CNN news 2015-10-29 加文本

cnn news 2015-10-29

Its epicenter, the point directly above the quake was in northeastern Afghanistan. The force was felt in neighboring Pakistan and Tajikistan as well as two countries over in India. Its magnitude was 7.5, capable of catastrophic damage, but geologists say because its epicenter was so deep, more than a hundred and thirty miles below the surface, its effects were limited. Still, Afghan officials say more than four thousand houses were severely damaged or destroyed, and more than two hundred people, mostly in Pakistan, were confirmed dead when we produced this show. The quake hit in a rural mountainous area. Some affected villages are hard for rescuers to reach. They also don't have good infrastructure like sturdy bridges or reliable communications systems. So that's another challenge. This quake was only slightly less powerful than one that struck nearby Kashmir in 2005, but that one's epicenter was shallow and it killed more than seventy thousand people.

This week local and government law enforcement officials from across the US are meeting in Chicago, Illinois. One issue they are discussing, a surge in violent crime in some cities, with an increased number of murders in Dallas, Texas, Miami, Florida, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Cleveland, Ohio. Another issue for officials at the meeting was some are calling the Ferguson Effect. It follows a controversial incident in Ferguson, Missouri last year, when a white police officer killed an eighteen-year-old black man.

FBI director Jim Comey says that at least part of the reason why there is a surge in crime in some cities around the country could be because some officers are holding back. Now this is called the Ferguson Effect, because increased scrutiny on police's tactics is causing some officers to be reluctant to arrest suspects. He spoke at University of Chicago on Friday and he tackled these issues about the race and the effect on police.

"Far more people are being killed in some of America's cities than in many years. And let's be clear, far more people of color are being killed in American cities this year, and it's not the cops doing the killing."

And we should note that not all police chiefs believe that their officers are holding back. There are some that believe that the rise in crime could be explained by the rise of synthetic drugs on the streets. Comey's speaking to a convention of police chiefs in Chicago and we'll hear more about what he has to say.

Evan Perez, cnn, Chicago.