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Dr Pepper Awards $725,000 To Students During College Football Conference Championship Weekend
Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway Program Helps Students Reach Their Academic Goals
Dr Pepper celebrated its 11th annual Tuition Giveaway during College Football Conference Championship weekend by awarding $725,000 in tuition to students. Five students took home $100,000 in tuition grand prizes after successfully throwing the most footballs into an oversized Dr Pepper can in 30 seconds during halftime at five marquee games.
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Southwest Louisiana Gingerbread House Contest Winners Announced
The annual Southwest Louisiana Gingerbread House Contest winners were announced at noon on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Visit Lake Charles Welcome Center, 1205 N. Lakeshore Drive.
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Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Calls for a Federal Investigation Following a Report of the Texas Department of State Health Services Found Cancer Clusters in Houston’s Historic Northeast Community
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will Also Convene a Major Community Meeting with Erin Brockovich and other Experts
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Senior Member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget, issued this statement following the transmittal of a letter to the EPA urging a federal investigation of the existence of cancer clusters in Houston’s Fifth Ward:
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JUST MERCY – Main Trailer
JUST MERCY In theaters this December. https://www.justmercyfilm.com/ https://www.facebook.com/JustMercyFilm/ https://www.instagram.com/justmercyfilm/ https://twitter.com/JustMercyFilm Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther,” “Creed,” “Creed II”) and Oscar winners Jamie Foxx (“Ray,” “Baby Driver,” “Django: Unchained”) and Brie Larson (“Room,” “The Glass Castle,” “Captain Marvel”) star in “Just Mercy,” an inspiring drama that brings one of the most important stories of our time to the big screen. Award-winning filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (“The Glass Castle,” “Short Term 12”) directed the film from a screenplay he co-wrote, based on the award-winning nonfiction bestseller by Bryan Stevenson. A powerful and thought-provoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds—and the system—stacked against them. The main cast also includes Rob Morgan (“Mudbound”) as Herbert Richardson, a fellow prisoner who also sits on death row awaiting his fate; Tim Blake Nelson (“Wormwood”) as Ralph Myers, whose pivotal testimony against Walter McMillian is called into question; Rafe Spall as Tommy Chapman, the DA who is fighting to uphold Walter’s conviction and sentence; and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (“Straight Outta Compton”) as Anthony Ray Hinton, another wrongly convicted death row inmate whose cause is taken up by Bryan. The film is produced by two-time Oscar nominee Gil Netter (“Life of Pi,” “The Blind Side”), Asher Goldstein (“Short Term 12”) and Michael B. Jordan. Bryan Stevenson, Mike Drake, Niija Kuykendall, Gabriel Hammond, Daniel Hammond, Scott Budnick, Jeff Skoll and Charles D. King served as executive producers. Cretton co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Lanham (“The Glass Castle”), based on Stevenson’s book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Published in 2014 by Spiegel & Grau, the book has spent more than 150 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers List, and counting. It was also named one of the year’s best books by a number of top publications, including TIME Magazine. For the book, Stevenson also won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, an NAACP Image Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Nonfiction. Cretton’s behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Brett Pawlak, production designer Sharon Seymour, editor Nat Sanders and composer Joel P. West, all of whom previously collaborated with the director on “The Glass Castle.” They are joined by costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck (“Detroit,” “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”). Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in Association with Endeavor Content/One Community/Participant Media/Macro, a Gil Netter Production, an Outlier Society Production, “Just Mercy.” The film is slated for limited release on December 25, 2019 and will go wide on January 10, 2020. “Just Mercy” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and has been rated PG-13 for thematic content, including some racial epithets.
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Two Weeks into Legal Battle, Plaintiffs Drop Lawsuit Against Turkey Leg Hut
A handful of residential neighbors who filed a lawsuit against the Turkey Leg Hut (TLH) two weeks ago claiming smoke from the restaurant to be a public health hazard, have dropped their lawsuit and requested an unconditional dismissal of the suit this morning, December 9, 2019.
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Harris County Advocacy Groups Blast DA Kim Ogg’s Push for Additional Prosecutors
Letter calls on Harris County Commissioners Court to turn down request
Ahead of the Harris County Commissioners Court’s first set of preliminary budget hearings today, a slew of advocacy groups in and around Houston slammed Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg for an expected funding request for additional prosecutors for her office and called on Commissioners to reject the request, the fifth such ask by DA Ogg’s office since the start of 2019.
