EDITORIAL: Keep our eyes on the prize
It’s a good sign to see Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama providing leadership on race and gender equality. The candidates decided to dial down the volume on what was becoming a brew of racism and political wrangling that would only leave voters with a bad taste in their mouths.
Labor returns to Memphis for King Day
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Union members from across the U.S. are gathering here Jan. 17-21 for labor’s annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, and to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the history-making Memphis sanitation workers’ strike. King was assassinated here in 1968 while supporting the striking workers’ stand for dignity and union rights.
Banks bilk homebuyers, cities say
BALTIMORE — Mayor Sheila Dixon has filed a lawsuit charging Wells Fargo bank with targeting African American homebuyers for subprime loans. The groundbreaking initiative has thrown a spotlight on discriminatory lending across the nation in violation of federal law.
Religion hits the Iowa race
It seems to be a whole new race for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa. This is particularly true for the Republican candidates, who were in a lackluster campaign until Romney, the leader of the pack, saw Huckabee closing in on him from near the back of the pack, and actually nosing ahead by a couple of points. Romney had to do something to stop this momentum.
Where have all the birds gone?
During the next two weeks, from Dec. 14, 2007, until Jan. 5, 2008, the Audubon Society will conduct the 108th annual Christmas Bird Count across the nation. Last year, nearly 70 million birds were counted by 58,000 volunteers, a record level of participation.
Coal company keeps miners on street for holidays
PITTSBURGH — Despite a rare, pro-labor ruling from the National Labor Relations Board, union coal miners who once worked at the Mammoth Mine in Kanawha County, W.Va., near Charleston, have still not been allowed to return to work
Unions bring holiday cheer in hard times
COLUMBUS, Ohio — For over two decades, unions here have mobilized during the holiday season to give food and children’s gifts to needy families. This year, however, the campaign was bittersweet. The hundreds of union volunteers who braved the brutal cold to get the gifts out at the big United Auto Workers Local 969 hall on the city’s west side had heard that the Delphi plant where the local’s members worked was being closed.
House and Senate OK budget that falls short on human needs
WASHINGTON — Millions of children, senior citizens, sick and disabled people will suffer because President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress blocked increased funding for low-income programs contained in a domestic spending bill approved this week.
Auto mileage to rise, but Big Oil keeps grip on Congress
The Senate voted almost unanimously Dec. 13 to raise car and truck fuel economy standards for the first time in 30 years. The bill, passed 86-8, requires a 40 percent increase in fuel economy for U.S. vehicles, to an average of 35 miles a gallon by 2020.
What likely Iowa caucus goers have to say
As the race for the 2008 presidential elections gains momentum, the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses are right around the corner. They can make or break candidates for the Democratic and Republican Party nominations.
