accused

A new report accuses fashion giants of not considering the welfare of workers affected by climate change in garment factories in Southeast Asia.

Fashion brands including luxury label Hermes, sportswear giant Nike, and fast fashion chain H&M are in the hot seat amid new allegations of climate greenwashing after making commitments to slash carbon emissions in Asia, which is home to more than 50 percent of global garment production.

A report released this morning by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), titled, The Missing Thread, analysed 65 global fashion brands. It found that while 44 of them had made public commitments to reduce carbon emissions, none had adopted what is known as a “Just Transition” policy, a concept first introduced during COP27 in Egypt in 2022.

A Just Transition ensures that workers are not left behind as industries shift towards a low-carbon economy.

Only 11 companies in the study acknowledged the climate-related impact on workers in their social and human rights policies. Just four provided any guidance on managing heat-related stress.

Only two companies among those deemed the most ambitious by the report mentioned the welfare of workers. These included Inditex, the Spanish retail giant that owns the fast fashion company Zara, and Kering, the parent company of Gucci.

“Decarbonisation done without workers as critical and creative partners is not a just transition, it’s a dangerous shortcut,” said Natalie Swan, labour rights programme manager at BHRRC, in a news release.

Currently, the global textile industry relies on 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources per year, such as oil and fertiliser. At current trends, the fashion industry is on track to be responsible for more than 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“The fashion industry’s climate targets mean little if the people who make its products are not taken into consideration,” Swan said. “It’s not enough to go green. It has to be clean and fair.”

“Brands must stop hiding behind greenwashing slogans and start seriously engaging workers and their trade unions, whose rights, livelihoods and safety are under threat from both climate change and the industry’s response to it. A just transition is not just a responsibility, it’s a critical opportunity to build a fairer, more resilient fashion industry that works for people and the planet.”

Al Jazeera reached out to Nike, Hermes, H&M, Inditex and Kering. None of them responded to a request for comment.

Extreme weather

The effects of climate change have already hit much of Southeast Asia hard. Garment workers in countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have experienced extreme weather events such as surging temperatures and severe flooding.

In Bangladesh, workers reported fainting from heat-related illnesses. According to the report, factories allegedly failed to provide fans or drinking water. Similar challenges were noted in Cambodia, where temperatures regularly exceeded 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) during a 2022 heatwave.

A third of workers said they had already lost work due to automation. In Bangladesh’s garment sector, 30 percent reported job losses stemming from technological changes. These shifts have disproportionately affected female workers, who are less likely to receive training on new technologies and are often excluded from on-the-job learning opportunities that could help them adapt to evolving industry demands.

June 8 (UPI) — Colombian police have arrested a teenage boy in connection with Saturday’s shooting of far-right presidential candidate Miguel Uribe.

Uribe, a 39-year-old senator, was shot while he addressed his supporters during a campaign event in a park in Bogotá, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Sunday. He was hit twice and remains in intensive care.

Two other people were also injured, and police arrested a 15-year-old who was carrying a 9mm Glock pistol. Footage shared on social media appears to show when Uribe was shot, causing his followers to flee in panic.

Fundación Santa Fe Bogotá, the hospital where Uribe was airlifted Saturday, said in a statement Sunday that he was admitted to the emergency room in critical condition.

“After all the evaluations by various specialties, he was immediately taken to surgery to perform the initial damage control,” the hospital said. “Once the neurosurgical and left thigh procedures were completed, he was transferred to intensive care for postoperative stabilization. His condition is of the utmost seriousness and the prognosis is reserved.”

The government of left-wing President Gustavo Petro, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection, condemned the attack in a statement and expressed solidarity with Uribe.

“The National Government categorically and forcefully rejects the attack that Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was the victim of in the last few hours,” the statement said.

“This act of violence is an attack not only against the personal integrity of the senator, but also against democracy, freedom of thought and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia.”

Petro’s government called peace, coexistence and respect for differences the “fundamental pillars” of a democratic society.

Prosecutors said they were considering the shooting an attack on the “democratic participation” in the country, and Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo Garzón expressed her alarm at the seriousness of the attack and urged for political unity in the country “to shield the electoral process.”

