Is the story of 10 black women missing and our being found dead just a coincidence or the work of a serial killer?  And why haven’t you heard about this story on the 11pm news?

From Bossip.com

Ten women have been found slain or have been declared missing in Rocky Mount, N.C., in recent years. But the rest of the country hasn’t heard about…… a possible serial killer stalking the young women in this Southern town of 60,000. The latest victim, Elizabeth Jane Smallwood, was identified on Oct. 12. Why have the Rocky Mount homicides been largely ignored?

“When you think about the famous missing person cases over the last few years it’s Chandra Levy, Natalee Holloway, and Laci Peterson,” notes Sam Sommers, associate professor of psychology at Tufts University. All these women had a few things in common—they were white, educated, and came from middle-class families. The victims in Rocky Mount—which residents describe as a “typical Southern town,” and is about 40 percent white and more than 50 percent black—were different. They were all African-American, many were poor, and some had criminal histories including drug abuse and prostitution.

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Philly’s Black teacher pool is drying up

The already shallow pool of Black teachers in Philadelphia schools is evaporating at an alarming rate. District officials, who understand that increasing the number of African Americans in the classroom is one – perhaps the only – surefire method of closing the achievement gap between Black and White students, are scrambling for solutions. When school began this year, The Philadelphia Daily News reports, the percentage of Black teachers in the city was the lowest it has been in decades. And some argue that the dearth of African American teachers has put the district in violation of an agreement it made with the federal Office of Civil Rights three decades ago to achieve a racially balanced teaching force, the News reports. In 1978, more than a third (36 percent) of the teachers were Black. Fast-forward to now, and the number has dropped to 29 percent. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the Black student body has remained 60 percent. While other school districts nationwide also have a paucity of Black teachers, Philly’s Black-teacher pool has shrunk by 739 over the past half-decade; the percentage of White teachers has grown from 62.5 percent to 65.4 percent over the same period. “Clearly, more must be done to recruit and retain African-American teachers,” said Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), told the News. Reg Weaver, who heads the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher union, with about 3 million members, said that, “While race doesn’t determine anyone’s ability to master and teach a subject, research does show that teachers of color have higher performance expectations for minority kids, which in turn can impact student achievement.”

Racists terrorize a girl in Idaho. Federal investigators want to know what would motivate two grown men would go through lengths to terrorize a Black girl in the Idaho town of Post Falls. On Monday, 15-year-old Rai Franklin said she woke up to dogs barking outside her family home. They had been aroused by two White men who allegedly threw eggs at her parents’ car and left fliers in the neighborhood telling Black people that they didn’t belong in the neighborhood. Rai said that one of the men grabbed her, punched her in the face and fled while yelling racial slurs. Post Falls is apparently a short distance from Hayden Lake, the home of a compound where members of the Aryan Nations, a violent militant White supremacist organization, used to meet. FBI officials say that if the me are caught, they could face federal hate-crime charges.

Texas university isn’t cheering this student on. It doesn’t matter that Jamie Burns has let the campus off the hook, that her doctors have cleared her medically, and that her mom has said to let her daughter do what she was recruited for, officials at Southern Methodist University say that she won’t be cheerleading. Find out why at BET.com/News.

BET News Quiz. Detroit mayor will get jail time, millions of Blacks still not registered to vote and one female rapper is looking to adopt. Test your knowledge here!

Not all fat created equal. Fat in obese patients is “sick” when compared to fat in lean patients, Temple University scientists say.   The same the cells in diabetics’ fat tissue aren’t working properly and as a result, are sicker than cells found in lean patients’ fat tissue, a study published in the September issue of Diabetes finds. Lead author Guenther Boden, M.D. theorizes that “sick fat” could more fully explain the link between obesity and higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Researchers from the departments of endocrinology, biochemistry and surgery at the Temple University School of Medicine took fat biopsies from the upper thighs of six lean and six obese patients and found significant differences at the cellular level. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is found in every cell and helps synthesize proteins and monitor how they’re folded. The stress that Boden describes causes the ER in fat cells to produce several proteins that ultimately lead to insulin resistance, which has been found to play a major role in the development and progression of obesity-related conditions.

Study: Almost 1,000 People Died In Louisiana From Katrina

On the three-year anniversary of Hrricane Katrina, a new study says the storm caused the deaths of some 986 deaths in Louisiana either directly or indirectly, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in 80 years. Find out more at Vital Signs.

Here are the most talked-about news stories in Black America.
Bring That Week Back! O.J. gets beat down by his daughter? Plus, legal problems might be ahead for R. Kelly, while singer Maxwell is making a comeback. Get these and more top stories with pics here!

T.I. sets Billboard records. With Paper Trail one month away, T.I.’s lead single, “Whatever You Like” hits two Billboard chart milestones. Find out which at Sound Off!

Soulja Boy returns for sophomore set. Ringtone leader Soulja Boy talks about the Ice T beef, working with Bow Wow and his new album, iSoulja Boy at Music News.

Check out The Dream’s road to success. The Dream is an All-American triple threat. Read about his journey to the top here!

Worked with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin

The man who helped make Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett soul music legends has died at age 91. Wexler, who helped produce hits including Franklin’s “Respect” and many other notable tunes by seminal Black recording artists, passed away last week at his Florida home. Richard Schiff portrays Wexler in the 2004 feature film Ray, starring Jamie Foxx.

