The D-word: Will recession become something worse?--By TOM RAUM and DANIEL WAGNER, Associated Press Writers

A Depression doesn't have to be Great — bread lines, rampant unemployment, a wipeout in the stock market. The economy can sink into a milder depression, the kind spelled with a lowercase "d."

And it may be happening now.

The trouble is, unlike recessions, which are easy to define, there are no firm rules for what makes a depression. Everyone at least seems to agree there hasn't been one since the epic hardship of the 1930s.

But with each new hard-times headline, most recently an alarming economic contraction of 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter, it seems more likely that the next depression is on its way.

"We're probably in a depression now. But it's not going to be acknowledged until years go by. Because you have to see it behind you," said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland.

No one disputes that the current economic downturn qualifies as a recession. Recessions have two handy definitions, both in effect now — two straight quarters of economic contraction, or when the National Bureau of Economic Research makes the call.

Declaring a depression is much trickier.

By one definition, it's a downturn of three years or more with a 10 percent drop in economic output and unemployment above 10 percent. The current downturn doesn't qualify yet: 15 months old and 7.6 percent unemployment. But both unemployment and the 6.2 percent contraction for late last year could easily worsen.

Another definition says a depression is a sustained recession during which the populace has to dispose of tangible assets to pay for everyday living. For some families, that's happening now.

Morici says a depression is a recession that "does not self-correct" because of fundamental structural problems in the economy, such as broken banks or a huge trade deficit.

Or maybe a depression is whatever corporate America says it is. Tony James, president of private equity firm Blackstone, called this downturn a depression during an earnings conference call last week.

The Great Depression retains the heavyweight crown. Unemployment peaked at more than 25 percent. From 1929 to 1933, the economy shrank 27 percent. The stock market lost 90 percent of its value from boom to bust.

And while last year in the stock market was the worst since 1931, the Dow Jones industrials would have to fall about 5,000 more points to approach what happened in the Depression.

Few economists expect this downturn will be the sequel. But nobody knows for sure, and nobody can say when or whether the downturn may deepen from a recession to a depression.

In his prime-time address to Congress last week, President Barack Obama acknowledged "difficult and trying times" but sought to rally the nation with an upbeat vow that "we will rebuild, we will recover."

The next day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee that the "recession is serious, financial conditions remain difficult." He held out a best-case hope that it might end later this year, with "full recovery" in two to three years.

Despite the tempered optimism, the economic outlook remains grim. Consumer confidence has fallen off the table, stocks are at 12-year lows, layoffs come by the tens of thousands, and credit remains tight.

The current downturn has many of the 1930s characteristics, including being primed by big stock market and real estate booms that turned to busts, said Allen Sinai, founder of Boston-area consulting firm Decision Economics.

Policymakers and economists note there are safeguards in place that weren't there in the 1930s: deposit insurance, unemployment insurance and an ability by the government to hurl trillions of dollars at the problem, even if it means printing money.

Before the 1930s, any serious economic downturn was called a depression. The term "recession" didn't come into common use until "depression" became burdened by memories of the 1930s, said Robert McElvaine, a history professor at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss.

"When the economy collapsed again in 1937, they didn't want to call that a new depression, and that's when recession was first used," he said. "People also use 'downward blip.' Alan Greenspan once called it a 'sideways waffle.'"

Most postwar U.S. recessions have come after the Fed has increased interest rates to cool down rapid economic growth and inflation. Later, the Fed lowers rates and helps restart the economy, with the housing and auto sectors — both sensitive to interest rates — leading the way.

This time is different: As Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said, "Our housing and auto sectors are leading us not out of recession, but into it."

What's more, the Fed no longer has the ability to kick-start recovery by lowering interest rates. The central bank has already effectively lowered the short-term rates it controls to zero.

And there are no guarantees the massive economic stimulus package and series of bank bailouts will stave off a nightmare recession, or worse.

"It is certainly plausible that the kinds of policy measures that have been good enough to tame the business cycle are no longer adequate in a fast-moving, highly leveraged, highly networked economy," said Anirvan Banerji of the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

Today's economic indicators don't project a depression. But Banerji is cautious. Economic data in 1929 didn't show that the stock market crash was about to lead to years of economic misery, either.

"It did not look like the kind of plunge that would be a depression until after the recession began," Banerji said. "The Great Depression didn't start out as a depression. It started out as a recession."

The depression that consumed most of the 1870s and followed something called the Panic of 1873 makes a better comparison to what's happening now, said Scott Nelson, a history professor at the College of William and Mary.

Financial markets had become centrally located by the 1870s, notably in London. And nations had not yet enacted the protectionist trade policies that were in place by the 1930s.

The results were not exactly promising. Gangs of orphans roamed city streets as men moved west to pursue cattle industry jobs. Widows struggled to make money by serving unlicensed liquor. Thousands of workers, many Civil War veterans, became transients.

The downturn lasted more than five years, according to the economic research bureau — four times as long as what the United States has endured so far in this downturn.

Today's recession is already longer than all but two of the downturns since World War II. But for now, public officials are being extremely cautious about the D-word. Alfred Kahn, a top economic adviser to President Carter, learned that lesson in 1978 when he warned that rampaging inflation might lead to a recession or even "deep depression."

When presidential aides asked him to use another term, Kahn promised he'd come up with something completely different.

"We're in danger," he said, "of having the worst banana in 45 years."

Dow jumps above 8,000 for first time in 2 months--By MADLEN READ and SARA LEPRO, AP Business Writers

Investors are buying up stocks again, sending the Dow Jones industrials above the 8,000 mark for the first time in nearly two months.

All the major indexes soared more than 3 percent on Thursday as optimism grew following more signs that the economy is on the mend.

Financial stocks led the rally, getting a big boost after the Financial Accounting Standards Board relaxed accounting rules forcing banks to value their assets at current prices. The change should help banks reduce losses.

Another positive indicator on the economy also lifted Wall Street sentiment. Factory orders posted a large increase in February, coming on the heels of better-than-expected readings on pending home sales, manufacturing activity and auto sales the day before.

"Everyone is in a buying mood," said Eric Ross, director of research at brokerage Canaccord Adams. "Everyone is feeling good. ... A lot of this is simply confidence."

The change in "mark-to-market" accounting rules sends another lifeline to the troubled banking industry. Many market participants believe financial stocks, which have largely carried the market's four-week rally, are a gauge of when the economy is turning.

The market's advance came as the world's finance leaders met in London to discuss efforts to fix the global economy. The G-20 ministers plan to give the International Monetary Fund $500 billion, and create stricter rules for hedge funds.

In midday trading, the Dow rose 256.79, or 3.3 percent, to 8,018.39.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 28.25, or 3.5 percent, to 839.33. The Nasdaq composite index rose 60.25, or 3.9 percent, to 1,611.85.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies jumped 21.83, or 5.1 percent, to 450.99.

For every three stocks that fell, nine stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange where volume came to 642 million shares.

