Daily Dose: 12/5/16

11:30 AMWhat’s up, gang? Hope your weekends went well. I’m finally recovered from a rough week, healthwise, but we’re good.

When you hear the word “urban,” do you think about black people? Because it appears that’s why Dr. Ben Carson was initially nominated to be the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Now, he’s accepted that position even though he quite literally has no experience in such matters, considering he’s a brain surgeon. It should also be noted that Carson said rather publicly a while back that this wasn’t something he was interested in from a work standpoint. Alas. ABC News has the details.

Protestors scored a huge victory at Standing Rock over the weekend. Basically, the U.S. Army said that no, it won’t be routing the Dakota Pipeline close to the Native American reservation land in North Dakota. This comes after a few weeks of really ugly disputes that did not sit well with many people who believe in basic decency. Police had used power hoses to douse demonstrators with water during subfreezing temperatures, which does not remotely exemplify decency. VICE reports on the latest.

Advice columns are as old as journalism itself. So, when FiveThirtyEight launched its version of the stalwart feature, I was rather interested in what type of topics they’d explore, considering it’s a data-based site. Most people giving out advice are doing it based on gut, not numbers. But there’s a twist to this. They run polls based on questions they’re asked. Check out how people thought someone should handle leaving his or her office Bible study group (who knew that was a thing.) They call it Survey Says.

Joe McKnight’s tragic death has been a very sober reminder of what race means to justice in America. It’s not just police officers who get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to working the system after they’ve done something wrong. The former University of Southern California and New York Jets running back was gunned down in the street in New Orleans in a road rage incident, which nobody seems to be able to really explain, from a motive standpoint. The guy who killed McKnight was released, with no charges, somehow. ESPN explains.

Free Food

Coffee Break: ICYMI, a terrifying situation unfolded over the weekend in Washington, D.C., in which a guy brought an assault rifle into a pizzeria and decided he wanted to investigate a claim he’d heard on the internet. They’re calling it the “Pizzagate” scandal, but it’s actually far more dangerous than that when you hear the details.

Snack Time: I’m not typically huge on random videos of humans interacting with animals, but this one of a guy punching a kangaroo in the face to prevent it from messing with his dog is completely wild.

Dessert: Under Armour’s global dominance continues. The company is taking over Major League Baseball uniforms.