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Washington, DC, May Give 16-Year-Olds Right to Vote for President
In the three years that I taught Intro to Journalism at the City College of New York, we’d have the most fun during our “Op-Ed” lesson, where students would have an in-class debate. Whenever we argued the question, “Should the drinking age be lowered to 18?” the pro side would inevitably argue that if kids…
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Michigan Man Faces Attempted-Murder Charges for Shooting at 14-Year-Old Who Asked for Directions
Jeffery Craig Zeigler, a 53-year-old retired firefighter, was charged with assault with intent to murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony on Friday. Zeigler was charged after authorities say he shot at a 14-year-old, Brennan Walker, who was trying to get directions to get to school after missing his bus.…
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Starbucks CEO Apologizes, Says He Wants to Meet With the Black Men Arrested in Philly
Remember Starbucks’ “Race Together” idea a few years back? The since-destroyed concept was that baristas at the high-priced coffee chain were to openly engage customers on race relations in the United States. Ironic, then, that the company is once again feeling the social media flames and calls for a boycott over an incident at a…
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Philly Police Chief Cop-splains Why 2 Black Men Were Cuffed in Starbucks Viral Video Incident
Police across the country just can’t seem to break out of their M.O. of enforcing and reinforcing this country’s long-standing, irrational fear of black bodies. As noted in a recent VSB column, black people are pretty much criminalized for breathing in the United States (that, and standing, sitting, sleeping, walking and 45 some other odd…
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Head of Russia Probe Says He’s Ready to Go if the President Gives Him the Boot
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly shown his utter disdain for the rule of law, the FBI and the Justice Department, has clearly put a big-ass target on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s back. Rosenstein, however, says he is ret to go should that fateful day come. The career prosecutor is, of course, overseeing the…
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Thousands of South Africans Say Farewell to ‘Mama’ Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Soweto
In a ceremony befitting a head of state, tens of thousands of South Africans gathered in the dazzling colors of liberation to pay their respects to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a fierce anti-apartheid activist and the undisputed mother of the South African nation. Mourners poured into the 40,000-seat Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg’s Soweto township, where “Mama Winnie”…
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Ready for That Jelly? Beyoncé to Reunite With Destiny’s Child at Coachella
Although I was admittedly hoping for a Blue Ivy appearance on the Coachella big stage this weekend, it looks like the OG girl gang will do. Numerous outlets are saying that Destiny’s Child will reunite during Beyoncé’s headline show at the Coachella music festival in Indio, Calif., on Saturday. “It was teased, rumored, squashed, so…
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April Ryan Receives Fresh Death Threats After Asking if Trump Will ‘Step Down’
Veteran White House correspondent April Ryan says that the Trump administration is “ginning people up” to harm her simply for doing her job. Ryan has publicly tangled with the Trump White House and its press secretaries before, but this week she says that after she asked if the president was going to step down, she…
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Brittney Cooper Talks Beyoncé, White Feminists and Black Women’s Oh-So-Eloquent Rage
The anger of black girls is potent. And given what we deal with, it’s sometimes masked. Or internalized and regurgitated in harmful ways. But Brittney Cooper—Professor Crunk to you, sir— is here to tell y’all all about it. Her book Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower is about how we can use rage to…
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President Signs Executive Order Mandating That Poor People Work or Lose ‘Welfare’
Without much fanfare (totally apropos, given what’s been happening in the world of the White House in the last 72 hours), President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that will force recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Medicaid and low-income housing subsidies to find work or lose their assistance. Trump quietly signed the…
