United States
ILLINOIS – Most 14-year-olds have just finished their freshman year of high school, but Thessalonika Arzu Embry is only one month away from receiving her bachelors degree in Psychology from Chicago Sate University. She was home schooled by her mother, Wonder Embry, a veteran of the United States Navy, whom the daughter credits for her academic achievement. The mother-daughter duo are schoolmates, with mom working on her graduate degree in clinical psychology, and they spend their days working out, studying, and praying together. Thessalonika Embry has a 3.9 GPA.
ARKANSAS – A police shooting and killing of alleged car thief suspect, Deon Williams, is causing a firestorm in Little Rock. According to police, officers saw a black Chevy Suburban they thought matched a description on their stolen vehicle alert sheet. The officers passed the Suburban and thought the license plate was expired. They decided to turn around to make contact with the driver, who exited the vehicle. As he walked away the police thought he was trying to conceal something. They asked him to come to the car but Williams began to flee. In pursuit, the officers saw a handgun fall to the ground. Williams picked the gun up but did not fire a shot, however he was shot and killed. The truck, as it turns out, was not stolen.
NEW YORK – Two Black orderlies are alleging that an anesthesiologist and technician at Northshore University Hospital harassed them with nooses and racist comments, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. Technician, Mario Nistico, has already admitted to having hung a noose from a light fixture in an operating room two summers ago. He also admitted to hanging the second noose last year. Nistico claimed that he placed the nooses as an inside joke aimed at a surgeon who was difficult to work with. He said other surgeons complained they wanted to hang themselves as a result.
Africa
MALI – At least one person has been killed in Mali’s northern town of Kidal following ethnic clashes between Tauregs and Black civilians, with elections pending next week. Taureg rebels held the town until a June deal with the government. It remains unclear who exactly is in charge of the town. Many Malians blame Tuareg separatists for starting the 2012 rebellion which led Islamists to seize northern areas. French and West African forces intervened in January to force Islamist militant groups out of the desert towns but security remains a concern.
SOUTH AFRICA – Nelson Mandela spent his 95th birthday in the hospital in Pretoria as events take place around the world and South Africa in his honor. The former president and anti-apartheid leader has been critically ill with a recurring lung infection since June 8th. South African President, Jacob Zuma, who visited Mandela in the hospital, said he was “encouraged” by his progress. South Africans have been urged to Mark Mandela’s 67 years of public service with 67 minutes of charitable acts.
Caribbean
BAHAMAS – A double shooting last week has left one man dead and another in the hospital. The incident took place outside a residence around 11:15 p.m. Police say the 24-year-old victim was standing with another man, woman and child in a yard. A masked man, who was armed, entered the yard and began firing shots, hitting the victim several times, and hitting the second man in the leg. Police found the unidentified victim lying in the street. Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.