Several pending lawsuits allege northern California police have not taken seriously attacks on Black teens by Latino gang members. The racially-motivated violence resulted in the death of 14-year-old Vernon Eddins, who was shot in front of his Union City, Calif. middle school in December 2007. Eddins’ death is one incident lawyers cite in three pending […]
Category: National News
Wal-Mart Lays Off 11,200 Workers
Despite President Obama’s assurances that the economy is rebounding, residual effects of the ongoing recession have resulted in more job losses. Among the major firms cutting jobs is retail powerhouse Wal-Mart, which said Jan. 24 that it would lay off 11,200 workers at its Sam’s Club division. The Arkansas-based company, which has boasted assets of […]
NAACP Supports Pittsburgh Teen in Police Beating
The Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP is calling for the firing of city police officers who allegedly beat Black teenager Jordan Miles during an arrest. The Pittsburgh branch is also calling for charges against Miles to be dropped. “He had robbed no one—no bank, no establishment, hijacked no car or caused anyone any harm. He […]
State of the Union: Jobs No. 1 Priority
President Barack Obama, it seems, is the eternal optimist. Despite a year in which Republicans undercut his policies at every turn, the president renewed his call to bipartisanship very early on in his first State of the Union address Wednesday night, calling on lawmakers “to overcome the numbing weight of our politics.” He later said, […]
Legal Experts Question Reversal on Corporate Campaign Ads
Legal experts and campaign reform advocates are decrying the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 21 decision that reversed a years-long ban on corporate campaign spending, a move that opens the door for a deluge of negative campaign ads that could transform November’s mid-term elections. “It’s not a happy day; it’s a very, disturbing, disturbing decision,” said […]
Yele Haiti Vows Better Accounting
After admitting mistakes involving questionable financial practices, Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti charity foundation announced Jan. 22 that it has hired a new accounting firm to help manage its finances. The announcement was made just hours before a globally-broadcast charity concert called “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief.” The foundation’s finances were […]
Haitians Respond to Media Portrayal of Homeland
As many Haitians live in peril amid indescribable destruction and death, their American relatives are vexed by the media’s depiction of their native country as an uninhabitable, poverty-stricken no man’s land. While Haiti’s history of widespread human suffering is irrefutable—something most Haitians recognize—some believe the Caribbean nation has been particularly demonized by international media following […]
Community Service Urged on MLK Holiday
The Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal organization which oversees the government’s public service efforts, has put out its annual call to citizens nationwide to honor the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by volunteering and taking part in community events planned for January 18. In 1994, Congress designated the holiday a “day of […]
German Musical Showcases Obama’s Rise
A President Obama look-a-like will star in a new German musical which was scheduled to open January 15, according to the Associated Press. The production, titled “Hope: The Obama Musical Story,” is a bilingual musical performed in English and German that highlights Obama’s journey to the White House through various dance and song numbers. The […]
Top Banks Answer to Financial Crisis Panel
Several major bank executives finally admitted to missteps during the 2008 financial crisis during a January 13 hearing on Capitol Hill. “People are angry. They have a right to be,” Chairman Phil Angelides of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, or FCIC, told ABC News. “The fact is that Wall Street is enjoying record profits and […]
Top Banks Answer to Financial Crisis Panel
Several major bank executives finally admitted to missteps during the 2008 financial crisis during a January 13 hearing on Capitol Hill “People are angry. They have a right to be,” Chairman Phil Angelides of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, or FCIC, told ABC News. “The fact is that Wall Street is enjoying record profits and […]
Arenas Pleads Guilty to Felony Gun Charge
On January 15, Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony charge of carrying a firearm without a license in Washington, D.C. Arenas pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court as part of a deal which will guarantee him receiving a penalty on the low end of the capital’s sentencing guidelines. Without the plea bargain, the 28-year-old Los […]