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EW YORK — For eight intense, entertaining games, Sloane Stephens stayed right with Serena Williams. For a 40-minute stretch in the fourth round of the US Open, the top two American women put on quite a show. Both hit serves topping 115 mph. Both whipped groundstrokes to the corners. Both covered a lot of ground, extending points with leg-churning defense. Both showed the occasional sign of nerves, reflecting what a big deal this was, in part because the 15th-seeded Stephens already was one of only three players to beat No. 1 Williams this season. Until, that is, the score was 4-all in the first set Sunday. That’s when Williams took over.
The 20-year-old Stephens’ time at the top of tennis may come. For now, the 31-year-old Williams is still as good as it gets. Taking eight of the last nine games, defending champion Williams returned to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows by beating Stephens 6-4, 6-1.
“When you give her that opportunity to take that step forward, she definitely makes her move,” Stephens said. “Unfortunately, today she made her move. I just couldn’t get back in.” Still, all in all, it was remarkably compelling and, within individual points, rather evenly played for what turned out to be such a runaway. “I definitely think it was a high-quality match,” said Williams, 64-4 with eight titles this year. “We both came out today to play.”
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On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, President Barack Obama honored the legacy and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with his own inspired speech this afternoon, echoing the call to freedom and justice that King’s own “I Have A Dream” speech did 50 years ago today. Obama’s speech was the culmination of a full day of celebration of the March on Washington’s golden anniversary. Watch his entire address above.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom turns 50 today. A new PBS documentary reveals the details of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described would be considered the “greatest demonstration for freedom” in American history. Narrated by Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, The March dedicates the majority of the 55 minute running time to the build-up of the momentous event (see clip below).
Some 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963, to raise awareness of the poor economic realities of African-Americans and to demand the passage of strong civil rights legislation. Clayborne Carson, a professor of history at Stanford University, was just 19 when he attended the march. “Every time I think back, I draw different meanings from it because of my subsequent experiences,” Carson told theGrio.com. “At the time I would not have fully understood the significance of what Dr. King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.”
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Carson, whose commentary is featured in The March, is also the director of Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. He says America does not have a good track record when it comes to understanding what King stood for. “The main thing we’ve gotten right is that he deserves a national holiday,” Carson said. “He was the most prominent figure in one of the most important movements in American history.”
Bank of America Corp’s Merrill Lynch unit agreed to pay $160 million to settle a racial bias lawsuit that went through two appeals at the United States Supreme Court, the New York Times reported, citing the plaintiff’s lawyer.
Longtime Merrill broker George McReynolds filed the lawsuit in 2005 accusing the brokerage of steering blacks into clerical positions and diverting lucrative accounts to white brokers, resulting in lower pay and fewer career growth opportunities.
The payout in the suit, which was filed on behalf of 700 black brokers who worked for Merrill, would be the largest sum ever distributed to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against an American employer, according to the New York Times.
The preliminary settlement was confirmed to the newspaper by a spokesman for Merrill Lynch and Linda Friedman, a Chicago lawyer who represents the brokers. (http://link.reuters.com/wes62v) “We are working toward a very positive resolution of a lawsuit filed in 2005 and enhancing opportunities for African-American financial advisers,” Bill Halldin, a spokesman for Merrill Lynch, told the paper.
Merrill Lynch and Stowell & Friedman, the law firm representing McReynolds, could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.
article by Seth Wenig, AP via nbcnews.com
Newark Mayor Cory Booker received the presidential stamp of approval yesterday in his campaign for a US Senate seat.
Citing Booker’s “passion” and life’s work “building hope,” President Obama officially endorsed Booker by saying he “will be an important partner in our efforts to reduce gun violence, give every American a fair shot in a global economy, and make our country stronger.”
The endorsement came a day after GOP Gov. Chris Christie, who has worked closely with Booker, endorsed his opponent, Republican Steve Lonegan. The endorsement was awkward given that Christie ran against Lonegan in the 2009 GOP gubernatorial primary.
Obama’s backing was expected, given Booker’s close relationship with the president, which survived the mayor’s criticism last year of the president’s campaign for attacking Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital.
Obama is betting on what looks like a sure thing. Booker has a double-digit lead over Lonegan, the former mayor of Bogota, NJ, in the Oct. 16 election. Booker has been seen as a rising star in national politics since nearly the day he took office as mayor. But he has ruled out a 2016 run for the White House.
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article by Beth Defalco via nypost.com
U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Victor J. Glover just got the opportunity of a lifetime. The California Polytechnic State University grad was selected from a pool of over 6,000 applicants to become one of NASA’s eight new astronaut candidates. The astronaut trainee program will prepare the candidates for possible missions to low-Earth orbit, an asteroid and Mars by sending them through two years of rigorous technical training at space centers around the globe.
