Interwebs Archives

This Little Girl Dressed Up As Superman For Her School Picture Because She’s A Badass

By Staff Report

Kaylieann Steinbach is the biggest badass living today on planet Earth.

She has accomplished this feat, previously occupied by Bob Dylan after he refused to return phone calls from the Nobel Prize committee, at the tender age of 3.

But badassery knows no age.

Steinbach’s father posted a picture to Reddit of his daughter grinning at the camera while holding her bae- a plastic Superman toy for her class picture.

“In September, we went to the San Francisco Comic Con and she went as Supergirl to that,” Austin told BuzzFeed. “She refused to take off her costume after it.”

3 years old folks and she’s already much cooler than any of us will ever be.

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Steinbach is also 75% deaf in both ears and mostly communicates through sign language.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.

The Cincinnati Zoo Does Not Think Your Harambe Memes Are Dank At All

By Kelsey D'Auben

This past May following an unfortunate incident involving a young boy falling into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo a 17-year-old gorilla, named Harambe, was shot and killed.

And, as usual, the world only took the death of the late gorilla seriously for about a minute before forever immortalizing him online by turning him into a widely popular internet joke, or otherwise referred to as a “meme.”

Many examples of Harambe memes can be found on the popular website Reddit, which has an entire feed dedicated to Harambe.

At first the zoo appeared to be at least trying to ignore these jokes, hoping they would die down over time.

But as more and more Facebook posts, tweets, vines, and websites were made to joke about Harambe, the zoo has finally had enough.

“We are not amused by the memes, petitions, and signs about Harambe,” Cincinnati Zoo director, Thane Maynard told the Associated Press in an email early this week. “Our family is still healing, and the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward difficult for us.”

But that won’t stop people online from being vicious.

This past weekend Maynard’s personal twitter account was hacked.

A variety of Harambe jokes were posted from Maynard’s account, most of which included hashtags such as #AnimalRights #JusticeForHarambe and the infamous #*****OutForHarambe.

He has since gotten control back over his account and removed the offending tweets.

And Maynard isn’t the only one getting slammed on twitter.

On nearly every tweet recently put out on the official Cincinnati Zoo account there are dozens of vicious and sarcastic responses condemning the zoo for their actions that resulted in Harambe’s death.

The online harassment towards the zoo got so bad that they officially deactivated their twitter account last night.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.

This Metro PCS Apparently Has Its Own Step Team And They Are Really Good

By Staff Report

We’re not all politics and serious stuff around here at RISE NEWS. Sometimes really fun things happen in the world that are worth watching too.

Just check out this video of a Metro PCS step crew doing their thing in front of a store:

Who knew that Metro PCS had a step team? And who would have thought that they would have been so great.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: David Ace Mitchum/ Facebook (Screengrab)

This Woman Dropped Her Phone On The Carpet And It Is Driving The Internet Crazy

By Rich Robinson

The interwebs is driving folks crazy again.

And this time, thousands of people have been driven mad by the following puzzler.

It was posted on Facebook by an Indiana radio talk show host named Heather Rooney:

“The latest thing driving the internet crazy: A woman dropped her cell phone on her rug. Can you see where it landed?”

Well can you find it?

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It took us a good 10 minutes to locate the phone and we needed some serious help in order to do it.

Need a little help?

Scroll down for the answer:

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Tell us in the comments below how long it took you to find it!

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: Heather Rooney/ Facebook

Blind Man Sues McDonald’s For Refusing Him Service After Walking Up To The Drive Thru After Hours

By Allyn Farach

A visually impaired man is suing McDonald’s for their drive thrus lack of accessibility, reports NBC NEWS.

According to the affidavit, Scott Magee was refused admission to a McDonald’s after hours, which made him unable to purchase food.

On the date in question, Mr. Magee approached the McDonald’s restaurant and attempted to enter its interior for the purpose of purchasing goods and services.

However, the lobby doors were locked and Mr. Magee was unable to enter Mr. Magee then attempted to walk up to the drive-thru.

The McDonald’s personnel therein refused service to him, laughed, and told him to go away.

Various McDonald’s have driven through service only after a certain time, which would impede customers who cannot drive, according to NBC.

“While McDonald’s sighted customers can independently browse, select, and pay for products at Defendant’s drive-thrus without the assistance of others, blind people must hope for a companion with a car or paid taxi services to assist them in selecting and purchasing McDonald’s food,” the suit claims.

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Lindsey Wagner, a lawyer who covers various areas of law, including discrimination, explained, “Likely, McDonalds’ position will be either that they’re not denying (the prosecution) access because they could have access with a driver or that changing their drive through services would be an undue burden on them.”

Undue burden is mentioned in section 12182 of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and is described by the ADA’s ‘Reaching Out’ section of their website as “significant difficulty or expense.”

Wagner also said that if the outcome falls in the prosecution’s favor, it may bring some changes.

