Civil rights leader removed from movie theater for using his own chair

AP NEWS - Civil rights leader, Rev. William Barber II, was escorted by police out of a North Carolina movie theater after he insisted on using his own chair for medical reasons, prompting an apology from the nation's largest movie theater chain. The incident occurred Tuesday in Greenville during a showing of "The Color Purple." Rev. William Barber II said he needs the chair because he suffers from ankylosing spondylitis,

Georgia agency awards contract to raise Savannah bridge to accommodate bigger cargo ships

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - The Georgia Department of Transportation said Wednesday it has chosen a general contractor to oversee a $189 million project to raise Savannah's towering suspension bridge so that larger cargo ships can pass underneath and reach one of the nation's busiest seaports. Maintenance and construction on the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, the DOT said in a statement announcing that Kiewit Infrastructure

Biden to speak at SC Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston on Monday

 The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston was the site of a racist mass shooting that killed nine Black churchgoers on June 17, 2015. Dylann Roof was convicted in the murders and sentenced to the death penalty. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden as his 2024 campaign gets underway will visit a historic church in South Carolina where Black churchgoers were murdered by a white

Homelessness Soars Amid Housing Crisis in N.C.

By: JORDAN MEADOWS, STAFF WRITER Approximately 1 in every 1,250 individuals in North Carolina are homeless, ranking the state 18th worst in the nation and the 5th worst among southern states in total numbers. The COVID-19 pandemic initially led to a decline in homelessness nationwide, thanks to increased funding for initiatives like rental assistance, housing vouchers and additional counseling. However, funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

What to know about changes to this year’s FAFSA application for college students

NEW YORK (AP) - A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is available for the 2024-2025 school year, but only on a limited basis as the U.S. Department of Education works on a redesign meant to make it easier to apply. That means the Free Application for Federal Student Aid students can usually fill out starting in October isn't yet available to everyone. A soft launch

Bomb threats lead to brief lockdowns and the evacuation of multiple state capitols

Multiple state capitols received bomb threats Wednesday morning that led to brief evacuations or lockdowns as police investigated, but no evidence of explosives was found. The warnings came after a spate of false reports of shootings at the homes of public officials in recent days. Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Montana were among the states that evacuated statehouse offices or buildings. Lawmakers in Kentucky and Mississippi have begun meeting in

An interview with acclaimed civil rights attorney and historian Bryan Stevenson

[caption id="attachment_5732" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson (Photo: Ted Vaden)[/caption] Bryan Stevenson learned early on about the rule of law. As a young African American boy growing up in a mostly white county in rural Delaware, he started out attending "colored" schools. That changed after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, when civil rights attorneys came into Delaware seeking to force public schools to integrate. "If you

Warren Buffett, James Simons and Phil Knight are among the top charity donors of 2023

BY MARIA DI MENTO OF THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of the biggest charitable donations from individuals or their foundations totaled more than $3.5 billion in 2023. Four universities received big gifts in 2023, along with four scientific research institutes and a health-care system. The other gifts went to a family foundation and a racial-justice group. The list has 11 gifts because of ties. Eight of the donors

Off-duty police officer is killed in North Carolina after witnessing a crime

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — An off-duty police officer was shot and killed in North Carolina after witnessing a crime at a gas station and approaching the two suspects, officials said. The police sergeant, Philip Dale Nix, was a 23-year veteran of the Greensboro Police Department, according to a Sunday news release from the agency.  Three men have been arrested in the case, including Jamere Justice Foster, 18, who is charged

Plagiarism charges downed Harvard’s president. A conservative attack helped to fan the outrage

WASHINGTON (AP) - American higher education has long viewed plagiarism as a cardinal sin. Accusations of academic dishonesty have ruined the careers of faculty and undergraduates alike. The latest target is Harvard President Claudine Gay, who resigned Tuesday. In her case, the outrage came not from her academic peers but her political foes, led by conservatives who put her career under intense scrutiny. Reviews by Harvard found multiple shortcomings in Gay's