news
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Chicago Judge Orders Release of Video Showing Teen Being Shot 16 Times by Police; Boy’s Mom Worries Footage May Cause Unrest
A Chicago judge has ordered police to release by Wednesday dash-cam video that reportedly shows the fatal October 2014 police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times, the Huffington Post reports. Laquan’s family say that they believe the teen was walking away when he was shot and that he may have been…
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DC to Pay $16,650,000 to Man Wrongly Imprisoned for 27 Years
Police framed Donald Eugene Gates for the 1981 rape and murder of Catherine T. Schilling in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., and he was sentenced in 1982 to life in prison. In 2009, after Gates had spent 27 years behind bars for the crime, DNA evidence cleared him of the Georgetown University student’s death.…
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SD Man Who Killed Adrian Peterson’s Son Gets Life in Prison
Joseph Patterson will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the murder of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s 2-year-old son. Patterson, 29, was convicted of second-degree murder in September and was sentenced Thursday to life in prison in South Dakota, the Associated Press reports. According to AP, an autopsy concluded that the…
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One of the Original Tuskegee Airmen Flight Instructors Is Dead at 96
A legend in his own right, one of the last remaining flight instructors who trained the renowned Tuskegee Airmen to fly combat planes in World War II has passed away in Georgia at the age of 96, the Associated Press reports. Milton Pitts Crenchaw died Tuesday at Piedmont Henry Hospital after succumbing to cardiovascular disease…
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Photo of Ga. High School Student Dressed in KKK Hood and Carrying Confederate Flag Prompts Investigation
East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, Ga., is currently investigating a photo that surfaced on social media this week, showing a student wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and carrying a Confederate battle flag, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The school sent out a letter to parents Wednesday detailing the incident and ensuring them that the…
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Man With Suspected Neo-Nazi Ties Faces Federal Hate Crime Charges for Assaulting a Black Man
A federal court in Iowa accused an alleged white supremacist on Wednesday of a hate crime for viciously beating a semiconscious black man in a racially motivated attack, the Associated Press reports. Randy Joe Metcalf, 40, was out on bond, awaiting trial on state assault charges for the attack, when federal authorities arrested him Tuesday.…
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Girls Kicked Off La. High School’s Basketball Team After Boycotting Game Because Coach Made Them ‘Uncomfortable’
Girls on the basketball team at Salmen High School in Slidell, La., were kicked off the team a day after they boycotted a game. They say they refused to play because complaints about their new coach were not properly addressed, the New Orleans Advocate reports. Seven girls in total were kicked off the team Wednesday…
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Study: Half of Young Black People Doubt They’ll Live Past Their Mid-30s
According to a new study, only half of young black people expect to live past age 35, the Huffington Post reports. On Monday the American Sociological Association and the Journal of Health and Social Behavior released the study (pdf), which asked more than 17,000 young people to predict their longevity. According to the Huffington Post, two out of three…
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Hispanic Lawmakers Angered by NBC Exec’s Use of the ‘I-Word’
A top NBC executive apologized to members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus after using the “i-word” in reference to undocumented immigrants during a meeting with the lawmakers, Politico reports. While discussing NBC’s integration with Telemundo, its Spanish-language network, NBC News President Deborah Turness gave an example about how it had covered Pope Francis’ U.S. visit.…
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Chicago Substitute Teacher Slammed for Music Assignment on Chief Keef
Parents of Chicago’s Fiske Elementary School students weren’t impressed after a substitute teacher gave sixth-graders a lesson and assignment based on controversial local rapper Chief Keef, calling the material inappropriate, WLS reports. According to the news station, a Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman said that Tuesday was the teacher’s last day. “If you were a sub,…