- After being called “dumb” on Twitter, Fantasia took to the social network to defend her smarts and literacy.
“I deal with a lot and I stay away from all the negative!” she tweeted, adding, “…But know this about me, “I’m far from dumb, but God will do the rest of the talking for me.” [EurWeb]
- As Facebook expands and older users join, the network grapples with death. Users are “freaked” when deceased friends pop up as friend suggestions. [NYTimes]
- Usher is calling on former U.S. President Bill Clinton to sing a duet with him at the first World Leadership Awards Gala for the singer’s New Look Foundation. [PS
- Tiger Woods dropped a few F-bombs on live television during the British Open golf tournament. [Radar]
- Hundreds of possible bone marrow donors lined up at a Times Square church to help 11-year-old Broadway “Lion King” star Shannon Tavarez, who suffers from leukemia. [NYDN]
- Gospel artist Darwin Hobbs was rushed to a hospital in Atlanta after large blood clots formed in his lungs. [EurWeb]
- Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballad has expressed outrage over the shooting of 10 teenage boys at the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration. Other city leaders have also commented. “We have to be mad as hell about this,” said the Rev. Charles Harrison. [CT]
- Missy Elliott touched down in Israel last week for a performance in Tel Aviv and a visit to Jerusalem. [AFP]
- Former Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury is being sued over the sale of his company. A woman named Thuymai K. Ung alleges that Marbury promised to sell her 100 percent of his company for one dollar. [TMZ]
- Lil Wayne’s legal troubles aren’t over when he gets out of jail. He owes the IRS $1.13 million. [MTVUK]
- Kentucky’s I-75 highway has been renamed the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Trail in honor of the first Black fighter pilots in WWII. [Kentucky]
- President Obama is facing some flack for taking a family weekend vacation during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. [CNN]
- Jason Green, the New York City EMT accused of neglecting a dying pregnant woman during his break last year, was shot nearby a popular night club in Manhattan. He died shortly after at New York Downtown Hospital. [NYDN]