news
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Court Blocks Release of Albert Woodfox, Angola 3 Member in Solitary Confinement for Over 40 Years
Albert Woodfox, who has spent more that 40 years in solitary confinement in Louisiana prisons, was cautiously hopeful when a federal judge ordered his release earlier this week, his attorney said, according to the Times-Picayune. But his hopes were dashed Friday when the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order continuing to block…
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Teen Convicted in Death of Her Mom in Bali Is Now Accused of Trying to Sell Her Baby From Prison
A 19-year-old Chicago woman who is serving 10 years in a jail in Bali, Indonesia, on a conviction in the death of her mother has been accused of trying to sell her 3-month-old baby daughter for $150,000, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lawyers for Heather Mack, 19, dismissed the allegation. She and her boyfriend, Tommy…
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Texas Teacher Fired After Racist Facebook Post About McKinney Pool Attack
A Texas elementary school teacher has been fired after her racist Facebook post about the McKinney pool attack went viral, according to the New York Daily News. The teacher, Karen Fitzgibbon, who worked as a fourth-grade teacher at Bennett Elementary School in the Frenship Independent School District in Wolfforth, Texas, was fired Thursday, the report…
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Jason Whitlock Is Out as Head of ESPN’s New Race-and-Sports Website
Just weeks before the scheduled launch of ESPN’s The Undefeated, a new website about the intersection of sports and race, commentator Jason Whitlock was replaced Friday as its head, reports the New York Times. Leon Carter, the site’s editorial director, will replace him on an interim basis, the report says. The Undefeated was built largely…
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Orlando Police Chief Sees No Reason to Suspend Officers Shown in Video Kicking Black Man
Video that shows a police officer repeatedly kicking a man sitting on a curb is not enough for a suspension, says the Orlando, Fla., police chief, CNN reports. Police Chief John Mina asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the June 4 incident. In the meantime, the officers will remain on duty and…
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All Charges Against UVA Student Martese Johnson Dropped
All charges against a University of Virginia student who was bloodied while being arrested by state liquor-control agents have been dropped, the Associated Press reports. Martese Johnson told reporters that he was “ecstatic” that his charges, which included resisting arrest without force and public intoxication or swearing, were dismissed. “I’ve always been passionate about social…
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Legally Blind Ark. Man Accuses Police of Injuring Him After Slamming Him to Ground
A legally blind Little Rock, Ark., resident is considering suing the city’s Police Department after, he says, he was injured when a Little Rock police officer slammed him to the ground, Fox 16 reports. Eric Wilson, who can see only shadows, had just gotten off work at the Lighthouse for the Blind on June 1,…
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Cleveland Judge Finds Probable Cause for Charges in Tamir Rice’s Shooting Death
A judge has found probable cause to charge Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann in the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, CNN reports. According to the report, after reviewing the facts of the November shooting that has spurred nationwide debate, Municipal Court Judge Ronald Adrine said that he thinks prosecutors should move forward with the charges…
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‘Black’ Wash. State NAACP Leader Is Really White, Parents Say
Updated Friday, June 12, 12:35 p.m. EDT: The NAACP has responded to the backlash and media frenzy surrounding reports that one of its chapter presidents “disguised herself” as black for years. In a statement posted to its website, the organization stood firmly behind Spokane NAACP President Rachel Dolezal’s advocacy record, pointing out that a person’s…
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‘Black Madam’ to Serve at Least 10 Years in Fatal Butt-Injection Case
Padge-Victoria Windslowe received a 10- to 20-year prison sentence for performing illegal “body sculpting” butt injections that killed one woman and seriously injured another, NBCPhiladelphia.com reports. A Philadelphia judge sentenced the self-proclaimed “Black Madam” Thursday following her conviction in March of third-degree murder in the death of Claudia Aderotimi. The 20-year-old dancer traveled to Philadelphia…