In September 2018, a group of agents from the Department of Homeland Security announced that they had successfully broken up a ring of illegal massage parlors that targeted Asian immigrants and forced them into sex slavery. One of the key things they forgot to add, though, was that two of their agents had paid for sex…
University of North Carolina campus police and state investigators used tracking technology to surveil anti-racism activists for a protest at a memorial known as “Silent Sam”—a gun-toting Confederate soldier, according to NBC News.
READ MORE: Ex-Texas policeman indicted in fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson
In the aftermath of the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., UNC Chapel Hill police began using the controversial tracking technology, known as “geofencing” after the FBI notified them that activists planned to protest at the “Silent Sam” memorial. The FBI warning to UNC police came a day after protestors met in Charlottesville, Va., to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from a city park, NBC News writes.
The tracking technology pulls information from unsuspecting people who are in a specific area, determined by their phones’ geolocation systems, and even captures a person’s social media posts as well as other personal data. The technology has been used by President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and by certain retailers to send targeted ads to a person’s mobile device, the report says.
Because of the violent nature of the Charlottesville protest, where a white supremacist killed an anti-racism activist by ramming his car into her, police were on high alert to monitor the activities of protestors in North Carolina.
NBC News reported that an FBI agent sent the UNC campus police chief an email on Aug. 13, 2017, that read, “I’m sure you’re already tracking, but wanted to make sure,” before warning that activists were expected to protest at Silent Sam later that evening.
“We have no information of any planned violence at this time,” the FBI agent said in the email, according to NBC News. “Any intelligence we develop will be pushed your way.”
READ MORE: Former FAMU student killed by police after traffic stop scuffle
NBC News reported that UNC had entered a three-year contract with a company called Social Sentinel Inc. of Vermont to use the geofencing software. The contract reportedly ran through Oct. 31, 2019, although campus police are still using it to track information in designated areas, a university spokesperson told NBC.
The spokesperson, however, wouldn’t divulge for what purposes police are using the technology or when it was last used, outside of saying it is used to “ensure campus safety.”
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Ronnell Hughes, a Black, military veteran who had recently moved to Ontario, Ore., from North Carolina to be close to his girlfriend, was stabbed multiple times by a white man in what police are calling a possible hate crime, reports say.
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Hughes, 48, was sitting at an Arby’s Restaurant on Saturday morning inside the Pilot truck stop applying for a job when Nolan Strauss, 26, reportedly approached him because he is Black and started to stab him in the neck, according to the Malheur Enterprise. Ontario is located near the Idaho border.
Police told media outlets that Strauss is believed to be a truck driver and is reportedly from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was booked into the Malheur County Jail on charges of attempted murder, assault and intimidation.
Ben Esplin, lead detective on the case for the Ontario police, told the Malheur Enterprise that “the suspect made some statements that he did what he did because of the color of the victim’s skin.” Esplin said Strauss made the statements to police as he was being arrested.
The police affidavit adds that Strauss said he “hates black people,” according to the newspaper. The affidavit goes on to say that Strauss told police “his intent was to kill the victim.”
In October, Hughes moved to the area from Sanford, North Carolina to join up with his girlfriend, Nikita Apodaca, according to the Malheur Enterprise.
Police said Strauss and Hughes didn’t know each other and there was no indication that the incident was provoked. “The motive for the attack leans heavily towards a racially motivated crime,” police said in a statement.
READ MORE: Former FAMU student killed by police after traffic stop scuffle
Employees at the Pilot truck stop pulled Strauss off Hughes, and subdued him until police arrived.
Hughes was listed in stable condition at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise. He was put in an induced coma on Sunday after undergoing hours of surgery on Saturday, according to the newspaper, which quotes Apodaca.
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It’s official: the kicks don’t lie, and the numbers don’t either. Colin Kaepernick’s Air Force 1 sneakers sold out online the same day they were released, cementing his position as one of the most influential (former) athletes in the country.
Nearly 10 million viewers tuned in to watch Eddie Murphy host Saturday Night Live—the most watched show since May 2017.
Nielsen Media Research reported that the episode nailed an average 2.5 rating for adults ages 18-49 and brought in 9.921 million viewers, according to CNN.
READ MORE: Bill Cosby spokesperson accuses Eddie Murphy of selling out
Murphy, 58, proved he still has it as he brought back beloved sketches and characters, including “Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood,” “Buckwheat,” and “Gumby.” He delivered a stinging cold open where he questioned the likelihood that he would become a stay-at-home dad of 10 children, while Bill Cosby, America’s favorite dad, would wind up in jail.
“If you would have told me 30 years ago that I would be this boring, stay-at-home house dad and Bill Cosby would be in jail, even I would have took that bet,” he quipped before adding in a spot-on impersonation of Cosby: “Who is America’s Dad now?”
Andrew Wyatt, a Cosby representative, took offense to Murphy’s opening monologue and essentially called the whole performance a sellout to his race.“One would think that Mr. Murphy was given his freedom to leave the plantation, so that he could make his own decisions; but he decided to sell himself back to being a Hollywood Slave,” Wyatt said in a statement.
Murphy’s appearance marked the first time the comedian had been back to SNL in 35 years. To top it off, Lizzo was the musical guest, and some of the country’s top comedic performers joined Murphy on stage, including Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and cast member, Kenan Thompson.
Prior to Murphy, the last time SNL had the highest rated comedy telecast was in May 2017, when Melissa McCarthy served as host, and HAIM performed as the musical guest.
In terms of entertainment series, Murphy’s SNL 2.5 rating tied Fox’s Masked Singer’s season premiere in September, ranking as the highest-rated entertainment series telecast this season, CNN notes. Murphy incorporated his Buckwheat character in a funny comedy sketch that spoofed the Masked Singer.
READ MORE: Kenan Thompson gears up for new NBC show
Wyatt didn’t mention, however, decades ago when the elder comedian would reportedly lecture Murphy about being too raunchy and not setting a good example. Murphy recently told Jerry Seinfeld, in an episode of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” that as a young comedian, Cosby always treated him mean. Many Murphy fans are now calling the comedian’s SNL monologue, as well as other recent comments, payback.
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