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George Floyd’s family wins $27M settlement in civil suit over his death
The family of George Floyd won a $27 million settlement in a civil lawsuit over his death last year at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
Richmond among 10 localities piloting Marcus Alert system
Virginia is launching a new system to improve the response to mental health emergencies.
Racial bias in hiring still hurts African-Americans, study shows
Racial bias in hiring African-Americans has not declined from 1990 to 2015. That was the finding of the largest and most comprehensive meta analysis of its kind published Sept. 12 in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
More than gold
Gymnast Simone Biles stuns the world, her teammates and her competitors by withdrawing from Olympic team and individual all-around competition to focus on her mental health
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles was expected to again helped lead the American team to gold medal glory at the Tokyo Olympics just as she had at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Instead, the reigning queen of the sport help draw attention to the stresses that top athletes face Tuesday after she voluntarily withdrew from further competition, citing concerns about her mental fitness to continue.
Bubba Wallace claims victory, history as first Black to win NASCAR Cup Series since 1963
The hard part wasn’t dodging his way around a crash and then driving to the front of the field at Talladega Superspeedway. That was just instinct for Bubba Wallace.
Officials launch probe into B.B. King’s death
Nevada officials said Monday they would conduct a homicide investigation into the death earlier this month of legendary musician B.B. King, after two of his daughters leveled accusations that the blues great was murdered. The Clark County, Nev., coroner’s office said in a post on Twitter that it had taken jurisdiction over Mr. King’s body, and autopsy results would take a minimum of six to eight weeks.
’Let Sha’Carri run!’
Nearly 500,000 sign petition calling for her reinstatement in the Olympics
More than a half million fans are coming to the defense of America’s fastest woman, flamboyant track star Sha’Carri Richardson, who has been barred from Olympic competition over marijuana use after winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.86 seconds during the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., on June 19.
Matthew Shepard’s ashes interred in Washington
After 20 years without a permanent resting place, the remains of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student whose brutal murder in 1998 in Wyoming has come to symbolize the plight of the LGBTQ community in America, were interred at the Washington National Cathedral.
Hate crimes reach highest level in more than a decade
Hate crimes in the United States rose to the highest level in more than a decade as federal officials also recorded the highest number of hate-motivated killings since the FBI began collecting that data in the early 1990s, according to an FBI report released Monday.
Plans advance to build memorial, museum to U.S. lynching victims
The Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners denied fair and just treatment in the legal system, plans to open the first national memorial to African-American victims of lynching.
60 years after Rosa Parks’ arrest launched modern civil rights era, ‘our work isn’t finished’
MONTGOMERY, ALA. While Rosa Parks became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Alabama bus, the 60th anniversary of her arrest also highlighted lesser-known pioneers of the bus boycott she sparked. Mrs. Parks made history by taking a stand alongside other desegregation pioneers like Claudette Colvin, a black teenager arrested nine months earlier in Montgomery, Ala., for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, said Fred D. Gray, a lawyer who represented both women.
Williams sisters leave Olympics without medals
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil There will be no gold medals for Serena and Venus Williams at the Rio Olympics. Instead, the sisters are leaving the games early.
Black media icons scaling back, possibly closing
It has been a rough few days for the black media. First, Ebony magazine and its sister publication, JET magazine, may be closing their doors for good. And then the publisher of the storied Chicago Defender newspaper announced last week that it will no longer publish a print version.
Barrier-breaking golfer Lee Elder being honored by the Masters with scholarship
In a year marked by racial injustice, Augusta National announced Monday it would honor Lee Elder with two scholar- ships in his name at Paine College and an honorary tee shot next year for the first Black player in the Masters.
Drums, dance play greater role in worship services
U.S. congregations are marching to the beat of their own drums now more than ever.
Bishop Curry has prostate surgery
The American clergyman who preached about the power of love at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has undergone surgery for prostate cancer. An Episcopal Church spokeswoman said the surgery was performed July 31 on the Presiding Bishop Michael Bruce Curry.
Don’t spend your stimulus check just yet
On hold. That’s the status of the $600 government checks and a host of other aid contained in the $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package Congress overwhelmingly approved Monday.
Conflicting accounts emerge in bizarre case of cop killing man in his own apartment
A Dallas police officer charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a man she mistakenly thought was in her apartment may face a more serious charge, prosecutors said this week.
Biles makes comeback, wins bronze on balance beam
Simone Biles isn’t going home with a fistful of gold medals. A mental block — one brought on by exhaustion or stress or something the American gymnastics star still can’t quite grasp — that forced her to pull out of four Olympic finals saw to that.

