Saturday, August 6, 2016
From Clemency to Reentry
Norman Brown, who served 20 years before his life sentence was commuted
by President Obama, shares his advice on life after prison.
Hillary Clinton Addresses Journalists' Convention in Washington, D.C.
Click on the image to increase its size.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spoke at the National
Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of
Hispanic Journalists' joint convention.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Donald Trump Endorses Speaker Ryan
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke at a campaign rally
in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In his speech, he endorsed several Republican
candidates up for 2016 reelection, including House Speaker Paul Ryan
(WI) and Senators John McCain (AZ) and Kelly Ayotte (NH).
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Newsmakers with Dr. Jill Stein
Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein talked about the Green
Party convention, her candidacy, core beliefs, and thoughts on
childhood vaccinations.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Third Parties in the U.S.
Donald Green, author of the book Third-Party Matters, examines
the evolution and influence of third parties in the U.S. from the
anti-slavery Liberty Party in 1841 to Ross Perot’s Reform party in the
1990s.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
A Preview of the Green Party Convention
Politico Magazine's Bill Scher joins by phone to discuss the
Green Party convention taking place this week in Houston, where Jill
Stein is expected to accept the party’s nomination.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
For the Past Decade, Nelly Has Sent Two Kids to College Each Year
By Evette D. Champion
In light of all the injustices that the black community has had to
endure over the past few years, the black community has begged for black
celebrities and public figures to take a stand and speak out against
these tragedies. Some celebrities have made a stand by using social
media and news outlets like CNN to sound off.
Unlike these outspoken celebrities who rose to their fans outcries,
there are some black celebrities who prefer to work behind the scenes
and let their actions speak for themselves. Nelly, for example, is one
such celebrity. He rose to the occasion and heeded the cries of his
fans. He visited Ferguson and spoke with protesters. Nelly also created a
scholarship in Michael Brown’s name in an effort to not only help his
memory live on, but also to inspire students to be the change they wish
to see within their community.
Click here for the full article.
Source: Your Black World News
10 Years After Katrina, Investigation Reveals Cracks in All-Charter School System
After Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana decided to put all failing public
schools on the open market as a way of overhauling them. A decade later,
various cities and states throughout the U.S. have come up with their
own charter school experiments, and are closely watching to see the
outcomes of New Orleans.
Two main reports have examined academic success over the last nine
years. On paper, the results look good. On the 10th anniversary of
Katrina, the New Orleans’ Recovery School District (RSD) could be
considered a national model. The rate of graduation stands at 73 percent
up from 56. In 2014, 63 percent of students in grades 3 to 8 managed to
score “basic” or above on state standardized tests. This is a 30
percent increase from the previous year where 33 percent scored the
same.
Click here for the full article.
Source: Your Black World News
Black Pastors Join Bloomberg Operative's Plan to Stop de Blasio Re-election
By Jeff Mays
HARLEM — An influential group of black and Latino pastors joined
Thursday with Bradley Tusk, the former campaign manager for Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, to announce an effort to keep Mayor Bill de Blasio
from winning a second term.
"We are looking for another option," said the Rev. Johnnie Green,
president of Mobilizing Preachers and Communities and pastor of Mount
Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem. "No one is challenging him. No one is
talking about the investigations."
Tusk, an entrepreneur, recently launched a group called NYC Deserves Better,
which has been openly critical of the mayor. Tusk commissioned a poll
and also launched a search for someone to challenge de Blasio.
Joining with the pastors was the next logical step, Tusk said outside of the Harlem church.
Click here for the full article.
Source: DNAinfo and the Empire Report
NY State Approves Largest Insurance Rate Increase Since Start of Obamacare
By Dan Goldberg
The Cuomo administration on Friday announced that health insurance
rates on the individual market would increase by a weighted average of
16.6 percent, the largest individual market hike since the Affordable
Care Act began in 2014.
The new rates take effect in January; open enrollment on the state’s exchange begins Nov. 1.
Rates in the small group market will increase by a weighted average of 8.3 percent.
Health insurance reaction was relatively muted as insurance companies
digested the news that they would collect higher premiums — though
still not as high as they might have liked — and compared themselves to
their competitors.
