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se rican-Amer o t in han Cooper. ican deathld quadruple The allegeddcuffs and ha New row inmate in ci Cooper’s 1som’s decision could d en Flori t wa making ouda Today reports t Hills famil 985 conviction in lead to the overtu t. y th rn A an e u in th k d g il o ling of a ru their 11-y ri Enough Of of has the Your Lovtie”es say t Californiapnotential, some polieatir-old house guest. ral Chino and a s. The case cal watcher s say, to d Both the C ivide aliforn and more an a dozenia and United States past appeath lo su w p er courts hav re ls. e rejectedmCe courts “I take no p ooper’s osition regar nocence at about the h this time,” Newsodming Mr. Cooper’s g uilt or inigh-profile said in his terest. N ca ex se free 2. When you see a photo or ad with the Observer 1. Get for that hby Yothe as downloading rk Tapp drawn inteecutive order Sen. Kamew im es ’ co rn lu al at m Interactive logo scan over the whole photo with your it from Google Play or The Apple App a io n is H n al in t Nic arri have all ca lled for res -tand reality TV starholas Kristof, U.S.tablet or smartphone. forensic Store technology. esting using curr Kim Kardashian SUL ent, more The ACLU gorilla suitPHUR, La. (AP) – P se n si an ti ve groups hav d other hu mattress befbroke into a Louisiaol man rights e also urged o n a deeper in an News ouretl officers arrested h Serving Kern County ves gation California state o d social justice et into Cooper fficials to la s Gov. Newtiso sp q u o k o es te m Mel E for Over 46 Years unch ’s con m’s tion issu st in ThSuulphu officers saan by formerorder Friday expandviction. w Jeremie es rsday test four ed s G p co o Moran wal re v. stume. They vious direc rry Brown lowed analpyieces of crime scenJe h ad in son looking received ca kin D ember lls a into homes to an orange sts to perform DNe evidence. Brownec ’s . E to A o st es says Mo prosecutors wel; and the han re-testing on a tan rder al- bo p ra ro n ac ran into a hed but w dle and sh dies in the say Cooper T-shirt; as discover eath Ry In th new u charges incl ed investigatseiod in the murders. of a hatchet Joshua Ryen, theen’s home with a total u d of hair frois in g re tr sisting an hoidin y, meth poss victims’ 8-y wound on of 143 stab button Com the victims’ hannd, analysts will look es ea h w si is in ro o g in the San u o son, su throat. He In Louisian n and wearingffia c ffered a slnasds. the al was the old Bernardino tigators plaoper’s attorney No s, blood samples anat strands tack. a, a person in n p ly le h u g County are blic survivor of ations Coo nvicte Angeles Co nted at the scene rman Hile mainta d a green le After Coopers’s per’s attorn not surprise the at- D.A.’s office most. Excecan be sentencedco in g o ja u al f s n il ly ty th in ey b to d . p e v re st S s M ab esti uperior Co ay crime. A re ak thre ar vestigation o an o n ed , e u s ra y in t m ar in ci v o h ak e es al biases an f em freq olidays like al a ho in tigat also urt judge w . ti d discrimth Halloweenlowed for relig uently comg about their ill oversee rethd Los familsay they found eviduse next door to thors found, he il- complaints Cooper, 61 in It at an p ’s la io dM unclear if M e victims. ence in th y’s statio in abou are hand n in the e in, has main years. His g ment. oran has a ardi G tained his For some,nGwagon that tied Coe Ryen’s home and inThey unang prosecutor Miclehd. Just last month,way their cases ort lawy by Gov. Nlawyers hope the re in n o ce d a o ae er o n p th S v. l er ce an ingObserver pressure fo e Selyem, wh sults New ewso Volume 46 Number Newspapers December 25, 2019 over BernarWednesday, in e case Group the murderCalifornia som’s order oftoSouthern d hel16 in r o m p p o o n ak is is being met s. so rove theirm, which could taokfe the re-testing orderthe of the th in W to broaden cial media. mu ers Jo client’s inn ed him. His insultgscrude and racist anhdite, resigned shua Ryenwith dismay. The lonDNA test- chelle Obama, U ocence ansedveral months, will porters of rd ta rg mments et ed an e ,S th fo su B . d e rmer Firstco finally exo Rep. Maxin lack shooti In 1 Lady Minerate they are disappoRyens and Hughesfamily, friends andrvivor n e g W v on four co9u85, a San Diego Co ic at ti er m s . su an in al Th l p te d across the o an unnamed “Unfortunat d with the gov 26 and an nts of murder. At unty jury convicte state say Los Angelmas R. Parker, a form ernor’s dec ely, over tim the time of d Cooper for justice in es office, bel er is d io ep cord - incluescaped prison inm n e u . it ty h th is se is case mat head of the ie ems the vic arrest, he w Th ters FBI’s ti s’ desire “The evis guy is innocenvt,es Cooper. as no Distric in Pennsylv ding several burglaate. His lengthy cr ” he told th iminal re- “Prior DNtAAttorney Jason Anless and less,” San m id ries and the ania – did en ce w as B d er o not help his te er e p n n Cooper, form rape of a m st la so N ar th in n ew n d te e g icl sa d st th aimed ou Y , he was fr and.” case. inor erly named