NBC has named one of the late Tim Russert's replacements for its weekend's biggest show Meet The Press.  He is journalist Mark Whitaker, who also holds the position of Senior Vice President of NBC News as well as D.C.'s Bureau Chief.  SVP is the number 2 position and he oversees national and international reporting for all NBC News platforms, including NBC Nightly News, the Today show, MSNBC and MSNBC.com. When Mark served as Editor of Newsweek before his move to NBC, he actually made history as the first African American editor of a national news magazine.   He holds degrees from Harvard, Oxford, and other colleges.  He has a wife named Alexis, who is also a journalist, and two children.  Congrats to Mark!   Congress is set to apologize to black folks for slavery.  More on that when you read the rest...

For those of you who watched the CNN docuseries "Black In America", here's the post where you can discuss. I'm sure this one will get colorful. If you missed the series, catch both Wednesday's and last night's installments here. Speak on it...

Barack and Michelle Obama sat down with People Magazine to talk about their family life and the Presidency. Here's some cute pics and snippets from the interview:





PEOPLE: Someone told me today that you don't do birthday presents.Michelle: No, because we spend hundreds of dollars on a birthday party and movie tickets and pizza and popcorn ... Barack: That sleepover is enough. We want to teach some limits to them. And their friends bring over presents. Michelle: They get so much stuff that it just becomes numbing. Malia believes there is still a Santa Claus even though she's a little wary because some of her friends are non-believers. But Malia says, "Ma, I know there is a Santa because there's no way you'd buy me all that stuff." [Laughing] So what does a slumber party at the Obama house look like?Barack: They're pretty noisy. Michelle: The older they get, they just talk a lot. But they're at the age where they're pretty self-sufficient. [For Malia's birthday] we're going to go swimming, see Wall-E, make pizzas, have sundaes. Barack: I usually go for the swim but this time I want to go to the movie just because Wall-E has gotten great reviews. I find actually that children's movies are the best movies these days. But I'll probably, after that, peel off until the cake. Michelle: [Laughs] "Peel off." Last year, when we first met, Malia said that she sometimes wished maybe you wouldn't win. Do you think they still have those mixed feelings? Barack: I am absolutely certain because we've talked about it – that they are not looking forward to moving. They have a wonderful life in Chicago, they have lifelong friends in Chicago and the prospects of having to make new friends, that's never something that kids are looking forward to. So I'm sure that there's a part of them that says we won't be heartbroken if things don't work out. Can you tell me how this experience has changed your marriage?Barack: It's made it stronger. The tough times for us were when the kids were real small, I was away a lot and Michelle was still working. So, the burden on her was enormous, and I think there's a feeling that maybe I didn't fully appreciate that burden. That was something we worked through. And I think we're both more patient with each other. We both know how to avoid making the other person feel aggravated. And I'm so proud of her and I think she knows how much I love and appreciate her. So, she puts up with me. Michelle: I think it has made us stronger. Time and love and sacrifice and hard struggles, I think, make you stronger. Barack: I also think that she knew at the beginning when I was doing this that if she came to me and said don't do it, I wouldn't have done it. Michelle: That's the key, for sure. Barack: And if I ever thought that it was ruining my family, I wouldn't do it. Michelle: We're constantly balancing each other. I know that if I were to say, "I can't take this," it would be over. You can catch the entire interview in full here at People.com
Pics of Nas at his protest outside of Fox News yesterday when you read the rest...

 Alicia Keys and J-Hud are in the UK for the Keep A Child Alive Black Ball:

 

She was escorted by her younger brother.

 

Both ladies are looking pretty fab.  But I'm not a fan of flat sandals (even embellished ones) on a gala-style red carpet. Fashion is pain so no I don't care if your feet are sore.  Nice look still for Jenny though.   And in the NYC last night, Chris Rock, wife Malaak, and Jurnee Smollett all turned out for the "Kevin Powell For Congress" Fundraiser:

That's Mr. Powell on the left of course.  Malaak is looking pretty fab too even with that suspect looking wig she's been rocking these days.

And Jurnee rocked a cute laid back but chic look.  Loves this chick.   More pics from these two events when you read the rest...

As reported yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama copped the Democratic nomination for President as he surpassed the necessary number of delegate votes needed.