but even when it ran out it didn’t stop. The convulses continued making him cough occasionally. He dry heaved until his throat hurt and sweat coated his face. A hand was on his back, rubbing circles. Clark’s soothing voice spewed comforting words. After what felt like an eternity, Bruce sat back on his knees gasping. Clark continued rubbing circles until he caught his breath again.

           “I’m okay.” Bruce rasped.

           “Looks like it.” sarcasm dripping from Clark’s voice. Bruce turned up to see Alfred coming towards them. They were the only ones in the hallway, the others giving the dark crusader is privacy.

           “Master Bruce, are you all right?” Master Bruce was getting really annoyed with people asking that.

           “You have a fever.” Clark frowned feeling his head. “Did you catch the flu?” Bruce swatted his hand away dismissing both their concerns and stood up. At least he tried to. Bruce’s shaky legs immediately collapsed under him and he grasped the trashcan for support. His headache was turning into a migraine and his chest burned. It had begun.

           “I need to get to the cave…” Bruce rasped starting a new fit of coughing.

           “I think you mean upstairs to bed.” Clark chided. Bruce ignored him, attempting to get up and succeeded, even if he was leaning on the wall.  

           “Master Bruce, now is not the time to be stubborn. Healing requires rest.” Alfred held one of his arms urging him towards the stairs. The billionaire resisted forcing his way to the clock. He returned to the living room full of leaguers who all watched on in concern. Growling at their looks, he turned the clock hands opening the secret door. Bruce’s chest suddenly flared up like it was on fire. He grasped it with a groan falling to the floor again.

           “Bruce!” Diana cried, catching him before he hit the floor. The rest gathered around in distress. “Bruce, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”

           “I…need to get, to get to the cave…” He began to cough again, clutching his burning ribs. Diana bit her lip trying to decide what to do. She stopped suddenly reaching for his neck.

           “Bruce, what’s that?” In place of his veins were a purple venomous color snaking up his body. She noticed that they had curved down his left arm more numerous and black in color.

           “No!” They all swiveled around meeting a distressed Alfred. “You bloody idiot! You did not, did you?!”

           “It…it was the only way…” Bruce murmured, still clutching his chest. He eyed his butler daring him to argue.

           “What did he do? What on earth is going on?!” Wally burst out.

           “Bring him downstairs post haste!” Alfred commanded motioning Diana towards the clock entrance. Without question she picked up Bruce and flew down in a blur.

           “Alfred, what’s going on?” Clark calmly asked. Alfred huffed setting towards the stairway down.

           “I will explain in the cave.”

           Diana gently placed the dark knight down in the medical bay. The coughing had returned, and he squeezed his eyes shut clutching his chest. His face was so stricken in pain that tears were streaming down his face. Diana tried to remain calm, but she didn’t know how long for. Bruce was in pain, a lot of it. She rubbed his back whispering that it was okay, but a lump settled making it harder. Alfred suddenly appeared with the rest of the league at his heels. They crowded around the still hacking vigilante growing increasingly worried. The purple veins had reached his jawline.  

           “Listen.” Alfred demanded. “I am sure master Bruce was planning on being more coherent for this segment, but that does not seem to be the case at this moment. I will need your help.” The butler revealed no emotion on his face, but Diana was certain she heard a tint of irritation in his voice. “For the past three weeks a serial killer known as Jessica Sanders has been spreading a toxin all around Gotham. The poison has no known cure and leaves no traces after death. Master Bruce has…has, well, injected himself with the toxin in hopes to procure a cure for the next victims.” Alfred faltered clenching his fist. “This is beyond my medical experience, if you all wo-”

           “Way ahead of you Jeeves!” Wally hollered from beyond in the lab room. J’onn moved towards the now limp form of Bruce, eyes glowing.

           “I know Batman will not appreciate me entering his mind, even for his information on the toxin.”

           “But he was being an idiot anyway.” Clark smirked, eyes turning to x-ray. Diana placed a hand on the butler’s shoulder.

           “We’ll save him Alfred, I promise.” Wally zipped by them, taking a syringe, and drawing blood from the patient.

           “Only bats would poison himself to get out of a Christmas party.”

THE END

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Looking to Kentucky’s Past to Understand Montana Health Nominee’s Future

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It can be republished for free.

The nominee to be Montana’s next health director faced an unwieldy disease outbreak and pushed Medicaid work requirements — two issues looming in Montana — when he held a similar job in Kentucky.

Montana senators will soon decide whether to confirm Adam Meier, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s pick for director of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. He would earn $165,000 leading Montana’s largest state agency, which oversees 13 divisions and is a leader in the state’s pandemic response.

Gianforte is confident Meier “will bring greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency to the department as it serves Montanans, especially the most vulnerable among us,” Brooke Stroyke, a governor’s office spokesperson, said in an emailed statement.

For many Montana officials and health care industry players, the focus is on Montana’s future, not Kentucky’s past. But it can be instructive to see how Meier handled similar issues in his prior role, which he held from May 2018 through December 2019.

Some have praised the job he did in Kentucky, including his spearheading of a program that would have created work requirements in the state’s Medicaid program. But others criticized those proposed changes as well as his handling of a large hepatitis A outbreak that spread through rural Appalachia starting in 2017, ultimately sickening more than 5,000 Kentuckians and killing 62. The details of the state’s response to the outbreak came to light after an investigation in The Courier Journal in 2019.

“The hep A response is probably one of the darkest or most concerning things he did when he was in Kentucky. He also didn’t perform well in my eyes on other issues,” said Simon Haeder, an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University who studies politics, health care and public policy. “He didn’t do so well in Kentucky, so I don’t know how well he’s going to do in Montana.”

Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, a retired Kentucky physician who runs the national watchdog group Health Watch USA, is among those who said Meier and his team needed to do more early on to curb the hepatitis outbreak as it made its way into Appalachia. Kavanagh said Meier’s handling of the outbreak provides a window into how he might handle the covid crisis in Montana.

“But it could be a learning opportunity if failed strategies are corrected,” Kavanagh said. “The biggest question is: What did he learn in Kentucky?”

During Meier’s confirmation hearing before Montana’s Senate Public Health, Wellness and Safety Committee, the nominee said one lesson he learned was to invest in public health infrastructure. Because hepatitis A was spreading in rural Kentucky mountains, he said, standard outreach to vulnerable populations in settings like homeless shelters didn’t work. Instead, health officials started vaccinating people at convenience stores.

“One of the things I’ve learned there is, you have to be creative about how you reach folks,” Meier said.

Kentucky’s outbreak first centered in Louisville, where a more than 200-person health department was able to administer tens of thousands of vaccines against the highly contagious liver infection caused by a virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the city’s response a “gold standard.”

But in spring 2018, the disease began to spread in Appalachia, which had thinly staffed county health departments.

