::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

buzzz worthy. . . Concerned for his father's health, gospel singer and pastor of New York based Perfecting Church, Donnie McClurkin posted a prayer request via Socialcam on Wednesday, Nov. 6. McClurkin was in South Carolina where his father underwent an emergency operation, in which 6 inches of his intestines were surgically removed and doctors performed pathology tests to see "if it's good or bad"  Donnie shared. The sudden procedure left McClurkin understandably frazzled. "This kinda messed me up.  Mom passed away in January and this came out of the blue," explained McClurkin.  He also said his family needs strength, "You all please pray for us.  Pray for my family, pray for my son.  Pray for all of us. Pray for the entire McClurkin family." In the first of the two videos posted, McClurkin vented about a member of the hospital staff violating his  family's privacy.  He said an orderly who was taking care of his father called a "Hi...

buzzz worthy. . . One month after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (AFA), President Obama is facing opposition to Obamacare following its botched online rollout heads on.  On Wednesday, he went to the state of Texas where opposition to his signature health care legislation is strongest.  Speaking from Dallas, while the president expressed regrets about the technical problems that prevented millions of Americans for enrolling online, he defended the merits of AFA.  He said people are working tirelessly to the kinks out of the system by the end of November. Below is an excerpt from the speech: "Now, I’m the first to say that the first month I’ve not been happy with.  (Laughter.)  You’ve all heard about the website woes.  Nothing drives me more crazy than the fact that right now, there’s great insurance to be had out there, choice and competition, where people can save money for a better product -- except too many folks haven’t been able t...

buzzz worthy. . .The History Channel has acquired the rights to re-make the slavery miniseries "Roots."   The network plans to turn the original 12 hour movie into 8 hours by 2015.  Based on the family histroy of Alex Haley and the book he penned by the dame name, "Roots" was a major television success having won several Emmys.  History wants to create a more contemporary version of the story.

buzzz worthy. . . By Mona Austin Two of the world's finest European artists will embark on a national American tour in February. Sting and Paul Simon will unite on stage  in the "Together Tour"  beginning in Houston, TX on February 8. The tour will end in Orlando, FL on March 16.  Currently there are 18 dates over a five-week period with the possibility of more dates being added.  The iconic gents will cover some of their top songs as a duo and as soloists. Simon and Sting were once neighbors in Manhattan, but hadn't worked together until May of 2013. They performed two acoustic selections together at a benefit event for the Robinhood Foundation.  That encounter led to the co-tour, which is formally called  "Paul Simon and Sting: On Stage Together." Of  that engagement Simon told the New York Times that afterwards, "we both looked at each other and said : 'Wow.  That's pretty interesting.'" This collaboration is indeed inte...

buzzz worthy. . .  For the first time since 1989, Bill De Blasio, a Democrat has won the New York City mayoral race. (The De Blasio family pictured above.)

buzzz worthy. . . GLORIA GAYNOR Releases Gospel Radio Single "YOU'RE RIGHT ON TIME" Grammy Award-winning singer  GLORIA GAYNOR  took the music world by storm in the 1970s, striking platinum with her disco hit "I Will Survive".   "I Will Survive" was the only song to earn a  Grammy for Best Disco Recording  and was one of only twenty-five songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. On September 19, 2005 Gaynor, along with her hit song "I Will Survive" were inducted into the  Dance Music Hall of Fame  during a ceremony that took place in New York City. "I Will Survive", has been featured on the soundtrack of more than a half dozen major motion picture releases, and VH-1 honored Ms. Gaynor with the number one spot during their countdown of the  Top 100 Dance Records of All Time . Over the years, the disco legend has received thousands of personal messages from adoring fans whose lives have been ...

buzzz worthy. . . The United States welcomes the passage of legislation today by the Council of Representatives (COR) to govern Iraq’s parliamentary elections.  These elections have now been set for April 30, 2014, and the law that passed today was the result of many weeks of negotiation and compromise by all of Iraq’s major political blocs.  I applaud the leadership of Prime Minister Maliki, Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Barzani, and COR Speaker Nujaifi in achieving this result. Upcoming elections give the Iraqi people an opportunity to choose the direction of their country, and the compromises reached today demonstrate the strength of Iraq’s democratic institutions, even in the face of terrorism that seeks to heighten sectarian tension and provoke broader conflict. As noted in the Joint Statement concluded last week following the visit of Prime Minister Maliki to Washington, the United States is prepared to work as appropriate with the United Nations Assistan...

buzzz worthy. . . New York, NY  - Every week for more than three months  Hezekiah Walker  and his smash hit single " Every Praise " (RCA Inspiration) has topped Billboards' Gospel Songs Charts and this week, Walker's 14th consecutive at #1, sets a new personal best for the artist. "Every Praise/Hezekiah Walker will go down in the archives of great inspirational songs as one of the best. This song makes you feel joyful. It brings a smile to your face. It exudes happiness," says  Elroy R. C. Smith , Inspiration Format Director at Radio One, Inc.  "Furthermore, I love this song so much that I purchased it recently on ITUNES.  Congratulations to RCA INSPIRATION and Hezekiah Walker for one of the greatest songs to date. " Featured on Walker's " Azusa The Next Generation " album, the hit single "Every Praise" was originally released by RCA Inspiration in June.  Walker, whose previous #1 single " Souled Out ...