Free Republic

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Steve Cohen, a two-term white congressman from a mostly black House district, faces a bruising Democratic primary next year and race again will likely be at the center of the campaign. Willie Herenton, the first elected black mayor of Memphis, recently filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for Cohen's 9th District House seat. Cohen has shrugged off black challengers before, but none with the political savvy and combative style of the 6-foot-6 mayor—a former Golden Gloves boxer who doesn't shrink easily from a fight. -snip-

Shooter identified himself as a muslim, Mr. Abdul Mohammad, formerly Mr. Bledsoe. previously of Memphis and Nashville. Recently converted to Islam while in Prison.Breaking live on LRPD press conference.

In March 2008, Kwame Kilpatrick was charged with eight felonies, including perjury and obstruction of justice. In August, he violated his bail agreement and was thrown in jail. His actions were deplorable for anybody, but Kilpatrick was no Average Joe--he was the mayor of Detroit. Unfortunately for the Motor City, Kilpatrick, 38, is just one ripple in the area's sea of crime. Detroit is the worst offender on our list of America's most dangerous cities, thanks to a staggering rate of 1,220 violent crimes committed per 100,000 people. "Detroit has, historically, been one of the more violent cities in the...

Instead of arresting the women on prostitution charges, four officers or former officers are accused of kidnapping and raping them. In announcing the indictments by a Shelby County grand jury on Monday, Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin stated that corrupt officers "are no different from any other thugs," and vowed to go after any crooked cops. Three of the officers have resigned. Charges include aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape, official misconduct, official oppression, sexual battery by an authority figure, official misconduct and official oppression. Three were assigned to the Mt. Moriah Station in East Memphis and one was part of the...

CNN interviews Life magazine photographer who had exclusive access to Martin Luther King, Jr April 4th, 1968 in Memphis. See all photos at Life.com. On April 4, 1968, LIFE photographer Henry Groskinsky and writer Mike Silva, on assignment in Alabama, learned that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. They raced to the scene and there, incredibly, had unfettered access to the hotel grounds, Dr. King's room, and the surrounding area. For reasons that have been lost in the intervening years, the photographs taken that night and the next day were never published....

Here is a report on photos taken in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that are just now being published. A Life Magazine photographer rushed to the scene on April 4, 1968 after King was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The report shows several of the photos he took at the motel after King was killed. . . . . . . (Watch Video Report)

On April 4, 1968, LIFE photographer Henry Groskinsky and writer Mike Silva, on assignment in Alabama, learned that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. They raced to the scene and there, incredibly, had unfettered access to the hotel grounds, Dr. King's room, and the surrounding area. For reasons that have been lost in the intervening years, the photographs taken that night and the next day were never published. Until now.

Here is video from yesterday of John Calipari being named the new Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Kentucky . . . . . . (Watch Video)

Memphis coach John Calipari appears to be very close to completing an agreement to become the next coach at the University of Kentucky, according to four sources with knowledge of the situation, reports SI.com's Seth Davis. While one source says it is a "done deal", the second cautioned that the deal was not completed but is "moving in that direction." A press conference could be held at the school as early as tomorrow.

Here are highlights from the Missouri Tigers 102-91 victory over the Memphis Tigers last night, advancing Missouri into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Missouri shocked Memphis with tenacious defense and by putting on an offensive clinic as they rolled over a Memphis defense which had only given up an average of 57 points per game. But many of those games were not against the caliber of team they faced in Missouri. Missouri will face Connecticut tomorrow as they try and win the school's first ever trip to the Final Four. . . . . (Watch Video...

The Hijacking Of A Cause Filed under: BCR, Tea Party — BCR at 11:47 pm on Saturday, March 21, 2009 A few weeks ago, a wonderful grassroots movement began when regular citizens began to band together to form local tea party protests. It was government activism in its truest form, and I for one had great hopes for true reform from the grassroots level. When the call went out for a national tea party in July in Chicago, I was excited and launched a website devoted to the cause locally. I started getting emails from folks excited and wanting to...

CA's latest swipe at the right to carry.

Unsettled closure: Judge scolds jury on reduced verdict for Jeffrey Scott; victim's family not satisfiedSecond-degree murder conviction, 25-year sentence draw emotional reactionsIt was a case that can -- and did -- make a grown man cry. Jimmy Wayne Pittman wanted a life sentence for Jeffrey Scott, the man who beat to death the daughter he adopted as a small child in Bossier City, La. "This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me, physically and mentally," said Pittman as tears rolled down his cheeks and into his white beard. "This is always going to be hard. I loved...

At the bottom of this page along with Tennessee Felony Convictions and Hate Crimes, the Memphis Commercial Appeal list address and personal information of Holders of Handgun Permits in the Volunteer State. http://www.commercialappeal.com/data/

A man who police say pretends to be a Downtown parking attendant as he dupes visitors out of their money has been charged with criminal impersonation. Officers responded to a complaint Sunday just before 8 p.m. that Anthony Merriweather, 50, had stationed himself at a parking lot at Peabody Place and Rufus Thomas and was charging people $5 to park. When police arrived, Merriweather began walking away, but a victim came forward and told them he’d been conned out of $5 by the parking-lot poser. Merriweather has been run off numerous times, and also arrested, according to a police affidavit,...

West Memphis, AR - Police are on the scene of a car explosion in West Memphis, AR. It happened this morning near Avalon and Cooper. We're told a prominent doctor got into his car when it exploded. He was airlifted to The MED for treatment in extreme critical condition.

Barack Obama loves Chicago music, and it shows: In his speeches, he echoes the ideals — hope, tolerance, determination — heard in the songs of such local greats as Sam Cooke, the Staple Singers and Curtis Mayfield President-elect Barack Obama paid homage to Chicago soul in his Grant Park acceptance speech. He riffed on Wendell Phillips High graduate Sam Cooke by saying, “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, at this defining moment, change has come to America.” This clearly expands on Cooke’s 1963 hit “A Change Is Gonna Come.” But...

City Council members on Tuesday approved a resolution authorizing the city to file suit against national lenders who they say created a foreclosure crisis in Memphis and Shelby County that disproportionately affected African-Americans. The resolution alleges lenders engaged in "deceptive" and "discriminatory" lending practices targeted at the black community and "other select groups" that caused "substantial" and "irreparable" harm to neighborhoods and the governments. The Shelby County Commission recently approved a similar resolution, claiming the foreclosure epidemic has devastated neighborhoods, slashed property values, eroded the tax base and drained local government coffers because of a host of direct and indirect...

Connie Mathews has been fired from her job at the Memphis Public Library, city officials said today. Mathews, mother of two children by former state senator John Ford, falsified information on her application, according to an official statement from city spokesman Toni Holmon-Turner. “It has come to the attention of the City of Memphis administration that Ms. Connie Mathews falsified information contained in her employment application for the Memphis Public Library. Therefore, Ms. Mathews’ employment with the City of Memphis will cease immediately.” Mathews was hired as an assistant library cataloger at the Memphis Public Library and Information Center. She...

The girlfriend of former State Senator and convicted felon John Ford is working for the city. Connie Mathews, who has two children by Ford, is an assistant library cataloger at the Memphis Public Library and Information Center. Mathews, who began her job Nov. 10, works at the Central Library on Poplar and has an annual salary of $28,580. Mathews, who has a background in banking and finance, is known locally for her run-ins with Ford’s ex-wife, Tamara Mitchell Ford. In 2001, Mitchell-Ford drove her silver Jaguar into the Collierville home Mathews shared with Ford. Ford was the marquee defendant in...