An 8-year-old Baltimore boy who is being dubbed a medical phenomenon is looking forward to finally being able to play with his little sister and, hopefully, the new puppy he asked for.
And while Zion Harvey’s wishes seem simple enough, picking up his 2-year-old sister or eating a slice of pizza were both things he had difficulty doing after losing his feet and hands to sepsis as a toddler. But as the youngest patient to receive a double-hand transplant last month, the possibilities are endless.
While debuting his new digits at a Tuesday news conference, the little boy with wisdom beyond his years asked his family to stand so that he could thank them for helping him through his struggles.
“I want to say to you guys, thank you for helping me through this bumpy road,” he said.
The surgery, one of a few in a “small, but growing, transplant field, which has moved beyond internal organs,” the Baltimore Sun writes, was the first pediatric double hand transplant performed at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.
More than 100 people worldwide have received upper-extremity transplants since the first was performed in France in 1998, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“This is a monumental step,” said Scott Levin, chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Penn Medicine and director of the Hand Transplantation Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “I hope personally we can help many more patients like Zion in the future.”
Zion, who was already taking drugs to prevent his body from rejecting a kidney transplant he received at 4-years-old, was considered a good candidate for the hands. Doctors were less concerned that Zion would have a negative response to the drugs, since he had been exposed to them for a while.
Only about 15 children a year are eligible to donate hands, so doctors weren’t sure when one would become available. They had to find hands that were the right color and size for Zion. While waiting for a match, the surgery team practiced the procedure on cadavers. They developed a step-by step playbook for the day of surgery. Then the call came: Hands were available. Ray was both nervous and excited. Zion was preoccupied with plans for a sleepover he would now have to miss, and it wasn’t until he arrived at the hospital that reality hit.
“Mom, I think I am nervous now,” he recalls saying as he lay in a hospital bed that engulfed his small body.
“There is no need to be nervous,” Zion’s mother, Pattie Ray, responded. “This is a good thing.”
The painstaking surgery took about 10-hours to complete. Two days later, when Zion finally took a look at his new hands, he was beyond excited. And along with using his hands to do everyday activities, Zion is looking forward to finally being able to play football.
His mother, who called the sport “dangerous,” is probably less excited about throwing around a football, but says she just wants to see her child do well.
article via newsone.com
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The Ferguson cops charged Henry Davis with destruction of property because he bled on their uniforms when they beat him.
Then, as if fearing it might be outdone in ridiculousness, a federal district court ruled that Davis could not sue the cops for violating his Fourth Amendment rights because they had not injured him badly enough as he lay handcuffed on the jailhouse floor, a working man arrested on a traffic warrant in a case of mistaken identity.
“As unreasonable as it may sound, a reasonable officer could have believed that beating a subdued and compliant Mr. Davis while causing only a concussion, scalp lacerations and bruising with almost no permanent damage did not violate the Constitution,” the district court ruled in tossing out the case.
Davis appealed and his attorney James Schottel responded to absurdity with legal reasoning. He argued that the decisive factor was not the seriousness of Davis’s injuries but the nature of the officers’ actions.
The district court had ruled that the officers enjoyed “official immunity” because they “acted within their discretion and caused only de minimis [slight] injuries.”
Schottel contended that official immunity “does not apply to discretionary acts done in bad faith or with malice.”
The appeals court could not have been clearer in its response on Tuesday.
“We agree.”
The court went on to say, “That an officer’s conduct caused only de minimis injuries does not necessarily establish the absence of malice or bad faith as a matter of law.”
In recapping the case, the appeals court noted that Davis had been arrested by Police Officer Christopher Pillarick early on the morning of September 20, 2009. Davis was brought to what the appeals court calls “the crowded Ferguson jail.” Pillarick and Police Officer John Beaird escorted Davis to a cell where the only bunk was occupied.
“Davis requested a mat from a nearby stack,” the court says. “Pillarick refused because Davis was not cooperating. Davis refused to enter the cell.”
The cops radioed for backup. Police Officer Kim Tihen and Police Officer Michael White responded, along with Sergeant William Battard. “The deposition testimony differs dramatically concerning what happened next,” the court says. “It is undisputed that White pushed Davis into the cell and a short, bloody fight ensued.”