Dr. Robert Brawley, then the state’s chief of infectious diseases, sounded the alarm to his bosses. Brawley asked state officials to spend $10 million for vaccines and temporary health workers. Instead, the acting public health commissioner, Dr. Jeffrey Howard, sent $2.2 million in state funds to local health departments. Brawley called the response “too low and too slow.”

In the months that followed, the outbreak metastasized into the nation’s largest.

Meier stood by Howard’s decisions at the time and the agency’s response. In Meier’s Feb. 10 Montana hearing, he said Kentucky lacked the infrastructure to buy $10 million worth of vaccines, and they would have gone bad anyway because the state didn’t have the necessary storage. Brawley’s proposal had called for sending $6 million to health departments to buy vaccines, however, and $4 million for temporary health workers.

“The ‘too low and too slow’ response to the hepatitis A outbreak in Kentucky, reported in The Courier Journal, may be an albatross around his neck for a long time,” Brawley, who resigned in June 2018, said of Meier in an email.

Montana’s Democratic Party cited the hepatitis A outbreak when Meier was nominated for the Treasure State job in January, slamming him as unsuitable.

The health department declined KHN’s request for an interview with Meier but provided letters from local Kentucky officials written in 2019. Allison Adams, public health director of Buffalo Trace District Health Department in Kentucky, defended the state’s actions in one February 2019 letter, arguing Kentucky’s leadership “made sound decisions regarding the support and known resources available.”

Meier has pitched himself as someone who works well with others, bolstered Kentucky’s family services and cut through the state’s bureaucracy.

Meier, an attorney, lived in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, with his wife and three children, where he served on the City Council just before being named deputy chief of staff for former Gov. Matt Bevin in 2015. After leaving Kentucky’s health Cabinet, he worked as a policy consultant with Connecting the Dots Policy Solutions LLC.

During Meier’s confirmation hearing before Montana lawmakers, Erica Johnston, operations services branch manager for the health department, said she was already impressed by his knowledge of the agency’s programs and ideas for changes. Past colleagues said he listened to those he oversaw. John Tilley, a former Democratic Kentucky representative who served as the state’s former head of Kentucky’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, called Meier a problem-solver.

“What I got in Adam was this refreshing take on government, this less than bureaucratic take,” Tilley testified.

While deputy chief of staff for Bevin, Meier oversaw the development of a Medicaid overhaul plan called Kentucky HEALTH, which would have required recipients who were ages 19-64 and without disabilities to work or do “engagement” activities such as job training or community service.

Bevin, a Republican who, like Gianforte, joined politics after making a fortune in business, described the effort as a way to ensure the long-term financial stability of Medicaid and prepare enrollees to transition to private insurance. In Meier’s Montana hearing, he said the goal was for Medicaid recipients to be linked to employment and training. Kentucky opponents said the program would have caused people to lose coverage and increase the state’s administrative burden.

That debate is familiar in Montana, where lawmakers approved work requirements for people who joined Medicaid under its expansion. The work rules are awaiting federal approval.

Kentucky’s requirements never took effect. They were authorized by a federal waiver but were tied up in legal challenges until the state’s current Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear rescinded the rules.

Still, Meier has said Medicaid’s enrollment dropped during his leadership and benefits remained steady for those who stayed on the rolls. That drop paralleled an overall national decline in Medicaid enrollment that lasted through 2019.

Penn State’s Haeder, who observed Meier’s tenure, criticized Meier’s support for Medicaid work requirements, saying “excessive amounts of data show how detrimental they are to public health” because vulnerable people lose coverage.

Mary Windecker, executive director for the Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana, said work restrictions aren’t a good model for Medicaid. But she said it isn’t surprising Meier has been in favor of those steps, given Montana’s recent efforts.

Even so, Windecker is optimistic when she talks about Meier’s confirmation. She said she’s thrilled he has experience with another state health agency.

“These are very complicated systems to run,” Windecker said. “If you understand health care, you stand a better shot at getting this.”

The Montana Senate has to take up Meier’s confirmation, which moved out of a committee Feb. 17.

While Meier awaits confirmation, he is already engaged in the state’s covid vaccine efforts and is working on the agency’s daily tasks, department spokesperson Jon Ebelt said in a statement. Meier is “focused on the job at hand,” Ebelt said.

Houghton, Montana correspondent, reported from Missoula. Ungar, Midwest editor and correspondent, reported from Louisville and formerly worked for The Courier Journal.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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[stephenmccull]

Looking to Kentucky’s Past to Understand Montana Health Nominee’s Future

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The nominee to be Montana’s next health director faced an unwieldy disease outbreak and pushed Medicaid work requirements — two issues looming in Montana — when he held a similar job in Kentucky.

Montana senators will soon decide whether to confirm Adam Meier, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s pick for director of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. He would earn $165,000 leading Montana’s largest state agency, which oversees 13 divisions and is a leader in the state’s pandemic response.

Gianforte is confident Meier “will bring greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency to the department as it serves Montanans, especially the most vulnerable among us,” Brooke Stroyke, a governor’s office spokesperson, said in an emailed statement.

For many Montana officials and health care industry players, the focus is on Montana’s future, not Kentucky’s past. But it can be instructive to see how Meier handled similar issues in his prior role, which he held from May 2018 through December 2019.

Some have praised the job he did in Kentucky, including his spearheading of a program that would have created work requirements in the state’s Medicaid program. But others criticized those proposed changes as well as his handling of a large hepatitis A outbreak that spread through rural Appalachia starting in 2017, ultimately sickening more than 5,000 Kentuckians and killing 62. The details of the state’s response to the outbreak came to light after an investigation in The Courier Journal in 2019.

“The hep A response is probably one of the darkest or most concerning things he did when he was in Kentucky. He also didn’t perform well in my eyes on other issues,” said Simon Haeder, an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University who studies politics, health care and public policy. “He didn’t do so well in Kentucky, so I don’t know how well he’s going to do in Montana.”

Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, a retired Kentucky physician who runs the national watchdog group Health Watch USA, is among those who said Meier and his team needed to do more early on to curb the hepatitis outbreak as it made its way into Appalachia. Kavanagh said Meier’s handling of the outbreak provides a window into how he might handle the covid crisis in Montana.

“But it could be a learning opportunity if failed strategies are corrected,” Kavanagh said. “The biggest question is: What did he learn in Kentucky?”

During Meier’s confirmation hearing before Montana’s Senate Public Health, Wellness and Safety Committee, the nominee said one lesson he learned was to invest in public health infrastructure. Because hepatitis A was spreading in rural Kentucky mountains, he said, standard outreach to vulnerable populations in settings like homeless shelters didn’t work. Instead, health officials started vaccinating people at convenience stores.

“One of the things I’ve learned there is, you have to be creative about how you reach folks,” Meier said.

Kentucky’s outbreak first centered in Louisville, where a more than 200-person health department was able to administer tens of thousands of vaccines against the highly contagious liver infection caused by a virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the city’s response a “gold standard.”

