Penn State Joins Handful of Colleges Rejecting White Nationalist Events

Nittany Lions say no: Officials at Penn State University told a white nationalist group with ties to white supremacist Richard Spencer, an organizer for the Charlottesville rally in May, that they are not welcomed on their campus. Penn State now joins the ranks of other colleges, like the University of Florida, Michigan State, LSU and Texas A&M, to either block or completely cancel an event linked to Spencer after the deadly Charlottesville rally in August.

Justice Dept. gets pwned: The Justice Department backed down its request for the IP logs of the 1.3 million people who visited "DisruptJ20.org," which was used to plan a protest of President Trump's inauguration on January 20. According to a Justice Department brief, more than a hundred people were charged with rioting the day of the inauguration, and they were trying to determine who was responsible for organizing and participating in the protest.

Dream Host, a Los Angeles-based provider that hosted the site, fought back against the government's warrant for being too broad. In a blog post the company wrote, "That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution's First Amendment." The Justice Department has narrowed their warrant for a smaller scope but the litigation continues.

Tragedy in St. Louis: On Tuesday, St. Louis police were called to the home of Kiwi Herring, a transgender woman who was alleged to have attacked her neighbor. According to The Huffington Post, when police arrived on the scene they tried to arrest her and she fought back with a large kitchen knife, cutting one of the officers in the arm. The police then shot and killed her. Family members claim that Herring's neighbor constantly harassed her and that law enforcement used excessive force, all which they say contributed to her death.

During a candlelight vigil to mourn Herring's death, a motorist drove through the crowd. None of the victims needed to be hospitalized, but the driver has been apprehended. Herring is survived by her spouse, Kristy Thompson, and their three boys aged four, seven and eight. Turn out for Kaepernick: Hundreds of people showed yesterday outside the NFL's Headquarters in Manhattan for "United We Stand, " a rally in support of free agent football player Colin Kaepernick. Tons of activists showed up, joining Susan Sarandon, Symone Sanders and other notable voices. VICE Impact was there and will have a recap up soon. Satellite events were held in cities across the country in solidarity, like in Atlanta where around 50 people met outside the local NFL team's stadium.

Controversial monuments: In New York, black activists are demanding that a statue of J Marion Sims, a 19-century gynecologist who performed medical experiments on enslaved black women, be removed from Central Park. Dr. Simms is credited as the father of modern gynecology but his legacy is tainted with racist practices. According to Curbed New York, from 1845 to 1849, he conducted exams on black women without the use of anesthesia because he said "black women don't feel pain."

On August 19, a group of women from Black Youth Project (BYP) dressed in hospital grounds stained with pink dye stood in front Sims' statue to make a statement about the injustice of his monument. New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito supported the campaign to the remove the statue and sided with community activists on Monday. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said that Sims' statue will be reviewed for removal.

Money talks and walks: Nearly 2,600 advertisers have parted ways with the far-right news outlet Breitbart. This news comes just after former Chairman Steve Bannon, who was relieved from his position as chief adviser to President Trump, announced that he is returning to his old position at the site.

Sleeping Giants, a group dedicated to stopping brands from advertising products on news sites with intolerant agendas, has been campaigning against Breitbart since 2016 and are showing everyday people how they can join their movement.

A previous image for this post included the logo for Michigan University when, in fact, it should have been Michigan State. We regret the error. Go Spartans.