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Why are we so not surprised. The couple who crashed President Barack Obama's first state dinner are peddling their story to broadcast networks for hundreds of thousands of dollars, a television executive says.
The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the network does not publicly discuss bookings, told The Associated Press that representatives for Michaele and Tareq Salahi contacted networks to urge them to "get their bids in" for an interview.
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*Former ESPN commentator Stephen A Smith, now with Fox Sports Radio is reporting that Allen Iverson may come out of his very recent retirement and play for the Philadelphia 76ers again.
He says numerous team sources confirmed on Friday that the 76ers' brass has already talked — and talks will only escalate this weekend — about bringing Iverson back to Philadelphia. Possibly as early as next week.
Why are we so not surprised. The couple who crashed President Barack Obama's first state dinner are peddling their story to broadcast networks for hundreds of thousands of dollars, a television executive says.
The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the network does not publicly discuss bookings, told The Associated Press that representatives for Michaele and Tareq Salahi contacted networks to urge them to "get their bids in" for an interview.
Florida troopers who sought to interview golf great Tiger Woods and his wife on Saturday about how his SUV struck a fire hydrant and a neighbor's tree were told by his agent to come back the following day.
Two Florida Highway Patrol vehicles had arrived at Woods' $2.4 million mansion outside Orlando, but the patrol later issued a statement that the interview was postponed to Sunday.
"The Florida Highway Patrol has received information that Tiger Woods and his wife were not available to be interviewed ... as we had previously scheduled," Kim Montes, a sergeant with the FHP's Orlando division, said in a statement.
"This announcement came from his (Woods') agent. Troopers were asked to return tomorrow (Sunday). This is still an ongoing crash investigation."
Woods, 33, the greatest golfer of his generation and one of the world's most recognizable figures, hit a fire hydrant and tree as he pulled his Cadillac Escalade out of the driveway of his house at around 2:25 a.m. EST on Friday, the FHP said. He was taken to the hospital with some injuries, and released.
Click to read.
Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a single-car accident early Thanksgiving morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Woods pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 am when the crash occured. His 2009 Cadillac SUV struck a fire hydrant and then a tree.
Woods was taken to the hospital, where he is in serious condition. Alcohol was not a factor, according to police.
O'Neal plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. A spokesperson for the team told the Fayetteville Observer Shaq paid for Sunday's service, which was held in Fayetteville and attended by thousands.
The funeral reportedly averaged about $4,500.
The service was held at the Manna Church. At one point, more than a hundred looked through the windows of the church door because they couldn't get in.
Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya's father, was not scheduled to speak but got up and encouraged the community to not get angry about the situation.
Shaniya disappeared from her home on November 10, and her body was found days later in a wooded area just south of Sanford.
STORY: Antoinette Davis moved to state prison
STORY: Thousands gather at Shaniya Davis funeral
According to court documents, 29-year-old Mario McNeill killed the 5-year-old the same day she was reported missing.
Shaniya's mother, 25-year-old Antoinette Davis, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution.
Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary's Revelations Entertainment has thrown its financial resources and technical expertise behind Digiboo, a new venture that allows consumers to rent films by plugging a small USB 3.0 flash drive into kiosks that will be set up at retail outlets.
The L.A.-based Digiboo launches a pilot program in January with Oregon-based Movie Gallery that will see 100 digital movie kiosks operate in Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery retail stores, according to Variety.
The Hollywood Reporter's Steven Zeitchik posted a piece Thursday comparing the new Sandra Bullock movie "The Blind Side" with "Precious," calling the former a "red state" version of the latter.
Zeitchik begins: "It’s almost impossible to watch “The Blind Side,” a story of race and the power of education to overcome life’s brutalities, and not think of “Precious,” a story of race and the power of education to overcome life’s brutalities.
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Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry continues to give back to the community. The latest recipient of his largesse is the NAACP.
The country’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, announced Monday that Perry has donated one million dollars, marking the largest gift ever given by an individual entertainer.
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The doctor at the center of Michael Jackson's death investigation asked his church congregation to pray for him Sunday, the day before he returned to work at his Houston clinic.
At Houston's Antioch Baptist Church, Dr. Conrad Murray asked for "prayers for the journey he has ahead," according to RadarOnline.
South African track star Caster Semenya gets to keep her 800-meter gold medal from the world championships, and the results of her gender tests will be kept confidential, the South African sports ministry announced Thursday.
The last five weeks of the year, the days beginning with Thanksgiving and moving through the New Year, are days when we all wind down. Some of us don't want to admit it, citing business as usual. But the fact is that from the first thanksgiving party to the last holiday gift exchange, we have collectively decided that the year is over and we can't do much about it.
