WI Web Staff
The Jan. 29 execution of a Texas woman convicted in the murder of her 71-year-old neighbor has been halted.
A state judge stopped the execution of Kimberly McCarthy,51, who would have been the first woman in the U.S. to be put to death since 2010. State District Judge Larry Mitchell gave McCarthy a reprieve just five hours before she was to die by lethal injection for the 1997 murder of Dorothy Booth.
According to reports, Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Shelly Yeatts said McCarthy's execution date is now on April 3. Her attorneys argue that McCarthy was prosecuted on the basis of race. She is black, but 11 jurors were white, with only one black person.
Had the excecution proceeded on Tuesday, it would have marked the first time in nearly three years that a female prisoner was executed in this country.
(Source:Wire Reports)
Cissy Houston Releases New Book on Whitney
Tuesday, 29 January 2013 16:48 Published in Arts & Entertainment
In "Remembering Whitney," Cissy Houston, the mother of the late Whitney Houston, writes that she always doubted whether Bobby Brown was right for her daughter. She also thinks that Whitney, who died a year ago at age 48, might not have ended up so "deep" into drugs had the couple ended their relationship early on.
"I do believe her life would have turned out differently," Houston writes. "It would have been easier for her to get sober and stay sober. Instead she was with someone who, like her, wanted to party. To me, he never seemed to be a help to her in the way she needed."
"Remembering Whitney" is being released on Jan. 30, two weeks short of the first anniversary of the iconic star's accidental drowning in a hotel bathtub in Beverly Hills, Calif. Authorities said her death was complicated by cocaine use and heart disease.
During a recent telephone interview, Houston said she has no contact with Brown and didn't see any reason to, not even concerning her granddaughter, Bobbi Kristina. She reaffirmed her comments in the book that Whitney Houston would have been better off without him. "How would you like it if he had anything to do with your daughter?" she asked.
Houston said she wanted the book published so the world would not believe the worst about her daughter. Cissy Houston, herself an accomplished soul and gospel singer who has performed with Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, describes Whitney as a transcendent talent and vivacious and generous person known affectionately by her childhood nickname, "Nippy."
But she acknowledges in the book that her daughter could be "mean" and "difficult" and questions at times how well she knew her.
"In my darkest moments, I wonder whether Nippy loved me," she writes. "She always told me she did. But you know, she didn't call me much. She didn't come see me as much as I hoped she would."
But, "almost always," Whitney Houston was "the sweetest, most loving person in the room."
(Source: Huffingtonpost.com)
CAIRO — Egypt's new government recently lost control of Port Said, one of its major cities, as an angry mob of soccer fans attacked the main jail, drove police officers from the streets and cut off all access to the city.
According to The New York Times, the rampage was ignited by the sentencing of 21 Port Said soccer fans to death, the rioting was the sharpest challenge yet to the efforts of Egypt's new Islamist rulers to re-establish order after the two years of turmoil that have followed the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's autocratic president.
By evening on Jan. 26, fighting in the streets had left at least 30 people dead, mostly from gunfire, and injured more than 300. NYT further reported that residents said they were afraid to leave their homes. Doctors said the local hospital was overloaded with casualties and pleaded for help.
President Mohamed Morsi canceled a foreign trip to deal with the crisis at home and instead met with the National Defense Council, which includes the nation's top military leaders. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry acknowledged that its security forces were unable to control the violence and urged that political leaders to try to calm the rioters.
(Source: Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times)
The District of Columbia Public Schools system is offering seats Jan. 29 through Feb. 25 in its annual lottery for three- and four-year old children across the city for the 2013-14 academic year.
Although District law does not require children to attend preschool or pre-kindergarten, the school system places strong emphasis on the value on early childhood education.
To that end, DCPS strives to make seats available to as many families as possible in a fair and equitable manner, and families wishing to secure a seat for their children in a DCPS school must apply during the above dates.
K-12 Out-of-Boundary Lottery
The Out-of-Boundary Lottery is a school choice service that's also offered by DCPS to allow parents to apply for available seats in grades kindergarten through 12 at a school or schools(s) other than their child's assigned school(s).
This lottery is not for children attending their current school out-of-boundary who wish to continue attending, or for those seeking admission to seeking admission to selective citywide high schools.
DCPS officials report that an unprecedented number of families applied to the lottery in 2012, suggesting that demand for a school seat continues to increase in the District.
For more information please call (202) 442-5885.
Golden Boy Promotions has announced the signing of IBF Junior Welterweight World champion Lamont Peterson,which adds other 140-pound title holder to the most elite roster of fighters in the sport of boxing.
"We are thrilled that Lamont Peterson will be joining Golden Boy Promotions' team," said Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions. "We know firsthand what Lamont Peterson can do, as he's been in the ring with our fighters Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz. We know that he is the kind of individual that will be an asset to our team and great competitor in the 140-pound weight class."
