news
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Chicago Teen Accused of Killing 89-Year-Old Woman, Setting Home on Fire
A Chicago teen is facing a first-degree-murder charge after allegedly killing an 89-year-old South Side woman and setting her home on fire, the Chicago Tribune reports. Trae Chatmon, 18, is accused of forcing his way into the home of Josephine Johnson in the early-morning hours of Oct. 26 and hitting her in the head before stabbing…
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If Daniel Holtzclaw’s Victims Were White, Everyone Would Know His Name
Daniel Holtzclaw, a former Oklahoma City police officer accused of sexually assaulting and raping 12 women and one underage girl while on duty, is on trial this week. You may not know his name because his alleged victims are black. That fact has led to blink-or-you’ll-miss-it mainstream-media coverage and either lukewarm interest or outright apathy from almost…
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SC Boy, 11, Dies After Pushing Sister Out of the Way of Oncoming Car
La’Darious Wylie, 11, and his sister Sha’Vonta, 7, were waiting for a school bus near their Chester, S.C., home Oct. 27 when a car veered off the road. La’Darious pushed his sister out of the way and was struck by the car. La’Darious was rushed to a local hospital, where he died the next day…
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Va. Teacher Found Handcuffed and Unconscious in Custody of Special Police Dies at Hospital
A 27-year-old Virginia teacher was found unconscious in handcuffs and was later pronounced dead after special police—a private security detail with arrest powers—for a Washington, D.C., apartment complex placed the man in custody. Alonzo Smith was not breathing when D.C.’s Metropolitan Police arrived at the Marbury Plaza Apartments around 4 a.m. Sunday. Special police officers…
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Dash-Cam Video Shows Ala. Cop Shoot Suspect Who Did Not Point Gun, Contrary to Police Reports
An Alabama police officer may have a medal he received for his actions during a robbery taken away after newly released dash-cam video appears to contradict official recounts, AL.com reports. Earlier this year, Birmingham Police Officer Daniel Aguirre was awarded the Combat Cross Medal after shooting a robbery suspect in April 2014 who, according to indictments,…
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Air Force Vet Becomes 1st African American Elected to Statewide Office in Ky.
Kentucky’s new lieutenant governor-elect is a black Republican woman, the first black person ever elected to statewide office there, the Washington Post reports. Jenean Hampton had previously been named in the Republican State Leadership Committee’s “15 in ’15: Races to Watch” report, meant to highlight outstanding women and diverse candidates from around the country, a…
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Police: Death of Ill. Officer Who Embezzled Money From Youth Program Was a ‘Carefully Staged Suicide’
Turns out that the Illinois police officer who claimed that he was in pursuit of three suspects before he was found shot and killed staged the scene to look like murder, and police officials are now stating that it was a “carefully staged suicide,” according to NBC News Chicago. When the Sept. 1 shooting was…
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Man Who Inadvertently Gave Cop Killer Directions Claims Harassment and Beating by NYPD
Last December, when Karim Baker was stopped in Brooklyn, N.Y., by a man who appeared to be a random passerby asking for directions to a housing project in the New York City borough’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Baker had no idea that he was giving directions to the man who would shortly thereafter kill two police officers…
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NYC Hero Rescues 1-Year-Old From Train Tracks
A New York City man jumped into action Sunday evening, rescuing a toddler who had fallen onto the subway tracks and under a shuttle train that had stopped in the Times Square station, the New York Daily News reports. Tabrina Ferrell, who is just 1 year old, sent her grandmother and fellow commuters into a…
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7-Year-Old Mich. Boy With ADHD Handcuffed by Cop Who Loses Key
A 7-year-old Flint, Mich., boy with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was at an after-school program Oct. 12 when his mother says she received a call telling her that her son was in handcuffs and that she needed to come pick him up. When Chrystal McCadden arrived at the Brownell STEM Academy, she demanded that the handcuffs be taken…