Reminder: It's A New Year And Protests Are Still Raging Across America

Protesters are still marching every day, sometimes clashing with police. On New Years Eve, demonstrations took place in St. Louis, New York, Los Angeles, and other cities.

This happened on New Year's Eve in St. Louis.

AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson

When protests began in Ferguson last August, people began chanting "no justice, no peace." At the time, it might have seemed like a rhetorical device, a poignant hyperbole that would fade away over time.

But it hasn't.

Though the headlines on the last day of 2014 were dominated by new stories of conflict and celebration, Americans were still out in the street chanting — and in some cases clashing with police.

The protest movement that began with Michael Brown's death has proven to be remarkably persistent.

Of course, the protests have grown to become about more than Brown's killing. In New York, protesters continue to march over the death Eric Garner. On the other side of the country, Angelenos demonstrated Wednesday over the death of Ezell Ford. As the list of black men killed by police grew over 2014, the protests evolved into a debate about the role of police in the U.S.

And now, as 2014 comes to a close, "no justice, no peace" sounds less rhetorical and more descriptive of what is actually going on. The demonstrations show no sign of abating.

This is a roundup of some of what happened during protests Wednesday:

About 75 people participated in a demonstration that was described by local media as protesters "storming" the St. Louis Police Department. More than 20 participants were eventually arrested and police fired pepper spray, hitting both protesters and journalists covering the event.

AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson

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Police Helicopter Crashes In Las Vegas

Two officers on board have been taken to hospital.

The chopper came down at about 1:29 p.m. PT near the intersection of East Bonanza Road and 23rd Street, police said.

Google Maps/David Mack

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Judge Denies Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Request To Delay And Move Trial Out Of Boston

Jury selection in Boston Marathon bombing trial starts Monday.

In this courtroom sketch, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is depicted sitting in federal court in Boston on Dec. 18 for a final hearing before his trial begins in January.

AP

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's last-minute efforts to delay his trial and move the death penalty case out of Boston were shot down Wednesday by federal court Judge George O'Toole.

Tsarnaev's defense team had petitioned the judge to move the trial out of Massachusetts arguing that the state could not seat an impartial jury in the same city where the April 2013 bombing that killed three and injured over 260 occurred.

Tsarnaev's lawyer also asked that O'Toole delay the proceeding until Sep. 2015 because they needed more time to prepare. Just weeks earlier, the prosecution introduced more than 19,000 pages of evidence into discovery, leading the bombing suspect's lawyers to file the continuance.

Tsarnaev's lawyers also said they needed more time to investigate a key government witness, Stephen Silva, who was convicted of once possessing the gun that killed MIT officer Sean Collier during the manhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers. Silva is expected to testify against Tsarnaev for a lesser penalty.

Months earlier, O'Toole denied Tsarnaev's first request to move the trial out of Boston.

O'Toole already delayed the start of the trial by several months.

The judge said he would release more details later today on his decision to deny Tsarnaev's motions.

Jury selection in the highly anticipated case begins Monday, Jan. 5 and is expected to take several weeks.

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The 45 Most Powerful Photos Of 2014

Warning: This post will make you feel emotions.

A man carries a baby who survived an airstrike allegedly conducted by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus.

Bassam Khabieh / Reuters

A golfer hits a tee shot as African migrants sit atop a border fence during an attempt to cross into Spanish territories between Morocco and Spain's north African enclave of Melilla.

Stringer / Reuters

A woman crawls toward the body of her sister as Ebola burial team members take her sister, Mekie Nagbe, 28, for cremation in Monrovia, Liberia. The burial of loved ones is important in Liberian culture, making the removal of infected bodies for cremation all the more traumatic for surviving family members.

John Moore / Getty Images

The Rev. Linda Hunsaker presides over the wedding of Vivian Boyack and Alice Dubes, in Davenport, Iowa. More than seven decades after beginning their relationship, Boyack, 91, and Dubes, 90, were finally able to get married.

