This proves that there is still hope for our youth. This young high school student defied many odds to make it to where he has today. Check out his speech!! Its definitely inspirational…to say the least!!

Dewayne Woods visits Glory In The Morning host Winston Chaney to talk about his new CD. Listen to what he had to say.
Dewayne Woods Visits WYCB

Early in their marriage, Dewitt & Kim Jones were given devastating news. A bout with toxic shock syndrome at age 18 had resulted in Kim being diagnosed with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, and the young newlyweds were told they would likely never have children. The doctor prescribed medication for Kim, but she made a decision not to take it, but rather to completely trust God with her life and for her healing.

Now, after 31 years of marriage and miracle after miracle, Dewitt and Kim have 5 children and recently welcomed their first grandchild. Indeed, “children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.” It wasn’t until Kim was holding her fourth newborn in her arms that she was told the condition she had been diagnosed with was known to completely sterilize 99% of the women who have it. “I looked at my miracle Judah and my 3 other kids at that time and said, ‘God, you gave me a miracle,” Kim remembers. “I didn’t even realize how big of a miracle it was.”

The resulting album, “Get Ready” (EMI Gospel), is a spirited and distinctive tour-de-force of pop/rock/soul Gospel that captivates listeners from beginning to end. From the instantly memorable piano-driven pop melody of “Heaven” to the swirling throwback in-the-pocket rhythm of the title track and lush melodic song of worship “You Can Do Anything”, the songs alone are remarkable selling points from this otherwise “debut” group. While “Get Ready” is replete with “wow” moments, Dominique’s compositions “He Wants It All” (the first radio single) and “Heaven” are easily two of the most standout tracks.

*Compensation for full-time Southern Baptist pastors is rising slightly faster than inflation, but the mounting cost of benefits is forcing churches to provide fewer pastors with medical insurance.

These and other findings are part of the SBC Church Compensation Study, a survey of 11,674 staff positions in Southern Baptist churches. LifeWay Research conducted the survey in cooperation with GuideStone Financial Resources (www.guidestone.org) and Baptist state conventions through June 2010. All the data acquired by the study has been compiled into a Web-based tool (www.lifeway.com/compensationsurvey) that will help churches as they begin planning staff compensation packages for their 2011 budgets.

Compensation

Adjusting for church size (see Methodology), the average full-time Southern Baptist senior pastor’s compensation (salary and housing) rose 0.78 percent between 2008 and 2010. That rate of change was only slightly higher than the compounded 0.67 percent inflation rate for the same two-year period, according to figures supplied by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index.”

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Have Scientist finally discovered the cure for the HIV/AIDS epidemic? Read what was reported in the Wall Street Journal:

“In the latest development, U.S. government scientists say they have discovered three powerful antibodies, the strongest of which neutralizes 91% of HIV strains, more than any AIDS antibody yet discovered. They are now deploying the technique used to find those antibodies to identify antibodies to influenza viruses.

The HIV antibodies were discovered in the cells of a 60-year-old African-American gay man, known in the scientific literature as Donor 45, whose body made the antibodies naturally. The trick for scientists now is to develop a vaccine or other methods to make anyone’s body produce them as well.

That effort “will require work,” said Gary Nabel, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who was a leader of the research. “We’re going to be at this for a while” before any benefit is seen in the clinic, he said.”

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Its been a hard month thus far. First, we lost Gospel Legend Walter Hawkins now, New York Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner passes away. Here’s the reports as they were released this morning:

UPDATE at 9:57 ET: The Associated Press also is reporting now that it has been told that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is dead.

UPDATE at 9:50 ET: The New York Daily News, citing a Yankees team source, says George Steinbrenner died at about 6:30 a.m. ET today after suffering a heart attack last night.

WABC reports George Steinbrenner has suffered a massive heart attack. The TV station says the Yankees owner was rushed to St. Joseph’s hospital. The New York Daily News and ESPN are reporting that “The Boss” is in “extremely critical condition.”