This year is different from many others. One in six Americans does not have a job. One in four African Americans is unemployed. This means that our holiday parties must be muted by the challenge of acknowledging and supporting those who are impaired in our midst. It also means lifting up those who deserve the lift up, those who have done such phenomenal things this year that they need a shout out.
I will lift up my sister friend Susan Taylor for her National Mentoring Cares Movement ad for the phenomenal love she sows into African American people as we grow, develop, and learn to heal from our hurt. As she crosses the country, she infuses her gentle spirit into the many ways we can embrace our futures. She is a force that must be loved, respected and appreciated.
I will lift up Dr. Boyce Watkins for his embrace of Heather Ellis, the young sister from Missouri who faced 15 years in jail for cutting a line. Heather Ellis did what so many of us do - went to the store with a friend (cousin), took separate lines, and decided that whoever got up first would hook the other up. How did this turn into a racial farce of utter insanity? It would take the people in Kennett, Missouri to tell us. Here is what I know - Boyce Watkins spent time, effort, energy and money in rallying people around heather Ellis. I am grateful for his activism and lift him up for his work.
I will lift up Donna Richardson Joyner, who has both embraced Bennett College for women and black women around the globe in her positive and joyful commitment to healthy living. Thanks to Donna, we are doing work on growing a healthy garden and embracing healthy habits at Bennett, but more importantly, thanks to Donna, we all have a model of how to live and how to be.
I will lift up Blanche Williams and the National Black Women's Town Hall and the many ways that Blanche is into hooking sisters up. Blanche's mantra is "Embracing Greatness" and she is unselfish about that embrace. She is a blessing and a lesson, a joy and a leader. I am so very excited about their work.
There are so very many more that deserve the lift up. And, there are so many that must be acknowledged as they struggle through these times. I am especially concerned by those who are marginalized by the notion of these holiday celebrations, marginalized by the reality that they have not much to celebrate. What do we celebrate through the storm? Mostly we celebrate that we are still here. Still here? Still navigating, functioning, managing, holding it up. And we celebrate the fact that in the middle of the wind-down, we are indeed winding down.
I always find the end of the year poignant. We always have much to reflect on, much to celebrate. We lift up those who have assisted, accomplished, and moved us more aggressively to a better world. And, at the same time, we acknowledge those who have been tousled by our economy. We ask that all of us do the work we must do to provide analysis as we move forward. We wonder if we suffer from the paralysis of analysis.
At the end of the day, we know that the end-year act of winding down offer us an amazing possibility to lift up and respect our past and yet be challenged by our present. We know that there are those whose contribution has been stellar; we know we all want to do more. We inhale this moment called the end of the year, appreciating the opportunity to wind down, looking forward to the challenge of winding back up.
As long as there are racial economic gaps, there is cause to work, challenge, and focus. When the black unemployment rate is nearly twice the white rate, when black wealth is a tenth of white wealth, there is work to do. For many the end of the year should be nothing more than a momentary respite. There is, still, much work to do.
Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, Howard University
With the release of her new book Going Rogue: An American Life, former Alaskan Governor and Republican party VP nominee Sarah Palin is once again being given a spotlight she does not deserve. Under normal circumstances Palin would have drifted into obscurity by now; a political has-been who never was. Instead, a sub-par politician with no substantial constituency; no command of relevant issues, and no solutions to substantive problems, is being given air and face time as though she really matters. The simple reality that few are willing to articulate is, if she were not relatively attractive, of European ancestry and a woman, Sarah Palin would be day old bread.
Former Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) did not select Palin as his running mate because she was a “rogue”, innovator, or had demonstrated intellectual heft. McCain simply pandered to the Conservative Right, tried to siphon off some of the disgruntled Senator Clinton supporters, and gave America more of the same ole’ politics. From that point until now, Sarah Palin has continually tried to reinvent herself, but continues to give Americans more of the same; “all sizzle and no steak”.
Early on the campaign trail, presidential candidate Barack Obama said, "This country is ready for a transformative politics of the sort that John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt represented." Socially, President Obama is beginning to move in such a positive transformative direction.
After 12 years of languishing in Congress, on Wednesday, October 28, President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard / James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill. By signing this bill, the president expands the federal definition of hate crimes to include those motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. It also allows federal authorities to pursue hate-crimes cases when local authorities are either unable or unwilling to do so. This law was named after Matthew Shepard, a gay man murdered in Wyoming in 1998, and James Byrd, the African-American man dragged to his death behind a pickup truck in Texas that same year.
Five Gainesville residents are suing a Florida rapper, his record label and a local club after they were shot during a 2006 concert.
Billy Dee Williams, Michael Lamar Daymon, Edwin Devasco Faircloth, Steve Ruben Jean-Jacques and Dorian Shannel Johnson are suing rapper Plies, whose real name is Algernod Lanier Washington. They are also suing night club 238 West and Washington's record label, Slip-N-Slide Records Inc., for compensatory damages.
