In a country where it is legal to own arms, Americans are increasingly faced with tragedies like the recent shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Many hope that these incidents, which are becoming more frequent, will be the catalyst the government needs to spur tougher gun regulation. Mother Jones has created an infographic detailing the…

Following GOP resistance to Susan Rice’s possible appointment as secretary of state and her decision to step aside, President Obama has reportedly made a new selection. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry will be announced as Hillary Clinton’s replacement in the coming weeks. [Kerry’s] replacement as head of the Senate Foreign Relations…

(The Root) — Harlem’s MIST Theater welcomed in a familiar sort of artistic renaissance on Wednesday night, one that had begun in 2002 and been centered on featuring the country’s top spoken-word artists. As performers and fans crowded in the venue for the Def Poetry Jam Reunion, it was clear that the once-popular showcase —…

Along with another four years of President Obama, the recent elections brought a handful of states legalized recreational use of marijuana. And in the state of Washington, many locals celebrated the implementation of their new law by lighting up below Seattle’s famous Space Needle. On Saturday, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry and her guests tackled how…

After Nafissatou Diallo accused former IMF president Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault and attempted rape in May 2011, both of their lives were upended. On Monday, their legal battle may come to an end financially but without justice or vindication for either party, reports ABC News. The maid, Nafissatou Diallo, is expected to be there,…

After last weekend’s violent and sad incident involving Jovan Belcher, the NFL took another hit on Saturday when Dallas Cowboy Jerry Brown died in a car accident. The New York Daily News reports that Brown’s teammate Josh Brent was behind the wheel. Police said Brent, 24, was speeding down an Irving, Tex., road when his…

On Sunday night, CNN‘s “Black in America” series returns with its fifth installment, “Who Is Black in America?” Probing the different ways in which people of African descent see themselves and how others view them, CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien connected with Yaba Blay, an assistant teaching professor at Drexel University and a CNN contributing producer.…

When black teen Jordan Davis was shot the week of Thanksgiving by white man Michael Dunn, for many, memories of Trayvon Martin‘s death at the hands of George Zimmerman earlier this year came flooding back. On Saturday, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry took this link further, back to Emmett Till, a young man from Chicago who…

As December begins and the countdown to resolve the fiscal cliff heats up, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is hopeful. The Washington Post reports that Geithner said a deal will be reached in time, despite House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) comments on Friday, proclaiming that he’d reached a “stalemate” with the White House. “I do think…

More details have arisen in the murder-suicide of Kansas City Chiefs Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. On Saturday morning, according to the Daily News, the troubled linebacker reportedly shot Perkins at their home in front of his mother, who was visiting from Long Island, N.Y., to see their 3-month-old daughter, Zoey Michelle. He…