In addition to writing names and marking the number of special syrups and additions to customers’ cups, some Starbucks baristas might begin scribbling the words “race together” on customers’ beverages in an effort to spark conversations, the coffee chain announced.

The company announced that they were encouraging baristas to write the phrase on cups following a series of company forums held in the wake of the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and other unarmed black men.

“We at Starbucks should be willing to talk about these issues in America," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said. "Not to point fingers or to place blame, and not because we have answers, but because staying silent is not who we are."

Starbucks brewed up the campaign after several open forums the company held about race, including one in New York.

Baristas who attended the forum said they wanted to do something to start conversations, so they began writing “race together” on cups. Starbucks franchises across the nation began using stickers with the phrase on Monday.

The company said it will also run full-page ads in newspapers promoting the campaign and will begin distributing a special newspaper section on race in conjunction with USA Today on Friday.

The campaign already sparked on social media, and Business Insider reported the company's vice president of communications Corey duBrowa deleted his Twitter account because of attacks from critics.

It’s not the first time the popular coffee chain has waded into social issues.

In 2013, the company asked baristas to write “come together” on cups to encourage political cooperation amid deadlock on Capitol Hill over government appropriations. Starbucks has also asked that patrons not bring guns into its locations.

A missing rookie Los Angeles police officer wanted on suspicion of murder has "disgraced the badge and the uniform of the LAPD" and will be fired, Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday,

Officer Henry Solis, 27, was charged in an arrest warrant Monday with murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Salome Rodriguez Jr., according to the Pomona Police Department. The victim was found after Pomona police responded to 911 calls reporting gunfire last week.

"If Henry Solis is watching this ... you have dishonored this police department, your country and your service to the country and your family," Beck said at Tuesday's Police Commission Meeting. "You should turn yourself in and face the consequences for your action."

Beck said he will sign the dismissal papers for the officer, who had been on the force since last June and was in the probationary period of his service. That means Beck doesn't need to go through the civil service bureaucracy in order to fire him.

"The mere fact that he is not cooperating with the Pomona Police Department and he has not shown up for work is sufficient to terminate," Beck said.

"This is one of those instances where I could take immediate action, so I will," he continued.

Solis was off-duty at the time of the shooting. A vehicle wanted in connection with the crime was found Sunday in a Pomona alley, several blocks from where Rodriguez Jr. was gunned down after what authorities described as a fistfight.

On Monday, police said Solis might now be using a brown or tan 1992 Ford pickup with California license plate 4J79703. An arrest warrant described him as "armed and dangerous."

Beck said Solis is a Marine vet and that there was nothing in his background that suggested he wouldn't be a good officer.

Police asked anyone with information to call 909-620-2085.

An alleged cat hoarder living in squalid conditions was suspected of accumulating more than 20 cats in Santa Ana causing disturbances to nearby residences.

Authorities arrived to the home at the 1200 block of West Saint Andrews Place Tuesday morning with a search warrant in hand after neighbors complained of an odor that could be smelled up to a block away, according to Cpl. Anthony Bertanga from the Santa Ana Police Department.

Photos released by the police department showed the trash-strewn home with several cats sitting atop of soiled furniture. Litter boxes nearly empty of litter were filled with feces while empty cat food jars lay scattered across the floor.

Hoarding is "the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value," according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. The behavior is often very damaging for the hoarder.

It is unclear if the person will face any charges at this time.

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A box truck and an SUV collided and sparked a fire in a North Hills front yard, leaving one dead and two hurt.

The crash happened at 10:26 a.m. at Lassen Street and Hayvenhurst Avenue in North Hills, police said.

One person died, Los Angeles fire officials said. One man was treated at the scene, and another was taken to the hospital.

Aerial footage showed the charred front end of a box truck pinning the carcass of a truck into the front yard of a home. Firefighters were spraying water from a hose onto the wreck.
 

Four teenagers have been indicted in connection with an attack on two NYPD officers outside of a Brooklyn home that left one of the victims, an off-duty detective, badly beaten, authorities said Tuesday.

The teenagers, all 17-year-old boys, are charged in a six-count indictment with assault, resisting arrest and unlawful possession of marijuana in the Feb. 8 attack on detective Daniel Alessandrino and his girlfriend, officer Jaline Bernier.

Prosecutors say Alessandrino heard a group making noise outside his Bensonhurst home that night around 12:20 a.m. and went out to check on the commotion. The detective, who was off-duty at the time, saw a group of about 15 to 20 teenagers banging and jumping on cars.

