The Cafe' [Think Tank]

Former CIA director David Petraeus has entered into an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information the government says he provided to his mistress. The Department of Justice filed three documents in a US District Court on Tuesday ‒ pertaining to a criminal information, a plea agreement and a statement of facts ‒ the agency said in a statement. The deal covers one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine or both, as well as up to five years’ probation. Petraeus was accused of giving Paula Broadwell, his biographer and mistress, high-level classified documents relating to the 2012 attacks on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The plea agreement will allow the retired four-star general to avoid a trial, where the sordid details of his affair with Broadwell, a former Army Reserve officer, would have becom...

WASHINGTON — The number of young black men and teenagers who either killed or were killed in shootings has risen at an alarming rate since 2000, a new study shows. The study, to be released Monday by criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston, comes as FBI data is showing that murders have leveled off nationwide. Not so for black teens, the youngest of whom saw dramatic increases in shooting deaths, the Northeastern report concluded.   Last year, for example, 426 black males between the ages of 14 and 17 were killed in gun crimes, the study shows. That marked a 40 percent increase from 2000. Similarly, an estimated 964 in the same age group committed fatal shootings in 2007 _ a 38 percent increase from seven years earlier. The number of offenders is estimated because not all crimes are reported, said Northeastern criminologist James Alan Fox, who co-authored the study. "Although the overall rate of homicide in the United States remains rela...

Hottest mugshot ever? A picture of 30-year-old convicted felon Jeremy Meeks on the Stockton Police Department Facebook page has gone viral because it's so "dreamy."  Meeks was arrested Wednesday on felony weapons charges during a sweep of the Western Ranch area of Stockton, police said. Stockton Police Department Dreamy mugshot photo of convicted California felon goes viral While Stockton police posted his mugshot to share information about his arrest with the public, his chiseled features and piercing blue eyes proved to be a big hit with women.  A few seemed smitten by his eye teardrop tattoo.  As of Thursday afternoon, Meeks' photo had received more than 23,000 likes and nearly 6,000 comments, most of them describing him as "gorgeous," "dreamy," 'hot" and "incredibly handsome." "I am in love with a criminal!" one woman ...

Philadelphia Police Dept. August 24, 2012: Philadelphia Police release pictures of the two men they say are responsible for the murder of Officer Moses Walker, Jr. One of two men charged in the slaying of an off-duty Philadelphia police officer has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and robbery. Chancier McFarland, 21, also agreed to testify against his co-defendant, Rafael Jones, 25, who could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the August 2012 shooting death of 40-year-old officer Moses Walker Jr., prosecutors said. Authorities said Walker was in street clothes and walking to a north Philadelphia bus stop after an overnight shift when two men crossed the street and tried to rob him. Police said the 19-year veteran was able to draw his gun but was shot in the chest, stomach and arm.  McFarland pleaded guilty Thursday. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that he gave one-word answers during the one-hour hearing. Judge Glenn Bronson told t...

Police in Philadelphia are searching for the gunman who shot and killed one of their own early Saturday morning. Authorities say Officer Moses Walker Jr. had just finished his shift at the 22nd district at 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue, when he said shot to death on a North Philly street a few blocks from her police station. The 19 year veteran, who was in street clothes, was found face down lying on his gun by fellow officers around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.  He was rushed to Hahnemann Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  It is believed he was walking to a bus stop when he was murdered on Cecil B. Moore Street. Forty-year old Walker, who was not married and had no children, was also a deacon at Deliverance Evangelist Church at 20 th  and West Lehigh Avenue. No  arrests have been made Case updates: Mother sentenced, 2 men face trial Mayor Michael Nutter says goodbye to fallen Philadelphia police officer Moses Walker Jr. during a...

 Ronald Davis said he and family members are displeased that the man who shot their son has not yet been placed in prison. The father of Jordan Davis said he and his family are dismayed that Michael Dunn, the man who shot the 17-year-old teenager in November 2012 after an argument over loud music, has not yet been sentenced to serve time in prison. Dunn was convicted in February of three counts of attempted murder for shooting at a vehicle with several teenagers. But a mistrial was declared on the first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Davis, after the jury couldn't agree on a verdict. The state of Florida said it will retry Dunn on the first-degree murder charge. A judge in Jacksonville has delayed the second trial after Dunn’s attorneys said they needed addition time to prepare. Meanwhile, Dunn faces up to 60 years in prison for the attempted murder convictions. “It’s very disturbing that he has not been sentenced yet,” said Ronald Davis, in an in...