Patrick Cannon, mayor of Charlotte North Carolina resigns after corruption arrest

Patrick Cannon, who rose from public housing to become mayor of North Carolina’s largest city, was charged Wednesday by federal authorities who said he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes – including $20,000 in cash delivered in a briefcase last month to the mayor’s office in a meeting where he solicited $1 million more.

Cannon, a 49-year-old Democrat who took office only four months ago, was arrested when he showed up at a luxury apartment in SouthPark for yet another payoff from what he thought were businessmen needing his influence in city matters, a source confirmed.

But after arriving, he learned who they really were: undercover FBI agents who’d been recording their meetings over the past three years, long before he launched a campaign for mayor in 2013.

Cannon resigned as mayor Wednesday night, capping an extraordinary day that included revelations of an illicit trip to Las Vegas and payoff negotiations at the Capital Grille – the same uptown steakhouse that figured in the region’s last major political scandal. It was there that former N.C. House speaker Jim Black of Matthews, also a Democrat, took bribes from a group of chiropractors seeking help with legislation.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/26/4797153/mayor-cannon-resigns-after-corruption.html#.UzOHNfldWSo

Former President Carter: Obama may be embarrassed to discuss race issues

[ SOURCE ] Former President Jimmy Carter is suggesting that President Obama may be reluctant to talk about issues affecting African-Americans because he himself is an African-American.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Carter likened the situation to female lawmakers who are loath to discuss women's issues.

Carter told HuffPost Live:

"Some women when they are elected become champions of human rights. I've seen other women who are elected who didn't pay any attention to that particular thing because it was kind of an embarrassment to them to single out women since they were a woman - like I think it might be an embarrassment to President Obama to single out African American people."

Going to college, check out this Windows 8 Study Smarter Laptop Scholarship

There are many scholarships out there both big and small. No matter what the amount every penny helps. Here is one I found to help with getting a laptop for college. Hey, it can't hurt to apply.

Windows 8 Study Smarter Laptop Scholarship Deadline: Jun 10, 2014

Eligibility: All current U.S. high school and college students. For details, read the official rules.

Description: Students must submit an essay (under 500 characters) to the following question: "School is a balanced mix of work and play, and PCs have everything you need to do it all! What are the programs or apps you mix to be productive and have fun - and why?". 10 applicants will be selected to win an HP ENVY x2 PC courtesy of Windows 8 and Chegg.

Submit your application here: http://www.chegg.com/scholarships/windows8-study-smarter-scholarship/apply#sch-rules

Photos of slave descendants donated to Smithsonian

A "time capsule" of photographs documenting the descendants of enslave African-Americans on a long-isolated island off the South Carolina-Georgia coast will have a new home at the Smithsonian's African-American history museum.

Bank of America, which has a vast art collection it lends to museums, donated a collection of 61 photographs by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, the wife of the late tennis player Arthur Ashe, to the museum on Monday. Officials tell The Associated Press the bank will also give $1 million to help build the $500 million museum. This is the bank's second $1 million donation.

Read more here: http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2014/03/photos_of_slave_descendants_do.html

Black Enterprise, Toyota to Host ‘Hackathon’ for Black Techies in NYC

Black Enterprise will host its first Driving Innovation Hackathon presented by Toyota, where technology and creative minds will come together to build tools that demonstrate the advantages of sustainability. The Driving Innovation program was created by Black Enterprise in partnership with Toyota to shine light on African Americans in technology.

The Hackathon will take place at Black Enterprise headquarters, 260 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 on March 29th -30th, 2014. The event will be open to the public from 10-2pm and 3-7pm on Saturday and 9am-noon on Sunday. Technologists, innovators and coders will form teams to design and develop their solutions. It will also be live stream at blackenterprise.com/drivinginnovation. You will be able to tune in for the full 24 hours as the hackers go head to head trying to create the best game possible.

Read more here: http://www.blackenterprise.com/featured-stories/hackathon-nyc-blacks-in-technology/