Disney star Nikita Pearl Waligwa dead aged 15 – Queen of Katwe actress dies after brain tumor, say reports
Ugandan media reports the young actress, who appeared in Queen of Katwe, passed away after battling a brain tumor.
She starred in the 2016 Disney film about a chess prodigy, Phiona Mutesi, from a Ugandan slum.
The young actress played the part of Gloria, a pal of Mutesi, as they grew up in Katwe – the largest of Kampala’s slums.
The film is based on the true story of a young girl who took up chess aged nine and went on to compete internationally.
Lupita Nyong’o took on the role of Mutesi’s mum, and David Oyelowo played her chess teacher.
Nikita was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2016, and the director of the Disney film reportedly funded treatment for her in India.
She had surgery and underwent radiotherapy to treat the tumor.
The young actress was given the all-clear in 2017, but tragically found to have another tumor last year.
A family member said she was in a lot of pain, they added: “The brain was swollen and it is exerting a lot of pressure.”
Ugandan media reports she tragically died on Saturday night at TMR International Hospital, in Naalya, Kampala.
Photo Credit: celebritiesbuzz.com
Black model refuses to wear ‘racist’ monkey ears and lips at fashion show
An African-American model at a Fashion Institute of Technology runway show says she was pressured to wear bizarre, “racist” accessories like “monkey ears” and oversized lips.
“I stood there almost ready to break down telling the staff that I felt incredibly uncomfortable with having to wear these pieces and that they were clearly racist,” Amy Lefevre, 25, told The Post.
“I was told that it was fine to feel uncomfortable for only 45 seconds.”
Lefevre, who has been modeling for four years and appeared on more than two dozen catwalks, said she is no stranger to industry bigotry but had never experienced anything as bad as the FIT fashion event on Feb. 7.
“I was literally shaking. I could not control my emotions. My whole body was shaking. I have never felt like that in my life,” she said. “People of color are struggling too much in 2020 for the promoters not to have vetted and cleared accessories for the shows.”
Lefevre ultimately walked the runaway, but without wearing the ears or the bright-red synthetic lips, which came from a sex toy. She stormed out of the event immediately afterwards.
The show during New York’s fashion week was staged at Manhattan’s Pier59 Studios and was designed to showcase the work of the 10 alumni from FIT’s inaugural Master of Fine Arts class in Fashion Design, according to a press release.
The production was part of a series of celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of FIT. Founded in 1944, the 7,406-student Chelsea school is part of the taxpayer-funded State University of New York (SUNY) system.
The show was directed by Jonathan Kyle Farmer, a FIT professor and chair of the new MFA Fashion Design, and produced by Richard Thornn, creative director of British fashion production company NAMES LDN.
The designs were created by recent FIT grad Junkai Huang. Observers said Huang, who is from China, did not appear to understand the racial overtones of his work. The original concept called for highlighting “ugly features of the body,” according to a witness.
Huang, Farmer and Thornn did not respond to requests for comment.
Lefevre said her agency, Q Model Management, was “furious” when she told them what happened, though a rep for the company told The Post they had received “conflicting reports” about the show and suggested Lefevre’s account was unreliable.
“They just don’t want their name to be anywhere near this,” Lefevre said, explaining the agency response.
She said Thornn repeatedly tried to strong-arm her.
A student who said she was backstage at the show, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, backed up Lefevre’s version of events.
“We brought it up to [Thornn] multiple times,” the witness said. “We said she cannot wear this. This is wrong. He screamed in my face, ‘You need to back down and get away.’ It was such a grave lack of judgment.”
The student claimed several classmates made their objections known to Farmer the day before the show.
Other models in the show, who were not African-American, wore the pieces down the runway.
“This program protects a student’s freedom to craft their own personal and unique artistic perspectives as designers, to be even what some would consider to be provocative, so that they find that voice,” FIT president Dr. Joyce F. Brown told The Post. “However provocative design and fashion might be though, my commitment to ensure that people are not made to feel uncomfortable, offended, or intimidated is also of the utmost importance not only to me personally but to the college community as well. We take this obligation very, very seriously and will investigate and take appropriate action regarding any complaint or concern that is made in this situation.”
The meltdown comes at a sensitive time as the fashion industry grapples with the desire to push the envelope with edgy new designs and the landmines of race.
Last February, Gucci took heat for a “blackface sweater” leading to calls from celebs like 50 Cent and Spike Lee to boycott the brand. Italian clothier Dolce & Gabbana was also bruised in 2018 over an ad which apparently mocked a Chinese woman for eating oversized Italian food with chopsticks.
