Prejudice could cost a Black worker thousands. Racism is costly. In fact, racial prejudice is a key reason for the wage gap between Black and White workers, according to a new study in the Journal of Political Economy. Over a lifetime, the researchers concluded, racial prejudice accounts for a quarter of that gap, costing a Black worker up to $115,000. Kerwin Kofi Charles, from the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago, and Jonathan Guryan, from Chicago’s Booth School of Business, found that educational inequality, differences in workers’ skill levels and other forms of discrimination likely account for the rest of the gap. The study’s authors monitored a series of surveys conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. In the surveys, White people were asked their views on issues such as interracial marriage, Whites-only private clubs, neighborhood segregation and whether or not they would vote for a Black president, e! Science News reports. What they found was a significant link between wage gaps and bias. “Though prejudice explains only a minority-albeit a significant one-of the Black-White wage gap, the costs borne by Blacks … are large,” the researchers found. “Consider an 18-year-old Black male choosing between two states… . Our estimates imply that if he lives in Florida rather than Massachusetts. … the net present value of his [lifetime] earnings will be about $34,000 smaller. If he lives in Mississippi rather than Wisconsin … his discounted earnings are about $115,000 smaller.”

A carjacker is killed during shootout. Henry County (Ga.) Police say they shot and killed a carjacking suspect early Thursday during a gun battle. The suspect stole a motorcycle at gunpoint from the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store on Ga. 138 near Stockbridge, police say. When the suspect wrecked the motorcycle a short distance away, officers say they chased him into a wooded area. “Multiple shots were fired at the officers by the suspect,” Henry County police Capt. Jason Bolton told WSB-TV. “Ultimately, officers did return fire,” Bolton said. “The suspect was struck and was killed.” No officers were injured during the incident. The name of the person killed was not immediately released.

Birmingham mayor is arrested for alleged misdeeds. Federal agents arrested Birmingham Mayor Larry P. Langford, on Monday, charging him with taking bribes in exchange for doling out county financial business to a favored firm when he led the Jefferson County Commission from 2002 to 2006, reports The New York Times. Langford, 60, was charged in the 101-count indictment with taking over $230,000 in cash, clothing and jewelry for making sure that a well known Alabama investment banker and bond company owner, William B. Blount, got a portion of lucrative bond deals related to the financing of improvements to Jefferson County’s failing sewer system. Read the rest here.

 Martin Luther King Jr.’s family says they want their cut of the money being made from t-shirts and other merchandise depicting president-elect Barack Obama alongside the slain civil rights leader.  King’s nephew, Isaac Newton Farris, said that hundreds of thousands of dollars – maybe even millions – is being made, and the King estate is entitled to its share.  “Some of this is probably putting food on people’s plates,” Farris said. “We’re not trying to stop anybody from legitimately supporting themselves, but we cannot allow our brand to be abused.”  Obama, America’s first Black president, will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, the day after the public holiday was created to honor Dr King, who was shot dead in 1968.

With the housing market in the toilet, foreclosures on the rise and lenders keeping a tighter grip on mortgage money, hip-hop stars are still urging people to get their money right. The event, called Urging People to ‘Get Your Money Right!’” drew a crowd of about 2,000 people, who came out to get home finance tips Friday night from hop stars like Ludacris, Yung Joc, Gorilla Zoe, D. Woods and Danity Kane. Sponsored by music mogul Russell Simmons, along with mortgage consultants and entertainment figures, the Hip-Hop Summit at Clark Atlanta University is prequel to the Oct. 23 BET Hip-Hop Awards show. “There are opportunities out there, but people just don’t know about it,” Simmons said. “With financial stability, it’s a great time to buy when [housing prices are] low. It’ll pick back up in the long run.” The participants received a 86-page booklet, half in English and half in Spanish, stressing the importance of home ownership, a solid credit score and other vital steps for first time home buyers.