But in spring 2018, the disease began to spread in Appalachia, which had thinly staffed county health departments.

Dr. Robert Brawley, then the state’s chief of infectious diseases, sounded the alarm to his bosses. Brawley asked state officials to spend $10 million for vaccines and temporary health workers. Instead, the acting public health commissioner, Dr. Jeffrey Howard, sent $2.2 million in state funds to local health departments. Brawley called the response “too low and too slow.”

In the months that followed, the outbreak metastasized into the nation’s largest.

Meier stood by Howard’s decisions at the time and the agency’s response. In Meier’s Feb. 10 Montana hearing, he said Kentucky lacked the infrastructure to buy $10 million worth of vaccines, and they would have gone bad anyway because the state didn’t have the necessary storage. Brawley’s proposal had called for sending $6 million to health departments to buy vaccines, however, and $4 million for temporary health workers.

“The ‘too low and too slow’ response to the hepatitis A outbreak in Kentucky, reported in The Courier Journal, may be an albatross around his neck for a long time,” Brawley, who resigned in June 2018, said of Meier in an email.

Montana’s Democratic Party cited the hepatitis A outbreak when Meier was nominated for the Treasure State job in January, slamming him as unsuitable.

The health department declined KHN’s request for an interview with Meier but provided letters from local Kentucky officials written in 2019. Allison Adams, public health director of Buffalo Trace District Health Department in Kentucky, defended the state’s actions in one February 2019 letter, arguing Kentucky’s leadership “made sound decisions regarding the support and known resources available.”

Meier has pitched himself as someone who works well with others, bolstered Kentucky’s family services and cut through the state’s bureaucracy.

Meier, an attorney, lived in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, with his wife and three children, where he served on the City Council just before being named deputy chief of staff for former Gov. Matt Bevin in 2015. After leaving Kentucky’s health Cabinet, he worked as a policy consultant with Connecting the Dots Policy Solutions LLC.

During Meier’s confirmation hearing before Montana lawmakers, Erica Johnston, operations services branch manager for the health department, said she was already impressed by his knowledge of the agency’s programs and ideas for changes. Past colleagues said he listened to those he oversaw. John Tilley, a former Democratic Kentucky representative who served as the state’s former head of Kentucky’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, called Meier a problem-solver.

“What I got in Adam was this refreshing take on government, this less than bureaucratic take,” Tilley testified.

While deputy chief of staff for Bevin, Meier oversaw the development of a Medicaid overhaul plan called Kentucky HEALTH, which would have required recipients who were ages 19-64 and without disabilities to work or do “engagement” activities such as job training or community service.

Bevin, a Republican who, like Gianforte, joined politics after making a fortune in business, described the effort as a way to ensure the long-term financial stability of Medicaid and prepare enrollees to transition to private insurance. In Meier’s Montana hearing, he said the goal was for Medicaid recipients to be linked to employment and training. Kentucky opponents said the program would have caused people to lose coverage and increase the state’s administrative burden.

That debate is familiar in Montana, where lawmakers approved work requirements for people who joined Medicaid under its expansion. The work rules are awaiting federal approval.

Kentucky’s requirements never took effect. They were authorized by a federal waiver but were tied up in legal challenges until the state’s current Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear rescinded the rules.

Still, Meier has said Medicaid’s enrollment dropped during his leadership and benefits remained steady for those who stayed on the rolls. That drop paralleled an overall national decline in Medicaid enrollment that lasted through 2019.

Penn State’s Haeder, who observed Meier’s tenure, criticized Meier’s support for Medicaid work requirements, saying “excessive amounts of data show how detrimental they are to public health” because vulnerable people lose coverage.

Mary Windecker, executive director for the Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana, said work restrictions aren’t a good model for Medicaid. But she said it isn’t surprising Meier has been in favor of those steps, given Montana’s recent efforts.

Even so, Windecker is optimistic when she talks about Meier’s confirmation. She said she’s thrilled he has experience with another state health agency.

“These are very complicated systems to run,” Windecker said. “If you understand health care, you stand a better shot at getting this.”

The Montana Senate has to take up Meier’s confirmation, which moved out of a committee Feb. 17.

While Meier awaits confirmation, he is already engaged in the state’s covid vaccine efforts and is working on the agency’s daily tasks, department spokesperson Jon Ebelt said in a statement. Meier is “focused on the job at hand,” Ebelt said.

Houghton, Montana correspondent, reported from Missoula. Ungar, Midwest editor and correspondent, reported from Louisville and formerly worked for The Courier Journal.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

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[usuallyleftnight]

