New England Sun-Times

Protests in New York and Missouri have died down, but angry crowds in one California city famous for activism spent much of the weekend blocking traffic and clashing with police in this ultra-liberal bastion thousands of miles from the where Michael Brown and Eric Garner were killed. Although many activists in other parts of the country have gone home, protests in Berkeley and Oakland are still active, reflecting the area's long history of protest dating back to the 1960s. The demonstrations are also unfolding in a place with strict limits on local police powers. The crowds that came out to protest in Berkeley numbered only a few hundred, but some are not college students or residents so much as full-time demonstrators who protest anything ? war, prison conditions and economic inequality ? and sometimes use demonstrations as a pretext for violence and vandalism, just as they did during the Occupy Wall Street movement. Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said a tiny...

At least three people are have died after a plane crashed into a suburban area of Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., striking a home and starting a fire around 10:40 a.m. ET. Fire officials with Montogomery County said the plane crashed into a home on Drop Forge Lane in Gaithersburg, damaging two adjacent houses.   Montgomery County Fire Chief Steven Lohr told reporters three people on board the jet were confirmed dead, while three residents of the home remained unaccounted for. Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department, told the Washington Post , “No one was transported to a hospital. They were not able to survive the crash.” Chief Lohr said the first 911 call was made at 10:44 a.m. ET reporting an explosion and fire, with fire crews on the scene seven minutes later. The fire chief said the fire at the home has been extinguished, and the National Transport Safety Board has launched an investigation into the c...

Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg, famous for the movies Four Brothers, Lone survivor, The Departed, Ted and Ted 2, and the newest film, The Gambler , has requested a pardon from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick for a 1988 conviction. The actor and former Dorchester, Massachusetts resident was only 16 at the time of the very serious charge of attempted murder, and like most young adults from the Dorchester area – Mark Wahlberg took to the streets as an outlet. The director, producer and philanthropist continues to work with at-risk youth, giving back with money and valuable time. Yes, Mark Wahlberg has had some transgressions and has made some mistakes that he’s certainly not proud of. But we all deserve a second chance at change. His brother Donnie and I decided on a plan to groom Mark as a rap star in order to get and keep him off the streets and out of trouble. I remember standing in his mother’s kitchen in Braintree, Massachusetts. She was so cool and she was always t...

Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel was shot after an apparent fight outside a Jersey Shore home, police tell NBC10. His attorney believes the rapper was not the intended target. The shooting happened around 9:20 a.m. Friday outside the home where he lives along the 800 block of Spruce Avenue in Pleasantville, New Jersey, police said. "From the first appearance, it would appear that there was some sort of altercation next to that property," Pleasantville Police Chief Jose Ruiz said.   Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, was hit in the stomach by a bullet that traveled out his back, police said. He was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery, Sigel's attorney, Fortunato Perri, Jr., told NBC10. Sigel remains sedated and in critical condition following that procedure, officials said. Perri, Jr. said the 40-year-old rapper had just returned home from dropping his kids off at school when he came upon the fight near his house. ...

by Rania Khalek on December 5, 2013 35-year-old Glenn Broadnax (Ken Murray / New York Daily News) Glenn Broadnax, a 35-year-old Black man from Brooklyn, was unarmed on the night of September 14 when NYPD officers shot at him in the middle of Times Square, striking two bystanders. Instead of apologizing, the New York Times reports that the city has charged Broadnax “with assault, on the theory that he was responsible for bullet wounds suffered by two bystanders.” Broadnax was emotionally disturbed and dodging cars in the middle of the street when officers say he reached into his pocket to grab what they believed was a weapon, prompting them to open fire. His lawyers says he was reaching for his wallet. So, because the NYPD is made up of trigger happy, crappy marksmen who fire at unarmed black people with impunity, Broadnax might spend up to 25 years in prison on trumped up assault charges, which the Manhattan district attorney insisted on: Initia...

  Bill Cosby is breaking his silence, if only slightly, to thank actress Whoopi Goldberg and singer/actress Jill Scott for their support amid the increasing number of rape allegations against him. Cosby took to Twitter to give his thanks: Scott, who played James Brown's wife in the biopic "Get On Up," defended Cosby last week on Twitter when a user posted a petition asking Temple University to end its relationship with the comedian. "oh ok. So they've proven the alleged allegations?" Scott asked the user Sunday. "I didn't know. Will they also be giving him back the millions he's donated?" When other Twitter users questioned Scott, she still stood by him. "U know Bill Cosby?" she tweeted. "I do child and this is insane. Proof. Period." She then tweeted about the controversy: Goldberg defended the star on "The View" in November, saying she was skeptical...

The recent decision of a grand jury not to indict Darren Wilson for the murder of 18-year-old Michael Brown caused civil unrest in Ferguson and lit a fuse in the hearts of young Americans of all races and backgrounds everywhere. New York City added fuel to the smoldering fire when today a grand jury decided against indicting officer Daniel Pantaleo for his role in the murder of Eric Garner. The Universal Zulu Nation views this type of behavior by the police unconstitutional, inhumane, dehumanizing and down right criminal. We have warned the youth for over 41 years that their lives are in jeopardy when dealing with the unjust laws and systems set up and designed to destroy the youth. The latest 100 or so days is proof that there is a war on our youth and culture. Not only in this nation of ours, but worldwide. Our President has only spoken briefly about the subject, and has carefully chosen his words so not to cause issue with the men and women in law enforcement who have run a muck ...