Just when you thought Oprah Winfrey couldn't get any more powerful. Now, the daytime talk diva is shutting down Michigan Avenue in Chicago to kick off of the 24th season of her television show.

On Sept. 7 and 8, the Windy City's most famous street will be closed to traffic so Oprah can take her show outside, the Chicago Tribune reports. Tuesday's taping is free and open to the public.

How did she pull this off?

Why bother with the bun? That's the premise of KFC's latest offering, the Double Down, a sandwich that replaces the traditional bun with two original recipe chicken fillets that hold bacon, cheese and some secret sauce.

An you thought the low-carb Atkins diet was just a fad? Some have estimated this chicken experiment has more than 1,200 calories.

Whatever happened to the days when a judge would say, "One more outburst like that and I will hold you in contempt!"

A judge in Chicago has sentenced Clifton Williams to six months in jail for contempt of court after he yawned during his cousin's trial. A spokesman for the court said Williams attempted to disrupt the proceedings with his yawn.

I wish we had the videotape, because that must have been one heck of a yawn. The worst part is Williams' cousin got probation, and he got sent to jail.

According to the Chicago Tribune, this judge is not someone you want to mess with. He's held people in contempt for swearing, not turning off their cell phones and even sneezing! Okay, I'm just kidding about that last one.

The discussion continues in the BV community.

+ Rapper Gets 2 Years for Cop-Killing Song

A Florida rapper is sentenced to two years in prison for a song called 'Kill Me a Cop' that he produced as a teenager.

Authorities say 20-year-old Antavio Johnson raps about killing two Lakeland, Fla., police officers in the tune, which cops found on MySpace while surfing for gang-related activity.

Johnson pleaded no contest to two counts of corruption by threat of a public servant and was sentenced to two years in prison last month. He was already in jail on a cocaine charge at the time. ...

President Obama's lighthearted crack about the possibility of being arrested or SHOT (for being a black) in the White House reminded me of this hysterical Dave Chappelle bit from way back.

First, there was "driving while black." Now, Gatesgate has sparked a new piece of terminology: "home while black."

Anyway, enjoy the vid.

Sunday was the tipping point, to use a tired phrase. When a black pastor from Harlem asks President Obama to prove his citizenship you know something's up. The so-called "birthers" movement has become more than just a bad joke that most people with half a brain laugh about. I'd almost had enough last week when I read about a soldier who refused to deploy over this nonsense.

But now it's official. President Obama being born in Kenya, not Hawaii as his birth certificate says plain as day, will go into the history books as full-fledged conspiracy theory. ...

President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia's recent fashion statement of wearing an anti-nuclear peace sign t-shirt sparked a racist response from some lowlifes at a right-wing blog and message forum and now it has turned into real news.

President Obama had just gotten Russia to agree to cut back on the world's stockpiles of nuclear weapons a couple days earlier last week when Malia sported the peace sign shirt to support him and the cause.

Over the weekend, the Vancouver Sun newspaper began repeating some racist comments made by the conservative blog and open message forum, Free Republic. There's no need to repeat the vile things that were posted. You can read them here if you wish.

The Huffington Post's Michael Shaw says shame on the Vancouver Sun for elevating the photo of Malia along with mindless racist utterances from a pseudo blog into something resembling a legitimate story. And I have to agree. ...

New York congressman Peter King rips Michael Jackson a new one in a strange YouTube video that's circulating.

King says the "media" and "society" is screwed up for putting Jackson on a pedestal, calling the singer a "low life" and "child molester." King adds, "He may have been a good singer, but the bottom line is would you let your child or grandchild be in the same room as Michael Jackson?" (via PopEater)

I think congressman King should take his soap box to Harlem outside the Apollo theater and see what people there think. Otherwise, you can take your opinion to the congressman's inbox.

Should we be surprised that something like this is coming from an old white Republican and, as one BlackVoices member put it, 'a known a-hole?' Noooooo. It sound's like something Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly would say.

But why's this grumpy guy so filled with hate and venom?

Discuss this in Community
+ Rep. King: MJ a Lowlife Pedophile

From the Web
The Root: Top 12 Angry White Men

The NAACP has blasted Monday's Supreme Court ruling in the New Haven, Conn., firefighter reverse discrimination case, calling it a "disappointing setback to civil rights in America."

The ruling overturned a lower court decision by Judge Sonia Sotomayor that upheld the city of New Haven's fire department's choice to throw out test results of a promotion exam in which black applicants' pass rate was roughly half that of white applicants. The city felt that the test was potentially bias and unfair.

Black Voices caught up with NAACP President Benjamin T. Jealous this week in an e-mail interview to elaborate on what the ruling could mean for the future of equal opportunity and civil rights in the United States, as well as Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor's appointment.

Black Voices: You've called the decision a setback for civil rights. Why?

Ben Jealous: The ruling has the potential to dial back the gains that have been made during the past two decades to build equal opportunity in the workplace. It also discourages employers from taking necessary steps to improve selection methods that are racially biased, for fear that they might be sued by white applicants. ...

Click here to read a copy of Michael Jackson's will (pdf via TMZ)

According to the will released today , Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, is named guardian of all three of his kids.

But the will also says if Katherine died before him or couldn't serve as guardian, he nominated Diana Ross to serve as guardian of the children and their piece of the estate. The will was written up in July 2002.

I didn't know the two were still that close, but I guess she would be a good mother. After his death, Ross was quoted as saying: "I can't stop crying, this is too sudden and shocking. I am unable to imagine this. My heart is hurting. I am in prayer for his kids and the family."

A petition connected to the will says the King of Pop's estate is worth more than $500,000,000 in "non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalog of music royalty rights which is currently being administered by Sony/ATV, and interests in various entities."

Michael Jackson's Family Trust will manage his estate. Those trust managers include; John Branca, Jackson's lawyer; music exec John McClain and Barry Siegel, Jackson's accountant. (SOURCE: TMZ)

+ MORE MICHAEL JACKSON WILL DISCUSSION