| White House on lockdown after person jumps fence: CNN Posted: 26 Nov 2015 12:10 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House was on lockdown on Thursday, on Thanksgiving Day, after a person jumped the fence, CNN reported without giving any details. |
| New videos raise questions in Chicago police shooting of black teen Posted: 26 Nov 2015 10:04 AM PST  By Justin Madden CHICAGO (Reuters) - Newly released videos taken at the scene of the shooting of a black teenager by a white Chicago patrolman could raise fresh questions about whether police properly documented the killing, as the city braced for more protests over the Thanksgiving weekend. Like the first video released on Tuesday, the new footage inexplicably lacks discernible audio of the Oct. 20, 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Officer Jason Van Dyke, according to the Chicago Tribune, which obtained the recordings. As a result, the sounds of 16 gunshots that hit the teen, any commands shouted by police officers or other remarks are not available, the newspaper said late on Wednesday.
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| Hurricane Sandra strengthens to Category 4 as it nears Mexico Posted: 26 Nov 2015 08:25 AM PST  Hurricane Sandra strengthened to a Category 4 storm early on Thursday, the strongest recorded in the eastern Pacific Ocean this late in the year, as it headed toward Mexico's coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Sandra, about 575 miles (925 km) south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula on Thursday morning, had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (233 kmh), the NHC said. The agency may issue tropical storm or hurricane watches for portions of the area later on Thursday, it said.
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| New York's Thanksgiving parade expected to draw huge crowd despite security jitters Posted: 26 Nov 2015 04:27 AM PST  By Kylie Gumpert NEW YORK (Reuters) - Record crowds were expected to swarm Manhattan sidewalks and rooftops on Thursday to glimpse the marching bands, floats and massive balloons of Macy's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, held under tight security two weeks after the attacks in Paris. New York officials said about 3.5 million spectators would turn out for the city's signature parade, in its 89th year, and they urged residents and visitors to carry on with holiday plans, saying there were no credible threats to the city. This is a way to push back on events around the world that are meant to intimidate," Police Commissioner William Bratton said at a press conference on Wednesday in Manhattan near where giant balloons of Snoopy and Hello Kitty were being readied for the event.
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| Obama on Thanksgiving urges generosity to Syrian refugees Posted: 26 Nov 2015 03:23 AM PST  President Barack Obama urged Americans to show generosity to Syrian refugees in his Thanksgiving message on Thursday, reminding them that the Pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were themselves fleeing persecution. "Nearly four centuries after the Mayflower set sail, the world is still full of pilgrims – men and women who want nothing more than the chance for a safer, better future for themselves and their families," Obama said in his address. Obama's plan to accept 10,000 refugees from Syria became a lightning rod for political criticism after attacks, claimed by Islamic State militants, killed 130 people in Paris two weeks ago.
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| Don't erase Woodrow Wilson. Expose him. Posted: 26 Nov 2015 02:38 AM PST |
| Ex-Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards hospitalized with pneumonia Posted: 26 Nov 2015 02:07 AM PST  Edwards, 88, who celebrated the birth of his fifth child in August 2013 with his third spouse, Trina Edwards, then 34, developed a cough while they were out of town visiting friends, she said in the posting quoted by news media in Louisiana. The colorful and roguishly charming Democrat served in the state legislature and U.S. House of Representatives early in his political career before going on to run for Louisiana governor, taking office in 1972 for the first of four terms. Edwards was convicted in May 2000 of extortion in the awarding of state casino licenses, ending a lengthy pursuit by prosecutors that according to his own count had made him the subject of 22 public corruption investigations over the years.
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| Obama 'deeply disturbed' by Chicago police shooting video Posted: 26 Nov 2015 12:13 AM PST  The president speaks out about the deadly shooting of a black teen by a Chicago policeman.
