news
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High School Graduation Rates Reach Record Highs; Gap Narrows for Black and Latino Students
The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that U.S. high school graduation rates reached record highs in the 2013-14 school year, with 82 percent of teens graduating. African-American and Latino students are also continuing to close the graduation gap with their white counterparts. According to the Education Department, there was a 17-point percentage gap in…
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All Los Angeles Public Schools Closed After Bomb Threat
Public schools in Los Angeles were suddenly closed and students sent home Tuesday after authorities electronically received what officials are describing as a credible bomb threat, the New York Times reports. Ramon C. Cortines, the superintendent of schools, said that schools would be kept closed until police were able to search all buildings to ensure…
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‘How Long Does It Take to Click a Seat Belt?’: Closing Arguments in Freddie Gray Case
“How long does it take to click a seat belt and click a radio to ask for a medic? Two, three or four seconds?” Baltimore prosecutor Janice Bledsoe asked as she faced jurors during closing arguments in the first trial regarding the death of Freddie Gray. She then placed on the table, so jurors could…
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Sam’s Club CEO Talks Diversity and White Men Are Outraged; Comments Deemed ‘Racist’
Sam’s Club CEO Rosalind Brewer is in hot water with white men after a CNN interview in which she championed diversity and talked about an experience meeting with a supplier who had no representation of women or people of color. “It has to start with top leadership,” Brewer said regarding the way she promotes diversity…
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NBA Ref Reveals He Is Gay Days After NBA Star Is Suspended for Reportedly Calling Him Gay Slur
On Dec. 3, Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo was ejected from a game by referee Bill Kennedy. Rondo refused to leave the court immediately after being ejected and instead followed Kennedy to the far sideline, where he reportedly called the 18-year veteran a gay slur. Rondo was quoted as saying, “You’re a motherf—king f—got.…
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Chicago Police Commander Accused of Shoving Gun Down Suspect’s Throat Is Acquitted
Chicago Police Cmdr. Glenn Evans, who was accused of pushing his service gun down a suspect’s throat, as well as holding a stun gun to the young man’s groin, was acquitted of battery and misconduct charges Monday, the Associated Press reports. It’s a controversial ruling by Cook County Judge Diane Cannon at a time when…
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Death of Alonzo Smith, Who Was in Custody of Security Guards, Ruled Homicide
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., has ruled the death of a local man found unresponsive while in the custody of security guards last month a homicide, the Huffington Post reports. According to the report, a homicide ruling does not mean that a crime was committed, however. In November the Metropolitan…
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Convicted Rapist Daniel Holtzclaw on Suicide Watch in Jail: Report
Convicted rapist Daniel Holtzclaw, who was found guilty of 18 out of the 36 charges he faced, including four counts of rape in the first degree and four counts of forced oral sodomy, is reportedly under suicide watch, KFOR reported Friday. Prosecutors accused the former Oklahoma City officer of selecting his victims, all of them…
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President Obama Leads Rare Strategy Session on Terrorism
President Barack Obama met with his national security team at the Pentagon Monday and then looked to ease fears of domestic terrorism during the holidays in a press conference. The president assured the public that the U.S.-led coalition is hitting ISIS, or the Islamic State, “harder than ever” and will continue with this strategy and…
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Muslim Student Reportedly Singled Out by Teacher Who Asked if She Had Bomb in Backpack
A Georgia father is claiming that his 13-year-old daughter was singled out at Shiloh Middle School in Snellville, because of her religion, and he’s demanding answers, CBS46 reports. Abdirizak Aden said that his daughter was in her science class when her teacher asked her, in front of the entire class, if she had a bomb in…