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13 Shot in Newark Night Of Violence

Joe Madison — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:40:39 +0000

A night of violence left one dead and 12 wounded after three separate shootings ravaged Newark, New Jersey this past weekend.

Police are looking for suspects in each of the incidents.

A 15-year-old died and eight people were wounded in the South Ward. Authorities say the victims ranged in age from 12 to 32 and included males and females.

Babies Born “Big” Encounter Greater Health Risks

Joe Madison — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:30:53 +0000

While large babies are normally praised in some cultures, there are various health risks that come along with giving birth to them, for both the child and mother.

The Grio Reports:

Babies born larger than 9 pounds 15 ounces have a much higher risk of complications. As many as 10 percent of newborn babies weigh-in above that at birth.

The mothers are at increased risk as well. Major lacerations or tears along the vagina or the urinary tract can occur. Having a newborn with macrosomia increases the need for Ceasarean section, involving the risks of major surgery. The mothers can also develop diabetes later on in life.

Obama Offers Mortgage Relief To Unemployed Homeowners

Joe Madison — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:55:45 +0000

WASHINGTON — The Obama Administration announced Thursday that adjustments will be made to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), requiring services to extend the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners from 3 months to 12 months, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Expected to become a standard for the mortgage industry, these adjustments will allot unemployed homeowners more time to find employment while keeping their homes.

Forbearance will also be extended to severely delinquent borrowers.

The adjustment to the FHA will work in concert with other successful initiatives framed by the Administration: the Hard Hit Fund and the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program (EHLP). The FHA provides aid to 18 states and the District of Columbia, implementing programs to avoid homeowners from foreclosure. The EHLP, which compliments the Hard Hit Fund by serving the remaining states and Puerto Rico, assists homeowners who experience reduction in income and face possibly foreclosure due to involuntary underemployment.

The Downward Spiral Of The Black Housing Crisis

Statue Of Famed Boxer Jack Johnson Sparks Controversy

Joe Madison — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:03:50 +0000

A statue built for famed boxer Jack Johnson has sparked controversy in Galveston, Texas.

Some homeowners complain it will create too much traffic, although some believe that the controversy only exists because of Johnson’s reputation for dating white women.

Other home owners, like Helen Douglas, believe it is Johnson’s history that makes some want to re-locate the statue. When asked if she saw a problem with traffic due to the statue, Douglas replied “not at all, the way you see it right now is basically the way it is,” as she pointed to a nearly empty road.

Chuck Berry Statue Met With Controversy In St. Louis

Joe Madison — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:07:08 +0000

An eight-foot statue of rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry was approved on Monday despite the opposition of some local residents, including one who said the Hall of Fame singer/songwriter should not be honored because he is a “felon and not a friend of women.”

The Root Reports:

The University City council, which has jurisdiction over the spot where the statue is to be installed, rejected a last-minute petition drive by opponents, who gathered 100 signatures in a bid to block or delay the statue.

The leader of the opposition, Elsie Glickert, an 86-year-old former city council member, said the city had ignored procedure in allowing the statue to be built on a new public bikeway that intersects the Delmar Loop, a strip of restaurants, shops and clubs that includes Blueberry Hill, where Berry has played over 160 shows in past 15 years. Glickert and her supporters opposed the statue because of Berry’s 1962 conviction for violating the Mann Act, accused of transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes.

Shocking! Diabetes Doubled Worldwide In 30 Years

Joe Madison — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:36:05 +0000

LONDON — The number of adults worldwide with diabetes has more than doubled in three decades, jumping to an estimated 347 million, a new study says.

Much of that increase is due to aging populations – since diabetes typically hits in middle age – and population growth, but part of it has also been fueled by rising obesity rates.

With numbers climbing almost everywhere, experts said the disease is no longer limited to rich countries and is now a global problem. Countries in which the numbers rose fastest include Cape Verde, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, and the United States.

“Diabetes may well become the defining issue of global health for the next decade,” said Majid Ezzati, chair of global environmental health at Imperial College London, one of the study authors.

He noted the figures don’t reflect the generations of overweight children and young adults who have yet to reach middle age. That could create a massive burden on health systems.

“We are not at the peak of this wave yet,” he said. “And unlike high blood pressure and cholesterol, we still don’t have great treatments for diabetes.”

Still, in Britain and elsewhere in Western Europe, despite growing waistlines, there was only a slight rise in diabetes. Experts weren’t sure why and said there could be several reasons, including worse detection of the disease, genetic differences, or perhaps the Europeans were better at getting heavy people to reduce their chances of developing diabetes.

Women in Singapore, France, Italy and Switzerland remained relatively slim and had virtually no change in their diabetes rates. Numbers also stayed flat in sub-Saharan Africa, central Latin America and rich Asian countries.

Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes and is often tied to obesity. It develops when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to break down glucose, inflating blood sugar levels. The disease can be managed with diet, exercise and medication but chronically high blood sugar levels causes nerve damage, which can result in kidney disease, blindness and amputation.

For their estimate, Ezzati and colleagues examined more than 150 national health surveys and studies that tracked Type 2 diabetes in adults older than 25 in 199 countries and territories. They used modeling to estimate cases for another 92 countries.

They calculated there were 347 million people worldwide with diabetes. In 1980, there were 153 million. Their figures come with a big margin of error, ranging from 314 million to 382 million. A previous study using different methods estimated there were 285 million people with diabetes in 2010.

The new study was paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization. It was published Saturday in the journal Lancet.

Doctors warned the higher susceptibility of certain groups like Asians, blacks and Hispanics to diabetes could dramatically boost future rates. “Other ethnicities don’t have to be as obese as people of European descent to get diabetes,” said Dr. Aaron Cypess, a staff physician at Joslin Diabetes Center. He was not linked to the Lancet study.

“It may be, for example, that Indians and Chinese store their fat in more dangerous places, like a pot belly,” he said, theorizing that kind of abdominal fat can send out hormones to speed up diabetes.

But Cypess was optimistic the trend might be reversed, citing first lady Michelle Obama’s fight against childhood obesity in the U.S. as an encouraging sign.

Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes U.K., said the bigger challenge was simply to persuade people to adopt healthier lifestyles. “We have a fair idea of how to prevent Type 2 diabetes – you have to move more and eat less,” he said. “But putting it into practice across a wide population is another question altogether.”

Obama Believes Gay Marriage “Best Addressed By States”

Joe Madison — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:40:12 +0000

WASHINGTON — As the debate on whether President Obama supports same-sex marriage or not continues, a White House official released a statement on his current stance on the matter.

“Although the President believes that this is an issue best addressed by the states, he also firmly believes that committed gay and lesbian couples should receive equal protection under the law,” the emailed statement said.

The Huffington Post Reports:

Respect for states’ rights with regards to marriage is a position shared by many prominent officials and politicians, including Republicans like Dick Cheney. While it falls far short of a full-throated endorsement of same-sex marriage — a gap that will keep LGBT activists rankled — as it comes just days before Thursday gala, the White House official’s statement offers both an indication of where Obama’s evolution currently stands and a hint as to how the president will handle the inquiries that will be coming his way.

Obama is reportedly looking for politically comfortable ways to take a more open stance on same-sex marriage. Stressing states’ rights, with a basic federal guarantee of benefits for same-sex couples, could be the path he’s looking for.

This comes at a time when the political discourse on same-sex marriage has reached an all-time high, as the state of New York is close to passing a bill that would legalize marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

Many considered Obama’s stance on same-sex marriage vague as Press Secretary Jay Carney has repeatedly said that the president’s position on the issue is “evolving.”

Nevertheless, Obama is expected to host a high-profile fundraiser at an LGBT gala in New York City on Thursday.

Converting In Jail? Congress Holds Hearings On Islam In U.S. Prisons

Joe Madison — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:20:10 +0000

WASHINGTON — Islamic radicalization in prisons continues to be a concern among law enforcement officials across the U.S., and countering it should not be a partisan issue, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security said Wednesday.

Rep. Peter King led the second in what he has promised to be a series of hearings on violent Islamic radicalization in the U.S. The first hearing, held in March, broadly looked at Islamic radicalization around the country and what the Muslim community is doing to combat it. That hearing drew days of protests and criticism from Democrats who said that King and the Republicans were unfairly singling out Islam.

“I would urge my Democratic colleagues to rise above partisan talking points,” King said during his opening remarks.

But the top Democrat on the committee, Bennie Thompson, said there are few instances of Islamic radicalization in prisons, the subject of Wednesday’s hearing. Thompson said the vetting process of incoming mail and prison chaplains ensures that Islam — the fastest growing religion among prisoners in the U.S. — does not inspire violence.

The majority of the recent terror plots against the U.S. have involved people espousing a radical and violent view of Islam, making it difficult to ignore the role religion plays in this particular threat. But critics say focusing too closely on Islam and the religious motives of those who have attempted terror attacks threatens to alienate an entire community.

To King, the purpose of these hearings is clear: “It’s to show and remind people that the threat is here.” Law enforcement officials from New York and California who have handled cases of prison radicalization are slated to testify Wednesday.

King said he can’t blame people in the Muslim community for a person adopting a violent interpretation of their religion. But, he said, he can place blame if someone in the community knows of such a radical — for example, a prison chaplain who preaches a violent brand of Islam to impressionable inmates — and fails to point that person out to law enforcement or community leaders.

The White House, which pushed a message of religious tolerance ahead of King’s initial hearing on Islamic radicalization, had no comment this time around.

