Names and faces
Anne Hathaway called the fatal stabbing of a young black woman at a subway station in Oakland, Calif., unspeakable as she also condemned white privilege. Authorities said a white 27-year-old parolee faces charges in the July 22 death of Nia Wilson. Prosecutors are still investigating if John Cowell’s action was motivated by hate. Hathaway wrote on her Instagram account: “White people — including me, including you — must take into the marrow of our privileged bones the truth that ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY in America.” The Academy Award-winning actress wrote that white people don’t have the “equivalence for this fear of violence.” She said they must ask themselves how “decent” they are in their actions. Cowell’s family said he has suffered from mental illness and failed to receive proper treatment.
Taylor Swift is trying to help ease the pain of a Massachusetts city mourning the recent loss of a police officer. Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund told The Patriot Ledger newspaper that Swift donated “a significant number of tickets” to the town for her shows this weekend in Foxborough, which were distributed among city police officers. Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna was shot and killed while investigating a car crash July 15. The same person is also suspected of killing bystander Vera Adams. Hedlund said there were enough tickets to send “every police officer, firefighter and extended family to the concert, and then some.” The extra tickets were passed on to other nearby police departments. Hedlund thanked Swift for the gesture on behalf of the town.
Prince Charles has issued a statement in response to a British inquiry investigating child abuse saying that he’d been deceived by a disgraced Church of England bishop now jailed for sex abuse. Friday’s remarks by the Prince of Wales came amid an investigation into the handling of allegations against former Bishop Peter Ball, who had claimed to be a confidant of the heir to the throne. The 86-year-old Ball had accepted a caution for one count of gross indecency in 1993, but later admitted further crimes. He is jailed for sexually abusing 18 young men over 30 years. Charles says he didn’t realize the truth until Ball’s conviction. He dismissed any suggestions he had ever tried to interfere in the police investigation, although he acknowledged it was possible that his name had been taken “in vain.”