NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Voting lawsuit: South Carolina election officials are accused in a new lawsuit of failing to keep the state’s voting processes secure. The State newspaper reports the suit filed Tuesday says the South Carolina Election Commission has deprived voters of their constitutional right to vote by failing to provide a reliable voting system. The suit filed by a businessman and a former state lawmaker says the state’s thousands of digital voting machines are antiquated, leave no paper trail and have “deep security flaws” making them vulnerable to hacking.
2 Jail food: After some Alabama sheriffs profited large sums of money by skimping on jailhouse meals, Gov. Kay Ivey said Tuesday that the state will no longer give jail food funds to “sheriffs personally.” In a memo to the state comptroller, Ivey rescinded the state’s 2008 policy of “paying prisoner food service allowances directly to sheriffs in their personal capacities.” Ivey said the money should be directed to the county general fund or to an account established for the sheriff ’s official use. For years, some sheriffs have made extra money — sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars — under a Depression-era funding system that critics have argued gives a profit incentive to feed inmates poorly. A law passed in the days when chain gangs were common, gives sheriffs $1.75 a day to feed each prisoner and another statute said the sheriffs can “retain” excess money.
3 Rapper murder case: One of the gunmen allegedly involved in the June 18 killing of rap artist XXXTentacion has been arrested, the Broward Sheriff ’s Office said Wednesday. Florida investigators say Michael Boatwright, 22, is one of the two armed suspects who wore masks and confronted Jahseh Onfroy, known as XXXTentacion, when he was killed on June 18. Detectives still are seeking a second gunman, as well as Robert Allen, a 22-year-old man described as a person of interest in the case.
4 Flint water: Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has vowed to pay to secure fresh water for Flint, Mich., homes. The city’s water supply was contaminated with lead after the state changed its source in 2014. He tweeted a commitment to fund fixing the water in any Flint house with high levels of contamination. 5 Armed judge: A judge is charged with carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited area after he was caught on video dropping a gun in a Chicago courthouse. A spokesman for Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office says Cook County Circuit Judge Joseph Claps has been reassigned to “nonjudicial duties,” pending a review. The sheriff ’s department says 70-year-old Claps was in the lobby of the Leighton Criminal Court Building on July 3, when a handgun fell from the jacket draped over Claps’ arm. Surveillance video shows the judge retrieving the gun and putting it in his pants pocket. The department says only on-duty law enforcement officers may carry guns in the courthouse.