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May 2009

Obama commits to fighting in cyber space (video)

By theGrio

2:52 PM on 05/29/2009

WASHINGTON - President Obama this morning outlined his strategy for confronting a global threat. Not Iraq, not Iran, not even North Korea - but rather, attacks in cyberspace. The president says raising awareness on the threats of Internet security is a top priority in his administration. Along with goals to...
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Obama makes surprise visit to DC diner (video)

By theGrio

10:29 AM on 05/29/2009

WASHINGTON - There was a lunchtime surprise for people dining at a certain restaurant in Washington, DC, today as president Barack Obama walks in. The president greeted folks and shook hands as he walked into the five guys fast-food restaurant just before 1pm. He ordered cheeseburgers for himself and several...
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Harlem weighs in on the question of torture (video)

By Sonia Narang

8:57 AM on 05/29/2009

The question about whether or not to torture suspected terrorists has been a controversial issue in the news lately. President Barack Obama and former Vice-President Dick Cheney have debated this publicly in recent weeks. In simultaneous speeches on May 21st, Cheney weighed in on the side of condoning waterboarding while...
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Man leaves career in justice for jazz (video)

By theGrio

3:54 PM on 05/28/2009

MIAMI - Jesse Jones Jr. is known for keeping order in the court, but he may be even better recognized for holding center stage outside of the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. Jones, who has been a bailiff for 23 years, is retiring this year to pursue his true passion - jazz...
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Mother in custody after making false claims of abduction by black men (video)

By theGrio

2:49 PM on 05/28/2009

Bucks County, PA - Surveillance pictures at Philadelphia international airport show bonnie Sweeten and her 9-year-old daughter, Julia Rakoczy, going through security, alone. This as authorities issued an amber alert for the missing girl whose mother had claimed they'd been abducted. Wednesday night, the FBI arrested Sweeten at the grand...
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Obama's college photos on display (video)

By theGrio

1:10 PM on 05/28/2009

West Hollywood, CA - Lisa Jack probably could have demanded a decent price for the set of photos she took of an Occidental College freshman in 1980. "I'm sure Hillary would have paid a fortune for them: 'Is this who you want picking up the phone at 3 a.m.?'" the...
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DNA results exonerate one man and send another man back to prison (video)

By theGrio

12:04 PM on 05/28/2009

DALLAS - DNA testing set one man free and sent another back to prison. A Texas judge simply apologized Wednesday to a Dallas man who spent half his life in prison for a crime he did not commit. Jerry Lee Evans walked into court a convicted rapist; he walked out...
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Questions continue after audio from FBI wiretap is released (video)

By theGrio

11:15 AM on 05/28/2009

Did Roland Burris offer to give then-Governor Rod Blagojevich a campaign donation and ask for the Senate appointment in the same phone call? Audio was released Wednesday from a November conversation caught on an FBI wiretap in which Burris promised Governor Blagojevich's brother that he'd write the governor a campaign...
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Mississippi segregated prom

By theGrio

9:40 AM on 05/28/2009

The New York Times reported on two proms held by Montgomery County High School in Mount Vernon, Ga. One is for white students and one is for black students. At the alleged insistence of some white parents, an alternative "white-only" prom was organized even after actor Morgan Freeman offered to...
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Undeveloped twin removed from baby's mouth (video)

By theGrio

8:19 PM on 05/27/2009

MIAMI - The mother of a newborn in South Florida is praising doctors for her son's survival. Her son was born with an extremely rare deformation. Little Jordan Smith was born with what doctors determined to be an undeveloped twin protruding from his mouth. Just nine days after his birth,...
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Five students try to survive tech-less (video)

By theGrio

6:16 PM on 05/27/2009

Five Philadelphia area high school students were put to the test when they were asked to go for ten days without their phones, computers, ipods and other technological devices. There were immediate ramifications. One participant, Hillary Gack, admitted to not being able to determine what time it was at work....
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Protesters demand Gov. Jindal accept federal stimulus money for Louisiana (video)

By theGrio

6:11 PM on 05/27/2009

Baton Rouge, LA - A group of protesters are angry that Governor Bobby Jindal has decided not to accept all of the federal stimulus money. The Concerned Citizens Coalition rallied on the steps of the state capitol this morning. They say they want to stop budget cuts on everything from...
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Al Sharpton endorses Sotomayor (video)

By theGrio

6:09 PM on 05/27/2009

NEW YORK - Rev. Al Sharpton today endorsed Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's pick for Supreme Court Justice. During a news conference, Sharpton said, "What we saw yesterday was a message to all America, black, white, Latino, that you can come from the south Bronx and end up in the supreme...
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Burris reacts to transcripts of his conversation with Blago's brother (video)

By theGrio

5:08 PM on 05/27/2009

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Roland Burris of Illinois is reacting today to phone transcripts that, some say, implicate him in a "pay-to-play" scheme to get the senate seat. Burris took time before his departure for a two-day tour of central Illinois to talk to reporters outside his Chicago home. He...
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Number of babies born from unwed moms grows dramatically (video)

By theGrio

3:39 PM on 05/27/2009

More and more young women are walking with baby strollers before they walk down the aisle. A new study from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics finds the percentage of babies born to unmarried mothers has risen dramatically within the past few decades. Birth rates among unmarried U.S. mothers...
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Florida capsized boat survivor gives birth to son (video)

By theGrio

2:07 PM on 05/27/2009

Delray Beach, FL - A Haitian woman who narrowly escaped the sinking of a smuggler's boat two weeks ago has now given birth to a healthy baby boy in a Florida hospital. Lexilia Lexidort was pregnant when she made the dangerous trip across the ocean. The boat capsized off the...
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Mike Tyson's daughter dies after treadmill accident (video)

By theGrio

12:34 PM on 05/27/2009

PHOENIX - The young daughter of boxer Mike Tyson has died one day after she was involved in a treadmill accident at her home in Phoenix. Police there says Exodus Tyson was pronounced dead just before noon Tuesday. The four-year-old was found unconscious with her head wrapped around a loop...
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NCAA basketball champs visit the White House (video)

By theGrio

12:01 PM on 05/27/2009

WASHINGTON - The NCAA Basketball Champion Tar Heels received a personal "thank you" from the president. The men's basketball team from the University of North Carolina visited the White House and presented Mr. Obama with his own Tar Heels jersey. The president thanked the team because he had picked them...
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More couples are getting wedding insurance (video)

By theGrio

10:48 AM on 05/27/2009

Summer marks the start of the busy wedding season. Having the invitations, the cake, and of course the dress are all a part of the perfect wedding essentials, but what if everything doesn't work out perfectly? There is always a chance one of your wedding vendors might go out of...
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Regular exposure to violence may have a desensitizing effect (video)

By theGrio

9:15 AM on 05/27/2009

New research suggests regular exposure to violence in the media could desensitize people to the suffering of others. In two studies, researchers from the University of Michigan found people who had just seen a violent movie or played a video game were slower than others to help someone they thought...
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