Actor

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Dec 2 2010

Hollywood by Choice

Idris Elba is one of the hottest stars in Hollywood and apparently in the United Kingdom as well.

Doing double-duty, Elba just completed his first season as the star of the six-part BBC series, “Luther,” and he’s a familiar face in a number of American films and television productions, minus the accent.

Nov 3 2010

$10 million fundraising effort

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Barbra Streisand offered to match the first $5 million raised for the Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute as part of a $10 million fundraising effort.

In a video posted on her website, the Academy Award-winning entertainer says she hopes to raise the money for research, treatment and education on heart disease in women.

Oct 11 2010

Highest honor bestowed by the organization

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman will receive the American Film Institute's 39th Life Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization honoring a career in the film industry, the group announced today.

"Morgan Freeman is an American treasure,'' said Howard Stringer, chairman of the AFI board of trustees." Across decades, whether playing a prisoner, a president or God, he embodies a calm authority that demands respect for the character and for the art form.

Sep 17 2010

New state law: Assembly Bill 1291

MONTEREY PARK - Under a new state law, parents and guardians of Los Angeles Unified students convicted of gang-related crimes will have to attend parenting classes and meet with families who have been victimized by gang violence, the bill's author said today.

The Parental Accountability Act – Assembly Bill 1291 – was authored by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk.

"The time has come to hold parents accountable and give them the resources they need to help their children,'' Mendoza said.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.