• Houston 911 Operator Faces Charges for Hanging Up on Callers

    Crenshanda Williams, a former 911 operator, is facing a misdemeanor charge of emergency interference with a telephone call after admitting to hanging up on callers because she didn’t feel like talking to them, Fox 5 reports. Between October 2015 and March 2016, Williams, 43, was apparently involved in thousands of short calls that lasted no…

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  • The Root’s Young Futurists Are Ready to Change the World: Where Are They Now?

    For the past five years, The Root has recognized young talent across the nation. These “Young Futurists” make big strides and contributions to science, business, arts and culture, social justice, and the environment—all between the ages of 15 and 22. The honorees from our 2014 and 2015 classes have been very busy. We’ve already caught up with…

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  • What Conservatives Really Mean When They Talk About Rap

    What you say about somebody else reveals you. What I think of you as being is dictated by my own necessities, my own psychology, my own fears and desires. I’m not describing you when I talk about you; I’m describing me. —James Baldwin Donald Trump supporters have continually found new, improbable ways to rationalize the…

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  • 13th and the Invisibleness of Black Women

    Acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th was released on Netflix last week. Masterfully produced and directed by DuVernay, it is a poignant documentary detailing white America’s continual, desperate and ever-changing attempts to maintain racial and legal domination over black people. What has emerged as common knowledge through the Movement for Black Lives is laid out clearly and…

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  • Sketch Released of Man Who Reportedly Attacked 11-Year-Old Boy in NYC

    A man violently pulled an 11-year-old boy between two cars on a moving subway train in New York City, the New York Daily News reports. The boy told police that he saw two men play-fighting in his subway car when one of them asked him if he wanted to join. After he refused, the man…

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  • 4 Young Men in Ala. Charged in Attack of High School Student Supporting ‘Blue Lives Matter’

    Four young men in Alabama were arrested Tuesday following a Sept. 30 attack against Brian Ogle, a 17-year-old high school student who supported police and “Blue Lives Matter” on social media, the New York Daily News reports. Brian was reportedly attacked after a Sylacauga High School football game, according to AL.com. Brian, who suffered serious…

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  • NYC Anti-Violence Activist Shot Dead in Fla.

    Lavon Walker, 30, an anti-violence activist, died at a hospital after being shot Sunday on a street corner in Miami Beach, CBS News reports. The incident took place near the popular Miami Beach street Ocean Drive right before 7 a.m. Three suspects were seen in a surveillance video speeding away from the scene of the shooting…

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  • Md. Teacher Charged With Assaulting, Soliciting Sex From Student

    Doney Olivieri, 66, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a male student and exchanging inappropriate texts with another, according to the Washington Post. Olivieri, a foreign-language teacher at DuVal High School in Lanham, Md., was charged with counts of second-degree assault and soliciting sex from a minor student. He has been placed on administrative leave by the…

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  • Suspect in Killing of 2 Police Officers in Calif. May Face Death Penalty

    John Felix, 26, a suspect in the shooting deaths of two Palm Springs, Calif., police officers, was expected to be charged with two counts of first-degree murder, including multiple murder and the murder of a police officer in the line of duty. The death penalty is currently being weighed by the office of District Attorney…

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  • Mother Sacrifices Life to Save Her Daughter’s: Report

    Dania Cedeno-Delrosario, 40, and her daughter Denisse, 7, were about to cross the street after returning to their home in Meriden, Conn., when a car hit them and drove off, Eyewitness News reports. “It pushed both of us, but it pushed her very hard,” said Denisse. Cedeno-Delrosario was pushed underneath a parked SUV, where she was discovered.…

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