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A black woman who sparked a nationwide manhunt by claiming she was kidnapped in Alabama by a white man with "orange hair" admitted through her lawyer on Monday that she made it all up. From The Independent, "Carlee Russell claimed she was kidnapped by a man with orange hair. It was all a lie":Carlethia "Carlee" Nichole Russell seemed to vanish on 13 July after calling 911 to report she had seen a toddler walking on the side of Interstate 459 in Alabama.The 25-year-old told dispatch she stopped her car to check on the child, and called a family member before...

A 26-year-old nursing student in Alabama who claimed she was abducted after spotting a toddler along the interstate admitted on Monday she made up the entire story. Carlee Russell claimed that she was kidnapped on July 13 after she stopped to check on a toddler at 9:30pm. She turned up at her parents' house 49 hours later and told police she had been abducted, spinning an elaborate story of fighting for freedom. Yet on Monday, Hoover police chief Nick Derzis read a statement from Russell's lawyer in which she admitted she had invented the story. 'There was no kidnapping on...

Jussie Smollett was found guilty Thursday of staging and falsely reporting to police that he had been the victim of a hate crime in Chicago three years ago. A jury in Cook County, Ill., found the former “Empire” actor guilty on five of six charges of felony disorderly conduct, according to the Associated Press. He was acquitted on one. Sentencing for Smollett, who was not taken into custody, will take place at a later date. His representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Smollett, who is Black and gay, told Chicago police in January 2019 that he...

Two Nigerian brothers who “have a relationship” with “Empire” star Jussie Smollett have been arrested in the alleged hate attack on the TV actor — further fueling speculation he staged it, Chicago police said Friday.