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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Advocates for sexual-assault victims say Rolling Stone's backpedaling from an explosive account of a gang rape at the University of Virginia doesn't change the fact that rape is a problem on college campuses and must be confronted — even as some expressed concern that the magazine's apology could discourage victims from coming forward. Students, state government and education leaders, meanwhile, pledged to continue ongoing efforts to adequately respond to — and prevent — sexual assaults on campus. Rolling Stone cast doubt on its story Friday of a gang rape by a woman it identified only as...

The European Court of Human Rights says France violated the rights of Somali pirates who had attacked French ships and has ordered compensation for them over judicial delays. The nine Somali pirates should get thousands of euros because they were not immediately brought before a French judge, the court ruled. One is to get 9,000 euros (£7,000) and the others sums of up to 7,000 euros. The judges faulted France for keeping them in custody for an extra 48 hours. The pirates had held French citizens hostage after seizing a French-flagged cruise ship and a French yacht in 2008.

It’s the end of an era as the last car rolls off the production line at Opel’s Bochum factory, making Friday a bitter day for the city and the factory’s 3,000 workers. […] The last vehicle made in Bochum, an Opel Zafira compact van, will not be sold but will be dedicated to social work with details expected to be announced by the company on Friday. Opel, a subsidiary of General Motors, is shutting down its former flagship factory due to overcapacity. In its heyday, the Bochum plant employed 22,000 people. Now, it will only employ 700 to make auto...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WHDH) - A march that started in Davis Square Friday afternoon as a response to the grand jury decision in the Eric Garner chokehold death ended on the Mass. Ave. Bridge after passing through several major intersections in Cambridge. The protest began on campus at Tufts University before heading into Davis Square, Porter Square and Harvard Square where protesters held die ins. The march continued to the Mass. Ave. Bridge crossing into Boston where officers stopped the group for nearly 30 minutes before letting them onto the bridge for their final die in.

One report has been derided by critics of Gov. Chris Christie as a whitewash; his defenders see the other as a partisan smear-job against the governor. But both a new interim report for a legislative committee investigating the politically motivated lane closures last year near the George Washington Bridge and one commissioned by the governor’s office and released in March reach a similar conclusion: There is no evidence that Christie participated in the scheme or knew about it as it happened. They also share a shortcoming: Neither group of investigators had access to some witnesses who may be able to...

Thomas Sowell Rips Al Sharpton As ‘Race Hustler’ Friday, December 5, 2014 Conservative pundit and writer Thomas Sowell had nothing but criticism for Rev. Al Sharpton, calling the nationally known activist a race baiter who was using the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases for personal profit. “[Mr. Sharpton] is a race hustler,” Mr. Sowell said during an interview with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham. “[He’s] very proficient at it.”

Tom Telford ’s stomach ached. The New York City teacher had been drinking cup after cup of coffee as he labored to finish year-end grading and coach his high-school baseball team through the playoffs. He worried he might have an ulcer. When school let out, though, Mr. Telford looked forward to relaxing on a 25th anniversary cruise with his wife. But once in the Caribbean, he struggled to swim and climbing from one deck to another exhausted him. Back at home, he collapsed while running a TV cable in his bedroom. His family doctor told him he had lost two...

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) is joining the ballet … at least for one night. The congresswoman is reprising her role as a merry widow in the Washington Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” on Saturday. It’s the third time Norton, 77, has taken to the stage with the ballet company. Other Washington fixtures, including Mayor Vincent Gray (D) and the late former Mayor Marion Barry (D) have appeared in the classic Tchaikovsky ballet.“There is no more delightful fun than seeing or being lucky enough to be asked to perform in ‘The Nutcracker,’ ” Norton said in a statement. “Isn’t this...

Three Anaheim police officers justifiably shot and killed a suspected Anaheim gang member who fired at them and a police dog in March, Orange County District Attorney’s Office prosecutors said. Robert Andrew Moreno, 21, was hiding in a trash can in an Anaheim neighborhood shortly before he fired on the K-9 and officers, prosecutors said in a report issued late last month.

If there's one think you can say about the 2016 Republican presidential field, it is this: It is going to be HUGE. There are currently 23 names on the long, long list of potential candidates. That's twice (!) as many people as have ever run for the GOP nomination in the past. Now, not all of those "candidates" will actually run -- Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker and Rep. Marsha Blackburn don't make much sense as presidential candidates, to name just two -- but that's a huge field of prospective candidates. And while all two dozen names being mentioned won't make...

