WASHINGTON (AP) — A leaked document has laid bare the monumental scope of the government’s surveillance of Americans’ phone records – hundreds of millions of calls – in the first hard evidence of a massive data collection program aimed at combating terrorism under powers granted by Congress after the 9/11 attacks.At issue is a court order, first disclosed Wednesday by The Guardian newspaper in Britain, that requires the communications company Verizon to turn over on an “ongoing, daily basis” the records of all landline and mobile telephone calls of its customers, both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and other countries. Intelligence experts said the government, though not listening in on calls, would be looking for patterns that could lead to terrorists – and that there was every reason to believe similar orders were in place for other phone companies.Some critics in Congress, as well as civil liberties advocates, declared that the sweeping nature of the National Security Agency...
Get up, a-get-get down, Dallas, Texas, because 911 is definitely a joke in your town. And you have racist — now terminated — operator, April Sims, to thank for it.Sims took to her Facebook page to post bigoted, stereotypical insults about Black people, particularly those who call 911. Though her page is private, a friend sent screen caps to a local news station.One reads: ‘Black people are outrageous! They are more like animals, they never know how to act, just loud [expletive] Always causing problems.’‘I can count on one hand the black people I know who don’t have [expletive] for brains.I can count on one hand the black people I know who aren’t selfish.’Another reads: ‘You want to call 911 cause your boyfriend put his hands on you and you want to press charges when you don’t even know his real name?!‘Sure let’s make a police report for Dino, that is his street name.’Dallas Police Department fired her for violating their social media policy, which “prohibits employees from posting i...
In an effort to promote fatherhood, award-winning filmmaker Art Hooker and former director of President Barack Obama’s Office Of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois have teamed up to create the “This Is Fatherhood” challenge.RELATED: 50 Photos Of NBA Fatherhood[1]Launched on May 1st, the challenge targets young Fathers who may need encouragement and support to become better parents. Contestants can submit[2] videos, songs, and essays about fatherhood through June 10th. The winners will receive cash prizes and a trip to Washington, D.C., for a ceremony on Father’s Day.Christian Hip-Hop artist Lecrae is heavily involved in the project, agreeing to give mentorship and studio time to the grand prize winner. In 2009, Lecrae created the “Man Up” campaign, featuring an album and movie[3] about fatherhood.“Fatherhood is a unique opportunity and privilege for a man to change the world through his investment in a child,” the Georgia native told The Grio[4]. “It is our chance...
Ahead of the June 10th date for the second-degree murder defense trial for George Zimmerman[1] (pictured), a misstep by the former night watchman’s legal team presented one of many new developments in the case. Attorney Mark O’Mara acknowledged that his team “misstated” the origin and nature of a video they planned to present as evidence against slain teen Trayvon Martin. O’Mara apologized via a brief statement [2]on Sunday (June 2), but the Martin legal team alleges there was a fabrication.RELATED:NewsOne’s Coverage Of Trayvon Martin[3]In a hearing last week, O’Mara stated that they obtained cellphone video of a pair of Martin’s friends beating a homeless person in a bid to connect violent behavior to the teen’s past. O’Mara was forced to recant the video, after it was discovered that the video taken from Martin’s phone was that of two homeless men fighting over a bike.The Martin family legal team took umbrage with O’Mara’s actions, stating that the attorney fabricated evidence in a f...
Former Ward 2 Councilman and Chokwe Lumumba, 65, is the new mayor of Jackson, Miss., winning the general election with 87 percent of the vote, reports Fight Back! News.[1] “I’m just delighted. I feel wonderfully well about the people and their vote. Our slogan has been the people must decide and the people gave us an outstanding mandate today for positive change in the city of Jackson,” Lumumba said. “We intend to work diligently and put all our hearts and efforts into that and we’re going to be calling upon the people to work with us. We’re not working by ourselves.” RELATED: Former Lawyer For Tupac, Assata Shakur Wins Miss. Mayoral Primary Race[2] As previously reported by NewsOne[3], Lumumba served four years on the Jackson City Council before running for mayor. He spent part of the ’70s and ’80s as vice-president of the Republic of New Afrika, an organization which advocated for “an independent predominantly black government” in the southeastern United States and reparations for sla ...
UPDATE 8:36 A.M. EST — 06/05/13: Ellen Sturtz claims in an interview with The Huffington Post[1], that she didn’t plan on interrupting First Lady Michelle Obama, but her fundraiser speech triggered her emotions and she couldn’t hold it in: “I want to talk about the children,” Sturtz said. “I want to talk about the LGBT young people who are … being told, directly and indirectly, that they’re second-class citizens. I’m tired of it. They’re suffering. … We’ve been asking president to sign that ENDA executive order for five years. How much longer do we need to wait?” Sturtz, a member of pro-LGBT rights group GetEQUAL, donated to President Barack Obama’s campaign because she believed that he would follow through on ensuring that the LGBTQ community no longer faced work-place discrimination. She claims to be surprised by the First Lady’s response: “Basically, I was asked by the first lady to be quiet, and I can’t be quiet any longer. … I was surprised by how negative the crowd seemed to be. It ...