Protesters are not filling ice cream containers with concrete. Shake Shack employees are not putting bleach in milkshakes. And buses full of anti-fascists are not about to descend on a small town near you.That’s just what police are saying.As protests over racial justice and police brutality unfold across the country, police departments are taking to social media to tell their side of the story. The trouble is, they’re frequently wrong—and sometimes so wildly so that it begs the question of why they even bother.Christopher Slobogin, director of Vanderbilt University’s criminal justice program, said cops can be mistaken, just like everyone. But sometimes police lie because they view themselves as in opposition to criminals, who also lie.“It’s possible that police concoct lies because even though they know what they’re saying isn’t true, they believe the lie is in service of a greater good,” Slobogin told The Daily Beast. “If cops are convinced that, overall, they’re in the right, what’s a little lying here and there? I think that’s human nature, not just cops. But the problem, the cops have the power, they have the weapons, and people in authority tend to believe them.”New York Cops Beat Protesters for Crime of Being ThereWhat follows is a smattering of the most impactful, egregious, or just plain weird fibs, panicky projections, falsehoods, or exaggerations about protests to come from cops, their spokespeople, and their unions in recent weeks. Dairy DisinfoThe New York City Police Benevolent Association, which represents city police officers, claimed this week that workers at Shake Shack had put a bleach-like substance in officers’ milkshakes. The PBA—which joined a similar claim made by the Detectives’ Endowment Association—cited no evidence, aside from officers’ apparent gastrointestinal distress after they purchased Shake Shack’s notoriously heavy drinks while on the job. An official NYPD investigation quickly cleared Shake Shack workers of wrongdoing. No Concrete ProofNew York City police also claimed internally this month that protesters were filling ice cream containers with concrete—presumably to throw at cops as projectile weapons—and leaving them at a construction site. Twitter users quickly noted that, not only was the concrete in coffee cups instead of ice cream containers, but that mixing concrete samples in coffee cups is standard practice for construction workers. The cups were even labeled with workers’ notes on the concrete composition. The construction site where the cups were apparently recovered even had a permit for concrete work. Phantom Brick PilesIn Brooklyn, NYPD hyped up a rumor about protesters gathering brick piles to throw during protests. “This is what our cops are up against,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea tweeted, parroting the rumor, which has also been promoted by President Donald Trump. “Organized looters, strategically placing caches of bricks & rocks at locations throughout NYC.” Reporting by The Daily Beast and other outlets cast doubt on those claims, pointing out that they were near a construction site, and nowhere near protests. Time TravelOn Monday, New York City’s Sergeants Benevolent Association (another police union) tweeted a video of protesters running through a Brooklyn street and throwing things at a cop car. “This was tonight,” the SBA tweeted, “Flatbush Ave Brooklyn.” The tweet also implied that a program that discourages unnecessary arrests was responsible for the chaos. In fact, there was no chaos that night in Brooklyn. The video was from May, and that area of Flatbush Avenue had long been calm, reporters covering the protests noted.  Murder BusIn Columbus, Ohio, police tweeted evidence of what they said was a clear violent scheme: a bus full of rocks, clubs, and a meat cleaver. “There was a suspicion of supplying riot equipment to rioters,” Columbus Police tweeted. “Charges pending.” In fact, Columbus Alive reported, police had stumbled across a colorfully painted circus bus. The frightened circus troupe told the outlet that the “clubs” were juggling clubs, the rocks were crystals, and the meat cleaver was pulled from the troupe’s cooking utensils. “Yeah, there’s a hatchet on the bus—with a bunch of wood sitting next to a wood-burning stove,” the bus’s owner said, noting that the vehicle was literally his house. Technically Tear GasU.S. Park Police offered an oft-changing explanation for firing irritants at protesters in Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Park in order to clear it for a Trump photoshoot in early June. Police initially denied using “tear gas” in a statement, then walked that back, claiming that, technically, the projectiles were “smoke canisters and pepper balls.” Nevertheless, reporters for D.C.’s WUSA9 recovered tear gas casings from the scene—and as Vox noted, “tear gas” can be a broad term, sometimes referring to the pepper projectiles Park Police admitted to using. Attorney General William Barr also falsely claimed that pepper spray “is not a chemical irritant. It’s not chemical.” The Washington Post’s fact-checking department awarded the claim “four Pinnochios,” which is the maximum number of Pinnochios. A Bad TripPolice in Buffalo, New York, became the focus of national ire after they were filmed pushing a 75-year-old man to the ground, causing him to lose consciousness and bleed from the head. But before the video went viral, Buffalo Police offered a different characterization of the incident. “During [a] skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell,” police said in a statement. The video would later reveal that the man was alone when he calmly approached officers. He has a fractured skull and is still unable to walk, his lawyer said this week. Small Biz ShakedownAfter protesters took over a six-block area in Seattle, the city’s police claimed—without evidence—that the activists were extorting businesses in the area. Police appeared to walk back that claim several days later, after the local business association and prominent businesses in the area said they’d seen no indication of the alleged protection racket. Some businesses even said they were volunteering with the protests. The Antifa ExpressMultiple police departments have promoted a hoax about anti-fascists coming to their towns by the busload to wreak havoc. In Oregon, Curry County Sheriff John Ward shared a Facebook post warning that "3 buss loads of ANTIFA protestors are making their way from Douglas County headed for Coquille then to Coos Bay." Hundreds of locals reportedly stood outside with guns overnight awaiting the menace that never came.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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[ladystylestores]

LG Polymers: Was negligence behind India’s deadly gas leak?

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Thousands were evacuated from their homes, and hundreds were admitted to hospital, complaining of breathing difficulties.

The Indian arm of LG Chem, a South Korean multinational, has been accused of negligence after a gas leak at its plant killed 12 people. BBC Telugu’s Deepthi Bathini finds out what happened.

People who live close to the LG Polymers factory – on the outskirts of the southern city of Visakhapatnam – woke up in the early hours of 7 May to a pungent smell.

As their eyes began to itch and burn, many fled their homes on foot, stopping only to rouse sleeping neighbours, asking them to leave immediately. Videos from that morning show people gasping for breath and lying unconscious on the streets.

Thousands were evacuated from their homes, and hundreds were admitted to hospital, complaining of breathing difficulties. Twelve of them, including two children, died. So did at least 32 animals – cows, buffalo and dogs. Survivors, officials say, will need regular health check-ups because the effects could last for some time.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The cause of the deaths was inhalation of vapours of styrene gas, a toxic compound

The cause of the deaths was inhalation of vapours of styrene gas, a toxic compound, that had leaked from the factory.

The following day, police filed a culpable homicide complaint against the company’s management for causing the deaths through negligence. An investigation by BBC Telugu – based on factory inspection reports and interviews with officials and former employees of the company – has found evidence of this. It also found that the plant was operating without the required environmental clearance.

LG has not responded to the BBC’s questions. But, in an earlier statement, the company said it was probing the cause of the leak.

‘I want justice’

“My daughter’s seventh birthday was just two weeks away,” said N Latha.

She was standing over her child’s body, outside the gates of the LG Polymers plant.

On 9 May, she and hundreds of protesters gathered outside the factory, demanding its closure. Like Ms Latha, some of them had brought the bodies of their loved ones along – all victims of the gas leak.

“How can I continue to live? I want justice,” Ms Latha said.

“Please close the factory! You need to give me justice,” she cried while accosting a senior police official at the location.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The leak happened as the plant was being prepared to re-open for the first time since 24 March, when India went into lockdown

The leak had been plugged but the smell lingered. Trees near the factory were discoloured, and banana plants in surrounding farms had turned black and felt like stone.

Officials said they had collected water, soil and vegetable samples for testing, and were awaiting results.

“But we have advised residents not to consume any perishable foods or use groundwater. We have arranged for tankers instead,” city commissioner Srijana Gummala said.

What caused the leak?

The leak happened as the plant was being prepared to re-open for the first time since 24 March, when India went into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Even though the plant is located on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, it’s still close to dense neighbourhoods and villages. The port city, the biggest in the state of Andhra Pradesh, has expanded rapidly in recent decades.

The factory was set up in 1961 to manufacture polymers of styrene, a flammable liquid. It’s used to make versatile plastics that go into various products, from refrigerators and air conditioners to food containers and disposable tableware.

Styrene is stored in tanks at temperatures under 20C because it evaporates easily. And the temperature has to be monitored regularly. But sources say the temperature rose significantly on 7 May, triggering the deadly leak.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The BBC has also seen earlier inspection reports which show evidence of poor maintenance in the factory

Sources told BBC Telugu that only one of the three shifts to monitor the tank temperature was staffed during the lockdown. Officials told the BBC that they had issued permits for 15 LG employees responsible for maintenance and security to go to work.

“There seems to be negligence in terms of maintenance during the lockdown,” said an official, adding that even the emergency siren had not gone off.

Locals said they heard no siren on the morning of the leak – and had not heard it since 2017.

Former employees said the siren used to go off every time the shift changed, and was also meant to go off during emergencies. But, they said, a former managing director had discontinued the practice.

“As the siren had not been used for long, it did not work. We raised the issue during an inspection but the officer laughed it off,” said a former employee.

