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.
Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident
Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea by apparent "friendly fire", the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Party City files for bankruptcy and plans to shutter nationwide
Party City was once unmatched in its vast selection of affordable celebration goods. But over the years, competition stacked up at Walmart, Target, Spirit Halloween, and especially Amazon.
Sudan’s biggest refugee camp was already struck with famine. Now it’s being shelled
The siege, blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, has sparked a new humanitarian catastrophe and marks an alarming turning point in the Darfur region, already overrun by violence.
FDA approves weight loss drug Zepbound to treat obstructive sleep apnea
The FDA said studies have shown that by aiding weight loss, Zepbound improves sleep apnea symptoms in some patients.
Netflix is dreaming of a glitch-free Christmas with 2 major NFL games set
It comes weeks after Netflix's attempt to broadcast live boxing between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was rife with technical glitches.
Big dreams: He’s the founder of a leading African photobook library
Paul Ninson had an old-school, newfangled dream: a modern library devoted to photobooks showing life on the continent. He maxed out his credit cards, injured his back — and made it happen.
