National

Judge grants appeal rights to convicted cop-killer who remains imprisoned for 1981 slaying

 Judge grants appeal rights to convicted cop-killer who remains imprisoned for 1981 slaying
Court

On Friday, a Philadelphia judge reinstated appeal rights to Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther who has been imprisoned since 1982 for fatally shooting an officer. According to WHYY, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Leon Tucker agreed with Abu-Jamal’s lawyers that Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Ronald Castille shouldn’t have presided over the 64-year-old’s multiple appeals. Castille was a …

UPDATE: High school football player pleads NOT GUILTY to killing pregnant cheerleader girlfriend
Murder
December 11, 2018

UPDATE: High school football player pleads NOT GUILTY to killing pregnant cheerleader girlfriend

A 16-year-old Indiana boy pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and feticide charges despite allegedly admitting to stabbing his ex-cheerleader girlfriend to death and dumping her body in a dumpster. Charged as an adult, NBC News reported that Aaron Trejo entered his pleas during his arraignment and was ordered to be held without bail. The Mishawaka High School …

Sergeant killed in Thousand Oaks massacre died from friendly fire, officials reveal
Mass shooting
December 7, 2018

Sergeant killed in Thousand Oaks massacre died from friendly fire, officials reveal

Authorities announced Friday that Ventura County police Sergeant  Ron Helus, who was counted among the 12 victims of the Thousand Oaks mass shooting, died as a result of friendly fire. Though suspect Ian David Long, 28, struck Helus five times, the county medical examiner said it’s not only possible that he would’ve survived those injuries …

Ex-cop charged in unarmed neighbor’s fatal shooting bailed out shortly after murder indictment
National
December 3, 2018

Ex-cop charged in unarmed neighbor’s fatal shooting bailed out shortly after murder indictment

Amber Guyger, the Texas officer charged in the fatal shooting of her upstairs neighbor, Botham Jean, was reportedly released on bond shortly after her murder indictment on Friday. Newsweek reported that Guyger, 30, turned herself into the Mesquite jail and posted $200,000 bond. According to the Dallas Observer, District Attorney Faith Johnson confirmed that the $300,000 …

George H.W. Bush dies at 94
National
December 1, 2018

George H.W. Bush dies at 94

By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — He was the man who sought a “kinder, and gentler nation,” and the one who sternly invited Americans to read his lips — he would not raise taxes. He was the popular leader of a mighty coalition that dislodged Iraq from Kuwait, and was turned out of the …

Suspect arrested in Thanksgiving mall shootout that led to police fatally shooting bystander
National
November 30, 2018

Suspect arrested in Thanksgiving mall shootout that led to police fatally shooting bystander

Authorities have reportedly arrested the person responsible for an Alabama mall shooting which led to an officer fatally shooting a man who they now believe was an innocent bystander. AL.com reports that U.S. Marshals apprehended Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, in Georgia on Thursday in for shooting an 18-year-old on Thanksgiving at the Riverchase Galleria Mall in …

Maddox Ritch: Autopsy says autistic boy found in creek died from ‘probable drowning’
Missing
November 29, 2018

Maddox Ritch: Autopsy says autistic boy found in creek died from ‘probable drowning’

An autopsy has determined that Maddox Ritch, the 6-year-old boy with autism who was found dead in a North Carolina creek in September, likely died from an accidental drowning. Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office also said in Thursday’s report that Ritch suffered wounds to his neck which were likely caused by an animal attack that …

Trump forces out Jeff Sessions in midterm election fallout
National
November 7, 2018

Trump forces out Jeff Sessions in midterm election fallout

By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions was pushed out Wednesday as the country’s chief law enforcement officer after enduring more than a year of blistering and personal attacks from President Donald Trump over his recusal from the Russia investigation. Sessions told the president in a one-page letter that he was …