Thomas Geyer/ ZUMAPRESS

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Alleged NYPD Slowdown Welcomed By Some Activists

The NYPD is making a lot fewer arrests than it did this time last year, apparently as a way to show its anger with Mayor de Blasio. Some say New York City is “over-policed” and that this is the way it should be.

The New York Police Department is reportedly making a lot fewer arrests for the week of Dec. 22 than it did during the same time frame last year — 66% less.

Eric Thayer / Reuters

As Reuters and the New York Post reported, the decrease is even more staggering for court summons issued for minor violations such as drinking in public, which have decreased 94%.

The decrease comes at a time of great tension between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD unions, many have interpreted it as a work slowdown.

Law enforcement officers turn their backs on a live video of de Blasio speaking speaks at the funeral of slain officer Rafael Ramos on December 27.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

A work slowdown is a labor organizing technique in which workers put pressure on an employer by doing less of their job than usual. It's a way for employees to protest what they see as unfair conditions without declaring an all-out strike.

Relations between City Hall and the NYPD have been tense since a gunman killed two police officers in Brooklyn on Dec. 20. Many cops, including union leaders, accused de Blasio of enabling the climate that led to the killings by showing solidarity with protests calling an end to police brutality.

It also doesn't help that three out of the five unions are currently in contract negotiations with the city.

Whether the apparent slowdown was ordered by the NYPD unions remains unclear. Al O'Leary, the spokesman for the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, declined BuzzFeed News' request for comment on the situation.

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A Look At Some Of The 162 People On AirAsia Flight QZ8501

Some faces behind the numbers.

Captain Iriyanto had clocked 6,053 hours with AirAsia when he took off on Flight QZ8501.

"He's so clever," Iriyanto's 76-year-old father, Suwarto, said about his son. "And his experience in fighter jets makes him very able to fly commercial planes."

Iriyanto's parents said have been heartbroken since the plane captained by their son vanished on Saturday; their other son died of diabetes just 10 days ago.

Suwarto said he saw Iriyanto just days before the plane took off, at his other son's funeral, The Independent reported.

"I want my son to come back alive and well but if that's not meant to be, if God doesn't want that, it's in the hands of fate," Suwarto said.

"My son, he's not alone on the plane. If this is God's will then so be it."

Iriyanto's daughter posted a picture of the two of them to her Facebook account. "Papa pulang. Kakak masih butuh papa. Kembalikan papaku. Papa pulang pa, papa harus ketemu," she wrote, which translates to, "Papa come home. I still need you. Return my papa to me. Papa come back, we have to meet."

http://Facebook.com / Via independent.co.uk

Oscar Desano is a "proud steward" with AirAsia, the Daily Telegraph reported. He's also a father-to-be.

Twitter: @ochanky

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A Bunch Of Trolls Are Trying To Get Kids On Tumblr To Commit Suicide

Anonymous groups from 4chan and 8chan appear to currently be organizing a large-scale attack on Tumblr users.

Twitter: @AllonsyWhovian_

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Four Remaining Maryland Death Row Inmates Will Have Their Sentences Commuted

Governor Martin O’Malley will commute the sentences of the last four men on death row in the state. Two years after abolishing the death penalty, Maryland will no longer have any inmates on death row.

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announced Wednesday that he will commute the sentences of the state's four remaining death row inmates, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Governor Martin O'Malley

AP

In a statement, O'Malley said he based his decision on what he thought was best for the public good of the people of Maryland, saying "state executions make every citizen a party to a legalized killing as punishment."

In 2012, Maryland's General Assembly abolished the death penalty, which set off a debate about what should happen to the inmates sentenced to death prior to abolition.

In November, Maryland's Attorney General, Doug Gansler, said he believed that carrying out executions now would be "illegal and factually impossible." O'Malley referenced Gansler's opinion in his statement.

O'Malley said that he met with many of the survivors of the victims of the brutal murders related to the sentences, but did not say in his statement whether of not they agreed with his decision.

