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What happened to Zara Aleena?

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The inquest into the death of 35-year-old Zara Aleena continues today, with jurors asked to consider whether police could have done more to stop her killer.

Aleena, a law graduate was walking home after a night out in Ilford, east London in the early hours of 26 June 2022 when she was murdered by Jordan McSweeney.

She was just 10 minutes away from home when she was attacked on Cranbrook Road. According to her family, knew the area well and felt “safe” there.

McSweeney had 28 previous convictions for 69 crimes dating back to 2006, according to court documents, and had only been out of prison on licence for nine days when he targeted Aleena.

Aleena was later found struggling to breathe on someone’s driveway, was taken to Royal London Hospital and later died of her injuries. A post-mortem examination gave Aleena’s cause of death as blunt force trauma injury and neck compression.

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Family members of Aleena described her as a “joy to all of us”. In a tribute message, they said: “Caring for others came so naturally to her. Zara was friendly, she was everybody’s friend.

“She was everybody’s daughter, everybody’s niece, everybody’s sister, everybody’s cousin. She was pure of heart. She was a joy to all of us, her sparkling eyes and the curly, jet-black hair. Her glorious laughter and her sweet, smiling voice. Her tiny frame embodied a passionate spirit and indomitable energy.

Watch: Zara Aleena’s aunt: Probation have blood on their hands

“She was authentic and refused to try and impress anyone but she impressed us. She was the rock of our family. Zara was stoic and held it all together and never complained. She glued our community together.”

Aleena’s family would use their tragedy as a platform to call for an end to violence against women and girls, and would later go on to say how “disheartening” it was that her killer successfully appealed to have his sentence reduced.

McSweeney was initially handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years in December 2022 after admitting Aleena’s murder and sexual assault.

Undated handout file photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of sexual predator Jordan McSweeney, 29, who murdered Zara Aleena in Ilford, east London, in June 2022. McSweeney has won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence. Issue date: Friday November 3, 2023.Undated handout file photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of sexual predator Jordan McSweeney, 29, who murdered Zara Aleena in Ilford, east London, in June 2022. McSweeney has won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence. Issue date: Friday November 3, 2023.

Jordan McSweeney later successfully appealed to have his minimum sentence reduced. (Alamy)

He made a bid at the Court of Appeal to have his minimum sentence reduced, and in November, three judges reduced his minimum term to 33 years, describing the original sentence as “manifestly excessive”.

Following the decision, the trainee solicitor’s family branded McSweeney a “repugnant man” and said the decision sent a “disheartening” message to women.

In a statement issued afterwards, Aleena’s aunt, Farah Naz, said: “In the wake of this decision, we choose to relegate this man to obscurity, hoping that society forgets him as a meaningless and despicable individual. Our focus now lies elsewhere.

“Zara, a beacon of hope, a symbol of change. Her tragic murder stands as a catalyst for reshaping how society safeguards women. She serves as our guiding light, and we invite each and every one of you to stand with us in preserving her memory, supporting our campaigning efforts, and ensuring that her legacy is not forgotten.”

Farah Naz, the aunt of murdered aspiring lawyer Zara Aleena, during a Million Women Rise march from Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square in London to demonstrate against male violence against women and girls. Picture date: Saturday March 4, 2023.Farah Naz, the aunt of murdered aspiring lawyer Zara Aleena, during a Million Women Rise march from Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square in London to demonstrate against male violence against women and girls. Picture date: Saturday March 4, 2023.

Farah Naz, the aunt of Zara Aleena, during a Million Women Rise march from Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square calling for an end to male violence against women and girls. (Alamy)

Coroner Nadia Persaud said she would empanel a jury for the month-long inquest into Zara Aleena’s death.

She said she had “reason to suspect” that the Metropolitan Police “could and should have done more to locate Mr McSweeney prior to his attack”, adding that this is a question jurors will be tasked with answering.

“The inquest into the death of Zara Aleena will consider the actions of police officers and will also consider the actions of prison and probation staff,” Persaud added. “These are all agents of the state who play a role in keeping the public safe.”

The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 says an inquest must be held with a jury if a senior coroner has reason to suspect the death resulted from an act or omission of a police officer in the execution of their duty.

Ms Persaud said: “Acts or omissions of police officers who were tasked with recalling Mr McSweeney falls within the scope of this inquest.”

McSweeney was released on licence from prison on June 17 2022 and, after missing successive appointments, the Probation Service recalled him to prison on June 24 2022 — but police did not find him at the address he had given.



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For sale: A piece of California’s country music history

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The famed Buck Owens Crystal Palace, where music legends including Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks and a young Taylor Swift have played, is up for sale, with the foundation that runs the Bakersfield venue planning to list it for $7 million on Monday.

The nightclub, museum and steakhouse was owned by its namesake Buck Owens, the country music trailblazer who bucked the slick commercial melodies of Nashville for a distinctly West Coast twang. Owens opened the Crystal Palace in 1996, watching it become a premier venue for the biggest names in country music, including himself. Buck and the Buckaroos played there every Friday and Saturday night until his death in 2006.

Jim Shaw, a member of the Buckaroos and a director of the Buck Owens Private Foundation, said that after 28 years of running the famed venue, the Owens family plans to step back and find new owners amid a challenging business climate. The foundation said in a statement that “since Buck’s passing in 2006, we’ve tried to maintain the excellence that he expected, even as it became more and more difficult during these challenging times of increasing food and labor costs.”

The venue is not closing and scheduled events will continue as planned, Shaw said.

“It’s business as usual for now,” Shaw said. “Ideally, someone who wants to keep it exactly as it is will come forward.”

