Top 5 Live-WURD Wednesday August 26
1. White House jumper killed after pulling knife at Pennsylvania court
A man who once jumped a fence at the White House was shot and killed at a Pennsylvania courthouse Tuesday after slashing a sheriff’s deputy with a knife, an official said.
Curtis Smith, 34, attacked the deputy at the security entrance to the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester, according to a statement from the office of Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan. A second deputy drew a weapon and shot Smith.
“In Chester County, we have trained intensively to deal with the threat of an attacker in the Justice Center or any other public building. Today, that training paid off,” Hogan said.
Hogan said in his statement that Smith is the same man who climbed an outer stone wall near the White House in March. It was not clear why he was at the courthouse.
The injured sheriff’s deputy suffered wounds to his hand and arm. He was transported to a hospital and is in stable condition.
2. Market Turmoil: Dow Dives as Analysts Warn More Chaos Ahead
Stocks dived at the close on Tuesday, erasing a huge rally — and any hope that the worst of the Wall Street turmoil was over.
The market soared in early trading as investors shook off fears of a slowing Chinese economy and a further plunge in Asian stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed as much as 442 points, or 1.9 percent.
But the gains slowly faded in the afternoon, and a last-minute sell-off left the Dow down 204. That came after a turbulent Monday, when the Dow plunged almost 1,100 points in the morning and closed down more than 500.
And analysts caution that the markets may not calm down anytime soon.
Investors are watching China closely because it’s a major engine of the world economy and a huge market for American products. Kamel Mellahi, a professor at the Warwick Business School, warned that the Chinese economy will be on a “bumpy road” for some time.
3. Jeb Bush Clarifies That He’s Concerned About Asian ‘Anchor Babies,’ Not Hispanic Ones
GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush now claims that his use of the term “anchor babies” was not offensive because he was referring to Asians.
Bush used the term in a radio interview in reference to “birth tourism,” the growing phenomenon of Chinese women coming to America to have their babies so that they can grow up as American citizens.
“If there’s fraud or if there’s abuse, if people are bringing pregnant women … to have babies simply because they can do it, then there ought to be greater enforcement,” Bush said. “…Better enforcement so that you don’t have these, you know, ‘anchor babies’ … coming into the country.”
Bush clarified his position on a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border Monday.
“What I was talking about was the specific case of fraud being committed … and frankly it’s more related to Asian people coming into our country having children in that organized effort, taking advantage of a noble concept, which is birthright citizenship,” he said.
4. Stellar witness list in Chaka Fattah case
A veritable who’s who of Pennsylvania politics could end up taking the stand when U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah goes on trial next year on federal racketeering conspiracy charges.
A list of possible government witnesses filed with the court Tuesday contains such boldface names as U.S. Sen. Robert P Casey, former Gov. Ed Rendell, and State Sen. Vincent Hughes.
Also mentioned are behind-the-scenes political players, including Greg Harvey, a veteran Philadelphia election lawyer, and William Sasso, a prominent GOP donor, a confidant of former Gov. Tom Corbett, and chairman of the law firm Stradley Ronon.
Some, including Harvey, said they were not surprised to hear of their names being listed in court filings. He testified before a grand jury about a debt Fattah’s 2007 mayoral campaign owed his law firm.
Others, such as Sasso, said they had no idea what they might add to the government’s case against Fattah. “I can’t imagine anyone’s calling me for anything,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
5. Group of black women kicked off Napa wine train after laughing too loud
Eleven members of the Sistahs on the Reading Edge Book Club boarded the Napa Valley Wine Train, excited to sip wine in a historic rail car with the northern California vineyards as a backdrop.
Two hours in, the train ride turned sour for the book club from Antioch, Calif.
Train workers told the women they had to leave because they were too loud. They were met by police officers and given a bus ride back to the station.
One book club member, Lisa Renee Johnson, blames racial bias — all but one of the book club members on the train were African American. The hashtag #laughingwhileblack has taken off on social media, with many vowing to boycott the wine train.
“We sipped wine, enjoyed each other’s company but our trip is being cut short,” Johnson wrote on Facebook. “If we all laugh at the same time it’s loud!”
Click here to read these stories on 900amWURD.
Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com and morning host on 900 am WURD radio. Click here to learn more about Solomon
