News briefs

Rush to regulate AI divides Democrats in Congress

WASHINGTON - Recent proposals to regulate artificial intelligence show Democratic paths diverging between cooperation and compromise on the one hand and sweeping regulations on the other.

Growing public angst about the new technology and its impact on jobs, communities and the environment has fueled both ends of the spectrum and, even in the case of the most progressive ideas, attracted possible support from Republicans.

In co-sponsoring a draft bipartisan AI framework, Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., pitched her position as one of balance.

"The threats AI poses to our national security, our safety, and our workforce are here and growing by the day," Trahan said in a statement on the discussion draft release last week with sponsor Jay Obernolte, R-Calif. "This bipartisan framework is designed to meet the challenges posed by this rapidly advancing technology without smothering American innovation."

-CQ-Roll Call

Idaho will soon turn to firing squad executions. Police will pull the triggers

BOISE, Idaho - Trained members of Idaho law enforcement with demonstrated firearms proficiency are expected to fill slots for carrying out the death penalty by firing squad as the state prison system transitions to the controversial execution method next month.

Six volunteers certified for no less than three years apiece through Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, will be recruited to ensure the Idaho Department of Correction is ready to comply with a state law that prioritizes shooting prisoners to death over lethal injection starting July 1.

No one on the team may have faced disciplinary action over firearms, use of force or related conduct over the prior year, according to new execution protocols the prison system released this week.

State prison leadership has sought to avoid needing to rely on volunteers among corrections officers to pull the triggers in an execution, IDOC Director Bree Derrick previously said. The agency explored the possibility of a remote-operated system as Idaho becomes the only U.S. state with a firing squad as its lead execution method, but one did not come to fruition. That left IDOC to instead devise a human firing squad, the agency said.

-Idaho Statesman

University of Michigan group orchestrated terror campaign to sever Israel ties, feds say

DETROIT - Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment Wednesday against eight people linked to the University of Michigan accused of orchestrating plans to threaten university leaders, police and businesses with a wave of crimes designed to force the university to sever ties with Israel.

The 63-page indictment accuses the defendants of using encrypted chats to research, target and attack victims as well as social media amid a campaign of threats that emerged amid Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, according to the government.

The charges came after top UM officials and their homes had been targeted by demonstrations and vandalism in the past few years as protesters demanded that the university halt its endowment investments in military contractors and Israeli companies because of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. UM regents and officials rejected the demands, arguing that such a move would violate university policy and that the targeted investments comprised a minuscule portion of the endowment.

"Their criminal activity included spray painting threats, breaking windows, and throwing glass jars filled with noxious chemicals into family homes," the federal indictment reads.

-The Detroit News

Pope tells inmates in a Spanish prison: 'Every human being is worthy'

BARCELONA, Spain - Pope Leo XIV visited a prison in Spain on Wednesday to offer comfort to inmates before he was due to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona later in the evening.

"Every human being is worthy," the head of the Catholic Church said in a speech to some 80 inmates and visitors at the Brians 1 penitentiary, located about 30 kilometers north-west of Barcelona.

In his speech on the fifth day of his visit to Spain, the 70-year-old pontiff told the inmates that life's mistakes do not define a person's identity. "I invite you to keep dreaming God's dream and let Him start us anew," he said.

A group of inmates sang a song to welcome Leo. Two female inmates were each allowed to give short speeches.

-dpa

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 7:35 PM.