Michigan nears ban on phones in school during instructional time

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to ban students from using cellphones in public schools during instructional time, setting the legislation on a path to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk.

Under the proposals, which represent a compromise between the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate, school districts would have to create their own policies by next school year that, at a minimum, prohibit cellphones from being used during instructional time.

Districts could also act earlier or go further to completely outlaw phones and other devices, but the decision on whether to exceed the new minimum standard would be up to local officials.

The Senate voted 34-1 in favor of the main bill in the package. Only Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, voted no. The House approved the same measure last week in a vote of 99-10.

—The Detroit News

Florida AG issues MLK Day memo to ‘taunt Black and brown people,’ Democrats say

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier was being deliberately provocative when he released a memo on Martin Luther King Jr. Day stating he wouldn’t enforce or defend dozens of laws that mention race, the Florida House minority leader said Thursday.

“I think he did it, basically, to flaunt that he has the power and to do it to taunt Black and brown people in Florida,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, at a news conference Thursday. “I think he did it to be inflammatory,” Driskell added, “and I think he did it, frankly, to try to get a big reaction.”

On Monday — a holiday for state workers — Uthmeier issued a news release announcing an opinion identifying more than 80 state laws that he wrote “promote and require racial discrimination on its face.”

“Therefore, I requested, and I am now giving, an official legal opinion in writing on a question of law relating to my official duties,” the opinion states.

—Tampa Bay Times

Barron Trump made emergency call when he saw woman getting beaten on FaceTime, UK court hears

A friend of President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, said that he saved her life by calling the police when he saw her getting beat up by a man during a FaceTime call.

A transcript of the emergency call was shared during suspect Matvei Rumiantsev’s trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London on Thursday, CNN reported.

On Jan. 18, 2025, Trump phoned British emergency services around 2:32 a.m., after he allegedly saw Rumiantsev, a 22-year-old Russian citizen, strike a friend he’d been on a video call with.

“I just got a call from a girl I know,” he told dispatchers, per British media. “She’s getting beaten up.” Trump then provided his address before again telling the operator: “It’s really an emergency, please. I got a call from her with a guy beating her up.”

—New York Daily News

Iran protest deaths seen rising with one estimate topping 20,000

The number of people reported killed in Iran’s protest crackdown has surged as rights groups continue to verify suspected fatalities, with the United Nations warning the total could be more than 20,000.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency said it’s verified 4,902 deaths during the unrest that erupted in late December, according to a statement on its website. The group is reviewing a further 9,387, while more than 26,000 people have been arrested, it said.

Mai Sato, the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, said earlier this week that the number of civilians killed is estimated at 5,000 or more. Reports from doctors in the country suggest the figure may be at least 20,000, she added.

Rights groups attempting to measure the true toll of Iran’s suppression of some of the biggest demonstrations since the 1979 revolution have been hampered by ongoing restrictions to internet access and telecommunications.

—Bloomberg News