culture
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Contractors Who Witnessed Michael Brown Shooting Say the Teen Had His Hands Up
Two contractors have come forward with their own details surrounding Michael Brown’s fatal shooting in early August in Ferguson, Mo., corroborating other witness reports that insisted the teen had his hands up in surrender before he was killed by police Officer Darren Wilson, CNN reports. In exclusive video obtained by CNN, taken by an unknown…
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Actor Terry Crews Relives Childhood of Domestic Violence With Ray Rice Scandal
As video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee unconscious continues to spark discussion about domestic abuse, actor and former NFL player Terry Crews weighed in on the scandal, recalling the violence of his own childhood, Entertainment Tonight reports. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star has always been open about the abuse his mother faced at the hands…
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Ebola Relief Workers: US, We Want Your Aid, Not Your Troops
The U.S., United Kingdom, European Union and the Gates Foundation are all donating money and resources to help curb the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, but aid workers on the ground have one main concern with the strings attached to America’s aid: The U.S. wants to dispatch a security detail to accompany the health care…
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Mike Tyson Goes Mike Tyson on a Reporter After ‘Convicted Rapist’ Remark
There’s a harrowing moment in Mike Tyson’s one-man stage play, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, when he describes how he was accused of, tried for and eventually convicted of raping 18-year-old Desiree Washington in 1992. He talks—sensitively—about how he wasn’t the first person Washington had accused of rape and how his agent at the time, Don King, hired…
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If We Want Diverse Books, We Need Diverse MFA Programs
Recently, in the New Yorker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz described his experience in his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program: His first year, he almost dropped out because it “was too white.” States Diaz: “I was a person of color in a workshop whose theory of reality did not include my most fundamental…
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Ray Rice Video Sent to NFL in April, Law-Enforcement Official Says
Whether someone at the NFL before this week saw the full video in which Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punched his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, unconscious on an elevator is still up for debate. However, the league allegedly had access to the damning footage. According to the Associated Press, a law-enforcement official has come forward…
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Jersey of Bengals Player Whose Daughter Is Battling Cancer Becomes Fastest Seller
Devon Still needed some good news. The Cincinnati Bengals rookie’s daughter, Leah, has been battling stage 4 cancer at the same time he was battling to make the team. Last week Still was cut, but when the organization learned of his situation, they signed him back to the practice squad. He was on the team,…
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Ferguson Residents Demand Answers From City Council in Heated Open Meeting
It was a tense, fiery City Council meeting on Tuesday at the Greater Grace Church in Ferguson, Mo., as residents came to air their grievances and demand answers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. According to the report, more than 600 residents came to the meeting, where they continued to voice their demands for change in…
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Before Social Media, Black Celebs Could Avoid the Ray Rice Treatment
Everyone wants to forgive the favorite child, the prodigal son, the hometown hero. It’s why, despite the overwhelming evidence, suspended Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice still has his online defenders. It’s why it took a video on TMZ to get the NFL to do the right thing. The mindset? Everyone knows who he is, but…
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Chicago Police Commander Sued for Allegedly Putting Gun in Man’s Mouth
A Chicago police commander has come under intense scrutiny after a lawsuit was filed against him for allegedly putting his gun into a young man’s mouth, the Chicago Tribune reports. According to the lawsuit, as reported by the Tribune, in January 2013 Cmdr. Glenn Evans pulled up at a bus stop and began staring at…