"I have concluded that there is absolutely no evidence to support filing criminal charges against either of the Allentown police officers involved in this incident," Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin said in statement Friday.  

Police had launched an investigation earlier this week after a video of the July 11 incident posted on social media appeared to show an officer kneeling on a man's neck while a second officer and another person hold the man's hands behind his back.

The district attorney also looked at a nine-minute, 39-second video shot from a camera across the street from where the incident happened, the statement said.

Officers were at the emergency room of a hospital when they saw a man vomiting and staggering in the street before stopping in the driveway of the emergency room, police had said.

The man began pointing aggressively toward a hospital security officer who was walking toward him with a vomit bag, the district attorney said on Friday.

The officers concluded that the man's "actions were aggressive, and they determined that they needed to detain him for his own safety as well as for the safety of themselves and others, including medical personnel," the district attorney said.

When they attempted to detain him and take him inside the hospital, the prosecutor said, the man resisted and began pulling away.

"In attempting to handcuff [the man], one of the officers placed his knee on [his head] (not on his neck). The officer's knee remained in that position for about 8 seconds and was removed as soon as he was handcuffed," Martin said.

They were able to restrain the man but the officer had to "very briefly" apply his knee to the man's head again because he was spitting on the officers, Martin added.

The man was treated and released from the hospital the following day, police and the district attorney said.

He was identified by the district attorney but CNN is not naming him.

"I am satisfied that given [his] obvious intoxication and his actions, he was clearly a danger to himself and potentially to others," Martin said. "He was clearly agitated and non-compliant, and in order to gain control of him so that he was no longer a danger, and could be medically treated, it was necessary for the officers to restrain him. That restraint was reasonable."

The video that appeared on social media, posted to Black Lives Matter of the Lehigh Valley by a person who asked CNN to remain anonymous, begins with someone driving up on the scene which appears to be outside a hospital.

A person in scrubs is seen observing the incident, and it appears another individual in scrubs is assisting with the person on the ground.

As the man is on the ground with his hands behind his back, one officer places his elbow and then his knee on the man's neck.

It's unclear what led to the video being recorded and what happened after the video. It appears the officer's elbow first, and then his knee were on the man's neck for approximately eight seconds each.

It is also unclear what medical condition the man was in at the time of the incident

One person believed to be in the car a fair distance away while this is being filmed, can be heard on the recording saying, "I thought we mattered," and "We don't matter, bro."

Another can be heard saying "on his neck, bro," remarking on what she can see.

A person in hospital scrubs approaches the videographer, who says "You can't touch my phone," just before the video ends.

Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights icon who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington and served in Congress for decades, has died, his family confirmed in a statement. Lewis was 80 years old.

"It is with inconsolable grief and enduring sadness that we announce the passing of U.S. Rep. John Lewis," the statement from his family said. "He was honored and respected as the conscience of the U.S. Congress and an icon of American history, but we knew him as a loving father and brother. He was a stalwart champion in the on-going struggle to demand respect for the dignity and worth of every human being. He dedicated his entire life to non-violent activism and was an outspoken advocate in the struggle for equal justice in America. He will be deeply missed."  

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Lewis a "titan of the civil rights movement, whose goodness faith and bravery transformed our nation."   

 former President Obama called Lewis "one of my heroes." 

"Not many of us get to live to see our own legacy play out in such a meaningful, remarkable way," Mr. Obama wrote. "John Lewis did. And thanks to him, we now all have our marching orders — to keep believing in the possibility of remaking this country we love until it lives up to its full promise."

In December 2019, Lewis announced he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  Lewis said in December that he has been "in some kind of fight – for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now." 

• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN that he would "encourage" teams to sign Colin Kaepernick.
• "It's going to take a team to make that decision," Goodell said. "But I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that."
• Kaepernick has not played since the 2016 season, but has said that he's still game-ready.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he will "encourage" teams to sign former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Speaking with ESPN's Mike Greenberg as a part of the network's "The Return of Sports" special, Goodell said that while the decision of signing Kaepernick wasn't up to him, he would welcome him back to the league if a team were to pick him up.

"Well, listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it's going to take a team to make that decision," Goodell said. "But I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that."

Goodell went on to say that if Kaepernick did not get signed, or decided he would rather continue with his work as an activist than pursue a career in football, there would still be a role for him to play with the NFL moving forward.

"If his efforts are not on the field but continuing to work in this space, we welcome him to that table and to help us, guide us, help us make better decisions about the kinds of things that need to be done in the communities," Goodell said. "We have invited him in before, and we want to make sure that everybody's welcome at that table and trying to help us deal with some very complex, difficult issues that have been around for a long time.

"But I hope we're at a point now where everybody's committed to making long-term, sustainable change."

Kaepernick hasn't played since the 2016 season, during which he protested police brutality and racial inequality in the justice system by taking a knee during the national anthem.

While the NFL had been against players taking , part in peaceful protest  during the anthem in years past, Goodell has changed his tune in recent weeks as marches and demonstrations demanding justice for George Floyd have swept across the country.

Two weeks ago, Goodell apologized for the leagues's previous stance against players that chose to protest in a video shared over social media.

"We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people," Goodell said. "We the National Football League admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We the National Football League believe Black lives matter. I personally protest with you, and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country."

Despite having not taken NFL snaps in four years, Kaepernick has indicated that he is still-game ready, and at 32, there's still a chance he has some good football left in him. As Goodell said, all it takes is a team to sign him.

State and federal authorities will monitor the investigation into the death of a black man found hanging from a tree in southern California, officials said following large weekend protests.

The body of Robert Fuller was discovered last week at a park near City Hall in the city of Palmdale.

