After a series of ethics inquiries threatened to mar his more than 40-year career, New York Rep. Charles B. Rangel, head of the New York Congressional delegation, announced March 3 that he would temporarily leave his post as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. “I have, this morning, sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi […]
Author Archives: AFRO Staff
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore Mayor Hospitalized
After awaking to numbness and minor chest and abdominal pains around 3 a.m. on Thursday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake felt as if she was going to pass out and was taken to Sinai Hospital by her husband, Kent Blake. She was then transported to University of Maryland Medical Center where she underwent testing and observation by […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Howard University Hosts Same-Sex Marriage Debate
Howard University will serve as the backdrop next week surrounding a debate on same-sex marriage. The event, which takes place at noon on March 9, will be held at the university’s School of Law and will feature the justice involved in the controversial Proposition 8 in which the Supreme Court overturned a referendum last year […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Earthquake Cripples Chile
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile on the morning of February 27, destroying buildings, highways and killing 708 people according to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. The earthquake is one of the largest ever recorded and was felt as far away as Brazil. The earthquake sent a tsunami that barely missed Hawaii and is expected to affect […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
GOP, Dems Remain Gridlocked After Health Care Summit
President Obama’s bipartisan health care reform summit on February 25 failed to provoke any Republican converts, forcing Democrats to turn to a political process called reconciliation, which would sidestep the need for Republican support for the measure. The move would allow the majority-Democratic Congress to approve Obama’s proposed healthcare reform with a simple majority vote, […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Elderly Haitians Receiving Makeshift Assistance
Among the hardest-hit victims of the Haitian earthquake in January were elderly residents of Port-au-Prince, but conditions are improving for individuals at one nursing home. HelpAge International took over management of the Municipal Nursing Home for the Haitian government and will run the facility for the next six months. Jonathan Barden, an emergency response team […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
“Freaknik” Threatens to Return in 2010
The once-popular Black college spring break event “Freaknik” is nearing a possible return to Atlanta. “The Official Atlanta Freaknic Site” is claiming the return of the event from April 16 through April 18, but the city has not received a permit application and city officials are not convinced the event will happen. “I don’t believe […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Jay-Z’s Casino Deal Questioned by Simmons and Feds
Rapper Jay-Z’s business dealings with a New York-based promotion company are under federal investigation over possible ethics violations. Aqueduct Entertainment Group was awarded a multi-million dollar contract in January to upgrade the Aqueduct Race Track and turn it into a racetrack and casino, or “racino”. It would be the only one of its kind in […]
Posted inNational News
Miss. Groups File Appeal of Dismissal of Lawsuit over Katrina Funds
Several Mississippi groups have appealed a judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the Department of Housing and Urban Development redirected funds intended for Hurricane Katrina recovery to a long-standing port project. Lawyers from Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Pepeo, the Mississippi Center for Justice and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights filed […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Nation’s Health Ranked County-by-County in New Study
According to a study released by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which ranks the nation’s health county-by-county across the country, many of the counties with the worst health conditions also have high poverty rates, and many have high Black populations. “We didn’t want this to be just a black and white analysis,” Patrick Remington, associate […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Study: Middle and Upper-class Minorities Adopting Broadband
Middle and upper-class African-Americans and Hispanics are narrowing the digital divide, according to a new study conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. According to the report, 94 percent of Blacks and 98 percent of Hispanics who possess a college degree are online, and college-educated minority Americans who earn over $50,000, are […]
Posted inNational News
U.S. Mayors Urge Prompt Action on Federal Jobs Bill
A bipartisan delegation of more than 30 U.S. mayors came together on Capitol Hill on February 24 to urge lawmakers to pass a comprehensive jobs bill that will put unemployed Americans back to work and invest in Main Street metropolitan economies. According to Black PR Newswire, members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors discussed the […]
