Top 5 Live-WURD Wednesday March 25
1. Germanwings Airbus A320 Crashes in France, 150 Feared Dead
A passenger plane carrying 150 people crashed in a remote part of the French Alps on Tuesday. There are not expected to be any survivors.
French President Francois Hollande called the crash of the Airbus A320 a “tragedy” and said the wreckage was in a hard-to-reach area not far from the town of Barcelonette. The French interior ministry confirmed to NBC News that one of the black boxes from Germanwings Flight 9525 had been found as rescue teams converged on the crash site.
“We saw an aircraft that had literally been ripped apart, the bodies are in a state of destruction, there is not one intact piece of wing or fuselage,” said a French official after flying over the crash zone in a helicopter.
French authorities suspended the search as night fell Tuesday.
2. Ted Cruz going on Obamacare
The newly announced Republican presidential candidate told CNN’s Dana
Bash on Tuesday that he will sign up for health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act — a law he has been on a crusade to kill.
“We’ll be getting new health insurance and we’ll presumably do it through my job with the Senate, and so we’ll be on the federal exchange with millions of others on the federal exchange,” Cruz said.
Asked whether he would accept the government subsidy available to lawmakers and congressional staffers for their health care coverage through the ACA, Cruz said he will “follow the text of the law.”
“I strongly oppose the exemption that President Obama illegally put in place for members of Congress because (Senate Minority Leader)
3. U.S. Agrees to Slow Pullout of Troops From Afghanistan
The United States will halt the withdrawal of 9,800 troops from Afghanistan, half of whom were scheduled to leave in the months ahead, and instead keep them in the country through the end of 2015.
President Obama’s decision not to pull American military forces out of Afghanistan as quickly as planned came after a direct entreaty from the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, who has been visiting the United States this week.
“I’ve decided that we will maintain our current posture of 9,800 troops through the end of this year,” Mr. Obama said on Tuesday afternoon in a joint news conference with Mr. Ghani in the East Room of the White House.
4. Officials probe racist letter to State Police nominee
Central Pennsylvania prosecutors are investigating a hand-written, anonymous letter with racially offensive language delivered to the home of Gov. Wolf’s embattled choice to lead the Pennsylvania State Police.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Inquirer, was placed Monday evening in the mailbox of Acting State Police Commissioner Marcus Brown, the State Police confirmed.
“No n- lover will never wear my uniform,” the letter said.
Brown’s nomination has been opposed by former troopers and their allies, in part because he has chosen to wear their uniform despite not graduating from the state police academy or climbing the ranks in Pennsylvania.
5. Trial Set for Videographer Arrested Covering Ferguson
St. Louis-based videographer Mary Moore, who was arrested while covering Ferguson protests after Michael Brown was fatally shot, plans to fight the charges at trial.
Moore was among 13 people taken into custody during a demonstration outside Ferguson police headquarters in early October.
Moore is one of an estimated two dozen journalists who’ve been arrested in Ferguson. Moore, whose videos have been used by The Associated Press and other news organizations, is among the few journalists to actually go to court. She was charged with failure to comply, failure to disperse and resisting arrest. She said she was not part of the protest.
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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