Alessandrino, who had been followed out of the house by Bernier, told the teens he didn't want any trouble and asked them to leave, prosecutors say.

One of the teens charged in the indictment allegedly responded, "What are you going to do? Call a cop?"

Authorities say Alessandrino identified himself as an officer at that point, and the teen allegedly said, "I don't care. I'll kill a cop. A cop is going to die tonight."

The teen then allegedly lunged at Alessandrino and started punching him in the head and body, authorities say. Alessandrino pushed him away and the teen allegedly attacked his girlfriend, Bernier. When the detective tried to interview them, the teens allegedly pushed him to the ground, surrounded him and proceeded to kick, punch and stomp on him.

They also allegedly kicked him in the head. The teens were arrested a short time later, authorities said.

Alessandrino had swelling and lacerations around his eye, nose, jaw, head, arm and knee, broken teeth and chest and shoulder bruising as a result of the attack, authorities say. Bernier had eye swelling and facial pain.

The top count in the indictment carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison.

A South Florida high school teacher who allegedly called a student a "rag head Taliban" was given a five-day suspension Tuesday.

Maria Valdes, a teacher at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, won't be paid during her suspension, the Broward School Board said.

The student, 14-year-old Deyab-Houssein Wardani, said he walked into Valdes' French class on Feb. 2 wearing a hoodie after gym class. "Here comes the rag head Taliban," Valdes said, according to Wardani.

"I was a bit shocked and disappointed she called me that. But first off, she was my favorite teacher, and I would never have expected that from her," the teen told NBC 6 earlier this month.

The family is Muslim. After he found out about it a few days later, the boy's father, Youssef Wardani, reported it to the school's principal.

Youssef Wardani stood before the school board Tuesday and let them know he found the punishment unjust and insulting.

"My son is Deyab-Houssein Wardani and he is not a rag head Taliban," Wardani said.

Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said the punishment was fair.

"I believe we have handled this case appropriately and recommended the board approved disciplinary action," Runcie said.

Youssef Wardani repeatedly interrupted Runcie and the board threatened to kick him out of the meeting at one point.

A D.C. police officer is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at police headquarters and a 16-year-old girl at the church where the officer is pastor.

Officer Darrell Best, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was ordered held without bond on charges of first-degree sexual abuse while armed, first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sexual abuse. He is accused of sexually assaulting two members of God-A Second Chance Ministry Church on Southern Avenue SE.

A 16-year-old girl told police Saturday Best sexually abused her three times at the church beginning in December. He was off-duty during the incidents, police said. According to charging documents, Best was in uniform on one occasion when he raped the girl inside the church.

The second victim, who is now 18 but was 17 at the time of the alleged incident, says she was sexually assaulted in Best's office on the fifth floor of police headquarters after he took her out to dinner Dec. 3, according to charging documents. He was wearing his badge and gun at the time.

When investigators took her to headquarters to identify the location, they initially took her to another office on another floor and she was able to tell them that wasn't where it happened. When they took her to Best's office, she cried as she entered and said that's where the assault took place, according to charging documents.

Police said they have video of Best and the victim at headquarters together. They also have access key records placing Best there.

Both girls said they pleaded with Best to stop.

Best’s attorney, Elliott Queen, declined to comment.

"The allegations against off-duty officer Darrell Best are serious and disheartening," read a statement from Chief Cathy Lanier. "The fact that he used his position as a pastor and a counselor to gain access to his victims is extremely disturbing. Once MPD became aware of the allegations, we immediately conducted an investigation, obtained a warrant and arrested him."

Best's police authority was revoked and his gun taken when the 16-year-old came forward Saturday. He was arrested about 9 p.m. Monday at his attorney's office in Largo, Maryland.

“We won’t tolerate any employee preying on young people,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “We know that the accused was off-duty when this happened, but we think that the process has worked and we know that he’ll face justice.”

Robin Petgrave has turned his passion for flying into a mission of love.

The Jamaican-born pilot founded a nonprofit aviation museum at the Compton/Woodley Airport 15 years ago to give inner-city kids a chance he wishes he'd been given when he was a boy living in poverty.

"The house I lived in until I was seven had no running water, no electricity," Petgrave said.

He eventually came to America and made it to college on a track scholarship. As an adult he started his own helicopter company, which grew into a $3 million business.

One day he flew his chopper to a school in South Central to teach kids on Career Day.

"Then the doors open up and they see me get out of the helicopter, kids are like, 'What?'" he said. "'Wait a minute, a black guy is the pilot?'"

Petgrave knew his story could inspire a new generation to soar to even greater heights.

