Former Fed Chief Greenspan Sees No Bubble in Dow 16,000

Story by Bloomberg
Written by Joshua Zumbrun

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy probably will grow more slowly next year than some forecasters predict and indicated that a record U.S. stock market isn’t in a bubble.

“This does not have the characteristics, as far as I’m concerned, of a stock market bubble,” Greenspan said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend. “It could come out that way but I don’t see it at this stage.”

Greenspan said that even with the rise in equities, the U.S. economy is restrained by a “degree of uncertainty” that is reducing investment. Economists who forecast 2.5 percent to 3 percent growth next year may be too optimistic, he said.

“It’s a little on the upside, frankly,” Greenspan said. “There’s no doubt that there’s been some acceleration going on, but there’s an overall suppression that is going on in the economy” largely because of lingering uncertainty, he said.

Greenspan said his 2014 growth forecast is “closer to 2 percent.” That’s below the median estimate for a 2.6 percent expansion next year after a 1.7 percent growth this year, according to a Nov. 8-13 Bloomberg survey of 73 economists.

Greenspan said the economy is being held back in part by the banking system, as some of the largest banks are not operating efficiently.

‘Scarce Savings’

“We’re supporting banking institutions who are not only very large, but not very efficient and they are using the scarce savings of the society, which is critical for economic growth,” he said. He declined to identify which banks had become inefficient.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has rallied about 27 percent this year, heading for the biggest annual gain since 1998, as the Fed has pressed on with its stimulus campaign. The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to a record 1,807.23 yesterday in New York, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.2 percent higher at 16,097.33, also an all-time high.

“The stock price generally goes up about 7 percent a year for the long term,” Greenspan said. “It didn’t go anywhere since October 2007 and the result of that is we’re just now breaching that. We have had no growth in stock prices for years.”

Equity Rebound

The S&P 500 reached 1,565.15 on Oct. 9, 2007, and then dropped 57 percent as the economy went through the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression. The index didn’t surpass its October 2007 peak until March of this year.

Greenspan also offered praise for Janet Yellen, the nominee to be the next Fed chairman. She was approved by the Senate Banking Committee with a vote of 14-8 on Nov. 21 and now heads to the full Senate.

Yellen, 67, was a governor at the Fed from 1994 to 1997 under Greenspan and became president of the San Francisco Fed during the final years of Greenspan’s tenure, which ended in January 2006. She’s currently the central bank’s vice chairman.

Greenspan, 87, said he has “praised her because she’s very good.”

He said her greatest challenge will be managing the central bank’s balance sheet, which has grown to $3.91 trillion under the Fed’s bond-buying programs designed to lower unemployment.

“Eventually we’re going to have to stop expanding and start bringing it in,” Greenspan said. “That process is going to move interest rates higher, by an indeterminate amount, and that is going to create major problems for the Federal Reserve as it always has politically.”

President Obama Weekly Address: Wishing the American People a Happy Thanksgiving

President Obama gave thanks to all the men and women defending our freedom and acknowledged their sacrifice might mean they can’t spend the holidays with their families. The President also recognized that as Americans, we gather together this Thanksgiving to lift up those who need a helping hand, letting us move forward as a country and lead us to a brighter tomorrow.

Harry Belafonte disappointed in African-American celebrities "Lack of Political and Social Activism"

Video by theuberurban

Happy Thanksgiving from Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

Dear Kirk,

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you for your unwavering commitment to CBCF.

Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving,
A. Shuanise Washington
President and CEO
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

President Obama Delivers Remarks on Iran's Nuclear Program

Addressing the nation from the State Dining Room tonight, President Obama said that the United States -- together with close allies and partners -- has taken an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program.

Statement By The President On First Step Agreement On Iran's Nuclear Program

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Today, the United States -- together with our close allies and partners -- took an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program.

Since I took office, I’ve made clear my determination to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. As I’ve said many times, my strong preference is to resolve this issue peacefully, and we’ve extended the hand of diplomacy. Yet for many years, Iran has been unwilling to meet its obligations to the international community. So my administration worked with Congress, the United Nations Security Council and countries around the world to impose unprecedented sanctions on the Iranian government.

These sanctions have had a substantial impact on the Iranian economy, and with the election of a new Iranian President earlier this year, an opening for diplomacy emerged. I spoke personally with President Rouhani of Iran earlier this fall. Secretary Kerry has met multiple times with Iran’s Foreign Minister. And we have pursued intensive diplomacy -- bilaterally with the Iranians, and together with our P5-plus-1 partners -- the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, as well as the European Union.

Today, that diplomacy opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure -- a future in which we can verify that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and that it cannot build a nuclear weapon.

