National

The Democratic-controlled House on Wednesday approved a measure requiring federal background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, the first major gun control legislation considered by Congress in nearly 25 years.Democrats called the 240-190 vote a major step to end the gun lobby’s grip on Washington and begin to address an epidemic of... Read More.

A Cook County, IL judge set the bail for R&B singer R. Kelly for $1 million — $250,000 for each of the four people he’s charged with sexually abusing — during a hearing in Chicago on Saturday. the news comes a day after the Grammy winner was arrested and booked on 10 counts... Read More.

An LGBTQ rights group is calling on anyone who feels let down by the allegations against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett to channel their anger and disappointment into productive activism to fight hate crimes.The Human Rights Campaign released a statement Thursday saying that a “rising tide of hate violence has had a devastating impact... Read More.

Former President Brack Obama has teamed with the NBAand International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to create a new league in Africa that will feature 12 teams from several countries across the continent.“I’ve always loved basketball because it’s about building a team that’s equal to more than the sum of its parts. Glad to see... Read More.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: In order for our kids to be it, they need to see it.That’s an important mantra this Milwaukee teacher encourages his class to live by throughout the year. See, for Black History Month, Terrence Sims’ 6th graders emulated famous Black books and album covers,... Read More.