Thursday, October 1, 2009

DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE DEATH PENALTY?

In theory, the death penalty for capital crimes should work.

An accused killer takes the life of an innocent and is put to death to protect the rest of society.

The only problem is that theory has little to do with real life.

Prejudicial prosecution; coerced confessions; corrupted informants; botched lawyering; and, yes, even racism, have turned the death penalty, as it is now applied in the United States, into a very dirty, inaccurate business.

Let's cross our fingers and pray that with a little luck, a death knell for the death penalty will soon be sounded, especially in light of the sad case of Romell Broom, who would have been executed in Ohio's death chamber on Sept. 15 but for his weak veins.

read more click here

HONOR STUDENT BEATEN TO DEATH

Eugene Riley and Silvonus Shannon were charged with beating Derrion Albert

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The video of 16-year-old Derrion Albert being beaten to death is hard enough to watch. The audio makes it almost unbearable.
When Albert is struck in the head with a board we hear the crackling of the wood colliding with his skull. As he falls to the ground we hear the slapping sound as another boy punches the honor student in the side of the head.

There are more noises as various kids rush in and kick him while he's on the ground."Damn, put the n****a to sleep," somebody yells. "Damn, they knocked him out," someone else screams out.

read more click here 

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Your News: Al Sharpton Speaks with Boyce Watkins

Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse university will be appearing with Rev. Al Sharpton on “Keeping it Real with Al Sharpton” from 2 – 3 pm EST on Tuesday 8/18/09.  They will discuss Obama’s educational plans, Michael Vick and Healthcare reform.   Dr. watkins and Rev. Sharpton have appeared together on several other shows, including “Keep Hope Alive with Rev. Jesse Jackson”, “The Wendy Williams Experience”, “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” and more.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Commentary from TheGrio – 8/15/09

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Black News: Man with Gun Gets into Obama Event

Armed Obama Protester

Earlier today MSNBC aired a segment showing a man with a loaded gun waiting for President Barack Obama to arrive at a town hall on health care reform at a high school in Portsmouth, N.H., and reportedly the local chief of police had no problem with it.

The man is carrying a sign that says, "It Is Time to Water the Tree of Liberty." That's a reference to a Thomas Jefferson quote: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants." It was a favorite slogan of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who was wearing a T-shirt when he was arrested with a picture of Lincoln on the front and a tree dripping with blood on the back.

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Sunday, August 9, 2009

Your Black News: Hunger Starts to Hit Detroit

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On a side street in an old industrial neighborhood, a delivery man stacks a dolly of goods outside a store. Ten feet away stands another man clad in military fatigues, combat boots and what appears to be a flak jacket. He looks straight out of Baghdad. But this isn't Iraq. It's southeast Detroit, and he's there to guard the groceries.

"No pictures, put the camera down," he yells. My companion and I, on a tour of how people in this city are using urban farms to grow their own food, speed off.

In this recession-racked town, the lack of food is a serious problem. It's a theme that comes up again and again in conversations in Detroit. There isn't a single major chain supermarket in the city, forcing residents to buy food from corner stores. Often less healthy and more expensive food.

As the area's economy worsens --unemployment was over 16% in July -- food stamp applications and pantry visits have surged.

 

click to read.

News: Michael Vick Gives Speeches for the Humane Society

Michael Vick returned to the area that once celebrated his brilliant play on the football field, this time for the first of what he vows will be dozens of appearances around the country to urge low-income youths to avoid the tragic trail left by dogfighting.

Few got to hear Saturday's message, however.

Vick's visit to a suburban Atlanta community center was largely off limits to the very neighborhood it was supposed to be helping. In an agreement between Vick's handlers and the Humane Society of the United States, only 55 people and one media crew were allowed inside. AnAssociated Pressreporter, videographer and photographer were among the media banished from the property by police.

Most people who live in the largely black neighborhood southeast of Atlanta were unaware of Vick's appearance. Several showed up after the former Falcons quarterback had already left in a black limousine.

Read more.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Politics: Sotomayor Confirmed

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who rose from the housing projects of the Bronx to the top of the legal profession, made history Thursday when the Senate confirmed her to become the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

Sonia Sotomayor, 55, will be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.

Sonia Sotomayor, 55, will be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor was easily confirmed in a 68-31 vote. Nine Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus in supporting her nomination.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, supported Sotomayor but was not present for the vote because of illness.

Sotomayor, a 55-year-old federal appeals court judge, will be the 111th person to sit on the high court and the third female justice.

