An ex-convict accused of bilking several college students out of nearly $1 million and forcing some into prostitution or unpaid labor was arrested Tuesday on extortion and sex trafficking charges. Lawrence “Larry” Ray was previously known for his role in helping to send former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was a close […]
Posted inEntertainment
Big wins for ‘Parasite’ give Oscar night an emotional high
Called up to the stage again and again, Bong Joon Ho kept saying he was ready for a drink — “bloody ready.” But the Oscars weren’t bloody ready to stop giving him awards. By the end, the South Korean director and his masterful social thriller “Parasite” had won best original screenplay, best international film, best […]
Posted inLife
‘Hair Love’ went from a Kickstarter to an Oscar winner
It was videos of black fathers lovingly styling their daughters’ hair that inspired Matthew Cherry to launch a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 fund the short film, “Hair Love.” On Sunday, Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver accepted the Academy Award for best animated short film for the project. The story of a dad struggling to do […]
Posted inEntertainment
Obama-backed documentary ‘American Factory’ wins Oscar
Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company now has an Oscar-shaped feather in its hat. “American Factory,” a film backed by the Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, on Sunday took home the award for best documentary feature. The film, about a culture clash at a Dayton, Ohio manufacturing plant, was the first project produced by the duo’s […]
Posted inEntertainment
Bong’s ‘Parasite’ focuses on plight of South Korea’s poor
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Koreans are reveling in writer-director Bong Joon Ho’s dark comic thriller, “Parasite,” which won this year’s Academy Awards for best film and best international feature. The movie itself, however, doesn’t put the country in a particularly positive light. No doubt, the international acclaim for “Parasite,” which also won the […]
Posted inElection Central
Elizabeth Warren’s challenge: Breaking out of murky middle
Elizabeth Warren isn’t struggling like Joe Biden. But she isn’t soaring, like Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. Instead, the Massachusetts senator enters a critical stretch of the campaign relegated to the murky middle. She has to convince voters she has a viable path to the nomination, even if that path is unclear. Her campaign has […]
Posted inElection Central
Trump’s $4.8 trillion budget proposal revisits rejected cuts
President Donald Trump is offering a $4.8 trillion election-year budget plan that recycles previously rejected cuts to domestic programs to promise a balanced budget in 15 years — all while boosting the military and leaving Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched. Trump’s fiscal 2021 plan, to be released Monday, promises the government’s deficit will crest […]
Posted inElection Central
Trump weaponizes the Presidency after impeachment victory
Donald Trump is moving fast in the wake of his impeachment trial to use the government to punish his enemies and pursue his political ends, underlining how his acquittal has helped make him one of history’s most powerful modern Presidents. Trump has meted out retribution to officials who testified against him in the impeachment inquiry, […]
Posted inElection Central
Democratic candidates sharpen attacks in closing days of New Hampshire primary
So much for “Iowa nice.” The contentious contours of the Democratic presidential primary came into full view in New Hampshire over the weekend, as months of cordial campaigning in Iowa quickly escalated into a raucous sprint to Tuesday’s primary. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, both drawing the largest […]
Posted inEntertainment
Black News Channel, the sole African American-led news network in the US, has arrived
The country’s sole African American-led news network has arrived. Black News Channel debuted this week, the second week of Black History Month, to fill what its founders called a void in representation in national news. The network began broadcasting in select markets on Monday. The 24-7 cable channel features black anchors “dedicated to the unique […]
Posted inFeatured Stories
Guilty plea to federal charges in black church burnings
The aspiring ‘black metal’ musician who was arrested in a series of fires set at African American churches in Louisiana last spring pleaded guilty Monday to four federal criminal counts. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release that Holden Matthews pleaded guilty to three counts of intentional damage to religious property, a federal […]
Posted inNews
University leader resigns after bust in prostitution sting
The president of Jackson State University resigned Monday after he was arrested in a prostitution sting in central Mississippi. William Bynum Jr., 57, was among 17 people arrested during the weekend in the Jackson suburb of Clinton, according to Clinton Police Chief Ford Hayman. A news release from the Mississippi university system on Monday said […]
Posted inColumns/Op-Eds
Caldwell: The Impeachment Was Really Just Senators and Lawyers Talking
The impeachment is completed, and President Donald Trump has been acquitted. After millions of dollars, thousands of lies, and 17 witnesses in the House, President Trump will be let off and cleared of any wrongdoing. He has been declared not guilty and proved innocent of the articles of impeachment. The American rule of law and […]
Posted inElection Central
Abrams builds financial war chest as Kemp tries to keep up
Georgia governor Brian P. Kemp has raised more than $4.4 million since June 30th and now has $5 million in the bank, according to his campaign manager. One of Kemp’s big donors was Kelly Loeffler, the governor’s appointee to the U.S. Senate to replace Johnny Isakson. Loeffler gave the maximum $18,100 to Kemp’s campaign. According to […]
Posted inElection Central
Gov. Kemp announces plan to cut down on standardized testing in Georgia schools
Gov. Brian Kemp and state Superintendent Richard Woods announced a plan this week to cut five mandatory standardized tests for Georgia public school students, including four in high school. The Republican officials are also trying to cut the length of state tests and evaluate local tests that Georgia’s 181 school districts give to evaluate student […]