“You want to push people’s boundaries of what people think is beautiful or cool, but you don’t just want to be trying to get a reaction,” Sam Reiss, a New York-based fashion photographer, told The Post. “You don’t push the envelope by baiting race issues. That’s not being edgy.
Photo Credit: Helayne Seidman
Teen charged with incest, rape after 11-year-old relative gives birth
A St. Louis teen confessed to raping his 11-year-old relative about 100 times after she gave birth to his baby in a bathtub, according to a news report.
Cops were tipped off to the alleged abuse at the hands of Norvin Leonidas Lopez-Cante when his father brought an infant to St. Joseph Hospital on Tuesday and told police someone left the child on his front porch, KSDK-TV reported.
The baby still had its umbilical cord and placenta attached and a body temperature of 90 degrees, the NBC affiliate said.
On Thursday, police visited the father, Francisco Javier Gonzalez-Lopez, and he told them his 17-year-old son was the father of the child and their 11-year-old relative was the baby’s mother — but claimed he had no knowledge of the abuse or the pregnancy until the girl gave birth.
Lopez-Cante later admitted to authorities that he had sex with the girl about twice a week, a total of about 100 times, the report said.
Cops arrested both the father and the son, KSDK-TV reported.
Lopez-Cante was charged with first-degree statutory rape, sodomy and incest.
Gonzalez-Lopez was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Court papers show he was in the country illegally and was previously deported.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/02/15/teen-charged-with-incest-rape-after-11-year-old-relative-gives-birth/
Photo Credit: St. Charles PD
Man accused of cutting off girlfriend’s arm with machete in North Carolina
WRAL/CNN/Meredith) — A North Carolina man is in jail, accused of cutting off his girlfriend’s arm with a machete.
Ryan Alexander Tyndall, 27, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflecting serious injury.
Tyndall’s girlfriend, 54-year-old Melissa Norris, told police that he cut off her arm early Tuesday morning in Fayetteville.
Norris was airlifted to Duke Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery to reattach the limb.
The victim’s father said he thinks doctors put Norris’ arm back on, but he “doesn’t know how good it’s going to take.”
“But, she’s in a good place… the good Lord willing, everything will work out good for her. She’s lucky to be living,” Gary Jackson, Norris’ father, said.
Tyndall is being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center.
Photo Credit: Fayetteville Police
Woman posing as a photographer drugged a mother at her Washington home and planned to steal her baby
A Washington woman allegedly posed as newborn photographer along with her daughter and drugged a woman in an attempt to steal her baby, police say.
The 38-year-old suspect was arrested Friday on multiple felony charges, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. Her 16-year-old daughter was also taken into custody.
Authorities began investigating after a woman called 911 last week and reported feeling “numbness, drowsiness, instability on her feet and was vomiting,” the sheriff’s department said.
The victim said she believed she had been drugged by another woman she met through a Facebook group, according to police. The suspect advertised newborn photoshoots, saying they would be free because she was trying to build a portfolio, police said.
The suspect visited the woman’s home three times, according to police.Customer demands require complex solutions.Explore new business models based on integrated partner ecosystems that infuse financial services throughout customers’ daily lives.Ad By IBMSee More
She took selfies with the victim’s baby and was seen wiping her fingerprints off the items she touched, police said.
On her third visit, police say the suspect and her daughter offered the victim a cupcake which made the victim feel numb and drowsy. She asked the suspect to leave and noticed her house keys had been stolen, police said.
The victim called 911, police said, and later told authorities she believed she had been drugged.
“Our detectives have worked tirelessly on this case, conducting multiple interviews and obtaining several search warrants,” the department said. “This detailed investigation identified additional victims and garnered evidence that indicate that the suspect was planning to steal a newborn baby to raise as her own.”
Since then, officers donated and installed new locks and window guards in the victim’s home, the department said.
Photo Credit: kcra.com
Dog rescued after swallowing a bag of crack cocaine someone had thrown into his backyard
A pitbull named Nipsey fell victim to his appetite when he ate a bag of crack cocaine that was thrown into his owner’s backyard, Detroit police said.
Officers were executing a search warrant at a neighboring property on Wednesday when one of the suspects listed in the warrant threw a bag of crack cocaine over the fence, Detroit police spokesman Dan Donakowski told CNN. Nipsey was in the yard at the time.
Police heard Nipsey barking, Donakowski said, and when officers went to investigate, they discovered the bag of cocaine torn and chewed up. They immediately called the Michigan Humane Society (MHS) for assistance.
