GBBCC presents Top Stories in the News Morgan Regents Reconsider Wilson Termination, Extend Contract for One Year by Alexis Taylor Special to the AFRO Chairman Dallas R. Evans presided over all three sessions, including an open forum for the Morgan community, a closed session with President David Wilson, and a third open meeting announcing a renewed contract for one year. The Morgan State University Board of Regents decided to renew President David Wilson’s contract for one year, three weeks after announcing his existing three year contract would not be renewed at its expiration in June, 2013. The announcement came after a more than two hour closed session in which Wilson met with the board following an open meeting with the Morgan community. “I feel great about it because we needed to move forward,” U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a board member, said to the AFRO. “Based on the 8 to 7 vote, we clearly had a divided board.” Cummings said that along with the renewal, there will also be new “evaluation tools” set in place to better gauge “progress, measure transparency, and at the same time put some responsibility on the board to work with the president.” Cummings also clarified the Dec. 4 decision. “A lot of this was based on communication. It wasn’t that he had done anything bad; it’s just that a lot of things weren’t being communicated properly. I think all of us have a responsibility in that.” Wilson said he took full responsibility for his actions that led to the board’s decision to not renew. “In order for the university to operate in ship shape manner it requires the president and the board to be on the same page,” said Wilson, speaking to those who remained for a shorter, second open session that concluded just after 4 p.m. Wilson said it is the duty of the president to “take responsibility for ensuring there is appropriate communication and dialogue and relationship building in that process. “I have not done as effective a job as I should have done in ensuring that the board is fully informed about where we are at Morgan and where we are taking the institution,” he said. “I own up to that, and certainly will see it as my charge, going forward, to ensure that there is no miscommunication between myself, as president of the institution, and our board of regents.” Before closing the day’s activities Board Chairman Dallas R. Evans said “What’s important is that we put this institution first and those that we serve,” adding that the board is anticipating a “healing process.” Casinos Draw Business Away from Local Bingo by Rachael Pacella Capital News Service BALTIMORE - In the 27 months since casinos opened in Maryland, bingo halls have been suffering, with slot machines taking a bite out of gamblers' wallets, and leaving less for bingo night. Bingo World, a commercial bingo hall south of Baltimore, has seen between a 20 and 25 percent drop in business due to casinos, said general manager Randy Clemens. “We have found that people who used to come maybe two or three days (a week) now only come one, and when they come, they don’t have as much money as they used to have,” said Clemens. "We're trying to give away more and more to just keep the clientele we have." Al Meyer, who manages bingo three nights a week at the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department, said the same thing has been happening there - people who would come several nights a week have cut back. “We’ve been affected to a degree. Not yet the degree I had feared,” said Meyer, who has worked in the bingo industry since 1968 when he got a part-time job working at a commercial bingo hall for Steve Wynn, who moved on to become a Las Vegas casino mogul. Meyer estimated between a 15 and 18 percent drop in attendance because of casinos in the area. Meyer also said the economy may be a factor. Bingo managers gave two main ways bingo differs from casino gambling - it is cheaper and more social. Both Meyer and Bingo World manager Dale Willey said you can spend several hours gambling at a bingo hall with money that wouldn't last nearly as long in a casino. Over time, people who come regularly become friends. Meyer said some bingo players have been coming to the Arbutus fire hall for decades. As some players described it, bingo nights have become a "family" event. That's the case for Becky Markley, who has been coming to bingo at the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department for the past 12 years. Her daughter has been coming for the past four years, and her mother had been coming even longer before she passed away. A photo of her mother watches over the 42 bingo cards spread out in front of the pair on a recent Thursday night. Garfield McCubbin and his sister Kelly Hauser have been coming to bingo night at the fire hall for more than 25 years - since they were children - and continue to come often with their mother and other family members. But the sense of community at bingo isn't limited to Arbutus. About seven miles away, at Club Hippo in Mount Vernon, they have been hosting a "Gay Bingo" night for 11 years, and customers list the community feeling as a big draw. "A lot of people have made friends over time," said Anastacia Amor, a server in drag. When not in drag it's Lovell Woodland. Sitting at the bar on a recent Wednesday, Mike Mannone and Tanya Crouse stamp out numbers as they're called. There are drinks and jokes, but most people are focused on the cards in front of them. Mannone and Crouse have been attending regularly for about a year. Mannone isn't worried about the influence of casinos. "It's such a niche community, so I can't ever really see it dying," Mannone said. At Bingo World, Clemens said they have increased advertising and are trying to be more active in the community to boost business. Another help has been the video pull-tab machines, which look similar to slot machines, but are legally different. Without the machines, which provide 50 percent of their income, Clemens said they would have gone out of business. "By allowing us to go into the electronic world, it has helped us immensely," Clemens said. President Obama Speaks To Victims' Families in Newtown, Connecticut President Obama attended an evening vigil in Newtown, Connecticut, to mourn with the a community that is still dealing with the recent massacre. His visit came just two days after a man opened fire inside Sandy Hook Elementary School killing 26 people, including 20 boys and girls just 6 or 7 years old. He also visited privately with the families of the victims and with emergency personnel who responded to the shootings, and then he spoke at an interfaith vigil at Newtown High School. [Read More] Local TV News Station Fires Black Meteorologist For Defending Her Hairstyle on Facebook Rhonda Lee, a meteorologist/ weather woman at KTBS 3-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana, has reportedly lost her job over an issue regarding her hair style. Apparently, one viewer posted a message on the TV station's Facebook page, saying that "the black lady that does the news... needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair." He added, "it's not something... that looks good on TV." Although her response to his comment was very intelligent and graceful, Lee was fired by KTBS because they said... [Read More] Ray Lewis Ready to Retire Following Playoffs by Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor (January 2, 2013 UPDATED) Baltimore Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis told reporters during a team practice on Jan. 2 that he plans on ending his 17-year career following the end of the playoffs. “This will be my last ride,” he said. “It’s time to create a new legacy.” Lewis, 37, hasn’t played a game in more than two months after tearing his triceps during week 6 of the 2012 regular season. He’s expected to play for the first time on Sunday Jan. 6 when the Ravens host the Indianapolis Colts in a wild-card playoff game in Baltimore. It may end up being his last game played in Baltimore. Ravens’ star running back Ray Rice told reporters he’s already sad to see him go. “I just can’t picture Baltimore without him. I was one of his kids,” Rice said. The news quickly became the buzz far beyond the sports world. “Ray Lewis is an outstanding football player who exhibits passion and leadership both on and off the field,” Gov. Martin O’Malley said in a statement..”His commitment to football has made him worthy of a place in the Hall of Fame, and his dedication to the City of Baltimore and incredible community spirit has made him a man of dignity, respect and character. “We will always be grateful for his love of the people of Baltimore and fans everywhere. He has given football fans of all ages hope and inspired us all to reach beyond our dreams. Though we will miss him on the field, we wish him well in his future endeavors." Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake voiced optimism about the way Lewis will leave the game. “Ray Lewis plans to retire after the #Ravens win the Super Bowl – it will be a fitting ending to a stellar career,”the mayor tweeted. Lewis’ 17- year career has been spent entirely in Baltimore, a rare accomplishment for star players during the NFL free agency era. During those years, he earned 13 Pro Bowl appearances, seven All-Pro first-team nominations, two Defensive MVP awards, helped guide the Ravens to nine playoff appearances and was named the MVP of the 2000 Super Bowl. He has been argued as the greatest middle linebacker in NFL history. Now, Lewis said he will use his extra free time with his kids. “There’s a lot of things that I’ve always put on hold for the game,” he said. “It’s a new chapter.” Minority Thrifting: Designer Treasures at Bargain-Basement Prices by Ashley D. Diggs Ever wonder how you could get your hands on a piece from one of those high-end designer labels like St. John’s, Ferragamo, or Burberry? How about finding more affordable labels like Coach, Nine West or Old Navy at an unbelievably low price? For both, thrift shopping is the way to achieve your goal. Thrift shopping, frequently referred to as “thrifting,” has become the mainstream, go-to shopping trend from six-figure customers to college studentsundefinedespecially during these difficult economic times. From Northwest Washington to Prince George’s County to Baltimore, shoppers in search of vintage treasures or bargain hunters on the lookout for quality at bargain basement are loading up on great clothes. If you are unfamiliar with the great bargains or thought thrifting offered nothing more than tattered, old pieces of non-descript clothing, you’re in for an inexpensive treat! “Thrift shopping makes a lot of sense, especially with the economy the way it is right now,” said Michael Collins, manager of the Valley Village Thrift Store in the Govanstown area of Baltimore. “We have something for everybody. We have a lot of women. We have a lot of college students who come in for hoodies and jackets. We have a lot of single parents who shop here. Unfortunately, if you are the sole support, by the time you pay rent and the other bills and buy gas, there’s not much left. They come here for their clothes, but also clothes, shoes and winter coats and school supplies for their children.” For bargain hunters looking for low-priced treasures, the Value Village thrift store located in Hyattsville near the University of Maryland College Park is the home for fashionistas and vintage clothing lovers who want to express their individuality with one-of-a-kind finds. With a department store-like environment, the store is filled with racks neatly organized into specific sections for contemporary, authentic vintage and outerwear. It’s unusual that you would see them here, but avoid extremely used merchandise containing rips or permanent stains. Those are not good finds. Look for items that are gently-used and check them carefully. The method to successful thrifting is to examine the garments to make sure you are buying something in good condition. On a recent afternoon, shoppers at Value Village, located at 2277 University Blvd. East in Hyattsville, found designer dresses like an Adrienne Vittadini sweater dress with sequins for $9.99, a scallop-sleeved off-the-shoulder royal blue velvet holiday dress for $4, a floor-length, long sleeved eggplant-colored velvet gown for $5. There were pantsuits, business suits, blouses ranging from cotton to silk, jackets, coats and shoes, most priced at less than the cost of a meal at a fast-food restaurant. There was something for every style, from funky vintage to conservative office. “My favorite piece is kind of like Chanel inspired,” said Howard University senior Maiah Martin as she browsed the racks at Value Village, showing off a vintage knee-length zip up jacket that sold for $31. She often hits the thrift stores for fall and winter wardrobe additions. “I feel like my mom had this jacket,” she said. “It’s classic.” Working professional Marilyn Brown, 68, said she thrifts at Value Village year round. “I used to come here just for the deals, but now I come just for the store’s merchandise,” she said. “One time, [thrift shopping] was for people who didn’t have [money], now everybody comes here, Jaguars and all.” In Washington D.C., treasure seekers that shop can enjoy a fun thrifting experience and find some fabulous bargains at the Georgia Avenue Thrift Store in Northwest. The store, located at 6101 Georgia Avenue NW, has for years been the gold mine location for designer-named merchandise at a great price. One customer, who wished to remain anonymous so that her friends wouldn’t find out where her treasures came from, called herself the “chief of thrifting” at the Georgia Avenue location. Thrifting, she said, “is like playing the lotto, but winning.” “I’m here all the time, every other week and I get the best-quality things for cheap,” she said, showing off a shopping basket stuffed with True Religion jeans priced at $6.98, an Ann Taylor LOFT sweater for $3, a J. Crew (a Michelle Obama personal fav) sweater for $3, a pair a vintage Stuart Weitzman loafers for $6, a pair of Ferragamo flats for $5 and a $4 dress made by BCBG Max Azria. Final tally? Only $28! The Zone thrift store, at 813 Charles Street in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood near downtown Baltimore, features especially nice accessories undefined belts, purses, etc. and everything from blouses to jackets men’s and women’s, business suits and vintage dresses for great prices. Each thrift store usually has their particular method of pricing. Collins, whose store is located at 5013 York Road in Govanstown, said garments there are assigned a price based on a number of factors including quality, condition, type of care needed and the season the garment would be worn. Finally, the price is calculated at one-fourth of a typical department store price, he said. The Georgia Avenue Thrift Store gives a 25 percent discount to persons who provide a military identification. On