Vol 4. NO 29 Friday, April 8th, 2011

NNPA AND NAACP VOW TO WORK CLOSER TOGETHER - PG. 3 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 35 Cents

Final

WALCOTT P O I S ED TO TAKE OVER AS C HA N C E L LO R Dennis Walcott, the longtime deputy mayor, is selected to take over for embattled Schools Chancelpoised to become the city’s next schools chancellor. lor Cathie Black, who abruptly resigned three Mayor Bloomberg announced that he has been months into the job.

SEE PAGE 3.

PRESIDENT OBAMA ADDRESSES NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK’S GALA SEE PAGE 2 A rally with the Reverend Al Sharpton was one of the first stops for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Sharpton was mark-

ing the 20th anniversary of his National Action Network with a gala in Midtown’s Sheraton Hotel to honor prominent African Americans.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

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NEWS BRIEFS Obama addresses National Action Network’s gala CITY SUBWAYS AMONG MOST EFFICIENT IN NATION, STUDY FINDS The city’s subway system is on the fast track to efficiency, while buses are stuck in neutral, according to a new study by the Citizens Budget Commission.

The organization says the city’s subway system is one of the most organized in the nation, and the cheapest to run, with the lowest cost per passenger trip at 63 cents.

Subways did score in the middle of the pack when it comes to station and facility improvements.

Out of the 10 major bus systems in the country, New York City buses came in last in three of five categories.

The Long Island Rail Road and Metro North also performed poorly when it comes to cost per passenger mile and service costs.

The MTA says the data is from 2009, before the agency began cost-cutting initiatives.

HARLEM SUCCESS ACADEMY HOLDS ADMISSION LOTTERY Thousands of young New Yorkers put their luck to the test at a charter school lottery in Manhattan.

The Harlem Success Academy held an admissions lottery Wednesday.

Close to 9,000 children applied for spots in the school’s nine campuses.

With only 900 seats available, the process can be a tense one.

“Being a parent in New York City and finding a phenomenal school for your child is really, really challenging. And so, unfortunately, there are not enough spots,” said Harlem Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz.

Parents should know by next week if their child was granted a spot in one of the charter schools.

CITY REVERSES COURSE ON “CRASH TAX” PLAN The Bloomberg administration is abandoning its plan to charge drivers involved in accidents for emergency response services.

The so-called “crash tax” was slated to start in July and would have charged drivers when the New York City Fire Department responded with any roadside assistance.

Fees would have ranged anywhere from $365 to $490 depending on the severity of the crash.

Bloomberg had proposed the plan as a way to help dig the FDNY out of a budget hole.

He took it off the table this fiscal year after heavy opposition from allies like City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who called emergency services a basic government function.

A bill was also in the works in the council to block the administration from going forward with the plan.

It was expected to draw more than $1 million a year in revenue.

A Wednesday rally with the Reverend Al Sharpton was one of the first stops for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

Sharpton was marking the 20th anniversary of his National Action Network with a gala in Midtown’s Sheraton Hotel to honor prominent African Americans.

The appearance also marked Obama’s first visit to Sharpton’s organization as president.

“I told Reverend Al backstage, he’s getting skinnier than me,” joked the president. “He’s getting skinnier than [movie director] Spike [Lee].”

Obama then outlined broad goals for his potential second presidential term, including higher levels of college-educated children and the development of high-speed mass transit and “clean” energy sources.

“If some of us are falling behind, we won’t win the future,” the president said. “An American dream that’s in reach for all of us — that’s what we’ve been trying to build for the last two years, and that’s what the National Action Network has been trying to build for 20 years.”

Last election, it took a while for the pair to draw close. Now, Obama is counting on Sharpton to get out the

vote among African Americans and some liberals.

“I’m not asking you to think about what we’ve already done so you can be satisfied with our progress. I know this isn’t the ‘National Satisfaction Network,’ this is the National Action Network,” said the president. “But I am asking you to draw inspiration from the fact that we know change is possible.”

Obama cast his agenda as a modern civil rights struggle. His team uses similar language in their plan to tap new voter registration to win again.

“That’s maybe one of the differences between how I approach this and some on the other side who seem to want the constrict the number of people who want to vote. I think let’s let everybody in America vote,” said presidential advisor David Axelrod.

It is a sign of how far Sharpton has come in two decades. No longer radioactive, at least for a lot of the country, Sharpton now even stumps with prominent Republican Newt Gingrinch on improving education.

Embracing Sharpton is now a blessing for Democrats, without being a national albatross.

“He has morphed from being a medal-wearing, jogging suit activist to a national leader with a blueprint and a following that I think is unequal in this country today,” said Democratic consultant Roberto Ramirez.

The Harlem reverend can now draw not just the president, but also three U.S. Cabinet members in one day.

Obama made several stops in the city last week, including a fundraiser in Harlem that netted more than a million dollars for the Democratic Party.

Figure Skating in Harlem a huge success

By DONNA LAMB For the 14th year in a row, late last month over 1,200 enthusiastic family, friends and community members flocked to Riverbank State Park’s skating rink at 145th St. to watch their girls perform in Figure Skating in Harlem’s annual ice show.

This year’s show, which was emceed by actress Tamara Tunie from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and sponsored by the Walt Disney Co., was titled So You Think You Can Skate. As always, the young performers were fresh, vibrant and full of joy.

Everyone, from the adorable team of 6-year-olds performing for the first time, to the silver and bronze medal winning Senior Synchronized Team, gave it their all as they skated to an amazing variety of musical and dance genres, including ballet, jazz, African, Broadway, swing, hip-hop, country and Bollywood.

And the responsive audiences that filled the bleachers didn’t hold back on showing their appreciation, for they knew how much the girls and young women had put into perfecting their sit spins, loops and all their other newly acquired skills. Even if a beginning skater suddenly found herself hitting the ice, the audience cheered her on when she rose, seeing it as a tangible demonstration of the life lesson that “it isn’t about not falling down; it’s about getting back up.”

And life’s lessons are what Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH) is all about.

As its founder, former competitive ice skater Sharon Cohen, explains, “We take a holistic approach and focus on helping girls grow physically, academically, and emotionally. Our mission is to transform young lives and help girls grow in confidence, leadership

Proud skaters take their bow after vivacious performance to Madonna’s “Vogue”. and academic achievement. The girls learn to set goals, and then work toward them and eventually accomplish them.”

FSH is the first and only education and ice skating program of its kind in the country. It has served over 1,000 African American and Latina girls in upper Manhattan – approximately 130 girls each year, ages 6 - 18. Participants sign a skater’s contract and must maintain at least a B-average in school. FSH’s education program includes academic workshops in partnership with Columbia University, public speaking, career workshops and several cultural field trips throughout the city to dance, theater and music concerts as well as skating shows.

It is no wonder that slots in the program are highly desired, and participants feel fortunate to get in. Fourteen-year-old Zjana Ray said FSH has given her confidence and a sense of fitting in at a place she can come to and do something she loves.

Sixteen-year-old Jiordan Ali added that FSH teaches them not to give up, to stay committed – like when they’re learning new skating moves. “At first

we don’t get it so we have to keep trying until we do,” she said.

High school senior Meiling Jabbaar, who co-captains the Senior Synchronized Team with Jiordan, has been in the program since she was nine. She said that not only has FSH taught her figure skating, it has enhanced her educational and leadership skills. What she gained was instrumental in her being accepted at the prestigious Swarthmore, Haverford, and Wellesley Colleges, one of which she will attend next year.

Parents are equally happy with the outcome of their daughters’ participation. Jesse Clark has two daughters, in the program: 17-year-old Bria and 6-year-old Autumn, who is in her first year. “As parents, we teach our children great values, but they’re not with us 24/7,” he stated. “Just having that continuance in FSH helps us out a lot. It keeps our girls on the right path. Bria is now a leader; she knows what it is to volunteer. Figure Skating in Harlem has made her a better person.”

For more information, visit www.figureskatinginharlem.org.

Photo: Donna Lamb

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

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Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott poised to take over as schools chancellor

By SARA FRAZIER Dennis Walcott, the longtime deputy mayor who is poised to become the city’s next schools chancellor, once said he never intended to go into government work.

“Even in college, government was not part of my interest,” he said in 2009. “My interest was always in community service and social service.”

But Walcott ended up working for Mayor Bloomberg as a deputy mayor in 2002, and it was announced Thursday that he has been selected to take over for embattled Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, who abruptly resigned three months into the job.

Parents and teachers shouldn’t

expect much to change under Walcott, who on Thursday declared himself a “believer in what we do” and a “believer in this mayor.”

“The reforms as a result of Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership have benefited countless students,” Walcott said at a City Hall news conference. “I have a simple goal — to continue that progress and reforms that the mayor has made so special to all of us.”

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said he has worked with Walcott over the years and added “I look forward to working with him now.”

Walcott, whose grandparents emigrated from the Caribbean, grew up in southeast Queens.

“I’m just a city guy,” he said Thursday.

Walcott also has an adventurous streak that includes skydiving trips in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The father of four attended public schools, and eventually returned to the classroom as a kindergarten teacher early in his career.

In 1975, he founded the Frederick Douglass Brother-to-Brother organization that mentored young boys. He also served on the now-defunct Board of Education.

He was the president and CEO of the New York Urban League when he was picked to be a deputy mayor.

In his post as deputy mayor for education and community development, he has helped oversee the Department of Education and several other community-based organizations.

“I’ve visited probably hundreds

and hundreds of our schools, walked the corridors, held the hands of students and talked with the moms and dads,” he said Thursday.

Walcott has masters degrees in education and social work. He still does not have the credentials required by the state, including the three years of teaching experience, and will need a waiver.

NNPA and NAACP vow to work closer together Recently there was an issue between the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and the NAACP. NNPA member publishers had become upset when they discovered that the NAACP had inserted multi-page Viewer’s Guide advertising for its 42nd Image Awards in several markets throughout the U.S., to the exclusion of African American newspapers.

Upon being informed of this “misstep,” Chairman Danny Bakewell called NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous and suggested a meeting to discuss the issue.

NNPA publishers said they felt righteous indignation with the NAACP, as they viewed its actions as being contrary to their joint historical struggles. Since the inception of the Black press and some 82 years later when the NAACP was born, the two had partnered unconditionally in the fight for freedom and equality.

Consequently, Bakewell invited NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous to attend an NNPA Board of Directors meeting in Washington, DC, to explain his actions. The meeting proved fruitful and initiated renewed commitments by each association to work closer together.

During the meeting NAACP President Ben Jealous said: “I am recommitting the NAACP to advocate for increased ad dollars and support for the Black press. There is a long and storied history between the Black

NNPA Chairman, Danny Bakewell (left) and NAACP President,CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. press and the NAACP. I, like many of my predecessors, including WEB Dubois and Roy Wilkins, emerged from the Black press. As an investigative reporter and editor for the Jackson Advocate—the most frequently firebombed Black community newspaper in the country—and former executive director of

the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the mission and voice of the Black press is something I personally hold in the highest regard. The NAACP and NNPA share the same mission: the liberation of our people. The Black press is our voice and the NAACP is a voice for the Black press. Together

Grandmother sentenced for injury to child A New York grandmother who allowed her granddaughter to be set on fire in a demon-casting voodoo ritual has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Justice Richard Buchter announced the sentence Wednesday and criticized Sylvenie Thessier, 71, for not getting medical attention for her 6-year-old granddaughter

Frantzcia Saintil, according to reports.

“That child deserved to be cared for and deserved to have her wounds treated,” Buchter said.

Thessier pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment for the June 2009 incident when the child’s mother allegedly poured rum over her head and set her on fire to drive out evil

spirits.

Thessier put the fire out and put the child to bed but did not make any effort to seek medical help, prosecutors said.

Thessier, a native of Haiti, admitted she was negligent.

Her daughter Marie Lauradin is facing charges of assault and child endangerment in a trial set for June.

we can be a mighty force to speak truth to power.”

NNPA Chairman Danny Bakewell said that he appreciates the frank dialogue between the two groups, as it presents a better understanding of their respective operating procedures, one that will prevent any such “mis-step” in the future.

Bakewell continued, “The 200-member NNPA has always supported and will continue to give voice to NAACP efforts—with or without advertising support. We give credit to the NAACP for their activities that create interesting copy and graphics. Publication of these events has kept the Black communities aware of the NAACP’s actions and leadership team. The circumstance that initially brought us together ultimately proved to be a reminder of the interconnection of our missions, and our groups are closer today as a result. We will forge ahead with a new and profound commitment to work together.” Bakewell added, “I commend President Jealous for his honesty and his apology to the NNPA publishers. We are brothers in the struggle against racial injustices, and as the NAACP fights the battles in the courts, it is our mission as the Black Press to illuminate the issues and keep our people informed.”

Christopher Fleming of the NAACP and Walter Smith of the NNPA authored this article.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

JOURNAL OF THE PEOPLE’S PASTOR ‘WRITING THE HISTORY I’VE LIVED, LIVING THE HISTORY I WRITE!’

The passing of the giants of the human spirit: Ms. Geraldine Anne Ferraro - the first female vice presidential candidate

THOMAS H. WATKINS

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By REV. DR. HERBERT DAUGHTRY Part Two Ms. Geraldine Anne Ferraro was all smiles as she embraced everyone. “This is a tough lady,” I said to myself as I scrutinized her demeanor. Her attractive face couldn’t mask the ruggedness and the steel in her eyes. She was very pleasant, but beneath the gentility, it was obvious that we were in the presence of a smart and tough woman who could hold her own in any circle.

As we discussed the political landscape and evaluated the Democratic Party’s chances of winning, I was impressed with her knowledge on a wide range of subjects, and her honesty regarding the party’s chances of winning. She admitted it was going to be an uphill battle, but she was confident that the Democratic Party would be victorious. She was also candid

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tion,” said Ms. Ferraro.