Washington is best known for his 2007 single "Shawty" featuring T-Pain.
The white glove worn by Michael Jackson as he moonwalked his way into pop culture history at the 1983 Motown 25 television special will go on the auction block Saturday in New York.
"There is no question it is the Holy Grail of Michael Jackson," said Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions, the company behind the sale at New York's Hard Rock Cafe.
TRENTON, N.J. — Retired NBA star Jayson Williams has agreed to a plea deal that would send him to prison for up to three years for accidentally shooting a driver at his New Jersey estate in 2002, a person with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Williams, who retired in 2000 after playing nine seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, was to face a retrial in January on a reckless manslaughter count.
I was intrigued by recent reports that the Ku Klux Klan had a rally on the Ole Miss Campus recently. It might surprise you to know that I am essentially unconcerned by their presence on campus. Don't get me wrong, Klansmen are incredibly ignorant. Also, we cannot deny their historical reign of terror over people of color in America. But I can also give you a list of reasons that we should stop paying attention to the KKK.
1) They thrive off of attention: The KKK has very little power. They don't do very much anymore, and even in this rally, it appears that there were only a few members present. The truth is that the klan only has power because we give it attention. They are like a grease fire: The more water you put on it, the more it grows. But if you starve the fire of oxygen, it eventually dies out. The klan must be starved of attention, and then they will go away. They only remain relevant because we want them to be.
WASHINGTON – A bruising debate on health care awaits the Senate after Thanksgiving now that the historic legislation has cleared a key hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.
The bill would extend coverage to roughly 31 million who lack it, crack down on insurance company practices that deny or dilute benefits and curtail the growth of spending on medical care nationally.
In the final minutes of a daylong session, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Republicans of trying to stifle a historic debate the nation needed.
The Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the vote was anything but procedural — casting it as a referendum on the bill itself, which he said would raise taxes, cut Medicare and create a “massive and unsustainable debt.”
Click to read.
*Hip-Hop activist Erica Ford, CEO and founder of Life Camp Inc., has partnered with the Rev. Al Sharpton to lead "National Day of Outrage," a nationwide protest against violence on Nov. 23.
Sharpton will lead a rally in Atlanta while other gatherings are scheduled to take place in Houston; Cleveland; Philadelphia; Boston; Syracuse; Savannah; Eunice Louisiana; Greensboro, North Carolina and Los Angeles.
CHICAGO – For more than two decades, Oprah Winfrey has been the inspirational, change-your-life champion who reigned over daytime television much like Johnny Carson once ruled late night.
Now she's ready to say goodbye, leaving a huge void for broadcast TV even as she raises the possibility of more Oprah than ever when she starts her own cable network.
Winfrey told viewers Friday that she will dim the lights on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" at the close of its 25th season in late 2011.
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Oprah Winfrey will announce on Friday that her popular daytime talk show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," will end its run in 2011, Tim Bennett, the President of Harpo, announced in a letter released to ABC affiliates on Thursday.
"Tomorrow, Oprah will announce live on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' that she has decided to end what is arguably one of the most popular, influential and enduring programs in television history," he wrote in the letter, obtained by Access Hollywood. " The sun will set on the 'Oprah' show as its 25th season draws to a close on September 9, 2011."
My mother raised me to believe that black men are supposed to stand up for black women. Heather Ellis is the woman who now faces 15-years in prison for an incident deriving from her being accused of cutting line at a Walmart. Based on my knowledge of the Heather Ellis case (and seeing the Walmart surveillance video that has not yet been released to the public), it seems difficult to argue in favor of a conviction.
I accompanied Dr. Christopher Metzler (Georgetown University), Dr. Wilmer Leon(Howard University), King Downing (Attorney with the Sean Bell Justice Project) and Elliot Millner (Legal Advisor for the Your Black World Coalition) to Kennett, MO. The trip was long, but rewarding. You can visit TheHeatherEllisCase.com to read more about the rally and how it all happened. The town shut down and took notice because they'd never seen black people come together to fight for their rights, at least not in that way.
There are some who seem to believe that if Heather cut the line, cursed at the cashier or kicked one of the officers, she should go to prison (The officer's allegations can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and don't appear on any video that I've seen. Police reports here have questionable credibility, since King Downing has data which shows that the Kennett police are systematically biased when arresting and convicting black defendants). But after witnessing egregious and illegal behavior on the part of many non-black college students for the past 16 years (ever been to a campus frat party?), it's interesting that most of them are let go with a slap on the wrist, but some think it's ok to send a black woman to prison over a minor incident. If I came to most universities (including my own), had a raid on a fraternity house and chose to send students to prison over whatever contraband I found, there would be outrage.