King’s former church protests leadership. A dispute at the church where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King once preached his message of nonviolence, caused the National Park Service to handcuff one protester Sunday. A handful of church members protested Sunday morning in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church in a dispute over the ouster of the historic church’s choir director and demanding the Rev. Raphael Warnock step down as senior pastor. Carrying placards that read “Warnock Lies” and “Bring Back Dr. Uzee Brown,” a reference to the recently departed choir director who heads the Department of Music at Morehouse College, six protesters marched in front of the church on Sunday, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. One former choir member was handcuffed and taken away by National Park Service rangers in front of the church because she refused to leave the sidewalk. But she returned minutes later holding a criminal trespass warning. Church leaders said Warnock, who preached his first sermon at Ebenezer three years ago, wasn’t available for comment Sunday morning. But shortly after the 11 a.m. service started, a dozen members of the church’s board of deacons walked out of the modern Horizon Sanctuary and across Auburn Avenue to the historic church where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached his message of nonviolence. Deacon Chairman Phillip Finch said the officers and members of the church “stand firm” in support of Warnock. “The current protest by seven members of Ebenezer’s more than 3,000 members clearly does not represent the consensus of the body,” said the 55-year-old Finch, a lifelong member. The protestors, who included Choir President Lydia Walker, insisted that Warnock has shaken up the church staff without regard to the feelings of some longtime members. And they said he has refused to share the church’s finances with them. Warnock addressed the controversy during the 8 a.m. service, telling worshipers that while they might not understand everything he does, they must trust in his plans for the future. “Any effort to plant the seeds of dissension in the church is by definition a demonic effort,” he said to cheers from the congregation. “I’m glad that the devil has no power here.”

Did the government snoop on our phone calls? The Senate Intelligence Committee is looking into charges by two former U.S. military linguists that the super-secret National Security Agency routinely eavesdropped on the private and intimated phone calls of overseas American military officers, journalists and aid workers. NSA interceptors purportedly shared some intercepts of highly personal conversations, including “phone sex,” reports The Associated Press.  Get the rest of the story here.

Chicago officials says renter evictions are unfair.  The Cook County sheriff said Wednesday that he has ordered his deputies to stop evicting renters from foreclosed properties because many people his office has helped remove had done nothing wrong. “We will no longer be a party to something that’s so unjust,” a visibly angry Sheriff Thomas Dart said at a news conference Thursday. “We have to be sure that when we are doing this – and we are destroying some people’s lives – we better be darned sure we’re talking about the right people,” he said. Dart apparently is the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop participating in foreclosure evictions, according to the publisher of a national foreclosure database, reports The Associated Press. “I haven’t heard of any other sheriff unilaterally deciding to stop” evicting tenants from foreclosures, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of Irvine-based RealtyTrac.  He said that Philadelphia’s sheriff helped push for a moratorium on foreclosure sales, but that it involved owner-occupied homes, not renters, the AP says. Dart said that from now on, banks would have to present his office with a court affidavit proving that the home’s occupant is either the owner or has been properly notified of the foreclosure proceedings. Illinois law requires that renters be told that their residence is in foreclosure and that they will be evicted in 120 days, but Dart says that the law has been routinely ignored. Some tenants dutifully pay their rent, Dart said, then leave for work one morning only to return to find their belongings at the curb – what’s left of them, that is. By the time they get home, “The meager possessions they have are gone,” Dart said. “This is happening too often.”
Black attitudes about money has changed. Young, affluent Blacks are more worried about holding on to wealth than older folks, according to “Wealth in Black America,” Northern Trust’s first annual survey of affluent Black households in the United States. Three in four Generations X & Y wealthy respondents (ages 18-42) said they are concerned about preserving their wealth, while less than half of respondents in the Boomer and Silent Generations (ages 43 and above) shared this concern. “In this first survey, we found that the younger respondents are generally more concerned about what will happen to their wealth,” said Shundrawn Thomas, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy for Northern Trust. “Many individuals at this phase of their life are in the ’sandwich generation’ – they are simultaneously caring for children as well as aging parents. Trends such as rapidly rising health care and education costs in concert with longer life spans exacerbate their concerns, says the report issued Wednesday. They want to ensure that their wealth can provide for family needs.” Generations X & Y respondents are also more worried about how their wealth will impact their children and future generations. Approximately 80 percent said they are concerned with ensuring the next generation of family members will lead productive, meaningful lives amidst affluence, and that they will pass on family values. In contrast, less than half (47 percent) of Boomer and Silent Generations respondents are concerned about how their heirs will use their affluence and 37 percent worry about upholding values. “There is a common concern among wealthy families that if their children grow up with a certain level of privilege, they may not learn the responsibility that comes with affluence,” said Thomas. “Most wealthy individuals have created their wealth in their own lifetime, contrary to popular belief. This is particularly true of wealthy Black Americans, with younger generations especially interested in teaching their children about fiscal responsibility and the importance of giving at a young age.”

