Howard University News Service

Police Kill Armed Man Who Took 3 Hostages at Discovery Bldg. in Silver Spring

Captives Are Safe, But Police Are Checking Site for Explosives

Police shot and killed James Lee, who took three hostages at Discovery Communications Inc. in Silver Spring today. The hostages are safe, but the building is being searched for possible explosives, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger.

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EATING FOR LIFE: Fast food and liquor are easier to find than fresh fruits and vegetables in some parts of the nation's capital. Through an eight-day serial narrative, a team of journalists examines why food deserts exist and what can be done about them. Video intro by Makula Dunbar/Howard University News Service

Food Desert Series

Searching for Healthy Meals in D.C.’s Food Deserts

Part 1: The grocery gap has helped to create food deserts in Washington. In the first installment of our nine-part daily series, Kendra Desrosiers explains why some residents trade fresh produce for high sugar and high salt.

Spending a Dime While Earning a Nickel

Part 2: For some families, it's hard to buy nutritional food — or even to buy food at all. And if they live in Southeast Washington, Nicole Austin reports, they might be paying 30 cents to $3 more for grapes, milk, bread, cheese and meat than residents in Columbia Heights.

Shop 'Til You Drop: Trudging on Buses, Trains to Find Healthy Food

Part 3: Shopping can be quite hectic for residents who live in food deserts with spotty access to healthy food, and especially for those who rely upon public transportation. Simone Pringle, who is one of them, has also included a map of healthy food sites and their proximity to the Metro system.

Eating to Death

Part 4: Osteoporosis, certain cancers, Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, high-blood pressure and stroke all have one thing in common — they stem in part from unhealthy eating habits. Sophia Adem writes that 50 percent of Washington residents are obese or overweight, placing them at risk for diet-related diseases, which are leading causes of death.

Culture Influences How and What People Eat

Part 5: Whether it's soul food or delicacies from other countries, “culture is going to affect certain behaviors — what we eat, the amounts we eat and how we share,” said Jules Harrell, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Howard University. By Crystal Cranmore.

A 'Forty' or Fruit?

Part 6: Being able to find fruits and vegetables versus a “forty,” or 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor, has a major impact on health, Sophia Adem reports. The problem is that liquor stores outnumber grocery stores in many cities across the nation, and Washington is no exception.

Coy Dunston of Secrets of Nature in Ward 8

Pushing Vegetables, Fruits on the Corner

Part 7: “For years it has been believed that corner stores are a part of the problem and not the solution,” Kai Siendenburg, lead coordinator of the national Healthy Corner Stores Network, told Eboni Farmer. Secrets of Nature in Ward 8 is one of 12 corner stores in a local initiative to provide fruits and vegetables to residents of food deserts.

In a Food Oasis, Residents Don't Have to Hunt for Fruits, Vegetables

Part 8: On any given day, Cleveland Park residents can find whatever fruits or vegetables they need close to their homes or even right across the street. They live in Ward 3, a food oasis with more grocery stores to serve residents with higher incomes.

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Special Report

Fifty years ago, four freshmen at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical College took a stand against segregation by quietly sitting down at the F.W. Woolworth counter in downtown Greensboro, N.C. Today, 20 students from Howard University headed south to chronicle the 50th anniversary of the sit-ins in this multimedia special report, which will be periodically updated. Full story

Greensboro Four, Jesse Jackson, Melvin Alston, museum co-founder

Sit-In Breakfast Celebrates A&T Four, Struggle for Equality

Supporters fill ballroom to break bread with A&T Four, who shared words of thanks, motivation and appreciation for non-violence at early morning breakfast. (Watch video by LeeSandre Alexandre.)

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Rev. Jesse Jackson at 50th anniversary sit-in town hall

Panelists From Jesse Jackson to Stephen A. Smith Debate Activism

“Youth today don’t appreciate how humiliating segregation was,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson said during a town hall on activism at North Carolina A&T State University, the first of a series of events for the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins.

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Emmett Till Today

14-Year-Old's Murder Planted a Seed in Planning of Sit-Ins

It’s been 55 years since the brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Louis Till, and the event still incites strong emotions in both whites and blacks. It was also one of the motivations for four freshmen to stage a sit-in at the F.W. Woolworth in 1960

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“Mississippi Mourning: The Emmett Till Story” Stirs Audience

Anxious whispers transformed into dead silence as the softly lit auditorium turned pitch black. A group of terrified boys ripped through the balcony — panting, stumbling, yelling at each other to keep moving. A snowstorm was brewing in Greensboro that night, but the only thing on students' minds was why those boys were running.

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February One Statue in front of Dudley Building at North Carolina A&T.

Sit-In Survivor Challenges Others to Do More

Thousands Gather for 50th Anniversary March, Museum Opening

Franklin E. McCain, one of the North Carolina A&T freshmen who staged the F.W. Woolworth sit-in, says what he did in 1960 is not enough. McCain views the opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro as a challenge to himself and the next generation.

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A WOMAN OF MANY HATS: Dorothy I. Height knew exactly which hats she wore to the White House and other events. “I was the last person to give them up when they went out of style, and I was among the first when I picked them up again,” she told National Public Radio host Michel Martin. She even inspired George Faison to stage “If This Hat Could Talk: The Untold Stories of Dorothy Height” at the Apollo Theater in 2006.—Zaria Poem/Howard University News Service

Featured Stories

Obama Joins Voices Honoring Dorothy I. Height at Funeral

The voices of hundreds echoed loudly to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in the cavernous sanctuary of the National Cathedral as family members and public figures, including President Barack Obama, gathered today for Dorothy I. Height's funeral.

Murders in the District at a Long-Time Low

In the 1990s, Washington became known as the “murder capital” of the United States, but by the mid-2000s, homicide crime rates dropped to their lowest levels in more than two decades.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., president and CEO of Hip-Hop Caucus

Black Voters Could Play Big Role in November

As Democrats gear up for midterm elections, the black electorate will play an important role in battleground states. According to a recent poll, between 74 and 80 percent of African Americans surveyed said they are very likely to vote in key elections.

H St. Revitalization Stirs Mixed Feelings

Much of Washington’s H Street Corridor lay in wreckage after the 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Today, the orange cones, broken gravel and construction workers laying rails for a streetcar line are telltale signs of a $33 million rebirth attempt.

Washington Style Shifts Street by Street

Washington is a city of international taste, hosting people from a variety of states, cultures, and nations. Even within the city, where cultures commingle, the neighborhoods reflect their own fashions.

Metro to Raise Fares or Cut Service to Close Budget Gap

Facing a $189 million budget gap, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority considers cutting services or raising fares for bus, rail, parking and bike storage next year.