“We believe this year’s process, which provided an opportunity for
plans and DFS staff to have constructive discussions about the impact of
these factors, was an improvement on previous years,” said Leslie
Moran, a spokeswoman for the New York Health Plan Association, which
represents insurers. “We look forward to working with DFS to ensure the
rate setting process continues to offer greater transparency.”
For years, insurers have accused the state’s Department of Financial
Services of playing politics with the rates, keeping them artificially
low at the expense of insurers’ bottom lines, an accusation the Cuomo
administration has repeatedly denied.
This year, there was certainly more of a mind meld between the administration and the majority of insurers.
Nearly 800 Attend Sanders' Job Fair at Rochdale Village
State Senator James Sanders Jr.
(D-Rochdale Village) hosted his most well attended job fair yet on August 3, which was held in the grand ballroom at the Rochdale Village
Community Center. Some 769 job seekers explored the employment
opportunities which were offered by nearly 30 different companies in
fields such as health, education, law enforcement, customer service and
transportation.
"I feel blessed to be able to bring these job opportunities to the district," Sanders said. "We have some talented, qualified individuals here that would be a worthy addition to any company. It's all about being positive and going out and getting those positions."
Featured agencies and companies included: Pepsico, FedEx, Walgreens, Council for Airport Opportunity, NYC Human Resources Administration, United States Postal Service, WellCare, NYC Department for the Aging, Port Authority of NY & NJ, White Castle, FDNY, NYPD, Queens Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, World Financial Group, MTA Long Island Rail Road, Imperial Distributors, NYC Business Solutions, Queens Library, Royal Home Care, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, NYS Department of Labor, NYC Department of Education, NYC Men Teach, Resorts World and Non-Traditional Employment for Women.
Senator Sanders greeted attendees and offered words of encouragement as they sought employment opportunities.
Senator Sanders thanked the Rochdale Village Management and Board of Directors, particularly Jean Castro, First Vice President, and Clifton Stanley Diaz, Chairman, as well as Julia Shaw, Director of the Rochdale Village Community Center for helping to facilitate the event.
Source: The Office of State Senator James Sanders, Jr.
Friday, August 5, 2016
The Zika Virus: Analyzing the Threat in the U.S. and at the 2016 Olympics
Reuters Health and Science Correspondent Julie Steenhuysen discusses the
threat posed by the Zika virus in the U.S., as well as concerns about
the virus as the 2016 Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Policing and Race Relations
Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Education Secretary John King, and
others spoke about the Dallas police killings and the deaths of Alton
Sterling and Philando Castile.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
National Urban League Conference in Baltimore
The Reverend Al Sharpton, National Coalition on Black Civic
Participation President and CEO Melanie Campbell, and NAACP President
and CEO Cornell William Brooks are among the speakers at the National
Urban League’s conference.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Statement on the Employment Situation in July
WASHINGTON,
DC – Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, issued
the following statement today on the employment situation in July.
Summary:
The economy added 255,000 jobs in July, as the unemployment rate held
steady, labor force participation rose, and wage growth picked up.
The
economy added 255,000 jobs in July following robust job growth in June,
as the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent and labor force
participation rose. U.S. businesses have now added 15.0 million jobs
since private-sector job growth turned positive in early 2010, and the
longest streak of total job growth on record continued in July. So far
in 2016, job growth has averaged a solid 186,000 jobs a month, well
above the pace needed to maintain a low and stable unemployment rate,
and nominal hourly earnings for private employees have increased at an
annual rate of nearly 3 percent so far in 2016, much faster than the
pace of inflation. Nevertheless, more work remains to sustain faster
wage growth and to ensure that the benefits of the recovery are broadly
shared, including investing in infrastructure, implementing the
high-standards Trans-Pacific Partnership, raising the minimum wage, and
guaranteeing access to paid parental leave.
The complete statement is available here.
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
Trump’s V.P. Pick Mike Pence Refuses to Pardon Exonerated Black Man
When the government wrongfully convicts a defendant, it has a responsibility to do everything
within its power to make that person whole. The government cannot make
up for the years an exonerated person spent wrongfully imprisoned, but a
pardon is certainly within a governor’s power. It is therefore mind
boggling that the man presidential hopeful Donald Trump tapped to be his
vice president, Mike Pence, has been blocking an innocent man’s pardon
for two years.
