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South Africa Bans ‘Gratuitously’ Displaying Apartheid-Era Flag, Will Be Considered Punishable Hate Speech
South Africa’s Equality Court has banned flying the country’s apartheid-era flag, saying that “gratuitous” displays of the flag are acts of hate speech and racial discrimination. As the Washington Post reports, the decision was handed down Wednesday by Judge Phineas Mojapelo, who said flying the Old Flag violated anti-racism and harassment laws under the Equality…
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Police Investigate Possible Noose at Oakland Elementary School: ‘It Was Triggering and Hurtful’
Early Wednesday morning, parents and school administrators came across a tangle of heavy rope hanging from a chainlink fence at Chabot Elementary School in Oakland, Calif. It looked like a noose. According to Oakland Unified School District spokesman John Sasaki, who spoke with the San Jose Mercury News, few people saw the rope before Chabot’s…
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Cyntoia Brown Releases Debut Book Cover, Says She's 'Loving Every Single Thing' About Her Freedom
Two weeks after her release from prison, Cyntoia Brown is sharing what’s she’s been enjoying the most about her freedom: the simple things. In an exclusive statement to NBC News, Brown-Long (shortly after being granted clemency, she married singer Jamie “J.” Long of the group Pretty Ricky), said she’s been relishing being able to get…
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GoFundMe for Officer Who Killed Eric Garner Reaches Nearly $100,000 in 2 Days
Within days of officer Daniel Pantaleo, the NYPD cop who caused Eric Garner’s death after using an illegal chokehold, being formally let go by New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill, a GoFundMe to support him has raised nearly $100,000. The total amount—just over $95,000 as of Wednesday morning—nearly exceeds Pantaleo’s $97,000 annual salary. “Support NYC…
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Your Wallet's Callin': R. Kelly Reportedly Wants to Tap Michael Jackson's Lawyer, Needs Many Extra Dollars
Robert “R.” Kelly is reportedly seeking out one of the most in-demand criminal attorneys in the business: Tom Mesereau, a lawyer best known for successfully defending Michael Jackson during his 2005 child molestation trial. Mesereau also got actor Robert Blake acquitted on charges he murdered his ex-wife. First reported by TMZ, the celeb gossip site…
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Essence Announces Move to Expanded, Bimonthly Print Issues
Starting next year, Essence magazine will move from a monthly to a bimonthly publishing schedule, signaling the end of an era while promising that the best is yet to come. In a press release sent out Friday morning, the company announced that it will move to an “enhanced double issue” that will be printed six…
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Exactly One Good Thing Happened This Week and That’s Normani Dropping This ‘Motivation’ Video
Beloveds, Normani has landed. On Thursday, the former Fifth Harmony singer dropped the video to her first non-collab song (she previously dueted with Sam Smith on “Dancing With a Stranger”), and every Hot Girl and City Boy under the sound of her voice felt their lungs expand, their skin glisten, their brows get fuller, their…
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Don Lemon Sued for Alleged Assault by New York Bartender, CNN Defends News Anchor [Corrected]
A New Jersey bartender has filed a lawsuit against CNN anchor Don Lemon for an alleged assault that took place in a Hamptons, N.Y., bar last summer. Filed on Sunday, the suit seeks unspecified damages for the “demeaning, unprovoked and offensive assault.” First reported by Mediaite, Dustin Hice claims Lemon assaulted him in July 2018…
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‘You Need Me, I Don't Need You’? Jay-Z and the NFL Are Now Doing Business Together
Jay-Z and his entertainment and sports company, Roc Nation, will be partnering up with the NFL starting this year to serve as the league’s “live music entertainment strategist.” The collaboration comes despite Jay-Z having been, for a time, a vocal critic of the league, due to the way they handled widespread police brutality protests during…
