Category: National News

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 […]

Still reeling after her public disgrace that lead to a resignation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture last July, ex-USDA employee Shirley Sherrod is suing the man responsible for the video that caused her firing. According to the Associated Press, Sherrod’s lawyer issued a statement Feb. 14 saying she was suing Andrew Breitbart, a conservative […]

Herman Cain, the first Tea Party-backed candidate to take the initial steps toward a 2012 presidential run, is already making waves. In a Feb. 11 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Cain, an African-American, ruffled feathers with his thoughts on why he disagrees with the direction of America. “The objective of liberals is […]

House Republicans on the morning of Feb. 19 passed a spending bill that has many minority Congressmen crying foul and sets the stage for a battle with Democrats and the White House that could wind up with a shutdown of government operations. H.R. 1 would cut $61 billion in government spending, including funding for key […]

President Barack Obama’s 2012 budget, released on Valentine’s Day, is getting little love from either side of the ideological aisle. Republicans, who in a nod to their tea party supporters have proposed $61 billion in spending cuts for the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30, said Obama’s $3.73 trillion proposal falls short of his pledge […]

Thank you. The two simple yet indelible words were the backdrop of the U.S. Department of Defense’s 60th anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration, which celebrates African American’s contributions to the three-year battle. Held in the Pentagon’s Auditorium, the event drew military veterans, decorated service men and women, civilians, families and friends who came out […]

Although President Barack Obama signed a measure two months ago meant to fund the settlement of a longstanding case known as the Black farmers lawsuit, no payout is in sight despite scam artists who suggest otherwise. That was the heart of the message that National Black Farmers Association president Dr. John Boyd sought to deliver […]

Following years of exile, Haiti’s former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide recently received a diplomatic passport and may return to the country soon from Pretoria, South Africa where he is currently teaching at Pretoria University. Aristide’s attorney, Ira Kurzban, told the Associated Press that Feb. 8 he was given a diplomat’s passport for the ousted leader. But […]

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund has joined Mumia Abu-Jamal’s defense team to represent him in his ongoing appeal of his capital murder conviction. “Mumia Abu-Jamal’s conviction and death sentence are relics of a time and place that was notorious for police abuse and racial discrimination,” said John Payton, director-counsel of the LDF in […]

The Kentucky House and Senate have passed bills to help eliminate illegal immigration in the state. House Bill 3 would require employers who receive public funding to use the federal government’s E-Verify system when hiring workers. Senate Bill 6 is similar in nature to Arizona’s immigration law, and would allow police to ask for a […]

Leroy Hassell Sr., Virginia’s first Black chief justice, died Feb. 9 at a Richmond hospital, the Supreme Court of Virginia announced in a press release. The cause of his death was not released. Hassell had been a member of the court since 1989 and served as chief justice from February 2003 until shortly before his […]