New CALVIN KLEIN ADs fetures Mechad Brooks

Miami Model Mayhem Fashion Show- Super Bowl Weekend

From the Desk of King in Miami
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South Florida is swarming with stars and activities as we kick off Super Bowl 44 in Miami. I headed out to South Beach last night and was bombarded with fliers for all types of parties, including the Miami Model Mayhem Fashion Show at Vault (www.thevaultmiami.com) This is their second quarterly fashion show and part of the proceeds benefit Care Resource, a outreach group who helps support individuals with HIV/AIDS. Check it out, Saturday.

Fantasia: Opening Up to Oprah Winfrey 2day!

Fantasia Barrino will appear on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' Feb. 3.

The platinum-selling, eight-time Grammy Award nominated 'American Idol' champ will open up to Winfrey -- who is the producer of the acclaimed theater musical 'The Color Purple' -- about some of her highly-publicized dramas and a few previously unknown details of her life, which is captured on her hit VH1 reality series 'Fantasia For Real.' (Exclusive excerpts are below.) As previously reported by BV Newswire, the show was ratings bonanza for VH1 during its premiere.

Fantasia will debut her new song, 'Even Angels,' which will be featured on her third J Records album – due for release this spring.Interview Excerpts:

On missed performances of The Color Purple
FANTASIA: And towards the end of The Color Purple I would get very tired. Not enough sleep. I would be pushing myself. And at times – OPRAH: Because it's hard to come down after the show, right. FANTASIA: Well, the tumors were taking a lot out of me. OPRAH: So you were singing with the tumors. FANTASIA: Singing with the tumors. And if I wasn't on the stage, I was in the hospital getting an IV. But these are things that nobody would have ever known. OPRAH: Why didn't you tell me? FANTASIA: Well, I couldn't find you, Oprah. (Laughter.) OPRAH: I'm a phone call away. I mean, really, why didn't you say -- if not me, why didn't you say to someone, look, I'm -- I'm going through this? Because we didn't know that.

On taking care of her family
FANTASIA: I couldn't work or sing for six weeks. And as you can see, I take care of my whole family and it wasn't good for me, because who was gonna pay the bills? But I'm like, well, Lord, I've been through a lot. Why this now? I have so many people that I have to take care of. So it -- it -- OPRAH: So what is the answer? What did the Lord say? FANTASIA: Stop taking care of everybody. (laughter)

On what happened to all of her money
OPRAH: What happened to all the money? Because first of all everybody assumes when you come off "American Idol" you go make the first album, especially if they bought the album, you have millions of dollars coming in. Were there millions of dollars coming in? FANTASIA: You know, I don't want to throw anybody under the bus. I do believe there was a lot of money coming in. I just don't know where it was going.

Gays and Lesbians in the Military

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen testified on the potential repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy barring openly gay and lesbian service members. In their testimony they outlined plans to conduct a year-long review which would recommend policy changes on which Congress could act. In the interim, Secretary Gates said the military would enforce the existing policy “in a more humane and fair manner.”

Kim Burrell & J-Hud Honor Whitney @ BET HONORS 2010

Kim Burrell-"I Believe in you and me"





Jennifer Hudson- I Will Always Love You

LGBT & The President's Budget 4 2011

Yesterday the White House released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2011, the Administration’s proposal to Congress for federal funding in the next year. Despite across-the-board reductions, this year’s proposal includes a number of important increases, as well as new programs, that will impact LGBT people and those living with HIV and AIDS.

First, the Department of Justice budget includes an 11% increase for the Civil Rights Division, which is charged with enforcing civil rights laws, including the newly-passed Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The budget also includes $6 million for a new hate crimes prevention grant program. Last month, HRC President Joe Solmonese sent a letter to Attorney General Holder asking him to include robust funding [pdf] for implementation of the new hate crimes law in his department’s budget request.

Second, while HIV/AIDS programs were largely flat-funded at last year’s levels, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget does include some increases for key HIV/AIDS programs. These include a $31 million increase for HIV prevention efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a $40 million increase for treatment programs under the Ryan White CARE Act, and a $97 million increase for HIV/AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health. The CDC is also rolling out a new prevention program, using $26 million from new and existing funds, targeting gay and bisexual men and is allocating a portion of the new prevention dollars to address HIV in special populations, including the transgender community.

