All results / Stories / Free Press wire reports
Two men exonerated in assassination of Malcolm X after more than 50 years
More than half a century after the assassination of Malcolm X, two of his convicted killers were exonerated last week after decades of doubt about who was responsible for the civil rights icon’s death.
It’s a boy and a girl for Beyoncé, Jay Z
Leave it to a proud grandpa to spill the beans about the birth of his grandchildren. That’s what happened Sunday when Mathew Knowles turned to Twitter to say his celebrity superstar daughter Beyoncé now was the mother of twins.
Controversial Bishop Eddie L. Long dies at 63
During a 30-year tenure, Bishop Eddie Lee Long transformed the once tiny New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta into a megachurch that peaked at 25,000 members before he became embroiled in a sex scandal. A controversial figure who lived a lavish lifestyle and earned millions of dollars from real estate investments and book royalties while pastor, Bishop Long died Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017. His church attributed his death to an aggressive form of cancer.
Tearful, rambling Kanye West launches presidential campaign
In his first rally for his last-minute presidential campaign, rapper Kanye West ranted against abortion and pornography, argued policy with attendees and at one point broke down in tears during rambling remarks Sunday at a Charleston, S.C., wedding venue and convention center.
$6.4M to Freddie Gray’s family
Baltimore agrees to pay before trials of police officers
Baltimore city officials on Wednesday approved a $6.4 million civil settlement to the family of Freddie Gray, whose death from an injury in police custody triggered protests and rioting.
Tappahannock’s Chris Brown in trouble with the law — again
Grammy-winning singer and Virginia native Chris Brown and the Los Angeles Police Department spent much of Tuesday morning and afternoon locked in a surreal standoff at the R&B performer’s Tarzana, Calif., home. According to LAPD officials, the incident began early Tuesday when they received a 911 call about a woman claiming she had been threatened with a gun.
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.
Closure pending as Bennett College loses accreditation
After two years of probation, Bennett College, one of just two historically black private women’s colleges in the country, has lost its accreditation, threatening the 145-year-old school’s survival.
NY Yankees legend Derek Jeter ends stellar career on high note
Derek Jeter stepped to bat for the final time in his magnificent 20-year career Sunday.
Charlottesville votes to remove Lee statue
A divided Charlottesville City Council voted this week to move a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the city’s Downtown and to rename Lee Square where it stands.
Henrietta Lacks’ family hires Ben Crump for legal battle
The family of the late Henrietta Lacks, who unwittingly spurred a research bonanza when her cancer cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951, has hired a prominent civil rights lawyer to seek compensation from pharmaceutical companies.
Metropolitan Opera makes history with first work by a Black composer
“We bend, we don’t break. We sway!” sings the chorus in the second act of Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.”
Scathing DOJ report finds discriminatory, unconstitutional police practices in Baltimore
African-American residents in Baltimore are routinely subjected to unconstitutional stops, arrests and excessive force by the Baltimore Police Department, a scathing federal report released on Wednesday states. The 163-page U.S. Justice Department report details an investigation launched after the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray last year that found the Baltimore Police Department engages in a pattern of conduct that violates the Constitution and federal law.
First family celebrates Easter at historic black church
President Obama and the first family attended Easter service at a historic African-American church that traces its origins to the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. The Rev. Howard-John Wesley, pastor at the 198-year-old Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria’s Old Town, welcomed back the Obamas, whom he described as “the gorgeous family.” The Obamas also visited the church last Easter.
Attorney general: Hate crimes tear at the fabric of our communities
Hate crimes tear at the fabric of American communities and represent a stain on the country’s soul, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a mosque and Muslim community center on Monday.
Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks dies
Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight, died Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. He was 67.
Oscars not so white at least in this year’s nominations
This year’s Oscar nominations honor the largest ever group of actors of color, along with a diverse range of stories, a year after Hollywood was slammed for excluding diverse talent.
It’s a girl for Serena!
Serena Williams has given birth to a baby girl, the first child for the former world No. 1 tennis player and her fiancé, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Tragedy in Vegas
Sunday’s bloody mass shooting outside casino is the worst massacre in recent U.S. history
The mystery and motive behind mass killer Stephen Paddock — gambler, accountant, auditor and real estate investor — continues to baffle federal authorities and law enforcement officials in Las Vegas who were working on Wednesday to discover what drove the 64-year-old to commit the worst mass murder in modern U.S. history.
Mary Wilson, the longest reigning original Supreme, dies at 76
Mary Wilson, an original member of The Supremes who is considered the force that kept the hugely popular trio together through the internal strife that mounted with their success, has died. She was 76.
