By: Lande Yoosuf
The Democratic primary race is still in action, but one candidate will soon claim themselves as the nominee. Barack Obama widened his lead to Hilary Clinton last week Tuesday by wining North Carolina and losing by a very narrow margin in Indiana. He also gained nine undecided superdelegates as of this weekend. Despite the grim outlook for Clinton, she insists that she will continue to be in the race until the Democratic convention this summer. Her main argument for staying in the election is that she has support from the larger voting blocks within the Democratic party such as the white working class, the elderly, and Latinos while Obama says he is backed by African Americans, educated whites, newly registered voters, and individuals who earn over 100 thousand per year. The assumption from political analysts is that these results stem mainly from the Reverend Wright incident. Do you agree? Share your comments below! **************************************************************
Peaceful protests were held last week in opposition to the Sean Bell verdict. The three cops who were indicted were acquitted by a New York City judge, which sparked a large amount of outrage in the black community. Three of the protests were in Manhattan while one was in Brooklyn. 190 protesters were arrested, including well-known supporter of the Bell family, Al Sharpton. The demonstration included a kneeling prayer in addition to 50 counts aloud to note the number of bullets that were shot at Sean Bell. Traffic was interrupted at some of the locations, which is the main reasoning behind their arrests. Despite the disappointing results from the trial, Bell’s fiancé assured various press sources that she will appeal the verdict so that the case can be federally investigated.
************************************************************** Some central and southeastern states were hit heavy this weekend in a tornado. Twenty-one people were killed in total and hundreds were injured. Missouri leads the death rate with 14 people, six in Oklahoma, and one in George. Missouri had over 150 damaged homes alone, and the tornado ripped through some communities for over a mile.An earthquake this morning in China has 107 recorded deaths thus far, and 900 teenagers were buried in rubble after a school collapsed in the quake. Police and emergency crews have limited communication with victims because the phone lines were unfortunately thwarted from the quake’s magnitude, so the death toll is very likely to increase later today.
The U.S. military sent aid for cyclone victims in the Myanmar region of southeast Asia today which killed over 100 thousand, and left over one million homeless. If you wish to donate to victims, you can log on to www.worldvision.com.
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A video streamed on the internet last week of a girl who interrupted an Atlanta train ride by verbally attacking passengers and throwing a temper tantrum, to the point where she was challenged by a young man. She accused him of raping her and confronted him, but the dispute was separated by witnessing train riders. She also harassed another elderly woman who did not respond, which can be viewed here: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/389051/page=99. After the incident, she was taken into custody by authorities and charged with disorderly conduct. An Atlanta radio show that heavily reported on the situation invited the young woman’s sister and the father of her child to speak on her behalf. They allegedly declared that she is diagnosed with bi polar disorder and has not been taking her mediation. Listen to the interview here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/1177988823c05603/. She is still in police custody and her fate is still undetermined.
The Democratic primary race is still in action, but one candidate will soon claim themselves as the nominee. Barack Obama widened his lead to Hilary Clinton last week Tuesday by wining North Carolina and losing by a very narrow margin in Indiana. He also gained nine undecided superdelegates as of this weekend. Despite the grim outlook for Clinton, she insists that she will continue to be in the race until the Democratic convention this summer. Her main argument for staying in the election is that she has support from the larger voting blocks within the Democratic party such as the white working class, the elderly, and Latinos while Obama says he is backed by African Americans, educated whites, newly registered voters, and individuals who earn over 100 thousand per year. The assumption from political analysts is that these results stem mainly from the Reverend Wright incident. Do you agree? Share your comments below! **************************************************************Peaceful protests were held last week in opposition to the Sean Bell verdict. The three cops who were indicted were acquitted by a New York City judge, which sparked a large amount of outrage in the black community. Three of the protests were in Manhattan while one was in Brooklyn. 190 protesters were arrested, including well-known supporter of the Bell family, Al Sharpton. The demonstration included a kneeling prayer in addition to 50 counts aloud to note the number of bullets that were shot at Sean Bell. Traffic was interrupted at some of the locations, which is the main reasoning behind their arrests. Despite the disappointing results from the trial, Bell’s fiancé assured various press sources that she will appeal the verdict so that the case can be federally investigated.