Keith Cooper was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery and attempted
murder. Although Cooper is out of jail, he still has a record that can’t
be cleared unless Gov. Mike Pence agrees to pardon him. For the past
two years, Pence has refused to do so.
“I’m tired of people judging me by that conviction. That [Department of Correction] number. That’s not who I am,” Cooper told BuzzFeed. “Man, I know that better than my own Social Security number.”
Click here for the full article.
Source: Your Black World News
Trailblazers in Black History: J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr., Nuclear Scientist
This video was published on Oct 11, 2015.
Destination
Freedom ran from 1948 to 1950 and was the story of the triumph of
African-American civil rights. Richard Durham's Destination Freedom
premiered on June 27, 1948 on Chicago radio and his vision was to
reeducate the masses on the image of African American society, since it
was tainted with stereotypes that threatened to rip its culture apart.
Some of the heroes of the fight for civil rights were, Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, and Lena Horne.
Tonight's Story: Boy With A Dream - Dr. J. Ernest Wilkins
Original Air Date: September 19, 1948
Tonight's Story: Boy With A Dream - Dr. J. Ernest Wilkins
Original Air Date: September 19, 1948
Source: A Room With A View
More Than 40 Arrested In FBI Bust Of Mafia Figures Up & Down The East Coast
What, you thought the Mafia had called it quits?
FBI agents arrested dozens of alleged mobsters this morning in a
sweep running up and down the East Coast, from Florida to Massachusetts.
The FBI announced the indictment of 46 purported members of the
Genovese, Gambino, Luchese, Bonanno, and Philadelphia crime families
today. Three suspects were already in state and federal prison, and four
others are still at large. In the sweep, the feds say they found three
handguns, a shotgun, gambling items, and $30,000 in cash (which between
39 people isn't a huge amount of dough, let's be honest).
"Today’s charges against 46 men, including powerful leaders, members
and associates of five different La Cosa Nostra families, demonstrate
that the mob remains a scourge on this city and around the country,"
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. "From loansharking and
illegal gambling, to credit card and health care fraud, and even
firearms trafficking, today’s mafia is fully diversified in its
boundless search for illegal profits. And as alleged, threatening to
assault, maim and kill people who get in the way of their criminal
schemes remains the go-to play in the mob’s playbook."
Purported wise guys were rounded up in the Bronx, Queens, Staten
Island, Yonkers, Rockland County, Orange County, the Jersey Shore,
Bergen County, Springfield, Massachusetts, various cities in the Miami
area, and Costa Rica.
Click here for the full article.
Source: Gothamist
FBI Agent Apparently Egged on ‘Draw Muhammad’ Shooter
Days before an ISIS sympathizer attacked a cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, he received a text from an undercover FBI agent.
“Tear up Texas,” the agent messaged Elton Simpson days before he opened fire at the Draw Muhammad event, according to an affidavit (pdf) filed in federal court Thursday.
“U know what happened in Paris,” Simpson responded. “So that goes without saying… No need to be direct.”
That
revelation comes amidst a national debate about the use of undercover
officers and human sources in terrorism cases. Undercover sources are
used in more than half of ISIS-related terror cases, according to statistics
kept by the George Washington University Program on Extremism, and
civil liberties advocates say some of those charged might not have
escalated their behavior without those interventions.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Daily Beast
NYPD Offering $200 Per Gun in Bronx Buyback
The NYPD is buying back guns and assault rifles this weekend at churches in the Bronx, offering $200 per weapon.
The
no-questions-asked offer will take place Saturday; those who turn in
guns will get a pre-paid card. (Shotguns, airguns and other rifles are
eligible for $25 cards).
Click here for more information.
Source: NBC News
Mike Pence: Donald Trump ‘Has a Heart for Our Soldiers’
Donald Trump’s running mate, Gov. Mike Pence, is joined by his wife
Karen from Indianapolis for an exclusive live interview with TODAY’s
Savannah Guthrie. He defends Trump’s handling of criticism by the
parents of a Muslim-American soldier slain in Iraq, saying “the man has a
heart for our soldiers.” He also says that the $400 million sent to
Iran on the day four U.S. hostages were released has “endangered the
lives of every American on the world stage.”