in 1958 ld exoneratat Mr. Cooper sougidh in a statement. amed, theork Times. What has k per’s guilw e him have t, agreed to cops lied t.” months onldear Pittsburgh, PenRichard Goodman, ep t a th fe all confirm e case goin deral appel and nsylvania. was born Y et ed g la p During his , he was adopted an te er M an su W ec co r. dC asive argum ution and re hen he was urt CooLAKE FOR ents ased six monies and iew the ca’ssedecision in 2004 toooper alive - is and he spenchildhood, his par d renamed Kevin Gov. Newvso on conflicti EST ents physica is recoverin w stay his exCooper. reasonable qualeslegations of evidenbce t a good p it h m juvenile det o m re n D ’s g sc g after bei,nCalif. (AP) – Offic ar N ll d te ti ie t ta y ec A o n st o m n ab ti is if g te s p fi io at ad u ab st er c en y se n o o in o ev in o rs d ti n le u to g g id o g struck by u t sc h ro , n se co the ethod ence. im k p raisin ence living ad in South centers. In a mental d nail Co low another a polic g California Governmes early in the al s and storiee in several attack, and to ern Californ oper. Threm ro u L n ag te d Californiah. ealth facility in Pen1982, Cooper esca es u rm o o in n e h in r f a ia. av w whose supp of the prog Beach Police e high expec ped from three attacker sworn testimony, eapons were use vestinsylvania b th e O o re rt ra ta ss O er n iv ti ffi g s d on e County R e so on the poli s who were cer Thomas efore movin Jo Duri meone’s pet tical Left egister he in White. Heshua Ryen said hein the solve “DNA testing shs.o g to could have been H gued that nCg his murder trial, saw when the ca later testified uld immed it th is p e o p F an o R ro By Norma Adams-Wade eb F p ic y se u . er en . rt 1 cu k 9. her compli iately take Ryen, their illed husban t darted inially th case and fi tors succes that they Chiang sa an ca sf n front p 1 ti d n al 0 la u id Founding member of NABJ n am -y an ll ly ce g y d ear-old dau d wife Dou McGuire sa th ed Diana R ensure just uring the ca to nei bor C - bel that DNA glocal g and Pegar oper camee prosecutions’ claim ys when he ice is servedre- the anim hter JeDallas mpaign. “N o I wrote my firstgh columnhri inst1988 a n ev g ss id in opher for ic en g g a y fo to s, ce an al g rw ,” b o a ot nly is it can h p law was ut testing in t out to chec ughes. guidance Police fou d an 11-year-old inal. She turnher former boyfriend ard with bloody clowomnewspaper. I wrote about a beloved H Dallas proven Animal Cobigger than a house enforcemoen is case woel thing who was a Even thoth n t cat. u tr so ld o to lv l co counselor and teacher that most students called “Mama.” nd the bloodied destroyed it. ed the evidence over o an e ffi m cr v ce u an io e im to the poli lent crim- is bold, he is tr gh Newsom’s dec at no cost to the st es, traum imal hospital, wh rs rushed the ble Chew on that for a minute. A teacher that students called African Am is ce, but they issue th a. ea ere it was d e.” ericans, His at Californding carefully on aiopn in the Cooper at iagnose “Mama.” There is so much meaning in that thought that Dr. Kristi K panics and case ia voters ac w o te at n ch ti in al ra o ly g th u sh . se ro er minoriti p H e I can hardly contain it. Many of you, some of you, may , o ss a e ex la v th is ri p et ec zi e k er n p ts the 11-p eeping his inarian, tell g bac es liv- Con ounfound focus on ofalitical specDELANO, remember her – Mable M. Jackson Chandler, better known tinued on d (5-kilinjured into –thAn e wilinmate ogram) castth irness andtrum are CA k(AP) page A2 d afprison te as Mama Chandler. r McG weeks after a California to serve it justicehe entered re g u ai ir n e s streangth. to visited the that She began teaching and counseling during World War if he sees less than three-year sentence hasit now died, officials b o b ca t said on Friday. again, he’ll II and did so for 39 years before she retired in 1980 and issue a tick Monday. et died some years later. She loved it when students called Ruben J. Barela, 49, entered North Kern State for j her Mama. She acted the part, but she wasn’t acting. She Prison in late October to serve a sentence of two years was real. She cared. She disciplined with a look, a firm and eight months for evading police while driving reprimand, a take-no-prisoners persona that commanded recklessly in San Bernardino County. respect, with no need to demand it. He was found unconscious and with injuries to his The funny thing is that with all of her “tough-guy” demeanor, I don’t remember any students who seemed to face in the day room of his housing unit on Nov. 29, doubt that beneath that exterior was genuine love. So, I was about five weeks later. just thinking... about Tiffani Lankford. She’s the 32-yearHe died Thursday at an area hospital, and old substitute teacher who was arrested earlier this month investigators are treating his death as a possible homicide. for fighting back after a 16-year-old student allegedly hit Officials said the cause of his death is awaiting the results her in the face. of