“The company said the siren did go off and people may not have heard it in their panic. But it needs probing,” said P Jaganatha Rao, member of the national environment tribunal, who was part of the team that did a preliminary inspection of the site.

A poor record

The BBC has also seen earlier inspection reports by the labour (department of factories) department, which show evidence of poor maintenance in the factory.

A report dated August 2016 says the cement cladding protecting one of the six styrene tanks was “damaged and needs to be replaced at once”.

A report from December 2019 says that the pipes in the water sprinklers of one of the tanks was corroded – these sprinklers help lower the temperature in the tanks. The report also says one of the tanks storing pentane, another toxic gas, also showed evidence of poor maintenance.

The report recommended that the company erect a containment wall around the styrene tanks, and a safety audit. Neither the company nor officials have responded to questions about whether these issues were addressed.

Mr Rao told the BBC that the tanks storing styrene were old. “The new tanks have sensors and monitor systems, but old ones do not have these technologies,” he said. “Thankfully, the safety valve was working well. Otherwise, the scale of the accident would have been catastrophic.”

In the days following the leak, it emerged that LG Polymers had been operating since 2017 without the necessary environmental clearance.

The company had needed a fresh permit when it decided to expand production to include a new line of products – and it filed an application with the federal government on 22 December 2017.

On 12 April 2018, the company withdrew the application and filed a fresh one the same day, but this time it approached the state, and not federal, authority. Its second application was accompanied by an affidavit, which the BBC has seen.

In it, the company admitted that it had been operating without the required permit, but said it was doing so with consent issued by the state’s pollution control board.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The company admitted that it had been operating without the required permit, but said it was doing so with consent issued by the state’s pollution control board.

LG is one of several companies that has violated the law by starting operations without the necessary clearances. And all of these companies applied for the permits once the federal government said – in 2017 – that it would grant them “post facto”, or after operations had begun.

Initially the power to do this only lay with the federal government, but in March 2018, it said states could grant these permits as well. LG Polymers is yet to receive the clearance.

The incident has put the spotlight on the government, which has been criticised for lax regulation, and India’s poor record in this matter. Industrial accidents as a result of flouted safety norms and poor enforcement often make the news – the worst being a gas leak at a pesticide factory in 1984 that killed several thousand people and injured half a million others.

In a letter to the government, EAS Sarma, a former bureaucrat, criticised the decision to grant approvals to companies that had violated the rules.

He accused the environment ministry of “endangering people’s lives and damaging the environment” with its actions.

Locals, meanwhile, said they are exploring legal options to close down the factory altogether.

“We have smelled the gas on other days during morning walks,” says Murali Ambati, another local who was at the protest.

“We have raised concerns earlier,” he says. “We even complained to the pollution control board, but no action was taken.”

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[marymosley]

News Roundup

Again this week the coronavirus pandemic was the dominant news story across the nation, with many communities around North Carolina issuing stay at home orders directing residents to avoid leaving their homes except for essential activities.  We continue to be grateful for the efforts of North Carolinians on the front lines of the pandemic – healthcare providers, emergency responders, law enforcement, state and local government officials and employees, and those who work in essential businesses.  Keep reading for more news.

Criminal Law Update.  If you are reading the News Roundup before 1 p.m. then you still have time to join Shea Jamie, and Jonathan for a Criminal Law Update delivered directly to wherever you are through a Zoom Meeting video conference.  As Shea described earlier this week, in person conferences and other trainings are on hold for the time being so case updates are going digital.  Today’s forum will include discussion of notable recent criminal law decisions by the appellate courts.  See Shea’s post here for details about how to join the Zoom Meeting.

Hoover.  The Charlotte Observer reports that Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Donnie Hoover’s wife Josephine has been hospitalized after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.  Hoover now is awaiting his own test results.  Our thoughts and hopes for a speedy recovery are with Judge Hoover and his family.

Home Confinement.  ABC News reports that Attorney General William Barr said in a press conference on Thursday that he has issued recommendations to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to explore releasing prisoners who are especially at risk from the coronavirus to home confinement.  Barr said that one third of the population of federal inmates have a pre-existing medical condition and that around 10,000 inmates are over the age of 60.  Barr indicated to ABC News in an interview that prisoners convicted of violent crimes and sex offenses would not be eligible for release to home confinement.  Anyone who is released will be required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.  The ABC report notes that staff and inmates at federal facilities in New York, Atlanta, and Louisiana have tested positive for the virus.

Court Slows.  The New York Times reports this week that the pace of work in the New York state criminal justice system has slowed considerably due to limitations caused by the coronavirus.  The story notes that some state judges are presiding over arraignments remotely through video conferencing, some people who have been arrested are spending longer periods of time in pretrial confinement, and the functioning of grand juries has been substantially impaired.  At least one New York district attorney has announced that his office temporarily will not prosecute low-level nonviolent offenses.

Kelly & Weinstein. R&B singer R. Kelly is among the people who would like to be released from a federal detention facility due to coronavirus concerns, the Associated Press reports. Kelly currently is in federal pretrial detention on sexual misconduct charges and is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Chicago.  In a court filing Kelly said that conditions in the facility make social distancing impossible.  Separately, the New York Times reports that Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for coronavirus and is being held in isolation at a federal facility near Buffalo.

Maduro.  In other news from the United States Department of Justice, the Associated Press reports that the DOJ has indicted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan government officials on drug trafficking, weapons, and conspiracy offenses.  The government is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro.

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[deniscollins]

‘A Cesspool of a Dungeon’: The Surging Population in Rural Jails

Due to the opioid crisis, many rural jails are overcrowded with inmates sleeping on mats in the hallways, lawyers forced to meet their clients in a supply closet and the people inside subjected to “horrible conditions.” What would you do if you managed a county jail in a financially stressed rural area that had 255 beds but 439 inmates? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decisions?

The Hamblen County Jail has been described as a dangerously overcrowded “cesspool of a dungeon,” with inmates sleeping on mats in the hallways, lawyers forced to meet their clients in a supply closet and the people inside subjected to “horrible conditions” every day.

And that’s the county sheriff talking.

Jail populations used to be concentrated in big cities. But since 2013, the number of people locked up in rural, conservative counties such as Hamblen has skyrocketed, driven by the nation’s drug crisis.

Like a lot of Appalachia, Morristown, Tenn., about an hour east of Knoxville, has been devastated by methamphetamine and opioid use. Residents who commit crimes to support their addiction pack the 255-bed jail, which had 439 inmates at the end of October, according to the latest state data.

Many cities have invested in treatment options and diversion programs to help drug users. But those alternatives aren’t available in a lot of small towns.

“In the big city, you get a ticket and a trip to the clinic,” said Jacob Kang-Brown, a senior research associate at the Vera Institute of Justice, which released a report on Friday analyzing jail populations. “But in a smaller area, you might get three months in jail.”