“If it does go to trial, and if the plaintiff is successful in their claim, it would likely mean that McDonald’s would need to make changes for accommodations for those who are blind,” Wagner said. “This might be a new wave of the way that businesses provide services to also make sure that the drive through access also has accommodations for individuals that are visually impaired.”

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

Sugar Daddies Really Love Bernie Sanders

By Staff Report

Who needs the one percent when you have the support of Sugar Daddies everywhere?

According to a survey issued by the folks at SeekingArrangement.com, Bernie Sanders is a big favorite among the men who use their online sugar relationship service.

“Plenty of Sugar Daddies are considered ‘One-Percenters,’ making Sanders an unexpected choice,” Brandon Wade, Founder and CEO of SeekingArrangement.com said in a press release.

The company sent out a survey to more than 7,500 sugar daddies to see who they were financially supporting in the 2016 election.

Here’s what they found:

Rank – Candidate – Number of Sugar Daddy donors
Bernie Sanders – 345
Donald Trump – 291
Hillary Clinton – 174
Ted Cruz – 100
Marco Rubio – 50

“In the past, Sugar Daddies helped choose the next president by donating to Obama, Bill Clinton, and even George W. Bush,” Wade said. “However, it seems that may not be the case for this election.”

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: Jaysin Trevino/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)

I Run A Pro Life Blog And Am Sick Of The Hate Mail From So Called “Tolerant” People

By Alexandra Van Erven

In an age and generation where people as a whole seem so concerned about being tolerant and respectful of other people’s opinions-regardless of whether or not they agree with them-people very quickly forget about those former words of tolerance and love and become the very thing they seek to defeat.

I would know. I have been on the receiving end of it.

As the writer and the woman behind Pro-Life Female, a popular Tumblr blog that has now reached nearly 1,250 followers in the two years of its existence, I’m used to my fair share of criticism.

By the name alone, you can guess that my stance on abortion is on the conservative side- I am a Pro-life, conservative, Catholic young woman. All rarities, I know. Regardless, my blog-just like my faith and my opinions- are part of what make me who I am.

I come across words of encouragement every day- messages thanking me for using my voice to further the pro-life movement, messages from people who with my words, have had their hearts and minds changed on the subject of abortion.

I have had women who with my blog and through personal messages have been successful in stopping a friend from going through with an abortion.

I even get messages of support from people who do not necessarily agree with my stances on abortion or even with my religion, but respect the fact that I am respectful of others, and do not make people feel horrible and make them feel like they are evil for believing differently than I do.

But then, I also get the messages that would make anyone’s skin crawl.

The ones who try to seem cool or edgy because they believe their words will have such a life changing impact that anyone who reads them will go back and think to change the way they believe, or what they said.

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Such was my experience when I woke up one April morning to find a flurry of about 5 hateful messages, seemingly coming from only one person.

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“Please don’t reproduce, spare our gene pool of your misguided sense of justice & equality,” said the first.

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“Subjecting the unborn offspring and the mother to untold trauma by limiting their resource to legitimate practitioners of abortion is fucking oppressive and you are a cancer to our specie,” said the next.

The consecutive ones were even more aimed towards me than the others.

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“What if you were out one day, got raped and impregnated with a baby you didn’t planned for? God has a fucking plan for everyone? Fuck off with your bullshit sense of justice.”

“How stupid do you have to be to think it’s right to limit other people’s right to exercise choice just because you have a different fucking religious belief? Separation of church and state is a fundamental principal and pro-life & other bullshit ideals on conception have no place outside of the Catholic Church.”

Over the last two years, I had gotten more hate mail, though thankfully nothing as terrible as other like-minded bloggers have gotten; death threats, notes to kill themselves, wishes for rape and other horrific things to be put upon them-just because they hold different beliefs and are not afraid of expressing them.

Even amongst blogs who do not share the same views, hateful speech that is truly threatening to a person’s livelihood is everywhere, and it is time that we all took a stand against it.

In order to truly become a place where we practice what is preached and become more tolerant of other people’s beliefs, we need to be tolerant, not just say we are tolerant to make us sound enlightened.

We need to respect and cultivate a culture where Catholic and Atheist, Pro-Life and Pro-Choice, can engage in complete freedom of debate and in expressing their beliefs without wanting to pull steak knives at each other near the end of the conversation.

Of course, making these changes and advancing towards a more respectful and truly loving society will take time, and it won’t be easy.

But we have to make the effort to do so and practice the tolerance that we so preach and expect in this advanced society.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: Terry Johnston/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)

The First Rule of Parliament Fight Club

By Lungani "Lou" Gumede

The first rule of Parliament Fight Club is that you don’t talk about Parliament Fight Club.

There are parliaments all over the world and whilst they might be different in structure, language or composition it seems as though they are all bat-shit crazy.

Remember, parliament is where the ruling party or governing coalition meets with the opposition in order to discuss and draft laws as well as oversee the executive (government).

The presence of a functioning parliament is also a vital sign of a healthy and participating electorate, even North Korea held its first Congress in 36 years three weeks ago.

So if parliament is where citizens are represented by elected officials in order to make laws and ensure that government is not overstepping its boundaries, then why are the people there acting like toddlers?

