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An academic study of NBA officiating found that white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players, The New York Times reported in Wednesday's editions. The study by a University of Pennsylvania assistant professor and Cornell graduate student also found that black officials called fouls more frequently against white players than black, but noted that that tendency was not as pronounced. Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at Penn's Wharton School, and Joseph Price, a Cornell graduate student in economics, said the difference in calls "is large enough that the...

NEW YORK - The charisma king of the 2008 presidential field. The world’s best golfer. The captain of the New York Yankees. Besides superstardom, Barack Obama, Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter have another common bond: Each is the child of an interracial marriage. For most of U.S. history, in most communities, such unions were taboo. It was only 40 years ago — on June 12, 1967 — that the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down a Virginia statute barring whites from marrying nonwhites. The decision also overturned similar bans in 15 other states.

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University President James Barker criticized an off-campus party where white students mocked black stereotypes by drinking malt liquor and wearing fake gold teeth. Click here to see two videos about the incident. At least one student dressed in black face. Another person padded her rear. Barker said the school is investigating and he's angry and disappointed by the event. School officials said they became aware of the party over the weekend and have met with some offended students. Students said the party had a gangsta theme. It was held over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend....

DALLAS (Reuters) - Proposed increases in the U.S. minimum wage would likely result in pay raises for around 2 million black workers, according to a study released this week by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. ADVERTISEMENT The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month approved legislation to increase the minimum wage over two years to $7.25 per hour from $5.15 per hour -- which would be its first hike in a decade. But Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the bill, demanding it also include small business tax relief. The Senate was set to debate the bill...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Madonna has urged more people to adopt children from Africa, sidestepping comments by actress and fellow adoptive mother Angelina Jolie about only adopting from countries with clearly defined adoption laws. Madonna, 48, who is in the legal processes of adopting a 1-year-old boy from Malawi, was accused by adoption groups last year of using her celebrity status to bypass laws about foreigners adopting from Malawi. She has also faced criticism this week from Jolie, who has adopted children from Cambodia and Ethiopia as well as having a daughter with actor Brad Pitt. Jolie said in a...

When 19-year-old Donné McDaniel became pregnant last year, Tim Wagoner didn't consider marrying her. "Nah, man, it wasn't really discussed. We're just friends." They'd dated a year. The pregnancy wasn't planned. Now their son, Zyhir, is 4 months old. Zyhir stays here, stays there. It's 11 a.m., a cold fall morning. A darkened rowhouse in Northwest Washington, just off Georgia Avenue. "Cold Case Files," the television cop show, is the only electric illumination in the room. Cries come from the crib by the couch. "You fussin', shorty? You don't want to be in there?" A tattooed hand reaches down, pulls...

WASHINGTON - Black and Hispanic home buyers pay more for their mortgages than do whites, according to a Federal Reserve report released Friday. The Fed’s analysis of 2005 home lending data found that 54.7 percent of black borrowers paid a higher-than-typical interest rate on home mortgages. That was up sharply from 32.4 percent in 2004. For Hispanics, 46.1 percent paid more than typical for their mortgages last year — more than double the 20.3 percent reported in 2004. In contrast, only 17.2 percent of whites paid higher interest on their home mortgages last year. However, that was up considerably from...

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Faced with stiff competition for their traditional students, historically black colleges are now making a push to recruit Hispanics. Black colleges that want to shore up enrollment numbers are revising recruitment strategies to include more members of the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority. The campuses are hiring Hispanic recruiters, distributing brochures that feature Hispanic students and establishing special scholarships for Hispanics. "I tell them 'There's a place for you and a need for Latinos to be present on (historically black) campuses,'" said Nelson Santiago, a Puerto Rico native and recruiter for the historically black Howard University...

A coalition of 40 Hispanic organizations yesterday faulted the Office of Personnel Management for failing to improve Hispanic hiring across government and called for congressional hearings on the issue. The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda gave the OPM an "F," saying that federal hiring of Hispanics has declined in recent years and that the percentage of Hispanics in the career Senior Executive Service appears to be on a downward trend. Hispanics make up 7.4 percent of the federal workforce but are 13.5 percent of the nation's labor force, the coalition said. Hispanics are the only underrepresented minority group in the civil...

A coalition of 40 Hispanic organizations yesterday faulted the Office of Personnel Management for failing to improve Hispanic hiring across government and called for congressional hearings on the issue. The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda gave the OPM an "F," saying that federal hiring of Hispanics has declined in recent years and that the percentage of Hispanics in the career Senior Executive Service appears to be on a downward trend. Hispanics make up 7.4 percent of the federal workforce but are 13.5 percent of the nation's labor force, the coalition said. Hispanics are the only underrepresented minority group in the civil...