Mexico reports arrest of major drug suspect--By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, Associated Press Writer

Mexico has detained one of its most wanted drug suspects, Vicente Carrillo Leyva, who allegedly was the second in command of the powerful Juarez cartel, the federal Attorney General's Office said Thursday.
The announcement came hours before the Obama administration's top security officials and their Mexican counterparts were set to discuss ways to stop arms smuggling across the border as well as new strategies for fighting the drug cartels that have fueled violence in both countries.


Federal police said Carrillo Leyva, 32, was caught while he was exercising in a park in a posh Mexico City neighborhood early Wednesday.


Carrillo Leyva is the son of drug kingpin Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who was one of Mexico's most important drug traffickers before he died during plastic surgery to change his appearance in 1997.


Amado Carrillo Fuentes was nicknamed "the Lord of the Skies" because of his success in sending planeloads of cocaine to the United States.


After his death, Amado's brother Vicente took over the cartel and Amado's son, Vicente Carrillo Leyva became second-in-command, the Attorney General's Office said.


Officials displayed Carrillo Leyva to the press at a news conference early Thursday, bringing a young man in glasses and a track suit before flashing cameras.


A week ago, the Attorney General's Office named Carrillo Leyva to a list of 24 of the country's most-wanted narcotics suspects and offered a reward of 30 million pesos ($2.1 million) for his capture. The same amount was offered for the capture of the cartel's alleged leader.


Vicente Carrillo Leyva acknowledged to authorities that he was the son of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, said Marisela Morales, who is in charge of combatting organized crime at the Attorney General's Office.


"Carrillo Leyva is considered one of the heirs of the Juarez Cartel after the death of his father," she said.


Vicente Carrillo Leyva used an alias, Alejandro Peralta Alvarez, and was passing himself off as a businessman, said Federal Police Commissioner Rodrigo Esparza. But authorities were able to track him down through his wife, who did not change her name. The government had records showing her sister was married to Rodolfo Carrillo Fuentes, a brother of the cartel leader.


Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder were to meet Thursday with Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora and Interior Minister Fernando Gomez-Mont in Cuernavaca, Mexico.


Soldiers last week arrested another figure on the most-wanted list, Hector Huerta, who was accused of controlling the flow of drugs through the northern city of Monterrey for the powerful Beltran-Leyva cartel.

New jobless claims jump, factory orders up--By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

The number of people filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, while those continuing to receive benefits hit a 10th straight record-high. Both figures show the labor market remains weak and is unlikely to recover anytime soon, despite some signs the economy's decline is moderating.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 669,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 657,000. That total was above analysts' expectations and the highest in more than 26 years, though the work force has grown by about half since then.

On a more positive note, the Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods rose 1.8 percent in February, much higher than analysts expected and reversing six straight monthly declines.

Wall Street focused on the good news. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 270 points, or 3.5 percent, in midday trading. Broader indices also rose.

Other economic indicators came in better than expected Wednesday, including construction spending and pending home sales.

Still, economists said the jobless claims figures indicate that companies continue to lay off workers at a rapid pace.

"Claims are typically one of the very first indicators to signal economic recovery, and there is no sign of that in the data yet," Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a client note.

The tally of laid-off workers claiming benefits for more than a week rose 161,000 to 5.73 million, setting a record for the 10th straight week. That also was above analysts' expectations and indicates that unemployed workers are having difficulty finding new jobs. The continuing claims data lag the initial claims by one week.

An additional 1.5 million people received benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program approved by Congress last year. That's as of March 14, the latest data available. Jobless benefits typically last 26 weeks, but the federal government is paying for an additional 20 to 33 weeks of compensation under the extended program, depending on each state's unemployment rate.

As a proportion of the work force, the number of people on the jobless benefit rolls is the highest since May 1983. The four-week moving average of jobless claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, rose to 656,750, the highest since October 1982, when the economy was emerging from a steep recession.

Employers are eliminating jobs and taking other cost-cutting measures to deal with sharp reductions in consumer and business spending. The current recession, now in its 17th month, is the longest since World War II.

The jobless claims data come a day before the department is expected to issue another dismal monthly employment report. Economists forecast that report will show employers cut 654,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

Some economists raised their projection for job losses in March in response to the increase in claims. David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International, said he now expects the department will report payroll cuts of 725,000 in March, up from a previous forecast of 680,000.

Companies reduced their payrolls by 651,000 jobs in February, a record third straight month of job losses above 600,000.

A private survey Wednesday said businesses cut 742,000 jobs in March. Employment at medium- and small-sized companies fell the sharpest — by a combined 614,000. The rest of the job cuts came from big firms — those with 500 or more workers_ according to the report from Automatic Data Processing Inc. and Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.

More job losses were announced this week. 3M Co., the maker of Scotch tape, Post-It Notes and other products, said Tuesday it's cutting another 1,200 jobs, or 1.5 percent of its work force, because of the global economic slump. Fewer than half the jobs will be in the U.S., but include hundreds in its home state of Minnesota. The 1,200 figure includes cuts made earlier in the first quarter.

Elsewhere, healthcare products distributor Cardinal Health Inc. said it would eliminate 1,300 positions, or about 3 percent of its work force, and semiconductor equipment maker KLA-Tencor Corp. said it will cut about 600 jobs, or 10 percent of its employees.

Among the states, California reported the biggest increase in new claims for the week ending March 21 with a jump of more than 6,700, which it attributed to layoffs in the construction and service industries. The next largest increases were in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa, according to the Labor Department data.

The biggest drop was in Texas, which had 4,822 fewer claims as the trade, service, manufacturing and transportation industries cut fewer jobs. New York, Tennessee, Illinois and Virginia had the next largest declines.

The Federal Reserve has cut a key benchmark interest rate to nearly zero in an effort to jump-start lending and embarked on a series of radical programs to inject billions of dollars into the financial system.

The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package, approved by Congress in February, is trying to counter the recession by providing money for public works projects, extending unemployment benefits and helping states avoid budget cuts.

G20 strikes trillion-dollar crisis deal--By David Ljunggren and Lesley Wroughton

World leaders agreed a trillion-dollar deal on Thursday to combat the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression.

At a G20 summit, they also signed off on plans to commission blacklists of tax havens and tighten financial rules to bring hedge funds and credit rating agencies under closer supervision.

"This is the day that the world came together, to fight back against the global recession. Not with words but a plan for global recovery and for reform and with a clear timetable," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the summit host, said.

Markets reacted positively.

The index of top European shares was up 5 percent after Japan's Nikkei gained 4.4 percent. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq was up 4 percent and the Dow Jones 3.6 percent. The price of oil jumped above $52.

But economists warned against euphoria.

"The IMF funding is more than expected, and in so far as that means there is a larger pot of money available to bail out troubled economies that is good news. But these troublespots particularly in Eastern Europe are still there and this will not make them go away overnight," said Nigel Rendall, emerging market strategist, Royal Bank of Canada.

Brown said that while there were "no quick fixes," the decisions meant that "we can shorten the recession and we can save jobs." The final communique forecast the measures taken would raise world output by four percent by the end of next year.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the results were beyond what could have been imagined.
Germany's finance minister welcomed the fact that no obligation was agreed for countries to adopt further stimulus packages. The issue had created tension in the summit build-up, with Washington favoring such packages and Paris and Berlin preferring to let earlier measures take their course.

