news
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Serena Williams Set to Return to Tennis for 1st Time Since Birth of Her Daughter
The GOAT, aka Serena Williams, is set to play next Saturday at the Mubadala exhibition tennis event in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. It will be her first time playing tennis since giving birth and winning the Australian Open 11 months ago. As CNN reports, Williams’ last tournament win was even more legendary…
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Photographer Don Hogan Charles, Who Shot Iconic Photo of Malcolm X at His Window, Has Died
The first black staff photographer hired at the New York Times, Don Hogan Charles, the man who shot the iconic photo of Malcolm X at a window with a rifle, has died. Former New York Times staff writer Rachel Swarns tweeted the news Sunday afternoon, prompting many of us to wonder where the Times obituary…
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Your Racist President Said Haitians ‘All Have AIDS’ and Nigerians Live in ‘Huts’
All the “debate” about whether Donald Trump is really, truly racist should be put to rest now. The man actually opened his mouth in public—as president of the United States—and fixed his flat lips to say that “all Haitians have AIDS and Nigerians live in huts. The New York Times recently published a report about…
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#JailBedDrop: Los Angeles’ Fight Against a Multibillion-Dollar Jail
This Christmas Eve, JusticeLA is “dropping” beds outside shopping centers across Los Angeles County—from Inglewood to Calabasas—to encourage a public conversation about the fight for abolition. We are demanding an end to mass incarceration in the U.S. and our county’s investment in policing and jails. JusticeLA was formed on Sept. 26, 2017; we are a…
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Harvard University Recognizes the Gullah Language in Its New Curriculum
Who remembers the 1990s PBS children’s show Gullah Gullah Island? For many of us, watching or hearing about the show was our first exposure to Gullah, the culture native to the Georgia and Carolina Sea Islands, which, because of their remote location, offered an unbroken chain to Africa and its cultures. And now Harvard University…
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Trump Changes Presidential Coins by Making Them Very Gold and Putting ‘MAGA’ on Them (Ewww)
In his continued attempt to leave some kind of legacy before he’s dragged out of the Oval Office because of the Constitution, President Donald Trump has actually slapped his offensive “Make America great again” slogan on his presidential coins this year. I know—I never thought I would throw out money, either. The Washington Post reports…
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Texas Police Call Shooting of Innocent 6-Year-Old a ‘Tragic Accident’
With reminders of the tragic death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, the 7-year-old shot down as Detroit police stormed her grandmother’s house—the wrong house—in 2010, yet another innocent child has been killed by police. Six-year-old Kameron Prescott was shot and killed by a stray bullet in his home Thursday afternoon when deputies in a suburb of San…
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Officers Who Handcuffed 11-Year-Old Girl at Gunpoint Won’t Be Disciplined: Report
The Grand Rapids, Mich., police officers who handcuffed a terrified 11-year-old girl at gunpoint in a case of what they described as “mistaken identity” will not face disciplinary action, the department says. Bodycam footage showed the officers accosting Honestie Hodges on Dec. 6 while they were conducting a search for her aunt Carrie Manning—who is…
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#NetNeutrality: United Nations Expert Concerned About US Repeal of Open-Internet Rules
On the heels of the Federal Communications Commission voting to repeal the net neutrality rules that keep the internet free and open for everyone, the United Nations’ expert on freedom of speech expressed concern Wednesday that the ramifications of that decision could lead to small and independent voices being silenced on the web. David Kaye,…
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Washington, DC, Teen Killed Over $200 Pair of Jordans, Mom Says
A Washington, D.C., teen was killed this week all because of his brand-new, bright-red Nike Air Jordans, his mom believes. According to the Washington Post, James Anthony Smith had desperately wanted the shoes for Christmas, and so his mother paid $220 for the coveted shoes and gave the 17-year-old his Christmas gift early. James, a…