Roland S. Martin's Blog, page 743

Sean Kingston's Jet Ski Passenger — 'We Were Going REALLY Fast'

Source: TMZ TMZ spoke with Cassandra Sanchez — Sean's longtime friend — who tells us she arrived to Miami Beach with another female friend to ride jet skis with Sean and his buddy on Saturday evening. Sanchez told TMZ, "Both jet skis pulled out of the dock at the same time and we were going so fast we just blasted past them. When we turned a corner and crashed … they were so far behind us they didn't even see [...]

WHO To Report On Whether Cell Phone Radiation Is Cancer Hazard

Source: Danielle Dellorto / CNN The World Health Organization will announce Tuesday whether exposure to cell phone radiation is a cancer-causing hazard. Until now, the agency has assured consumers that no adverse health effects had been established from cell phone radiation. WHO's International Agency for Research of Cancer team includes 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States. They've been reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety since last week. The announcement is not expected to be a yes-or-no [...]

New Book Exposes R. Kelly And Aaliyah

Source: EURweb.com / BlackAmericaWeb.com A former personal assistant for singer R. Kelly has written a book expected to revisit allegations of pedophilia against the R&B superstar, including an alleged "secret" marriage to the singer Aaliyah. Demetrius Smith's "Man Behind the Man," threatens to expose the skeletons in Kelly's closet, long hidden beyond the child porn and underage sex allegations previously reported. In the book, Smith quoted Kelly talking about his relationship with the late Aaliyah, who was just 15 years [...]

Empty Virginia Prison Cost More Than $700,000 A Year To Maintain

Source: Susan Kinzie / The Washington Post Grayson County has a brand-new state prison standing empty. No prisoners. And that means no guards, no administrators, no staff, no jobs. Three hundred new jobs — maybe 350 — that's what people were told when the prison was planned. With about 11 percent unemployment and no relief in sight, that sounded really good to an awful lot of people here. But months after the commonwealth finished building the 1,024-bed medium-security prison for [...]

Another Naughty Banker: Ex-Bank Exec Assaulted Maid (VIDEO)

The former head of an Egyptian bank was arrested on charges that he sexually abused a New York hotel employee. WATCH:

W.H.O.: Cell Phone Use 'Possibly Carcinogenic' (VIDEO)

Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. WATCH:

Muslim Girl In Beauty Contest Stoned To Death

Source: CBS News A teenage Muslim girl was stoned to death by suspects claiming the 19-year-old has violated Sharia law by taking part in a beauty contest, a British newspaper reports. The body of Katya Koren was found in a forest near a village in the Crimea region of Ukraine. Will Stewart of the Daily Mail writes that Koren's remains were found a week after her disappearance. She appeared to have suffered head injuries and been strangled. Police are investigating [...]

Bishop Eddie Long Confirms That Bernice King Is Leaving Megachurch

Source: AP / The Washington Post Atlanta — Atlanta-area megachurch founder Bishop Eddie Long is confirming that the daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King is leaving his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. In a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press by his spokesman on Tuesday, Long said that he and the Rev. Bernice King have been "in discussion and prayer" for some time about her decision to leave the church to continue the legacy of her parents. The [...]

Herman Cain Raises Some Cain In New Music Video; Claims Tea Party Is Not Racist

Source: CBS News GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain is out with a music video/biographical introduction that puts a heavy focus on his race – and casts his presidential run as evidence that Tea Party supporters are not racist. "To all of those people who say that the Tea Party is a racist organization, eat your words," Cain, who is African-American, says in the video. One African-American supporter featured in the video says she and the Tea Party are more interested [...]

Saudi Prince Calls For Lower Oil Prices

Source: CNN Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal said Sunday that he wants oil prices to drop so that the United States and Europe don't accelerate efforts to wean themselves off his country's supply. In an interview broadcast Sunday on "CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS," the grandson of the founding king of modern Saudi Arabia said the oil price should be somewhere between $70 and $80 a barrel, rather than the current level of over $100 a barrel. "We don't want the [...]