Happy Saturday! The weekend has arrived. Catch up on the day’s top news here:
1. Sgt. La David Johnson, the dead U.S. soldier whose wife Donald Trump disrespected during a condolence phone call, was found with his arms bound after being killed in a Niger ambush in October. Witness testiminy suggests that he was captured and executed. Johnson was one of the four U.S. soldiers killed in the suspected ISIS ambush. (Washington Post)
2. A federal judge rejected proposals by both a civil rights group and Maryland higher education officials to boost diversity at the state’s historically black colleges. The decades-long case looked at whether the state’s four HBCUs —Morgan State, Coppin State, Bowie State and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore—were denied the chance to attract more diverse students because their academic programs were copied by other schools. The judge will now appoint a special official to create a plan to increase HBCU diversity. (Baltimore Sun)
3. Ludacris had a fun-filled family day at Universal Studios on Friday. The rapper and actor snapped photos alongside his wife, Eudoxie, and gorgeous daughters as they took in the rides and hang out with cartoon characters. “Their smiles mean everything to me,” he wrote of his daughters, Cadence and Cai. (Instagram)
4. A white man was arrested and charged with suspicion of attempted robbery after he tried to rob a bank while sporting black face. Jerrad Schmittle, 40, also wore a beanie as he tried to rob a Wells Fargo Bank in August. He was arrested in his California home on Wednesday. (Press-Enterprise)