culture
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Fla. Teen Gets 23 Years in Fatal Shooting of Police Dog
A judge sentenced a 17-year-old Florida boy to 23 years in prison after he and two others broke into the home of a state trooper and shot a retired police dog during a botched burglary, the Palm Beach Post reports. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Robin Rosenberg said the stiff penalty for the teen, Ivins Rosier,…
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Three Charged in Gun Death of N.J. Girl
As hundreds of mourners gathered Friday to grieve the loss of a 12-year-old New Jersey girl who was fatally wounded by a stray bullet over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, three men were charged in the shooting, the Associated Press reports. The girl, Genesis Rincon, was struck in the head about 8:40 p.m. July…
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The Catch Up: What You Missed This Week In Memes And More
The Root understands that you may be busy during the week and that the latest on social media may not be a priority. Or maybe you just want to relive the funniest memes and trending topics of the week. We’ve got you covered as we relive a week of Internet hilarity. The week began with…
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Tracy Morgan Sues Wal-Mart in Fatal N.J. Crash
Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart over a June 7 crash on the New Jersey Turnpike that left him seriously injured and another man dead after one of the company’s trucks struck his limo van, the New York Post reports. Four others were also injured in the crash. The suit,…
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Mom of Victim in ‘Viral’ Rape Video Speaks Out
The mother of a 16-year-old girl Houston girl, who was reportedly shown being raped in a widely circulated video, spoke Friday to MSNBC’s Ronan Farrow in an effort to help her daughter counter rape culture in social media. “It’s been happening to so many ladies around the world,” Sukiedia, whose last name was not revealed,…
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Here’s the Atrocious Way George Zimmerman Spent the Last Year
It’s hard to imagine a George Zimmerman-less world. He burst into the American collective consciousness with the welcome and expectation of an acid-filled, busted fire hydrant after his brazen attack in February 2012 on an unsuspecting teenager whose trip to the store for Skittles and iced tea would be his last. On July 13, 2013,…
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How Marfan Syndrome Took Center Stage on NBA Draft Night, and in an Infant’s Life
It was like a bad dream. Four days before Baylor University basketball star Isaiah Austin would hear his name called in the NBA draft in June, a routine physical revealed that he had a genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome. His NBA career was over, but as he noted, his life was not. Victoria Everett knows…
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Black Community in Fla. Gets a New Swimming Pool 40 Years Later
It’s summer. It’s hot, and one quick, easy way to cool off is to take a dip in a pool. But members of a black community in Hallandale Beach, Fla., have been waiting 40 years to do just that. A new pool is slated to open July 12 in B.F. James Park, named after a…
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Favela Chic: Gentrifying the Slums of Brazil
A walk through Rio de Janeiro’s Vidigal favela is a full sensory experience on any given day. The smell of grilled meat mixes with that of exhaust from motorcycle taxis traversing the slum’s corridors as well as the scent of excrement from the legion of stray dogs that roam the streets. Add in the engulfing…
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Ford to Donate $1M to Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture received a major show of support from the Ford Motor Co. on July 4. Smithsonian and Ford mutually announced the $1 million endowment at the 20th anniversary of the Essence Festival in New Orleans, with the Twitter hashtag #fordgivesback. Once the museum—spanning a 5-acre plot on…