A California mother is suing the city of Carlsbad, Calif., after she says she was pinned to the ground and repeatedly punched in the head during a 2013 arrest, CBS Los Angeles reports.  Cindy Hahn calls July 31, 2013, a “horrific day,” a day when a simple inquiry reportedly led to her getting on the…

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…

Former President Jimmy Carter has been tapped to mediate the ongoing legal battle among the three living children of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who are at odds over whether to sell the civil rights icon’s traveling Bible and 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, the Associated Press reports.  Last year MLK’s estate, which is controlled…

A black traveler claims he was seated next to drunken white supremacists who made violently racist comments and that the cabin crew of the Lufthansa flight he was on did not take his concerns for his safety seriously, The Mirror reports.  Chicago resident David Barthwell was on a flight from Ibiza, Spain, to Frankfurt, Germany, when…

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…

While Ben Carson got some public backlash for his anti-Muslim comments, in which he opined that he “would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” it seems as if he garnered some like-minded supporters as well, with an influx of donations boosting the super PAC that supports his candidacy, the…