Addressing a key demand from France and Germany, Brown said the leaders agreed "there will be an end to tax havens that do not transfer information on request. The banking secrecy of the past must come to an end."

He said they committed new resources of 1 trillion dollars that are available to the world economy through the International Monetary Fund and other institutions.

This included 250 billion dollars of IMF reserve units called Special Drawing Rights. "This is available to all IMF members," Brown said. In addition, the IMF would see its own resources tripled, with up to $500 billion of new funds, of which $40 billion would come from China.

The G20 asked the IMF to bring forward sales from its gold reserves, raising funds to help the poorest countries, Brown said. And it agreed a trade finance package worth $250 billion over two years to support global trade flows, which have shrunk under the impact of the credit crunch.

The tax haven issue had threatened to be a stumbling block to agreement, with France and Germany demanding a crackdown on jurisdictions whose bank secrecy laws they portrayed as enabling the rich to dodge taxes at a time of economic hardship.

"Since Bretton Woods, the world has been living on a financial model, the Anglo-Saxon model -- it's not my place to criticize it, it has its advantages -- clearly, today, a page has been turned," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, referring to the landmark conference that created the post-war economic order.

In the United States, meanwhile, an industry body announced a major change to accounting rules that would give banks more flexibility on how they value toxic assets. This would relieve pressure on banks with impaired balance sheets, which has been a major driver in financial market distress.

The change in the Financial Accounting Standard Board rules helped fuel a stock market rally.

(Writing by Mark Trevelyan, editing by Janet McBride)

Food stamp list swells to record 32.2 million

A record 32.2 million people -- one in every 10 Americans -- received food stamps at latest count, the government said on Thursday, a reflection of the recession now in its 16th month.

Food stamps are the major U.S. antihunger program and help poor people buy groceries. The average benefit was $112.82 per person in January.

The January figure marks the third time in five months that enrollment set a record.

"A weakened economy means that many more individuals are turning to SNAP/Food Stamps," said the Food Research and Action Center, an antihunger group, using the acronym for the renamed food stamp program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in February, the highest in 25 years. Weekly claims for jobless benefits totaled 669,000 last week, the highest in 26 years, the government said on Thursday.

Food stamp enrollment rose in all but four of the 50 states during January, said Agriculture Department figures. Vermont, Alaska and South Dakota had increases of more than 5 percent. Texas had the largest enrollment, 2.984 million, down 65,000, followed by California at 2.545 million, up 43,000, and New York with 2.211 million, up 37,000.

Food stamp benefits get a temporary 13 percent increase, beginning with this month, under the economic stimulus law signed by President Barack Obama. The increase equals $80 a month for a household of four.

Recent food stamp data
Month Enrollment
September 2008 31.587 million

October 2008 31.050 million

November 2008 31.097 million

December 2008 31.784 million

January 2009 32.205 million

(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

Don't Expect President Obama to Talk About Race--Yet--By Earl Ofari Hutchinson

The third year Senator from Illinois pulled no punches in 2007 when he wrote that “the long march” toward justice and equality is far from over. Then Senator Barack Obama wrote the punchy words in the introduction to the National Urban League’s hard hitting annual State of Black America report. It details the social and economic woes of millions of poor blacks.

It was no accident that then Senator Obama was picked to ram home the point that discrimination and poverty are still towering problems that plague the black poor and not so poor. His past civil rights and poverty activist work in inner city Chicago neighborhoods was well-known and widely admired.

So there was more than a dose of irony mixed with a hint of disappointment when Urban League President Marc Morial minced no words and implored President Obama to talk about black issues. Morial can’t be blamed for trying to nudge the president to say and do more about black issues. They are still just as tormenting today as they were when the Illinois junior senator spoke out on them. The State of Black America report as it has done almost ritually for the past decade warns that blacks are less likely to own their own homes, die earlier, are far more likely to be jailed disproportionately and receive longer sentences, receive less or poorer quality health care and earn far less than whites. They attend failing public schools, and are more likely the victims of racially motivated hate crimes than any other group.

The economic crash has slammed blacks harder than any other group. They have higher rate of home foreclosures, the greatest loss of jobs, and there’s been even more shrinkage in funds for the worst performing and poorest schools. These are the exact things that Obama agonized over two years ago in the Urban League report. But that was two years ago and a presidential election apart from his days on the streets of Southside Chicago and his stint in the Senate.

Even without the heavy weighted preoccupation with cleaning up the Wall Street mess and jumpstarting a moribund economy, President Obama still wouldn’t likely frontally talk about race. One reason is practical, transparent, and carries far less risk than bringing in the race issue. Obama’s oft stated stance is that the gaping racial disparities that the Urban League chides him to address can best be dealt with by greater funding outlays and more proactive programs and initiatives on health care and education reform, and by the creation of thousands of new jobs, and energy and technology expansion and independence. It’s a variation on the old rising tide lifts all ships approach to solving the problems of the poor, and since the ships that are in the poorest shape of all are those of the poor and minorities, they will benefit the most by this approach. Stand alone talk about race just muddies things up.

But even if that wasn’t the case, Obama still wouldn’t likely say much about racial problems. Talk of civil rights has been a danger zone for presidential candidates and presidents for years, especially Democratic ones. That was glaringly evident during the past presidential campaign. The endless TV sound loop of Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright's inflammatory racial tirades in the midst of his fierce primary battle with Hillary Clinton sent momentary shell shocks through the campaign. It forced him to scramble fast and do damage control. The Wright flap guaranteed that race would not be even a vague utterance during the remainder of the campaign.

Presidential candidate Obama simply had to observe the rules of political expediency to win the White House. But President Obama also has to do the same, in fact all presidents do. The sore point issue with Obama just happens to be race. But with presidents Reagan, Bush Sr., and W. Bush, it was ideology.

The three GOP presidents at times were hammered hard by hard line Christian fundamentalists and ultra conservatives to say and especially do more to gut affirmative action, abortion rights, environmental regulations, and a full court press to slash government spending and government. Whatever they did was never enough to satisfy the critics on the far right.

Clinton got pounded by liberal interest groups for not saying and doing more on affirmative action, police violence and racial profiling, gay rights, hate crimes, and the strengthening labor and environmental protections strengthen. As with the GOP presidents, whatever he did do on these issues was never enough to satisfy the left side critics.

It’s the same with Obama. The only difference is that since he’s African-American he’s expected to talk about race. There still time, lots of time, for him to kiss the racial ring. That’s inevitable. It just won’t be now.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, “The Hutchinson Report” can be heard weekly in Los Angeles on KTYM Radio 1460 AM and nationally on blogtalkradio.com.

Poor People's Campaign Tour

Within weeks of the Poverty Awareness Tour that took place in Lambert, MS on February 20-22, 2009; founders of Gathering of Hearts, Antoinette Harrell and Ines Soto-Palmarin have organized another poverty tour with Southern Christian Leadership Conference SCLC, President Dr. Byron Clay, and a delegation from Atlanta.

