Tolling grimly higher, the recession snatched more than 650,000 Americans' jobs for a record third straight month in February as unemployment climbed to a quarter-century peak of 8.1 percent and surged toward even more wrenching double digits. . . .

The search for agreement on health care may be short lived. The flashpoint is a proposal that would give Americans the option of buying medical coverage through a government plan. President Barack Obama and many Democrats have endorsed it, as one part of a broader health overhaul. On Saturday, Republicans laid down a challenge. . . .

Sudan's president threatened to kick out more aid groups and expel diplomats and peacekeepers on Sunday during his first trip to the beleaguered Darfur region after an international court indicted him on war crimes. Sudan has already expelled 13 of the largest aid groups operating in Darfur as part of its defiant response to the International Criminal Court's decision last week to issue an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has accused them of cooperating with the Netherlands-based ICC. . . .

For Lawrence Miller, the most painful part of being in jail in the District and Maryland was not being able to interact with his 9-year-old son.
Photo by James Wright/Afro-American Newspapers
According to a report released Feb. 9 by the D.C.-based Sentencing Project, mass incarceration has had significant and long-lasting impacts on American society and particularly on communities of color. . . .

TACOMA, Wash. – Donna Freitas, New York-based writer, teacher, and lecturer, will give a talk exploring the sexual and spiritual lives of today's college students on Thursday, March 26, 2009, in Kilworth Memorial Chapel at University of Puget Sound. The event starts at 7 p.m., and is free and open to the public. . . .

TACOMA, Wash. – Sister Helen Prejean, international author and activist, will give a talk about her experiences with inmates on death row and her attempts to save the lives of those she believes to be innocent at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 31, 2009, in Schneebeck Concert Hall. The free lecture, "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions," is part of the Swope Lecture Series on Ethics, Religion, Faith, and Values. The public are encouraged to order complimentary tickets in advance. . . .

Wells Fargo has announced  that with the National Urban League it will co-sponsor a new edition of The Foreclosure Workbook: The Complete Guide to Understanding Foreclosure and Saving Your Home. The workbook, written by foreclosure author Carla Douglin, will be free-of-charge to at-risk customers across the nation through Wells Fargo's ''Leading the Way Home'' initiative. . . .

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that electoral districts must have a majority of African-Americans or other minorities to be protected by a provision of the Voting Rights Act.
The 5-4 decision, with the court's conservatives in the majority, could make it harder for southern Democrats to draw friendly boundaries after the 2010 Census. . . .

This week, the nation celebrates National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. I generally shun set-aside days for a cause because awareness on a single day may cause many in society to fail to address the issue the remainder of the year. However, a recent experience in my clinic at the Center for Infectious Diseases Management and Research at Howard University Hospital painfully illustrates why it is necessary for us to honor this day. . . .