Afro-Latinos Who've Influenced American Culture (SLIDESHOW)

 
Hispanic Heritage Month is about celebrating diversity -- acknowledging one of the many different identities that flow within the melting pot that is the United States. But the term holds true even within the Latino community.

With the Spanish and British crowns’ arrival to the ‘New World’ came more than just settlers -- the Americas required labor to grow economically, a demand that would be fulfilled by the millions of victims that were brought through the Middle Passage.

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr explored the African diaspora in Latin America in his 2011 PBS series ‘Black in Latin America.’ His research showed that the slave trade brought more individuals to Latin America than the U.S.

"There were 11.2 million Africans who came to the New World in the slave trade and of that 11.2 million, only 450,000 came to the United States," Gates, Jr told Latina.com.

These Africans were instrumental in the development of traditions and customs -- of culture -- across Latin America and the Caribbean, which in turn have made their way into the U.S. through successive waves of immigration. From Puerto Rico, Cuba, Colombia and Peru, from the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Central America as well.

Today, Afro-Latino influencers grace the covers of major magazines, star in hit TV shows, lead art and literary movements, and excel at America's pastime. But as illustrated in an interview with The Huffington Post, Puerto Rican actress Lauren Vélez -- who will soon portray Afro-Cuban singer ‘La Lupe’ in a biopic -- admitted this wasn’t always the case in Hollywood.

“Somebody asked me about what it was like when I was first auditioning as an Afro-Caribbean woman; I couldn’t get an audition as a Latina. People didn’t know what that was, they just said, 'Well our vision of a Latina looks more Mexican, or Central American, or Spanish.' And that was an interesting journey to take and something that I had to struggle with initially.”

Despite the continuing struggles against prejudice, the slideshow above shows 27 Afro-Latinos who have left their mark on American culture. Who else should be on the list?

 

Mystery giant eyeball found on Fla. beach

Credit: Carli Segelson/Fla. FWCC

POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A giant eyeball that washed up on a Florida beach this week is probably that of a large squid, wildlife experts said of the softball-size peeper.

The mysterious eye washed up on Pompano Beach where it was found by a beachcomber who gave it to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday, National Geographic reported.

FWCC scientists put the impressive eye on ice and forwarded it to the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.

GIANT EYEBALL PANIC ends: Oceanic peeper identified

The giant eyeball that washed up on a Florida beach last week has been identified, quelling fears of a new monster swimming in the vasty deep.

Researchers at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) report that the eye has been positively identified as coming from Xiphias gladius, or as it is more commonly known, the swordfish, which is fished privately and commercially off the Florida coast.

Social Security receivers face tiny raise

Don’t spend it all in one place: average monthly benefit likely to grow less than $20

On Tuesday, people collecting Social Security checks are likely to get some bad news. Their annual cost of living raises for 2013 may be quite small, experts say. 

Shutterstock.com

Several nationally renowned organizations have made predictions about next years’ Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA), which the government will announce formally on Oct. 16 and which will take effect in January. The American Institute of Economic Research (AIER), a nonpartisan economic research organization, predicts that seniors will get a 1.5% to 1.7% raise; the Congressional Budget Office, a government agency that reviews congressional budgets, 1.3%; and the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior advocacy group, about 1.4%.

For the average Social Security beneficiary, who gets about $1,130 per month, this isn’t much: A 1.4% raise would only raise the monthly check by about $15.80.

Books by Miriam G. Aw

Health Buzz: More People Under 55 Suffering Strokes

Strokes Becoming More Common In Younger Patients

Video shows naked student calm before he's shot

Who Destroyed the Economy? The Case Against the Baby Boomers

Marya Rosales, 1000-Pound Woman Charged With Murder, Discusses Her Trial On TLC's 'Half-Ton Killer?' (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

When Sergio Valdez saw his 1000-pound client, Marya Rosales, in bed for the first time, he almost mistook some of her folds of fat for pillows.

"We've all seen obese, heavyset people. You have not seen obesity at this level," Valdez said in "Half-Ton Killer?" a TLC special airing Oct. 10 about Rosales, a woman bedridden from obesity, who claimed she accidently crushed and killed her two-year-old nephew.

Rosales reportedly weighs nearly 1,100 pounds, enough to qualify her as one of the world's fattest women, but Valdez says even knowing she weighs more than five average men, doesn't prepare anyone for her sheer massiveness.

Meningitis outbreak widens as demands rise for criminal probe

How Can Starting Your Own Business Help You Find Employment?

Listeners Take Stock Of Affirmative Action

NPR via Wordle

A word cloud of listener responses to the question, "Is there still a place for affirmative action in 2012, and why?"

