Friday, April 4

Journalism

Linda Brown: US civil rights icon dies aged 75
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Journalism, VIDEO REELS

Linda Brown: US civil rights icon dies aged 75

Linda Brown was nine when she was denied entry to a white school, becoming the focus of a landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v Board of Education, that declared school segregation unconstitutional. Linda Brown, whose father won a famous 1954 Brown vs Board of Education racial discrimination case against an all-white school in Kansas, has died at the age of 75. She was a major figure in the civil rights movement and central to efforts to end segregation in US schools 60 years ago. Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports from Washington, DC.
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Zimbabwe investigates Grace Mugabe for illegal ivory smuggling
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Journalism

Zimbabwe investigates Grace Mugabe for illegal ivory smuggling

Former first lady's ties to ivory smuggling ring under investigation after undercover mission by wildlife photographer. Zimbabwe has launched an investigation into the country's former first lady, Grace Mugabe, over her alleged involvement in an ivory smuggling ring. The probe was opened after a three-month undercover mission by Australian wildlife photographer Adrian Steirn. Speaking exclusively to Al Jazeera, Steirn said he uncovered the poaching and smuggling syndicate when he began looking into the illegal ivory trade in December. "Ivory was being sourced either from the national park's vault, being thieved or pilfered, or from live elephants being killed by poaching syndicates. The syndicate would then sell to Grace Mugabe's clientele," he said....
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When Malcolm X visited Smethwick after racist election
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Journalism

When Malcolm X visited Smethwick after racist election

Fifty-three years after his assassination, Briton who welcomed Malcolm X remembers iconic figure's final foreign trip. On February 12, 1965, Malcolm X, with his brow-line glasses perched high above his nose, walked along the terraced houses of Marshall Street in Smethwick, a small and bleak UK town in the West Midlands. Nine days later, on February 21, 1965, he would be assassinated having returned to New York City. His final foreign trip saw him travel to the relatively unknown English town, near the city of Birmingham, and home to a large Asian and West Indian immigrant population. In the year before his arrival, Smethwick hosted Britain's most racist election. In 1964, 800,000 immigrants lived in the UK, 70,000 of whom resided in Birmingham, dubbed "the British Harlem" by the pres...
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Anger mounts in US over police shooting of unarmed black man
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Journalism

Anger mounts in US over police shooting of unarmed black man

The killing of 22-year-old Stephon Clark was captured on police body cameras, but shortly after shooting, the audio was deliberately muted and Clark's family and friends want to know why. Anger is mounting in the US city of Sacramento over the police shooting of an unarmed black man last week. 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot at least 20 times when officers cornered him in his grandmother's backyard. Police say they believed he had a gun. Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds has more from Sacramento, US.
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Charlottesville: DeAndre Harris found not guilty of assault
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Journalism

Charlottesville: DeAndre Harris found not guilty of assault

DeAndre Harris, beaten by white nationalists at August rally, cleared of misdemeanor assault and battery charges. DeAndre Harris, an African American beaten by at least six white nationalist demonstrators at the August 12 Unite the Right rally, has been found not guilty by a court in Charlottesville. Harris, whose case was decided by a judge on Friday, had been facing charges of misdemeanor assault and battery. His defence team had argued that he was acting in self-defense. A video of Harris's beating went viral in the days following the white nationalist rally, prompting an outcry. Harris was initially charged with a felony, but it was later reduced to a misdemeanor. Four of his attackers have also been charged. The rally was originally called to protest against the removal of statues...
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One way to get people to church on Sunday: Give away free cars
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Journalism

One way to get people to church on Sunday: Give away free cars

If the pastor had ever wanted to channel his inner Oprah, this was his chance. “You ready to give a car away?” Stephen Chandler boomed into his microphone, bouncing in his boots at the altar Sunday. And then the pastor did it again. And later that day, he would do it again. And again. Five free cars in all, handed out to the lucky winners at Destiny Church in Columbia, Md., on Sunday. “We were just going for something you would not expect a church to do,” Chandler said. “This is something you would not expect a church to do.” It was part marketing ploy - but also theology, Chandler said. Randomly giving away cars to people who show up to worship demonstrates God’s unbelievable, no-strings-attached goodness, Chandler preached. And it sure helps get people in the door on a Sunday morni...
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He was suspected of outing drug dealers on Facebook. Someone came for him during a livestream
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Journalism

He was suspected of outing drug dealers on Facebook. Someone came for him during a livestream

Prentis Robinson rarely went a day without using Facebook Live - his go-to way of broadcasting his music and his musings. He was on Facebook Live Monday, recording himself with a selfie stick, wearing the straw cowboy hat he often wore in videos. He talked about how his phone was stolen as he walked around his town of Wingate, North Carolina, 30 miles southeast of Charlotte. He stopped by the Wingate Police Department to check in with Chief Donnie Gay. “Bring his phone back so he can get on with his way today,” Gay told Robinson’s camera, according to video, part of which was posted by The Charlotte Observer. Robinson left and kept walking. Moments later, the camera captured and broadcast Robinson’s death. It happened about five and a half minutes into the video, when Robinson was app...
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Worshippers clutching AR-15 rifles hold commitment ceremony
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Journalism

Worshippers clutching AR-15 rifles hold commitment ceremony

Crown-wearing worshippers clutching AR-15 rifles drank holy wine and exchanged or renewed wedding vows in a commitment ceremony at a Pennsylvania church on Wednesday, prompting a nearby school to cancel classes. With state police and a smattering of protesters standing watch outside the church, brides clad in white and grooms in dark suits brought dozens of unloaded AR-15s into World Peace and Unification Sanctuary for a religious event that doubled as an advertisement for the Second Amendment. The church, which has a worldwide following, believes the AR-15 symbolizes the “rod of iron” in the book of Revelation, and encouraged couples to bring the weapons. An AR-15 was used in the Florida high school massacre on Feb. 14. The Rev. Sean Moon, who leads the church, prayed for “a kingdom of...
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Court upholds removal of cross-shaped monument on public land in Md.
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Journalism

Court upholds removal of cross-shaped monument on public land in Md.

A federal appeals court is standing by a ruling that calls for the removal or destruction of a cross-shaped, 40-foot monument on public land that has towered over a busy intersection for nearly 100 years. In a closely divided vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit refused to reconsider an earlier decision that found government funding for the 40-foot-tall memorial in suburban Prince George’s County, Maryland, to be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The 8-6 vote drew passionate dissents from several judges who said it puts other monuments on public grounds nationwide at risk. The case could end up before the Supreme Court, which has not provided clear guidance about displays of religion on government land. Supporters of the Peace Cross, who say it is a secular tr...
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