New York City teens ages 16 and 17 who get arrested for nonviolent, petty crimes will be given the opportunity to forgo appearing before a judge and having the citation appear on their record, and instead opt into a “diversion program” that will require them to do community-service hours, counseling or a rehabilitating session with…

Two former Vanderbilt University football players are currently on trial on charges they sexually assaulted a female student in June 2013, the New York Daily News reports. In total, four former football players were indicted, but the remaining two will be tried separately. The victim was reportedly unconscious at the time of the attack.  On Tuesday, the first…

On Tuesday, VH1 decided to bring an abrupt end to the first season of Sorority Sisters, the reality-TV show that has been surrounded by drama since before it even aired. While the show hasn’t been officially canceled, VH1 will air the remaining three episodes of the show back-to-back Friday night. Coincidentally, the move came on…

CNN anchor Don Lemon has been widely criticized for asking Arsalan Iftikhar, a Muslim and a human rights attorney, whether or not Iftikhar supported the jihadist group ISIS—also known as the Islamic State—during a live interview on CNN earlier this month. On Monday Iftikhar joined the chorus of people ridiculing Lemon by writing an open letter in which he…

It’s been less than a week since U.S. News & World Report first let us know that recently departed Fox News host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was singling out Beyoncé, of all people, for criticism as he explores an outsider-ish 2016 presidential run as the socially conservative alternative to the rest of the…

Karen Pittman is an actress whose star is on the rise. She is currently burning up the Broadway stage in Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced. The play examines the precariousness of power, identity, prestige and race relations in contemporary New York City. The brave narrative tackles subjects like Islamophobia, cultural appropriation, and interracial personal…

During an interview with People magazine, Mike Huckabee—the former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential-primary candidate—described how he is flabbergasted that President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama allow their daughters to be fans of Beyoncé, the New York Daily News reports. “I don’t understand how on one hand they can be such doting parents…

When New York City occupational therapist Debra Fisher discovered that one of her special needs students, 13-year-old Aaron Philip, had a talent for video animation, Fisher coordinated a fundraiser to help Aaron create a multimedia project that would help other special needs kids. Fisher sent emails to other staffers at Public School 333 in Manhattan…

On Monday the White House revealed that President Barack Obama regrets that he did not send a more senior U.S. official to the march in Paris on Sunday to denounce terrorism. Heads of state from a number of countries gathered to commemorate the shooting attacks against journalists, police officers and hostages that occurred in France…