New York Rep. Charles Rangel temporarily stepped aside as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee last Wednesday as he struggled with mounting ethics woes that left his political future uncertain at best.

Making a last-ditch effort to save his health care overhaul, President Barack Obama on last Monday put forward a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year compromise that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases that infuriate consumers.

“Tavis Smiley” on PBS, announced plans for a discussion in Chicago on March 20th entitled “We Count: The Black Agenda is the American Agenda.” As part of his comments, he opined that “a chorus of black leaders have started singing a new song,” saying that the president doesn’t need a black agenda.

Three New York police officers who killed an unarmed man in a 50-shot barrage outside a seedy strip club hours before his wedding will not face civil rights charges, federal authorities said  last Tuesday.

On Capitol Hill, where perception is everything, black members of Congress were known more for throwing lavish parties than sponsoring serious legislation.    

New York Gov. David Paterson on last Monday lashed back at what he called a “callous and sleazy” assault on his character in statehouse rumors and media reports that include accusations about womanizing and drug use, allegations he flatly denied.

A new report from the Indiana University Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) finds that achievement gaps among high ability students from different economic, racial and linguistic backgrounds in the U.S. are large and growing, and some of the top achieving groups aren’t performing as well as in the past.

A 22-year-old Virginia woman who said she once thought her only talent was singing is the nation’s newest Miss America, emerging from a field of 53 contestants picked for their beauty, compassion and interview savvy.