The tour held in February was well attended by students from Kentwood High School, Southeastern University Louisiana, and volunteers from Boston, MA. Dr. Ron Walters, Director of the African American Leadership Institute and Professor Rebecca Hensley of Southeastern University Louisiana. Several volunteers from New Orleans, LA collected clothing, shoes, and other goods to distribute during the tour. Volunteers from Boston, MA drove thousands of miles to contribute donations collected in Boston, MA, Jersey City, NJ and Philadelphia, PA to the people in the Mississippi Delta.

This week's Poverty Awareness Tour was designed to give SCLC's President Dr. Byron Clay and members of the SCLC, an insight on the existing issues of poverty in Mississippi. It is the first tour of its kind for Dr. Byron Clay and members of the SCLC.

Dr. Bryon Clay was astonished to find that many of the homes toured did not have running water and gas for cooking. Many of the homes they toured had holes in the floors and huge holes in the roof. A couple living in a deteriorating trailer in Anquilla, MS had no refrigerator. A box fan was hanging from the ceiling to keep them cool. Dr. Byron Clay pledged $10,000 to help build a home for a family in Lambert, MS.

The Poor People's Campaign March will take place June 19-21. On Friday, June 19, 2009, Gathering of Hearts and SCLC will hold a public hearing in the town of Lambert, MS to address human right issues, such as affordable housing, health care, education, jobs and many other important issues. The Poor People Campaign March will take place Saturday: June 20th in Jackson, Mississippi. People from all over the United States are expected to attend this much needed hearing, as well as participate in the Poor People's Campaign March. We are inviting non-profit organizations, scholars, community leaders, church leaders and others to attend this public hearing.

In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) organized the Poor People's Campaign to address issues of economic justice. The march originated in Marks, Mississippi. From there, Dr. King crisscrossed the country to assemble "a multiracial army of the poor" that would descend on Washington engaging, if need be, in nonviolent civil disobedience at the Capitol-until Congress enacted a poor people's bill of rights. Dr. King's economic bill of rights called for massive government jobs programs to rebuild America's cities. He saw a crying need to confront a Congress that had demonstrated its "hostility to the poor" appropriating "military fund and alacrity and generosity", but providing "poverty fund with miserliness."

The 1968 Poor People's Campaign did not focus on just poor black people but addressed all poor people of every minority. Poor Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, American Indians and poor whites were included in the campaign. King labeled the Poor People's Campaign the "second phases" of the civil rights struggle.

We must do more to help those in need. "While many people live in the comfort of their own homes and lives, millions of people right here in the United States does not have enough food to eat. Not to mention living in homes with holes in the floors and walls big enough for any small animal to crawl in said," Antoinette Harrell.

"It is essential that we provide those who are in need with resources for standard living. Clean water, affordable housing, health care, 21st century education, jobs, recreation programs for the youth and public transportation, and it all begins with awareness of the problems that many people face on a daily basis," said Harrell. Some animals in this country live better than people. There are dog parks, hospitals for animals, animal daycare centers, and animal hotels. In some towns in Mississippi, there is not one library for children, not one health clinic, dentist office are playground for children.

For more information concerning the Poor People's Campaign March please contact Gathering of Hearts founders Antoinette Harrell and Ines Soto-Palmarin at (985) 229-8001, or Southern Christian Leadership Conference at (404)-522-1420.

CONTACT:
Antoinette Harrell
afrigenah@yahoo.com
985-229-8001 or 504-858-4658

Mayor Ken Cockrel is Not President Obama by Akindele Akinyemi

While Detroiters are trying to figure out who to vote for on May 5, 2009 I wanted to point out something of significance. Some people who are supporting Mayor Ken Cockrel for re-election are going around saying that the Cockrel campaign and personality is like President Obama's campaign.

Sorry people but Mayor Cockrel is NOT President Obama. Not even close. To compare the two men is ridiculous.

As the sitting mayor, due to the abdication of the mayoral seat by Kwame Kilpatrick, Ken Cockrel gains an advantage that he has previously not enjoyed- a large apparatus of appointees to due his bidding. Ken Cockrel has consistently performed well at the polls, and has earned the top spot on the City Council with strong showings in each election.

He is a favorite among various sectors of the city, particularly with elements of the non-profit community as he has enjoyed their support. He also has had consistency with seniors who remember his father and approve of Ken Jr.’s approach to Council- pragmatic, non-ostentatious, and diligent in responding to citizen needs and request.

He has also enjoyed union support in most of his elections.

But this is no ordinary election coming up on May 5th, and some of the weakness that comes into play for him center on his new role being Mayor.

He has now a set of mayoral appointees, but many are holdovers from the Kilpatrick Administration. Will they be loyal to him and campaign with zeal, or will they go through the motions and have ties into other camps?

Indeed Mayor Cockrel's biggest challenge will be to balance the act of governing and campaigning.

While many would agree that he has experience and knowledge of issues affecting Detroit governance, Council members, by virtue of the City Charter is woefully devoid of information that affects service delivery. The budget discussions that council members have really are discussions of capacity and priority, while the administration is dealing with logistics and emergent issues.

Issues such as the following:

Campaign finances.

Non-disclosure of contributions received for high profile parties paid for by businesses.

After 11 years on Council, Mayor Cockrel still lacks knowledge of administrative procedures.

Supported Kilpatrick leanings 90% of the time when on Council.

Did not call for Kilpatrick’s resignation until the Detroit Free Press broke the story of the $8.4 million lawsuit.

The City’s $300 million debt was incurred under Mayor Cockrel’s not so watchful eye.

The Tunnel Deal – The Tunnel is one of the few revenue producing assets the City has. The sale of the Tunnel means a short- term gain for a long-term problem. If this deal goes through, the City will have to face the loss of this revenue in the next fiscal year.

Business friendly – Mayor Cockrel helps with downtown development but does not create a balance for the neighborhoods.

Mayor Cockrel was pursuing the money Mike Ilitch received from the city for maintenance of historic Tiger Stadium – I have not heard the results of Cockrel’s investigation.

Kim Cockrel was laid off from her job as a school teacher and immediately went to work for the DMC whose CEO is Conrad Mallett, a member of Kilpatrick’s transition team in 2001. As Ken Cockrel’s Campaign Manager, has Mrs. Cockrel taken an unpaid leave of absence from her position at the DMC?

To be perfectly honest Mayor Cockrel, in my opinion, is seriously overrated. He is not alert or aware as we had hoped he would be. His impression as Detroit City Council President was not strong at all. He was there, but not an impressive figure, and his role as Mayor has been equally unimpressive. Cockel platform is vague, and it's not clear what he's standing for. He says people will trust this administration, and the first thing we hear brings on a lack of trust.

Furthermore, what will Mayor Cockrel do to suffice about the projects are being pursued by people who know what they are doing?

