Merrit Kennedy

Merrit Kennedy appears in the following:

Decades Later, Victims Of Chicago Police Torture Paid Reparations

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Decades after they were tortured by Chicago police, 57 people have now received reparations totaling $5.5 million from the city of Chicago.

Sean Kennedy of member station WBEZ tells our Newscast unit that the city hopes the settlements can help mend relations between police and the community, especially in light ...

Comment

In Remote Field In China, There's Now A Giant Golden Statue Of Mao

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

A visitor to central China's Henan province might expect to see wide green plains of farmland or cliffs dropping down to the Yellow River.

Now, there's a more surprising sight on the horizon in Tongxu county: a towering, golden statue of China's former leader Mao Zedong.

The 121-foot-high homage to ...

Comment

Militants In Oregon Say They'll Leave If Local Community Asks

Monday, January 04, 2016

Anti-federalist militants continue to hold the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., as law enforcement officials keep their distance. But they say they're willing to leave if local residents ask them to, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.

For three days, this heavily armed group has occupied the ...

Comment

Who Was The Shiite Sheikh Executed By Saudi Arabia?

Monday, January 04, 2016

Saudi Arabia's execution of leading Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday sparked a violent protest at the Saudi Embassy in Iran's capital, Tehran. Saudi Arabia then quickly severed ties with its longtime regional rival.

As the broader Middle East reacts to the dramatic deterioration in relations between the ...

Comment

Former Rep. Mike Oxley, An Architect Of Post-Enron Bill, Dies At 71

Friday, January 01, 2016

Michael Oxley, a former Republican congressman from Ohio, died this morning at 71. His family says his death was the result of lung cancer — though they add that he was not a smoker.

Rep. Oxley's name is plenty familiar to anybody who works in finance. The Sarbanes-Oxley ...

Comment

New Year's Day Quake In Oklahoma City Amid Increasing Seismic Activity

Friday, January 01, 2016

Oklahoma City residents woke early New Year's Day to a magnitude 4.2 quake. Earlier this week, a magnitude 4.3 quake struck the same area.

The state isn't historically known for earthquakes, but NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce told our Newscast unit that Oklahoma "has recently seen a dramatic rise in seismic activity." ...

Comment

Singer Natalie Cole Dead At 65

Friday, January 01, 2016

Natalie Cole, the Grammy award-winning singer and daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole, has died. She was 65.

According to a statement from her family, Cole passed away last night at a Los Angeles Hospital "due to complications from ongoing medical issues."

"It is with heavy hearts that ...

Comment

Smoke Still Rising From Dubai High-Rise Amid Fire Investigation

Friday, January 01, 2016

Smoke is still billowing from a luxury high-rise hotel in Dubai a day after a massive fire erupted during New Year's Eve celebrations.

As we reported yesterday, Dubai's fireworks display continued as planned, even as the blaze raged a short distance away.

NPR's Leila Fadel is at the scene:

...

Comment

Gunman In Downtown Tel Aviv Kills 2 Israelis

Friday, January 01, 2016

A shooter opened fire in downtown Tel Aviv on Friday, killing two Israelis and wounding others, hospital officials said.

Daniel Estrin told our Newscast unit that police are searching for the gunman. Here's more:

"Hospital officials say two Israelis died of their wounds, two are in serious condition and ...

Comment

WATCH LIVE: New Year's Eve Celebrations in Times Square

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Huge crowds of New Year's Eve revelers have gathered to watch the ball drop and count down the final moments of 2015 in New York's Times Square.

You can see how other countries celebrated the holiday at our previous post here.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Copyright 2016 NPR. ...

Comment

Chicago Releases Thousands Of Emails On 2014 Shooting Of Laquan McDonald

Thursday, December 31, 2015

As protests in Chicago continue against gun violence and police shootings, the city has released emails about the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, the black teenager shot 16 times by a white police officer.

The Associated Press reports that the emails show "the Chicago mayor's office, police and the body ...

Comment

Major Rivers In Missouri Cresting Amid Historic Flooding

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Flooding in Missouri and Illinois has killed at least 20 people and driven hundreds from their homes.

But with dry weather forecast for the next few days and after the Meramec River crested Thursday morning, the worst may be over, as St. Louis Public Radio's Maria Altman told our Newscast ...

Comment

Munich Police Warn Of Impending Terrorist Attack, Clear 2 Rail Stations

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Munich police say they have credible information about an impending terrorist attack and have evacuated two railway stations, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports.

The warning, posted on the official Munich Police Twitter account, also advised people to avoid gathering at the central train station or at Pasing train station.

...

Comment

VIDEO: Meet The Bots That Beat The Obstacles

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Meet VertiGo, a new four-wheeled robot that can easily roll from the ground onto a wall.

"VertiGo extends the ability of robots to travel through urban and indoor environments," according to a team from Disney Research Zurich and Swiss university EDH Zurich that unveiled the four-wheeled machine on Wednesday.

...

Comment

Egypt Raids 2 Major Independent Cultural Institutions In 2 Days

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Egyptian authorities have raided two pillars of the independent arts and culture scene in Cairo over the past 48 hours.

They targeted the Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art and the Merit Publishing House, both in downtown Cairo.

NPR's Leila Fadel in Cairo tells our Newscast unit that the raids ...

Comment

Captured 'Affluenza Teen,' Mother Had 'Going-Away Party,' Sheriff Says

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

U.S. and Mexican authorities say they have detained fugitive Ethan Couch, who invoked an "affluenza" defense after he killed four people while driving drunk in 2013.

The 18-year-old Texan's mother, Tonya Couch, also was taken into custody Monday evening in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta. This ends a ...

Comment

2 People Suspected Of Plotting Attacks Are Arrested In Belgium

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Belgian police have arrested two people suspected of planning to attack popular tourist spots during New Year's celebrations.

The Brussels public prosecutor says the suspects posed a "serious threat of attack," Teri Schultz, reporting from Brussels, tells our Newscast unit. Here's more from Teri:

"The two men under arrest ...

Comment

Grand Jury Declines To Indict Police Officers In Tamir Rice Investigation

Monday, December 28, 2015

A grand jury has declined to bring criminal charges against two Cleveland police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 12-year old Tamir Rice.

"Simply put, given this perfect storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications by all involved that day, the evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police," ...

Comment

France Makes Wartime Vichy Government Archive Available To The Public

Monday, December 28, 2015

The French government is making available for the first time more than 200,000 documents on the Vichy government, which collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

The documents, which were previously only partially accessible to researchers, will make "information such as the activities of the special police, who hunted ...

Comment

Possible Flooding And Blizzards In North Texas After Weekend Tornadoes

Monday, December 28, 2015

Parts of North Texas, already reeling from deadly tornadoes over the weekend, could see flooding Monday, the National Weather Service says. Blizzard warnings are also in effect in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and into western Oklahoma.

Possible flooding Monday extends from northeast Texas to the Tennessee and Ohio ...

Comment