Former NBA champ Ron Artest filed papers for a name change on June 23, according to several reports. The LATimes.com reports that the Los Angeles Lakers forward wishes to change his name from Ronald William Artest Jr. to Metta World Peace, citing personal reasons. According to dictionary.com, Metta is a Buddhist term, meaning “living-happiness”. Artest […]
Author Archives: AFRO Staff
Posted inAfro Briefs
Asking Saves Kids (ASK) Day is Special in New York
On the first day of each summer, ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day has been celebrated throughout New York State among local governments and politicians to promote gun awareness. On Tuesday, parents and guardians were encouraged to ask caretakers of their children if guns are accessible to kids. According to Medical News Today, half of the […]
Posted inBaltimore News
One in 30 Marylanders is a Problem Gambler
One in 30 Maryland residents is a problem gambler, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The label refers to someone who is, according to substance abuse experts, at risk to become a gambling addict. The conclusions were drawn from a study conducted by phone by the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis […]
Posted inNational News
GOP Now Believes Obama Is Beatable in 2012
More GOP candidates have been encouraged to enter the 2012 presidential race as plummeting approval ratings and an anemic economic recovery, along with frustration among Democrats have put President Obama in a vulnerable political position, The Hill reports. Republican strategists and lawmakers believe that President Obama’s political weaknesses render him beatable in the 2012 race, […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Judge Overturns Indiana Law In Victory for Planned Parenthood
A federal judge in Indiana June 24 struck down a key provision of Indiana’s tough new law that precluded Planned Parenthood from treating the state’s Medicaid recipients, thus creating a health care dilemma for low-income women who could not otherwise afford to pay for such services. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt granted Planned Parenthood’s […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Asthma Attacked Head-On by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
The ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) recently joined forces with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to tackle the leading chronic disease affecting children: asthma. Launched on June 16, The Asthma Prevention and Management Initiative was kicked off by international AKA President Carolyn House Stewart and […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
ColorOfChange.org Launches Campaign against AT&T and T-Mobile Merger
ColorOfChange.org, an Internet-based grassroots organization, recently launched a campaign urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block a possible merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. The organization’s leaders argue the merger will negatively impact African Americans. The group challenged “misleading and deceptive arguments” from AT&T and other civil rights groups—many of whom have financial ties with […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Traffic Signal Problems in Montgomery County Affecting Rockville Pike Corridor North of Beltway
The 200 traffic signals in Montgomery County that were affected by last night’s storm are located along the Rockville Pike/Route 355 corridor north of the Beltway in the Derwood, Rockville, Germantown, Gaithersburg and Damascus areas. The signals are operating, cycling red, green and yellow. However, the signals are not synchronized with each other and have […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News
Baltimore Love Project Unites City During Day of Love
Arts nonprofit Baltimore Love Project continues to make Baltimore a more loving city as they successfully completed their seventh love-themed mural on June 5. Located at 2313 East North Ave., the mural is their largest to date at more than 30 feet high. They completed the mural during the self-proclaimed “Day of Love,” where volunteers […]
Posted inD.C. Community, Washington D.C. News
FestAfrica Says Goodbye to Baltimore and Hello to Silver Spring
Silver Spring, MD – After five years of being held at Patterson Park in Baltimore City, the ninth annual African festival, FestAfrica 2011, will be held at a new location, the Silver Spring Civic Center, Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring, Md., Aug. 13-14, 1 – 8 p.m. both days. Admission is free. The two-day celebration will welcome […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News
Baltimore County’s Summer Food Service Program Seeks Sites, Participants
TOWSON, MD. – Baltimore County Public Schools food service officials want to know which community-based programs could benefit from a summer food service that continues to grow. Last summer, the Baltimore County Public Schools Office of Food and Nutrition Services served a daily average of 3,500 children under the age of 18. Funded by the U.S. […]
Posted inNational News
Civil Rights Groups Decry Supreme Court’s Ruling in ‘Dukes v. Wal-Mart’ Case
On June 20, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wal-Mart in a grueling 11-year case dubbed the largest civil rights suit in American history. In 2000, then 54-year-old Betty Dukes sued the massive corporation after realizing she’d never had an opportunity for advancement training and promotions like her male colleagues. However, the court ruled […]