Category: National News

A federal drug trafficking sting which netted 64 arrests in Baltimore was lauded by federal officials but has introduced new arguments questioning the effectiveness of America’s war on drugs. “Wherever criminal gangs bring violence to our streets, that is where we will direct the resources needed to send them to prison,” Baltimore U.S. Attorney Rod […]

From a mountaintop on Honolulu in the Hawaiian Islands, the following notes present a picture of the dramatic experience of those waiting the arrival of the Tsunami generated by Japan’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake. 2 a.m.: Well here we are 2 a.m. (HST) March 11, 2011 Koko Head District Park in a twilight zone. The stillness […]

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Investigators have arrested a man they say planted a sophisticated bomb along a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route in Spokane – a failed attack but one that raised concern, because he has ties to a white supremacist organization. A federal complaint provided no details of the investigation or what […]

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 […]