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The man who police say shot and killed a Maryland firefighter was not charged in his death and was released from custody Saturday, reports USA Today. Prince George’s County firefighter John Ulmschneider, 39, was shot and killed Friday night while responding to a call in Temple Hills, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C. A second…

This week New York Times journalist Rachel Swarns published a formidable piece of journalism on how Georgetown University, one of the country’s most prestigious schools, was saved by the sale of 272 slaves in the early 1800s. Swarns, best known for her book on Michelle Obama’s ancestry, American Tapestry, wrote movingly about the devastating details…

If the activities from this week are any indication, President Barack Obama plans to really make his My Brother’s Keeper initiative a success before he leaves the White House. The president has been recruiting and using African-American entertainers and athletes to drum up support for the program, which focuses on black male excellence and support, and…

Although it could never happen on the hip-hop-themed juggernaut known as Empire (but then again, this is Empire), actors Grace Gealey and Trai Byers wed on Grand Cayman Island on Thursday. TMZ first reported on the nuptials with fuzzy images from the intimate, private ceremony showing Gealey—who plays the devious Anika Calhoun, aka Boo Boo…

President Barack Obama met privately with a gaggle of socially conscious and/or highly influential rappers and singers Friday at the White House to push for support of his My Brother’s Keeper initiative, dedicated to helping young men and boys of color. The Hill reports that rappers Busta Rhymes, Common, J. Cole, Wale, Ludacris and Chance…

Old-school rapper—and longtime Bronx, N.Y., resident—Slick Rick became an American citizen Friday after many years fighting deportation, reports the New York Daily News.   Born Ricky Walters in the United Kingdom, Rick came into fame in the 1980s with the iconic hip-hop classic, “La-Di-Da-Di” (later redone by Snoop Dogg) as part of Doug E. Fresh’s…

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser told lawmakers and city residents Friday that the District deserves representation in Congress, and she called for a citywide vote in November on the issue, reports the Washington Post. “I propose we take another bold step toward democracy in the District of Columbia,” Bowser said at a breakfast meeting in the…

Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson) was hospitalized on Friday after his private jet made an emergency landing in Illinois. TMZ was the first to report that Prince’s private jet made an unscheduled landing at Quad City Airport in Moline, Ill., a little after 1 a.m. Initial reports had fans and admirers scared that something serious…

First of all, how much do we love the fact that Nate Parker’s film on Nat Turner’s slave uprising is called The Birth of a Nation, reclaiming the moniker of one of the most virulently racist movies in the entire American film canon? Second, can we hardly wait for the October release, which finally and, if…

A female volunteer at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina went from 0 to 100 real quick. It is unclear what prompted the encounter between the enraged hospital volunteer and a father, Isaiah Baskins, who was at the facility with his two children and posted video of the incident to YouTube. According to…