Presenting the Mad Libs of police brutality, and by mad, I mean “utter madness:” Police in [LOCATION] shot and killed [PoC NAME] after [MINOR CRIME]. At least I also have a few good stories in this week’s newsy roundup. Let’s get started.
I know that my Friday News Bites and P-Mag’s PoC News in America often overlap with links, but some of this stuff bears repeating more than once.
That said, Karishma already mentioned earlier this week:
- Key and Peele will be ending soon. Sadness.
- Jon Stewart told Wyatt Cenac to ‘Fuck off,’ when Cenac questioned Stewart’s vocal caricature of Herman Cain.
- Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston, died on July 26. She was 22.
Gun Violence
Right after my deadline last week, news broke about the gunman who killed two women at a Lafayette, Louisiana screening of Trainwreck. Nine people were taken to the hospital. Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 31, died at the scene.
As of July 24 — 204 days into 2015 — there have been 204 mass shootings in the United States. But please, conservatives, tell me how guns aren’t a problem here.
In Denver, police shot and killed Paul Castaway, a mentally ill Rosebud Sioux tribal citizen:
According to a Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice analysis of Centers for Disease Control data, between 1999 and 2011 Native Americans were killed by police at a higher rate than any other racial group in the country. In other words, if the Seattle metro area — home to just over 4 million people — were made up entirely of American Indians, around 10 people would have been shot and killed by police every year between 1999 and 2011.
The University of Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed Samuel Dubose has been charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty, but the disturbing video indicates otherwise.
#BlackLivesMatter
Waller County released footage of Sandra Bland in her jail cell before her death. The videos show her making a phone call and having her mugshot taken.
Another woman, this time in Cleveland, has also been found dead in her jail cell. 37-year-old Ralkina Jones died two days after being arrested for “assault, domestic violence, endangering a child and criminal mischief.” An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
At Vice, Melissa Gira Grant has an interesting article: “Young, Black, Trans, Arrested: How Women Like Meagan Taylor Are Made Invisible.”
Some jerks tried to edit Hillary Clinton’s comments on addressing systemic racism into something that made her sound racist herself, but here is the full text of her talk.
However, Hillary still has some blind spots when it comes to race and often it feels as though she’s just giving lip service to whoever she needs to help her win.
If you are wondering what you can do in the face of all these events, Black Girl Dangerous has “7 Ways to Turn Your Anger Over Sandra Bland Into Action In Support of Incarcerated (and Formerly Incarcerated) Black Women.”
In Other News:
Obama says, “I could win a third term,” were it allowed. I don’t doubt it. [auto-loading video]
A federal judge in California ruled that immigrant children being detained “and their mothers who were caught crossing the border illegally is a serious violation of a longstanding court settlement, and that the families should be released as quickly as possible.”
Photos depicting the Bush Administration on 9/11 “were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Colette Neirouz Hanna, coordinating producer for the Kirk Documentary Group.”
35 women who were assaulted by Bill Cosby have told their story to New York Magazine. Some asshole attacked the link, and it was unavailable for a few days, but if for some reason my first link doesn’t work, The Wayback Machine has it covered.
Donald Trump’s Tales of Awfulness Continue: His ex-wife Ivana Trump says that she felt “violated” while having sex with him, and Trump’s lawyer says that you can’t rape your spouse. Great. /sarcasm
Boston no longer wants to host the 2024 Winter Olympics, after much public outcry at the cost.
The Boy Scouts of America have lifted the ban on gay troop leaders, but unfortunately, there is still some wiggle-room for local-level discrimination.
World record holding bodybuilder Janae Marie Kroc has come out as trans. She told her fans through Instagram.
Dallas Morning News columnist Jacquielynn Floyd says she owes Planned Parenthood an apology:
My failure to wield that stick in a more timely manner is what makes me a coward.
It makes me a craven wimp. It makes me the thing that has to be scraped off the floor of the chicken house, because bullying choice advocates into silence is exactly what this meticulously planned sting operation and publicity campaign is about.
The anti-abortion, and misleadingly named, Center for Medical Progress has struck PR gold with these videos, and its leaders are promising there is much more footage to come. There are almost certainly more cringe-worthy gotcha moments ahead, more opportunities to make those who believe women should have access to safe, legal abortions come across as barbarians and heartless ghouls.
But being called those things is less shameful than being bamboozled into silence — which I have been for at least a week now.
Researchers at Northwestern University believe they have discovered what causes ALS. Though: “While significant, the ALS Association says the 2011 breakthrough did not lead to finding the definitive cause of the disease and no treatment has resulted from that research.”
Erm… Apparently people need to be told not to light their poop on fire. Sucks to be this dude. [auto-loading video]
In Entertainment:
Google is phasing out Google+. While I don’t really use it, I still think it’s a bit of a shame. My daughter has been using it to follow certain gaming video accounts, and it seems like a rather tame place (knock wood) for a younger crowd, due to its lesser popularity.
Did you know Bill Nye’s mom was a codebreaker? Did you know someone is making a Bill Nye documentary? It’s true!
File under “Cats Enjoy Being Jerks:” Here are paw prints on a 2000-year-old, Roman-era roof tile.
And finally, “The Imitation Archive” is a really cool music project.
Until next time.
One reply on “Friday News Bites: No Witty Headlines for Gun Violence + More”
A Bill Nye documentary? Sign me up scientifically!