In September 2025, a police officer in Pasadena, California, accidentally shot a fellow officer while engaging in what officials called "horseplay" with loaded firearms. Dashboard camera video showed that while preparing for their shift in the parking garage, one officer drew his gun and pointed it at an officer seated in a patrol car. That officer then drew his own weapon, which discharged, shooting through the windshield and hitting the other officer in the shoulder.

The Denver City Council voted against letting Key Lime Air lease space at the airport because the charter airline transports immigration detainees for the federal government. That decision risked losing $90 million in federal funding, since airlines must be treated equally. City Attorney Miko Brown reportedly told airport officials to investigate the airline's safety record—not for safety reasons but to retroactively create a legal justification for the vote. A memo written at the time quoted Brown saying, "A bad argument is better than no argument."

Hammond, Louisiana, police officer Denver Golmon faces federal charges for allegedly exposing the identity of a confidential informant in a cockfighting investigation. Golmon's uncle was indicted as part of the investigation; according to court records, Golmon shared videos of the informant that were provided to his uncle's attorneys during discovery, telling the recipients not to disclose where the videos came from.

Brenda Brooks, a former school bus driver in Ohio, received 18 months in jail and five years of probation—the maximum sentence—after pleading guilty to child endangerment and driving under the influence. Brooks drove a bus with elementary schoolchildren on board while impaired. She turned the wrong way when leaving the school, then began swerving across the road and missing stops. One child called her parents for help, and her father had to pull in front of the bus to stop it.

Officials in Culver City, California, banned new fast-food restaurants with drive-thru lanes. The proposal grew out of opposition to a planned In-N-Out Burger location. City leaders and some residents said drive-thrus create more traffic, air pollution from idling cars, and safety problems for pedestrians and cyclists. Opponents in the restaurant industry argued the plan would hurt businesses, since most fast-food sales come through drive-thrus, while disadvantaging large families, the elderly, and people with disabilities. In August, the City Council voted to renew the ban for 10 more months.

The Georgia State Patrol fired four troopers after an internal investigation found they profited from police pursuits by filing personal injury claims against the insurance companies of drivers they chased. Investigators said the troopers used crash reports from pursuits they initiated to seek settlements for claims of stress, anxiety, and soreness, even though they had not reported injuries or sought medical treatment at the time. Some troopers collected tens of thousands of dollars and admitted the claims were a way to supplement their income. Prosecutors were later forced to dismiss 27 DUI cases when the troopers in question were excluded from testifying.

Paul Powlesland led volunteers cleaning up a polluted stream in East London, England. They worked for 10 days, removed over 200 bags of trash, and cleared out thick mud and invasive plants, restoring 250 meters (820 feet) of waterway. Fish, dragonflies, and herons have now returned for the first time in decades, but Powlesland faces up to two years in jail for doing the cleanup without official permits.

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Turkish authorities seized control of Halk TV, a popular pro-opposition television station based in Istanbul. Police raided its headquarters, stopped live broadcasts, and prevented staff from entering the building. A court appointed a government administrator to run the station and other companies linked to its owner, Cafer Mahiroğlu, who is being investigated for bribery, money laundering, and rigging public contracts. Mahiroğlu, who lives abroad, denied the accusations. After the takeover, the station stopped airing live news and instead broadcast music and documentaries, while authorities also ordered its social media accounts blocked in Turkey. The seizure came as Halk TV was covering corruption allegations involving figures linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling party and the trial of imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

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Iranian authorities have sentenced to death Najmeh Amini, an accounting student, for blasphemy over a social media post that reportedly insulted Muhammad. Amini, who is being held in Vakilabad prison in Mashhad, was also sentenced to more than 12 years in prison in a separate case involving charges of acting against national security and spreading propaganda against the government. She was reportedly arrested following online monitoring by the Iranian Cyber Police after nationwide anti-government protests. Amini told the court that she posted the remarks while hallucinating after taking psychedelic mushrooms, and her lawyer argued that the comments were unintentional, but the judge rejected this defense. The content of the offending post has not been made public.

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The Scottish government has confirmed that around 800 public sector workers are being paid despite having no jobs. One National Health Service employee has received a full salary and benefits for 17 years despite not having an actual job. Under Scotland's policy against "compulsory redundancy," any workers whose jobs become obsolete are kept on "redeployment" lists and allowed to remain on the payroll while waiting for suitable positions. The estimated cost of paying people to do nothing is £27 million ($36 million) per year, but the actual cost to taxpayers is likely far higher, because several public bodies have refused to disclose salary information for hundreds of these workers.

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San Diego County, California, has sued Polymaker, a company that manufactures filament for 3D printers. The lawsuit accuses the company of illegally marketing its products to people who make unregistered firearms, often called "ghost guns." The county admits that the filament itself is legal but objects to how the company markets it. The lawsuit alleges that Polymaker worked with a firearm-printing influencer, promoted products for making guns, and provided technical advice to online communities interested in 3D-printed firearms. The county argues that this marketing violates California consumer protection laws. It is seeking the return of revenue linked to the allegedly illegal marketing, a court order stopping the company from continuing the challenged practices, and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation—with each day counting as a separate violation.

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The California High-Speed Rail Authority's board voted 7–2 to strip CEO Ian Choudri of his authority to independently approve and manage contracts worth less than $25 million after an investigation uncovered questionable taxpayer-funded expenses by four consulting firms. An audit found that $593,000 in travel expenses lacked proper justification or violated state rules, including premium airline tickets and rideshare trips to places like a cigar lounge and an escape room. Consultants also billed taxpayers for rides to and from Choudri's home, sometimes late at night. The authority paid the four consulting firms roughly $2 million in travel costs; the inspector general reviewed about $1.15 million of that total and found $680,500 had no prior approval.

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Katharine Viviano, a first-grade teacher at Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Peters Township, Pennsylvania, faces a charge of public drunkenness after officials said she became intoxicated at school and left her students unattended. According to police, Viviano left during the school day to buy alcohol, and when she returned, she hit another vehicle in the school parking lot. She later went into the bathroom attached to her classroom and refused to come out; another teacher found her in the bathroom semi-conscious. School staff initially believed Viviano was having a medical emergency, and they moved her students to another classroom and then to a playground while they dealt with the situation. Viviano reportedly smelled of alcohol, with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. Authorities say she admitted drinking vodka earlier in the day.

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Fairfax County, Virginia, police officer Scott Abram was charged with two counts of misdemeanor shoplifting for stealing merchandise from two Target stores. Police say that while using the self-checkout at a Target in Burke, Abram scanned a cheaper item's barcode to pay less for another item, then left the store with both products despite only paying for one. Abram was in uniform and on duty at the time. Police say he had committed a similar theft at a Target in Springfield the day before, while off duty. A 23-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department, Abram chose to retire rather than face termination. Each charge is a misdemeanor that can carry up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine if convicted.

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Ontario government inspectors checked several career colleges that had experienced "concerning" growth in applications for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), a government financial aid program that helps eligible students pay for post-secondary education. The investigators found problems that raised "serious concerns" at three Academy of Learning institutions, like signs that other people might have been doing students' schoolwork for them—for example, some students finished whole courses in a single day, or even just minutes. A few students could not even name their school or program of study. The inspectors also found shared computer logins from many different locations and said the schools could not prove that OSAP-funded students were really taking the classes they claimed to be enrolled in. These three locations took in more than $219 million in student aid money for about 14,800 students in one year, so the province decided to stop letting new students use that aid at the schools. The colleges deny most of the claims and are fighting the decision in court.

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