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FBI questions people in Trayvon Martin case, begins 'parallel investigation'
April 2, 2012 - FBI agents on Monday were questioning potential witnesses in the Trayvon Martin shooting, confirming to NBC News that the agency had begun a "parallel investigation" that focuses on whether the teen's civil rights were violated.
Agents are seeking information on George Zimmerman's background and whether he was racially motivated when he pursued Martin after calling a 911 police dispatcher about his presence in the community, an FBI official told NBC. Read more at msnbc.com.
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For black Sanford residents, a history of distrusting police
April 3, 2012 - When Sanford's black residents talk about the "good old boy" network, they often mean the Sanford police department, which for many, embodies the worst aspects of the old south.
"You've got the Mississippi Delta, and you've got the 'bottom.' This is the 'bottom,'" says community activist Kenneth Bentley, whose family is among the oldest in the black district known as Goldsboro. Before Sanford dissolved its charter and absorbed it in 1911, Goldsboror was Florida's oldest black city, after Eatonville. The elementary school across the street from the gated community where Trayvon Martin was killed February 26th is named for Bentley's aunt, Altomese Bentley, who was a longtime educator in the community. Read more at thegrio.com.
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Can Obama still win in November without Oprah?
April 3, 2012 - In 2007, a then-junior Senator Barack Obama's campaign for the White House took off when the one and only Oprah Winfrey endorsed his candidacy for president. At the time, the Oprah endorsement was seen as a game changer, helping the fresh faced Obama secure the middle class, white, American suburban female vote. White soccer moms all over American flocked to Obama at a moment where the relatively unknown politician from Chicago needed to secure that stamp of approval from the rest of Middle America. With Oprah came immediate legitimacy. Read more at thegrio.com.
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Supreme Court upholds jails' strip searches
April 2, 2012 - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that jailers may subject people arrested for minor offenses to invasive strip searches, siding with security needs over privacy rights.
By a 5-4 vote, the court ruled against a New Jersey man who complained that strip searches in two county jails violated his civil rights. Read more at thegrio.com.
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Trayvon Martin: Lawyers want feds to look into state attorney, Zimmerman family presence on February 26
April 2, 2012 - Lawyers for the family of Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed at a Sanford, Florida housing complex on February 26th, want the Justice Department to look into whether members of Zimmerman's family, and the state attorney then on the case, were at the police station on the night of the shooting.
In a letter to Roy Austin, the deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, dated April 2nd, attorney Benjamin Crump states that, since their last meeting with Justice officials, the attorneys 'have learned new information which is of paramount importance in considering whether or not a fair and impartial investigation was conducted by the Sanford police department." Read more at thegrio.com.
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Michael Jordan Has No Bite as NBA Owner
April 2, 2012 - Considering the Charlotte Bobcats' status as one of the NBA's laughingstocks -- currently on a seven-game losing streak and in possession of the league's worst record -- fans were probably heartened by a recent report involving team owner Michael Jordan. Arguably the NBA's all-time greatest player but a lousy owner, Jordan reportedly is considering selling the team if he continues to lose millions on his investment. Read more at theroot.com.
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'Teachers For Trayvon': Peter Finley, Nova Southeastern University Professor, Plans Day Of Hoodies
April 2, 2012 - In the newest wave of support for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Miami teen shot in February, South Florida teachers are planning to wear hoodies in a show of solidarity.
Through the Facebook page, “Teachers For Trayvon," Peter Finley, a Nova Southeastern University professor, is encouraging his fellow teachers and students to wear a hoodie to class this Tuesday and Friday. Read more at huffingtonpost.com.
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Whoopi Goldberg Laments Reactions To Trayvon Martin's Death (VIDEO)
April 2, 2012 - Whoopi Goldberg criticized the many voices who have weighed in on Trayvon Martin for distracting from his death on Monday's "The View."
Martin was unarmed when he was shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer named George Zimmerman. His killing and the local police department's failure to arrest his shooter have sparked outrage across the country. Read more at huffingtonpost.com.
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Oprah Writes Letter To Her Teenage Self. What Would You Say?
April 3, 2012 - Ariana Huffington would tell her younger self to get more sleep. Maya Angelou would say to find a beautiful piece of art and relate, as much as possible, to the humanity in it. And in the May 2012 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, the 58-year-old media mogul reveals what advice she would give to her teenage self, a 19-year-old woman she addresses as "beautiful brown-skinned girl." Read more at huffingtonpost.com.
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Angela Corey, Prosecutor In Trayvon Martin Case, Known As Tough
March 31, 2012 - The special prosecutor leading the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teen by a neighborhood watch volunteer is known for her tough tactics aimed at locking up criminals for long sentences and making it difficult to negotiate light plea bargains. Furthermore, 57-year-old Angela Corey has handled hundreds of homicide cases involving the justifiable use of deadly force – experience that could prove invaluable. Read more at huffingtonpost.com.