NY Congressman Hakeem Jeffries: I ‘Worry Every Day’ About What A ‘Bad Apple’ Police Officer Could Do To My Son December 4th, 2014 By Mick Krever, CNN U.S. House Member Hakeem Jeffries, a black congressman from Brooklyn, New York, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday that he views some “bad apple” police officers as a threat to his son. “I’ve got to worry every day about what could happen to him – not just from the robbers, but from a bad apple on the police department.” His remarks came a day after a grand jury in the New York City...

•Prof. Russell Rickford says capitalism and white supremacy are responsible for the police brutality toward brown, black, and poor people. •The professor claims 'dead black bodies in the street is a sacrifice America makes to the gods of white supremacy.' An assistant professor at Cornell University (CU) told white students they must commit race suicide and reject the inherent privilege of their skin color to move past the events in Ferguson. Russell Rickford, an assistant professor specializing in black radical tradition and black political culture after WWII, discussed the events surrounding Ferguson, Mo. to a packed auditorium of students on...

Reasonable people can disagree on whether racism was involved in the tragic death of Eric Garner. My own suspicion is that this misfortune could have transpired just as easily with a white man resisting arrest and/or a black cop choking him. And even though lots of people don't want to hear it, reasonable can disagree on whether illegally excessive force was to blame. Personally, watching the ubiquitous video of Garner's arrest, it looks like excessive force to me. But the simple fact is that a Staten Island grand jury saw evidence that led it to conclude otherwise. People should at...

The seniors at Capital City Public Charter School experienced the usual wave of relief and anticipation after mailing off college applications Friday, as well as an added surprise: a hug from Michelle Obama. The first lady came to their school in Northwest Washington to take part in what has become an annual tradition at some schools across the country — the College March. Before she arrived, the seniors paraded through the hallways with college applications in hand while underclassmen cheered them along. At most schools, the march culminates at a nearby mailbox or post office. On Friday, the seniors at...

Friday, 05 December 2014 Jeb Bush Will Not Run as a Conservative Written by Steve Byas Jeb Bush Will Not Run as a Conservative His father and his brother captured the Republican nomination for president, posing as conservatives, then governed as moderates. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (shown), however, appears determined to chart a different course. If he does make a bid for president, this Bush is sending clear signals that it will not be as a conservative. After two previous Bush presidencies, in which conservative positions were adopted sporadically, this should not come as a surprise. But, following the...

The Obama administration is refusing to discuss reports that emerged early Thursday claiming that the White House is considering imposing sanctions on Israel for continuing construction on Jewish homes in Jerusalem. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf dodged several questions on Thursday when confronted with reports that the administration had held secret internal meetings to discuss taking action against Israel for its ongoing building in East Jerusalem. The classified meetings were reportedly held several weeks ago and included officials from both the State Department and White House, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, which first reported on the meetings. The possibility...

If Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton doesn't think much of your abilities as an NFL quarterback, he has no problem speaking his mind. A.J. McCarron knows all about this. As does Tim Tebow and, yep, Brett Favre. And so does Robert Griffin III and Mike Shanahan, especially after Tarkenton went negative after the Redskins lost their 2012 playoff game to the Seahawks. Now, during an interview with theMMQB.com's Jenny Vrentas, Tarkenton took another crack at Griffin, who's lost his starting Redskins job to Colt McCoy and who very well could be off the team before 2015. Tarketon says he...

Sen. Mary Landrieu has finally weighed in on the caught-on-tape call from a Louisiana Democratic official for supporters to commit voter fraud by casting more than one ballot in last month's election. You'll be relieved to know that she's reviewed the tape and has come to the conclusion that her (refreshingly candid!) chief of staff's father was just kidding. A local NBC affiliate addressed the controversy -- be sure to stay tuned for the decidedly un-amused reaction from average voters, and pardon the technical difficulties when the station attempts to playback Don Cravins Sr's problematic remarks: Sen Landrieu: It was...

Is racism the underlying reason why congressional Republicans oppose the president’s decision to stop deporting some five million illegal immigrants? That's preposterous, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said emphatically at a congressional hearing earlier this week. The Blaze has the details: Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) interrogated Marielena Hincapie, the executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, during a Tuesday House hearing on President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration reform after she seemingly suggested race may be the basis behind the GOP’s opposition to the unilateral action.

A Santa Ana man has been arrested on suspicion of molesting nearly a dozen boys over the last two years, and police say they believe there may be more victims. Edwin Echeverria, 22, was taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of multiple counts of child molestation and is expected to be arraigned Friday afternoon on 14 felony counts of lewd conduct with a child. The Orange County District's office said they will asked that Echeverria be held on $1 million bail. Echeverria faces a possible sentence of 275 years in prison if convicted on all counts Echeverria befriended the boys,...