By Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist Amid the still-unfolding effects of the deepest recession since the 1930s, one area of financial services is in a skyrocketing growth mode: prepaid credit cards. Initially appealing to consumers who lacked bank accounts to conduct personal financial transactions, this form of plastic is now commonplace. In fact, some governmental benefits are issued on prepaid cards. In 20 ...

In this Jan. 10, 2012 photo, actor and recording artist Ne-Yo poses for a portrait in New York. Ne-Yo has been named senior vice president of A&R for Motown Records. (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri) R&B star Ne-Yo has left Def Jam and signed a new deal with Motown , where he will not only continue to make his own music but serve as an executive for the label as well. “His track record of success at Def Jam ...

Walmart Executive Rosalind Brewer has been named as president and CEO of Sam’s Club, making her the first woman and the first African-American to hold a CEO position at one of the company’s business units. (Courtesy of McArthur Newell II)   BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Walmart Stores Inc., the world’s biggest retailer, has named Rosalind Brewer as president and CEO of Sam’s Club – the first woman and the first ...

Karl Marx, the Father of Communism (Marxism), would be blushing if he could come up from Hell and look at what the United States Department of Education is trying to pull off on the American public. The power grab began when the economic downturn hit us. The provider of college student loans, SallieMae, was a victim like many other institutions. Like a “duck on a June bug” the federal government pounced on ...

Key Verse: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:19-20 KEY CONCEPTS… Justified – to declare or to be made just; righteous; to be freed. Sinner – not free from ...

Each year as W-2s begin arriving in mailboxes, commercials start promoting a range of services to ‘help’ consumers with tax preparation. These advertisements beckon consumers to take advantage of convenient and worry-free services. In reality, however, many tax season services are less about convenience and more about taking a hefty portion of refunds consumers have already earned. Each year, high cost tax- ...

ARIES A happy week is in store for sociable you. Lots of friends and a party or two or three will keep your energy bright. Use caution while driving and watch for a pleasant surprise or two this week. Soul Affirmation: Trust gives me a deep sense of peace and joy. Lucky Numbers: 18, 21, 37 TAURUS Lots of creative energy available this week, and you can use this in many creative ways. Whatever your heart tel ...

Dear Gwendolyn: I have been married for 14 years. We have two children, age eight and six. I have always had my older child in a school in rich suburbia. My wife does not seem to have good reasoning. If I had known that, I never would have married her. This is the problem: She thinks that schools in wealthy neighborhoods are better schools. I have been attending the town hall meetings held by the school boa ...

President Barack Obama’s second State of the Union ...

As a kid on the Westside of Chicago learning bass guitar in church, Tony Russell wasn’t focused on growing up to work with some of the biggest artists in popular music. ‘When I was coming up, I just wanted to play. I wasn’t thinking about having a career, I just wanted to be good enough to play in church’, he explained. Tony grew up in neighborhoods at Cicero and Polk, Avers and Lake, and Augusta and Lake. ...