Owens’ youngest son, Johnny Owens, wrote on Facebook that the family’s hope “is that a buyer steps forward with a vision for the future and a reverence” for his father and the Bakersfield Sound.

The Crystal Palace, located on Buck Owens Boulevard, is a major tourism staple for Bakersfield. The 18,000-square-foot venue is next to the city’s downtown entrance.

“It’s the No. 1 tourist attraction in Bakersfield,” Shaw said. “There are people stepping forward and we are waiting to see what happens. I am getting a lot of phone calls. I’m anxious to see what happens.”



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2nd local radio host says they were given questions ahead of Biden interview

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A second local radio host on Saturday told ABC News that he was provided a list of questions in advance of his interview with President Joe Biden this week.

“Yes, I was given some questions for Biden,” Earl Ingram of CivicMedia told ABC News. Ingram, a prominent host of a Wisconsin radio station, interviewed Biden this week in the wake of his debate performance.

Ingram said he was given five questions and ended up asking four of them.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask him all the things I wanted to ask,” he said.

Ingram is the second interviewer who now says they were provided questions by Biden aides to ask the president this week. Earlier today, another local radio host who interviewed Biden this week told CNN she was given questions to ask Biden before the interview.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners,” the Biden campaign told ABC News on Saturday.

Ingram told ABC he didn’t see anything necessarily wrong with the practice. “To think that I was gonna get an opportunity to ask any question to the President of the United States, I think, is a bit more than anybody should expect,” he said.

He continued that he was grateful for the opportunity to interview Biden at all.

“Certainly the fact that they gave me this opportunity … meant a lot to me,” Ingram said.

MORE: Wealthy Democratic donors sound alarm over Biden staying in race

On CNN earlier today, Andrea Lawful-Sanders, the host of WURD’s “The Source,” said Biden officials provided her with a list of eight questions ahead of their interview with Biden.

“The questions were sent to me for approval; I approved of them,” she said.

“I got several questions — eight of them,” she continued. “And the four that were chosen were the ones that I approved.”

Responding to Lawful-Sanders, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement that it’s not “uncommon” for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. She noted that Lawful-Sanders was “free” to ask any questions she saw fit. She also noted that it was the campaign who sent over the questions and not the White House as other reports claim.

Lawful-Sanders did note in her interview with CNN that she ultimately “approved” the questions provided.

“It’s not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. These questions were relevant to news of the day – the president was asked about this debate performance as well as what he’d delivered for black Americans,” the statement said.

“We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners. In addition to these interviews, the President also participated in a press gaggle yesterday as well as an interview with ABC. Americans have had several opportunities to see him unscripted since the debate.”

A source familiar with the Biden booking operation told ABC News that moving forward they will “refrain” from offering suggested questions to interviewers.

“While interview hosts have always been free to ask whatever questions they please, moving forward we will refrain from offering suggested questions.”

2nd local radio host says they were given questions ahead of Biden interview originally appeared on abcnews.go.com



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President George W. Bush turns 78 years old

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George W. Bush, born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, was the 43rd President of the United States.

Bush was born to parents Barbara Bush and former President George H. W. Bush. He has five siblings; Jeb Bush, Marvin Bush, Neil Bush, Dorothy Bush Koch and Pauline Robinson Bush. Pauline was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away at age three.

He was formerly the Republican Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

WHY FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH IS WINNING … THE POST-PRESIDENCY

Bush was first elected to the White House in November 2000, and officially began his first term as president in January 2001, after he defeated Democrat Al Gore during the presidential election. Bush was reelected to his second term as the incumbent in November 2004, when he prevailed over Democrat John Kerry, and led the United States until January 2009 before handing over his torch to former President Barack Obama.

Bush married Laura Bush on November 5, 1977, the day after her 31st birthday, in her hometown of Midland, Texas. The couple were engaged in September 1977, and married less than two months later in a Methodist church. Bush and Laura met at a barbecue, and he took her to play mini-golf on their first date. 

The Bush’s share twin daughters, Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, born on November 25, 1981. Today, the couple also share four grandchildren; Mila, Poppy, Hal and Cora.

GEORGE BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY ISSUE STATEMENT ON AFGHANISTAN WITH MESSAGE TO US TROOPS, VETERANS

During his presidency, Bush cared for his English springer spaniel, Spot Fetcher, who accompanied him to meetings in the Oval Office and on adventures throughout the White House. The dog was born to his parent’s dog, Millie.

On September 11, 2001, less than one year into Bush’s presidency, the Twin Towers in New York City were attacked by terrorists when airplanes hit both buildings, causing a collapse and thousands of lives lost. At the time, Bush was reading to elementary-aged children at a school in Sarasota, Florida. He was calmly and quietly advised of the attacks and quickly returned to Washington, where he was briefed alongside Vice President Dick Cheney.

Bush was regarded highly for his poise while learning of the attacks and for his demonstration of patriotism and leadership in the uncertain days and weeks following the hijackings of multiple planes on the day that shook America to her core.

SADDAM CAPTURED ‘LIKE A RAT’ IN RAID

On December 30, 2003, during Bush’s first term as POTUS, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader and executor of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., was captured by the American military

In the early morning of December 30, 2006, during Bush’s presidency, Hussein was hanged and executed for his crimes against humanity. Americans across the nation celebrated the death of Hussein and applauded Bush for promising the country he would take him out and following through.

While Bush was regarded for his dealings with the terrorist attacks, the signing of No Child Left Behind Act and the Patriot Act and the creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security, many Americans were unhappy with the sanctions of interrogation techniques, the war in Iraq and taxes while he was president.

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