New England Sun-Times

Wells Fargo will do the actual lending. Amazon  is taking its nickname—the Everything Store—quite seriously. On Thursday, the e-commerce behemoth and bank Wells Fargo   announced a partnership  to supply some Amazon customers with student loans. The bank will give a new interest rate discount—0.5%—to borrowers who are members of Amazon Prime Student, a subscription-based service for college students that costs half the price of regular Amazon Prime. Wells Fargo explained the alliance as a marketing opportunity for the bank. John Rasmussen, head of Wells Fargo’s personal lending group, said in a statement that the company is “focused on innovation and meeting our customers where they are–and increasingly that is in the digital space.” Rasmussen told  Fortune  that Amazon’s goal is to increase its Prime Student membership, while Wells Fargo wants to “communicate more broadly that [it’s] here to help” students and families pay for college. He said t...

By  AVIANNE TAN Two Austin Police Department officers are now under investigation after dash-cam video shows one of the officers throwing a black woman to the ground during a traffic stop. A second video taken from inside the police car after the woman was arrested shows another officer suggesting to the woman that black people have "violent tendencies" and that’s "why a lot of white people are afraid of them." Although the incident occurred in June 2015, Austin's police chief Art Acevedo said that it only came to his attention on Tuesday, when Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg called him and advised him that a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman was working on a story on the incident. Video from the traffic stop, publicly released by police today, shows the woman, identified by police as 26-year-old Breaion King, stepping out of her car. An officer, identified as Austin officer Bryan Richter, then commands her to get back in h...

By Rebecca Rivas The City of St. Louis must refund $750,400 to the 21,000 people who paid “warrant recall fees” in the past seven years. On July 19, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge David Dowd gave final approval on a class-action lawsuit settlement with the city – which also deemed that St. Louis can never charge these fees again. This is the first of nine total lawsuits that a group of lawyers filed against municipalities for similar court fees. “As we’ve all heard since Ferguson, there are many municipalities that engage in what has been termed by some as ‘for-profit policing,’” said Erich Vieth, of Campbell Law firm. “That’s one of the big reasons we were attracted to this case.” In St. Louis, if you missed a court date regarding a warrant fee, the court would charge you an extra fee of $35 for the first warrant and $10 for every subsequent warrant to reschedule the court date. The plaintiff in the case, Brandon Wann, paid this fee after he got pulled over for spee...

Candidate for State Representative (11th Suffolk District) Charles Clemons Muhammad has named M.C. Spice as Social Media Director.  Spice will be the campaign's lead social media relations professional managing the digital communications and marketing initiatives and the vehicles that support them such as Muhammad’s website, TV show and social media presence.   Currently, Spice serves as executive creative director of marketing and communications for Shakir Multimedia, a Rhode Island  based marketing & brand management company with clients past and present which include Def Jam Records, Clear Channel, Wendy Williams, Divas Working It Out, Phat Farm Clothing, Strickly Hiphop, METCO Directors Association and Calloway Entertainment.   “Our decision to recruit M.C. Spice as our new social media director didn't come without a thorough assessment process,” said campaign manager Bill Wright.  “M.C. Spice possesses and demonstrates a high level of ski...

by   Mathew Ingram Multiple reports say the network chief is on his way out after sexual harassment allegations. Roger Ailes, the chairman and CEO of Fox News, is apparently being forced out of the conservative-leaning network that he co-founded following sexual harassment allegations by a number of prominent correspondents and former anchors at Fox, including Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly. The network  initially confirmed to  The Daily Beast on Tuesday afternoon that Ailes would be leaving Fox, but then walked back that confirmation later and said that the allegations were still under review. “Roger is at work. The review is ongoing. The only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement,” the company  said in a statement  on Twitter. A post at the news website Drudge Report, however, said that the Fox chairman is on his way out  and stands to receive  as much as $40 million as part of a settlement. That post ...

Gavin Long, who shot six law-enforcement officials Sunday, killing three, served in the U.S. Marine Corps 2005-2010. BY:  BREANNA EDWARDS Gavin Long, the Marine vet who shot six law-enforcement officers Sunday in Baton Rouge, La., resulting in the death of three officers, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder,  CNN reports , according to a source involved in the investigation. Long, 29, served in the Marine Corps 2005-2010  as a data network specialist. His tenure included a deployment to Iraq. According to CNN, the source said that Long had filled a prescription for Atvian, a medication used to treat anxiety, as recently as June. He also reportedly had prescriptions for valium and Lunesta. Law-enforcement officials believe that Long “stalked” the officers before ambushing some of them in a “targeted” attack. “There is no doubt whatsoever that these officers were targeted and assassinated,” Louisiana State Police Col. Michael D. Ed...

By  Lisa Fernandez Beset by an ongoing sex scandal and investigation into racist tweets at the Oakland Police Department, the city council is weighing whether to form an independent police commission to oversee the rank and file — and even have the power to fire the chief. The " Police Commission Charter Amendment Measure" by Councilmen Dan Kalb and Noel Gallo is up for a vote at Tuesday night’s council meeting. If approved, it will go before voters in November. The amendment also seeks a community police review agency and a process for police discipline. "Whereas some important progress has been made...public perception persists that the department and the city do not adequately hold its officers accountable for misconduct," the proposed charter amendment reads. San Francisco and Los Angeles have similar police commissions. “I strongly believe that this is what’s needed in Oakland — a body that the citizens feel they can go to,” Gallo told the San Francisco...

A police captain was shot and killed Tuesday while responding to a drive-by shooting in Kansas City, Kansas, prompting members of law enforcement to lament that another one of their own had died violently. Captain Robert Melton was pronounced dead at a hospital as a manhunt for shooters continued, Mayor  Mark Holland  said in a statement. Tuesday's fatal shooting comes just on the heels of three police officers being fatally shot in  Baton Rouge, La. , last Sunday, and five police officers in Dallas being shot fatally July 7. "This is a very tense and volatile time in our community and our nation," Holland said in a statement. "It is important that we not jump to conclusions or speculate about this situation. Our police and city officials will share information as it becomes available. As we wait for that information, let us focus our thoughts and prayers on Capt. Melton’s family, our police department, and on the community." The public initially be...

Twitter blows up with allegations after GOP candidate Donald Trump’s wife speaks Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it’s doubtful Melania Trump was looking to flatter Michelle Obama with her speech to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on Monday night. Twitter began buzzing soon after the 15-minute speech wrapped up, in which  the potential future first lady praised her husband , presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, for his tenacity: “If you want someone to fight for you and your country, I can assure you that he’s the guy,” she said. Observers stacked her speech alongside one that first lady Michelle Obama made at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and found some striking similarities: “From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say,” said Melania Trump. Virtually the same words were uttered by Michelle ...