She said her office would investigate the shooting with the National Police.

The tech billionaire and owner of Tesla and Starlink, Elon Musk, has accused United States President Donald Trump of being one of the names in the still-sealed Epstein files, and claims that this is the real reason key documents are still being withheld from the public.

In January 2024, many of the so-called “Epstein files” compiled by US federal investigators were released to the public. However, some remained sealed.

Trump’s presidency began with a strong boost from Musk, who donated large sums to Trump’s presidential campaign and was appointed to lead a newly formed federal agency aimed at streamlining government operations, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

But that relationship fractured after Musk resigned from the role in May 2025, following mounting public backlash over fiscal policies and a sharp decline in Tesla’s stock.

Since then, Musk has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of Trump, calling his “One Big Beautiful Bill” a “disgusting abomination” for increasing the national debt and eliminating electric vehicle subsidies, and, now, accusing him of links to Epstein.

Here’s what we know about the Epstein files and Musk’s accusations.

What are the Epstein files?

The “Epstein files” are a collection of documents compiled by US federal authorities during investigations into the activities of Jeffrey Epstein, the now-deceased financier and convicted sex offender.

These files include flight logs, contact lists, court records and other materials documenting his activities and associations with high-profile individuals.

The first major release of the documents took place in January 2024, when a federal judge ordered the unsealing of records from a 2015 defamation lawsuit against Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

In February 2025, the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) followed up with an official declassification of additional documents, many of which had already leaked, featuring redacted flight logs and contact books.

However, many documents remain sealed or heavily redacted, prompting public calls for full disclosure.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that the FBI is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, with further releases pending necessary redactions to protect victims and ongoing investigations.

What has Musk said about the Epstein files?

On Thursday, Musk publicly accused President Donald Trump of being named in the unreleased Epstein files.

In a post on his social media platform X, Musk wrote: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.” He did not provide any evidence to support this claim.

Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.

Have a nice day, DJT!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

Has Trump responded?

Trump has not directly addressed Musk’s claim regarding the Epstein files.

However, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Thursday, Trump said he was “very disappointed” by Musk’s criticism of the fiscal bill and suggested that Musk’s opposition was down to the elimination of electric vehicle subsidies.

“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday.

Trump also threatened to terminate federal contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, stating that this would save the US government billions of dollars.

What do we know about Trump’s relationship with Epstein?

Trump and Epstein were acquaintances in the 1980s and 1990s, often seen at social occasions together in New York and Palm Beach, Florida. Their appearances together were documented in news coverage and social pages at the time, while US media reported the two became close during the 1990s when Epstein bought a mansion near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach.

A 1992 video published by NBC News shows Trump and Epstein socialising and watching dancers at a party hosted at Mar-a-Lago.

In a 2002 profile of Epstein by New York Magazine, Trump was quoted describing Epstein as a “terrific guy” who enjoyed the company of beautiful women “on the younger side”.

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump said.

Flight logs released during court proceedings against Maxwell show that Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet at least seven times between 1993 and 1997, occasionally with family members.

Epstein’s “Black Book” – a contact directory obtained in 2015 by Gawker, a now-defunct US blog that covered celebrities and media – was later submitted as court evidence and listed multiple phone numbers and addresses for Trump, including his office, home and Mar-a-Lago.

What happens now?

Once allies, Musk’s relationship with Trump has deteriorated significantly since his criticism of Trump’s fiscal policy and subsequent allegations about the Epstein files.

Trump’s threats to cut federal contracts with Musk’s companies led to a 14 percent drop in Tesla’s stock value. Musk has since called for Trump’s impeachment and replacement with US Vice President JD Vance.

This public spat has also drawn attention from political figures, with some Democrats demanding the release of the full Epstein files and questioning whether they are being withheld due to potential implications for Trump.

A BRITISH businessman has been accused of spying and plotting to smuggle sensitive military technology to China.

The FBI claim investigators intercepted phone calls in which John Miller, 63, called Chinese leader Xi Jinping as “The Boss”.

