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Do Richmond schools violate the Constitution?
Are Richmond Public Schools students being forced to attend educational facilities deemed unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution?
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New scoreboard lights up for teams at Thomas Jefferson High School
The good news comes twofold for Thomas Jefferson High School baseball. First, the West End school has its first-ever electronic scoreboard.
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6th NCAA crown for UNC
The University of North Carolina’s sixth NCAA basketball championship will be remembered for many things.
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Sen. Warner on Trump and Russia: ‘We have to find out the truth’
Special to the Richmond Free Press U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia is in a high-profile position this spring as the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
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Dan Rooney, who opened doors in NFL for African-Americans in top jobs, dies at 84
As a driving force behind the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers for many decades, Dan Rooney won endless battles on the field — most notably a record six Super Bowl titles.
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VCU heads to Oklahoma City for NCAA despite A-10 loss
If you’re among the thousands of passionate Virginia Commonwealth University basketball fans, you’ve become accustomed to this time of year scrambling for last minute flight reservations. For the third straight year, the Rams are headed to the NCAA. So Rams fans who want to cheer on the team in person will be putting up considerable time, effort and expense. After losing to St. Joseph’s University 87-74 in the Atlantic 10 Tournament finale last Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Rams are headed to Oklahoma City, 1,293 miles from Richmond. Coach Will Wade’s 24-10 Rams are seeded No. 10 in the NCAA’s West Region and will face No. 7 Oregon State University, featuring Gary Payton II, on Friday, March 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., with the game slated to be televised on TNT.
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Clinton crime bill in context
Former President Bill Clinton mixed it up with Black Lives Matter activists last week as he defended his presidency and his 1994 crime bill while campaigning in Philadelphia for his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Hillary fans will say it isn’t fair that the Black Lives Matter folks keep raising issues from the Bill Clinton presidency. But the Clintons campaigned in 1992 by asserting that they were a “two for one” presidency, so raising those issues is at least somewhat fair.
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Raising minimum wage is good policy
Today, full-time work year-round at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour leaves an adult with two children earning thousands of dollars below the poverty threshold. That is unacceptable. No one who works full time should live in poverty. But the Republican-controlled Congress has refused to even consider legislation to raise the minimum wage.
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Usain Bolt dashes off with medal
Jamaica, homeland of the incomparable Usain Bolt, ranks 139th in the world in population but it’s No. 1 in terms of speed. The Caribbean island of some 2.95 million people deserves the title “World’s Fastest Country” based on its domination in 100-meter dash Olympic competition.
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Coach Lancaster returns home for next chapter in legendary career
George Lancaster says there is one aspect of coaching he’s looking forward to even more than the home court advantage.
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Emmy Awards filled with color, politics
Diversity ruled at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, where a record 21 nominees of color were up for the annual awards for television and cable shows in contrast to this year’s all-white Oscars acting lineup. Several took home Emmys, many for the first time.
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Presbyterians, Southern Baptists vote to end racism and racist symbols
Religion News Service The nation’s second largest Presbyterian denomination has passed legislation repenting for “past failures to love brothers and sisters from minority cultures” and committing its members to work toward racial reconciliation. The “overture,” or legislation, was approved overwhelmingly Thursday, June 23, at the national meeting of the Presbyterian Church in America. The issue had been deferred from the previous year’s meeting, where there was a lengthy debate on similar legislation.
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International player making a difference for the Rams
Considering its notable track record with global recruiting, the “U” in VCU might stand for “Universal.” Egyptian native Ahmed Hamdy-Mohamed is the current international athlete making a difference for the Rams.
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American justice defiled
President Trump’s first three weeks in office have left Americans reeling from what Republican speech writer Peggy Noonan called his “cloud of crazy.”
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VCU takes on St. Mary’s College in NCAA first round in Salt Lake City
Virginia Commonwealth University’s legion of basketball fans has come to expect two things — continued excellence and lengthy journeys to cheer on their Rams in the NCAA Tournament. VCU has qualified for the NCAAs a noteworthy seven straight years. Only three schools have longer streaks.
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VCU ready for 7th consecutive bid to NCAAs
Barring an unlikely late season collapse, the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams are primed for a seventh straight trip to the NCAA playoffs.
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Fouls central part of Rams’ strategy
Virginia Commonwealth University’s winning basketball recipe includes balanced scoring plus a little discussed “secret” ingredient — balanced fouling. Now with eight straight wins after last Friday’s 84-73 victory at the University of Richmond, the Rams are 22-5 heading into difficult Atlantic 10 Conference road tests at the University of Rhode Island and the University of Dayton.
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John Marshall ready for regional playoffs with tall men in front, back court
Richmond’s John Marshall High School boasts perhaps the tallest basketball front line in Virginia in 6-foot-9 Isaiah Todd, 6-foot-7 Isaiah Anderson and 6-foot-6 Greg Jones.
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The people’s champion
Ditch the memories of Muhammad Ali showing up uninvited at Sonny Liston’s training camp, announcing that he was going bear hunting. Put aside his boasts of being the greatest of alllll-timmmme. Scratch the images of the “Ali Shuffle” and his patented rope-a-dope.
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A clear and present danger
The danger that Donald Trump, practitioner of questionable business practices, inveterate bully, racist, sexist, demagogue and the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president of the United States, presents to American society was never more evident than last week amid a flurry of negative news stories.