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Between The Lines
OW Contributing Columnist
The Hutchinson Report
OW Contributing Columnist
Practical Politics
OW Contributing Columnist
OW Contributing Columnist
Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
May 16, 2013
David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
May 16, 2013
Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
May 16, 2013
David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
May 09, 2013
Damien Goodman | Chair of Crenshaw Subway Coalition  |   OW Guest Columnist
May 16, 2013
Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
May 09, 2013

Our Features

Apr 17 2013

Byproduct of the beans used to make castor oil

Ricin is a natural, highly toxic compound that is one of the byproducts of processing castor beans.
 
If inhaled, injected or ingested, less than a pinpoint of ricin can kill a person within 36 to 48 hours due to the failure of the respiratory and circulatory systems. There is no known cure.
 
One molecule of ricin will kill a cell it enters.
 
Ricin ingestion is not always fatal. Children are at more risk than adults.
 

Apr 16 2013

Sign petition at Change.org

A movement urging Verizon to get rid of wireless contracts appears to be gaining steam.

A petition calling for the carrier to end contracts for smartphones and “create an affordable way for consumers to purchase their devices” had attracted more than 55,000 signatures by midday Tuesday on Change.org, the online petition platform.

Apr 16 2013

Three people confirmed dead

New developments:

Apr 15 2013

Several injured

BOSTON, Mass. — At least two explosions rocked the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, injuring at least a half-dozen people, a CNN producer at the scene said.

The blasts occurred a few seconds apart on opposite sides of the street, CNN Producer Matt Frucci reported.

The first left “a big plume of smoke” hovering over the area, around Boston’s Copley Square; the second occurred perhaps 10 seconds later, he said.

Apr 12 2013

66th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color line

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The City Council celebrated the 12th annual Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles today, three days before the 66th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color line.

A bio-pic on Robinson, “42,” also opened this week.

“There’s a lot of energy out here because of the movie that’s out, but the energy has been here all along,” Councilman Ed Reyes said.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.