Category: National News

The Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church is within its first amendment rights to picket the funerals of soldiers with anti-gay messages, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 3. “Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and—as it did here—inflict great pain,” Chief Justice John […]

Black lawmakers at a recent House hearing accused Republicans of attempting to ignite racial friction, following GOP claims that illegal immigrants in the U.S. take jobs from African-Americans, the Associated Press reported. The hearing on illegal immigrants and their impact on minorities was held March 1. “I am concerned by the majority’s attempt to manufacture tension between […]

Possible 2012 Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is cleaning up his mess after making controversial comments about President Obama’s upbringing. In a Feb. 28 radio interview with WOR in New York to promote his book, Huckabee made controversial comments falsely claiming that Obama was raised in Kenya and received anti-Western ideology from his father. “If […]

D.C. Unmasked & Undressed, the memoir of Lillian McEwen, a former judge and ex-girlfriend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, hits the shelves March 5. But, as the author told the AFRO, this book is definitely not for the G-rated crowd. While the tale chronicles the often painful journey of the writer from the despair […]

For more than 60 years, Thomsen Reuters and the University of Michigan have tracked consumer trends and opinions.  In their most recent survey, released recently, consumer confidence rose to its highest level in three years.  For the first time in more than six years according to the survey, “consumers reported hearing more positive than negative […]

The Obama administration recently announced that it would no longer defend a law barring the recognition of same-sex marriages, labeling the statute unconstitutional. The unprecedented step may open the doors for gay marriage to be legalized nationwide. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a Feb. 23 statement that the president and his advisors regularly […]

House Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) is receiving national attention after a spectator at one of his recent town hall meetings in Athens, Ga. asked, “Who will shoot Obama?” According to The Athens-Banner Herald, the question came after the congressman first asked who had driven the farthest to attend the Feb. 22 town hall meeting. After […]

The Wisconsin branch of the NAACP recently blasted two state bills which they said will negatively affect minorities, calling the bills “threats” designed by Republicans to spur their absent Democratic colleagues to action on a larger issue. The state senate’s Democrats in late February left the state for Illinois in protest over a proposal by […]

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is the new mayor of Chicago, easily claiming victory with 55 percent of the vote. Emanuel won by more than 50 percent, allowing him to avoid an April runoff. “Thank you Chicago for this humbling victory,” Emanuel said in his acceptance speech. “All I can say is […]

“It’s been 25 years of inspiration,” Ted Childs, a retired diversity executive at IBM Corporation, said Feb. 19 at the 25th annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards in the Washington, D.C. The Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA), produced by Career Communications Group, showcases African-American talent in science, technology, engineering and math and […]

Nearly half of Detroit, Mich.’s public schools will close due to a plan ordered by Michigan State education officials aimed at eliminating the district’s hefty deficit. As a result of the move, high school classroom sizes will balloon to 60 students. According to The Associated Press, Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, […]

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) presented the keynote address at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Feb. 18 and focused on the onset of “a new dawn in America.” The CPC annual summit assembles the nation’s conservative activists and politicos. The Republican freshman congressman delivered a rousing speech to several standing ovations, hitting on hot-button […]