The Dare U 2 Read-A-Thon at Jefferson High School starts next week, in which young people give up TV and other screen time for the week to devote their extra hours to books. Students will be signing up adult sponsors willing to kick down a little cash for school programs as well. The event is part of the national Each One Teach One! Promoting Literacy and History . . .

For a video interview with Jefferson students Domonique Bailey, Brea Jennae Hawkins and Eva Ramirez . . . .

"As Attorney General, I have no greater responsibility that to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of our citizens. Unfortunately, meeting this critical goal is currently very difficult. The Oregon Department of Justice used to have a civil rights enforcement unit, but back in the 1980s, the funding for this unit was eliminated. Today, as a result, I do not have a single attorney devoted to civil rights and civil liberties enforcement work. To me, that is unacceptable. . . .

Homeland Security officials are warning that right-wing extremists could use the bad state of the U.S. economy and the election of the country's first Black president to recruit members to their cause . . .

The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday that the panel would investigate reports that the National Security Agency improperly tapped into the domestic communications of American citizens. . . .

Neither approving nor judging, "Notorious" simply presents the gluttonous Biggie in all his materialist glory, allowing the audience to decided what to make of his train wreck of a personal life. A relentlessly-unapologetic immorality play about a bona fide ghetto gangsta' apt to entertain even Joe Six-Pack.  

The political career of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. could be jeopardized by a congressional ethics inquiry into his finagling for the Senate seat vacated by President Obama, a well-known black political analyst said.
"The stakes for him are dire," said Ronald Walters, a University of Maryland professor well-known for his analysis of black politics and politicians. "A negative report can damage his political career," . . .

A recent study indicates that of the major ethnic groups impacted by unemployment during the current U.S. recession, Black men have experienced the greatest job losses since the crisis officially began in November 2007.
"What's missing from national media coverage of this recession is plainly a great deal of [honesty] about who's losing their jobs. This is overwhelmingly a blue collar, retail sales, low level recession . . .

For one day only, all remaining seats in the 2008/2009 Portland Center Stage season will be on sale for $25. From midnight to midnight on April 15, Portlanders can put their stimulus package tax refunds directly to work on three shovel ready productions: "Frost/Nixon," "Grey Gardens," and Storm Large's "Crazy Enough.". . .

If the uninsured were a political lobbying group, they'd have more members than AARP. The National Mall couldn't hold them if they decided to march on Washington.
But going without health insurance is still seen as a personal issue, a misfortune for many and a choice for some. People who lose coverage often struggle alone instead of turning their frustration into political action.
Illegal immigrants rallied in Washington during past immigration debates, but the uninsured linger in the background as Congress struggles with a health care overhaul that seems to have the best odds in years of passing.
That isolation could have profound repercussions. . . .

President Barack Obama and his family are looking for a new church, but his decision represents more than merely settling on a pew.
The Obamas planned to attend Easter services Sunday, marking the president's first visit to a Washington church since taking office in January. Aides have been secretive about which church the first family will attend, citing security and the desire not to disrupt services for other worshippers. They also caution that the church Obama visits might not signal that the president has decided on a permanent place of worship.
Obama's choice of a permanent pastor is sure to draw scrutiny, given his history with a pastor in Chicago whose bombastic sermons almost destroyed Obama's presidential bid. . . .