holidays, Value Village in Adelphi offers 50 percent off the ticketed price. In Baltimore, Value Village garments tagged with pink tickets receive a 50 percent discount every Sunday in October for breast cancer awareness. Collins said his store also provides free clothes to people with vouchers from local community service agencies. “We work with places like Our Daily Bread and the House of Ruth, where families in need get clothing and other things free,” she said. “You get great clothes and you also get a chance to help someone in the community by shopping here.” Obama: Tax plan President Barack Obama is labeling opponent Mitt Romney's tax plan as "Romney Hood," saying it takes from the middle class and gives to the rich. Speaking Monday night at a campaign event in Connecticut, Obama said the GOP plan "is like Robin Hood in reverse." Obama says Romney's tax plan would give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans while forcing middle-class families to pay up to $2,000 a year in additional taxes. The president cites a study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that says millionaires would receive a tax cut of approximately $250,000 a year if the former Massachusetts governor gets his way. "He'd ask the middle class to pay more in taxes so that he could give another $250,000 tax cut to people making more than three million dollars a year," Mr. Obama said. CBS News Rice, Haley Among Speakers at the Republican Convention By Matt Vasilogambros South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., top the list of featured speakers at the Republican National Convention later this month, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Among the other “brightest stars” of the party, as RNC Chairman Reince Priebus described them, are Florida Gov. Rick Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. “Ours will be a world-class convention, worthy of the next president of the United States, and these speakers undefined and those that will be announced later undefined will help make it a truly memorable and momentous event,” Priebus told the Times. Specific times for the speeches were not announced. National Journal Magazine National Wisconsin Killer Fed and Was Fueled by Hate-Driven Music By Erica Goode and Serge F. Kovaleski His music, Wade M. Page once said, was about “how the value of human life has been degraded by tyranny.” But on Sunday, Mr. Page, an Army veteran and a rock singer whose bands specialized in the lyrics of hate, coldly took the lives of six people and wounded three others when he opened fire with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun in a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., the police said. Officers then shot him to death. To some who track the movements of white supremacist groups, the violence was not a total surprise. New York Times Can America survive without the United States Postal Service? By Scott Bomboy, National Constitution Center As the United States Postal Service misses key financial payments, critics and supporters speculate about bankruptcy or worse for an institution that predates the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. USPS officials have said they will miss two benefit payments mandated by Congress, which has caused a whirlwind of speculation about the future of the Postal Service. The United State Postal Service is one of the few current government institutions spelled out in the Constitution. Yahoo! News Social Security not deal it once was for workers By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press People retiring today are part of the first generation of workers who have paid more in Social Security taxes during their careers than they will receive in benefits after they retire. It's a historic shift that will only get worse for future retirees, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Previous generations got a much better bargain, mainly because payroll taxes were very low when Social Security was enacted in the 1930s and remained so for decades. Yahoo! News Politics and Government Michelle Obama heads back to Leno's stage By The Associated Press Michelle Obama is headed back to Jay Leno’s stage. NBC announced Monday that the first lady will make her third appearance on ‘‘The Tonight Show’’ on Aug. 13 to talk about the London Olympics and life with President Barack Obama and their children at the White House. On her last stopover in January, the first lady promoted her ‘‘Let’s Move!’’ campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits. She managed to convince vegetable-hating Leno to nibble on apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, green peppers and zucchini. Boston Globe Clint Eastwood makes Romney's day with endorsement By Catalina Camia While Mitt Romney was raising big bucks in Idaho over the weekend, Clint Eastwood made his day by endorsing him. The actor-director stood alongside the Republican presidential candidate in Sun Valley, saying he first got wind of Romney during filming of his Academy Award-winning film, Mystic River, in Massachusetts. At the time, Romney was running to be the Bay State's governor. "I said, God, this guy, he's too handsome to be governor, but he does look like he could be president,'' Eastwood said Friday night, according to the Associated Press. " USA Today Jackson's wife calls his depression debilitating By The Associated Press Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is suffering from debilitating depression and even collapsed at his home in Washington two months ago, his wife said in an interview published Saturday that revealed new details about his secretive leave of absence. Sandi Jackson, who is a Chicago City Council member, told the Chicago Sun-Times (https://bit.ly/NrVWzg ) that contrary to rumors, her husband did not try to kill himself and was not being treated for alcohol or drug addiction. "No, no, none of that is true," she said. Yahoo! News Trends Elite colleges transform online higher education By Terence Chea, Associated Press When the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offered its first free online course this spring, Ashwith Rego jumped at the chance to learn from some of the world's leading researchers undefined without leaving his home in India. "I never imagined that I would be taught by professors from MIT, let alone for free," said the 24-year-old engineer who works in Bangalore. From Harvard to Stanford, a growing number of elite universities are throwing open their digital doors to the masses. They're offering their most popular courses online for no charge, allowing anyone with an Internet connection to learn from world-renowned scholars and scientists. Yahoo! News World News Hillary Clinton visits Nelson Mandela at his home By The Associated Press U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited with Nelson Mandela at his home on Monday to pay her respects to the aging South African icon. Clinton and a small group flew to the 94-year-old Mandela's home village of Qunu, where they reminisced and had a small private lunch. Clinton and Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, talked as photographers snapped pictures and Mandela looked on smiling from his wingback chair. "That's a beautiful smile!" Clinton said. USA Today A Closer Look The State of America's Children 2012 By Marian Wright Edelman Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” When we look at the state of our union and the state of America’s children in 2012, his words ring very true. It’s impossible to deny that our nation’s economy, professed values of equal opportunity, future, and soul are all in danger right now. There are 16.4 million poor children in rich America, 7.4 million living in extreme poverty. BLACKVOICES Analysis Luck vs. Skill: Seeking the Secret of Your Success By Robert H. Frank There may be no topic that more reliably divides liberals and conservatives than the relationship between success and luck. Many conservatives celebrate market success as an almost inevitable consequence of talent and effort. Liberals, by contrast, like to remind us that even talented people who work hard sometimes fall on hard times through no fault of their own. It’s easy to see why each side is wary of the other’s position. Conservatives, for example, understandably fret that encouraging people to view life as a lottery might encourage them just to sit back and hope for the best. New York Times Culture and Society When Did Being ‘Black And Proud’ Become Racist? By Kirsten West Savali In the frenzied days since Dominique Dawes, the first African-American gymnast to win a gold medal in Olympics history, cried a river of deep emotion over the record-shattering wins of 16-year-old Gabrielle Douglas at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the conversation in America undefined specifically in Black America undefined has entered interesting territory. For many, it’s “living in the past” to recognize Black achievement. Yes, apparently in the mind of the Neo-Negro, it is segregationism to acknowledge the race of a sister or a brother because mainstream media doesn’t do the same. If they are American, the Neo-Negro claims, then that is all that matters. NEWSONE Education Most Versatile College Degrees By Terence Loose Garden gnomes. Three-legged chairs. Pet rocks. What do all these have in common? You got it: they're all useless. If you're thinking of going back to school to get your degree, chances are you want it to be a little more useful than a gnome or a pet rock. In fact, we're guessing you'll want it to be very useful, especially when you start looking for a job. And that's a good thing, because having a useful degree has never been more important, says Susan Heathfield, a management consultant and About.com's Guide to Human Resources. Yahoo! News Health & Medicine Aging baby boomers face home health care challenge By John Seewer, Associated Press For the past three years, Taura Tate's mornings have revolved around caring for a woman who suffers from the effects of a stroke and diabetes. She cooks her oatmeal for breakfast, helps with showers and makes sure she takes the right medicine. Without the help of a home health aide, the woman, who's in her 70s, would be in a nursing home instead of living on her own. But Tate has her own struggles. Until a recent promotion, her pay amounted to what she could make at McDonald's. She doesn't get health or retirement benefits and has worked at five agencies in the Cleveland area, some simultaneously, to guarantee she'll have enough clients. San Francisco Chronicle Internet and Communications Apple, YouTube end relationship By Adam Satariano Apple Inc. said Google Inc.’s YouTube won’t be included in the next version of the software used in the iPhone and iPad, the latest evidence of escalating competition between the companies. As Google has pushed into the smartphone market, the relationship between the companies has frayed. Google’s Android­ software is now the world’s largest operating system for smartphones. Apple also plans to replace Google’s maps application with its own in the next iOS ­release. Boston Globe Religion Md. pastor gets 27 months in prison By Ann E. Marimow and Hamil R. Harris Robert J. Freeman, a charismatic Southern Maryland pastor and longtime televangelist, drove fancy cars and lived in a $1.75 million home on the Potomac River that has five fireplaces, a jet-ski lift and two four-car garages. To finance that lifestyle, federal prosecutors said, Freeman turned to his followers to purchase the vehicles and waterfront property. Many, it turned out, could not afford it. On Monday, Freeman, 56, who headed Save the Seed ministry in Waldorf, was sentenced to more than two years in prison in a related bankruptcy case. Washington Post Theater Arts If This Dancer’s Amigas Could See Her Now By Andy Webster The 1966 musical (and 1969 movie) “Sweet Charity” gets a Latin makeover in the director Julio Agustin’s production at the New Haarlem Arts Theater, and it’s called for. The original could use some salsa. With its picaresque and coincidence-filled narrative; somewhat flighty title character (a lovelorn floozy, if not a prostitute, with a heart of gold); and principal setting (a dime-dance joint, already an anachronism in mid-’60s New York), the musical, originally staged by Bob Fosse, is itself a watered-down version of Fellini’s “Nights of Cabiria,” which actually did concern a prostitute and gritty issues like physical and emotional abuse and an existential take on religion. New York Times Recount Changes Things, but Not for China or U.S. By Juliet Macur Just over halfway through the Olympic team final of men’s gymnastics, the United States squad did not have to check the scores to know that its night would be a bust. The look on John Orozco’s face said it all: he was fighting back tears. Orozco, the national champion, had just landed on his rear end on his vault undefined yet another error in a mistake-laden night that unexpectedly ended with the Americans out of the medals and the top teams confused. China was listed as the winner, at first, with Britain second and Ukraine third. But those results did not last. As the crowd undefined Princes Harry and William included undefined whooped and hollered because the British team had just won its first men’s team Olympic medal in 100 years, the judges huddled for about 10 minutes to discuss the outcome. In the end, China remained the champion, with 275.997 points, to win its second consecutive Olympic gold medal and continue its domination of the team event. New York Times For-profit colleges slammed in Democratic Senate staff report By Jamie Goldberg, Washington Bureau For-profit colleges are failing their students and saddling taxpayers with an enormous bill, a two-year investigation by the Senate education panel's Democratic staff concluded. The harsh report, released Monday by the committee's chairman, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), found that federal taxpayers spent $32 billion on for-profit colleges in 2009-10, while more than half of the students who enrolled in them dropped out without degrees after about four months in 2008-09. "In this report, you will find overwhelming documentation of exorbitant tuition, aggressive recruiting practices, abysmal student outcomes, taxpayer dollars spent on marketing and pocketed as profit, and regulatory evasion and manipulation," Harkin said. "These practices are not the exception undefined they are the norm." Los Angeles Times National MHP: Stop and Frisk Spreads to San Francisco By Hillary Crosley While filling in as host for MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, Melissa Harris-Perry, whose weekend show was pre-empted by the channel's Olympic coverage, delved into the spread of the stop-and-frisk police procedure to San Francisco. As a result of the Aurora, Colo., shootings, Mayor Ed Lee made a concerted effort to put the controversial procedure