Petgrave sold his company and used the money to fund Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum which has now taught hundreds of kids how to fly for free.

Seven-year-old Lauro Banuelos Jr. is one of the youngest students at the museum. He takes flying lessons with Louis Lombardo, one of the museum's flight instructors.

Lauro Jr. has to sit on a cushion to see out the window but once he's behind the controls, there's no stopping him.

Even though he can't get his official pilot license until he's 16, he's already taking off and landing with an instructor by his side.

"You can move the airplane and you're up on the sky and it's like you're flying in the sky.. and I feel happy and excited," Lauro Jr. said.

Lauro's father works at a factory, printing silk screens. He volunteers at the museum in exchange for flight lessons for himself and his three sons.

"I always wanted to be a pilot but it was so hard. It's expensive," Lauro Banuelos Sr. said.

Lauro Sr. said learning to fly has helped all of his kids stay on the straight and narrow - not an easy feat in gang-ridden Compton.

"One time when I was sleeping in my bed, I heard four bullet shots, and it's not good, so you see what I mean?" Lauro Jr. said. "We don't want to get killed by bad people."

Lauro Sr. said he can never repay the debt he owes Robin Petgrave for giving all of his children a chance at a brighter future

And for little Lauro, who dreams of one day piloting a commercial airline, thanks to this program, he now knows the sky's the limit.

The museum is starting a new program with the Compton Unified School District that will allow high school students to earn college credits by working at the museum and learning to fly. They hope to eventually expand the program throughout the country.

If you'd like to help, visit the Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum website.

A 58-pound puppy armed with a miniature camera is being touted as a new and vital weapon against terrorism in the New York area.

Kara, a Labrador-Golden Retriever mix, is one of just nine dogs in the entire country trained to sniff out nineteen thousand different kinds of explosives.

"She's just indispensable for law enforcement, another tool in our ever growing tool box," said Charles Mulham, spokesman for the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Kara herself is practically an ATF agent, a so-called SEEK dog, who has her own badge and business card.

"She amazes me every day," said her handler, Stephanie, who doesn't want to be fully identified because of her prior undercover work.

Kara works off-leash, moving as far as 150 yards from Stephanie, all while wearing a tiny camera tucked into her collar or attached to her back.

Stephanie can access the camera with her cellphone, allowing her to see what Kara sees, even if the two are separated.

"We can search much more efficiently than if I had to walk every step of it with her," said Stephanie.

To demonstrate Kara's prowess, the ATF hid a small bag with dynamite in a Nassau County park.

Within minutes, the dog located the bag and sat next to it - signaling there was explosive material inside.

Later, pieces of handguns were hidden in a playground and again Kara quickly tracked them all down.

Each time she discovered a dangerous item, Kara was rewarded with food.

Kara only eats while training, her handler said - a regimen that helps ensure Kara will be ready to work at any time of the day or night.

"For her it's fun," Stephanie said. "But for us, it's serious work."

A 15-year-old boy was sexually assaulted by a man sitting next to him in a Huntington Beach movie theater as the boy’s father sat nearby, police said Tuesday.

The boy and his father were watching a movie at the Regency Theater at 7822 Warner Avenue about 7 p.m. Monday when a stranger sat next to the boy, Huntington Beach Police Department officials said.

The man began touching the boy’s groin area over his clothes, police said.

The teen told his father, who then chased after the man, but was unable to catch him.

Responding officers were unable to locate the man.

Investigators released a surveillance image of the man in hopes the public could help identify him.

The man was described as white, about 45 to 50 years old, with short brown hair and a beard. He was wearing a blue vest over a white long sleeve dress shirt.

"It’s pretty bizarre. The guy’s got a lot of gall, (the boy had) his dad there. He’s just a sick person,” said Robert Schwarte, a Huntington Beach resident.

A man was found shot dead at an apartment building in Van Nuys.

He was discovered at the building's carport on the 14100 block of Gilmore Street Tuesday night, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.

The victim, who was in his early 20s, had been shot around six times in the back. Gunshots had been heard at the intersection of Van Nuys Boulevard and Hazeltine Avenue at around 11 p.m.

He was found by his aunt, who lived in the building. The man had a drink problem and had been living in the carport police said. His aunt will be getting in touch with his parents in Mexico later Wednesday.

There is currently no information regarding the attacker, and investigators believe it may have been a gang related slaying, as the man had gang ties.

Chinese women who came to California to have their babies have said they feel like victims after a federal crackdown.

Investigators raided more than 20 maternity hotels two weeks ago, with several apartment complexes in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties allegedly serving such a role.