"They are all good and decent people who have generously granted me the courtesy of discussing the cases of their individual family members. I am deeply grateful and appreciative of their willingness to speak with me," O'Malley said.

"They have borne their grief bravely along with the additional torment of an un-ending legal process. If endless death penalty appeals were to continue, these family members would, no doubt, persevere through that process with continued courage and fortitude. Of this I have no doubt."

The Governor's decision comes as he is about to leave office on Jan. 21.

Jody Lee Miles

WBAL

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New Yorkers Rejoice! Subway Exit Alarms Are Gone!

Your commute just became slightly less horrible!

New York Times / Via youtube.com

"The alarms are pretty much gone now for the most part, though there may be a couple of stragglers," M.T.A. spokesperson Kevin Ortiz told BuzzFeed News.

Ortiz said the alarms routinely feature among the top complaints from New York subway riders. "Part of the reason why we made the decision to remove them is that we listened to our customers, and it was one of the things we heard about the most for customer complaints," he said.

"They did very little to deter fare evasion so the decision to remove them was easy," Ortiz said.

The alarms began being switched off at locations with subway agents over a year ago, but the M.T.A. has now finalized the process of removing them from non-staffed exits.

New York Times / Via youtube.com

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Live Video: New Year's Eve In Times Square

An estimated one million people will show up in New York’s Times Square Wednesday to ring in 2015. Join the festivities without having to brave the cold and the crowds. Live video begins at 6 p.m. ET.

Watch live video from Times Square in New York:

Via Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment

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Protesters Against Police Brutality Aren't Advocating For "Dead Cops"

Several media outlets and public figures say people protesting the deaths of several unarmed black men at the hands of officers are chanting for “dead cops.” What they’ve latched on to is one viral video and a few, small online anarchist groups.

Millions March NYC protesters at Washington Square Park in New York on Dec. 13.

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Win McNamee / Getty Images

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Cat Hidden In Mattress Sold On Craigslist Found Safe

Camo the cat is back home after a two-week adventure.

KATU / Via katu.com

However, Dufek wrote that he was unaware his girlfriend's skittish cat, Camo, had a habit of hiding in the box spring.

After selling it, Dufek realized the cat was missing.

Roy Dufek / Via reddit.com

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Christine Cavanaugh, Voice Of Chuckie From "Rugrats" And Babe The Pig, Dies At 51

Cavanaugh also voiced characters like Oblina in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory.

Cavanaugh's cause of death was not released.

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

Besides voiceover work, Cavanaugh also had live-action guest roles on Salute Your Shorts, Cheers, The X-Files, and ER, as well as appearances in the films Jerry Maguire and Soulmates.

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Idaho Court Tosses Conviction After Prosecutor Quotes "Dixie" Song

The Idaho Court of Appeals said that the prosecution’s use of the Confederate anthem in closing arguments in the case against a black man may have influenced the jury. The man was convicted of lewd conduct and sexual battery.

Defendant James D. Kirk

Idaho Department Of Corrections

Idaho Supreme Court

isc.idaho.gov

The Idaho Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a prosecutor interjected race in the closing arguments of a case against a black man — who was subsequently convicted of sex crimes against two white minor females — by quoting lyrics from the Confederate anthem "Dixie."

In a unanimous opinion, Judge Karen L. Lansing described the song as an example of "pernicious" racism.

"This prosecutor may not have intended to appeal to racial bias, but a prosecutor's mental state, however innocent, does not determine the message received by the jurors or their individual responses to it," Lansing wrote. "An invocation of race by a prosecutor, even if subtle and oblique, may be violative of due process or equal protection."

James D. Kirk, 46, was arrested in August 2012 for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with two girls, age 13 and 17, in a hotel room in Nampa, Idaho. Both girls were runaways from a group home for at-risk young women and both were white — a fact that would later become important. Kirk was charged with lewd conduct with a minor under 16 and sexual battery of a minor 16–17 years old.

