culture
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ESPN’s Stuart Scott Dies at 49
After a long battle with cancer, longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott died Sunday, the sports cable station reported. He was 49. Scott joined ESPN in 1993 for the launch of ESPN2, quickly moving up the ranks as one of the network’s main SportsCenter anchors thanks to his rapid-fire delivery and unique phrasing to describe highlights,…
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White Police Chief Draws Fire for Challenging Racism
Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay thought he was practicing an important tenet of community policing when he obliged an activist’s request to take a picture holding an anti-racism sign at the city’s New Year’s Eve parade, MSNBC reports. The sign read, “I resolve to challenge racism @ work #EndWhiteSilence.” Instead of winning praise for addressing…
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Mich. Cop Reinstated After Cutting Off Woman’s Weave
A police officer from suburban Detroit has been rehired against the wishes of her superiors, who fired her after she was caught on tape forcibly cutting a young hairdresser’s weave during an arrest, according to Raw Story, which cited a report by the Macomb Daily. Bernadette Najor was fired last year from the Warren Police…
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Mentally Ill Woman’s Death in Police Custody Ruled a Homicide
A mentally ill Cleveland woman died in police custody nearly two months ago because she was physically restrained in a prone position, a coroner announced Friday, the Associated Press reports. A heart ailment and bipolar disorder also were found to have contributed to her death, the report says. As a result, the medical examiner in…
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NYPD Chief Urges Cops Not to Turn Backs on Mayor at Funeral
At Saturday’s wake for the second of two New York City police officers killed in a surprise attack last month by a lone gunman, Police Commissioner William Bratton is urging officers to refrain from making political statements aimed at the mayor, the Associated Press reports. “A hero’s funeral is about grieving, not grievance,” Bratton says…
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Ariz. School District Accused of Violating Ethnic-Studies Ban
Citing a ban on ethnic studies, the head of Arizona public schools says the Tucson Unified School District is violating state law and risks losing funding because it offers courses with an emphasis on ethnic issues, the Associated Press reports. Superintendent John Huppenthal announced Friday that he would seek sanctions against the district if it…
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Get THINspired This New Year and Stick to Your Weight-Loss Goals
It’s a new year, and once again you resolutely put improved fitness and health down as one of your goals—never mind the countless jokes and memes that poke fun at individuals who join a gym on Jan. 1, and point out that by Jan. 31, the facilities are as empty as can be. This time,…
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Ala. Grandmother’s Home Spray-Painted: ‘Move N–ger Now’
As Terry Turner prepared to bring in 2015 with her granddaughter, festivities took a frightening turn as vandals threw rocks at the front of her house in Limestone County, Ala., WHNT 19 reports. According to the news station, three windows at the front of the house were broken in, causing the grandmother, terrified that someone was in…
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Texas Server Fired After Using N-Word on Receipt to Label Diners
One group of friends in Pantego, Texas, closed out their year in shock after discovering that their server had labeled each of their receipts with the word “nigga,” CBS DFW reports. The group from North Texas wanted to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Shatila, a Lebanese restaurant, and had a good time, but when it…
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New Orleans Woman Loses Husband and Son to Gun Violence Nearly 10 Years After Youngest Son Was Shot to Death
The unimaginable happened to 65-year-old Leslie Lange just 12 hours into the new year, and nearly 10 years after she lost her youngest son to gun violence in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. According to the Times-Picayune, around noon on New Year’s Day, a “hail of gunfire” claimed the lives of “her husband and last…