The court notes that there is no video of the incident, but there is “testimony supporting a claim that White, Beaird and Tihen each beat or kicked Davis after he was handcuffed and subdued on the floor of the cell.”
The lower court had contended that “a reasonable officer” could believe that in beating their handcuffed prisoner they were not violating the Constitution. The court further notes, “After the incident, Beaird completed four complaints charging Davis with the offense of ‘Property Damage’ for transferring blood onto the uniforms of Beaird, Tihen, White, and Pillarick.”
No Shootings Since 'Army' of Moms Formed by Tamar Manasseh Set Up on South Side – But They Need Help
When Tamar Manasseh formed Mothers Against Senseless Killings to patrol the neighborhood in Englewood, IL after a murder in the 7500 block of South Stewart last month, she hoped to stop any retaliatory violence. So far, in the five weeks since a man opened fire on three women on June 23, killing 34-year-old Lucille Barnes, there have been no shootings on the block or on the 7500 block of South Harvard where the patrols have also been set up, according to a DNAinfo Chicago map of shootings in the city.
“When you have sisters like sister Manasseh and others out here just participating, it makes a big difference,” said Johnny Banks, the executive director of the community organization A Knock at Midnight.
But Manasseh, who makes the trek daily from her home in Bronzeville to the neighborhood, said her group really needs more people in the area to join the effort, and that recruitment has been difficult. “Recruiting and getting more volunteers has been quite the challenge,” Manasseh said as she sat on her folding chair on 75th Street and Stewart Avenue, watching over the block, not far from where she used to live at 55th Street and Bishop Avenue.
Right now there are about 15 adult volunteers who have pledged to be out there every day until Labor Day. That’s about the same number the group had when it started a few days after the June shooting.
Manasseh said she didn’t think it would be this difficult to bring in more concerned residents.
“What we’ve learned since we’ve been out here is that people’s attention spans are short,” she said. “It’s hard to keep their interests between tragedies.”
Andrea Watson says organizers want moms to remain active:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/216600561″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
The block and surrounding area where the “army of mothers,” as she refers to it, have set up have been peaceful since the group formed, she said, but the lack of adult volunteers surprised her.
“It’s like some people want to put their children in a bubble because they have good kids,” she said. “They want to separate their good kids from all of these bad kids, but your kids are going to grow up in the world alongside those very kids that you tried to shield them from. So wouldn’t it be better if you tried to save them all instead of just yours?”
She said she had higher expectations for the adults, but underestimated the teens from the neighborhood. At least two dozen teens have taken an interest in keeping their community safe and have taken part in the patrols, Manasseh said.
The ultimate goal is to get people on other blocks to follow her and start their own neighborhood patrols. She said she wants to hold an orientation in the near future to teach them conflict resolution and strategic placement.
Community policing in Englewood and on the South Side is important to Manasseh, she said, because she wants to help save her own children from becoming victims of the violence.
Chicago Police did not respond to a request for comment.
Banks’ group, which provides direct services such as workforce development, family advocacy and more to Englewood residents, encourages more adults to volunteer, but he said he understands why some might be hesitant.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “Our people are afraid so they don’t participate.”
He said that’s all the more reason the group of moms and others should be praised for their courage and determination.
Manasseh said although the neighborhood has changed since she was a child, she is holding on to one day seeing a better, safer community. “It’s like Englewood is the land that time forgot,” she said. “It’s the land that has been forgotten, but I have hope, I see hope here.”
In addition to seeking more volunteers, she’s asking for water and any other donations, which can be dropped off daily between 4-8 p.m. at 75th and Stewart.
To help, people can visit Behindthemask.org.
article by Andrea V. Watson via dnainfo.com
No Shootings Since 'Army' of Moms Formed by Tamar Manasseh Set Up on South Side – But They Need Help
When Tamar Manasseh formed Mothers Against Senseless Killings to patrol the neighborhood in Englewood, IL after a murder in the 7500 block of South Stewart last month, she hoped to stop any retaliatory violence. So far, in the five weeks since a man opened fire on three women on June 23, killing 34-year-old Lucille Barnes, there have been no shootings on the block or on the 7500 block of South Harvard where the patrols have also been set up, according to a DNAinfo Chicago map of shootings in the city.
“When you have sisters like sister Manasseh and others out here just participating, it makes a big difference,” said Johnny Banks, the executive director of the community organization A Knock at Midnight.
