NY Post Fires Editor Critical of Racist Obama-Stimulus Cartoon
A New York Post editor who spoke out against a controversial cartoon the paper ran comparing the author of the president’s stimulus package to a dead chimpanzee has been fired from her job, the paper confirmed. Sandra Guzman was quietly dismissed from her position as associate editor last week for reasons that are being hotly debated by personnel inside the company. An official statement from the New York Post, provided to the Huffington Post, said that her job was terminated once the paper ended the section she was editing.n”Sandra is no longer with The Post because the monthly in-paper insert, Tempo, of which she was the editor, has been discontinued.” Employees at the paper — which is one of media mogul’s Rupert Murdoch’s crown jewels — said the firing, which took place last Tuesday, seemed retributive. (Continue Reading…)

Shyne Remains in Custody Due to Immigration Status
It looks like Shyne’s homecoming is on hold for the moment. The former Bad Boy rapper (born Jamal Barrow) was scheduled to be released from prison Tuesday (October 6) after serving more than nine years of a 10-year sentence in connection with the 2001 Club New York shooting involving Diddy and Jennifer Lopez. But his release is now under review, as representatives for the rapper revealed to MTV News that the Brooklyn MC is being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at an unspecified facility in Western New York State. Officials are determining whether or not to deport the rapper, who was born in Belize, a rep explained. “Shyne is currently in federal custody while his future immigration status is determined,” the rep said in a message to MTV News. (Continue Reading…)

For Shepherd, ‘Sherri’ is Reality Television
She has gone down eight dress sizes. But Sherri Shepherd is feeling twice as big today. Her autobiographical sitcom, Sherri, premieres on Lifetime (tonight at 7 ET/PT), the same day as her advice book, Permission Slips: Every Woman’s Guide to Giving Herself a Break, hits bookstores. Next week, the Lifetime show moves to its regular slot (Tuesday 10 p.m. ET/PT). “It’s so in sync,” Shepherd, 42, says of her dual debuts. “I’ve dreamed about this for 20 years, so it doesn’t feel like work.” (Continue Reading…)

Real Housewives’ Kandi Burruss Releases Statement On Fiance AJ’s Death
A day after the tragic death of fiancé Ashley “A.J.” Jewell, Real Housewives of Atlanta songstress Kandi Burruss is speaking out on her heartbreak. “I am devastated by the loss of A.J. His death comes on the heels of the death of my beloved Uncle Ralph and with both of them gone, my heart is heavy with grief,” she said in a statement to E! News. (Continue Reading…)

HBO Develops New Series about The Black Panthers
HBO is in early development on two historical miniseries, including a take from Oprah Winfrey on a femme pioneer in investigative journalism. “Ida Tarbell,” from Winfrey’s Harpo Films shingle, will center on the muckraking journo who exposed the unfair practices of John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil monopoly. Tarbell’s work was a contributing factor in the government’s eventual breakup of the company in 1911. Winfrey and Harpo’s Kate Forte are set to exec produce, while Mimosa Jones (“Wild Card”) is writing. The other project in the works at the pay cabler, “The Black Panthers,” looks at the history of the 1960s movement’s inner circle. (Continue Reading…)

NAACP: We Stand with NY Gov. Paterson
Beleaguered Gov. David Paterson is getting some support from a home town NAACP, while the Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted against allowing “reactionary forces” to return to power. A branch of the NAACP in Islip says it and other groups are planning a rally to support Paterson, who grew up partly on Long Island. They want to show respect for the state’s first black and disabled governor and urge Democrats to let him deal with the fiscal crisis, not politics. Democrats in Washington and New York say they want a stronger candidate at the top of the 2010 ticket. But the pressure isn’t relenting. The Rev. Al Sharpton on Twitter is urging Democrats on Monday to settle the issue so that what he calls “reactionary forces” can’t win back the seats of power held by Democrats. (Continue Reading…)

Officer who sent ‘jungle-monkey’ e-mail: ‘I am not a racist’
The Boston police officer who sent a mass e-mail in which he compared Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to a “banana-eating jungle monkey” has apologized, saying he’s not a racist. Officer Justin Barrett, 36, told a Boston television station Wednesday night that he was sorry about the e-mail, a copy of which he also sent to The Boston Globe. He repeated his apology Thursday night on CNN’s “Larry King Live.” “I would like to take this opportunity to offer fellow police officers, soldiers and citizens my sincerest apology over the controversial e-mail I authored,” Barrett said on CNN. “I am not a racist. I did not intend any racial bigotry, harm or prejudice in my words. I sincerely apologize that these words have been received as such. I truly apologize to all.” (Continue Reading…)

Obama Sees ‘Beginning of the End’ of U.S. Recession
President Barack Obama defended the steps taken by his administration to pull the nation out of the economic crisis, saying the U.S. “may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession.” Obama told an audience in North Carolina, where the jobless rate is 11 percent, that “there’s a lot of misinformation out there” about the $787 billion stimulus package he pushed through Congress in February and the bailouts of financial institutions and automakers. (Continue Reading…)

Arizona Girl’s Attack Sheds Light on Rape in Liberia
The allegation is shocking: an 8-year-old girl lured to a storage shed with the promise of chewing gum, pinned down and sexually assaulted by four boys, none of them older than 14. The response from the girl’s family sent a second and equally stunning shockwave through their Phoenix, Arizona, community: “The parents felt that they had been shamed or embarrassed by their child,” reported Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill. As a result, the girl was taken into custody by Arizona’s child welfare agency. (Continue Reading…)

