The World: Around the World in One Reading

In Washington, D.C., the Obama Adminsitration unveiled the health care bill and if it is enacted, this bill will make the larget expansion of health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over forty years ago.

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In Abuja, Nigeria, 80 protestors were arrested for condemning the visit of George Bush and Tony Blair. Shehu Sani and others campaigned a peaceful assembly that went along with the visit of the former president and the former primer minister. George Bush and Tony Blair were in attendance for the commemoration of 50 prominent Nigerians marking their 50 years of independence. Shehu Sani said that he wanted to protest against the horrible human rights legacy of George Bush and Tony Blair.

In Afghanistan, the Afghani government just confirmed that NATO planes killed at least 21 in an airstrike. The massacre happened in the city of Kabul in the central region of Afghanistan. Afghan officials confirmed that this was the deadliest attack on civilians in over a half of a year. The civilian death toll is now at 15,000, which is committed at the hands of U.S., NATO, and Afghan soldiers.

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Portugal's Rising Death Toll

The Portugese government declared three days of mourning for the mudslide victims on the island of Madeira. Officials said that the death toll has rose above 42 and at least 120 people have been injured. In the city of Lisbon, the government had the flags flying in half staff paying respect to the victims. Authorities confirmed over 250 people have been evacuated to safety on military bases.

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Haiti: The Distrurbing Numbers

It has been over a month since the massive earthquakes have forever changed the lives of the people living in Haiti. The earthquakes has claimed the lives of over 212,000 people and injured over 300,000 people in Haiti's natural onslaught. The United States Agency For International Development reports that three million people were affected by the quake and over 700,000 people were displaced who lived in Port-Au-Prince. In Haiti, over 5,000 schools have been destroyed by the natural disaster and children will not be able to continue their education until early April. According to the U.N., more than 2.3 million people have received food and the World Health Organization said that over 900,000 people have access to safe drinking water. The World Health Organization also reported that they are still short of the goal they are trying to reach, which is to provide 1.1 million people with safe drinking water.

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Earthquake Hits Northern Illinois

An earthquake rattled northern Illinois shaking up a region northwest of downtown Chicago. The quake had a magnitude of 3.8 and was felt by millions of people who inhabited regions of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The Illinois earthquake was very minor compared to the one the people of Haiti suffered from. According to officials, the Haitian earthquake was 33,000 times as powerful.

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U.S. Wants Speedy Return of Democracy in Niger

The Obama administration wants a quick resolution for democracy after a coup ousted out President Mamadou Tandja. Tandja is being held in a military camp after troops came in and apprehended him from his palace according to reports by the U.N. and the French Embassy. Tandja has been serving as president since 1999, but the previous constitution of Niger mandates only two five year terms by a president, which is reported in the C.I.A's World Fact Book. According to reports, the nation of Niger's 15 million citizens are in favor of the coup. They reported life has not change, everything has remained normal since President Tandja has been forced from his position.

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From Being Assembly Line Worker to the Next Possible NFL Enlistee

Brandon Crawford, a resident of Indiana is no stranger to life's good and bad experiences. Crawford was once being offered scholarships from mid-major schools for his ability to play football and had financial aid available from the 21st Century Program until one decision changed his whole course of life. Brandon Crawford jumped into the car of a friend that happened to be stolen. Crawford was arrested and his football dreams were stolen just like the car he rode in.

Brandon Crawford worked in a factory and after graduation in 1996, enlisted in the Marines and resided at Camp Pendleton. He was then stationed in North carolina after the September 11th attacks. There is going to be some difficulty for Crawford entering the NFL because his age will play a tremendous factor, but if one looks at his game footage, the performances will not lie, but his age will. Crawford believes he has a shot and refuses to allow anyone to deter his dream.
Since football season ended in November, Crawford has put on about 20 pounds of lean muscle and has a frame that measures 6'3" and 275 pounds. This is a good size for a defensive football player. Crawford has a message to the scouts through his performance and that is his age doesn't affect his ability to play professional football.

