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Volume 122 No. 45
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June 14, 2014 - JUNE 20, 2014
Story on A3
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By Joan Lowy The Associated Press
By Freddie Allen NNPA Washington Correspondent
For the second month in a row, the Black unemployment rate decreased, and the economy added more than 200,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for Blacks decreased slightly from 11.6 percent in April to 11.5 percent in May and was two percentage points lower than the 13.5 percent
“Black women continued to make modest gains in the job market this year.” rate recorded a year ago. Meanwhile, the jobless rate for Whites barely rose from 5.3 percent in April to 5.4 percent in May. While the jobless rate for Black men over 20 years old increased from 10.8 percent to 11.5 percent in May, the unemployment rate for White men decreased from 5.1 Continued on A4
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A New Jersey highway crash that severely injured Tracy Morgan and killed another comedian is drawing attention to the dangers of tired truckers just as the industry and its allies in Congress are poised to roll back safety rules on drivers’ work schedules. A proposed change to federal regulations backed by the trucking industry and opposed by safety advocates and the Obama administration would effectively let drivers put in as many as 82 hours Continued on A3
Safety advocates said they hope that because a celebrity was involved in the accident it will boost their cause.
D.C. Club Owner Seeks Resolution to Bankruptcy Debacle and trying to find a way to make it right
By Maria Adebola Special to the AFRO A series of unfortunate events conspired to shutter the doors of Love, a Northeast D.C. nightclub, in 2013. The bad timing of the event allegedly without proper authorization, just ahead of Howard University’s homecoming, made it worse, plunging the business into bankruptcy and the property into foreclosure. Then there was a sale. Dean Smothers – District firefighter, Marine Corps veteran and Love’s owner – is now fighting to make sense of all that has happened,
purchased the club, it did well, breaking even. Somewhere along the line Smothers fell a few months behind in paying its taxes, beginning ongoing trouble with the D.C. Office of Tax Revenue (OTR). According to David Umansky, the spokesman for the chief financial officer, “the taxpayer (Smothers) created a tax liability by filing returns without payments,” he said in a statement to the AFRO. “The taxpayer was contacted by OTR’s Collection Division and by law a “Demand for Continued on A4 facebook.com
Black Children Have Highest Abuse Rates
Black Morgan Crash Underscores Danger of Tired Truckers Unemployment Rate Continues to Fall
Love nightclub has been plunged into bankruptcy. again. For three years after Smother
Dr. Charles L. Franklin, Well Known Washington Physician, Husband of Alexis Herman, Dies at 68
Corey Allmond, Education Secretary Arne Duncan Shine in Goodman League’s Opening Week By Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor
By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO
The George C. Goodman League, one of the most respected summer basketball leagues in the country, kicked off June 2 down at the Barry Farms community court in southeast Washington, D.C. The Goodman League has long been a platform where basketball lovers from all over the D.C.
Dr. Charles L. Franklin Jr., husband of Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton, Alexis Herman, died June 2, at the age of 68 after an extended illness. Franklin’s funeral was held on June 9 at the Dunbarton Continued on A4 The George C. Goodman League kicked off June 2 at the Barry Farms community court in southeast Washington, D.C. metropolitan area can watch premiere players in action, and the league didn’t disappoint with its 2014 summer season opener. The top four teams from last summer’s playoffs—Back Yard Elite, Team Ariyuan, the Drew All-Stars and
Continued on A3
“…the league didn’t disappoint with its 2014 summer season opener.”
Dr. Charles L. Franklin Jr., and wife, former Secretary of Labor, under President Bill Clinton, Alexis Herman
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