Archives for September 2014

Violence – and nonchalance – in shocking Ray Rice video

Ray Rice looks so casual. After he hits Janay Palmer, his then-fiancée, now wife, the Baltimore Ravens running back stands over her, and when the elevator door in the Atlantic City casino opens, he drags her limp body halfway out, walks back and forth, then stands around, even chatting with people who come along. He doesn’t seem shocked. He doesn’t check to see how she is. It takes a passer-by to comfort the still-groggy, disheveled Palmer.

TMZ on Monday released more of the video that the public only saw a fraction of in February. It graphically shows the argument, the punch, the fall and the scene outside the elevator – nonchalance from Rice that is almost as sickening as the violence. Now anyone can view the beginning, the middle and what the NFL hoped would be the end of a controversy that is only heating up.

Rep. James Clyburn: ‘The country has topped out to the right’

If anyone can take the long view of history, it’s U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.). The assistant minority leader of the House has lived it, from his childhood in segregated Sumter, S.C., through the civil rights movement that benefited him, sometimes in unexpected ways — he met wife-to-be Emily in jail after both were arrested for protesting for civil rights — to his election to Congress in 1992.

Clyburn, 74, tells his story in “Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black.” He and Emily recently spent an evening at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte, greeting admirers, posing for photos and adding signatures to personal copies of the book.

At the Gantt Center, he shared his thoughts on the pace of change in America: “The country from its inception is like the pendulum on a clock. It goes back and forward. It tops out to the right and starts back to the left — it tops out to the left and starts back to the right. I can tell you the country has topped out to the right, and the country is moving back to the left.” And remember, he said, it “spends twice as much time in the center.”

Highlights & Low Blows of First Senate Debate: Hagan v. Tillis


CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The first of three senate debates between candidates Senator Kay Hagan and House Speaker Thom Tillis is in the books. As with all debates, there were highlights and low blows. So, did their arguments give them enough momentum? Our WCCB Polticial Contributor Mary C. Curtis breaks down what worked and what didn’t. Hagan and Tillis weren’t at odds over everything – they agreed that President Obama needs to take action against ISIS.

Preps Begin for Wednesday’s U.S. Senate Debate

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-   The mid-term election season is in full swing. Election Day is just over two months away. Incumbent Senator Kay Hagan is in a tight race against state House Speaker Thom Tillis. Ahead of tonight’s debate, we’re talking with WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis about what’s at stake.