On Saturday night, Ava DuVernay became the first African-American woman to win the U.S. Directing Award in the dramatic category at the Sundance Film Festival. The talented director, who is a The Root 100 honoree, won for her feature film Middle of Nowhere, according to the Los Angeles Times. DuVernay released her first film, I…

The Obama administration announced on Saturday that it will be expanding eligibility for its Home Affordable Modification Program, according to CNN Money. The expansion will open its doors to borrowers with higher debt loads and triple the incentives to private lenders and banks to reduce the principal on loans. The program was originally supposed to…

A Philadelphia woman who told police that two black men kidnapped her — and was later found to have lied — was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bonnie Sweeten, 40, who made headlines two years ago after triggering a massive search when she called police and said that…

Jazz musician Miles Davis will be honored with a U.S. postal stamp, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The man who played the trumpet like no other will be honored with French singer Edith Piaf.  “On behalf of the Miles Davis family, we are honored that the U.S. Postal Service and La Poste are paying homage…

Racist newsletters published under Republican presidential contender Ron Paul’s name were reportedly approved by him, according to the Washington Post. Paul recently said he never approved those newsletters from the 1990s before they were sent out. But close associates to Paul at the time now say that the controversial libertarian did sign off on them.…

Children at a Georgia elementary school told their parents they were forced to play in a game called “Catch a Slave,” according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report. Four third-grade students who attend Camp Creek Elementary School in Atlanta said that they were forced to play a taglike game in which some of them were slaves…

An 8-month-old baby had a dead mouse in her mouth at a Newark, N.J., day care center, according to an ABC News report. The horrified mother, Brittany Barba, said that her daughter Alanah was sick for hours after the mouse was discovered by the baby’s grandmother, who works at the Donald K. Tucker Childcare Center.…