Blame it on Rio: Today's news for August 18, 2016

CNN:

Cops: 2 US swimmers can't leave Brazil until they give statements

I am having a hard time mustering outrage or sympathy in this story:

American swimmers Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentzhave have been ordered to stay in Brazil until they give police a statement about about an incident in which they say they and two other swimmers were robbed, according to their attorney.

Conger and Bentz were removed from their flight from Rio de Janeiro to the United States Wednesday night by Brazilian authorities, US Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky told CNN Sports contributor Christine Brennan.

The swimmers have since been released, according to the USOC, with the understanding that they will continue discussing the incident on Thursday.

The athletes -- Ryan Lochte, James Feignen, Conger and Bentz -- reported being robbed at gunpoint early Sunday in a taxi bound for the Olympic Village by individuals posing as armed police officers, the US Olympic Committee said Sunday. 

...Judge Keyla Blanc De Cnop said the athletes' jocular behavior upon arrival at the Olympic Village -- combined with the inconsistencies in their statements -- led police to question the veracity of their claim.

Judge Blanc De Cnop noted that Lochte had said a single robber approached the athletes and demanded all their money (400 real, or $124), while Feigen's statement said a number of robbers targeted the athletes but only one was armed.

On top of that, there are also reports of pictures of the athletes with their allegedly stolen goods at the airport as they were trying to leave Rio.

The overall story looks to me like a bunch of young guys who went out partying one night in Rio, and then tried to cover up their activities, possibly to their families. Unfortunately, they made the Rio police look bad in the process. Sorry guys, but filing false police complaints is a crime in most places, even the U.S. and Brazil. As the old saying goes, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

Anyway, this is the lede story on most news websites. However, the following should have been the lede:

CNN:

Milwaukee officer knew Sylville Smith from high school, family says

Sylville Smith and the Milwaukee police officer who fatally shot him had crossed paths before a lethal encounter that led to days of unrest, according to Smith's relatives and friends. 

A city long marred by racial strife erupted in violence over the weekend after the police officer shot the 23-year-old in the arm and chest when Smith failed to put down his handgun, city officials said. 

A pair of officers had stopped Smith and another man in a car Saturday afternoon when the men bolted on foot. Smith was black, as is the unidentified 24-year-old officer who shot him. 

Smith's sister, Sherelle, said her brother and the officer attended the same school at one time. 

"The officer knew him personally from high school and he still shot him," Sherelle Smith told CNN on Wednesday. "He didn't like my brother. The officer had a career, but my brother was more popular. He used to harass Sylville."

Coming from the sister of the victim, that last part is arguably biased speculation. However, it does present this story in a unique way, by taking what was a "cop shoots black man story" and makes it more of a "black on black crime story". Maybe this story is really both? While this is all speculation, it is still worthy of consideration.

Regardless, this is a fascinating element to a major news story that is being overlooked even by the news source that is reporting it. 

This isn't the first time CNN has promoted fluff news over real news. Seriously, whoever is editing CNN's website should be fired. This is journalistic malpractice. The swimmer story is only a lede story on a very slow news day.