into action this week. This comes despite community outcry in New York City against the practice that has been proven to unfairly target black and Latino men as offenders: The Root Program Shapes the New Faces of Conservation By Kim Severson Joshua McCloud had never put his feet in the ocean. But here he was on a hot Southern afternoon, a shy 16-year-old from Atlanta with a love of science finally experiencing the wonders of the sea. Joshua was one of six urban teenagers visiting this remote barrier island for a few days and nights last week, boys who had barely any experience in the wilderness but on whose shoulders the future of environmental science might rest. The boys are among 100 students from 22 states chosen by the Nature Conservancy for an intensive summertime month of working outdoors. New York Times Poll: Views on gun laws unchanged after Aurora theater massacre By Andrew Mach, NBC News The movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., has had no significant impact on public views on the issue of gun control and gun rights, according to a new poll released Monday. The poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that 47 percent of respondents say it’s more important to control gun ownership, while 46 percent say it’s more important to protect the rights of Americans who own guns. That is virtually unchanged from a survey in April, when 45 percent prioritized gun control and 49 percent gun rights. NBC News Politics and Government Key role for Bill Clinton at Democratic convention By Julie Pace and Ken Thomas Former President Bill Clinton will have a marquee role in this summer's Democratic National Convention, where he will make a forceful case for President Barack Obama's re-election and his economic vision for the country, several Obama campaign and Democratic party officials said Sunday. The move gives the Obama campaign an opportunity to take advantage of the former president's immense popularity and remind voters that a Democrat was in the White House the last time the American economy was thriving. Obama personally asked Clinton to speak at the convention and place Obama's name in nomination, and Clinton enthusiastically accepted, officials said. Yahoo! News Exclusive: Five ATF officials found responsible for Fast and Furious By Richard A. Serrano Republican congressional investigators have concluded that five senior ATF officials -- from the special agent-in-charge of the Phoenix field office to the top man in the bureau’s Washington headquarters -- are collectively responsible for the failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation that was “marred by missteps, poor judgments and inherently reckless strategy.” The investigators, in a final report likely to be released later this week, also unearthed new evidence that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix... Los Angeles Times Scalia disputes talk of Supreme Court infighting By David Jackson Antonin Scalia is dismissing reports of infighting among court conservatives regarding the health care decision. Appearing today on Fox News Sunday, Scalia also said he did not know if Chief Justice John Roberts changed his mind about the health care law and decided to provide the key vote to uphold it. "You'll have to ask him," Scalia said. Scalia said "I don't talk about internal court proceedings," but he criticized reports that he and other conservatives are upset with Roberts over how the health care case was handled. USA Today People Oprah Issues Sharp Response To Twitter User Who Questioned Her Dedication To Black Causes By Gene Demby It's probably a good idea not to cross Oprah. The talk show queen has used a lot of her considerable fortune giving to causes dear to her, like opening a school for girls in South Africa. But she's often been criticized for not doing enough for black people -- specifically black people in the United States. On Sunday evening, one Twitter user criticized Winfrey directly. It wasn't clear immediately as to which of her charitable activities in education Winfrey was referring, but she has donated a million dollars to several charter school networks across the country. BLACKVOICES A Closer Look In Obama era, have race relations improved? By Jesse Washington, Associated Press Ask Americans how race relations have changed under their first black president and they are ready with answers. Ashley Ray, a white woman, hears more people debating racial issues. "I know a lot of people who really thought we were OK as a nation, a culture, and now they understand that we're not," she says. Karl Douglass, a black man, sees stereotypes easing. "White people deal with me and my family differently," he says. Jose Lozano, who is Hispanic by way of Puerto Rico, believes prejudice is emerging from the shadows. "Now the racism is coming out," he says. Yahoo! News Culture and Society In Defense of Light-Skinned Women By Demetria L. Lucas I know this probably won’t be a well-received article. The Varied Complexions of Black People is a guaranteed push-button topic, and too many writers have exploited the issue for hits. I hate that this will likely be taken in that context, but I assure you, that’s not what I’m up to. Hear me out to the end. When I caught wind of Eric Benét’s latest single “Redbone Girl,” my first thought was “oh, #$%^!” Clutch Education To Earn Classroom Certification, More Teaching and Less Testing By Al Baker New York and up to 25 other states are moving toward changing the way they grant licenses to teachers, de-emphasizing tests and written essays in favor of a more demanding approach that requires aspiring teachers to prove themselves through lesson plans, homework assignments and videotaped instruction sessions. The change is an attempt to ensure that those who become teachers not only know education theories, but also can show the ability to lead classrooms and handle students of differing abilities and needs, often amid limited resources. New York Times Entertainment Disney’s ‘Doc McStuffins’ Connects With Black Viewers By Brooks Barnes For decades many African-Americans have voiced conflicted feelings about Disney, to put it mildly. Many fault this entertainment colossus for being slow to introduce a black princess as a peer to Cinderella and Snow White. (There is one now: Tiana, from “The Princess and the Frog.”) The racial stereotyping in early animated movies like “Dumbo” lives on through DVD rereleases. African-Americans can also bring up “Song of the South,” a 1946 film that Disney has labored to keep hidden because of its idyllic depiction of slavery. New York Times Health & Medicine Panel Advises Against Routine Treadmill Stress Tests By Anahad O'Connor Every year, hundreds of thousands of older Americans get on a treadmill in a doctor’s office and walk or jog as an electrocardiogram monitors their heart function. But a growing number of medical authorities would like to make routine screening using the procedure, known as the treadmill or exercise stress test, largely a thing of the past. On Monday an expert government panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, joined the call by recommending against routine testing with electrocardiograms, or EKGs, in people who have no known risk factors or symptoms of heart disease, like shortness of breath or chest pains. New York Times Hospitals Burned-out nurses linked to more infections in patients By JoNel Aleccia, NBC News Heavy patient loads and chronic burnout have long been among the top complaints of nurses at the nation’s hospital bedsides. But a new study shows that those problems affect not only the nurses themselves, but also the number of infections in the people they care for. For every extra patient added to a nurse’s workload, there was roughly one additional hospital-acquired infection logged per 1,000 patients, according to researchers from the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. MSNBC Religion Mississippi Church That Refused to Wed Black Couple Criticized by Baptist Leaders By Alon Harish, ABC News Southern Baptist leaders on Monday urged a Mississippi church that refused to wed a black couple to reject racial discrimination. Just one day before Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson were set to be married at the First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs, Miss., the pastor there told them they would have to find another venue because congregants were uncomfortable with a black wedding ceremony. After outrage mounted locally and the Wilsons' story went viral online over the weekend, officials at the Mississippi Baptist Convention chastised the Crystal Springs church for its refusal to marry the pair. ABC News Smartphones iPhone appeal dims as Samsung shines By Peter Svensson, Associated Press The latest iPhone looks much the same as the first iPhone, which came out more than five years ago. That hasn't been a problem for Apple undefined until, now. The pace of iPhone sales has slowed, Apple revealed last week. Part of the problem is that the competition has found a formula that works: thinner phones with big screens that make the iPhone look small and chubby. For a dose of smartphone envy, iPhone owners need to look no further than Samsung Electronics, the number-one maker of smartphones in the world. Its newest flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, is sleek and wafer-thin. USA Today Social Media Olympic viewing: NBC critics loud on social media By David Bauder, Associated Press In the age of social media, NBC now has millions of television critics who make their opinions known about every aspect of Olympics coverage instantly. They've even set up their own hashtag on Twitter: (hash)nbcfail. The online complaints focused Saturday on NBC's decision to air the marquee swimming event won by American Ryan Lochte on tape delay in prime time, and Friday on the network not streaming the opening ceremony online. Sunday's critics started early: people wondering why the U.S. men's basketball team's opening game aired on a cable network while women's cycling was shown on NBC. Yahoo! News Jimmy Carter Accuses U.S. of 'Widespread Abuse of Human Rights' By Amy Bingham, ABC News A former U.S. president is accusing the current president of sanctioning the "widespread abuse of human rights" by authorizing drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists. Jimmy Carter, America's 39 th president, denounced the Obama administration for "clearly violating" 10 of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, writing in a New York Times op-ed on Monday that the "United States is abandoning its role as the global champion of human rights." "Instead of making the world safer, America's violation of international human rights abets our enemies and alienates our friends," Carter wrote. While the total number of attacks from unmanned aircraft, or drones, and the resulting casualties are murky, the New America Foundation estimates that in Pakistan alone 265 drone strikes have been executed since January 2009 . Yahoo! News Supreme Court strikes down mandatory life terms for juveniles By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times It is cruel and unusual punishment to send a young murderer to die in prison if a judge has not weighed whether his youth and the nature of his crime merited a shorter prison term, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 5-4 decision struck down laws in 28 states that mandated life terms for juvenile murderers with no hope for parole. The justices ruled in the cases of two 14-year-old boys, one from Alabama and one from Arkansas, who were given life terms for their roles in homicides. But the decision applies to all those under 18 who are sentenced under mandatory laws. The ruling could lead to new sentencing or parole hearings for more than 2,000 prisoners around the country who committed homicides when they were young and were given mandatory life terms. The justices set a new constitutional rule that prisoners could cite in their appeals. Los Angeles Times National Police Rescue Malnourished Girl From Closet in Kansas City By Sydney Lupkin, ABC News A Kansas City, Mo., mother is behind bars, accused of keeping her 10-year-old daughter locked in a closet, not letting her come out to eat, sleep or even go to the bathroom. The girl weighed just 32 pounds, and hospital records indicated that she has only gained 6 pounds since she was 4 or 5 years old, according to a police probable cause statement. The girl also suffers from "multiple healing skin injuries and failure to thrive," the statement said. "She weighed a little over a third of what a 10-year-old should weigh," Kansas City Police Capt. Steve Young said. Yahoo! News Cities' efforts to make exercise easier pays off By Dorene Internicola, Reuters Fitness is often a combination of personal choice and environmental support, experts say, and a ranking of the 50 healthiest U.S. cities seems to reinforce the theory. High rates of physical activity helped to propel Minneapolis-St. Paul to the top of the list of the American College of Sports Medicine's 2012 American Fitness Index (AFI) for the second year in a row, while raised obesity levels and smoking pushed Oklahoma City to the bottom. "When I say Minneapolis ranked No. 1, people give me an 'are you kidding me' kind of look," said Walter Thompson, the chairman of the AFI Advisory Board. Yahoo! News FBI prostitution sweep frees 79 teens, leads to 104 arrests By News Desk A three-day law enforcement sweep focusing on teenage prostitution led to the rescue of 79 children and the arrests of 104 alleged pimps, the FBI announced on Monday. According to CNN, Operation Cross Country took place from Friday to Sunday and involved more than 2,500 officers at the local, state and federal levels working in 57 cities. Reuters reported that the teenagers, aged from 13 to 17 years old, were rescued from hotels, truck stops and store fronts and were being held in custody until they could be placed in welfare organizations. global post Politics and Government Jesse Jackson Jr. takes medical leave of absence By The Associated Press U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who defeated a primary challenge this year despite being the target of a House ethics investigation, has been on a medical leave for two weeks and is being treated for exhaustion, his office announced Monday. In a three-sentence news release, Jackson's office disclosed that the Democrat went on leave June 10 but did not provide further details, including how long he would be away. In the release, he asked that his family's privacy be respected. "I don't know how long he'll be out of action," said Frank Watkins, Jackson's spokesman, adding that he could not offer additional details. USA Today Mitt Romney Flexes Muscle as Huge Week Looms for President Obama By Rick Klein, ABC OTUS News If you want a live-action version of a Democratic nightmare these days, the weekend events in Park City, Utah, are a decent start. And that might look like the fun part of the week for Democrats before we're through. In Utah, at an exclusive retreat amid picturesque mountains, an estimated 700 well-heeled, well-connected Republicans convened with Mitt Romney and his top campaign aides for golf, hob-nobbing, and private campaign strategizing. It was a show of force for Romney - all the more remarkable because he's barely two months beyond worries about the toll of an extended primary season. Yahoo! News Poll: 1-in-4 uncommitted now in White House race By Jennifer Agiesta and Laurie Kellman They shrug at President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. They're in no hurry to decide which one to support in the White House race. And they'll have a big say in determining who wins the White House. One-quarter of U.S. voters are persuadable, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, and both Obama and Romney will spend the next four months trying to convince these fickle, hard-to-reach individuals that only he has what it takes to fix an ailing nation. Yahoo! News People DeWayne Wickham Reported to Head New Communications Department at Morgan State University By AFRO Staff DeWayne Wickham, USA Today and Gannett Co. columnist, is set to create a school of communications at Morgan State University next month, according to an influential media online source. Journal-isms, an online news column on journalism diversity issues, reported June 22 that Wickham, interim chair of the North Carolina A&T State University’s department of journalism and communications, announced his move in a letter June 21 to Dr. Goldie Byrd, dean of Morgan’s school of arts and sciences. AFRO A Closer Look Why Are We Still Calling Kids ‘Illegitimate?’ By Stacia L. Brown Earlier this week, Blog Her posted an article by Christelyn D. Karazin titled “Why Doesn’t the Black Community Value Black Marriage?.” In it, Karazin, founder of the No Wedding, No Womb initiative and co-author of Swirling: How to Date, Mate and Relate, Mixing Race, Culture and Creed, heralds the concept of shotgun weddings (since they mean that the child the bride is carrying won’t be born ‘illegitimate’). She also asserts that white men are likelier to do the “honorable” thing and make sure their children are born within wedlock. Clutch Crime Rate of Killings Rises 38 Percent in Chicago in ’12 By Monica Davey Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first reading material each morning, at 5:30, is not a budget update, a legislative proposal or a packet of headlines. It is an e-mail from the Chicago Police Department listing the crimes that were committed during the night that just ended. By 7 a.m., he is calling Garry F. McCarthy, the police superintendent. That is unlikely to be their final conversation of the day, or even of the morning. Mr. Emanuel listed safer streets among his top three priorities when he became mayor a year ago, but Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, is now testing that promise. New York Times Culture and Society Living Up to the Superwoman Standard By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. Back in the late '80s, Karyn White sang "Superwoman," in which she dispelled the idea of being a woman who's strong enough to withstand everything thrown at her, including mistreatment by her man. Ten years earlier, scholar Michele Wallace wrote the seminal Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman, a black womanist manifesto unpacking sexism in the black community and the challenges that black women face in society. It was one of the first books truly critiquing the systems in place, ways of thinking and being that feed the myth of black women as the ultimate heroine. The Root Education Public Universities See Familiar Fight at Virginia By Tamar Lewin The tumult at the University of Virginia undefined with the sudden ouster of President Teresa Sullivan on June 10, and the widespread anticipation that she will be reinstated on Tuesday undefined reflects a low-grade panic now spreading through much of public higher education. “Is it possible to be a successful president of a public university?” mused Mark G. Yudof, the president of the University of California. “I’m not willing to say these jobs are impossible, but these are very difficult times. New York Times Labor & Employment New Union Leader Vows Tougher Fight for Rights By Steven Greenhouse For Lee Saunders, the newly elected president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, defeat does not mean retreat. Just the opposite: less than a month after the union lost its fight to recall Wisconsin’s anti-labor governor, Mr. Saunders is already planning his next campaign. The union is seeking a referendum to repeal a Michigan law that lets the governor appoint emergency managers to run deficit-plagued cities and void their contracts with public sector unions. New York Times Movie Review Sneak Peek: Winnie, Starring Jennifer Hudson & Terrance Howard – Love It Or Leave It Alone? By Britni Danielle After nearly two years of delays, questionable casting choices, and a new distributor (megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes), Winnie, the biopic of Winnie Mandela, is gearing up to hit theaters this fall. The film stars Jennifer Hudson in the title role and casts her alongside Terrance Howard, who stars as Winnie’s husband, Nelson Mandela. Many, including Winnie Mandela herself, were trouble by the casting choices, and if this trailer is any indication, I can see why. Clutch Opinion/Editorial Some black parents see physical discipline as a duty. The NAACP shouldn’t agree. By Stacey Patton Earlier this month, Atlanta megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar was arrested after his 15-year-old daughter called 911 to say that he had choked and slapped her. He was held in jail for a few hours. After being released, he called his daughter a liar from the pulpit of his 30,000-member church. Many have defended him; others have suggested that his actions were inappropriate, even if his daughter had “disrespected” his authority by arguing about a party that he had ruled off-limits. Washington Post Smartphones Five not so obvious ways to extend the battery life on your smartphone By Marty Gabel, Appolicious While smartphones are taking on many of the features of personal computers, it is not really practical to leave them plugged into a wall throughout the day. This is a problem as apps, navigation services and faster network connections are causing our batteries to run out of juice more quickly than ever. Thankfully, there are some obvious and not so obvious ways to extend battery life on our phones. Here are five tips worth exploring right away. Yahoo! News Sports Venus Williams Loses in First Round By Christopher Clarey Pursed lips and grimaces are like shouts and howls for Venus Williams, the more poker-faced of the two sisters who have won so many Wimbledons. But Williams’s subtle body language shouted volumes Monday, the opening day of this year’s championships. She has not always been at her sparkling best on the grass of her beloved All England Club, but she has perhaps never looked as lost on any lawn as she did against Elena Vesnina. New York Times U.S. Department of Justice, FBI and FDLE to probe Trayvon Martin killing By Frances Robles The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the FBI will investigate the killing of Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer, the department announced late Monday. The announcement coincided with a statement from Florida Gov. Rick Scott asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to offer “appropriate resources” in the case. The federal and state agencies are intervening in what attorneys call a botched investigation into the killing of the Michael Krop Senior High School student, who was killed Feb. 26 in Sanford, a town of 55,000 just north of Orlando. Trayvon, 17, on suspension from school, was staying at his father’s girlfriend’s house when he walked to a nearby a 7-Eleven store to buy candy and iced tea. Miami Herald ‘Kony 2012′ filmmaker expected to be released from mental hospital soon By Dylan Stableford, The Envoy The wife of Jason Russell, the creator of the viral "Kony 2012" video, said her husband was suffering from "extreme exhaustion and dehydration," after police found him last week nearly naked and incoherent in his San Diego neighborhood. Russell's wife Danica said in a statement that her 33-year-old husband's meltdown was not caused by drugs or alcohol. "Jason has never had a substance abuse or drinking problem, and this episode wasn't caused by either of those things," she wrote. "But yes, he did some irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion." Russell was expected to be released soon from a mental facility. A spokeswoman for Invisible Children, the San Diego-based advocacy group Russell co-founded, did not return a request from Yahoo News for comment. "Because of how personal the [Kony] film is, many of the attacks against it were also very personal and Jason took them very hard," Danica's statement continued. Yahoo! News National Michelle Obama to Letterman: ‘This isn’t ‘Oprah’! Where are the laughs?’ By Dylan Stableford, The Cutline Michelle Obama made her first appearance on the "Late Show With David Letterman" on Monday. And during a discussion about the importance of family, the first lady told Letterman about her father. "My father had multiple sclerosis," she said. "I never knew him to be able to walk, but my dad worked so hard and he loved us so much, and I think from him I learned just absolute, complete unconditional love, the notion that kids really don't need anything but to know that their parents adore them." She continued: "We had rules, we had boundaries, but there wasn't anything my dad wouldn't do for us, and, uh--don't make me cry.   Yahoo! News A conundrum for conservative talk radio By Paul Farhi Dan Sileo just got a taste of what might be called the Rush Limbaugh Effect. On his sports-talk radio program in Tampa last week, Sileo enthusiastically endorsed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ interest in a trio of free-agent players. Maybe a bit too enthusiastically. “If they got those three monkeys, I’m good,” Sileo said about the players, all of whom are African American. “I’m ready, man . . . I want those guys. Those guys are great players.”  Washington Post Killings of Officer and 5 Others Detailed as Mob Trial Begins By Mosi Secret The off-duty police officer was ambushed by gunmen, and left to die in the street outside his home in Brooklyn. For two other men, the end came farther from home: they were killed separately in the basement of a man they had trusted, prosecutors say. One was a mob associate who wanted out of the life; he was shot once in the back of the head, never to be seen again. The other was an underboss who apparently had accumulated too much clout for comfort; his body was not found for nearly a decade.  New York Times Politics and Government The black vote: 5 states where Obama needs a big African-American turnout By Perry Bacon Jr.  President Obama's campaign will likely need the kind of strong black turnout he received in 2008 to win re-election, particularly if some of the white independent voters who backed him four years ago opt for the Republican candidate because of frustration over the president's tenure. Here's a look at five states the president won in 2008, where the black vote is again critical to his chances. 1. North Carolina Obama won this state, becoming the first Democrat to do so since 1976. But he won by only about 14,000 votes out of more than four million cast.  The Grio On Primary’s Eve, Romney Cuts to General Election By Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg Republican voters have yet to give Mitt Romney a green light to begin a formal campaign against President Obama, so Mr. Romney paid a visit to the president’s old neighborhood here on Monday for yet another audition to show he is tough enough to win the general election. On the eve of the Illinois primary, where he hopes a commanding victory will start extinguishing the insurgent fire of Rick Santorum, Mr. Romney took the luxury of ignoring his Republican rivals.   New York Times 4 Republican justices control fate of health law By Mark Sherman, Associated Press Here's a thought that can't comfort President Barack Obama: The fate of his health care overhaul rests with four Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices. His most sweeping domestic achievement could be struck down if they stand together with Justice Clarence Thomas, another GOP appointee who is the likeliest vote against. But the good news for Obama is that he probably needs only one of the four to side with him to win approval of the law's crucial centerpiece, the requirement that almost everyone in this country has insurance or pays a penalty.  Yahoo! News Legal Matters Swimsuit Model Accused of Heading International Drug Ring Captured By Kevin Dolak and David Wright The international swimsuit model accused of being the mastermind of a worldwide drug ring run out of a Hollywood apartment has been arrested in Australia after skipping out on bail over a month ago. Simone Farrow, who was once the face of the Ed Hardy brand of bikinis, used 19 different aliases to ship methamphetamine around the world by FedEx and even the postal service, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency and Australian police.  Yahoo! News A Closer Look Horse racing drama 'Luck' proved too real for HBO By Lynn Elber, Associated Press Horse racing has long withstood the deaths of its skittish, injury-prone thoroughbreds. Hollywood proved it lacks the stomach for it. HBO abruptly cancelled its racetrack drama series "Luck" this past week after three horses used in the production were injured and euthanized during 10 months of filming in the last two years. The abrupt fall of "Luck," which will end its single-season run on March 25, reveals the chasm between the racing and entertainment industries.  Yahoo! News Education When high school is too much: 1 in 4 don't graduate, report finds By Michael Muskal The nation is making progress in increasing the high school graduation rate, according to a study released Monday, yet 1 in 4 Americans don't complete high school. The report, released by advocacy groups, was presented at the Grad Nation education summit in Washington, D.C. The event itself was organized by the America’s Promise Alliance, founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The national graduation rate increased by 3.5 percentage points between 2001 and 2009, the report found.   