Voices In Color

Obama Expects To Clinch Nomination Next Week

Sen. Barack Obama said on Wednesday he expected to become the Democratic U.S. presidential nominee after next week and he is considering an overseas trip that may include Iraq.

After a hard-fought primary season against rival Democrat Hillary Clinton, Obama said the general election race will begin in earnest next week after the last two nominating contests are held in South Dakota and Montana.

Talking to reporters on his plane from Denver to Chicago, Obama was asked if the race for the November general election against Republican John McCain begins after Tuesday's votes.

"Yes," he responded. Asked if he will be the winner of the Democratic nomination at that point, he said, "I believe so."

Read more: Yahoo! News

Obama Will Grab Swing votes Over McCain

Swing voters _ those without strong party affiliations _ may have backed Hillary Clinton in the primaries, but polls indicate they're more likely to back Barack Obama in the general election.

Obama has done poorly in the Democratic primaries with women, Catholics and others who will be pivotal in this fall's presidential election. Yet early polling shows that with several of these groups, he's competitive when matched against Republican John McCain.

A look at voters who have been closely contested in recent presidential elections — or veered from one party to the other, making them true swing groups — shows a significant number have leaned toward Clinton in the primaries. Besides women and Catholics, these include the elderly, the less educated and suburbanites, leading Clinton to argue that this makes her the Democrats' stronger candidate for the fall campaign.

Yet Obama's performance with these voters in the primaries doesn't necessarily mean he'd do poorly with them in the general election, assuming he nails down the last few convention delegates he needs to win the nomination.

Read more: prime buzz

More Blacks Are Competing In Advanced Placement Programs

The number of blacks taking academically challenging Advanced Placement courses in high school has surged in recent years. The bad news is that the racial scoring gap on Advanced Placement tests continues to be large and in fact has increased in recent years.

Over the past 20 years there has been a major increase in the number of black students who are taking challenging Advanced Placement courses in high school. College admissions officers are impressed with the records of students who make the extra effort and take the grading risk in AP courses. Now, presented with a transcript that shows a student has faced up to these rigorous programs of study, admissions officers often confer a deserved advantage in the admissions process to students of all races who enroll in AP programs.

Read more: The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education

Black Political Leaders Face A New Era In Los Angeles

The battle between Bernard Parks and Mark Ridley-Thomas for county supervisor could be the last of its kind as a rise in Latino power pushes out African Americans, experts say.

The hard-fought race for a rare open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors looks like a traditional clash over a top perch of black political power in California.

But the contest between L.A. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) also foreshadows an uncertain future for black political leaders in the L.A. Basin.

Latinos outnumber African Americans now by nearly 2 to 1 in the county's vast 2nd Supervisorial District, an area of 2 million people that was predominantly black until the 1990s. At its core are Crenshaw, Watts and Baldwin Hills; around the edges are Marina del Rey, Culver City, Koreatown, Compton, Carson and Inglewood.

"The changing demographics make a lot of people a little uncomfortable, because many African Americans feel they're losing political power," said Kerman Maddox, a veteran advisor to candidates in the area. "After 12 years, is the next [supervisor] going to be African American? A lot of people aren't so sure."

Read more: Los Angeles Times

Study of '94 Adoption Law Finds Little Benefit To Blacks

A 1994 federal law that paved the way for more white adults to adopt black children has left many parents ill-equipped for the situation and has not achieved the goals of giving black children an equal chance of being adopted and recruiting more black adoptive parents, a study concludes.

The study, being released today, found that the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA) did succeed in increasing the rate of black adoptions, but only by a small margin, and that black children still disproportionately end up in temporary foster homes.

Because the law forbids discussion of race during the adoption process, it prevents social workers from preparing white parents for the challenge of raising black children in a largely white environment, said the report, titled "Finding Families for African American Children: The Role of Race and Law in Adoption From Foster Care." It cited studies showing that dark-complexioned children in white homes tend to struggle with identity issues related to skin color, self-esteem and discrimination that their new parents are often not equipped to handle.

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Kennedy Family Outraged Over Clinton's RFK Remarks

Members of the Kennedy family are incensed over Hillary Rodham Clinton's invoking the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy to explain why she's staying in the race - and they think it could be the death knell of an increasingly desperate and sloppy campaign.

"That comment may be the last nail in her campaign's coffin," a Kennedy relative told The Post. "How can Hillary even use the experience argument when she repeatedly pushes the wrong buttons in her comments?"

Read more: New York Post

As Race Wanes, Talk Of Clinton As No. 2 Grows

While Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her advisers insist that she is determined to win the Democratic nomination, friends of the couple say that former President Bill Clinton, for one, has begun privately contemplating a different outcome for her: As Senator Barack Obama’s running mate.

The reports about Mr. Clinton’s musings surface as the Obama camp has quietly begun the process of searching for a partner on the Democratic ticket.

The prospect of an Obama-Clinton ticket has been fodder for political gossip for months, with some Democratic leaders pushing the idea as a way to unify the party. The Obama and Clinton campaigns have consistently shrugged off the idea, however, and Mrs. Clinton has been adamant that she is only interested in the presidency.

Read more: New York Times

Black Men Answer Leaders' Call To Action

Inspired by a mobilization effort in Philadelphia, leaders of Baltimore's African-American community vowed Wednesday to recruit at least 5,000 black men to bring positive change to their communities.

The goal is to reduce the city's rates of violence, high school dropouts and absentee fathers. More than 50 men representing churches, educational institutions and civic groups gathered at Calverton Elementary/Middle School in West Baltimore to announce the initiative.

Read more: The Baltimore Sun

U.S. Border Patrol Recruiting African-Americans

The U.S. Border Patrol is launching a major recruitment effort in Tennessee designed to add more African-Americans to its growing ranks.

Officials say blacks currently make-up only 1% of the more than 16,000 agents across the country.

Applicants must pass a background check and tests and be willing to relocate to Northern or Southern border cities. Starting salary is between $36,000 and $46,000, plus overtime and federal benefits.

Read more: Eyewitness News

Warren Buffett Backs Barack Obama

The world's richest man has backed leading Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama for the top job.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says he previously offered to support both Obama and former first lady turned New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

However Buffett said he was giving his full support to Obama after it became clear the leading Democrat would seal his party's nomination.

"I will be very happy if he is elected President," Buffet said.

"He is my choice."

Read more: scopical.com.au