PITTSBURGH (AP) — The August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Pittsburgh has laid off some staff members as it struggles with debt and revenue problems.

Aaron Walton, president of the board of directors, confirmed the layoffs but didn't provide details.

Mark Clayton Southers, who coordinated theater programming for the center, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Friday was his last day.

Sala Udin and Oliver W. Byrd are listed on the center's website as interim co-directors. But Udin told the Post-Gazette that he has not been in that role since mid-April.

The downtown nonprofit center is named for the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, who was born in Pittsburgh. It opened in September 2009 after years on the drawing board.

Editors Note: Will be updated.

LEADING THE CHARGE--House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., displays a letter of praise from President Obama to Gregory Hicks, former deputy chief of mission in Libya, number two in rank to slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, during a House Oversight Committee hearing about last year's deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 8. House Republicans insist the Obama administration is covering up information about the attack, rejecting administration assurances to the contrary and stoking a controversy with implications for the 2016 presidential race. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

by Michael Arceneaux
Dear Republicans:
I know that in your mind, Benghazi is all the rage out here on these streets, or at the very least, ought to be. However, I need to inform y’all (for the umpteenth time) that Benghazi is not going to be the big Democratic-hurting scandal you want it to be. No matter how hard you try, the give-a-damn quotient has been reached by the public at large and there is no reset button.

Yes, we mourn the loss of those who were killed in the attack, and of course, if there’s any connection to terrorist organizations, as hinted by some, that information should be released. But as far as this angle to smear members of the Obama administration — okay, Hillary Clinton — goes, it’s never going to be as big a deal as desired.

So tell folks like Mike Huckabee to be quiet. The sooner the better. According to Huckabee[1], while he has no idea how damning information about a secret conspiracy surrounding Benghazi will come about, once it does, “This President will not serve out his full term.

I know that in your mind, Benghazi is all the rage out here on these streets, or at the very least, ought to be. However, I need to inform y’all (for the umpteenth time) that Benghazi is not going to be the big Democratic-hurting scandal you want it to be. No matter how hard you try, the give-a-damn quotient has been reached by the public at large and there is no reset button.

Yes, we mourn the loss of those who were killed in the attack, and of course, if there’s any connection to terrorist organizations, as hinted by some, that information should be released. But as far as this angle to smear members of the Obama administration — okay, Hillary Clinton — goes, it’s never going to be as big a deal as desired.

This sounds like the political equivalent of thinking Jay-Z has to sacrifice seven souls each Saturday to Satan in order to maintain pop cultural supremacy.

At the very least, though, Mike Huckabee is nothing more than an out-of-power politician playing crazy games to maintain cred among conservative media.

He is not in charge of anything, but unfortunately, people with some actual clout are acting just as stupidly.

On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee held a daylong hearing[2] starring three State Department officials that were personally invited by Republicans. What did they find? That security was handled poorly in the Libyan city and that members of the Obama administration tried to conceal what exactly what happened.

In related news, the sky is blue, water is wet, and Mitt Romney will never be president.
And yet, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, says, ”This hearing is now over, but this investigation is not.” He went on to encourage “whistle-blowers” and “witnesses who have been afraid to come forward” to step up and “tell us your story, and we will make sure it gets public.”

Here’s a thought: They don’t exist. If memory serves, there was a major independent inquiry [3]that largely absolved Clinton of fault.

All this nonsense does is tickle the fancy of your right-wing milita head cases who think their WalMart-purchased glock can take down the government and its drones, military, and nuclear arsenal if need be.
Stop it.

This is not going to help you defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016. If anything, you’re already guaranteeing that she’s going to have one hell of a chance at winning her second term. Moreover, none of these hearings will help defeat Democrats in next year’s midterm elections. Besides, your gerrymandering has already done wonders in the way of helping you keep the House in 2014.

If you want to look appealing to voters: Embrace marriage equality; crawl out of women’s vaginas; pass a job’s bill; support a raise in minimum wage; stop trying to stop Blacks from voting; embrace immigration reform.

And for the record, if the GOP couldn’t conjure this much energy in to President Bush’s ignorance, which led to the worst terrorist attack in American history — and a war under false pretenses — no one is going to take you seriously now when all you have is a bunch of hearsay pulled from where you sit…and other hypotheticals.

Again, shut up, and find some other way to campaign against Hillary Clinton for the next three years. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Clinton is somewhere already planning to turn the traditional (and trite) First Lady Cookie Contest into a jazz BBQ on the front lawn of the White House.
The way y’all are behaving, who could blame the guy?

Michael Arceneaux is a Houston-bred, Howard-educated writer and blogger. You can read more of his work on his site, The Cynical Ones. Follow him on Twitter: @youngsinick[5][6]

References
^According to Huckabee (www.nbcnews.com)
^held a daylong hearing (hosted.ap.org)
^inquiry (www.reuters.com)
^Despite Scandal, Ex-SC Gov. Mark Sanford Back In Office (newsone.com)
^The Cynical Ones (thecynicalones.com)
^@youngsinick (twitter.com)
Read more http://newsone.com/2444243/benghazi-hearing/

Martha Mullen, right, of Richmond, Va., prepares to arm wrestle an opponent, in Richmond, Va. Mullen offered to help in the burial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a rural cemetery in Virginia, after seeing news reports about the refusals. (AP Photo/http://www.chrisowensphoto.com, Chris Owens)

by Larry O'Dell and Bob Lewis
DOSWELL, Va. (AP) — The Virginia woman whose actions led to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev being buried about 30 miles north of her Richmond home said the angry backlash from local officials, some cemetery neighbors and online critics has been unpleasant, but she has no regrets.

 MEXICO CITY — Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico City after a violent dispute in a bar, Mexican authorities said Friday. He was 28.