Bill Cosby's lawyer releases statement on "unjustified" charge.

Bill Cosby's lawyer, Monique Pressley has released the following statement after Cosby was arraigned on a second-degree felony charge of aggravated indecent assault by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

"The charge by the Montgomery County District Attorney's office came as no surprise," the statement to Us read. "Filed 12 years after the alleged incident and coming on the heels of a hotly contested election for this county's DA during which this case was made the focal point. Make no mistake, we intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law."

NBA and its stars airing commercials against gun violence

It seems the NBA is willing to face an NRA backlash and maybe even a financial hit to take a stand against gun violence. In conjunction with Everytown for Gun safety (http://everytown.org/) the NBA has released several anti gun violence ads. Check out one of the commercial featuring current league MVP Stephen Curry below:

Tamir Rice family releases statement about officers not being charged in Tamir's death

The family of Tamir Rice released the following statement about today's announcement that a grand jury has declined to press charges against the officers involved in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by police.

Today, more than a year after Cleveland police shot and killed 12-­year-­old Tamir Rice, a grand jury voted not to indict the shooter. Tamir’s family is saddened and disappointed by this outcome–but not surprised.

It has been clear for months now that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty was abusing and manipulating the grand-­jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment. Even though video shows the police shooting Tamir in less than one second, Prosecutor McGinty hired so-­called expert witnesses to try to exonerate the officers and tell the grand jury their conduct was reasonable and justified. It is unheard of, and highly improper, for a prosecutor to hire “experts” to try to exonerate the targets of a grand-­‐jury investigation. These are the sort of “experts” we would expect the officer’s criminal-­defense attorney to hire—not the prosecutor.

Then, Prosecutor McGinty allowed the police officers to take the oath and read prepared statements to the grand jury without answering any questions on cross-­examination. Even though it is black-­letter law that taking the stand waives the Fifth Amendment right to be silent, the prosecutor did not seek a court order compelling the officers to answer questions or holding the officers in contempt if they continued to refuse. This special treatment would never be given to non-­police suspects.

The way Prosecutor McGinty has mishandled the grand-­jury process has compounded the grief of this family.

The Rice family is grateful for all the community support they have received and urges people who want to express their disappointment with how Prosecutor McGinty has handled this process to do so peacefully and democratically. We renew our request that the Department of Justice step in to conduct a real investigation into this tragic shooting of a 12-­year-­old child.

Statement by President Obama and the First Lady on Kwanzaa

President Obama and his wife have released the following statement in honor of Kwanzaa

Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to families across the country celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. Today begins a week-long celebration of African-American heritage and culture through family and community festivities. Kwanzaa’s seven principles – unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith – are also shared values that bind us as Americans. And in the spirit of the season, we reflect on the blessings of the past year and commit to building a brighter future for all our children. As families, friends, and neighbors come together today to light the Kinara, our family sends our best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.

[SOURCE]

Weekly Address: Merry Christmas from the President and First Lady The White House