11 yr old with lying and empathy issue

Can anyone advise how to handle this? I'm open to books, websites, talks, strategies, anything. My niece is driving my pregnant sister bananas. She has been habitually lying forever and instead of growing out of it has only become more skilled and consistent. My sister has tried being kind and talking about it, she has tried punishment and consequences, she has let things slide and she has spent a straight month just compiling consistent punishments to the point where there was nothing else to take away and she had weeks added on to her original punishment. But she just won't stop lying. She admitted that if she doesn't want to do something she just chooses not to do it, for example, her daily responsibilities. How do you handle that attitude? My sister has had many heart to hearts with her while my sister is crying and exhausted and my niece will just stone cold face or reply with what she knows she's supposed to say then go to her room and tell my daughter things like oh well I don't care. Additionally, yesterday her teacher texted my sister asking her to address my niece's outburst in school yesterday. During a Black History Month lesson my niece yelled out, "they're ugly" about the 4 Birmingham girls who were killed. My poor sister is beside herself. My kids, her cousins, are half black, and they are all very close. I don't think she said it out of a racist point of view but I do feel like she has a hard time being empathetic due to past incidents I've seen her in as well. I think maybe she did it to get attention and look cool, but how do you guide them away from this mean girl path? This is not the values my sister wants for her kids and she is only 11, she's worried that this will just keep escalating and become out of control. I suggested taking her to therapy because I just don't know what will work. I'm taking her for the summer to give my sister a little break. Is there anything I can do while I have her to help guide her? Nothing seems to be getting through to her. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2NAiAgw