What Killed Kanye West's Mother?
Donda West, former chair of the Chicago State English Department and mother to hip-hop star Kanye West, died on Sunday, allegedly from complications from cosmetic surgery. There's question over whether she should have had the surgery in the first place, since she had other medical issues. She was 58. West stopped breathing at her home on Saturday and was taken to the Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Rey by paramedics, reports The Chicago Tribune. The Los Angeles coroner's office is slated to perform an autopsy Wednesday.
Undocumented Immigrants Not Getting Mortgages
Federal crackdowns and the subprime-lending mess have caused the number of new mortgages issued to undocumented immigrants to plummet, reports The Chicago Tribune. Some banks report a 60 percent drop-off in ITIN (individual taxpayer identification number) mortgages, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. Currently, subprime-mortgage rates carry an estimated 9.3 percent delinquency rate, reports the Tribune.
(See also: Blacks and Latinos Still Hawked by Predatory Mortgage Lenders and Dealing With the Subprime Mess)
Healthcare Changes Would Hurt People With Disabilities
A new Medicaid cut proposed by the Bush administration could affect nearly 50 million Americans who have disabilities and/or low incomes. Aimed at curbing the growing "abuse of the $346 billion healthcare program," the changes would cut federal spending on rehabilitation for people with mental and physical disabilities, support services for schoolchildren with special needs, and hospital outpatient care for all Medicaid members, reports The Boston Globe. These changes would force states to fund day programs for people with disabilities, restrict access to the programs or pick up more of the cost.
(See also: What's the Rx for the Top Health-Insurance Companies?)
BET Adds a Little 'Idol"
Black Entertainment Television (BET) executives are taking a page from "American Idol" and the show's executive producer as well. The Viacom television station recently launched a new music talent show "Sunday Best," which airs on Tuesdays and gives gospel singers from across the nation an opportunity to showcase their talents. The show is judged by Grammy-award-winning gospel singers Bebe Winans and sisters Erica and Tina Campbell.
Are Racial Differences Real?
New human genome research that debunks notions that most human DNA is similar has some social critics leery. The new research explores the differences between people of different continental origins, reports The New York Times. Despite advancements in pin-pointing pigmentation, scientist say new developments do not necessarily shed light on intelligence and behavioral traits between races. Though few of the bits of human genetic code that vary between individuals have yet to be tied to physical or behavioral traits, scientists have found that roughly 10 percent of them are more common in certain continental groups and can be used to distinguish people of different races, reports the Times.
(See also: DNA Tests Help Uncover Forgotten History)
Calif.'s 1st Black Congressman Dies
Augustus Hawkins, California's first black Congressman who helped establish the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971, died on Saturday. Hawkins sponsored the equal-employment section of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act that created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, reports The Boston Globe. Hawkins died from age-related health issues, say Hawkins' family members.
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