The county medical examiner and coroner’s office said the 24-year-old appeared to have died by suicide, prompting an outcry by his family who believed he was not suicidal and community members who called for an independent investigation and post-mortem.

“The initial report appeared to be consistent with a suicide but we felt it prudent to roll that back and continue to look deeper,” Dr Jonathan Lucas said at a news conference.

Officials noted that investigators only found rope and a backpack in the park, and nothing to indicate foul play.

The state attorney general’s office and the FBI’s Civil Rights Division will oversee the investigation, which is being led by the Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide bureau, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

The coroner’s office has completed a post-mortem but is awaiting toxicology results, Dr Lucas said. Investigators are also looking at Mr Fuller’s medical history.

Homicide detectives also plan to analyse the rope and its knot, canvass the area for video footage, interview Mr Fuller’s social services case worker and speak to anyone who had recently interacted with him.

They are also seeking to meet his family, authorities said.

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters marched from the park near City Hall to the sheriff’s station, many carrying signs that read “Justice for Robert Fuller”.

An online petition demanding an investigation has collected more than 200,000 signatures.

Murder or felony murder. Those are the two charges Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said could fit former Atlanta Police Officer Garrett Rolfe for the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks Friday night.

“There are really three charges that are relevant: one would be the murder charge in the state of Georgia. That charge is a charge that is directly related to an intent to kill,” Howard told CNN’s Frederica Whitfield Sunday afternoon. “The second charge is felony murder and that is a charge that involves a death that comes as a result of the commission of an underlying felony. In this case, that underlying felony would be aggravated assault.”

Howard continued, “The only other charge that might make any sense at all would be some voluntary manslaughter charge. But I believe in this instance, what we have to choose between, if there’s a choice to be made, is between murder and felony murder.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that Officer Rolfe had been terminated immediately while the second officer involved, Officer Devin Bronsan, has been placed on administrative leave. It was also confirmed that Atlanta Police Department Chief Erika Shields had resigned.

Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned her position Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after an APD officer shot and killed Rayshard Brooks after a struggle in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant on the city's south side.

The shooting death, partially captured on multiple cameras, showed Brooks struggling with officer before he wrestled away a stun gun. Brooks then began to run. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Brooks made it just a little way before he allegedly turned towards officers with the stun gun raised and an APD officer shot and killed him.

Starbucks said today that the chain would allow workers to wear attire and accessories highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement, reversing its prior stance after social media users called for boycotts of the company.

first reported on Wednesday that the coffee chain would not allow its employees to wear Black Lives Matter clothing or accessories, and management justified the decision by saying that such items could be misunderstood and incite violence. While Starbucks has a policy against wearing personal, political or religious clothing or accessories, workers told Buzzfeed that the company hands out buttons and attire celebrating LGBTQ rights and marriage equality. 

Now, Starbucks will be doing the same for Black Lives Matter. The chain will make 250,000 shirts with a design that includes "Black Lives Matter" and "No Justice, No Peace" available to workers in its company-owned cafes in the United States and Canada. Until the shirts arrive, employees can wear pins or shirts to show support.

In early June, as protesters filled the streets of U.S. cities and small towns to call attention to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans at the hands of police, Starbucks joined the flood of other corporations supporting Black Lives Matter. It pledged $1 million to organizations that promote "racial equity and more inclusive and just communities."

After Buzzfeed reported the chain's policy, consumers on social media began calling for boycotts of the coffee chain, which has drawn fire in the past for racial insensitivity that contradicts its progressive reputation. In 2018, Starbucks closed down cafes across the country for an afternoon of racial bias training after police arrested two Black men at one of its Philadelphia locations for sitting down without ordering anything.

 LEBRON JAMES is a basketball player — a really, really good basketball player. Over the course of his 17-year career, JAMES has tallied 34,087 points, 9,353 rebounds and 9,298 assists, something no other player in NBA history has done. He’s arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.

But James is so much more than an athlete, even if some others don’t want him to be. In 2018, James was the subject of a Fox News segment, in which host Laura Ingraham berated the Akron native for criticizing the president using “R-rated” language that she described as “barely intelligible” and “ungrammatical.”

She infamously ended the segment by saying, “Keep the political commentary to yourself, or, as someone once said, shut up and dribble.”

Those incredibly rude and dismissive words, “Shut Up and Dribble,” became the title of a three-part documentary that James and his business partner Maverick Carter executive produce, and much to Ingraham’s chagrin, James hasn’t stopped talking about politics, because the suggestion that we can only talk about our professions is egregious to begin with. In fact, his voice has only grown louder as he makes efforts to promote equality.

On Thursday, James posted an Uninterrupted video inspired by Ingraham’s comments:

The timing of the video isn’t coincidental, either. Not only are there thousands of people across the country protesting against systemic racism and police brutality, but on Thursday, Ingraham appeared on Fox News to defend Drew Brees, who, earlier this week,  criticized NFL player that peacefully protested police brutality by kneeling during that national anthem.

Complex Sports noticed a slight difference in the language she used to talk about a white athlete sharing their political thoughts vs. how she described two black athletes doing the same thing, and the contrast wasn’t lost on James, either. 

See if you can spot the coded language, and why James might have felt the need to fight back against it:

The double standard is clear, and the reason behind it is just as clear for those that care to see it.

As long as hateful and unapologetic racists like Ingraham feel like they can tell black people like James to stay out of politics, James will continue to use his platform to empower his community — whether they’re athletes or not — to speak out against racial inequality and injustice.

One day James will hang up his sneakers and stop dribbling, but he won’t be silenced just because someone who doesn’t like to hear curse words told him so. Fuck that shit.