[UPDATE BELOW] Whitney Houston's ex-husband and New Edition front man Bobby Brown briefly entered Houston's funeral at New Hope Baptist Church earlier today before leaving looking "visibly upset." According to the Star-Ledger, Brown arrived with "an entourage of nine people" and requested to sit in the family's section with the child he had with Houston, 18-year-old Bobbi Kristina. "They were asked to leave," a source told the paper, referring to Brown's entourage," but Brown "left with the other people." more ›

Al Sharpton, no match for the Port Authority. The MSNBC talking head and possible NYPD spying subject got his SUV impounded at La Guardia last night. Well, not his SUV, Sharpton Media's SUV. The reverend can't drive. more ›

On Monday, NYPD chronicler Leonard Levitt (who is feared by the NYPD brass) reported, "An NYPD informant spied on the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network [NAN] as the group was organizing large-scale protests of the Sean Bell case acquittals, a police document shows. The confidential informant infiltrated a NAN meeting on May 3, 2008, and reported back to the NYPD's Intelligence Division, according to a document marked 'secret,' which was obtained by NYPD Confidential. The informant had attended the NAN meeting a week after a Queens judge had acquitted three detectives of the fatal 50-shot killing of Bell and the wounding of two of his friends in November, 2006." more ›

In 2007, the Reverend Al Sharpton and celebrated polemicist Christopher Hitchens, who died yesterday of cancer at the age of 62, met for an intellectual debate on the existence and nature of God at the New York Public Library. As the Times happily reported, despite the incendiary and polarizing nature of both men, the debate turned out to be "the public intellectual event of the evening, a bit like Bertrand Russell vs. C. S. Lewis." more ›

The revelations from Sharon Bialek that Republican frontrunner Herman Cain allegedly grabbed her genitals, pushed her head toward his crotch and said, "You want a job, don't you?" back in 1997 have provoked the NY Post's Andrea Peyser to paint the blond mother as a gold digger AND harsh on her make-up: "Sharon Bialek is 50, out of work and, according to one who knows her, she’s a smooth operator living way above her means. From the look of her heavily painted face, she’s also soon to be in acute need of a new tub of eyeliner." more ›

Yesterday over 250 mourners turned out for the funeral for Zurana Horton, the Brownsville woman who was killed in a blaze of gang-related gunfire while picking up her children from school earlier this month. Among those in attendance were NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and the Reverend Al Sharpton, whom the family asked to give the eulogy. more ›

The newly-slimmed down (and cable-ready) Rev. Al Sharpton visited the Daily Show last night, and sat down with Jon Stewart to discuss the Occupy Wall Street protesters who have been nestled in Zuccotti Park for the last month. Among other things, they covered the media bias in reporting on OWS, and Sharpton's full embrace of OWS, including the time he broadcast his radio show live from the park. But the most interesting parts of the interview came when the two criticized the "theatrics" around OWS. Watch below. more ›

In a major reversal from his derisive comments on Friday, Mayor Bloomberg has said that the Occupy Wall Street protesters may stay indefinitely in Zuccotti Park, so long as they do not break any laws. "The bottom line is, people want to express themselves. And as long as they obey the laws, we’ll allow them to,” Bloomberg told the Wall Street Journal. “If they break the laws, then, we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do: enforce the laws.” Occupy Wall Street spokesman Patrick Bruner told us that while he was happy with the mayor's comments, "It's always been our postion that we don't need any permission to exercise our rights." more ›

The Reverend Al Sharpton is broadcasting his radio show live from Zuccotti Park to highlight the Occupy Wall Street protests, "to show that those that are raising issues on Wall Street are as concerned about the economy and that Blacks and Latinos have grave concerns about economic issues and jobs," his organization said in a statement. Sharpton just said that he wanted to bring down a group of ministers to spend the night to show that the movement "is about all of us." In that case: hide the cocaine! But why isn't Al putting them on his new TV show? Is he saything that the protesters have faces for radio? more ›