Steinbrenner turned 80 on July 4th. The Tampa Tribune reports that emergency crews responded at Steinbrenner’s home last night. Steinbrenner last week told the AP he was “feeling good” after spending a couple hours in his office at the Yankees’ spring training complex.

Bay News 9 also is reporting that it has been told by multiple sources that emergency crews went to Steinbrenner’s home and that someone was transported to St. Joseph’s.

During Steinbrenner’s ownership, the Yankees have won 11 pennants and seven World Series.

The Yankees website is acknowledging that there are reports about Steinbrenner suffering a heart attack, but makes no further comment, as of 9:55 a.m. ET.

]]> http://myspiritdc.com/national/angel/new-york-yankees-owner-passes-away/feed/ 0 http://myspiritdc.com/local/bobby/legendary-gospel-artist-walter-hawkins-passes/ http://myspiritdc.com/local/bobby/legendary-gospel-artist-walter-hawkins-passes/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:07:54 +0000 Bobby B. http://myspiritdc.com/?p=82721

The Light wishes to express our deepest heart felt sympathies, to a gospel legend Bishop Walter Hawkins in the wake of learning the devastating news of his untimely passing today. Hawkins died today after battling with cancer for some time. We wish to extend our sincerest regrets, prayers, and support to Edwin Hawkins, Lynette Hawkins-Stephens, his former wife Tremaine Hawkins, his son Jamie Hawkins(Walter Hawkins Jr.), his daughter Trystan, The Love Center Church and all of his family and friends. friends as endure these times. As of now no further details have been released, but we will keep you posted.

Walter Hawkins (May 18, 1949 — July 11, 2010) was an American gospel music singer. Born in Oakland, California, he was one of gospel music’s most legendary figures. Bishop Walter Hawkins was one of the most beloved pastors and figures in contemporary Gospel Music today. In the Forty plus years of his career, he has created one of the most prolific and outstanding catalogs of hit gospel recordings and published songs. It was recently announced on the Facebook profile page of Pastor Shirley Caeser, another Gospel legend, that Bishop Walter Hawkins passed away on Sunday, July 11, 2010.

Walter was the brother of gospel singer Edwin Hawkins and Lynette Hawkins-Stephens. While married to Tramaine Hawkins, the couple had two children a son, Walter “Jamie” Hawkins, Jr. and a daughter, Trystan Hawkins with one granddaughter, Jahve Hawkins and one grandson, Jamie Daniel Hawkins. Walter “Jamie” Hawkins, Jr. is married to Myiia “Sunny” Davis-Hawkins. Hawkins started his career in one of his brother’s chorale, “The Northern California State Youth Choir” of the Church of God in Christ. Later on he accompanied his brother and made significant contributions to his career with the founding of The Edwin Hawkins Singers. This collaborative effort produced the hit song, “Oh Happy Day” which became one of the first gospel songs to crossover onto mainstream music charts.

Walter left the group in the early ’70s to establish the Love Center Church in Oakland, CA. He and his Love Center Choir had considerable success with his Love Alive series, which collectively sold over a million copies from the ’70s through the ’90s. Recordings and published songs that include such great hits as Marvelous, Going Up Yonder, Changed, Be Grateful, Thank You, He’s That Kind Of Friend, Until I Found The Lord, Jesus Christ Is the Way, Im Not The Same, Holy One, Spirit Now, Battle, I Love You Lord, Special Gift, Set Me Free, Is There Any Way, Everybody Ought To Know, My Gratitude, It’s Right and Good, Cry On, Im So Thankful, Just In The Nick of Time, Jesus Made A Way, Thank You Lord, I Must Go On, Im Going Away, Lord Give Us Time, Try Christ, I Feel Like Singing, Dear Jesus, God Is Standing By, I Love Jesus More, Follow Me, All You Need Is Christ, He Brought Me, He’ll Be There, Goin To A Place, Im A Pilgrim, Never Alone, On & On, and so many more. Hawkins and his groups have recorded with Van Morrison, Diahann Carroll, Sylvester (singer), Jeffrey Osborne, and many others.

