Author: Reporter

Why the national monument for Emmett Till finally cements his inclusion in the American story

When President Joe Biden signed a proclamation on July 25 establishing a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, it marked the fulfillment of a promise Till’s relatives made after his death 68 years ago. The Black teenager from Chicago, whose abduction, torture and killing in Mississippi in 1955 helped propel the Civil Rights Movement, is now an American story, not just a civil rights story, said Till’s cousin the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. “It has been quite a journey for me from the darkness to the light,” Parker said during a proclamation signing ceremony at...

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Try That In A Small Town: Jason Aldean’s music video stirs outcry over lynching glorification

Country music star Jason Aldean ‘s latest music video for “Try That In A Small Town,” lasted just one weekend on Country Music Television before the network pulled it in response to an outcry over its setting and lyrics. In the video, Aldean — who has been awarded country music artist of the decade by the Academy of Country Music — performs in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. This is the site of the 1946 Columbia race riot and the 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager named Henry Choate. Aldean’s video, which was...

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Wisconsin lawsuit seeks to strike down legislative districts gerrymandered like Swiss cheese

If Wisconsin state Representative Jimmy Anderson wants to visit residents in some of the northern neighborhoods he represents, he first must leave his own district … twice. From his Fitchburg home in suburban Madison, Anderson must exit his 47th Assembly District, pass through the 77th District, reenter the 47th District, then head north through the 48th District to finally reach a cluster of homes assigned like a remote outpost to his district. Unusual? Yes. Inconvenient? Yes. Unconstitutional? Perhaps. Though the Wisconsin Constitution requires legislative districts “to consist of contiguous territory,” many nonetheless contain sections of land that are not...

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Crimes of an ex-President: Breakdown of the sprawling election-meddling indictments against Trump

Donald Trump for years has promoted baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. In truth, Trump was the one who tried to steal the election, federal prosecutors said on August 1 in a sprawling indictment that paints the former president as desperate to cling to power he knew had been stripped away by voters. The Justice Department indictment accuses Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden as his legal challenges floundered in court. The felony charges brought by special counsel Jack...

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Deadly Disaster: Maui residents had little warning before oncoming flames overtook their town

Maui residents who made desperate escapes from oncoming flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaii’s famous emergency warning system did not alert them as fires raced toward their homes. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire killed at least 80 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed on August 12. Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain to alert people to various natural disasters and other threats....

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Nothing Remains: Residents of Hawaii who lost everything in wildfire face an uncertain future

Retired mailman and Vietnam veteran Thomas Leonard lived in the historic former capital of Hawaii for 44 years until this week, when a rapidly moving wildfire burned down his apartment, melted his Jeep, and forced him to spend four terrifying hours hiding from the flames behind a seawall. “I’ve got nothing left,” Leonard said on August 10 as he sat on an inflatable mattress outside a shelter for those who fled the blaze that decimated the town of Lahaina. “I’m a disabled vet, so now I’m a homeless vet,” he added with a small laugh. The fire that tore...

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