Two African American men were arrested inside a Philadelphia Starbucks while they were waiting to meet with a friend after an employee believed they were trespassing and called police. The arrest resulted in two days of protest outside the store, as protesters accused the company of only calling the police on the men because of their race. Witnesses said the two men reacted calmly as they were arrested. Videos taken of the incident appear to back up claims that the men were doing nothing wrong at the time they were arrested.
The Philadelphia Police Commissioner said that the officer who made the arrest did not want to. However, he said that because a Starbucks employee called the police and said they wanted the men removed from the store, the police were forced to arrest them when they refused to leave, according to the Commissioner. He said the fact that the officers were in the store for 15 minutes before making the arrest shows that the officers did not intend to have to make the arrest.
The CEO of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson, met with the two men in order to issue a face-to-face apology. On Monday, Johnson had a private meeting with the two men. The company declined to offer many details about the meeting. Johnson has called for “unconscious bias training” for all Starbucks employees and apologized for the “rehinsible circumstance”, the Washington Post said. He said the manager who called the police on the two men no longer works at the store.
The two men were released from jail at approximately 1:30 a.m the day following the arrest. The Philadelphia District Attorney said they will not be pressing charges due to “insufficient evidence a crime was committed.”
Local News
The Rhode Island Department of Emergency Management (DEM) has issued a quarantine order for animals at Simmons Farm petting zoo in Middletown. The order came after three people became ill following their visit to the farm. The DEM is trying to determine if there is a connection between the petting zoo and the reported illnesses. Simmons Farm said they would voluntarily close their petting zoo and their farm stand until the investigation into whether the farm was the source of the illness has concluded.
The Boston Marathon was run on Monday, April 16. For the first time in 33 years, an American woman won the race. Desiree Linden won the women’s division, as she finished the race in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 53 seconds. Yuki Kawauchi, from Japan, won the men’s division, as he finished the race in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 53 seconds. In 2011, Linden was two seconds away from winning the race. The race was held in cool, rainy conditions. Some runners described the race as some of the most difficult conditions they have ever had to race in.
National News
Nearly 207 million eggs have been recalled over fears of salmonella contamination. The eggs came from a Rose Acres Farm facility in Hyde County, North Carolina. Twenty three people have reported fallen ill from the eggs. The eggs were sold in Colorado, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The eggs were sold under various brands, including County DayBreak, Food Lion, Crystal Farms, Coburn Farms, and Great Value and Sunshine Farms. The eggs were sold at various stores and even some restaurants. A full list of impacted brands and stores can be found online.
Former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away on Tuesday. Earlier in the week, she said she would not seek additional medical care for her failing health, the Bush family spokesperson announced. She said she would instead focus on comfort care. Barbara Bush was 92 years old.
A prison fight in South Carolina resulted in the death of seven inmates and resulted in 17 other inmates being injured. The fights occurred at Lee Correctional Institute. The fights lasted for over seven hours and are believed to be the result of imprisoned gang members “fighting over territory.” No guards were injured in the fights. Inmates said the guards waited hours to interfere with the fights. The State Corrections Department Chief said it took hours for the guards to secure the prison because three housing units were impacted and it can take close to an hour and a half to secure one unit and the units are secured one by one, USA Today reported.
Bertucci’s, a chain restaurant that was founded in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1981, has filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The company was reportedly $110 million in debt. The company owned 59 locations, which was down from 93 stores five years ago. Right Lane Dough Acquisitions has bought the company for for approximately $20 million, The Boston Herald reported. Some restaurants may close as a result, the company announced. As of now, 15 restaurants are said to be closing due to the bankruptcy.
International News
Early Saturday morning, the United States, Britain and France all conducted targeted airstrikes on Syria in response to the Syrian government once again using chemical weapons against its own people. The airstrikes targeted multiple areas outside of Demarcus and Homs, according to the Washington Post. The goal of the airstrikes was to destroy the Syrian government’s chemical weapons facilities.
President Donald Trump declared the airstrikes a success shortly after they concluded. The United States Ambassador to The United Nations, Nikki Haley, warned that the United States would be “locked and loaded” should Bashar al-Assad use chemical weapons against its own people again. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said the United States attack’s were an “act of aggression.” Russia is allies with Syria. Russia previously said that the chemical weapons attack were carried out by Britain, not Syria.
Experts are still trying to examine the sites were the chemical weapons attacks against Syrian citizens occurred, in order to gain far. However, the experts have mostly been blocked by the Syrian government from accessing the sites were the attacks are alleged to have occurred.