October 10, 2012

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Fisher v. University of Texas, a case that could put an end to policies that take race into account in college admissions decisions.

NPR's All Things Considered recently asked listeners if there is still a place for affirmative action policies in America today. Below are just a few responses from among the more than 50 received.

Attention Disorder or Not, Pills to Help in School

Bryan Meltz for The New York Times

Amanda Rocafort and her son Quintn in Woodstock, Ga. Quintn takes the medication Risperdal. More Photos »

CANTON, Ga. — When Dr. Michael Anderson hears about his low-income patients struggling in elementary school, he usually gives them a taste of some powerful medicine: Adderall.

The pills boost focus and impulse control in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Although A.D.H.D is the diagnosis Dr. Anderson makes, he calls the disorder “made up” and “an excuse” to prescribe the pills to treat what he considers the children’s true ill — poor academic performance in inadequate schools.

“I don’t have a whole lot of choice,” said Dr. Anderson, a pediatrician for many poor families in Cherokee County, north of Atlanta. “We’ve decided as a society that it’s too expensive to modify the kid’s environment. So we have to modify the kid.”

Dr. Anderson is one of the more outspoken proponents of an idea that is gaining interest among some physicians. They are prescribing stimulants to struggling students in schools starved of extra money — not to treat A.D.H.D., necessarily, but to boost their academic performance.

It is not yet clear whether Dr. Anderson is representative of a widening trend. But some experts note that as wealthy students abuse stimulants to raise already-good grades in colleges and high schools, the medications are being used on low-income elementary school children with faltering grades and parents eager to see them succeed.

2 American Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Two Americans shared this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for deciphering the communication system that the human body uses to sense the outside world and send messages to cells — for example, speeding the heart when danger approaches. The understanding is aiding the development of new drugs.

The winners, Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz, 69, a professor at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher, and Dr. Brian K. Kobilka, 57, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, will split eight million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million.



Hacker cracks 4 million hotel locks with 'James Bond Dry Erase Marker'

This new hacker invention may look like a harmless dry erase marker, but in truth it's the ultimate electronic lock pick. 

In a post titled 'James Bond's Dry Erase Marker,' hotel hacker Matthew Jakubowski demonstrates how anyone can build this pocket-sized device which will open the lock on an estimated 4 million hotel rooms.

'I guess we wanted to show that this sort of attack can happen with a very small concealable device,' says Matthew Jakubowski, a security researcher with Trustwave, told Forbes. 'Someone using this could be searched and even then it wouldn't be obvious that this isn't just a pen.'

Ask Larry: Can a Thirty-Something in Good Health Collect Social Security?

Creative Commons Photo Courtesy of Flickr user Fabricator of Useless Articles

Larry Kotlikoff's Social Security "secrets" and his answers to your questions (here, here and here) have prompted so many of you to write in that we now feature "Ask Larry" every Monday. We are determined to continue it until the queries stop or we run through the particular problems of all 78 million Baby Boomers, whichever comes first. Kotlikoff's state-of-the-art retirement software is available here, for free, in its "basic" version.

34 Menopause Symptoms

Menopausal symptoms affect about 70% of women approaching menopause. Typical menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes or night sweats, are caused by changing hormonal levels in the female reproductive system. Almost all women notice early symptoms while still having periods. This stage of gradually falling and fluctuating hormone levels is called perimenopause, which often begins in the early 40s.

The symptoms of menopause usually last for the whole menopause transition (until the mid 50s), but some women may experience them for the rest of their lives. The most common symptoms are: Hot Flashes, Night Sweats, Irregular Periods, Loss of Libido, and Vaginal Dryness.

Profiles Of Courage: The Rich History Of African-American Firefighters

Alex Karras, Football Behemoth and Actor, Dies at 77

Nfl/LIEBB, via Associated Press

Alex Karras in 1968 as a member of the Detroit Lions.

Alex Karras, a fierce and relentless All-Pro lineman for the Detroit Lions whose irrepressible character placed him frequently at odds with football’s authorities but led to a second career as an actor on television and in the movies, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 77.

Karras had kidney disease, heart disease and stomach cancer, his family said in a statement announcing his death, as well as dementia. He was among the more than 3,500 former players who are suing the National Football League in relation to the long-term damage caused by concussions and repeated hits to the head.

To those under 50, Karras may be best known as an actor. He made his film debut in 1968, playing himself in “Paper Lion,” an adaptation of George Plimpton’s book about his experience as an amateur playing quarterback for the Lions, which starred Alan Alda as Plimpton.