“When I came outside and saw him eating some dope from the house next door it kind of blew my mind,” Clinton Majors, the dog’s owner, said in a video shared online by MHS. “Definitely when you’ve got animals you really care for them.”
After being alerted by the police department, humane society workers “rushed” to the property to pick up the dog and his owner.How To Empty Your Bowels Every Morning – Top Surgeon Explains HowHow To Empty Your Bowels Every Morning – Top Surgeon Explains HowAd By https://guthealthwellness.com/See More
“We dispatched two of our investigators to the home,” Michigan Humane Society spokesperson Andy Bissonette told CNN. “We then transported Nipsey to our MHS Grosfeld Veterinary Center.”
The 1-year-old puppy was held overnight for treatment. Once he recovered, he was finally reunited with Majors, who did not have to pay for Nipsey’s medical care. MHS covered the costs.
Police were unable to determine which suspect was responsible for throwing the drugs into the yard, Donakowski said. No one was charged with anything related to the incident.
“I’m just happy the guys helped me out,” Majors said of police and first responders. “This is what good people do.”
Photo Credit: kmov.com
A Florida man attacked his daughter and her teen sister with a machete, police say
(CNN) — A South Florida man is in police custody after he attacked and severely injured his 10-year-old daughter and her teenage sister with a machete, police said.
Dennis Reid, 47, on Friday cut the girls with a machete at a home in Lauderhill after arriving there earlier in the morning to care for them, Lauderhill police Lt. Mike Santiago told CNN.
Police were called to the home around 10 a.m. when a frantic 911 caller said “there was an individual chopping up females,” Santiago said separately to reporters at a news conference.
When officers arrived, Reid had fled, and police saw the girls had cuts to their upper extremities, including to the head and neck, Santiago told CNN. The girls were taken to a hospital in serious condition, and they underwent surgery Friday afternoon, according to Santiago.
Reid turned himself in to police a short time after fleeing, Santiago said.
Reid was being held without bond Saturday in Broward County’s main jail on two counts each of attempted murder and aggravated child abuse, county jail records show. CNN’s attempts to determine whethers Reid had an attorney weren’t immediately successful.
Police are trying to determine what led to the attack.
Reid arrived at the home around 7 a.m. to take care of the children, with the mother intending to leave for a trip later that day, Santiago said. Court records show Reid lives at a different address — in Lauderdale Lakes, just north of Lauderhill.
At some point, Reid and the mother argued, and the woman went upstairs, the police lieutenant told CNN.
Eventually, the mother heard screams, and came downstairs to find the girls injured. Reid attacked the mother, but she wasn’t injured, Santiago said at the news conference, without elaborating.
Reid left the machete at the home, Santiago said. It wasn’t immediately clear where the weapon had come from.
Neighbors and family friends gathered outside the home as news of the attack spread.
“For somebody to do that to kids, I am very much hurting,” Lilly Middleton, a family friend, told CNN affiliate WSVN.
Photo Credit: Broward County Sheriff’s Office
Grandparents and teen uncle ‘tortured’ 12-year-old Montana boy found dead in living room
The grandparents and uncle of a 12-year-old boy in Montana have been charged in connection with his death after police say they found evidence of them torturing the child.
Videos found by police show a pattern of abuse that included forced exercises and physical abuse, according to court documents.
James Alex Hurley had been living with his grandparents, James Sasser Jr. and Patricia Batts, for the last two years. Also in the home were the couple’s children, including their 14-year-old son who was James’ uncle. The uncle is being charged as a minor.
Detectives found video from about two years ago where James “appeared to be a healthy and well fed boy,” court documents said. At the time of his death, detectives said James “appeared to be emaciated,” according to court documents.
“I believe the systematic torture and beatings are perpetrated on the victim in this case that led to his death,” Bjorn Boyer, Deputy County Attorney with the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office, told CNN affiliate KTVH-TV.
The suspects have all three been charged with one count of deliberate homicide, according to court documents.
A fourth person, Gage Roush, 18, was also arrested for felony assault on a minor. Court documents allege that Roush, a family friend, could be seen on cell phone video beating Hurley with a paddle.
Court documents show the defendants are being represented by the Gallatin County Public Defender’s Office. CNN has reached out on multiple occasions.
James was sent to live with his grandparents after his father died
James Hurley had been sent to Montana by his mother to live with his father. James’ mother lives in Texas, according to a criminal complaint from the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office.
James’ father died in 2018, which is why he ended up living with his grandparents and uncle, the complaint said.
The family described Hurley as recently becoming “suicidal,” “erratic,” and “hearing voices,” according to the complaint.