While today’s announcement is just a first step, it achieves a great deal. For the first time in nearly a decade, we have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear program, and key parts of the program will be rolled back. Iran has committed to halting certain levels of enrichment and neutralizing part of its stockpiles. Iran cannot use its next-generation centrifuges, which are used for enriching uranium. Iran cannot install or start up new centrifuges, and its production of centrifuges will be limited. Iran will halt work at its plutonium reactor. And new inspections will provide extensive access to Iran’s nuclear facilities and allow the international community to verify whether Iran is keeping its commitments.

These are substantial limitations which will help prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Simply put, they cut off Iran’s most likely paths to a bomb. Meanwhile, this first step will create time and space over the next six months for more negotiations to fully address our comprehensive concerns about the Iranian program. And because of this agreement, Iran cannot use negotiations as cover to advance its program.

On our side, the United States and our friends and allies have agreed to provide Iran with modest relief, while continuing to apply our toughest sanctions. We will refrain from imposing new sanctions, and we will allow the Iranian government access to a portion of the revenue that they have been denied through sanctions. But the broader architecture of sanctions will remain in place and we will continue to enforce them vigorously. And if Iran does not fully meet its commitments during this six-month phase, we will turn off the relief and ratchet up the pressure.

Over the next six months, we will work to negotiate a comprehensive solution. We approach these negotiations with a basic understanding: Iran, like any nation, should be able to access peaceful nuclear energy. But because of its record of violating its obligations, Iran must accept strict limitations on its nuclear program that make it impossible to develop a nuclear weapon.

In these negotiations, nothing will be agreed to unless everything is agreed to. The burden is on Iran to prove to the world that its nuclear program will be exclusively for peaceful purposes.

If Iran seizes this opportunity, the Iranian people will benefit from rejoining the international community, and we can begin to chip away at the mistrust between our two nations. This would provide Iran with a dignified path to forge a new beginning with the wider world based on mutual respect. If, on the other hand, Iran refuses, it will face growing pressure and isolation.

Over the last few years, Congress has been a key partner in imposing sanctions on the Iranian government, and that bipartisan effort made possible the progress that was achieved today. Going forward, we will continue to work closely with Congress. However, now is not the time to move forward on new sanctions -– because doing so would derail this promising first step, alienate us from our allies and risk unraveling the coalition that enabled our sanctions to be enforced in the first place.

That international unity is on display today. The world is united in support of our determination to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran must know that security and prosperity will never come through the pursuit of nuclear weapons -- it must be reached through fully verifiable agreements that make Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons impossible.

As we go forward, the resolve of the United States will remain firm, as will our commitments to our friends and allies –- particularly Israel and our Gulf partners, who have good reason to be skeptical about Iran’s intentions.

Ultimately, only diplomacy can bring about a durable solution to the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program. As President and Commander-in-Chief, I will do what is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But I have a profound responsibility to try to resolve our differences peacefully, rather than rush towards conflict. Today, we have a real opportunity to achieve a comprehensive, peaceful settlement, and I believe we must test it.

The first step that we’ve taken today marks the most significant and tangible progress that we’ve made with Iran since I took office. And now we must use the months ahead to pursue a lasting and comprehensive settlement that would resolve an issue that has threatened our security -- and the security of our allies -- for decades. It won’t be easy, and huge challenges remain ahead. But through strong and principled diplomacy, the United States of America will do our part on behalf of a world of greater peace, security, and cooperation among nations.

Thank you very much.

Andrew Young stated: "Dr Martin Luther King Jr. 'Saw His Own Assassination' when JFK was assassinated...King said: 'You better get ready'"

Story/Video by NewsOne Now

On the day the nation remembered the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy‘s assassination, former ambassador and civil rights warrior Andrew Young weighed in on his civil rights legacy on NewsOne Now with Roland Martin.

The Civil Rights community was shaken to the core by the slaying of our President John F Kennedy, not only because they admired his willingness to address the fight for Civil Rights, but because it meant they were even more vulnerable.

“The important thing Dr. King said then was, ‘If they cannot protect the President of the United States with 400 Secret Service [guards], our days are numbered, so you all just better get ready.’” Added Young, ”I think in the assassination of John Kennedy, he saw his own assassination.”

Though Kennedy eventually spoke publicly in support of Civil Rights, his civil rights records is sometimes viewed with rose-colored glasses. JFK initially opposed the idea of the 1963 March on Washington fearing it would turn violent. Still, said Andrew Young, “In spite of the fact that he didn’t agree with us, he allowed the march to continue. In our struggles during that time in the South, we sensed that JFK didn’t fully understand a lot about the South really worked.

JFK's death in Dallas was a great loss for us and one that we thought signified our own days were numbered.”

