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n han ooper. an-American q ruple death rowuad The allegeddcuffs and ha New inmate incident wa Cooper’s 1som’s decision could F lo ri making ouda Today reports t Hills famil 985 conviction in lead to the overtu t. y th rning of and their 1 e killing of Enough Of Authorities say t has the 1-y a ru Your Love” Californiapnotential, some polieatir-old house guest. ral Chino and a s. Th cal watcher s say, to de case Both the C ivide aliforn and more an a dozenia and United States past appeath lower court su p re ls. s have reject me courts “I take no p ed Cooper’s osition regar nocence at about the h this time,” Newsodming Mr. Cooper’s g uilt igh-profile said in his terest. N ca executive oor inse free 2. When you see a photo or ad with the Observer 1. Get for downloading that hby Yothe as rk Tapp d rder ra Sen. Kamew im w n inte es’Play colum rn al at Interactive logo scan over the whole photo with your it from Google or The Apple App a io n is H n al t ar N in ri ic have all ca lled for res -tand reality TV starholas Kristof, U.S.tablet or smartphone. forensic Store es K ting using im technology. SUL current, m Kardashian The ACLU gorilla suitPHUR, La. (AP) – P o re sensitive and other h groups hav mattress befbroke into a Louisiaol o n a deeper in e also urged Califuoman rights and soci Serving Los Angeles County News ouretl officers arrested ha ves gation rnia state o al et into Cooper fficials to lajustice s Gov. Newtiso sp quote Sulp okesm M for Over 35 Years unch ’s con m’s hu tion issu el Estes in officers saan Thursday by formerorder Friday expandviction. w Je test four ed re m s G ie p co o M re v. st v o p u io Je ra me. ey h n walkin lowed an ieces of crime scen rry Brown in D us direcad received son lookinTh ember to calls a g into hom an orangealysts to perform DNe evidence. Brownec es. Estes says prosecutorstowel; and the hanA re-testing on a t’sanorder al- bo M ora proached b dle and sh dies in the say Cooper T-shirt; ut was disncoran into a eath Ry In th new u charges incl vered investigatseiod in the murders. of a hatchet Joshua Ryen, theen’s home with a total u d of hair frois try, meth p ing resisting an hidin v n w o ic m , f o ti an 1 u th m 4 n al 3 e s’ d y v st o st o 8 offic ictims’ han ss sion an ab n his throat -y r-old so button Co ds, blood ssawill look at strands tack. d In Louisiaes oper’s atto . He was ea n, sufferedwounds. ing in the San Bern tigators pla na, a persowearing a m the only su mples and rney Norm th ar a e d in sl in al as p le o h u g C b n at n li o te a io s Cooper rvivor of th unty are n c an Hile m After Coop d at the sc green nvicte Angeles most. Excecan be sentencedco ain ins in e at- D.A.’s officen t surprised en to thre . Many of’s attorneys are moak ptions are al ves- legally stayed in eras’s jail break, inves about vestigatioCnounty Superior Coeuof the crime. A ta ra ci h al o in li ti th b lo re al days like H gators foun house next g out th iases and d em . so y they wed for li tire rt judge wil ei d, e il- complaints iscriminatio frequently compab d fo g l oversee thd Los familsa Coo er, 61 It’s unclearalloween and Marre lain aboutr y’s station uwnd evidence in thoeor to the victims. hTh are handle n e in, has main in years. Hispla di G th if g e an w M m d R g ay . o ag en y ta ey Ju p ra en o th ro t. in n st n ’s w ei se ed h la th h r y cu For some, G as a lawy o e and in st ers hope th at tied Coo ca by Gov. N e results ohfis innocence over th ov. Newsom per to themm the under pressuretor Michael Selyem,month, a San Bernarses or ewsom, w the case Newspapers the re-testin for making w d hel11 ’s e oinf g in Group u Volume 35 Number Observer of Southern California Thursday, January 30, 2020 in h o h rd o p pro o o rd ic n er is h is er s. so W b co to ci ei v u h e al m ng met wit b aden D g ordered cr ld ke sev ite, their client’ the murder him. h ismay. ro er A test- chelle Obamedia. His insults taurgde and racist and co resigned s innocenta The lone N ce and final months, will porters of the sRJoshua Ryen anddfa mments et a, ed U ,S fo su B . rm R la In 1985, a rv ep. Maxine ck shooting ally exoner er First Lad ivor yens and H mily, friend they are dis San Diego at W v on four cou s u e ic at g ap an ti h er m es pointed wit d s and an un y Mi“Unfortun h the goverall across the statesup- Los AThomas R. Parker., named 26 and an nts of murder. ACt ounty jury convicte at el sa n a n o y, fo y fo g r’ eles office, rmer deputy cord - incluescaped prison inmthe time of his arre d Cooper n r justice in this caseover time it seems s decision. b el h ie ea Th v es ooper. d of the FB is guy is in o District st, he was e victims’ d in Pennsylv ding several burglaate. His lengthy crim I’s Attorney Jamatters less and leth nocent,” C esire “The evidence “Prior DN ries and the ania – did ss,” San Ber he told the in