But Manasseh, who makes the trek daily from her home in Bronzeville to the neighborhood, said her group really needs more people in the area to join the effort, and that recruitment has been difficult. “Recruiting and getting more volunteers has been quite the challenge,” Manasseh said as she sat on her folding chair on 75th Street and Stewart Avenue, watching over the block, not far from where she used to live at 55th Street and Bishop Avenue.
Right now there are about 15 adult volunteers who have pledged to be out there every day until Labor Day. That’s about the same number the group had when it started a few days after the June shooting.
Manasseh said she didn’t think it would be this difficult to bring in more concerned residents.
“What we’ve learned since we’ve been out here is that people’s attention spans are short,” she said. “It’s hard to keep their interests between tragedies.”
Andrea Watson says organizers want moms to remain active:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/216600561″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
The block and surrounding area where the “army of mothers,” as she refers to it, have set up have been peaceful since the group formed, she said, but the lack of adult volunteers surprised her.
“It’s like some people want to put their children in a bubble because they have good kids,” she said. “They want to separate their good kids from all of these bad kids, but your kids are going to grow up in the world alongside those very kids that you tried to shield them from. So wouldn’t it be better if you tried to save them all instead of just yours?”
She said she had higher expectations for the adults, but underestimated the teens from the neighborhood. At least two dozen teens have taken an interest in keeping their community safe and have taken part in the patrols, Manasseh said.
The ultimate goal is to get people on other blocks to follow her and start their own neighborhood patrols. She said she wants to hold an orientation in the near future to teach them conflict resolution and strategic placement.
Community policing in Englewood and on the South Side is important to Manasseh, she said, because she wants to help save her own children from becoming victims of the violence.
Chicago Police did not respond to a request for comment.
Banks’ group, which provides direct services such as workforce development, family advocacy and more to Englewood residents, encourages more adults to volunteer, but he said he understands why some might be hesitant.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “Our people are afraid so they don’t participate.”
He said that’s all the more reason the group of moms and others should be praised for their courage and determination.
Manasseh said although the neighborhood has changed since she was a child, she is holding on to one day seeing a better, safer community. “It’s like Englewood is the land that time forgot,” she said. “It’s the land that has been forgotten, but I have hope, I see hope here.”
In addition to seeking more volunteers, she’s asking for water and any other donations, which can be dropped off daily between 4-8 p.m. at 75th and Stewart.
To help, people can visit Behindthemask.org.
article by Andrea V. Watson via dnainfo.com
A University of Cincinnati police officer was indicted on murder charges on Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a driver this month that a prosecutor called “totally unwarranted” and “senseless.”
In the indictment handed up by a grand jury in Hamilton County, the officer, Ray Tensing, is accused of killing the driver, Samuel DuBose, during a traffic stop near the campus on July 19.
At a news conference, the county prosecutor, Joseph T. Deters, said that Officer Tensing “purposely killed” Mr. DuBose after the officer lost his temper in what he called a “chicken crap” traffic stop. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Mr. Deters told reporters. “This is the most asinine act I’ve ever seen a police officer make, totally unwarranted.” A body-camera video of the shooting was also being released.
“He purposely killed him,” Mr. Deters said of Officer Tensing. “He should never have been a police officer.”
Officer Tensing turned himself in on Wednesday after his indictment, according to reports.
The death of Mr. DuBose, who was black, at the hands of Officer Tensing, who is white, joined a string of recent episodes — in Staten Island, Cleveland, North Charleston, S.C., and Ferguson, Mo., among others — that have raised hard questions about law enforcement use of force, and the role of race in policing. Video cameras have recorded many of the episodes and nonlethal encounters like the arrest of Sandra Bland, who died three days later in a Texas jail cell, offering disturbing evidence of the confrontations that often contradicts the accounts of people involved.
Mr. Deters, who also met with Mr. DuBose’s family, said he was shocked by the video. “I realize what this was going to mean to our community, and it really broke my heart because it’s just bad,” Mr. Deters said. “I feel so sorry for this family and what they lost,” he said. “And I feel sorry for the community, too.”
Mr. DuBose, 43, a father of 10, was just south of the university campus, driving a green 1998 Honda Accord without a front license plate, when Officer Tensing began following him, according to an account that Jason Goodrich, chief of the university police, gave on Monday. Moments later, the officer pulled Mr. DuBose over on a side street, a few blocks from the campus, Mr. Goodrich said.
