CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama's election as president.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.
A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti ...

The head of Georgia's Senate Higher Education Committee is proposing a merger of two historically Black colleges with other schools to save money ... Savannah State University with Armstrong Atlantic University and Albany State with Darton College in Albany ...

Red Cross emergency dispatcher Clarence Harper, above; Reflections Coffeehouse owner Gloria McMurtrey; Loretta Young, manager of the City of Portland's Minority and Women Business program; and Pastor Fred Woods ...
Photo by Julie Keefe

After 52 percent of Californians passed Proposition 8, a law that took away the recently granted right for same sex couples to marry, Promise King decided to take a trip to the Golden State. King, the executive director of the Oregon League of Minority Voters and a heterosexual, says he was disturbed by some voters' willingness to vote for a proposition that restricts the rights of so many people ...

Taking a page from the anti-war movement among soldiers and veterans in the Vietnam era, the Coffee Strong Coffee House has opened its doors to enlisted men and women seeking counseling, resources – or just someone to talk to who's been through combat ...

What's happening for you in Portland this week? Read here a day-by-day diary of free community events to fill your spare time. For a full calendar please click on "Read the complete article" below….

What's happening for you in Seattle this week? Read here a day-by-day diary of free community events to fill your spare time. For a full calendar please click on "Read the complete article" below….

New Site for Governor ...
Winter at the Library ...
Name Your Heroes ...
Afro-Mexico Forum ...
Caregivers' Support Groups ...

Depression Discussion ...
Infrastructure – A New Deal? ...
Women of Distinction ...
Caregiver Support Group ...

Spoken Word artist Alvin Lloyd Alexander Horn and a half dozen other poets performed Nov. 20 at the Northwest African American Museum in honor of President-elect Barack Obama's victory. Featured spoken word artists included Miz Flores, 6 Deep the Messenger, Ocho Gritos, Blaque Butterfly, Carmen Emerson, Frenchy Conde Lamont and Raquib Muied.
Photo by Susan Fried