The ESSENCE Music Festival is here, well on TV One that is. Star-studded, two-hour special produced in conjunction with ESSENCE includes performances by Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jill Scott, Trey Songz, Gladys Knight and more.

Republican candidate for governor Carl Paladino said he would transform some New York prisons into dormitories for welfare recipients, where they would work in state-sponsored jobs, get employment training and take lessons in “personal hygiene.”

Assistant Polk County attorney, Romonda Belcher-Ford was chosen this week to become Iowa’s first female, African-American judge, officials announced Friday.

Singer Wyclef Jean’s attempt to run as Haiti’s president has ended after election officials disqualified his candidacy.