The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.

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Tear Gas and Water Hoses Used on Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters

by the Web Editors 11-21-2016

Image via Oceti Sakowin Camp/Flickr

On Nov. 20 protesters at the Dakota Access Pipeline were tear gassed and water hosed by law enforcement officials in the area, reports the Guardian. A video tweeted by the Indigenous Environmental Network shows water being sprayed on protesters in below freezing temperatures

Weekly Wrap 11.18.16: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week

by the Web Editors 11-18-2016

1. Shirtless Trump Saves Drowning Kitten

Facebook’s Fake-News Problem and the Rise of the Postmodern Right

"I have my own issues with the New York Times, but when your all-powerful social network accidentally replaces newspapers with a cartel of Macedonian teens generating fake pro-Trump stories for money, then friend, you have made a mistake. It is time to consider pivoting toward a new vertical in the contrition space."

2. Research Says There Are Ways to Reduce Racial Bias. Calling People Racist Isn’t One of Them.

So, research shows that having actual human conversations changes minds. Imagine that.

3. Grand Narrative Won’t Save Us This Time

It never really has. 

The State of Georgia May Ban Burqas and Muslim Veils

by the Web Editors 11-17-2016

Image via serkan senturk/Shutterstock.com

bill has been introduced to the Georgia state legislature that, if passed, would ban women from wearing burqas and Muslim veils while driving, walking in public, and taking a driver’s license photo, according to The Hill. The legislation was introduced by Jason Spencer, a Republican state representative of the Georgia state legislature.

Officer Who Fatally Shot Philando Castile Charged with Second-Degree Manslaughter

by the Web Editors 11-16-2016

Image via Rena Schild/Shutterstock.com

On July 6, Castile was in the car with Reynolds and Reynolds’ daughter in Falcon Heights, Minn., when Yanez pulled Castile over and fatally shot him. Reynolds broadcast the moments immediately after the shooting on Facebook Live.

Black Lives Matter: 'When Black People and Women Build Power, White People Become Resentful'

by the Web Editors 11-16-2016

Image via a katz/Shutterstock.com

On Nov. 15 the Black Lives Matter Global Network released a statement on the election of Donald Trump, reports Mic. The organization stated that what remains true — and was proven by the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election — is that “when black people and women build power, white people become resentful.”

Voter Suppression Is the New Normal

by the Web Editors 11-16-2016

Image via mdgn/Shutterstock.com

The dismantling of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the Supreme Court and conservative state elected officials may be a major reason behind Donald Trump's 2016 U.S. presidential election win, reports ThinkProgress. This was the nation’s first presidential election since the Voting Rights Act's implementation 50 years ago in which the act didn’t provide full protection to voters of color.

Obama to Trump: 'Think Long and Hard' About 'Endangering the Status' of Young Undocumented Immigrants

by the Web Editors 11-14-2016

Image via Evan El-Amin/Shutterstock.com

On Nov. 14, in a press conference at the White House, President Obama spoke about the possibility that President-elect Donald Trump may get rid of his executive action "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA)DACA enables undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before their sixteenth birthday, before June 15, 2007, to remain in the country without fear of deportation and receive a two-year work permit that can be renewed.

Roman Catholic Bishops Call for Trump to Be Humane Toward Immigrants and Refugees

by the Web Editors 11-14-2016

Image via Lightspring/Shutterstock.com

On Nov. 14 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked President-elect Donald Trump to implement policies geared toward honoring the humanity of immigrants and refugees, reports the Associated Press. The Roman Catholic bishops made their call to President-elect Trump at the beginning of their annual meeting in Baltimore.

SNL's Perfect Post-Election Offering

by the Web Editors 11-13-2016

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Weekly Wrap 11.11.16: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week

by the Web Editors 11-11-2016

1. Stop Telling Me to Fight
“White people didn’t listen, because they couldn’t see it in their charts and graphs and polls and statistics. And if they couldn’t see it, then they couldn’t see me, and still don’t. And that’s hard to digest. I thought that, if nothing else, my white friends had overcome race, but they didn’t. And they may never do so.”

2. The Facts That Matter Most This Veteran’s Day
PTSD, homelessness, suicide. These are realities that face our returning veterans. Find out what resources are out there.

3. Law & Order: SVU Trump-Inspired Episode Pushed Again
The “ripped from the headlines” episode centers on a “wealthy and boorish man who makes a run for the White House, but his plan might be thwarted by a woman who accuses him of raping her.”