His rendering of his own roguish personality led to several appearances on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” and in the 1970s he played numerous guest roles on series television, on shows like “McMillan and Wife,” “Love, American Style,” “M*A*S*H” and “The Odd Couple,” in which he played a comically threatening man-mountain, the jealous husband of a woman who has become friendly with Felix (Tony Randall). Perhaps most memorably, he played Mongo, a hulking subliterate outlaw who delivers a knockout punch to a horse, in the Mel Brooks western spoof “Blazing Saddles.”

In 1975 he played George Zaharias, the husband of the champion track star and golfer Babe Didrickson Zaharias, in the television movie “Babe.” The title role was played bySusan Clark, who became his wife, and from 1983 to 1989, they starred together in the gentle sitcom “Webster,” about a retired football player who takes in a black boy (Emmanuel Lewis), the orphaned young son of a former teammate.

ABC/Photofest

Karras with Emmanuel Lewis in a publicity photo from the television series "Webster."

Seventh-grader receives in-school suspension for dying her hair pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month to honor grandmother who died from disease

Belton, S.C., school won’t bend dress code for girl honoring mother who recently found lump in her breast

Profiles Of Courage: The Rich History Of African-American Firefighters

The men and women who serve on the front lines as firefighters, rescuing citizens in harm’s way, should be saluted daily for their bravery. In one of the most-dangerous and selfless occupations in the world, firefighters risk their lives for the safety of others at a moment’s notice. Even though history has not been kind to the memory of African-American firemen, their contribution to firefighting is a significant one. Still, even with the most-dedicated research, it is difficult to ascertain who were the first African-Americans who took up the role as firefighters.

The 7 Best Flu Foods

Court clears South Carolina voter ID law for 2013

1 dead, others trapped in Miami parking garage collapse

Putin defends court decision as two Pussy Riot members are sent to prison camp (+video)

Though one Pussy Riot member was released, two other convicted Pussy Riot members are headed to prison camp in Siberia. Activists say the move is political theater.

Comet Far Brighter Than Moon on Its Way

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton Lives On Food Stamp Budget For A Week, Loses 4 Pounds

How to Get Health Care While Uninsured

Social Security Fraud: Family Accused of Cashing Social Security Checks Of Marie Jost, Missing Since 1982 (VIDEO)

LinkedIn Survey Identifies 13 Office Trends That Could Disappear In Five Years

Samuel L. Jackson To Voters: 'Wake The F*ck Up' And Vote Obama (VIDEO)

Chef found guilty of murder in boiled body case

 

Bizarre 2012 earthquake signals birth of world's newest tectonic plate

After millions more years of similar earthquakes, the ruptures will begin to favor a particular path, giving rise to a new plate boundary, and separating today's existing plate into two.

Unusual Indian Ocean earthquakes hint at tectonic breakup

April 2012 quakes occurred away from plate edges, suggesting formation of a new boundary.

At least four faults within the Indo-Australian plate ruptured simultaneously in April 2012, resulting in two magnitude-8 earthquakes within two hours. (Red stars indicate the epicentres.)

Keith Koper, University of Utah Seismograph Stations

Study: Having a Male Child Leaves Male DNA in Women's Brains

The presence of the DNA persisted into old age and correlated with a slightly decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease. No word on behavior changes, but there's a joke in there about football or another hilarious but not-too-sensitive gender normative topic.

DavidDuprey/AP

PROBLEM: We know of relationships between parity (bearing children) and likelihood of developing certain diseases later in life, but the mechanisms are unclear. Studies with mice had shown that DNA of a fetus can cross the blood-brain barrier and get into the brain (suggesting involvement in neurologic effects), but it hadn't been shown in humans.

Slavery Still Exists

Photographs of human trafficking and enslavement around the world
Lisa Kristine
It was 130 degrees when I was first introduced to the brick kilns of Nepal. In these severe temperatures, men, women, and children -- whole families, in fact -- were surrounded by a dense cloud of dust while mechanically stacking bricks on their heads, carrying them, 18 at a time, from the scorching kilns to trucks hundreds of yards away.

These are slaves. Deadened by monotony and exhaustion, they worked without speaking, repeating the same task 16 hours a day. They took no rest for food or water, no bathroom breaks -- although their dehydration suppressed their need to urinate.

Around the world human traffickers trick many people into slavery by false promises of good jobs or good education, only to find themselves forced to work without pay, under the threat of violence. Trapped by phony debt, these slaves are hunted by local police and private security guards if they try to escape.

Sometimes slaves don't even understand that they're enslaved, despite people working 16 or 17 hours a day with no pay. They're simply used to it as something they've been doing their whole lives. Their bodies grow weak and vulnerable to disease, but they have nothing to compare their experience to.

