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House Passes George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Republicans Predictably Reject Proposed Reforms
On Wednesday, the House passed a comprehensive police reform bill named in honor of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man whose brutal death after being restrained under the knee of a Minneapolis cop helped spur a nationwide movement against racism and unjust police practices in 2o2o. In a clear indication of where the two major…
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Judge in Derek Chauvin Trial Says Only One of George Floyd’s Family Members Can Be in Court; Other Stories Come Out About Cop’s Use of Force
The presiding judge in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop captured on video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck until he died last year, has ruled that only one of the victim’s family members can attend the trial proceedings. The trial for Chauvin, who is facing charges of second-degree murder and third-degree…
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Biden: There’ll Be Enough Vaccines for Every Adult By the End of May
You have to give the Biden administration credit—as it appears the new president is doing his very best to pull the country out of the pandemic that, for nearly a year, has kept us locked in and mourning the deaths of loved ones killed by the coronavirus. On Tuesday, the president announced that there will…
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Bunny Wailer, Founding Member of Iconic Reggae Group, Dies at 73
Bunny Wailer, who was the last remaining founding member of the iconic reggae group The Wailers, has died at 73. The Jamaica Observer confirmed the death of Wailer, whose given name was Neville Livingston, via a statement from his manager, who said he died Tuesday morning. No cause of death was shared, but Wailer had…
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Civil Rights Icon and Political Adviser Vernon Jordan Dies at 85
Vernon Jordan, an iconic civil rights leader, presidential adviser and lawyer who held leadership roles at the United Negro College Fund and the National Urban League, and who worked as a Georgia field secretary for the NAACP and director of the Voter Education Project for the Southern Regional Council at the height of the civil…
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Lawyer Alleges T.I. and Tiny Drugged, Assaulted and Kidnapped Several Women; Calls on Authorities to Investigate
Warning: This story contains details that are graphic and may be triggering for survivors of sexual assault. The disturbing allegations of sexual assault against T.I. and his wife Tiny Harris that emerged on social media recently have now escalated into detailed accusations that the couple has raped, drugged, and even kidnapped several women—with the alleged…
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Police Officer in New Orleans Killed By Man Who Refused to Wear Mask
Horrific and senseless killings continue in America on top of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the deaths of more than half a million people in this country. A 38-year-old police officer in New Orleans was shot and killed over the weekend by a man who was apparently incensed at being asked to wear…
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Black Lives Matter Says $3 Million Fund for People Struggling From Pandemic Depleted After One Day, Seeks More Donations
A day after announcing a $3 million fund to support grants to Black people struggling during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) says the fund has been exhausted. On Thursday, in a press release sent to The Root, BLMGNF said it had launched a BLM Survival Fund to make…
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Conservative-Funded Group Asks Supreme Court to End Affirmative Action in College Admissions
The conservative-funded Students for Fair Admissions group is taking its legal challenge to Harvard’s consideration of race in student admissions to the Supreme Court. The Washington Post reports that on Thursday, the group filed a petition to the Supreme Court asking for the overturn of 2003’s Grutter v. Bollinger ruling, in which the court found…
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Capitol Chief Says Extremists Want to 'Blow Up the Capitol' at Biden's State of the Union Address
The U.S. Capitol is still at risk of a domestic terrorist attack—potentially one even bigger than the violence white supremacist extremists targeted the halls of Congress with on Jan. 6. At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the insurrection Thursday, acting chief of the Capitol Police, Yogananda Pittman, revealed that the extremist groups who were…