The disparity has meant that while jail populations have dropped 18 percent in urban areas since 2013, they have climbed 27 percent in rural areas during that same period, according to estimates in the report from Vera, a nonprofit group that works to improve justice systems. The estimates are drawn from a sample of data from about 850 counties across the country.

There are now about 167,000 inmates in urban jails and 184,000 in rural ones, Vera said. Suburban jail populations have remained about the same since 2013, while small and midsize cities saw a 7 percent increase.

Rural jails now lock up people at a rate more than double that of urban areas. And increasingly, those inmates are women. Hamblen County officials said the number of female inmates in their jail has doubled in the past decade.

Drug use isn’t the only reason that some rural jails are packed. State prisons sometimes pay counties with extra bed space to house inmates, and so does the federal government. The number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees held in jails rose by about 4,300 from 2013 to 2017, Vera estimates.

Small towns also lag cities in efforts to reduce incarceration, such as releasing nonviolent offenders without requiring them to pay hefty bail amounts while awaiting their day in court.

The rural jail boom runs counter to a nationwide, largely bipartisan push toward reducing incarceration, which has been embraced by everyone from the American Civil Liberties Union to President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Sentencing law revisions have led state and federal prison populations to drop since 2009, following a four-decade boom.

Many cities have seen the number of people in jails, which hold people convicted of minor crimes or awaiting trial, plummet in similar fashion. In Nashville, 200 miles west of Morristown, the inmate population has fallen 28 percent since 2013, according to Vera. Other cities with big declines include Buffalo, Chicago, New York City, Oakland and Philadelphia.

But in places like Hamblen County, with a population of 65,000, the system works differently. People get arrested on charges like possession, shoplifting to pay for their addiction or failing a drug test while on probation, and bail is set too high for many to afford.

Almost everyone in the county jail is there because of charges related to addiction, said the sheriff, Esco Jarnagin.

Inside, many lose jobs and are further cut off from family and friends. The odds of getting back on track on the outside dwindle, and the cycle repeats.

Few know more about this cycle than Kim Coffey, who has worked in many aspects of Hamblen County’s criminal justice system — for a defense lawyer, as a bail bondswoman and as a juvenile drug addiction counselor.

Now she is one of the sheriff’s jailers. At work, she often sees her daughter, who has spent much of the last decade in and out of jail after getting hooked on pain pills following an injury.

“They were giving her hydros like they were Tic Tacs,” Ms. Coffey said, referring to hydrocodone, a powerful opioid that her 29-year-old daughter took for more than a year. “Then they cut her off cold turkey. Her back was still in pain, and she did what she felt she had to do. You go to the next available thing. Now, it’s meth.”

Given the lack of options, Ms. Coffey said jail was sometimes the best place for her daughter. “At least when she’s here, I know she’s alive. I know she’s not in a ditch somewhere.”

Yet she wishes the county had more treatment options and job-training programs that could help inmates like her daughter. “If we could help people to finds jobs, then they wouldn’t go back to drugs, because otherwise you go back to what you know to make a living.”

As she spoke, another guard shouted, “Hey, we got a fight!” Ms. Coffey rushed off to help break up a brawl between female inmates, who now account for a third of the jail’s population.

Fights in the jail are a common occurrence, said a former sheriff’s deputy who is now serving time himself; he said he stole a commercial lawn mower after getting hooked on pain pills following shoulder surgery.

“Tensions run high when you got 60 people in a 20-man pod,” said the former deputy, who asked that his name not be used because he feared he could face retaliation.

One recent six-month stretch had more than 150 inmate-on-inmate assaults, according to a judge’s findings in an ongoing federal lawsuit, which also said the jail suffered from “overcrowding, insufficient security checks, inadequate staffing, difficulty with properly classifying inmates, failure to provide information about reporting sexual assault to inmates, and many incidents of inmate-on-inmate assault.”

Hamblen County officials have proposed a new justice center that would include a jail twice the size of the current one, as well as new courtrooms. But the $73 million price tag has drawn protests from some taxpayers.

Over the past six years, the county’s annual jail expenses have risen to $4.4 million from $2.6 million, said Bill Brittain, the county’s top administrator.

Defense lawyers have proposed other options to address the crisis, including a pilot program for pretrial supervision similar to one in nearby Knoxville and other cities. It would have allowed some low-risk defendants to avoid having to post bail, and to avoid jail even if convicted.

But judges rejected the proposal because of fears that defendants would flee, said Willie Santana, a former prosecutor in Knoxville who is now one of four lawyers in the Hamblen County public defender’s office. “The whole system is geared toward generating pleas and putting people in jail,” he said.

For many inmates, that means the jail has been a revolving door. More than three-quarters of the 850 new cases that Mr. Santana handled in the past year involved a client who had previously been incarcerated for something drug-related, he said.

Many small cities and rural areas haven’t embraced efforts to make it easier for nonviolent offenders to get on with their lives after scrapes with the law. And even in rural areas that might favor more treatment over incarceration, hospitals have shut down, limiting their choices.

“You don’t have any treatment options, or at least it seems to them that they don’t, so many judges and prosecutors feel that they have no choice but to lock people up,” said Pamela Metzger, director of the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at SMU Dedman School of Law.

Despite the overcrowding in Hamblen County, the sheriff and some other officials are skeptical that big-city solutions could work here. Sheriff Jarnagin said he favors education and prevention over treatment.

“We can’t cure them once they get on some of these drugs,” he said. “It’s jail, or the graveyard.”

Pretrial diversion, he added, would reduce jail numbers, but would also mean criminals running loose. “They’re going to commit a crime and be right back in here on something else.”

One ray of hope has been a jail-to-work program for female inmates, administered by a local treatment facility. It takes just eight women at a time, but of its 45 graduates over the past two years, only seven have committed new crimes, Mr. Brittain said.

Buoyed by the program’s success, he wants to start a similar one for men. Treatment would be a better option for most inmates at the jail, he said.

“East Tennessee is a very conservative area, and folks believe that people who commit the crime need to do the time, but that’s costing the local government tremendous money to do that,” Mr. Brittain said. “We can’t build our way out of jail overcrowding. We’ve got to change some of the ways we detain and punish people. We’ve got to do something different.”

[rolandfontana]

Out of Adult Jail, But Still Far From Home

Michael Perehinec. Courtesy lawyers.com

When defense attorney Michael Perehinec’s 16-year-old client was arrested in Tompkins County in upstate New York last spring, the judge at his arraignment decided to place him in state custody.

Since his client faced violent felony charges, Perehinec said it was difficult to argue that he should be immediately released and supervised within the community before a trial.

If his trial had been held two years earlier, the young man  would have been sent to the county jail where adults are held—a practice that juvenile justice advocates have long argued endangers the safety of young people and does little to promote rehabilitation.

