Roland S. Martin's Blog, page 654

Steve Stoute Sits Down With Jay-Z, Pharrell, And Lady Gaga To Discuss 'The Tanning Of America' (VIDEO)

Source: The Huffington Post Steve Stoute, the former music executive, has long played matchmaker between the popular culture and corporate America. He launched Translation Consultation & Brand Imaging in 2004, and linked Justin Timberlake to McDonald's for the fast food chain's "I'm Loving It" campaign, helped seal LeBron James' partnership with State Farm Insurance, Gwen Stefani's pact with Hewlett-Packard, Lady Gaga's deal with MAC Comestics, and Jay-Z's exclusive line with Reebok. TJMS: Steve Stoute On Hip Hop, The Tanning Of [...]

Woman Sickened By Fumes At Georgia McDonald's Dies

Source: AP / CBS News Pooler, Ga. – An 80-year-old Florida woman has died after being sickened by fumes at a McDonald's restaurant in south Georgia, authorities said. Pooler police Chief Mark Revenew said Anne Felton of Ponte Verda, Fla., died early Thursday. She and her husband were customers at the restaurant. An autopsy will be conducted to determine cause of death. Felton was one of ten taken to the hospital Wednesday after firefighters found two customers unconscious inside a [...]

Full text of President Obama's Jobs Speech

Mr Speaker, Mr Vice President, members of Congress, and fellow Americans: Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that has made things worse. This past week, reporters have been asking "What will this speech mean for the President? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls, and the next election?" But the millions of [...]

Trump Loses Defamation Lawsuit Against Guy Who Said He Was Only Worth $150M

Source: Hillary Reinsberg / Mogulite Most people wouldn't sue for being told they're worth a few hundred million dollars. Most people aren't Donald Trump. In 2005, Tim O'Brien wrote Trump Nation, an investigative book in which, among other things, he argued that Trump wasn't worth nearly as much as he said he was. While Trump claims he's worth upwards of $7 billion, O'Brien said the number was actually between $150 million to $250 million. In Trump's eyes, this was defamation. [...]

John Galliano Found Guilty By French Court In Anti-Semitism Case

Source: Ryan Creed,Sheila Marikar / ABC News A French court has found fashion designer John Galliano guilty of anti-Semitic behavior in two complaints. He could have been sentenced to a maximum of six months in jail. Instead, Galliano was fined 6,000 euros ($8,400), though the fines were suspended. The Black Room: John Galliano Gets The Boot For Racist Comments (VIDEO) The former Dior designer was charged in connection with incidents in October, where he was accused of verbally abusing an English language [...]

Ponzi Scheme? Rick Perry Explains Social Security Stance (VIDEO)

At the MSNBC GOP debate, Gov. Rick Perry is asked about comments he made on Social Security in his latest book. WATCH:

Appeals Court Favors Obama Health Care Law

Source: David Jackson / USA Today President Obama wins the latest round in the health care legal fight. A federal appeals court tossed out Virginia's lawsuit against the Obama health care law, ruling that the state's attorney general lacked legal standing to bring the case. The decision essentially reversed a lower court judge's ruling that the law violates the Constitution because it forces most Americans to buy some sort of health insurance. The appeals court did not rule on the [...]

White House: Obama's 'American Jobs Act' Will Include New Ideas (VIDEO)

Source: CNN Washington - President Barack Obama will include some new proposals in the package of job creation measures he unveils Thursday night in a speech to a joint session of Congress, White House spokesman Jay Carney told CNN. "There will be some new ideas that you haven't heard from us before that are part of the baskets, part of the areas, in terms of tax relief and infrastructure spending, assistance to communities to help rebuild their schools, assistance to states [...]

Teen Births Cost Mississippi $154M, study finds

Source: CBS News Groups pushing for comprehensive sex education classes in Mississippi schools say there's a good economic reason for what they're doing. A new analysis shows births to teen or preteen mothers cost the state $154.9 million in 2009. That includes increased costs of foster care, social services and incarceration for young people born years ago to teen moms. It also takes into account lost revenue from people who have lower levels of education and lower-paying jobs because they [...]

Police: Arkansas Meteorologist Found Asleep In Tub Next To Dead Man

Source: CNN Police are investigating the death of an Arkansas man whose naked body was allegedly found next to a sleeping TV weatherman in a hot tub after a night of drinking and drugs. The owner of the home awoke Monday morning to find the body of 24-year-old Dexter Williams at the bottom of an empty tub, his face blue and purple and a chain resembling a dog collar around his neck, according to a Maumelle Police report. Asleep next [...]