The Stratford Sentinel

by Amber W.

Jennifer Kate Hudson was born on September 12 1981, in Chicago, Illinois. She started singing at the age of seven at a community church near her home in Chicago. She’s the middle child of all her siblings. Growing up in this crowded Chicago home with her mother, father, and siblings, Jennifer Hudson still had dreams of becoming a singer and actress, and had no doubts in her mind that she would make it one day. Jennifer started to gain attention from people around the world when she auditioned for the third season of American Idol along with Fantasia Barrino, Diana Degarmo , and LaToya London and went on through to the top 6 finalist until she was later voted off by the fans. But her singing and acting career didn’t end there!

For the next two years, she was on the road for a summer tour and performed on the road in concerts. While on the road she auditioned for the hit Broadway play Dreamgirls for the role of Effie Melody White. Former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino also auditioned for this role but the casting directors favored Jennifer’s acting skills. This time, Jennifer was the winner of the competition.

Jennifer had to gain weight in order to match the character of her role. Critics say that Jennifer no longer had to play second fiddle to anyone because her role in Dreamgirls was one of the most triumphant musical film debuts since Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl (1968). Jennifer Hudson made the role her own by putting her heart and soul into the part and it earned Jennifer Hudson her very first Oscar and Golden Globe. Co-stars Eddie Murphy and Beyonce Knowles thought that she delivered the role very well and thought that she done a very good job for that to have been her first film.

After her role in Dreamgirls, Jennifer Hudson’s career really began to move. She appeared on the March 2007 issue of Vogue magazine. She became the third African American celebrity to grace the front cover. Jennifer was a Burger King employee before entering the celebrity life. In November 2006, she signed a record deal with Clive Davis’s label, Arista Records. Jennifer Hudson was one of the fourteen African-American actresses to be nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She was also supposed to appear in the hit Tyler Perry film, “Meet the Browns” (2008), but was later replaced shortly after filming began. 2008 wasn’t a good year for Jennifer Hudson after tragedy struck in her personal life. Her mother Darnell and her brother Jason were shot and killed at their home in Chicago and her nephew Julian was kidnapped. On October the 27th Julian King was found dead in a white SUV a few miles away from their home in Chicago. Julian was 7 years old and died due to 3 fatal gun shot wounds. Her brother-in-law William Balfour (he is married to Jennifer’s sister Julia) was the primary suspect of the three murders.

After the deaths of her mother, brother, and nephew, Jennifer Hudson wasn’t seen for a while. After some time passed, Jennifer Hudson came back and brought her game stronger and showed the critics how strong she was. She performed on a show that was put together for Patti LaBelle. She preformed the hit song, “Over the Rainbow” and received a standing ovation after getting emotional and thanking Patti LaBelle for being such a great inspiration in her life.

In all, Jennifer Hudson has appeared in three hit movies, (The Famous Bees, Sex and the City, and Dreamgirls). She completed the first song for her solo debut album on October 2007 and released her debut solo album with the Clive Davis labeled Arista Records on January/February 2008. Jennifer Hudson seems to be moving at a steady pace in her career and shows no sign of stopping now. She has accomplished a lot throughout her years of being a singer and actress and is grateful for the things she got and is hopeful that the blessings will still keep coming her way. Even though Jennifer Hudson lost some close family members, it seems to have made her a lot stronger. It just goes to show that if she made it through the deaths of her mother, brother and, nephew, then she can take on a lot of tough challenges and overcome any tough obstacles that she may have in the future of her career and keep moving with her head held high.

by Tanisha M.

Marvelyn Brown is from Nashville. Tennessee. She graduated from Whites Creek High School were she also played basketball. At the age of 19 Marvelyn found out that she was HIV positive. The man that gave it to her was her prince charming and it was unexpected. She never used protection with him. Marvelyn was devastated and didn’t know what to do. As she started to accept it she started to speak out to youth and people her age at local colleges to help stop the spread of AIDS. She is not ashamed of the fact that she has HIV but she encourages people to not be another statistic. A great resource to check out infomation about Marvelyn Brown is to read her book, entitled THE NAKED TRUTH, it is very inspiring.

by Terrlandus F.

