Politics

Edward M. Kennedy, one of the most powerful and influential senators in American history and one of three brothers whose political triumphs and personal tragedies captivated the nation for decades, died at 77. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was the last survivor of a privileged and charismatic family that in the 1960s dominated American politics and…

Everybody tryna make a dollar…From CNN: Wendell Potter knows a little something about the health care industry’s practices and is not afraid of to speak out as the health care reform debate heats up around the country. The former vice president of corporate communications at insurance giant Cigna, who left his post, says the industry…

Ben Bernanke’s probably keeping his job (and health benefits). From CNN: President Obama announced Tuesday that he plans to nominate Ben Bernanke to a second term as head of the Federal Reserve. “Ben Bernanke, has led the Fed through the one of the worst financial crises that this nation and this world have ever faced,”…

Being accused of attemped murder has a funny way of turning someone’s life around. In Jesse Ray Beard’s case, one of the teens accused in the Jena 6 case, his turn was for the better thanks, in large part, to the lawyer who represented him, Howard Alan. From CNN: Beard, 18, now interns at a…

St. Bernard Parish, southeast of New Orleans, has the distinction in Louisiana of taking the most direct hit from Hurricane Katrina four years ago this week. In the slow, painful rebuilding that followed, the parish has gone out of its way to keep low-income, working black families from living there. A federal court ruled twice…

President Barack Obama and his family are on vacation and, for a while anyway, the angry, disfigured faces of the health care town halls have faded from the news. But we know what’s waiting for him when he gets back—more of the same—and so far he hasn’t been handling it well. Supporters are urging him…

The latest on the Michael Jackson saga from CNN: Singer Michael Jackson had lethal levels of the drug propofol in his blood when he died, according to court documents. Los Angeles’ coroner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran reached that preliminary conclusion after reviewing toxicology results carried out on Jackson’s blood, according to an affidavit. The drug Diprivan,…

As the first family heads to Martha’s Vineyard for their first first-family vacation, the island is still all aflutter over cultural critic Touré’s New York magazine feature characterizing black Vineyarders as a bunch of self-segregating snobs. Blacks who make the island off the coast of Cape Cod their summer home have not felt this misunderstood…

Since they have such a low profile in the Black community, McDonald’s has decided to go all ‘Black in America’ on us and launch 365Black.com. Replete with references to pictures of Black nuclear families and eager college grads clutching their diplomas in celebration, the site wants to be a focal point of Black web interaction.…

A 2004 report from the CIA inspector general details coercion tactics employed when the CIA really, really wanted information. From CNN: The gun and drill were used in two separate interrogation sessions against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, one of the sources said. Al-Nashiri is accused of plotting the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which left…