news
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Chicago Cop Charged in Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Rekia Boyd Heads to Trial
Friends and family at a rally remembered Rekia Boyd Saturday as a trial date looms for the Chicago police detective accused in her fatal shooting, reports the Chicago Tribune. The officer, Dante Servin, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after, prosecutors say, he recklessly opened fire, over his shoulder, at a group of people on March…
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Martese Johnson: Pub Owner Disputes Claims He Was ‘Belligerent’
The owner of a bar where University of Virginia student Martese Johnson was brutally arrested released a statement Saturday denying claims that the 20-year-old man was belligerent, according to NBC 29. Kevin Badke, owner of Trinity Irish Pub, issued the statement through his attorney. His description of his interaction with Johnson early Wednesday morning runs counter…
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Watch: Serena Williams Withdraws From Indian Wells
On Friday Serena Williams withdrew before the semifinals at Indian Wells with a sprained right knee nearly 14 years after her sister Venus pulled out of the tournament, also with a knee injury, CNN reports. The move by Venus elicited jeers and racist taunts from the crowd, prompting Serena to embark on a yearslong boycott…
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Chris Brown’s Probation for Attack on Rihanna Ends
R&B singer Chris Brown celebrated Friday after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge released him from probation for a 2009 assault on his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, reports the Los Angeles Times. “IM (sic) OFF PROBATION!!!!!!!!” he tweeted to his 14 million followers. “Thank the Lord!!!!!!” Brown’s probation was revoked in January after he reportedly violated orders…
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‘I’d Have That Noose Ready’: Fort Lauderdale Cops Fired for Racist Texts
Three Fort Lauderdale, Fla., police officers in charge of patrolling a predominantly black neighborhood were fired Friday after a five-month investigation into racially charged text messages from their personal phones, according to the Sun-Sentinel. A fourth officer resigned in January before the investigation had been completed. Officers James Wells, 30, Jason Holding, 31, and Christopher Sousa,…
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NFL Player’s Ex Accused of Breaking His New Girlfriend’s Arm With Bat
The ex-girlfriend of an NFL player has been arrested in Braselton, Ga., on charges of slashing him and breaking his new girlfriend’s arm with a bat in a bizarre series of attacks, according to Atlanta’s WSB-TV. Police allege that Erika Palmer tried to hide out at a hotel in Gwinnett County, Ga., after breaking into…
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Ohio Man Receives $1 Million After Spending 39 Years in Jail for a Murder He Didn’t Commit
Ricky Jackson, 57, spent 39 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, and on Thursday an Ohio judge ordered the state to pay Jackson $1 million for his wrongful imprisonment, Reuters reports. Jackson was freed from prison last November. Jackson was informed by a journalist about the $1 million check coming his way.…
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Retired Ark. Nurse Devotes Her Pension to Running Food Pantry
When most people retire, they gather up their retirement money and look forward to spending their days unwinding after years of work. Perhaps they take a cruise or move to Florida. But Charolette Tidwell has dedicated her pension funds toward running a food pantry where she feeds 7,000 people a month in her hometown of…
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Pregnant Colo. Woman Stabbed and Baby Removed From Her Uterus
When a 26-year-old pregnant woman went to Dynel Lane’s house in Longmont, Colo., on Wednesday to inquire about a Craiglist post advertising baby clothes, the pregnant woman, identified by the Longmont Times-Call as Michelle Wilkins, was stabbed and cut open, allegedly by Lane, and her unborn baby was removed from her uterus. When Lane’s husband,…
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Black Students at UC Berkeley Want a Hall Renamed After Assata Shakur
African-American students at the University of California, Berkeley, have issued a number of demands to their school’s chancellor—chief among them that a building on campus be renamed after Assata Shakur, Fox News reports. Shakur, born Joanne Chesimard, is an icon from the 1970s black nationalist movement who escaped from prison in 1979 after she was…