Sudan Leader Dances Despite Warrant Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir didn’t seem to let an arrest warrant recently issued against him for his alleged role in war crimes spoil his mood. Just one day after the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the Netherlands, issued the warrant al-Bashir could be seen dancing and smiling while he addressed a cheering crowd of his supporters in the streets of Khartoum, reports CNN. In his speech to supporters, al-Bashir condemned the United States, while they chanted “Down, down, USA!” The warrant charges the leader of war crimes, crimes against humanity and accuses him of allowing the killing of Sudanese people in Darfur. But the president and his supporters deny he had anything to do with the genocide and called the ICC a “White man’s tribunal.” And, according to a United Nations spokeswoman, the government kicked up to 10 aid groups out of the nation in retribution. Since the conflict in the Darfur region began in 2003, the United Nation estimates that 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 have been displaced.
Protests in Guadeloupe End After about a month and a half of violent demonstrations, protestors in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe have ended their strike. Worker unions on the island signed an agreement with the French government that includes provisions for a $250 monthly pay raise for low wage workers, reports the BBC. The island’s businesses finally reopened Thursday morning, after they were forced to close (along with area schools) due to the strikes, which at times left overturned cars and debris in the city streets.

The half-brother of President Barack Obama has been arrested for carrying marijuana, Kenyan officials say. George Obama, 24, who shares a dad with the first Black President, was reportedly caught by police today. He denies the charges. The Obama siblings have only met about twice, apparently during Barack Obama’s visits to the Kenyan village where his father lived. The senior Barack Obama died in a car accident. Kenya ranks among nations outside the U.S. with the largest numbers of Obama supporters. The Obama hometown, where the president’s grandmother has a house that has become a tourist site, celebrated the Jan. 20 inauguration with a village feast. A school there bears the president’s name, and the date Obama took office has been proposed as a national holiday.  The president hadn’t commented on his brother’s arrest Saturday morning. Several other president brothers have had run-ins with the law: Billy Carter, Neil Bush, Roger Clinton and Donald Nixon.

Should President Obama feel compelled to comment to the public about his brother’s arrest?

Charles Barkley won’t be seen in T-mobile ads. The T-mobile cell company has announced that it won’t be airing those entertaining Charles Barkley-Dwyane Wade commercials, at least for the time being. Barkley, who was also suspended from his NBA commentating job for the TNT network, is still suffering backlash from his New Year’s Eve drunk-driving arrest in Arizona. T-mobile says the Barkley ads will be replaced by general company promo until further notice. After his arrest, the former NBA great told police he ran a stop sign while hurrying to get oral sex from a woman passenger.

Man arrested in the brutal Arkansas TV anchor’s death. After getting a tip to his location, Arkansas police arrested Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, at a home in Little Rock on Wednesday night in connection with the brutal death of TV Anchor Anne Pressly. Vance was charged with capital murder in the death of Pressly, 26, an anchorwoman who had a small part in the President George W. Bush biopic “W.” Pressly died   Oct. 25 – five days after being severely beaten in what police described as a random attack at her home. Police were tipped to Vance’s location, naming him as their suspect, said Lt. Terry Hastings, a police spokesman. Vance lived in Marianna, in eastern Arkansas but had numerous contacts in central Arkansas, where the murder took place, Police Chief Stuart Thomas said.

The first Black mayor of a mid-sized Illinois town dies. The Mayor of Dolton, Ill., William Shaw, 71, died Wednesday at his Dolton home after a four-year battle with cancer, The Chicago Tribute reported. Shaw, a former state lawmaker, became Dolton’s first African-American mayor when he was elected in 1997. He was elected state representative in the 34th District in 1982 and served two terms  before being elected state senator of the 15th District. He was a senator for 10 years until he retired in 2002. As a senator, Shaw co-sponsored legislation that made it mandatory that African-American history be taught in Illinois public schools.