An Ethiopian immigrant is in custody after mailing a letter with HIV-tainted blood to President Barack Obama. Saad Bedrie Hussein who is said to have mental health problems said “he is an admirer of Obama and that the letter — containing his photo, an admission ticket to Obama’s election night victory party in Chicago’s Grant Park and six index cards containing writing and reddish stains — was his way of seeking government help and tickets to Obama’s inauguration.” Hussein said he intentionally cut his finger to bleed on the letter. The letter was written in Ethiopian language and was addresed to Obama, and contained  an orange powder. The letter resulted in a two hour lockdown of a state office building affecting well over 300 people. Tests run on the orange powder revealed it to be a drink mix. Two similar letters were also sent, one to The Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. All of the letters had Hussein’s return address. According to the  U.S. District Court in Illinois, “The criminal complaint filed  alleges that Hussein ‘knowingly mailed’ the letters containing HIV-infected blood with the intent to kill or injure another.” Hussein is currently beng held in custody.

You can find more information on this story here.

Super Bowl XLIII was held on February 1, 2009; it was a “fight to the finish” game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pittsburgh Steelers came out victorious over the Arizona Cardinals when Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes connected  with a touchdown pass and 35 seconds left on the clock. They finished the game 27-23 and the Steelers are now holding their sixth Lombardi Trophy. The Steelers entire team played exceptionally well but Santonio Holmes left Florida with Super Bowl MVP. With nine catches for 131 yards and four of them on the winning 78-yard drive, he surely deserved it.

I used the following website to find the information I have posted here: http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/43

Tennessee Titans Albert Haynesworth  is in the process of becoming a free agent. He is one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL. Barring a last minute change, the two times all pro is expected to test the market when it opens Feb. 27, 2009. Haynesworth is seeking a six year deal, which will make him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Tennessee Titans is negotiating rights with Haynesworth until Feb.27. After that date, he is free to talk to any NFL team. This does not mean that Haynesworth won’t stay with the Titans, he’s just shopping. Many of Haynesworth’s fans say that he needs to move on. Here are some things fans have been saying on the Tennessee Titans Fan Club website.

• Possibly the Best Defense in the league. Last year the only knock on them was they couldnt rush the passer. now with Haynesworth they will be much better. Hopefully a healthy jason taylor will help them out too, not to mention they want to draft orakpo. And its also nice to have resigned D Hall so they keep a talented corner that can actually catch the ball. i cant tell you how many Pick Sixes carlos rodgers has dropped….

• Risky move! This is a guy who underachieves until it is contract year. In addition, he does not keep in shape and thus pulls himself out of a lot plays throughout a game. Finally, he is not a team leader kind of guy and for that kind of $ you would hope to get a leader. Good player but it’s a risky investment.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3775006

by F. B.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard about how bad the economy is getting. For example, more that 533,000 people lost their jobs just in the month of November. Additionally, in September, 312 people lost their homes and I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The question everyone wants to know is, how much worse is it going to get? Is this just the beginning?

by C. C.                   

Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s Plan

         I keep hearing about how the economy is getting bad and that it’s getting worse. So in order for the Americans to not lose jobs we have to make our every day expenses more affordable. For us to do that Barack Obama and Joe Biden have to make a plan to give us back money. This plan will help middle class families with rising bills. Middle class families will receive about a thousand dollars per  household. Barack Obama will need about fifty billion dollars to jumpstart this plan. This will keep about one million Americans from losing their jobs.

For more info about this plan, go to www.barakobama.com/issues/economy

by F. H.

Prom will be here sooner than you think. I know you girls out there do not want to be caught in the same dress as the next girl. So, get your dresses early. I have checked out some of the best selling stores in Nashville to get your dresses.

by R. M.

In today’s world humans seem to be intrigued by prize fighting, the fastest growing sport in the world. Prize fighting has taken human ability to the limit. Twenty years ago boxing was the major fighting sport but now companies such as the UFC and Japan’s Pride rule the world of fighting.

While the world loves to watch people destroy each other in the ring, kids and teens have taken this sport to the streets and made this very controlled sport a free-for-all game of survival. The worst part of these unsanctioned fights are that children mimic the things they see on TV. Prize fighting is a highly imitated sport that causes countless injuries in the ring, so how many will it cause out side it?

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer speaks with correspondent Jessica Yellin, who was beamed into the New York studio from Chicago.

(Credit: CNN.com)