In her closing arguments at the end of Kirk's trial in April 2013, Canyon County Deputy Prosecutor Erica Kallin paraphrased the song "Dixie," using it to urge the jurors not to "look away" from the state's evidence:

"Ladies and gentlemen, when I was a kid we used to like to sing songs a

lot. I always think of this one song. Some people know it. It's the 'Dixie' song. Right?

'Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton. Good times not forgotten. Look away. Look away. Look away.'

And isn't that really what you've kind of been asked to do? Look away from the two eyewitnesses. Look away from the two victims. Look away from the nurse in her medical opinion. Look away. Look away. Look away."

According to court documents, the defense attorneys did not object to Kallin's use of the song during the trial. Kirk was found guilty of both counts and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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For First Time On Record, More Non-Mexicans Apprehended At U.S. Border Than Mexicans

The Pew Research Center found that 257,000 non-Mexicans were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents in 2014, compared with 229,000 Mexicans during the same period last year.

A couple from El Salvador walk with their 3-year-old son on the train tracks in Mexico.

Daniel Becerril / Reuters

An analysis by the Pew Research Center has found that for the first time on record, more non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended along U.S. borders in 2014.

Roughly 229,000 Mexicans were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2014, compared with about 257,000 non-Mexicans during the same period last year, according to the organization, which analyzed more than 60 years of Border Patrol data.

Both groups accounted for more than 486,000 apprehensions at U.S. borders, a 16% increase from 2013. Researchers said the figures show that Mexicans are crossing the border into the United States significantly less often than they did before the Great Recession.

The figures are vastly different from those in 2007, when about 809,000 Mexicans were taken into custody at the U.S. border, compared with just 68,000 non-Mexicans, according to the findings released Tuesday.

The number of Mexican immigrants apprehended at the border peaked at 1.6 million in 2000, the Pew Research analysis found.

The last time Mexican apprehensions were as low as they were in 2014 was in 1970, when about 219,000 immigrants were taken into custody. During that same year, the number of non-Mexicans stopped at the border was about 12,000.

The analysis attributed the demographic shift to the recent surge in unaccompanied Central American child migrants attempting to cross into the U.S. In fiscal year 2014, nearly 52,000 unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras were captured at the U.S.–Mexico border, more than double from the previous year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Meanwhile, the number of unaccompanied Mexican children caught by Border Patrol agents dropped slightly over the same time period, from 17,000 to 16,000.

Even though their numbers are declining, Mexicans still make up about 52% of the immigrants who are in the U.S. without proper documentation.

The Pew Research Center said that as their numbers have fallen, the number of undocumented immigrants from other parts of the world have either held steady or are on the rise.

For example, from 2009 to 2012, the number of Central American immigrants in the U.S. without proper documentation grew by 100,000. Researchers said there was a similar increase in immigrants from Asia.

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Two-Year-Old Boy Accidentally Shoots Woman To Death Inside Idaho Walmart

The boy reportedly reached into the woman’s purse while she was shopping at the store in Hayden, Idaho, Tuesday and accidentally discharged the gun, killing her. No other injuries were reported at the store, which was evacuated.

The entrance to the Walmart in Hayden, Idaho.

Google Maps

The Walmart was evacuated after the shooting and closed for the investigation.

Google Maps

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Parents Charged With Murder After Newborn Baby Starved To Death In Florida

Betsey Key Stephens was just 22 days old.

Ruby Stephens

REUTERS/Lakeland Police Department

Roy Stephens

REUTERS/Lakeland Police Department

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After Her Fiancé Left Her At The Altar, This Bride Took The World's Best Photo Shoot

“The moment the first bit of paint hit my dress I was free.”

