9/30 News Tidbits

USA: Ban Handguns? Supreme Court Taking A New Look

The Supreme Court says it will take up a challenge to Chicago's ban on handguns, opening the way for a ruling that could set off a vigorous new campaign to roll back state and local gun controls across the nation. A ruling against the city's outright ban could lead to legal challenges to less-restrictive laws across the country that limit who can own guns, whether firearms must be registered and how they should be stored. The case is to be argued early next year. Last year, the justices struck down a prohibition on handguns in the District of Columbia, a city with unique federal status, as a violation of the Second Amendment. Now the court will decide whether that ruling should apply to local and state laws as well.

Guinea Bans 'Subversive' Meetings

Hat tip to reader Cultural Strategist for the heads up on what's happening in Guinea. Guinea's military leader has banned all "subversive" gatherings days after soldiers opened fire at a mass rally, killing a large number of people. Local activists say at least 157 people were killed when soldiers fired on protesters, though government officials put the death toll at 57. Eyewitnesses said that soldiers raped women in the streets and ran protesters through with bayonets. Rumors that Captain Moussa Dadis Camara intends to run for president sparked Monday's protest. He took power in a bloodless coup late last year and promised to step down after overseeing a transition back to civilian rule. But recently he has refused to rule out his candidacy in a scheduled January 2010 election.

USA: East Cleveland Mayor Loses Election After Cross-Dressing Photos Emerge

Photos surfaced last week allegedly of Mayor Eric Brewer dressed in heels, wig and lingerie. While the Democrat reacted with anger over the release and dissemination of photos, he neither confirmed nor denied that the photos were not of him. Despite many voters public statements that the photos shouldn't matter, voters chose his opponent, Gary Norton, Jr, by a margin of nearly 2-to-1 in Tuesday's election. Mr. Norton says he has known about the photos for a couple of years. Mr. Brewer claimed that some folks on the city's police force were responsible for peddling the photos to the public and the media; and that they did so in response to differences over certain police conduct.

USA: Palin 'Grateful' For Top Spot

Two days after the release date of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s memoir was announced, it's already become the top seller at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Her publisher announced Monday that the former Republican vice presidential candidate had finished Going Rogue: An American Life early and was moving the release date up from the spring to November 17. A Palin source told POLITICO that she "is very grateful" for the strong early sales. HarperCollins will print 1.5 million copies for the book’s first run, the same number printed for late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s memoir.

USA: BET And MTVN Unveil New Lifestyle And Music Network

BET and MTV Networks very quietly soft-launched Centric, a new basic-cable network aimed at African-American adults, on Monday. BET is rebranding its nearly 32 million subscriber BET J network under the Centric moniker, which will target black viewers with music and lifestyle programming. Centric — handled by MTV Networks’ affiliate-sales team, but otherwise run by BET — plans to work with affiliates to reach 45 million subscribers by 2010.