New England Sun-Times

A 17-year-old Maryland honors student destined for Harvard University was shot to death in her own bed after a home invasion. Police in Prince George’s County said that Amber Deanna Stanley was murdered when a male suspect kicked in the front door of her Kettering home around 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday and shot her multiple times in her bed. Stanley’s 37-year-old sister and her small daughter, as well as a 17-year-old foster sister, were at home when the shooting happened but were not harmed during the attack and now police are canvasing the area for leads in their search for the shooter. Neighbors remembered her as a quiet, dedicated student who had hoped to attend Harvard University. Stanley had just started her senior year at C.H. Flowers High School in Springdale, Md., where she was a member of the school’s science and technology program. “This young girl had a bright future ahead of her with dreams to pursue and goals to reach,” read a statement from Prince G...

Angela Bassett and Ruby Dee are heading to Lifetime. The duo has joined the cast of the female-skewing cable network’s TV movie Betty and Coretta. The telepic, first announced during the network’s upfront presentation in May, tells the dual stories of Coretta Scott King and Dr. Betty Shabazz as they carry on as single mothers following the assassinations of their husbands, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Bassett will play King opposite Mary J. Blige, who co-stars as Shabazz in the effort previously known as Parallel Lives. Dee will appear onscreen as a historical witness to narrate the duo’s story as someone familiar with the events of both their lives. Betty and Coretta (seen below) remains a working title for the project. Bassett, who starred in Fox’s failed spy drama pilot Rogue, picked up an Image Award for her turn as Shabazz in the 1992 feature Malcolm X. Other credits include her Oscar-nominated role as Tina Turner in 1994′s What’s Love Got to Do ...

photo credit: Jed Hresko (Three Stripes Media) August 19, 2012 – Members of the community took to Franklin Field in Dorchester for the ‘Shake The City’ Rally, asking for justice for the three women recently murdered on Harlem Street in Roxbury.  On hand at the rally was Pastor William Dickerson of Greater Love Tabernacle Church, Pastor Culpepper of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Brother Randy Muhammad of the Nation of Islam, and Rodney Muhammad of the Nation of Islam.  Speakers included City Councilors Tito Jackson and Ayanna Pressley, plus various members of the community. Johnathon Gates and M.C. Spice led a “Real Man Pledge” and all pastors, officers, elected officials, and other men of the community participated in a call-and-response call-to-action. Women could be seen crying   as the men repeated the pledge aloud. The actual pledge went as followed: “I WILL STAND UP Since the beginning, God gave Adam orders to provide for, care for, and te...

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent The Boston Children’s Festival, the last chance for many of the area’s students to kick back and enjoy the tail-end of their summer, will be returning to Franklin Park Tuesday, Aug. 21. The annual event sponsored by the city’s ParkARTs program, features tons of free programs for youth under the age of 15, including puppet shows, face painting, snacks and crafts. In addition to all the fun and games there will be giveaways and educational activities put on by Zoo New England, MIT’s Science on the Street Program, and the Boston Fire Department. Now in its sixth year, the event will take place near the back end of the Franklin Park Zoo from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For more information, click here . --- Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso , or friend him on Facebook .

Retired Judge Harry Justin Elam passed away this morning at age 90. Born April 29, 1922, and the first Black judge to serve in the Municipal Court, Elam was very passionate about the community, and was instrumental in linking those in the judicial system to social and cultural issues in the community. Justice Elam is also the father of of the late Keith "Guru" Elam of the Hip-Hop pioneer group, Gangstarr. Elam is well known in the community as a judge who tried cases fairly. Judge Elam once partnered with Edward Brooke, who later became a Senator, and whose name is a part of the Suffolk Probate Court in Boston.  Even as a judge, Elam remained connected to his roots and the roots of the communities of Boston. He will forever be missed. Three Stripes Media would like to extend our condolences to the Elam family on their loss.

(Boston, MA - August 15, 2012) A young man lost his life to a violent knife attack this afternoon. The victim, 25-year-old Rashad "Rizzy" Drogba was allegedly involved in an argument on the MBTA Bus #23 with another man. According to witnesses, the man got off the bus, dropped a knife and picked it back up ehere he proceeded to stab Drogba repeatedly in the neck area prison-style. A 43-year-old man tended to the victim and said Drogba's neck was "nasty and slashed up bad". Drogba asked for help saying "Give me some help. I'm getting weak. I'm losing it". The attack happened around 2:30pm just outside of the Roxbury Library and steps away from the Roxbury District Courthouse. The Boston Police Area B-2 Police Station is just around the corner. A man playing chess outside the library said the young man stumbled across the street asking for help after the suspect ran from the scene adjacent to the courthouse. Minutes later, the victim was ...

A punk snatched a 76-year-old woman’s purse after her medication made her groggy and she passed out in a North Carolina Wal-Mart, police said. 42 year old Kenneth Lamont Vaughan, of Durham, was arrested in Roxboro, four days after he took $300 cash off Queen Walters, along with her keys, credit cards, license and medication, local station WRAL reported. Surveillance cameras inside the big box store caught Vaughan sneaking up on Walters as she sat helpless in a motorized scooter, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear and then grabbing her purse and skulking away. Walters said she had a bad reaction to some medicine and fell asleep. “Instead of doing the right thing and checking on her condition or letting someone know, he reaches in her cart, gets her purse and walks off with it,” Roxboro Police Chief Todd Boycher told the station. Video of the robbery went viral, and, after a series of tips, Durham police picked up Vaughan during traffic stop Friday...