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Dr. Dianne Jemison Pollard: A Legacy Remembered

The Houston Style Magazine family, along with the world, stands somberly still as we remember the monumental life and legacy of Dr. Dianne Jemison Pollard. On October 4th, 2023, this veritable titan in the world of journalism and academia gracefully departed this realm, leaving behind an awe-inspiring legacy that will undoubtedly continue to illuminate the path for many.

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Oldest American World War II Veteran Dies At 112

The United States has lost its oldest World War II veteran. Richard Overton, who fought overseas in a segregated unit, died Thursday at age 112. He was hospitalized recently after a bout with pneumonia and took his last antibiotic on Dec. 21 — "a true soldier in fighting this infection battle with all that he has," his cousin, Volma Overton, said on Facebook. Richard Overton was born in 1906, near Austin, Texas.

HGO Announces Six New Members for the Prestigious 2020-21 HGO Studio

Blake Denson, Ricardo Garcia, Cory McGee, Raven McMillon, Sun-Ly Pierce, Bin Yu Sanford are set to join the returning HGO Studio Artists in August 2020

After an international search ending last month with the 32nd Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, “Concert of Arias,” Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is excited to announce five new singers and one new pianist for the 2020–21 HGO Studio.

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New Yorkers Start Debate On Free Tuition

New York's ambitious tuition-free plan was debated for more than six hours Tuesday at the state legislature's first public hearing on the matter.

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They were innocent and on death row. Now, the exonerated want to ensure Biden keeps pledge

Sabrina Smith was only 17 when a predominately White Mississippi jury convicted her in 1989 for fatally beating her 9-month-old son.

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Verda Byrd Becomes An Advocate For Transracial Adoption Through 70 Years Of Blackness

After sharing her shocking story publicly, Verda Byrd, a white woman who found out she was black at the age of 70 years creates a multi-award winning documentary.

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5 Things for Tuesday, January 10, 2017: Orlando Manhunt, Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump

Tragedies in Orlando. Threats from North Korea. Transitions in DC. Here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.

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Soledad O’Brien hosts Oct. 8 conversation about race across Hearst outlets

Initiative Brings Together Hearst Consumer Media Resources, Encompassing Television Stations, Newspapers & Magazines to Share Program Live Across Digital Platforms

On Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. ET, the urgent conversation about race, equality and justice will be the focus of a live, multimedia, interactive forum across many of America’s most familiar media brands with the debut of “The Hard Truth About Bias: Images and Reality.” The one-hour digital program, originating from New York and featuring a wide array of topic leaders from across the nation, is a special project of Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, the Hearst Television public affairs program, now among the most watched weekend issues talk shows in the country.

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Biden nominates first woman to lead US military branch

President Joe Biden has nominated Adm. Linda Fagan to serve as the next commandant of the US Coast Guard. If confirmed, Fagan would be the first woman to lead a US armed service and to lead the Coast Guard.

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Community college enrollment is down. Here’s what will happen to workers and the US economy if it doesn’t come back

Community colleges provide access to postsecondary education at a much lower cost compared to four-year universities.

Twenty-six Texas Schools Named 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today recognized 325 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021, including 26 schools in Texas. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Secretary Cardona made the announcement during his Return to School Road Trip, while visiting an awardee school, Walter R. Sundling Jr. High School, in Palatine, Illinois.

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Long working hours are killing hundreds of thousands of people a year, WHO says

Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year through stroke and heart disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

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There is a wave of Republicans leaving Congress, updated again

House Republicans are announcing they're leaving office at a significantly faster rate than any other recent Congresses, suggesting Democrats could pick up seats in the 2018 midterm elections. On Monday, Virginia Republican Tom Garrett announced he would be next.

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Raelene Castle Becomes First Woman to Take Charge of a Rugby Governing Body

It was a historic moment in world rugby when Raelene Castle was named as the first woman chief executive of a national governing body Tuesday. New Zealander Castle was announced as the new boss of Rugby Australia and will also become the first woman to oversee a major Australian sporting code.

Biden for President Announces Key Staff Hires in Texas

Today, Biden for President announced key staff hires in Texas, including alumni of Joe Biden’s successful primary campaign in Texas, the Texas Democratic Party, and some of the Lone Star State’s most competitive Congressional and Gubernatorial elections.

