Artificial intelligence law firm wins court case in England for first time

Company hails victory for freelancer over unpaid debt as ‘landmark moment’ for access to justice

An artificial intelligence law firm has won a case in an English court, in what is believed to be the first time a trial has been won using an AI lawyer.

A freelance HR consultant, Tamires Camal Taquidir, paid the firm, called Garfield AI, about £400 to send a legal letter and then issue court proceedings over an unpaid debt of £7,000.

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Two killed and several injured as tornado rips through southern Illinois

Officials say Sarita Kimble, 62, and Delores Shelton, 83, killed in Mount Vernon as several buildings destroyed

Authorities in Illinois say that two older residents were killed and at least five other people were injured in a tornado that ripped through a rural county and destroyed several buildings on Sunday evening.

The fatalities occurred in Mount Vernon, Sheriff Jeff Bullard of Jefferson county said on Monday. He identified the victims as Sarita Kimble, 62, and Delores Shelton, 83, who were inside separate structures leveled by the tornado.

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Man charged with terrorism-linked attempted murders after Edinburgh attacks

Lewis Hawkes, 36, charged with five counts of attempted murder ‘aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection’

A 36-year-old man has been charged with five counts of attempted murder “aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection” after a series of attacks in Edinburgh last Friday.

Lewis Hawkes has also been charged with assault and robbery, two counts of breach of the peace and two counts of culpable and reckless conduct, all of which were also aggravated by reason of a terrorist connection.

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Judge blocks subpoenas for Walz and others over Minnesota immigration crackdown

Federal judge rules subpoenas linked to Trump’s immigration operation were ‘issued for unlawful reasons’

A federal judge agreed to quash the US federal government’s subpoenas of leaders in Minnesota issued during the Trump administration’s controversial immigration crackdown on the state earlier this year.

The US Department of Justice issued subpoenas to the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz; the attorney general, Keith Ellison; the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey; and other local officials in the Twin Cities in January.

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Montreal mayor calls for end to random police checks amid racial profiling investigation

City’s police force faces investigation of 16 officers accused of disproportionately targeting Black and Arab residents

Montreal’s mayor has called for a halt to random police checks as the city’s police force grapples with an internal investigation into racism and racial profiling by 16 officers.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada told reporters last week that her husband, who is Black, had been repeatedly stopped by police while driving.

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Canadian healthcare staff decry ‘cruel hoax’ after scam email promises paid day off

Unions condemn ‘insensitive’ internal cybersecurity test sent to healthcare workers in Newfoundland and Labrador

For years, healthcare staff in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador have felt overworked and underappreciated. Turnover, burnout and thinning resources were pushing workers in the sector to a breaking point.

So when the email titled “June Holiday” arrived in thousands of inboxes, they felt a moment of overdue joy.

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US supreme court reinstates murder conviction in case of Etan Patz

Appeals court had ruled Pedro Hernandez, 64, was wrongly convicted over 1979 disappearance of New York six-year-old

The US supreme court has reinstated a murder conviction in the long winding case of Etan Patz, whose 1979 disappearance at age six from New York City garnered national headlines.

In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the supreme court agreed with New York prosecutors in their request to reverse a lower court ruling that had thrown out the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez, 64, in the Patz case.

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Trump claims ‘vandals’ foiled his $14m revamp of DC’s reflecting pool. What actually happened?

Trump’s pre-Fourth of July renovation project has endured problems with algae, peeling paint and an inflating price tag

Donald Trump’s rush to repaint the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, a symbol of Washington DC, has hit roadblock after roadblock as the country’s 250th anniversary nears.

The public has been gripped by the ill-fated $14m attempt to renovate the reflecting pool, which the US president vowed to make “beautiful” in time for this summer’s birthday celebrations at the capital.

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Spanish PM’s former right-hand man jailed for 24 years for corruption

José Luis Ábalos found to have taken bribes on Covid-era public contracts in damaging blow to Pedro Sánchez

Spain’s supreme court has jailed the former transport minister José Luis Ábalos for 24 years for taking bribes on public contracts for sanitary equipment such as ‌face masks during the Covid pandemic.

Ábalos’s aide, Koldo García, was jailed for 19 years in a trial that is one of several scandals to have enveloped the government of Pedro Sánchez over recent months.

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