news

  • Kanari Gentry-Bowers, 12, Dies From Injuries Suffered in Chicago Weekend Shooting

    Kanari Gentry-Bowers became the third child victim to die from injuries suffered in a Chicago shooting over the past two days. Kanari died Wednesday afternoon, just a day after 11-year-old Takiya Holmes, another victim of a weekend shooting in Chicago, died. Kanari was shot in the back while playing basketball with friends at Henderson Elementary…

  • Judge Denies Dismissal of Charges Against Police Officer Who Killed Philando Castile

    Defense attorneys for the police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile attempted to get the manslaughter charges against him dropped, arguing that Castile was culpable in his own death, but a judge disagreed and denied the dismissal Wednesday, ruling that the trial against the officer will move forward. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that…

  • Report: Hate Groups in the US Have Increased for 2nd Consecutive Year

    The number of hate groups in the United States rose for the second year in a row in 2016, a result of the radical right being energized by the candidacy of Donald Trump, according to a report released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Anti-Muslim hate groups showed the most dramatic growth, nearly tripling…

  • Chicago Police Say Suspect Shot at Rival Gang Members, Killed Takiya Holmes Instead

    Police and prosecutors in Chicago say that Antwan C. Jones was walking down the street Saturday evening when he saw three rival gang members selling weed in his gang’s territory. Jones reportedly shot at them from across the street, but instead of hitting his targets, he hit 11-year-old Takiya Holmes in the right temple as…

  • ACLU of Oregon Recommends Changes to Portland Police Protest Policy

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon sent a letter to the Portland Police Bureau on Wednesday addressing concerns about the bureau’s current crowd-control policies when responding to protests. In the letter (pdf) addressed to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Portland Police Bureau Chief Michael Marshman, the ACLU notes that the Crowd Control Workgroup of…

  • People Are Not Here for Cartoon Comparing Betsy DeVos to Ruby Bridges

    As surely as the sun rises in the day, white people stay wilding. This time, a cartoonist is drawing fire after publishing a cartoon that compares Donald Trump’s secretary of education, Besty DeVos, and the first black child to attend an all-white school in the South, the iconic Ruby Bridges. Many have picked up on…

  • How Do We Break Up With Russia After Valentine’s Day and Not Look Like a Dick?

    Seriously, Valentine’s Day just passed, and while we don’t want to be a dick about it, Russia is starting to become the girlfriend who comes over unannounced, and it’s gone from being cute to creepy. On Tuesday a Russian spy ship was found just chilling off the coast of Delaware. It’s almost like the Russians…

  • Disturbing Video Shows NYPD Cop Using Taser on Pregnant 17-Year-Old 

    New York City police are looking into an incident in which an officer deployed a stun gun on a pregnant 17-year-old in the Bronx during a chaotic scene that was caught on camera. WABC reports that officers were called to an apartment building in the Wakefield section of the Bronx on a separate issue when…

  • The White House Had Russia on Its Friends-and-Family Cellphone Plan

    The latest news coming out of the White House is only shocking if you believe that a restaurant in Washington, D.C., was really a secret meeting place for high-profile pedophiles or believe that the New York Times is failing, but it turns out that the White House and Russia kick it. The White House and…

  • Family of Henrietta Lacks Seeks Compensation for Unauthorized Use of Her Cells

    The story of Henrietta Lacks and her “immortal” cells is not quite over. Her eldest son, Lawrence Lacks, has come forth requesting compensation from Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University and possibly other institutions for the unauthorized use of the famous cells that prompted decades of medical advances. The Washington Post reports that Lawrence Lacks, who says…