He said that when Officer Tensing asked for a driver’s license, Mr. DuBose handed him a bottle of alcohol instead. But Mr. Goodrich gave no more insight into the confrontation that followed, in which the officer fired one shot that struck Mr. DuBose in the head.
Another university officer who arrived shortly after the shooting, Eric Weibel, wrote in his report that Officer Tensing told him that “he was being dragged by the vehicle and had to fire his weapon,” and that “Officer Tensing stated that he was almost run over.” A third officer, he wrote, said he had seen Officer Tensing being dragged.
“Looking at Officer Tensing’s uniform, I could see that the back of his pants and shirt looked as if it had been dragged over a rough surface,” Officer Weibel wrote.
On an audio recording of police radio communications, after Officer Tensing shouted “Shots fired! Shots fired,” a dispatcher asked who was injured. It is not clear if he replied “I am injured” or “I’m uninjured.”
“I almost got run over by the car,” the officer said. “He took off on me. I discharged one round. Shot the man in the head.”
Another officer can later be heard saying, “It was Officer Tensing that was injured.”
At the news conference on Wednesday, Mr. Deters dismissed Officer Tensing’s claim that he was dragged by the car. Officer Tensing “fell backward after he shot” Mr. DuBose in the head, Mr. Deters said.
The University of Cincinnati closed its main campus in anticipation of grand jury action in the case.
article by Richard Pérez-Peña via nytimes.com
In the wake of funeral services for Sandra Bland this past weekend, Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis has appointed a committee of attorneys from outside his jurisdiction to review findings in the mysterious death of Bland. This committee will review evidence as it continues to be collected, all in an effort to help Mathis sort out the many moving parts of the case.
Mathis made the announcement on Monday, just as the fervor around finding out how exactly the 28-year-old Illinois woman died just three days after a traffic stop in Texas on July 10. Mathis’ office released a toxicology report last Monday, revealing that Bland had marijuana in her system. According to the Chicago Tribune, a pair of experts that reviewed the report for the Associated Press suggested that Bland may have used the drug while in custody.
Mathis said he and the collective of lawyers intend to review “credible evidence and not rumors” according to a report from CBS News. Mathis has much to contend with in that arena, as Bland’s family and supporters are questioning findings that her death was indeed a self-inflicted hanging by way of a plastic trash bag in her Waller County jail cell.
In his first visit to his father’s country since he became president, Barack Obama made his rounds with extended family, addressed economic development and announced more than $1 billion in investments to promote entrepreneurship at Nairobi’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
He kicked off the two-day visit with the latter, making a point to announce that half of the $1 billion from government and private companies would benefit both young children and women entrepreneurs.
“If half of your team is not playing, you’ve got a problem,” he said. “This continent needs to be a future hub of global growth and not just African growth. Kenya is leading the way. Go out there and start something. We’re excited about it — we are expecting great things out of you,” Obama added.
The visit is not only historical for President Obama; the move is an important one that officially forges a relationship between America and the African nation.
“We have waited for Obama to visit the country since he became president — we want to thank God that he has finally arrived,” said Grace Wangeci, a vegetable seller in Nairobi told USA Today. “We thank him for fulfilling his promise to the country before he leaves the presidency.”
It’s also a special visit for the president, who remarked that the long-awaited journey was “personal” for him. Upon arriving to Kenya, Obama was greeted by his half-sister, Auma Obama, at Jomo Kenyatta Airport.
The president, who was also greeted by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, met with other top officials during the reunion, dined with his extended family — including a step-grandmother — and celebrated with the locals.
“I am proud to be the first U.S. president to visit Kenya,” he said. “Obviously, it is personal for me. It’s the reason why my name is Barack Hussein Obama. My father came from these parts, I have family and relatives here.”
During his trip, Obama is also expected to discuss human rights with civil society groups — this despite a warning from Kenyan leaders who have threatened to disrupt the president’s visit if he discusses gay marriage.
“We want to warn Obama to steer clear of any comments on same sex marriages during his visit,” Bishop Mark Kariuki in Nairobi told USA Today. “Any attempts will lead to a call for mass demonstrations across the country and disrupt his meeting.”