She will be sworn in at the Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts on Saturday.

President Obama, who selected Sotomayor on May 26, said he was "deeply gratified" by the Senate vote.

"This is a wonderful day for Judge Sotomayor and her family, but I also think it's a wonderful day for America," Obama said at the White House. Video Watch Obama's remarks »

Click to read.

Woman Suspended from Work Without Pay for not Speaking to Mayor

Woman suspended for not saying hello to the mayor

JEFF BURNSIDE

If you see the mayor of Deerfield Beach, Florida out on the street, you better say hello.

City maintenance worker Cassandra Moye was suspended for two days without pay for failing to greet Mayor Peggy Noland while at work earlier this week.

Moye has the unenviable job of cleaning up trash and restrooms for $12.33 a hour, a job she was suspended from for failure to pay homage to the mayor while she spoke with Moye's boss.

"I didn't speak to the mayor and so my supervisor suspended me for two days," Moye said. "She is the Mayor, but I don't know her personally and I didn't think it was right for me to interrupt them, so I just kept about my work."

Moye's supervisor, George Edmunds issued Moye a memo stating Moye was being suspended because "the disrespectful attitude you displayed to the Mayor was unacceptable."

Moye said she was also threatened with termination.

Click here to watch the video

News: President Barack Obama’s Approval Rating Drops

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President Barack Obama’s approval rating is falling on concern unemployment is rising and the budget deficit will grow, a Quinnipiac University poll shows.

Exactly half of the registered voters surveyed from July 27 to Aug. 3 by Quinnipiac said they approve of the job Obama is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove. That’s down from 57 percent approval and 33 percent disapproval in a poll taken in late June, according to results released today.

Americans are upset about rising unemployment and worried that health-care plans making their way through Congress will add to the U.S. budget deficit, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based polling institute. The combination has helped drive down the president’s ratings.

 

Click to read.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Black News: “Jungle Monkey” Cop Sues Boston

A Boston police officer is suing the city after he was suspended for referring to a black Harvard professor as a "banana-eating jungle monkey" in an e-mail.

Boston police Officer Justin Barrett apologized for his e-mail about Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Boston police Officer Justin Barrett apologized for his e-mail about Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

"If I'm charged with a crime I want a chance to answer. I want the chance for a fair hearing," Officer Justin Barrett told CNN on Tuesday.

Barrett has apologized and denied he is a racist.

His lawsuit claims his civil rights have been violated; Barrett's lawyer said the words referring to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. were misinterpreted.

"The choice of words were poor; but they weren't meant to characterize professor Gates as a banana-eating jungle monkey," attorney Peter Marano said. "They were meant in a response to behavior and characterizing the behavior. Not the person as a whole."

Marano said the city had effectively fired Barrett, though he is officially suspended with pay.

He said it was fair to hold Barrett to a higher standard than the general public because he is a police officer, but that he was still entitled to express his opinions.

"Being held to a higher standard shouldn't eradicate his right under the First Amendment for free speech. That is part and parcel of the lawsuit," the lawyer said.

Gates was arrested at his house last month when a neighbor called police after she thought she saw a man trying to break into Gates' home. The man turned out to be Gates himself, who was attempting to free a jammed door.

Click to read.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Football Star Plaxico Burress Indicted On Weapons Charges

 

 

Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on weapons charges stemming from an incident last November in which Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a New York nightclub, prosecutors announced Monday.

Burress, 31, was indicted on two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment, according to the announcement by the Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.

New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, Burress' former teammate who was with him at the club and drove him to the hospital, was not indicted for his role in the incident, according to the prosecutor's announcement.

click here to read more

Klansman Seale Might Walk Away From Kidnap and Murder Charges

 

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court should decide whether a reputed Ku Klux Klansman should have been tried on a kidnapping charge 43 years after two black men were abducted and slain in rural Mississippi, a federal appeals court said Thursday.

A majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said other Civil Rights Era cold cases could be affected by a Supreme Court ruling on whether time had run out for prosecutors to charge James Ford Seale.

Seale, now 73, was convicted in 2007 of abducting two 19-year-old friends who authorities said were beaten, weighted down and thrown, possibly still alive, into a Mississippi River backwater in 1964.

Since the conviction, Seale's case has worked its way through the 5th Circuit, including an acquittal that was overturned.

click here to read more

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Harvard Professor Gates Plans To Meet With Officer Again Over Beers

 

 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The officer who arrested a top African-American professor said talks over beers Thursday evening at the White House were productive and the two men plan to meet again.

