Associated Press (DUBAI, United Arab Emirates) — Saudi Arabia has detained eight people, including a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen, in new arrests targeting individuals supportive of women’s rights and connected to detained activists. A person with knowledge of the arrests, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution, told The Associated Press the individuals had been detained Thursday. The individuals are not seen as frontline activists. Rather, they are writers and advocates who quietly supported greater social reforms, like the right of women to drive before the ban was lifted. Among those detained is Salah Al-Haidar, a dual U.S.-Saudi national who has … Continue reading Saudi Arabia Arrests Eight More Activists, Including a U.S. Citizen

Mark Bergen / Bloomberg Google is scrapping an outside council set up to evaluate its artificial intelligence efforts after a dramatic outcry about the makeup of the panel. The Alphabet Inc. company introduced the group, called the Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC), on March 26. Google asked the eight members to advise the company on knotty ethical questions on products such as facial-recognition software and algorithmic bias. Within a week, one person declined the invitation and another became the target of a pointed petition from Google staff as well as criticism from outside advocates. “It’s become clear that in … Continue reading Google Scraps New AI Ethics Council Amid Criticism

Jose Orozco / Bloomberg Ecuador plans to expel WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from its London embassy and has an agreement in place with the U.K. for his arrest, Wikileaks said citing a source within the Ecuadorian government. “A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told Wikileaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within ‘hours to days’,” WikiLeaks said on Twitter. Ecuador’s government did not respond to calls made after office hours. WikiLeaks cited the unidentified person as saying the planned expulsion is a response to the organization’s recent tweet linking to a website that alleged money laundering and … Continue reading Ecuador Plans to Expel Julian Assange From Its London Embassy in ‘Hours to Days,’ WikiLeaks Says

Blake Nicholson / AP (MANDAN, N.D.) — A 44-year-old man was arrested Thursday in the slayings of four people who were shot or stabbed earlier this week at a property management business, police said. Chief Jason Ziegler said surveillance video identified a vehicle of interest and helped lead them to the suspect, who lived in the small town of Washburn about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Mandan. Ziegler said a motive for the killings wasn’t yet known. He said the suspect lived in a mobile home park owned by the business, RJR Maintenance and Management. He was arrested without … Continue reading Suspect Held in Four Slayings at North Dakota Business, Police Say

Janie Har / AP (SAN FRANCISCO) — A special coroner’s jury in California ruled the deaths of two women and their six adopted children was a murder-suicide after hearing testimony that one of the women had searched death by drowning online and the other deliberately stepped on the gas, sending their SUV plunging off a cliff. Jurors deliberated for about an hour Thursday before returning the unanimous verdicts that Jennifer and Sarah Hart killed themselves on March 26, 2018, in Mendocino County. The jury decided the six children, 12 to 19, died at the hands of another and not by … Continue reading Jury Finds Family of Eight Died by Murder-Suicide in California Cliff Crash

Associated Press (NANTUCKET, Mass.) — A judge is weighing motions filed by lawyers for Kevin Spacey, charged with groping an 18-year-old man on Nantucket in 2016. The Oscar-winning former “House of Cards” actor didn’t attend Thursday’s hearing at Nantucket District Court. Spacey’s attorneys have been seeking to preserve phone and electronic records between the man — who says Spacey unzipped his pants and fondled him — and the man’s girlfriend at the time. USA Today reports the hearing concluded with the judge taking the motions under advisement. The assault allegedly occurred at a restaurant on the island off Cape Cod … Continue reading Judge Weighing Motions in Kevin Spacey’s Alleged Groping Case

Nick Perry / AP (CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand) — A New Zealand judge on Friday ordered that the man accused of killing 50 people at two Christchurch mosques undergo two mental health assessments to determine if he’s fit to stand trial. High Court judge Cameron Mander made the order during a hearing in which 28-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant appeared via video link from a small room at the maximum security Paremoremo prison in Auckland. Tarrant was wearing handcuffs and a gray-colored sweater when he appeared on a large screen inside the Christchurch courtroom, which was packed with family members and … Continue reading New Zealand Shooting Suspect Ordered to Undergo Mental Health Tests