And if Mayor Cockrel talks about demolition projects, such as demolition by neglect, parking empires, and general blight generation, I would advise him to do so right away. The City of Detroit does not have eminent domain. Therefore, will Mayor Cockrel talk to the Ilitches about the off-hockey-site properties, the Broderick near Capitol Park and the mental hospital about the owners of the office building and hotel at Park and Adams as well as the 7-acre parking lot at the corner of I-375 and Gratiot ?

What really hinders Detroit’s CBD development is the lack of money, lack of resources, and a general lack of market demand (historically but especially now). If half the effort devoted to attacking “the city” were devoted to business attraction or actually running successful, market-rate businesses here, things like the Lafayette Building demolition would not even be on the table. But why would Mayor Cockrel want to contract demolition experts from Macomb County and other areas instead of using demolition experts here in Detroit to tear down buildings for redevelopment? One of the greatest contributing factors to high unemployment in Detroit is the lack of people hiring each other and contracting each other's business in the city limits.

Ken Cockrel is not President Obama or even close so I hope people do not look at him as Obama. To do so would make us a laughing stock in the City of Detroit and the region.

My Perspective: MARCH MADNESS

America,

I want to thank you for this moment to speak to you.

With all the buzz about March Madness, it is time for us as Americans to consider our own March Madness theory when it comes to politics.

When you think of March Madness, you think of a 65 team tournament that is mixed with teams from all Conferences that compete to be crowned the national champion. However in the midst of March Madness fever, many of us get caught up in the buzzer beaters, the Cinderella stories, the upsets and just the pure delight of great basketball games. In fact it would be no March Madness without the upset stories that come with the tournament.

That’s why in politics, we need our own March Madness. We need our own upset stories. We need our own Cinderella stories. We need our own buzzer beaters and shock the world occurrences.

When you think about the political landscape today, it is obvious that the Democratic and Republican Parties are the big dogs on the block. The Democratic and Republican Parties are the favorites to win any political race.

In fact many people say that voting for anything besides a Democrat or Republican is a waste of your vote. However last time I checked every vote matters and every vote counts.

I guess that doesn’t apply unless you vote for a Republican or Democrat.

Well I’m here to tell you that the left-right paradigm that has dominated the political landscape year after year is about to get some competition.

The underdog, the Cinderella, and the unlikely of candidates are about to emerge on the political scene like never before. In fact, it is time for political upsets like those in the NCAA tournament to occur more often.

I’m tired of people downplaying third party candidates. I’m tired of the national news media and even local news media ignoring the third party candidates. America needs a Cinderella story and that is exactly why this is the beginning of our March Madness.

For far too long, the political landscape in America has been dominated with the heavyweights of both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Well now is the time for Cinderella stories like myself to change the landscape of politics like we have never seen before.

This is our moment to showcase to the world that America is not a two party political system but it is so much more. It is time for independents to dominate the political landscape and start thinking for themselves and not for a political party but for America.

This is our March Madness and I’m ready to shake up the political landscape. I’m ready to upset some of the biggest named candidates out there and I’m ready to challenge the status quo of the political spectrum which is the left-right paradigm.

I’m not a Democrat or a Republican. I’m an American and I’m Independent. I do what is best for my country and me not what is best for a political party. I’m feeling the March Madness fever and let me tell you, it is starting to sweep across the nation.

March Madness fever is getting stronger by the day and the reality is that if you are willing to stand with me than we can finally take down the left-right paradigm. We can create the Cinderella story like Jimmy Valvano and North Carolina State did. This is the moment where we shock the world and change the political landscape in America forever.

I’m tired of all the talk about Democrats and Republicans. I’m tired of all the talk about two political parties which are the majority in this country.

Its time to start talking about other political parties. What about the Green Party? What about the Libertarian Party? What about the Constitution Party? What about the Independent Party? What about the Moderate Party? What about the Independence Party of America?

Well let me tell you, it is their time to be heard but most of all it is time for us, the American people to be heard not by just two political parties but all political parties. It is time for us the American people to be heard and it is time for us to have our own March Madness in our local communities, our states and in America when it comes to politics.

The time has come for us to shake up the political landscape and create chaos in our political races by looking at all candidates no matter their party affiliation. The time has come for us to have some upsets in political elections. The time has come for us to finally be the democracy and republic that our founding fathers wants us to be.

I don’t know about you all but I am feeling the March Madness fever. I believe that the time has come for quote unquote third party candidates to be given a chance. The time has come for all of us as Americans to increase our options when it comes to who we vote for. Don’t be closed minded but be open minded and look at all candidates in a race and not the quote unquote top two.

We shouldn’t be consolidated to just two political parties. In fact the March Madness fever that I am feeling begins with us focusing on the quote unquote political Cinderella’s and underdogs.

We need to stop this notion that if you don’t vote for a Democrat or a Republican you are wasting your vote. Let me be clear and honest, until America has a voting percentage of eligible voters and registered voters that votes at 90 to 100% than no vote is a wasted vote.

Give me a break people, nearly 40% of all eligible and registered voters in this country don’t even vote. However we want to criticize those who do vote for candidates that are not Democrats or Republicans. Give me a break!

Every vote matters and there is no such thing as a wasted vote when someone takes the time out of their day to do their patriotic duty and vote. When so many Americans don’t vote, it is a shame that some of us think voting for a candidate that isn’t a favorite or isn’t a part of the major two parties is a wasted vote.

That’s why this March Madness fever I am feeling gives new life to voting period. Until all Americans vote in every election, I don’t want to hear this notion that any American that doesn’t vote for a Democrat or a Republican is a wasted vote. Give me a break people and let’s be real, this is the March Madness that our country has been craving for when it comes to politics for years.

Well the time has come to look at all political candidates regardless of their political party affiliation. This is the time for us to look for the best candidate regardless of their political affiliation. It’s not about Democrat or Republican any more, it’s about America. It has always been and that’s the way it always should be.

It’s time for us to look at the quote unquote underdog and Cinderella. I’m ready and I’m feeling the emergence of a new wave of how we vote in this nation. I’m feeling the March Madness fever and let it be clear that every vote matters no matter who you vote for and every candidate matters as well.

No longer can we ignore quote unquote third party candidates and no longer can we be stuck on voting for a Democrat or a Republican.

This is our March Madness people and if you only wake up and realize it than we can change the political spectrum as we know it forever.

Let’s create our own March Madness right here, right now.

The time has come and I believe that we are ready for own political March Madness.

So if you are with me than spread the word and let’s make it happen not now but right now.

White House optimistic GM can avoid bankruptcy

President Barack Obama's administration remains optimistic that General Motors Corp can restructure without going to bankruptcy court, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

The official reiterated the White House's position, however, that "targeted use of the bankruptcy code" could be employed if necessary.

"We remain optimistic that significant re-structuring can be executed without the use of the bankruptcy code," the official told Reuters.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason)

PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama tax pledge up in smoke--By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer

One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.

The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.

This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.

To be sure, Obama's tax promises in last year's campaign were most often made in the context of income taxes. Not always.

"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

He repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime."

Now in office, Obama, who stopped smoking but has admitted he slips now and then, signed a law raising the tobacco tax nearly 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes, to $1.01. Other tobacco products saw similarly steep increases.