Sean "Diddy" Combs turned the big 4-0 on Nov. 4, but he is waiting until this Thursday (Nov. 19) to celebrate the birthday milestone in grand style.
According to the New York Post's Page Six, Diddy has booked the Grand Ballroom inside of New York's Plaza Hotel for the extravaganza.
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Oprah Winfrey gave Robin Givens a lengthy apology on her live show last Friday over the manner in which she dealt (or didn't deal) with a comment made last month by the actress' ex-husband Mike Tyson.
On a previous episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Tyson was asked about their 1998 Barbara Walters interview, in which Givens revealed that he physically abused her.
Last month, as part of her "Women Around the World" episode, talk show host Oprah Winfrey conducted an interview via Skype with Dr. Lamees Hamdan, a Dubai mother of four who owns Shiffa, a line of high-end skin-care products.
In the online introduction to the segment, Oprah's team writes of the United Arab Emirates: "Thanks to this country's rich oil supplies, the government provides its citizens with free water, electricity and health care. The best part? No income tax!"
Tyler Perry's TBS sitcom "Meet the Browns" will be syndicated in more than 70 percent of the U.S. next fall.
Syndicator Debmar-Mercury has cleared the comedy for a September debut on several major station groups, including Fox, Tribune, Weigel, CBS, Capital, Cox, Meredith, Granite and Belo.
*It's now official. Producers of the upcoming Broadway musical "Fela!" have confirmed that rap mogul Jay-Z and Hollywood couple Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have joined the show's producing team.
Rumors about Jay-Z's backend participation had been circulating ever since he told the Associated Press last month that he might get involved in the musical, which celebrates the life of Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
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Clarence Coe, 30, was arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping, after a witness claims to have seen him taking 5-year-old Shaniya Davisout of a Fayetteville, NC trailer park. He claims he is not guilty of the charges against him.
Fayetteville Police Department spokesperson, Theresa Chance, told the Sun Herald this was “not a random occurrence.”
Coe has a criminal record, including a conviction in April for misdemeanor breaking and entering. In addition, he has prior convictions for assault on a female, larceny, robbery, felony breaking and entering, and several other charges dating back to 2001, according to the Herald.
By
The health care reform bill (HR 3962) that just passed the House of Representatives is bad on so many levels it is difficult explain. As it stands, it will destroy both the doctor patient relationship and change the practice of medicine as we know it.
We have one of the finest health care systems in the world. It has been built on a foundation of choice. Doctors were free to choose the care that they deemed necessary to treat their patients, and patients were free to seek the medical care of their choice. Initially, the foundation was shaken by the rise of the managed care system with capitation. However, over the past 10 years, capitated plans which limit access to specialists have given way to the rise in power of insurance companies. They have used their anti-trust exemption to craft a system that has used monopoly to increase profits on the backs of both doctors and patients.
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
When I heard that black Columbia University professor Lionel McIntyre punched out a white university employee, I was obviously taken aback. I was even more intrigued by the fact that the two were having a heated conversation about white privilege when the alleged punch took place. Given that the fight was in a bar, I immediately thought about the Jamie Foxx excuse: "blame it on the alcohol." My goddaughter is an athlete at Columbia, but I had no idea that Columbia University professors could be so athletic in their free time. Although professor McIntyre's actions are obviously inexcusable, the truth is that our actions "under the influence" tell a deeper story about our psyches, so there is more to this incident than meets the eye.
1) Call me crazy, but I understand how Lionel McIntyre felt. I would never punch out anyone from the frustration I've felt when dealing with white privilege, but then again, that is probably why I chose not to drink alcohol, since I am genuinely concerned about how I might react to the stinging pain of consistent racism. What is also true is that although some black scholars are afraid to admit it, many of us have felt incredibly angry and irritated by the arrogant nature of white privilege within academia. It's not that black scholars dislike their white colleagues, it's that many of us are tired of being thought of as second-class citizens. If any black Ph.D. student or professor says they haven't thought about jumping over someone's desk and "whooping ass" at least once, they're telling a lie. Some of us hold in the frustration until we die of heart disease. Some of us submit ourselves to the system and become groveling Sambos, while many black scholars simply leave academia altogether. Either way, there is as much frustration for black scholars in America as there is within nearly every other profession dominated by whites. So as the comedian Chris Rock once said in a skit about O.J. Simpson, "I'm not saying he should have done it, but I understand."
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President Barack Obama's half brother has broken his media silence to discuss his new novel — the semi-autobiographical story of an abusive parent patterned on their late father, the mostly absent figure Obama wrote about in his own memoir.
In his first interview, Mark Ndesandjo told The Associated Press that he wrote "Nairobi to Shenzhen" in part to raise awareness of domestic violence.