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Randy Moss Believes 2010 Will be His Last Year as a Patriot

New England Patriot's wide receiver Randy Moss made a statement Saturday night replying that he has belief that 2010 will be his last year as a Patriot. Randy Moss predicts that his contract is not going to be renewed. He has completed the final year of his three year contract which was for 27 million dollars. Moss made it clear that he is thankful for what the Patriots organization done for him and his family. He said that he or the Patriots will not have any animosity towards each other if there is no renewal of his contract. Randy Moss stated that being traded is just the nature of football, which is the beast of the business.

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Tracy McGrady Debut as a Knick was a Spoiled Debut

Former Houston Rocket Tracy McGrady made his New York Knicks debut and performed exactly what they wished for but it wasn't enough. McGrady came in and scored 26 points in 32 minutes against the highly energized Oklahoma City Thunder and the awesome Kevin Durant. Durant scored 36 points and made the go-ahead jumper with 16 seconds remaining in overtime. His jumper was enough for Oklahoma City to edge New York 121 to 118 in overtime.

Today in Sports: Mayweather Continues His Trash Talking

Floyd "Money" Mayweather currently holds down the number two position in boxing's pound for pound list and his supposed to be opponent Manny Pacquiao is currently at number one and is the pound for pound king. There is a very strong possibility that these two men may never face each other because both of them will have their hands full in separate bouts. Manny Pacquaio is first up to bat as he battles the always tough Joshua Clottey who has never been decisively beat on March 13th. It is very safe to say that Pacquiao may need a miracle to be victorious in this bout. And Floyd will also be scheduled in a fight where he will also need to perform a miracle to gain the win in his bout.

The Michigan native gave a interview to his hometown Newspaper, The Grand Rapids Press and stated that he will no longer take or agree to a 50/50 money split. If Mayweather wins his bout with the great Sugar Shane Mosley, he will then want more for his performances in the ring. Mayweather will want to take majority of money against whoever he faces in the future. He told The Grand Rapids Press in these words, "Instead of 20 or 25 million dollars, he may have to drop to 15, or 17. And you know me, they may have to throw that extra five or 10 on mine, and we can rock and roll. Take it or leave it."

Mayweather also gave his views on the drug testing issue, which he made known that he will agree to stop the test 14 days before the bout. Mayweather said there will be no cut off or there will be no fight. Floyd Mayweather stated that he gave Pacquaio a chance to do the 14 day thing but he wanted to end it 24 days before the fight. Now the fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao will probably never come to fruition because of their current engagements in stiff competition. Both fighters must first get past their opponents in order to have the boxing world once again going in a craze over who is the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

Nas Disses His Wife Kelis

Nas said in his diss track to Kelis: "How in the hell am I supposed to stay comfy/ When I pay child support, alimony monthly..." Nas is said to released the track with Damian Marley titled, "The Struggle Will Continue," off of their upcoming release called Distant Relatives. Nas and Damian relay a strong, but positive message in the song which deals with struggle and how to overcome and endure during difficult times. Nas also has a new version of this song that's unreleased. Before the song ends, Nasir Jones begins to rap on the situation with him and his wife Kelis. He spoke on all of the problems they were going through including the alimony hit he must pay monthly, which totals to $51,000. Nas has now pioneered the feat as being the first rapper ever to diss his wife on a track. We shall see if Kelis shall come with a response to her husband and become the R&B singer to diss her husband on a song. Music world stay tuned for all of the end results.

Lil Wayne Spends a Whole Work Day in the Dentist's Chair

On February 16th, New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne had a complete operation done on his teeth. This process included a number of eight root canals done in one day while visiting the dentist. During his operation, Lil Wayne whose real name is Dewayne Carter had to get his platinum grill removed and receive implants and repairs to his badly damaged teeth. Lil Wayne is removing his renowed grill before he submits himself to authorities to complete a one year prison term. Lil Wayne's sentencing hearing has been delayed until early March. This will give him enough time to recouperate before reporting to Rikers Island Department of Corrections to fulfill his mandatory prison obligation.

