Warren Jeffs Sentenced to Life in Prison

Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as child brides, the Associated Press reports.

The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was convicted last Thursday.

The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes before returning the maximum sentence on both counts. Earlier in the day, several jurors broke down in the courtroom while prosecutors played a recording of Jeffs instructing the girls on how to service him sexually and threatening God would “reject them” if they didn’t have sex with him, Fox News reports.

Related articles

• Warren Jeffs sentenced to life in prison for sexual assault (news.blogs.cnn.com)
• Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Gets Life in Prison For Sexually Assaulting Underage Followers (perezhilton.com)
• Warren Jeffs gets life in prison (bbc.co.uk)

Billionaires Invest in Young Black and Latino Men

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

There's not much in the media today that bears anything close to something positive or something that leaves you with some hope for the future.  Unfortunately, the idiotic antics of our law makers takes center stage to other news so we don't hear much about someone actually trying to do something positive. But I read a story in The Grio that lifted my spirits:

New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the billionaire financier George Soros have teamed up to aid African-American and Latino youth.

The Young Men's Initiative, as it is called, will overhaul how the city government interacts with the 315,000 African-American and Latino males between the ages of 16 and 24. The aim is to be pro-active: by addressing the much discussed, but rarely confronted, issues affecting this undereducated, over-incarcerated and underemployed minority.

Oprah Winfrey and James Earl Jones Receiving Honorary Oscars

Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith have been picked to receive honorary Oscars.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the three will be honored with Oscar statuettes at the Governors Awards in November. The academy's Board of Governors voted Tuesday to recognize the entertainment industry veterans.
Winfrey will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which honors philanthropic and humanitarian contributions. The 57-year-old media mogul, who was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for 1985's "The Color Purple," supports various charitable and educational causes, including her own namesake foundations and Academy for Girls in South Africa.
Jones and Smith will receive honorary Oscars for their outstanding careers.