so al n re A w n as A d o n te er p n o n Cooper, form rape of a m st la so N t help his ca ar th in n ew n d te e g icl sa d st th ai Y , id an o at m h rk d.” e was fram in ed ould ex Mr. Cooper inor se. erly named in 1958 ed, the copTimes. What has k onerate him sought, agarestatement. per’s guilw s lied t.” months onldear Pittsburgh, PenRichard Goodman, ep h ed av t a to th e fe al e d an er l ca d confirmed al appellate se going nsylvania. was born Yet persuas During his , he was adopted an M an W ec co r. d u h u C iv ti en C rt ooon and re ie e argumen ’s o he was six monies and LAKE FOR and he spenchildhood, his par d renamed Kevin ts ased on w the casedecision in 2004 tooper alive - is Gov. Newvso EST, Calif. ents physica is recoverin w stay his exCooper. reasonable qualeslegations of evidenbce t a good p co it h n fl m ic juvenile det o ti m re n D ’s g sc ar P) – O ci 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 yon road in g after being stru(A a mental h ention centers. In olescence living sed him at ors used to nail Co out the methods ing, keep raising Californ ing comes early n to allow anoth c evidence. ck by a pffi Southern C in ea er ta 1 an in ia olic o 9 ck lt p d G se 8 ro th er h 2 , st o v . u , e L fa al er an v o Th n C er ag ifornia. ries cility in Pen te of th al d of California. d o n re u e progress nsylvania obper escaped from three attackerin sworn testimony,e weapons were usedinvesti- have high expectatioor whose supporterrm the Orangnea Beach Police Offi iv s e o s ce efore movin n Jo During his C in n w r Thomas shua Ryen ounRev. CT – The Alis Sharpton ho were W the poNew ty Reg NA test g s. som(AP) liticaHaven, eo g to could have been H murder tria said he sathwe solve “D l Leftto fight ne’ ter he of gued that s pet whfor should imm initaially th vowed Sunday for answers the family the Ryen in ispanic. hite. He later testified l, prosecuto en F eb th F u . e ed rt 1 ca 9 h ia Ryen, theirCooper killed husban t ca . er te d that they Chiang sa se and fin rs succ arted in fro ly ta19-year-old ke place to ConnecticutMman killed by a state trooper named Diacomplicating the pro nt cGuire says neighbor C 10-year-old daugh d and wife Dougesansfully ar- ban re- th that DNA id during the campally ensure justearlier na Roper ca secutions’ cl this month. ic el ter Jessica an e hristopher w o d is h n ev ai e P en g se g an eg id m in ai n. “Not on rv ence can hel h e forward w im ms, a wom- but test e ed al g ,” o Hughes. Po d an 11-yea gy inal. S g to her former w t o as have a right takebig away hisanlife, andutifto chec ly is“You ing in is p law enforc ger th it prodon’t boyfriend w ith bloody cloth r-old lice found he turned Animto vhave aquestion en antoobligation case would house cat. altoCostand emenyou the eviden ing do, we and the bloodie Even thoth ntrolup t solv co o an e ffi m cr ceactivist u an ce over toho was a violent crim e im d destroyed it. g rs at im h es ru is n N , al o b ew h co o ed the ble o what happened,” the 65-year-old civil rights ld so st sp th , m to the state. ital, where shsaid he is treadin e police, bu trauma. ’s African Am it was at ”service g carefullydecision in theatCaomemorial t they issue that Cal ericans, His Sunday for Mubarak Soulemane diagnose o p o if D er n ornia panics and ap case Baptistr.Church watching. Calvary ConrauNew other mino ly pFirst she expecKtsristi Kin se, a vHaven, He is keepvoters across the poolitentialthe o la ri et zi er n rities liv- C in g th ing his focu ti spectru back into th e 11-pound (5-k arian, tells th ontinued By TIM REYNOLDS s on fairncaeslnecticut. m are ilogclasson page A e wiland ram) cat to relatives, high d afte s andSoulemane’s r it school 2 McGfriends Associated Press ju st ice His uire vMuhammad, ns st mates attended. Tahir said Sunisited the regai rength. thatuncle, if he se It was April 14, 2016. It was the first full day of Kobe bobhe es itinvestigate catwas day police “never took the time that o ag n aFriday ai n , h e’ Bryant’s new chapter as a retired NBA player. All he had son, brother, uncle ... a human being.” ll issue a ticket for ja. done the night before was score a mind-boggling 60 points State police said Soulemane tried to steal a cellin his farewell game, not getting out of Staples Center until phone and then carjacked a vehicle in Norwalk on Jan. around midnight. 