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A newly proposed bill would ban public school students in Massachusetts from accessing their cell phones, tablets and other personal electronic devices during school hours.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell recently introduced the Safe Technology Use and Distraction-Free Education for Youth Act (STUDY Act). If enacted, the bill would impose a “bell-to-bell” restriction on cell phones and other electronic devices at school “to improve the overall learning environment and school culture.”

Some school districts, including Lowell, Brockton and Methuen, have already adopted policies to combat cell phones in schools. However, the brand new law would require all public schools to develop formal policies that prevent students from accessing their phones throughout the school day. The goal: to assist provide students with a distraction-free learning environment and improve their mental health.

According to a study According to the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of U.S. highschool teachers said mobile phone distraction was a serious problem within the classroom.

A current Pew Research Center Opinion poll found that almost all teens ages 13 to 17 use social media and own smartphones, and nearly half report being online “almost constantly.”

“The STUDY Act puts students and their mental health first,” AG Campbell said in an announcement. “By restricting cell phones during the school day and raising the bar for social media companies, we are taking bold steps to create distraction-free learning environments and a digital landscape that prioritizes the well-being of our youth.” This bill is a Commitment to the education and mental health of our young people and ensuring they’ve the tools to succeed without unnecessary harm.”

If the bill becomes law, public schools shall be required to have policies in place that prevent students from physically accessing their devices during school hours. However, there could also be exceptions, akin to when a student requires an electronic device as a part of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or health plan.

The law also requires schools to coach students concerning the negative impact that social media can have on their emotional and physical well-being.

The AG's office pointed to research showing the negative effects of social media use on mental health.

“For example, after one hour of social media use per day, adolescents' mental health declines sharply and there is a decline in happiness and self-esteem, while at the same time self-harm, depression and behavioral changes increase,” said an announcement from AG Campbell's office.

The bill also requires social media firms to create age verification systems and privacy settings for minors, in addition to implement features that allow users to flag unwanted or harmful content, amongst other things.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Federal investigators this week seized cellphones belonging to the New York Police Commissioner and no less than 4 top deputies of New York Mayor Eric Adams, people conversant in the matter say.

FBI agents seized the devices on Wednesday from the homes of several high-ranking city officials, said two individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to debate the continuing investigation. The officials include First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety, his brother David Banks, the town's schools chancellor, and Timothy Pearson, an aide to the mayor and former senior New York Police Department official.

One of the people said federal investigators also seized equipment from the house of Police Commissioner Edward Caban.

The searches are a part of a flurry of investigative activity surrounding Adams' administration, his campaign and the Democrat himself in his first term. He had previously received subpoenas and his electronic devices were seized as a part of federal investigations.

Federal authorities haven’t accused him or any of his officers of any crimes, and Adams, a retired police captain, has denied any wrongdoing.

“I have made it clear throughout my public life that my message is to obey the law,” Adams said Thursday evening on New York's Fox 5 television channel.

He had previously told reporters at City Hall that the administration would release the knowledge it needed when it had it. “And I will continue to be mayor of the city of New York.”

Lisa Zornberg, City Hall's lead attorney, said in a press release that investigators had provided no indication that the mayor or his staff were “the target of any investigation.”

The NYPD said in a press release that it was aware of and cooperating with an investigation by Manhattan-based federal prosecutors “involving members of the armed forces.” The agency referred further investigations to prosecutors, who, like an FBI spokesman, declined to comment.

Benjamin Brafman, a lawyer for Philip Banks, confirmed that the homes of Philip Banks and Terence Banks, an adviser and brother of David and Philip Banks, were searched.

The searches are the newest sign that federal authorities are taking a better have a look at members of Adams' inner circle.

He took office as mayor in 2022 after serving as Brooklyn borough president and state senator.

Last fall and winter, the FBI raided the house of a senior fundraiser for Adams' campaign, the residence of an official within the mayor's administration's Office of International Affairs, and properties belonging to Adams' director of Asian affairs.

Federal agents seized the mayor's phones and iPad as he left a Manhattan event in November, and earlier this summer he, his campaign team and City Hall received subpoenas from federal prosecutors.

