The Chicago-based manufacturers of Four Loko, a popular caffeinated alcoholic energy drink, were among the four recipients of a warning letter issued by the Food and Drug Administration, who claimed the caffeine used in their products was unsafe, according to the Associated Press. The “FDA does not find support for the claim that the addition […]
Author Archives: AFRO Staff
Posted inAfro Briefs
Ex-State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Activist Death
A former Alabama state trooper has pleaded guilty to the 1965 murder of a Black civil rights activist, a momentous shooting-death that spurred marches in Selma and Montgomery and contributed to the eventual enactment of the Voters Rights Act. James Bonard Fowler, 77, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Republican Governors Seek Steele’s Removal
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is in the crosshairs once again as several GOP governors said he should be ousted from his position. At the Republican Governors Association meeting in San Diego on Nov. 18 , the governors of Mississippi, Texas and Minnesota all expressed a desire to remove Steele due to the mistakes […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Enraged Wis. Man Shoots TV over Palin Routine on “Dancing with the Stars”
Enraged by the appearance of Bristol Palin on the popular competition show “Dancing with the Stars,” a Wisconsin man shot his television, triggering a standoff with police on Nov. 15 Steven Cowan, 66, of Vermont, Wis., viewed the program and grew angry during Palin’s dance routine on the show, launching into a tirade about politics […]
Posted inNational News
Black Farmers Finally Get Senate Action
The Senate cleared a $1.15 billion appropriations measure Nov. 19 to settle a decades-old discrimination suit by Black farmers, paving the way for one of the largest civil rights settlements in history, if the bill clears the House. The nation’s Black farmers were awarded the money as apart of a larger $4.6 billion dollar settlement […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
HistoryMakers’ 10th Anniversary Gala Convenes in Chicago
The HistoryMakers’, a nonprofit organization dedicated to recording and preserving the personal histories of recognized and unsung African Americans, will host its 10th anniversary gala in Chicago on Nov. 20. The event’s theme, “COMMIT: Telling America’s Stories…Celebration Our Future,” will bring over 100 HistoryMakers from around the nation. Special guests Denyce Graves, the Rev. Al […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Teen’s Shooting Death Sheds Light on House Party Dangers
Authorities in Conyers, Ga., are taking a “zero tolerance” policy toward house parties such as the one that claimed the life of an 18-year-old Dequavious Stephon Mapp on Nov. 14, Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “What I’ve heard in the last 48 hours is that the community has had enough […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Economy Subdues Holiday Spirit
Cool temperatures and fiery-colored leaves; carved pumpkins and trussed-up turkeys; harried gift shopping and hurried cross-country trips; mounds of food and stacks of gaily-wrapped presents—that’s what the end-of-year holiday season in the United States is usually made of. But not so much this year, many across the Baltimore-Washington metro area and beyond are reporting. With […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News
Gospel Stars Come to Maryland for Evangel Cathedral’s Christmas Celebration
Gospel veteran Bryan Wilson will act and perform in Evangel Cathedral’s annual Broadway-styled Christmas production, “Christmas Celebration 2010.” The production features a cast of 200, live camels, laser lights, and performances from gospel superstars Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin and Marvin Sapp. “I’ve been wanting to get back into acting,” said Wilson, who once performed in […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Pr. George’s Woman and Presidential Appointee Sworn In at New Post
Glenn F. Ivey, state’s attorney for Prince George’s County, recently announced the appointment and confirmation of Prince George’s County Deputy State’s Attorney J. Patricia Wilson Smoot as a commissioner of the United States Parole Commission at the U.S. Department of Justice. Smoot was sworn into office by U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder on Nov. […]
Posted inD.C. Community, Washington D.C. News
Zeta Chapter Unites Virginia Community Groups for Greater Causes
Days before thousands of revelers descended on the District for Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Walkathon – the nation’s largest campaign against homelessness – members of Alexandria’s Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Nu Xi Zeta (NXZ) chapter busied themselves with last-minute planning efforts to ensure two area programs benefit from the fundraising initiative. The sorority chapter […]
Posted inD.C. Community, Washington D.C. News
Local Politicians, Stars Face Off in Fundraising Tennis Match
Local politicians, including former Mayors Marion Barry and Anthony Williams, Mayor-elect Vincent Gray, Chairman for the Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation and Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander and At-Large Councilman Kwame Brown, joined tennis celebrity Zina Garrison, area youth and their families for the 12th Annual Heart to […]