However, since New York’s Raise the Age law passed in October, 2018, defendants aged 16 and under are required to be placed in juvenile facilities. (In October, 2019 the law will be applied to 17-year-olds.)

But the law still did not quite match up to New York State realities.

The scarcity of juvenile facilities certified by the state to house 16- and 17-year-olds accused of serious felonies has led to unintended consequences.

So Perehinec’s 16-year-old client would be shuffled between three youth detention facilities spread more than 100 miles apart across upstate.

He’s not an isolated case. In the past decade, over a dozen states have raised the age of eligibility for the adult justice system. But in the 55 counties without an approved facility, a judge’s placement can land a youth far from home.

After his arraignment in the Youth Part of the Tompkins County Court, Perehinec’s client was driven to the Hillbrook Secure Juvenile Detention facility near Syracuse, about an hour and fifteen minutes away.

Two days later, a deputy drove him almost three hours west to the Buffalo area, so Hillbrook could make space for a teen from within the county. A week after that, he was transferred to Rochester, landing in his third “specialized secure detention” facility.

That’s  two hours from the courthouse where his case is being heard.

“For a kid who might be struggling, who might feel very alone, to be shuffled around and feel like they’re second class, I was very disappointed,” Perehinec said.

Specialized Secure Detention

Specialized secure detention (SSD) is the state’s new category of juvenile justice facility for older teens who are accused of serious felonies and are awaiting trial, or who are sentenced to less than one year of incarceration. The defendants and offenders sent to these higher-security facilities typically would have landed in city or county jails prior to Raise the Age.

SSDs offer a less restrictive setting and expanded youth services compared to adult jails, but just seven of the sites have been approved statewide.

A “specialized secure” detention facility for teen defendants in Buffalo, New York. New York State has only certified 7 such facilities under its new juvenile justice reform law, Raise the Age, leaving counties to transport youth far from home while they await trial. Courtesy: Albany County Government.

In addition to making it difficult for family and service providers to visit, the distance creates challenges for defense attorneys like Perehinec who need to build rapport with their clients in order to advocate on their behalf.

“It makes it onerous on defense attorneys,” Perehinec said. “You want to have a personal relationship with these kids. You want to make sure they trust you and know you’re looking out for their best interest.”

In most cases since Raise the Age went into effect , New York’s judges have not placed teens in state custody pre-trial. As of July 31, there were 71 teens in SSDs according to the Office of Children and Family Services, with 237 SSD beds available statewide.

The Tompkins County District Attorney, Matthew Van Houten, who supports the goal of separating teens offenders from adults, said he knows that adolescents who are being sent to detention facilities might not be placed in the nearest county. When deciding whether to advocate for a placement, though, he said he has to consider similar criteria to any bail hearing: “Are they a flight risk? Is there an appropriate place in the community for them to go?”

As states across the U.S. have moved teens out of the adult justice system, dozens of higher-security regional youth prisons have been closed in favor of community-based alternatives closer to offenders’ homes.

Before the state raised the age, it closed nearly two-dozen juvenile upstate facilities, many of which were housing teens from New York City.

“The idea was really to ensure that young people are in their community, that their families are more readily available to visit them,” Gladys Carrión, the commissioner of the state Office of Children and Families who oversaw the controversial closures, told the New York Daily News in 2012.

“There is a lot of transition planning for re-entry into the community.”

Shrinking the Juvenile Justice System

Julia Davis, a reform advocate and director of youth justice and child welfare for the Children’s Defense Fund – New York, said shrinking the juvenile justice system is a good thing, but comes with tradeoffs for older teens placed in state custody.

“What happens when we remove kids from the adult system? It’s good for them to not be in adult jails, but they’re going into a system that’s by definition smaller,” Davis said, in an interview.

“In order to be in safe settings that keep them free from the types of physical and sexual violence that they’re at risk for in adult settings, they have to be in a juvenile facility, and because the state’s youth justice system has been thankfully shrinking, there are just fewer of those facilities.”

But, she added, “That’s not to diminish challenges that attorneys and family members face when they have to visit young people in these facilities.”

Nora Christenson, who serves as the Raise the Age liaison at the state’s Office For Indigent Legal Services, said adult facilities are detrimental to kids but that it’s important to enable communication between young defendants and their attorneys.

“You need to know what’s going on with a kid and establish their trust, build a good relationship with them, to be able to determine how best to advocate for them,” she said.

Some counties are considering creating the new, more secure youth facilities to keep kids closer to home. The Juvenile Detention Center in Nassau County has applied for approval to house adolescent offenders; as of August, no SSD facilities have been approved on Long Island, according to OCFS.

A 10-county consortium in Central New York is studying the feasibility of creating a facility in Steuben County, which borders Pennsylvania. These efforts are driven in part by the cost and inconvenience of transporting adolescent offenders between far-flung detention sites and county courthouses.

But Christenson and Davis both questioned the notion that new facilities are needed.

“First and foremost, we should be finding the least restrictive means to ensure that a youth returns to court,” Christenson said, “which typically would mean not incarcerating them unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

A “specialized secure” detention facility for teen defendants in Albany County, N.Y.. New York State has only certified seven such facilities under its new juvenile justice reform law, Raise the Age, leaving counties to transport youth far from home while they await trial. Courtesy: Albany County Government.

Likewise, Davis said counties need to expand alternatives to incarceration to avoid the need for secure placements. If counties develop a continuum of services, she said, “the judges are really choosing between opportunities to keep kids in communities with programming and supervision, and not sending them far from home to specialized secure detention.”

According to New York’s Office of Court Administration, some judges are unhappy with their county’s available detention alternatives.

“New York is a very diverse state with 62 counties, each locality handling judicial issues as appropriate to their populations.  In New York City many of the judges have reported being very pleased with the array of resources available for the new Raise the Age programming, particularly for young people appearing in the Youth Parts, where there weren’t as many program services in the past,” an OCA spokesperson said via email.

“In other areas, judges report concerns about insufficient community options for youth who are charged with more violent offenses.”

Davis said it makes sense for counties to invest in alternatives to incarceration and rehabilitative programs that can serve a broad population, rather than narrowly focusing on adolescent offenders.

In the meantime, as attorneys like Perehinec work on the ground to navigate Raise the Age they are struggling to reach young clients who are held hours away.

Perehinec declined to offer an opinion as to whether new youth facilities or community programs are needed, but said he hopes the current system can be improved to provide kids with more stability.

He said he has had to explain to his client that he’s not a second-class citizen, that he’s a human being who matters.

“Even if it’s in a detention facility, at least they should be able to put down roots.”

Devon Magliozzi is a  reporter with The Ithaca Voice. This story was produced as part of the John Jay/Tow Juvenile Justice Reporting Fellowship with The Chronicle of Social Change.

Out of Adult Jail, But Still Far From Home syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

[mikemortgage]

Where the Trump investigations stand after Mueller

NEW YORK — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report outlined Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. But Mueller did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or co-ordinated with the Russian government, and he made no conclusion on the question of whether the president obstructed justice.