The 63-year-old from Kent is also alleged to have tried to buy military hardware in the US for the People’s Liberation Army.

This included missile launchers, air defence radars and Black Hornet “microdrones” that can fly within feet of enemy soldiers and enter buildings to spy on troop positions.

Other equipment he attempted to purchase included a hand-held device approved by America’s National Security Agency for the secure communication of classified material.

Mr Miller also suggested smuggling a device by glueing it inside a food blender so it could then be “sent via DHL or Fedex to Hong Kong, according to US court papers.

The FBI said Mr Miller calling Xi “The Boss” showed his “awareness that he was acting at the direction and control of the [Chinese] government”.

He was arrested on April 24 after he was caught in a sting when the ‘arms dealers’ he was negotiating with turned out to be undercover FBI agents.

Mr Miller was on a business trip to Belgrade, Serbia, at the time and is still being held last night facing extradition to the US.

He is accused of conspiring with US-based Chinese national, Cui Guanghai, 43, and if convicted, both men face up to 40 years in prison.

Neighbours at his five-bedroom £1.5million home in Tunbridge Wells described him a “respectable family man”, according to the Mail on Sunday.

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New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been accused of raping and abusing a woman who says she dated the former Duke standout and No. 1 overall draft pick from 2018-2023.

In a civil lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, a woman identified as Jane Doe provides details of two alleged instances in 2020 during which Williamson raped her in a Beverly Hills apartment he was renting at the time.

“These two incidents were not isolated,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant continued to abuse, rape, assault, and batter Plaintiff in California and other states, including Louisiana and Texas, until the relationship ended in 2023.”

Williamson’s attorneys at Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, LLC, denied the accusations in a statement emailed to The Times on Friday.

“The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless,” the firm stated. “This appears to be an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance.”

Williamson’s attorneys said he and the accuser “never dated, but did maintain a consensual, casual relationship.” The firm added that “Mr. Williamson also intends to file counterclaims and seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit.”

Williamson’s accuser is seeking unspecified damages for nine causes of action that include assault, sexual battery, domestic violence, burglary, stalking and false imprisonment.

“Our client and we do not want to litigate this case in the press. That’s not our intent,” attorney Sam Taylor from the Lanier Law Firm, which is representing the accuser, told The Times on Friday.

“However, I do say this is a very serious case, reflected in the allegations in the complaint. Our client just looks forward to her day in court where she can talk to a jury of her peers and tell them what happened to her and how bad it was and see justice against Mr. Williamson.”

Taylor said that “as of now,” his client is not planning to file lawsuits in any of the other locations where alleged incidents took place.

The Pelicans did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

According to the lawsuit, the two began dating during Williamson’s freshman, and only, year at Duke, where he played during the 2018-19 season.

“During the course of their relationship, Defendant engaged in a continuing pattern of abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior toward Plaintiff,” the lawsuit states. “His wrongful conduct occurred in Louisiana and continued thereafter across several states. The abuse was sexual, physical, emotional, and financial in nature.”

Williamson moved to Beverly Hills for training and rented a house in the area during the fall of 2020, according to the filing. The lawsuit provides explicit details of two alleged instances in which Williamson raped the accuser, “on or about” Sept. 23, 2020, and on Oct. 10, 2020.

The lawsuit also alleges that Williamson committed many other “acts of criminal violence” against his accuser during their relationship, including strangling her multiple times to the point she lost consciousness, suffocating and/or smothering her, beating and kicking her, threatening to kill her and her family members, and pointing a loaded firearm to her head.

Williamson “was either drunk or on cocaine” while allegedly committing many of those acts, the lawsuit states.

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s conduct, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, humiliation, loss of sleep, and other physical and emotional injuries,” the lawsuit states. “As a further direct and proximate result of Defendant’s conduct, Plaintiff has incurred expenses for medical and psychological treatment, therapy, and counseling.”

Amnesty International says torture, killings and enforced disappearances have taken place in areas under rebel control.

M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have committed serious abuses against civilians, “including torture, killings and enforced disappearances”, in areas under their control, according to Amnesty International.

“These acts violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,” Amnesty said in a statement on Tuesday.

