Dog's butt looks just like the famous IKEA monkey

Jasmine Williams celebrated earning her master’s degree in a big way Friday, rocking her cap and gown as she marched in a Juneteenth parade in Washington. Williams, 28, graduated with a master’s in forensic psychology, The Washington Post reported. She said she wanted to combine her big moment with the protests and marches unfolding nationwide. Williams stood in Black Lives Matter Plaza and took photos, receiving congratulations from other protesters. A young girl gave her a rose, the newspaper reported. “Take your walk, queen,” a woman said. A 9-year-old African American boy from Maryland was so enamored, he ran up to Williams, the Post reported. “My son is so proud of you, can he take a picture with you?” Anmerin’s Cole’s mother asked Williams. “She graduated and I wanted to graduate too,” said Anmerin, who just completed third grade. Williams was more than happy to oblige. “This was a tumultuous time, and amidst it, I graduated,” Williams told the Post. “This is a big moment.

It was called General Orders No. 3 and issued by U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865. The original handwritten “Juneteenth” military order, a two-paragraph notation informing thousands of people held in bondage that they were free, resides in the National Archives, The Washington Post reported. Juneteenth -- a combination of June and 19th -- is also called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. It is the oldest known celebration recognizing the end of slavery in the United States. The orders were written in a volume that began on one page and carried over to the next, according to the National Archives. The two-paragraph orders were signed by Maj. F.W. Emery on behalf of Granger. “The National Archives safeguards many of the nation’s most important records related to African American history and civil rights, and General Order Number 3 is one of those records,” Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero said in a statement. “We know from history that certain events took place, and it’s always a delight when we can help make history come alive by sharing the actual documentation of those events.” General Orders No. 3 states: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.” The printed version is part of the “War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies” volumes published in the 1880s and 1890s, according to the National Archives. The document will be officially digitized and added to the National Archives Catalog, as well as highlighted on NARA’s African American History page. “A lot of people may not realize we have the original document in our holdings,” Trevor K. Plante, director of archival operations at the National Archives Building, said in a news release. “One of our public affairs specialists reached out to me to see if we had General Orders 3. I searched for the document in our holdings in support of this story. I think this is an important record for American history, and more importantly, African American history.”

An Army combat veteran is accused of firing at least nine shots at another vehicle during a road rage incident in southwest Georgia, authorities said. Joe Harvey, of Columbus, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and reckless conduct, WRBL reported. Harvey was jailed without bond after a confrontation in the parking lot of a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Columbus around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. According to police, Harvey aimed at the front end of a Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Velisha Hearlson, whose 15-year-old daughter was a passenger, the newspaper reported. Police said Harvey’s first five shots hit the hood of his Chevrolet Silverado pickup, while the other four shots hit the hood of the Trailblazer. During Harvey’s preliminary hearing Friday, Columbus Officer Michael Clements testified that Harvey and Hearlson were both headed east on the boulevard when Hearlson moved into Harvey’s lane. Harvey said he believed he had been cut off, and followed her into the parking lot at Dick’s Sporting Goods, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. Clements testified the two drivers exchanged profane insults before Harvey at first brandished his then-unloaded pistol, and then loaded it as Hearlson revved her engine, the newspaper reported. Harvey then stepped on the running board of his vehicle and began shooting, Clements testified. After surrendering to police, Harvey admitted shooting at Hearlson’s SUV, Clements testified, adding that Harvey had a previous road rage incident in which he stomped on his brakes because he believed the driver behind him was tailgating, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. Harvey’s attorney, Ralston Jarrett, said Harvey is a combat war veteran who retired in 2018 suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Desert Storm, and he said he hopes his client can receive mental help, WRBL reported. “He’s seen some things as a vet, as many have,” Jarrett told the Ledger-Enquirer. Hearlson, 39, said she did not believe Harvey’s PTSD excused his conduct. “I think he doesn’t need to be on the road, and he definitely don’t need to own a gun,” Hearlson told the newspaper.

