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Alabama Sheriff Arrested for Hiring Uncertified Officers, One Accused of Violence

The sheriff of an Alabama county mired in allegations of abuse was arrested on Monday for hiring officers with out state coaching or certification, in keeping with an indictment.
Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith, 41, was indicted on six misdemeanors in state court docket, accused of hiring one deputy, 4 armed college useful resource officers and one jailer who allegedly didn’t have state certification or coaching, in keeping with court docket paperwork made public on Monday.
Each the deputy and a few college useful resource officers had been issued division patrol automobiles, badges and firearms, in keeping with the indictment.
Smith has come under scrutiny in recent years for the loss of life of Tony Mitchell, a 33-year-old mentally unwell man who died of sepsis and hypothermia after being held within the native jail in 2023.
At least 14 law enforcement employees for Walker County have pled responsible or been indicted on federal expenses associated to Mitchell’s loss of life. Smith, who was first elected sheriff in 2018, has been named in a civil lawsuit filed by Mitchell’s household.
A minimum of one of many officers talked about in Smith’s indictment beforehand had his certification suspended in Arizona after he admitted to placing a gun to a girl’s head throughout a visitors cease, in keeping with sworn testimony throughout a civil service board assembly final month.
The deputy was employed in late June as a provisional officer, which meant he wasn’t allowed to execute arrests or patrol alone till he accomplished his state coaching beneath state regulation. However the deputy made three arrests and investigated three deaths, in keeping with civil service board testimony from a fellow officer in Might.
Waker County Sheriff’s Division Chief Deputy Ralph Williams was additionally arrested on Monday for allegedly mendacity to the Alabama Peace Officers’ Requirements and Coaching Fee, saying the officer had been terminated final November.
There have been no attorneys listed for Smith or Williams on Monday afternoon. Phone and electronic mail messages in search of remark had been left with the Walker County Sheriff’s Workplace.
Smith known as the Might civil service board listening to a “sham” and “political circus” whereas he was questioned.
___ Riddle is a corps member for The Related Press/Report for America Statehouse Information Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide service program that locations journalists in native newsrooms to report on undercovered points.
Picture: The Walker County jail in Jasper (Safiyah Riddle/AP).
Copyright 2025 Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Tesla Plans Robotaxi Expansion to California and Arizona

Tesla Inc. is aiming to convey its driverless taxis to California and Arizona because the carmaker plots an growth on the heels of final month’s restricted rollout in Austin.
Chief Government Officer Elon Musk predicted on his social media service X that Tesla robotaxis may launch within the San Francisco Bay space “in all probability in a month or two,” pending regulatory approvals. The carmaker plans to broaden its service space in Austin this weekend, he mentioned.
Tesla has additionally contacted the Arizona Division of Transportation to start the certification course of for autonomous car ride-sharing, the state company instructed Bloomberg in an emailed assertion. Tesla has expressed curiosity in working throughout the Phoenix metropolitan space, the transportation division mentioned. A choice on the corporate’s purposes — together with for operations with and and not using a driver — is predicted by the top of this month.
The automaker didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the Arizona discussions, which haven’t been beforehand reported.
Musk is reorienting Tesla round futuristic pursuits like driverless autos, synthetic intelligence and humanoid robots as its conventional automotive enterprise struggles. The CEO has an extended observe report of providing timelines associated to autonomous-driving ambitions that the corporate fails to fulfill.
In one other X put up on Thursday, Musk mentioned that Grok, the chatbot developed by his startup xAI, might be coming to Tesla autos “subsequent week on the newest.”
Tesla shares jumped 4.7% Thursday in New York. The inventory is down 23% this 12 months.
Tesla not too long ago made its long-awaited autonomous ride-hailing service obtainable to a small group of supporters and shareholders in a restricted space of Austin. The carmaker has indicated earlier than that California could be up subsequent after Texas.
Bloomberg first reported in February that the corporate had utilized late final 12 months for what’s referred to as a transportation charter-party service allow from the California Public Utilities Fee.
Associated: NHTSA Contacts Tesla on Robotaxi Issues Seen in Online Videos
Tesla has instructed California Division of Motor Autos officers that it plans to take a phased method to working within the state, beginning with giving workers pre-arranged rides utilizing a security driver.
Tesla has not utilized for both a driverless testing or deployment allow with the DMV, the company mentioned late Thursday.
“Tesla has held an autonomous car testing allow for public highway testing with a security driver since 2014,” mentioned the DMV in an e mail. “If Tesla intends to conduct driverless testing or deploy autonomous expertise, it should apply for the suitable allow.”
Learn Extra: Tesla Units Sights on Waymo, Uber in California Trip-Hail Bid
Buyers are carefully looking forward to robotaxi growth, which may very well be sophisticated by regulatory hurdles, technological limitations or visitors incidents. US auto security regulators have already got mentioned they’re trying into Tesla robotaxis showing to violate visitors legal guidelines the primary day they have been deployed in Austin.
Whereas the Texas launch concerned solely a handful of Mannequin Y autos, Musk has mentioned Tesla will develop to a thousand autos inside a couple of months, and later introduce a purpose-built Cybercab with no pedals or steering wheel.
If Tesla could make good on its growth plans, analysts have mentioned it may pose a menace each to autonomous-taxi firms led by Waymo, and commonplace ride-hailing suppliers together with Uber Applied sciences Inc.
“This speedy robotaxi deployment may spell the start of Tesla’s assault on current shared mobility fashions, together with different robotaxi community operators,” Alexander Potter, an analyst with Piper Sandler, mentioned in a word Thursday. “The quicker this roll-out progresses (with out main accidents), the higher it will likely be” for Tesla’s inventory.
High Picture: A Tesla Inc. robotaxi in Austin. (Tim Goessman/Bloomberg)
Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
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T-Mobile Ending DEI Programs as it Seeks FCC Approval for 2 Deals