Pebbles on TLC: ‘The Money Flows Down From the Top; That’s Who’s Got the Money’

Story by Black America Web
Written by Tonya Pendleton
Pebbles Audio by TJMS

While the VH1 biopic Crazy Sexy Cool: The TLC Story got rave reviews and a record 4 million viewers for the network, there’s one person who was not a fan. That was TLC’s former manager, Perri “Pebbles” Reid, who says she was falsely portrayed in the film, where she was played by Rochelle Aytes. Pebbles has made the rounds of the talk show and radio circuits professing her innocence in the bankruptcy proceedings and the miserly financial compensation that TLC, once the biggest selling girl group of all time, received.

Accusations of cheating and lying have flown back and forth between Pebbles and the group’s surviving members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and “Rozonda “Chili” Thomas. (Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes died in a car accident in 2000.) Ashley Reid, Pebbles’ now grown daughter, threatened to confront Chili, who she called everything but a child of God in a now deleted Ustream post. Thomas and Watkins, executive producers on the movie maintain that they are telling the truth. Pebbles says she treated the group like daughters and that their financial issues were their own fault.

You can listen above to what she had to say and see how credible you believe she is (we’re on the fence here). Here’s what she had to say this morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show.

On her portrayal in Crazysexycool: The TLC Story. It is not a true story as VH1 and TLC has claimed. A lot of these things did not happen. Finally, VH1 has come forward and made a statement to me in a letter that it was a fictional portrayal that was done with actors and scripts and by no means was meant to try to recreate any historical event and any reasonable person would have never taken it as the truth.

On why no one has defended her since TLC’s allegations first surfaced years ago.I haven’t managed a lot of people. I have helped a lot of people. I have opened the door for a tremendous amount of people and helped get LaFace Records on the map. I can’t speak for other people. I can only speak for what I know to be true. What I can’t do here is to try to get people to believe something that VH1 said was a true story all the time.

On her daughter, Ashley, speaking up on her behalf. My girl is a good girl. She’s trying to protect her momma. I don’t commend the violence piece. But I commend that my daughter said we don’t need nobody else to speak up for my momma. People are afraid to talk. They don’t want to get involved. Some people still got checks on the table, others forget just don’t care. They forget about what you’ve done for them. I’m sure I’m not the only person that happened to.

On the alleged affair that Rozonda “Chili” Thomas had with Pebbles’ then-husband, L.A. Reid, who was running LaFace Records at the time. First and foremost, if you’re asking me if I believe it, absolutely. If you’re asking me if I knew about it at the time, absolutely not.

On the specific parts of the movie that are untrue. A lot of it is not true. I made 9 pages of notes. As for the $25 (that she allegedly paid the girls) that’s ridiculous. Chile, please. They got far greater than that. We had a year of development prior to them coming out. I have paperwork. Everybody forgets. I can’t really speak to that. I honor my agreements. I do have a confidentiality agreement and it pertains to certain, specific things. You’re not supposed to talk about those things. My contracts were a fair new artist contract for a production company. They got more points than me. You can’t talk about dollars and numbers.

On why she appears so evasive about specifics related to TLC’s allegations about finances. I’ve given a lot of answers to a lot of questions. I just gave an interview yesterday that kinda broke down where the money is. You have BMG, you have Clive Davis with Arista Records, you have LaFace and then you have the artist down here at the bottom level and the production company. I’d like to think that I could be that powerful and influential that everybody thinks that I was had the money bag, but no. The money flows down from the way top, that’s whose got the money. I got a small portion, the girls got a portion but in understanding how the business works the money, money, went to the bigger companies, please believe it. I was the only woman at the table and the only one who got thrown under the bus. They made a decision to go with L.A. Reid and he induced my contract. In a dispute, if you have some kind of issue or division going on, they can take your group. After the first record, the group was taken and I was no longer involved from then on, didn’t make decisions about anything they did. I didn’t own the group. It didn’t go like that. That’s a soundbite.

On why she won’t be talking any more (maybe) after this interview. I’m not talking to y’all no more because y’all not trying to get no understanding about the real truth and how it really went down. I’m trying to tell you something and it’s almost going to be my last interview in this way, except doing it a long-form way where I can explain it better. It comes down from the top so it’s just too hard to explain it in this manner. But please believe they deserved to have more and so did I in something that we created together. But that comes down from the top.

Audio Link: http://v5.player.abacast.com/v5.1/player/index.php?uid=6294&popupurl=http%3A%2F%2Ffilesource.abacast.com%2Freachmediainc%2F112113%2FPEBBLES1121.mp3

New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez walks out of own grievance hearing

Story by Yahoo Sports/AP
Written by Ronald Blum
Photos by AP

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez walked out of his grievance hearing Wednesday after arbitrator Fredric Horowitz refused to order baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to testify.

