HIV-infected German singer convicted
August 28, 2010
A German pop star was found guilty Thursday of causing grievous bodily harm and attempted bodily harm for failing to tell sexual partners that she was infected with HIV.
Nadja Benaissa, 28, former singer in the girl band No Angels, was given a two-year suspended sentence. She was also ordered to complete 300 hours of community service with people who are HIV-positive.
Spike Lee Bashes Report on Gulf Oil
August 23, 2010
Filmmaker Spike Lee is calling a “lie” a U.S. government report that 75 percent of the spilled Gulf Coast oil is gone.
Speaking to a meeting of the Television Critics Association on Saturday, Lee said journalists should expose what he called the real story. He argued that it’s unlikely that “abracadabra, presto chango” the vast majority of the oil has vanished from Gulf of Mexico waters and coastal wetlands.
Alvin Greene charged in pornography case
August 23, 2010
South Carolina Democrat Alvin Greene, who prompted widespread speculation about his Senate candidacy after an upset win in the state’s primary, was charged today with showing pornography to a college student.
Greene, who won 59% of the Democratic primary vote on June 8 despite having not done any traditional campaigning or fundraising, was arrested in November for allegedly showing obscene photos to a student in a University of South Carolina computer lab.
African Americans Have More than Half of All California Foreclosures
August 23, 2010
Latinos and African Americans in California have experienced significantly higher foreclosure rates than non-Hispanic borrowers in the state, according to first-of-its-kind research released today by the Center for Responsible Lending.
As a result, these communities represent more than half of all foreclosures, with 48% of foreclosures on Latinos and 8% on African Americans. These borrowers were more likely to receive higher-cost subprime mortgages with loan terms that typically increased the risk of default, compared with safer loans made to similarly situated non-Hispanic white borrowers.
President’s Religion Still a Mystery to Some
August 23, 2010
The number of Americans who believe, wrongly, that President Barack Obama is a Muslim has climbed significantly since he entered the White House and now accounts for nearly one in five people, according to a survey out.
Eighteen percent of the American population said that they thought Obama — a Christian — is Muslim, up from 11 percent who said so in March 2009, according to the poll by the non-partisan Pew Research Center and its affiliated Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
New Orleans suburb rises from Katrina’s shadow
August 23, 2010
“This can be yours,” the black-and-white newspaper advertisement promised above an image of a tree-lined ranch home in Pontchartrain Park.
At the bottom, it said “Available to Negroes.”
It was the 1950s in segregated New Orleans, Louisiana, and the promise of a slice of suburbia for black Americans lured hundreds to the new community.
70-Year Retrospective of Trailblazing African-American Artist Lois Mailou Jones
August 23, 2010
The National Museum of Women in the Arts announces Lois Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color, the first major retrospective surveying Jones’ diverse subjects and styles, on view October 9, 2010, through January 9, 2011.
The exhibition of more than 70 works begins with the sketches and designs Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998) created during the Harlem Renaissance. After graduating in 1927 from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Jones began her career as a textile designer. She sold her bold fabric creations to department stores until a decorator told her that a colored girl wasn’t capable of producing such beautiful designs. This incident prompted Jones to shift her focus to the fine arts so she could sign her works.
During a brief teaching stint at Palmer Memorial Institute in North Carolina, Jones created several paintings that marked her transition from design to fine art. The paintings Negro Shack 1, Sedalia, North Carolina (1930) and Brother Brown (1931) demonstrate her early paintings’ regionalist character.
Jennifer Hudson goes from size 16 to size 6
August 19, 2010
You know those Weight Watchers commercials starring Jennifer Hudson, where she talks about winning at weight loss?
It looks like the former “American Idol” contestant is far from all talk. Hudson, 28, landed the on the cover of InStyle Makeover, and she’s showing off all of her hard work in a skintight banded dress. The actress went from a size 16 to a size 6.
Six teens drown in Shreveport’s Red River
August 19, 2010
As temperatures soared Monday, the cool water of Shreveport, Louisiana’s, Red River lured a group of family and friends to its banks.
In an effort to cool off, one of the teens wandered into the shallow part of the river.
At some point he slipped into deep water and started to drown.
So six more teens went to his rescue.
The Obama Girls, Stuck Growing Up in a Fishbowl?
August 19, 2010
When Barack Obama launched his campaign for president in 2007, his daughter Malia was 9 years old, and Sasha was only 6. While their father may have chosen to be a public figure, the girls are along for the ride.
They join a long list of youngsters who have grown up in the White House . And as the media frenzy surrounding Chelsea Clinton’s wedding shows, they will remain public figures, even after their father leaves office
Alpha Phi Alpha Boycotts State of Arizona, Other Black Organizations Follow
August 13, 2010
The 104-year-old Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was to hold its General Convention in Phoenix, Ariz. recently, but it was held in Las Vegas instead. When Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the state’s immigration bill (SB 1070) into law in late April, Alpha Phi Alpha felt the need to take a stand for justice as it has for more than a century.
Are Black Congress Members Being Targeted?
August 13, 2010
California Democrat Maxine Waters will be facing ethics charges in connection with assistance she allegedly gave to a bank that was trying to obtain federal bailout funds. At the time, her husband owned stock and served on the bank’s board.
Cowboys TE Martellus Bennett naked pictures emerge online
August 13, 2010
Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett apologized after nude photos of him surfaced on the Internet.
Mediatakeout.com reports that a former girlfriend of Bennett’s submitted the photos of the tight end, who was taking pictures of himself in a bathroom mirror.
Pras supports Wyclef Jean’s opponent
August 13, 2010
Wyclef Jean’s decision to run for president of Haiti hasn’t exactly opened floodgates of support, but then again, he didn’t expect that to happen.
Sean Penn has already offered his thoughts on whether or not the Haitian-born musician should make moves to lead the devastated nation, and now Pras, who once performed alongside Jean and Lauryn Hill in the ’90s group The Fugees, has issued his support…for Jean’s opponent.
Would a Black Judge Have Been Biased in Brown v. Board of Education?
August 9, 2010
US District Judge Vaughn Walker is the judge who issued the ruling that Prop 8, which bans same sex marriage in California, is unconstitutional. Conservatives are now claiming that he is gay (which is unconfirmed at this point) and that his gayness presents an obvious bias. Furthermore, he should have recused himself from the case because as a gay man he would have a conflict of interest in deciding a case on gay rights.
