‘That Girl From The Bus’: Civil Rights Pioneer Wants Record Wiped

ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Oct. 27, and if you’re not sure how it’s already the middle of the week, well … neither are we. Regardless, don’t sweat it, grab an extra cup of coffee and catch up on the stories we’re following today:

• Convicted of assaulting a police officer while being arrested in 1955 for not giving up her seat on a bus, a civil rights pioneer wants her record wiped.
• A panel of health experts has endorsed the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11.
• An Illinois woman is suing Pop-Tarts for not putting enough strawberries in their pastries.
• Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, details the pain of seeing photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe and their daughter, Gianna.

Civil Rights Pioneer Seeks Expungement

Months before Rosa Parks became the mother of the modern civil rights movement by refusing to move to the back of a segregated Alabama bus, Black teenager Claudette Colvin did the same. Convicted of assaulting a police officer while being arrested, she was placed on probation yet never received notice that she'd finished the term and was on safe ground legally.

Now 82, Colvin is asking a judge to end the matter once and for all. She wants a court in Montgomery to wipe away a record that her lawyer said cast a shadow over the life of a largely unsung hero of the civil rights era.

"My conviction for standing up for my constitutional right terrorized my family and relatives who knew only that they were not to talk about my arrest and conviction because people in town knew me as 'that girl from the bus,'" she said in a sworn statement. » Civil Rights Pioneer Seeks Expungement Of '55 Arrest Record, via Across Alabama Patch

Mistake Allowed Laundrie To Flee

In the early days of the investigation into Gabby Petito's disappearance — before her body was found Sept. 19 in the mountains of Wyoming — police in North Port, Florida, said they were keeping a close eye on her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the case, and his family.

However, a key error just admitted by police may have let Laundrie slip away. » Mistaken Identity Allowed Laundrie To Flee, Police Say, via Sarasota Patch

Vaccine For Young Kids Endorsed

A panel of U.S. health advisers for the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, moving the United States closer to beginning vaccinations in children ages 5 to 11. The FDA is expected to make its own decision within days. If the doses are authorized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have to decide whether to recommend the shots and which youngsters should get them. » FDA Panel Endorses Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine For Young Kids, via Across America Patch

Lost Hiker Ignores Rescue Calls

A Colorado search and rescue team recently was called to help find a missing hiker on Mount Elbert. When the hiker had not returned by evening, rescuers tried calling him but were unsuccessful. Turns out the hiker got the calls — but ignored them because he thought they were spam. » Lost Hiker Ignores Rescuers Calls Because It Was Unknown Number, via Lakewood, Colorado, Patch

Pop-Tarts Go To Court

A southern Illinois woman is suing Kellogg's over what she claims is a lack of real strawberries in the company's strawberry-flavored Pop-Tarts. The class-action lawsuit claims the company is misleading consumers by using a strawberry on the breakfast pastry's labels and marketing photography. The suit is seeking $5 million in damages. » $5M Lawsuit Claims Pop-Tarts Don't Have Enough Strawberries, via Chicago Patch

Circus Returning Sans Animals

A Florida company announced this week it plans to revive the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus in 2023. There will be one major difference when the Greatest Show on Earth returns: It will be animal-free. »Ringling Bros. Circus Returning In 2023 Without Animals, via Bradenton, Florida, Patch

NBA Champ Turns Winemaker

With a passion for wine dating to his Slovenian upbringing, former LA Laker and basketball legend Aleksander "Sasha" Vujacic now runs his latest endeavor — a vineyard in Paso Robles, — a family biz with a focus on crafting the perfect Bordeaux blend. » Weekend At A Winery: Former Laker & NBA Champ Turns Winemaker, via Brentwood Patch

House Hunting

If you’re looking for a home with a bit of history, this seven-bedroom Victorian just hit the market in Jersey City. With a grand entry staircase, stained glass windows and spectacular period detail throughout, this home is selling for just under $970,000.

This Day In History

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox ended the “Curse of the Bambino” — an alleged hex on the team that resulted from its 1920 sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees — by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series title, the team's first in 86 years.

Around ‘The Patch’

• Diagon Alley Halloween House Brings Wizarding World To Austin, via Austin Texas
• Tom Brady Gives Fan $60K Bitcoin For Returning Historic Football, via St. Pete, Florida, Patch
• Blackhawks Manager Out Following Sexual Assault Investigation, via Chicago Patch
• Vanessa Bryant Details Pain From Photos Taken At Helicopter Crash, via Los Angeles Patch
• New Vaccine Trial Studies Way To Prevent Deadly Breast Cancer, via Cleveland, Ohio, Patch
• NAACP Calls Critique Of Kasim Reed 'Unacceptable,' Orders Atlanta President To Cease, via Atlanta Patch
• Wisconsin Senate Bill Would Extend Workday For Minors, via Milwaukee Patch
• Los Angeles Police Shootings Involving Mental Illness On The Rise, via Los Angeles Patch
• Canadians Don't Want Taxpayer Money Going Toward A Rays Stadium In Montreal: Billboard, via St. Pete, Florida, Patch
• Minnesota High School Football Team Under Criminal Investigation For Misconduct, via Across Minnesota Patch

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