Ms. Ferraro was born in Newburgh, New York where her father ran a restaurant and a bar called the Roxy Club.

Before she reached the age of 10 years, her father died of a heart attack. He was indicted for running numbers racket.

The family relocated to the Bronx in New York City where Ms. Ferraro’s mother worked as a seamstress, sewing beads and sequins on fancy dresses.

During her school days, Ms. Ferraro skipped grades, and she attended college on a scholarship. She studied law at night, and she was an elementary school teacher during the day. She married Mr. John Zaccaro, a real estate agent. She raised three children in Kew Gardens, Queens while she practiced law part-time. In 1974, she was sworn in as an Assistant District Attorney in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office. In Congress, she was a protégé of Former Speaker of the House, Mr. Tip O’Neill. This association surely played a significant part in landing her the vice presidency.

She was supportive of Mrs. Sarah Palin, who was selected to be the Vice-Presidential candidate by Senator John McCain.

On NBC’s Today Show, Ms. Ferraro said of Mrs. Palin, “I want her to do well. I think it’s important for little girls to see someone who can stand toe-totoe with a guy who has been in the Senate for 38 years and run for Vice President.”

Continued on page 5

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about the opposition she would encounter as a woman, but then again, she was confident that she could handle it.

We wished her well and much success. I never got a chance to meet Ms. Ferraro again. As I studied her from a distance, my first impression proved to be accurate. She was sharp, intelligent, tireless, and articulate.

She made a favorable impression on all of us. We promised to be supportive, but we thought Reverend Jesse Jackson should have been chosen to be the vice-presidential candidate. He had run a superb race.

He brought a multitude of new voters into the Democratic Party. He generated great excitement. Again, we resigned ourselves that this was America, and racism still ruled. Looking back, Mr. Walter F. Mondale could not have done any worse with Rev. Jackson. On Election Day, voters went for the Republican ticket: 59% to 41%, including 55% of the female voters. The 500-25-13 electoral win was the largest margin in U.S. history.

In the 2008 election, Ms. Ferraro was a senior fundraiser in Mrs. Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. She was forced to resign after being quoted as saying that President Barack Obama’s popularity was attributed to the media’s infatuation with the idea of a Black man running for high office. “If he was a woman — of any color — he would not be in this posi-

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

Message to Barack: Make love not war

By WILLIAM REED Blacks who believe Barack Obama can do no wrong would grimace at Texas Congressman Ron Paul calling him “a war monger”. Dr. Paul would infuriate the Obama Faithful further in saying: “The military industrial complex is firmly entrenched in Washington and Barack Obama is one of their guys”.

Like those who occupied the Oval Office before him, President Obama is overly influenced by the military industrial complex. Their business is war, and military industry people are in line with Obama’s going to Libya.

Every time a Tomahawk cruise missile blows up a building in Libya (and everyone inside it) Raytheon makes $1.5 million.

History has a habit of repeating itself. Unfortunately, not enough people pay attention to obvious parallels right before their eyes. What is unfolding now in Libya is a tragic replay of what has gone before. Wars are costly and extremely expensive, but don’t count on Obama or America’s military apparatus leaving Iraq or Afghanistan anytime soon. The

military industry that controls Washington, and Obama as well, wants wars. Wars mean profits and the more wars the merrier the profiteers. The term “military-industrial complex” refers to policy and monetary relationships between governments, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them. Blacks are rarely top players in these relationships which include political contributions, political approval for defense spending, lobbying to support bureaucracies, and beneficial legislation and oversight of the industry.

The world spends more than $1.5 trillion yearly on military expenditures and the U.S. accounts for 47% of those expenditures. To be fair, wars have helped America’s advancements. Advances in technology and scientific research were achieved through war expenditures such as jet engines, rocket propulsion, plastics and other synthetics, and television and radar. Medical breakthroughs, including sulfa drugs, penicillin, and quinine, were consequences of war.

The “no-fly zone” over Libya could

end up costing the Western coalition more than $1 billion, if the operation drags on more than a couple of months. The initial cost of eliminating Muammar Gaddafi’s air defenses will likely to be between $400 million and $800 million. The expense of patrolling the no-fly zone is likely to be $30 million to $100 million a week. President Obama’s decision to participate in striking Libya has already cost U.S. taxpayers well over $200 million, but although Obama is in bed with a coalition of former colonialists in the invasion of this African country, Obama still has a 95% approval rating among African Americans. There is no anger or agitation among African Americans against President Obama and a Congress that should be ending the wars we were already in, or against our military leaders starting new ones, such as Libya. With Obama leading the pack, Black Americans are part and parcel of imperialists’ acts against Arabs and other people of color the U.S. is “warring against”.

One would think that two horrendously expensive military disasters would be enough for this president

Health care reform: Charting a new course

By CHRIS LEVISTER Special to the NNPA from Blackvoicenews.com Congress passed landmark health care reform that stands as one of the most important achievements since President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law more than four decades ago. This first anniversary is provoking fresh debate over a law many Americans still remain confused about, even as its benefits are already taking effect.

In 2009, 20 percent of Blacks did not have health insurance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new law will help eliminate health disparities for millions of African Americans.

On the anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reform is charting a new course.

Because of the law, fewer patients will face dire circumstances.

Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions. This means a young girl with cancer or another

Giants of the human spirit Continued from page 4 Significantly, she could understand the inspiration that Mrs. Palin’s presence provided for little girls, but she could not understand the inspiration Mr. Obama supplied for little black children — indeed, all children. However, Ms. Ferraro did support Mr. Obama after the primary. Ms. Ferraro died on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the age of 75 years of multiple myeloma.

The End. ** Join Reverend Daughtry in Jersey City for the weekly Wednesday Evening Educational, Cultural, and Empowerment Forum from 6pm-8pm for an evening of information, inspiration, and challenge at 315 Forrest Street (Ground Floor), corner of MLK, Jr. Drive. For more

info, contact The National Community Action Alliance at (201) 7161585. ** Listen to Reverend Daughtry on the weekly radio program which airs Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. on New York City’s WWRL-AM, dial 1600. ** NEED QUALITY CHILD CARE? Call the Alonzo A. Daughtry Memorial Daycare Center located at: 460 Atlantic Avenue (corner of Atlantic and Nevins) 718 596 1993 333 Second Street (between 4th & 5th Avenues) in Park Slope (718) 499-2066 1005/07 Bedford Avenue (corner of Lafayette) 718 638 7979 Immediate openings are available in a state-of-the-art center.

serious illness can’t be denied the care she needs.

The law prohibits health plans from placing lifetime caps on coverage.

Before reform, the practice resulted in seriously ill patients being cut off from necessary treatment.

In addition, new health plans must cover preventive services such as blood-pressure checkups and routine vaccinations without copayments.

This is an important victory; costly and life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses are often preventable, but research shows most of us avoid preventive care when it’s not covered.

Over the next several years, thousands of uninsured Americans will gain coverage.

Despite these improvements, reform faces ideological attacks from conservative lawmakers and Tea Party activists who claim that the law is an unaffordable government takeover of health care.

Even worse for both sides, a majority of Americans remain confused about what the law accomplishes.

A sizable number don’t even realize that it has been passed and signed.

Riverside psychiatrist and president of the J.W. Vines Medical Society, Richard Kotomori, M.D. says while public attitudes toward the law haven’t shifted much despite the best efforts of both political parties to praise it or bury it he worries about the long haul.

“The rollout is complex, and graduated - it’s just slow. I think people are taking small bites out of the elephant. There’s a risk that consumers,

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and his advisers. After all, we’re already spending $1 million per soldier, per year in Afghanistan, and will spend close to half-a-trillion dollars. Whether under Bush or Obama, the U.S. accounts for 47 percent of world military expenditures. The former colonialists we’ve gone to war with represent 13 percent of world military spending.

For all his campaign criticism of the Bush Administration’s foreign policy, Obama is seamlessly continuing the goals of neo-conservatives to permanently reshape the American definition of “national security”, and bullying of Third World countries.

Through it all, African Americans are right behind Obama’s war machine. They take comfort in the fact these current actions are based on lofty goals shared by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other “coalition” members. However, this strategy constitutes a disservice to American taxpayers. What are the Obama fanatics going to say when the people who make up the peace and justice conscious movement in this country stand up and say: “We don’t endorse military intervention

by Britain, France, Italy, NATO or any other colonial forces in the name of ‘humanitarian assistance’ in Libya”? health providers, and clinicians won’t realize the benefits in any significant way,” said Kotomori. “One of the real sticking points with consumers is the cost of drugs which this law doesn’t address.

“Drug costs are expensive and rising. The average consumer feels trapped. He/she has no negotiating rights with the pharmaceutical companies.

“That will eventually sway public attitudes,” Kotomori said.

Kotomori said though public opinion has stayed relatively static, there’s no doubt that the conservative movement still senses a political opportunity. “I think targeting the health care reform law remains a favorite sport.”

African Americans are still suffering disproportionately with the problems of this country’s broken health care system. For example in 2009, 20 percent of Blacks did not have health insurance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number for whites was 10.4 percent in 2007. What’s more 48 percent of African American adults suffer from chronic diseases, compared with 39 percent of the general population.

Going forward Kotomori said health care reform is still a noble endeavor. “The Vines Medical Society has articulated that health insurance is the key component to reducing health disparities within minority communities,” he said. Simply put, Kotomori adds “getting health insurance will be a big step forward for millions of African Americans.”

In 2009, 20 percent of Blacks did not have health insurance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new law will help eliminate health disparities for millions of African Americans.

6

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

Older passenger jets facing tougher inspections

By JOHN CRAWLEY WASHINGTON — Airlines flying older jets are facing tougher, more time-consuming U.S. inspections after the fuselage of a Southwest Airlines jet ruptured last week, leaving a 5-foot hole and questions about how companies and regulators will manage aircraft fatigue.

Addressing metal fatigue has become more of an issue for the industry as the life of commercial planes is extended by structural and cabin refurbishing, new engines and cockpit technology. Boeing has faced this on its older 737, or “classic” fleet. The ruptured Southwest jet was a Boeing 737-300.

“There have been issues with this in the past,” said Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel, noting that the design of the 737-300 series was changed in 1993 due to fatigue issues. He said Boeing had not seen this kind of incident since those changes were made.

The modifications were aimed at preventing large tears in the fuselage skin, like the one that occurred last Friday on the Southwest jet while it was en route from Phoenix, Arizona, to Sacramento, California, carrying 118 passengers. The plane made an

emergency landing at the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station in Arizona.

Boeing engineer Paul Richter said Boeing did not expect the type of fatigue suspected in the Southwest plane to occur until much later in the jet’s life. It is 15.

A review of FAA records showed that since 2002 the agency has issued six directives regarding inspections for fuselage-related cracking involving older model 737s, including the 300, 400, and 500 series. Those models were targeted in an FAA order on Tuesday for urgent electromagnetic inspections on heavily used models made between 1994 and 2003.

A 2009 inspection order was in response to another incident involving a Southwest jet with a smaller hole in its fuselage. And Southwest paid a $7.5 million FAA fine for operating

Lawsuit: New Mexico medical pot application process slow, hazy

By ZELIE POLLON SANTA FE — Pot growers in New Mexico are suing the state, saying applications to distribute medical marijuana are being approved too slowly.

Since New Mexico began accepting applications in 2009, 116 non-profit organizations have filed to dispense medical marijuana and 25 have been given a license, said Paul Livingston, a lawyer for the six organizations suing Governor Susana Martinez, the state health department and the state.

The number of licensed distributors “does not come close to meeting the needs” of more than 3,000 patients who have requested medical cannabis, Livingston said.

“Now patients either have to do without medical marijuana or they buy it elsewhere — from an illegal source,” he said. It’s hard to see where the focus is on a patient and the patient’s suffering.”

The suit filed last week says approvals have been arbitrary, inconsistent and far too slow. Most applicants haven’t heard back, and those who are not accepted are given no explanation, the lawsuit says.

State officials acknowledge the process can be lengthy, mostly because they allow applicants the opportunity to redo incomplete applications, said Dominick Zurlo, harm reduction manager with the Medical

Cannabis Program.

“This is uncharted territory,” Zurlo said. “It’s not a quick process, and we’re focusing on quality, not quantity, for the long term.”

Applicants must form a non-profit organization and board, submit “business trade secrets and proprietary information” and pay a $1,000 application fee.

Charlie Kokesh filed his application in October, inspired by his son Adam, who developed post traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq with the Marines. Kokesh says medical marijuana has helped dissolve his son’s nightmares and moderate his chronic pain.

“Adam’s very positive experience with pot changed my attitude. We decided to get a license to reach out to other veterans,” said Kokesh, who said he has not heard back from the state on his application.

Former Governor Bill Richardson signed a bill in 2007 legalizing the use of medical marijuana for “debilitating medical conditions” such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV or epilepsy.

Fifteen other states and the District of Columbia have some sort of medical cannabis program, Livingston said.

Some applicants involved in the lawsuit have waited two years, Livingston said.

“It’s not like they’re in limbo for two years,” Zurlo said. “We’ve given a lot of feedback. It may just not be what they want to hear.”

737s without required fuselage inspections in 2006-07.

“We don’t expect aircraft in service today to rapidly decompress and have a situation where the airplane fuselage is ripping open,” National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah Hersman said on Tuesday.

“We’ve seen events in the past where there was a failure. We understood the failure mechanism there.

This is not the same. This is something different,” Hersman said.

“We want to understand why we saw the extent of tearing on an aircraft this size,” Hersman said.

She said the FAA was reviewing records regarding the Boeing 737-300 incident and fatigue cracks in general.

The latest FAA order requires more aggressive inspections for the 70 or so

affected jets flown by Southwest, the leading U.S. carrier by passenger volume. Nearly 600 planes worldwide would be affected by the directive that was stricter than a Boeing service bulletin also issued on Tuesday.

