November 21, 2011
In the News: NASCAR Fans Boo Michelle Obama; Mariners Greg Halman Found Dead and More
WATCH: NASCAR Fans Boo Michelle Obama
It wasn’t all cheers at Sunday’s NASCAR race. After extending a warm welcome to Srgt. Andrew Barry, a sniper for the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, race fans booed first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden‘s wife, Jill.
The two served as grand marshals for the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to promote their Joining Forces project on behalf of military families. The two brushed off the somewhat salty embrace and continued on with the show.
Black Churches Face Real Estate Woes
These days churches and other faith-based institutions’ loan requests and requests for adjustments on existing loans are falling on deaf ears because banks are getting out of the real-estate business.
“They are not picking on churches,” said Dr. Richmond McCoy, president and CEO of UrbanAmerica Advisors. “They have just come to realize it is no longer a lucrative business for them anymore.”
The value of real estate has taken a major plunge — especially in the last three years, said McCoy. And as unemployment rises, giving goes down.
At one point, there was less than a one percent default rate in terms of churches not being able to pay their loans. Now that number is up to 18%, reports McCoy.
Outfielder Greg Halman Dead at 24
Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death early Monday and his 22-year-old brother was arrested as a suspect, Dutch police said.
The police were called to a home in Rotterdam in the early hours of the morning and found the 24-year-old Dutch player bleeding from a stab wound. Rotterdam Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said the officers arrested Halman’s brother, however, declined to give his name, in accordance with Dutch privacy rules.
Read more at The Huffington Post…
Bill Gates to Testify in Lawsuit Against Microsoft
Bill Gates was set to testify Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit accusing Microsoft of duping a competitor prior to its release of Windows 95. Gates will be the first witness in his company’s defense in a month long trial.
Utah-based Novell Inc. sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming it violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other computer makers when it launched the operating system.
Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.