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200 Houston children to celebrate the holidays at the 4rd Annual Year of Joy Holiday Ice Skating Party
Some 200 children from Houston’s Third Ward and surrounding areas will enjoy holiday fun on ice for the 4nd annual Year Of Joy Holiday Ice Skating Party at the ICE powered by Green Mountain Energy at Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney, 4-6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9. The event is being held in partnership with Discovery Green and will include students from Peck, Lockhart and Blackshear Elementary Schools, Hype Freedom School powered by My Brother’s Keeper Houston, Southside Community Center and Madison High School.
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10th BPA Houston Annul Holiday Party
Photography by Vicky Pink - The Houston Black Professionals Alliance (BPA) hosted the Tenth Annual …
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NABJ Calls for Action in Fight for Press Freedom and Journalists Protection
NABJ President Heads to Doha for Al Jazeera Press Freedom Symposium
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) President Dorothy Tucker will travel to Doha, Qatar in the coming days as part of the organization’s plans to intensify efforts to combat increasing verbal and physical attacks against journalists, including NABJ members, in the United States and abroad.
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Thankful: Texans give fans a reason to be thankful after dominating the Patriots 28-22.
Thanksgiving came a little late this year in the city of Houston. Even though families gathered on November 28th to celebrate the holiday, fans in Houston gathered on the 1st of December to show their appreciation and thanks to the Houston Texans. The team reciprocated that love by defeating the reigning Super Bowl Champions, New England Patriots 28-22 in a prime-time Sunday night game played on NBC at NRG Stadium in front of a crowd of over 72,000 people in attendance.
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Space Center Houston Breaks All-time Attendance Record
The nonprofit Space Center Houston, the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Certified Autism Center, has welcomed more than 1.1 million visitors to date, marking its highest annual attendance since opening in 1992. This milestone comes with one month to go in the year and just as the center is offering a new holiday tradition, Space Center Houston’s Galaxy Lights, presented by Reliant.
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Museum to Host Legendary Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta at Student Workshop, Public Program and Breakfast Panel Discussion Thursday and Friday, Dec. 5 and 6
Civil rights icon and community organizer Dolores Huerta comes to Holocaust Museum Houston (HMH) Thursday and Friday, December 5-6 for a student workshop, sold out public program and panel breakfast discussion with some of Houston’s most accomplished Latina leaders including Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Dr. Laura Murillo and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, among others.
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Arts Nonprofit Announces Open Applications for Nationally Recognized Entrepreneurship Program
Fresh Arts has announced the opening of applications for the Artist INC Houston 2020 seminar. Artist INC is a nationally-recognized arts entrepreneurship program designed to provide business training and relevant resources to multi disciplined artists. Artist INC in Houston is presented in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance. The deadline to apply for the program is Friday, January 10, 2019 at 5 p.m. and there is no fee to apply. Artists of all disciplines and mediums are encouraged to apply.
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Houston man sentenced to 6 years for stomping an orange tabby to death
A 22-year-old Houston man was sentenced to six years in prison for stomping his girlfriend’s orange tabby cat to death, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Wednesday.
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Local Houston teen to compete for $100,000 in Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway
Dr Pepper is pleased to announce the 20 finalists who will participate in the 11th annual Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway during the upcoming College Football Conference Championship weekend. Finalists will take the field during five marquee games and attempt to throw the most number of footballs into an oversized Dr Pepper can in 30 seconds. The winning contestant receives $100,000 in tuition, and the runner-up receives $25,000 in tuition. In total, Dr Pepper will award $1 million in tuition through this year’s program.
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Super Bowl Champ on a Mission to Deliver a New Shuttle Bus to Local Church by Christmas
Former Super Bowl Champion James Ihedigbo is on a mission to deliver a new shuttle bus to Houston’s The R.O.C.K. Church by Christmas Day!
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Lone Star College De-Stress Event/Photo credit: Courtesy of Communities In Schools of Houston.
Published on December 3, 2019
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Meet and Greet with American Tejano Band Siggno at Pasadena Xfinity Store
Xfinity opened the doors of their Pasadena store Wednesday, November 20, to bring family, friends and fans of Latin Grammy award-winning band, Siggno together for an up close and personal Meet and Greet.
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The Life and Legacy of Peter Gerard Brown
The Houston community is a much better place because Peter G. Brown passed this way. “Pete” as he was called, was truly a unique person and known as a “gentle giant” who served his family, extended family, his friends, his church and his community at all times. His professional career was as a mechanical engineer and project manager primarily in the oil & gas industry.
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Just Mercy Pre-Reception in Atlanta with Film Star Karan Kendrick
Prior to the HBCU screening of Just Mercy, film star and Georgia native, Spelman graduate and AKA, Karan Kendrick, hosted a lovely pre-reception mixer for members of the Equal Justice Initiative and various HBCU leaders and students.