Los Angeles Times Entertainment The Temptations Join Chorus of Lawsuits Over iTunes Royalties By Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter Another major class-action lawsuit has just been filed on the digital royalties front. The Temptations, the pioneering male vocal group from the 1960s, is suing Universal Music in federal court in California, seeking millions of dollars after allegedly being cheated out of revenue from digital downloads and ringtones. Otis Williams, one of the original members of The Temptations, and Ron Tyson, one of the later members, are the latest to join a growing chorus of musicians who are going to court with allegations that record labels have stiffed musicians by accounting for downloads off of iTunes as "sales" rather than "licenses."   Billboard.biz Health & Medicine Doctors' life-support skills fade after training By Amy Norton, Reuters Doctors and nurses are trained in how to save a cardiac arrest victim's life, but those skills can fade quickly if they're not used, a new study shows. In a review of 11 international studies, researchers found that health providers' skills in advanced life support typically deteriorated six months to a year after training, based on test performance. That's concerning, since the standard guideline calls for re-training every two years, note the researchers, led by Dr. Matthew Huei-Ming Ma of National Taiwan University Hospital.   Yahoo! News National Security Schools Report: Failing To Prepare Students Hurts National Security, Prosperity By Joy Resmovits Thirty years ago, a Reagan administration report warned of "a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people." The report, "A Nation at Risk," tied that mediocrity to the alleged failure of America's schools. Fast forward to 2012, and the story hasn't changed, former New York City schools chief Joel Klein and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in a report provided to The Huffington Post slated to be released Tuesday.   The Huffington Post Obituaries Donald Payne Funeral: Bill Clinton, Former Colleagues Remember New Jersey Congressman By David Porter Rep. Donald Payne was a modest man who favored quiet persuasion over bombast, qualities that didn't detract from his effectiveness as an advocate for the most vulnerable in the U.S. and abroad, former friends and colleagues recalled at his funeral Wednesday. Former President Bill Clinton called Payne, who died last week of colon cancer at age 77, "a dear friend" who "made me a better president" for his humanitarian efforts in Africa and elsewhere.  The Huffington Post Sports Peyton Manning picks Denver Broncos; Tim Tebow status cloudy By Jarrett Bell Peyton Manning, the most prominent free agent in NFL history, finally made his big decision Monday. And the Denver Broncos won the prize of lofty new expectations. Manning, who turns 36 on Saturday, instantly pushes Tim Tebow out of a starting job and assumes his quest to win a second Super Bowl with the franchise hoping to repeat the glory it achieved more than 13 years ago with John Elway. Manning informed the Broncos early Monday that they could begin negotiations with his agent, Tom Condon, according to ESPN, citing multiple people, and the Associated Press based on a person with knowledge of the discussions.  USA Today Technology & Innovation DirecTV begins working on broadcasting Ultra HDTV signals By Mike Flacy, Digital Trends According to a report from Advanced Television, DirecTV is rolling out plans regarding upgrades that will eventually send out an Ultra HDTV signal. While a 1080p high definition signal offers 1080 horizontal lines of vertical resolution, DirecTV will be offering services for both “4000-line and 8000-line services” according to the company. In order to enable the transition, DirecTV will continue moving away from Ku-band satellites within the next four to five years and change over to Ka-band to take advantage of higher bandwidth.   Yahoo! News Television 'Dancing With the Stars' kicks off Season 14 By Ann Oldenburg It's back! Dancing With the Stars, the show you love - and love to mock - returned Monday on ABC with that familiar theme song, tons o' spangles and jiggles, hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke-Charvet; judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli; musical director Harold Wheeler and the band; spray tans for everyone, and a ballroom full of fans and semi-famous folks. So how did the fabulous lineup of stars and their pro partners do? Here's how the hoofing went down, with surprisingly high scores for a first night.   USA Today Top Story State Delegate Will Move Forward With Leveling the Playing Field for Minority and Woman Md. Del. Barbara Robinson has drafted a bill for the 2012 legislative session that would exclude some nonprofits from the state’s Minority Business Enterprise Program Maryland Del. Barbara Robinson has drafted a bill for the 2012 legislative session that would exclude some nonprofits from the state’s Minority Business Enterprise Program On Wednesday, January 4th 2012, to start the New Year off in an inclusive way the state’s number one General Assembly advocate for minority and women owned business challenged the powerful, state Board of Public Works. Delegate Barbara A. Robinson, 40th district single-handedly addressed the three member board with standing room only and said,  “there should be an even playing field, when you put a MBE against a nonprofit, it’s not an even playing field.” Despite her objections, Chimes Inc., a preference provider that helps people with employment opportunities and people with disabilities was still approved for a $63.8 million contract, janitorial contract at BWI without spending the required 25%, a sub goal with other true MBE’s. Comptroller Peter Franchot, a member of the state Board of Public Works said, “I think, from what I’m hearing, (preference providers) predates the MBE practice, the best way to address this is in the legislative process, which begins this week.” Anti-Wall Street protests spread nationwide By Chris Hawley, Associated Press Protests against Wall Street spread across the country Monday as demonstrators marched on Federal Reserve banks and camped out in parks from Los Angeles to Portland, Maine, in a show of anger over the wobbly economy and what they see as corporate greed. In Manhattan, hundreds of protesters dressed as corporate zombies in white face paint lurched past the New York Stock Exchange clutching fistfuls of fake money. In Chicago, demonstrators pounded drums in the city's financial district. Others pitched tents or waved protest signs at passing cars in Boston, St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo. The arrests of 700 protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend galvanized a slice of discontented America, from college students worried about their job prospects to middle-age workers who have been recently laid off. Yahoo! News National Amanda Knox Leaves Italian Prison Following Acquittal By Phoebe Natanson and Nikki Battiste Amanda Knox was acquitted today of a murder that riveted three countries for the past four years and just hours later was whisked away from an Italian prison, ending her four-year ordeal The Seattle woman's legs buckled and she let out a silent cry when the judge in Perugia, Italy, announced that the appeals court had thrown out her conviction for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher and vacated her 26-year prison sentence.  Yahoo! News   Politics and Government Obama: Commander in chief must support gay troops By Julie Pace, Associated Press President Barack Obama sharply rebuked his Republican rivals, saying anyone who wants to be commander in chief must support the entire U.S. military, including gay service members. A combative Obama on Saturday criticized Republican presidential candidates for staying silent when the crowd at a recent debate booed a gay soldier who asked a question of the contenders via videotape.  Yahoo! News   Military History! Army Selects First Black Woman As Two Star General By The Associated Press For Marcia Anderson, the promotion from brigadier general to major general validates the work of everyone who came before her. Anderson on Thursday became the first African-American woman given a second star as a general in the U.S. Army during a ceremony at Fort Knox. It’s a day, Anderson said, that black soldiers who fought during the Civil War or the Tuskegee Airmen could never have imagined.  NEWSONE People Andy Rooney ends '60 Minutes' run of 33 years By Frazier Moore, AP Television Writer Andy Rooney insisted he's not retiring. He's a writer, and a writer never stops being a writer. Even so, he delivered his final weekly essay on "60 Minutes" Sunday night, his last in his 33 years with the newsmagazine. It was a moment, he said he has dreaded. "I wish I could do this forever. I can't, though," he said. CBS News announced last week that the 92-year-old Rooney would be stepping down from his well-entrenched berth on "60 Minutes" after delivering his 1,097th commentary.  Yahoo! News A Closer Look Study Cites Increase in Cancers From HPV By Denise Grady Throat cancers caused by a virus transmitted during oral sex have increased significantly in the United States in recent years, researchers reported on Monday. The virus is the same one that causes many cases of cervical cancer: human papillomavirus (HPV) Type 16. Researchers tested tumor samples from 271 patients with certain types of throat cancer diagnosed from 1984 to 2004. The virus was found in only 16 percent of the samples from the 1980s undefined but in 72 percent of those collected after 2000.  New York Times Civil Rights Study: Education About Civil Rights Movement Is 'Dismal' In U.S. Schools By Eyder Peralta The Southern Poverty Law Center has some tough words for school districts across the country. A new study found that education about the Civil Rights Movement is "dismal" across the United States. The study assigned 35 states a grade of "F". Only three states undefined Alabama, New York and Florida undefined received an "A". Here's how the study's authors sum it up:  National Public Radio Health & Medicine Hoping to Crack Alzheimer’s, Together as a Family By Pam Belluck and Salvador Rodriguez For the Betancur family, it was a kind of pilgrimage, an act of faith in science. In September, four family members traveled from Medellin, Colombia, to the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, along with eight distant relatives. There are many more where they came from, about 5,000 undefined all members of the largest extended family linked to an inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease.  New York Times Opinion/Editorial Cain more interested in white than black votes By DeWayne Wickham Energized by his surprise victory in Florida's GOP straw poll, Herman Cain quickly sought to strengthen his standing among conservatives by giving them something that no other GOP presidential candidate can undefined absolution on the haunting issue of race. "Many African Americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view," Cain, the only black in the field of announced Republican presidential contenders, said during an interview on CNN.  USA Today On Eve of Redefining Malcolm X, Biographer Dies By Larry Rohter For two decades, the Columbia University professor Manning Marable focused on the task he considered his life’s work: redefining the legacy of Malcolm X. Last fall he completed “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,” a 594-page biography described by the few scholars who have seen it as full of new and startling information and insights. The book is scheduled to be published on Monday, and Mr. Marable had been looking forward to leading a vigorous public discussion of his ideas. But on Friday Mr. Marable, 60, died in a hospital in New York as a result of medical problems he thought he had overcome. Officials at Viking, which is publishing the book, said he was able to look at it before he died. But as his health wavered, they were scrambling to delay interviews, including an appearance on the “Today” show in which his findings would have finally been aired. New York Times National The foreclosure mess isn’t going away By Zachary Roth We've told you before about how big banks cut corners on paperwork over the last few years in order to speed struggling homeowners into foreclosure. And a "60 Minutes" report that aired last night offers fresh anecdotal reporting on just how irresponsible--and potentially fraudulent--the banks' practices were. Meanwhile, compelling video of a grandmother being evicted from her home by a SWAT team last week suggests the banks aren't slowing down their rush to foreclosure and eviction.  Yahoo! News People Rethinking Condoleezza Rice By Alexis G. Stodghill In a recent Newsweek poll, Ms. Condoleezza was voted one of the most admired women in America, garnering 10% of the vote. She beat out the frighteningly ubiquitous Sarah Palin by four percentage points, competing favorably with venerated stateswoman Hillary Clinton. Rice’s discussion of her singledom on “Piers Morgan Tonight” was a widely-circulated Internet sensation, demonstrating her mass appeal. The politico even made Vanity Fair’s international best dressed list.   Clutch No Justice for the Wrongly Imprisoned By Sherrilyn A. Ifill It was a bad sign at oral argument in Connick v. Thompson last October that the plight of John Thompson was never mentioned. In his opening remarks, his attorney tried to refer to his client. But the justices weren't having any of it. Not one of the nine made a specific reference to Thompson, who spent 18 years in Louisiana's Angola prison -- one of the most notorious prisons in the country. Or that 14 of those years were spent on death row -- in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.   The Root Politics and Government Obama opens bid for new term, no longer outsider By Ben Feller, AP White House Correspondent  No longer the fresh voice of change, President Barack Obama embarked on a bid for re-election Monday by asking a divided, anxious electorate to let him finish the job he won in 2008. He's getting an early start against a Republican field that's still undefined, but he's saddled with an ailing economy that still isn't working for millions of voters Obama began with an effort to recapture his outsider's touch of 2008, bypassing a public statement from the White House in favor of an email sent to millions of supporters.  Yahoo! Civil Rights Almena Lomax dies at 95; civil rights activist launched Los Angeles Tribune newspaper By Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times Almena Lomax, a journalist and civil rights activist who launched the Los Angeles Tribune, a feisty weekly newspaper that served the African American community in the 1940s and '50s, died March 25 in Pasadena. She was 95. Her death came after a short illness, said her son, Michael, president and chief executive of United Negro College Fund.  