Other topics the president plans to tackle include the regions security threats.
article by Christina Coleman via newsone.com
Mary O’Callaghan‘s sentencing comes amid intense scrutiny and criticism nationwide of police use of force. The last 20 months of her sentence were suspended, meaning she’ll likely spend a little more than a year in county jail.
In the video, which can be seen by clicking here, O’Callaghan jabbed at Thomas’ throat with an open hand and threatened to kick her in the crotch. O’Callaghan then raised her boot and struck Thomas, whose body shook in response.
The recording captured Thomas — who asked officers for an ambulance more than 30 minutes before one was called — breathing heavily and repeatedly saying, “I can’t.”
A few minutes later, Thomas, a 35-year-old mother, lost consciousness. She later died.
A video from a dashboard camera in a different patrol car — also played during the trial — showed O’Callaghan smoking a cigarette as she peeked inside the car at Thomas, whose legs were tied with a nylon hobble restraint.
“That ain’t a good sign,” O’Callaghan said out loud in the video.
President Barack Obama gave his support to Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari on Monday for his fight against the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.
According to the BBC, the two came face-to-face at the Oval Office for the first time since Buhari’s electoral win in March. Obama told reporters Buhari’s clear agenda will more than likely bring peace, security, and safety to the people of north-east Nigeria. Since 2009, the area has been plagued with violence carried out by the militant group, including last year’s kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls.
“[Buhari has] a very clear agenda in defeating Boko Haram and extremists of all sorts inside of his country,” Obama said. “And he has a very clear agenda in terms of rooting out the corruption that too often has held back the economic growth and prosperity of his country.”
First Lady Michelle Obama helped spread awareness about the tragedy with the social media initiative, #BringBackOurGirls. The U.S. also sent surveillance flights over Nigeria to help locate the girls, but conflict with former President Goodluck Jonathan caused the United States to take a step back in its efforts.
Jonathan, furious over the country’s refusal to sell government helicopter gunships to him, stalled a U.S. military training program. He was also accused of corruption and several human rights violations by the Nigerian military.
At this point, Obama hasn’t promised the new leader military assistance.
Buhari thanked Obama for his kind words and said he believes the new relationship can help reduce dissatisfaction in the country.
“Our allies can provide much-needed military training and intelligence as our soldiers take the war effort to Boko Haram,” he said.
Buhari, a former military dictator, has changed its tone. Since winning the election, he fired the entire top echelon of the military. The 72-year-old has also come with slight criticism, however, for a delay in putting together his cabinet.
article by Desire Thompson via newsone.com
Muslim organizations have banded together to raise $100,000 in an effort to help rebuild Black churches in the South that were torched in recent months, the Huffington Post reports.
Three organizations — the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, the Arab-American Association of New York and Ummah Wide — launched the “Respond With Love” campaign July 2 to raise funds, combating a false and long-standing idea of a Islam/Christianity feud. The campaign concluded at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, the Post writes, with a total of $100,470.
“ALL houses of worship are sanctuaries, a place where all should feel safe,” the campaign stated.
From The Huffington Post:
The fundraiser started off with a goal of $10,000, but they hit that target within hours, Linda Sarsour, executive director of AAANY, said to HuffPost in an email. They increased the target amount a few more times, and the support kept flooding in.
Faatimah Knight, a theology student and one of the campaign’s organizers, believes “Respond With Love” went viral because it contributes to a colorful, nuanced narrative about the Muslim community. “It awakens [in] some and confirms in others that Muslims are diverse and varied and that many of our concerns are domestic concerns,” Knight wrote in an email to HuffPost. “Also, Respond with Love is an anti-racism effort and there are many people in this country who are tired of racist rhetoric and racist motivated violence.”Sarsour guesses the majority of the donors were Muslims, based on the surnames of the 2,016 people who donated. “Our campaign gave people the opportunity to take an extra step beyond just verbal solidarity,” Sarsour said to HuffPost. “Our campaign united people of all faiths, it resonated and the fact that it was lead by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan gave the campaign more meaning and legitimacy.”
Sarsour told the Huffington Post she hopes the campaign will “encourage non-Black Muslims to support the BlackLivesMatter Movement.”
Authorities have not connected the recent swath of fires at Black churches in the south. At least one of the blazes was ruled an arson, although the FBI announced that 84 percent of church fires are not caused by arson.
article via newsone.com