President Obama is trying to drum up support for the American Jobs Act, his $447 billion plan to "put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans." While there don't seem to be enough votes in the Senate to pass it, maybe this will change some politicians' minds: Bloomberg News asked economists about the plan and it turns out they think the program "would help avoid a return to recession by maintaining growth and pushing down the unemployment rate next year." more ›

The Reverend Al Sharpton has vowed to find out who killed 56-year-old Denise Gay, an innocent bystander who was shot and killed in a fierce Crown Heights shootout on Labor Day. "We don't know where the bullet was from," Sharpton said as he stood with the Gay family on Friday, "We know where it wasn't from—the guy at the shootout. We will not give up until we find out what happened to Denise." more ›

As was expected, the Reverend Al Sharpton confirmed that he will join MSNBC starting in less than a week. Sharpton will be hosting "PoliticsNation," which airs weeknights at 6 p.m.; he will be replacing Cenk Uygur, who left the network in July. And Sharpton is already spouting team-speak about the show: "I am very happy and honored to join the MSNBC team as we collectively try to get America to 'Lean Forward." more ›

Friday was the 20th anniversary of the divisive Crown Heights riots, three days of violence and chaos which were spurred by the death of a 7-year-old black boy—killed by a Hasidic driver—and then, three hours later, the death of a 29-year-old Orthodox Jewish scholar, who was stabbed by a black man. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who recently decided to bow out of a panel about the riots, has an opinion piece reflecting on the tumultuous incident in the Daily News, which also published a 1991 photograph of Sharpton in one of his colorful track suits to go with the essay. And Sharpton admits he made some missteps, "I'd like to share a few of my reflections about the choices I made, including the mistakes, with an eye toward advancing racial understanding and harmony." more ›

After a few days of uproar over his possible participation at a panel about the 1991 Crown Heights riot, the Rev. Al Sharpton has decided not to attend. He sent a letter to organizer Rabbi Marc Schneier, explaining his decision, but also took a few shots at critics. In praising Schneier as "One who can provide a fair forum even if your congregants may question or disagree with the speaker, whether it's Hillary Clinton coming to your Synagogue after kissing Arafat's wife's cheek or Glenn Beck last week," Sharpton said, "Please do not let shallow petty people reduce you from your coveted role in this nation. However, there are those who want to distort and rewrite history for their own purposes." more ›

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the Crown Heights riot, which erupted after a 7-year-old black boy, Gavin Cato, was killed by a Hasidic driver and, three hours later, a 29-year-old Australian Orthodox Jewish scholar, Yankel Rosenbaum, was fatally stabbed. A Long Island rabbi invited a number of figures to speak at a panel this weekend, but one invitee—the Reverend Al Sharpton—has various Jewish groups, as well as Rosenbaum's relatives, up in arms. more ›

While nothing has been officially announced, conventional wisdom—or at least media gossip—says that the Rev. Al Sharpton will be hosting the 6 p.m. hour of MSNBC. Which now means donations that Comcast (which owns NBC, MSNBC) made to Sharpton's organization, National Action Network, and his lobbying on behalf of the cable provider look at least a little interesting. more ›

No stranger to controversy, the Reverend Al Sharpton looks he'll be like the newest member of MSNBC's left-leaning talk show crew. Last week, TV Newser reported that Sharpton, filling in for usual 6 p.m. host Cenk Uygur, had higher ratings in a key demographic and now the NY Times says, "Mr. Sharpton’s imminent hiring, which was acknowledged by three people at the channel on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed, is significant in part because MSNBC and other news channels have been criticized for a paucity of minority hosts in prominent time slots." more ›

This Sunday, the Rev. Al Sharpton will be featured on 60 Minutes. Telling interviewer Lesley Stahl to call him a "refined agitator" (hey, he has been working with Mayor Bloomberg and Newt Gingrich), he says, "I've learned to pick my fights and also to be more strategic about my fight plan. Doesn't mean it's not the same fight, but it means I'm a different and I'm a more seasoned fighter." Of course, one of the main things Stahl wants to talk about is the Tawana Brawley incident. more ›

Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden sought to harm the US by "attempting to inflame race and class tensions in hopes of tearing down the country from the inside out," sources who have seen the evidence recovered from Bin Laden's compound have told ABC News. In addition to traditional terrorist attacks, Bin Laden wished to "create a divisiveness that would cause more damage than al Qaeda could ever do on their own." This included recruiting blacks in the US, "to capitalize on them to further the jihadi cause." more ›

President Obama is going to be speaking at the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network Conference at 6 p.m. (NY1 will have live coverage) in what will be a homecoming of sorts—he appeared at the 2007 NAN Conference, which is sometimes called the "Sharpton primary" because of its importance among Democratic candidates. While the White House claims that this is not a reelection campaign appearance, everyone basically knows it it. Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Harlem), who is the chair of the Manhattan Democratic Committee, told the Wall Street Journal, "Anytime you run for re-election, the first places you go are your base and your foundation of support—you try to make sure that's tight. If your base and foundation are not solid, there's a chance there could be some chinks in the armor." more ›

Even in the immediate aftermath of James Brown's death in 2006, there were signs that there would be problems settling his accounts between his children and his estate. Now it's four-plus years later, and the fight has gotten messy. Thankfully, Brown's good friend, the Reverend Al Sharpton, has firmly inserted himself into the proceedings, making everything less much more complicated. more ›

In today's "Sarah Palin will never win the 2012 nomination" Politico story, blue jeans-hating WaPo columnist George Will refers to Palin's brand of Facebook realpolitik as "a disease," and colleague Charles Krauthammer agrees that "when populism becomes purely anti-intellectual, it can become unhealthy and destructive." But Weekly Standard writer Matt Labash deals the unkindest cut of all in reference to her knee jerk counter attacks to all slights, real and imagined: "She's becoming Al Sharpton, Alaska edition." Labash elaborates: more ›

A pro-life group has, ahem, aborted plans to keep a controversial billboard in SoHo up for three weeks, and will remove it prematurely, according to Al Sharpton, who tells the Daily News, "The billboard was offensive, especially during Black History Month, and I had intended to hold a press conference Friday in front of the billboard to protest the message of racial profiling and against a woman"s right to choose." Representatives of the group sponsoring the billboard, Life Always, have not yet confirmed this, but if true, local residents who were offended by the billboard are sure to be pleased. Also pleased: the mother of the girl in the ad. more ›

A new batch of those notoriously-reliable NYPD crime statistics were released this past week, and the scientists at the News have crunched the numbers and compiled a list of some of the more interesting pieces of data. And while it may seem obvious that Saturday would be the most deadly day of the week (89 murders this year), did you know that Tuesday (58 murders) is the safest day of the week? more ›

NYC has an overabundance of larger-than-life characters who leap from the pages of the local dallies with Tex Avery-like behavior and buffoonery. A kind person would say their out-sized personalities and antics are an appropriately out-sized reflection of our city. But then again, sometimes you just want them to shut up and go away. And it seems many NYers especially want former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Reverend Al Sharpton to go away. more ›

Being a lame duck seems to suit Governor Paterson just fine; since he announced he wouldn't be running for re-election, Paterson has had a chance to allow his inner Groucho to run wild, whether he's poking fun at himself or appointing himself to the US Senate. The laugh fest continued yesterday at Rev. Al Sharpton's birthday party: he said that Sharpton was "doing for justice what Tiger Woods did for cocktail waitresses." Sharpton liked the flattery, but wasn't sure how Tiger would feel about it: "Don't worry governor, I got your back if Tiger comes to Harlem looking for you." more ›

Oh, Rush! Controversial right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh decided to pay tribute to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner during his show by espousing Steinbrenner's capitalist tendencies, "That cracker made a lot of African American millionaires."—uh, what about the white millionaires—"George Steinbrenner, the classic capitalist. Everyone around him became wealthy... And at the same time he fired a bunch of white guys as managers left and right." Hear his clip below. more ›