houston
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Waitress in Mexico Writes N-Word on Texas Woman’s Bill
Some Houston residents were just trying to have a good time at a resort in Mexico but instead were faced with the n-word. The crew went to the Be Telum resort to relax and kick back, but instead, the opposite happened, which led them to return early from the vacation, WTRK-TV reports. Tiffani Janelle, a…
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Texas Teen’s Story About Being Abducted and Assaulted by White Supremacists Was Not True, Police Say
After an investigation, Houston police have determined that a Texas 13-year-old’s story about being abducted and attacked by a group of five white men, who further threatened him, is not true. According to ABC 13, authorities found no evidence to support the claims made by 13-year-old Zavion Parker. Last month, the story sent police on…
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Texas 13-Year-Old Abducted, Assaulted After Getting Off School Bus; His Mom Believes He Was Targeted Because of His Race
On Monday afternoon, Michelle Lee called police in Houston to report that her 13-year-old son, Zavion Parker, had not returned home from school after she received threatening messages on her phone coming from his cellphone. As officers were collecting information, Zavion was found alive—but his shirt was torn and he had on no shoes. According…
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‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time for This’: Former Houston 911 Operator Jailed for Hanging Up on Emergency Callers
A former 911 operator in Houston received jail time this week after being found guilty of hanging up on thousands of emergency calls, including ones for homicides and robberies, during her time as a dispatcher. On Wednesday, a jury found 44-year-old Crenshanda Williams guilty of interfering with emergency telephone calls, a misdemeanor charge. As a…
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17-Year-Old Houston Teen Gets Into 20 Top-Tier Colleges With Full Rides
We here at The Root love it when young black folk defy all of the low expectations, irrational fears and systemic oppression of this America. And so we salute young Mr. Micheal Brown, who was accepted to not one, not seven, but 20 of the best colleges in the nation. The 17-year-old from Houston applied…
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Feds Charge Houston Megachurch Pastor for Fleecing Flock of Millions of Dollars
The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, senior pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, a megachurch of more than 17,000 mostly African-American members, has been charged with scamming elderly investors of millions in a dubious Chinese-bond scam. CNN Money reports that the feds have charged the 64-year-old Houston pastor—and Louisiana financial planner Gregory Alan Smith, 55—with six…
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Texas Deputy Shoots and Kills Unarmed Man Who Had Pants Around His Ankles
A Harris County, Texas, deputy was caught on video fatally shooting an unarmed man who was walking in the middle of a street intersection with his pants around his ankles. The video, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, shows the unidentified deputy drawing his weapon on Danny Thomas on Thursday. A woman off-camera can be heard…
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Former Texas Prosecutor Withheld Email That Could Have Prevented Innocent Man From Landing on Death Row: Report
In an announcement late Friday, Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Kim Ogg revealed that a former prosecutor withheld a key email that could have prevented Alfred Dewayne Brown from receiving the death penalty. As the Houston Chronicle reports, the email helped establish “a clear alibi” for Brown, who was convicted in a high-profile murder case…
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Texas Couple Goes to Visit Vacation Home, Only to Discover the Whole House Has Been Stolen
How do you steal a whole house, fam? Logically, I know the answer, but still, what kind of planning and balls does it take to move a house off of someone’s property? A Houston couple is looking for answers—and hoping to have their vacation home returned to them—after someone stole the structure right off their…