Roland S. Martin's Blog, page 657

TJMS: Former White House Staffer And Author Lucas Boyce Says You Are Built For Something More

Lucas Boyce, Director of Community Relations, Multicultural Insights, & Government Affairs for the Orlando Magic joins Roland Martin on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Boyce discusses his new book entitled Living Proof: From Foster Care to the White House and the NBA. Boyce was in charge of African-American outreach, professional sports outreach and political affairs (from Missouri to California) under President George. For more information about Lucas Boyce and to order Living Proof, visit http://lucasdanielboyce.com/.

Black Unemployment: Highest In 27 Years

Source: CNN Money New York – The August jobs report was dismal for plenty of reasons, but perhaps most striking was the picture it painted of racial inequality in the job market. Black unemployment surged to 16.7% in August, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%, the Labor Department reported. "This month's numbers continue to bear out that longstanding pattern that minorities have a much more challenging time getting jobs," said Bill [...]

August Jobs Report: Hiring Grinds To A Halt

Source: Annalyn Censky / CNN Money New York – Employers added no jobs in August, the Labor Department said Friday and the unemployment rate remained at 9.1%. "We expected a weak report, and what we got was even weaker," said Patrick O'Keefe, director of economic research at J.H. Cohn. The report was partially helped by 22,000 state workers in Minnesota returning to work after a temporary government shutdown in July, but was also hurt by 45,000 Verizon workers on strike [...]

ABC News: Investigators Probe White House Role In Massive Energy Loan (VIDEO)

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Source: Matthew Mosk and Ronnie Greene / ABC News House investigators said they have uncovered evidence that White House officials became personally involved in an Energy Department review of a hot-button $535 million loan guarantee to the now-failed California solar company Solyndra. The allegation surfaced in a letter House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent to the White House Thursday night, saying he planned to accelerate efforts to understand an investment deal that may [...]

20 Inches Of Rain? Flood Warnings For US Gulf Coast

Source: MSNBC A slow-moving tropical depression was slogging toward the Gulf coast Friday, packing walloping rains that could drench the region with up to 20 inches. Louisiana's governor declared a state of emergency Thursday because of the threat of flash flooding. Tropical storm warnings were issued from Mississippi to Texas including New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center said the system will dump 10 to 15 inches of rain over southern areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama through Sunday and as [...]

Rep. Joe Walsh To Skip Obama Jobs Speech, Calls President 'Idiotic'

Source: The Huffington Post House Republican Joe Walsh, a Tea Party favorite from Illinois, will not be attending President Barack Obama's Sept. 8 jobs speech, the Chicago Tribune reports. "I don't see the point of being a prop for another of the president's speeches asking for more failed stimulus spending and more subsidies for his pet projects," he said in a statement issued Thursday. Walsh, a member of the House Small Business Committee, will instead be hosting a small business [...]

High Waves Likely Caused Drug Smuggling Boat Crash In Southern California, 500 Pounds Of Marijuana Found

Source: Camille Mann / AP / CBS News Los Angeles – The high waves that are pounding the California coast caused a marijuana smuggling boat to crash onto a Southern California beach. The boat split in two on rocks south of Point Mugu State Park in Malibu. Two state park rangers who were patrolling the area discovered the boat where more than 500 pounds of marijuana was washed ashore with it, said Lindsaey Templeton, a superintendent for the park system [...]

Tropical Storm Lee to Hit New Orleans this Weekend (VIDEO)

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Source: Colleen Curry / ABC News A long, dry summer will come to a rainy close along the Gulf Coast this weekend as Tropical Storm Lee is expected to pour as much as 20 inches of rain over the New Orleans area. Tropical Depression 13, which is expected to become Tropical Storm Lee by Saturday, is expected to make landfall along the southern coast of Louisiana around 1 p.m. on Saturday with winds of 60 [...]

Bus Ride Detours Rapper T.I.'s Early Release From Prison

Source: Alan Duke / CNN T.I., who walked out of a federal prison in Arkansas Wednesday and joyously tweeted "The storm is over & da sun back out," woke up back in a prison Friday morning. The rapper's early release from an 11-month prison term lasted just a day, with federal agents taking T.I. back into custody Thursday after prison officials questioned how he traveled from an Arkansas prison to an Atlanta halfway house. T.I., whose real name is Clifford [...]

Virginia City Bans Public Confederate Flag Displays

Source: AP / CBS News Lexington, Va. – Officials in the rural Virginia city where Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson are buried voted late Thursday to prohibit the flying of the Confederate flag on city-owned poles. After a lively 2 1/2-hour public hearing, the Lexington City Council voted 4-1 to allow only U.S., Virginia and city flags to be flown. Personal displays of the Confederate flag are not affected. The Sons of Confederate Veterans, whose members showed up [...]