One of the people conversant in the matter said the recent subpoenas requested information concerning the mayor's schedule, his foreign travel and possible ties to the Turkish government.

The latest wave of searches of individuals near Adams appeared unrelated to the Turkey investigation, the person said. It was not immediately clear whether federal authorities were searching for information related to 1 or more investigations.

Adams appointed Caban, a veteran NYPD officer, as police commissioner last summer. He is the primary Latino to guide the nation's largest police force.

Pearson, whom the mayor has described as a “good friend,” has an unusual role in city government: He works for the quasi-governmental Economic Development Corporation but in addition has influence over the police department. He is currently facing several lawsuits accusing him of sexually harassing female employees and can also be under investigation for his role in a fight at a homeless shelter. An attorney representing Pearson within the sexual harassment lawsuit didn’t immediately reply to a call.

Federal prosecutors had previously named Philip Banks as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in an investigation right into a police bribery scheme during former Mayor Bill de Blasio's tenure. Banks abruptly retired in 2014 but returned to city government after Adams took office in 2022.

David Banks, the colleges chancellor, shares a house in Harlem along with his partner Sheena Wright, the primary deputy mayor.

He declined to comment as he left an event at a New York school on Thursday.

“Today is the first day of school. It's all about the kids. If there are any further comments, it will be tomorrow,” David Banks told Fox 5 New York.

Terence Banks founded a consulting firm “dedicated to connecting businesses with government and community stakeholders” after leaving the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last yr. The authority operates subways, buses and commuter rail and shouldn’t be under the supervision of the mayor, who appoints some members of the board.

Timothy Sini, an attorney for Terence Banks, said in an email that the federal government had assured his client that he was “not the target of this investigation.”

The news portal “The City” was the primary to report on the searches.

A spokesman for the town's law enforcement agency declined to comment.

California would change into the fifth state to require public schools to limit or ban students' smartphone use on school grounds, based on a bill that Governor Gavin Newsom supports and is anticipated to sign.

The bipartisan Phone-Free Schools Act (Bill 3216) would require school districts to implement smartphone restrictions by July 1, 2026, and to review their policies every five years. If the law becomes law, California would join Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina and Ohio in adopting statewide restrictions on cellphone use on public school campuses.

“Now is the time to not only empower but require all school districts to take actions that not only promote student learning by limiting or restricting smartphone use, but also protect the mental health of their teens,” said Al Muratsuchi, Democratic Assembly member and co-author of the bill.

Newsom, who has been a vocal advocate for cellphone restrictions on school campuses, had already passed a law in 2019 – AB 272 – that empowers school districts to limit or ban student cellphone use at school. In June, he said he wanted to construct on that law to further restrict student cellphone use, but didn’t provide details.

The governor reiterated the importance of smartphone restrictions earlier this month when he sent a statewide letter urging educators to instantly restrict cell phones on campus when students return to classrooms.

The phone-free time bill was authored by Muratsuchi of Torrance – who also authored AB 272 – together with Republican Rep. Josh Hoover of Folsom and Democratic Reps. David Alvarez of Chula Vista and Josh Lowenthal of Long Beach.

“We're Democrats and Republicans, but what we all have in common is that we're all parents and we've all experienced this firsthand,” Hoover said. “I firmly believe this is an area of ​​concern across the country.”

Muratsuchi said he introduced AB 272 not only as a state legislator, but in addition as the daddy of a teenage daughter. A growing body of research points to a link between teen smartphone use and anxiety, depression and suicide, he said, making the necessity for smartphone restrictions more necessary than ever.

The governor’s letter to varsities cited a survey by the Pew Research Institute According to a study by Common Sense Media, 72% of highschool teachers and 33% of middle school teachers say mobile phone distraction is a serious problem. A survey by Common Sense Media found that 97% of scholars use their phones for a mean of 43 minutes through the school day.

Hoover said the important difference between AB 3216 and existing 2019 laws is that it now requires every school within the state to adopt policies restricting smartphone use through the school day and revise those policies every five years. He said there are not any specific requirements for districts within the bill to offer schools flexibility in deciding restrict or ban cellphone use.