These are not images of "problems." They're images of people. There are 27 million slaves in the world today: That's more than double the number of people taken from Africa during the entire transatlantic slave trade. A hundred and fifty years ago, an average agricultural slave cost over three times the average yearly wage of an American worker, about US$50,000 in today's money. Yet now, entire families can be enslaved for generations over a debt as small as $18. Slavery is illegal everywhere, but it exists all over the world.

Accra, Ghana: These gold miners have just come out of the shaft, their pants soaked from their own sweat. Most had spent all their money coming from the north hoping to strike it rich in legal mines. But legal operations require certifications. When they can't get a job, the men take high-interest loans or join groups of slaves in mines abandoned by legitimate operations.

---

‘Bagel head’ saline injections are new body art fad

Oy vey! Body modification fans endure 2-hour saline drip to get bagel-shaped welts on their foreheads

natgeotv

A segment from the National Geographic Channel show "Taboo" highlighted a body art trend in Japan known as 'bagel head.'

SC man just out of jail charged with murder

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/27/4859376/sc-man-just-out-of-jail-charged.html#storylink=cpy

Housing for Elderly Targeted After Top Premium: Real M&A

'Moon River' Singer Andy Williams Passes Away at 84

Andy Williams, best known for his song "Moon River," passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 84 in his La Quinta, Calif., home.

According to his publicist, the cause of death was complications from cancer (he announced in November that he had bladder cancer).

Though many remember Audrey Hepburn's rendition of the song in 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's, it was Williams who sang it at the Academy Awards the following year and recorded an album with the same name.

He also used the song as his theme for The Andy Williams Show, a musical variety television series that ran from 1962 to 1971.

Scientists warning of earthquake disasters to come

 

Scientists believe an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra means a new plate boundary may be forming in the earth's crust. Source: AP

MASSIVE earthquakes will strike for centuries to come as a new boundary in the Earth's crust is created between Australia and India, scientists have predicted after separate studies of an enormous quake earlier this year.

One of the studies has also revealed the initial 8.7 magnitude convulsion, which struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on April 11, may be the most powerful of its type ever recorded and that scientists "have never seen an earthquake like it".

Police to search Michigan driveway for labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa

Son charged in Bronx mom's murder after she's found in plastic storage container on street

Tihesha Savage is found shot in the head — cops charge son Darwin Jackson, 16.

Richard Harbus for New York Daily news

Tihesha Savage was found killed and stuffed into a plastic box left on the street.

A Bronx mother was found slain inside a plastic storage bin Wednesday — and her teenage son was charged with her murder after video footage showed him dumping it on the street like trash, police sources said.


Richard Harbus for New York Daily News

Darwin Jackson is escorted by police from the 44th Precinct after his mother, Tihesha Savage, was found dead.

Darwin Jackson, 16, who uses the handle ScarfaceKiller on MySpace, was hauled off by cops shortly after he identified his mother’s body and spat on the ground.

“He said, ‘Oh my God, that’s my mom,’ and he spit and walked away,” neighbor Sonia Carrion said. “He actually spit.”

Jackson told investigators he shot his mother, Tihesha Savage, 34, amid an argument, police sources said. He was charged Wednesday night with second-degree murder and weapons possession.

A building super spotted the tan rectangular bin near some bushes on Macombs Road about 9:10 a.m. Wednesday. When the super took off the lid, he found a horror. Inside was Savage’s crumpled body, with what appeared to be a gunshot wound on her head.

Savage was swaddled in a fleece Scooby-Doo blanket, and more soiled blankets were found in a nearby courtyard, witnesses said. Police were summoned.

Amid the commotion, Jackson came downstairs and walked over. “Ewww! Oh my God!” he said, according to Carrion.

“Everybody saw him spit when he saw the body,” she added.

Read more:

Puerto Rican artist takes on colonialism & oppression in a new solo show at Longwood Art Gallery in Bronx 

"Puerto Rico in its Labyrinth" runs through Dec. 8

Courtesy Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture

The exhibit PUERTO RICO IN ITS LABYRINTH Chronicles of a Country and a World in Crisis features the works of José Buscaglia, including this piece titled “Let Them Be Satisfied with the Leftovers.”

If nothing else, the new exhibit now open at Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos will get you talking.

“Puerto Rico in its Labyrinth: Chronicles of a Country and a World in Crisis” showcases the works of José Buscaglia and tackles such weighty topics as colonialism in Puerto Rico and oppression in the Caribbean, the Americas and Africa.

The exhibit at the Mott Haven gallery features Buscaglia’s paintings, sculptures and writings.

