Over 600,000 new jobless are reported. There’s more bad news for America’s economy. A record high of 6.14 million people are reportedly unemployed. The figure is the highest recorded since government assistance was established for citizens who’ve lost work. Perhaps even worse, about 640,000 are classified among the newly jobless. Economics experts say that large numbers of newly unemployed forecast longer bouts without work, as opposed to immediate recovery from their losses.

Hitler painted before leading fascists. How did one of history’s most notorious racists pass the time before deciding he’d like to rule the world and exterminate Jews and people of color? By using watercolors, of course. About $120,000 were paid at a British auction for several of Hitler’s original paintings on Thursday. The man who went on to lead the Nazi party and promote the German Holocaust was once a simple, struggling artist. The auction was expected to bring in only about $50,000, so the outcome was called a success. At least one of the owners of Hitler’s art appeared to have no personal attachment to the dictator’s work – he reportedly sold a painting in order to get cash for a new home heating system.

America watches car corporation’s strategy. After several weeks of maneuvering and deal-making, Chrysler appears poised to go into bankruptcy. The auto company, which is struggling to survive, along with Ford and General Motors, would position itself for a partnership with Fiat by making the financial move. Chrysler made what historians call a remarkable comeback, decades ago, after facing a similar financial crisis under chairman Lee Iacocca. Auto workers, particularly in the Black community, have been devastated by lay-offs and related measures by the American car-makers in recent months.

Iceberg Slim’s Wife, Collaborator Dies The woman who helped propel bestselling street-fiction author Robert “Iceberg Slim” Beck into literary fame has died. Betty Mae Beck had begun preparing a memoir about her life with Iceberg Slim before she passed away last week due to prolonged illness. Read the rest.  

Georgia Police Chief Denies Luxury Car Scam A former Atlanta-area police chief, fired for allegedly hiding confiscated luxury cars for his personal use, called the investigation into the charges a “witch hunt.” Ex-DeKalb County Police Chief Terrell Bolton is accused of falsifying documents to conceal a $32,000 Range Rover and a $55,000 Mercedes he kept for personal cruising. In addition, investigators said in a lengthy report, Bolton took almost two months of unapproved comp time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. But Bolton described the allegations as “Mickey Mouse” and blamed the Sheriff’s department of violating his rights. “I never had a chance to address any of those issues before this report was written,” he said. “The report is much ado about nothing. It’s the culmination of a witch hunt.” But Tip Green, the officer who ran the police car pool, said that Bolton told him to “hide” the luxury vehicles, according to the Journal-Constitution. “Bolton said to hide them, and he did not want them showing up in his cost center,” Green told him.

Brandy gets sued again over deadly accident. Singer Brandy’s nightmare regarding a deadly car crash two years ago is far from over. Although a lawsuit filed by a family member of Awatef Aboudihaj, the married mother of two who was killed in the accident, was dismissed, Brandy is looking at a new round of civil charges. Donald Lite, who was injured in the 2006 multiple-auto collision, is suing Brandy, claiming that her alleged disregard for the rules of the road is the reason he suffers from extreme physical damage, according to TMZ.com. He says he has “serious and permanent injuries.” The lawsuit, filed last week in L.A. County Superior Court, alleges that Brandy’s failure to keep a safe distance, coupled with her alleged speeding, caused the actress to slam into the rear-end of Awatef’s vehicle, knocking Awatef’s car into his vehicle. Lite is suing for an undetermined amount.

A bloody man jumped from a speeding car and into his truck.
An Atlanta man was driving his truck down the freeway when a 25-year-old kidnapping victim, bound with extension cords, leapt from speeding vehicle in front of him and bumped along the road in front of him like a bloodied rag doll before jumping up and hopping in the back of his truck. “It was certainly a very harrowing experience,” Bruce Hembree, 37, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I was terrified. He was obviously in great duress because he came out of a car at highway speed, about 70 miles per hour.” Humbree said that the incident, along a stretch of I-285 near Martin Luther King Drive, brought traffic to a halt. “He was rolling through the middle of my lane, looking like he was a rag doll,” Hembree said. “He was leaving bits and pieces of clothing and skin as he rolled.” He said he slowed down to keep from hitting the victim, Deshon Blackmon, whose hands were tied with the cord. Blackmon then jumped up and into his truck and started banging on the window “like it was a Humvee and we were in a firefight or something,” he told the Journal-Constitution. “Go! Go! Go!” Blackmon screamed, saying that the kidnappers had his ID and were going to kill his mother. But Hembree remained still, afraid of what they might do. “And they were all looking at that car,” he said. But the car drove off, and Hembree said he drove to the next exit and pulled over so Blackmon, who was bleeding profusely, could call 911, the newspaper reported. Two of the victim’s friends told police that the kidnapping was drug-related.

