The 411
The SeeingBlack.com 411
By the Red-Eye Crew, Compiled With Dispatches from DemocracyNow.org
May 8, 2008, 10:36

200 Arrested in Civil Disobedience Over Police Acquittals in Killing of Sean Bell

Marchers protest acquittals of police in Sean Bell killing.

In New York, more than 200 people were arrested Wednesday in a day of protest over acquittal of three police officers in the killing of Sean Bell. The 23-year-old Bell died in a hail of 50 police bullets on the morning of what would have been his wedding day in November 2006. He was unarmed. On Wednesday, demonstrators halted traffic at six busy intersections in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Democracy Now! interviewed protesters on their way to the Lincoln Tunnel.
More than 1000 people reportedly took part. Among those arrested were Bell’s fiancé, Nicole Paultre Bell; the two surviving shooting victims—Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, and the Reverend Al Sharpton. The four were trailed at the Brooklyn Bridge by a large crowd who kneeled in prayer and counted from one to fifty to mark the number of bullets fired by police. Sharpton says the protests will continue in an effort to build support for federal civil rights charges in Bell’s killing.


Burma Cyclone Toll Could Top 100,000
The first major international delivery of aid has finally landed in Burma amidst new fears the death toll from this week’s cyclone could top 100,000. The initial toll was 22,000, but a US diplomat says another 80,000 people could have died. At least one million people are said to be homeless. A UN relief plane landed earlier today after waiting nearly forty-eight hours for clearance from Burma’s military junta. The junta is coming under intense criticism for delaying international relief. The UN’s top humanitarian official, John Holmes, says Burma is facing a “major catastrophe.”

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes: “I think it’s clear to all of us that we are faced here with a major catastrophe in, in particular, the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar. You’ve seen those official casualty figures. It is not impossible, in fact I think it’s quite likely, that those figures will continue to rise and that we are really facing, as I say, a major catastrophe there.”
Cyclone Nargis was the largest to hit Asia since 1991.


Philadelphia Police Caught Beating Unarmed Victims
In Philadelphia, six police officers have been removed from street patrols after they were videotaped beating three unarmed African American men. A local television news helicopter captured the scene of around a dozen officers pulling the victims from their car and kicking and punching them as they lay on the ground. The beating occurred after the shooting death of a police officer who had been pursuing three robbery suspects, two of whom were later caught. The three victims have all been charged with assault, conspiracy and endangering another person. The officers who beat them have not been charged.


Report: 10M Children Die Yearly from Preventable Causes
A new report says nearly ten million children worldwide are dying every year from treatable ailments like diarrhea and pneumonia. Overall, Save the Children estimates more than 200 million children under the age of five do not get basic medical care.


Vowing to Press On, Clinton Loans Campaign $6.5M
On the campaign trail, Senator Hillary Clinton is promising to continue her White House bid despite growing calls for her to exit the race. Many political analysts say Tuesday’s primary results in North Carolina and Indiana make Senator Barack Obama the presumptive nominee. Obama leads by about 150 delegates with six contests to go. On Wednesday, Clinton disclosed she’s lent her campaign $6.4 million over the past month, on top of a prior loan of $5 million.

Sen. Hillary Clinton: “I’m trying to make sure that their investment is a good one and because we are being outspent. Everybody knows that. We, historically, in the last several months have been outspent two-to-one, three-to-one, four-to-one, even five-to-one, but we’ve remained competitive, and I have been willing to loan that money to my campaign so that, you know, we could be competitive. And I think it’s paid off.”

Meanwhile, a prominent supporter of Clinton, former Senator George McGovern, has announced he’s switching over to endorsing Obama.


McCain to Yield $7M at New York Fundraiser
On the Republican side, Senator John McCain is expected to pull in over $7 million today at a fundraiser here in New York. It’s expected to be his largest single one-event take so far.



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