15 before leading troopers on a chase on Interstate 95 His staff at Kobe, Inc. were certain they would beat into West Haven. Officials said Soulemane struck two their boss to the office that morning. state police cruisers and a civilian’s vehicle before troopThey were wrong. He beat everyone there by two ers stopped his vehicle by boxing it in. hours. “We have a lot of work to do,” Bryant told them. Recordings from state police body cameras show Even in retirement, Bryant found no substitute for troopers surrounding Soulemane’s vehicle and smashhard work. ing out the passenger door window before shooting Kobe Bean Bryant was many things: one of the greathim with a stun gun, which didn’t work. Trooper Briest players in basketball history, a five-time NBA champian North then fired his handgun seven times through on, Olympic gold medalist, a fluent speaker of multiple the driver’s door window when Soulemane displayed a languages, a resident of the world, an Oscar winner, the knife, state police said. self-described Black Mamba that started as a nickname and “Something about this doesn’t smell right to me,” became his brand, someone so good he had two numbers Sharpton said Sunday. retired by the Los Angeles Lakers. Relatives, clergy and civil rights advocates have And he never stopped. Basketball was his obsession for called on federal authorities to investigate and state 20 years in the NBA. Storytelling was the obsession for the police to improve training on how to de-escalate tense rest of his life. situations. It was the third fatal shooting by police in Tears, as would be expected once the news broke Connecticut since the new year began. of Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash in Southern CaliSoulemane’s family said he was a community colfornia on Sunday, flowed freely in the NBA world. LeBron lege student who had mental health problems. State James was inconsolable when he got the news, a day after court records show he had two pending criminal cases. passing Bryant for No. 3 on the all-time scoring list. Doc Investigators with the chief state’s attorney’s office Rivers struggled when he tried to put feelings into words. recently took command of the investigation from state Even from the normally beyond-stoic Kawhi Leonard had police. his eyes well up when he was talking about Bryant. North was placed on administrative duty in acBut the pain was obvious elsewhere: Oregon womcordance with protocols when officers are involved in a en’s basketball star Sabrina Ionescu didn’t hide her anguish shooting. He also cannot have any interactions with the when she said she was dedicating the rest of her season to public and is not allowed to drive a marked police veBryant’s memory, soccer’s Neymar held up a “24” with his hicle, per conditions worked out between a coalition of fingers after scoring a goal for Paris Saint-Germain, and pastors representing the family and James Rovella, commarquees at the Super Bowl in Miami were lit up in the missioner of the state Department of Emergency SerLakers’ colors of purple and gold as a tribute. vices and Public Protection, which oversees state police. The elite ones, the ones like James and Leonard and Ionescu and Neymar, were all like Bryant. Driven. Obsessed with their craft. Those are the sort of people Bryant ‘ ’ enjoyed most. He didn’t have much patience for anything else. Teammates were never immune from his criticism; not even Shaquille O’Neal, a fellow all-time NBA great, could avoid clashes with Bryant. O’Neal was half-a-foot taller and probably an easy 100 pounds heavier than Bryant. Didn’t matter. Bryant wanted to fight one day in practice, so they fought. Columbia, SC (AP) – The South Carolina womHis toughness was legendary; Bryant blew out his an credited with popularizing a memorable slogan and Achilles on a play in 2013 where he’d been fouled and chant that epitomized the 2008 presidential campaign made the two free throws knowing that his season would of then-Sen. Barack Obama has endorsed Tom Steyer’s be over a few seconds later. It was against Golden State; the bid for the White House. Lakers trailed at the time, and Bryant — who hyperextendThe billionaire climate activist’s campaign told ed a knee in that same game and played through it because The Associated Press on Monday that Edith S. Childs the game was so important in the playoff race — swished is endorsing Steyer’s effort. Childs, a member of the both shots. “We were down two. Had to tie the game first,” The tragic death of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others has Greenwood County Council, said in a new television Bryant said years later, when asked why he stayed in the shocked and saddened the world. Courtesy photo ad released this week that she sees Steyer as the best posgame. sible candidate to defeat President Donald Trump in had a podcast for kids and families, not with him blatherjumping into the pool with one is another thing.” His commitment was legendary; there was a game in November. He played in Los Angeles, but he was a star every- ing on about whatever he wanted to talk about but with 2011 in Miami where the Lakers lost by six, and Bryant “We need something different to beat Trump,” was so displeased with how he played that he went back where. Everywhere. At the Basketball World Cup in Chi- characters talking about how to be a good teammate. He Childs says. “Steyer can