Saturday, April 28, 2018

Joy Reid denies hateful blog posts, apologizes for old tweets

MSNBC anchor Joy Reid used her appearance Saturday on the network to deny making hateful blog post on her former blog, while also apologizing for tweets which she admits were wrong and insensitive.

Temple University rescinds Cosby's honorary degree

Temple University, where Bill Cosby long served as a leading public face and key fundraiser, said Friday it will rescind the honorary doctorate it awarded to the comedian in 1991 because he was convicted of sexually assaulting a former employee.

The Philadelphia university said its board of trustees accepted a recommendation Friday to rescind the degree, citing Thursday's jury verdict finding him guilty of drugging and molesting a woman who managed the school's women's basketball team in 2004.

Cosby received a bachelor's from Temple, which was among few that waited to pull honors from Cosby until after the verdict.

Cosby served on the board for decades before resigning in 2014.

[SOURCE: CNBC]

Confederate leaders' names to be removed from Texas roads & replaced with names of African Americans

AUSTIN TX: The Austin City Council has voted to remove the names of Confederate leaders from two roads.

The City Council voted Thursday to change the names of Robert E. Lee Road and Jeff Davis Avenue.

Robert E. Lee Road will be named for Azie Taylor Morton, the country's first black U.S. treasurer, who grew up and went to college in Austin. Its official designation will be Azie Morton Road.

Jeff Davis Avenue will be named for William Holland, an African-American Travis County commissioner who served in the state Legislature.

While most of the residents who responded to surveys from the city objected to the proposed name changes, most of speakers at City Hall on Thursday were in favor of the revisions.

The city estimates the renaming will cost $2,900.

[SOURCE: Tyler Morning Telegraph]

Friday, April 27, 2018

Congressman Green threatens to impeach Trump if he interferes in Mueller investigation

Congressman Al Green (Democrat) Representative of Texas' 9th Congressional District has put President Trump on notice. Green states that he will file articles of impeachment if Trump interferes in Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election, and if Trump campaign figures were complicit.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Michael Brown's mother may run for Ferguson city council

Lezley McSpadden says she is considering a run for a City Council seat in Ferguson, the city where her son Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer.

McSpadden was among four people who took part in a panel discussion about issues raised by Brown's death on Monday night at Harvard University.

She was prompted to mention her potential candidacy by Benjamin Crump, another panelist who is an attorney for the family. Crump urged McSpadden to discuss what she was considering.

"What I'm contemplating is running for City Council of Ferguson," she said, drawing applause and a call of "Run, Lezley, Run" from the audience of several dozen.

"There are several people back home that are willing to help me get that going and make sure that I'm treated right," McSpadden said.

Crump chimed in with encouragement. "What a legacy that would be — elected to the City Council and supervising the same police department that killed Michael Brown," he said.

[SOURCE: Saint Louis Times Dispatch]