After a day patrolling the streets of Philadelphia, police officer Moses Walker Jr. was gunned down during his walk home early Saturday morning. Authorities think the shooting took place during a robbery, reports ABC News. The city is offering a $20,000 reward and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 is offering a $10,000 reward…

Health care continues to be a hot-button issue during the 2012 election, and President Barack Obama tackled the subject during a rally in New Hampshire on Saturday. Earlier that day, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan and his mother, Betty, stumped to seniors in a Florida retirement community, where Ryan said that he and GOP…

Women have long shouldered the responsibility of birth control, using pills, rings, IUDs and more, but the medical tide may be shifting. ABC News reports that a birth-control option for men in the form of a pill called JQ1 reduces sperm production in men. As with birth control used by women, the effects are reversible…

In 1852, Mormon leader Brigham Young described black skin as the curse of Cain, but in 1978 a letter from the Mormon presidency stated “all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color.” These words made it possible for blacks to hold the priesthood in…

The government of the embattled country of Syria may have lost another fixture in the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. According to CNN, it is unclear whether Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa remains in his position or if the second-in-command has fled his post because of violence and political pressure. If al-Sharaa did defect, it would…

On Saturday morning, Paul Ryan did his best to combat his bad reputation regarding Medicare. The Republican vice presidential nominee brought his mother, Betty Ryan Douglas, along for a speech he delivered to a sizable retirement community in Florida, saying he wouldn’t cut her health care, reports USA Today. Ryan pointed to his 78-year-old mother…

(The Root) — For many outsiders, Los Angeles is a mythic place crawling with Kim Kardashian-like starlets wearing Juicy Couture sweats and sipping on Frappuccinos from Starbucks. But California natives know that’s only half of the state’s story. Oakland is the polar opposite of its Southern sister city. From where to eat healthy to places…

Besting Spain’s basketball team in a close game on Sunday, Team USA garnered the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, according to USA Today. This win means Team USA has won 14 of the 16 games they have played. For whatever the U.S. missed in size at the London Olympics, it compensated for with overwhelming…

In Iran on Saturday, two earthquakes hit within 11 minutes of one another, leaving 250 dead and almost 2,600 wounded. According to the Associated Press, one of the quakes hit northwest of the capitol city of Tehran, while the other was centered northeast of the city of Tabriz. At least 20 villages were totally leveled,…

Since Gabby Douglas became the first African-American woman to win a gold in all-around gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, it has been hard to fathom that she is just 16 years old. The teenager spoke to Essence about her success, the encouraging messages she’s received from President Obama and Oprah and whom she looks…