As lawmakers await a version of the report with fewer redactions, here’s a look at the other investigations surrounding Trump and inquiries that stemmed from Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump has dismissed the investigations as politically motivated harassment.

HUSH-MONEY PROBE

Federal prosecutors in New York are still investigating the hush-money payments that led Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, to plead guilty last year to campaign-finance violations. There are mounting indications the probe is winding down, but a federal judge this year ordered portions of a search warrant to be kept secret until prosecutors tell him the investigation has concluded.

Cohen helped orchestrate six-figure payments to a porn actress, Stormy Daniels, and a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, to keep them quiet during the campaign about alleged affairs with Trump. Cohen has implicated Trump in the case, saying he ordered the payments and later reimbursed him for his efforts.

The U.S. Justice Department has held for decades that a sitting president cannot be indicted. If prosecutors find evidence Trump committed a crime, they could wait to charge him after he leaves office, though the legal deadline for filing charges is five years for the campaign-finance violations in question.

Trump says the payments to Daniels and McDougal were a private matter unrelated to his campaign.

Cohen is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison sentence next month.

MUELLER’S REFERALS

In all, Mueller’s team said it referred 14 cases to prosecutors in other jurisdictions, including the Cohen case, which was handled by the Southern District of New York.

A dozen of those investigations were blacked out of Mueller’s report because those inquiries remain ongoing. It’s not clear whether they will result in any charges.

Another case that was referred was that of Gregory Craig, the former Obama White House counsel charged recently with making a false statement in a foreign lobbying probe.

STATE INQUIRIES

New York’s attorney general has opened a civil investigation into Cohen’s allegations that Trump exaggerated his wealth to obtain loans. Letitia James, a Democrat, issued subpoenas last month to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank seeking loan applications and other records related to Trump real estate projects and his failed 2014 bid to buy the Buffalo Bills.

James’ office is also overseeing a lawsuit alleging Trump turned his charitable foundation into a wing of his White House campaign. The Trump Foundation reached a deal in December to fold and distribute about $1.7 million in remaining funds, but the lawsuit is continuing as James seeks millions of dollars in restitution and an order banning Trump and his three eldest children from running any New York charities for 10 years.

At the same time, New York’s insurance regulator is investigating Cohen’s allegations that Trump also misled insurance companies about his financial worth and the state’s tax department has said it’s “vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation” into a New York Times story last October that reported Trump and his family cheated tax authorities for decades. New York City also said it would investigate.

INAUGURAL PROBE

Federal prosecutors in New York are also investigating Trump’s inaugural committee, which raised an unprecedented $107 million to celebrate his election.

The inquiry has focused partly on whether donors received “benefits” after making contributions or whether foreign nationals made illegal donations, according to a subpoena sent to the committee. The same document shows prosecutors are looking at whether the committee’s vendors were paid with unreported donations.

The White House has said Trump was not involved in the operations of his inaugural committee.

—-

This version of the story has been corrected to show that Cohen was sentenced to 3 years in prison, not months.

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2PhcYZs via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[investmart007]

HARRISBURG, Pa. | Witnesses await church sex abuse report with hope for change

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/YvTw8T

HARRISBURG, Pa. | Witnesses await church sex abuse report with hope for change

HARRISBURG, Pa. — One after another, witnesses beat back fear of revealing details many had kept largely private and recounted to grand jurors their story of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests whom they had trusted.

As they spoke, many said they felt compassion from the grand jurors in the sweeping investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse and cover-ups in six of Pennsylvania dioceses. And they felt believed.

Now, many are eagerly anticipating the public release of the grand jury report, which is pending clearance from Pennsylvania’s highest court as justices sort through arguments by current and former clergy named in the document that releasing it would violate their constitutional rights.

“I was scared and probably, in the first few minutes, visibly shaking because it’s big,” said James VanSickle, recalling his experience as a witness. “It’s like, ‘wow, I’ve held this secret for so long and now I’m telling you the details and I want to get this right.’ There’s a lot going through your head.”

Dozens of witnesses testified in the state attorney general’s two-year grand jury investigation that victim advocates expect will produce the largest and most exhaustive clergy sexual abuse report by a U.S. state.

VanSickle, 55, testified he was sexually abused in 1981 by a priest in the Erie Diocese. The priest was arrested in May and charged with attempted assault, although VanSickle’s allegation fell outside Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for prosecutors to file charges.

Witnesses see the investigation as a sort of vindication of their trauma, the years of reliving the abuse and the fear that nobody would believe them.

They want the grand jury report to bring sweeping change, forcing their abusers and the church to be accountable and take responsibility. They hope it encourages other victims who haven’t come forward after years of dealing alone with their trauma to get the help they need.

They also hope it propels lawmakers to change Pennsylvania law to give prosecutors more time to pursue charges against child predators and victims more time to sue for damages.

The grand jury began investigating the dioceses — Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton — after prosecutors set up a hotline to solicit information from victims following an earlier investigation into the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

That grand jury in 2016 detailed allegations of the abuse of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests and others in the church over decades.

Witnesses who testified in front of this latest grand jury went to the attorney general’s offices in downtown Pittsburgh, and answered questions posed by Daniel Dye, a state prosecutor leading the investigation, in a brightly lit courtroom-like chamber with huge windows.

“It was scary, I had never done anything like that before,” said Mary McHale, a Reading resident who told of her experience nearly 30 years ago as a 17-year-old in a Catholic high school.

Jim Faluszczak, 49, had written in journals for years about being sexually abused as a teen by a priest and, after he became a priest in the Erie Diocese, his efforts to get the diocese to investigate it.

When the grand jury began to investigate, Faluszczak was ready: he organized those notes into one narrative, swore to its truthfulness in front of a notary and handed it to prosecutors.

“I wanted to make sure I was thorough, I wanted to make sure that I would give them everything that I was aware of,” said Faluszczak, a Buffalo, New York, resident who left active ministry and now works with sexual abuse victims.

Faluszczak spoke for more than three hours, sensing the grand jurors were more engrossed than any audience he had addressed in 18 years of giving sermons. Van Sickle, a Pittsburgh resident, said he saw heads nodding as he testified.

Mark Rozzi, an outspoken state lawmaker from Reading, has told the story publicly many times of his rape by as priest as a 13-year-old, but telling it to the grand jury made him feel as though finally somebody was listening.

“I could truly see in their faces that they cared about what they were hearing,” Rozzi said. “You could tell that they were also getting emotional.”

The grand jurors barely spoke to witnesses, and their identities also remain a secret.

Still, Rozzi and other witnesses say they left feeling empowered by the seriousness of the grand jurors and the investigation. On McHale’s way out, one of the grand jurors met her outside the room and hugged her.

“‘You’re so brave,'” the woman told her. “And I was really touched by that.”

By Associated Press