“The colors are stunning, but then you start reading the narrative that accompanies the works. They’re almost like essays, and it’s all so impactful,” said Wallace Edgecombe, director of Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture.

In the piece, “Let Them Be Satisfied with the Leftovers,” Buscaglia depicts politicians carving up and devouring Puerto Rico.

In another piece, the artist takes on Arizona’s controversial immigration law.

Read more:

REMINDER: Min. Farrakhan Q & A, Sept. 26th

Farrakhan to host live Q&A Webcast on Sept. 26, 2012

CHICAGO (AskFarrakhan.NOI.org) - The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan will host his first ever #AskFarrakhan Social Media Town Hall Meeting live on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 from The Final Call Administration Building in Chicago, Illinois.

The live stream begins Wednesday at 7pm Central Time from the website, http://AskFarrakhan.noi.org.

This live event will allow people from around the world to engage with the Minister Farrakhan, one of the most prominent and controversial activists in American history.

During the live webcast event, Minister Farrakhan will answer questions for two hours from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube users. A national team has been assembled to collect questions for the event.

The questions will reflect geographic diversity and cover topics, including the Presidential race, youth, education, foreign affairs, media, religion, hip-hop and more.

TMI: Facebook Tracks Your Pharmacy Purchases and More

While there has been grumbling about the lack of privacy on Facebook, from knowing every little move your friends make — and vice versa — like what you “like” and comment on, the world’s most successful social network has taken it a step further, knowing that millions of people will just go along with the flow.

Entering a partnership with Datalogix, Mark Zuckerberg‘s brainchild will now be able to track whether your purchases at CVS Pharmacy and other businesses are influenced by ad placements on Facebook and share that information with the various corporations.



Issued by The National Weather Service
Columbia, SC
Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 3:51 AM EDT

... CHILD ABDUCTION EMERGENCY...

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION IN COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA.

WE HAVE RECEIVED THIS IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING AN ABDUCTED CHILD IN NEWPORT... NORTH CAROLINA.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION IS LOOKING FOR ABIGALE FAITH LEFEVERS... A WHITE FEMALE... AGE 12... WEIGHING 90 POUNDS... 5 FEET 4 INCHES TALL... WITH GREEN EYES... AND SHOULDER LENGTH BROWN HAIR. THE CHILD WAS LAST SEEN IN NEWPORT... NORTH CAROLINA... AND IS BELIEVED TO BE IN EXTREME DANGER. NO CLOTHING INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE.

AUTHORITIES ADVISE THE CHILD WAS LIKELY ABDUCTED BY TIMOTHY HOWARD NEWMAN... A WHITE MALE... AGE 38... 210 POUNDS... 5 FEET 8 INCHES TALL... WITH BROWN EYES... AND SHORT BROWN HAIR. THEY MAY BE TRAVELING IN A 1998 CHRYSLER SEBRING... RED COLOR... WITH A BLACK TOP... .NORTH CAROLINA TAG AKT 6534... WHICH WAS LAST SEEN TRAVELING SOUTHBOUND ON US HIGHWAY 17.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THIS ABDUCTION, CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT IMMEDIATELY.

Food Stamp Ridicule Humiliates Woman At The Supermarket

10 Reasons To Start Your Day With Lemon Water

AMBER Alert issued for missing NC child



 Abigail Faith Lefevers (Source: SLED)

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -  Officials with the State Law Enforcement Division have issued an AMBER Alert for a missing child from North Carolina.

According to SLED, 12-year-old Abigail Faith Lefevers was last seen on McNeil Road in Newport, North Carolina.

Lefevers is described as 5'4" tall and weighing 90 pounds with brown shoulder-length hair.

Deputies say Lefevers disappeared from her father's home sometime between 10 p.m. Sunday and 6:30 a.m. Monday.


Timothy Howard Newman (Source: SLED)


SLED investigators are also seeking 38-year-old Timothy Howard Newman. The National Sex Offender Registry has identified Newman as a registered sex offender.

Newman was released from prison last year after spending more than six years behind bars for three counts of sex offenses by a substitute parent or guardian.

Investigators say Newman has been talking to Lefevers for the last few weeks, but it's unclear right now how they communicated and how Newman was able to take the young girl.

Newman was last seen by his roommate last night and did not show up for work this morning.


 
SLED believes the pair is traveling in a 1998 red Chrysler Sebring.

SLED says they believe the pair is traveling in a 1998 red Chrysler Sebring with the North Carolina license plate number AKT 6534. The vehicle was last seen going southbound on Highway 17.