Some women, who did not want to be identified, said the raids were terrifying, and are distraught they are forced to stay in the United States as witnesses while prosecutors build a case against at least three birthing tourism companies

One of the women said she was "really scared" when agents swarmed their Rancho Cucamonga apartment

"When we came here, we had no idea it would turn out like this," another added.

They claim they were kicked out of the birthing center by organizers after the early morning raid two weeks ago, and have been left without money for rent, food or healthcare for themselves and their newborns.

None of the women wanted to talk about why they wanted to have their babies in the United States, though they said they do not believe they did anything wrong when they signed up for the services.

Investigators claim the organizers earned millions from women willing to pay for U.S. born babies.

The crackdown on three alleged maternity tourism rings may be the biggest yet by federal homeland security agents who say that, while pregnant women may travel to the United States, they cannot lie about the purpose of their trip when applying for a visa.

Birth tourism has been reported from a range of countries, but authorities say the most recent cases in California have catered to wealthy Chinese amid a boom in tourism from mainland China. It is unclear how many women travel to the United States for maternity tourism.

Officers are combing the streets after a car thief evaded police following a pursuit in Arcadia.

The chase began after officers saw a stolen vehicle in an unincorporated area of Duarte at around 2 a.m Wednesday, an Arcadia Police Department spokesman said.

The pursuit ended when the man inside stopped and ran away on foot near the neighborhood of California and Camino Real.

A perimeter has been set up and officers are combing the area for the driver. It is unknown if he is armed.

A homeowner woke to find a fugitive who had evaded police following a pursuit hiding behind his sofa early Wednesday.

Eric Stanton said he could not believe his eyes when he saw the man cowering behind his couch in his Upland home just after 3 a.m.

The brazen suspected car thief then begged his unwilling host to let him hide out until the officers had left the scene.

"He asked, 'can you hide me?' I'm like, 'no, get out of my house," Stanton said,

His unwelcome visitor made his way to the front door, but changed his mind when he saw the police outside.

"He came back and asked me... 'help me, help me,' I was like, 'no way,' Stanton said.

The man then finally did leave the house, but tried to come back in one final time before trying to make a run for it, but he was soon captured.

The manhunt started after officers had chased the man to the 1500 block of Albright Avenue just before 3 a.m, and the man then fled on foot, an Upland Police Department spokesman said.

He then allegedly attempted to break into several homes, before successfully entering Stanton's house.

Police later called at the house, and the owners came to the door. After a search he was found cowering behind a couch and arrested.

Adrian Arambulo contributed to this report

Sparks flew Tuesday night as a car being driven on a bare rim made its way through South Los Angeles during a dramatic police pursuit.

Preliminary information indicated the 90-minute chase began in the Lakewood area when a female, suspected of driving a stolen car, refused to pull over for authorities.

The pursuit made its way down the 105 Freeway, then the 110 Freeway before exiting in South LA.

The driver, with her hazard lights flashing, blew through red lights, drove in opposite lanes and came dangerously close to pedestrians as California Highway Patrol officers gave chase.

At one point, the car, which had a blown tire from a police spike strip, drove through a fast-food restaurant's parking lot as a line of police cruisers followed.

Officers were unsuccessful in several PIT maneuver attempts.

The car suddenly stopped just before 8 p.m. in the area of 84th Street and Main Avenue. A male passenger jumped out and ran through backyards before being tackled by officers and taken into custody.

The driver was taken into custody next to the vehicle.

More than 50 police officers formed skirmish lines at the scene of the investigation to break up large crowds of spectators.

The man appeared to be unconscious as he was loaded into the back of an ambulance. Police said he had complained of chest pain or convulsions, and may have suffered from a diabetic episode.

How quickly crowds can form in Los Angeles https://t.co/IhIqhCQr2s

— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBCLA) March 18, 2015

Driver being pursued through South LA sends sparks flying. Watch live at http://t.co/O2NhQrNpLo pic.twitter.com/SW4ImDHDIK

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) March 18, 2015

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still announced encouraging news in his daughter’s fight against cancer.

Still wrote on his Instagram page Tuesday the family received his 4-year-old daughter Leah’s MIBG scans, nuclear imaging tests that help locate and diagnose different types of cancer in the body. Based on the scans, doctors said they didn’t see any active disease in her body. Still said they need to wait for Leah's MRI and bone biopsy results later this week.

"But the doctors feel very optimistic about them because of the results from today," he wrote. "So for now we celebrate!!"

Still and his daughter have captured the hearts of millions of people nationwide since she began to receive treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in June. Still, who had a tumor removed from her abdomen back in September, completed her latest course of chemotherapy last month, The Associated Press reported. 

