When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday signed a harsh and restrictive abortion measure into law, he set the stage for a court battle with pro-choice groups, MSNBC reports. The new law would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of where a procedure is done and mandates…

The Daily News is reporting that the head of a polygamous sect was given two life sentences on Friday for the murders of a 4-year-old boy and one of his five wives, who tried to escape his cult. Prosecutors in Durham, N.C., found Peter Moses Jr. responsible for the shooting deaths of little Jadon Higganbothan…

Say what? A Canadian teen whose studio name is WondaGurl has been credited as a producer on “Crown,” a track on Jay-Z’s new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, according to Jezebel. Ebony Oshunrinde, who just finished the 11th grade, has an inspiring story. Earlier this year, she sent the beat to a friend, a young…

Friday, July 5, 5:22 p.m. EDT: Judge Debra Nelson has dismissed the defense’s request for acquittal in George Zimmerman’s second-degree-murder trial. Prosecutors argued against acquittal, saying, “One of them is dead and one of them is a liar.” The defense then called its first witness, Zimmerman’s mother, who identified the scream on the 911 call as…

The Labor Department released its June jobs report today with news that the economy added 195,000 jobs last month, while the national unemployment rate held steady at 7.6 percent. The good news is that the numbers were higher than the 165,000 a Bloomberg survey of economists had estimated. But some of the report’s numbers give pause:…

July 5, 1975, is a noteworthy day in the annals of black sports. It was when Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win Wimbledon, according to Sports Mole, which reports that it was all the more incredible that the 31-year-old Ashe was up against 22-year-old Jimmy Connors, the title holder at the time.…

A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that Americans consider blacks more likely to be racist than whites and Hispanics in this country. Really? Mind you, these results come on the heels of the Supreme Court decision that struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act, which essentially was put into place in the 1960s to stop…

Almost 19 years after Essence magazine launched its first festival in New Orleans to “party with a purpose” and celebrate black culture, music and people, the Associated Press reports that Essence Fest may be facing new competition. Like Essence this weekend, last weekend’s BET Experience, held in Los Angeles, had Beyonce as a headliner. It…

Deadline Hollywood has obtained a moving letter that director Lee Daniels wrote to Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara urging him to screen The Butler. Daniels explains that he has spent four years working on the film, which tells the dark and beautiful story of our nation’s racial history. It’s a last-ditch appeal to retain…