If you have any information about this case, you are asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

Suspect nabbed in brutal murder of wealthy South Carolina couple found dead in their Caribbean home 

‘These two people probably had to hang their wings up at night. That's how beautiful they were,’ says stunned friend.

via Facebook

The bodies of Michael and Thelma King were found Friday at the couple's beachfront condominium on St. Maarten.

Police have nabbed a suspect in the gruesome murder of a wealthy South Carolina couple found dead in their St. Maarten home.

The slashed bodies of Michael and Thelma King were found Friday at the couple's beachfront condominium on the small Dutch Caribbean territory.

Michael and Thelma, both in their 50s, suffered fatal stab wounds, Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos said. Thelma was found tied to a chair, while her husband was found on the floor, partially lying on an overturned chair.

The male suspect was arrested before dawn Sunday, said police spokesman Ricardo Henson, adding that authorities will release a statement "as soon as more information can be divulged."

A motive for the brutal slayings remains unclear.

Michael and Thelma, both successful entrepreneurs, owned several homes, including a condominium in Mount Pleasant, S.C., and multiple restaurants on St. Maarten.

Discover to refund $200 million to credit card customers

In addition to the refunds, Discover agrees to pay $14 million in civil penalties as part of a consent order to settle allegations of deceptive marketing tactics.

Richard Cordray is director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which along with the FDIC determined that telemarkers for Discover Financial Services had tricked people into signing up for payment protection plans and other add-on services. (Alex Wong, Getty Images / September 25, 2012)

WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million Discover credit card customers will share $200 million in refunds in the wake of a federal investigation that determined the bank tricked people into signing up for payment protection plans and other add-on services.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found that Discover Financial Services telemarketers often talked faster when explaining fees and terms as they pitched the services, leading customers to think there was no additional fee, the regulators said Monday.

The services cost about $3 to $10 a month.

Banks have been searching for new sources of revenue in the face of a tough economy and tighter regulations. Bankrate.com said Monday that banks have significantly boosted the average required minimum balance for free checking accounts to $723 this year, and have raised other fees, such as ATM surcharges, to record highs.

But sometimes that search runs afoul of regulators.

Why Students Who Underperform, Fall Behind or Fail Classes Drop Out of School

10 Reasons To Start Your Day With Lemon Water

Which Juice Is The Best Juice For You?

How To Color Your Natural Hair

What Tax Bracket Am I In?

What tax bracket am I in? It’s a question many Americans are asking themselves right about now, even though tax day—April 15, 2013—is a long way away. Below is a chart of the projected tax brackets for 2013, as posted on MyDollarPlan.com and numerous other websites.

The figures are based on President Obama’s budget proposal for 2013, and if the administration gets its way, the top tax rate will increase from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. The reason for the increase is that several tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush are set to expire. Experts believe Congress won’t vote on the matter until after the 2012 presidential election, but if the Bush cuts are not extended, will mean higher taxes for most individual payers. A summary of the major changes is available at Mondaq.com.



As NovelInvestor.com points out, the increase would amount to $500 billion, or 3.4 percent of the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product). Democrats and Republicans are predictably split over the issue of tax increases, and those on the conservative side of the fence believe higher taxes will hurt job growth and corporate spending.

Callous tweet about Torrey Smith sets Twitter on fire

Nick Wass, AP

Not sure if you've noticed or not, but there are plenty of morons on Twitter.

You're about to meet maybe the biggest moron of them all (I'll do my best to keep it clean). Sunday night's game between the Patriots and Ravens was an emotional roller coaster, and this was especially true for wide receiver Torrey Smith, who learned earlier in the day that his younger brother, Tevin, had been killed in a motorcycle accident.

Smith still played and courageously posted 127 yards receiving and two touchdowns to help Baltimore to a 31-30 comeback win dedicated to his brother. It was a stirring performance that had to move anybody with a beating heart. There's no way anybody, not even a bitter Patriots fan, would have the audacity to taunt Smith on Twitter. Right? Right?

Wrong.  Enter @katiebrady12, who sent out this disgusting tweet after Sunday night's game: "Hey, Smith, how about you call your bro and tell him about your wi--- ohhhh. Wait. #TooSoon?" Yup, she went there.

To the dismay of this blogger, as well as plenty of others, who turned her tweet viral by re-tweeting in shock that someone could be so callous. Even Ray Rice responded: "@katiebrady12 smh u are terrible I hope you know the word karma" Later Sunday night, the woman, who has since switched her profile to private, tweeted apologies after incurring the wrath of fans.

I Simply LOVED 'A Different World'! Happy Anniversary! And of course, THANK YOU, Dr. Bill Cosby For Introducing "ADW" To All of Us!