Los Angeles Times Health & Medicine Studies question heart bypass, angioplasty method By Marilynn Marchione, AP Medical Writer  Two new studies could change care for hundreds of thousands of heart patients each year. One finds that bypass surgery has been overrated for many people with very weak hearts from clogged arteries and previous heart attacks. The other challenges the way artery-opening procedures have been done for decades. It was the first big test of doing balloon angioplasty to clear heart arteries through an arm instead of a leg.   Yahoo! News Black History How Slavery Really Ended in America By Adam Goodheart On May 23, 1861, little more than a month into the Civil War, three young black men rowed across the James River in Virginia and claimed asylum in a Union-held citadel. Fort Monroe, Va., a fishhook-shaped spit of land near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, had been a military post since the time of the first Jamestown settlers. This spot where the slaves took refuge was also, by remarkable coincidence, the spot where slavery first took root, one summer day in 1619, when a Dutch ship landed with some 20 African captives for the fledgling Virginia Colony.  New York Times The Arts Onstage, a proliferation of African-American voices By Don Aucoin, Globe Staff When “Broke-ology’’ opened last week at Lyric Stage Company, with an all-black cast performing a work by a black playwright under the guidance of a black director, the remarkable thing was how unremarkable it was. Nathan Louis Jackson’s heartfelt family drama, directed by Benny Sato Ambush, was just the latest of numerous recent area productions that have showcased predominantly black casts in plays that explored aspects of the African-American experience while also tackling universal themes.   Boston Globe Ala. leaders apologize for handling of 1944 rape By Bob Johnson, Associated Press  Nearly 70 years after Recy Taylor was raped by a gang of white men, leaders of the rural southeast Alabama community where it happened apologized Monday, acknowledging that her attackers escaped prosecution because of racism and an investigation bungled by police. "It is apparent that the system failed you in 1944," Henry County probate judge and commission chairwoman JoAnn Smith told several of Taylor's relatives at a news conference at the county courthouse. Taylor, 91, lives in Florida and did not attend the news conference. Family members said she was in poor health and was not up to traveling to Abbeville or speaking with reporters. But her 74-year-old brother Robert Corbitt, who still lives in town, was front and center and said he would relay the apology to his sister. "What happened to my sister way back then ... couldn't happen today," he said. "Boy, what a mess they made out of it. They tried to make her look like a whore and she was a Christian lady." Yahoo! News Trial to Open in Lawsuit Connected to Hospital Deaths After Katrina By Sheri Fink A jury trial set to open on Monday will weigh whether one of America’s largest health care corporations should be held accountable for deaths and injuries at a New Orleans hospital marooned by floodwaters after Hurricane Katrina. The class-action suit is expected to highlight desperate e-mail exchanges, not previously made public, between the hospital and its corporate parent. “Are you telling us we are on our own and you cannot help?” Sandra Cordray, a communications manager at Memorial Medical Center, which sheltered some 1,800 people, wrote to officials at the Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s Dallas headquarters after begging them for supplies and an airlift. The suit, brought on behalf of people who were at the hospital during the disaster, alleges that insufficiencies in Memorial’s backup electrical system and failed plans for patient care and evacuation, among other factors, caused personal injury and death. New York Times National Legendary bluesman Pinetop Perkins dead at 97 By Shelia Byrd and Jim Vertuno  In 1969 in Buffalo, N.Y., a wiry, middle-aged chain smoker sat in on piano during a jam session and earned a spot in the band of legendary bluesman Muddy Waters. By then, Pinetop Perkins had already performed with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk. The old school bluesman with the aggressive keyboard style and gravelly voice had played the rickety bars among the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta, and toured with rock pioneer Ike Turner in the 1950s. "Muddy came by, and heard him jamming, and he liked what he heard. The rest is history," said Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, who was a drummer in the band.  Yahoo! News Chauncey Bailey case to begin with opening remarks By Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer When an attorney for one of the defendants in the killings of Oakland newspaper editor Chauncey Bailey and two other men tried to get the murder trial moved out of Alameda County last year, he compared his client to Nazi lieutenant Hermann Goering. Attorney Gary Sirbu argued that trying Antoine Mackey next to Yusuf Bey IV, the former leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery accused of having ordered the killings, would be like trying Goering next to Adolf Hitler.   San Francisco Chronicle South Carolina bill targets prisoners on Facebook By Meg Kinnard, Associated Press Islam Dunn updates his Facebook page with a phone like so many other 19-year-olds, only he must hide the device so the prison guards don't notice. The proliferation of cell phones smuggled into prisons has some inmates routinely updating their status from the inside, and South Carolina is considering becoming the first state to make that a crime. The measure would add 30 days to a prisoner's sentence if he is caught interacting on social networking sites via cell phone.  Yahoo! News Politics and Government Obama faces growing criticism for Libya campaign By Paul Richter and Christi Parsons  President Obama is facing growing criticism at home and abroad over whether the military campaign in Libya is the wrong policy undefined or the right policy at the wrong time. Obama, on a five-day tour of Latin America, defended his administration's muscular approach in Libya, saying it was "very easy to square our military actions and our stated policies." Speaking in Chile, Obama said U.S. military forces would focus on the goal approved by the U.N. Security Council last week, preventing longtime leader Moammar Kadafi's army from attacking Libyan civilians. But he also reiterated that Kadafi should be removed.  Los Angeles Times A Proud ‘Lobbyist’ and ‘Southerner’ Weighs ‘President’ By Jeff Zeleny He became wealthy as a lobbyist, representing tobacco companies and foreign governments. A former Republican Party chairman, he would seem the ultimate Washington insider. A white Southerner, he has faced questions about his remarks on race. As he steps closer to becoming a presidential candidate, Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi has some explaining to do. And rather than running away from his background, he is embracing it. A lobbyist? Well, he knows how to promote an agenda.   New York Times Technology allows citizens to be part of redistricting process By Gregory Korte Political science professor Chad Murphy often sees senior Mike Kappert wandering around the University of Mary Washington campus with his laptop open and a map of Virginia state Senate districts up in his Web browser. Kappert, working around the clock to meet a tight deadline, is using new software to draw an updated Senate district map undefined one he hopes will win his team a $2,000 top prize in a statewide competition when the winning maps are announced Tuesday.   USA Today Legal Matters Bayer hit with discrimination suit by six current, ex-employees By Thomas Olson Six current and former employees of Bayer Corp.'s HealthCare Pharmaceuticals unit filed a class-action lawsuit against the company yesterday alleging they suffered systematic gender discrimination at the Bayer business in Wayne, N.J. The women claim they and "hundreds" of other female workers at Bayer were denied adequate pay and promotions, especially if they became pregnant, despite having a history of achievement at Bayer. "High-ranking company officials within the predominantly male management team foster an environment hostile to the success and advancement of female employees," the lawsuit stated.   Pittsburg Tribune-Review Opinion/Editorial Jalen Rose needs to take back 'Uncle Tom' jab By DeWayne Wickham An ESPN sports analyst and former NBA star, Rose is an executive producer of the Fab Five, the controversial HBO documentary that has tongues wagging across the sports world. Meant to tell the story of the five freshmen who took the University of Michigan's basketball team to two consecutive NCAA title games, the documentary takes an ugly turn when Rose is seen on screen suggesting the black players on the Duke University team that defeated Michigan in the 1992 title game were "Uncle Toms." "For me, Duke was personal," Rose says in the documentary.   USA Today A Closer Look Two Bush Officials In Running to Head FBI By Stephanie Woodrow Two former Bush administration officials are under serious consideration to succeed Robert Mueller as FBI director, according to people familiar with the search, the Associated Press reported. Muller's 10-year, nonrenewable term ends Sept. 4. James Comey served as Deputy Attorney General from December 2003 to August 2005. He faced controversy during his tenure. In 2005 Comey unsuccessfully tried to limit tough interrogation tactics against suspected terrorists, including waterboarding, which many described as torture.  Main Justice Education Incentives Offered to Raise College Graduation Rates By Tamar Lewin In what amounts to a “Race to the Top” for higher education, the Obama administration is offering competitive grants and a new “tool kit” to help states increase their college completion rates. During a news briefing Monday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the program, to be formally announced Tuesday by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., would include only incentives undefined no “sticks” undefined for reforms aimed at helping the administration meet its goal of adding eight million college graduates by 2020.  New York Times
National Crime Scenes: A month later, no signs of missing teen By Peter Hermann, The Baltimore Sun They did all the things that siblings do when siblings get together after having been months and miles apart. They went shopping for slippers and chatted about hairdos. They visited their grandmother for Christmas. They sat up late watching movies and eating cookies. "You know, being sisters." Deena Barnes stresses that point in interviews, including her most recent on an Internet radio program, trying to dispel stories about strange men and alcohol in her Northwest Baltimore apartment in the days before her younger half sister, Phylicia, disappeared on the afternoon of Dec. 28.   Community Activists Criticize Handling of Beating Case by Shernay Williams AFRO Staff Writer A group of independent Black journalists and community activists are demanding comment from freshly sworn-in State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein about his dismissal of felony charges against a Jewish man accused of attacking a Black teenager in Northwest Baltimore last November. Last week, Bernstein’s office would not comment on the felony assault charge they dropped against Jewish community patrolman Eliyahu Werdesheim. The State’s Attorney’s Office decided to drop the chargeundefinedthe steepest of fourundefinedat a preliminary hearing on Jan. 20. Werdesheim now faces only misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, false imprisonment and possession of a deadly weapon. “At the end of the day, we just want an answer (from Bernstein),” said Hassan Giordano of the Baltimore Black Media Group. “We think it is only fair and fitting.” Giordano and other activists held a media conference in front of the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse Jan. 24 seeking answers. Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, former Baltimore NAACP president, said Bernstein vowed “fair and equal” prosecutions during his swearing-in ceremony, therefore, he owes an explanation to the Black community. According to court records, the 16-year-old alleged victim had been walking in the predominately-Jewish Upper Park Heights neighborhood when Werdesheim, Werdesheim’s brother, Avi, and another man allegedly forced him to the ground and struck him with a radio. The teen sustained lacerations, bruises and a broken wrist. During the assault, Eliyahu Werdesheim reportedly said, "You don't belong around here. Get out of here." “If that’s not first degree assault, I don’t know what is,” Giordano said. The attack sparked an outcry from Black and Jewish community leaders late last year and tested Black and Jewish relations in Baltimore City. Michael Eugene Johnson, a leader of the Paul Robeson Institute and a city council candidate, said the public felt the “volatile” incident was handled poorly. “If this is the way he is going to handle all cases, then we are in trouble,” he told reporters. The leaders also criticized the State’s Attorney’s Office for not demanding bail from Avi Werdesheim, who is also charged with misdemeanors. They are calling for a federal probe to determine whether or not the accused should face hate crime charges. After the press conference, Bernstein’s office released a curt statement, saying the decision to drop the charge against Eliyahu Werdesheim was “based on a careful and thorough investigation of the facts and analysis of the applicable law.” “It is not appropriate to make any further public statements about the facts of this caseundefinedor any other pending casesundefineduntil after a trial in which all of the evidence is presented,” it read. “Such public comments are unfair to all the parties involved.” The injured teen’s attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, told the AFRO Bernstein is “being soft” on Werdesheim because he is Jewish. “There is no other reason why the charges would be dropped,” he said, insisting the incident had all the elements of a hate crime. “This young child was assaulted because he was African American in a Jewish community.” The third man involved in the attack has yet to be prosecuted, he said, and the two brothers are receiving “special treatment.” Gordon asserts he has reason to believe the two men are dual citizens of Israel and the U.S. and can flee at any moment, especially the second brother who did not face bail demands. Culture and Society Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above By Susan Saulny In another time or place, the game of “What Are You?” that was played one night last fall at the University of Maryland might have been mean, or menacing: Laura Wood’s peers were picking apart her every feature in an effort to guess her race. “How many mixtures do you have?” one young man asked above the chatter of about 50 students. With her tan skin and curly brown hair, Ms. Wood’s ancestry could have spanned the globe