The California School Boards Association, which represents the state's public trustees, strongly opposes the bill since it says it fails to bear in mind the numerous demographic and ideological differences among the many state's 940 school districts and 58 county school boards.

Troy Flint, the association's communications director, said advocates on each side were “well-intentioned” and were attempting to do what was best for college kids' safety and mental health.

“We have no fundamental objections to banning cell phones and encourage districts to consider whether this makes sense for them,” said Flint. “However, we reject the blanket nationwide regulation.”

Flint said the association disagrees with Hoover on whether the bill respects local control “to the extent necessary.”

“We have a lot of different situations in California,” he explained. “Kids who ride an hour to school on the bus… kids with disabilities… This is a rare problem where everyone means well and, in their own way, is trying to do what they think is best.”

Hoover confirmed that the phone-free schools law doesn’t remove any of the present exceptions to existing law – including in emergencies or when students are allowed to make use of their phones in school.

Under current law, students even have the appropriate to access their mobile phones in the event that they are at risk, similar to a college shooting or a curfew.

The bill is supported by the Los Angeles Unified School District – which voted earlier this summer to ban students from using cell phones starting in 2025 – and the California Teachers Association, one among the state's largest teachers' unions.

“Our union supports improving the school environment and limiting smartphone use on campus,” said David Goldberg, president of the teachers union.

Bay Area schools are split on the difficulty. Some schools have expressed support for smartphone restrictions, including San Mateo High School, which became a cellphone-free campus in 2019.

Others, similar to the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District and the Palo Alto Unified School District, imagine that cell phones are vital for a lot of families and that the proposed bans make no sense in schools that depend on technology to support student learning.

Muratsuchi said smartphones are still relatively recent and society has yet to adapt to their impact.

“We need to rethink this culture of constant access to smartphones,” Muratsuchi said, “given the growing evidence of its harmful effects on students' education and mental health.”

Originally published: August 29, 2024 at 17:09

WASHINGTON – Ding Jiaxi knew he would spend his 57th birthday alone in a Chinese prison cell, with out a call from his family or the possibility to stretch in the daylight.

It was the fifth yr that the activist had lived in these conditions. Although his family within the US received letters assuring him that he was healthy, his wife Sophie Luo was not convinced.

“I'm really worried about his health because he has been tortured before,” Luo told the Associated Press from Washington.

Luo shared details of her husband’s plight ahead of his birthday on Saturday and make clear the hard Treatment of the country’s imprisoned political prisonerswho, based on families and human rights groups, are sometimes denied rights corresponding to outdoor exercise and speak to with their family members.

Beijing said the prisoners' rights were protected under Chinese law. The Chinese embassy in Washington didn’t immediately reply to an email in search of comment.

Ding, a key member of the now-defunct New Citizens' Movement, which sought to advertise democracy and civil society in China, was arrested in December 2019 after attending a casual meeting within the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen to debate current affairs. In April 2023, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for subverting state power.

Maya Wang, acting China director of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, described the tough treatment of political prisoners in China as “commonplace.”

“Unfortunately, abuses are widespread and have become even worse under Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Wang said. Political prisoners were torturedThey don’t have any access to lawyers and “very little” contact with their families, she said, adding that the secrecy has made it easier for prisoners' abuse to proceed and their health has suffered.

Representative Adam Schiff, who sits on a bipartisan congressional human rights commission, called for Ding's release.

“Once again, he will be alone in a prison in China's Hubei province. He will be separated from his loved ones – his wife and children. He will spend another birthday in isolation – his fifth in prison,” Schiff, Democrat of California, said in an announcement released Friday.

Luo said she has not been allowed to check with her husband on the phone since he was taken away by authorities in 2019. Since then, “I haven't heard his voice,” said Luo, who moved to the U.S. with the couple's two children shortly after Ding was first arrested in 2013.

It was not until March of this yr that she received his first letter. Ding was not allowed to write down letters about his case, his treatment in prison or other topics considered sensitive by the Chinese government, Luo said.

And she lamented Ding's absence from her two daughters' lives. “He can't be with the girls when they need a father the most,” she said. “It's really a big loss.”