Horowitz was in the midst of the 11th day of hearings on the grievance filed by the players' association to overturn the 211-game suspension given to Rodriguez by Major League Baseball last summer for alleged violations of the sport's drug agreement and labor contract.

A person familiar with the session said that after Horowitz made his ruling, the New York Yankees third baseman slammed a table, uttered a profanity at MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred and left. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because what takes place at the hearing is supposed to be confidential.

''I am disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the player fails,'' Rodriguez said in a statement. ''I have sat through 10 days of testimony by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to respect the league and the process.

''This morning, after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the players' association refused to order Selig to come in and face me. The absurdity and injustice just became too much. I walked out and will not participate any further in this farce.''

Rodriguez's legal team remains involved in the proceeding. It has been unclear whether Rodriguez will testify.

A day earlier, Yankees President Randy Levine testified and denied conspiring with MLB on A-Rod's suspension.

Levine was asked a series of questions by Rodriguez lawyer Joseph Tacopina, according to another person with knowledge of the proceeding, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the hearing's confidentiality provision.

The person said Levine testified for 10-15 minutes and denied having any personal gain from Rodriguez's suspension or the Yankees falling under the luxury tax threshold; and of having an agreement to receive a commission of any money the team saved because of the ban.

Levine also denied discussing Rodriguez's discipline with Major League Baseball or Selig and telling Rodriguez surgeon Dr. Bryan Kelly or anyone else that he wanted the player off the field, the person said.

The person said Levine testified he may have jokingly used the phrase ''is he off the juice?'' when talking with Rodriguez about other players who weren't performing. Levine testified he had no exact recollection.

The hearing resumed Monday before Horowitz, who also heard the case from Sept. 30-Oct. 3 and Oct. 15-18.

Howard Gans, a lawyer for MLB, said in papers filed in federal court that Horowitz will hear the case daily through Nov. 26 rather than the original plan to recess after Friday and resume Dec. 16.

MLB said U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan issued an order Tuesday compelling Michael Sitrick, head of the public relations firm Sitrick & Co., to comply with a Sept. 19 subpoena issued by Horowitz to appear at the arbitration and to provide documents. Sitrick & Co. worked on Rodriguez's behalf earlier this year.

In papers filed in New York Supreme Court on Oct. 29, MLB alleged Sitrick & Co. had provided records from Bosch to Yahoo Sports, which published a story Feb. 5 saying the name of 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun appeared in records of Biogenesis of America, the Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs.

MLB said in the court papers it believed the documents had been ''provided to Sitrick & Co. by Rodriguez or others acting on his behalf.'' Miami New Times had reported Jan. 29 that Rodriguez bought human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing substances from Biogenesis during 2009-12.

Sitrick's lawyers, who had the matter removed to federal court, did not respond to an email seeking comment on Ramos' order, which MLB said was read from the bench.

Braun agreed July 22 to a season-ending 65-game suspension. Rodriguez was suspended Aug. 5 for alleged violations of the sport's drug agreement and labor contract, and the players' union filed the grievance to overturn the penalty. Under baseball's drug agreement, he was allowed to continue playing while contesting the discipline.

The three-time AL MVP said four years ago he used PEDs while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03, but has denied using them since. At the time of his suspension, MLB said the penalty was for ''use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone over the course of multiple years'' and for ''engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the office of the commissioner's investigation.''

George Zimmerman Arrested After Disturbance Call

Story by AP

(APOPKA, Fla.) Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was arrested Monday in Florida after deputies responded to a disturbance call at a house, authorities said.

Zimmerman will be transported and booked into jail, a Seminole County Sheriff's Office statement said. Authorities provided few other details, and it was not immediately known what charges he faced.

Zimmerman, 30, was acquitted in July of all charges in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The death of an unarmed African-American teenager touched off a nationwide debate about race and self-defense. Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic said he shot the 17-year-old to defend himself during a fight in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, just outside Orlando.

He wasn't charged until 44 days after the shooting leading to protests nationwide from people who believed he should have been immediately arrested. The case sparked accusations that Zimmerman had racially profiled Martin. Demonstrations broke out after his acquittal.

Federal authorities are now reviewing the case the see if Martin's civil rights were violated.

Zimmerman's arrest at a house in Apopka, 15 miles from Sanford, was just his latest brush with the law.

Zimmerman and his estranged wife were involved in a domestic dispute in September, just days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers, but police later said no charges were filed against either of them because of a lack of evidence.

Zimmerman has also been pulled over three times for traffic stops since his acquittal. He was ticketed for doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone in Lake Mary in September and was given a warning by a state trooper along Interstate 95 for having a tag cover and windows that were too darkly tinted. He was also stopped near Dallas in July and was given a warning for speeding.

