Jennifer Lopez

May 17 2013

23-year-old Candice Glover

Candice Glover could barely remember her own name after she was crowned the new “American Idol” on Thursday.

“I’m still trying to process the whole thing, I don’t even know what’s happening,” she told the press backstage. “It feels amazing though that I finally got to this point; I’ve been working for so long.”

May 10 2013

"I’m happy here"

If “American Idol” producers really are planning to toss aside all of the show’s judges, as rumors have suggested, they only have three left to go.

On Thursday night, Randy Jackson confirmed that he’s departing the long-running reality competition, meaning the show no longer has any of its original judges.

May 9 2013

Said it was his decision to leave

Randy Jackson, the last original “American Idol” judge, announced Thursday that he’s voting himself off the hit singing competition program after the current season ends.

“Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to the rest, after 12 years of judging on ‘American Idol,’ I have decided to leave after this season,” Jackson said in a statement, released through his representative.

Along with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, the musician and producer was one of three judges when the Fox show debuted in 2002.

Apr 24 2013

Another panel shake-up could stem “Idol’s” low ratings

Simon Cowell’s “The X Factor” might not be the only Fox singing competition headed for another season of change.

The Hollywood Reporter heard whispers from sources in the know that the network’s “American Idol” was considering swapping new judge Mariah Carey for former judge Jennifer Lopez.

Lopez departed the competition along with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler in 2012 after two seasons aboard the series, but THR notes that she did cultivate a solid fan following.

Sep 13 2012

From Sarah Baartman to Kim Kardashian

“Although she was known as Sarah Baartman, historical scholars aren’t sure if she ever knew her birth given name. She was a daughter of South Africa. She went to Europe willing, thinking she would find riches and fame. They fooled her in Europe; she found only humiliation. Forced to be a spectacle, because many of them had not seen a naked Black woman’s body, they nicknamed her the Hottentot Venus. They were fascinated with her big hips and buttocks.

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.