culture
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In Defense of Tiny Harris’ New Eye Color
Was I the only one who had absolutely no idea that people could permanently change their eye color with surgery? Apparently I was stuck in the ’90s, thinking that colored contacts, which never look real, were the only option. Who knew? Apparently Tameka “Tiny” Harris—celeb mom, wife of rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris and reality-TV star—did.…
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Ferguson Cop Darren Wilson a No-Show at Court Dates
Darren Wilson is sticking to the shadows for all he’s worth, to the point where six criminal cases have been dismissed against various offenders because the arresting officer (Wilson, in this case) isn’t showing his face in court to testify, The Atlantic reports. According to Ed Magee, a spokesman for the St. Louis County prosecuting…
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Saa’s Story: How She Escaped After Being Kidnapped by Boko Haram
She came up onstage wearing a wig and sunglasses. I sat there stunned, slightly shivering, because the 18-year-old girl in front of us could have been anywhere but here at that moment had she not made one of the most fearless decisions anyone could ever make. Her name is Saa (changed for her safety), and…
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Watch: Chicago Cops Barge Into House to Arrest Man Who Ignored Them
Another day, another video of alleged police misconduct. This time a 14-year-old Chicago girl took video of police who she claims forced their way into her home to arrest her uncle because he did not acknowledge their requests to talk to him, NBC Chicago reports. LeRoy Hubbard III, 29, told the news station that he…
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Divorce: How to Keep the Lawyers From Getting All Your Money
There is no denying the emotional and financial toll that divorce can take on a family. But once the decision has been made to end a marriage, there are steps that can be taken to prevent the destructive toll on each spouse’s financial future. In this Wednesday’s episode of The Root Live: Bring It to…
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Lupita Nyong’o Is Against Turning 12 Years a Slave Site Into Baseball Stadium
Actress Lupita Nyong’o is adding her voice to those opposed to turning Richmond, Va.’s Shockoe Bottom—a site once known as the center of the slave trade—into a minor-league baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Associated Press reports. The site, which was also used to film 12 Years a Slave, in which Nyong’o played…
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From Homeless to Hollywood: Ted ‘Golden Voice’ Williams, 3 Years Later
Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice who was panhandling on a street corner in Ohio three years ago when a Columbus Dispatch videographer filmed video of him that quickly went viral, hasn’t had the easiest road since his newfound fame. Appearing Monday on Today, Williams told the NBC morning show that since the…
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Harlem Businesses Prohibit Hoodies and Masks
Some shops in Harlem are sending out notice that they aren’t appreciative of customers wearing hoodies or masks, DNAinfo New York reports. Three businesses along Frederick Douglass Boulevard are warning clients to “not enter with hoodie or mask. If so you are now trespassing,” the report notes. The new signs are creating a buzz in…
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Boko Haram’s Recent Abductions Suggest That Negotiations Have Failed
Boko Haram keeps abducting more and more civilians, leading people to believe that the settlement reached between the insurgent group and the Nigerian government to return the more than 200 schoolgirls the group abducted in April will not happen, Al-Jazeera reports. The cease-fire was reached on Oct. 17, but then just one day later, there…
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Nurse Threatens to Sue Over ‘Inhumane’ Ebola Quarantine
The nurse who was confined in a New Jersey hospital because of concerns that she might have contracted Ebola while treating patients in West Africa said that her quarantine was inhumane, and she’s considering filing a lawsuit against the state, Al-Jazeera reports. Kaci Hickox, a nurse from Maine who landed in Newark, N.J., after her…