Soledad O’Brien is going back to her alma mater. The former anchor of CNN’s now-cancelled morning show “Starting Point” was named a distinguished visiting fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, reports the Huffington Post.
Harvard said O’Brien would spend the 2013-2014 year delving into topics related to public education in America.
“On Appian Way, in the heart of the Ed School campus, a banner reads, ‘Education Is a Civil Right.’ I believe this passionately and look forward to ensuring that right is a reality by working with the students, faculty, and staff at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the rest of the Harvard University community,” O’Brien said. “This appointment is both honor and opportunity.”
O’Brien left CNN’s earlier this year, after network president Jeff Zucker announced his plans for a new program with co-hosts Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan. Although O’Brien left her daily hosting gig, she said she would continue to work with the network by producing documentaries independently with her own production company.
article via eurweb.com
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WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama will address Planned Parenthood’s annual gala on Thursday, the organization announced.
“President Obama has done more than any president in history for women’s health and rights,” Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said in a statement announcing that Obama will deliver the keynote address at the organization’s “Time For Care” dinner in Washington. “We are honored to have President Obama join us…at this pivotal moment for women’s health.”
Richards also served as a surrogate for Obama’s reelection campaign, touting the president’s record on women’s issues during the heat of the campaign. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer and HBO’s “Girls” creator Lena Dunham will be honored the event.
Planned Parenthood provides a variety of services for women, including contraception, cancer screenings and abortions. Obama reaffirmed just last week that he favors abortion rights.
“What I can say is this: You know, I think, President (Bill) Clinton said it pretty well when he said abortion should be safe, legal, and rare,” Obama said in an interview with NBC’s Today show.
article via newsone.com
Nevada state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson (D-North Las Vegas) on Monday declared that he is gay during a legislative debate over a measure to repeal the state’s gay marriage ban.
“I’m black. I’m gay,” he said, in what the Las Vegas Sun described as a “trembling” voice. “I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a black, gay male.”
He dismissed the idea that gay marriage threatened other marriages. “If this hurts your marriage, then your marriage was in trouble in the first place.”
The measure passed the Senate by a 12-9 vote, with 11 Democrats and one Republican voting in favor. It would remove the ban on gay marriages in the Nevada Constitution. If passed by the Assembly, which has a 27-to-15 Democratic advantage, and both houses again in 2015, the repeal would then be put to voters in 2016.
Nevada voters passed a gay marriage ban in 2000 and 2002. The legislature passed a domestic partnership law over former Gov. Jim Gibbons’ (R) veto in 2009. A February poll by the Retail Association of Nevada showed that 54 percent of Nevadans favor repealing the marriage ban while 43 percent oppose.
article by Luke Johnson via huffingtonpost.com
Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, aka Alexandre Dumas, aka “Black Devil” by some of the armies he fought against (let’s just say he was good at his job), aka The Black Count, is at the center of the recently published book from acclaimed author Tom Reiss. Its full title is The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas’ son, likely the most popular Dumas, also named Alexandre Dumas, was author of literary classics like The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. In fact, Dumas, the father of the author, was the inspiration for The Count Of Monte Cristo.
Other 2013 Pulitzer Prize Winners of note include Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King, in the General Nonfiction category.
President Barack Obama, next to Vice President Joe Biden, gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington, on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, about the defeat in the Senate of a bill to expand background checks on guns. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Federal law bans certain mentally ill people from purchasing firearms, but not all states are providing data to stop the prohibited sales to the FBI’s background check system. A federal review last year found 17 states contributed fewer than 10 mental health records to the database, meaning many deemed by a judge to be a danger still could have access to guns.
The Obama administration was starting a process Friday aimed at removing barriers in health privacy laws that prevent some states from reporting information to the background check system. The action comes two days after the Senate rejected a measure that would have required buyers of firearms online and at gun shows to pass a background check. That’s already required for shoppers at licensed gun dealers.
Stung by the defeat, Obama vowed to keep up the fight for the background check expansion but also to do what he could through executive action.