The swimming pool in Abby Hopper's Bowie development was already crowded when Hopper, her husband, their two toddler girls, her sister-in-law and her two young kids arrived in a cloud of plastic buckets, kickboards and Cinderella floaties. Just settling in was a huge production. Then, sitting in her lounger, Hopper finally looked around. There had to be 75 people at the pool. They were the only whites. Hopper, 35, felt that stab — call it acute self-consciousness. She didn't know the people around her, and they didn't know her. What if Madeline made a splashy mess or Ellie took another...

TV star Mo'Nique got kicked off a United Airlines flight Sunday after getting into a spat with a flight attendant, and this time the comedian isn't laughing - she's crying racism. "I felt like I was being treated like an animal," said the 38-year-old celebrity, whose seldom-used full name is Mo'Nique Imes-Hicks. "This happens to black people all the time, and they don't have a voice. I have a voice." The "Phat Girlz" actress, rumored to be in line to replace Star Jones on "The View," told the Daily News the incident started when her hair stylist stashed a hair...

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 01:48 PM - WBEN Newsroom City of Lockport, NY (WBEN) - Four 16-year-old boys charged in the gang rape of a 15-year-old disabled girl are free this afternoon. Dontre Woods, Dartain Ubiles, Antonio Shepard and Nicholas Smith appeared in court to answer to charges, the victim did not make an appearance according to Niagara County prosecutor Peter Whittish. "Our office chose not to run the felony hearing today because the witness is unavailable. We decided it would be in our best interest to move forward with the charges just not in the forum of a felony...

June 30, 2006 -- Three white Brooklyn teens were charged yesterday with committing a hate crime after they pummeled three black kids riding their bicycles on a Gerritsen Beach street and incited onlookers to join in the attack , police said. The victims - Joseph Pascall and Deon Davis, both 17, and Aaron Adams, 16 - said they cycled into the neighborhood because they were lost, a police source said. The thugs allegedly cornered the victims with their car near Florence Avenue and Celest Court on Monday at 9 p.m. They taunted the teens with racial slurs before knocking them...

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- In a study of sleep characteristics in 669 adults in Chicago who were compared by sex and race, investigators found that blacks got less sleep than whites, while men got less sleep than women. Furthermore, the wealthier you are, the more sleep you're likely to get, Dr. Diane S. Lauderdale of the University of Chicago and her colleagues found. "There was an expectation that people with very demanding jobs in terms of high status, high income, would be getting less sleep, and that was not true," Lauderdale told Reuters Health in an interview. The findings could...

What does it mean to be a black man? Imagine three African American boys, kindergartners who are largely alike in intelligence, talent and character, whose potential seems limitless. According to a wealth of statistics and academic studies, in just over a decade one of the boys is likely to be locked up or headed to prison. The second boy — if he hasn't already dropped out — will seriously weigh leaving high school and be pointed toward an uncertain future. The third boy will be speeding toward success by most measures. Being a black man in America can mean inhabiting...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Black and Hispanic home buyers are more likely to pay high mortgage rates than white borrowers with similar credit ratings and income levels, an advocacy group found. The Center for Responsible Lending said either loan sellers are charging higher rates to the minority customers or those borrowers are being steered to loan sellers that specialize in higher rates. Using an industry database, the Durham-based nonprofit center compared credit scores, down payments and other financial information on about 177,000 loans made in 2004 by "subprime" lenders — companies that charge higher interest rates than banks. The lenders provided...

, N.C. — New DNA evidence may link a Duke University lacrosse player to an exotic dancer who claims she was raped in the team's house, a Durham newspaper reported Wednesday. Citing "several well-placed sources," The Herald Sun of Durham, N.C., reported that tissue collected from under the alleged victim's fingernail might match a player who was at the team party where the attack supposedly occurred.

News Archive Diann Burns accuses contractor of racism May 1, 2006 BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter Advertisement Chicago's highest-paid television news personality claims a contractor who designed and helped build her $3 million Lincoln Park mansion skimped on luxuries and did shoddy work because she is black. Diann Burns, top news anchor at WBBM-Channel 2, recently filed suit against Chicago-based Metzler/Hull Development Corp., demanding at least $600,000 on claims of fraud and discrimination. She and her husband, talent agent Marc Watts, list 84 complaints about their 5,752-square-foot home on North Burling Street -- from the angle of the garage floor...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- A Rochester teacher who has taken his employer and his own union to court numerous times over the years has been ordered to come up with $270,000 in legal fees. U-S District Judge David Larimer has ruled that Donald Murphy must pay that amount to the Rochester City School District and the Rochester Teachers Association. Larimer said Murphy targeted the city's entire school system in frivolous legal actions while claiming his civil rights were violated. He called Murphy's case "meritless and without foundation." The judge said Murphy's "antics" were aimed at annoying school officials or calling...