Ohio community braces for an economic punch. A southern Ohio community is bracing for possible layoffs as DHL Express – the largest employer in the area – planned to announce its quarterly earnings report and restructuring details on Monday, according to CNN. DHL’s parent company, German-based Deutsche Post World Net, refused to comment on published reports that the international courier company is planning to lay off as many as 8,000 people. However, it does plan to announce plans for its U.S. operations to investors Monday, said spokesman Jonathan Baker.  The Deutsche Post has reported that the company ordered roughly 8,000 layoffs at DHL’s Wilmington hub. In the meantime, Ohio officials scramble over the weekend to offset possible job cuts to the community. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sent a letter Friday to DHL Chief Executive Officer John Mullen asking for immediate information about layoffs in the Wilmington area. According to a statement from his office, Brown also called U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Howard Radzely plans “to seek immediate attention to a state of Ohio’s request for emergency funds to assist workers and communities affected by DHL’s loss in business since announcing a proposed outsourcing agreement with UPS.” Both local and federal officials say cuts that heavy would have a devastating economic impact on the community. 
D.C. Police arrest a Secret Service agent for solicitation. D.C. police Inspector Brian Bray says his squad arrested a secret service agent for solicitation while conducting a prostitution in northwest Washington early Saturday, WUSA-TV reports. The inspector says a marked Secret Service Uniformed Division patrol car pulled up to speak with an undercover female officer posing as a prostitute. The Secret Service sergeant, who was in uniform, allegedly asked what sex acts the undercover officer would perform. They agreed on a price of $20, and he drove to meet her. Then D.C. police arrested and charged him with solicitation for prostitution. Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesman, says the agency’s internal affairs division is investigating the matter. He says the officer, whose name was not released, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Yet another vicious storm barrels toward Caribbean. After suffering multiple storms this season, Caribbean islands are turning a watchful eye to the latest storm scheduled to hit named Paloma, reports the BBC. In particular, the northern portion of the Caribbean, including Jamaica, is getting ready for the storm’s effects. Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas are also likely to be hit if the storm stays on its path. The storm could turn into a hurricane Friday. Paloma, the 16th tropical storm this hurricane season, comes in the last month of the season which had been predicted to be quite busy. Haiti was one of the countries in the Caribbean hit hard by four consecutive storms earlier this season, which devastated some of the nation’s infrastructure and left thousands homeless and hungry.

Man arrested overseas for celebrating Obama’s win. One New-York based Grenadian’s excitement over President-elect Barack Obama’s historic victory got him in some big trouble. Police in Grenada arrested Roy Coutain Wednesday, charging him with disorderly behavior, obscene language and resisting arrest, reports the BBC. Police say that after Obama’s win, Coutain drove through the streets of the nation’s capital, St. George, honking his horn, continually shouting “Obama, Obama!” in a car draped with American flags, police say. He was also caught on video telling officers that they didn’t want him to celebrate, that the world was excited and that he had the right to celebrate since he voted for Obama. Coutain says he did not use any obscene language.

A sixth-grader gets suspended for his anti- Obama T-Shirt

. He wore an Obama T-shirt to school and was given the ultimatum to either change his shirt, turn it inside out or be kicked out of school. Daxx Dalton, an 11-year-old, sixth-grader in Colorado, took the suspension, saying his first amendment rights were being trampled.  On a day when students were asked to show their patriotism by wearing, red, white and blue, Dalton wore a homemade shirt that read “Obama is a terrorist’s best friend.” Get more on the story at BET.com/News. Should the boy have been suspended?Police arrest a man who wonders too close to Obama’s home. Police are holding a young Black man, who penetrated the security perimeter around Sen. Barack Obama’s Chicago home Tuesday morning with a gun on the floor of his car, The Chicago Sun-Times reports. The incident occurred around 4:45 a.m. when the man appeared about a block from the south side home of the Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley told the newspaper.  He noted, however, that the man did not direct any threats toward Obama, did not “utter any threatening language,” and no weapon was involved, Wiley said. But police told the Sun-Times that officers found a gun and bullet-proof vest in the man’s car. A Secret Service security detail stopped him, according to the report, and he began a “rambling conversation” about getting a job and spoke about how he was a victim of crime and that he was happy that an African-American was running for president. The 30-something man is a convicted felon, the paper reports. What fueled concern, police say, is that after being told to leave the area, the man drove away but returned. That’s when Secret Service officers searched his car and recovered a handgun, the Sun-Times reports.