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Angela Means, aka “Felicia” in ‘Friday,’ Now Owns and Runs Vegan Spot, Jackfruit Cafe

Angela Means made it in entertainment. She walked runways for Jean-Paul Gaultier and Betsey Johnson, did stand-up and opened for Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx and Sinbad, and appeared in the Nickelodeon show Cousin Skeeter and the movie Friday. (She’s Felicia.)

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This company says it can make top-shelf whiskey in just a few days

Bespoken Spirits says it is using science to produce better whiskeys. Now, it has several million dollars to prove it can.

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New Orleans Begins Removing Second Confederate Monument

By Madison Park, Keith Allen and Jason Hanna CNN (CNN) -- As police stood between opposing crowds, a crew lifted a statue of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its pedestal before dawn Thursday in New Orleans -- the latest in a contentious plan to dismantle four Confederate monuments in the city. The statue, which stood for 106 years, is the second Confederate monument to come down after the New Orleans City Council voted to remove the four landmarks in 2015. After years of heated public debate and legal battles, recent court decisions paved the way for the city to relocate the four monuments. Dozens of people -- a crowd opposed to the monument's removal as well as those backing it -- gathered early Thursday at the Davis statue before the operation began, at times screaming insults and threats at each other. Police separated the sides with barriers. As the statue was lifted shortly after 5 a.m. (6 a.m. ET), those who wanted it removed cheered and sang the chorus from "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye." One person held a sign that read, "Bout Time." The monument's supporters at that point watched mostly in silence, some holding up Confederate banners. Earlier, some monument supporters chanted, "President Davis," and one man saluted the statue. It wasn't immediately clear how long it would take workers to remove the pedestal. The city government kept quiet about the timing of the removal, citing what it said were threats that some had made toward contractors who would do the work. But word about the plans spread Wednesday when the principal of a nearby school told parents in a letter that she'd been told the removal would happen overnight, and that they should know a street would be blocked off in the morning, CNN affiliate WGNO-TV reported. Part of a larger controversy The New Orleans monuments are part of the larger controversy surrounding Confederate symbols, which some say represent slavery and racial injustice. Supporters say they represent history and heritage. The issue became especially prominent after the 2015 massacre of nine black parishioners in a Charleston, South Carolina, church by a self-described white supremacist. "These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement released Thursday morning. "To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past." Jefferson Davis statue dedicated in 1911 The Davis statue stood on top of a roughly 12-foot column and depicted the Confederate president with his right arm outstretched, towering over the street also named after him. Davis lived in New Orleans after the Civil War and died there in 1889. The statue was dedicated in 1911. In 2004, the words "slave owner" were painted on the base of the monument. How they extracted the statue Police had cordoned off the 6-foot tall bronze statue of Davis with a chain-link fence to keep protesters out. Workers wore helmets as well as what appeared to be tactical vests and face masks. Cardboard and tape covered contractors' names on equipment involved in the controversial operation -- the same methods used during the first Confederate landmark removal April 24. Around 4 a.m., two workers approached the Davis statue in a work lift and wrapped part of it in green plastic. They tied the statue's torso with yellow straps, securing it to a crane. One worker dislodged the statue's base from the column using a long flat tool. Two more statues scheduled for removal Last month, the city dismantled the first of its four monuments scheduled for removal -- an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Liberty Place. The monument marked a deadly fight between members of the Crescent City White League, a group opposed to the city's biracial police force, and state militia after the Civil War. The remaining two monuments -- those of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard -- are also scheduled for relocation. Landrieu's office has not revealed when the two remaining statues will come down. The mayor's office said the city has secured private funding to remove the moments. Landrieu said the statues will be put in storage while the city looks for a suitable place to display them, such as a museum. CNN's Nicole Chavez and Emanuella Grinberg contributed to this report.

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Election officials’ homes ‘swatted’ as presidential race heats up

Heavily armed officers ordered the homeowner to walk outside with his hands up. From the doorway, a middle-aged man emerged. It was Jay Ashcroft, Missouri’s Secretary of State who minutes earlier was gearing up for a workout on his home treadmill.

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Savoy Magazine Announces The 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors in a Landmark Dual-Edition Fall Issuw

Savoy magazine, the leading African American business, culture and lifestyle publication, announced its list of 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors. Presented in two editions with dual covers, this issue features Kenneth Chenault, former Chairman and CEO of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, Executive Chairman of Merck. With over 880 combined pages in two editions, the fall issue of Savoy ranks as the largest magazine by pages targeting the African American consumer ever published.