bring it. Watch out -- my guy onto the court for 90 minutes of uninterrupted shooting na this past summer, Bryant was on the court for a game had a franchise of shows called Detail, where he broke Tom is fired up, and Trump got to go.” that went on until after midnight. His teammates were on during the medal round. He said a few words in Mandarin down the nuances of basketball and had other huge names Childs popularized the phrase “fired up, ready to Miami Beach for dinner. Bryant was working instead. “It’s and the fans in Beijing screamed in more delight than they from other sports do the same thing. go” during a 2007 campaign event for Obama in GreenHe wasn’t kidding around when talking to his staff on had for the guy who had taken the floor just before Bryant, my job,” Bryant said. wood, a tale recounted in the Steyer ad. In the years April 14, 2016. Kobe Bryant still had a lot of work to do. His swagger was legendary; during the FIBA Americas a fellow by name of Yao Ming. since, “fired up, ready to go” became part of the camHe was just getting started. And now he’s gone. He was as driven in his storytelling life as he was in tournament in 2007, Bryant was less-than-impressed with paign’s ethos, manifested in T-shirts, signs and bumper The tributes will continue, though eventually fade how Brazil thought it had a chance to beat Team USA. his playing days. Kobe, Inc. wasn’t just a cool name. It was stickers. So, he tasked himself with guarding Leandro Barbosa, who his world. He wanted to inspire kids through books that away. The legacy will be forever. The AP reported at the time that Childs came to until that point had been the leading scorer in the tourna- combined the worlds of sports and fantasy. He was toying know the “fired up” verbiage from an NAACP official, with the idea of taking his stories to Broadway. He won an ment. With Bryant blanketing him — making it difficult to whom it was passed down by civil rights activist and for him to even dribble at times — Barbosa made one shot Oscar for “Dear Basketball,” a short animated film in 2018 Charleston native Jondelle Harris Johnson. all night. The Americans won by 37. “Looking at a great that had been converted from a poem that he penned when Childs attended several events with the Obama white shark is one thing,” Bryant told teammates, “but he decided it was time to retire from playing the game. He family at the White House during his tenure, led delegates in the chant during the 2012 Democratic National Convention and sat with first lady Michelle Obama at her husband’s final State of the Union address in 2016. In the years since, the chant has become ingrained in South Carolina’s Democratic political scene. Several politicians, including state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, regularly use it to amp up crowds at rallies across the state. Steyer’s campaign has placed increasing emphasis on South Carolina, with just over a month to go until the state’s first-in-the-South primary. Steyer has focused recent campaign efforts around spending time with the state’s black voters, who comprise the majority of South Carolina’s Democratic voting electorate. Rolling out his criminal justice reform plan after several days of campaigning in South Carolina, Steyer told the AP last week that racial inequality in a variety of areas, including health care and economic development, is to blame for what he sees as a prejudiced criminal justice system. According to Steyer’s campaign, the 30-second ad featuring Childs will air in the four earliest primary and caucus states.
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Fake Skeleton to Drive in HOV Lane
Fans of Kobe Bryant mourn at a memorial to him in front of Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, after word of the Lakers star’s death in a helicopter crash, in downtown Los Angeles Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman)
Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant sits on the shoulders of her father, Kobe, as they attend the women’s soccer match between the United States and China Thursday, April 10, 2014, in San Diego. Bryant, the 18time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. Gianna also died in the crash. (AP Photo/ Lenny Ignelzi, file)
Phoenix, AZ (AP) – A 62-year-old man was cited in Arizona this week after trying to disguise a fake skeleton as a passenger just to use the HOV lane. The Arizona Department of Public Safety says a trooper pulled over the man on Thursday after noticing he had placed a fake skeleton in the passenger’s front seat. The skeleton was sitting upright, wearing a hat and tied to the front seat. Department spokesman Raul Garcia said troopers cite about 7,000 HOV lane violators every year. Last April, a man was pulled over after driving in the HOV lane with a mannequin wearing a sweatshirt, baseball cap and sunglasses.