Caller in Gates Case Says She’d Do It Again
In her first public appearance, the woman who made the 911 call that led to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Wednesday she would make the call again if placed in the same situation. The arrest and its aftermath have sparked accusations of racial profiling, and even President Obama has become involved. He plans to meet Thursday with Gates and the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, at the White House. Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct July 16 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after he had shown Crowley that the home he was suspected of breaking into was his. The charge was later dropped. “If you’re a concerned citizen, you should do the right thing if you’re seeing something that seems suspicious. I would do the same thing,” Lucia Whalen said. (Continue Reading…)

Obama Takes Health Care Pitch to People – Again
Congress reported progress on legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care Wednesday as President Barack Obama introduced a retooled message asserting his plan would protect Americans and limit insurers’ power. “We have a system today that works well for the insurance industry, but it doesn’t always work well for you,” Obama told more than 2,000 people in a North Carolina high school gymnasium. “What we need, and what we will have when we pass these reforms, are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and insurance companies are held accountable.” (Continue Reading…)

Sudan Woman Journalist to Be Flogged for ‘Indecency’
A Sudanese court on Wednesday adjourned the case of a woman journalist facing 40 lashes for wearing “indecent” trousers, with 10 women already whipped for similar offences against Islamic law. The judge deferred the case to Tuesday after Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who works for the left-wing Al-Sahafa newspaper and for the media department of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, waived the immunity given to UN workers. “The court gave Lubna the choice either to accept immunity from the UN or to waive that and go on with the trial,” her lawyer Nabil Adeeb told AFP. “I wish to resign from the UN, I wish this court case to continue,” Hussein told a packed courtroom before the judge adjourned the case to August 4. (Continue Reading…)

NFL Reinstates Michael Vick on Conditional Basis
Nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in Virginia, Michael Vick was reinstated to the National Football League on a conditional basis, according to an NFL statement Monday. Vick “will be considered for full reinstatement and to play in regular-season games by Week 6 based on the progress he makes in his transition plan,” the statement said. Week 6 of the NFL season is in October. (Continue Reading…)

Diddy’s Atlanta Restaurant Owes the IRS
The IRS has its sights on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Atlanta spot Justin’s Restaurant, claiming it owes $7,373 in federal taxes, reports the Detroit News, citing public records. The restaurant, named in honor of his son, opened in 1998 and specializes in upscale Southern and Caribbean cuisine. An identically named restaurant in New York City closed a few years ago. The Internal Revenue Service filed the tax lien against Diddy’s ATL joint on May 18. (Continue Reading…)

Boat with Haitians Capsizes, 113 Saved, 85 Missing
Jackson’s Doctor Gave Drug Authorities Believe Killed Him
Obama to Meet Thursday with Professor, Officer
Gates Caller Didn’t Cite Race, Police Say
Racial Disparity of Breast Cancer Deaths Baffles Researchers
Marion Barry Contract Probe Begins
African Americans Lost Ground on Fortune 500 Boards
Hawaii Again Declares Obama Birth Certificate Real

Black Barbie on the Cover of Vogue Italia
This July, black Barbie is spectacularly showcased in Vogue Italia’s special issue, seen above. In July 2008, Vogue Italia created the first Black Issue sending a strong message about the importance of diversity to the fashion world. And now the magazine has replicated the Black Issue with a special, collector Barbie supplement that pays tribute to Barbie through artistic photography and fashion. It’s similar to the larger Vogue Italia book entirely dedicated to beautiful models including Naomi Campbell, Lyia Kebede, Sessilee Lopez and Jourdan Dunn. (Continue Reading…)

Nas ‘Not Allowed’ to Witness Son’s Birth
Hip-Hop star Nas is currently celebrating the birth of his son, although sources close to the rapper told AllHipHop.com that he was not allowed to witness the event. Nas’ lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan stated that Nas rushed to the hospital to witness Kelis deliver his first son today (July 21). A source close to Nas told AllHipHop.com that the Queen’s rapper missed the actual child birth. “Nas is in New York City today, anxiously awaiting the arrival of his son. It was his intention to be there for the birth, but unfortunately he has not been allowed to be present,” a source close to the rapper told AllHipHop.com. “While this is clearly heartbreaking to him, Nas continues to offer his support and love to his new baby boy and his mother.” (Continue Reading…)

Slumping Auto Sales Could Mean Less Ad Revenue for Black Sites
Could the near collapse of the U.S. automotive industry have a devastating impact on popular black Internet sites such as blackvoices.com or BET.com? Absolutely, says, Roosevelt Gist, owner of autonetwork.com. Gist, one of the country’s leading African-American automotive journalists, says GM, Chrysler and other car manufacturers are drastically cutting back on the number of ads they place on multicultural and niche sites. That could mean rapidly decreasing revenue for many sites that have historically depended on the auto industry for a major share of their annual advertising sales. No one is suggesting that any of the major black Internet sites is in danger of closing. However, the decline of the automotive industry is a story to be watched. (Continue Reading…)

Obama Pushes House on Health Care Initiative
President Barack Obama is defending his relentless campaign for a health care bill before Congress’ August recess, saying “the default in Washington is inaction and inertia.” Republicans assailed a rush to act on overhauling the nation’s $2.4 trillion system of medical care. The fault lines in the debate emerging as Topic A in the capital remained intact Tuesday as Obama defended the deadline, saying the American people want the overhaul done quickly. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele demanded: “Take your time!” (Continue Reading…)

lexicography \lek-suh-KAH-gruh-fee\ , noun:

beneficence \buh-NEFF-i-suhns\, noun: