News Information and Media Site: The shock of Cosby's release

THE BIG STORY

Bill Cosby has been released from prison after his rape conviction was overturned

Bill Cosby's 2018 sexual assault conviction was a key moment in the #MeToo movement. It was seen as accountability for a major celebrity accused of abusing his power. That same year, Cosby began serving a sentence of three to 10 years at a state prison near Philadelphia.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Bill Cosby is out of prison. His conviction has been overturned by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, which found that Cosby's agreement with a previous prosecutor should have prevented charges from ever being filed.

How does this even happen?

Here's the short version: The whole thing hinges on Cosby's statements in a deposition for Andrea Constand's civil lawsuit against him. In 2005, district attorney Bruce Castor told Cosby's team — and the world, via press release — that he would not bring criminal charges related to Constand's allegation. After that, Cosby gave self-incriminating statements in the deposition.

Fast forward to 2015, and after dozens of women began making similar accusations against Cosby, documents in Constand's civil case were unsealed. Castor's successor reopened the criminal investigation, and that prosecutor's successor decided to press charges.

The court found that Cosby's decision to rely on a Castor's statement and incriminate himself in the civil case, and to then have those statements used against him, ran so far afoul of his due process rights that the only way to fix it was to throw out the entire prosecution.

Here's the full explainer of why Cosby's conviction was overturned.

How people are reacting:

The overturning of Cosby's conviction is a frustrating end to a painful saga, and it's reminding many people of how broken the legal system can be for sexual assault survivors.

Bill Cosby, center, listens to members of his team speak with the media outside his home in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania on June 30, 2021, after his sexual assault conviction was overturned. Matt Rourke / AP

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

"It could happen to anyone": Here's how people in Surfside are coping with the building collapse

A week after a building collapsed in Surfside, Florida, those who are grieving have had to contend with the painful and slow release of information about the missing. It has left the Florida community suspended in hope and mourning, unclear what to do next.

The community is not sure how to even begin mourning, or when or how it should be done. All agree this will be a tragedy that defines their community for years to come.

Officials have promised that no one will be left behind, that the search and rescue will continue. Read our reporting from Surfside, Florida.

SNAPSHOTS

A House select committee will officially investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection. The committee passed on a nearly partisan line, with only a handful of Republicans voting in favor of the measure. The select committee will have subpoena power over documents and testimony.

Former Smallville actor Allison Mack has been sentenced to three years in prison for aiding the secret sex cult NXIVM. Mack was sentenced to 36 months for racketeering and 36 months for racketeering conspiracy, and she will serve both at the same time. She will have to report to prison by late September.

James Franco will pay $2.2 million to settle a fraud and sexual harassment lawsuit. As part of the settlement, Franco and his production company denied all of the fraud and sexual harassment complaints leveled against him in 2019.

Why amusement parks can't hire enough employees. Summer is peak season for these attractions. But after COVID-19, they are scrambling for staffers. As a result, amusement parks are trying to entice employees via sign-on bonuses and other incentives.

"PLAYING CATCHUP"

A government watchdog may have missed Clearview AI use by five federal agencies in a new report

A 92-page report published by the Government Accountability Office looked into the deployment of facial recognition by federal agencies. But that report may have overlooked some organizations' use of popular biometric identification software Clearview AI.

Five agencies — the US Capitol Police, the US Probation Office, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Transportation Security Administration, and the Criminal Investigation Division at the Internal Revenue Service — said they didn't use Clearview AI between April 2018 and March 2020. This, however, contradicts internal Clearview data previously reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

This calls into question whether authorities can understand the extent to which the emerging technology has been used by taxpayer-funded entities.

One expert described the discrepancy like this: "I think it speaks to the fact that the GAO analysis ... is ultimately playing catchup, and in a domain where … people are not documenting the technologies they use, the regulations they put around them, or the processes for accessing them."

HOT HOT HEAT

These photos show the extent of the shocking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest

People across the Pacific Northwest are coping with extreme temperatures this week in what experts say is just the latest example of how the climate crisis is affecting public health. We've collected some photos that show how people are coping — and they are really striking. I love this one:

Pablo Miranda cools off in the Salmon Springs Fountain in Portland. Nathan Howard / Getty Images

Wishing you easy access to gratitude today,

Elamin

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