Black student dragged from his car and punched by Fla. officers says he was scared

(AP) — A Black college student is still recovering after being punched and dragged from his car by Florida law officers during a traffic stop in February. His lawyers said Wednesday that William McNeil Jr. suffered a concussion and a pierced lip. The encounter has sparked nationwide outrage. Footage that went viral over the weekend shows McNeil asking to speak to a supervisor before officers broke his window and forcibly removed him from the vehicle. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending the officers, suggesting the video was shared to create division. The sheriff says the State Attorney’s Office cleared the officers of any criminal wrongdoing.

Judge rejects Trump administration effort to unseal Epstein grand jury records in Fla.

(AP) — A judge has rejected a Trump administration request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations of Jeffrey Epstein years ago in Florida. A similar request for the work of a different grand jury is pending in New York. U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach said Wednesday the request to release grand jury documents from 2005 and 2007 did not meet any of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make them public. Supporters of President Donald Trump believe there was a conspiracy to protect Epstein’s clients, conceal videos of crimes being committed and other evidence.

Judge bars ICE from immediately taking Abrego Garcia into custody if he’s released from jail

(AP) — A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he’s released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to deport him. The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland.

9 New Orleans inmates who broke out of jail plead not guilty to escape charges

(AP) — Nine of the 10 men accused of breaking out of a New Orleans jail in May after slipping through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a barbed wire fence have pleaded not guilty to escape charges. The 10th inmate is still at large. The pleas on Wednesday came despite officials repeatedly pointing to video surveillance of the brazen escape, one of the largest jailbreaks in recent U.S. history. All 10 men are charged with simple escape, which is tacked on top of previous criminal counts that initially landed them in jail. Inmate Derrick Groves remains on the lam.