BRICKBATS.

• Author: Oliver, Charles
• Position: Dinners for homeless; Shaimaa Ahmed's debauchery case; repeated case delays

The City of Malibu in California has pressured the United Methodist Church into ending its twice-weekly dinners for the homeless. Officials were worried that the meals would attract more homeless people to the area.

An Egyptian court has sentenced singer Shaimaa Ahmed to two years in prison for inciting debauchery and publishing an indecent film. Specifically, one of her music videos features her wearing underwear and suggestively eating a banana.

Kevin Smith spent almost eight years in a New Orleans jail awaiting trial for possession of crack cocaine before the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that the repeated delays violated his Sixth Amendment rights.

Last year, a Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, probation officer tore a pair of pants while chasing someone. A judge said the county should reimburse him $60 for the cost of the pants. County Controller Krista Rogers has spent $4,285 fighting that order.

Jackson Riley was suspended from kindergarten at Great Valley Academy for making terroristic threats. The Modesto, California, boy told a teacher a bomb in his backpack would explode if he took the backpack off. His father explained that the 5-year-old just has an active imagination.

According to USA Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs has repeatedly hired health care workers who have lost malpractice claims. The paper says the agency has also violated a federal law that bars it from employing physicians whose licenses have been revoked.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has deleted a tweet warning that kissing someone under the mistletoe without consent is rape.

The Bogota, New Jersey, Police Department has found that Sgt. Craig Lynch was "justified" when he threatened employees of the Bogota...