'A Different World' 25th Anniversary: Where Are They Now? (PHOTOS)

25 years ago today, comedian and icon Bill Cosby introduced America to a spinoff adapted from his very own -- and hugely successful and influential -- The Cosby Show, titled A Different World. Starring Lisa Bonet, Jada Pinkett, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison and Darryl M. Bell among others, the comedy sitcom followed the lives of African-American students as they experienced the trials and tribulations of college life at a Historically Black university.

Over the course of six seasons, the show became a TV fan favorite, resulting in superstardom for the show’s cast members.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the popular series we're taking a look back at the gang 'from' Hillman College and asking 'Where are they now?'

NYC Schools Offer Morning-After Pill - What It Means for Latina Teen Pregnancy

Plan B is distributed to teenage girls without parental consent in 13 New York Schools. (Plan B)

For the past year, New York City schools have tested a pilot program that provides Plan B, or the "morning-after pill," free of cost to teenage girls without parental consent in 13 high schools across the city. The program has had a particular impact on Latina students -- many of the pilot schools are located in areas with high Latino populations, including Queens and the Bronx.

Although the program -- called CATCH, or Connecting Adolescents To Comprehensive Health -- allows parents to opt-out their daughters, only 1 to 2 percent of parents have chosen to do so after letters were sent to their homes, according to Deborah Kaplan, assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Maternal, Infant and Reproductive Health for the NYC Department of Health. The pilot program, in which school nurses and physicians are allowed to distribute the morning-after pill, is the first of its type in the city, and its effectiveness in decreasing high school pregnancies has yet to be determined.

Why Are New York's Teen Pregnancy Rates So Much Lower Than Mississippi's?

Hayden Panettiere talks to New York City students about teen pregnancy

Photograph by Bryan Bedder.

If you want to measure the vast and possibly growing cultural divide between red and blue states in this country, there are plenty of metrics you could use, from divorce and teen pregnancy rates to the number of people who list 30 Rock as a favorite show on their online dating profiles. Today's news provides us with one more gauge: public school sex-ed.

Mississippi's teen pregnancy problem has gotten so out of control—they lead the nation in teen births—that legislators there have finally cracked and passed a law aimed at improving sex education in the schools. But the new regulations kowtow so much to anti-sex radicals that it's hard to believe that this represents any kind of improvement at all. Even though 95 percent of all Americans have sex before marriage and 99 percent of sexually active women use contraception at some point, the Mississippi law assumes that these life choices fall somewhere between "highly controversial" and "unmentionably evil." The state's public school sex-ed instructors are specifically forbidden to show students how to use condoms, boys and girls must be separated for class even though they're usually together for actual sex, parents can opt out completely, and school districts were given the opportunity to choose an "abstinence-only" curriculum—which the majority of them did. Still, some schools now have more comprehensive programs that actually teach about preventing pregnancy and disease in a realistic manner, making this a small step towards progress for Mississippi.

Meanwhile, in New York City, some schools have gone beyond simply teaching about contraception to actually offering it to students. The New York Times reports today on a pilot program in 13 schools (chosen, quite logically, because of high teenage pregnancy rates and low access to contraception) that gives students the opportunity to get contraception, including emergency contraception, directly from the school or to get referrals to a local provider who can serve them better. Only 1 to 2 percent of parents opted out of the program, demonstrating that New York parents understand that you can't unring a bell. They should tell the president, who caved to the notion that putting emergency contraception out of the reach of teenagers somehow creates a time vortex that undoes the sex that already happened.

National Punctuation Day: Answering the Question, "Does it Go Here or There?"

Today is National Punctuation Day, a celebration of the little-known or forgotten information about those tiny dots, curves, and symbols that add so much character to our language.

I thought I would contribute to National Punctuation Day by shedding light on some uses of punctuation placement that will help keep your grammar skills sharp in this age of texting and email.

How Liberal Arts Colleges Are Failing America

It's not easy to balance the advantages of a college degree with the deficiencies of a liberal arts education. But at schools like Babson College, entrepreneurship is a core part of the curriculum.

Reuters

When are Americans going to wake up and realize that the 60s and 70s-era nostalgia for the "value" of a college degree is just that -- nostalgia?

A degree does not guarantee you or your children a good job anymore. In fact, it doesn't guarantee you a job: last year, 1 out of 2 bachelor's degree holders under 25 were jobless or unemployed. Since the recession, we've lost millions of high- and mid-wage jobs -- and replaced a handful of those with lower-wage ones. No wonder some young people are giving up entirely -- a 16.8 percent unemployment rate plus soaring student loan debt is more than a little discouraging. Yet old-guard academic leaders are still clinging to the status quo -- and loudly insisting that a four-year liberal arts degree is a worthy investment in every young American's future.

