culture
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Professor in Arizona Arrested for Jaywalking Given 9 Months of Probation
Arizona State University professor Ersula Ore—who made national headlines after video of her being manhandled during an arrest for jaywalking went viral—has been sentenced to nine months’ probation, according to the Arizona Republic. The English professor was charged with assault after a confrontation with an ASU police officer in Tempe. Despite arguing that the arrest…
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NBA Player Greg Oden Arrested for Allegedly Punching Ex-Girlfriend
The NBA’s Greg Oden was arrested Thursday morning after a domestic dispute in which it is reported that he punched his ex-girlfriend in the face and told police, “Things got out of control and I started to go after the victim.” According to Fox 59, officers were called to a Lawrence, Ind., apartment around 3:30…
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This Is Unbe-Weave-able: Houston Thieves Snatch More Weaves
There must be a huge weave shortage in Houston, since a group of robbers have robbed another beauty-supply store, getting away with several thousand dollars’ worth of fake hair. Houston police told KHOU-TV that the robbers used their vehicle to break through a wall of the Sense Beauty Supply store in northwest Houston early Wednesday…
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Renisha McBride Porch Shooting Goes to Jury
The second-degree-murder and manslaughter trial of Theodore Wafer, the Detroit-area man who shot and killed unarmed 19-year-old Renisha McBride, has gone to the jurors, but not before the prosecution claimed that Wafer was the one who initiated the confrontation. According to the Associated Press, a prosecutor used closing arguments Wednesday to emphasize that Wafer was…
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Who Decides Who Lives and Who Dies When an Ebola Outbreak Creates Hysteria?
Two Americans with Ebola have been flown in from Liberia over the past week and treated with a “secret serum” in the hopes of helping them successfully combat the deadly virus. However, Ebola has already taken its first American victim. To be fair, 24-year-old Nathaniel Dennis did not have Ebola, but the fear inflamed by…
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In Eric Garner’s Last Words Was a Demand for Dignity
“This stops today.” Eric Garner’s haunting declaration, made during his deadly encounter with New York City police officers, has become a rallying cry for New Yorkers outraged by the latest example of police violence. Garner’s words speak to the frustration of a man—and a community—besieged by repeated police harassment, and they echo his basic human need…
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Eric Garner Videographer’s Wife Is Arrested
In what is surely just a coincidence, Chrissie Ortiz, the wife of Ramsey Orta, who recorded the video of Eric Garner’s death, has been arrested. Ortiz was arrested for assault after a dispute with another woman on Tuesday evening. She was later released with a desk appearance ticket to appear at an arraignment, reports The Gothamist.…
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Okla. Teen Charged With Rape of Kenyan Orphans Claims He Was Possessed by Demon
Matthew Lane Durham, the 19-year-old Oklahoma missionary who allegedly admitted to raping several children at a Kenyan orphanage, also allegedly told a friend that he was possessed by a demon named Luke who made him commit the atrocious acts, the Daily Mail reports. According to the report, federal prosecutors submitted the text messages Durham sent…
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12-Year-Old Boy Allegedly Stabs 9-Year-Old in Michigan Playground
“I just stabbed someone. Come and get me. I want to die,” is allegedly what the 12-year-old told a 911 operator in a “calm” voice, according to Glenn Stacey, the man who lent the boy his phone to make the call, the Detroit Free Press reports. Jamarion Lawhorn—whom The Root is naming because he is…
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4 NYPD Officers Beat Emotionally Disturbed Man: Report
An emotionally disturbed man, who was handcuffed and on a stretcher, was beaten by four New York City police officers who only stopped hitting the man when EMTs with the Fire Department of New York broke it up, the New York Daily News reports. Two Fire Department EMTs reported the officers to authorities after the July…