Rep. Adrienne Wooten, D-Jackson addresses the House chamber during debate over a Medicaid reauthorization bill at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. Wooten voted against a cord blood bill that says if a girl younger than 16 gives birth in Mississippi and won’t name the father authorities must collect umbilical cord blood and run DNA tests to prove paternity. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — If a girl younger than 16 gives birth and won't name the father, a new Mississippi law — likely the first of its kind in the country — says authorities must collect umbilical cord blood and run DNA tests to prove paternity as a step toward prosecuting statutory rape cases. Supporters say the law is intended to chip away at Mississippi's teen pregnancy rate, which has long been one of the highest in the nation. But critics say that though the procedure is painless, it invades the medical privacy of the mother, father and baby. And questions abound: At roughly $1,000 a pop, who will pay for the DNA tests in the country's poorest state? Even after test results arrive, can prosecutors compel a potential father to submit his own DNA and possibly implicate himself in a crime? How long will the state keep the DNA on file?
President Barack Obama leaves Andrews Air Force Base, Md., for a weekend in Camp David, Md., Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013. The President turns 52 Sunday and will be spending his birthday at Camp David. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) WASHINGTON (AP) — Instead of "Hail to the Chief," President Barack Obama is most likely hearing strains of "Happy Birthday" this weekend. Obama turns 52 on Sunday and is spending part of the day at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.
This image provided by the Glendora Police Department shows a group of student filmmakers Friday Aug. 2, 2013 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Glendora Police Department) LOS ANGELES (AP) — College filmmakers were using fake guns to shoot a robbery scene at a suburban Los Angeles coffee shop when the movie took a scary twist that wasn't in the script.
Gilberton Police Chief Mark Kessler, center, talks with members of the Constitutional Security Force outside Gilberton Borough Hall before the Gilberton Borough Council meeting in Mahanoy Plane, Pa., Wednesday, July 31, 2013. (AP Photo/The Republican-Herald, Jacqueline Dormer) HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania police chief who posted a profanity-laden video online said Thursday he is reviewing the legality of his 30-day unpaid suspension for using borough weapons and ammunition without prior approval.
Al Sharpton, Marc Morial and other voting rights advocates speak with press after meeting with President Obama (NNPA Photo by Freddie Allen) WASHINGTON (NNPA) – The Voting Rights Act is down, but not out and civil rights leaders joined President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. at the White House July 29 to discuss renewed efforts in the fight against voter discrimination. In a statement released after the meeting, Al Sharpton, civil rights activist and president of the National Action Network said: “Today the United States President and Attorney General met with a broad coalition of civil rights and voting rights leaders to assure us that they will continue to work with us to protect every American’s right to vote.”
(Left to right) Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin; Attorney Benjamin Crump and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (NNPA Photo by Freddie Allen) WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Instead of waiting for the Justice Department to decide whether it will bring federal charges against George Zimmerman trial, a neighborhood watchman who was acquitted of second-degree murder charges in connection with the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teen visiting with his father in Sanford, Fla., the Congressional Black Caucus is already acting.
Panelists on the National Urban League’s Redeem the Dream panel were (from left to right) Al Sharpton, Lennox Yearwood, Melanie Campbell, Marc Morial, DeVon Franklin, Barbara Arnwine and Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. (National Urban League Photo by Lawrence Jenkins). PHILADELPHIA (NNPA) – One of the primary goals of the 1963 March on Washington was finding or creating jobs for Blacks. At a panel discussion during the annual convention of the National Urban League, jobs was mentioned more frequently than any other topic as leaders discussed the famous march 50 years ago and an upcoming one planned for Saturday, Aug. 24.
Rep. Charles Rangel (CNN Photo/File) (CNN) -- Longtime Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York compared congressional Republicans to terrorists and likened supporters of the tea party movement to "White crackers" in an interview published Friday. Rangel said House Republicans are doing more damage to American competitiveness than al Qaeda, according to The Daily Beast. "What is happening is sabotage. Terrorists couldn't do a better job than the Republicans are doing."
