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More than 50% of African-Americans have high blood pressure under new guidelines
Well over half of all African-American adults will be classified as having high blood pressure under new streamlined diagnostic guidelines released this week, illuminating the heavy burden of cardiovascular disease in the population. Anyone with blood pressure higher than 130/80 will be considered to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology stated Monday in releasing their new joint guidelines.
Nonprofits to provide eye screenings, eyeglasses to RPS students
Students at Redd Elementary School in Richmond are the first to benefit from a new effort to ensure every city student who needs glasses has them.
Fields loses appeal in murder conviction from Charlottesville rally
The Ohio man sent to prison for driving his car into a crowd of counterprotesters during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August 2017 has lost his bid to appeal his conviction, the Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled Tuesday.
Dr. Irving P. McPhail, president of St. Augustine’s University, dies from COVID-19 complications
Dr. Irving P. McPhail, president of St. Augustine’s University, died Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, of complications from COVID-19, just three months after taking the helm of the historically Black university in Raleigh, N.C.
Megapastor tries to defend himself after Hurricane Harvey
Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston is helping Texans cope in the wake of Hurricane Harvey — and trying to counter a flood of comments on social media accusing the church of turning its back on storm victims. The church took in about 400 people from the overflow at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, a Red Cross shelter, church spokesman Don Iloff said last week.
Jury selection begins in federal lawsuit against white supremacist organizers of deadly Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ rally
The violence at the white nationalists “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in 2017 shocked the nation, with people beaten to the ground, lighted torches thrown at counterdemonstrators and a self- proclaimed Hitler admirer ramming his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring dozens more.
Selma Online offers free civil rights lessons amid virus
The first attempt of the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965 led to police violence against peaceful African-American demonstrators. The police beatings on what became known as “Bloody Sunday” generated anger across the nation 55 years ago this month and prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to push the Voting Rights Act through Congress. It was one of the most significant moments in U.S. history but remains almost absent from public schools’ social studies lessons.
Black activist says he took over neo-Nazi group to kill it
A black activist said he has taken the helm of what has been billed as one of the nation’s largest neo-Nazi groups to put it out of business.
Jay-Z and Will Smith invest in rent-to-own housing startup
Jay-Z and Will Smith are among a list of investors involved in a startup that helps renters build credit until they can buy a home of their own.
Rev. C.T. Vivian, Freedom Rides organizer and key adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., dies at 95
The Rev. C.T. Vivian, an early and key adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who organized pivotal civil rights campaigns and spent decades advocating for justice and equality, died Friday, July 17, 2020, the same day as fellow civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.
Virginians to be impacted by new laws now in effect
New state laws went into effect Saturday, July 1, that could impact how Virginians drive, what kind of alcohol they buy and what they wear when they go hunting.
Union vows to defend teachers in CRT fights
One of the nation’s largest teachers unions on Tuesday vowed to defend members who are punished for teaching an “honest history” of the United States, a measure that’s intended to counter the wave of states seeking to limit classroom discussion on race and discrimination.
Families of 9 killed in Mother Emanuel AME Church massacre settle lawsuit over faulty gun background check
Families of the nine victims killed in the 2015 racist attack at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., have reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over a faulty background check that allowed convicted shooter Dylann Roof to purchase the gun.
Evangelist Creflo Dollar drops pitch for jet
The ministry of a prominent Georgia megachurch pastor and evangelist who teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches has dropped a pitch for donations to buy a luxury jet valued at more than $65 million. The website of Creflo Dollar Ministries no longer features a message asking followers to “Sow your love gift of any amount” to help buy a Gulfstream G650 airplane. That message has disappeared.
Want a job? Employers say talk to the computer
A day after her interview for a part-time job at Target last year, Dana Anthony got an email informing her she didn’t make the cut.
No fear of KKK
Charlottesville leaders, including clergy and NAACP, plan positive activities for Saturday in response to Klan protest
Charlottesville residents refuse to buckle under fear in the face of a Ku Klux Klan rally planned for Saturday in a public park.
Rapper DMX remains on life support
Supporters and family of the rapper DMX chanted his name and offered prayers Monday outside the New York hospital where he remains on life support.
Pivotal church versus state legal battle urged to proceed in high court
Missouri officials and a church embroiled in a closely watched dispute over public money going to religious entities urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide the case despite a pivotal policy change by the state’s Republican governor.
Falwell urges students to pack pistols
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has urged students to carry concealed weapons on campus to counter any possible armed attack, saying that “we could end those Muslims before they walk in.” “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” Mr. Falwell told students at the private Christian school Dec. 4. His remarks make him the first president of a Virginia college or university to urge students to arm themselves and put him among the first in the country to do so.
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