African-American News

KILLEEN, Tex. — Sgt. Kimberly D. Munley has been applauded as a hero across the nation for shooting down Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan during the bloody rampage at Fort Hood last week. The account of heroism, given by the authorities, attracted the attention of newspapers, the networks and television talk shows.

But the initial story of how she and the accused gunman went down in an exchange of gunfire now appears to be inaccurate.

Another officer, Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, 42, said in an interview Thursday that he fired the shots that brought down the gunman after Sergeant Munley was seriously wounded. A witness confirmed Sergeant Todd’s account.

Click the link to read the Officer's full story.

In a federal lawsuit filed yesterday, an organization of African American firefighters accused the Philadelphia firefighters union of being "racially harassing and abusive" to blacks.

South Carolina's Legislative Black Caucus wants to make sure that minorities have a fair and equal shot at the new jobs Boeing Co.

A Black man doing a rap at the behest of a White kid. Of course no rap segue would be complete, without a Black woman shaking her ass. This is not the kind of comedy that says I am laughing with you. No, MacFarlane is laughing at us. He is not putting these images out there to challenge stereotypes, he does so to get a cheap laugh.

*According to information received from Team Elevation, today, for the first time, Former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, went on the record to share the advice he gave President Obama regarding Afghanistan.

He spoke exclusively with Roland Martin on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Powell's comments to "take your time" are in stark contrast to the reported suggestions that Cheney has given.

According to Powell:

This is a very difficult one for him. And it isn't just a one-time decision. This is the decision that will have consequences for the better part of his administration. So Mr. President, don't get pushed by the left to do nothing; don't get pushed by the right to do everything. You take your time and you figure it out. You're the commander-in-chief and this is what you were elected for.

Powell also said ...

Even as every day persons of all colors in this nation increasingly undergo unacceptable and growing economic hardships, the black underclass sustains the brunt of economic and social apartheid in this nation. Notwithstanding the arrogance of the corporate / military elite of this nation, who see in their slick political puppet Barack Obama, a type of urban uprising insurance against the masses of every day people whom they exploit; the laws of physics simply cannot long be avoided. Two things cannot exist in the same place at the same time. In other words one cannot have tranquility of the masses while at the same time they are jobless, homeless, and starving. This untenable scenario is becoming an increasing reality for millions of citizens of all colors, and most especially as it exacerbates the economic and social horrors faced by the black underclass.

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia on Tuesday announced the discovery of a mine containing more than 40 tonnes of gold deposit worth 1.7 billion dollars (1.1 billion euros).

The state-run Ethiopian News Agency reported that the new find, announced by the ministry of mines and energy, will require some 200 million dollars to extract and process.

"Geological survey indicates that... an estimated 500 tonnes of gold deposit is found in the country," the agency said, providing a figure for the whole of Ethiopia.

Some 44 companies are engaged in gold exploration, earning Ethiopia about 105 million dollars in export every year.

The Horn of Africa country has mineral resources that have so far remained unexploited.

Gov. Tim Kaine denied clemency Tuesday for sniper John Allen Muhammad, clearing the way for him to be executed for the attacks that terrorized the nation's capital region for three weeks in 2002. Muhammad is set to die by injection Tuesday night at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. His attorneys had asked Kaine to commute his sentence to life in prison because they say he is mentally ill. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down his final appeal. "I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury and then imposed and affirmed by the courts," Kaine, who is known for carefully considering death penalty cases, said in a statement. "Accordingly, I decline to intervene."

This month Harpers Bizarre features the top ten outfits worn by Michelle Obama in the past year. In a world in which Black women are still not seen as beautiful, the elevation of Michelle has done much to reinforce a more feminine identity. Black women have always struggled to have our womanhood validated.

It is insulting to reduce Michelle Obama to the clothing that she wears and assume that this is elevation. It is insulting to sit there and compare her to Jackie O, as though the two women have even one single thing in common. Michelle may be the first lady but she comes to this position with the experience and life of an African American woman.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Sunday that he has been in rooms with white Republicans who are "scared" of him.

Sosa made waves last week when he showed up at the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas with a noticably lighter skin tone than he had during his playing days. So what's behind this new lighter skin tone?

