culture
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11-Year-Old Shoots Grandmother After Getting Into Trouble at School
An 11-year-old Oklahoma boy came home to his grandmother’s Tulsa apartment with a bad progress report from his school. He gave his grandmother the report, and while she sat reading, authorities say, he went to her room and grabbed a .22-caliber gun, then returned and shot her in the back of the head. “All I…
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Magic Johnson Responds to Donald Sterling Backlash
It seems as if the entertainment site TMZ, which has been breaking news left and right, scooped Anderson Cooper’s Tuesday-night interview with NBA legend Magic Johnson regarding the continuing fallout from racist statements made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. In a telephone interview earlier Tuesday with the gossip conglomerate, Johnson slammed Sterling for…
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What’s With the Fixation on Putting Black Boys in Ties?
I’m a graduate student in education and currently a teacher’s assistant at a somewhat diverse urban charter school in a major city where I hope to teach in the future. The principal (African American) is a very dedicated professional who is himself a mentor and father figure to many of the students, who look up…
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Jameis Winston’s Dad Wants Around-the-Clock Security for Son
Florida State University quarterback and baseball closer Jameis Winston’s father wants the school to provide a handler for his son at all times because Jameis has had a few run-ins with the law, the latest of which involved unpaid-for crab legs taken from a grocery store. “He’s supposed to have somebody around him 24-7,” Jameis’…
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Fla. Prison Guard’s Sexual Assault by Inmates Went Unreported
The incident occurred in December, but it wasn’t reported to the police until March 15. A female prison officer from Miami claims that she was sexually assaulted by 17 inmates during a mass fight at Miami-Dade’s pretrial detention facility, but her supervisors took months to report the incident, NBC Miami reports. “You know, I don’t do anything…
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Former NBA Star Gilbert Arenas ‘Forgives’ Donald Sterling
Former NBA All-Star Gilbert “Agent Zero” Arenas publicly accepted Donald Sterling’s attempt at an apology on Instagram. Posting a picture of the embattled Los Angeles Clippers owner on his page, Arenas wrote, “I’ll be the first to accept ur apology. “As a man who’s made a mistake or two in life I know how hard…
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Dear Donald Sterling: Just Shut Up, Already
I thought it would be impossible to loathe still-Clippers owner Donald Sterling any more than I did after hearing his secretly recorded remarks in which he asked his half-black female companion to stop publicly associating with black people or bringing them to Clippers games and also threw Magic Johnson under the bus. I also thought…
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The Film Adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun Comes Full Circle
Movies rarely do books justice, and thus I was surprised that the film adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun captured the nuance that author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie achieved in her award-winning novel. The stellar ensemble cast is partially responsible. Wealthy Nigerian twin sisters Olanna (Thandie Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) are each involved…
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US Intelligence Aircraft Flies Over Nigeria in Search of Missing Girls
The search for the missing Chibok schoolgirls continues, with a U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flying over Nigeria with that government’s go-ahead, the Associated Press reports. The U.S. is also sharing commercial satellite images. According to the news wire, government officials have promised that “all options are open” in the search for and rescue…
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Openly Gay NFL Player Michael Sam’s Boyfriend Has Mob Relations
Turns out that the man on the other end of the biggest NFL draft kiss is related to a mobster. That’s right: Michael Sam’s boyfriend, Vito Cammisano, is the grandson of late Midwest wiseguy William (Willie the Rat) Cammisano. According to the New York Daily News, Cammisano’s father, Gerlarmo (Jerry) Cammisano, 60, served 14 months…