Free Republic

A Chicago activist turned down an invitation to meet with President Barack Obama on Thursday prior to the annual White House Black History Month reception. Aislinn Pulley, who co-founded Black Lives Matter: Chicago, was among about 20 people invited to what the White House billed as an intergenerational meeting of black leaders to discuss criminal justice reform throughout the U.S., according to a White House official. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch also was expected to attend the event Thursday afternoon. Other invitees included the Rev. Al Sharpton, NAACP President Cornell Brooks, University of Missouri student organizer DeShaunya Ware and DeRay...

The three girls walked down to Riis Park on the Northwest Side to feed bread to the ducks in the lagoon, as they do every day. It was one of their favorite spots in the Belmont Central neighborhood. But on this Wednesday evening, they were stopped by a large swath of yellow police tape across the southern edge of the park, marking off where a 16-year-old boy was shot dead and a 15-year-old boy was wounded minutes before. "It makes me very concerned," said Karina Munoz, 16. "It makes me feel not safe anymore. It makes me feel like this...