culture
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Obama Was Not Only Target of Former US District Judge Who Sent Racist Email
A former Montana judge who came under fire for sending a racist email involving President Barack Obama reportedly sent hundreds of other inappropriate messages from his federal email account, according to the findings of a judicial review panel released Friday, the Associated Press reports. Former U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull sent emails to personal and…
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Serena Williams Defeated in Australian Open Upset
Serena Williams’ long winning streak came to an end Sunday in an upset loss to Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open, the Associated Press reports. Williams had not lost a match since August, one of only four defeats in 2013, and entered the fourth round with 25 straight wins, the AP…
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Dennis Rodman Seeks Treatment for Longtime Struggle With Alcoholism
After confessing that he was drunk when he made controversial comments in North Korea about a detained American missionary, former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman has checked into an undisclosed rehabilitation center, his agent told the New York Post on Saturday. The agent, Darren Prince, declined to say which facility will treat Rodman or how long…
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Jamaican Bobsled Team Needs $80,000 After Qualifying for Sochi Olympics
The Jamaican bobsled team may be headed to another Olympics, the Associated Press reports. But before they can hit the ice to compete in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the two-man team needs to raise at least $80,000 to pay for travel and equipment, the article says. “Right now,” sled driver Winston Watts told the…
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Michelle Obama’s Star-Studded 50th Birthday Party
Stars like Beyoncé, former NBA superstar Magic Johnson, singer Smokey Robinson and actor Samuel L. Jackson showed up at the White House Saturday evening to help Michelle Obama celebrate her 50th birthday, CNN reports. Family and friends left the gathering about 2 a.m. The celebration reportedly featured entertainment by Beyoncé, who performed several songs. The…
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Hey, Madonna, Here’s Why Your N-Word Hashtag Wasn’t OK
Madonna managed to accomplish something this weekend that she’s been unable to do with her music for the last couple of years: She got people talking about her with the same gusto usually reserved for A-list celebrities. You know, like the kind she used to be. Unfortunately for the once-ubiquitous Material Girl, this latest turn…
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Sasheer Zamata Debuts as SNL’s 1st Black Female Cast Member in 6 Years
Sasheer Zamata made her debut Saturday as the first black female cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in six years. She was featured in several sketches during the NBC show, including the first sketch about the bar mitzvah of host and musical guest Drake. During the sketch, she appeared as the girlfriend of the…
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MLK Decried the Psychological Enslavement of Blacks
There is a sad irony in the fact that we are celebrating what would have been the 85th birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., just a month after the New York Times focused national attention on the gap in breast-cancer survival rates between black and white women. This news came on top of…
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Harry Belafonte Embraces the Power of Twitter Activism
He’s 86 years old. He began his human and civil rights advocacy decades before the introduction of social media. Many observers chalked up his public shaming of contemporary black celebrities for failure to engage in his brand of social justice work to a simple generational divide. So one might guess that actor, singer and activist…
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Darren Sharper, Ex-NFL Star, Arrested on Rape Charges
Darren Sharper, the former NFL superstar who was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, was arrested Friday and charged with sexual assault, TMZ reports. The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s website reports that Sharper was taken into custody Friday afternoon and released from jail on a $200,000 bond just before midnight. Sharper, 38, has been linked to two…