Shelby Swink, 23, met her ex-fiancé in college back in 2011 and they hit it off right away. The two were happily engaged by March 2014, planning for a November wedding.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hoard Photography

“I poured my heart and soul into the wedding plans, because I wanted the day that would celebrate our love and commitment for each other to be absolutely amazing,” Swink told BuzzFeed News.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hoard Photography

But when the week of the wedding arrived, Swink’s then-fiancé told her that he was not in love with her and didn't want get married.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hoard Photography

“Bam. My dreams of marrying and having kids with what I thought was the man I would spend the rest of my life with vanished,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hoard Photography

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Harvard Law School, In Violation Of Title IX, Changes Its Sexual Assault Policies

A U.S. Department of Education investigation found that Harvard Law School did not provide a “prompt and equitable response to complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault.”

A security guard patrols a gate to the Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Oct. 4.

Brian Snyder / Reuters

The U.S Department of Education on Tuesday announced that Harvard Law School has failed to respond appropriately to complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

According to the Office for Civil Rights investigation, the Law School did not provide an adequate response to complaints of sexual assault made by two students.

In one case, the Law School spent over a year making its final decision, and the alleged victim was not allowed to participate in the lengthy appeal process. The committee's initial ruling to expel the accused student was reversed, and the accusations of sexual assault were dismissed.

In an 18-page letter, the Dean of Harvard Law School, Martha C. Minnow, described the school's new sexual assault investigation policies, and addressed the case in which the alleged victim was not provided an appeal, writing that: "respondents were afforded the right to dispute Ad Board findings and to call and examine witnesses during the supplemental hearing process, while the Procedures did not afford any rights to complainants during this post-hearing process even though it could result in modified findings of fact and/or sanctions."

The entire letter from the Dean is available here.

During the investigation, the Law School agreed to change its sexual harassment policies as required by Title IX.

"I am very pleased to bring to close one of our longest-running sexual violence investigations, and I congratulate Harvard Law School for now committing to comply with Title IX and immediately implement steps to provide a safe learning environment for its students," the assistant secretary for civil rights, Catherine E. Lhamon, said in a press release on Tuesday.

The revised Harvard Law policies will include include appeal rights for the alleged victim, as required by Title IX. The school will also designate a Title IX coordinator, and both students and staff will be trained in the new procedures. In addition, the school will conduct another review of sexual harassment complaints filed during 2012-13 and 2013-14.

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Officer's Name In Berkeley, Missouri Shooting Won't Be Released

The mayor said the officer “needs professional help” and asked the media to respect his privacy. The officer shot and killed Antonio Martin, who police said was armed.

Berkeley Mayor Ted Hoskins

Reuters

The City of Berkeley, Missouri concluded its investigation into the Dec. 24 police shooting of Antonio Martin at a local gas station, and Mayor Ted Hoskins said at a news conference Tuesday that officials have no plans to release the name of the officer involved.

Speaking to the media for the first time in several days, Hoskins and Berkeley Police Chief Frank McCall laid out the timeline of what they believe happened that night based on several witness's accounts.

According to the officials, at 11 p.m. on Dec. 23, police received a report of a shoplifting incident at the gas station. According to the call, the suspect fit the description of 18-year-old Martin.

By 11:15 p.m. the officer arrived at the scene. One minute later, shots were fired. Chief McCall said that the officer initially retreated after Martin pulled a gun on him, then the officer fired three shots.

The person with Martin, who can be seen on video running away after the shots, confirmed that Martin pulled his gun first, McCall said.

Other witnesses confirmed the sequence of events seen in the surveillance video.

By 11:24 p.m., paramedics were at the gas station and began treatment on Martin. They pronounced him dead four minutes later at 11:28.

Berkeley Police Chief Frank McCall

NBC News

Officials had no information on the reported theft. Hoskins referred questions of Martin's involvement in the alleged robbery to St. Louis County police.

A St. Louis County Police spokesperson told BuzzFeed News, "the entire incident is under investigation. We don't have any updates to release."

During the news conference, Hoskins repeatedly asked the media to respect the privacy of the officer involved. He confirmed that the officer would remain on paid administrative leave at this time.

"He needs professional help," Hoskins said.

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More Police Officers Died On The Job In 2014 Than In 2013

A new report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found that nationwide, police officers died on the job at a higher rate this year compared to last. But the rate of officer fatalities has been steadily falling since the 70s.

