culture
-
Dispatcher Suspended for Comments About Oprah During Maya Angelou 911 Call
A Forsyth County, N.C., emergency dispatcher was suspended with pay after making comments regarding Oprah Winfrey during a 911 call on Wednesday reporting the death of her good friend Maya Angelou, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. John Ruckh himself did not take the 911 call but could be heard in the background speaking about a controversial…
-
When a ‘Gentleman’ Is Linked to Mass Murder
A gentleman. A mass murderer. Same thing? Now let me explain. Picture this: A young man parks his car in a mall parking lot. He gets out and heads toward the mall entrance. As he approaches the door, out of the corner of his eye, he sees a young woman walking in the same direction.…
-
Chicago Teacher Killed by Stray Bullet
A Chicago special education teacher working a second job has become one of the latest victims of gun violence, the Chicago Tribune reports. Betty Howard, 58, was at her second job in a real estate office in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood late Thursday afternoon when shots were fired in the street. Some of the bullets tore…
-
Trayvon Martin’s Friend Rachel Jeantel Graduates From High School
Rachel Jeantel was struggling. She was on the witness stand as an unsuspecting key figure thrust into a national case involving her friend’s death, race, racism, “Stand your ground” laws and more. She was the last person to talk to Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, before his deadly encounter with George Zimmerman. Her testimony…
-
Donald Sterling Sues NBA for Over $1,000,000,000
The high stakes drama surrounding the life Los Angeles Clippers co-owner Donald Sterling took a new turn Friday after he filed suit against the NBA for more than $1 billion, CNN reports. The suit was provided to CNN by Sterling’s lawyer, the report says. It comes in the aftermath of his racist tirade against blacks…
-
CBS Cancels The Arsenio Hall Show Amid Ratings Struggle
Arsenio Hall, who made history in the early 1990s as the first African-American late night TV talk show host, announced Friday on social media that his new show had been canceled after the first season. The move comes even after CBS Television said in February that it had renewed the The Arsenio Hall show for…
-
First Daughter Malia Obama Attends Prom
As president, Barack Obama has addressed issues that impact the nation, from health care and race relations to war, but yesterday he paused to reflect on some personal matters. At the top of his list was the fact that his daughter Malia, who came into the White House as a small girl recently attended her…
-
Texas Women Subjected to Full Body Cavity Search on Highway
Two Texas women are suing the Texas Department of Public Safety for a “humiliating” full body cavity search they had to undergo after being pulled over for speeding. They recently sat down with news station HLN to recount that horrible day in 2012. The two women, Alexandria Randle and Brandy Hamilton, both in their late…
-
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki Resigns Amid Heath Care Scandal
Early Friday morning, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki apologized to veterans and Congress for a VA system that had come under national scrutiny after scathing accusations about the flawed heath care system for veterans, which included yearlong wait times to see doctors during his tenure. During his announcement, Shinseki declared, “This situation can be fixed.”…
-
Mass. Men Sentenced to Life as Juveniles Plead for a 2nd Chance
Two Massachusetts men were sentenced to a mandatory life sentence when they were 17 years old after being convicted of felony murder charges, but now they are hoping to grasp at freedom. Joseph Donovan, now 38, and Frederick Christian, now 37, took part in the state’s first parole hearings since the controversial juvenile-sentencing law was…