Category: Crime News

Columbine Survivors Join Parkland Students to Push for Change 19 Years After Massacre

I really admire these students for standing up and doing what is right to protect not only themselves, but hopefully generations to come. Growing up in the 80’s, I can not imagine having endured such evil and hate in the world. The most of our troubles were school yard bullies. I can’t help but believe that having to live through the horror of something as tragic as a school shooting will affect these children for the rest of their lives. It’s up to us as a community to be that pillar of support in keeping them safe.

Read the entire story on KTLA

Love & Hip Atlanta’s Karen King Acquitted of Theft Charges

Last year news broke that Karen KK King was arrested in Atlanta for allegedly attempting to use stolen credit cards in Saks Fifth Ave.

KK lawyered up with celebrity attorney Drew Findling and took the case to trial. And beat it.

It definitely pays to have a great lawyer.

Check out this coverage of KK’s trial day. A few of her cast mates came out to show their support, including rapper Waka Flaka’s mother, Deb Antney.

Report: Lead Found In Hundreds of Chicago Homes’ Water

Here we go again.

See the source image

Toxic lead was found in tap water drawn from nearly 70% of 2,797 homes across Chicago within the past two years, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis of results from the tested water. The daily newspaper published a report on that analysis Thursday.

Tap water in three of every 10 homes included in the analysis had lead concentrations above 5 parts per billion, the Tribune reported.

Lead can leach from certain kinds of pipes as water travels from utilities to home faucets. The US Environmental Protection Agency has set its limit for lead in tap water at 15 parts per billion — but for bottled water, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, the limit is 5 parts per billion.

Lead exposure can affect nearly every system in the body, and no safe blood lead level in children has been identified, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s why the concentrations found in Chicago are raising a few eyebrows.

“My immediate take is that Chicago has a lead problem,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, dean for global health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an expert on environmental pollution in children, who was not involved in the Tribune’s analysis.

However, “nobody should panic here. This is a problem that has to be dealt with, but it’s not a cause for panic,” he said. “In the meantime, fortunately, children can be protected here simply by switching water sources,” such as by drinking bottled water.

Lead is a naturally occurring metal found deep within the ground and has been used in a variety of products, including paint, pipes, gasoline, batteries and even cosmetics. Yet to the human body, lead exposure can be toxic.

“Exposure is especially dangerous for young children and for pregnant women because the developing brain of a fetus in the womb or a young baby is very sensitive to lead, and even very low levels of lead exposure can cause brain injury in a child with loss of IQ and disruption of behavior,” Landrigan said. “So people have to take this quite seriously.”

Megan Vidis, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Water Management, said in a statement to CNN on Thursday that the city’s water beats the standards set by the EPA year after year.

The department “takes a proactive approach to mitigating lead in our water system by introducing corrosion control into water mains; providing residences and businesses with complete instructions for flushing whenever there is any water infrastructure work being done in the vicinity; and free lead testing of drinking water,” the statement said.

Um, yea ok.

Read the rest of this article here.

Is it a coincidence that Chicago, like Detroit, is a predominately urban city with this ongoing lead issue? Could racial demographics be the delay in getting these lead filled pipes replaced in these particular cities?

Please leave a comment & let me know what you think.