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A Missoula City Council committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a request from the Missoula Police Department to pay about $515,000 over the course of five years for 120 new Tasers and a bundle of add-on services, including an artificial intelligence software program that writes up to 80% of police reports. Missoula Police Chief Mike Colyer made the request to the city council's Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee. Colyer said the MPD has had a Taser program since 2001, when he was one of the initial instructors. Colyer gave two examples of how Tasers were used to avoid a potential use of firearms. A representative for Axon Enterprise Inc. demonstrates the company's TASER 7 on May 12, 2022, in Washington. In the first example, he recounted how he and another officer were once chasing a suspect on a stolen bike. "By the time we caught up to him, he had wiped out and he was getting a knife out of his coat," Colyer recounted. "We hollered at him to drop the knife." The suspect refused the orders, Colyer said. "We hit him with the Taser," Colyer said, noting that the man was immobilized by the electric jolt and subsequently detained without harm to anyone. "Often times I've wondered how that might have ended if we didn't have the Taser," Colyer told the city council members. "Our only other option was lethal force." In another case, Colyer said a student at a local school had charged a teacher with a pair of scissors. A school resource officer responded, and when he got there, the young man was holding a chair over his head. Colyer said the officer simply pointed the red laser dot at the student, which in police jargon is called "painting." "The young man looked down, saw the light on his chest, and put the chair down and it was over," Colyer said. "These are not just theories. There are dozens of examples of the value of the program." Colyer said the department has been offered to renew a contract with Axon Technologies for the Taser program. The five-year contract would cost about $103,000 per year. As part of the contract, the department would get 120 new T10 Taser devices. Colyer said they have double the range of the older models. Also, they work with a single probe instead of two probes. "The old models have to have two probes make connection, so if you miss one or you have a clothing disconnect, it's kind of useless," Colyer explained. "In the new one, you have two probes you can fire individually and the distance is twice as far. Time and distance are always our friend, and this new model provides that." Colyer said Axon Technologies has a "moonshot goal" of reducing officer-involved shootings in the U.S. by 50%. "They view the new T10 as a big part of that because of its advanced technology," he said. The contract will also give the officers an unlimited supply of training and duty cartridges. Because about 118 officers will have to train twice a year and deploy at least two in each training session, Colyer said that's a savings of about $35,000. The department will also be able to sell its older models to a company that repurposes them and sells them to private security firms. The department will also get access to four more virtual reality, three-dimensional training headsets. "That will allow us to do more reps for people," he said. The headsets will also be used for the Department's Citizen Academy, where members of the public can see what it's like to engage in a "use of force scenario." The contract from Axon also comes with software called Draft One. It's an AI (artificial intelligence) software that provides 80% of the initial report for an officer to work from. Colyer said that the software gathers data from body cameras and car cameras to write up the first part of a police report from an incident, thus saving staff time. "It creates basically the first draft of a report," Colyer said. "They estimate about 80% of the content is created for the officer. And then throughout the report it cues the officer to provide detail where needed." Colyer said the department is "testing and evaluating" the software right now. "I'm pretty cautious about AI and how that might look, but we will consider it," Colyer said. An article from MSNBC from late November about Draft One quoted several experts as being extremely skeptical about the software. It also quoted Axon's CEO as saying the software has built-in "safeguards" to prevent mistakes. Another tool offered by Axon is Fusus Real-Time Crime Software, which would allow the department to engage with private camera owners, such as banks, schools or private homeowners or renters. "Frankly we don't have the infrastructure to run that right now, or personnel or equipment, so it's not something that I'm considering right now," Colyer said. Colyer said it's cheaper for the department to take the bundle with all the add-ons from Axon rather than just buy the 120 new Tasers. The department will not have to pay the final year of its existing contract with Axon, which will save $70,000. City council member Stacie Anderson was supportive of the contract. "I know training is a huge component of what the police force does, and the more training you have and advantages you have the safer we all are," she said. "Both officers and the public. So definitely want to be mindful of this opportunity to provide more training." David Erickson is the business reporter for the Missoulian. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. 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A season of protests, forfeits and lawsuits ended quietly Saturday on the volleyball court with San José State losing the Mountain West Conference women's tournament final to Colorado State. The loss deprived San José State from claiming the conference's automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament, which could have extended the controversy centered on the team's transgender player. Instead, top-seeded Colorado State earned the automatic bid by winning in four sets. Fewer than 200 spectators attended the match at UNLV, and the fans were respectful, cheering every player during pregame introductions and during the action. Players encouraged one another throughout the match and exchanged hugs when it was over. The only bit of political activity came when Colorado State star player Malaya Jones and teammates Kennedy Stanford and Naeemah Weathers knelt during the national anthem. Colorado State coach Emily Kohan told reporters the players have knelt before matches since 2020. "They've knelt since their freshman year, when the Black Lives Matter movement was going on, and, in this program, we raise critical thinkers to make decisions for what's important to them," Kohan said. "And, for those three, they're Black players, and it's been important to them for five years. And they've stood their ground for saying that this is something that they believe in, and we've all supported them." The focus on volleyball and sportsmanship was a welcome departure from a roller-coaster season in which four Mountain West teams — Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada-Reno — each chose to forfeit or cancel two