SEATTLE — Black soldiers court-martialed 63 years ago in the rioting death of an Italian prisoner of war at Fort Lawton were unfairly denied access to their attorneys and investigative records and should have their convictions overturned, the U.S. Army said Friday.
The ruling by the Army's Board of Corrections of Military Records applies to four soldiers who petitioned military investigators with the help of two congressmen, but could eventually cover two dozen more soldiers found guilty of rioting over alleged resentment of Italian prisoners' living conditions on the post.
Samuel Snow, 83, one of the petitioners who served a year in prison, said he was "elated" by the decision.
"It just knocked me off of my feet," Snow said from his home in ....

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney will speak about the Jena 6 case in Seattle on Nov. 10 at New Hope Baptist Church, 124 21st Ave., Seattle, 7 p.m. The speech will injustices in the case itself and whatever happens at the pre-trial hearing on Nov. 7....

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HONOLULU (AP) -- Television bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman's show has been pulled from the air indefinitely by A&E, two days after a private phone conversation in which the reality star used a racial slur repeatedly was posted online.
"In evaluating the circumstances of the last few days, A&E has decided to take 'Dog The Bounty Hunter' off the network's schedule for the foreseeable future," the network said in a statement Friday. "We hope that Mr. Chapman continues the healing process that he has begun."
A&E officials said the series, one of the network's top-rated programs, has not been canceled.
Chapman, 54, has been under fire and accused of being a racist ever since the private conversation with his son, Tucker Chapman, was posted online Wednesday by The National Enquirer. Chapman used the N-word repeatedly ....

CHARLESTON, West Virginia (AP) -- Hundreds of people gathered at West Virginia's Capitol on Saturday to urge prosecutors to add hate crime charges against six White people charged in the beating, torture and sexual assault of a 20-year-old Black woman. Authorities say the accused, three men and three women, held Megan Williams captive for days .....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Michael Mukasey drew closer to becoming attorney general Friday after two key Senate Democrats said they would vote for him despite his refusal to say whether waterboarding is torture.
The decision by Sens. Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein to back President Bush's nominee came shortly after the chairman of the committee, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced he would vote against Mukasey .....

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Fewer Black and American Indian students are attending the University of Michigan's main campus this fall in the wake of the passage of an anti-affirmative action ballot proposal.
Total enrollment increased by 1,017 students, or 2.5 percent, to more than 41,000 this fall, a record. But the school said Thursday that Black student enrollment dropped 3.3 percent and the number of American Indians decreased 1.2 percent.
Hispanic student enrollment was up 1 percent, while the number of White students increased 2.1 percent.
The University of Michigan and other public colleges in the state were forced last  .....

Meet a select group of African women who embrace high fashion, art and philanthropy. These women award scholarships to college bound students. They organize gala dinners and wine tastings, parties and presentations. But don't be fooled. They also take HIV/AIDS prevention programs into their local churches and work with high school students from low-income families. Welcome to the Portland Chapter of Links Inc., the service and friendship group that will celebrate 50 years of service to Portland's African American community Nov. 2. ...

If the economy has been booming as the President and some economists maintain, the Oregon Food Bank somehow has missed out. With its shelves nearly barren, the food bank is handing out food almost as soon as it receives it. Not only are food reserves nearly non-existent, the frozen food inventory — historically the food bank's "safety net" – has been depleted.
How has this happened? .....