news
-
Walmart to Remove all Confederate Flag Merchandise
Walmart is adding its bottom line to the current national debate surrounding the use of the Confederate flag, telling CNN that all merchandise bearing the controversial symbol will be removed from its stores. The announcement came hours after Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced her support for removing the flag from statehouse grounds. The…
-
GOP Candidate Ben Carson Maintains Charleston Massacre Was Fueled by Racism
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson wrote in a Monday USA Today op-ed that leaders ought to be clear in articulating that last week’s church massacre in Charleston, S.C., resulted from racism. To Carson, it’s clear that the gunman, Dylann Roof, was fueled by racial hatred because he is alleged to have uttered racially charged statements during the…
-
Obama to Deliver Eulogy for Emanuel AME Pastor in Charleston, SC
President Barack Obama is scheduled to be in Charleston, S.C., Friday for the first time in eight years for the funeral of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was also a state senator, the Post and Courier reports. The president will deliver his fellow Democrat’s eulogy, an official confirmed to the news site. Vice President Joe…
-
Former MLB Player Slain in Murder-Suicide, Police Say
On Sunday officers found Darryl Hamilton, a former Major League Baseball player for five teams, dead inside a Pearland, Texas, home after a shooting in an apparent murder-suicide, police said, USA Today reports. Hamilton had sustained several gunshot wounds in a “dispute,” according to a police report cited by the news outlet. In another part…
-
Report: SC Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to Call for Removal of Confederate Flag
South Carolina’s Sen. Lindsey Graham is expected to add his voice to the growing number of lawmakers demanding that the Confederate flag be removed from state grounds, CNN reports. Graham, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is expected to appear alongside Gov. Nikki Haley late Monday afternoon to make his announcement calling for the flag’s removal.…
-
Cousin: Dylann Roof ‘Went Over the Edge’ When His Girl Crush Started to Date a Black Guy
Editor’s note: After speaking with two members of Dylann Roof’s family, The Intercept, the outlet from which this piece obtained its information, can no longer stand by the premise of this story. Read The Intercept’s full retraction statement here. Dylann Roof’s hatred for black people—in horrific display during his shooting spree last week inside a historically black church—may…
-
Israeli Minister’s Wife Posts Controversial Tweet: ‘Obama Coffee’ Is ‘Black and Weak’
A “joke” tweeted by the wife of Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom drew fierce backlash on Twitter, ultimately leading her to delete the post and then apologize, Haaretz reports. “Do u know what Obama Coffee is? Black and weak,” Judy Nir-Mozes Shalom tweeted. According to the news report, Shalom quickly deleted the tweet, but not before…
-
1st NAACP Member Killed in the Civil Rights Struggle Memorialized 75 Years Later
Brownsville, Tenn., police officers snatched Elbert Williams from his home in the middle of the night on June 20, 1940. His body was found—beaten and with bullet wounds—three days later in the Hatchie River. The authorities, without investigating his murder, had him buried in an unmarked grave, according to the committee organized to establish his…
-
Russell Simmons Calls NYC Mayor de Blasio a ‘Bitch’ for Not Standing Up to the Police Department
Russell Simmons reportedly used some colorful language on a radio show June 18 to describe New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. According to Capital New York, the hip-hop mogul and activist called de Blasio a “bitch” for failing to stand up to the city’s police commissioner, William Bratton, and governor, Andrew Cuomo, over criminal…
-
Leader of White Supremacist Group Referenced by Dylann Roof Donated Thousands to Top Republicans
The president of a white supremacist group that was referenced in a manifesto attributed to accused Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal shooter Dylann Roof donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican campaigns, including those of former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pennsylvania) and Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Kentucky), all of whom are running for…