The allegations come amid a renewed surge in violence that erupted in January, when the Rwandan-backed M23 group captured the strategic city of Goma in North Kivu province. The rebels went on to seize Bukavu in South Kivu in February, escalating a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands.

Between February and April, Amnesty researchers spoke to 18 people who had been detained by M23 in Goma and Bukavu. Many said they were held on accusations of supporting the Congolese army or government – claims for which no proof was presented. Several were not told why they were being held.

According to Amnesty, detainees were crammed into overcrowded, unhygienic cells, lacking adequate food, water, sanitation and medical care. Some of those interviewed said they saw fellow prisoners die due to these conditions or from acts of torture.

Witnesses described gruesome scenes, including two detainees being bludgeoned to death with hammers and another shot dead on the spot.

All of the former detainees said they were either tortured or saw others being tortured with wooden sticks, electric cables or engine belts, the rights group said.

Relatives searching for the missing were often turned away by M23 fighters, who denied the detainees were being held – actions Amnesty says amount to enforced disappearances.

Peace deal remains elusive

“M23’s public statements about bringing order to eastern DRC mask their horrific treatment of detainees. They brutally punish those who they believe oppose them and intimidate others, so no one dares to challenge them,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa.

“Regional and international actors must pressure Rwanda to cease its support for M23,” added Chagutah.

The United Nations and DRC’s government say Rwanda has supported M23 by providing arms and sending troops – an accusation Kigali denies.

The UN estimates that about 4,000 Rwandan soldiers support M23.

M23 is among roughly 100 armed groups fighting for control in eastern DRC, a region rich in minerals and bordering Rwanda. The ongoing conflict has driven more than seven million people from their homes, including 100,000 who fled this year alone.

Despite recent pledges by the Congolese army and the rebels to seek a truce, clashes have continued. M23 previously threatened to advance as far as the capital, Kinshasa, more than 1,600km (1,000 miles) away.

In April, Rwanda and DRC agreed to draft a peace deal by May 2, committing to respect each other’s sovereignty and refraining from providing military support to armed groups.

A British fishing vessel has been impounded by the French authorities, accused of illegally fishing in their waters.

It was seized in the English Channel and is being held at the port of Boulogne, unable to leave while the French authorities consider bringing a prosecution.

The vessel was stopped at sea by the French Navy on Thursday night, with its crew alleged to have been fishing in French waters without a licence.

The incident comes days after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was criticised by British fishermen over his reset deal with the European Union, which gives EU fishing vessels access to UK waters for 12 more years.

The Foreign Office said it was offering support to a British national in France and was in touch with local authorities.

“As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time,” a government spokesperson added.

According to the French Coastguard, the navy patrol vessel Pluvier was conducting inspections in their waters overnight on 23 May, finding the British vessel to have been allegedly operating without a licence.

The fishing vessel was diverted to Boulogne “for the purpose of initiating prosecution”.

The Conservatives accused the French authorities of “shameful double standards” over the arrest.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said they had failed to stop thousands of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats, accusing France of “taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters”.

“Yet when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act. If the French can now intercept boats then they should start stopping the boats with illegal immigrants – as international law obliges them to do.”

The UK and the EU have struck a deal that covers fishing, trade, defence, energy and strengthening ties in a number of policy areas still up for negotiation.

A key part of the deal involves giving European fishing boats a further 12 years of access to British waters in exchange for easing some trade frictions.

Critics from the Conservatives and Reform UK described the deal as a “surrender” to the EU, while the Liberal Democrats said the government had taken some “positive first steps” to rebuilding ties with Europe.

Brigham Young quarterback Jake Retzlaff has been accused of raping a woman at his Utah residence in November 2023.

In a civil lawsuit filed this week in state court in Salt Lake County, a woman identified in documents as Jane Doe alleges that Retzlaff “raped, strangled, and bit” her after she and a friend came over to his place to play the video game “Fortnite.” The claimant is asking for more than $300,000 in damages over claims including assault, battery and “emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, mental distress and anxiety.”