The ex- New York Giants wide receiver has had a troubled post-football life.
Mark Ingram, a former New York Giants wide receiver who starred in the 1991 Super Bowl, will spend the next seven and a half years behind bars for his latest crime spree that includes money laundering and bank fraud. Read more at BET.com/News.  What would make a former super star athlete jump from the limelight to the crimelight?

But the question is: Will it be enough to defeat a surging McCain.

Obama raises a record $66 million in August. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s supporters decided last month that they had better make sure their candidate has the cash to compete against his Republican rival. Get more at Pamela on Politics.

Time to get involved. The decision of who leads the United States for the next four years could very well come down to you. See how you can end up with a government you’re not ready for if you don’t go to the polls. Get the facts here.

Oprah continues reign as top TV earner.

TV Guide reports that Oprah Winfrey is still queen of the ratings and takings. The talk show diva has pulled in $384 million from her talk show, according to the publication. The gross profit makes Winfrey TV’s top-earning celebrity.

Singer signs on for “Dancing With the Stars.”

Singer Toni Braxton is apparently feeling much better since her cancelled string of Las Vegas concert performances, due to a heart condition. The vocalist has signed on to appear on TV’s “Dancing With the Stars.” Braxton, whose “Revealed” show was enjoying a successful run of Vegas dates this spring before she fell ill, will compete among other celebs. Viewers decide which duo of stars are best in performing choreographed routines before a live audience.

Fiddy, child, hang out for first time since legal dispute. Rapper 50 Cent, who’s been back and forth in various courtroom beefs with his ex, has retrieved his son Marquise for visitation. The rapper’s former lover, Shaniqua Tompkins, had reportedly argued against letting the child see his dad since a fire at their home, which she alleged that Fiddy caused. Marquise and his dad are expected to spend time together until next week when 50 leaves the country to film a movie. Tompkins and Fiddy are due back in court on another matter next month.

Obama’s donors may need to pick up where Clinton’s donors don’t
Sen. Hillary Clinton may have suspended her campaign, but she hasn’t been able to suspend the debts her campaign racked up with consultant and vendors during the primary fight for the nomination. In coming weeks, she will learn whether her primary supporters are willing to put their money where their mouths are and write checks to help the New York senator get out of debt.

ATL’s Trapstar gets trapped by Atlanta Police

CTC’s Head honcho, Young Jeezy, was pulled over and arrested for allegedly driving intoxicated with an associate early Wednesday morning. Read the details at Sound Off.

Cash Money Youngin’ cracks a million units

If this is what hip hop looks when it’s alive, one can only imagine what it looks like when it’s healthy. The Carter 3, Lil Wayne’s sixth solo project, landed at No. 1 with 1-million-plus sold during its first week. BET.com Music News has the latest.

Teddy Pain preps a slew of new project
Showing no signs of fatigue, T-Pain is prepping new projects with Timbaland and Lil Wayne, and he’s setting out on a summer excursion with Keyshia Cole. Go to Music News for the latest.