More than 50 years of school desegregation policy could be torn down with the rap of a gavel if the Supreme Court rules against Seattle's voluntary integration "Open Choice" program, which used race as a determination in its high school transfer policy....

Dionne has gone through her own battle with uterine fibroids – a disorder that affects Black women two to three times more often than White women; causes problems such as heavy bleeding and anemia; and can lead to infertility.
"Denial for treatments requiring pre-authorization is occurring on a scale that can only be described as phenomenal,"

Harking back to the inspiration he drew from the civil rights movement, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told an estimated 3,500 cheering supporters Friday that "there is nothing more noble" than working toward a government that reflects America's values and ideals.
Obama, introduced to the strains of Aretha Franklin's "Think (Freedom)," ...

Harking back to the inspiration he drew from the civil rights movement, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told an estimated 3,500 cheering supporters Friday that "there is nothing more noble" than working toward a government that reflects America's values and ideals.
Obama, introduced to the strains of Aretha Franklin's "Think (Freedom)," repeated his standard campaign themes, calling for health care insurance for all and reform of "an education system that, despite the slogans, is leaving millions of children behind."

Seattle Cirque & Acrobat Teams member Shadeed Abdul-Salaam flips over teammates David Inthakaysone, Abdi Osman and Trey Basknight during a performance June 2 at the annual Beacon Hill Festival at Jefferson Community Center. 

Family's Struggle Exemplifies Country's Health Care Ills   Marc Bostic has…

More than 50 years of school desegregation policy could be torn down with the rap of a gavel if the Supreme Court rules against Seattle's voluntary integration "Open Choice" program, which used race as a determination in its high school transfer policy.
The high court is expected to decide in the next few weeks if two cases of voluntary integration are simply helping increase student diversity or disguising the illegal practice of setting racial quotas.
The two cases, Parents in Community Schools v Seattle School District and Meredith v Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools challenge the constitutionality of race-based admissions policies in America's public schools.
In both cases, parents and representatives of White students have sued school districts after their children were denied admission to the school of their choice because of their race.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The White House on Sunday dismissed Senate plans to hold a no-confidence vote on the attorney general and said the outcome will not undermine President Bush's resolve to keep Alberto Gonzales at the Justice Department.
"Not a bit. Purely symbolic vote," presidential spokesman Tony Snow said. He was asked in a broadcast interview whether Bush might reconsider his decision to support Gonzales should a sizable number of Republican senators vote for the no-confidence resolution.
"It is perfectly obvious that the president has the right to hire and fire people who serve at his pleasure," Snow said.
On Monday, the Senate planned to debate the one-sentence measure that declares Gonzales "no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people."

NEW YORK -- Inmates at the federal prison camp in Otisville, N.Y., were stunned at what they saw at the chapel library on Memorial Day: Hundreds of books disappeared from the shelves.
The removal of the books is occurring nationwide -- part of a long-delayed post-Sept. 11 federal directive designed to prevent radical religious texts, specifically Islamic ones, from falling into the hands of violent inmates.
Three inmates from Otisville filed a lawsuit over the policy, saying their Constitutional rights were violated. They say all religions were affected -- Islamic prayer books, Christian books, and ancient Jewish texts were among those removed.
"The set of books that have been taken out have been ones that we used to minister to new converts when they come in here," inmate John Okon, speaking on behalf of the prison's Christian population, told a judge last week.
Okon said it was unfortunate because "I have really seen religion turn around the life of some of these men, especially in the Christian community."

The Black Press of America's National Convention will be held in Seattle on June 20-24  hosted by The Skanner at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Save the dates! For full details go to http://www.nnpa.org