Disney wants Spike Lee to shut up

Execs backing a forthcoming Spike Lee flick agree with Clint Eastwood that Lee should “shut his mouth.” Lee recently called out Eastwood for the lack of Black actors in two of Eastwood’s war movies, in an obvious attempt to draw attention to Lee’s forthcoming Miracle at St. Anna, a film about Black soldiers in Europe during World War II. Eastwood dissed Lee in return, before Lee called him “an angry old man.” But Disney’s afraid that Miracle at St. Anna, starring actor Michael Ealy, could possibly lose recognition, Lee tells Entertainment Weekly. “I get the thing, ‘Well Mr. Eastwood is so well-beloved,’ and this may have ramifications at Academy time,’” Lee says. “But it’s over. I said what I had to say. He believes what he believes. And that’s that.”

Diddy drops two new fragrances. After succeeding with Unforgivable – aided by the controversy over a sexually suggestive commercial – Diddy’s back with more in the fragrance department. The I Am King cologne has been announced as Sean John’s next product. I Am Queen will follow as the fragrance for women – or for men who want to smell, well…different. Macy’s will begin selling the new cologne in December, just in time for Christmas. New reality show, new colognes and new money – what a combination.

Were you paying attention this week?

BET News Quiz: A football league eyes jailed quarterback Michael Vick; rappers mix it up backstage; minorities are rapidly becoming the majority. Take the quiz here!

No one injured at The Boss’ “Be Out Day.”

One man was arrested and another was being sought by police after gunshots disrupted a Florida charity event hosted by rapper Rick Ross. The Boss held his annual “Be Out Day” celebration this week, an event where he distributes food and school supplies, and encourages voter registration. Flo-Rida had performed and Ross had just taken the stage when the suspects began shooting and sending participants diving for cover. “The shots happened near the event … across the street, but it was close enough that it seemed as if it happened in the park (where the show was taking place),” says Elora Mason, publicist for Rick Ross Charities, Inc. “It’s not clear what brought it on, but police said the person shooting appeared to be shooting in the air.” The investigation is ongoing. Police cleared the stage, but Ross later returned to do a short performance and then sign autographs for some of those who remained. Ross says 2,000 backpacks were distributed.

Morgan Freeman reportedly “resting comfortably.”

Having undergone surgery for injuries connected to a weekend car crash, actor Morgan Freeman is back at home. A spokesman for the veteran actor says he left Memphis’ Regional Medical Center on Thursday. “He was released today at noon local time and is now resting comfortably,” Ken Sunshine says. Freeman and his passenger Demaris Meyer, who reportedly gave the hospital a phony name to hide her relationship with the married-but-separated star, were traveling in Mississippi when he lost control of the vehicle. Both occupants had to be cut out of the Nissan. Freeman later revealed that he and his long-time wife Myrna have been separated since December, apparently to quell speculation about Meyer’s identity. She was also treated for her injuries.

Remy Ma hopes legal eagle can come to rescue.

Just three months into an eight-year sentence for felonious assault, weapons possession and attempted coercion, rapper Remy Ma has hired a lawyer who she hopes will help her appeal her way to freedom. William “Billy” Murphy Jr. won an acquittal on behalf of boxing promoter Don King in 1998 after he’d been charged with defrauding Lloyd’s of London. Murphy has also represented DMX and Mary J. Blige, among other celebrities. “With the addition of Mr. Murphy…I now believe I have assembled a team that will have the might and expertise to tell my side of the story,” Remy says in a statement. “I am confident that after hearing everything, my side will prevail.” Remy was convicted this spring in the shooting of her former friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph in a dispute over money.

Orlando Commissioner gets a noose delivery

The Orlando commissioner who railed against the 1930’s-era photo of a barefoot Black caddy at an exclusive city golf course found out just how angry she made some folks when she showed up for work last week. By the time Commissioner Daisy Lynum arrived at her City Hall office, someone had delivered her a rope noose, which she promptly turned over Orlando Police. “There was no name, so to me it’s like the cowards in the Ku Klux Klan who wore hoods over their faces,” Lynum said. “This just shows there is still ignorance in our society.” Lynum kicked off a firestorm last week when she demanded that the Dubsdread Gold Course take down the photograph of the boy caddying for White players, which she said was offensive and had no place in course owned by the city. “They say it [photograph] is a part of history,” Lynum said, according to The Orlando Sentinel, “but so is lynching and killing. Do we keep those pictures on display?” Her reaction even made her a target of an Orlando Sentinel columnist, who said “she should apologize immediately for this insensitive and insulting hyperbole.” Sports writer Mike Bianchi said, “Disgraceful. To compare a photo of this photo – a photo of a young Black kid innocently and voluntarily tending the flagstick for a White golfer – to murders and lynchings is simply disgraceful.” That elicited an angry response from Sentinel reader named Bill, who wrote, “Mike, I’m not an African American, but I can see how Ms. Lynum could find the photo insensitive. Let’s see, I wonder how many African American members Dubsdread had at that time. I’m guessing … zero? But they can be shown in a subservient manner slaving for the man. You should apologize. You’re the insensitive one.”

NAACP renews call for removal of S.C.’s rebel flag

The NAACP is getting little support from the residents of mostly Black South Carolina as it tries to pressure the state to remove the Confederate flag from a Civil War memorial in the heart of Columbia. Part of the reason for the seeming complacency is that it took such a major effort to get leaders of the state, Black and White, to agree to remove it from the Capitol dome eight years ago. Read more at BET.com/News.

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Woman is charged in brutal baby-stealing case
n what must qualify as one of the most macabre murders in Pennsylvania history, a 38-year-old Pittsburgh-area woman has been accused of slaying a teen and cutting open her womb to steal her baby. Police on Friday arrested Andrea Curry-Demus of Wilkinsburg and charged her with homicide, unlawful restraint and kidnapping. She was taken into custody after showing up at a hospital with a baby, still covered in afterbirth, wrapped in a blanket. Read the rest at BET.com/News.