In 2005, Zimmerman had to take anger management courses after he was accused of attacking an undercover officer who was trying to arrest Zimmerman's friend. In another incident, a girlfriend accused him of attacking her.

Mandela unable to talk

Story by News24
Photo by AFP

Johannesburg - Former president Nelson Mandela is no longer able to speak and instead uses facial gestures to communicate.

According to his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, this is because of the tubes in his mouth that are used to keep fluid off his lungs, reported the Sunday Independent.

The 95-year-old statesman is being cared for at his Houghton house in Johannesburg and his bedroom has been transformed into an intensive care facility. He receives 24-hour care from 22 doctors.

Madikizela-Mandela described Madiba’s condition as not critical but said he remained very susceptible to infection.

In June, Mandela took ill and spent almost three months in the Pretoria Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital. He was eventually discharged on 1 September and has since received medical treatment at home.

Radio Living Legend Jerry Boulding in an intensive care unit at UCLA Medical Center

Story by Urban Buzz, Living Legends Foundation, and I

All Access Urban/UAC Editor and a Radio Industry Living Legend Jerry ("The Doctor") Boulding is now in the intensive care unit at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, California. Boulding has been in the Hospital since Friday, is in “guarded condition” but has shown slight improvement.

Boulding is an accomplished broadcaster programming 16 radio stations in major markets that include New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco. Jerry Boulding is a former On-Air Talent, Program Executive, and Production Director.

Amongst Bouldings' major accomplishments:
*JB developed "Heart & Soul" - the very first Urban Format for Satellite Delivery
*Managed the Black Music division of MCA Records
*Co-founded the still popular trade publication Black Radio Exclusive (BRE)
*Founded Urban Network Magazine (trade magazine)
*Former Senior Vice President/Entertainment Programmer for AURN (American Urban Radio Network)
*Boulding serves as Urban Editor for All Access (On-Line Trade Magazine)
*Boulding runs his own Consultancy Company specializing in Arbitron Diary Research Analysis, which measures Radio Audience's Listening Patterns.

We pray for a speedy recovery for "The Doctor's" (affectionately known in the radio industry) with high hopes of the energetic Doctor resting properly, and delivering the long-awaited book of his stellar historic career.

Thank you for broadcasting the Congressional Black Caucus' 43rd Annual Legislative Conference

November 13, 2013

Hello Kirk Tanter,

Thank you for helping to make the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's (CBCF) 43rd Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) a rousing success. With your help, we were able to reach new audiences.

We hope that your outlet was able to maximize its exposure to target markets and promotional opportunities that ALC provides with its nearly 10,000 African-American political leaders, professionals and business leaders who attend each year.

CBCF will continue its efforts to improve the socioeconomic circumstances of African Americans and other underserved communities. In 2014, the Foundation will expand its economic, health and environmental platforms as well as increase its research capabilities. As a result, we are interested in expanding our current partnership with your outlet to a year-round venture. We view this as a natural progression in supporting mutual goals to bring the issues that are critically important to the African-American community front and center.

We are also interested in hearing about your ALC experience and opportunities for partnership during next year's ALC. We will follow up with you in the coming days to arrange a meeting to discuss this and future opportunities. Finally, please note that we will return to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for our 44th ALC, Sept. 24-27, 2014.

Again, thank you for your support of the Foundation and its mission.

A. Shuanise Washington
President and CEO
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc.

Shrita Sterlin-Hernandez
Vice President, Communications and Marketing
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc.

GET ENGAGED. STAY CONNECTED.

UCLA Has More NCAA Championships Than Black Male Freshmen

Story by Huffington Post
Video by Sy Stokes

The black students at University of California, Los Angeles, sent a strong message about diversity at their school. Namely, the fact that there isn't much when it comes to African-American males, a troubling fact for one of the state's most elite institutions.

A group of students, led by Sy Stokes, posted a video voicing their concerns about the number of black students on campus, and their message is hard to ignore. Stokes, a third-year Afro-American studies student who identifies as black, Cherokee and Chinese, recites a spoken word poem in the video, citing blaring statistics about the university's diversity issue.

According to the school's enrollment statistics, African-Americans make up 3.8 percent of the student population. In the video, Stokes points out that black males make up 3.3 percent of the male student population, and that 65 percent of those black males are undergraduate athletes. Of the incoming men in the freshmen class, only 1.9 percent of them were black.

In an interview with the Daily Bruin, Stokes said he almost dropped out of UCLA during his first year because he felt isolated and uncomfortable. Although he eventually found his niche in the minority community, he said he wanted to raise awareness about the school's lack of diversity before the university's application deadline on Nov. 30.

“We had to do something to put our issues on the map,” Stokes said.

