Move to rename Harlem neighborhood sparks outrage

New York City real estate companies' attempts to rename a Harlem neighborhood "SoHa" have enraged long-time residents of the historically black enclave, who say the move erases the community's rich cultural history.

The neighborhood served as home and inspiration to generations of leading African Americans, including activists W.E.B. Du Bois and Malcolm X, who dubbed it "Seventh Heaven." Artists such as poet Langston Hughes and singers Harry Belafonte and Ella Fitzgerald also lived there.

The "SoHa" name, echoing the high-priced, largely white Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo in lower Manhattan, has begun appearing in real estate listings for apartments located between 110th Street and 125th Street, and Realtor Keller Williams boasts a "SoHa Team" of agents on its website.

Keller Williams did not respond to a request for comment.

Harlem's U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat vowed to introduce a House resolution to protect Harlem from being renamed.

Espaillat said the congressional resolution he plans to introduce this week "supports imposing limitations on the ability to change the name of a neighborhood based on economic gain."

"I along with leaders and constituents of this community stand united to vigorously oppose the renaming Harlem in yet another sanctioned gentrification," he said in an email. "This is an incredibly insulting attempt to disown Harlem's longtime residents, legacy, and culture."

Jamie McShane, a spokesman for the Real Estate Board of New York, an industry association, said the group supports existing state regulations, which prohibit real estate brokers from using "a name to describe an area that would be misleading to the public."

Harlem is not the only historically black U.S. neighborhood to have its image challenged by eager real estate agents. Further north, parts of the South Bronx have been christened the "Piano District," a reference to its former instrument manufacturing base.

Read more: Move to rename Harlem neighborhood sparks outrage over erasing black history

Omarosa slams Congressional Black Caucus for ‘showboating'

Ahhh, poor little Omarosa Manigault ( or should I say Honorable Omarosa Maigault..LOL) seems upset that the Congressional black Caucus turned down an invite to meet with Trump a second time, and is having a temper tantrum. It must've hurt to come to the realization that she has about as much pull with African Americans as Trump does...LOL. George L. Cook III AfricanAmerican Reports.Com

Manigault told Fox Business Network's Charles Payne that members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Friday of "showboating" and refusing to serve their constituents, after the lawmakers refused an invitation to meet with President Trump. watch video of that segment below.

The Congressional Black Caucus was right not to meet with Trump again

Race a factor in black St. Louis cop being mistakenly shot by white cop

As black people we have all learned that there are several things you can't do while being black unless you want to be shot by the police. You know things like, walking, talking, or breathing. You can now add being a cop to that list as black police officer found out the hard way in St. Louis after being wounded by a fellow officer. And yes, the officer who shot him claimed he feared for his life although other officers at the scene had told the black cop to approach them after CONFIRMING that he was a cop. Sadly the most that may happen to this trigger happy cop is that he looses his job. SMH. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

An off-duty black St. Louis police officer's race factored into him being mistakenly shot by a white officer who didn't recognize him after a shootout with black suspects this week, the wounded officer's lawyer contends.

The 38-year-old black officer was off duty when he heard a commotion near his home and ran toward it with his service weapon to try to help his fellow officers, police said.

St. Louis' interim police chief, Lawrence O'Toole, said the incident began when officers with an anti-crime task force followed a stolen car and were twice fired upon by its occupants. One suspect was shot in an ankle and was arrested, along with another teenager who tried to run from police, O'Toole said. A third suspect is being sought.

When the off-duty officer who lived nearby heard the commotion and arrived at the scene Wednesday night to help, two on-duty officers ordered him to the ground but then recognized him and told him to stand up and walk toward them. As he was doing so, another officer arrived and shot the off-duty officer "apparently not recognizing" him, police said.

The police department as of Saturday hadn't disclosed the names of the officers, who have been placed on routine administrative leave as the matter is investigated. Police described the black officer as an 11-year department veteran and said he was treated at a hospital and released. The officer who shot him is 36 and has been with the department more than eight years.

The black officer's lawyer, Rufus J. Tate Jr., discussed the shooting with St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI, but the officer isn't named in that report. Tate told the station that his client identified himself to the on-duty officers at the scene and complied with their commands. The lawyer questioned the white officer's account to police that he shot the off-duty officer because he feared for his safety.

"In the police report you have so far, there is no description of a threat he received. So we have a real problem with that. But this has been a national discussion for the past two years. There is this perception that a black man is automatically feared," Tate said.

Read more: Lawyer: Race a factor in St. Louis cop being mistakenly shot

Hero officer Crystal Griner throws out the first pitch at the women's softball game on Capitol Hill

Crystal Griner, The Capitol police officer was injured last week when a gunman opened fire on members of Congress during practice for a charity baseball game. Watch video of that great moment below.

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More Breast Cancers Diagnosed Early After "ObamaCare" Took Effect

MAYWOOD, Ill., June 23, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Loyola University Chicago study published this month has found an increase in the percentage of breast cancer patients who were diagnosed in early Stage 1, after the Affordable Care Act took effect.

The increases in Stage 1 diagnoses were higher among African American and Latina breast cancer patients, compared to white patients.

The study by Abigail Silva, PhD, MPH, and colleagues is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology. Silva is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

The Affordable Care Act eliminated copayments and other out-of-pocket costs for 45 preventive care services, including mammograms. This made mammograms more affordable, potentially leading to earlier diagnoses.

The earlier cancer is detected, the more effectively it can be treated. Diagnosing breast cancer when it is still in Stage 1 could improve the prognosis for thousands of women and reduce the need for invasive treatments such as chemotherapy for a substantial number of women, Silva and colleagues wrote.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates nearly 253,000 women will be diagnosed this year.

Compared to white women, Latinas are less likely to receive mammograms overall and African Americans are less likely to receive mammograms at recommended intervals. Out-of-pocket payments have been identified as a potential barrier to getting screening mammograms.

The retrospective study included 470,465 breast cancer patients between the ages of 50 and 74 who were covered by private insurance or Medicare and were newly diagnosed with Stage 1-4 cancer. Researchers examined two time periods: 2007-2009 (before the Affordable Care Act took effect) and 2011-2013 (after the act took effect). Researchers obtained data from the National Cancer Database, which includes approximately 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers in the United States from about 1,500 hospitals.

Overall, the percentage of breast cancers that were diagnosed at Stage 1 increased 3.6 percentage points, from 54.4 percent to 58.0 percent. There was a corresponding decrease in Stage 2 and Stage 3 diagnoses, while the proportion of Stage 4 cancers did not change. The shift toward Stage 1 breast cancer diagnoses increased by 3.2 percentage points among whites, 4.0 percentage points among African Americans and 4.1 percentage points among Latinas.

Compared to African Americans and Latinas, a higher percentage of white breast cancer patients are diagnosed at Stage 1. This disparity decreased following the Affordable Care Act, as minorities saw modestly higher improvements in Stage 1 diagnoses.

Researchers concluded that further studies to evaluate the impact of the Affordable Care Act on cancer outcomes and disparities "should be supported as they will help inform future policy recommendations."

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Avon Foundation.

The study is titled "Potential impact of the Affordable Care Act's preventive services provision on breast cancer stage: A preliminary assessment."

In addition to Silva, other co-authors are Talar Markossian, PhD, MPH, of Loyola's Department of Public Health Sciences; Yamile Molina, PhD, of the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Nazia Saiyed, MPH, of the Sinai Urban Health Institute.