Sgt. James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates Jr. sat around a patio table with President Obama and Vice President Biden, drank beer, munched on snacks and talked about the arrest that has sparked debate about racial profiling and police procedures.

"It was a private discussion. It was a frank discussion," Crowley said of the meeting, but would not divulge specifics except to say that no one apologized.

click here to read more

Black News, Black America – 8/1/09

  • Madea goes to Disney World with Philly pool kids
    Madea goes to Disney World with Philly pool kids

    By theGrio

    3:05 PM on 07/31/2009

    A group of kids from Philadelphia who said they experienced prejudice firsthand arrived in Orlando, Florida on Friday for an all-expense paid trip courtesy of actor Tyler Perry...

    > more

  • Donated animals bring wealth to Africans
    Donated animals bring wealth to Africans

    By theGrio

    1:57 PM on 07/31/2009

    Beatrice Biira fosters educational partnerships between the US and Africa. The Ugandan is currently studying at the Clinton School of Public Services in Arkansas, and it all began with the gift from Heifer International.

    > more

  • NFL player battling leukemia halts comeback
    NFL player battling leukemia halts comeback

    By theGrio via AP

    1:07 PM on 07/31/2009

    MANKATO, Minn. (AP) -- Kenechi Udeze's comeback from leukemia served as an inspiration to his Minnesota Vikings teammates. The announcement of his retirement will not diminish that.

    > more

  • Boston cop says he's "not a racist" for Gates slur

    By theGrio via AP

    12:47 PM on 07/31/2009

    BOSTON (AP) -- A Boston police officer who was suspended for using a racial slur to describe black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. apologized for his comments and declared he is not a racist.

    > more

  • Reverend Ike dies at 74
    Reverend Ike dies at 74

    By theGrio via AP

    12:46 PM on 07/31/2009

    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, who preached the gospel of material prosperity to millions nationwide as Reverend Ike, died Tuesday. He was 74.

    > more

  • 87-year-old woman lives in leaky shack, prays for help
    87-year-old woman lives in leaky shack, prays for help

    By theGrio

    9:21 AM on 07/31/2009

    An 87-year-old woman, living alone, in a 160-year-old shack about three miles south of Lena, Mississippi says she has no one to help her get out of the deplorable conditions. Every room in her shack leaks, except for the living...

    > more

  • Black cop at Gates arrest: I'm not an Uncle Tom
    Black cop at Gates arrest: I'm not an Uncle Tom

    By theGrio via AP

    8:11 AM on 07/31/2009

    A black sergeant who was at the home of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. when he was arrested says he's been maligned as an "Uncle Tom" for supporting the actions of the white arresting officer.

    > more

  • Black Scholar News: AKA President’s Dirty Allegations

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    Members of the country's oldest black sorority are suing to remove their president, alleging that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the group's money on herself — some of it to pay for a wax statue in her own likeness.

    In the suit filed in Washington, D.C., the Alpha Kappa Alpha members also alleged that international President Barbara McKinzie bought designer clothing, jewelry and lingerie with the sorority credit card. She then redeemed points the purchases earned on the card to buy a big-screen television and gym equipment, the lawsuit said.

    "This is extraordinarily shocking if not illegal conduct," Edward W. Gray Jr., an attorney representing the plaintiffs suing the Chicago-based sorority, said Wednesday.

    McKinzie denied what she called the lawsuit's "malicious allegations," saying they were "based on mischaracterizations and fabrications ... not befitting our ideals of sisterhood, ethics and service," according to a statement issued this week by the sorority.

    The lawsuit also accused the sorority's board of directors of signing off on spending funds on McKinzie without the required approval by the group's membership. For example, the lawsuit says the board approved a monthly "pension stipend" of $4,000 for four years after she leaves office and purchased a $1 million life insurance policy for her. The suit demands McKinzie be fired and return money to the sorority.

     

    Click to read more.

    Thursday, July 30, 2009

    Glenn Beck Thinks Obama Is A Racist

     

    NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel commentator Glenn Beck said he believes President Obama is a racist. Beck made the statement during a guest appearance Tuesday on the Fox & Friends morning show. He said Obama has exposed himself as a person with "a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."

    His remarks came during a discussion of Obama's reaction to the arrest of Harvard University scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. Gates is black and was arrested for disorderly conduct by a white policeman over a misunderstanding about a break-in at Gates' home.