WATCH: Stephen Colbert Calls for Post-Election Healing

by the Web Editors 11-09-2016

"Both sides are terrified of the other side," Colbert said. "... How did our politics get so poisonous? I think it's because we overdosed, especially this year. We drank too much of the poison." 

Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States

by the Web Editors 11-09-2016

The vote comes at the end of a grueling 18-month election season, one that put misogyny, racism, homophobia, and bigotry in the spotlight. Election coverage largely pitted Trump's rhetoric on the preceding against Hillary Clinton's judgement on issues of privacy and national security. Trump's win is an endorsement of his divisive language and his slogan to "Make America Great Again." 

Diverse Group of Christian Leaders Calls for Respect for Presidential Outcome

by the Web Editors 11-08-2016

A diverse group of Christian leaders — including Bishop Claude Alexander, Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Rev. Joel Hunter, Rev. Traci Blackmon, Dr. Leith Anderson, Jim Wallis, and dozens more— issued a statementthis afternoon calling for the presidential candidates and all Americans to respect the process and outcome of today’s elections. The statement was authored by Bishop Claude Alexander, who is the senior pastor at The Park Church in Charlotte, N.C. In issuing this statement, dozens of signers from across the theological, racial, and political spectrum have come together — before the election results are known — to support the integrity of the election process and call for Congress as a body to “… put partisan politics aside and end the toxic gridlock.” 

Trump Files Suit in Nevada Over Poll Hours; Judge Says No.

by the Web Editors 11-08-2016

Trump's campaign sues over polling location that allegedly stayed open late for voters. 

This Is the Pre-Election SNL Sketch America Needs

by the Web Editors 11-07-2016

Screenshot from SNL sketch

"Saturday Night Live" has been having a great run this season, thanks to historic nature of this election cycle. But besides flat-out mockery and spot-on impersonations of the candidates, the show has also provided some excellent fodder for discussion, including last month's "Black Jeopardy" sketch, which found common ground between black Americans and a Trump supporter. 

Janet Reno, First Woman Attorney General, Dies at 78

by the Web Editors 11-07-2016

Janet Reno visits Penn State's forensics lab. Image via Penn State/flickr

Reno's time overseeing the Justice Department was marked by a number of significant national crises, including a federal raid on a religious cult in Waco, Texas, early in her tenure, and the government seizure of a young Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, in 2000. 

Don’t Understand Voter Suppression? There’s a Video Game For That.

by the Web Editors 11-04-2016

image via NYT

"Try your hand at voting in the world's greatest democracy!" the first card reads. "Will you endure hardships like long lines and voter intimidation? Or will you just take a leisurely stroll to your well-staffed polling place?" 

Like Oregon Trail, players then get to choose their character: a white programmer in California, a Latina nurse in Texas, or a black salesman in Wisconsin. Game creators say the choice to mimic the popular pioneer game, and myth, was intentional.

Weekly Wrap 11.4.16: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week

by the Web Editors 11-04-2016

1. Millennial Trump Supporters More Likely to Be Dismissive of Sexual Assault on Campus
The numbers say a lot.

2. Private Prisons’ New Plan to Cover Losses Involves More Immigrants in Detention Centers
After the Justice Department’s announcement that it would phase out federal use of private prisons, the industry has focused its sights on immigration detention. ICE currently holds 40,000 immigrant detainees, and that number is expected to grow to 47,000 by next summer.

3. 2 Things You Can Do to Prevent Voter Suppression
Election Day isn’t until Nov. 8, but voter suppression is in full swing.

Obama: Army Corps Considering Reroute of Dakota Access Pipeline

by the Web Editors 11-03-2016

Image via Diego G Diaz/Shutterstock.com

President Obama’s words contradict those of Vicki Granado, the spokesperson for Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“We are not aware that any consideration is being given to a reroute,” she said, following the publication of President Obama’s interview, “and we remain confident we will receive our easement in a timely fashion.”

Stanford Assault Survivor Named a Glamour Woman of the Year

by the Web Editors 11-03-2016

Image via /Shutterstock.com

Glamour magazine’s list of 2016 Women of the Year includes a young woman’s whose name they don’t even know. 

Dubbed Emily Doe, the woman was thrust into the public eye this past summer during the trial of Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting her at at Stanford fraternity party in January of 2015. Doe wrote a letter to the judge in the case, which gave explicit and excruciating details of the violence she experienced and the aftermath as the investigation and trial unfolded.