The extra money will be used to finance a major expansion of health insurance for children. That represents a step toward achieving another promise, to make sure all kids are covered.

Obama said in the campaign that Americans could have both — a broad boost in affordable health insurance for the nation without raising taxes on anyone but the rich.

His detailed campaign plan stated that his proposed improvement in health insurance and health technology "is more than covered" by raising taxes on the wealthy alone. It was not based on raising the tobacco tax.

The White House contends Obama's campaign pledge left room for measures such as the one financing children's health insurance.

"The president's position throughout the campaign was that he would not raise income or payroll taxes on families making less than $250,000, and that's a promise he has kept," said White House spokesman Reid H. Cherlin. "In this case, he supported a public health measure that will extend health coverage to 4 million children who are currently uninsured."

In some instances during the campaign, Obama was plainly talking about income, payroll and investment taxes, even if he did not say so.

Other times, his point appeared to be that heavier taxation of any sort on average Americans is the wrong prescription in tough times.

"Listen now," he said in his widely watched nomination acceptance speech, "I will cut taxes — cut taxes — for 95 percent of all working families, because, in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class."

An unequivocal "any tax" pledge also was heard in the vice presidential debate, another prominent forum.

"No one making less than $250,000 under Barack Obama's plan will see one single penny of their tax raised," Joe Biden said, "whether it's their capital gains tax, their income tax, investment tax, any tax."

The Democratic campaign used such statements to counter Republican assertions that Obama would raise taxes in a multitude of direct and indirect ways, recalled Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

"I think a reasonable person would have concluded that Senator Obama had made a 'no new taxes' pledge to every couple or family making less than $250,000," she said.

Jamieson noted GOP ads that claimed Obama would raise taxes on electricity and home heating oil. "They rebutted both with the $250,000 claim," she said of the Obama campaign, "so they did extend the rebuttal beyond income and payroll."

Government and private research has found that smoking rates are higher among people of low income.

A Gallup survey of 75,000 people last year fleshed out that conclusion. It found that 34 percent of respondents earning $6,000 to $12,000 were smokers, and the smoking rate consistently declined among people of higher income. Only 13 percent of people earning $90,000 or more were smokers.

Federal or state governments often turn for extra tax dollars to the one in five Americans who smoke, and many states already hit tobacco users this year. So did the tobacco companies, which raised the price on many brands by more than 70 cents a pack.

The latest increase in the federal tax is by far the largest since its introduction in 1951, when it was 8 cents a pack. It's gone up six times since, each time by no more than a dime, until now.

Apart from the tax haul, public health advocates argue that squeezing smokers will help some to quit and persuade young people not to start.

But it was a debate the country didn't have in a presidential campaign that swore off higher taxation.

___
On the Net:
Gallup study: http://tinyurl.com/9u9mbf

Military: Afghanistan war needs more time, money--By LOLITA BALDOR and PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writers

The situations in Afghanistan is dire, and progress will demand a substantial and sustained commitment, military leaders told Congress Wednesday, as they laid out more details of the Obama administration's new strategy for the war.

But skeptical members of the Senate Armed Services committee pressed the defense officials about the pace of U.S. troops deploying to the war, and why there are no clear benchmarks on which to gauge whether the new strategy is working.

"How will we know if we're winning?" asked Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "We should not be committing additional troops before we have a means of measuring whether this strategy is successful."

Michele Flournoy, under secretary of defense for policy, said the administration is working on finalizing a set of benchmarks, but moved quickly to send some additional troops to the war because of the urgent need to reverse momentum gained by insurgents.

She and Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, also urged senators to support funding to train Pakistani forces to fight militants. And they painted a somewhat pessimistic picture, saying that building the Afghan security forces and bolstering the Pakistani military to fight insurgents on their side of the border will take more time and money.

Defense leaders did not detail what the budget request would be, but said a key element will be the fund to train Pakistani forces in counterinsurgency operations that would target al-Qaida safe havens along the ungoverned Afghan border.

During the hearing on President Barack Obama's new strategy expanding the Afghan campaign, senators also questioned how willing the Pakistani government is to take on that fight against the extremists who use the border as a staging area for attacks.

Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., warned that he does not agree with the administration's contention that progress in Afghanistan depends on success on the Pakistan side of the border.

Afghanistan's future should not be tied totally to the Pakistan government's decisions, he said, adding that he remains skeptical about Pakistan's ability to secure its border.

There are currently 38,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Sen. John McCain, top Republican on the panel, took another tack, criticizing the Pentagon for delaying decisions to dramatically increase the size of the Afghan army and to add another 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

"To dribble out these decisions, I think, can create the impression of incrementalism," said McCain.

U.S. says to turn to U.N. if North Korea launches missile

The United States will respond to any North Korean missile launch by raising the matter in the U.N. Security Council, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

North Korea has said it will launch a communications satellite between April 4 and 8 under its space program. Washington and its allies in Asia see the plan as a disguised long-range missile test.

The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in London, said Washington would react if North Korea launched a missile.

"There are U.N. Security Council resolutions so I would expect we would be talking to the U.N. Security Council about how to respond," the official told reporters.

"The president made clear we are deeply concerned about the prospective missile launch by the North Koreans ... That this is provocative to the region and contrary to U.N. Security Council resolutions ... There will be a reaction to it."

(Reporting by Caren Bohan, writing by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Alison Williams)

U.S. reconciliation offer "lunatic": Taliban spokesman--By Sayed Salahuddin

Taliban insurgents reject a U.S. offer of "honorable reconciliation," a top spokesman said on Wednesday, calling it a "lunatic idea" and saying the only way to end the war was to withdraw foreign troops.

With the Afghan conflict now in its eighth year, NATO-led forces and the Taliban are locked in a bloody stalemate with violence set to rise further this year as more U.S. troops arrive and seek to contain the insurgency ahead of August elections.

President Barack Obama is redoubling U.S. efforts with more troops, more diplomatic effort and more economic assistance, but he has also already spoken of the need for an "exit strategy."

If the U.S. plan fails to show results, analysts say, time is on the Taliban side.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an international conference on Afghanistan on Tuesday that those members of the Taliban who abandoned extremism must be granted an "honorable form of reconciliation."

"This matter was also raised in the past," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, referring to comments last month by Obama, who spoke of reaching out to moderate Taliban.

"They have to go and find the moderate Taliban, their leader and speak to them. This is a lunatic idea," Mujahid said by telephone from an unknown location.

Mujahid is one of two spokesman authorized to speak for the Taliban leadership council, headed by Mullah Mohammad Omar.

The 21,000 extra U.S. troops ordered by Obama to join the 70,000 foreign soldiers now fighting insurgents in Afghanistan showed the United States wanted the war to continue, Mujahid said, and the Taliban would keep fighting till they left.

"There is no other way. We want our freedom and respect for our independence," Mujahid said.

Swiftly ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001 for harboring al Qaeda after the September 11 attacks, the Taliban regrouped and have steadily spread their attacks from their traditional support base in the south and east to areas closer to the capital.

