By Stefanie Sciolaro

GAINESVILLE, F.L.– Richard Spencer, a white supremacist and President of the National Policy Institute, spoke at University of Florida in Gainesville today. He began his speech by declaring that all individuals have the right to free speech regardless of the ideology of it. As Spencer continued it was clear the audience was more against than for his words.

Audience members began to drown out Spencer’s words with chants such as “go home” and “Nazi’s are not welcome here”. Participants in the crowd held fists and middle fingers in the air.

“I’m not going home, I will stand here all day if I have to,” Spencer said.

The university and law enforcement were prepared for the worst before the event began. They had barricades and roadblocks set up prior around the area that the event had taken place. Police began to suit up in riot gear as tensions grew both in and outside of where the event was being held.

According to NPR, Florida’s Governor Rick Scott previously denied an earlier request by Spencer to give a speech at UF because of the events that occurred in Charlottesville, North Carolina.

By Amada Caba

Philando Feeds the Children, the memorial fund of Philando Castile has raised over $75,000. The fund was created by college Professor Pamela Fergus. Fergus was prompted to start the fund after watching a police officer fatally shot Castile in front of his daughter and girlfriend in July. The incident gained national attention after it was broadcasted on Facebook live.

Fergus worked with Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, to get the fund started after researching that over 900 students in St Paul, Minnesota had lunch money debt. “We had a $5,000 goal which I though was bold at the time,” Fergus said. “We raised about $17,000 (£12,900) in one week.”

Philando Castile was a nutritional supervisor for many public schools in St.Paul, Minnesota. He was known for often assisting students who couldn’t afford lunch by using his own money. School lunch costs an average of around $400 a year per student.

“This means the world to me,” said Castile’s mother to Star Tribune. She presented a check to J.J. Montessori, the last school Castile worked at. The fund will pay off lunch money debts for elementary, middle school, and high school students in St. Paul.

By Kaitlyn Genari

LYSANDER, N.Y.– State police are continuing their investigation of a three-car crash that occurred in the early morning of October 18, 2017. The accident occurred on State Route 48, also known as Oswego Road, in the town of Lysander.

The investigation revealed a 2009 Chevrolet pickup and a 2011 Hyundai were on State Route 48 when a 2014 Chevrolet failed to yield the right of way. The driver made a left turn from State Route 48 and in the process, struck the pickup truck. The pickup was also struck from behind by the Hyundai, causing the truck to travel off the roadway. It was there, on the property of 9477 Oswego Road, that the truck engulfed in flames.

Parts of State Route 48 were closed while first responders put out the flames from the truck and attended to the drivers involved in the crash. The Greater Baldwinsville Ambulance Corps and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office were called the scene to aid in the investigation. The road was closed for three hours after the accident occurred and the roads opened back up around 8am, officials said.

The pickup truck driver, Roger Clark, of Oswego, was transported to SUNY Upstate Medical Center. It was there that he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Hyundai, Star Moran, of Fulton, did not sustain any injuries in the crash. The driver that caused the accident, Daniel Ramsey of Cato, was also transported to SUNY Upstate Medical Center. Ramsey was also received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

Ramsey received a traffic summons for violating the traffic routine of yielding the right of way when making a left turn.

UTICA, N.Y.– The retrial for a woman who was charged with killing her boss who was also her ex boyfriend’s mother. Kaitlyn Conley was initially charged with second-degree murder of Mary Yoder. Conley’s first trial ended in may as a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Prosecutors say that Conley used an anti-inflammatory drug called colchicine to poison Yodor, who died in July 2015. The prosecution has proposed in both trials that Conley purchased the colchicine that was used to kill her boss and that there is evidence linking her to the vial used in the murder.

In the opening statement of the retrial, Conley’s new defense lawyer – Frank Policelli – argued that Yoder’s son Adam slipped the poison into his mother’s pills and then framed Conley according to New York Upstate.
The original trial lasted four full days according to a report from syracuse.com. The trial is expected to last a couple of weeks.