Phillip Rawls of the Associated Press is reporting that Alabama Republicans, who pushed through the nation’s toughest law against illegal immigrants, are having second thoughts amid a backlash from big business. The backlash is being fueled by the embarrassing traffic stops of two foreign employees tied to the state’s prized Honda and Mercedes plants. Luther…

The African-American Film Critics Association will honor the special achievements of iconic actors Richard Roundtree and Hattie Winston, legendary filmmaker George Lucas and Sony Pictures Entertainment during the AAFCA Awards ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, at Light Space Studios in Culver City, Calif. Veteran entertainment journalist Kevin Frazier will host the red-carpet ceremony.   …

Writer Vicky Miller, niece of Pearl Harbor hero Doris “Dorie” Miller, is reminding the world about her uncle’s heroic acts as we pause to remember the Pearl Harbor attack. According to the Navy History & Heritage website: Miller was assigned to the ammunition ship USS Pyro (AE-1) where he served as a Mess Attendant, and…

CNN is reporting that dozens of protesters staged sit-ins in front of lawmakers’ offices Tuesday, and several hundred more camped out on the National Mall, as part of a new movement calling itself “Take Back the Capitol.” Protesters are enraged over the possibility that Congress will not extend unemployment benefits. The article states: Borrowing language…

Geoff Mulvihill of the Associated Press is reporting that soul singer Howard Tate has died. Tate died Friday of natural causes at his apartment in Burlington City, N.J. Born in Macon, Ga., and raised in Philadelphia, Tate was “a rising star in the music world who later suffered through decades of such extreme darkness that…

The furor surrounding the suspension of a fourth-grader in North Carolina for calling his teacher “cute” has resulted in the suspension being overturned. Nine-year-old Emanyea Lockett was suspended for “sexual harassment” after commenting that his teacher was “cute.” Instead of chatting with the boy about how that comment could be construed as a compliment or…

Paul Kane of the Washington Post is reporting that Congress will be facing a pivotal week on economic stimulus and spending measures. Kane writes that this negotiation is the last opportunity of the year to pass some kind of economic-stimulus package to boost the ailing economy. This will also be a decisive moment for legislation…

Sara Webb of Reuters is reporting that the Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo appeared at the International Criminal Court on Monday, facing charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape. Gbagbo is the first former head of state to be tried by the court since its inception in 2002. Gbagbo, 66, was arrested…

In a New York Times op-ed, Susan P. Crawford discusses the growing digital divide as it relates to access to wireless and wired services. She argues that not all types of Internet access are equal. Crawford writes:  Over the last decade, cheap Web access over phone lines brought millions to the Internet. But in recent…