JFK’s civil rights legacy: 50 Years of myth and fact
There’s been as much myth as fact regarding John F. Kennedy’s civil rights legacy in the more than fifty years before, during and especially after his assassination on November 22, 1963. In the days before he delivered his now famed presidential inaugural address on Friday, January 20, 1961, two of his principal advisors Louis Martin...Florida congressman gets probation on cocaine charge
WASHINGTON — Florida Congressman Henry "Trey" Radel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and was sentenced to one year of probation.Radel, 37, a Republican who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives last year with the backing of the conservative Tea...Albuquerque hotel settles religious discrimination suit with EEOC
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — MCM Elegante Hotel in Albuquerque has agreed to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for $100,000 and other relief, the agency announced today.The settlement resolves an EEOC lawsuit filed on Sept. 21, 2011 for alleged religious discrimination...Changes weighed for California high school’s Arab mascot
School officials are weighing possible changes to a California high school's decades-old Arab mascot that the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has called offensive, the local school superintendent stated.But Coachella Valley Unified School District Superintendent Darryl Adams provided few details on alterations to be...U.S. foster parent charged after child found with dead chicken around neck
North Carolina — A social worker has been charged after her 11-year-old foster child was found chained to the porch of her home with a dead chicken hanging around his neck, a sheriff's official said on Saturday.Wanda Sue Larson, 57, was arrested and charged with child abuse and false imprisonment on Friday after a deputy found...Virginia state senator stabbed, son dead by suicide
Charlottesville, Va. — Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds was grievously stabbed by his son, who then shot himself on the morning of Tuesday Nov. 19.Austin "Gus" Deeds, 24, stabbed and critically wounded his father around 7 a.m. at their home in Millboro, Bath County, Virginia State Police said in a statement. At a press conference...Boston man drags motel manager to death with pickup truck after bill dispute
BOSTON — A Massachusetts man was charged on Tuesday, in the death of a woman dragged under his pickup truck for three miles along a highway south of Boston, after a dispute about a motel bill.Moses Acloque, 22, pleaded not guilty to charges including motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and leaving the scene of an...Illinois governor signs law legalizing gay marriage
Illinois - Governor Pat Quinn signed same-sex marriage into law on Wednesday, Nov. 20, which makes President Barack Obama's home state the 16th to allow such unions.Illinois state senators voted to legalize gay marriage last February, and the state House followed suit by a slim margin earlier this month. The illinois law is due to take...Obama, Clintons honor President Kennedy 50 years after assassinatio
ARLINGTON, Va. — President Obama paid respects to President John F. Kennedy Wednesday, Nov. 19, in a graveside ceremony, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Dallas.Attending the ceremony at Kennedy's grave with its eternal flame were first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former first lady...Burqa Bandit’ says she needed money to support special needs son
SAN DIEGO — A woman in San Diego, known as the "Burqa Bandit," could spend years in prison, but says she would do it all again, if it would help her son. Surveillance photos allegedly show Elysia Roiz, in a maroon Burqa, attempting to rob a bank in National City, California last summer. The FBI says she passed a note to the teller,...First World Trade Center tower makes debut 12 years after 9/11
New York City — The first office tower at Ground Zero, since the September 11, 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center will open on Wednesday, marking a comeback for the Lower Manhattan site. Sheathed in glass, 4 World Trade Center is the smallest of the four main towers on the site where 2,700 people died when...Boehner: No immigration reform this year
WASHINGTON — Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday, Nov. 13, that the House will not hold formal, compromise talks on the Senate-passed comprehensive immigration bill, a fresh signal from the Republican leadership that the issue is dead for the year.The slow, relatively quiet death came more than four months after the Senate, on a...World’s largest children’s books publisher ‘erases’ Israel state from map
The world’s biggest publisher of children’s titles has skipped Israel from their maps in a school book, a mother of one of the readers found out as she failed to find her motherland to show her little son.“I wanted to show my son where we lived in the Middle East, but I didn’t see Israel on the map; instead it said Jordan,”...Obama’s popularity hits all time low
U.S. President Barack Obama's popularity has hit an all-time low, with a majority of Americans now saying he is dishonest, untrustworthy and not competent to govern, according to a new national poll.The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute conducted 2,545 registered voters nationwide between November 6-11, with a margin of error of...After mother’s murder, three-year-old walks a mile to grandma’s house for safety
Orlando — A 3-year-old girl walked more than a mile down a busy road in Florida to her grandmother's house to seek help, after her father allegedly murdered her mother, officials said on Tuesday.Sgt. Kristin Thompson of the Lake County Sheriff's Department described the little girl as "kind of heroic." "That's quite a distance......
Oklahoma teen charged with murder in killing of Australian student
DUNCAN, Oklahoma — One of three teens accused of killing an Australian student from an Oklahoma university was charged Wednesday with murder.Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, was charged with first-degree murder, as an adult, and denied bond during a preliminary hearing at a Duncan, Oklahoma, courthouse. Two other suspects have been charged...Rev. Jessie Jackson leads coaltion against Georgia’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ statue
Atlanta — A national coalition led by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. is seeking to have Georgia's "Stand Your Ground" statute ruled unconstitutional, arguing in a federal lawsuit filed late Monday that the law discriminates against minorities.The 2006 law, which allows citizens to use deadly force in self-defense if they feel...Voters in Seattle suburb approve $15 hr minimum wage
Seattle — A ballot initiative to enact a $15 hourly minimum wage for many workers in a working-class Seattle suburb that houses the region's main international airport was approved on Tuesday, November 5.The measure will mandate that some 6,300 workers at Sea-Tac International Airport and nearby hotels, car rental agencies and parking...Florida city reverses gun ban on neighborhood watch volunteers
ORLANDO, Florida — Police in the Florida city where George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin have backed off a plan to explicitly ban neighborhood watch volunteers from carrying guns while on duty.Earlier this month, police in Sanford, Florida, announced new rules on how civilian patrols can operate in an attempt to revive the......
New Mexico man sues police department over repeated anal drug search
Deming, New Mexico — David Eckert, 54, claims that his civil rights were violated, in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, claiming that police had subjected him to repeated anal probes and enemas, after a routine traffic stop suspecting him of carrying drugs. The legal action stems from Eckert's treatment by the...U.S. poverty rate remains high despite government aid
WASHINGTON — The number of poor people in the United States held steady at nearly 50 million last year, but government programs appear to have lessened the impact, especially on children and the elderly, federal data released this week showed.The Census Bureau, using an alternative measure to the government's main poverty gauge, said......
For U.S. in the Mideast, the ice is getting thinner
WASHINGTON — New and unexpected strains in Washington’s ties with two of its closest Middle Eastern allies — Saudi Arabia and Turkey — have underlined the difficult challenges the administration of President Barack Obama faces in navigating its way in the region’s increasingly treacherous and turbulent waters.While...Louboutin wins lawsuit against anti-Islam group
As Rihanna can certainly attest after her lawsuit with Topshop, few things are worse for a person or brand than having its image used without consent. Today's big name fighting an unwarranted association? Christian Louboutin. The luxury shoe label was irked to discover its signature red sole adorning the posters of Flemish anti-Islam......