STALEMATE
NATO commanders admit that mainly British, Canadian and Dutch troops are locked in a stalemate in the south, unable to stop insurgent roadside and suicide bomb attacks without the active support of the population, while Taliban militants are incapable of overcoming Western troops in head-on battle.

Most of the new U.S. troops will be deployed in the south in an effort to break that stalemate, but while U.S. commanders say their forces, mainly in the east, are making progress against the insurgency, violence has risen steadily there too.

As Obama unveiled his new strategy he focused on the fight against al Qaeda and not allowing Afghanistan to again become a base for Osama bin Laden's group to attack the United States.

By doing so, Obama effectively changed the measure of success in Afghanistan from the Bush administration's goal of also defeating the Taliban and installing Western-style democracy.

Despite the Taliban's harsh rhetoric against foreign troops, the Islamist movement says it does not need al Qaeda support and has also toned down its criticism of the Afghan government.

The shifting stances offer a glimpse of what a possible peace deal may entail: Taliban repudiation of al Qaeda in return for a pledge to withdraw foreign troops.

But while moderate former Taliban officials have been involved in Saudi-sponsored talks to explore ways of opening dialogue with the insurgents, the Taliban are unlikely to engage in negotiations as long as they feel they are winning the war.

Strong indigenous security forces are a key to success in counter-insurgency, U.S. military doctrine states, and Obama said his new strategy would increase efforts to train Afghan forces and bring the Afghan army and police up to strength by 2011.

That date also coincides with the time by which, diplomats say, the Obama administration is likely to want to see results in Afghanistan -- a year before the next U.S. presidential election.

The Taliban meanwhile, do not have to win the war, analysts say. All they have to do is survive and wait for their opponents to lose the will to keep fighting.

(Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Jerry Norton)

EPA to test air around 62 schools in 22 states--By DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Writer

The Environmental Protection Agency will soon be adding a different kind of equipment to dozens of school yards around the country — air pollution monitors.

The EPA announced Tuesday a list of 62 schools in 22 states where the outdoor air will be tested for toxic air contaminants. The agency will work with state and local officials to begin the monitoring at the selected schools within three months.

While the EPA and state and local governments already operate air pollution monitoring networks that collect information on a variety of air pollutants, this will be the first time school-yard air quality will be the focus of their investigations.

The contaminants to be tested vary depending on the school. But the focus is toxic chemicals that are known to cause cancer, respiratory and neurological problems — especially in children, who are more susceptible than adults because they are still growing.

The monitors will measure the air for gases as well as solid particles such as heavy metals and soot, the EPA said.

"EPA, state, and local officials are mobilizing to determine where elevated levels of toxics pose a threat, so that we can take swift action to protect our children at their schools," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. The agency will spend $2.25 million purchasing the monitors and paying for the laboratory analysis.

The schools were chosen because of their proximity to industrial facilities or other sources of pollution.

The list includes an elementary school and middle school in Deer Park, Texas, with about 1,500 students. The schools are located about one-quarter of a mile from the petrochemical plants and refineries that line the Houston Ship Channel.

Matt Lucas, a spokesman for the Deer Park Independent School District, said the district was notified of the monitoring on Monday. The school already cancels recess on days when smog — a persistent problem in the Houston area — reaches dangerous levels.

"Of course, we are going to cooperate and we look forward to seeing the results of the study, and we hope the EPA will advise us accordingly," Lucas said.

Three schools in Birmingham, Ala., near pipe and steel manufacturing plants also made the EPA list.

Michaelle Chapman, a Birmingham City Schools spokeswoman, said that one of the schools, Lewis Elementary, had already been monitored and the district was waiting for the results.

"We are not aware of any health problems that children who attend these schools are experiencing because of air quality," she said in a statement.

She said an EPA official who contacted the school in December urged parents not to panic.

The full list of schools that will be monitored can be found on the EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/schoolair.

Once in place, the new equipment will collect air samples on 10 days over a month. The EPA will cease monitoring at the school if the results show good air quality. But if high levels of contaminants are detected, the agency will take steps to reduce the pollution.

Get "junk" food out of U.S. schools: PTA, diet group--By Charles Abbott

Congress can fight the epidemic of childhood obesity by getting "junk" food out of school stores and snack machines, a parent-teacher group and the American Dietetic Association said on Tuesday.

They backed an overhaul of federal rules so all food sold in schools must meet nutritional standards similar to school lunches. High-fat, high-sugar or high-calorie "competitive" foods now can be sold anytime outside of school cafeterias.

Roughly 17 percent of school-age children are obese, triple the rate in 1980 rate and "an epidemic in the United States," says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and other chronic illnesses.

"The best interests of our children demand that the nutrition standards be modernized," said Byron Garrett of the National Parent Teacher Association during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on "reforming nutrition for kids in school."

National standards are needed, the dietitian group said, so all children "have equal opportunity to a healthy school environment."

U.S. child nutrition programs like school lunch and the Women, Infants and Children feeding program are due for renewal this year. They cost $21 billion a year.

School meals comply for the most part with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which encourage exercise and more consumption of fruits and vegetables, said Agriculture Committee chairman Tom Harkin.

But sugary drinks, candy and high-fat snacks undermine the investment in good food, Harkin said, because "on an average day only 62 percent of American kids who could do so eat the federally sponsored lunch."

Sens Richard Lugar and Amy Klobuchar spoke in favor of national standards during the hearing. Sen. Mike Johanns said he disliked heavy-handed regulation and Sen. Saxby Chambliss said physical exercise should be part of the school day.

Reginald Felton of the National School Boards Association noted that some schools rely on snack sales to help cover costs. He contended that students would buy snack food outside school if it was unavailable inside the building.

Susan Neely of the American Beverage Association said that under a 2006 voluntary guideline, "there has been a 58 percent decrease in beverage calories shipped to schools." She said the guideline should become mandatory. Mars Snackfood US said it supported an update of school nutrition standards and described the work of the nonprofit Alliance for a Healthier Generation to limit fat and sugar content in snack foods.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by David Gregorio)

School chief: Mayors need control of urban schools--By LIBBY QUAID, AP Education Writer Libby Quaid, Ap Education Writer

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Tuesday that mayors should take control of big-city school districts where academic performance is suffering.

Duncan said mayoral control provides the strong leadership and stability needed to overhaul urban schools.

Mayors run the schools in fewer than a dozen big cities; only seven have full control over management and operations. That includes Chicago, where Duncan headed the school system until joining the Obama administration.

Speaking at a forum with mayors and superintendents, Duncan promised to help more mayors take over.

"At the end of my tenure, if only seven mayors are in control, I think I will have failed," Duncan said.

He offered to do whatever he can to make the case. "I'll come to your cities," Duncan said. "I'll meet with your editorial boards. I'll talk with your business communities. I will be there."

Urban school superintendents generally last three years or less, Duncan noted. He acknowledged Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso, asking how many superintendents the city had in the past 10 years. The answer was seven.

"And you wonder why school systems are struggling," Duncan said. "What business would run that way?"

