Starbucks training a first step, experts say, in facing bias

Starbucks training a first step, experts say, in facing bias

Starbucks will close more than 8,000 stores nationwide today to conduct anti-bias training, the next of many steps the company is taking in an effort to restore its tarnished diversity-friendly image.

The coffee chain’s leaders reached out to bias training experts after the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks last month.

The plan has brought attention to the little-known world of “unconscious bias training” used by corporations, police departments and other organizations. It’s designed to get people to open up about implicit biases and stereotypes in encountering people of color, gender or other identities.

A video previewing the training says it will include recorded remarks from Starbucks executives as well as rapper and activist Common. From there, the company says, employees will “move into a real and honest exploration of bias.”

FBI got tips about Oklahoma City suspect’s videos

OKLAHOMA CITY

The FBI says it was contacted about a YouTube channel associated with the Oklahoma City restaurant shooting suspect but determined no further action was needed.

The FBI said Saturday it was contacted twice about the channel associated with 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman, killed by bystanders after wounding three people on Thursday.

Officials say a caller earlier this month reported concerns about the channel, but didn’t mention any potential threat of violence and didn’t have knowledge of the man possessing weapons. The FBI says per protocol, no further investigation was warranted.

Earlier this year, the FBI got an informal tip regarding the YouTube account but determined the content was protected by the First Amendment.

In the channel, Tilghman describes demons possessing his TV and says he’s “really losing it.”

Photojournalist, TV anchor, killed when tree falls on vehicle

TRYON, N.C.

A North Carolina state trooper says a tree fell across a highway, crushing a vehicle from a South Carolina television station and killing a TV anchor and photojournalist.

Master Trooper Murico Stephens says the tree struck the WYFF-TV vehicle about 2:30 p.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 176 near Tryon. The area received heavy rain over the past week.

WYFF-TV says anchor Mike McCormick and photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer were heading to a story when they were killed.

WYFF-TV is based in Greenville, S.C.

Lava flow stops after covering wells at geothermal plant

HONOLULU

Lava from the Kilauea volcano oozed over two wells at a geothermal power plant on Hawaii’s Big Island, but county officials say the flow has stopped.

Officials say there was no release of any dangerous hydrogen sulfide gas after lava crept over the plugged wells Sunday.

Some feared a breach if lava penetrated the well shafts that tap steam and hot water to make electricity. Both wells were closed and secured in anticipation of the lava flow.

The plant, Puna Geothermal, lies on the southeast flank of the volcano, nestled between residential neighborhoods. It was shut down shortly after Kilauea began spewing lava May 3.

Associated Press