Nation

SCRANTON-Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was ordered Thursday to spend 28 years in prison for a bribery scandal that prompted the state’s high court to overturn thousands of juvenile convictions. Mr. Ciavarella was convicted of taking a $1 million bribe from the builder of a pair of juvenile detention centers in a case […]

“This is not an anti-Obama poverty tour and I’m tired of hearing that quite frankly,” broadcaster Tavis Smiley told ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper today on his way into DC Central Kitchen in the nation’s capitol. Smiley and Princeton Prof. Cornel West have embarked on a lengthy multi-city Poverty Tour around the country […]

While health studies have produced much data proving that tap water is healthy and sanitary, Black and Latino parent seem to believe otherwise. Instead, minorities are consuming and spending a greater amount of their income on bottled water compared to whites. A recent study in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine illustrated this trend, reporting that […]

NEW YORK — The father of the children who were driven into the Hudson River by their mother, LaShanda Armstrong,  is suing New York City for $40 million. Black News 2 reports: Pierre, Armstrong’s 26-year-old estranged boyfriend, says there should have been proper barriers erected to keep vehicles from going into the river. He also […]

Despite high rates of unemployment and an uncertain economy Black barbershops and hair salons are booming, according to BlackNews2. The Census Bureau recently noted their jump in an otherwise glum report about mom-and-pop businesses, stating that the number of hairdressers and barbers and the shops that employ them grew by about 8 percent from 2008 […]

Street gangs are quickly migrating from America’s inner city to its suburbs and small towns says a new National Gang Center study. According to the report, 55 percent of all gang activity occurs in big cities, while 41 percent occurs in outlying suburbs in our smaller cities. In Houston, Tex., officers say kids as young […]

Past research suggested that Black patients on dialysis survive longer than whites, but a new study finds that this does not hold true for young Black patients. In fact, young African-Americans are twice as likely to die while on dialysis. TheGrio.com reports: Doctors aren’t sure why young African American dialysis patients have such a large […]

With the recent controversy surrounding the recently released movie “The Help,” TheGrio decided to take a deeper look at the lives of minority maids across the country — and the struggles they face on a daily basis. From TheGrio: Some things never change. The story of domestic workers in the 1960s that fuels the newly released […]

Black journalist Mara Schiavocampo is quickly amassing an impressive portfolio and numerous accolades. Already called the “Journalist of the Future” by NBC Senior Vice President Alexandra Wallace, Schiavocampo was awarded two National Association of Black Journalist “Salute to Excellence” Awards last week in Philidelphia during the organization’s annual conference. Schiavocampo was honored for her work reporting on […]

Rev. Al Sharpton struck back at radio host Rush Limbaugh last night after the conservative commentator made fun of Sharpton’s teleprompter flub on MSNBC this past Tuesday. Sharpton had trouble pronouncing the words “we must resist” before immediately moving on to his fellow host Ed Schultz. Conservative commentators crowed about the gaffe, but none more […]

WASHINGTON — Charles L. Gittens, who in 1956 became the first black Secret Service agent, has died. He was 82. The McGuire Funeral Home in Washington confirmed that Gittens died July 27 in Maryland. A spokesman for the Secret Service confirmed that Gittens was the first black agent but said no further details would be […]

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama was making a pitch Thursday about the job-creating potential of investing in clean energy before talking up his re-election at a pair of fundraising events with high-dollar campaign contributors. Obama planned to tour a Holland, Mich., factory that makes advanced batteries for alternative-fuel vehicles such as hybrids or all-electrics. In […]