conference matches to San José State. Boise State also forfeited its conference tournament semifinal match to the second-seeded Spartans, who had a first-round bye and only played one match in the tournament. The transgender player has been on the San José State roster for three seasons after transferring from a college on the East Coast, although this is the first season opponents have protested the player's participation. The player is not being named by The Los Angeles Times because they haven't publicly identified as transgender. The issue became public when San José State co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit in September against the NCAA filed by former All-American swimmer and anti-trans-athlete activist Riley Gaines. The suit alleges that NCAA transgender eligibility policies violate Title IX and the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Slusser alleges in the lawsuit that the inclusion of a transgender player poses an unfair advantage and safety hazards. The NCAA adopted new rules a year ago pertaining to transgender athletes, who must document sport-specific testosterone levels at the beginning of their season and again six months later. They also must document testosterone levels four weeks before championship selections. "We are steadfast in our support of transgender student-athletes and the fostering of fairness across college sports," said John DeGioia, chair of the NCAA board of governors and Georgetown president. "It is important that NCAA member schools, conferences and college athletes compete in an inclusive, fair, safe and respectful environment and can move forward with a clear understanding of the new policy." Nevertheless, the schools that forfeited volleyball matches have the backing of politicians in their states. Idaho's Republican Gov. Brad Little recently signed an executive order barring sports teams at Boise State and other public schools in the state from playing against teams with transgender athletes. San José State was left to piece together its season against opponents willing to play. Colorado State was one of those. "Our team played their hearts out today, the way they have done all season," San José State coach Todd Kress said in a statement after the conference tournament loss. "This has been one of the most difficult seasons I've ever experienced and I know this is true as well for many of our players and the staff who have been supporting us all along. Maintaining our focus on the court and ensuring the overall safety and well-being of my players amid the external noise have been my priorities." Slusser, San José State associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose and 10 other current and former players filed another lawsuit Nov. 13 aimed at having the transgender player removed ahead of the conference tournament, stating that her inclusion violated Title IX rights for gender equity in federally funded institutions. But a federal judge last Monday rejected the lawsuit, and a day later, another judge rejected Slusser's appeal. The transgender player took the court along with Slusser and San José State was defeated, ending a turbulent season that Kress said included attacks on social media. "Our team prepared and was ready to play each match according to established Mountain West and NCAA rules of play," Kress said in his statement. "We did not take away anyone's participation opportunities. Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season. "To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff, and many associated with our program." ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Blair issues alert over ‘high taxes’ after Starmer’s National Insurance raid

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MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robinhood Markets, Inc. (“Robinhood”) (NASDAQ: HOOD) today reported select monthly operating data for November 2024: Funded Customers at the end of November were 24.8 million (up approximately 420 thousand from October 2024, up approximately 1.5 million year-over-year). Assets Under Custody (AUC) at the end of November were $195 billion (up 22% from October 2024, up 106% year-over-year). Net Deposits were $5.6 billion in November, translating to a 42% annualized growth rate relative to October 2024 AUC. Over the last twelve months, Net Deposits were $47.4 billion, translating to an annual growth rate of 50% relative to November 2023 AUC. Equity Notional Trading Volumes were $147.1 billion (up 16% from October 2024, up 178% year-over-year). Options Contracts Traded were 155.5 million (down 2% from October 2024, up 63% year-over-year). Crypto Notional Trading Volumes were $35.2 billion (up over 500% from October 2024, up over 700% year-over-year). Margin balances at the end of November were $6.8 billion (up 10% from the end of October 2024, up 100% year-over-year). Total Cash Sweep balances at the end of November were $26.5 billion (up 4% from the end of October 2024, up 74% year-over-year). Total Securities Lending Revenue in November was $23 million (up 21% from October 2024, up 109% year-over-year). For definitions and additional information regarding these metrics, please refer to Robinhood’s full monthly metrics release, which is available on investors.robinhood.com . The information in this release is unaudited and the information for the months in the most recent fiscal quarter is preliminary, based on Robinhood’s estimates, and subject to completion of financial closing procedures. Final results for the most recent fiscal quarter, as reported in Robinhood’s quarterly and annual filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), might vary from the information in this release. About Robinhood Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) transformed financial services by introducing commission-free stock trading and democratizing access to the markets for millions of investors. Today, Robinhood lets you trade stocks, options, commodity interests, and crypto, invest for retirement, and earn with Robinhood Gold. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Robinhood puts customers in the driver's seat, delivering unprecedented value and products intentionally designed for a new generation of investors. Additional information about Robinhood can be found at www.robinhood.com . Robinhood uses the “Overview” tab of its Investor Relations website (accessible at investors.robinhood.com/overview ) and its Newsroom (accessible at newsroom.aboutrobinhood.com ), as means of disclosing information to the public in a broad, non-exclusionary manner for purposes of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (“SEC”) Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg. FD). Investors should routinely monitor those web pages, in addition to Robinhood’s press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts, as information posted on them could be deemed to be material information. “Robinhood” and the Robinhood feather logo are registered trademarks of Robinhood Markets, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Contacts Investor Relations ir@robinhood.com Media press@robinhood.com

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