Lt. Commander Glover, who is the only African American in this year’s class, set himself apart from the other applicants by penning a clever limerick.
He explained in a press conference:
“There was a lot of writing involved. The one that stands out the most is, we were asked to compose a tweet, a limerick, or a haiku. I believe I did a limerick, and it goes:
‘Eyes fixed, gazing off into space
My mind in awe of the human race
This is all dizzying to me
Because I gave so much blood and pee
Happy to be here, vice the colonoscopy place.”
In addition to being one of NASA’s perspective astronauts and a F/A-18 pilot, Lt. Commander Glover and his wife Dionna have four daughters–Genesis, 10, Maya, 8, Joia, 6, and Corinne, 5. He is also a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
article by Britni Danielle via clutchmagonline.com
The vote by NBA player representatives came six months after the union fired Billy Hunter as executive director, a position that remains vacant and follows about 18 months of in-fighting and drama that occurred during the negotiations for the latest collective bargaining agreement. Hunter countered with a wrongful-termination lawsuit in May, accusing Fisher of conspiring with NBA officials during the 2011 lockout.
“It’s not about me as president or the first vice president, it’s about the players as a whole,” Paul said in a conference call Wednesday night. One of Paul’s greatest gifts on the court is an ability to get everyone involved and make his teammates better. Now he’ll try to do the same thing with the union. After the lockout ended and the lawsuits started to take hold, there was a feeling among many players and observers that putting a big name in the big chair would help galvanize the group and get star players interested in participating again.
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — The 911 tapes from a frightening standoff and shooting at an Atlanta-area school show how a school employee’s calm demeanor and kind approach helped end the ordeal without any injuries. Police said Wednesday that school bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff was heroic in how she responded after being taken hostage a day earlier by Michael Brandon Hill, a 20-year-old man with a history of mental health issues. Hill went to the school armed with an AK 47-style rifle and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition, police said.
On a recording of a 911 call released Wednesday, Tuff can be heard relaying messages from Hill to DeKalb County emergency dispatchers before convincing him to surrender. She tells the dispatcher that Hill said he wasn’t there to hurt the children but wanted to talk to an unarmed officer. “He said, ‘Call the probation office in DeKalb County and let them know what’s going on,’” Tuff is heard telling the dispatcher. “He said he should have just went to the mental hospital instead of doing this, because he’s not on his medication.”
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CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have signed Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, to his guaranteed rookie contract. Financial terms were not immediately known, but the deal can be worth up to $22.8 million over four years. Bennett was somewhat of a surprising selection by the Cavaliers, who believe the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder from UNLV can play power forward. He’s recovering from shoulder surgery, but the Toronto native is expected to be ready for the start of training camp. He averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as a freshman with the Runnin’ Rebels.
The Cavs also said they have finalized their deals with first-round pick Sergey Karasev, a guard from Russia, and second-round selection Carrick Felix from Arizona State. Karasev helped lead Russia to the gold medal in the World University Game this summer.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press via espn.go.com
The mother of Trayvon Martin spoke out Sunday against the stop-and-frisk police practice in New York City, saying neither police nor civilians have the right to stop someone because of their race. Critics say the stops target blacks and Hispanics who aren’t doing anything wrong. Earlier this week, a judge told New York City that its policy was racial discrimination. The city plans to appeal. “You can’t give people the authority, whether civilian or police officers the right to just stop somebody because of the color of their skin,” Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Over the past decade, New York police have stopped, questioned and sometimes patted down about 5 million people; 87 percent were black or Hispanic. About 10 percent of the stops spur an arrest or summons. Police find weapons a fraction of the time. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly defended the use of stop and frisk Sunday and said violent crimes would increase if the practice were abandoned. “The losers in this, if this case is allowed to stand, are people who live in minority communities,” he said on CBS’ Face the Nation.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zGRfLBRQEM&w=420&h=315]Fulton’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, said the stop and frisk policy targeted people by race and noted it was still being used as the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech approached. “It actually takes us away from his poignant words of, ‘I dreamed my children would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin,’” Crump said. Fulton has said neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman “got away with murder” in the 2012 killing of her son, largely because of Florida’s self-defense law.
Protesters had been occupying part of the Capitol in Tallahassee, calling for an examination of the Florida law since Zimmerman was acquitted last month. Zimmerman claimed self-defense in shooting the 17-year-old Martin during a fight; Martin’s supporters say Zimmerman profiled and followed him because Martin was black.
article by Associated Press via blackamericaweb.com