In Turkey, Members of Parliament who belong to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) clashed over a proposed bill that would strip MPs of their immunity from prosecution. It was a literal clash:

The bill has now been passed by 376 deputies in the 550-seat assembly in Ankara.

It came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused the HDP of being an instrument of outlawed Kurdish militants.

The bill thus clears the way for the prosecution of HDP pro-Kurdish MPs on terrorism related charges. It seems then that tensions boiled over and the fight itself was just two sides tired of doing what politicians do; talking.

Meanwhile in Kosovo, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa had to have his bodyguards swoop in with an umbrella, like a really strong Mary Poppins to protect him from a torrent of eggs.

He had just begun his speech when the torrent of eggs came pouring down from the opposition, who were protesting an EU deal that would give more legislative and financial rights to the Serb minority in the majority Albanian country.

The United Kingdom’s House of Commons resembles a high school classroom where the loudest one gets the most attention.

An MP in an arm-brace even, was not enough to quiet the House and show some courtesy to their fellow law-makers.

Another MP decided to treat the House like children and take their shiny toys away.

Even the Prime Minister gets into the banter from time to time.

Considering how important the job parliament is doing, precious time is being wasted when parliament is not working efficiently.

In the United States, The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was opposed by pro-segregation Democrat senator Strom Thurmond who conducted the longest filibuster ever.

The Senator spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes to try and stall the bill, although it was unsuccessful.

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It was reported that Thurmond recited the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and his grandmother’s biscuit recipe.

Thus politicians wasting time in parliament is not a new thing.

However as more parliaments and congresses across the world become televised for the public, we are starting to see it for ourselves.

I am not sure anybody likes what they see.

Most of the fights in Parliaments across the world end up just being fisticuffs and throwing water bottles.

However there have been serious incidents which resulted in injuries to really old men who should only close a fist when they’re sneaking butterscotch hard candies.

There was even a Jordanian MP who fired an AK-47 in the hallway of Parliament.

These are the things that happen when politicians are left to their own devices and those devices are the same ones we trust to create and debate serious laws.

Should we really trust politicians or should we feed them a bottle and send them to bed.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: Özgür Gün TV /Flickr (CC By 2.0)

Hey, Can Someone Come Claim This Box Of Human Ashes Already?

By Staff Report

Police in one small Alabama town are perplexed.

And no, they weren’t asked to pick their favorite flavor of donut at the local Krispy Kreme.

They are confused because they have been unable to determine whose ashes were left on the side of a busy highway near the Florida line.

Yes that’s right. Human ashes.

Credit: Florala Police

According to the AP, the strange find was made by a power line crew in the small town of Florala, AL about a month ago.

“We took it out of the case to see if there was a name or business card or anything to go by, and of course there was nothing in it,” Florala Police Chief Sonny Bedsole chief told the AP.

Apparently at least four people have inquired with police about the box of human ashes but the case is still unsolved.

Credit: Florala Police

An folded American flag kept in a glass case was found near the box of ashes, causing some to believe a military connection.

Florala has less than 2,000 people living in it and is located on the far southern border of the state.

According to the AP, the remains were found close to U.S. 331, which is a busy road filled with people coming and going from the popular tourist destinations on the Florida Panhandle. So the remains could belong to someone who was just passing through the area.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: Kristin Nador/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)

Have You Checked Out RoyMooreForGovernor.com Lately? You Probably Should

By Rich Robinson

Oh Alabama chief justice Roy Moore.

How we love to hate you and your bigoted views on gay people. And apparently we’re not alone.

You see, Roy Moore has twice run for governor (2006 and 2010) and failed both times.

He also failed as a Presidential candidate in 2012 (yep he actually tried to be President).

He is best known however as a national laughingstock that has brought some pretty bad shame to the Yellowhammer state due to his fundamentalist views and intransigence on matters of basic human rights.

But he also seems to be entrenched as chief justice until he is forced out due to his age in 2018.

Until that great day however, you have RoyMooreForGovernor.com.

Created by a guy named Justin Gandy from Russellville, the site brutally mocks Moore for his backward beliefs on gay rights.

Here’s a taste from the site’s homepage, which is posing as a real campaign site for the judge:

“My name is Roy Moore, and I’m committed to making gay people go away because they are icky and Jesus doesn’t love them. Like you, I want to play an active role in making gay people’s lives as miserable as our own. I will work at the community, state and country level to make Alabama a safer, better place to raise our children, run a business, and forge a future filled with unlimited promise that is free from the tyranny of Clay Aiken and Sam Smith. I don’t care how angelic Sam Smith’s voice is I’m not listening to it!”

It also includes an “endorsements” page that is quite nice indeed.

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Oh yes please.

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Moore could run for governor again in 2018 when his term as chief justice ends, but if he does he’ll have to get creative about his choice for website URL since Gandy owns the domain until 2019.

RISE NEWS has tried reaching out to Gandy and we’ll update this story when we speak to him.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.