Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian institution, has put one of its professors on administrative leave. The move apparently stems from remarks that the associate professor of political science made in solidarity with Muslims, the New York Times reports. The Illinois liberal arts college released a statement explaining that it suspended Larycia Hawkins for “significant questions…

A Brooklyn, N.Y., woman is suing for unspecified damages after she claims a police officer called her a homophobic slur before he attacked and falsely arrested her, the Huffington Post reports. Stephanie Dorceant, 29, and her ex-girlfriend Nandi Allman filed the lawsuit in a Brooklyn federal court Monday, just two weeks after Dorceant was cleared…

A warrant has been issued for Ethan Couch, the “affluenza”-afflicted teen who is serving probation after killing four people in a drunk-driving crash two years ago, WFAA reports.  According to the station, Couch, 18, missed a check-in with his probation officer earlier this month, and court officers were unable to locate him or his mother.…

A Mississippi mother is speaking out to ensure that other kids know they can speak up, after her 8-year-old was made to change out of her “Black Girls Rock!” shirt while at Popps Ferry Elementary School in Biloxi. According to WLOX, Sharika Jolly has long been hoping to instill some self-esteem in her daughter, Makiyah-Jae,…

Afro-Mexicans, for the first time, have finally been given the option of identifying as black in the national census and claiming their African heritage. As Quartz reports, as of Dec. 8, with the release of Mexico’s 2015 population survey, 1.38 million people identified themselves as having African heritage, representing a total of 1.2 percent of…

A Detroit man was arraigned Monday in a case involving the shooting of a federal judge back in March, the Detroit Free Press reports. Kevin Andrew Smith, 23, was indicted by a one-man grand jury nine months after U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg was shot outside his home. Smith is facing multiple charges, including armed…

Public schools in Los Angeles were suddenly closed and students sent home Tuesday after authorities electronically received what officials are describing as a credible bomb threat, the New York Times reports.  Ramon C. Cortines, the superintendent of schools, said that schools would be kept closed until police were able to search all buildings to ensure…

Chicago Police Cmdr. Glenn Evans, who was accused of pushing his service gun down a suspect’s throat, as well as holding a stun gun to the young man’s groin, was acquitted of battery and misconduct charges Monday, the Associated Press reports.  It’s a controversial ruling by Cook County Judge Diane Cannon at a time when…

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., has ruled the death of a local man found unresponsive while in the custody of security guards last month a homicide, the Huffington Post reports.  According to the report, a homicide ruling does not mean that a crime was committed, however.  In November the Metropolitan…