Birmingham Remembers Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney
Mourners gathered at New Beginning Christian Ministry in east Birmingham Sunday to remember the life of Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney. The 3-year-old was abducted while attending a birthday party at the Tom Brown Village public housing apartments on Oct. 12. Authorities days later found her remains in a Birmingham-area landfill.

Gigi Douban
One of many mourners at Sunday’s funeral wearing clothes bearing Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s image.
On Sunday, people formed a line that wrapped around the church to attend the girl’s funeral. Hundreds packed the sanctuary and an overflow room. Many came wearing t-shirts and buttons bearing Kamille’s image.
The service included tributes from family members, faith leaders and city officials. “We don’t know, oh Lord, how we got here,” Rev. Alvelyn Sanders said in an impassioned prayer from the pulpit. “But we know something happened in our lives. There was a baby named Kamille who made us all stop and check ourselves.”
New Beginning Pastor Sylvester Wilson urged people not to try to understand why Kamille was kidnapped and killed. She died of asphyxiation by suffocation the same day she disappeared, according to arrest warrants.

He confessed that as a father and grandfather, processing her death has been difficult. “I realize that I’m a man of God and I realize that I’m the pastor of this church,” he said, “but I don’t know how I would feel if that happened to one of mine. I told my wife that I’m not afraid that I wouldn’t be the pastor of this church, but I might be an inmate pastor.” He struggled, he told the congregation, he struggled to make sense of her death. But he said her slaying had a unifying force. “People don’t understand that what you see here had to happen so that God could bring this city, this country, and this world back together again,” he said.
A man and woman were charged in Kamille’s death.




‘We all are going to die’: Sen. Ernst offers bleak response to grilling over Medicaid
The Republican senator offered a glib response to constituent questions at a town hall regarding cuts to Medicaid under the Trump-endorsed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
An immigration raid at a San Diego restaurant leads to a chaotic scene
Videos show armed agents in tactical gear, a crowd of locals and what appear to be smoke devices deployed.
Greetings from Warsaw, Poland, where the flags are flying ahead of a key election
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international correspondents share snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world.
Hamas responds to U.S. ceasefire proposal for Gaza
While the militant group says it will release 10 living and 18 deceased hostages still held in Gaza, there appear to be other details that need to be worked out before a ceasefire is declared.
Hegseth says the U.S. will reposition military amid threat from China
At an international forum in Singapore, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is refocusing its strength and policies on deterring China, and coaxed China's neighbors and U.S. allies to help.
‘Mountainhead’ skewers the tech elite — and it’s very satisfying
Four super-rich tech leaders gather for a poker weekend in a mountain mansion while AI technology leads to global chaos in the new HBO film from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong.