Essence Communications will join forces with CNN and Headline News to produce a weekly series of news segments highlighting issues of importance to the African-American community, the media giants announced Tuesday.  Together, they will develop “What Matters,” which is an extension of regular news items and features in ESSENCE magazine and multicultural programming on CNN. The on-air segments will be hosted by Tony Harris and Don Lemon, with contributions from CNN’s Black correspondents, Roland Martin, Fredricka Whitfield and T.J. Holmes. On HLN, anchor Richelle Care will host the segments. What Matters debuted on Friday. “ESSENCE is proud to partner with CNN, HLN and CNN.com to launch What Matters as a platform to inform, educate and define the cultural discussion,” said Angela Burt-Murray, Editor-in-Chief, ESSENCE. “Last year’s collaboration on the ESSENCE/CNN co-production CNN & Essence: Reclaiming the Dream laid the groundwork for What Matters — a project that will combine our reach and expertise to further the development of quality programming for African-Americans.” Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., echoed those sentiments, saying, “Our partnership with ESSENCE has been a very productive one, and What Matters is an important next step in those collaborative efforts. The power of our two brands promises to continue to enhance the dialogue about issues important to our collective audiences.”

Comedian D.L. Hughley has announced that he’ll leave the show he has hosted for a major news station after just five months. “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News” debuted last fall on CNN, but the original “King of Comedy” has reportedly experienced travel challenges. He’ll leave the humor-oriented current events show, which he tapes in New York, at the end of this month. The network states: “D.L. approached CNN about being permanently based in Los Angeles, where his family lives. To accommodate this, we agreed upon a new role where he will be a contributor for the network based in Los Angeles. We are eager to continue our relationship with D.L., who is a tremendous talent and a valued colleague.”

 CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has withdrawn his name from contention for U.S. Surgeon General, Obama administration officials said Thursday. “We know he will continue to serve and educate the public through his work with media and in the medical arena,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of nominations. Gupta, 39, a neurosurgeon, was President Barack Obama’s first pick for the job. Read the rest.

President has confidence of 2 out of 3 Americans. Two-thirds of the nation supports the leadership of President Barack Obama, if a CNN poll is correct. Released on Friday, the survey’s results also show that six out of 10 people support the economic stimulus proposal Obama signed into law this week. The first Black president’s approval rating of 67 percent is down 9 points from the last CNN survey weeks ago. “Since nearly all of the decline came from among Republicans, this doesn’t indicate that the honeymoon is already over,” says CNN spokesman Keating Holland. “Among Democrats, Obama’s approval went from 96 percent to 92 percent; among Republicans, it dropped from 50 percent in early February to 31 percent now.”

Kym Worthy keeps pressure on Kilpatrick. Don’t send out the Dallas welcome wagon for Kwame Kilpatrick just yet: The former Detroit mayor who just got out of jail has a tenacious opponent in Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Worthy, who helped put Kilpatrick behind bars for corruption last year, asked a judge not to let Kilpatrick leave Michigan for job training, as Kilpatrick requests. They’ll appear in court next week when a court decides if the ex-mayor can go on with his plan to re-locate to Dallas and take a six-figure sales gig there. Worthy argues that Kilpatrick deceived the court when he said traveling to Texas was necessary for his job interview. She also says that the $3,000 monthly rent Kilpatrick reportedly plans to pay for his new home should go toward the $1 million restitution he agreed to give the Detroit finance department.

 Three in four Americans believe that President-elect Barack Obama is making strong, thoughtful decisions as he prepares to take over as the nation’s 44th commander in chief, a new poll shows. When George W. Bush took the helm of power in 2001, six in 10 Americans saw him as a strong and decisive leader. Obama’s strongest suit, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, is his ability to inspire and his apparent honesty. “That’s the best number an incoming president has gotten on that dimension since Ronald Reagan took office in 1981,” CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. Read more here.