Click this Link to Hear Dentist talk about Lil Wayne:

http://www.rapbasement.com/lil-wayne/021910-lil-wayne-undergoes-an-8-hour-dentist-surgery-that-allowed-him-to-put-off-jail-for-few-weeks.html

Jasmine Cashmere Surprising Confession Regarding Jay Z

Jasmine Cashmere has reported that Hip Hop legendary superstar Jay Z is about to be a father and Beyonce will not be the child's mother. She claims that a famous New York rapper impregnated her and according to press, Jasmine Cashmere is an adult movie star who has starred in over 80 pornographic films since 2004. She has won several awards for the roles she played in pornographic videos and films. If the allegations are correct by the sources, then this will be Jay Z's second child. What's so puzzling about this whole situation is that she posted on her Twitter account these exact words: "NO, I'M NOT PREGNANT BY JAY Z OR ANY OTHER RAPPER FROM NEW YORK...." Now she is denying the allegations. You can view Jasmine Cashmere's tweets at this address, @4bidnJazmine and look at her comments in the near future to she how everything is going to play out.

Shyne Signs Million Dollar Deal with the Def Jam Label

Jamal Barrows, known to the Hip Hop world as Shyne just took initiative of re-entering the rap game by signing a seven figure deal with the ledgendary Def Jam records. Shyne has renegotiated with the label who is responsible for releasing his 2004 project Godfather Buried Alive. Various sources indicated that Shyne has signed a deal with Def Jam for one million dollars. Since Shyne has been exiled from the United States, it is said that he will be operating his music career from London, England. May Shyne find success with Def Jam and come home and rebuild where he left off.

Listen as Master P talks about Shyne here:

http://www.rapbasement.com/rap/021710-shyne-signs-a-7-figure-deal-with-def-jam-records-according-to-reports-more-info-here.html

President Barack Obama Admits to Loving the Art of Hip and Jay Z

Hip Hop great Jay Z recently admitted that the current United States President Barack Obama listens to and loves his music. Jay Z said he called President Obama while he was in the gym and the commander-in-cheif was listening to his latest platinum certified LP The Blueprint 3. Former Def Jam president has future plans for seeing the current U.S. President back in office for a second term and plans on supporting him in the 2011 election so he can spend eight years in the White House.

Rumors of 50 Cent Leaving the Aftermath Camp

There is an ongoing rumor concerning 50 Cent who may be leaving the partnership of Dr. Dre and Eminem. Rumor has it because of the previous endeavors that Dr. Dre underwent by re-aligning himself back with The Game who may be resigned back to Aftermath. In addition, 50 Cent's contract has been officially fulfilled and there is no answer whether he is going to resign back to Shady/Aftermath. Dr. Dre on the other hand is also working with former Murder Inc. artist Ashanti, and this is putting 50 at even more odds with Dre. If 50 don't resign back to the label then he more than likely will sign himself to his already established G Unit Records and officially join the ranks of Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, Spider Loc, and whoever else is signed to the label.

This Week in Hip Hop News: 50 Cent Will Release Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks Independently

50 Cent, the G Unit don will independently release Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks because they have been dropped from their Interscope distributor. Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks both have releases that are due out this summer according to 50 cent. Tony Yayo has not released an album since his solo debut back in '05 which was titled Thoughts of a Predicate Felon and Lloyd Banks has not released a solo album since '06 which was titled Rottn Apple. Tony Yayo feels excited about not being on the majors anymore because he stated that he don't have to deal with the red tape. On the other hand, Young Buck is still intertwined in his G-Unit/Interscope contract and there is no known offical release of his terms at this time.