What the jury didn't hear at Umar Zameer's trial

Plus, Queen's Park's keffiyeh ban and keeping immigration detainees in prison [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the Umar Zameer trial, the Palestinian keffiyeh ban and Ottawa’s plans for detaining immigrants. DON’T MISS Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star courts [What the jury didn’t hear at the murder trial of Umar Zameer]( Behind the scenes of the Umar Zameer trial, prosecutors battled with the judge about what exactly they could tell jurors about what happened in the parking lot below Nathan Phillips Square when the 34-year-old accountant ran over veteran Toronto police officer Jeffrey Northrup in 2021. “What motive would this person have to deliberately run down a police officer in front of three other police officers when he has done nothing wrong?” asked the judge in the absence of the jury. [With the jury set to resume deliberations today, Betsy Powell reports on the conversations that took place in their absence](. - Context: A police officer’s death in the line of duty is treated as first-degree murder under the Criminal Code, but to convict Zameer, the Crown had to show he knew Northrup was a police officer wearing plainclothes and that he intended to cause bodily harm that would cause death or was reckless as to whether death ensued. - Wait, what? Prosecutors were “grasping at straws” to construct a theory, said Toronto defence lawyer Monte MacGregor, one of the many legal observers who followed the case closely. Steve Russell/The Star ontario politics [A vote to overturn the keffiyeh ban in Ontario legislature has failed]( A ban on Palestinian keffiyehs in the Ontario legislature — for MPPs as well as staff and guests — will remain in place after a motion to overrule the decision failed to get unanimous consent among MPPs, even while all four political leaders agreed the ban should be reversed, Robert Benzie reports. Speaker Ted Arnott prohibited the traditional garment, saying they flout the rules against clothing that makes “an overt political statement.” [Here’s what we know about who did and did not support the ban](. - Word from the premier: “We see the division right now that’s going on. It’s not healthy and this will just divide the community even more,” said Doug Ford, who was not in the chamber to support the motion put forth by Marit Stiles, but spoke to reporters in Oakville. - Watch for: The Speaker emphasized on Thursday that nothing is set in stone and MPPs can still bring forward another motion. Toronto Star File Photo immigration [With provinces turning away immigration detainees, Ottawa plans on jailing them in its own prisons]( After a two-year campaign successfully got all 10 provinces to stop jailing immigration detainees in maximum-security provincial jails, human rights advocates were disappointed to find out Ottawa plans to jail detainees in federal prisons instead, Nicholas Keung reports. The update was buried in this week’s federal budget, with a commitment of $325 million over five years to upgrade immigration holding centres and plans to make legal amendments that would enable the use of federal jails as a “supplement.” [Here’s what human rights advocates believe the government should be doing instead](. - The latest: Last month, Newfoundland and Labrador became the last province to commit to [end its immigration detention agreements with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)](. - Word from CBSA: Detention in a provincial facility, where the measure is still available, is limited to the most difficult cases, a spokesperson explained. [Calendar icon] Are our messages a little late for you lately? Emails from the Star are taking longer than normal to arrive to Gmail and Hotmail inboxes after we send them. That's a problem we're solving now, but we're sorry for keeping you waiting. WHAT ELSE Iran fired at attack drones near a major air base and nuclear site early this morning, [which were suspected to be part of an Israeli attack](. What does Canada’s top labour leader think of Pierre Poilievre? [“Have you ever, ever, anywhere in Canada seen him walk the picket line?” ]( A pharmacist is suing Shoppers and Loblaw, [saying they’ve been forced into “unsafe and unethical” practices to boost company profits](. Here’s how you get rid of $20 million in gold — [and why the chances of recovering the Pearson heist gold are “virtually nil.”]( Drivers blocking intersections are a key cause of Toronto’s traffic misery. [So why aren’t the police cracking down?]( The 14-year-old boy who drowned at a Toronto beach is [being remembered as charismatic and selfless](. Half-price cocktails, free appetizers, and $6 wine: [Here’s where to go for the best happy hour deals in Toronto](. Toronto Star staffers tried Tim Hortons’ new Flatbread Pizzas for lunch. [Here’s what they thought](. The sons of John Lennon and Paul McCartney have teamed up for a new song — [it’ll meet your Lennon-McCartney expectations](. Taylor Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department” arrives today. [Here’s everything you need to know](. POV Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld [Liberals tax the rich, but not enough to be considered populist.]( CLOSE-UP Francois Nel/Getty Images UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Cars are stranded on a flooded street in Dubai following heavy rain on Thursday. Dubai’s giant highways were clogged and its major airport was in chaos a day after the financial centre of the Middle East was hit by the heaviest rains on record.  Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_212508). Andrew will see you back here tomorrow. 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