King County Metro said it has launched an internal investigation after a statue of a black man was discovered at the base of a flagpole near dangling rope at the south facilities maintenance building in Tukwila. A Metro employee placed the statue there, according to internal emails between the agency’s union and upset employees, who on Monday demanded the termination of anyone involved. “This item was originally placed near the flag pole by a fellow member, then someone other brought it inside,” replied Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 Maintenance Vice President Cory Rigtrup to Monday’s email from a union member. “There is much more to the story, but the offensive image you are seeing is not the alone work of one of our union brother but also management.” Rigtrup said in Monday’s email that he had learned about the statue a week prior. “He was trying to explain away the picture, as opposed to explaining the incident,” said Cheryl Jones, who has worked for King County Metro for more than two decades. As part of its investigation, Rigtrup said in the email that Metro management took a picture of the statue at the flagpole that recently started circulating among employees and has since made it onto social media. “It’s an intimidation tactic and I don’t know what they’re capable of,” said Jones, who told us she was “incensed” after finding out about the statue this week. “I should feel safe coming to work.” Three Metro workers, including Jones, said they had no faith in full accountability and transparency from Metro. “The people doing these things have no fear of repercussions,” said James Pratt, who has worked for Metro for 25 years. “This has been going on in silence for a week.” King County Metro said that the statue was “discovered and promptly removed” June 2 and could not immediately say whether any nearby surveillance video had been reviewed. “The statue was of a person of color – and because of its position near a flagpole – it could be interpreted as a racist symbol and form of harassment, neither of which Metro will tolerate under any terms,” said King County Metro, in part, to KIRO-TV by email. “While it’s not clear what the intention is behind the placement of this statue, it is an unacceptable action that significantly and negatively impacted a number of our colleagues.” “That’s what I wanted to make sure, that we’re not going to get a bunch of excuses,” Pratt said. He added, “which the excuses started flowing in already.” Rigtrup told KIRO-TV by email Thursday that the union would not comment “until the facts are known.” “Local 587 believes in equality, diversity, fairness and champions social justice,” said Rigtrup. Read the full King County Metro below: “On June 2, Metro discovered and promptly removed a statue that was left at a flagpole at Metro’s South Facilities Maintenance Building. The statue was of a person of color – and because of its position near a flagpole – it could be interpreted as a racist symbol and form of harassment, neither of which Metro will tolerate under any terms. “For clarification, the statue was never hanging or otherwise attached to the flagpole. The cord in the image was in the background and connected only to the cleat of the flagpole where the flag was raised. “An investigation is currently active and underway with Metro’s Equal Employment Opportunity/Equity & Inclusion team. Metro is also working closely with our Transit Employee Labor Relations group. “We are sharing the above information with all employees within our Facilities Division to be transparent and to reaffirm the steps we are taking to provide a safe, welcoming environment for our employees. We are committed to ensuring that our work environment is free from discrimination. “While it is not clear what the intention is behind the placement of this statue, it is an unacceptable action that significantly and negatively impacted a number of our colleagues. We have reminded employees of the resources available to anyone who believes they have been discriminated against or believes they have witnessed any form of harassment.”

The great-grandson of a woman who played the Aunt Jemima character for nearly 20 years said he was angry with Quaker Oats’ decision to change its logo and name on its pancake mix and syrup. Larnell Evans Sr.‘s great-grandmother, Anna Short Harrington, portrayed the Aunt Jemima character from 1935 to 1954, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported. On Wednesday, Chicago-based Quaker Foods announced it would eliminate the Aunt Jemima brands in response to civil unrest in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died May 25 when his neck was pinned by the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer for nearly nine minutes. “This is an injustice for me and my family. This is part of my history, sir,” Evans told Patch. “The racism they talk about, using images from slavery, that comes from the other side -- white people. This company profits off images of our slavery. And their answer is to erase my great-grandmother’s history. A Black female. … It hurts.” Harrington, a Syracuse resident, was discovered by representatives of the Quaker Oats Company while she was cooking pancakes at the 1935 New York State Fair, the Post-Standard reported. She was hired to dress up in the Aunt Jemima character and toured North America, promoting the brand. Harrington, who cooked for many fraternity houses at Syracuse University, was the third “Aunt Jemima,” the newspaper reported. Nancy Green, a former slave, originated the role with an apron and headscarf in 1893. Harrington was born in Bennettsville, South Carolina. She died Oct. 21, 1955, in Syracuse and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in the city, according to her obituary in the Syracuse Herald American. Evans, 66, a Marine Corps veteran living in North Carolina, told Patch that Quaker Oats should not try to erase history, the Post-Standard reported. “This woman served all those people, and it was after slavery. She worked as Aunt Jemima. That was her job,” Evans said. “How do you think I feel as a Black man sitting here telling you about my family history they’re trying to erase?” Quaker Oats said it will announce a new name for its pancake mix and syrup later this year.

After pressing southern states to replace statues of Confederate leaders in the U.S. Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday ordered the removal of four paintings of past Speakers who had sided with the Confederacy. 'There's no room in the hallowed halls of this temple of democracy to memorialize people who embody violent bigotry and grotesque racism of the Confederacy,' Pelosi told reporters. The four Speakers were Robert Hunter of Virginia, Howell Cobb of Georgia, James Orr of South Carolina, and Charles Crisp of Georgia.  All were Democrats except for Hunter, who was a Whig when he served as Speaker. Hunter was the Secretary of State for the Confederacy. Cobb was President of the founding convention of the Confederacy. Orr was a Confederate Senator. Crisp fought as a soldier for the Confederacy. 'We must lead by example,' Pelosi added, saying any cursory examination of the beliefs of those four Speakers would show why their portraits should not hang on the walls just outside the House Chamber. Unlike the statues sent to the Capitol by the states, Pelosi as Speaker controls what goes on the walls of the House side of the Capitol, giving her the power to pull down these portraits. The last time that happened was in 2015, when GOP Speaker Paul Ryan removed the painting of former Speaker Dennis Hastert. That move came after Hastert pleaded guilty to charges that he had evaded federal banking laws, as well as reports that the former Speaker was paying $3.5 million to someone from his past, possibly to hide claims of sexual misconduct. Hastert's portrait had occupied prime real estate inside the Speaker's Lobby; the paintings taken down on Thursday were just outside the Chamber on the Democratic side of the aisle.