crime
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15-Year-Old Allegedly Confesses to Shooting Pop Smoke. 20-Year-Old Pleads Not Guilty, Could Face Death Penalty if Convicted
New details have emerged regarding the senseless killing of 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke. Last July, The Root reported that four suspects were charged with murdering the rapper, whose real name is Bashar Jackson, during a home invasion in Los Angeles. On Friday, a detective testified that the youngest among those who were charged, a 15-year-old,…
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Multiple Homes With Black Lives Matter Signs Have Had Their Tires Slashed in Sacramento Neighborhood
You know, maybe it’s because I grew up in the Wild West era of Xbox Live voice chat, but I generally find the current crop of right-wing trolls and provocateurs more bemusing than offensive. I just can’t take a group of people calling folks snowflakes seriously when they get so in their feelings they do…
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Daunte and the Debt Collectors: How the Cops Became Robbers
On Sunday, April 11, 20-year-old Daunte Wright was driving with his girlfriend in Brooklyn Center, Minn., when an armed posse, under the color and authority of the law, recognized the fact that he hadn’t paid for a sticker on his license plate. After stopping Wright for not having the decal that permitted him to drive…
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For White Boys Who Considered Sedition When Call of Duty Wasn’t Enough: Federal Prosecutor Says Sedition Charges Likely for Capitol Rioters
In the two months since the Capitol riot, we’ve seen more and more people get arrested and charged for their actions that day. As investigators have gathered more details about everything that went down on Jan. 6, the federal prosecutor overseeing the Justice Department’s investigation has said sedition charges are looking likely. According to NBC…
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A String of Recent Carjackings Has Spurred an Illinois State Representative to Call for Grand Theft Auto to Be Banned
Lord, I come before you this evening asking that you grant me the strength you gave Jamie Foxx when he ended Doug Williams’ whole career. Apparently, I woke up in 2006 today because a string of recent carjackings has led an Illinois state legislator to call for Grand Theft Auto to be banned. According to…
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Georgia Historical Markers Commemorating Jackie Robinson and Victims of Lynching Shot Up by Vandals
Proving once more they’re the biggest snowflakes of the bunch, a group of unknown vandals repeatedly shot two historical markers in Georgia dedicated to Jackie Robinson and victims of lynching. According to CNN, the signs were part of the Civil Rights Trail, a series of markers devoted to explaining how Black people overcame slavery, Jim…
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California Target Apologizes After Black Teens Were Wrongfully Accused of Theft, Handcuffed and Detained
Racial profiling often seems like some kind of perverse rite of passage that young Black people have to go through in America (and likely, everywhere else in the world where Black people exist) as a part of growing up. A California Target has apologized after two Black teenagers were handcuffed and another was detained in…
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Military-Grade Weapons Do Not Make Cops or Cities Safer, 2 New Studies Find
Over the last forty years, state and local police budgets have increased at astounding rates, with billions of dollars going toward military-grade equipment for law enforcement. The premise is simple: a better-equipped police force ought to be able to do their job—protecting the public—better, as well as offer more protection for the officers themselves. But…