The FAA has not indicated if it will seek more design changes. But the agency’s administrator, Randy Babbitt, told Congress on Wednesday that whatever is learned from the Southwest incident will be incorporated into any design, inspection or maintenance requirements.

Babbitt said he would ask his staff to review the FAA’s program for safety on aging aircraft to “ensure we are asking the right questions and taking full advantage of all available data.”

Near term, the new order for more inspections on heavily used older jets should not harm Southwest or other airlines.

“That doesn’t materially affect the 737s operating economics,” Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia said.

Southwest shares fell 5 cents on Wednesday to $12.15 but the drop was due to higher oil prices, not the safety setback. Southwest’s decline was less steep than rival airlines. Boeing shares were up 49 cents to $73.72 on news of a new 777 order.

Report: U.S. foundation giving steady in 2010

By MICHELLE NICHOLS U.S. foundations made $45.7 billion in grants in 2010 and are expected to give away up to 4 percent more this year amid a fragile economic recovery, a top philanthropic research group said on Thursday.

Giving from the country’s 76,000 grant-making foundations was almost unchanged last year from 2009, and remained 2.1 percent below a record $46.8 billion in 2008, the Foundation Center said.

Foundation assets grew about 5 percent last year to $621.4 billion, but remain 9 percent below their pre-financial crisis high of $682.2 billion recorded in 2007.

The group’s report, “Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates,” said that giving held steady for the past couple of years due to a recovering stock market, foundations drawing upon endowments and cutting administrative costs.

The top U.S. foundations by giving include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the AstraZeneca Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the GlaxoSmithKline Patient Access Programs Foundation and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.

“Foundations provided stability for non-profits during a time of crisis,” said Foundation Center Presi-

dent Bradford Smith. “Many made extraordinary efforts to maintain their giving levels, while other, often newer foundations even increased their giving.”

Independent foundations gave $32.5 billion in 2010 and corporate foundations gave $4.7 billion, both down less than 1 percent from 2009, while giving by community foundations fell 2 percent to $4.1 billion.

The Foundation Center forecast giving would grow 2 percent to 4 percent this year, with half the 1,065 foundations surveyed expecting to increase their grant-making in 2011. About 17 percent saw grants remaining unchanged and 30 percent expected a decrease.

“These additional dollars will help to seed the many promising endeavors put on hold during the depths of the economic crisis,” said Steven Lawrence, director of research at the Foundation Center and principal author of the report.

The report stressed that demand for funds from U.S. foundations had grown considerably in recent years, adding to pressure on philanthropic groups.

“Beyond the long-term challenges foundations regularly address ... the economic downturn slashed government revenues at all levels, leaving political leaders and the organizations they support scrambling to replace lost dollars,” it said.

DAILY D CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

7

South Africa worries over rising teen pregnancy

By SIBONGILE KHUMALO JOHANNESBURG - A puffyfaced teenage girl strikes a lonely figure as she walks home from school, her short uniform skirt loosened on the side to make room for her growing baby bump.

Sixteen-year-old Thandi is four months pregnant and among a jump in teenage pregnancies that are up 21 percent across South Africa in recent years, also raising fears of increased HIV infections among sexually active youth.

Most schools allow pregnant pupils to continue attending classes as long as they can, making young girls with baby bulges under their uniforms a common sight.

“I found out that I was pregnant two months ago. I haven’t told anyone yet, only my boyfriend.

He thinks I am joking,” ninth grader Thandi said shyly.

She said she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend of eight months many times before her pregnancy

A pregnant woman walks around the Askham community health care clinic in Askham village in the Kalahari, Northern Cape in 2010. South Africa has the world's largest HIV-positive population, with 5.7 million of its 48 million people infected with the virus. That creates an added threat that has prompted health officials to rethink AIDS and pregnancy prevention programmes targeted at the youth.

Photo/Paballo Thekiso) because she trusted In rural areas, the cipal’s car after he him. She had never stigma is even more raised concerns about tried oral contracep- acute. teen pregnancy in the tives and only used conMavalani high school national media. doms when she could in rural Giyani, in the The incidence of teen find one. northern province of pregnancy is growing, “I am going to try Limpopo, has 24 preg- according to the my best to hide my nant girls with an aver- Human Science pregnancy so that I can age of two in every Research Council continue learning. If I class.

(HSRC), a government tell my parents, they Of those, 11 are in think tank. are going to force me to Grade 11, the second to Out of every 1,000 withdraw from school,” last year of high school, girls in school in 2004, she said. according to the provin- 51 were pregnant. The She wants to avoid cial education officials. number jumped to 62 in embarrassing her famiIt is a source of 2008, the most recent ly, which like many in shame to the communi- data available.

South Africa believes ty, where few people That is still low comthat becoming a mother were willing to speak pared to the rest of the marks an end to child- about the problem. continent, where hood, and therefore to Students last month UNICEF says the comeducation. stoned the school prin- parative figure is over

100 in countries like Nigeria, Uganda, Somalia and Swaziland.

In Italy it is seven.

But South Africa has the world’s largest HIVpositive population, with 5.7 million of its 48 million people infected with the virus.

That creates an added threat that has prompted health officials to rethink AIDS and pregnancy prevention programmes targeted at the youth.

In March the government launched a controversial schools-based voluntary HIV testing programme aimed at early detection of the virus among the youth.

Young South Africans need more than just testing, said Esther Etkin, a spokeswoman for Lovelife, a government-funded HIV prevention initiative.

According to the HSRC findings, black teenagers from poor urban areas are most likely to fall pregnant and contract HIV. Poverty is rife in Africa’s largest economy, with unemployment officially at 24 percent but widely estimated to be over 40 percent.

The concentration of poverty, unemployment and poor education can

push girls to get into relationships with older men for financial reasons, adding to the pregnancy problem.

Although abortion is legal, obtaining one carries a harsh stigma.

Many teenaged girls give birth to prove womanhood and give meaning to life, especially after the end to the struggle against white-minority rule, Etkin said.

“Add to this a new generation whose identity is no longer centred around the struggle for freedom, but a struggle to forge identity in a world where old problems persist and new ones have sprung up,” like AIDS, said Etkin.

“We also need to ensure that our programmes are culturally relevant and emphasise continuing education, particularly after child birth,” she said.

Lovelife tackles the problem by staging plays in schools and soap operas on television to show teenagers how to handle their budding sexuality.

For Thandi, she’s hopeful her baby will strengthen her relationship with her 20year-old boyfriend, eventually leading to marriage.

Major aftershock shakes Japan’s ruined northeast coast

By YOKO KUBOTA & CHIZU NOMIYAMA TOKYO - A major aftershock rocked northeast Japan on Thursday and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast devastated by last month’s massive quake and tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant.

The warning was later lifted and no tsunami were reported.

No damage from the quake, measured at magnitude 7.4 by the Japan Meteorological

Agency, was detected at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said.

Workers struggling to bring the plant under control were evacuated soon after the aftershock struck, shortly before midnight.

Large parts of northern Japan, where infrastructure was severely damaged by the March 11 quake and tsunami, were without electricity following the latest of many aftershocks, the biggest since last month’s killer quake.

Toru Hanai, a Reuters photographer in Oshu, Iwate prefecture, near the epicenter of Thursday’s after-

shock, said his hotel lost power and a water pipe burst.

“Everything fell. My room is a complete mess and power is widely out in this area,” he said.

In the capital, Tokyo, buildings also shook.

“It started out as nothing much, then the building started swaying quite strongly,” a Reuters witness said.

As of 01:30 a.m.

(1630 GMT) seven people were reported injured, two of them seriously, a spokesman for the National Police Agency said.

Last month’s huge 9.0 magnitude quake triggered tsunami waves which swept in along the coast, wiping

out towns.

About 28,000 people were killed or are missing.

The disaster also disrupted industry and affected supply chains around the world but it was not immediately clear if Thursday’s aftershock would compound those problems.

At the Fukushima nuclear plant, TEPCO said it was continuing to inject nitrogen into reactor No.1 after no irregularities were reported.

Engineers, who sealed a leak this week that had allowed highly radioactive water into the sea, are pumping nitrogen into one reactor to prevent the risk of a hydrogen gas explosion, and want to

start the process in another two reactors.

There were no abnormalities in radiation levels around Tohoku Electric’s Onagawa nuclear power plant, where fuel rods are being cooled with just one outside power source, Japan’s nuclear safety agency said.

As well as Fukushima Daiichi and Onagawa, nuclear power plants Higashidori in Aomori prefecture, Tokai No.2 in Ibaraki prefecture, and Fukushima Daini have been out of operation since the March quake.

No abnormalities were reported at those plants after Thursday’s quake, which the mete-

orological agency said was an aftershock from last month’s quake.

“Due to the (March 11 quake), the risk of landslides or buildings collapsing is higher than usual and there are possibilities of further damage with aftershocks,” deputy chief cabinet secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama told reporters on Friday.

MULTIPLE CRISES Japan’s neighbors have sounded increasingly alarmed over the risk of radiation from the damaged plant 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, while tourists are staying away in what should be the peak season, and the country seeks ways to cut power use.

AFRICAN SCENE

88

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

AFRICAN SCENE

Libya war reaching stalemate: U.S. general

By MICHAEL GEORGY

Egypt detainsf ex-Mubarak aide in graft probe CAIRO - The Egyptian judiciary ordered on Thursday that the former chief of staff to toppled president Hosni Mubarak be detained for 15 days in an investigation into allegations of illegal gains, the state news agency reported.

Zakaria Azmi, who was one of Mubarak’s closest aides, was questioned this week by Essam elGawahri, a senior Justice Ministry official heading a committee in charge of uncovering corruption during Mubarak’s 30-year rule. Azmi is one of a series of officials to be investigated.

On Monday Egypt froze Azmi’s assets along with those of two other top officials in a move to meet a demand of reformers seeking tough action against figures of the past administration.

Reformers who drove the mass street protests that ousted Mubarak on February 11 have demanded tougher steps to recover assets they say Mubarak and others took from the state.

Egypt’s public prosecutor had earlier ordered auditing and supervisory authorities to investigate claims made against some former politicians.

Nigeria: Some elections delayed again ABUJA, Nigeria - The chairman of Nigeria’s electoral commission says a twice-postponed vote for the oil-rich nation’s National Assembly will be held on Saturday, though not in every region.

Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Attahiru Jega told a news conference televised nationwide on Thursday it would postpone elections in 15 out of 109 Senate races, while another 48 areas for House of Representatives races would be postponed.

Jega called the delay “inevitable” and blamed it on both domestic and international companies hired to print ballot papers.

The election was to be held April 2, but Jega stopped the election as ballot papers and tally sheets were missing from poll places across the country.

Party of Central Africa’s Bozize wins overall majority BANGUI - The party of Central African Republic’s president won an overall majority in run-off legislative elections, garnering 61 of the 105 seats in parliament, provisional results showed Thursday.

In the past few days, some candidates in the deeply poor, landlocked nation had been using the press to publish results from their polling stations, while others declared themselves elected without waiting for the proclamation of the results by the Constitutional Court.

The opposition had called for a boycott of the March 27 poll and refused to recognise the outcome of both a presidential election, won by the incumbent Francois Bozize, and the results of the first round of the parliamentary poll, alleging “massive fraud”.

AJDABIYAH, Libya Libya’s civil war is reaching stalemate, a senior U.S. general said on Thursday, and rebels fighting to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi said a NATO air strike killed five of their fighters.

Wounded rebels being brought to a hospital in Ajdabiyah in rebel-held east Libya said they were hit by a NATO strike on their trucks and tanks outside the contested port of Brega.

NATO said it was investigating an attack by its aircraft on a tank column in the area on Thursday.

General Carter Ham, head of U.S. Africa command, told a Senate hearing Washington should not provide arms to the rebels without a better idea of who they were.

Asked if there was an emerging stalemate, he replied: “I would agree with that at present, on the ground.”

Medical workers carried bloodsoaked uniforms from hospital rooms in Ajdabiyah, gateway to the insurgent stronghold of Benghazi in the east, after wounded fighters were ferried back from Brega.

“It was a NATO air strike on us. We were near our vehicles near Brega,” wounded fighter Younes Jumaa said from a stretcher at the hospital.

Nurse Mohamed Ali said at least five rebels were dead.

Rebel fighters were weeping on their knees in the corridor.

“NATO are liars. They are siding with Gaddafi,” said Salem Mislat, one of the rebels.

It was the second time in less than a week that rebels had blamed NATO for bombing their comrades by mistake. Thirteen were killed in an air strike not far from the same spot on Saturday.

A doctor who had been at the front among rebel ambulance crews said they were hit by a government rocket attack immediately after the air strike. One medical worker was killed.

The rebels have been fighting to seize control of Brega from forces loyal to Gaddafi for a week in a see-saw battle along the Mediterranean coast.

Rebel spokesmen told Reuters Gaddafi forces killed five people and wounded 25 in an artillery

bombardment of the isolated and besieged western city of Misrata on Wednesday.

The barrage forced the temporary closure of Misrata’s port, a vital lifeline for supplies to besieged civilians, the spokesmen said. They added that NATO air strikes hit pro-Gaddafi positions around Misrata.

Misrata, Libya’s third city, rose up with other towns against Gaddafi in mid-February and has been under siege for weeks, after a violent crackdown put an end to most protests elsewhere in the west of the country.

A rebel spokesman told Reuters people in Misrata were crammed five families to a house in the few safe districts to escape a rain of mortar shells from Gaddafi forces which have subjected them to weeks of sniper and artillery fire.

OIL PRODUCTION PLUNGES U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about deteriorating conditions for civilians in Misrata and Zintan in the west, and Brega in the east.

He said the situation in Misrata was particularly grave and called for an end to attacks on civilians.

The civil war has cut Libyan oil output by 80 percent, a senior government official said on Thursday, as rebels and Gaddafi’s forces traded charges over who had attacked oil fields vital to both sides.