Imagine going to the doctors office for a routine check up or dental work and leaving with a life threatening disease. This could very well be the case for some Veterans visiting a hospital in St. Louis. Here’s what Heather Mayer reported for DOTmed:

More than 1,800 veterans may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV after a hospital inspection discovered dental tools were washed improperly, according to a letter sent by the St. Louis VA Medical Center to the potentially affected patients.

The finding is the result of an internal quality inspection and affects veterans who received dental care between Feb. 1, 2009 and March 11, 2010.Hospital workers in the John Cochran Division reportedly washed dental equipment by hand prior to putting the tools through the sterilization process, while protocol requires that the equipment should go straight to the hospital’s sanitation and sterilizing department for specialized cleaning.

“Even though they hand washed, hand washing may not remove all of the protein and debris that’s there,” Linda Dickey, a spokeswoman for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), told DOTmed News. “The expectation is for the instruments to go through a series of processes that use specialized chemicals that break down protein and will work to get rid of debris before [going through] the sterilizer.”

The hospital said in its letter there is a low risk of exposure, but “any risk to our veterans is unacceptable.”

“I would imagine the risk level is significantly low, but we can’t say it’s zero,” said Dickey. “In particular, any instruments that do have any type of crannies or holes where blood or any kind of tissue could have gotten inside, that’s where there’s a higher risk — where you have any kind of reservoir that can hold onto protein or body fluids.”

Veterans who may have been exposed can undergo free blood tests at the hospital, according to the letter.

Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-MO) has contacted the White House, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs demanding a formal investigation, according to his office, calling the incident “totally unacceptable.”

“No veteran who has served and risked their life for this great nation should have to worry about their personal safety when receiving much needed health care services from a Veterans Administration hospital,” Carnahan said in prepared remarks.

Whether incidents like these are common is hard to know, said Dickey. But she pointed out that there is a higher risk of improper washing and sanitation in hospitals or clinics that lack a highly trained staff or infection prevention programs.

“I don’t know how often it occurs, but the cleaning process itself is going to get rid of a lot of organisms,” she said. “Is there a risk of transmission? Yeah, there is, and that’s why the VA reached out.”

The hospital did not return calls for comment.

For more info visit DOTMed

VIA CNN:

President Obama took a key step in cementing his judicial legacy Monday, nominating Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.

If confirmed, the 50-year-old Kagan will become the 112th Supreme Court justice. She would be the third woman on the nine-member bench and the fourth in the history of the court. Her confirmation also would mean that the Supreme Court would have no Protestant justices for the first time in its history. Kagan, who is Jewish, would join six Catholic and two Jewish justices; Stevens is Protestant.

Kagan, a native New Yorker, was widely reported to be the front-runner for the nomination. She was a finalist for the high court vacancy last year when Justice Sonia Sotomayor was selected to replace the retiring David Souter.

Kagan received her law degree from Harvard University, where she later served as dean of the law school. She previously served in the Clinton administration as associate White House counsel.

Kagan is a “trailblazing leader” who is “open to a broad array of viewpoints” and is a proven “consensus builder,” Obama said at the White House.

“While we can’t presume to replace Justice Stevens’ wisdom or experience, I have selected a nominee who I believe embodies that same excellence, independence, integrity and passion for the law, and who can ultimately provide that same kind of leadership on the court.”

Kagan, in turn, said she was “honored” and “humbled” by what she called “the honor of a lifetime.”

“The court is an extraordinary institution in the work it does and the work it can do for the American people,” she said. It enables “all Americans, regardless of their background or their beliefs, to get a fair hearing and an equal chance at justice.”

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VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Lena Horne, the singer and actress who died Sunday at 92, cut a singular path through modern culture.