In an email statement to the school paper, Janina Montero, vice chancellor of student affairs, said administrators acknowledge the need for more diversity and are attempting to work within the state's admission parameters.

“We certainly recognize that the low numbers of African Americans and other underrepresented students on campus does lead to a sense of isolation and invisibility,” Montero said in her email statement. “It is difficult to eliminate this painful imbalance without considering race in the admissions process.”

The state of California voted down affirmative action in 1996 and passed Proposition 209, which banned state schools from considering race, gender, ethnicity or national origins in their admissions processes. Black student enrollment has severely decreased since that provision and critics are saying that has to change.

The students' video adds to the ongoing affirmative action debate both inside and outside of the state, raising awareness about diversity at institutions around the country. Stokes said he feels responsible for spreading the word about the unknown challenges of being a minority student at UCLA and the ongoing lack of diversity on campus.

"Being the cousin of Arthur Ashe, I feel as though it is my responsibility to uphold the strong voices of the Black Bruin community," he said. This school has experienced unacceptable instances of injustice recently, and many people are not aware of what is happening at this university."

What Were the Final Words JFK Heard Before He Was Assassinated?

Story by Yahoo TV
Written by Kimberly Potts

The ironies, coincidences, and conspiracy theories — oh, the conspiracy theories — surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy have never been in short supply. But after 50 years of so many factoids and tidbits, there is little that compares to the tragic last words JFK heard before fatal bullets struck him in Dallas.

"Mr. President, you can't say Dallas doesn't love you," Nellie Connally, wife of Texas Gov. John Connally, told JFK as they rode in the motorcade through Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Just seconds later, the shots rang out, and those words from the first lady of Texas would be the last ones the president heard.

"Dallas was a dangerous place. John F. Kennedy was warned, 'Don't go to Dallas,'" "Killing Kennedy" screenwriter Kelly Masterson shares in the exclusive Yahoo TV video above. Lyndon Johnson had told JFK that Texas housewives had come out of their homes to spit at the vice president candidate during the 1960 campaign, and JFK had been told by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson that placard had been tossed at him earlier that year in Dallas.

"Danger seemed to be lurking for him in Dallas," Masterson continues. "And yet … that day, Nov. 22, Dallas opened their arms to him."

The heartbreaking story will unfold in Sunday's "Killing Kennedy," National Geographic Channel's movie adaptation of Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's book of the same name.

Rob Lowe plays JFK, with Ginnifer Goodwin as Jackie Kennedy, Will Rathhaar as assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and Michelle Trachtenberg as Oswald's wife, Marina, in the film, which covers everything from JFK's presidency and relationship with Jackie to his relationship with brother and fellow politician Bobby to the assassination.

In another exclusive Yahoo TV video interview, Lowe talks about the fast and furious production pace for the movie, which required him, on his first day of filming, to delve into JFK's back problems, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the death of his infant son, and flirting with White House interns.

The actor also shares what he found most surprising about portraying JFK: his untraditional and complicated, but very supportive, relationship with Jackie. "Weirdly enough, though ["Killing Kennedy"] is built as a thriller, it's really a love story," Lowe says.

In a third exclusive video, Will Rathaar takes viewers on a fascinating tour of Oswald's Nov. 22 journey in Dallas, including a look inside the Dallas movie theater where Oswald hid out briefly after killing JFK and the Texas School Book Depository where the killer stationed himself for the assassination.

"The gravity of this moment in time … is in the brick of this building, it's in the pavement outside, it's in the grass, it's in the air," says Rathaar. "You can feel it."

Story including interviews on link: http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/what-were-the-final-words-jfk-heard-before-he-was-assassinated--213339449.html

President Obama Weekly Address: Honoring America’s Veterans

President Obama commemorates Veterans Day Weekend by thanking the brave men and women who have worn this country’s uniform. The President says he is proud of their service and will do everything possible to ensure America always has their back and always honors their sacrifice.

Halloween Prank

Courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel

Radio-division revenues at Radio One grew 3.4%.

Story by Tom Taylor's Newsletter NOW

Radio-division revenues at Radio One grew 3.4%, that’s including third-quarter results from the Reach Media syndication that has Tom Joyner. CEO Alfred Liggins says there’s been “a big turnaround” at Reach, which “lost a little money in 2012, but will make more than a little money in 2013.”

He says “the radio division is having another good year, in a flat advertising environment.” Some of that’s from selling cross-platform with a collection of assets that reaches 82% of the country’s African-Americans.

Radio One has a long-term media partnership with WalMart, which has signed similar deals only with Univision (for Spanish consumers) and Facebook.

