National News

Dr. Jerome McNeil (pictured), leader of the historic 150-year-old Dallas institution the Christian Chapel Temple of Faith CME Church, preached his usual passionate and animated sermon on Sunday morning, exited his pulpit, then, seconds later, collapsed and died in the sanctuary, reports the Daily Mail[1]. SEE ALSO:Chick Fil-A: We’re Anti-Gay Marriage[2] McNeil, who was 63-years-young, was the senior pastor of the one of the oldest African-American churches in Dallas for more than 20 years. Under his leadership, the church’s membership grew to more than 7,000, making it one of the largest in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) denomination. McNeil ‘s life served as a testament of hard work and dedication. He held a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and used it to serve troubled youths and families in crisis. McNeil was hired as the highest-ranking African American in Dallas County in 1981, when he was named Assistant Director for the Dallas County Juvenile Department. In 1983, he ...

When Frank Ocean “came out” to say that his first love was a man just two days before his debut album dropped, we cannot say for sure whether or not it was a free publicity ploy. SEE ALSO:Frank Ocean Says First Love Was A Man[1] But we can certainly say his admission didn’t hurt sales as “Channel Orange” is pacing at No. 2 on the Billboard’s Top 200 Chart this week, the New York Daily News reports[2]. Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook! The album has sold 131,200 units so far, according to Nielson/SoundScan. It includes several songs–most notably, “Forest Gump,”–that have verses speaking specifically to emotional and sexual attractions towards men.Though, Ocean has not formally come out as gay. Two days before his album dropped, he has this to say on his Tumblr page:“4 summers ago, I met somebody,” he wrote. “I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. Ther ...

When two armed thugs walked into an internet cafe in Marion County, Fla. ready to rob the joint, a 63-year-old grandpa creeped up from behind and busted caps into both of them, myfoxorlando.com reports[1]. SEE ALSO: Dad Who Killed Wife Ordered To Pay Children $60M[2]Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook! The two men entered the Palms Internet Café just before 10 p.m. on Friday with their guns drawn, ordered the 30 or so patrons onto the floor and demanded that they hand over their money. But one of the patrons, Samuel Williams, quickly ran behind them and fired off several shots. The thugs fled as Williams fired off more rounds at them.SEE ALSO: How Canada Became Richer Than U.S.[3]The two would-be robbers were later found and identified as Davis G. Dawkins, 19, and Duwayne Henderson, 19. Dawkins had a superficial wound in his left arm, but Henderson was hit in his left buttock and right hip.SEE ALSO: Why Romney Won’t Release His Tax Returns[4]Neither man has a criminal ...

BOSTON — Taking aim at what they call an abuse of the taxpayers’ money, a growing number of states are blocking welfare recipients from spending their benefits on booze, cigarettes, lottery tickets, casino gambling, tattoos, and strippers. RELATED:WTH? Republicans Want Food Stamps Cut By The Billions[1] “If you’re not abusing the program, then you should really have no problem with these reforms,” said state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, a Republican pushing for restrictions in Massachusetts. While the crackdown has strong populist appeal in Democratic and GOP states alike in this era of tight budgets and Tea Party demands for fiscal discipline, advocates for the poor argue that the restrictions are based on stereotypes about people on welfare, and they say the notion of any widespread abuse is a myth. Most people on public assistance, they contend, are single Mothers struggling just to get by. The movement has been spurred in part by Congress. Under legislation signed by President Barack Obama i ...

Bishop Carl MimmsIII (pictured) is hoping that Sprint will be bombarded with fire and brimstone for allegedly giving his suspicious wife, Diane (pictured), access to his cell phone records, reports Courthouse News Service[1]. Now the miffed minister is suing the telecommunications company. SEE ALSO:Planned Parenthood Sues Arizona[2] The 48-year-old pastor, who heads Indiana’s Freedom Tabernacle of Praise Church claims, that he gave strict orders to the phone company, twice, not to allow anyone — including his wife — access to his account. The Pastor reportedly provided the company with the edict, because he suspected that his wife was on a mission to snoop since she was suspicious of him having extramarital affairs. He alleges that a Sprint customer representative assured him that his account info would not be leaked to anyone. According to the lawsuit, Mimms was in fact the only account bearer. In March, the gates of hell opened and Diane was given a log of all of her husband’s cell p ...