She was the first black actress to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio (MGM in 1942) and the first black actress to be popularly accepted in roles that were as glamorous as any bestowed on the studio’s other top singing talent. She was beautiful, to be sure, and was quickly made a pin-up for (black) wartime soldiers.

But almost as rapidly as she rose to international fame, she quickly became disillusioned with her groundbreaking career. Her appearances in movie musicals were often scissored from the final cut when the films ran at theaters in the segregated South. She said she experienced jealousy from unexpected quarters — black performers in Hollywood who depended on servant and jungle native parts for their livelihood. And most of all Ms. Horne grew to resent playing the role of a “good little symbol.”

A major triumph of her career was her 1981 one-woman Broadway show, which attracted a great deal of attention and praise. She regarded the show as the most liberating moment of her life, saying her identity was clear to her because “I no longer have to be a ‘credit,’ I don’t have to be a ’symbol’ to anybody. I don’t have to be a ‘first’ to anybody. I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.”

On that note, perhaps it’s best simply to revel in her talent.

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VIA THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:

The Washington area is still at high risk for drops in housing prices by the end of next year, despite a recent uptick in home sales and prices, according to a new report.

There is a 77 percent chance that local home prices will be lower in the fourth quarter of 2011 than in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the second-quarter 2010 Risk Index published by PMI, a mortgage insurance company.

Though the figure declined from an 89 percent chance from the third quarter of 2009, the report still classified the area’s risk of price declines as “high.”

The area’s unemployment rate and affordability ranked relatively well, but prices — which declined 15 percent year-over-year from the fourth quarter — really hurt Washington’s score, said PMI spokesman Joel Luebkeman.

Updated data from the first quarter, though, showed price stabilization, Luebkeman said.

“If all other factors remain the same … you would expect the risk score for the D.C. area to show additional improvement,” he said.

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VIA CBS NEWS:

Today marks the federally-recognized National Day of Prayer, an annual tradition that dates back to 1952.

Will it be the last?

Last month, a U.S. District Judge in Wisconsin ruled that the government-sanctioned event, established by Congress and marked with a proclamation from the president, is unconstitutional.

“It goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgment’ of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context,” wrote Judge Barbara Crabb, who said the event violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause banning the creation of a “law respecting an establishment of religion” in the Constitution.

Crabb’s decision resulted from a lawsuit filed by a group of atheists and agnostics called the Freedom From Religion Foundation, who complained that the government did not have the right to tell them to pray.

But it did not stop the Obama administration from issuing a National Day of Prayer proclamation this year, just as it had last year; in it, President Obama calls on citizens to “pray, or otherwise give thanks.”

“Throughout our history, whether in times of great joy and thanksgiving, or in times of great challenge and uncertainty, Americans have turned to prayer,” said Mr. Obama. “In prayer, we have expressed gratitude and humility, sought guidance and forgiveness, and received inspiration and assistance, both in good times and in bad.”

The ruling declaring the day unconstitutional sparked outrage from lawmakers, who said it went against America’s religious tradition and urged the Obama Justice Department to appeal. Said House Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Lamar Smith: “What’s next? Declaring the federal holiday for Christmas unconstitutional?”

The Justice Department did decide to appeal, and Crabb said it was fine for the National Day of Prayer to go forward until appeals are exhausted, which is why it is being recognized today despite the ruling.

Opponents of the day say they do not object to private days of prayer – and, indeed, thousands of private events are taking place nationwide today – but they say the government should not be involved; the Obama administration counters that it simply acknowledges the role of religion in American life.

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VIA THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:

University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely V told police he repeatedly shook his former girlfriend’s head into a bedroom wall, according to police documents that described the gruesome scene where the young woman died.

But the Chevy Chase man’s defense lawyer said Huguely did not intend to kill ex-girlfriend Yeardley Love, 22, and he called her death “a tragic accident.”

Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo said detectives were investigating whether Huguely, also 22, had threatened Love before she was found in a pool of blood in her bedroom Monday. Detectives recovered Love’s computer that they said Huguely admitting stealing. That computer contained e-mails he sent her after a bitter breakup.

“Part of what we’re gathering in our discussion with friends and family is the extent to which [threats] took place and the context in which that took place,” Longo said.

Huguely is a former All-America lacrosse player at Landon School in Bethesda who quarterbacked the football team to the league championship. He has been charged with first-degree murder. Huguely has been arrested at least twice before — including once in 2008 when he was charged with threatening a female police officer.

On the day before Love’s death, members of the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams were having a “Sunday Funday,” extending a weekend of drinking and carousing, friends have told the Washington Examiner.

According to the police affidavit, around 2: 15 a.m., Love’s roommate and a friend returned home and found her face-down on her blood-soaked pillow. She suffered a large bruise on the right side of her face and her right eye was swollen shut. The door to her bedroom had been kicked open.

Police said that Huguely admitted that he kicked in Love’s bedroom door and during a struggle, “he shook Love and her head repeatedly hit the wall.”

Huguely told detectives that they had recently stopped dating, and that they had communicated by e-mail, documents said. Huguely said he stole Love’s computer from her home and then got rid of it. He told police where they could find it and it was recovered.

Read more here

VIA NEWS ONE:

In protest of the recently passed immigration law in Arizona that many believe will lead to racial profiling, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity has moved its annual convention out of the state. The fraternity’s leadership announced this decision through an email to members, saying:

” … the Board of Directors of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity voted unanimously to rescind the location of Phoenix, Arizona as our meeting location of the 104th Anniversary/ 90th General Convention in July, and to denounce the egregious immigration act signed recently by the governor of Arizona. It was the full opinion of the board that we could not host a meeting in a state that has sanctioned a law which we believe will lead to racial profiling and discrimination, and a law that could put the civil rights and the very dignity of our members at risk during their stay in Phoenix Arizona.”

The convention will be re-located to Las Vegas. Alpha Phi Alpha’s decision comes amid increasing calls to boycott the state of Arizona and its businesses until the controversial immigration law is overturned.

Source

VIA CNN:

Authorities hunting for the suspect in the botched Times Square bombing dramatically beat the clock overnight, seizing a Pakistani-American citizen moments before he was set to begin a long trip to his strife-torn homeland.

Faisal Shahzad, 30, was arrested around 11:45 p.m. ET Monday at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, said Attorney General Eric Holder.

Investigators found a 9mm handgun with clips and ammunition in a vehicle that the suspect is believed to have driven to the airport, a federal law enforcement source said Tuesday.

In addition, authorities found 15 bags of “standard green fertilizer” and flash powder in the trash outside Shahzad’s apartment in Connecticut, the source said.

Shahzad will appear after 2 p.m. ET Tuesday in federal court, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan said.

Shahzad was on board Emirates Airlines Flight 202 to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the jetway had been pulled back when the plane was called to return to the gate, a law enforcement source said. Shahzad was booked through to Islamabad, Pakistan, via Dubai, a senior airline official confirmed.

“They just caught him at the last second,” a law enforcement source said.

The FBI said its agents and New York detectives arrested Shahzad “for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square.”

President Obama said Tuesday that “justice will be done” in the case and that U.S. officials “will do everything in our power to protect the American people.”

The failed bombing is “another sobering reminder of the times in which we live,” Obama told an audience of business leaders. But the United States “will be vigilant” and “will not cower in fear,” he said.

Also Tuesday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the dogged law enforcement efforts but also said the city won’t tolerate any backlash against Pakistanis or Muslims.

“This was an act designed to kill innocent civilians and strike fear into the hearts of Americans,” Bloomberg said. “And I’m happy to say that it failed on both counts. We will not be intimidated by those who hate the freedoms that make the city and this country so great.”

Security officials removed three passengers from the flight late Monday, including Shahzad, a senior airline official said.

Read more here