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French Diplomat Reveals Bush Girls Were Crazy About Obama
March 30, 2012 - A high-level French government official has information on two of Barack Obama’s staunchest supporters during his 2008 run for the White House: The daughters of the former First Family, Bush girls, Jenna (Hager) and Barbara, reports BuzzFeed. Read more at newsone.com.
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Brother Says Medical Records Will Confirm Zimmerman’s Story
March 30, 2012 - From the this-is-getting-so-tired files, George Zimmerman‘s brother, Robert Jr., spoke with Piers Morgan Thursday night to say that even though surveillance video shows that George had no visible bruises or blood on his person, George’s medical records will confirm that he was not only injured by 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, but was in the fight of his life. Read more at newsone.com.
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Rush Limbaugh Downplays Racism In Trayvon Martin Case
March 30, 2012 - Should I be surprised that a man whose name is as synonymous with racism as the sky is blue wants to defuse frank conversations about race as it relates to the killing of Trayvon Martin?
No, but Rush Limbaugh’s (pictured) transparency doesn’t make his defense of Martin’s killer and assailing of “the left” for its “obsession” with race any less baffling and irritating. The conservative commentator used his platform to peddle some delusional notion that George Zimmerman was just a guy who “loves law enforcement” that “wanted to protect his neighborhood, and he just got a little overzealous and so forth.” Read more at newsone.com.
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Zimmerman was like 'Jekyll And Hyde' says co-worker
April 2, 2012 - A former co-worker of George Zimmerman, the shooter in Trayvon Martin's death, describes him as a man with a volatile temper and possible violent streak. Zimmerman worked as security for private parties between 2001 and 2005; according to someone who worked closely with him, he was involved in altercations with party patrons and became so much of a "liability" he had to be fired. The Huffington Post reports:
"Usually he was just a cool guy," said the former co-worker, who the newspaper didn't name. "But it was like Jekyll and Hyde. When dude snapped, he snapped." The Daily News said Zimmerman earned $50 to $100 a night for the parties. He was fired for being too aggressive with patrons. Read more at thegrio.com.
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Whitney Houston glows in 'Sparkle' trailer (VIDEO)
April 2, 2012 -The late Whitney Houston's legacy is sure to be solidified with her performance in the highly anticipated film Sparkle. This morning NBC's Today revealed an exclusive first look at the trailer for the movie, which is set hit theaters August 17.
In the clip, which last nearly a minute, Whitney looks better than ever, and will possibly deliver her best on-screen performance. Read more a thegrio.com.
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Oprah Winfrey still bullish on her cable network OWN
March 2, 2012 - Oprah Winfrey says she still has faith in her troubled cable network.
Appearing Monday on "CBS This Morning," Winfrey told the show's co-host -- and her best friend -- Gayle King that she believes the Oprah Winfrey Network will fulfill its mission of transforming viewers' lives. Read more at thegrio.com.
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Ann Coulter compares Zimmerman critics to 'lynch mob' and 'KKK' (AUDIO)
April 2, 2012 - Conservative commentator Ann Coulter appeared on the radio recently, declaring that critics of Trayvon Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, are like a "lynch mob" and the Ku Klux Klan. Public angst over the case led some, including film director Spike Lee, to tweet addresses and phone numbers purporting to belong to George Zimmerman. "They never believed in the criminal justice system," said Coulter without naming Lee, but bashing the Democratic Party and NBC. Read more at thegrio.com.
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Geraldo Rivera Trayvon Martin Parents Interview: Fox News Host Asks Tracy Martin, Sybrina Fulton To 'Accept My Condolences'
April 2, 2012 - In an interview on Sunday night with Trayvon Martin's parents, Geraldo Rivera looked to make amends for his controversial comments surrounding the death of their son.
Rivera held a six-minute interview with Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton on "Geraldo At Large," offering sympathy from the start. He opened the interview by thanking them for coming on the show and "please -- this is the first time I've spoken to you -- accept my condolences for your awful loss." Read more at huffingtonpost.com.
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Detroit High School Protest: Students Suspended After Demanding 'An Education'
March 31, 2012 - About 50 students were suspended Thursday from the all-boys Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit, Mich. for walking out of classes in protest, demanding "an education."
Among their complaints: a lack of consistent teachers, the reassignment of the school principal, educators who abuse sick time and a shortage of textbooks. Read more at huffingtonpost.com.
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Allen West Slams Bobby Rush For Wearing Hoodie On House Floor
March 29, 2012 - On the "Laura Ingraham Show" on Thursday morning, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) attacked Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) for wearing a hooded sweatshirt on the House floor, calling the act "immature gimmickry...that does not have any place, especially on the House floor and, really, in the United States."
Rush was removed from the House floor on Wednesday morning for violating the chamber's dress code. At the time, he was wearing a hoodie in support of Trayvon Martin, a teenager who was shot and killed last month in Sanford, Fla. Read more at huffingtonpost.com.
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