Administration Releases New Information on Affordable Care Act’s

Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

New Guidance Gives Small Employers Full Set of Tools to Claim Credit for 2010;

Credit Covers Up To 35 Percent of Small Employers’ Health Care Contributions

The tax credit is already having a substantial impact. Insurance companies have used the tax credit to encourage more businesses to provide benefits. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of

Today, the Obama Administration is releasing new guidance that will make it easier for small businesses to claim this tax credit.

Facts About the New Guidance         

·         Gives Small Employers Full Set of Tools to Claim Credit for 2010.  The new guidance includes all the tools small businesses need to claim the credit when they file their 2010 taxes, including the one-page form (Form 8941) and instructions used to claim the credit for tax year 2010, as well as the remaining guidance for 2010.  All of this information is now available at www.irs.gov.

·         Clarifies that Religious Institutions Qualify.  Due to their special status under other law, religious institutions that obtain coverage through a denominational organization that self-insures the coverage can qualify for the credit, even though the coverage is not fully insured – a requirement for most employers.  The guidance makes clear that this rule applies solely for purposes of eligibility for the small business tax credit.

·         Explains “Qualifying Arrangement” –

·         Clarifies that Certain Employers Contributing to Multiemployer Health and Welfare Plans Qualify.   The guidance provides that a small employer that makes contributions to a multiemployer plan that are used to pay premiums for employee health insurance coverage may qualify for the credit, so long as 100 percent of the cost of coverage for all employees covered by the multiemployer plan is paid from employer contributions and not by employees.