    An Obama spokesman, William Burton, said the White House had no comment on Beck.

    Beck's statement was challenged on the air by Fox host Brian Kilmeade, who noted that most of the people who work for the nation's first black president are white.

    click to read more

    Tuesday, July 28, 2009

    Your Black News from the Grio – 7/28/09

    • Deaf man tasered
      Deaf man tasered

      By theGrio

      7:45 PM on 07/28/2009

      Officers who used pepper spray and a Taser to remove a man from a store bathroom found out only later he was deaf and mentally disabled and didn't understand they wanted him to open the door, police said Tuesday...

      > MORE

    • Houston fire captain apologizes for noose in locker
      Houston fire captain apologizes for noose in locker

      By theGrio

      6:20 PM on 07/28/2009

      A senior Houston firefighter apologized Monday for keeping a rope that looked like hangman's noose in his locker, saying it was a memento from early in his career and not meant as a racist symbol...

      > MORE

    • MLK statue defaced
      MLK statue defaced

      By theGrio

      4:14 PM on 07/28/2009

      The statue of America's foremost civil rights leader -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- has been defaced, painted white. Now Hollywood police are trying to determine whether this case is a hate crime or just vandalism. A homeless man...

      > MORE

    Dr. Debby Stroman: Should Higher Ed Be a Right or a Privilege?

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    by Dr. Deborah Stroman

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Get Real! That’s my kind response to the critics of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) recent academic reform policy that eliminates the minimum SAT and ACT scores for admission. This well-thought out and crafted course of action finally gives colleges the academic freedom and independence to do what they do best – make decisions as to which students they want on their particular campus. Not the NCAA, the athletic leagues, or any other sport-related governing body has the right to tell an academic institution who is most deserving of the opportunity to sit in their classrooms and learn. Although our country promotes a spirit of education for all, the reality is that higher education is for the privileged. And those with the financial resources receive more access and resources. With a wink and a nod though, the student-athlete can oftentimes bypass this necessity if one possesses the talent to throw a tight spiral or shoot a silky-smooth jumper.

    Click to read more.

    Sunday, July 26, 2009

    Black Republicans Speak Out

       

      • Watch black Republicans discuss the party's future

    (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

    Sarah Palin's resignation from her role as governor of Alaska has prompted new questions about the GOP's leadership and future. While Michael Steele made history by becoming the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee, where do African Americans stand in helping to redefine the party?

    TheGrio sat down with a group of black Republicans to discuss their feeling on their political party and its future.

    "What does it mean to be a black man that agrees with the Republican party's agenda, the Republican party's message?" said hiphoprepublican.com's Brandon Brice. "That is, reducing the size of government, giving people real opportunities to excel from any circumstance or situation."

    According to a report released in May by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Africans Americans make up two percent of the nation's Republican party, compared to 22 percent of the democratic party. The study also found that during the 2008 election, 95 percent of blacks voted for Barack Obama, while just four percent voted for Republican candidate John McCain.

    Click to read.

    Tuesday, July 21, 2009

    “Being Black – 101” Don’t Argue With the Police

    By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

    WilmerMain

    On Thursday July 16, 2009 after returning from a trip to China, Harvard University scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. had difficulty opening the front door of the home he leases from Harvard. After he and his driver struggled with the front door Dr. Gates gained entry through the back door of the home, shut off the alarm, opened the front door, and the driver left.

    According to Cambridge Police Department Incident Report #9005127, a neighbor called the police and reported a possible breaking and entering at the residence. The woman “…observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch...” Her suspicions were aroused when, “…she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry.” The uniformed police officer went to the front door, saw Dr. Gates standing in the foyer and asked him to step out onto the porch. Dr. Gates refused.

    Read More

    Monday, July 20, 2009

    Your Black News: Black Scholar Henry Louis Gates Arrested

    Harvard University’s Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African & African American Studies, was arrested July 16 on a charge of disorderly conduct.

    Gates, 58, a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Harvard’s main campus is located, was arrested after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a report on the Cambridge Police Department’s Web site. Cambridge police officials declined to comment and said the case was under investigation by Office of the Middlesex District Attorney. A call to the DA’s office wasn’t immediately returned.

     

    Click to read.

    Saturday, July 18, 2009

    Dr Boyce Watkins on AOL – 7/16/09

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    Dr Boyce: Lil Wayne Is Willing to Murder Newborn Babies?

