news
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Chicago Couple Sentenced to Prison in Bali Murder
The Chicago couple accused in the slaying of Sheila von Wiese-Mack have been found guilty of premeditated murder in an Indonesian court, the Associated Press reports. Tommy Schaefer, 21, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, while Heather Mack, 19, von Wiese-Mack’s daughter, was sentenced to 10 years for the murder, which took place during…
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6 Baltimore Cops Suspended After Autopsy Shows Man Suffered Broken Spine
Freddie Gray, 25, died from severe spinal injuries while in the custody of Baltimore police, and now city officials have announced that six officers have been suspended with pay while the city conducts an investigation into a case that has a number of residents, including the mayor, searching for answers. “This is a very, very…
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Mo. Officers and City Officials Resign After Black Female Mayor Is Elected
There were only six police officers in Parma, Mo., and after the small town voted in its first African-American female mayor, five of them resigned. According to KFVS, Tyrus Byrd beat incumbent Randall Ramsey, who had served as mayor for some 37 years, by 37 votes. After the election, in addition to the police officers,…
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Chicago Officer Who Killed Rekia Boyd Has Charges Dismissed; Courtroom Erupts in Anger
The charges against the Chicago police officer involved in the 2012 shooting death of 22-year-old Rekia Boyd have been dismissed, WLS reports. A Cook County judge ruled that there was no evidence of reckless conduct, which would be necessary to move forward with the involuntary manslaughter charge, prompting the dismissal, the news station reports. Dante…
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Mich. Officer Charged With Assault in Violent Traffic Stop Caught on Dash Cam
A now-former Inkster, Mich., police officer has been charged with two counts of assault to do great bodily harm after being caught on dash-cam footage beating a 57-year-old autoworker during a violent traffic stop, ClickOnDetroit reports. William Melendez also faces charges of mistreatment of a prisoner and misconduct in office for the treatment of Floyd…
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NY Teen Who Lost Everything in Hurricane Is Accepted at 7 Ivy League Schools
In the latter part of 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Baldwin, N.Y., family home of Daria Rose. The Long Island teen, then a sophomore in high school, lost everything she had accumulated in her young life: her clothes, photos, furniture—all gone in an instant. “It was hard because it’s really unpredictable when you don’t have…
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Civil Rights Activist and Pioneering Heart Surgeon Levi Watkins Jr. Dead at 70
Renowned cardiac surgeon and civil rights activist Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. died on Saturday in Baltimore at the age of 70, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine announced, according to the New York Times. The day before his death, Watkins had been welcoming students to a Johns Hopkins University Hospital training program when he took…
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1st Black Police Officer of ‘the White City’ Says He Suffered Yearlong Racist Abuse
When Gerry Pickens arrived in Orting, Wash., to begin his job as a police officer—becoming the first black police officer in the town since its founding in 1889—city officials saw it as a milestone for a place that was once known as “the White City.” According to the Washington Post, one city administrator called Pickens’…
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Shooting at HBCU Injures 1 Student
Police in Charlotte, N.C., arrested four men for a shooting incident that injured one person at Johnson C. Smith University, the Charlotte Observer reports. The four suspects—Everett Phifer, Elijah Craig, Juan Leon and Shalique Edmond—reportedly shot an unidentified male student while he was sitting in a car on the campus of the historically black liberal…
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GOP Senator: Loretta Lynch Vote Likely in 2-3 Days
A high-ranking Republican believes that the Senate is likely in the next few days to approve Loretta Lynch as the nation’s next attorney general, a nomination that has been delayed as Republicans jostle for political position. “My sense is over the next 48 to 72 hours that is going to be resolved, and we will…