Roland S. Martin's Blog, page 262

Pope Benedict Greets Cardinals On Last Day As Pope (VIDEO)

Thursday is Pope Benedict’s last day as the leader of the Catholic church. The pope greeted Cardinals at the Vatican and promised ‘unconditional obedience’ to his successor. (Feb. 28)

HUFFPOST LIVE: Sequestration’s Impact On Minorities (VIDEO)

Roland Martin, Anna Chu, Raul A. Reyes, John A. Drew and Alicia Menendez discuss how the sequester may have a disproportionate impact on minorities.

Temptation Richard Street Dies At 70

Source: Susan Whitall / The Detroit News One week after the death of Damon Harris in Baltimore, another former member of the Temptations has died. Richard Street, who was with the group longer than anyone but Otis Williams, died today in Las Vegas of a pulmonary embolism. He was 70. Street’s former wife, Caldin Gill [...]

LISTEN: Roland Martin Talks With Father George Clements About The Next Pope, Sex Abuse Scandals & More

Roland Martin talks with Father George Clements about the impact of the Pope’s resignation, the possibility of a black Pope and HBO’s ‘Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God’ documentary about sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church.

Winans Family Member Sentenced To Nearly 14 Years In Ponzi Scheme

Source: George Hunter / The Detroit News Detroit — Victims of Michael Winans’ multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme sobbed in a federal courtroom Wednesday before a judge sentenced the defendant, a member of a prominent gospel music family, to almost 14 years in prison. Judge Sean Cox’s 165-month sentence exceeded the prosecutors’ recommendation of at least [...]

FCC Media Ownership Vote Delayed To Study Minority Impact

Source: Todd Shields / Bloomberg The Federal Communications Commission won’t vote on changes to U.S. media ownership rules until an outside group studies effects on minority broadcasters, the agency’s chairman said today. The study will take “several weeks,” followed by public comment and a commission vote, Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. Commissioner Robert [...]

Voting Rights Act Supreme Court Case: Scalia Condemns The ‘Perpetuation Of Racial Entitlement’

Source: Ryan J. Reilly / The Huffington Post WASHINGTON — Conservative justices on the Supreme Court expressed skepticism Wednesday about whether the federal government should still be requiring preclearance of voting system changes in certain places with a history of racial discrimination in elections. Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that the continuation of Section 5 of the Voting [...]

Pimps Hit Social Networks To Recruit Underage Sex Workers

Source: Erica Fink and Laurie Segall / CNN Money “Pimps are professional exploiters,” says Andrea Powell, executive director of Fair Girls, an organization that helps victims of sex trafficking. “Often they’re just spamming a whole bunch of girls with messages like, ‘Hey, you look cute. I could be your boyfriend.’” That’s one way Justin Strom — aka [...]

Yahoo Defends No-Work-At-Home Policy

Source: Chris Isidore / CNN Money Yahoo is responding to criticism of a decision to ban employees from working at home, saying it’s the right move for the company. “This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home — this is about what is right for Yahoo, right now,” said a statement from a [...]

Supreme Court Hears Challenge To The Voting Rights Act; Statue Of Rosa Parks Unveiled (VIDEO)

Roland Martin, Douglas Brinkley and Suzanne Malveaux discuss the Supreme Court hearing a case challenging the Voting Rights Act. Plus, a statue of Rosa Parks is unveiled at the Capitol.