Retzlaff’s attorney, Mark Baute, said on Wednesday in a statement to media outlets that Retzlaff is “factually innocent.”

“We look forward to proving that innocence,” Baute said. “Jake’s focus this year will be on football. We don’t try cases in the media, we will respect the process and establish Jake’s innocence through the judicial system.”

Retzlaff played two years at Corona Centennial High before spending a year each at Riverside City College and Golden West College in Huntington Beach. He has played 17 games in two seasons at BYU and led the Cougars to an 11-2 record last year. He has one year of college eligibility remaining.

BYU said in a statement to The Times that it learned about the lawsuit Wednesday.

“The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX,” BYU wrote. “Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”

According to the lawsuit, Doe and Retzlaff met via social media in October and began messaging. They met in person in late November when Retzlaff invited the Salt Lake County resident to his place in Utah County. She and a friend came over “that evening and went to his room to play Fortnite,” the lawsuit states.

The filing states that Doe interacted with “Retzlaff’s friends and teammates” while playing the video game. Later, after her friend left, Doe and Retzlaff were kissing while watching a movie when “Retzlaff began escalating the situation, attempting to touch her breasts and genital area,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit states that Doe “tried to de-escalate the situation and attempted to slow things down, trying to pull away, and saying ‘wait.’ She did not want to do anything sexual with him.”

Retzlaff’s physical contact started “causing her pain,” the complaint states, and Doe objected — saying “no” and “wait, stop” — and “wanted to leave, but was scared and felt like she could not get away.”

According to the lawsuit, Retzlaff would go on to allegedly pull Doe’s hair, forcefully kiss her, bite her lip (which allegedly caused a cut) and “put his hands around her neck and started to press down so that she could not breathe,” among other alleged actions before raping her.

Doe left after Retzlaff fell asleep, the lawsuit states. She went to a hospital “a few days later,” according to the lawsuit, and had a rape kit performed and photos taken of her injuries. She also spoke with the Provo Police Department but initially did not give Retzlaff’s name because “she was scared and in shock and not ready to confront him,” the lawsuit states.

“At some point after speaking to the police, an officer reached out to her asking for the name because someone else filed a complaint against a football player and the police wanted to see if it was the same person,” the lawsuit states.

“At that point, [Doe] shared Retzlaff’s name, and the Provo police then encouraged her not to do anything because, as they claimed, ‘sexual assault victims never get justice.’”

In a statement released Wednesday night, the Provo Police Department said it “is aware of a civil suit involving an allegation of rape made by an anonymous plaintiff against a BYU football player” but “has not been served any legal filing relating to this civil case.”

The department said it was able “to identify a possible correlating case report” based on the details of the civil case. The initials of the woman who called in that report match those of Retzlaff’s accuser. The Times does not name victims of sexual assault unless they choose to be identified.

“Our records show that on November 27th, 2023, our department received a phone report from a woman … who gave a similar account. She was treated with courtesy and care,” the department stated.

“The complainant in that case was given several opportunities to identify her abuser. She declined to do so, as is her right, and the case was subsequently closed. Collected evidence was examined, and it revealed no actionable investigative leads. Our victim advocates followed up several times to offer services but received no response.”

The department continued: “The civil suit states that Provo Police personnel discouraged the victim from proceeding, by telling her there is no justice for victims of sexual abuse. From everything we have reviewed, this is not true. We have a team of dedicated investigators and victim advocates whose sole mission is to provide justice to victims of sexual abuse. They do not send people away, warning them there is no justice for victims.

“Our Special Victims Unit investigations regularly result in criminal accountability for offenders. We hope the plaintiff chooses to make a statement to further the criminal investigation if desired.”

A South L.A. recycling plant that has been accused of spewing toxic waste and metal projectiles onto the grounds of Jordan High School will be permanently shut down, according to a plea deal agreed to by the plant’s owners in court Tuesday.

Matthew and Gary Weisenberg — the owners of S&W Atlas Iron & Metal, one of the city’s oldest metal recycling facilities — each pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of unlawful disposal of hazardous waste and public nuisance. The corporation pleaded no contest to five felony counts of failing to properly dispose of hazardous waste.

In addition to shutting down, the company and its owners will pay around $150,000 in fines. They will also owe $1 million in restitution to the Los Angeles Unified School District and an additional $850,000 to the district attorney’s office, which will be split between government agencies and Watts community organizations.

The father and son will serve 200 hours of community service and two years of probation. They must also cease recycling material processing facility operations. The Weisenbergs maintain the right to operate a business on the parcel of land they own, but it cannot involve metal processing or recycling, according to the terms laid out in court.

The school district and city will have the right of first refusal to buy the parcel if the Weisenbergs ever look to sell their land.

L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman was in the courtroom Tuesday morning and held a news conference at Jordan High School later in the afternoon. He used the opportunity to warn “environmental criminals,” saying, “pay heed and notice to what is going on today.”

“They are polluting the land, the sea, the rivers and the air,” said Hochman. “Very often, environmental criminals think they will pay a fine here and there — that’s business. But they are putting their feet to the fire today.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Benjamin Wright, who worked on the case, said outside the courtroom, “We are very pleased with the plea deal. The facility has been operating for so long. There have been so many instances of shrapnel flying onto school property. It’s very dangerous for the students, let alone all the hazardous waste.”

The Weisenbergs’ attorneys, Benjamin Gluck and Vicki Podberesky, had previously denied all wrongdoing by their clients.

“While it is with sadness that Atlas has agreed to close its recycling operations, this decision reflects the evolving land use along the Alameda Corridor,” wrote Gluck in a statement to The Times. “Our clients hope that the outcome of this case and the financial contributions Atlas is making will help support the Watts community.”

L.A. prosecutors first charged the Weisenbergs with nearly two dozen counts of failing to properly dispose waste in 2023, following years of allegations levied by community activists and school officials that the metal plant was belching poison onto students. Prosecutors alleged the plant exposed students at Jordan High School to several explosions, metal projectiles and lead levels nearly 75 times higher than what federal regulators deem safe.

Pressure on the plant’s owners ramped up last year, after an explosion at Atlas rattled Watts students on the first day of school.

As a result, a judge barred the plant from accepting certain types of canisters that might blow up, warning the Weisenbergs their bail would be revoked if they didn’t comply. In March, an investigation by the state Department of Toxic Substances found containers of acetylene, a highly flammable gas, on the plant’s grounds. L.A. County Superior Court Judge Terry Bork briefly jailed the Weisenbergs and days later order the plant shuttered for failure to comply.

For more than 20 years, community organizers and activists have fought to get the plant shut down.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency previously ordered the company to upgrade its system to stop chemicals from washing into storm drains and going onto campus. Prior soil samples reported from the high school also showed high concentrations of lead and zinc.

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge charged with helping a man illegally evade immigration agents is seeking donations to fund her court defense.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan announced Friday that she’s set up a fund to cover the costs of her defense. The fund issued a statement saying that the case against her is an “unprecedented attack on the independent judiciary by the federal government.”

Dugan has hired a group of high-powered lawyers led by former U.S. Atty. Steve Biskupic. She’s looking to tap into anger on the left over the case to help pay them. Dozens of people demonstrated outside Dugan’s arraignment Thursday at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee, demanding she be set free and accusing the Trump administration of going too far.

Federal prosecutors allege Eduardo Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan’s courtroom on April 18 for a hearing in a domestic violence case when Dugan learned immigration agents were in the courthouse looking to arrest him. According to court documents, Flores-Ruiz illegally returned to the U.S. after he was deported in 2013.

Angry that agents were in the courthouse and calling the situation “absurd,” Dugan led Flores-Ruiz out a back door in her courtroom, according to an FBI affidavit. Agents eventually captured him following a foot chase outside the building.

FBI agents arrested Dugan at the county courthouse on April 25. A grand jury on Tuesday indicted her on one count of obstruction and one count of concealing a person to prevent arrest. The charges carry a total maximum sentence of six years in federal prison.

Dugan pleaded not guilty during her arraignment. Her attorneys have filed a motion seeking to dismiss the case, arguing that she was controlling movement in her courtroom in her official capacity as a judge and therefore is immune from prosecution.