Peterson added that he is excited about signing on and the opportunity to work with the promotions company again.
"Being with Golden Boy really gives me the chance to make the best fights available in my weight class," Peterson said. "I want to fight the best in the world at 140 [pounds] and I know it can happen as a member of the Golden Boy team. I am optimistic that this is a decision that will help further my career."
An inspirational figure who, along with his brother Anthony, won the Boxing Writers Association of America's Perseverance Award in 2008 for surviving a harrowing childhood to make it to the top of the boxing world, Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO's) doesn't know the meaning of the word "quit."
A native of Washington, D.C., Peterson and his brother were homeless for a time before finding salvation in the sport of boxing when they were young. Trained and mentored by Barry Hunter, Peterson thrived as a fighter, eventually winning numerous titles during a stellar amateur career.
When he turned professional in 2004, the success continued with Peterson eventually winning the WBO Junior Welterweight World Title in 2009. He would lose the belt later that year to Timothy Bradley, but after going unbeaten in his next three bouts, Peterson got a shot at Amir Khan in December of 2011 and he made the most of the opportunity, defeating Khan and capturing the WBA Super and IBF 140-Pound World Championships in one of the best fights of that year.
Council Mourns Death of Former Delegate Christine M. Jones
Monday, 28 January 2013 22:32 Published in Local
Andrea Harrison, chairperson of the Prince George's County Council, issued a statement on Jan. 28 regarding the death of former Maryland State Delegate Christine M. Jones, who died on Saturday at the age of 83.
Harrison said members of the County Council are "deeply saddened by the loss of Delegate Jones, the first African-American woman from Prince George's County to be elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.
Harrison's statement continues that "Delegate Jones, a longtime resident of Temple Hills, Md., represented the 26th Legislative District in the House of Delegates from 1982 – 1994. She was also the first woman to serve as chairperson of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, which recognized her in 2010 for her meritorious contributions and service to the State of Maryland and its residents.
A strong and passionate advocate for education, Delegate Jones served as a teacher in the Prince George's County Public Schools system for 30 years, always stressing the importance of service to the hundreds of students who received her instruction.
"Delegate Jones was a dear friend, an untiring public servant, a trusted mentor to many, and a champion for Prince George's County, and she will be greatly missed.
"We offer our deepest sympathy, thoughts and prayers to her entire family, especially her son and granddaughter, as well as to her fellow public servants and beloved community members."
Jones, who died on Saturday in a local hospital, was reportedly found in her one-story brick home on Everest Drive, on Thursday, Jan. 24, where firefighters were called about 11 a.m. She had no pulse and was not breathing, a Temple Hills, Md., fire department spokesman said, with reports further stating that the fire was thought to have started in a bedroom.
Council member Karen Toles' District 7 office is assisting the family with arrangements and coordinating acknowledgments from current and former elected officials. For more information please contact Toles' office at 301.952.3690.
Members of the D.C. Council recently introduced a bill that will help eradicate truancy among the District's public school students.
The "Attendance Accountability Amendment Act of 2013," which has the support of council members David A. Catania, Yvette Alexander, Marion Barry, Jack Evans and David Grosso, seeks to amend previous legislation to require compulsory school attendance by primarily holding parents more accountable.
In the event the bill is approved, parents of minors who have neglected their child's school attendance could be ordered to perform community service, attend parenting classes or to pay a fine.
Truancy in the District is generally defined as students having missed 10 or more unexcused absences from school within an academic term.
Fantasia to Headline Super Bowl Gospel Concert
Thursday, 24 January 2013 18:17 Published in Arts & Entertainment
R&B singer Fantasia will be among a list of musical acts heading to New Orleans Super Bowl weekend.
Fantasia will perform in the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration to be hosted by Sherri Shepherd of ABC's "The View," and Grammy-winning gospel musician Kirk Franklin.
The gospel concert that will also include performances by Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Winans and Bishop Paul S. Morton of New Orleans, will be held at the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on Friday, Feb. 1. The game will be played at the Superdome on Feb. 3.
The show, sponsored by American Family Insurance, will be taped in front of a live audience and will be syndicated for television broadcast.
The death toll from the bloody terrorist siege at a natural gas plant in Algeria climbed to at least 81 a of Sunday, Jan. 20, as the country's forces searching the refinery for explosives found dozens more bodies, many so badly disfigured they could not immediately be identified, a security official said.
Algerian special forces stormed the plant on Saturday to end the four-day siege, moving in to thwart what government officials said was a plot by the Islamist militants to blow up the complex and kill all their hostages with mines sown throughout the site.
The government said after the assault that at least 32 extremists and 23 hostages were killed. Then, on Sunday, Algerian bomb squads sent in to blow up or defuse the explosives found 25 bodies, said the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
"These bodies are difficult to identify. They could be the bodies of foreign hostages or Algerians or terrorists," the official said.
(Wire Report)
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