Wi-fi provider T-Cell US mentioned on Wednesday it’s ending its variety, fairness and inclusion packages, underneath stress from the Trump administration because it seeks regulatory approval for 2 main offers.
T-Cell mentioned in a letter to Federal Communications Fee Chair Brendan Carr made public on Wednesday that the wi-fi firm is ending its DEI-related insurance policies “not simply in identify, however in substance.”
T-Cell mentioned it is going to now not have any particular person roles or groups centered on DEI, is eradicating any references to DEI on its web sites and has eliminated references to DEI from its worker coaching supplies.
Carr mentioned in a textual content message he was happy with the adjustments. “That is one other good step ahead for equal alternative, nondiscrimination and the general public curiosity.”
T-Cell is awaiting FCC approval to purchase virtually all of regional provider United States Mobile’s wi-fi operations together with prospects, shops and 30% of its spectrum belongings in a deal valued at $4.4 billion.
The FCC can also be weighing a separate transaction wherein T-Cell would set up a three way partnership with KKR to accumulate web service supplier Metronet, which reaches greater than 2 million properties and companies in 17 states.
T-Cell plans at closing to speculate about $4.9 billion to accumulate a 50% fairness stake within the three way partnership and 100% of Metronet’s residential fiber retail operations and prospects.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, criticized T-Cell’s motion saying “in yet one more cynical bid to win FCC regulatory approval, T-Cell is making a mockery of its professed dedication to eliminating discrimination, selling equity, and amplifying underrepresented voices.”
The FCC in Could authorised Verizon Communications’ $20 billion deal to accumulate fiber-optic web suppliers Frontier Communications after the biggest U.S. telecom firm agreed to finish its DEI program and after the FCC opened an investigation.
Carr, a Republican designated by Trump in January as chair, instructed Comcast in February he was opening a probe into the NBC Information-parent firm’s promotion of DEI packages.
In January, Trump issued sweeping govt orders to dismantle U.S. authorities DEI packages, and pressured the non-public sector to affix the initiative.
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How Carriers Can Win More Retail Broker Biz: Report

By segmenting retail brokers into tiers utilizing premium quantity, profitability and strategic alignment as components to outline prime tiers, carriers can begin to win extra enterprise, in keeping with a brand new consulting agency report.
The report, How Insurers Can Win More Business from Retail Brokers, printed in late June by Boston Consulting Group, additionally recommends that insurers companion with brokers to co-develop modular, adaptable merchandise for purchasers.
The report is concentrated on the private strains and small and midsize enterprise protection segments, and presents the suggestions in response to a number of components the authors say are reshaping the retail brokerage panorama: dealer consolidation, digitization and rising buyer expectations. Tiering brokers based mostly on their worth and potential responds to the consolidation development, whereas collaborations on product improvement reply to altering buyer wants and rising expectations.
Discussing dealer consolidation, the report means that the main brokerages “wield higher negotiating energy, have greater expectations for service high quality, and search extremely personalized options,” whereas a various assortment of smaller brokers “continues to serve specialised markets, every confronting distinctive challenges and useful resource limitations.” A one-size-fits-all, uniform method utilized by carriers to those two teams ends in “operational inefficiencies, underperformance with strategically necessary brokers, and missed alternatives for progress,” the report suggests.
As a part of a tiering course of, the BCG authors state that “top-tier brokers ought to obtain devoted account managers and prioritized service” in an effort to be sure that the highest-value relationships get wanted assets.
Referencing the top-tier dealer once more within the dialogue of product collaboration, the report notes that insurers can assist the high-value brokers “by providing distinctive protection enhancements or specialised merchandise” to them, permitting these brokers to face out in aggressive markets. Moreover, insurers can present specialised assist, resembling cyber protection experience, to assist brokers seize rising buyer segments and keep forward of business developments.
Past the consolidation and buyer developments, the report lists 5 different challenges that weaken provider in an evolving dealer panorama, together with sluggish legacy programs, inconsistent service high quality, little advertising and marketing assist for brokers, and incentive constructions that don’t deal with long-term progress.
“At present’s brokers count on quick, streamlined interactions,” the report says, highlighting the vital expertise infrastructure modernization points. “Implementing real-time quoting capabilities, integrating IT programs utilizing software programming interfaces (APIs), and automating underwriting processes can enhance responsiveness,” the report says, additionally suggesting that insurers “develop intuitive dealer portals with sturdy self-service capabilities” for issuing insurance policies, monitoring claims and managing service requests.
Different suggestions for carriers embody coaching and improvement of particular dealer relationship managers, appointments of devoted claims managers to high-value brokers, the adoption of performance-based compensation tying “incentives to the expansion of relationships, profitability, and retention.”
The report additionally discusses the necessity to recurrently assess the maturity of dealer segmentation, buyer options, programs, servicing, advertising and marketing assist, broker-facing groups and incentives to determine gaps in distribution relationships.
A remaining part of the report warns in opposition to adopting excessive fashions of dealer engagement—one which’s utterly tailor-made to particular person dealer requests, and one other that’s wholly educated on standardization and operational effectivity.
Whereas brokers worth personalized options, the overly tailor-made approaches are too complicated. They overwhelm insurers’ operational processes and programs—and notably influence service to provider networks of smaller brokers.
The authors state that a greater method is to develop a set of modular product choices.
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