Facts About the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

• Available Immediately.  Enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, the credit was effective January 1, 2010.  As a result, small businesses currently providing health care for their workers receive immediate help with their premium costs.
• Broad Eligibility.  The Council of Economic Advisors estimates that 4 million small businesses are eligible for the credit if they provide health care to their workers. 
• Substantial Benefit.  The credit is worth up to 35 percent of a small business’s premium costs in 2010 and in each of 2011, 2012, and 2013.  In 2014, this rate increases to 50 percent.
• Firms Can Claim Credit for Up to 6 Years. Firms can claim the credit for 2010 through 2013 and for any two years after that.
• Non-Profits Eligible.  Tax-exempt organizations are eligible for a 25 percent tax credit in 2010 and in each of 2011, 2012, and 2013.  In 2014, this rate increases to 35 percent.^[1][1]
• Gradual Phase-Outs.  The credit phases out gradually for firms with average wages between $25,000 and $50,000 and for firms with the equivalent of between 10 and 25 full-time workers. 
• Premium Cost Eligibility.  To avoid an incentive to choose a high-cost plan, an employer’s eligible contribution is limited to the average cost of health insurance for small businesses in that state.
• No Reduction Due to State Credits.  The credit is not reduced if an employer also receives a state health care tax credit or subsidy (except in limited circumstances to prevent abuse of the credit).   In particular, an employer that receives such a state tax credit or subsidy also receives the full federal credit based on its entire contribution so long as the federal credit does not exceed the employer’s net contribution.  According to lists compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures, about 20 states offer these benefits.[2][2]

• Dental and Vision Coverage Qualify.  Small businesses can receive the credit not only for traditional health insurance coverage but also for add-on dental, vision, and other limited-scope coverage.

• Employers Can Choose the Most Favorable Method of Determining Hours Worked.  Because the tax credit’s matching rate is highest for employers with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), the number of hours worked is an important factor in calculating the credit.  Employers can choose among three different methods of determining hours to minimize their bookkeeping duties while receiving the maximum tax credit for which they are eligible.  Employers can look at actual hours of service, or can use simple rules of convenience to estimate hours based on total days or weeks of service.
  

The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit: Four Cases

Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland

Annual Weekend

Preliminary Schedule

2010

Business Networking at its Finest!

When: Thursday, May 20, 2010 – 6:30-8:30 pm
Where: The Douglass-Myers Maritime Museum,
1417 Thames Street, Fells Point, Baltimore, MD
 
(BALTIMORE – May 17, 2010 - REVISED) – Well, BMORENEWS.com continues its mission to help empower, enlighten, and uplift the community on next Thursday with “The Rendezvous” – a networking event designed to highlight women business owners and professionals in the Maryland/DC area.

The speakers hail from a variety of industries, and will share their goals, their pitfalls, and their successes.

BMORENEWS.com has been hosting such networking events since 2002, including the HARAMBEE Dinner Club, Politics ’06, City7, and The 2009 Soiree Series.

Some of the featured speakers include: the former Mrs. Maryland, Adrienne Watson Carver of Studio A; Ardena Githara, a Grants Management Specialist with the Health Resources and Services Administration; Roshe’ Almateen, who founded her own cosmetic line - Roshe’ Cosmetics, a multi faceted product line including skincare, color cosmetics, and supplies for Makeup Artist; Catalina Byrd (www.CatalinaByrd.com), writer, poet, media personality; Deborah Hardnett of Deborah Hardnett International; Stacie Harris, entrepreneur/activist/author; Chere Cofield, LPN and motivational speaker; Sharon Pinder of The Pinder Group; Cheryl Wood, Founder and CEO of Moms R The Best; Layna B-the Model; DeNai "BFLY" Nixon, owner of B-FRAMED; and spa owner Lisa Ellis. Monique Jones Founder and Owner of While You Where Out Group, LLc.  

All are welcome to attend. The cost is $10 and will include complimentary wine and light fare. Music by DJ Rabbit.

To RSVP, email Caron Brace at [email protected].

This event is brought to you, in-part, by Heart and Soul Magazine (HeartAndSoul.com), RAM Technology and Solutions, and Brandon Woolen of New York Life.

Harvard University Announcement
 No tuition and no student loans

Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, "When only ten percent of the students in elite higher education come from families in the lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution."


If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free... no tuition and no student loans!

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year, visit Harvard's financial aid website at: https://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/ or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.
 
SEND TO SOMEONE WHETHER THEY CAN USE OR NOT. THEY JUST MIGHT KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Radio Host Michael Baisden to Promote Mentorship at Coppin

BALTIMORE (5/07/2010) - Nationally syndicated radio personality Michael Baisden will stop at Coppin State University for his One Million Mentors National Campaign to Save Our Kids tour on Thursday, May 13, 2010 from 6 – 9:30 p.m.

 In collaboration with local mentoring programs including the 100 Black Men of America, The National CARES Mentoring Movement, and the Boys and Girls Club, Baisden will host the event as a part of his national crusade to encourage one million Americans to sign up as mentors for children.

Baltimore is the 54^th city in the tour, which launched in February with the mission to stop in 73 cities in 7 months.

At the free family event, Baisden, Comedian George Wilborn, and the local mentoring organizations will lead mentoring forums and a town hall meeting in Coppin’s Physical Education Complex (PEC). Baltimore City adults and children will be encouraged to join the national campaign. 

“The video-taped beating of Chicago teen Derrion Albert was truly the final straw for me,” said Baisden. “After seeing it broadcast repeatedly on national news, I knew I needed to step up and get involved personally in the effort to save our kids.

“My hope is that by touring across the country, this national mentoring campaign will have an impact on some of these young people who need caring adults involved in their lives,” Baisden said.

In addition to promoting the registration of new mentors, Baisden will also match up to $350,000 for every dollar donated at the event to support local mentorship programs through his foundation. The Michael Baisden Foundation is a non-profit organization with the mission to eliminate illiteracy and promote the education, support and advancement of communities.

Baisden will broadcast his national radio show and local radio host, Lolo, will broadcast her “Quiet Hour” program live from Coppin for Magic 95.9 FM on the day of the event.

To learn more, contact Sherrye Larkins at (410) 951-3819 or through email at [email protected]

-30-

MEDIA CONTACT:

Shernay Williams, PR Associate

Office of University Relations

(410) 951-3827

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COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nearly 600 to Receive Degrees at Coppin State on May 23^rd 

PFIZER MEDICAL CHIEF TO DELIVER COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

BALTIMORE, MD -- (05/06/10) – Dr. Freda C. Lewis-Hall, a Maryland native and a physician widely known for her “scientific achievement, patient health advocacy, and government service”, will deliver the commencement address at Coppin State University’s graduation exercises on May 23, 2010.

The commencement ceremonies, which will be held on campus for the first time in many years, are scheduled for 10:00 A.M. in the University’s newly-opened Physical Education Complex Arena. The colorful exercise is expected to draw a capacity audience to the facility which seats 3,400.

“We are especially pleased to welcome our commencement speaker to the campus and look forward to her address,” Coppin’s President Dr. Reginald S. Avery said. “We have great admiration for her achievements and contributions in the science and health fields and in so many other areas.”

Dr. Avery added, “Commencements always provide a dramatic and gratifying climax to our academic year. We congratulate the graduates and wish them continued success in their careers and personal pursuits.”

In the year in which it is celebrating its 110^th birthday, Coppin will award nearly 600 degrees – 485 undergraduate and 100 graduates. Coppin’s Helene Fuld School of Nursing will hold its annual “Pinning Ceremony” on May 22, 10 a.m. in the James Weldon Johnson Auditorium for a record-size class of 76 graduating nurses.

Following the commencement program, each of Coppin’s seven deans will host receptions for their schools, graduates, along with the students’ families and friends.   

“The administration, faculty, and staff are proud to have played a part in the success of these students and their families,” said Dr. Marcella Copes, Coppin’s Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. “We welcome the intimate setting of the receptions to congratulate the new graduates.”

Commencement program participants will also include University System of Maryland Regent Thomas G. Slater and Coppin State University Development Foundation Chairperson Dr. Pamela Love Manning.  

The commencement speaker, who earned her medical doctorate from the Howard University Hospital and College of Medicine, will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree during the commencement exercises.

Dr. Lewis-Hall’s career as a psychiatrist spans a wide-range of experiences in research and corporate leadership positions. She currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Pfizer, Inc., the world’s largest research-based biopharmaceutical company. She joined Pfizer in 2009.

As Pfizer’s top physician, Dr. Lewis-Hall leads a division whose staff includes prominent doctors, pharmacists, scientists, quality specialists, medical communicators and other world-class experts.

Her professional experience includes senior leadership positions at Vertex, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pharmacia, Eli Lily, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Howard University College of Medicine-Department of Psychiatry. At Howard, she founded the Howard University Anxiety Disorders Treatment and Research Center, the nation’s first center with special competency in the treatment of anxiety disorders in minority Americans.

Dr. Lewis-Hall, who was raised in Maryland and earned a bachelor’s degree in arts and science from John Hopkins University, is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and serves on the board of the American Psychiatric Foundation. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Healthcare Business Women’s Association.

“Her background is a rare combination of scientific achievement, patient health advocacy, and government service,” says Jeffrey B. Kindler, Pfizer’s Chairman and CEO. “I am thrilled to have her with us.”

She and her husband, Randy Hall, have three children and make their home in New York.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Ursula V. Battle, Director

Office of University Relations

(410) 951-4200

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COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY

For Immediate Release         For Immediate Release

Coppin State Receives $932,116 from U.S. Department of Commerce

HBCU the Only Institution in Maryland to Receive Award

BALTIMORE, MD (03/05/2010) – On Tuesday, Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) announced that Coppin State received an award that truly testifies to the University’s commitment to initiating outreach efforts critical to the West Baltimore community.

Coppin received $932, 116 in federal stimulus funding to establish the Coppin Heights-Rosemont Family Computer Center, which will provide broadband computer access, job training, and various educational and mentorship programs to 35,000 residents of the neighboring Coppin Heights-Rosemont community, an area where it is estimated that less than five percent of families subscribe to broadband service.

Coppin is the only Maryland institution to receive this highly competitive grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

“This critical investment will expand computer and Internet service access to Baltimore residents most in need, helping to make them full participants in today’s 21st century information economy,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. “Having access to the Internet’s economic, health and educational benefits will help to improve the quality of life in these communities.”

In tune with Coppin’s current efforts to revitalize the Baltimore community, the Center will offer 15 continuous training and educational courses that will be led by Coppin State faculty, students, and partners. The Center will house 60 new computer workstations.

“This grant will provide the resources for Coppin State to engage in the community in exciting new ways,” said Dr. York Bradshaw, Coppin’s Executive Director for the Institute for Local to Global Community Engagement. “We have programs for kindergarten students all the way through senior adults. We will create new jobs and also offer a wide variety of other programs to improve education and health in the community.”

The BTOP competition is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Only two other universities across the country have been awarded funding to start such centers--Michigan State University, and the University of Minnesota.

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MEDIA CONTACT

Ursula V. Battle

Office of University Relations

(410) 951-4200