Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 6-21-19

White House
Donald Trump Refused To Apologize To The Exonerated Central Park Five: ‘There Are People On Both Sides Of That’
Iran Shoots Down U. S. Drone Aircraft
Iranian forces have shot down a United States military drone, a move that appears to have escalated the volatile situ- ation playing out between Washington and Tehran in the Middle East.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had shot down an "in- truding American spy drone" after it entered into the coun- try's territory Thursday.
A U. S. official confirmed to CNN a drone had been shot down, but said the incident oc- curred in international air- space over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital shipping routes.
The Revolutionary Guard said the downed drone was a U. S.-made RQ-4 Global Hawk, while the U. S. official said it was a MQ-4C Triton. Both are unmanned surveillance aircraft developed by weapons manu- facturer Northrop Grumman.
The head of the Revolution- ary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, said the shooting down of the drone had sent a warning to the U. S.
"The only way for our ene- mies to be safe is to respect our sovereignty, national security, and the national interests of the great Iranian nation," Salami said, according Tas- nim.
In comments likely to in- flame tensions, Salami said that Iran does "not want war with any country, but we are completely, and totally, ready and prepared for war."
In a statement issued on
U. S. drone aircraft was shot down in Iran.
Thursday, the Revolutionary Guard said the drone was launched from a U. S. base south of the Persian Gulf shortly after midnight on Thursday. It said it flew from the Strait of Hormuz towards Chabahar, a city in southeast Iran.
"While returning to the western Hormuz Strait's region the drone violated Iran's air- space and engaged in informa- tion gathering and spying," the statement said.
"At 4.05 a.m. local time while the violating airplane was over Iranian territory, [it] was shot down," it added.
According to Iran's semi- official Tasnim News Agency, the drone was shot down by Khordad-3 medium range air defense missile.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Syed Abbas Mousavi said the country con- demned the "aggressive and provocative action."
"We warn against any vio- lation of Iran's airspace by for- eign flying objects and declare that violators are responsible for the consequences of their actions," he was quoted by Tas- nim as saying.
Donald Trump is refus- ing to apologize to the Cen- tral Park Five for taking out full-page advertisements in New York City newspapers in 1989 calling for the death penalty in response to a case in which the five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of rape. Days after the rape of an in- vestment banker in Central Park, Trump ran the ads that read: “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR PO- LICE!” In his message, Trump said, "I am not look- ing to psychoanalyze or un- derstand [the suspects], "I am looking to punish them."
The group of five — Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, and Yusef Salaam — were charged with assault, rob- bery, rape, and other counts based on confessions they made during police interro- gations that lasted for hours and without their parents or attorneys present. The teens, who were ages 14 to 16 at the time, withdrew the confes- sions and pleaded not guilty,
PRESIDENT TRUMP
but were eventually convicted and sentenced to prison. However, in 2002, the men were exonerated after a con- victed murderer admitted to the rape, which was con- firmed by DNA evidence.
There’s been renewed in- terest and outcry about the injustice of the Central Park Five case after When They See Us, Ava DuVer- nay's miniseries chronicling the case, premiered on Net- flix May 31.
Speaking to reporters out- side the White House on Tuesday, Trump refused to
acknowledge the exoneration of the men when asked if he would apologize for his past statements.
“There are people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt," he said. “If you look at Linda Fairstein, and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should’ve never set- tled that case. So we’ll leave it at that.”
In 2014, New York settled a lawsuit with the five men for $41 million. But the Net- flix miniseries has brought about more fallout.
Earlier this month, for- mer prosecutor Linda Fairstein was dropped by her book publisher following a social media campaign to #CancelLindaFairstein for her handling of the case. She also recently resigned as a trustee of Vassar, her alma mater.
Elizabeth Lederer, a New York City attorney who was also involved in prose- cuting the case, resigned from her teaching position at Columbia Law School, citing the negative publicity the show has brought.
Federal Legalization Of Marijuana May Be Around The Corner
Black Employee Sues Boeing After Constant Racial Harassment, Finding Noose At Desk
A Black man who has worked at Boeing’s North Charleston, South Carolina, plant since 2011 has filed a lawsuit against the company for a “racially hostile” work environment after finding a noose hanging near his desk, signs with the N- word near his workspace and even urine covering his work- space on different occasions.
According to ABC News, Curtis Anthony, who has worked as a quality inspector since 2011 on the 787 Dream- liner, said that even after he complained to management, his work life is still “degrad- ing.” His lawsuit also accuses the company of retaliating against him after he com- plained about the harassment he was facing.
“I’m not really sure who I’m walking up to. I approach peo-
Curtis Anthony, a Black em- ployee with Boeing in South Carolina, claims that his col- leagues urinated on his work- space, used the N-word and hung a noose near his desk.
ple and it affects my whole overall being there,” Anthony, 57, told ABC News. It has even leaked into his home life where he said, “It affects me in a neg- ative way.”
Boeing claimed that after be- coming aware of the noose near Anthony’s workspace, the company investigated the person involved.
According to former U. S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, federal marijuana legaliza- tion will be here by the year 2022. The Republican from California stopped by “TMZ Live” on Wednesday to ex- plain why.
According to Rohra- bacher, his former cohorts on Capitol Hill are already working on legislation that will allow all Americans to partake in marijuana use. He also added that the drive to legalize the substance would be spearheaded by Donald Trump.
The former politician, who is heavily invested in the cannabis industry, serves as a board member for Bud- Trader.com, an organization known as the “Craigslist of Weed.” It operates as an ad- vertising website where con- sumers can find products and services related to the
cannabis industry.
“I’m proud to announce
I’ve joined BudTrader.com as a shareholder and advisory board member, so I may con- tinue the fight for cannabis legalization on a national level,” Rohrabacher tweeted last month.
The news comes on the heels of Illinois becoming the 11th state in the nation to un- officially legalize marijuana for recreational use. The bill was approved on Friday with
a signature from Governor J.B. Pritzker expected any day. Dispensaries are ex- pected to start selling on Jan- uary 1st.
Last month, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and New York Senator Chuck Schumer re-introduced the Marijuana Freedom and Op- portunity Act, legislation that would remove cannabis from the list of scheduled sub- stances under the Controlled Substances Act.
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