Tracking America's Unsolved Homicides

More than half of America's major police departments are struggling to solve homicides at the same level of success they enjoyed a decade ago, according to a study of federal crime records by the nonprofit Murder Accountability Project.The study focused on the nation's 160 police departments that investigate at least 10 homicides a year and that also faithfully report crime data to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Of these, 86 departments (54 percent) reported less success in solving murders committed during the 10-year period 2006-2015 than in the preceding decade of 1996-2005, while 74 police agencies (46 percent) reported improving clearance rates.The study found most departments with declining murder clearance rates also experienced rising numbers of homicides. These departments often are located in states or counties with declining tax bases or facing other kinds of fiscal challenges.The purpose of MAP's study was to learn which law enforcement jurisdictions in the United States generally have improved homicide clearance rates and which jurisdictions experienced declines. Under U.S. Justice Department definitions, a homicide is "cleared" if at least one person is arrested, formally charged and handed over for prosecution.The study identified the 10 police agencies that reported the most improvement in homicide clearances and the 10 departments reporting the worst decline in solving murders.The law enforcement agencies with the most improved homicide clearance rates were: Mesa Police Department, Arizona; Tulare County Sheriff's Office, California; Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, DC; North Little Rock Police Department, Arkansas; East Orange Police Department, New Jersey; Fresno Police Department, California; Winston-Salem Police Department, North Carolina; Richmond Police Department, Virginia; Santa Anna Police Department, California; Oxnard Police Department, California.These agencies increased their clearance rates by a range from 36 percentage points in the case of Mesa Police down to 21 percentage points in the case of Oxnard Police.The 10 law enforcement agencies reporting the largest declines in homicide clearance were: Newark Police Department, New Jersey; Little Rock Police Department, Arkansas; Trenton Police Department, New Jersey; Pine Bluff Police Department, Arkansas; Chester Police Department, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth Police Department, New Jersey; Flint Police Department, Michigan; Camden City/County Police Department, New Jersey; City of Yonkers Police Department, New York; Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office, California

Review of Crider, Keith. 2018. \u3cem\u3eChurch History: Resurrection to Reformation. Harrisonburg, VA: Christian Light Publications\u3c/em\u3e; Review of Yoder, Marcus. 2017. \u3cem\u3eCathedrals, Castles, & Caves: The Origins of the Anabaptist Faith. Winesburg, OH\u3c/em\u3e: JPV Press.

It is difficult to say how much the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation stirred up interest in the groundbreaking event, even among church-going Americans. Many in my own denomination, the Apostolic Christian Church of America, reported being unaware of the anniversary, although a few friends did think to buy me a Playmobil Luther, a bobblehead Luther, and a pair of socks imprinted with “Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders.” There were enough of us interested folks to fill a “Reformation Tour” of central Europe in 2017, and there it was clear that Germans had no intention of forgetting the event, even if they appropriated it for such modern sensibilities as religious tolerance and pluralism. “Whoever believes in diversity must also practice tolerance,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel reminded everyone at an official state function in Wittenberg on October 31, 2017. However much this belief may serve us well now, it was not Martin Luther’s message five hundred years ago. [First paragraph

Noncanonical polyketide cyclization and stereoselective synthesis of configurationally stable Csp2-Csp3 atropisomers

Noncanonical Polyketide Cyclization The restricted rotation about a single bond results in stereoisomers that are called atropisomers. Most prominent are biaryl atropisomers, which have emerged to one of the most frequently used scaffolds in stereoselective catalysis. These stereoisomers result from a rotationally restricted Csp2- Csp2 single bond that can exhibit substantial configurational stabilities if sufficiently substituted with sterically demanding groups in the ortho-position. However, the increased steric demand is often accompanied with difficulties in the preparation and therefore the stereoselective synthesis of biaryl atropisomers still remains challenging. The arene-forming aldol condensation is a fundamental reaction in the biosynthesis of aromatic polyketides. Strictly controlled by the polyketide synthases, the highly reactive poly-b-carbonyl substrates are diverged into a countless number of aromatic natural products through selective cyclization reactions. Fascinated by the eminent cyclization control, we examined the ability of small-molecule catalysts to selectively convert noncanonical hexa-carbonyl substrates in a double arene-forming aldol condensation culminating in the atroposelective synthesis of tetra-orthosubstituted biaryls. The hexa-carbonyl substrates were accessed in a four-fold ozonolysis enabling a late-stage introduction of all carbonyl functions in one step. Secondary amine catalysts capable to form an extended hydrogen-bonding network triggered the noncanonical polyketide cyclization in order to obtain tetra-ortho-substituted biaryls in up to 93% yield and with an excellent stereocontrol of up to 98:2 e.r. The utile hydroxy functions in the 3,3’-position of the binaphthalene product were readily converted into aryl substituents by a triflation and Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The obtained binaphthalene dicarbaldehyde enabled the straight-forward access to a diene ligand, a [5]helicene as well as the highly valuable Maruoka catalyst in excellent yields. These transformations clearly demonstrated the importance of the established method. Stereoselective Synthesis of Csp2-Csp3 Atropisomers Previous stereoselective catalysis aimed at achieving selectivity for one out of two stereoisomers per stereogenic element (2n). Much less explored, but even more intriguing from a stereochemical perspective, are atropisomers arising from the restricted rotation about Csp2-Csp3 axis. In this exciting unprecedented stereochemical scenario, one out of six stereoisomers (>2n) arising from such a rotationally restricted axis is potentially obtained selectively. To achieve high configurational stability of Csp2-Csp3 atropisomers represents a great challenge for the studies of these captivating rotational isomers, and previous investigations of the rotational barrier and isomer-interconversions have been studied after separating racemic mixtures. In this thesis, we intended to contribute to this research field by the development of a [2+2+2]- cyclotrimerization for the first stereoselective synthesis of atropisomers resulting from a rotationally restricted Csp2-Csp3 single bond. To suitably evolve stable atropisomeric products, an adamantyl terminated trialkyne was converted into all three possible diastereoisomers of the Csp2- Csp3 atropisomeric product. The low configurational stability of the stereoisomers first prevented their stereoselective preparation, but detailed analysis of the rotational profile enabled to design and synthesize a carbonyl derivative, which provided cyclotrimerization products that exhibit remarkable configuration stability even at temperatures up to 100 °C. A rhodium catalyzed [2+2+2]-cyclotrimerization permitted the first stereoselective synthesis and the reaction was optimized for the (ap)-stereoisomer, which could be accessed in good yields of up to 75% and a high enantiomeric ratio of 93:7 e.r. In addition to the selective preparation of the (ap)- conformer, a second diastereoisomer was synthesized in enantioselectivities of up to 85:15 e.r. as a preliminary result