************************************************************** Some central and southeastern states were hit heavy this weekend in a tornado. Twenty-one people were killed in total and hundreds were injured. Missouri leads the death rate with 14 people, six in Oklahoma, and one in George. Missouri had over 150 damaged homes alone, and the tornado ripped through some communities for over a mile.An earthquake this morning in China has 107 recorded deaths thus far, and 900 teenagers were buried in rubble after a school collapsed in the quake. Police and emergency crews have limited communication with victims because the phone lines were unfortunately thwarted from the quake’s magnitude, so the death toll is very likely to increase later today.
The U.S. military sent aid for cyclone victims in the Myanmar region of southeast Asia today which killed over 100 thousand, and left over one million homeless. If you wish to donate to victims, you can log on to www.worldvision.com.
**************************************************************
A video streamed on the internet last week of a girl who interrupted an Atlanta train ride by verbally attacking passengers and throwing a temper tantrum, to the point where she was challenged by a young man. She accused him of raping her and confronted him, but the dispute was separated by witnessing train riders. She also harassed another elderly woman who did not respond, which can be viewed here: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/389051/page=99. After the incident, she was taken into custody by authorities and charged with disorderly conduct. An Atlanta radio show that heavily reported on the situation invited the young woman’s sister and the father of her child to speak on her behalf. They allegedly declared that she is diagnosed with bi polar disorder and has not been taking her mediation. Listen to the interview here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/1177988823c05603/. She is still in police custody and her fate is still undetermined.
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Another happening in history occurred Friday Evening. Crystle Stewart of Missouri City was another African American to win the miss America Pageant at the Planet Hollywood Hotel. She beat out Leah Lavino of Mississippi and Tiffany Andrade of New Jersey for her crown.
Catholicism is no longer the world’s largest religion. A Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that Islam is in fact the leading religion world wide. Catholics are currently 17.4 percent of the world’s population and Muslims make up 19.2 percent. This increase is allegedly attributed to Muslims increasing the number of family members while Catholics have developed a more conservative approach to family planning. But Christianity is still the most popular religion with a 33 percent worldwide percentage.
Empress would like to send their condolences to rapper Juvenile. Juvenile’s four-year-old daughter was murdered by her older brother in their Atlanta home this past Friday. Seventeen-year-old Anthony Tyron Terrell shot and killed his two sisters, four and eleven, and his mother, who worked as a sheriff’s deputy. When questioned, Terrell offered no explanation for his behavior. He is currently in police custody, and is expected to have a hearing for this week. The death penalty cannot be considered for Terrell who is still a minor at seventeen.
An armed, 27-year-old student by the name of Steve Kazmierczak opened fire during class in a large lecture hall on Valentine’s Day. News reports have confirmed seven deaths thus far, including the shooter who took his own life. Kazmierczak did not leave any notes or other clues leading to his actions. In fact, he was a good student in the process of obtaining a graduate degree who received positive reviews from his teachers and classmates. 
Juanita Bynum and Bishop Weeks are not making attempts of reconciliation. Writer Doug Campbell posted an article claiming that the couple, known for their messy break up within the religious community, were considering patching things up. Juanita responded quickly to the press claiming quite the opposite. Campbell and his website, www.articlesofinfo.com, have failed to comment since her reply. Despite Bynum’s bitter relations with her estranged husband, the minister has agreed to join preaching tours with Bishop Week’s family members after receiving invitations. 
To African American South Carolina voters: good turnout for last weekend. News reports state that half of the voters for the Democratic Primary race in the state were black, and one out of four black voters gave their vote to Obama. The strong presence of the African American community contributed to Obama receiving 55 percent of the vote. More proof that there’s power in numbers!
