Nina Simone‘s daughter discusses controversial biopic about her mother: Nina Simone’s only daughter, an accomplished Broadway actress and vocalist who goes by simply “Simone,” has made it her job to mind her mother’s legacy. She recently took to Facebook to discuss a controversial biopic of her mother, which is slated to star Mary J. Blige and…

LL Cool J may be known for his rapping skills and for his role as a special agent on TV’s NCIS: Los Angeles, but life imitated art on Wednesday when he made a citizen’s arrest of a home intruder, according to the Associated Press. Los Angeles police Sgt. Frank Preciado said Wednesday that police got a 911…

Ronald Weekley Jr., a 20-year-old Venice, Calif., skateboarder whose weekend arrest sparked protests in the city, has hired the attorney representing slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin after, he says, he was pinned to the ground by at least four Los Angeles police officers, according to NBC4 Los Angeles. On medication for a broken nose and…

In a story that grows more complex by the day, the girlfriend of 21-year-old Chavis Carter, who was fatally shot in the back of an Arkansas police car while handcuffed, told an investigator that he called and told her about the gun, police said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. The news came on the…

Thursday, Aug. 23, 10 a.m. EDT: Zimmerman’s Facebook page down: George Zimmerman’s attorney says he is shutting down a Facebook page that the defense team was using because it was leading to unhelpful discussions, but the website GZlegalcase.com is still active, the Associated Press reports at WPTV. Wednesday, Aug. 22, 10 a.m. EDT: Zimmerman is asking…

Unheard Martin Luther King Jr. audio found in a Chattanooga attic: Stephon Tull was sorting through dusty boxes in his father’s attic in Chattanooga, Tenn., a few months ago when he stumbled onto an audio reel labeled, “Dr. King interview, Dec. 21, 1960.” He didn’t know what he had until he listened to it on…

The Huffington Post reports that Texas officials have vowed to cut funding for Planned Parenthood after a federal court ruled in favor of a new law that bans clinics affiliated with abortion providers from getting money through a health program for low-income women. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans late Tuesday…

Across the nation, state and local governments are spending less on students of color than on whites, according to the Center for American Progress’ latest education report, “Unequal Education: Federal Loophole Enables Lower Spending on Students of Color.” Here are some highlights: Since fully 35 percent of the nation’s students of color attend school in…