Bulls court Suns’ skipper D’Antoni

ESPN: At the start of the 2007-08 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls were considered a strong contender for the Eastern Conference crown.

However, the season turned out to be a disaster. Coach Scott Skiles lost his job in December; several of the young players regressed; and the Bulls ended up in the lottery. Now they stand at one of the most important crossroads in their franchise’s history.

Chicago already has interviewed several coaching candidates, and signs are pointing to a possible marriage with Phoenix Suns coach Mike D’Antoni.

Read more of Chad Ford’s report here…

IS THIS THE END?

Several reports have surfaced that report that this race is over. Clinton’s camp is quiet, NBC’s influential host of Meet the Press, Tim Russert, is calling it. Even Matt Drudge is saying it. Read more

Obama wins North Carolina, still too close in Indy

***UPDATE***
Hillary Clinton apparently has squeaked by in Indiana (NBC reports). Read more here.

Barack Obama won decisively in North Carolina tonight. All but erasing any dent Hillary Clinton put in his lead by her Pennsylvania performance. The drama of the night, however, came from Indiana, where even at midnight it was too close to call. Read more

Mandela concert line-up unveiled

Queen, Leona Lewis, Annie Lennox and the Soweto Gospel Choir are among the acts that will appear at a concert for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday in June.

The former South African president will travel to London for the 27 June event, which will also feature Dame Shirley Bassey, Simple Minds and Razorlight.

Tickets go on public sale on Friday and Hyde Park will host a crowd of 46,664 - Mr Mandela’s old prison number.

It is now the name of his Aids charity, which will get proceeds from the show.

Surprise stars

Organisers have promised further stars on the bill, with “several major artists keeping silent about their involvement in order to take both Mr Mandela and the audience by surprise”, a statement said.

Eminem, U2, Amy Winehouse and the Spice Girls are among the other acts who have been mentioned in the press.

Read the whole article by the BBC-UK here…

Darryl Fears: Critics of old guard take black activism online

The new black revolution, as singer Gil Scott-Heron famously predicted, is not being televised.

It is raging online.

A growing cadre of young black activists is using the Internet in an attempt to eclipse traditional civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and hit the refresh button on the civil rights movement. Bloggers with names such as the Cruel Secretary, and blogs called What About Our Daughters? and the African American Political Pundit, have railed against groups in the “black-o-sphere,” saying they do not understand young black Americans, are behind the times and react too slowly to incidents involving the younger generation.

Read this Washington Post article by Darryl Fears here…

Myanmar government: Cyclone death toll nears 10,000

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Updated Monday, May 5th 2008, 2:28 PM

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar’s ruling junta, which has spurned the international community for decades, urgently appealed Monday for foreign aid as a cabinet minister warned that more than 10,000 or more people may have died from a cyclone that swept through the country.

The cyclone came just a week before a crucial referendum on a military-backed constitution that the ruling junta hoped would go smoothly in its favor, despite opposition from the country’s feisty pro-democracy movement.

The disaster could stir the already tense political situation ahead of a referendum on a draft charter, several analysts said.
Read More…

Bears RB Benson Arrested

Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was charged with failing a sobriety test while operating a 30-foot boat, then resisting arrest before being hit with pepper spray and dragged ashore by officers.

Benson faces charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest after the incident Saturday night on Lake Travis, Travis County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Roger Wade said.

Benson was released from jail early Sunday on a $14,500 bond. The charges are class B misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. A call to Benson’s agent was not immediately returned.
Read the whole story here

R. Kelly Trial: Witness Will ID Young Girl

A woman will testify at R. Kelly’s upcoming child-pornography trial that she had a three-way sexual encounter with Kelly and the allegedly underage girl shown in the videotape at the center of the case, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Saturday (May 3). Jury selection for the long-delayed case is scheduled to begin Friday.

In the case, prosecutors claim to have identified the girl in the videotape, who is now in her 20s. Kelly’s lawyers are planning to argue — and the alleged victim will reportedly testify — that she is not the girl in the tape, according to the Sun-Times.

But the new witness could weaken that defense, since she will identify the girl — and claim the girl was underage — sources reportedly told the paper.

“She was involved in a threesome with [the girl] and R. Kelly,” one source reportedly said.
Read the article here at MTV.com

Page: Wright’s Past, Obama’s Future

After cutting ties with his controversial former pastor, Sen. Barack Obama received a word of sympathy from an unusual source: Read more

Herbert: Jeremiah Wright Issue is Nonsense

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is no doubt (and regrettably) a big issue in the presidential campaign. But what we’ve seen over the past week is major media overkill Read more

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