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#BlackLivesMatter: Third Officer In Freddie Gray Case Opts For Bench Trial

Protest and Rally in Baltimore

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

A third Baltimore police officer, Lt. Brian Rice, will soon be on trial for the death of Freddie Gray. And like his colleagues, who were both acquitted, Rice too opted for a bench trial, which means that waived his right to a jury and the judge will seal his fate.

According to the Associated PressJudge Barry Williams will begin trying Rice on Thursday on charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in Grey’s 2015 death.

The prosecution has a few obstacles in front them, including the fact that they cannot present 4,000 pages of Rice’s training records as evidence. The judge threw out this evidence claiming the prosecution didn’t turn the copies to Rice’s lawyers in time.

It’s important to note that Judge Williams is the same judge who handed down a “not guilty” verdict for Caesar Goodson, the third officer charged. There are three more trials left in the death of Freddie Grey: Garrett Miller’s trial on July 27, Officer William Porter’s on September 6, and Sgt. Alicia White’s on October 13.

#BlackGirlMagic: The New Iron Man Is A Black Teenage Girl

Iron Man’s Tony Stark is taking a little break to make room for a new Iron Man–or Iron Lady that is.

Marvel’s new superhero will be Riri Williams, a 15-year-old African-American girl who is a science genius and MIT college student, Time reported. Creator and Iron Man writer Brian Michael Bendis said that this character was inspired by a young woman he met in Chicago whose “life was marred by tragedy that could have easily ended her life—just random street violence—and went off to college.”

“I thought that was the most modern version of a superhero or superheroine story I had ever heard. And I sat with it for a while until I had the right character and the right place,” he said.

And for the online haters, Bendis isn’t here for any of that noise.

“Some of the comments online, I don’t think people even realize how racist they sound. I’m not saying if you criticize you’re a racist, but if someone writes, “Why do we need Riri Williams we already have Miles?” that’s a weird thing to say. They’re individuals just like Captain America and Cyclops are individuals. All I can do is state my case for the character, and maybe they’ll realize over time that that’s not the most progressive thinking,” he said.

Yaaaaas Marvel, we see you enforcing inclusion–and we love it!

Former Fox News Host Gretchen Carlson Files Sexual Harassment Suit Against Roger Ailes

It’s no secret that Fox News has a race problem, but it also has a serious gender problem as well–and a lawsuit on its hands. Former Fox & Friends anchor Gretchen Carlson is suing Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes for sexual harassment.

According to NPR, Carlson claims that her career suffered during her tenure at the network because she refused Ailes’ sexual advances. Her lawsuit also states that her concerns were often dismissed by her colleagues and that she was punished by having high-profile interviews taken away from her and being reassigned to a different show for a steep pay cut.

In an interesting turn, Carlson is prepared to force other female Fox on-air personalities to testify about whether they experienced sexual harassment — and whether they traded sexual favors with Ailes or other executives for jobs or financial gain, NPR noted.

It’s important to note that Carlson isn’t suing Fox News, just Ailes, but it’s pretty definite that Fox will feel the burn from this one.

#BiggerFishToFry: South Carolina Town Passes Ordinance Banning Sagging Pants

The state of South Carolina as a set of structural and systematic problems: A crippling HIV/AIDS epidemic, disproportionate poverty and hundreds of thousands of its residents without healthcare because the state won’t expand Medicare. But in a 5-1 vote, the Timmonsville Town Council in S.C., decided that to achieve real societal change, they should pass an ordinance banning its residents from wearing sagging pants.

Yes folks, this is what they are focused on.

According to WYFF44 News, Mayor Pro Tem William James, Jr. said the ordinance is about integrity and respecting yourself and that undergarments should not “intentionally displayed.”

If found guilty once, a resident will be given a verbal warning, on their second they will given a written warning and placed on a registry and on their third violation, they can be issued a citation and fine up to $600, the site noted.

Like really? Boy, bye.

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Third Officer In Freddie Gray Case Opts For Bench Trial  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com