ACCRA, Ghana — A U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Ghanastabbed an alleged robber, who subsequently died, police said Monday. SEE ALSO: Kobe Bryant: Rape Case Taught Me How To Deal With Pressure[1] Two U.S. Peace Corps volunteers, who said they were robbed and used a knife in self-defense, were questioned by police and later released, regional police commander Kofi Addae Akyampong said. The volunteers told police they were attacked late Friday night about 100 meters (330 feet) from their home in the northwestern town of Wa, he said. SEE ALSO: Cain On NAACP: It’s Not Important Anymore![2] “They said two men attacked them. During the struggle (one of the volunteers) used a knife to defend himself, then the attackers ran away,” Akyampong said. He said the man who was stabbed subsequently died, and his body was found in Wa early Saturday morning. Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook! Vincent Dedjoe, deputy director of criminal investigations for the Ghana Police, said the two ...

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection, the latest milestone in the 30-year battle against the virus that causes AIDS. SEE ALSO: Kobe Bryant: Rape Case Taught Me How To Deal With Pressure[1] The agency approved Gilead Sciences‘ pill Truvada as a preventive measure for healthy people who are at high risk of acquiring HIV through sexual activity, such as those who have HIV-infected partners. The decision comes less than two weeks after the agency approved another landmark product: the first over-the-counter HIV test that can be developed at home. Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook! The two developments are seen as the biggest steps in years toward curbing the spread of HIV in the U.S., which has held steady at about 50,000 new infections per year for the last 15 years. An estimated 1.2 million Americans have HIV, which develops into AIDS unless treated with antiviral drugs. And an estimated ...

In this exclusive interview with NewsOne’s Smokey D. Fontaine, CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien discusses the founding of her charity, the Soledad O’Brien + Brad Raymond Foundation[1], which supports a select group of young women in their educational and career pursuits. The girls selected by O’Brien’s charity are often the first in their families to attend college, and come from harrowing financial and personal circumstances. ”If you’ve survived you’ve got some scars,” O’Brien says. “A scar means you’re a survivor.” “We will push them, pull them, drag them,cheer them across the finish line.” O’Brien says. The foundation will be hosting its “New Orleans In The Hamptons” gala[2] on June 27. References ^Soledad O’Brien + Brad Raymond Foundation (obrienraymondfoundation.com) ^“New Orleans In The Hamptons” gala (obrienraymondfoundation.com) ...

When President Barack Obamasigned a law[1] last week banning bath salts and 31 other synthetic substances, Dr. Rani G. Whitfield of Baton Rouge, La., was just one of several medical doctors who breathed a sigh of relief. RELATED: ATL Man Allegedly High On Bath Salts Threatens To Eat Cops’ Face[2] “I’ve been practicing medicine for 12 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he told NewsOne. “When problems began surfacing in the emergency room a little over a year ago, we were seeing psychotic episodes and extreme agitation. The kids were telling us about a new drug called ‘bath salts.’ We didn’t know what it was. They were like, ‘No, it’s not what you put in your water. It’s not ‘Calgon take me away.’” Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook! Indeed, across the nation bath salts have been linked to so-called deadly zombie attacks. Most notably when Miami police officers shot and killed Rudy Eugene in late-May, they believed he was under the influence of bath salts ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida A&M University’s governing board is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the resignation of school president James Ammons (pictured). The FAMU board plans to meet for three hours Monday, where it will discuss the resignation and finding a successor. One key decision could be whether or not Ammons is allowed to remain in control, even though his resignation doesn’t take effect until Oct. 11. Ammons abruptly resigned last week despite surviving a no-confidence vote from FAMU trustees back in June. Ammons has been under fire in the wake of the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion. Trustees have complained about lack of oversight of the famed Marching 100 band as well as lax management on other issues at the university. ...