After the horrific mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson posted a photo of himself holding up a sign reading “I am a Christian,” which promptly went viral.  The shooter, who killed nine people, was reported to have targeted Christians, allegedly asking students to identify their religion before…

Los Angeles could be paying out $2.85 million to the family of Vachel Howard, a 56-year-old grandfather who died in police custody in 2012, pending approval of the City Council and mayor, CNN reports. According to the report, the city attorney’s office has tentatively agreed to settle the case, and the council is expected to…

Multiple law-enforcement officials have identified the shooter who killed 10 people at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, even as Douglas County, Ore., Sheriff John Hanlin remains firm in his stance that he “will never” utter the shooter’s name, CNN reports. In an interview on New Day Friday, Hanlin reiterated…

Alabama requires a photo ID to vote. This week Alabama decided to announce that it would stop issuing driver’s licenses in certain counties because of budget cuts. Those counties happen to contain the highest percentage of nonwhite voters, an AL.com columnist has pointed out.  According to the report, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced (pdf)…

A former Providence, R.I., police officer who was instrumental in the arrest of a car-theft suspect—later sentenced to 20 years in prison—has filed a lawsuit accusing fellow officers and state police of assault and violation of rights after he was beaten and placed under arrest during the same 2012 encounter, the Providence Journal reports.  Christopher…

Rockmart High School in Polk County, Ga., went into a lockdown drill after tensions broke out over a Confederate battle flag on campus, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.  It reportedly began when a 10th-grade boy came to school with the infamous flag decorating his backpack.  “He got dropped off out of his truck and came down…

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama officially welcomed Pope Francis during an arrival ceremony held on the South Lawn of the White House. According to the White House, the crowd joining the president in welcoming the iconic religious figure totaled some 11,000 ticketed guests, not counting staff, military, press or other members…

Families with an incarcerated family member struggle with basic needs such as food and housing, according to a survey by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Forward Together and other community organizations that work with imprisoned individuals, the New York Times reports.  According to the report, almost two-thirds of such families struggle to meet…

It’s been some 17 months since Gugsa Abraham Dabela was found dead by a Redding, Conn., roadside. By all accounts, just hours before his body was found, Dabela was hanging out with friends, having a good time and handing out business cards for his new law practice. His family has been reeling in the aftermath; questions…

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a Republican 2016 presidential hopeful, had a lot to say about the Black Lives Matter movement while he was in Ferguson, Mo., where the movement was born out of the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown, CBS St. Louis and the Associated Press reports. Carson chastised the activist movement in an…