Mumia Abu-Jamal has lost his bid for a new trial in the killing of a police officer in 1981.
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up Abu-Jamal's claims that prosecutors improperly excluded blacks from the jury that convicted him of murdering Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
Since Abu-Jamal's 1982 conviction, activists in the United States and Europe have rallied in support of his claims that he was the victim of a racist justice system. Abu-Jamal, 54, has kept his case in the spotlight through books and radio broadcasts.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction but held his death sentence invalid. The appeals court said it would not second-guess state court rulings rejecting Abu-Jamal's claims of bias in the composition of the jury. . . .

Singer Natalie Cole has been overwhelmed with offers of fans' kidneys after revealing on TV that she requires a transplant. Cole was diagnosed last year with hepatitis C. While appearing on Larry King Live, the 59-year-old explained that after undergoing aggressive chemotherapy treatments, her kidney ''stopped functioning.'' ''I couldn't breathe,'' she said. . . .

Does race and ethnicity affect cancer risk? This is the question frequently asked throughout the year and especially during National Minority Cancer Awareness Week, April 19 to 25. Each year, cancer statistics show that minority groups are more likely than the general population to develop and/or die from certain types of cancer .... According to recent Census Bureau figures, minorities make up about one-third of the U.S. population and are expected to become the majority in 2042. Hispanic, black, Asian and other nonwhite men and women already make up half the population of the country's largest cities. . . .

The Columbia City Gallery will be opening two concurrent exhibits on April 15. In the Guest Gallery, Survey: Youth Art. This exhibit highlights works created by Seattle youth from three programs, Art with Heart, East African Art & Cultural Association Youth Group, and Youth in Focus. Each of these programs uses art to inspire, teach, heal and connect inner-city kids.... In the Main Gallery, Biota: (n) the flora and fauna of a region. . . .

Financial services providers that do not attempt to reach African Americans are missing out on a treasure trove in their midst, asserts a recent Marketing Daily story. Marketing Daily reports statistics stating that over two million African American households have incomes of $75,000, and the aggregate income of the most affluent African Americans is $116 billion. Additionally, the collective purchasing power of African Americans from all income levels is projected to reach $981 billion by 2010.
At the same time, much of the financial services industry has not tapped into this market. . . .

If you bought a Dell computer sometime in the past four years and had a problem with financing, technical support, warranty repairs or cashing in a rebate, you may have some money coming. But if you want it, the Washington Attorney General's Office says you better act now. Dell agreed to pay $1.5 million in restitution under a settlement reached in January with attorneys general in 34 states. But with the April 13 deadline approaching for consumers to file claims, only 42 Washington residents have filed valid claims. So far, the state has received claims worth $10,680, with the average consumer slated to be paid about $250. Accepted claims have ranged from $30 to $848. . . .

Steve Cross talks with Dedan Gills and Belvie Rooks at the second Green Festival March 28 and 29 at the Convention Center.  Gills and Rooks spoke at the popular event which drew thousands of people.  The couple runs an organization called Green Global Heart whose goal is to plant one million trees along the West African Trans-Atlantic Slave Route as a living memorial to the thousands who lost their lives during the slave trade and by doing this help combat global warming. . . .

A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age. Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites. The lead author said that rate is worrisome among children so young, even in a population at higher risk for obesity because of other health problems and economic disadvantages.  . . .

It is a staple on the six o'clock news: A man shot. A girl raped. A boy stabbed. A woman abused. Violence is everywhere. But increasingly, experts said, the faces of these chilling tales - both victims and perpetrators, usually from minority communities - belong to the young. "Every two days we lose a classroom full of children from gun violence," said U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns. Yet, the powers-that-be seem not to care, said Kenneth Barnes Sr., founder and director of Reaching Out to Others Together (R.O.O.T.), a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. . . .

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The number of allegations of racial profiling connected with traffic stops doubled in 2008 over the previous year, but officers in all but a few cases were cleared of wrongdoing, according to a state report released Tuesday.
The state received 22 reports of allegations from three public agencies. Officers were exonerated in 19 of the cases. Three instances were said to have an unknown outcome. . . .