New York City police stand in silence as they listen to the funeral service for slain officer Rafael Ramos on December 27, 2014.

Mike Segar / Reuters

More police officers across the United States died on the job in 2014 than in 2013, according to a new report published Tuesday by the non-profit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

The report found that 126 law enforcement officials died on the job this year, a 24% increase from the 102 officers who died in 2013. The increase runs counter to the historical trend in officer deaths, which have decreased almost every year since 1974, when 280 officers were killed.

Not all of the deaths counted in the report were the result of criminal activity. About half of the officers who died in 2014 were killed in "felonious incidents," with the other half dying in traffic accidents, from work-related injuries, or from other causes.

But the vast majority of this year's increase in deaths from shooting, which accounted for 50 deaths, 56% more than last year. Within gun-related incidents, ambushes were the most common circumstance, killing 15 cops — three times as many as in 2013.

Still, the number of cops killed by firearms in 2014 was lower than the average for the 2010s, which was 53. The average for the 2000s was 57, and that for the 1970s 127.

California was the top state for officer fatalities, with 14 deaths. Texas was second, with 11 deaths, and New York was third, with 9 deaths. Three of the deceased officers were women.

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Play-Doh's Facebook Appears To Be Deleting Comments From Parents About Their New Penis-Shaped Toy

Some parents have said that Play-Doh’s new phallic-shaped play set ruined their Christmas.

This is the Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Cake Mountain Play Set.

amazon.com

The play set comes with an applicator.

amazon.com

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Uber Driver Charged With Sexually Assaulting Passenger In Chicago

Police say the former UberX driver sexually assaulted a 22-year-old female passenger on Nov. 16. The woman reported passing out in the car and then waking up in a residence during the alleged assault.

Maxime Fohounhedo booking photo.

Chicago Police Department / WBBM-TV / Via chicago.cbslocal.com

The woman told police that Fohounhedo responded to her request for a ride on UberX, which is the lower cost option in the uber app, shortly after 3 a.m. Nov. 16, but he asked her to sit in the front seat to help navigate. During the ride, Fohounhedo allegedly started sexually assaulting her and she passed out, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The woman woke up to find the driver on top of her at a residence. After Fohounhedo drove the victim home, she texted a friend that she had been raped by an Uber driver, the Tribune reported.

In a police report obtained by DNAinfo, the woman told the friend she had had too much to drink at a bar earlier in the evening, and so couldn't immediately report the allegation. But, she added, "I need someone to remind me to follow through to make sure this never happens again."

Uber, which in a statement called the incident "appalling and unacceptable," removed Fohounhedo from their platform while police investigated the allegations.

Fohounhedo was charged with sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

One constant criticism has been that the ride-sharing company does not vet its drivers as stringently as it should, putting passengers at risk.

Uber was banned earlier this month in New Delhi and other parts of India after a driver was arrested and charged with raping his passenger. At the time of the alleged rape, the driver was awaiting trial on at least four other criminal charges, and as a result much of the blame fell to Uber, which issued a public apology.

Not long after, Uber's chief of global safety, Philip Cardenas, published a blog post laying out the company's "roadmap" toward improving safety.

In Washington, D.C., a woman accused her Uber driver of sexually assaulting her while she was asleep in the backseat of his car in July.

And in London, a woman reported a driver to the company after he allegedly asked "if I wanted him to go down on me," Newsweek reported. Uber refunded her for the ride and credited her account with £20.

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California Basketball Tournament Lifts Ban Of "I Can't Breathe Shirts" After Students Protest

The Mendocino High School girls basketball team missed their first game of the tournament on Monday after organizers disinvited them. Organizers later reversed their decision to ban the shirts.

A basketball tournament at Fort Bragg High School in California on Monday allowed spectators and players to wear "I Can't Breathe" shirts after initially banning them.

View Video ›

Players were initially only allowed to wear the shirts during warm-ups, the Fort Bragg Advocate-News reported.

