Author: Staff

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama returned to the White House Wednesday, reuniting with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden to unveil their official portraits and introduce the artists behind them. The ceremony returned to the White House after a 10-year hiatus.

For his portrait, the former president selected Robert McCurdy as the artist. McCurdy, an artist and photographer known for his hyperrealistic paintings of several well-known figures, including Toni Morrison, the Dalai Lama and Jeff Bezos. The portrait unveiled Wednesday of a photo-realistic image of Obama in a black suit with a grey tie against a stark white background, was painted from photographs that McCurdy took of Obama. Former President Obama said: “When future generations walk these halls and look up at these portraits, I hope they get a better and honest sense of who Michelle and I were and I hope they leave with a deeper understanding that if we could make it here, maybe they can too. They can do remarkable things too.”

For her portrait, the former first lady selected Sharon Sprung as the artist. Sprung also worked off photographs she took at the White House to paint Obama in a blue dress, seated on a sofa in the Red Room. The former first lady said the day was not about her or the images, but illustrating what is possible in America:  “And as much as some folks might want us to believe that that story has lost some of its shine, that division and discrimination and everything else might have dimmed its light, I still know, deep in my heart, that what we share as my husband continues to say is so much bigger than what we don’t. Our democracy is so much stronger than our differences.”

President Biden said of Obama: “There are a few people that I’ve ever known with more integrity, decency, and moral courage than Barack Obama. Mr. President, nothing could’ve prepared me better or more to become President of the United States than being by your side for eight years and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.” 

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Authorities have confirmed that an American woman was killed in a shark attack while snorkeling with her family in the Bahamas on Tuesday afternoon.  According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the 58-year-old woman — along with four members of her family from the Lake Erie area of Pennsylvania — were on a snorkeling tour in the waters northwest of Rose Island when the victim was attacked by a bull shark shortly before 3 p.m. local time. The victim and her family had arrived in the Bahamas on Tuesday morning via Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Harmony of the Seas.

Family members and tour operators attempted to rescue the woman but were unsuccessful. The victim suffered serious injuries to the left side of her body and was transported by the tour boat to nearby Fort Montagu on the eastern shore of New Providence island, where she was pronounced dead by emergency medical responders.

Royal Caribbean confirmed in a statement that the woman was a guest on their seven-night cruise, which set sail from Port Canaveral, Florida on Sunday. According to the cruise line, the victim and her family were on an “independent shore excursion” in Nassau when attacked by a shark and succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital. The company said in a statement:  “Royal Caribbean is providing support and assistance to the guest’s loved ones during this difficult time.”

The victim was identified by her employer as Caroline DiPlacido, project coordinator for the Office of Community and Government Relations at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. The university said in a statement: “Caroline was a powerful presence of kindness and friendship to colleagues, students, and the wider community and cherished many family ties to Gannon. The news is devastating, and she will be missed.” DiPlacido is survived by her husband and three children, according to the school statement.

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The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department have released surveillance images of a suspect in the fatal stabbing of local investigative journalist Jeff German. The images show an individual wearing a large straw-colored hat, a reflective orange long-sleeve shirt, long pants and black gloves. The individual is wholly covered with their face shrouded by the wide-brimmed hat. They also are seen carrying a navy blue duffle bag.

The police department said in a statement that they are asking the public to review their own video cameras at their homes and businesses in the area of Vegas Drive and Rock Springs for the suspect between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday. “At this time, it appears the suspect was potentially casing the area to commit other crimes before the homicide occurred,” the department said, adding that the detectives came across the distributed images amid their investigation.

Police found German dead Saturday at about 10:30 a.m. outside his home in the 7200 block of Bronze Circle in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas. The Clark County coroner’s office has ruled that German died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries. Authorities have said that they believe German’s stabbing death is related to an altercation he had with another person the night prior.

The 69-year-old German worked as a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun for more than 20 years before joining the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2010. The National Press Club and the National Press Club Journalism Institute issued a joint statement calling on police to “redouble their efforts” to catch the person responsible and uncover the reason why German was killed as well as who gave the order: “Mr. German was a relentless investigator who made his career in Las Vegas. Our hearts go out to his family, colleagues at the Las Vegas Review-Journal and to the community of investigative journalists everywhere…Mr. German frequently worked on cases involving organized crime. This is dangerous work, which must be done but is a high-risk beat.”

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Police said on Tuesday that the body found in a Memphis neighborhood Monday was confirmed to be a Tennessee woman who was abducted late last week. 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher was seen on surveillance video being forced into an SUV while she was jogging near the University of Memphis early Friday morning.

38-year-old Cleotha Abston, the suspect arrested in the case, is being charged with first-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis told reporters it was possible others would be charged in the case but as of Tuesday morning no one else has been.

Fletcher’s body was found behind a vacant duplex, Davis said. A police affidavit said officers noticed vehicle tracks next to the duplex’s driveway and smelled an odor. Purple running shorts consistent with the shorts Fletcher was wearing were found in a discarded trash bag nearby, the affidavit said. According to the chief, it was too early for investigators to determine how and where Fletcher was killed.

District Attorney Steven Mulroy said Abston would be arraigned on the murder charges Wednesday, telling reporters: “We have no reason to think this was anything other than an isolated attack by a stranger.”  Abston appeared before a judge earlier Tuesday on charges of kidnapping, tampering with evidence, theft, identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card; he was issued a $510,000 bond. Abston said he could not afford bond and he could not afford a lawyer. General Sessions Judge Louis Montesi appointed a public defender to represent Abston.

A mother of two and a school teacher, Fletcher is the granddaughter of the late Joseph Orgill III, a Memphis hardware businessman and philanthropist. Fletcher taught kindergarten at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis.  The family said in a statement Tuesday said they were “grateful beyond measure” to authorities for finding Fletcher and for arresting a suspect, adding: “We are heartbroken and devastated by this senseless loss. Liza was a such a joy to so many … Now it’s time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her.”

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