“Rampage” Jackson could get prison for car chase

Former mixed martial arts UFC champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson could get three years in prison following his recent California road race with cops. The Orange County DA has charged Jackson with evading while driving recklessly, evading a peace officer, hit-and-run and reckless driving after Jackson allegedly fled police in a monster truck bearing his painted image. Jackson was also recently given a mental evaluation after he was found at home despondent. He reportedly has been depressed since losing his title belt in a bout this summer. Jackson allegedly hit two cars on a freeway, hit another car on a surface street and sent pedestrians running for safety during the police episode.
Nine-year-old’s talent threatens teams. Jericho Scott’s 40 miles-per-hour pitches have a Connecticut baseball league pitching fits. Scott, who’s 9, recently caused a team opposing his Power Fitness-sponsored squad to forfeit when they learned that he would take the mound. Discussions have ranged from having the three-year-old Youth Baseball League of New Haven’s teams re-configured to refunding sign-up fees to anyone requesting it. “I feel sad,” the young pitcher says. “I feel like it’s my fault nobody could play.” Jericho’s coach and parents defend him, arguing that he’s never hurt anyone and that he shouldn’t be outcast for being “too good.” A lawyer has planned to meet with Jericho’s parents to consider action that could secure his right to compete in the league after he was banned shortly before playoffs.

The LPGA Takes An English-only position. The LPGA’s is going to require that players speak English. Read more in Playa Hater.

Spanish airplane crash investigated

 In Spain, investigators continue to look into what might have caused a passenger jet to crash during takeoff killing 153 people. The jet, Spanair Flight JK5022, was carrying 172 people when it crashed at Barajas Airport in Madrid Wednesday afternoon. “The government will do all it can to support the families in this difficult situation. The whole government, logically, is affected, very affected, as are all Spanish citizens, by this tragedy,” said Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Nineteen people, including two infants, survived the crash, according to Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez. According to survivors, passengers could hear an explosion as the plane was taking off. “They were about 200 meters [600 feet] in the air, and then they were landing but not crashing. They were landing, like, little by little; it was not like they [fell] down suddenly,” a reporter told CNN. One of the aircraft’s engines caught on fire, according to local officials. Since the jet’s engine was made in America, the United States National Transportation Safety Board will send an investigation team to look into crash causes, a spokesman said.

Algeria suffers two deadly car bomb attacks. Algerians are mourning the deaths of 50 people after car bomb attacks on consecutive days, reports CNN. On Tuesday, an explosion near a military school killed 43 people and wounded 38 in what’s being labeled a “terrorist attack,” said the nation’s interior ministry. Then on Wednesday, a car bomb attack outside of a hotel killed 11 people. No group has taken responsibility for the attacks yet, although the group al-Qaeda Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for two recent blasts.

Rev. Al Sharpton’s daughter apparently doing fine after car accident

The Rev. Al Sharpton’s daughter, Dominique, reportedly is doing fine after she was hit by a car outside of her father’s office building in Harlem. The reverend apparently rushed to her side after learning of the accident, which EURWeb is reporting took place when she was struck while walking with two co-workers outside of National Action Network’s headquarters on West 145th St. “A car pulled into the gas station at full speed and she was pinned to the car,” explained Sharpton’s spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger. “Her father rushed home and she is on crutches with several stitches but she is fine and grateful for the outpouring of support from around the country.”

Kindler, gentler Klan? Not!

The Ku Klux Klan in the tiny central-east Texas town of Lufkin will hold a cross-burning this September “to honor Jesus Christ.” Officials of the White supremacist branch, the United White Knights, say that its members are not hatemongers but “God-fearing moral men and women” working “for survival of the White race.” Read more of what they said, and the reaction at BET.com/News.

The critically injured Grammy nominee lost his wife, grandson in car accident

The Rev. Timothy Wright, the Grammy-nominated gospel singer and pastor who was critically wounded in a head-on collision Friday, is gradually recovering, Newsday reports. Wright lost his co-pastor wife, Betty, and his 14-year-old grandson, D.J., in the accident, but he has not yet learned about his spouse’s death, the Long Island, N.Y.-based newspaper reports. Rev. Wright, 61, has been asking for Betty, but family members say they are waiting until he is physically stronger before breaking the tragic news to him. “He’s holding on,” said David Wright, one of his five sons. “He’s conscious. He can’t talk, but he can nod his head.” Wright, pastor of the Grace Tabernacle Christian Center Church of God in Christ in Brooklyn, suffered extensive injuries, including a broken jaw, according to Newsday. He remains in critical condition at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. Authorities say that John Pick, 44, was traveling the wrong direction on I-80 in Greene Township, when his vehicle struck Wright’s. Pick was also killed. They were returning from a religious conference in Detroit. Lori Wright, D.J.’s mother, told Newsday that her son “was a perfect kid … not an ounce of trouble. He loved gospel music; he loved all types of music. You couldn’t ask for the more perfect child.” Said his father, Danny, “I never really let [his three sons] away from us, but he wanted to go.” Send your condolences below.