Devon Still, a Delaware native and former Penn State Nittany Lion, was cut from the Cincinnati Bengals in August of last year. But the Bengals re-signed Still to their practice squad in order to help him pay for his daughter’s medical treatment after she was diagnosed with cancer.

The Bengals have said Still is considering a one-year deal to play next year. 

After the Bengals decided to donate proceeds from his jersey sales to the Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati and pediatric cancer care and research, Still’s No. 75 jersey quickly became the team’s top seller. More than $1 million have been raised from sales of the $100 jersey, according to the AP. 

Still has kept his followers updated on his daughter’s progress through social media.

An apparently drunk man died after he fell from a tree and impaled his head on a fence just days after his birthday.

It is believed the 30-year-old had been drinking before his fall at the 500 block of North Berendo Street in East Hollywood, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said. Around 12 beer cans were found near the tree.

He was known in the neighborhood for his drinking, and had just celebrated his birthday on Monday, police added.

He was found by officers after calls were received about a suspicious man standing on the street. There is no indication that he was accompanied by others at the time of the fall.

Eighty-three-year old Cui Mei Chen poured herself into her couch and picked up the pile of worn letters covered in Chinese characters. One bore a date from the 1950s, another from 1962. In the scantly furnished apartment in San Francisco public housing, the letters stood out as one of the few decorations. Chen carefully fingered the paper as she’d done countless times before.

“When I want to think about my parents or my family in Malaysia,” Chen said in Chinese with her daughter interpreting, “I seek the letters many times.” Now, she may get to meet her long-lost relatives that she's been linked to through these letters.

Chen's family has started a crowd-funding campaign to help her meet her siblings for the first time.

There are no pictures of Chen growing up in China, no school photos - nothing. The stack of letters, along with a black and white picture of her parents and her siblings mounted over her bed - are the only physical evidence she has of her family - a family she hardly knew.

“Every morning she wakes up and every night she goes to bed looking at that picture,” said family friend Robert Hemphill, “and reminding her of her family who are so dear to her.”

Chen was two years old when Japan invaded her homeland of China. Her parents fled to Malaysia but fearing for her safety along the difficult journey, left her and sister behind with their grandmother. The sister eventually left to live with another family, while Chen remained with her ailing grandmother. She was 11 when her grandmother died, leaving Chen to fend for herself.

Immigration between China and Malaysia became nearly impossible after the war ended. Chen’s parents feared they would never see their daughters again and had five more children in Malaysia. The occasional letters from her parents became the only link to her family.

Chen went to work on a farm for a man who was cruel to her. She wore torn clothing and ate food normally left for the pigs.

Unbeknownst to her, the man stole the money her parents had sent her to attend school. She managed to tuck away just three years of schooling before she married at age 18.

The years rambled by and Chen still hadn’t seen her parents or siblings. In 1965, her mother finally paid a brief visit to China to see her daughter - but it was the last time Chen would see either of her parents who died in 1980. It also marked the end of any contact with her siblings.

“Meanwhile, the country of Malaysia changed all the street names from Chinese… to Malaysian names,” Hemphill said. “And so the old letters she had with addresses written in Chinese never really applied. So she couldn’t really find her brothers and sisters anymore.”

Chen moved to San Francisco in 2001 after her husband died of injuries sustained at his job. She was reunited with her own children, and now had grandchildren to look after. But her own siblings were lost somewhere in the big world.

Her children scoured the internet for any signs of the Chen's siblings and began contacting cultural groups looking for anyone with a link in Malaysia. Eventually someone put them in touch with someone else who knew someone who put them in contact with another group. Suddenly there were addresses, names - then phone calls and modern pictures sent over a smart phone.

“In her heart always thinking about them,” said Chen’s daughter Xi Guan Lei.

Her children and Hemphill launched a crowd-funding campaign on GoFundMe to raise money to send Chen to Malaysia. This month, Chen will travel to Malaysia to finally meet her five siblings for the first time. The family is also raising funds so Chen’s children can accompany her. Her goal is to reach $10,000.

“In America we have this term ‘bucket list’ of the things you want to do before you die,” said Hemphill. “I think she’s got one thing on her bucket list and this is it.”

On a recent day, Chen sifted through the pile of old letters, clutching each page as if it were a precious jewel - reading aloud the words of her departed parents. After a life fraught with hardship and loss - she leaned back and seemed to surrender the last eight decades.

“I’m very happy to see my family in Malaysia,” Chen said. “I’m very happy.”