news
-
Racist Vandal Scrawls 'Kill All Koons' on Ind. Church Door
Evansville, Ind., police are looking for the person who vandalized a predominantly black church on Thanksgiving. The suspect scrawled, “Kill All Koons” on the church’s back door and “Koons Inside” on the church’s van. “I’ve been the pastor here for 17 years, and we’ve never had anything like this,” the Rev. Todd Robertson, pastor of…
-
Fla. Man Charged After Shouting Racial Slurs, Threatening Motorists With Wrench
An 18-year-old Florida man has been arrested and charged with a felony after video showed him threatening a motorist and shouting racial slurs, officials say. Travis Thompson was arrested Monday and charged with improper exhibition of a firearm or dangerous weapon, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Police began investigating the incident, which was recorded and posted…
-
President Obama: ‘Michelle Will Never Run for Office’
President Barack Obama isn’t just depressing us with his impending exit from the White House. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he dashed any dreams that we collectively had for a Michelle Obama presidency. “Michelle will never run for office,” he said in the candid interview, which hit newsstands Tuesday. While many believe the…
-
#WalterScott: Michael Slager Takes the Stand in His Trial for Murder
The white former North Charleston, S.C., police officer charged with the murder of an unarmed black motorist during a traffic stop took the stand in his own defense Tuesday, according to the Post and Courier. As previously reported on The Root, Michael Slager, 35, is on trial for the April 2015 shooting death of 50-year-old…
-
#NoDAPL: Thousands of Veterans Head to Standing Rock to Protect Water Protectors
A group of veterans will head to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota next week to serve as “human shields” for the water protectors who have been on the ground protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline for months. Veterans Stand for Standing Rock set a goal of getting 2,000 veterans to…
-
Head of Judiciary Committee Wants to Speed Up Jeff Sessions Confirmation Hearing
The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that he wants to move quickly on the hearing to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as U.S. attorney general. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that he plans to schedule the hearing before the inauguration, and noted that the hearings for Eric Holder and John Ashcroft also…
-
Ex-NFL Player Darren Sharper Sentenced to 20 Years in Los Angeles Rape Case
Convicted rapist and former NFL star Darren Sharper was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for drugging and raping two women in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports. Multiple women across the country have accused Sharper of sexual assault, and Tuesday’s sentence is part of a plea deal he reached last year to…
-
Report: Open and Unabashed Harassment and Intimidation After Trump's Election
The United States is no stranger to hate crimes and racial or ethnic harassment; after all, this is a country that was built on the genocide of indigenous people, the enslavement of black people, and the systemic and institutionalized oppression that keeps one group ahead of all the rest. For the most part, bigots and…
-
Texas to Require Hospitals and Clinics to Bury or Cremate All Aborted Fetal Tissue
In a stunning decision, Texas has banned health care facilities such as hospitals and women’s clinics from disposing of aborted fetuses and is requiring that the fetal remains be buried or cremated, despite fierce opposition from medical professionals and activists. According to the Texas Tribune, the new rules will take effect Dec. 19. What’s proving…
-
NYC Man Fatally Shot After Argument With Gunman
Desmond Muller, a 24-year-old Bronx, N.Y., man, was fatally shot after getting into an argument outside a deli, the New York Daily News reports. At 2:55 p.m. Monday, Muller got into an argument with a group of men across the street from his apartment, authorities say. The deli was located on Union Avenue near East 163rd…