Black Students Flock to STEM Fields,
Over last weekend, young people watched or read about President Obama speaking at Morehouse College and first lady Michelle Obama addressing the graduates of Bowie State University.    read story

NY Man Finishes Writing Out Entire Bible By Hand
A 63-year-old upstate New York man who has spent years writing out every word in the Bible has penned the very last lines.   read story

Obama Administration Plan B Appeal Draws Criticism From Reproductive Rights Groups
The Obama administration's decision to appeal a court order lifting age limits on purchasers of the morning-after pill set off a storm of criticism from reproductive rights groups, who denounced it as politically motivated and a step backward for women's health.   read story

Cuomo Says Weiner NYC Mayoral Win Would Be A 'Shame'
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says it would be a "shame" if Anthony Weiner was elected mayor of New York City.   read story

Sen. Chuck Schumer Backs Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Prevention
Senator Charles Schumer has said he is backing legislation to prevent a doubling of a student loan interest rate that takes effect July 1.    read story

Cuomo Says $80M Will Help Local Governments Survive
Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed at least $80 million in state aid Tuesday to help New York cities and counties escape a decades-long cycle of higher taxes and reduced services in the face of rising public payroll costs and dwindling populations.    read story

Feds propose overhaul for child care centers
Associated Press- Federal health officials say they want to overhaul federally funded child care facilities across the country, beefing up safety standards for employees and requiring states to better monitor the facilities.   read story

Secretly taped NY lawmakers, operatives are named
Nine New York City Democrats, including state senators, a city council member and two political operatives, were secretly recorded by a former state senator seeking leniency for her role in a corruption scandal, and nearly all of them are under criminal investigation, according to court documents filed Wednesday.   read story

House panel set to OK cut in food stamp program
A House committee rebuffed Democratic efforts Wednesday to keep the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program whole, as debate on the farm bill turned into a theological discourse on helping the poor.    read story

3rd Meeting Set for Syracuse's I-81 Proposals
State and local transportation officials are held another in a series of public meeting on the future of Interstate 81 in Syracuse. read story

TSA Summer Travel Tips for Syracuse Hancock Int’l Airport
With Memorial Day Weekend upon us, more than 200 million passengers will begin their summer airline travel, and all of those passengers will need to pass through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints.  read story

CITY OF SYRACUSE ANNOUNCES MEMORIAL DAY CLOSURES
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Commemorating 100 years of the legacy of Harriet Tubman
A generous crowd gathered at the Auburn Junior High school, May 17, to take part in the 39th Annual Pilgrimage to pay tribute to the historic contributions of Harriet Tubman. read story

Syracuse Business Owner Gets Jail-time for Selling Synthetic Drugs
The owner of a Syracuse head shop is spending 60 days in jail for selling synthetic drugs known as "bath salts" after a judge ordered him to stop. read story

Many NY gas leases expire as moratorium remains
New York's five-year moratorium on shale gas development promised to be a blessing for many landowners eager to end leases they signed before anyone outside of the oil and gas industry had heard of fracking.  read story

At Last
When Beyonce Knowles sang the Etta James song “At Last” at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, the song could have had several meanings. At last we have an African-American President? At last, the muscle of the Black vote has been flexed? At last, there is some hope for our country to come together with the mantra “Yes We Can”.   read story

Teacher’s Aide Accused of Spreading HIV to a Student
Mario Hunt is a 35-year old teacher’s aide who may have done the unthinkable to a young man at his school. Hunt is being accused criminal s-xual assault, aggravated criminal s-xual abuse, and transmission of HIV.    read story

The Alliance Between Warmongers And The Press
Once again the American press, which loves to loudly and consistently boast of being the best and freest press in the whole wide world, is allowing warmongering politicians and pundits to do their thing without asking a most basic question:    read story

The Flawed Immigration Reform Bill
The Senate’s Gang of Eight have put together an 844 page monstrosity known as the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, legislation that President Obama says he “basically approves” of.    read story

No Second Class Families
African Americans have spent much of our history fighting for equal treatment. Just two generations ago, our parents and our grandparents were banned from eating at certain restaurants, attending certain schools, and working in certain professions.   read story

Dr. Boyce: Mountain Dew Eliminates “the Negro Problem,” Then Responds with Nothing
I started last week by being traumatized by an ad released by Mountain Dew, which I referred to as “the most racist ad in history.” The commercial featured a battered white woman being intimidated by a police lineup full of black men, along with a demonic negro goat making a series of ebonic threats. As the goat told the woman that he was going to “dew her up” (sounds like s-xual assault to me),I remember sitting at my computer with my eyes crinkled and my bottom lip hitting my keyboard. I couldn’t believe the company had released this ad to the public.   read story