Category: National News

African Americans are still waiting the “40 acres and a mule” promised them by the U.S. government almost two centuries ago. But, this week, Black farmers took one giant step closer to receiving the payouts due them from the settlement of a discrimination case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On Nov. 30 the U.S. […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – A significant bloc of Republican National Committee members wants embattled chairman Michael Steele to step aside, but the rank and file have failed to settle on a clear alternative, according to Associated Press interviews with committee members. More than four dozen interviews with members of the 168-member central committee found fear that […]

A former Navy veteran and New York City ex-police officer was arrested Nov. 18 after being charged with threatening to assassinate President Barack Obama. According to the online publication Talking Points Memo, Michael Stephen Bowden, 78, was taken into custody Nov. 18 after revealing to a nurse during a routine visit Nov. 16 to a Department of Veterans […]

Despite marginal success with his foreign policy and attempts to reduce unemployment, and the recent loss of Democratic control of the House of Representatives, President Obama still seems to be on the path for a successful 2012 campaign bid, according to a recent New York Times report written by Jeff Somner. In addition, economists like […]

The victory scored by Black farmers with the Senate’s unanimous approval of funds due to them in the 1980’s Pigford discrimination lawsuit has been mired by allegations of fraud. The Senate approved the dispersal of as much as $50,000 to each farmer involved. But while John Boyd, president of the Virginia-based National Black Farmers Association, […]

It has always been hard to overlook the high-profile Congressman from Harlem. If one ever had the privilege of meeting him, it was impossible to ignore his sharp intellect, his commanding presence, his booming voice or the smartly tailored suits. The defrocked chairman of one of the most powerful committees in Congress, like too many […]

Some low-income Mississippi residents, still in need of recovery funds five years after Hurricane Katrina, will receive disaster recovery assistance following a Nov. 15 settlement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. After two years of litigation, the department agreed to redirect to needy residents for home rehabilitation a portion of funds earmarked […]

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Roland Burris (D.-Ill.) said he is furious with the lack of African-Americans in the Senate, calling the fact that there will be no Black senators once he completes his term when the 111th Congress adjourns, “unacceptable” and “troubling.” Republican Mark Kirk will replace Burris, who chose not to seek election. Burris is […]

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 […]

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 […]

WASHINGTON – New York Rep. Charles Rangel, a longtime power in the U.S. House, violated its rules with financial misconduct, brought it discredit and will be punished, fellow lawmakers sitting as jurors ruled on Nov. 16. Protesting the enduring stain on his four-decade congressional career, the 80-year-old Democrat said he was treated unfairly for “good […]

President Obama told world leaders that a strong U.S. economy is key to a global recovery as he attempted to create trade opportunities with countries all over the world. However, he found no such luck during his Asian trip. Obama, in a letter Nov. 9 to G-20 members, defended his administration’s spending, a policy that […]