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    Nicole Spence Moves Beyond her Wendy Williams Experience

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    Dr Boyce Money: Would You Date Someone Who Has Been Laid Off?

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    Dr Boyce: Bill Cosby's Book Made Money, But Did He Forget Something?

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    Sunday, July 12, 2009

    Your Black News: Latoya Jackson Says Michael Was Murdered

    LaToya Jackson: 'Michael Was Murdered' | Michael Jackson

    Speaking out for the first time since Michael Jackson's sudden death on June 25, the singer's sister LaToya Jackson, 53, is raising alarming allegations.
    "Michael was murdered," LaToya claims in an exclusive interview with London newspaper the News of the World.
    “We don't think just one person was involved in the murder," she added, refusing to name the people she believes are responsible for the death during her four-hour interview in L.A. “It was a conspiracy to get Michael's money."
    According to LaToya, Jackson himself always feared for his life. "A couple of years ago Michael told me he was worried that people were out to get him,” she told the paper. "He said, 'They're gonna kill me for my publishing. They want my catalogues and they're gonna kill me for these.' "

    Click to read.

    Delores Jones: Does Bill Cosby Have as Much Personal Responsibility as we Think?

    by Delores Jones

    Recently, I listened to yet another radio debate about the manner in which Bill Cosby talked about the plight of some black people at least 5 years ago.  Economically speaking, I too would be considered one of the working poor in the African American community mentioned, however, some of the words used to describe the behavior associated with this class of people did not fit me or others that I personally know.  In fact, I am a highly, educated single mother with a master’s degree in social work.  I also hold a bachelor’s of  broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, arguably one of the finest J-Schools in the nation.  I’ve been employed, unemployed, underemployed, upset, bewildered, disappointed, depressed and even disgusted.

    Interestingly, none of the books I’ve read about “lower economic people” who are believed to be “failing the civil rights movement by not holding up their end of this deal,” invited me or others to the table to discuss individual situations or the people I encounter as a social worker who are simply trying to make this thing called life work the best way he or she knows how.  Just because a school is open does not mean what is being taught is adequate.  Just because there is a hosptial near by doesn’t mean I am welcome there or can afford to be seen there.  In fact, recently I learned that I need a major operation but I don’t have insurance to cover the projected $20,000 cost.  Did I mention, I work full-time?

     

    Click to read.

    To obtain Delores Jones for a speaking engagement, please contact us with the following information:

    1800-934-7110

    information@yourblackpublicity.com

    Your Black News: Marion Barry’s Complicated Life

    Marion Barry, Washington's embattled city council member and former mayor, dodged another bullet last week when a District prosecutor declined to prosecute him on charges of stalking his ex-girlfriend. Barry was arrested and briefly detained by U.S. Park Service police July 4th after the woman, 40-year-old Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, complained that he was "bothering" her.

    But Mr. Barry may not be completely out of the woods yet. The controversy kicked up by his arrest led reporters to dig out the fact that Mr. Barry had put Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt on his payroll by awarding her a $60,000 contract to study "poverty reduction," to be paid out of taxpayer dollars. That proved too much for current D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and others, who demanded the city council open an ethics probe of Mr. Barry. On Friday, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray announced the council would hire an independent law firm to look into the matter.

     

    Click to read.

    Saturday, July 11, 2009

    News: Dr Boyce Articles on AOL – 7/11/09

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    Dr Boyce Education: Our Kids are Not Ready for the Future

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    Dr Boyce Money: Why It Pays to be a Dangerous Negro

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    Dr Boyce Money: What is the Financial Cost of Racism?

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    Dr Boyce: The Economic Implications of Obama's Trip to Africa

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    Dr Boyce: Did Stevie Wonder's Daughter Attempt Suicide?

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    Dr Boyce: My Call From the Obama Administration

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    Dr Boyce: My Encounter with Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh

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    Michael Jackson Being Attacked: Latest Updates on His Will

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    Michael Jackson's Will Being Contested Heavily in Court

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    Dr Boyce Money: Love Investments Matter More than Money

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    Steve McNair's Legacy as an NFL Great: Dr. Deborah Stroman

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    Breaking News: Steve McNair Shot and Killed in Nashville

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    Michael Jackson Update: Celeb Insider Talks about Michael Jackson

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    Dr Boyce: Rapper Drake Learned Lessons from BET Awards

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    Dr Boyce: Congressman Compares NBA Age Limit to Slavery