Rebels say government attacks on three different installations in the east have halted production of the oil they need to finance the eight-week-old uprising against Gaddafi.

The government’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters the British air force had damaged an oil pipeline in a strike against the Sarir oilfield which killed three guards.

NATO denied the alliance carried out any air strikes in the Sarir area and said forces loyal to Gaddafi were responsible for an attack which started a fire in the oilfield. It said Gaddafi was trying to disrupt oil supplies to the rebel-held port of Tobruk.

Shokri Ghanem, chairman of the government National Oil Corporation, told Reuters on Thursday the country’s production had fallen to 250,000 to 300,000 barrels per day compared with 1.6 million before the uprising.

He called a reported shipment

of Libyan oil by the rebels “very sad” and said it would only contribute to tension and divide the country.

The Liberian-registered tanker Equator sailed from the port of Marsa el-Hariga, near Tobruk, on Wednesday, apparently with the first cargo of crude sold by rebels since their uprising began in February. Oil traders said the cargo, vital to fund the uprising, was headed for China.

WESTERN BOUNDARY There was confusion on Thursday about the fighting near Brega, but one rebel fighter said government rockets had hit the town’s western boundary.

Al Jazeera television said Gaddafi’s forces were advancing on the town from the coast and the desert and rebels were trying to reinforce its western approaches. This could not immediately be confirmed.

Other insurgents said a 130strong rebel force was about 25 km (15 miles) east of Brega, which has been fought over for a week with neither side able to make major gains.

A senior U.S. Treasury official said Washington had frozen more than $34 billion of Libyan assets as part of sanctions against Gaddafi and his top officials. European governments had also frozen a substantial amount he said.

Gaddafi appealed for a halt in the air campaign in a rambling three-page letter to U.S. President Barack Obama bluntly dismissed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday.

“Mr. Gaddafi knows what he must do,” Clinton told a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, reiterating calls for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of his forces from cities they have stormed and his departure from Libya.

Civil war in the vast North African desert oil producer ignited in February when Gaddafi tried to crush pro-democracy rallies against his 41-year-old rule inspired by uprisings that have toppled or endangered other rulers across the Arab world.

A senior aid worker said on Thursday desperate refugees from North Africa had dragged each other under water and drowned when an overloaded migrant boat sank off Sicily. Up to 250 people wre still missing from the capsized boat, which was said to have left Libya on Monday.

D CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011 DAILY

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

9

Ivory Coast leader in bunker vows not to surrender

By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI & MARCO CHOWN OVED ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - Days into an offensive aimed at dislodging him from the presidential mansion, Ivory Coast’s strongman refused to budge Thursday from a bunker underneath his home, insisting he would never surrender despite the immense international pressure bearing down on him.

An adviser for the country’s democratically elected president Alassane Ouattara said their fighters had surrounded the property and planned to sit it out.

An armed group backing Ouattara stormed the gates of Laurent Gbagbo’s home on Wednesday, but are fearful of killing the entrenched leader and stoking the rage of his supporters. Some 46 percent of Ivorians voted for Gbagbo in the November election that unleashed political chaos.

Gbagbo’s Europebased adviser Toussaint Alain said by telephone that he had spoken to Gbagbo and to the ruler’s wife, Simone, at around 1 p.m. on Thursday and that their position had not

changed.

“I reached the head of state and his wife less than an hour ago - and no, he will not surrender. President Gbagbo will not cede,” said Alain. “It’s a question of principle.

President is not a Gbagbo monarch. He is not a king. He is not an emperor. He is a president elected by his people.”

Amid the fighting late Wednesday, French troops rescued the Japanese ambassador and seven others after fighters attacked them.

In a video provided by the French military, the forces are seen rappelling from a helicopter with night vision goggles.

“Mercenaries took over my residence, but in the end I was saved

by French troops,” said Yoshifumi Okamura, Japan’s ambassador to the Ivory Coast.

Heavy arms fire was heard across Abidjan overnight, but on Thursday hundreds of people ventured out despite the dangers in search of water as U.N. helicopters circled in the air.

Ouattara has pleaded with the international community for months to intervene and remove Gbagbo by force, arguing he wouldn’t leave any other way.

Despite losing the election, Gbagbo still controls the Ivorian army and has repeatedly used its arsenal of heavy artillery to attack

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Photo/Emmanuel Braun areas of Abidjan where where Gbagbo would ers from this same Gbagbo alive to mainpeople voted for his make his last stand. He group are now backing tain international supopponent.

Security is believed to be holed Ouattara and carried port, and to avoid furforces are accused of up in a tunnel original- out Wednesday’s attack ther alienating voters opening fire with a ly built to connect the on the residence. who supported Gbagbo mounted machine gun president’s home and The pro-Ouattara in last year’s election. on a group of unarmed the adjacent residence forces began their lightFrom inside his women and lobbing of the French ambassa- ning advance just over a bunker, Gbagbo blasted mortars into a market. dor, Sindou said. week ago attacking the world in back-toFinally on Monday, Ivory Coast’s first from the east, west and back interviews on United Nations attack president, Felix center of the country. French TV station LCI helicopters acting on a H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y , At least 80 percent of and French radio RFI. U.N. Security Council built the tunnel so he the countryside was He said he would never resolution bombarded could take refuge inside under their control by step down, that there six arms depots in the ambassador’s resi- the time they entered was nothing to negotiAbidjan - including a dence in the event of a Abidjan. ate and called the operacache inside the presi- coup, said Ivory Coast On Tuesday, tion to oust him an dential compound. expert Christian Gbagbo’s soldiers were international “game of “Obviously they did- Bouquet, a professor of seen abandoning their poker.” n’t get all of it,” said a political geography at posts, some rushing Ouattara’s spokessenior diplomat who the University of inside a church to tear woman Affoussy Bamba requested anonymity Bordeaux III. off their uniforms said that she was because he is not In an irony of histo- before re-emerging in nonetheless optimistic authorized to speak to ry, Gbagbo is said to civilian clothes. His that the end was near. the media. “When they have severed the link generals issued orders “He has nothing left. came after him, he between the residences to stop fighting.

His arsenal is gone. His pulled out more stuff. shortly after coming to Yet Gbagbo - a for- army has evaporated,” Remember, he had a power in 2000. He had mer history professor - she said by telephone long time to prepare for accused France of back- appears to have calcu- from Abidjan. “How this.” ing a rebel group that lated his rival’s weak- much longer can he Among the prepara- attempted to overthrow ness: Ouattara knows last?” tions was the choice of him in 2002, and fight- that he needs to take ___

14 h ur t a t Zimbab we memorial for slain activists

By ANGUS SHAW H A R A R E , Zimbabwe - The party of Zimbabwe prime minister said Thursday that 14 people were hurt after youths attacked scores of mourners at a memorial service.

The ceremony was being held Wednesday to remember four party activists slain in elec-

tion violence in 2008.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai led the unveiling of tombstones, an African tradition of remembrance often held long after death.

His party said in a statement that after Tsvangirai left the cemetery, youths attacked scores of mourners, and police fired tear gas and baton-charged the gathering. Three people were hospitalized with injuries from beat-

ings, and one with a broken hand.

The disputed 2008 poll forced longtime President Robert Mugabe to join a troubled coalition with Tsvangirai’s party.

An independent Christian group known as Heal Zimbabwe Trust organized the ceremony. It has held services for victims of political violence across the country since the 2008 poll.

Earlier, Tsvangirai told mourners his sup-

porters had long been stalked and killed by “merchants of death” who acted with impunity in violence orchestrated by Mugabe militants and loyal police, security agents and the military.

“We are angry because the perpetrators of these heinous acts are walking scotfree,” he said.

Witnesses said attackers arrived at the cemetery in minibuses Wednesday and some were identified as

Mugabe militants known as Chipangano, or members of a youth gang pact in the local Shona language, who chanted and shouted slogans to disrupt the ceremony.

The incident came as mediators for regional leaders in the Southern African Development Community wound up a visit to Harare aimed at easing tensions on the two-year coalition.

A summit of regional leaders, in their strongest rebuke yet of

Mugabe, announced last week they would take “appropriate action” to help resolve disputes in the coalition and rein in violence, intimidation and hate speech as the nation prepares for fresh elections later this year.

But Mugabe, who has ruled since 1980, told his party leaders afterward he would not accept regional interference and that “even our neighbors shouldn’t tell us what to do.”

1 10

CARIBBEAN NEWS DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

No racial imbalance on state boards, says acting Trinidad PM PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — Acting prime minister, and minister of works and transport, Jack Warner, has disputsuggestions ed from some quarters that there is an ethnic imbalance reflected on Stateappointed boards in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Trinidad Express reported that, following a visit to his mater, alma Presentation College, Chagunas, on Tuesday, Warner said he was involved in the selection process for every single State board.

Acting prime minister, and minister of works and transport,

Jack Warner “I would not have taken part if I was not convinced that they were equally distributed,” Warner said.

“In fact over the years people have been neglected for so long that (to some there may seem to be) a kind of disparity. But by and large, this has been the prime minister’s mantra,” he said. “In every board selected, the PM has insisted that the board should be a reflection of the society.

That has been her mantra.”

Calls for government to look at the ethnic composition of State boards have arisen in the wake of the statement made by Nizam Mohammed, who had his appointment as

chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) revoked by President George Maxwell Richards on Monday.

M e a n w h i l e , Mohammed is seeking to mount a unprecedented legal challenge against Richards’ decision to terminate his appointment. Mohamed told the Guardian newspaper that he was seeking legal advice with a view to taking action.

There is a big hurdle because, under the existing constitution, the actions of the president cannot be challenged in a court of law.

But Mohammed, who is also an attorney, said, “I do not believe that anyone, including the president, is above the constitution and can act

Acting prime minister, and minister of works and transport, Jack Warner. in a manner that is seeking a legal opin- nic origin.” detrimental to any indi- ion.”

He said that he was vidual.”

The former PSC appointed chairman of Mohammed said that chairman said, “They the PSC to reorganise he was baffled by the fired me for trying to the Police Service so undue haste under give everybody equal that “it will become effiwhich the president opportunities within cient and effective in acted, and added, “I am the Police Service, protecting members of amazed, since we were regardless of their eth- the public against the

Haiti will continue to need strong international support, says UN secretary general UNITED NATIONS UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday pledged the continued assistance of the United Nations for Haiti, which, while having made significant gains in recent months, still faces a number of daunting challenges such as reviving its crippled economy and strengthening the rule of law.

“The United Nations will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Haitian government and people in the noble and necessary work of building a more just and prosperous future,” Ban stated during an open debate of the Security Council on Haiti.

The meeting, convened by Colombia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for April, is taking place as Haitians and their international partners

are looking to consolidate progress following last month’s elections.

According to preliminary results, popular musician Michel Martelly defeated former first lady Mirlande Manigat to take the presidency.

Ban commended the people of Haiti for this important step towards the consolidation of democracy, adding that it builds on the gains the small Caribbean nation has made, with the support of the UN peacekeeping mission there (MINUSTAH), towards security, respect for basic freedoms and an end to the state-sponsored violence.

“Today, the Haitian press enjoys greater freedom than at any point in the country’s history. Urban slums are no longer controlled by criminal gangs. The National Police has become a capable and

trusted institution,” he noted, commending President René Préval who also took part in today’s meeting - and his administration for their role in these advances.

He also commended the president for his leadership and valuable contribution in building his country amid difficult challenges, including last year’s devastating earthquake, noting that recovery and reconstruction are slowly gathering momentum.

More than 20 percent of the estimated 10 million cubic metres of rubble have been removed, Ban reported.

In addition, the number of earthquake-affected people living in camps has decreased from more than 1.5 million in July last year to 680,000 today.

He also noted that the cholera epidemic that struck the country

towards the end of last year appears to have stabilized.

But while important progress has indeed been achieved, Haiti continues to face daunting challenges, he pointed out. “The country’s economy is on its knees. Public institutions are barely able to deliver essential services. Millions of Haitians remain dependent on the assistance of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to meet their most basic needs.

Too many women and girls live in fear of sexual violence.”

Without the rule of law, lasting peace and prosperity will remain elusive, he added, reiterating what he stated in a report released last week.

“Haiti’s judicial system is deeply dysfunctional.

Its prisons remain dangerously overcrowded. Property records are unreliable

and non-existent.

Public expenditures often lack transparency,” he stated. “Rule of law reform must be a top priority for Haiti’s next president.”

Also addressing the Council, former United States President Bill Clinton, who serves as the secretary-general’s special envoy for Haiti, reported on the progress made by the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, a panel on which he serves along with Haitian government officials, the UN and other international partners.

So far the Commission has approved more than 87 projects - valued at $3.26 billion - that when completed will help an estimated 2 million Haitians.

“The idea is to take the Haitian government’s own development plan and make

sure that all the projects approved are consistent with that,” Clinton said, calling on Haiti’s partners to ensure adequate resources so that the Commission can continue to fund criticallyneeded projects.

In a presidential statement adopted during the meeting, the Council welcomed the ongoing electoral process in Haiti and stressed the importance of its completion in a “peaceful, credible and legitimate” way, which will contribute to consolidating democracy, allow for the completion of constitutional reform and provide a strong basis for the continuing reconstruction efforts.

The 15-member body also stressed that there can be no genuine stability or sustainable development in Haiti without strengthening its democratic institutions.

Guyana opposition calls for cl ean elec tion campaign GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The presidential candidate for the opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) in Guyana, David Granger, has issued a

call on the ruling People’s Progressive Party presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar, for a clean election campaign.

Granger, in a congratulatory letter to

Ramotar, called on him to use his “political influence” to ensure that the opposition candidates receive equal access to the state media, an issue the opposition has com-

plained about for years.

The former top Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer spoke out against mudslinging and referred to the unfortunate comments made by President

Bharrat Jagdeo a month ago while he was speaking at the anniversary of the death of Dr Cheddi Jagan.

