Cezary Podkul of the Washington Post is reporting that stocks opened sharply lower Monday, the first day of trading after the downgrading of the U.S. government’s credit rating, extending losses from the worst trading week in more than two years and following the lead of Asian and European markets, which plummeted overnight. The blue-chip Dow…

News One is reporting that iconic rapper Antwan “Big Boi” Patton was arrested for drug possession in Miami on Sunday. The rapper was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia on Sunday. According to the Miami-Dade County Corrections website, the 36-year-old Patton was also…

Yahoo News is reporting that Amy Winehouse’s goddaughter, Dionne Bromfield, 15, performed at the Big Chill Music Festival, closing her show with a cover of Winehouse’s “Love Is a Losing Game.” Mesfin Fekadu reports that Bromfield got “teary-eyed” when she performed the song, barely able to sing its last few words, though the crowd cheered…

Editor’s note: The video and following story contains language that some readers may consider offensive. (NSFW) CNN is reporting the alleged hate crime of James Craig Anderson, a 49-year-old auto plant worker, who was beaten and then murdered by a group of white teens intent on hurting a black person. Deryl Dedmon Jr., 18, of…

The Washington Post is reporting that D.C.-area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo wanted to legally change his name, but Wise County Judge Tammy McElyea rejected the request on Friday. Malvo was 17 when he went on a cross-country killing spree with John Allen Muhammad, culminating in 10 murders in the Washington, D.C., area over a three-week…

News One is reporting that the drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5, according to U.S. estimates, the first time such a precise death toll has been released related to the Horn of Africa crisis. The United Nations has said previously that tens of thousands of people have…

NPR is reporting that the Tuskegee Airmen have gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate their 70th anniversary. America’s first black military pilots reunited for their national convention this week. Pilots in the famed 332nd Fighter Group and other Tuskegee units received their flight training at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Ala. Their first…

The New York Times is reporting that the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a blunt acknowledgment that thousands of young black and Latino men are cut off from New York’s civic, educational and economic life, plans to spend nearly $130 million on far-reaching measures to improve their circumstances. The program, the most ambitious…

News outlets are reporting that the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, will be giving a free concert on Thursday at NYC’s Coney Island. Franklin canceled two performances in Brooklyn last year after being sidelined by a series of mysterious ailments. The legendary songstress will perform some of her greatest hits, like “Freeway of Love,” and…