Rx Drug Abuse Down Among Young Adults

Who’s creating ‘daylight’ now? Jewish Dems ask Netanyahu

1 dead in So. Calif. wildfire; 20 homes destroyed

Castrated Men Live Longer

The eunuchs in Korea's royal court of the Chosun Dynasty lived considerably longer than "intact" men, researchers reported in the journal Current Biology. The study appears to confirm what previous animal studies have shown - that castration prolongs life expectancy.

Voter ID laws in court: Now, it's South Carolina's turn

Steve McDaniel signs in before voting in the 15th Precinct in Knoxville, Tenn. A panel will decide whether a South Carolina voter ID law violates the Voter Rights Act. (Adam Brimer / Knoxville News Sentinel / August 2, 2012)

South Carolina took its fight for a voter identification law to a federal panel Monday, the latest state to do battle on one of the more crucial fronts of this year’s elections: who gets to cast a ballot.

The federal Justice Department turned thumbs down on the South Carolina law last year, saying it violated the Voting Rights Act, designed to protect access, particularly by minorities, to the polls. Closing arguments in the case were scheduled for Monday; the trial phase was in August.

The three judges will rule only on the South Carolina case – and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to be asked to consider an appeal, regardless of which side wins – but the broader question of who gets to vote has been one of the key issues of the current election cycle.

Peanut butter recall expands beyond Trader Joe's

WASHINGTON — A California company is recalling 76 types of peanut butter and almond butter after one of its products was linked to a salmonella outbreak at Trader Joe's groceries.

Sunland Inc. recalled the products under multiple brand names after the Food and Drug Administration and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked 29 salmonella illnesses in 18 states to Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter. Sunland manufactures and packages the Trader Joe's product.

U.S. Warns Hospitals on Medicare Billing

Saying there are “troubling signs” of abuse in the way hospitals use electronic records to bill for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, the Obama administration warned in a letter to hospital associations Monday that it would not tolerate what it called “gaming the system” and vowed to vigorously prosecute doctors and hospitals implicated in fraud.

The strongly worded letter, signed by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said that “electronic health records have the potential to save money and save lives.” But the letter continued: “There are troubling indications that some providers are using this technology to game the system, possibly to obtain payments to which they are not entitled. False documentation of care is not just bad patient care; it’s illegal.”

“Obviously, we are very concerned” that the adoption of electronic health records “could lead to coding inappropriately,” an administration official said. While aggressively looking for any providers who are committing fraud, the administration will also consider whether it needs to make changes in the way it pays for care.

 

Iran says Israel is ‘threatening’ U.S. with allegations of Iranian nuclear weapon

View Photo Gallery — U.N. General Assembly: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is taking aim at the United States and Israel at a high-level United Nations meeting, accusing Washington of shielding what he calls a nuclear-armed “fake regime.”

NEW YORK — Israel is bullying the United States over the alleged threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon, using the prospect of an Israeli military attack on Iran to force the hand of its much larger ally, Iran’s president said Monday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the idea that Israel might attack on its own, over the objections of the United States, and said Israel is an inconsequential interloper with no rightful place in the Middle East.

Iran's president talks about anti-Islam film, Israel and homosexuality

In New York, defiant Ahmadinejad says Israel will be "eliminated"

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses diplomats during the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the Rule of Law at the United Nations headquarters in New York September 24, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

(Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday disregarded a U.N. warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric and declared ahead of the annual General Assembly session that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated."

Ahmadinejad also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, denied sending arms to Syria, and alluded to Iran's threats to the life of British author Salman Rushdie.

The United States quickly dismissed the Iranian president's comments as "disgusting, offensive and outrageous."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.

"Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," Ahmadinejad, in New York for this week's U.N. General Assembly, told reporters. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."

Apple says it sold more than 5 million iPhone 5’s in the 3 days after its launch

NEW YORK — Apple Inc. said Monday that it sold more than 5 million iPhone 5s in the three days since its launch, fewer than analysts had expected.

Apple shares fell $9.30, or 1.3 percent, to close at $690.79 on Monday. The shares hit an all-time high of $705.07 Friday as the phone went on sale in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and five other countries.



Dispute over 'Jeffersons' Star Sherman Hemsley's will heads to court

Dispute over ‘Jeffersons’ star Sherman Hemsley’s will is keeping his body on ice at funeral home

Hemsley's body has been on ice at a the San Jose Funeral Home in El Paso, Tex., since the 74-year-old died of lung cancer on July 24 because his will is under dispute.