Nivvssat
Sharpton leads protest over shooting
of white teenager by black man
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. ( AP) - The Rev. A1 Sharpton led a rally
Saturday to protest the conviction of a black man in the fatal
shooting of a white teenager on Long Island, saying the prosecu
tion of the case was unjust.
The civil rights activist was joined by John White, who was
found gUilty of manslaughter last month
but is free on bail pending sentencing.
Several hundred people gathered outside
-Uhf i.oiutHwti'se where the case was tried. He
is free on bail until sentencing and has said
he will appeal.
"There is a road ahead," he said
Saturday. "I don't know what it may bring,
yet J know that God will walk with me
through the lye."
The teenagef, Paniel Cicciaro Jr.. had
1 ? ? snown up ai wniie s nome on au^. v.
White 2006, with a group of angry friends.
Sharpton has described Cicciaro and his
friends as a "mob" that had threatened White.
White has said he was trying to protect his home and family
when he grabbed a gun and went to face the teens outside the
house in the predominantly white community of Miller Place.
The conflict began with a bogus MySpace posting claiming
White's 19-year-old son. Aaron, wanted to rape a female friend of
one of the white teens.
John White claimed the gun fired accidentally when Cicciaro
lunged for it, killing the 17-year-old. Prosecutors argued that
White was rash to confront the teens, rather than locking the door
and calling police.
The teens, who were unarmed, were not prosecuted.
White. 54, faces a potential prison term of five to 15 years. He
has said he will appeal.
Georgia public defender
put on leave for using racial slur
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Longtime DeKalb County public
defender Larry Schneider is on administrative leave pending an
investigation into his use of the n-word during a meeting.
Schneider, who is white, says he was telling a story about a
Superior Court judge who used the racial slur in 1984 as a way to
"illustrate my familiarity with racial bias in the court system" with
staff members of the state public defender council.
The council voted Friday to put him on paid leave until a spe
cial master can conduct a hearing and make a recommendation to
the council on whether Schneider should be fired for his conduct
1 >in the DeCTTfneeting.
Judge in James Brown case staying,
despite argument he be removed
AIKEN, S.C. (AP) - A judge handling James Brown's corf
tested fortune refused Friday to remove himself from the case
despite an argument from the late soul singer's former ttOStte*
that he forced them to resign.
"I would never force anyone to do anything, that's not me,"
circuit juage jacK tariy saia.
Former trustees Buddy Dallas and
Alford Bradley, who both spent years han
dling Brown's financial affairs, resigned in
November. A couple of weeks later, they
claimed the judge pressured them to
resign On Friday, an attorney for the
trustees tried to retract the argument the
judge be removed, but Early wouldn't
allow it and then ruled he wouldn't step
aside
Administrators looking into the han- Brown
dling of Brown's estate told the judge in
September that another former trustee. David Cannon, may have
misappropriated up to $7 million. And the singer's six adult chil
dren have been at 'odds with the trustees, claiming money has been
mismanaged.
Dallas and Bradley have denied claims they violated Brown's
trust.
Attorneys for Brown's adult children and a woman who
cliyms to be his fourth wife argued the judge should stay. /
Brown died in Atlanta on Christmas Day 2006. throwing into
turmoil the future of his trust, which is said to contain most of his
primary assets, including music rights and his 60-acre Beech
Island home in South Carolina. The total value is still unclear.
Since he died, several people, including some claiming to be
Brown's unacknowledged children, have come forward wanting a
piece of his estate.
??
Assistant fire chief demoted over video
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - An assistant fire chief has been
demoted after allegedly appearing in a 13-year-old video that a
Jackson firefighters' union official claimed made fun of blacks.
Fnr -Chief Vernon Hughes said at a iwws_ conference Fffitay
that he had concluded that the person who appeared on tape was
Assistant Chief Todd Chandler, despite Chandler's insistence that
he was not in the videotape . ,? 0
Chandler's was demoted to captain and reassigned to the divi
sion that supplies air tanks to firefighters, Hughes said.
The videotape, made in 1994, is a video tour of Station 12.
One clip shows a Confederate flag on a blackboard. Then comes
a segment showing a firefighter, who Local 87 firefighters union
President Brandon Falcon said is Chandler, using phrases and ges
tures associated with derogatory stereotyping of blacks as he imi
tates a black firefighter.