Click here for video.
Source: NBC News/TODAY
Ex-CIA Official Endorses Hillary Clinton, Says Putin ‘Played’ Donald Trump
In a strongly worded op-ed piece in Friday’s New York Times, Michael
Morell, a former CIA acting director under presidents George W. Bush and
Obama, came out for Hillary Clinton, saying that Russian President
Vladimir Putin “played upon” the vulnerabilities of Donald Trump, whom
Morell calls unfit to be president. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports for
TODAY from Washington, D.C.
Click here for video.
Source: NBC News/TODAY
'Striking' Results from Early Zika Vaccine Trial
Three experimental vaccines being developed by researchers at
Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital and the Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research had already shown promise in mice — but monkeys are a much
better model of how the medicines will work in humans.
All three of the vaccines were found to be safe
and protected the monkeys against infection with the virus, according to
the report published in Science.
The urgency for a vaccine to protect against
Zika infection has intensified as the virus spreads rapidly across Latin
America and the Caribbean. This week an unprecedented travel advisory
was given for southern Florida after more than a dozen people were
diagnosed with Zika after being bitten by "homegrown" mosquitoes.
Zika virus is most dangerous to pregnant women,
because it can cause severe birth defects in babies if they are infected
in the womb.
Click here for the full article.
New Mortgage Rules Aim to Stop Wrongful Foreclosures
The U.S. agency charged with protecting consumers' finances approved
rules on Thursday that will help prevent wrongful home foreclosures, as
the regulator continues to press on with reforming the country's
massive lending market.
The rules by the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB), created in the aftermath of the U.S. housing bust that
began in 2006, build on current regulations requiring a mortgage
servicer to grant certain foreclosure protections to a struggling
borrower once over the life of the loan.
Now, servicers, the conduits for mortgage payments, must provide those
protections more than once, offering them to borrowers who make current
payments after they have worked out an agreement to avoid foreclosure.
Click here for the full article.
North Miami Police Commander Won't Face Charges in Therapist Shooting
The North Miami Police commander who
was suspended for allegedly giving inconsistent statements after an
officer shot an unarmed behavioral therapist last month won't face
charges, officials said.
Commander
Emile Hollant was suspended without pay after he allegedly gave
conflicting statements to investigators or command staff officers
following the July 18 shooting of Charles Kinsey by Officer Jonathan
Aledda.
Click here for video.
Source: NBC 6 News
Black Lives Matter Blocks Roads in London, Other U.K. Cities
LONDON — A British offshoot of the Black Lives Matter movement
blocked the road to one of Europe's busiest airports Friday and held
demonstrations across three other cities.
The capital's Metropolitan Police said that 10
people were arrested following the protest outside Heathrow airport,
which saw demonstrators lying in the highway and holding signs saying
"THIS IS A CRISIS."
Click here for photos.
Source: NBC News
Virginia Mayor Richard Silverthorne Gave Meth to Undercover Cops for Sex: Police
The mayor of Fairfax City, Virginia, was arrested early Friday after
police say he tried to give methamphetamine to undercover detectives in
exchange for sex.
Mayor Richard "Scott" Silverthorne, 50, was
nabbed in the parking lot of a Crowne Plaza Hotel as part of a sting
operation, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release. He was charged with felony distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
The operation began in late July, when the
department's Organized Crime and Narcotics Division received a tip about
a meth distributor.
The suspect — later identified as Silverthorne —
was allegedly distributing meth through a website used to arrange
casual sex between men, Fairfax County Capt. Jack Hardin said at a news
conference. He declined to name the site.
Click here for the full article.
Mayor: London One of the Safest Capitals in the World
London
Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for calm in his city after an apparent
mentally-deranged man kills one and injures five others with a knife.
CNN's Michael Holmes reports.
Source: CNN
Pakistani Father Swears Revenge for Honor Killing
The
father of murdered Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch is
pledging to avenge his daughter's death, even if that means putting his
son behind bars.