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| Mother who left baby in New York City church manger will not face charges Posted: 25 Nov 2015 11:56 PM PST A custodian on Monday found the crying infant with his umbilical cord still attached wrapped in towels and placed in the indoor nativity scene at the Holy Child Jesus Church in Queens, New York police said. The baby's mother was located by police and Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said on Wednesday she would not be prosecuted because she gave up the child in accordance with the state's "Safe Haven" law. Under New York state law, a parent may abandon a newborn anonymously at certain designated safe haven locations, as long as the baby is handed over to an appropriate person. |
| Turkish military says did not know downed jet was Russian Posted: 25 Nov 2015 10:37 PM PST  Turkey's military said it did not know the warplane it shot down on the Syrian border was Russian, adding that it was ready for "all kinds of cooperation" after Moscow called the incident a "planned provocation". In a statement issued after tensions surged between Ankara and Moscow, the Turkish armed forces said they had made significant efforts to find and rescue the two pilots after shooting down the jet on Tuesday. The sole surviving pilot said he had received no warning and the aircraft did not violate Turkish air space, prompting the Turkish army to release audio recordings it said showed the Russian jet was repeatedly warned to change course.
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| Chicago cop charged with murder had 20 earlier complaints Posted: 25 Nov 2015 10:20 PM PST  A white Chicago policeman caught on tape shooting dead a black teenager had at least 20 complaints filed against him but was never disciplined, a database shows, in the latest such incident to inflame racial sentiment in the US. The graphic video released shortly after officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday has also reignited impassioned debate about the use of force by law enforcement in the United States, with Chicago left dangerously on edge. Protesters there have likened the Laquan McDonald killing to that of Michael Brown, the black teenager shot dead by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri last year, triggering 15 months of demonstrations in major US cities over perceived police brutality against black men.
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| Chicago calm a day after release of video of police shooting teenager Posted: 25 Nov 2015 06:25 PM PST  By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - The white Chicago policeman charged with murder in the death of a black teenager he shot 16 times spent his first day in custody on Wednesday confined to a jail hospital ward as calm prevailed in a city that had braced for civil unrest over a newly issued video of the slaying. Five people were arrested late on Tuesday in mostly peaceful demonstrations following release of the graphic footage showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being gunned down in the middle of a street on Oct. 20, 2014 as he was walking away from police who confronted him. A new round of protests on Wednesday at the Chicago's criminal courthouse and City Hall were sparsely attended, though members of the City Council's black caucus again demanded the resignation of Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.
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| Obama says U.S. is safe as millions set off on Thanksgiving travel Posted: 25 Nov 2015 04:48 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton and Kylie Gumpert WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to reassure Americans they were safe as millions of travelers set off for the long Thanksgiving weekend on Wednesday and authorities stepped up security at airports in response to the attacks in Paris two weeks ago. In New York City, record-breaking crowds were expected on Thursday for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and Police Commissioner William Bratton said the city was deploying more officers at the annual event than ever before. "Right now, we know of no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland," Obama told reporters at the White House, two weeks after suspected Islamist militants killed 130 people in a series of coordinated attacks in the French capital.
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| Some entrances, exits to New York bus terminal closed due to 'police activities' Posted: 25 Nov 2015 04:32 PM PST Several entrances and exits at the Port Authority bus terminal in New York City were closed on Wednesday due to police activities, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a message on Twitter. "Due to police activities at 8th Ave, the entrances/exits at 8th Ave, 40 & 41 St are closed," the tweet said. Television station CBS New York, citing unnamed officials, reported the area around the terminal was evacuated due to a suspicious package. |
| Three men held in connection with shooting of Minnesota demonstrators Posted: 25 Nov 2015 01:39 PM PST  Three white men were being held on Wednesday by Minneapolis police as prosecutors weighed charges against them in connection with the shooting this week of five people protesting against the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man. While police have said they will not identify the men until they are charged, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, citing sources, reported that Allen Lawrence "Lance" Scarsella III, 23, was arrested, while Nathan Gustavsson, 21, and Daniel Macey, 26, were taken into custody after they turned themselves in. None of the five demonstrators wounded in Monday's shooting received life-threatening injuries, police said.
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