The PNCR presidential candidate said he wants “an above board”

electioneering, adding that his party is making an inroad in the PPP areas and he is optimistic that his party will do well because the PPP failed to deliver to the electorate.

INTERNATIONAL

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

Japan stops nuclear plant leak; crisis far from over

By SHINICHI SAOSHIRO & YOKO NISHIKAWA TOKYO - Japan stopped highly radioactive water leaking into the sea yesterday from a crippled nuclear plant and acknowledged it could have given more information to neighboring countries about contamination in the ocean.

Despite the breakthrough in plugging the leak at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, engineers need to pump 11.5 million liters (11,500 tons) of contaminated water back into the ocean because they have run out of storage space at the facility. The water was used to cool overheated fuel rods.

Nuclear experts said the damaged reactors were far from being under control almost a month after they were hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO)

said it had stemmed the leak using liquid glass at one of the plants six reactors.

“The leaks were slowed yesterday after we injected a mixture of liquid glass and a hardening agent and it has now stopped,” a TEPCO spokesman told Reuters.

Engineers had been struggling to stop leaks from reactor No. 2, even using sawdust and newspapers.

Neighbors South Korea and China are getting concerned about the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, and the radioactive water being pumped into the sea, newspapers reported.

“We are instructing the trade and foreign ministries to work better together so that detailed explanations are supplied especially to neighboring countries,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.

Experts insisted the low-level radioactive water to be pumped into the ocean posed no health hazard to people.

“The original amount of radioactivity

is very low, and when you dilute this with a huge body of water, the final levels will be even lower than legal limits,” said Pradip Deb, senior lecturer in Medical Radiations at the School of Medical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.

The government is preparing to revise guidelines for legal levels, radiation designed for brief exposure to high levels of radiation in emergencies and not cumulative absorption, for people living near the damaged plant.

Workers are struggling to restart cooling pumps — which recycle the water — in four damaged reactors.

Until those are fixed, they must pump in water to prevent overheating and meltdowns, but have run out of storage capacity for the seawater when it becomes contaminated.

Radioactive iodine detected in the sea has been recorded at 4,800 times the legal limit, but has since fallen to about 600 times the limit.

The water remaining in the reac-

tors has radiation five million times legal limits.

“What they are going to have to release is likely to be highly radioactive. The situation could politically be very ugly in a week,” said Murray Jennex at San Diego State University, who specializes in nuclear containment.

Japan’s fishermen, who are part of the politically powerful agricultural lobby, made it clear they were not assuaged by assurances that ocean radioactivity levels were low and safe. “(The release of radioactive water into the sea) is unforgivable in any circumstance,” Ikuhiro Hattori, chairman of the Japan Fisheries Cooperatives, told NHK state television.

“From now on, our fishermen will never cooperate with or accept nuclear power generation. I would like them to stop even those reactors that are now in operation right away.”

COOLING REACTORS KEY Japan is facing its worst crisis since World

War Two after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami left nearly 28,000 people dead or missing and thousands homeless, and rocked the world’s thirdlargest economy.

It will likely take months to finally cool down the reactors and years to dismantle those that have been damaged. TEPCO has said it will decommission four of the six reactors.

An opposition lawfrom maker Fukushima told reporters antipathy in the area would make it difficult to resume operations at the nearby Fukushima Daini plant, where operations have been halted since March 11.

The two Fukushima plants together provide four percent of Japan’s electric power.

“Nuclear power plants can run only with local consent. I see it as being quite difficult to resume operations,” said Masayoshi Yoshino of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Concerned over a possible buildup of hydrogen gas in reactor No. 1, engineers will

inject nitrogen gas into the reactor yesterday night to prevent an explosion, TEPCO said.

Hydrogen explosions ripped through reactors 1 and 3 early in the crisis, spreading high levels of radiation into the air.

The key to bringing the reactors under control is the extent of damage to the plant’s cooling system, said analysts.

In a sign the cooling systems may be severely damaged, the Sankei newspaper reported that the government and TEPCO were considering building new cooling systems for three reactors to operate from outside the reactor buildings.

“To put the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in perspective, Chernobyl involved a single operating reactor core,” said Kevin Kamps from Beyond Nuclear, a U.S. radioactive waste watchdog.

“Fukushima Daiichi now involves three reactors in various stages of meltdown and containment breach, and multiple (spent fuel storage) pools at risk of fire,” said Kamps.

Migrant boat sinks of f Italy, up to 250 missing

By DANIELE MARI ROME - Between 130 and 250 people were missing and at least 15 appeared to be dead after a boat carrying refugees from Libya capsized south of Sicily early yesterday, coast guard officials and aid workers said.

Rescuers picked up 47 people, including a heavily pregnant woman after the overloaded boat, which left Libya two days ago, sank at about 4:00 a.m.

(0200 GMT) 40 miles south of the island of Lampedusa.

According to the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Organization for Migration (IOM), a

migrant assistance agency which has officials on Lampedusa, an Italian fishing boat rescued another three people.

Between 15 and 20 bodies were seen in the water, officials said but high winds and rough seas made it difficult for coast guard boats and a police helicopter to operate.

Coast guard officials said the boat had originally been carrying around 200 people but the IOM put the figure as high as 300, of whom it said some 250 were missing.

The incident provided a stark illustration of the dangers run by desperate people who pay about 1,000 euros ($1,427) for a place on one of the overloaded fishing vessels carrying

refugees and migrants from Africa.

“The vessel, which was laden beyond capacity, had left the Libyan coast with migrants and asylum seekers from Somalia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad and Sudan,” IOM said in a statement. “Some 40 women and 5 children were on board. Only two women survived the shipwreck.”

Monday, the United Nations refugee agency said more than 400 people fleeing Libya on two boats were missing.

BORDER CONTROLS Thousands have crossed so far this year after the collapse of the former Tunisian regime and fighting in Libya brought down strict border checks that had previously barred the way

into Europe.

Most have been young men from Tunisia, seeking to get to France but in recent days there have been growing numbers of arrivals from Libya, underscoring Italian fears the fighting there could set off a new exodus.

IOM said that 2,000 mostly African migrants and asylum seekers had landed in Lampedusa from Libya in the past 10 days.

Lampedusa, roughly midway between Sicily and Tunisia, has been the focal point for the crisis, with some 20,000 illegal migrants arriving this year and overwhelming the infrastructure of the tiny island, which normally lives on fishing and tourism.

Paramedical workers carry an injured refugee as he arrives on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

Thousands were island. forced to shelter in However, that has makeshift tent camps simply shifted the probuntil Italian Prime lem to other areas in Minister Silvio Italy and caused arguBerlusconi sought to ments among regional end the weeks-long governments over emergency by sending where to set up migrant ferries to clear the holding centers.

New American

The

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

One Thought - One Humanity

For the conclusions of these stories check out the April 7th - April 13th, 2011 issue of The New American, which hits newsstands every Thursday Finally, it is revealed when Beyonce is dropping her next studio album: the moment we’ve all been impatiently waiting for!

Rumors surrounding Beyonce’s album situation have been circulating the industry since last year, and it seems that we’ve finally gotten some answers. The multi-platinum selling singer/performer and wife of Jay-Z reportedly unveiled six new tracks last week at a private listening session to her label exes who called them “groundbreaking”. According to MTV.com, these tracks along with the rest of her album will be released this June! *breathes a sigh of relief* Denis Handlin of Sony Music told the Daily Telegraph: “It was just amazing.

These songs, the best description I can give is groundbreaking”. The new album has not been titled yet.

R&B legend and icon R. Kelly is ready to expose himself, his life, his innermost thoughts and secrets in an upcoming memoir, “Soulacoaster.”

“I’m writing this book as Robert, not R. Kelly,” he said. Kels has endured so much throughout his career to scandals, cases, divorce, and even beef.

But he has continued to live life and make music the best he knows how. “I’m tired of being misunderstood. I will show you the tears, fears, and sweat. I will open my heart and reveal the good in my life as well as all the drama. I want to tell it like it is.” Cowritten with David Ritz, “Soulacoaster” has been described as “part memoir, part keepsake, promising his fans an intimate and unforgettable ride.”

Janet Jackson is booked to attend the

annual AIDS charity event Life Ball, to be held May 21 in Vienna — 30 years after the disease was first discovered, organizers announced. Jackson will be present in her capacity as representative of the Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR). “HIV/AIDS is a pandemic which requires our immediate and continued attention,” the singer says in a statement. “Combination therapy has made HIV a maintainable disease, but sadly, there is still no cure and it continues to spread at alarming rates. HIV/AIDS is a continuing hazard, both in the Unites States and abroad.” The Life Ball is held annually by AIDS LIFE, an independent non-profit organization that raises funds for people living with HIV. 50 Cent reportedly took back a blue Lambo that he gave Ciara.

TMZ is reporting that Nicki Minaj is in talks with Britney Spears’ camp to become the opening act on her upcoming tour. The rapper would replace Enrique Iglesias, who bailed at the last minute – reportedly because he had second thoughts about serving as Britney’s opening act. Nicki’s current tour with Lil Wayne and company ends on April 28, which would give her just short of two months to rest up before Britney’s trek begins on June 17 in Sacramento. TMZ says, “We’re told it’s looking very good that Nicki and Britney will reach an agreement in the next day or so.”

DJ Khaled’s albums are known for being star-studded affairs - a trend that will continue with his latest LP, We the Best Forever. “My album is the most amazing thing ever,”

said Khaled in an interwith XXLview Mag.com. Though the album will feature the artists that Khaled describes as “the usual suspects” - Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Jadakiss, Fat Joe and Birdman, the Terror Squad deejay revealed that Nas and Kanye West would be joining the fray. The album will have a bit of a smoother flavor to it as well, as Chris Brown, Keyshia Cole and Mary J. Blige will be featured, though Khaled cautions that it won’t be soft. “My Chris Brown record is – it’s called ‘Legendary.’ It ain’t R&B, that sh*t hard but everybody can relate to it.”

Rihanna is about follow in Beyonce’s footsteps and dump her manager Jay-Z. Word on the street is that Rihanna is getting ready to dump her manager Jay-Z. Sources are saying that Rihanna has a lot to be worried about now that Beyonce is part of Jay’s Roc Nation. The two divas will have to battle it out when it comes to endorsement deals, etc. and Rihanna’s people are concerned that there may be a conflict of interest for Jay, who will have to decide between his wife and Rihanna. I have to say I agree with RiRi on this one….I’m sure Jay will want to keep the money in the family (can’t say that I blame him!)

Tinie Tempah has already started working on his second album and hopes to have it released by October. The ‘Written in the Stars’ hitmaker is already working on the follow up to his debut ‘Dis-covery’ released October 2010 and while he is experimenting with new sounds, doesn’t want to stray too far from his previously successful formula.

Kelly Rowland’s ‘Motivation’: Sexiest song of the year?

If you thought Kelly Rowland’s career was relegated to waiting by the phone, waiting for Beyonce’s call to get Destiny’s Child back together (or collecting royalties for that sappy Nelly duet), “Motivation” offers evidence of the contrary.

After several delays and music changes, Kelly Rowland’s third solo studio album may finally hit stores this summer. Lead by the 4th release and official first single “Motivation” featuring rapper Lil Wayne, Rowland says the untitled album will boast a plethora of emotions.

“You experience a sensual side of the album, an empowering side of the album, and a painful side of the album,” Rowland tells In Level,” and it’s easy to imagine The Spotlight. “It’s an emotional “Motivation” coming from a session rollercoaster. It’s the same things around the same time), setting the that I feel women go through or that table for Lil Wayne’s stuttering, I went through, so I’m really excited after-hours guest-verse. (Is this the for everybody to hear everything. I first rap verse to have “rain forest” was inspired by so many different censored?) Stack the pieces together types of music, as well as the pro- and it’s an understated knockout ducers and writers on the album. that gets sexier with each spin.

As far as the fans awaiting RowWhen we put our heads together, we were all open to suggestions land’s new album, the “Commander” amongst each other, and that’s what singer says they will be in for a good made it so beautiful. We were cele- time.

“This album is so much fun when brating music and creativity, and I was celebrating being a woman and I sit back and listen to it,” states Rowland. “I’m still in the process of feeling that power.”

The damp, sweaty video matches sequencing the record, and that’s the song’s intense sexuality. If this probably the hardest thing because isn’t the year’s hands-down sexiest you want everything to flow so song thus far, it has to be in the dis- well.”

The album is expected to drop in cussion. Rowland, whose sultry voice could get a priest hot (“I don’t late August or September of 2011, want to feeeeeeel my legs”), weaves and as for the much-anticipated in and out of the minimal beat (Jon- title, Rowland says, “I have the title, sin did Wiz Khalifa’s sparse “On My but I’m not discussing it just yet.”

- Full Story In This Week’s New American Newspaper -

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

The Riverside Theatre presents “Women of Excellence in the Arts”

Joan H. Allen, Inside New York Host and Challenge Editor with Ruby Dee at the VIP reception.

Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh

Woodie King, Jr., founder of the New Federal Theatre and Ntozake Shange at the VIP reception.

Photo credit: Joan H. Allen The Riverside Dee was a surprise Theatre presented an guest speaker at the extraordinary evening event which was moderwith five exceptional ated by radio host women for its annual Esther Armah, and fea“Women of Excellence tured Tamara Tunie in the Arts” discussion. (actress and director), The legendary Ruby Jawole Willa Jo Zollar

The Riverside Theatre presented "An Evening with Women of Excellence in the Arts." Pictured above (L-R), moderator, Esther Armah; Theatre Board Chair, Randreta Ward-Evans; Theatre Executive Director, Jewel Kinch; Carol Maillard, Ntozake Shange, Ruby Dee, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Dr. Glory Van Scott and Tamara Tunie.

Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh (dancer and choreographer), Carol Maillard (actress and vocalist), Ntozake Shange (playwright, novelist and poet) and Dr. Glory Van Scott (producer/director, actress and dancer). These dynamic women shared intimate conversations about their early beginnings, and the many challenges that they faced along with their successes.

Maillard, artistic director of Sweet Honey in the Rock, recalled receiving her first big break in New York after auditioning for the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) and landed a role in its production of “The Great MacDaddy.” “I knew something amazing was going to happen to me in terms of being a working actress in New York.” She said she also grew so much from working with theater

icon NEC’s artistic director Douglas Turner Ward and legendary actors like Adolph Caesar.

Zollar, founder of Urban Bush Woman, said she didn’t decide until late in life to pursue a career in dance.

“One day I witnessed myself telling my supervisor that I was quitting and going back to school to major in dance ... I hadn’t applied for school ... it was something that I was moved to do ... that was a moment of channeling into a higher possibility of a vision for yourself,” she recalled. Zollar shared the advised that Garth Fagan gave her when she first formed the company.

“He said, ‘You’re going to watch other people that are less talented get more opportunities and more dollars but don’t get distracted by that, just

focus on your work and continue to move forward.’”

Dr. Scott recalled at the age of 11 being bullied by a group of girls but eventually stood her ground.

“That thing taught me that whatever I’m doing that I can face it. And it may not be the best thing that I turn out but, as an artist, I’m trying to turn out something that people can enjoy.”

Shange said her greatest fear is not revealing her authentic self. She encouraged aspiring artists to always walk through their fear.

Ruby Dee brought the audience to its feet as she closed the evening with a rousing speech and a poem. She said, “Think of who we are. Is there any power that you can vaguely imagine that approaches the exquisite, ultimate nature of the

power of each one of us ... We all have something that we don’t yet quite know how to use.

We’ve inherited the ultimate stuff ... But we’ve gotten too comfortable ... We forgot who we were. We forgot that we were somebody ...

We forgot that we have the first crack at the ones that are born to say thou shall or shall not.”

“Calling all women, calling all sisters, calling all righteous women ... look at the facts and determine our pace .... Come together!

There’s no reason for anyone to be hungry.

There’s no reason for there to be discrimination... How dare we let our schools be closed or our teachers be let go.

We can stop it! We’ve got to march. God gave us that special power.

We can get together and change it!”

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 8, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 2011

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The Riverside Theatre presents “Women of Excellence in the Arts”

Carol Maillard, artistic director, Sweet Honey and the Rock Photo credit: Joan H. Allen

(L-R) Alexa Donaphin, Micki Grant, Gail Sirmans, Ntozake Shange, Jewel Kinch and Dr. Glory Van Scott at the VIP reception.

Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh

HARLEM 4 JAPAN BENEFIT CONCERT

LIVE AUDITIONS FOR ESSENCE & PEBBLES R & B STAR COMPETITION

Harlem Producer Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre Group and International Japanese Producer Katsuya Abe announced their partnership with The City College of New York, Community Works, The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, the Harlem Arts Alliance and the Office of Assemblyman Keith Wright in producing Harlem 4 Japan Benefit Concert for the people of Japan.

Harlem 4 Japan Benefit Concert will take place on April 19 at Aaron Davis Hall on the campus of the City College of New York, 133rd and Convent

On Saturday, April recording opportunity 9th and Sunday April, with Upfront 10th live auditions will Entertainment, a feabe held for the ture in an upcoming ESSENCE + issue of ESSENCE P e b b l e s and a once-inPresent R&B lifetime opportuS e a r c h ! nity to hit the ESSENCE and stage for a feaGrammy nomtured performinated, platance during the inum record2011 Essence ing artist Music Festival Pebbles Pebbles have (July 1st-3rd in joined forces in New Orleans). search of the next R&B Auditions start at superstar! Contestants 10:00am and end at will audition in front of 4:00pm for both dates. a celebrity panel of Location: Time & Life judges and ESSENCE. Building 1271 Avenue The ultimate winner of the Americas, receives a one-year Manhattan. For furartist management con- ther information go to tract with music indus- www.essence.com/rbsta try veteran Kevin Liles' r KWL Enterprises,

Avenue.

Suggested donation is $25, but any and all donations will be accepted.

Artists scheduled to appear include rhythm and blues legend and Grammy nominee Chuck Jackson, National Jazz Museum in Harlem All Star Band, International artists Yuichiro Oda, Yuko Darjeeling, and Toya, Oscar and Grammy nominated IMPACT Repertory Theatre, 13-year-old guitarist Solomon Hicks, saxophonist Lonnie “the Prince of Harlem” Youngblood, jazz trumpeter Joey Morant, Harlem vocalists Claude Jay, Janice Marie Robinson, Lady

Cantrese, Annette St. John, and Lee Olive Tucker; organist Matthew Whitaker, Harlemwood Records recording artist Lainie Cooke, choreographer Obediah Wright and the Balance Dance Company, musical artists from Jazzmobile, the Manhattan School of Music, and the New Amsterdam Music Society, Keith “The Captain” Gamble, and others to be added. The list is growing.

Since 1987, Rivers and Abe have co-produced major cultural exchanges between Japan and Harlem. A partial listing of participating artists include

Chuck Jackson Dionne Warwick, Ben E. King, Ray Charles, James Brown, and the Count Basie Orchestra.

“We are requesting our communities and all New Yorkers to come out and support this initiative, enjoy a great evening of music, and share your appreciation and concern for Japan and its people,” said Rivers.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

16

THE RELIGIOUS ROUTE

BY VELMA HART The Merrick Park Baptist Church in Jamaica, Queens, concluded its 83rd Church Anniversary April 3, celebrating in many ways under the theme “Celebrating the Past, Retooling for the Future.” The thought was based on scripture Isaiah 46:910. The following is how the 4 p.m. service got underway.

After the morning 11 a.m. worship service ended, a very hearty meal was s3erved to the guest attendees, as well as to the membership.

Praise and worship was done by the Next Generation Praise Team. The

HOUSE CALLS

BY GERALD W. DEAS, M.D.

When I was a kid, and would fall, scraping my knee, I would run into the house to the magic medical magician, my mother. She didn’t have an M.D., but she had a red solution that she applied to my knee known as Mercurochrome. This antiseptic consisted of a solution of the metal mercury, which could kill any germ or any cell in your body.

The ingestion of mercury has been associated with diseases such as, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, leukemia, lymphoma, gingivitis, fatigue, loss of

Elder Mary Ellis Hawkins presided over the order of service. Lending to the program were Minister Audrey Baskerville and Judy Canty, greetings wee by Deacon Barry Mask, and the Ministry in Dance was done by the Judah Liturgical Dance Ministry. Bishop Andy C. Lewter, overseer, introduced the guest speaker.

Rev. Dr. Lionel Smith stood to speak. He is the senior pastor at the Hollywood Baptist Church Cathedral in North Amityville, NY. Dr. Smith is pastor at the Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Hunting-

ton Station, NY. He presented the FMBC choir and they rendered several selections. The choir really knows how to arouse the congregation. Dr. Smith could not do any ways less (smile). He called the attention to scriptures Acts 12 and lifting the power of prayer. Recently, Dr. Smith celebrated 30 years as pastor at Faith Missionary Baptist Church, and Faith showed their love for him by coming out Sunday in large numbers. There were many other visiting churches at the anniversary, all of whom received

Until next time, show love.

Something is fishy about mercury hearing, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, decreased sperm count, depression of the immune system, behavioral problems, and a host of other medical conditions. Mercury is merciless. If you are interested in your blood level for mercury, the Clifford test is available. Information concerning this test can be obtained by calling your local health department.

Because mercury has contaminated our water supply in certain areas, it is obvious that the fish are also contaminated. If you are a fish lover, it has been suggested that you be aware of fish or shellfish that may be contaminated and how much you should eat of those varieties.

Clams, oysters and shrimp are rarely tested for mercury therefore we are unaware of how much of this con-

taminate is present. It is recommended that the following fish should only be eaten 1-2 serving weekly. Tilapia, crawfish, haddock, trout (freshwater), catfish, flatfish (includes flounder and sole), mackerel (Atlantic), scallops, crab, (Blue, King and Snow), shad, (American), squid, tuna (canned, chunk, light), lobster (spiny), mackerel (chub Pacific), cod, perch (freshwater), skate, halibut, monkfish, snapper, weakfish (sea trout), bass, (saltwater), striped bass and rockfish.

Fish that should only be eaten once weekly are, lobster, Northern American, tuna (canned, white albacore), tuna (fresh/frozen), mackerel-Spanish (Gulf of Mexico), marlin, orange roughy and grouper.

Fish that should be eaten 1-2 servings monthly are salmon (fresh or

Errors still common in U.S. hospitals

By JULIE STEENHUYSEN CHICAGO — About one in three people in the United States will encounter some kind of mistake during a hospital stay, U.S. researchers said.

The finding, which is based on a new tool for measuring hospital errors, is about 10 times higher than estimates using older methods, suggesting much work remains in efforts to improve health quality.

“Without doubt, we’ve seen improvements in health care over the past decade, and even pockets of excellence, but overall progress has been agonizingly slow,” said Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs, which published several studies on a special issue on patient safety.

The special issue came 10 years after an influential Institute of Medicine report that found significant gaps in health quality.

“It’s clear that we still have a great deal of work to do in order to achieve a health care system that is consis-

many thanks by Chairlady Sister Ester Curtis. Merrick Park is yet busy, busy.

On April 16, the Women’s Ministry is having a “Tea at High Noon.” It will be hosted by the Young Women Ministry Team. The Merrick Park Church is a real attractive edifice. They have taken the initial steps in the search for a new pastor. Deacon David R. Bishop, chairman of the board, is carrying on the leadership at present.

tently high-quality — that is, safe, effective, patient-centered, efficient, timely, and devoid of disparities based on race or ethnicity,” Dentzer said.

Medical errors can range from bedsores to objects left in the body after surgery to life-threatening staph infections.

A study by David Classen of the University of Utah and colleagues compared a new quality yardstick developed at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Massachusetts, with two common older methods of detecting errors — reports of errors voluntarily included in the medical

record and an older method for assessing errors developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHR. “A key challenge has been agreeing on a yardstick for measuring the safety of care in hospitals,” the researchers wrote.

To find the best yardstick, the team tested three methods of tracking errors on the same set of medical records from three different hospitals.

Among the 795 patient records reviewed, voluntary reporting detected four problems, the Agency for Healthcare Research’s quality

frozen), sardines, herring and bluefish. Fish that should be avoided at all costs are Mackerel-King (Atlantic Gulf of Mexico), Shark, Swordfish, Tilefish (Gulf of Mexico).

Remember, Mercury in Roman mythology represented the messenger of the God of Commerce, of skilled hands, quickness of wit, eloquence and thievery. Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system, Watch out for this fleet footed god when you eat a dish of fish or have your teeth filled with the amalgam which consists of very little silver and a great deal of mercury.

For great health tips and access to an online community of physicians and other healthcare professionals visit DrDeas.com. indicator found 35, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s tool detected 354 events — 10 times more than AHR’s method.

“Our findings indicate that two methods commonly used by most care delivery organizations and supported by policy makers to measure the safety of care ... fail to detect more than 90 percent of the adverse events that occur among hospitalized patients,” the team wrote.

The findings suggest there may be many errors that go undetected.

In a separate study in the same issue, a team led by Jill Van Den Bos and colleagues at the Denver Health practice of the Milliman Inc consulting firm, used insurance claims to estimate the annual cost of medical errors that harm patients to be $17.1 billion in 2008 dollars.

They found that 10 types of errors accounted for more than two-thirds of the total cost, with the most common ones being pressure ulcers or bedsores, postoperative infections and persistent back pain following back surgery. The researchers recommended that those three types of errors receive top priority for intervention and improvement.

Both studies were supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which focuses on U.S. healthcare issues.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

17

Grammy Awards cut 31 categories in big overhaul

By DEAN GOODMAN LOS ANGELES — In a major Grammys overhaul designed to reduce the bloated structure of the music industry’s top awards, organizers said they would slash the number of categories to 78 from 109 for next year’s ceremony.

Many existing categories will be merged, while some will be dropped outright with contenders from different musical genres required to compete in new, all-purpose categories.

The top awards — album, record and song of the year, and best new artist — will remain untouched.

Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said the changes followed discussions that involved “some pretty passionate discomfort” and would be “a little unsettling” to some musicians.

But he said a restructuring was necessary to maintain the “prestige of the highest and only peer-recognized award in music”.

Television viewers will not notice the changes, since only about 10 awards are announced during the

three-and-a-half hour telecast. The rest are handed out earlier in the day during a fast-paced ceremony that is broadcast on the Internet.

The R&B field suffered one of the biggest cuts, with the number of awards halved to four.

The three R&B vocal performance awards for males, females and groups have been merged into a single R&B performance award.

The Recording Academy’s Vice President of Awards, Bill Freimuth, said some of the R&B categories had not received many submissions in years past.

Among other changes, the separate awards for male and female vocal performance will now be combined into a new pop solo performance category.

Similarly a new award, rock perfor-

mance, replaces the separate awards for rock solo vocal performance and rock performance by a duo or group with vocals.

The two metal and hard rock categories have also been merged. In the pop, rock and country fields, the prizes for instrumental performance have been dropped.

Rap escaped relatively unscathed, with the number of awards dropping to four from five with the merging of the solo and group performance races into a simple rap performance category.

The number of Latin awards was cut to four from seven. Artists in this genre have their own separate awards show, the Latin Grammys, which is aimed at international markets while the Grammy categories are U.S.-centric.

The jazz awards have also been cut to four, from six. Nine awards will be handed out in the classical categories,

down from 13.

In a move likely to draw howls of protest, the relatively new awards for Hawaiian and Native American albums have been dropped. The nominees often turn up to the Grammys in full regalia, grateful for the opportunity to receive mainstream attention for their cult recordings. They will now vie for a new category, regional roots music album, alongside contenders from the similarly discontinued Zydeco and Cajun category.