Muhammad's lawyers filed their appeal with the high court last week. It marked the third time his case was presented to the US Supreme Court, and the third time it was rejected. The court did not explain why it would not hear the case. But three justices – John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor – said they were concerned about the rapid pace of the Muhammad case. Rules in Virginia allow for capital cases to move through the state system faster than the time frame set out under federal law. Justice Stevens said he would favor granting an automatic stay of execution in every death-penalty case before the high court to allow careful consideration of the issues. But Stevens wrote that having reviewed Muhammad's claims, he would not dissent from the court's decision to not hear the appeal. Muhammad still has a request for clemency pending with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

*Lionsgate's "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" set a new record for films opening in limited release.

The indie movie's weekend take of $1.8 million from just 18 theaters is the best gross ever for a film opening in fewer than 100 theaters, reports Variety. Last year, by comparison, Focus Features' "Milk" grossed $268,487 from 34 theaters on its first Friday.

The LA Times is reporting that the studio behind "Precious," Lionsgate and its hybrid strategy -- playing "Precious" in both highbrow theaters, and in African American communities -- worked extremely well.

*Of all the people you might have expected to have “racial” identity problems, former Major League baseball player Sammy Sosa never came to mind.

Some people really have issues with their skin pigmentation. Either they’re too light or too dark. But, when you see the Hispanic/Latino baseball players interviewed, they normally show a lot of pride in their country.

The pictures of Sammy Sosa from last week juxtaposed with photos from May 13, show a remarkable difference in skin tone.

It’s as if he used whatever Michael Jackson used for his “vitiligo” problem. The only difference is that Michael Jackson’s transformation happened over a period of years. Sosa’s seems to have taken place in a matter of months

Whatever the issue is, racial or illness, he’s going to have to make some kind of statement soon. The media won’t let up on this.

Click over and check out the remarkable and kinda weird looking transformation.

Oprah is taking her syndicated talk show off network broadcasts and is moving it to her cable network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in 2011, Nikki Finke reports.

Here's the key points:

* She's moving her production out of Chicago to LA as soon as 2011.

* She's moving the show to OWN, because Discovery Communications (who owns OWN) told Oprah to move the show, or lose her network.

* OWN is in 70 million homes replacing Discovery Health.

* CBS and ABC will be the big losers. CBS syndicates the show, ABC stations are the core station group for Oprah's show.

* Discovery is rumored to lose millions on OWN, so they're treating it as a loss leader.

* Oprah's meeting with programming executives to get the network up and running.

The House passed its $1 trillion healthcare overhaul late Saturday by the thinnest of margins, becoming the first chamber to vote on such a significant expansion of healthcare since Congress passed Medicare in 1965.

The 220-215 vote late Saturday was a victory for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama, who came to Capitol Hill to rally his fellow Democrats in the hours before the vote.

The bill includes a requirement for individuals to have health insurance and for larger businesses to provide it to their employees. It also includes a public health insurance option that is not tied to Medicare. But most of the $1.052 trillion cost of the bill comes in the form of subsidies to help low- and middle-income people purchase insurance.

Supporters called the passage a historic moment on par with the New Deal and the creation of Medicare. They said the bill will finally guarantee health coverage to nearly every American.

"This legislation will mean affordability for the middle-class, security for our seniors, and honors our responsibility to our children, adding not one dime to the deficit," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

*Oprah Winfrey has removed gospel singer BeBe Winans from her show's "karaoke challenge" until charges against him for allegedly pushing his ex-wife to the ground are resolved.

Winans appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last week to discuss the selection of contestants for the season-long challenge. He was also seen surprising some of the finalists with news they had made the cut.

Winfrey spokesman Don Halcombe said Thursday that Winans will be cut out of the karaoke segments entirely.

Winans was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault in a Feb. 13 incident, where Winans and his ex-wife Debra were allegedly arguing about their children. Winans has a court date set for Jan. 20.

As previously reported, Winfrey was criticized this week for including Winans after she had taken a strong stand against domestic violence earlier this year. She did a show on the topic when singer Chris Brown assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna. Winfrey said at the time: "Domestic violence is something that I wouldn't tolerate. Period."

Michael Jordan and his son think they are slick.

*Jordan's son, Marcus, attends the University of Central Florida (UCF). No problem there, right?

Well, in a game Wednesday, young Jordan, being the brash fellow he apparently is, decided he wanted to wear his family shoe ... Air Jordans, of course.

The only problem with that is UCF is sponsored by Adidas! As you can imagine, Adidas was not thrilled.

Read on to find out about the ensuing drama and what's about to happen next.