As it did last year, the HHS budget proposal also defunds disproven abstinence-only education programs in favor of teen pregnancy prevention efforts that provide evidence-based, medically-accurate resources to reduce the risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

We applaud the President for strengthening civil rights enforcement at the Department of Justice and for supporting increases in critical HIV/AIDS funding, even at time when cost-cutting and hard choices are necessary. Unfortunately, while the economic downturn dictates reductions in the federal budget (as well as state budgets), it also increases the burden on federal programs, like Ryan White, which help the most at-risk HIV-positive populations. As the appropriations process moves forward, we will continue to push Congress and the Administration to find ways to ensure that these critical programs continue to help as many people as possible.

Military FINALLY Reviews "Don't ask, Don't tell" Policy

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is promising to try to spare more gay troops from being dismissed from the military while the Pentagon takes a year to study revising its "don't ask, don't tell" policy. An announcement of the study, expected today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, marks a measured step toward President Barack Obama's goal of eliminating the military's policy against gays, which is based on a 1993 law.

Obama has called on Congress to repeal the law, but Democrats say they want more guidance on how to allow openly gay service members to serve without causing a major upheaval. The yearlong study could pave the way for the biggest social change to the military since the 1948 executive order for the racial integration of units.

While his promise is being hailed as a good start by gay rights' activists, Obama is finding resistance in several corners. Some high-ranking military officers are reluctant to embrace the change while troops are stretched thin at a time of two wars.

For their part, Democrats in Congress are unlikely to press the divisive issue until after this fall's midterm elections.

This will probably satisfy Gates, who has long suggested that change shouldn't come too quickly. In a speech last year at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., he noted that the executive order for racial integration took five years to implement.

"I'm not saying that's a model for this, but I'm saying that I believe this is something that needs to be done very, very carefully," he said.

According to U.S. officials, the senior-level study will be co-chaired by a top-ranked civilian and a senior uniformed officer. It would recommend the best way to lift the ban, starting from the premise that the goal will take time to accomplish but that it can be done without harming the capabilities or cohesion of the military force, officials said.

One U.S. official said Gates and Mullen will outline a more lenient standard for enforcing the current ban, as Gates had said last year he would consider. The interim policy would make it harder for a third party to turn in a gay service member and would raise the standard for evidence that the service member is gay before the person could be dismissed.

Under the 1993 law, engaging in homosexual conduct — even you don't tell anyone — can been enough to qualify a person for dismissal. The law was intended as a compromise between then-President Bill Clinton, who wanted to lift the military's ban on gays entirely, and a reluctant Congress and military that said doing so would threaten order.

According to figures released Monday, the Defense Department last year dismissed the fewest number of service members for violating its the policy than it had in more than a decade. Overall, more than 10,900 troops have been fired under the policy. The 2009 figure — 428 — was dramatically lower than the 2008 total of 619.

And The Grammy Goes Too....

List of Grammy winners in major categories


Winners in selected major categories at Sunday's 52nd Annual Grammy Awards:
Record of the Year: "Use Somebody," Kings of Leon.

Album of the Year: "Fearless," Taylor Swift.

Song of the Year: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On it)," Beyonce Knowles.

New Artist: Zac Brown Band.

Pop Vocal Album: "The E.N.D.", The Black Eyed Peas.

Female Pop Vocal Performance: "Halo," Beyonce Knowles.

Male Pop Vocal Performance: "Make It Mine," Jason Mraz.

Rock Album: "21st Century Breakdown," Green Day.

Rock Song: "Use Somebody," Kings of Leon.

R&B Album: "BLACKsummers'night, "Maxwell.

R&B Song: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," Beyonce Knowles.

Rap Album: "Relapse," Eminem.

Rap Song: "Run This Town," Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Run This Town," Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West.

Country Album: "Fearless," Taylor Swift.

Female Country Vocal Performance: "White Horse," Taylor Swift.

Male Country Vocal Performance: "Sweet Thing," Keith Urban,.

Latin Pop Album: "Sin Frenos," La Quinta Estacion.

Contemporary Jazz Album: "75," Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate.

Classical Album: "Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio from Symphony No. 10".

Traditional Gospel Album: "Oh Happy Day," various artists.

Dance Recording: "Poker Face," Lady Gaga.

Electronic Dance Album: "The Fame," Lady Gaga.

Alternative Music Album: "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," Phoenix.

Spoken Word Album: "Always Looking Up," Michael J. Fox.

Comedy Album: "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!" Stephen Colbert

Gifted Curse Promo: The Derrick L. Briggs Interview

There is the promo for the highly anticipated Derrick L Briggs interview coming later this month. and below is a snippet into the life of derrick interview. This is derrick briggs uncut and uncensored! The man behind the smoke and mirrors will be revealed like never before.

Stomp The Yard 2 - Behind The Scenes

get into the behind the scenes footage of stomp the yard 2:homecoming which hits theaters later this year!