Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 7-11-17

National
QVC And Home Shopping Network Merge In $2.6B Deal To Compete With Amazon
Officer Wounded By Lone Shooter Sues Black Lives Matter
Jumping Turnstiles In NYC To Be Decriminalized
NEW YORK —-An initiative implemented by the Manhat- tan’s District Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s office and the NYPD will aim to lessen the amount of arrests due to low- level, nonviolent misde- meanors, such as jumping the turnstiles in subway stations.
According to DNA Info, start- ing in September, “...the major- ity of those arrested for turnstile jumping in Manhat- tan will be issued civil sum- monses or a desk appearance ticket that prosecutors will de- cline to prosecute if offenders complete counseling ses- sions or other diversion pro- gram before arraignment.” The desk appearance ticket would cost $100, according to the
MTA.
Individuals in possession of
small amounts of crack, co- caine and oxycodone will also reportedly be decriminalized, due to the city’s efforts to re- duce the high volume of crimi- nal cases and lessen the number of people behind bars.
NEW YORK -- QVC and Home Shopping Network, two of the best-known home- shopping hubs, are merging in a $2.6 billion deal as they try to retain consumers who are rapidly shifting to inter- net-based retail.
Liberty Interactive (QVCA), which owns QVC and already owns 38 percent of HSN, will buy the rest of Home Shopping Network for about $2.6 billion in a stock deal. That would make the combined network the third- biggest in the U.S. by sales, behind Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT).
The move is a play to com-
pete with the two largest on- line retailers at a time that home-shopping network sales are dropping. According to eMarketer, sales in that in- dustry have fallen 2.9 percent in the U.S. and 2.3 percent globally between 2011 and 2016. Amazon, which has been growing aggressively, dominates the online shop- ping space.
Liberty, which has owned a stake in HSN since 2009, said buying the rest of the company will boost the merged company's ecom- merce capabilities, cut costs and offer marketing opportu- nities, among other benefits.
Protesters took to the streets in Baton Rouge, LA after the police shooting of Alton Ster- ling.
Judge In Cosby Case Schedules Retrial For November 6
BATON ROUGE, LA —- A personal injury lawyer filed a federal lawsuit on Friday, claiming that Black Lives Mat- ter and its leaders are respon- sible for the wounding of a police officer by a lone shooter after protests in Baton Rouge one year ago.
The lawsuit names five front-runners of the move- ment as defendants, including Alicia Garza and Johnetta “Netta” Elzie, but fixates on social media posts and televi- sion interviews by Deray Mckesson as evidence that they support and cause vio- lence. It’s asking for $75,000 on behalf of an unnamed offi- cer who was shot three times and permanently disabled during an attack that also killed three police officers on July 17.
Gavin Long, the shooter who was killed by police that day, was an ex-Marine from Kansas City, thought to be seeking revenge after two white officers shot and killed 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man. Louisiana State Police detectives recently stated that Long had not joined in any of the protests in Baton Rouge or elsewhere, ac- cording to local reports.
Streets Named After Confederate Generals In Florida To Be Renamed
Andrea Constrand settled out of court, however she is one of two women who was allowed to have her case tried in criminal court against Bill Cosby.
PHILADELPHIA, PA —- Co- median Bill Cosby is prepar- ing to return to court, weeks after he walked out a free man.
CNN reports that on Thurs- day the judge who presided over Cosby’s June mistrial scheduled a retrial for Novem- ber 6 of this year.
A former friend, Andrea Constand, accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her at his
home in January 2004. The prosecutor charged Cosby, 79, with three counts of felony ag- gravated indecent assault.
The first trial ended with a hung jury. The panel deliber- ated for 52 hours before telling the judge it was hopeless. After the judge declared a mistrial, prosecutors immediately said they planned to try again.
Residents outside the city commission meeting.
HOLLYWOOD, FL — In Hollywood, FL, resting in a predominantly black and brown neighborhood, are three street names honoring Confederate generals.
Most were able to sense the problematic nature of this re- ality, as the city’s commission voted to rename the streets Monday (July 3).
The streets are named after Generals Robert E. Lee, John Bell Hood and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was known as the “father of the Ku Klux Klan.”
In order to prevent any op- position to renaming the streets, the commission had to vote on two key measures that would make the change concrete and refrain from of-
fending the Hollywood civil- ians.
The first measure, passing with a 5-2 result, eliminated polling the city’s residents. The argument for Commis- sioner Richard Blattner’s measure was that if the peo- ple of Hollywood voted against the street name changes, it would look like the Commission “could care less about what their community has to say” when they move forward with the plans. The second measure will incorpo- rate dual-naming for two years so residents will be able to adjust to the eventual ex- termination of the names.
Voting on the overall issue will occur on August 30.
U.S. Mint Worker Leaves Noose On Chair Of Colleague
PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia put an employee on administrative leave after a noose was found at the plant on the chair of an African-American colleague.
The unidentified employee created the noose with rope used to seal coin bags once they’re full, according to the president of the mint workers union.
Surveillance video captured the employee’s actions. The white male coin maker walked across the factory floor with the noose in hand.
Many African-American workers called and texted the
union president the next day, and the U.S. Treasury Depart- ment’s inspector general launched an internal investiga- tion.
The Treasury Department has “absolutely zero tolerance for the kind of misconduct re- ported at the mint,” a spokesman said.
TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19