QUICK HITS

1 NYPD uses social media to target critics, worrying some: The New York Police Department has been taking a more active role in trying to influence public policy through slick online videos and social media posts. The nation’s largest police department has in recent months also given its chiefs a green light to publicly criticize judges, prosecutors or proposed laws they don’t like. The strategic shift has brought criticism from some former police officials and civil liberties groups. They say the department’s leaders shouldn’t use public resources to promote their own policy agenda or attack other civil servants.

2 Ireland’s voters to weigh in on ‘a woman’s place is in the home’: Irish voters are voting in twin referendums to decide whether to amend the constitution and remove passages the government says are outdated and sexist. The twin referendums on International Women’s Day are on deleting a reference in the 87-year-old document to women’s domestic duties and broadening the definition of the family. When the constitution was adopted in 1937, Ireland was a socially conservative and overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country. Polls suggest support for the “yes”side on both votes.

3 ALS drug Relyvrio fails clinical trial, may be pulled off market: One of the few treatments the Food and Drug Administration has approved for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has failed a large clinical trial, and its manufacturer said Friday it was considering whether to withdraw it from the market. The medication, called Relyvrio, was approved less than two years ago, despite questions about its effectiveness in treating the severe neurological disorder. A 48-week trial of 664 patients showed the treatment did not work better than a placebo.

4 Kyoto’s picturesque geisha district fights tourist crowding: Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto has long been a popular destination for tourists, but visitors will no longer be able to venture into some privateproperty alleys in the city’s famous geisha district. Officials say complaints have grown about misbehavior accompanying a deluge of tourists crowding the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion, where the ban covers several blocks.

5 Dissent stifled, some Russians send notes of support to political prisoners: Russians who are too fearful to protest in the streets are finding an outlet for their activism by writing letters to political prisoners. Whether it is simply wishing them a happy birthday or a longer message of support, activists say they get positive feedback from inmates for the campaign. The letter-writing groups have sprung up inside Russia as well as among those living abroad.