The state Supreme Court suspended Dugan following her arrest. A reserve judge has taken over her cases.

The fund statement said that Dugan plans to resume her work as a judge and they won’t accept contributions that could compromise her judicial integrity. She will accept money only from U.S. citizens but won’t take donations from Milwaukee County residents; attorneys who practice in the county; lobbyists; judges; parties with pending matters before any Milwaukee County judge; and county employees.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske will manage the fund.

Richmond writes for the Associated Press.

May 13 (UPI) — A federal grand jury in Wisconsin has indicted Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, whose arrest last month on allegations of helping a migrant evade federal arrest prompted dozens of legal professionals to accuse the Trump administration of trying to intimidate the judiciary.

Dugan was charged in a two-count indictment on Tuesday.

The court document accuses her of knowingly concealing a person whose arrest warrant had been issued in order to prevent their apprehension, and corruptly endeavoring to influence, obstruct and impede the administration of law enforcement.

UPI has contacted her legal representation for comment.

FBI agents arrested Dugan on April 25 for allegedly misdirecting federal agents to allow Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented migrant, to evade arrest earlier that month.

According to the affidavit supporting her arrest, Dugan was presiding over an April 18 hearing involving Flores-Ruiz in a domestic abuse case when agents arrived to arrest him over his immigration status.

After confronting federal agents in the court’s hallway, she is accused of escorting Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of her courtroom.

Flores-Ruiz was able to leave the courthouse, but then led federal agents on a foot chase before being taken into immigration enforcement custody.

The development comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

During the increased law enforcement targeting of undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration rescinded a Biden administration policy prohibiting immigration enforcement action in or near courthouses.

While the previous administration said such arrests hindered the administration of justice, the current administration has argued that the policy “emboldened criminal illegal aliens” and being able to make arrests at courthouses “is common sense.”

The arrest of Dugan was met with swift condemnation from those in the legal profession, who viewed it as another Trump administration attack on the judiciary.

More than 140 retired state and federal judges sent Attorney General Pam Bondi a letter earlier this month condemning what they described as attacks against judges who do not rule in the Trump administration’s favor.

“The intent to intimidate Judge Dugan and the judiciary is clear from the circumstances of Judge Dugan’s arrest,” the group said.

“The circumstances of Judge Dugan’s arrest make it clear that it was nothing but an effort to threaten and intimidate the state and federal judiciaries into submitting to the Administration, instead of interpreting the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

Dugan has been temporarily removed from her duties by the Wisconsin Supreme Court following her arrest.

Authorities have identified the inmate accused of stabbing incarcerated rapper Tory Lanez with a self-made shank as 41-year-old Santino Casio, who is serving a life sentence for murder.

Casio allegedly attacked Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, around 7:20 a.m. Monday in a housing unit at the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Peterson is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting rapper Megan Thee Stallion in 2020. He was transported to an outside medical facility for treatment and is currently in fair condition, prison officials said Tuesday afternoon.

An Instagram account ascribed to Lanez said the rapper was stabbed 14 times — including seven wounds to his back, four to his torso, two to the back of his head and one to his face. The 32-year-old Canadian artist was said to have suffered two collapsed lungs but was “in good spirits” and “pulling through.”

Casio has been placed in restrictive housing while prison officials and the Kern County district attorney’s office investigate the attack.

The alleged assailant was sent to the California Correctional Institute from Los Angeles County in 2004 after being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, use of a deadly weapon and inflicting great bodily injury, according to the CDCR.

While in prison, Casio has been sentenced for two additional crimes.

In 2008, he was sentenced to six years for assaulting a prisoner with a deadly weapon. Then, in 2018, he was sentenced to two years for possessing a deadly weapon in prison.

Peterson was sentenced in August 2023 for shooting Grammy-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete. He was convicted in December 2022 of assault with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm and negligent discharge of a gun.

The “Savage” musician has alleged that Peterson has continued to harass her from prison by directing his fans and online trolls to disparage her online. In January, a Los Angeles judge granted Pete a restraining order against Peterson until 2030.

Staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report