Source: CNN
Thursday, August 4, 2016
NBC/WSJ Poll: Clinton Jumps to Nine Point Lead Over Trump
Hillary Clinton has jumped out to a nine-point lead over Donald Trump, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal national poll shows, nearly doubling the five-point advantage she held over her Republican foe before the political conventions.
In a head-to-head matchup, the Democratic ticket
of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine receives the support of 47 percent of
registered voters, while the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike
Pence gets 38 percent, the survey shows. Last month, Clinton led Trump
by a margin of 46 percent to 41 percent.
Click here for the full article.
Governor Cuomo to Take Legal Action to Protect Long Island Sound
Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced New
York State will take legal action against the United States
Environmental Protection Agency to prevent the designation of new
permanent open water disposal sites off the coast of eastern Long
Island. In a letter signed by more than 30 federal, state and local
elected officials, the Governor provided notice to President Obama and
EPA officials that the state will take necessary steps to prevent the
EPA from issuing a rule allowing dredged materials from Connecticut to
be dumped in the eastern region of the Long Island Sound. The EPA has
failed to show that there is need for an additional disposal site.
At an event at Sunken Meadow State Park, the
Governor announced that the state objects to any further dumping in the
eastern region of the Long Island Sound – a popular tourist and
ecologically vital area. This action builds on the state’s goal to
eliminate disposal in the open waters of Long Island. A copy of the
letter sent to President Obama and EPA Administrators can be viewed here.
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Journalists Safety: Growing Concerns in the Industry
This video was published on May 19, 2016.
Veteran broadcast journalists offer tips for staying safe while covering breaking news.
Source: SAG-AFTRA
During Fatal Standoff, Police Asked Facebook To Deactivate Woman's Account
Baltimore County police shot and killed Korryn Gaines, a 23-year-old
black woman, after an hours-long standoff on Monday — during which
Facebook and Instagram, at police request, temporarily shut down Gaines'
accounts.
Gaines, who police say was armed with a shotgun, is the ninth black woman shot and killed by police so far this year, The Washington Post reports. Her 5-year-old son was wounded in the exchange of gunfire. The case has attracted a significant amount of attention on social media.
Police
Chief Jim Johnson says Gaines was posting video of the standoff to
social media as it was unfolding, which prompted police to request the
deactivation of her accounts.
Gaines' Facebook page is now reactivated; it does not have any videos visible to the public. On Instagram, one video apparently recorded during the standoff remains.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NPR
Trump Keeps Failing & It Doesn't Matter
Photo illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast
By Olivia Nuzzi
In the past 48 hours, everything went wrong for Donald Trump.
He lied and ranted more than usual, he insulted and offended, his friends used the press to criticize him, and his enemies in his own party said they were voting for Hillary Clinton, while anonymous reports ran rampant that his campaign was falling apart at the seams. Meanwhile, his poll numbers were going down.
But the rules and customs of American politics have not and do not apply to Trump; therefore, we cannot judge his presidential campaign within their context.
Trump and his campaign cannot be off message because Trump and his campaign do not have a message.
Trump and his campaign cannot be in disarray because Trump and his campaign invite and weaponize disarray.
In short, nothing matters.
Were Trump a normal candidate, it would be fair to say that this week, his campaign spiraled out of control.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Daily Beast
Did 'Black Lives Matter' Just Oust NYPD’s Police Chief?
By David Marcus
One day after Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to occupy New
York’s City Hall Park, one of their central demands was met. With the
resignation of Police Commissioner Bill Bratton Tuesday, the group can
claim a victory in its effort to transform policing in America’s largest
city.
Although Bratton’s resignation had been rumored for some time
and he and the mayor deny protests influenced the move, BLM activists
toasted the decision today. Republican Staten Island city councilman Joe
Borelli says: “Essentially, they got what they wanted. Causation is not
relevant, perception is.” The unmistakable perception is that the move,
long in the planning or not, is a concession to protesters.
Along with Bratton’s removal, the protesters demanded that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) be disbanded, with its budget redirected to community activism. If, for some reason, the city government refuses to disband the police, protesters demand that “broken windows” policing, first championed by Bratton in the 1990s, be abolished.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Federalist and the Empire Report
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