Radio One CFO Peter Thompson says “our radio growth was driven by solid performances in our largest clusters – Houston, Atlanta, Washington and Baltimore.” Also in positive territory for Q3 – Columbus and Dallas. While Cleveland, Richmond, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Detroit, Raleigh and Cincinnati clusters “posted net revenue declines” – again, a year that had strong political spending.

Local revenue was off 2.4%, but national grew double digits, up 12.9%.

Top-five ad categories were Retail (up 8%), Telecom (up 20%), Financial (up 9%), Food & Beverage (down 24%) and Entertainment (down 11%). Automotive was the sixth-largest category (10% of radio revenue) and it was up slightly.

Radio One’s on-target to ride its leverage down below 7-times cash flow by year-end.

Radio One “didn’t bet the farm” on a possible D.C.-area casino resort.

Story by Tom Taylor's Newsletter NOW

CEO Alfred Liggins tells his Q3 call “we think it’s a great deal” for shareholders and bondholders, with limited risk and a potential jackpot of upside.

Two main reasons they’re excited about a possible $40 million investment – Radio One studied the results from MGM’s Detroit-area casino, where that company is also an advertiser.

Liggins says “these resorts, oftentimes, are immensely profitable.” Another reason Radio One reached out to MGM – the casino would be at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Liggins knows his audience – PG County is 70% African American, and “it’s where the vast majority of our audience in the Washington area is.” Alfred talks about his company’s identity – “We like to say we’re in the black people business, and almost anything happening in Prince George’s County is the black people’s business.”

MGM is one of three rivals planning to bid for a new Maryland casino license, competing with Penn National Gaming and the owners of the Philly-area Parx casino.

Radio One would first make a $5 million investment, then the other $35 million would be due before the casino actually opens. (Though Radio One isn’t obligated to go beyond the first $5 mil.)

Radio One would share in the casino revenues, and there’s also a marketing agreement across its digital and radio platforms. Liggins will know by year-end whether MGM wins the license.

He says investing in the $925 million project has “a good chance of a significant double-digit return.” But will investors be confused about a pure-play media company with radio, cable and digital entering the gaming sector?

Nielsen to Boost PPM Sample Size.

Story by Inside Radio

In its first major move since re-entering the radio business, Nielsen announces an ambitious plan to expand sample size across PPM markets. The total number of panelists will jump 6% – with even larger increases in market Nos. 31-48 where the typical sample size will grow 20%. Nielsen says it will put a special focus on harder-to-recruit African American and Hispanic demos as it brings new panelists onboard.

The increase in PPM panels is designed to create what Nielsen says will be “more stable data,” as well as a sample that is “even more representative of the overall U.S. population.” The larger sample sizes will be brought online in the second half of 2014. No price increase will be tied to the improvements.

“We created this action plan around the core broadcast radio business following a series of conversations with our clients,” Nielsen COO Mitchell Habib says. “As we make progress against the plan we will share additional insight into our investments.”

Beyond growing sample PPM market sizes, Nielsen also plans to release a new technology feature that will automatically send alerts to stations if their encoding goes offline. It’s designed to help avoid the occasional problems that subscribers run into when PPM encoding goes down and their ratings are unknowingly impacted since people meters aren’t picking up the embedded codes in the air signal.

Nielsen SVP of local media Farshad Family tells Inside Radio the company is looking at number of additional customer service improvements in the coming months. They will focus on digital audio measurement as well as coming up with new ways to help broadcasters develop ROI metrics to demonstrate the power of radio to advertisers.

For now, Nielsen says there’s no immediate plan however to make similar sample size increases in the diary market service.

Washington city votes to raise minimum wage to $15

Story by CNNMoney
Written by Emily Jane Fox

It's a good day for low-wage workers in New Jersey and the city of SeaTac, Wash., after residents on Tuesday favored ballot measures that will raise the minimum wage.

The SeaTac initiative will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for hospitality and transportation workers in and near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The current minimum wage in Washington State is $9.19.

With all precincts counted, the 'Yes' vote was leading by 54% to 46%, but opponents say it is still too close to call. There are still uncounted votes, due to Washington's mail-in voting system.

SeaTac Proposition 1 also calls for paid sick leave and tip protection.

Proponents of the measure say it will boost the local economy and drive consumer spending by putting money in the pockets of low-wage workers. Those on the other side argue that such a dramatic hike will burden small businesses and end up costing the city of SeaTac money to enforce it.

David Rolf, president of a local Service Employees International Union, said that voters were sick of waiting for companies and Congress to take action against stagnate wages.

"People have been waiting a really long time for this," he said. "For the first time in many years, the people who put fuel in jets might just be able to buy a ticket on one."

Related: It's the most unequal place in America

While not quite as dramatic of an increase, New Jersey residents voted to raise the state's minimum wage by $1 to $8.25, The ballot initiative also put an automatic annual cost of living increase for the minimum wage in place.