Originally published: August 17, 2024 at 10:39 am

OAKLAND – An El Cerrito man who has three previous drunken driving convictions was sentenced to 6 years in prison in 2022 for killing his friend while inebriated, court records show.

Nipun Ajmani, 44, pleaded no contest to alleged assault by drunken driving in reference to the March 12, 2022, crash on the MacArthur Maze that killed 36-year-old Zeeshan Khan, a passenger in Ajmani's automobile. He was formally sentenced in June but stays in Santa Rita Jail for now.

The story behind Ajmani's arrest began an hour before the crash, when he and Zhan were stopped by police in a vehicle driven by a 3rd party around 1:15 a.m. Officers concluded Ajmani was too drunk to drive and drove him and Zhan to the 1000 block of University Avenue in Berkeley, where Ajmani owned a cellular phone store, court records show.

Police estimated that Ajmani wouldn’t be sober until around 11 a.m. and told him so, based on court records. Instead of following officers' advice, Ajmani got behind the wheel of one other vehicle and picked up Zhan once they collided with a automobile from behind on the maze at around 2:20 a.m., authorities said.

“(Ajmani) is absolutely devastated by (Zhan's) death,” Morris wrote. “He regrets his actions and wishes nothing but healing and recovery for Mr. Khan's family.”

Ajmani was arrested after the accident and has been in prison ever since. He took classes to treat his alcoholism while in prison and is being sued by Zhan's next of kin, court records show.

According to court records, Ajmani has been convicted of drunk driving 3 times, all between 2003 and 2010.

An inmate on the Sacramento County Main Jail died early Saturday, sheriff's officials saidthe third reported death on the downtown facility since May.

The 29-year-old man was discovered by sheriff's jail guards during a cell check around 2:15 a.m., officials said in an announcement. Officers said they found the person unconscious in his cell on the 5 East 300 jail. Officers rendered aid as jail medical staff and the Sacramento Fire Department were called to attempt to resuscitate the person.

Their attempts were unsuccessful and firefighters pronounced the person dead. He has been held in jail since April 20, 2022. His name and the costs against him haven’t been released by officials. He is predicted to be identified by Sacramento County coroner's officials until his family has been notified.

The sheriff's office said it’ll “conduct a thorough investigation into the inmate deaths in accordance with agency procedures and state law,” the statement said Saturday.

The inmate's death early Saturday at 5-East follows two deaths inside per week on the prison in early May. On May 5, officers found a 45-year-old man unresponsive in a cell utilized by prisoners to detoxify from narcotics.

Before Saturday's death 27 inmates of the major prison were declared dead within the custody of the Sacramento County Sheriff since January 2021.

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Ozzy Osbourne has fully embraced modern medicine despite his ongoing health problems.

The 75-year-old Grammy winner revealed this week that he’s receiving stem cell treatments after revealing in November that doctors had discovered a tumor on his vertebrae during his fourth spinal surgery.

“I just got back from the doctor after having some stem cells implanted in me,” Osbourne told his “Ozzy Speaks” co-host Billy Morrison on their SiriusXM radio show. “The thing is, you have it and you think, 'I'm not doing so well,' but I don't know what it would be like if I didn't have it.”

According to The Prince of Darkness, the treatments – which he described as “something like a super stem cell” – “are also quite expensive.”

Osbourne said he’ll return for follow-up treatment “in about six months.”

Morrison revealed that he had also undergone stem cell treatments for “hip problems” that caused him difficulty getting out and in of his automobile: “I couldn't tie my own shoelaces, so I had injections right there, five.” of it, and.” it’s gone. It fixed the issue.”

Last July, Osbourne announced that he was stepping down from headlining the inaugural three-day Power Trip festival in Indio, California, resulting from ongoing health issues stemming from his recent spinal injury.

Months earlier, the previous Black Sabbath frontman had announced his retirement from touring, having canceled European tour dates on the grounds that he was now not well enough resulting from a “serious accident” through which he injured his spine to look.

In 2020, he made public his Parkinson's disease, diagnosed in 2003.

Last week, it was announced that the bat-biting “Crazy Train” singer could be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024 as a solo artist, marking his second entry following Black Sabbath's induction in 2006.