VTDigger Minute is a weekly news digest from Vermont PBS. Tune in every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Thursday at 6:30 a.m. to hear about the week’s top stories.
This week on the Minute:
California changed its law on police shootings. Should Vermont do the same?
The Vermont ACLU is calling on the state to follow California’s lead on restricting how police use lethal force. A new California law says police can only use lethal force when necessary, rather than when it’s reasonable. The so-called reasonable action standard is used throughout Vermont, where there have been nine fatal police shootings since 2017.
Vermont forgoes federal funding it directs to Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood bowed out of receiving federal Title X funds this week due to a restrictive Trump administration rule change. In Vermont, Planned Parenthood is the only recognized provider of family planning services. That means the group will lose all of the state’s Title X money — which the state will now pay through a contingency fund.
Amid embezzlement scandal, Democratic chair says he should have acted sooner
A former staffer for the Vermont Democratic Party allegedly embezzled more than $18,000 over six months this year. Party chair Terje Anderson now says he should have insisted on greater oversight of the organization’s finances and fired the staffer sooner, when he delayed providing financial documents.
