culture
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St. Louis Protests: ‘Just Because They Have a Badge’ Doesn’t Mean That They Can Kill Us
St. Louis, Sat., Oct. 11: It’s been nine weeks since unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed by police Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. And for those in this majority-African-American municipality, as well as many citizens of the surrounding St. Louis metro area, Brown’s shooting, the hourslong delay after his death when his body was…
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Chicago Man Allegedly Stabs Woman ‘Because She Was Black’
A Chicago-area man was charged Saturday with stabbing a 79-year-old woman four times in the back and neck at a grocery store Friday because of her race, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The man, Pol Danilov, 26, was charged with attempted murder and committing a hate crime. He reportedly told police that he attacked the woman…
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LAPD Offers $50,000 in Slaying of Transgender Woman
The last time anyone saw Aniya Knee Parker was when she was picked up on surveillance video about 3 a.m. on Oct. 2 on a street corner in East Hollywood, Calif. That’s when she was engaged in a struggle with three men over her purse and then shot dead as she tried to run away,…
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Dallas Health Worker Tests Positive for Ebola
A Dallas health care worker has tested positive for Ebola, according to preliminary test results, CNN reports. Further tests will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to confirm the presence of the virus in the unidentified worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, the news site notes. The worker reportedly…
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Viola Davis Grew Up Ashamed of Her Poverty
Viola Davis has been able to navigate the harsh landscape of Hollywood because she got an early lesson in survival. The 49-year-old native of South Carolina grew up in abject poverty and often did not know where her next meal was going to come from, she said Friday speaking at Variety magazine’s Power of Women…
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Daisha Simmons’ Story Is a Cautionary Tale for All Student Athletes
One of the biggest misconceptions about student athletes on the collegiate level is that they are being given something of worth (a free education) in exchange for their compliance in the classroom and their hard work on the playing field as well. But it’s a bit murkier than that. The NCAA loves to paint itself…
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Weekend Rally in St. Louis Begins Peacefully
In the aftermath of a second high profile shooting death of a black teen by a white officer in area of St. Louis, Mo., demonstrators Saturday kicked off peaceful protests against police violence, according to Reuters. A march through downtown St. Louis was slated to end with discussions about race and teach-ins about how to…
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Chicago Man Gets 160 Years in Death of Suburban Teen
A 41-year-old Chicago man on Friday was sentenced to 160 years in prison in the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old girl almost three years ago when he broke into her west suburban home in Indian Head, Il., the Chicago Tribune reports. John Wilson Jr., was charged with murder, armed robbery and home invasion in the…
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Jahi McMath’s Family Seeks Medical Consensus
Nearly a week after releasing video clips of Jahi McMath apparently responding to verbal commands although she has been ruled brain-dead, the girl’s family is seeking a consensus from the medical community, saying she is “very much alive.” If doctors agree that Jahi is brain-damaged and not brain-dead, the death certificate could be reversed, which…
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2nd Mistrial for Detroit Cop Who Killed 7-Year-Old Girl
A mistrial was declared Friday in the case of a Detroit police officer charged with a misdemeanor in the fatal shooting of a sleeping 7-year-old girl. Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway issued the ruling after jurors deadlocked in the trial of Officer Joseph Weekley, who killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a bungled raid…