NBA player is latest athlete to face housing market struggle

Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson is offering a $1 million break on his Villanova, Pa., home. The 14,000-square-footer has six bedrooms, his-and-hers marble bathrooms, a 12-seat movie theater, pool house and four-acres of land. But after at least a year on the market, Iverson and his wife, who bought the house together in 2003, have generated little interest. The price is down to $3.9 million. So get out those checkbooks.

Coach says Ed Johnson won’t play this week, following incident

Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy (above) says the Colts’ Ed Johnson won’t suit-up this week following Johnson’s drug arrest early Wednesday. Cops say Johnson was pulled over for speeding in Indianapolis about 1 a.m. and was later charged with marijuana possession. The lineman was released on bond from the Hamilton County Jail. Team management says the incident will be further investigated to determine if any action is taken. The NFL says the matter will also be reviewed under the league’s substance abuse policy.

Puncher hit with claim of contract violation. At this rate, Floyd “Money” Mayweather could wind up known as Floyd “Need A Loan” Mayweather. First, he had $7 million in jewels stolen from his house and now he’s the target of a lawsuit. A Florida real estate dealer says the boxing standout wiggled away from an $8 million property purchase after signing a contract stating that his company put $1.7 million into escrow toward the buy. But the developer claims Mayweather never properly established the account before trying to move into the spot. Mayweather’s being sued for damages and costs associated with the seller’s having taken the property off the market.

South African dog fights another dog to save boy. In South Africa, a Rottweiler fought off a pit bull who was mauling a little boy, reports the BBC. Two-year-old Tshepang Taeli and his grandmother were walking down the street when the pit bull attacked him, viciously dragging him down the road. Several residents kicked the dog to try to get him off of the child but he would not let go. “I have never felt so much pain in my life. The dog was attacking him and I was trying to release him and I could not,” said the boy’s grandmother. That’s when one neighbor went to get his Rottweiler, Blade, who helped save the boy’s life. “He fought the other dog to free the child. Blade is very protective,” Blade’s owner, Ricky Veludo told a local newspaper. The child was taken to the hospital, where he is now recovering from suffering bites on his face, legs and stomach. Police are investigating the attack.

Zimbabwe police arrest opposition lawmakers

Zimbabwe police arrested more opposition members Wednesday, saying they were connected to the violence before the country’s runoff election in June, reports CNN. Police insist the arrests of Movement for Democratic Change members, five in total, are not politically motivated. “These (parliament members) have been on the police wanted list which we made public. We have been looking for them for a long time since the offenses were committed,” a police spokesman said. But MDC officials are not buying it. They think the government along with longtime leader Robert Mugabe is just trying to cut down on the number of opposition members in parliament. “The arrests are harassment and an attempt to undermine our parliamentary majority,” MDC’s information director said. “We expected that retribution after having shown Mugabe that he is not welcome in parliament.” Mugabe was booed and heckled when he spoke in front of the body Tuesday. He still remains optimistic that a power sharing agreement, between himself and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai can be reached. The two are set to resume talks, mediated by South African president Thabo Mbeki, this week.

Lindon Barrett’s colleagues at UC-Riverside describe him as a brilliant scholar
A 20-year-old southern California man has been arrested in connection with the murder of an African-American studies professor who was found dead in his home last week, according to officials at the university where the victim worked. Marlon Martinez was booked on suspicion of murder when he returned to the missing car of Lindon Barrett, which police had staked out. Barrett, 46, who taught Black history at the University of California-Riverside, was found dead in his Long Beach, Calif., home on Sunday. Authorities say they had been called by neighbors who reported a foul odor coming from one of the units, according to a Long Beach Police news release. Barrett apparently had been dead for several days, police said, whose investigation concluded that he had been slain. When detectives realized that the victim’s vehicle was missing, they began a search. Once police found it, they staked it out. Martinez was locked up in the Long Beach Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, according to police. University officials said that Barrett had taught at the UC-Riverside for about a year. “A brilliant scholar, Lindon was just finishing a major book on slavery’s central role in the evolution of Western modernity,” wrote Katherine Kinney, English Department chairwoman in a statement released to the press. “Lindon offered so much, personally and professionally, to the department, the campus, and the scholarly field of African-American studies.” Barrett and Martinez were apparently acquaintances, police said.