The Fresno Unified School District board tabled a vote on a new bylaw detailing procedures for trustee censure at Wednesday's board meeting, just two weeks after the board took the rare step of censuring a fellow trustee. Board members said they wanted more time to review and provide comments on...
Trump Vows to Act After Mass Shootings, But Gives Scant Details
President Donald Trump on Monday condemned weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio as barbaric crimes "against all humanity" and called for bipartisan cooperation to respond to an epidemic of gun violence. Trump said he wants legislation providing "strong background checks" for gun users, but he provided scant details and has...
Fresno Unified Lays Out Response to Student's Racist Posts
Fresno Unified plans to double down on teaching students about the many aspects of racism and the urgent need to keep campuses safe, following an uproar over racially offensive social media posts that included a Bullard High student posing in blackface. District Superintendent Bob Nelson, standing alongside 15 people from...
Flyers Remove Statue of Late Singer Kate Smith
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers removed a statue of late singer Kate Smith outside NHL team's arena Sunday, two days after covering it amid allegations of racism against the 1930s star with a popular recording of "God Bless America." "The NHL principle 'Hockey is for Everyone' is at the heart...
New Zealand’s Darkest Day: 36 Minutes of Terror
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — On March 15, New Zealand changed. Some are calling it a loss of innocence, a reminder that distance doesn't bring protection against violence. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has vowed to change gun laws and investigate what went wrong. This is how 36 minutes of terror unfolded,...
Dems Struggle to Respond to Omar Over Israel, Bigotry
WASHINGTON — House Democrats are struggling with how to declare they are against bigotry, bias and racism after progressives challenged an effort to rebuke freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar for her remarks on Israel. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged during a closed meeting on Wednesday that her caucus faces "internal issues"...
Cohen Expected to Claim Lying, Racism and Cheating by Trump
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is expected to give a behind-the-scenes account of what he will claim is Trump's lying, racism and cheating, and possibly even criminal conduct, when he testifies publicly before a House committee on Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of...
Police: 'Empire' Actor Staged Attack to 'Promote His Career'
CHICAGO — "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist and homophobic attack because he was unhappy about his salary and wanted to promote his career, Chicago's police superintendent said Thursday. Before the attack, Smollett also sent a threatening letter that targeted himself to the Fox studio in Chicago where "Empire"...
Lies? Truth? Neither Side Backs Down in Explosive Trustee Debate
An explosive battle between two State Center trustees over one’s nomination as board vice president led to the district engaging in a fact-finding mission. At the Dec. 11 board meeting — the first meeting of the new term — Trustee Bobby Kahn objected to colleague Eric Payne’s nomination as board...
Germany: Merkel Warns of Modern Racism on Kristallnacht 80th
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's main Jewish leader warned against tolerating modern-day anti-Semitism and racism as they marked the 80th anniversary Friday of the Nazis' anti-Jewish Kristallnacht, or "Night of Broken Glass," pogrom. On Nov. 9, 1938, Jews were terrorized throughout Germany and Austria. At least 91 people...