Outside the Beltway

The October 2014 shooting of 17 year old LaQuan McDonald is beginning to have a political impact in Chicago and could have national political implications as well.

Multiple victims, and possibly multiple shooters, reported in San Bernardino, California.

We still don’t know very much about Robert Dear, the man who shot and killed three people at the site of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado, but that hasn’t stopped the usual suspects from politicizing the case.

A gunman is holed up in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs after shooting multiple people, but it’s unclear what if any motive may be involved in the shooting.

A Chicago Police Officer has been charged with murder in the death of a 17 year old African-American male that, from the evidence that has been released, seems completely unjustifiable.

French officials have confirmed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man believed to be the plotter of last Friday’s attacks in Paris, was killed in a police raid early Wednesday morning. This doesn’t mean authorities in France or elsewhere in Europe are any less concerned about future attacks, though.

France launched its first attacks against ISIS even as the investigation into Friday’s attacks continues, but it’s not clear that the retaliation really accomplished anything.

France’s President blames ISIS, vows response, as death toll from Paris terror attacks stands at at least 127.

Reports of at least up to sixty dead, a hostage situation, and attacks at multiple locations in Paris.

Nude photos of hundreds of students in one Colorado high school are being distributed.

Thanks apparently in part to body camera footage, two police officers in Louisiana are facing murder charges in the shooting death of a child during a police chase.

Up to 13 people are dead and as many 20 injured after another mass shooting on a college campus.

A Texas 9th Grader named Ahmed Mohammed was arrested because school officials and police refused to believe that the clock he built wasn’t a bomb.

Four months in jail, no opportunity for bail, no trial, no access to mental health care. And, now Jamycheal Mitchell is dead.

A reporter and cameraman for a local television station were killed, and a third person wounded, live on the air this morning.

Somewhat surprisingly, a jury in Colorado was unable to agree on a unanimous death sentence for Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes.

The Mellow Yellow Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Removing the responsibility to investigate police misconduct from the prosecutors who have to work with those police on a daily basis is a good idea.

The Afghan Army isn’t doing so well against the Taliban right now.

An authoritarian ego trip for all to see.

A few days late, but a story worth noting if it has escaped notice.

Tragedy in Tennessee.

New information in the Dylann Roof case shows that the background check system used for gun purchases is still prone to human error.

The Supreme Court ruled that police are not entitled to access to a hotel registry without a warrant.

A 19 year old from Indiana faces a quarter century as a registered sex offender because he met a girl who lied about her age.

Nine people died overnight in a shooting at an historic African-American Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

It could cost you $250 to say “F- Arlington” if you happen to be in Arlington when you say it.

A Judge in Cleveland has found that there is probable cause to charge a Cleveland Police Officer with murder in the death of Tamir Rice, but that is hardly the end of the matter.

Turkey’s governing party suffered big setbacks at the ballot box yesterday.

The agency that runs Washington D.C.’s mass transit has banned all political ads after Pamela Gellar attempted to run an advertisement featuring a drawing of Mohammed.

Martin O’Malley is running for President for some reason.

Another step forward toward ending a U.S. policy regarding Cuba that was outdated twenty years ago.

If a Russian solider dies, it’s now a secret thanks to a new decree signed by the Russian President.

The Cleveland Police Department has agreed to submit to significant monitoring in the wake of a damning Justice Department investigation.

A Cleveland police officer has been acquitted of manslaughter and other charges in a case that resulted in the death of two African-American individuals.

The six Baltimore cops charged in the April death of Freddie Gray have been indicted by a Grand Jury.

Maryland’s former Governor will announce his candidacy for President next week. Don’t expect him to go very far.

President Obama is taking steps to reduce police militarization, but there’s much more that needs to be done.

Fresh off an election victory, British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to propose a series of new measures to crackdown on extremism that raise serious civil liberties concerns.

Hillary Clinton told supporters she’d require Supreme Court nominees to pledge to overturn Citizens United, a decision she completely misrepresented.

As expected, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill that would ban most abortions after twenty weeks. It also happens to be completely unconstitutional and has no chance of actually becoming law.

The Baltimore Police Department will finally be under the Federal microscope. But it took the death of Freddie Gray for it happen.

Two men were killed last night before they could carry out what appears to be a planned attack on an anti-Islam event in Texas.

Big news out of Baltimore and, perhaps, the beginning of justice for Freddie Gray.

There is no excuse for last night’s rioting in Baltimore, but that should not deflect attention from the problems with that city’s police.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is insightful and eloquent. He’s wrong in this instance.

Just over a week after a death at the hands of police that remains incredibly suspicious, Baltimore is the sight of violent riots.