African-Americans have little-to-no representation in the technology sector, especially when it comes to dot-com businesses. Fortunately, William Michael Cunningham has created a platform specifically for African-Americans and women of all races.BlackCrowdFunding.net allows is a new crowdfunding platform that allows people to contribute to ventures created by African-Americans and/or women of all races.
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Cunningham discussed the nature of his business. “Most people start a business by taking out loans on their houses or going to friends and family and raising money that way,” Cunningham said. “If you’re in a demographic where your housing wealth has been impacted significantly negatively, then that’s less of an option with respect to raising capital.”
Crowdfunding has been known to launch very successful projects, including the YouTube series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl.” Cunningham said that crowdfunding presents a more promising option. Incase you’re unfamiliar with the term crowdfunding, it’s a method by which an entrepreneur can raise money for his or her start-up online by collecting small investments or donations from a large number of people. “The idea is that crowdfunding is a tool that can be used to get resources to low to moderate income communities in way that we haven’t seen before,” Cunningham said.
The site already has a number of ventures seeking funding, including an education on identity theft, a boutique, a garden, and a pride t-shirt, and more.
article by Maria Lloyd via techyville.com
WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) — A 19-year-old college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings was taken into custody Friday evening after a manhunt that left the city virtually paralyzed and his older brother and accomplice dead.
Police announced via Twitter that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was in custody. His brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, was killed Friday in a furious attempt to escape police.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been holed up in a boat in a Watertown neighborhood. The crowd gathered near the scene let out a cheer when spectators saw officers clapping.
“Everyone wants him alive,” said Kathleen Paolillo, a 27-year-old teacher who lives in Watertown.
Boston Mayor Tom Menino tweeted “We got him,” along with a photo of the police commissioner speaking to him.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6eY7WpOmoE&w=420&h=315]
The Soul of the South Network, targeting African-American viewers, announced Thursday it will launch in 30 markets on May 27 after closing an initial round of funding for $10 million raised from the state of Arkansas and private investors, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The new network will be distributed initially by over-the-air stations and on digital channels on the broadcast spectrum but also plans to air on cable and expects its stations to qualify under FCC must-carry rules (which mandate nearby cable systems must carry it) because it is local and offers unique news programming.
“Our distribution footprint covers at least 70 percent of all African-American households in the south and in Chicago and Philadelphia, which we call sister regions,” says Doug McHenry, the Hollywood-based producer of films including “New Jack City” and “House Party” and TV shows including “Malcolm & Eddie,” who is the new network’s president of entertainment.
By the end of this summer, Soul of the South expects to be in 50-60 markets with a high concentration of African-Americans, reaching 30-40 million households.
At launch over Memorial Day weekend, the network will not have any original programming outside of an active news presence in its local markets. McHenry says execs are in active negotiations with three Hollywood studios about licensing appropriate programming, including past situation comedies, dramas, documentaries and movies.
Brigadier General Nadja West, deputy chief of staff, G-1/4/6 for the United States Army Medical Command, will be promoted to Major General. This promotion will make West the first African-American two-star general in the United States Army Medical Command.
West graduated from the U.S. Military Academy with a bachelor of science in engineering and attended the George Washington University School of Medicine, where she earned a Doctorate of Medicine degree. She completed an internship and a residency in family practice at the Martin Army Hospital. Dr. West did a second residency in dermatology at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and the University of Colorado Medical Center.
Later, she was assigned chief of dermatology service at the Heidelberg Army Hospital in Germany, and served as the division surgeon of 1st Armored Division in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, deploying to Macedonia and Kosovo as the deputy task force surgeon. She graduated from the National War College, earning a master’s degree in national security strategy. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Academy of Family Practice.
article via blackengineer.com
(Photo courtesy of Mark Seliger for TIME)
Power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé have recently been making lots of headlines lately, and now the rapper is gracing the cover of Time. Both he and wife Beyoncé have been named by the magazine as two of the world’s most influential people.
The annual feature lists 100 of the world’s most prominent figures, in no particular order, who have made the biggest global impact over the past year. The issue, which includes Jay-Z on one of seven covers, also provides brief profiles that capture the essence of each qualifier.