news
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Ky. Civil Rights Leader Georgia Davis Powers Dies
Georgia Davis Powers, a leading figure in the struggle for racial equality in Kentucky, died at age 92, the Associated Press reports. Powers reportedly passed away Saturday at her brother’s home in Louisville, Ky. Her longtime friend Muhammad Ali said, “She was fighting for equality for all people while I was still fighting for my…
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Fla. Toddler Dies in Drive-By Shooting
Jacksonville, Fla., police said Saturday that a 22-month-old boy died in a drive-by shooting, NBC News reports. The toddler, Aiden Michael McClendon, was in a parked car Friday night with his mother and grandmother when a white vehicle opened fire. Aiden was struck three times and taken to a hospital, where he died from the…
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Black Stars Shine at the Screen Actors Guild Awards
The Screen Actors Guild displayed its appreciation of black actors Saturday night. Several black performers received SAG awards for TV performances: Queen Latifah for her role as blues singer Bessie Smith in Bessie, Viola Davis for How to Get Away With Murder, Uzo Aduba for Orange Is the New Black and Idris Elba for his role in Luther. Elba…
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President Obama to Visit US Mosque for 1st Time in His Presidency
The White House announced Saturday that President Barack Obama will visit a mosque in Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reports. Obama plans to meet with community leaders Wednesday and deliver remarks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore. It will be Obama’s first visit to a U.S. mosque during his time in office. “As the president has said, Muslim…
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Elizabeth Warren Scolds President Obama for Being Weak on Wall Street
Elizabeth Warren took it straight to President Barack Obama and his administration for being soft on enforcement against big corporations and white-collar crime in a New York Times op-ed Friday. In the piece entitled “One Way to Rebuild Our Institutions,” Warren concedes that the Obama administration has a strong track record in using executive actions…
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Ky. Detention Staff Used Aikido on 16-Year-Old Hours Before Her Mysterious Death
A 16-year-old girl at an Elizabethtown, Ky., juvenile-detention facility was restrained with a martial arts move for refusing to remove her sweatshirt during booking. The otherwise healthy teen was found dead in her cell the next morning. According to WDRB, Gynnya McMillen was booked at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 10 for a domestic-violence-related offense…
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Jury Awards Black Bartender $687,000 in Racial-Discrimination Case Against DC Sports Bar
A former bartender was awarded $687,000 after jurors found that the owner of a Washington, D.C., bar violated her civil rights under federal and district anti-discrimination laws, the Washington Post reports. Redline owner Mick Dadlani and his company were found to have racially discriminated against newly hired bartender Briggitta Hardin at the time of the…
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NYC Has Paid Firefighter $125,000 for More Than 2 Years to Do Nothing: Report
A New York City firefighter has been getting paid since 2013 while not having to do any work, the New York Post reports. Arnaldo Rodriguez, 40, has been at home for the past two-and-a-half years, culminating in some $125,000 in salary plus benefits, while the Fire Department of New York decides what to do with…
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Mich. State Workers in Flint Got Fresh Bottled Water 8 Months Before Residents Were Told Water Wasn’t Safe
In January 2015, while cries from residents of Flint, Mich., that something was wrong with the tap water went ignored, state officials made provisions to have watercoolers installed at the State Office Building in Flint. It would be some eight months before city officials would admit that the tap water was unsafe to use, according…
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Watch: ‘Mean’ Joe Greene Reunites With Coke Kid From Iconic Super Bowl Ad
A lot has changed in 37 years. You just have to look back at the famous 1979 Coca-Cola commercial featuring Pittsburgh Steelers legend “Mean” Joe Greene and the little kid who offered him a Coke to drink, which gained iconic status after it aired during Super Bowl XIV in 1980. That being said, Tommy Okon…