Both the New Jersey and SeaTac measures would take effect Jan. 1.

These wage hikes come a little more than a month afterCalifornia lawmakers voted to raise the state's minimum wage to $10 an hour from $8. Earlier this year, New York and Connecticut approved measures that would increase minimum wages to $9 over the next few years.

Organizers in a number of other states, including South Dakota, Massachusetts and Idaho, are gathering signatures to place similar measures on ballots in November 2014.

States must pay at least the same as the federal minimum wage, which has been set at $7.25 an hour since 2009. But as of January, New Jersey will join 19 other states and Washington, D.C., in having minimum wages that exceed the federal level.

The fight for a living wage has played out beyond the election booth and onto picket lines across the country. Over the last year, workers from Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) andfast food chains have walked off work and protested for higher wages,better hours and benefits, and the right to form an union without retaliation.

Related: Fast food workers, share your story

Those in favor of minimum wage raises such as those in SeaTac or New Jersey say that the new measures will generate economic growth.

"When you increase the purchasing power of the lowest paid workers in a state, you drive consumer spending and that can promote job growth and end up supporting small businesses," said Jack Temple, a policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group that focuses on low-wage workers.

But those on the other side say that small businesses can't afford the higher wages, and people will end up having a harder time finding jobs.

Common Sense SeaTac, a group opposed to the SeaTac ballot measure, says that small businesses will suffer and young people just starting out will find it harder to get their foot in the door.

"These private-sector issues should be negotiated between employers and employees, not imposed by our small city," the group said in a statement.

President Obama Weekly Address: Passing a Budget that Reflects Our Priorities

President Obama says that in order to keep growing the economy and creating good jobs, Washington must end its cycle of manufactured crises and self-inflicted wounds. It’s time for both parties to work together to pass a budget that reflects our priorities – making smart cuts in things we don’t need and closing wasteful tax loopholes, while investing in areas that create opportunities for the middle class and our future generations.

TIME FALLS BACK 1 HOUR SUNDAY - NOVEMBER 3RD

Food Stamp Cuts Kick in as Congress Debates More

Story by AP
Written by Mary Clare Jalonick

More than 47 million Americans who receive food stamps will see their benefits go down starting Friday, just as Congress has begun negotiations on further cuts to the program.

Beginning in November, a temporary benefit from the 2009 economic stimulus that boosts food stamp dollars will no longer be available. According to the Agriculture Department, that means a family of four receiving food stamps will start receiving $36 less a month.

The benefits, which go to 1 in 7 Americans, fluctuate based on factors that include food prices, inflation and income. The rolls have swelled as the economy has struggled in recent years, with the stimulus providing higher benefits and many people signing up for the first time.

As a result, the program has more than doubled in cost since 2008, now costing almost $80 billion a year. That large increase in spending has turned the program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, into a target for House Republicans looking to reduce spending.

Negotiations on a wide-ranging farm bill, including cuts to the SNAP program, began Wednesday. Five-year farm bills passed by both the House and the Senate would cut food stamps, reductions that would come on top of the cut that will go into effect Friday. But the two chambers are far apart on the amounts.

Legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House would cut food stamps by an additional $4 billion annually and tighten eligibility requirements. The House bill would also end government waivers that have allowed able-bodied adults without dependents to receive food stamps indefinitely and allow states to put broad new work requirements in place.

The Senate farm bill would cut a tenth of the House amount, with Democrats and President Barack Obama opposing major cuts.

Farm-state lawmakers have been pushing the farm bill for more than two years, and Wednesday's conference negotiations represented the opening round in final talks. If the bill is not passed by the end of the year and current farm law is not extended, certain dairy supports would expire that could raise the price of milk. Farmers would start to feel more effects next spring.

"It took us years to get here but we are here," House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said. "Let's not take years to get it done."

The biggest obstacle to a final bill is how far apart the two parties are on food stamps. Lucas said at the conference meeting that he was hoping to find common ground on the issue, but House GOP leaders such as Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., have insisted on higher cuts, saying the program should be targeted to the neediest people.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent out a statement as the meeting opened that said food stamp recipients "deserve swift action from Congress to pass a bill that provides the much-needed nutritional support for our children, our seniors, our veterans and our communities."

As Congress debates the cuts to the program, charities say they are preparing for the farm bill reductions as well as the scheduled cuts taking place Friday.

"Charities cannot fill the gap for the cuts being proposed to SNAP," said Maura Daly of Feeding America, a network of the nation's food banks. "We are very concerned about the impact on the charitable system."

Daly says food banks may have to as much as double their current levels of distribution if the House cuts were enacted. The Congressional Budget Office says as many as 3.8 million people could lose their benefits in 2014 if the House bill became law.