• Reuters

    A "white only" sign is pictured on the fence around a Cincinnati swimming pool in this undated handout photo received by Reuters Jan. 12, 2012. A Cincinnati landlord found to have violated state anti-discrimination laws after she hung a "white only" sign outside her swimming pool lost an appeal with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission on Thursday.

    Ohio civil rights panel sticks to 'white only' pool sign ruling

    By Rich Shulman

    Really? Are we still arguing about this in 2012?

    AP reports: COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Cincinnati landlord who claimed a black girl's hair products clouded an apartment complex's swimming pool discriminated against the child by posting a poolside "white only" sign, an Ohio civil rights panel said Thursday in upholding a previous finding.

    The Ohio Civil Rights Commission voted 4-0 against reconsidering its finding from last fall. There was no discussion.

    The group found on Sept. 29 that Jamie Hein, who is white, violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by posting the sign at a pool at the duplex where the teenage girl was visiting her parents.

  • Al Behrman / AP

    Cincinnati forward Yancy Gates, right, punches Xavier guard Tu Holloway, left, during a fight in the closing moments of an NCAA college basketball game, Dec. 10, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Eighth-ranked Xavier defeated crosstown rival Cincinnati 76-53 in a game that was called with 9.4 seconds left when the teams got into a brawl.

    Eight players suspended after Cincy, Xavier brawl; Gates set down for 6 games

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    Having worked within a major Division I basketball program as a student, I never saw the young men on our team conduct themselves on the court in a manner that would have been damaging to the university or embarrassing to their coach for whom they had the utmost respect. They had to have their jerseys tucked into their shorts, be clean-shaven, and have no tattoos. Sure, that might not have been their personal style, but every single player honored Coach by toeing the line.

    Where has the respect for coaches and for the universities that these student athletes are so fortunate to represent gone?

    AP reports:

    Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said after the game that he would decide whether anybody should be kicked off the team for their actions. He also said he took the players' jerseys away to make the point that their conduct was unacceptable.

    Babcock, who was hired from Missouri in October, apologized for the fracas.

    "We hold our student-athletes to a very high standard and take very seriously the role that our entire department plays in reflecting the overall image of this great university," Babcock said. "We will continue to work diligently to represent the Bearcat family and the Cincinnati community in a first-class manner. There will be zero tolerance for a repeat of this behavior."

    Gates is Cincinnati's top frontcourt player. He'll miss games against Wright State, Radford, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Chicago State, Oklahoma and the Bearcats' Big East opener at Pittsburgh.

    Read the full story here.

  • Occupy Wall Street supporters demonstrate in cities from coast to coast

    NBC News and news services report:

    Washington's National Air and Space Museum was closed Saturday afternoon after sign-wielding demonstrators tried to storm the building on the National Mall.

    Jose Luis Magana / AP

    Demonstrators march through the streets of Washington on Oct. 8, as part of Occupy DC activities in Washington.

    At least one person was pepper sprayed when the crowd pinned a guard against a wall and another guard came to his rescue, Smithsonian spokesperson Linda St. Thomas told NBC station WRC.

    "You cannot bring that stuff in the museum under any circumstances," St. Thomas told WRC.

    It was not immediately clear if the protesters were affiliated with the Occupy DC protest that sprung up last week as an offshoot of the larger Occupy Wall Street movement in New York.

    Read more here and meet some of the protesters from New York and Seattle.

    Jose Luis Magana / AP

    A demonstrator lies on the ground at an entrance to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington after police pepper-sprayed a group of protestors trying to get into the museum on Oct. 8, as part of Occupy DC activities in Washington.

    Henny Ray Abrams / AP

    Occupy Wall Street protesters gather in Washington Square Park, Oct. 8, in New York. The Occupy Wall Street movement started in New York City last month and is spreading to other parts of the country.

    AP; Zuma24.com

    Left: Cherie Walters, 58, from Mount Clemens, Mich., poses for a photograph, in New York, Oct. 7. Walters, who has participated in Occupy Wall Street protests, is wearing the shirt she wore to two of the protests. Right: A protestor holds a placard with ''Middle class, Middle aged, Also Angry'' during the ''Occupy D.C.'' movement at the Freedom Plaza. Inspired by ''Occupy Wall Street'' movement in New York, activists in Washington continued the ''Occupy D.C.'' movement on its third day.

    David Kohl / AP

    Protesters march through downtown Cincinnati during the Occupy Cincinnati protest, Oct. 8. The Occupy Wall Street movement started in New York City last month and is spreading to other parts of the country.