“Whenever you’re categorizing music, you’re going to end up with some odd bedfellows,” said Freimuth.

“We have to draw lines around the music somewhere.”

In another change, a category will be cut for the awards year if it receives fewer than 25 submissions during the eligibility process, up from the current minimum of 10. If this continues for three consecutive years, the category will be dropped permanently.

If a category receives between 25 and 39 entries, only three recordings would receive nominations that year.

Usually each category has five nominees.

Pete Hammond, BOXOFFICE

A DAVID GORDON GREEN FILM

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA AN ILLUMINATION ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION “HOP” JAMES MARSDEN RUSSELLEXECUTIVEBRAND KALEY CUOCOPRODUCEDHANK AZARIA ELIZABETH PERKINS AND HUGH LAURIE MUSIC

BY CHRIS MELEDANDRI MICHELE IMPERATO STABI LE

BY CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ PRODUCER JOHN COHEN STORY DIRECTED SCREENPLAY

BY CINCO PAUL & KEN DAURIO

BY TIM HILL

BY CINCO PAUL & KEN DAURIO AND BRIAN LYNCH A UNIVERSAL PICTURE SCORE SOUNDTRACK ON BACK LOT MUSIC AND VARÈSE SARABANDE

© 2010 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

PLAY DOODLE JUMP: HOP THE MOVIE ON YOUR IPHONE, IPOD TOUCH OR IPAD! GO TO HTTP://WWW.LIMASKY.COM/HOP TO DOWNLOAD NOW!

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS A STUBER PICTURES PRODUCTION “YOUR HIGHNESS” DANNY MCMUSIC BRIDE JAMES FRANCO NATALIE PORTMAN ZOOEY DESCHANEL JUSTIN THEROUX TOBY JONES DAMIAN LEWIS

BY STEVE JABLONSKY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS DANNY MCBRIDE ANDREW Z. DAVIS JONATHAN MONE MARK HUFFAM PRODUCED WRITTEN DIRECTED

BY SCOTT STUBER

BY DANNY R. MCBRIDE & BEN BEST

BY DAVID GORDON GREEN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE SOUNDTRACK ON BACK LOT MUSIC AND VARÈSE SARABANDE RECORDS

© 2010 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 8

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

18

FBI probed LAPD link to Biggie murder in 2-year investigation Newly-released records reveal FBI agents on both coasts participated in a nearly two-year investigation aimed at finding out who gunned down the Notorious B.I.G. and whether any Los Angeles police officers were involved.

The inquiry ended in early 2005, after federal prosecutors concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue a case against any officers or another man implicated in the rapper’s 1997 shooting death, reports the AP. The decision was made after agents in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York tried to track down potential suspects and witnesses who might shed new

light on the unsolved killing that came months after another rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was shot dead in Las Vegas.

The investigation started out as a civil rights violation and corruption public review, but efforts were made to solve the homicide case. The FBI’s file included police reports.

Informants told the FBI that the killing of B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, may have been aided by corrupt police officers. The heavily redacted files include several mentions of sources who wouldn’t talk to Los Angeles police investigators about Wallace’s death because of suspicions

about corruption.

The records showed that agents conducted surveillance on one man in San Diego who they thought may have fired the fatal shots at Wallace, and even went through his mail and garbage. They also showed an agent consulted frequently with a civil attorney who was pursuing a wrongful death on behalf of Wallace’s estate against the city of Los Angeles.

No one has been arrested for Wallace or Shakur’s killings, although both deaths have been the subject of rampant speculation about the motives. The one-time friends

became rivals and instigators in an East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry during the mid1990s.

Wallace was fatally shot with a 9mm gun on Wilshire Boulevard in March 1997 after leaving a Los Angeles music industry event.

The FBI released Wallace’s file on March 27 on its website, The Vault, which contains the bureau’s most requested case documents that can be released. The FBI on Friday publicized that it had added more than 25 new files that it had never released electronically and by Wednesday, fans and journal-

ists were poring over the Wallace file.

Wallace’s family dismissed a federal lawsuit against Los Angeles last year, which their attorney said was done in order for the FBI and other agencies to pursue new leads in the case. A 2005 trial

ended with a mistrial after attorneys for Wallace’s family discovered the city had withheld a trove of LAPD documents.

Attorney Brad C. Gage said Wednesday he had not reviewed the recently released FBI documents.

Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and Kanye West Syfy renews ‘Scare Tactics’ accused of stealing songwriting credits for fifth season

Syfy says it has renewed its U.S. hidden-camera reality series “Scare Tactics” for a fifth season.

The announcement was made by Mark Stern, Syfy’s president of original content and co-head of original content for Universal Cable Productions.

Actor/comedian Tracy Morgan (right) has signed on to return as host and executive producer for the half-hour, 13episode season, which is to begin production this spring and scheduled to premiere in Fall 2012.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing back ‘Scare Tactics’ for another season,” Stern said in a statement. “Tracy is the ultimate prankster and Syfy fans will absolutely enjoy a new round of hilarious episodes.”

The second half of “Scare Tactics” Season 4 is slated to return in October with six new

episodes.

“Kevin and I are beyond excited to have Tracy Morgan and ‘Scare Tactics’ back for fifth season. I think the fact that we get real people to ‘believe the unbelievable’ has made the show a great fit for Syfy and a guilty pleasure for our fans all these years.

Our goal is to be the longest running fear/comedy/horror/fu nny/paranormalinspired hidden camera show on Syfy ever,” said Scott Hallock, the show’s coexecutive producer and co-creator.

By ALETA WATSON In a recent interview, some of your favorite “singer-songwriters” were slammed with allegations of not writing many of the hit songs they are famous for. Reportedly, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and Kanye West have been accepting publishing credits with full knowledge that the songs were not written by them.

At the helm of this fraud allegation is songwriter to the stars, Heather Bright. Bright leaked names along with her frustrations in a recent interview with Free-Wired.

“Rihanna takes publishing, Justin Bieber takes publishing, Kanye West takes publishing,” Bright vented.

“On all the stuff that they don’t write, they take publishing.”

When asked about teen-heartthrob, Justin Bieber, in which she has songwriting credit on his single “Some-

body to Love,” Bright e x p r e s s e d , “Umm...How did he get a writing credit on it?

That’s an interesting question.” She laughs then added, “I don’t know.”

So why don’t these

so-called songwriters write their own songs?

Bright has the answer.

“You can’t be Rihanna and be producing and writing records.

You just can’t be doing that. You just won’t have time. All the

appearances, the performances, and the ‘this,’ and the ‘that,’ you gotta show up to record, you gotta promote the album, go on tour.”

Bright assured FreeWired that not all artists commit songwriting fraud as she gushes over the freespirited Lady Gaga.

Bright’s awe couldn’t be contained as she said, “It’s amazing that they can find time to write!

They have to write on tour, all of those artists who actually write!”

The noted songwriter took to her blog to give other artists like Britney Spears praise as well. According to Bright, the pop icon didn’t try to “take something that wasn’t hers.” Bright is speaking of the tracks ‘Femme Fatale’ and ‘Trouble for Me’ that she co-wrote. She finished in saying about Spears’ crew, “In my experience, from a business standpoint, her entire team is nothing less than a bonafide class act!”

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

19

Retailers surprise with March sales strength

By JESSICA WOHL CHICAGO — U.S. shoppers bought spring clothing along with more expensive food and gasoline in March, pushing sales at many chains up more than expected.

Retailers such as Costco Wholesale Corp and Limited Brands Inc blew past forecasts, while Gap Inc was one of just four chains to miss expectations.

“The retailers that have the right assortment are still doing well,” said Tom Clarke, director of AlixPartners’ global retail practice.

U.S. retailers overall had been expected to show their first samestore sales decline since August 2009, in part because Easter falls three weeks later than last year, which delays some spring purchases.

But sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.7 percent in a tally of 25 retailers, topping expectations of a 0.7 percent decline, according to Thomson Reuters.

Gap was a notable outlier. Its same-store sales fell 10 percent, or 3 percentage points more than expected.

The clothing retailer

A shopper loads his cart at a Costco Wholesale store in Arlington, Virginia. blamed some of the weakness on the earthquake in Japan, where it has more than 150 stores.

Gap expects the problems in Japan to cut first-quarter earnings by about 4 cents per share, bringing them below the analysts’ average estimate of 44 cents. The company’s shares fell nearly 2 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s retail index was up 0.2 percent, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent.

While unemploy-

ment remains high, it has edged down, including a decline in new claims reported on Thursday. As a result, some people have more wiggle room to shop.

“This March I spent more than last March because I was searching for a job last March,” said Jane Marcinkiewicz. A 37year-old mother of two from New York’s Harlem neighborhood, she works part-time at a department store.

Shoppers have already started to pay more for groceries and

gasoline, reducing the amount left for other purchases. Still, analysts do not expect most of the impact of higher prices to show up in consumer spending until later this year.

“Rising gasoline prices can be a problem, but from Economics 101 we learn that consumption is first and foremost a function of income,” said International Council of Shopping Centers Chief Economist Michael Niemira. “We are still benefiting from the recovery forces that are

Jobless claims fall slightly more than expected WASHINGTON — New claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, pointing to firming labor market conditions.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Economists had forecast claims falling to 385,000.

“The downtrend in initial claims remains firmly in place, and overall the data point to a continued gradual improvement in the underlying pace of layoffs, consistent with the steady progress

that we have seen in the payrolls data,” said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

Separately, retailers were set to report a drop in March samestore sales, hurt by Easter falling three weeks later than last year, which delays some spring clothing purchases.

Analysts were expecting a tally of 25 major retailers to show a drop of 0.7 percent in sales at stores open at least a year, according to Thomson Reuters.

Financial markets were little moved by the data, with stock index futures holing on their slight gains.

The four-week mov-

ing average of unemployment claims — a better measure of underlying trends - fell 5,750 to 389,500.

The government reported last week that payrolls increased 216,000 in March, with the unemployment rate falling to a two-year low of 8.8 percent.

A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual in the claims data.

Claims have now held beneath the 400,000 level that is generally associated with steady job growth for four weeks in a row, with the four-week average below that mark for the sixth straight week.

The number of peo-

ple still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid fell 9,000 to 3.72 million in the week ended March 26, the lowest level since October 2008.

Economists had expected so-called continuing claims to slip to 3.70 million from a previously reported 3.71 million.

The number of people on emergency unemployment benefits dropped 25,785 to 3.56 million in the week ended March 19, the latest week for which data is available. A total of 8.52 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during that period under all programs.

playing out through employment.”

Costco’s sales at stores open at least a year jumped 13 percent, or 8 percent excluding the effects of stronger foreign currencies and selling gasoline at higher prices. Analysts had expected a 7.4 percent increase.

The top warehouse club said inflation was “modest” in meat and produce, and similar to what it had seen in recent months in fresh food overall.

At Target Corp, groceries and other basics sold well, while items such as movies and books were weak.

TJX Cos Inc said it was “very comfortable” with its quarterly earnings outlook, while Macy’s Inc said its sales in March and April should come in stronger than it had anticipated. TJX shares were down about 1 percent after an early rise, while Macy’s rose 2 percent.

The retailers’ reports did not clearly show whether higher sales were mostly due to " ! ! !%

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“Now we’re entering the period when retailers have to decide whether to increase prices or reduce gross margins,” AlixPartners’ Clarke said. “That risk is now here.”

The stronger sales streak should continue, but “you probably won’t see a lot of the gains drop significantly to the bottom line,” said Al Ferrara, national director of the retail and consumer product practice at BDO USA. “Most of those gains are basically going to offset increasing costs.”

March sales reports do not paint the full picture of the consumer economy as the retailers that still issue monthly figures account for only 10 percent of total U.S. retail sales, according to Customer Growth Partners President Craig Johnson.

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DAILYDAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011 CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

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SPORTS

“King-less” Cavs target bright finish to dark NBA year ture also sent the Raptors into a tailspin, it could not match the harrowing plunge by the Cavs, who won 61 games last year led by ‘King James.’

The Cavaliers (17-61) arrived in Toronto on having Wednesday already been assured of last place in the East, the consolation a shot at the top selection in this year’s NBA draft.

The last time Cleveland had the number one overall pick they used it to grab James but this time around there is no consensus choice, no super-talent capable of instantly

By STEVE KEATING TORONTO - A year ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers had the best record in the NBA, the league’s best player in LeBron James and were a red-hot championship tip.

This season they own the NBA’s worst record, James has skipped town for the Miami Heat and championship dreams have long since crumbled to dust.

They have been replaced by far more modest goals, Wednesday’s 104-96 victory over the Toronto Raptors earning the Cavs their first back-toback wins in five months.

“I would have hoped it would have happened a lot sooner,” Cavaliers coach Byron Scott told reporters, admitting he could not remember Cleveland’s last twogame ‘win streak’.

“I do remember New Jersey was involved in it but I can’t remember anything else. That shows you how long it’s been.”

The future did not appear so bleak back in October when the Cavs began the post-James era with a season-open-

Toronto Raptors Reggie Evans watches a ball go out of bounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Toronto.

Photo/Mark Blinch Among North lost 17 straight games ing win over the Boston America’s four major in the 1974-75 and Celtics. sports 1992-93 seasons respecThree losses were professional then followed up with leagues there has never tively.

In the NFL, the three straight victories been a longer run of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in early November over futility. the Cavaliers, The Cleveland like P h i l a d e l p h i a , Washington and New Spiders set baseball’s endured their own 26-game longest slide with 24 shameful Jersey.

However, there consecutive losses in slump over two seasons but the from 1976-77. would be precious little 1899 If anyone can feel to celebrate the rest of Philadelphia Phillies set season as the losses the modern day mark Cleveland’s pain, it is racked up alarmingly, with 23 straight defeats Raptors fans similarly jilted when the face of including a record- in 1961.

