WASHINGTON (NNPA) - President Barack Obama needs only to turn over in his bed to be reminded of all the Black women who are powerfully qualified to be U. S. Supreme Court justices.

WASHINGTON, DC - District Court Judge Gladys Kessler Monday ruled against SBA's attempt to dismiss Diamond Ventures, LLC's landmark lawsuit against the Small Business Administration (SBA), setting the stage for SBA to stand trial for discriminatory practices in its Small Business Investment Company program.

With the country's current bleak job and economic situation, some experts predicted a rise in crime rates. But so far, that hasn't been the case in most places. The number of murders is declining across the country, and has been for at least a decade.

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) -- A leading international rights group called on Senegal's government Thursday to clamp down on Islamic schools whose leaders are subjecting tens of thousands of children to forced begging and daily beatings in conditions it says are "akin to slavery."

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Near the launch pads where U.S. space voyages begin, President Barack Obama tried to reassure workers that America's space adventures sail on despite the coming end of space shuttle flights.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 80 flights between the U.S. and Europe were canceled Thursday as dozens of European airports closed due to clouds of ash from a volcano in Iceland

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A watchdog panel overseeing the financial bailouts says the Obama administration's flagship mortgage aid program lags well behind the foreclosure crisis and leaves too many families out.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is reviving the NASA crew capsule concept that he had canceled with the rest of the moon program earlier this year, in a move that will mean more jobs and less reliance on the Russians, officials said Tuesday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Benjamin L. Hooks, a champion of minorities and the poor who increased the NAACP's stature as its executive director, died Thursday. He was 85.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour drew criticism for proclaiming April as Confederate Heritage Month without mentioning slavery, the second governor this month to come under fire for the omission.