"The district may revisit this issue if there is a bona fide disruption, linked to the activities mentioned above," a statement from Patrick C. Wilson, Senior Associate General Counsel for School and College Legal Services of California, said.

The statement did not specify why tournament organizers had a change of heart. It came, however, after a letter by the ACLU said the students' actions were protected by the First Amendment, the California Constitution and the California Education Code.

facebook.com

The girls basketball team from Mendocino High was originally disinvited from the tournament hosted by Fort Bragg High School after their players wore the shirts featuring the last words of Eric Garner earlier this month.

View Video ›

facebook.com

Most of the Mendocino boys basketball team had agreed to leave their shirts home. Too many girls refused to budge, however, and their their team was not allowed to take to the court Monday.

View Video ›

Their first game in the bracket-style tournament was scheduled for noon, and organizers did not reverse their decision on the shirts until later in the day.

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from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/california-basketball-tournament-lifts-ban-of-i-cant-breathe?utm_term=4ldqpia

Anxiously Waiting On The Eve Of A Ukrainian Prisoner Exchange

Photographer Misha Friedman captures the hours surrounding a major prisoner exchange between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists.

According to Ukrainian government officials, 146 of its soldiers have been exchanged for 222 militants.

Misha Friedman

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from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/gabrielsanchez/anxiously-waiting-on-the-eve-of-a-ukrainian-prisoner-exchang?utm_term=4ldqpia

Obama Calls Newlyweds To Apologize After They Relocated Their Wedding So He Could Play Golf

The couple were given less than 24-hours to find a new venue.

President Obama called a pair of newlyweds to apologize after they were forced to abandon plans to hold their wedding on a Hawaii golf course Sunday because the Commander in Chief wanted to play through, the Associated Press and Bloomberg reported.

instagram.com

"It was kind of ironic they got the letter from them and then, within hours, they were told they had to be moved due to him," Jamie McCarthy, Mallue's sister, told Bloomberg. "It was emotional, especially for her—she's the bride and in less than 24 hours they had to change everything they had planned."

The couple had been planning to hold their nuptials at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course, a favorite venue of Obama's, located on Hawaii's Marine Corps Base.

"Anyone planning an event at the course when the president may be in town is warned about the potential for last-minute shuffling," Bloomberg reported.

The White House didn't learn about the conflict until after the fact, the AP reported, quoting a "person familiar with the incident."

President Barack Obama playing at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course on Dec. 24, 2014.

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP / Getty Images

The couple were able to move their wedding to one of their back-up venues, a scenic garden overlooking the golf course, but Instagram photos from the wedding still used the hashtag #ThanksObama14.

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from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/kaneohe-kerfuffle?utm_term=4ldqpia

LAPD To Release Autopsy Report Of An Unarmed Black Man Killed By Police

Ezell Ford’s autopsy report will be released after months of delay by the LAPD.

Candles burn at a memorial for Ezell Ford in Los Angeles.

Getty

Ezell Ford

KTLA

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from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikehayes/ezell-ford-autopsy-report?utm_term=4ldqpia

New York City Mayor Booed Before Delivering NYPD Graduation Speech

Mayor Bill de Blasio was jeered before delivering a speech to NYPD graduates. Some officers have been turning their back on him after two officers were killed.

Watch Commissioner William Bratton's speech live here:

youtube.com

New NYPD officers booed Mayor Bill de Blasio before he delivered a speech at their graduation ceremony Monday.

The jeers could be heard on a live stream at the event and were noted by reporters who were present.

Boos were also audible when de Blasio told the new officers, "you didn't create the problems you'll face."

The crowd also cheered the mayor at certain points and when he finished his address.

"You will have real time information so you can stay safe and keep the community safe. Whatever this department knows will be in your hands instantaneously," he said.

