A Kansas City, Mo. police officer is facing an internal review after spouting off about Michael Brown, the Ferguson, Mo. teen killed by police, on his personal Facebook page. One of his posts was a racist meme, and the other used a photo that's been circulating as an image of Brown, but actually shows a man accused of a killing in Oregon.
Ray Kelly's tenure as commissioner of the NYPD included the violent dismantling of Occupy Wall Street and the 2004 Republican National Convention protests, the killing of unarmed black men like Ramarley Graham, Sean Bell, and Tamon Robinson, and the escalation of stop-and-frisk from occasionally used police tactic to daily reality for many New Yorkers. Even he agrees: The policing situation in Ferguson needs fixing.
University of Alabama's Chi Omega chapter booted the sorority sister who excitedly Snapchatted her friends that "Chi O got "NO niggas!!!!!" on Bid Day this weekend. This was the first Alabama rush where black women were formally invited to join sororities. Chi O actually pledged two black women (and about 200 white girls).
CNN's Jake Tapper was on the scene in Ferguson, Mo., Monday night, where violence continues to escalate even as the state's National Guard has taken over policing the town of 21,000. Since protests started last weekend, there's been a disparity between the level of violence from some protesters (looting, reportedly throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks) and the "militarized" response of police, armed with semi-automatic weapons and clad in armor and riot gear and firing tear gas.
What's up with Bill Cosby? Who knows! He showed up on last night's episode of The Tonight Show in a Taz-like whirlwind (impressive for a 77-year-old), and Jimmy Fallon barely got a word in edgewise. This was Cosby's opening monologue:
The protests in Ferguson escalated again Monday night after a small group of protesters reportedly began throwing Molotov cocktails at police and firing live ammunition, prompting a heavy-handed response from law enforcement officers. At least two people were reportedly shot and multiple people arrested in the melee.
Protesters in Ferguson began throwing rocks at Chris Hayes Monday night during a live MSNBC broadcast, demanding he "tell the true story."
Duane Merrells carries an American flag upside-down in protest as he walks through the streets of Ferguson on Monday, August 18. [Image by Charlie Riedel via AP]
A Russian neo-Nazi gang leader nicknamed "The Hatchet," best known for leading a group that filmed themselves violently humiliating and harassing young gay men, has been sentenced to five years in prison for making a video of himself beating and torturing a gay Iraqi man.
The rest of the world might be falling apart, but Rikers Island is still reliably horrific. A New York mother is suing Corizon, the company that provides healthcare at Rikers, New York City's largest jail complex, saying her 19-year-old son died in a cell there last year after being denied adequate medical treatment.
As another long night in Ferguson begins, the National Guard is on the scene, but so too are the local police, who continue to demonstrate great judgment and a keen grasp on how they're coming across to the outside world. A few minutes ago, police tried to shut down CNN anchor Don Lemon's live broadcast as he stood on a sidewalk in the middle of a group of protesters.
When you think of McDonald's, the corporate powers that be behind the golden arches would really prefer if your mind didn't immediately flash to expired garbage meat or wages barely preferable to indentured servitude or even their terrifying new toothed box of a mascot. No, McDonald's would rather be synonymous with class, sophistication and refinement, which is why they've taken to rounding up reporters and bloggers and serving them, basically, a bunch of food that is not McDonald's.