Falcon, who distributed the videotape to several media outlets,
would not say who gave it to him.
Chandler is a 22-year veteran of th^fire department.
The Jackson Fire Department now is about 72 percent black,
Hughes said. Hughes, who is black, saidlie would qame a new
assistant chief soon.
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Campbell
interviews
Hugo Chavez
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says
he likes Prince Charles and thinks President Bush is
crazy, in an interview with Naomi Campbell in the British
edition.
The 37-year-old supermodel spoke to Chavez in her
role as contributing editor to British GQ, the magazine -
said. Excerpts were released
Monday.
Chavez, who lost a referen
dum last month that would have
greatly expanded"?is powers and
institutionalized his version of
"21st-century socialism," gave
Campbell his views on a range of
subjects.
He said President Bush was
"completely crazy. But he's on
his way out."
We re seeing the tall ot the
Chavez empire. ... Like the fairy tale, the
emperor is naked," he was quoted
as saying.
Asked to name the world's most stylish leader,
Chavez chose Cuba's Fidel Castro.
"Fidel, of course! His uniform is impeccable. His
boots are polished, his beard is elegant," Chavez said.
Campbell asked if Chavez would appear topless in
photos as Russian President Vladimir Putin has done.
"Why not?" he said. "Touch my muscles!"
The Venezuelan leader asked Campbell if she knew
Prince Charles.
"I like the Prince," he said. "Now he has Camilla, his
new girl. She's not as attractive, is she?"
GQ said Campbell would interview other high-profile
figures in politics, sports and entertainment.
The full interview with Chavez is in GQ's February
issue, to be released today.
Campbell wrote that she had hoped to get a sense of
"Hugo Chavez the man"
"1 found him to be fearless, but not threatening or
unreasonable," she wrote. "I hope Venezuela's, relations
with America will improve in the immediate future."
PRNewsFoto
Naomi Campbell is one of the world's best-known models.
Judge to Farrakhan: Please explain allowance
BY ERNEST ALEXANDER
AFRO AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON (NNPA) -
Nation of Islam leader Min.
Louis Farrakhan is being
hauled into court over his
son's hit and run accident. A
' federal judge has ordered
Farrakhan to appear in court
next month to explain why
p 3 V
t"230ade to
his son
are nof
consid
ered
income,
but char
ity
The
i m n o r -
tance of Farrakhan
the dis
tinction comes in light of his
48-year-old son Nasir
Farrakhan's failure to pay
Charles and Gladys Peterson,
an Indiana couple, punitive
damages of $325,000 after he
slammed his father's Hummer
into their car and fled the
scene in 2003.
"They were traveling in
[the] same lane in the same
direction and Nasir was
behind them and he hit them,"
said the Peterson's lawyer,
Michael Back. "And then
when he tried to flee the scene
as they were puHing off the
road, he hit them again," '
According to Back, the
jury determined that he was
under the influence of some
substance and that testimony
identified it as likely being an
overdose of Vicodin. A crack
pipe was found in the car by
the Illinois State Police when
they fina}]y chased Farrakhan
down. Back said.
Earlier this month, U.S
District Magistrate Andrew
Rodovich ordered Louis*
Farrakhan and a financial rep
resentative of the Nation of
Islam to appear in court in
Hammond on Jan. 24 for a
preceding supplemental hear
ing to answer questions from
the Peterson's lawyer as to
why the younger Farrakhan
had failed to make any pay
ments to his clients despite
the fact that he receives
$1,400 a month from his
father, said a spokesperson
from Rodovich's office.
The younger Farrakhan
said in court that he couldn't
pay because he has no
income, hps never been
employed, has no checking
account or savings and has
never filed income taxes in
his entire life. Back said.
Farrakhan added that the
$1,400 in cash he receives
from his father each month is
legally considered charity,
even though he has acted as
head of the minister's 24-man
security force for many years.
Back said.
A substantial amount of
money exceeding $464,000
has already been collected by
the Petersons, but that the
money came from Farrakhan's
insurance. Back said.
Farrakhan has made no
attempts to pay the couple out
of his own pocket, Back said.
Neither The Nation of
Islam's headquarters in
Chicago nor representatives
from the Final Call responded
to repeated calls regarding the
incident.
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