news
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Walking While Black: Community Calls for Jacksonville, Fla., Sheriff to Suspend Racially Biased Pedestrian Ticketing
There’s driving while black, shopping while black and flying while black. But WTF is walking while black? It’s apparently a thing in Jacksonville, Fla., where the local NAACP and several government officials have called for the Sheriff’s Office to suspend all pedestrian ticket writing because of racial bias. Civil rights leaders, including the representatives of…
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#DerickWiley: Grand Jury Returns ‘True Bill’ Against Officer in Lyndo Jones Shooting
A Texas grand jury has returned a true bill indictment against now former Mesquite, Texas, Police Officer Derick Wiley in the Nov. 8 shooting of 31-year-old Lyndo Jones (pdf), The Root has exclusively learned from Jones’ attorney, S. Lee Merritt. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is expected to make the announcement Wednesday afternoon, at…
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After Another Woman Says Al Franken Forcibly Kissed Her, Democrats Are Finally Calling for His Resignation
Looks like Sen. Al Franken’s days are numbered after another woman came out saying that she was sexually assaulted by the onetime-comedian-turned-lawmaker. According to a report by Politico, an aide alleges that during a taping of his radio show in 2006, then-comedian Franken forcibly tried to kiss her. The aide said that as she left…
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‘You Don’t Know the Trouble I’ve Had in My Life’: This 6-Year-Old Boy Is Fed the Hell Up With Santa
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness this young, skeptical-ass boy read Santa Claus to hell and back. On Sunday, NPR reporter Sarah McCammon posted on Twitter a letter her 6-year-old son wrote for a class assignment. A true “Santa skeptic,” as McCammon described him, the boy spared Kris Kringle not a single…
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Watch: Bodycam Footage Released of Oklahoma Republican in Motel Room With Teen Boy
It’s hard to keep count of the barrage of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad sexual abusers who have been outed this year, so let me reintroduce you to Ralph Shortey, the deplorable former Oklahoma state senator who pleaded guilty last week to federal charges of child sex trafficking. On Tuesday, Oklahoma police released bodycam footage…
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Boxer Zab Judah Is Turning His Life Around 1 Patient at a Time
Boxer Zab Judah wasn’t supposed to be an inspiration. Early in his career, he wore the part of the flashy Brooklyn, N.Y.-born-and-raised fighter. He wore gold teeth and his Yankees fitted cap backward. He was quick of both fist and tongue. Despite becoming a four-time world champion in two weight classes and giving Floyd Mayweather…
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Bigoted White Women Are Mad at Bigoted White Men for Acting Like Bigots
Karma is real. Although I’m generally happy for most people’s success, there are times when karma bites others on the butt and all I can do is laugh. Like when a bully catches a beatdown or when women dismiss a slightly nerdy dude because they prefer guys “with a little bit of thug in them,”…
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Atlanta Hasn’t Had a White Mayor Since 1974, and Tuesday’s Mayoral Race Is So Close That It’s Headed for a Recount
On Wednesday morning the race for Atlanta’s mayor was still too close to call, but that didn’t stop candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms from claiming victory after Tuesday’s runoff election. “I am just in awe of what God is able to do,” she told cheering supporters early Wednesday at an Atlanta hotel, the Associated Press reports.…