an autopsy. The encounter – that happened at Lehman High The Bakersfield-area prison houses more than School in Kyle, Texas just outside of Austin — was caught 4,100 minimum- and medium-security inmates as well on cell phone video recorded by another student. The video as newly arriving inmates for processing before they are shows the teacher repeatedly punching the student, pulling her from the desk and slinging her to the floor where the sent to other prisons. teacher appears to stomp on the student’s head. Initial news reports said there was no immediate information as to what prompted the encounter. The substitute teacher was arrested, fired, and charged with aggravated assault. But back to Mama. I was just thinking... How would Mama Chandler have handled that situation? First of all, though, the thought seems inconceivable that any student during Mama’s time would ever have imagined hitting this maternal figurehead. I remember quoting Mama’s explanation of how she Date: February 6 Time: 7am-11am. got the endearing title, though she had no children of her It is for Emerson middle school students, Emerson own. She had said: “During the war years, fathers were has a 17% African American population. in service, mothers had to work. I told my students, ‘I’m The following organizations will participate: your Mama now, while you’re here. You have a problem, Agapeland Christian academy, BHS honor choir, come talk to me.’” So, how did we get here – from Mama Deltas-Omegas, Pinpoint academy, Dat krew. Chandler to a fist fight? Emerson middle school students will perform a Many people who commented on social media sided ruby bridges skit. with the teacher. Commenters also described modern school systems as out-of-control with student violence, blatant disrespect, and disdain for learning. There was once a popular 1950s television series, called ‘I Remember Mama,’ about a Norwegian immigrant family. One reviewer described Mama, the main character, as “one of the warmest characters ever to grace television.” You could not describe Mama Chandler as warm. But she was certainly loved and respected. She also helped finance many students’ college education, and they floated her ONTARIO, OR (AP) – Authorities are with cards, letters and visits over the years. investigating a stabbing in an eastern Oregon truck stop When asked the clue to her success, she answered: as a possible hate crime. “Accepting other people’s children as my own.” So, it’s The Ontario Police Department said Ronnell fair to say that those children, her students, could utter Hughes, who is a 48-year-old black man, was at an with conviction the television show’s familiar tagline: Arby’s Restaurant about 9:40 a.m. Saturday when he was “I remember the big white house... my little sister...big Mable M. Jackson Chandler, better known as Mama Chandler. (Photo ©The Black Academy of Arts and stabbed multiple times in the neck by Nolan Strauss, 26, brother...and Papa. But most of all, I remember Mama.” of Nebraska. Letters) Strauss, who is a white man, is believed to be a truck driver and remains in Malheur County Jail on charges of attempted murder, assault and intimidation. It’s unclear if he’s represented by an attorney. Police said Hughes recently moved to the area and was inside the Pilot truck stop seeking employment. He was sitting down at the Arby’s near the Idaho border when he was attacked with a knife unprovoked. Hughes was taken to an Idaho hospital in “stable” Atlanta, GA – Sydney Wilson, the youngest student condition. admitted to Spelman College, has recently achieved another The Arby’s employees who intervened and subdued milestone as she ended the first semester as a college student Strauss were not hurt. with a 3.76 GPA, making it to the Dean’s list. Police said there’s no indication the two men knew Wilson started attending the prestigious HBCU this each other or interacted before the sudden attack. fall, where she majored in Biology. The teen prodigy hopes “The motive for the attack leans heavily towards a to one day find a cure to most human illnesses. racially motivated crime,” police said in a statement. She took a full course load filled with classes like Population Biology, Big Questions Colloquia, and African Diaspora & The World, but she managed it all like a pro. Wilson admitted that it was challenging at first, especially that he had to live on the campus away from her parents at a rather young age. But she is taking control of all of it, even finishing the first semester with flying colors. “There have definitely been some ups and downs but the ups certainly outweigh the downs,” Wilson told Because of Them We Can. “It was a little hard in the beginning being away from my family but luckily I got to see them TULSA, OK (AP) – Officials say a privately owned often. I am now able to see how the semester has impacted cemetery is blocking efforts to find the remains of black Tulsa residents killed nearly 100 years ago in a race riot. my life, refined my character and gifted me