For years, law enforcement officials have said the prison atmosphere is ripe for recruitment for any extremist cause, from violent Islamist extremism to white supremacist and Latino gangs.

Adopting the Islamic faith while in prison is not a new phenomenon. Islam took hold in U.S. prisons in the 1940s, when members of the Nation of Islam were held for refusing to fight in World War II. Malcolm X was one of their most famous prison recruits.

Many chaplains and corrections officials credit the faith, when taught properly, with being a stabilizing force that can help inmates turn their lives around.

Waiting Him Out! House Democrats Hope Weiner Will Quit On His Own

Joe Madison — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:39:04 +0000

WASHINGTON — House Democratic colleagues of scandal-scarred Rep. Anthony Weiner are looking for him to step down this week amid a growing chorus for him to resign. Even President Barack Obama has suggested he should leave.

Adding to the drama, Weiner’s pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, returned Wednesday from a trip to Africa with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A fellow member of Weiner’s New York Democratic delegation, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, said she’s heard from Weiner’s friends that the congressman is waiting for his wife to come home before making any decisions about his political future. McCarthy also cited talk among Weiner’s friends about the possibility he could resign this week.

Weiner is on a temporary leave of absence from Congress, in treatment for an undisclosed disorder at an undisclosed location. He has acknowledged exchanging messages and photos, which ranged from sexually suggestive to explicit, with several women online.

House Democrats huddled behind closed doors Tuesday for their regular party meeting, but they decided against taking action against Weiner in hopes that he’ll resign soon.

The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, reiterated her call for Weiner to quit, saying after the meeting that she wanted to make sure nobody missed her earlier resignation call while members were on a weeklong recess.

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., said: “I think we should send a strong message to him that he should resign, and let’s see what happens. The more of us who say it, the more telling it will be.”

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, had been content to let Democrats wrestle with the embarrassing scandal, but when asked Tuesday whether Weiner should resign, he responded, “Yes.”

The furor over sexually suggestive photos and other revelations about the 46-year-old congressman has been a distraction for Democrats seeking momentum as they gear up for the 2012 elections. Besides Pelosi, several other Democrats have called for Weiner to quit, including the party chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

2012 Troubles Ahead For Obama In Prized Florida?

Joe Madison — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:21:37 +0000

TALLAHASSEE — President Barack Obama has problems in Florida that he didn’t have when he won the prized state in 2008.

The state’s economy is worse than elsewhere. Foreclosures are high. Property values are low. As president, Obama could be blamed.

Voters’ shifting attitudes show the degree to which the atmosphere has changed since his first campaign. Florida Democrats made gains in 2008 with Obama on the top of the ticket, but the GOP won big two years later.

All that explains why Florida Democrats are redoubling their efforts to re-energize the rank and file, including at the state party’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner Saturday night.

And it’s why Obama’s campaign team has been on the ground training volunteers 17 months before the election and why the president has been such a frequent visitor to the Sunshine State.

Over the past 10 months, he has played mini-golf and hit the waves in Panama City Beach, eaten a corned beef sandwich at a Miami Beach deli, visited Cape Canaveral, addressed community college graduates in Miami and headlined fundraisers for Florida politicians.

He’s set to return in the coming week for three fundraisers.

Florida offers 29 electoral votes, more than 10 percent of the 270 he needs to win a second term.

“The president can win the White House re-election without Florida, but it’s certainly easier if he does win Florida,” said Steve Schale, Obama’s Florida director in 2008.

Florida’s unemployment rate was 10.8 percent in April, or nearly 2 percentage points higher than the national average. The state has been hit harder by foreclosures and loss in property values than most of the country.

After Florida Democrats made gains in 2008, voters went quickly in the opposite direction in 2010. Republicans won the governorship, a U.S. Senate seat and three other statewide offices, plus huge majorities in the Legislature.

Obama’s job performance rating in Florida has hovered between 44 percent and 47 percent, except for a slight increase to 51 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll after Osama bin Laden’s death.

The sluggish economic recovery is to blame.

“Things haven’t gotten better,” said Christian Ferry, a Republican who was Sen. John McCain’s deputy campaign manager in the 2008 presidential race. “And it certainly hasn’t gotten better in Florida. He’s got some big challenges to explain how it is that his economic messages, his economic plan is improving the situation in Florida for Floridians who are still struggling.”

For all the troubles, Republicans acknowledge it won’t be easy defeating Obama.

“The pendulum swings so fast now,” said Tallahassee-based GOP strategist David Johnson. “You can’t underestimate that guy. You do so at your peril.”

Plus, he added, “he’ll have the powers to come down here on that big blue plane, and that big blue plane excites people.”

Democrats hope that the GOP wave of 2010 is dissipating. They’re betting that voters will be turned off by the conservative agenda pushed by Republicans in Florida and Washington.