Sometime in January, the relatives said James deliberately tried to hurt himself by running himself into an entertainment center, according to the complaint.
Despite the family’s claims, detectives said they have not been able to find any record of the family reporting these alleged behaviors to law enforcement or of the family attempting to get medical or psychiatric help for James.
Detectives were also told by James’ biological mother in Texas that she tried to call the grandparents’ home numerous times but those attempts were “systematically blocked by Batts,” the complaint said.
Police say videos showed pattern of abuse
The 14-year-old uncle claimed that on January 27, he saw James standing over Batts with a knife, the complaint said. The uncle told investigators he didn’t know what James was going to do with the knife so he tackled him, according to the complaint. The uncle said he punched James several times on his body and head, the complaint said.
James was 103 pounds and 5-feet-3-inches tall, and his 14-year-old uncle was 300 pounds and 6 feet tall.
James and the uncle had multiple altercations with the last one being in February, the complaint said.
Sasser told detectives that on February 2, he had been asleep but the uncle and James had gotten into a fight. He woke up the next morning and was told by Batts that James had died, according to the complaint.
Batts told detectives she was also asleep during the Super Bowl, but woke up to the uncle and James having an altercation, during which the uncle hit James with the paddle, according to the complaint. She denied that the uncle hit him on the head. Batts told detectives she found James’s body on February 3 in the living room area, the complaint said.
James’s body was taken to Montana State Crime Lab for an autopsy on February 4 where an autopsy said his preliminary cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of his head, the complaint said. Toxicology reports are still pending.
Detectives seized the cell phones of the uncle and grandparents and put together a timeline based on videos of abuse dating back to December 2019.
“Detectives observed videos of what appeared to be the family torturing (James),” the complaint said.
Instances of the abuse included James being forced to do exercises — jumping jacks and wall squats — along with standing in front of a fan with no clothing but his underwear, according to the complaint. Videos reviewed by detectives also showed the suspects spraying James in the face with an unknown substance that burned him and choking him, the complaint said.
During the search of the home, detective also found food in the house was locked up so James did not have access to it, the complaint read.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Iowa family demands police apology after 13-year-old son was mistakenly identified as car thief
DAVENPORT, Iowa (WQAD) — Thirteen year old Jonathan Ingram will never be the same after he was mistaken for a car thief.
Early Wednesday morning Jonathan was walking to a gas station to buy a drink. He says police then stopped him and questioned him since he was wearing a black coat reportedly similar to their suspect’s.
Jonathan Ingram’s parents posted a video after the incident and it’s gone viral. The video has nearly 33,000 views and was shared more than 1,200 times.
The Davenport Police Department have now also released body camera footage showing an officer calling Jonathan’s mother.
The officer explains why the boy was stopped.
Police then pass the phone to Jonathan, who’s sitting in the back of a squad car with the door open.
His mom, Jessica Horton, says she could hear how upset her son was on the phone.Customer demands require complex solutions.Explore new business models based on integrated partner ecosystems that infuse financial services throughout customers’ daily lives.Ad By IBMSee More
About nine minutes into the video, officers realize their mistake and say they’re going to drop him off at school.
Now, the family wants Davenport Police to apologize.
Officers only asked him questions and Jonathan was never put in handcuffs. But Jonathan’s father, Donnie Ingram, says the incident was still traumatizing.
That’s when, as parents, they took to social media, posting the video to Facebook.
Davenport Police said in a statement that they “recognize that the student was shaken by this interaction and understands the frustration felt by his parents.”
“Chief Paul Sikorski has taken proactive steps, including meeting with the student’s family to discuss what happened. We are committed to working together toward a community where all citizens feel safe and respected.”
Photo Credit: WQAD
Texas man hangs puppy from tree ‘out of boredom,’ police say
(CNN) — A Texas man has been arrested for killing a puppy.
Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Claudio Gomez on Wednesday after a video surfaced on Facebook where he filmed himself hanging a small puppy from a tree resulting in the canine’s death.
The 21-year-old man has admitted to the crime, according to the sheriff’s office, adding that Gomez told them that he did it “out of boredom” and that the dog didn’t belong to him.
Authorities tracked down Gomez’s address from the Facebook video he posted, according to the sheriff’s office.
He has been charged with Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals, a Texas state felony and his bond set at $10,000. Gomez did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The sheriff’s office says they were tipped off about the video by a concerned citizen. They said they are committed to holding people who mistreat or torture innocent animals accountable. They also said they encourage Hidalgo County residents to report any suspicious activity or any crime being committed.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office