the ability to But an attorney for the cemetery said his client see things from different perspectives.” submitted a proposal in November that would allow the Now, Wilson is definitely looking forward to the next city to search under certain conditions. semester hoping to continue and even improve her feat, Mayor G.T. Bynum has insisted that the city would now that she’s more accustomed to college life. do everything it could to find possible mass graves with victims of one of the worst race-related massacres in U.S. history. The 1921 violence left as many as 300 dead on Tulsa’s Black Wall Street. Bynum said the city has been unable to investigate whether Rolling Oaks Cemetery in south Tulsa contains unmarked graves, the Tulsa World reported. By Dr. Kevin Williams news was hard to hear, especially knowing that people The clinical trial for rivipansel may have come to an However, Timothy Studebaker, a Tulsa attorney Chief Medical Officer for Rare Disease at Pfizer with SCD have such limited treatment options available to end; however, the one thing that working in SCD and representing Rolling Oaks, said the cemetery is not The “Ask Dr. Kevin” series is brought to you by Pfizer them. However, even though the study didn’t turn out as collaborating with the NNPA and SCD-focused patient opposed to scanning its grounds. Rare Disease in collaboration with the National Newspaper we had hoped, the good news is that the rivipansel program groups over the last several years has taught me is that “My client is fully willing to meet with the city to Publishers Association (NNPA) to increase understanding greatly advanced our understanding of SCD and VOCs, this community is strong. Their strength inspires me and discuss a framework for this to proceed when the city of sickle cell disease. which will be important for future SCD research programs my team every day and fuels our passion for our work in is willing to give my client safeguards to protect the Dr. Kevin Williams is the Chief Medical Officer for and drug development. advancing the scientific research of rare diseases like SCD. interments existing as this location.” Rare Disease at Pfizer where he leads a Medical Affairs As I’ve written about before, SCD is the most common In this article, I’d like to share a little more about the Bynum said the city will look at possible legal organization of approximately 150 medical colleagues inherited blood disorder, and it disproportionately affects importance of innovation in rare diseases and answer some action if an agreement can’t be reached. around the globe. He pursued medicine after being people of African descent. VOCs, one of the most common questions about the role clinical trials play as the The Tulsa massacre came two years after what is inspired by his father’s work as a general practitioner in common complications of SCD, are marked by extreme foundation for moving medical innovation forward. known as the “Red Summer,” when hundreds of African his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dr. Kevin pain resulting from sickle-shaped red blood cells clumping Why are clinical trials important? Americans died at the hands of white mobs in violence is passionate about raising awareness and increasing together in the bloodstream. The standard of care for Cutting-edge research and clinical trials are key to around the U.S. understanding of rare diseases, such as sickle cell disease, in patients experiencing these pain crises has remained largely making an impact for patients and are essential to the At a meeting Monday, the 1921 Race Massacre the African American community. unchanged since the first report of SCD in 1910, and is development of new treatments. These studies also deepen Graves Investigation Public Oversight Committee As you may have heard, my team at Pfizer recently restricted mostly to treating disease symptoms, like the use our understanding of diseases, especially rare diseases, such learned scientists have found pits holding possible experienced a significant disappointment. Our phase 3 trial of opioids for pain management. Just last month, Novartis as SCD, where few advances have been made. For rare remains at a different cemetery and a homeless camp in for rivipansel, a potential treatment for the debilitating was granted FDA approval for a treatment to reduce the diseases in particular, only 5% of diseases have an FDAnorth Tulsa. vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) endured by virtually every frequency of VOCs experienced by patients; however, there approved treatment, so there is a lot of work to be done in person with sickle cell disease (SCD), did not meet its still stands a greater need for therapies that target the root this area. Continued on page A2 study endpoints. Both professionally and personally, this cause of these painful episodes.
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Mayor, Cemetery at Odds in Search for Tulsa Massacre Victims
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