Chicago media ran stories today about a police officer there who was shot and killed while pursuing a fleeing suspect. They name the 36-year-old officer, a woman with a young daughter, who chased the suspect on foot. They quote a senior officer saying she was protecting lives and lost her own as a hero who wanted to make Chicago safer.

She was a four-year department veteran on duty with a 6th District tactical team, they report, stopping a man they understood to be armed. They relate the suspect’s flight into a nearby apartment, and an armed confrontation commencing with those within. One pointed a rifle at them and officer Krystal Rivera was shot: “Shots fired at police,” one officer “screamed.” Rivera was rushed to local hospital, but died.

“This is the risk our officers take every single day,” Police Superintendent Larry Snelling is quoted saying. Two suspects were arrested. Three firearms were recovered at the scene. One story closes on a poignant quote from Mayor Brandon Johnson: “Her young, energetic and bold approach toward keeping us safe is the memory we will honor.”

Hundreds of words. Dozens of paragraphs. But nowhere do any of these reporters state who is thought to have shot and killed Krystal Rivera. Police are usually enthusiastic about naming them, especially when they are in custody.

The story is an unusually extreme example of what some call “the exonerative tense” in reportage about bad things that happen in the presence of police. When it comes to the moment where the key act would be described, such stories retreat into the passive voice, law enforcement jargon and peculiar omission: guns are discharged, individuals are impacted, subjects become unresponsive. It reflects the language of police reports and press releases, adopted verbatim by newswriters and editors eager to please departments that are often their key sources.

A clue is offered in the PBS story: “The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is also investigating the incident.” I’m sure they are.

Note how my post never states that Rivera was shot and killed by another cop? You likely think it does. It’s an intentional technique and it works. But I don’t know if that’s really what happened. We can only hope the police soon have local media post what did.

What you need to know

• Assistant Driving Mode in Google Maps is officially gone for good, the company has confirmed.
• Assistant Driving Mode is another feature casualty of the Gemini transition, which is currently underway.
• The feature lost most of its functionality in February 2024, and only a media control bar and voice assistant button remained up until recently.

Google is officially removing Assistant Driving Mode from Android as part of the Gemini transition. The feature has undergone numerous changes since its introduction in 2019, most recently losing the app dashboard that was a crucial part of the Driving Mode experience. Now, it’s no longer available as part of the Google Maps app for Android, the company told 9to5Google.

As of February 2024, the app launcher that featured large, easy-to-touch icons while driving was removed. The most recent version of Assistant Driving Mode only offered a media playback bar and the a control button. It was mostly used by Android users that didn’t have a car with Android Auto functionality, since Driving Mode offered similar utility at one point.

In fact, Assistant Driving Mode was initially seen as a replacement and alternative to Android Auto for Phone Screens, was killed in 2021.

The Assistant Driving Mode app launcher was one of many Google Assistant feature removals announced in January 2024. “Using app launcher in Google Assistant driving mode on Google Maps to read and send messages, make calls, and control media,” the company explained in a support document at the time. “You can still use voice control on Google Maps the same way.”

Over a year later, not even the Assistant Driving Mode’s playback controls or voice control button are available as part of Google Maps. This is an intentional removal that is part of the Gemini transition, per the company. At this point, it means Assistant Driving Mode in Maps is gone for good.

The move is part of a larger transition from Google Assistant to Gemini that was announced officially in March 2025. It’s currently underway, and will see most mobile devices ditch Assistant in favor of Gemini in the near future.