Roland S. Martin's Blog, page 139

Obama, Biden Announce $600M For Job Grants

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are trumpeting $600 million in new competitive grants to spur creation of targeted training and apprenticeship programs that could help people land well-paying jobs. (April 16)

Lab Loses Thousands Of Vials Of Deadly SARS Virus

Source: Sydney Lupkin / ABC News A French lab has lost more than 2,000 vials containing fragments of the deadly SARS virus, which killed nearly 800 people in a 2003 epidemic across four continents. The Pasteur Institute in Paris, France announced this week that it realized it was missing the vials and contacted the country’s National […]

Ex-Calif. City Leader Gets 12 Years In Prison For Corruption

Source: AP / CBS News LOS ANGELES - Robert Rizzo, the former city manager of Bell, Calif., was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison and ordered to make restitution of $8.8 million in a corruption scheme that nearly bankrupted the small, blue-collar city. Rizzo, 60, apologized during sentencing in Los Angeles County Superior Court, telling the […]

Prominent Republican: Women Need To Be Paid Less So They Can Find Husbands

Source:  Igor Volsky / Talking Points Memo On Sunday, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sought to advance the GOP’s rebranding effort among female voters by suggesting that Republicans have long “led the fight for women’s equality.” The statement came just days after Republicans voted down the Paycheck Fairness Act and sought to downplay the problem of equal pay for equal work […]

Salli Richardson Whitfield Announces Kickstarter Campaign To Fund Lena Horne Broadway Production

Today On the Tom Joyner Morning Show: Roland Martin goes one on one with actress Salli Richardson Whitfield on her quest to fund the Lena Horne production on Broadway. “It’s not a lot of money. It’s $40,000 to fund the workshop that you present  to the big people.” To support Salli Richardson Whitfield’s Kickstarter campaign visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... Listen to the Tom Joyner […]

NCAA Approves Unlimited Meals And Snacks For Division I Student-Athletes

Source: Tyler Conway / Bleacher Report No Division I college athlete should ever go to bed “starving” again. Following a meeting of its Legislative Council on Tuesday, the NCAA announced the removal of meal and snack restrictions on Division I athletes, according to NCAA associate director of communications Michelle Brutlag Hosick. Whereas previously student-athletes were afforded only three meals per day, […]

Man Charged After Suspicious Bags Found Near Boston Marathon Finish Line

Source: ABC News A man was charged Tuesday with possession of a hoax device, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace after two suspicious bags were found near the finish line of the Boston Marathon amid stepped-up security on the anniversary of the bombings that shook the city a year ago. The device the suspect, identified […]

Detroit Mob Beating Victim Slowly Getting Better

Source: George Hunter / The Detroit News Detroit —Steve Utash is taking baby steps toward recovery. The victim of a brutal April 2 mob beating who was in a medically-induced coma for more than a week, has walked a short distance in his hospital room, although he’s still floating in and out of consciousness, his […]

Ex-Detroit Library Official Pleads Guilty In $1.4M Bribery Scheme

Source: Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News A former top Detroit Public Library official accused of pocketing $1.4 million in kickbacks pleaded guilty Tuesday. Timothy Cromer, 47, of West Bloomfield Township was the library’s chief administrative and technology officer from 2006 to 2013 until he was fired from the $145,323 a year job. He could […]

UT Decides Longhorns Have Been Pranked, Will Rip Out Maroon Bluebonnets

Source: Carol Christian / Houston Chronicle  Maroon bluebonnets, at best an oxymoron and at worst a deep insult to the Austin community’s burnt-orange sensibilities, are slated to be removed from the University of Texas main campus. UT officials would prefer not to announce the exact date the offending plants will be taken up, said Markus Hogue, the […]