Jessica Chasmar

Ava DuVernay, ‘Selma’ director, addresses Hollywood’s ‘systemic’ diversity issue

"Selma" director Ava DuVernay said Tuesday that she wasn't at all surprised she wasn't nominated for an Oscar for best director and hopes that all the "hoopla" surrounding the supposed snub will shine a light on Hollywood's "systemic" lack of racial diversity.

January 28, 2015

Off-duty NYPD officer arrested for drunk driving during snowstorm

An off-duty New York City police officer was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk in the middle of a snowstorm Monday night, police said.

January 27, 2015

Gary Szatkowski, NWS meteorologist, apologizes for blizzard ‘forecast miss’

National Weather Service meteorologist Gary Szatkowski apologized on Twitter Tuesday after predictions for a record-setting blizzard failed to materialize.

January 27, 2015

‘Kit’ Carson, Rush Limbaugh’s chief of staff, dies of brain cancer

Rush Limbaugh announced Monday that his longtime "chief of staff" and trusted friend, Christopher "Kit" Carson, has died of brain cancer at age 56.

January 27, 2015

Arnold Schwarzenegger to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Arnold Schwarzenegger will be inducted into the celebrity wing of WWE's Hall of Fame this March during WrestleMania Week in San Jose, California.

January 27, 2015

Patricia Todd, gay Alabama lawmaker, threatens to expose adulterous colleagues

Alabama's first openly gay legislator has threatened to expose the extramarital affairs of some of her Republican colleagues due to their opposition to same-sex marriage.

January 27, 2015

Detroit man who murdered two white teens declares ‘black lives matter’ during sentencing

A black man who was found guilty of murdering two white teenagers execution-style in a vacant Detroit field defiantly declared "black lives matter" Wednesday before being sentenced to life in prison.

January 22, 2015

Jeff Gordon, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, announces retirement on Twitter

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon announced on Twitter Thursday that this year will be his last as a full-time driver.

January 22, 2015

Kentucky bill would let students sue school if they see transgender kids in ‘wrong’ bathroom

A Kentucky Republican has introduced a bill that would ban transgender students from using bathrooms that don't correspond to their anatomical sex.

January 22, 2015

St. Louis police release nearly 200 photos of Ferguson looters

The St. Louis County Police Department is appealing for the public's help after releasing nearly 200 photos of alleged looters on the night a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown.

January 21, 2015

Vigilante arrested for tackling licensed gunowner in Florida Wal-Mart

Florida deputies arrested a 43-year-old man Tuesday after he tackled a man carrying a concealed weapon in Wal-Mart.

January 21, 2015

Florida deputy fired for beating wheelchair-bound inmate: I ‘got caught up in the moment’

A detention deputy in West Florida was fired Tuesday for needlessly punching a physically disabled inmate, causing him to shatter his dentures.

January 21, 2015

Charles Rangel: Free college ‘important to the security’ of the U.S.

Two years of free community college is crucial for the security of the United States, according to Rep. Charles Rangel.

January 21, 2015

Gunman opens fire on students leaving Brooklyn high school; 2 injured

A gunman opened fire into a crowd exiting a Brooklyn high school Tuesday afternoon, wounding two teens, New York City police said.

January 20, 2015

Seattle police officer injured in ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests; 19 arrested

At least 19 people were arrested and a Seattle police officer suffered a leg injury after "Black Lives Matter" protesters blocked part of State Route 99 Monday afternoon.

January 20, 2015

Mike Ditka: I wouldn’t let my son play football

Former Bears coach Mike Ditka says there's no way he'd let his hypothetical 8-year-old son play football, arguing that the "risk is worse than the reward."

January 20, 2015

Sylvia Burwell, HHS secretary, uses MLK Day speech to promote Obamacare at Al Sharpton event

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell promoted Obamacare "in the spirit of Dr. King" on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, during a breakfast hosted by Al Sharpton.

January 19, 2015

‘Friendship Nine’ to be cleared of 1961 lunch counter sit-in crimes

The surviving members of the "Friendship Nine" will be exonerated this month, 54 years after the group of black men was jailed for sitting at an all-white lunch counter.

January 19, 2015

Rand Paul talks race on MTV: ‘Break down the wall that separates us’

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul appeared in a black and white TV ad for MTV on Monday, calling for a unified America in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 19, 2015

Islamic State militants release 250 Yazidis in Iraq

Islamic State militants freed about 250 Yazidis held captive for more than six months in Iraq, Kurdish officials said Sunday.

January 18, 2015