news
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Ranting Racist on New York Train Receives Hate Crime Charge: Prosecutor
Although he claimed it wasn’t him in last month’s viral Long Island Rail Road video of a man’s racist rant toward a black woman, 58-year-old Edward Ruggerio has been charged by the Queens, N.Y., district attorney with menacing as a hate crime. In addition to the hate crime, Ruggerio was charged with a count of…
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Bodycam Footage Shows Milwaukee Police Using Excessive Force Against the NBA’s Sterling Brown for No Reason
On the same day the National Football League decided to obfuscate the real reason its players were kneeling during the national anthem, Milwaukee police released bodycam footage that showed exactly why players have been kneeling during the national anthem. Police continue to abuse their power and use excessive force against black men for no reasons…
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It Is Illegal for Donald Trump to Block You on Twitter Just Because He Is a Big Baby Who Can’t Take Criticism
A federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday that the ability to view and engage with Donald Trump on his personal Twitter account is part of our constitutional First Amendment rights, and his blocking people simply because he doesn’t like their criticisms of him is a violation of those rights. Since his election, Trump…
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Chesterfield County, Va., Police Say ‘Facts Matter’ After Violent Arrest Video Goes Viral. Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Believe Them
Despite the fact that a viral video seems to show none of this, a 19-year-old was shocked by a Taser and taken to jail after Chesterfield County, Va., police officers say the teenager resisted arrest and assaulted an officer. Elkanah A. Odembo Jr. was charged Tuesday with assault on a law enforcement officer, defective equipment…
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The NFL Will Fine Players Who Protest During Anthem, Proving White Tears Matter More Than Black Lives
Welp, it’s official, and if you didn’t see this coming, you haven’t been watching. Surprising only those who still believe in fairy tales like Bigfoot, reverse racism and R. Kelly’s innocence, NFL team owners voted Wednesday to approve a policy that requires all players on the field to stand during the national anthem performance, proving…
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South Carolina County Council Candidate Posed in Blackface; Community Outraged, but The Root Staff Is Unimpressed
When it comes to blackface, it’s going to take more than a little black shoe polish to rile up the staff at The Root. We’ve seen them all: the racist tributes to sports heroes, the racist tributes to actresses, singers and anyone else famous. We’ve seen the racist attempts at just plain racism. We’ve seen…
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Can Someone Take the iPad From the President? He’s Tweeting About ‘Criminal Deep State’ Conspiracy Again
My money is on Vice President Mike Pence as being the member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet who keeps sliding the president an unlocked iPad when no one is looking so that he can send out his conspiratorial tweets to take the spotlight off the very real Russia investigation. Early Wednesday morning, Trump confiscated Pence’s iPad,…
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Louisiana Prosecutors Try but Can’t Stop Ex-Felons From Regaining Voting Rights
Despite a last-ditch effort to overturn a recent bill restoring voting rights to ex-felons in Louisiana, legislators in the Statehouse recently passed a bill doing just that, another victory for criminal-justice reform. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that of the 70,000 ex-felons who served time in Louisiana prisons and who are currently on probation or…