Powell: ‘I’m still a Republican’

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday he's still a member of the Republican Party, despite voting for President Barack Obama in the last two elections and being very critical of the GOP of late.

"I think the Republican Party right now is having an identity problem – and I'm still a Republican," Powell said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "But in recent years there's been a significant shift to the right, and we've seen what that shift has produced: two losing presidential campaigns."

Finding ‘Mr. Right’ harder than it looks

Finding Mr. Right is harder than it seems for professional women of color. What is the secret to finding true love?

"The Relationship Plan" – an interactive seminar created by entrepreneur Shannon O'Brien – shares the secret for women to find and nurture their true soul mate.

Twenty-three years ago, Newsweek magazine caused an uproar among single working women when it published a controversial article predicting that professional women over the age of 30 had a 3 in 100 chance of getting married.

Obama to swear-in on 3 historic bibles

What do the 16th president, a civil rights leader, and Michelle Obama's grandmother have in common? Their Bibles will be used in the second inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) made the announcement on Wednesday that Obama will take the oath of office on the Robinson family Bible on Sunday and on the Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. Bibles on Monday.

Finding and funding African Americans in science

In many ways, Raynard Kington – a prominent African-American medical professional and scientist – sees himself as incredibly privileged.

After attaining his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan, Kington later completed his M.B.A at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and served in various capacities at the National Institutes of Health, including deputy director. Board certified in internal medicine, public health and preventive medicine, Kington has been president of Grinnell College in Iowa since 2010.

A ‘classic flu epidemic’

ATLANTA – The spread of the flu across the United States appears to have slowed in portions of five states in the South and Southeast, a federal official told CNN early Friday, even as a National Institutes of Health director warned of the onset of "a classic flu epidemic."

The news came hours before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was due to release its flu advisory report for December 30 to January 5, which according to the official with knowledge of the findings will also show the number of flu-related deaths for children climbed by two last week.

Atlanta pastor, Evers’ widow to speak at inauguration

The widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers and an Atlanta pastor will deliver the invocation and benediction at President Barack Obama's inauguration January 21, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Tuesday.

The committee said in a statement that the president was involved in selecting Myrlie Evers-Williams to deliver the invocation and the Rev. Louie Giglio, pastor of the Passion City Church, to deliver the benediction.

FCC: prison call rates at all-time high

Experiencing life while a loved one is imprisoned can strain your emotions and relationships, but it shouldn't strain your pocketbook.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found that the cost of phone calls from incarcerated friends and family members is at an all-time high, and they are committed to changing that. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC brought the issue to light, finding that most inmate calls are nearly 15 times more expensive than regular phone calls.

Oldest U.S. citizen dies at 114

Mamie Julia Rearden once was asked how it felt to be one of the world's oldest living persons.

"I don't know how it makes me feel. I really don't know," she replied.

Last Wednesday (Jan. 2), Reardon died at an Augusta, Ga. hospital at age 114 years and 117 days, according to her daughters, Sara Rearden of Burtonsville, Md., and Janie Ruth Osborne of Edgefield, S. Car. Reardon reportedly broke her hip after a fall about three weeks ago.

Ceremonial Swearing-in for new Black Caucus

The 113th Congress includes 42 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including an incoming chairman who has reaffirmed the group's commitment to advocate for policies that are not only in the best interest of people of color but also protect America's most vulnerable populations.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation hosted a ceremonial swearing-in for the new CBC on Thursday. Incoming chair Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio took the gavel from Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). Judge Benita Y. Pearson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio administered a ceremonial oath of office to the members.

Myths aside, Emancipation Proclamation was a big deal

When Hannah Johnson wrote President Lincoln in the summer of 1863, she expressed the concerns of any mother with a son fighting a war.

But she had a special request: "I am a colored woman and my son was strong and able as any to fight for his country and the colored people have as much to fight for as any.... Will you see that the colored men fighting now, are fairly treated. You ought to do this, and do it at once."

A pardon – finally – for Wilmington 10

In what civil rights leaders across the nation are calling a significant moment in the civil rights movement, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue has granted individual pardons of actual innocence to all members of the Wilmington Ten.

"I have decided to grant these pardons because the more facts I have learned about the Wilmington Ten, the more appalled I have become about the manner in which their convictions were obtained," Perdue, a Democrat who leaves office on Jan. 5, said in her Dec. 31 statement.

House staves off fiscal cliff

After exhaustive negotiations that strained the country's patience, the House approved a bill to avert the dreaded fiscal cliff, staving off widespread tax increases and deep spending cuts.

In the 257-167 vote late Tuesday, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans favored the bill; 16 Democrats and 151 Republicans opposed it.