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LA Police Chief Michel Moore Aims to Wipe Out Minor Warrants for Homeless
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LA Police Chief Michel Moore Aims to Wipe Out Minor Warrants for Homeless

Associated Press - STEFANIE DAZIOJuly 12, 2019

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said he is working to eliminate thousands of homeless people’s old warrants for minor offenses in the coming weeks as part of a solution to help get people off the streets. “This is a humanitarian crisis of our generation,” Moore said Wednesday in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press. “This matches any other calamity that this city or this region or this country has seen. It is, I believe, a social emergency.” Homelessness rose 16% in LA over the past year , to more than 36,000 people, according to

Jay-Z Partners with Cannabis Company as Brand Strategist to Help Bring Equity for People of Color
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Jay-Z Partners with Cannabis Company as Brand Strategist to Help Bring Equity for People of Color

Sentinel News WireJuly 10, 2019

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jay-Z is heading into the legal marijuana industry as a chief brand strategist in partnership with a California cannabis product company. The rapper said in a statement Tuesday that he entered a multiyear deal with San Jose, California-based Caliva. His role will consist of driving creative direction, outreach efforts and strategy for the brand. Jay-Z says he also wants to increase the economic participation of people returning from incarceration through job training and workforce development. The rapper called Caliva “the best partners for this endeavor.” Caliva operates a farm and two stores in Northern California. It

Congressmember Ayanna Pressley & Massachusetts Lawmakers Introduce Gun Safety Legislation
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Congressmember Ayanna Pressley & Massachusetts Lawmakers Introduce Gun Safety Legislation

Sentinel News WireJuly 10, 2019

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) ), Senator Edward J. Markey, and Congressman Joe Kennedy III (MA-04) introduced the Making America Safe and Secure (MASS) Act – legislation that would incentivize states to adopt gun-licensing standards similar to those in Massachusetts, and make it harder for young people, people with mental health illness, and those with a criminal history to purchase or sell a gun. The bill encourages safety and storage standards, background check requirements, and provide states and cities with more discretion on issuing and rescinding gun licenses. “Gun violence begets gun violence – causing intergenerational trauma that severely impacts

Harris Lands 2020 Endorsement from 2 Black Caucus Members
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Harris Lands 2020 Endorsement from 2 Black Caucus Members

Associated Press - JUANA SUMMERSJuly 2, 2019

Senator Kamala Harris courtesy photo BALTIMORE (AP) — Two more members of the Congressional Black Caucus are backing Kamala Harris’s bid for the presidency: Reps. Bobby Rush of Illinois and Frederica Wilson of Florida. Endorsements from the caucus, which counts more than 50 members, could be influential in the Democratic presidential primary. With these two new supporters, Harris now has six endorsements from the CBC. Rush has been sharply critical of former Vice President Joe Biden in the wake of comments in which he recalled working alongside two segregationist Southern senators. Rush told Politico that Biden, another Democratic presidential candidate,

South Carolina Democrat Posts $1.5M in Challenge to Graham
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South Carolina Democrat Posts $1.5M in Challenge to Graham

Associated Press - MEG KINNARDJuly 2, 2019

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A top Democratic National Committee official raised $1.5 million in the most recent fundraising period in his challenge to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Campaign officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Jaime Harrison raised the money in the second quarter, which ended Sunday. Most of the amount, $1.3 million, came in the 33 days since Harrison officially launched his bid, with an average contribution of $26, according to the campaign. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is backing Harrison , an associate DNC chairman, in his effort to unseat Graham in 2020. Flipping

George Mason Names Building for ‘Hidden Figures’ Scientist
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George Mason Names Building for ‘Hidden Figures’ Scientist

Sentinel News WireJune 26, 2019

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — George Mason University is naming a science and technology building in honor of the one of the NASA mathematicians whose story was told in the motion picture “Hidden Figures.” The school announced Tuesday that the building on its Manassas campus will now be known as Katherine G. Johnson Hall. Johnson, who is now 100, worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton. She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in “Hidden Figures,” which documented the contributions of her and two other African-American women while overcoming racism and sexism. Johnson and others performed the complex mathematical equations

Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Request to Toss Groping Case is Denied
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Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Request to Toss Groping Case is Denied

Associated Press -MICHAEL R. SISAKJune 26, 2019

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge rejected Cuba Gooding Jr.’s bid to throw out his New York City groping case so he can continue working, saying Wednesday that she needed time to review written arguments and didn’t want to make a rash decision. Judge Keisha Espinal said she wouldn’t rule on the actor’s request to dismiss the misdemeanor case until Aug. 14, dashing his and his lawyers’ hopes of swiftly scotching 2-week-old charges that he grabbed a woman’s breast at a Manhattan bar, which he denies. The Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star’s upcoming film projects could be in jeopardy if the

Danny Glover to Testify at House Slavery Reparations Hearing on Juneteenth
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Danny Glover to Testify at House Slavery Reparations Hearing on Juneteenth

Associated Press - ERRIN HAINES WHACKJune 18, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — The topic of reparations for slavery is headed to Capitol Hill for its first hearing in more than a decade with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and actor Danny Glover set to testify before a House panel. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is scheduled to hold the hearing next Wednesday, its stated purpose “to examine, through open and constructive discourse, the legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, its continuing impact on the community and the path to restorative justice.” The date of the hearing, June 19, coincides with Juneteenth, a cultural holiday

WATCH: ‘Emanuel’ Explores Life after Tragic Church Shooting
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WATCH: ‘Emanuel’ Explores Life after Tragic Church Shooting

Associated Press - MESFIN FEKADUJune 17, 2019

NEW YORK (AP) — Jennifer Pinckney was hiding under a desk holding the mouth of her then-6-year-old daughter when Dylann Roof fired more than 70 shots in Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine black worshippers. The new documentary, “Emanuel,” explores life after the tragic shooting on June 17, 2015, as family members, friends and the community try to heal through faith and forgiveness. Pinckney’s husband, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, was one of the nine killed by Roof, who sat through 45 minutes of Bible study at the church before firing shots. Pinckney and her daughter, Malana,