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Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jan 10 2013

TV station says Rhonda Lee violated company procedure

A Louisiana TV station has defended its decision to fire a Black meteorologist, Rhonda Lee, insisting that she repeatedly violated company policy by responding to comments on its Facebook page.

Lee first spoke out on the Facebook page of KTBS-TV in October when a viewer wrote: “the Black lady that does the news is a very nice lady. The only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair, I’m not sure if she is a cancer patient,” he continued, “but still it’s not something myself that I think looks good on TV.”

Dec 18 2012

Threats posted on Facebook

PALMDALE, Calif.—Palmdale-area schools will remain on “modified lockdown” through the end of the week in response to threats against an elementary-school class posted on Facebook, although investigators said they doubt the credibility of the threats, sheriff’s officials said today.

Oct 5 2012

Bail set at $1.27 million

A 43-year-old Ohio man was behind bars and facing felony charges Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Lancaster girl he met via Facebook about six months ago.

Michael Scheetz of Westerville, Ohio, was charged with five felony counts in connection with the illicit relationship and jailed in lieu of $1.27 million bail, according to deputies and court records.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
May 10 2012

Company may make stock market history

The social networking powerhouse Facebook will offer its Initial Public Offering (IPO) this month with a share price of $28 to $35, according to an the United State Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report. That would set the company’s total value as high as $86.6 billion, although it is expected that the price will rise before the company finally goes public.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jan 19 2012

Somebody’s reading your mail—and it’s not always who you think

Social networking, which seems to have magically appeared on the stage only about 10 years ago, virtually dominates many American lives today, from the way we receive information, communicate, interact with one another to the way we do business.

In many cases, we tweet, text, link-in rather than talk. We carry electronic tablets to read books, magazines and newspapers, and we scroll through the Internet to catch up on what’s happening around our cities, nation and world.

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.