There's great tension between the mayor and the NYPD since two officers were killed while sitting in their patrol car. Some officers turned their backs on the mayor when he arrived at the hospital where the officers were being treated and when he delivered a eulogy at one of their funerals.

from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/nicolasmedinamora/new-york-city-mayor-booed-before-delivering-nypd-graduation?utm_term=4ldqpia

Seattle Times Accidentally Prints 20,000 Papers With A "2012 Wrap Up"

The mistake was on page one in big, red font.

Twitter: @Klopster

Pressroom employee J. Michael Klop told the media blog JimRomenesko.com that printing press workers noticed the headline early on and alerted the editorial team, correctly believing it to be a mistake and not a nostalgic look back on the year Barack Obama was re-elected and London hosted the Olympics.

"There was nobody there who was willing to make a decision to stop the run and remake the page," Klop said. "Finally, after finishing the run, there was a call back from downtown saying to wait for a new set of plates… as they were going to toss the entire 20,000 and rerun the full draw."

The paper's editor, Kathy Best, told the blog that the "crazy holiday weekend schedule" was to blame for the "glaring error."

"Because the press run only lasts about 30 minutes, we didn't send a corrected page in time to catch the run," Best said. "Not a great day, including missing a chance to say stop the presses."

from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/there-but-for-the-grace-of-god-go-we?utm_term=4ldqpia

Number Of Homeless People Jumps To 60,000 In New York City

Mayor Bill de Blasio made it his mission to reduce homelessness, but the scale of the problem has so far proved overwhelming.

REUTERS/CARLO ALLEGRI

During Michael Bloomberg's term as mayor, the number of homeless in the city soared more than 70%, reaching a record high of 53,000, according to the advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless.

Before he took office as Mayor, de Blasio had indicated his commitment to tackling the problem with a new approach. "We have the highest number of people in shelter in the history of this city," he said on Dec. 12, 2013, "the highest number in the city-run shelter system ever, the highest number of people who are homeless in any sense literally since the Great Depression and it simply can't continue."

"So we will address the problems in the shelter system and we will take a very different approach," he said.

But de Blasio's efforts are still struggling against the continuing surge.

A total of 59,246 slept in New York City homeless shelters each night in October, up more than 6,000 from one year before.

Coalition for the Homeless / Via coalitionforthehomeless.org

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from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/homeless-nyc?utm_term=4ldqpia

Twitter Hit With Widespread Outage

Many Twitter users – especially those using Android – couldn’t sign in to the service or related apps for about five and a half hours Sunday.

Eric Thayer / Reuters

Many Twitter users were unable to sign in to the mobile web service and on some apps for nearly six hours on Sunday, company officials said.

The widespread outage mostly hit Android users between 7:00 p.m. and about 12:25 a.m. ET. Many users were signed out of Twitter on mobile browsers and couldn't get back in.

On TweetDeck, many posts were incorrectly backdated by a year.

The issue, which didn't seem to impact iOS, seems to be resolved.

"This issue was due to a bug in our front end code, which has been patched.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this," read a message on the company's service outage Tumblr.

Some believe the issue was caused by Twitter leaping ahead to Dec. 29, 2015:

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from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomnamako/twitter-hit-with-widespread-sign-in-outage?utm_term=4ldqpia

Chris Rock Files For Divorce From Wife After 18 Years Of Marriage

The comedian has filed for divorce from his wife, Malaak Compton-Rock, who he has two children with.

Chris Rock, Malaak Compton-Rock and their daughters Lola, left, and Zahra arrive at the premiere of DreamWorks' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa at the Village Theatre on October 26, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Chris Rock and Malaak Compton-Rock and their children arrive at the 19th Annual Kid's Choice Awards on April 1, 2006 in Westwood, California.

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

"Being fortunate enough to lead a life of service by working with those most vulnerable makes me well aware of life's blessings, even when faced with difficulties.

"While recognizing that this is a significant change, my children remain at the center of my life and their well-being is my top priority. It is in this spirit that I sincerely ask that their privacy and the privacy of our family be respected during this transition in our lives."

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from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/chris-rock-files-for-divorce-from-wife?utm_term=4ldqpia