The Washington their franchise, Chris smashing 26-game losing skid that set new Capitals and San Jose Bosh, decided to join standards for sporting Sharks share the NHL’s James in Miami.

While Bosh’s deparlongest skid when they failure.

Hornets sting Rockets in playoff decider HOUSTON - The New Orleans Hornets booked a playoff spot and snuffed out the post-season hopes of the Houston Rockets with a 10193 road win on Wednesday.

“It’s a good feeling knowing we’re in,” Hornets guard Chris Paul told reporters.

“But now it’s about staying in.”

Houston’s Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry were on fire from longrange, in the first quarter, connecting on five of eight three-point

attempts as the Rockets burst to a 38-21 lead.

But the Rocket scored just 33 points in the next two quarters, allowing the Hornets to claw their way back into the game.

“In the first quarter

we looked like the Bad News Bears,” said Paul.

“In the last three quarters we showed up.”

The teams exchanged the lead six times in the fourth before New Orleans seized command of the

game on two free throws by Paul, who led the Hornets with 28 points, with 4:16 remaining.

Trevor Ariza followed the free throws with a dunk after a steal and New Orleans iced the game from the free throw line to silence the home crowd.

Martin led the Rockets with 21 points and Luis Scola and Goran Dragic added 16 points each.

“We just got to remember the sounds of their team making the playoffs and how happy they were,” Martin said.

transforming the woeful Cavaliers into championship contenders.

The Cavaliers instead will continue a painful rebuild next season but will try to springboard into a new year on a winning note.

“It (winning) is great for our confidence. We still have a very young basketball team that is forming an identity basketball wise and I think we’re starting to do that,” said Scott.

“It gives us something positive going into next season but we have four games left and we’re going to play like we did tonight.”

LeBron James gets stake in Liverpool MIAMI — LeBron James is getting into the soccer business, aligning with the owners of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway Sports Management — the sister company of the Red Sox — said Wednesday it has signed James and the management company he helped create, LRMR, to a long-term deal to secure marketing and sponsorship opportunities. As part of the deal, James obtained a piece of Liverpool FC, one of the world’s most famed soccer teams and a longtime marquee franchise in the English Premier League.

“I can’t even explain the level of excitement that we have right now,” James’ manager and LRMR CEO Maverick Carter told The Associated Press.

“As far as my business career goes, it’s one of the most exciting times. And the opportunity for growth for us is huge. The guys at FSM understand it too and they probably see it even more than we do.”

The deal came together quickly, but

Carter and James have been familiar with FSM owners John Henry and Tom Werner for some time. Their relationship was born, in part, through mutual acquaintances with Berkshire Hathaway — billionaire Warren Buffett’s company.

And that relationship between James and the Red Sox owners presents a bit of irony — after all, James is a devout New York Yankees fan.

“It’s strictly business. ... It’s very humbling,” James said.

FSM is owned by Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Red Sox and Liverpool FC and a coowner of Roush Fenway Racing. James has had involvement with NASCAR previously, albeit on a somewhat limited basis.

FSM handles the marketing for the Red Sox, Liverpool and Roush Fenway Racing, and now it will handle James, too.

“That’s the great thing about sports: It brings people together,” Carter said. “And this is about business.”

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

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By HOWARD FENDRICH

NEW YORK - This year’s women’s basketball national championship game featuring a surprising pair of No. 2 seeds drew higher television ratings than last year’s matchup of tradition-rich No. 1 seeds.

WASHINGTON A lawyer representing Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and other players suing the NFL wrote to the judge handling the case to say their side is willing to engage in mediation overseen by the federal court in Minnesota.

Wade goes through workout, Friday status unclear MIAMI - Heat guard Dwyane Wade hopes his deeply bruised right thigh will allow him to play Friday night when Miami hosts the Charlotte Bobcats.

Wade, who did not play in Wednesday’s 90-85 loss to Milwaukee because of the injury, went through a workout Thursday. He got hurt in the first half of Sunday’s win against New Jersey, though returned for the second half of that game.

Pain and soreness continued settling into Wade’s leg Monday and Tuesday.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says the team will know on Friday if Wade can play, saying the decision will hinge in part on how the 2006 NBA finals MVP feels after the workouts.

Wade is the NBA’s No. 3 scorer this season at 25.7 points per game.

Howard earns another suspension after rare call CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is poised to serve another one-game suspension after picking up his NBAhigh 18th technical foul of the season.

The reason was a rare 10second violation on a free throw attempt.

The poor-shooting Howard has always been deliberate at the line, and referee Bennett Salvatore called a violation for taking too long to attempt his second shot late in the second quarter Wednesday at Charlotte.

As the crowd jeered, Howard tossed the ball away from any official. Salvatore immediately gave Howard a technical.

If the call is upheld by the league, Howard will sit out Sunday's nationally televised game against East-leading Chicago.

Howard served a one-game suspension on March 7 after picking up his 16th technical.

SPORTS

Players open to mediation via court

TV viewership up for NCAA women’s basketball final

Texas A&M’s 76-70 victory over Notre Dame on Tuesday on ESPN averaged 3.8 million viewers, up from 3.5 million for the 2010 Connecticut-Stanford final.

Average viewership for the entire tournament increased to almost 1.9 million people from more than 1.6 million.

DAILY CHALLENGE

Thursday’s letter to U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson comes a day after a hearing in St. Paul, Minn., at which she recommended court-supervised talks, saying such negotiations should take place at “not the players’ table, not the league’s table, but a neutral table, if you will.”

“As class counsel on behalf of the Brady class, we think this is an excellent suggestion and are prepared to engage in such mediation without delay,” attorney Barbara Berens wrote to Nelson.

“Our agreement is, of course, contingent on the NFL defendants’ agreement that they will not attempt to use this, our willingness to mediate, against the Brady class in some way, for example by arguing that such

mediation efforts constitute ‘collective bargaining’ or otherwise arise out of a ‘labor relationship.’”

Two people familiar with the case told The Associated Press that the NFL sent its own letter Thursday to lawyers for the players.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the letter’s contents.

One person told the AP the letter proposed resuming talks with federal mediator George Cohen, who oversaw 16 days of negotiations in

Demaurice Smith February and March that eventually broke off, allowing the old collective bargaining agreement to expire.

The union dissolved itself, saying it no longer represented players in bargaining under labor law, which allowed them to sue the league under antitrust law. Owners locked out the players, creating the NFL’s first work stoppage since 1987.

The NFL’s letter to players Thursday proposed negotiations with owner involvement, the person said, adding that players would be given assurances the

discussions wouldn’t compromise their legal position.

Essentially, each side offered to meet for talks in a setting the other wouldn’t be thrilled about. Since filing suit in Minnesota on March 11, the players repeatedly have said they only are interested in meeting with the league to discuss settling the litigation. And since the lockout began at midnight later that night, the NFL repeatedly has said it only is interested in returning to mediated bargaining.

LeBron James’ mom arrested at hotel MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Gloria James, the mother of Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James, was arrested by Miami Beach police after she reportedly assaulted a valet worker because it was taking too long to have her car delivered.

After practice on Thursday, when asked about the incident, LeBron James said he was being helped with the situation and called it a personal matter.

Police said Gloria James had a strong

odor of alcohol on her breath and her eyes were bloodshot when officers arrived at the Fontainebleau Hotel at about 4:47 a.m. ET Thursday.

Police said several witnesses supported valet worker Sorel Rockfeller’s account of the alleged assault.

Gloria James was taken to the Miami Beach police department, where she was issued a promise to appear on charges of simple battery and disorderly conduct. A

police report says she was released to Heat executive Steve Stowe.

“It’s very sensitive because it’s your mother, of course,” LeBron James said Thursday after practice. “People around me are helping me, helping her.”

James said he was at home at the time of his mother’s arrest after dealing with Miami’s 90-85 loss at home to the Milwaukee Bucks.

“You have to move forward,” James said.

“It is my life. Just try to not let things be a

distraction. I have a job to do. It’s a personal matter that’s being taken care of. She’s fine.”

Gloria James was arrested on drunken driving charges in 2006 in Akron, Ohio.

She was given a suspended sentence, fined and ordered to complete a drug and alcohol class after pleading no contest to reckless operation, speeding, disorderly conduct and physical control of a motor vehicle under the influence.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

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Closings offered in Barry Bonds trial SAN FRANCISCO — A federal prosecutor on Thursday urged a jury of eight women and four men to find Barry Bonds guilty of lying to a grand jury.

“All he had to do was tell the truth,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow said at the start of his closing argument in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.

“He chose not to tell the truth and that’s why he’s here.”

Bonds is charged with three counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice.

Bonds told a grand jury in December 2003 that his trainer misled him into taking designer steroids by calling them flaxseed oil and arthritis cream, but prosecutors say the home run record-holder knew he

was using performance-enhancing drugs.

One of the charges accuses Bonds of lying when he denied that his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, injected him.

Nedrow told the jury that Bonds’ story was obviously false because the former baseball star was a rich, professional athlete who paid close attention to his body.

“He makes $17 million a year and doesn’t know what he’s taking,” Nedrow rhetorically asked the jury.

“That’s his account and it’s an account that’s false.”

Nedrow alleged that Bonds lied about his drug use because he wanted to keep it from his famous father, former Major League Baseball player Bobby Bonds and from his team, the San Francisco Giants.

“The defendant had a secret and he didn’t want his dad to know about it,” Nedrow said.

Bobby Bonds died of cancer in 2003.

Dressed in a dark blue suit, Bonds leaned forward at the defense table and occasionally sipped from a water bottle. Bonds sat attentively between two of his lawyers as Nedrow discussed the testimony of Bonds’ former girlfriend Kimberly Bell and his estranged best friend and ex-business partner, Steve Hoskins.

Bell testified about physical and behavioral changes she witnessed during her nine years with Bonds, including hair loss, acne, shrunken testicles and mood swings. Nedrow alleged those were side effects of steroid use.

Nedrow played a recording Hoskins secretly made of a conversation he had with Anderson. Hoskins testified that he made the recording in 2003 to prove to Bonds’ father that his son was using steroids. Nedrow said

the two are discussing injecting Bonds with designer steroids.

“He cared about the defendant,” Nedrow said. “He was worried about the dangerous effects of the drugs.”

Bonds’ attorneys were to follow Nedrow to the lectern to deliver their closing argu-

ments later Thursday.

They contend that Hoskins made the recording in an attempt to extort Bonds. In early 2003, Bonds accused Hoskins of selling memorabilia without Bonds’ permission.

Bonds severed his business relationship with Hoskins. Bonds also

asked the FBI to investigate Hoskins.

Bonds’ trial, now in its 12th day, has generally attracted little interest locally but the San Francisco courtroom where the case is being tried was packed on Thursday with spectators and media.

Kyrie Ir vin g enterin g NB A draft DURHAM, N.C. — Point guard Kyrie Irving is leaving Duke after one season to enter the NBA draft.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement issued Wednesday by the school that Irving plans to hire an agent, ending his college career.

“Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA,” Krzyzewski said. “We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision. We look forward to continuing to work with him during the upcoming months leading to his entry into the NBA and afterwards while he is an NBA player.”

Irving played only 11 games and missed

roughly two-thirds of the season with an injured big toe on his right foot. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists for topseeded Duke, which was upset by Arizona in the West regional semifinals.

“It was a great experience playing for Coach K,” Irving said.

“He taught me a lot about the game. Even when I was hurt, I learned a lot. Also a special thanks goes to the medical staff for getting me back on the court for the NCAA Tournament and my teammates for sticking with me throughout the entire year.

Duke offered me an experience I could never have imagined.”

When Irving was healthy, he was electrifying. His 31-point performance against then-

No. 6 Michigan State marked just the fourth time in school history that a freshman scored 30 points in a game. He was the MVP of the CBE Classic after averaging 14.5 points and six assists.

But his only season at Duke ultimately might be defined by the 26 games he missed after he jammed his toe during a win over Butler on Dec. 4, and the lingering subplot surrounding the Blue Devils was when — or even if — he would return.

He worked out in full public view before an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game in uniform shorts and sneakers, told reporters after the championship game win over North Carolina that he could return and wound up coming off the bench

for Duke’s NCAA tournament opener against Hampton. He reached double figures in scoring in each of his three tournament games, capped by a 28-point showing in the loss to Arizona.

After that game, he said he didn’t want to take off his No. 1 jersey and could see himself wearing it again as a sophomore, but wanted to consult with his coaches, family and

friends before coming to a final decision on his future.

“This was a special year for me. I love everything about Duke and I’m going to miss it,” added Irving. “Duke has a special place in my heart. Even though I’m leaving this year, Duke will always be in my mind and my heart.

I’m going to miss putting on that No. 1 jersey.”

Irving’s departure

leaves another hole in the Duke lineup that will be missing graduated seniors Nolan Smith , the ACC’s player of the year, and Kyle Singler, the most outstanding player at last year’s Final Four.

Among the Blue Devils’ incoming freshmen is guard Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and one of the nation’s highest-rated recruits.

Tyler Zeller, John Henson will return CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s big men are passing on the NBA for another run at a national championship. The Tar Heels will have to wait a little longer to learn the plans of freshman Harrison Barnes.

The school announced junior 7-footer Tyler Zeller and sophomore John Henson will return to Chapel Hill next season, but said Barnes “is still reviewing information” as he considers whether to enter the draft.

Zeller and Henson were second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference picks as the Tar Heels won the league regular-season championship and reached an NCAA regional final.

In a statement, coach Roy Williams said he spoke to about 10 NBA teams to investigate where the two players might go in the draft. But he said their decisions were “less about the NBA and more about what they wanted to do right now and the experiences they are enjoying” in college.

DAILY CHALLENGE

S SP PO OR RT TS S FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

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NFL PLAYE RS OPEN TO MEDI AT ION VIA COUR T

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