After the forum, Duncan told The Associated Press that urban schools need someone who is accountable to voters and driving all of a city's resources behind children.

"Part of the reason urban education has struggled historically is you haven't had that leadership from the top," he said.

"That lack of stability, that lack of leadership is a huge part of the reason you don't see sustained progress and growth," Duncan said.

It is unusual for a Cabinet secretary to weigh in on local matters. Yet Duncan has been emphatic on the subject, calling for mayoral takeover of Detroit public schools and for New York lawmakers to renew the law giving Mayor Michael Bloomberg control over his city's schools.

Duncan said it's impossible to have a great city without great schools that provide a skilled work force to bring and keep jobs.

"Given how far every city has to go until every child receives a high-quality education, we need to push on this very, very hard," Duncan said. "And given the fact so few cities have mayoral control, that's a huge impediment that hasn't been talked about enough."

In Detroit on Tuesday, mayoral candidate and professional basketball Hall-of-Famer Dave Bing endorsed a mayoral takeover of the school system. Bing is challenging Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. to finish the term of Kwame Kilpatrick, who stepped down last year amid criminal cases. Cockrel has said he is open to the idea, but not until the city gets its finances under control.

Duncan's position could make for an awkward exchange later this week — he plans to speak Saturday in San Diego to the National School Boards Association, which represents local school boards that control districts across the country and opposes mayoral control.

Association official Michael Resnick said local school boards are the backbone of community representation in schools.

"Education is too important to fall onto the already lengthy list of functions that mayors are managing," Resnick said.

Duncan responded later: "What's more important than educating a city's children? What could be more important than that?" he told the AP.

Mayoral control is worth considering in about 400 of the biggest school districts, said Kenneth Wong, a Brown University professor who studies the issue. Those districts enroll about a third of the nation's 50 million school children.

"I think the time has come; there has been enough research suggesting it is a promising strategy," Wong said.

"The way I look at it is, we are talking about real accountability," Wong said. "A lot of urban school systems are playing this game of blaming one another — the superintendent blames the school board; the school board blames the union.

"With the mayor in charge, there ultimately is one single official held accountable every four years, whether they're doing a good job or not," Wong said.

___
Associated Press Writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.

Stimulus dollars to be released for schools--By LIBBY QUAID, AP Education Writer

The first round of school dollars from the economic stimulus law is going to states this week.

To mark the occasion, Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Wednesday is visiting first- and fifth-grade classes at Doswell Brooks Elementary School in Capitol Heights in the Maryland suburbs of Washington.

Public schools will get an unprecedented amount of money — double the education budget under President George W. Bush — from the stimulus law over the next two years.

On Wednesday, the administration is making available half of the dollars for federal programs that fund kindergarten through 12th grade and special education. In addition, Duncan will provide applications for states to get money from a special fund to stabilize state and local budgets.

President Barack Obama says the stimulus will save teachers' jobs, although there is no estimate of how many jobs will be rescued. Nationwide, about 294,000 teachers — 9 percent — may face layoffs because of state budget cuts, according to a University of Washington study.

However, loopholes created by Congress could let states and school districts spend the money on other things, such as playground equipment or new construction.

The White House has stymied efforts by lawmakers in South Carolina to accept that state's share of $48.6 billion made available under the stimulus law to help states cope with their budgets and keep teachers employed. South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford has said he may decline more than $700 million because the White House won't let him spend the money to pay down his state's debt.

In a letter to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the White House said there was no provision in the stimulus law for a state legislature to accept that money without approval by the governor. In its letter, obtained by The Associated Press, the White House Office of Management Budget urged Congress to change the law.

"It would be an unfortunate (and we believe an unintended) policy outcome if the children of South Carolina were to be deprived of their share of federal stimulus dollars ... because the governor chooses not to apply for stimulus funds," OMB Director Peter Orszag wrote Tuesday.

Duncan said last week he will "come down like a ton of bricks" and withhold the second round of funds from anyone who defies Obama's wishes.

At the same time, the administration wants to do more than save teachers' jobs. Obama wants to transform the federal government's role in education. His administration views the stimulus bill as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put lasting reforms in place.

In their applications, states must show improvement in teacher quality, data systems, academic standards and tests and supporting struggling schools.

States and districts will also have a chance to compete for money from a $5 billion fund solely for these kinds of innovations. Previous education secretaries had a fraction of that, about $16 million a year, to distribute for their own priorities.

___
Associated Press Writer Jim Davenport contributed to this story from Columbia, S.C.

Obama's aunt's immigration case set for 2010--By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press Writer

President Barack Obama's aunt will remain in this country until at least next year as she awaits a chance to make her case before an immigration judge in her bid for asylum from her native Kenya.

Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUH'-nee awn-YAHN'-goh) had an initial appearance in U.S. Immigration Court in Boston on Wednesday. At the brief hearing, a judge set her case to be heard Feb. 4, 2010.

Onyango wore a curly red wig to the hearing and declined to comment to reporters as she was led away from court by her attorneys and Federal Protective Service police.

Onyango, 56, first applied for asylum in 2002, but her request was rejected and she was ordered deported in 2004. She did not leave the country and continued to live in public housing in Boston.

Her lawyer, Cleveland immigration attorney Margaret Wong, said in a statement Wednesday that Onyango first applied for asylum "due to violence in Kenya," but she did not reveal what grounds she has cited in her renewed bid for asylum. The court hearing was closed at her lawyer's request.

Wong's spokesman, Mike Rogers, said the hearing date was set for nearly a year later because Judge Leonard Shapiro's calendar is so booked.

Ilana Greenstein, a Boston immigration attorney who handles a large volume of asylum cases, said 10 months between the initial hearing date and the next hearing is common in immigration court.

"That's just the way it goes," she said. "Most of the judges are so overloaded, their case logs are so astronomical that they are forced to set cases out up to 18 months."

Obama has said he did not know his aunt was living here illegally and believes laws covering the situation should be followed.

Onyango's status as an illegal alien was revealed just days before Obama was elected in November. After intense media coverage, Onyango left Boston and went to Cleveland to live with a relative.

In December, a judge agreed to suspend her deportation order and reopen her asylum case.
Wong said in a statement that she is "working hard to keep matters in the court system and towards a favorable outcome for Ms. Onyango."

Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, first moved to the United States in 2000.
People who seek asylum must show that they face persecution in their homeland on the basis of religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group.

Feds seek to reverse Ted Stevens' conviction--By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer

The Justice Department asked a judge Wednesday to toss out the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens because prosecutors withheld evidence from his defense team during his trial.
The department is abandoning a hard-fought victory that had turned into an embarrassment. The prosecutors who handled the trial have been removed from the case and their conduct is under investigation.

A week after his conviction, Stevens lost his Senate seat in the November election. The patriarch of Alaska politics since before statehood, Stevens, 85, also was the longest serving Republican senator.

He appealed his conviction and has been awaiting sentencing.

Stevens was convicted of seven felony counts of lying on Senate financial disclosure forms to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and home renovations from a wealthy oil contractor.

The trial was beset by government missteps, which continued even after the guilty verdict was read. The trial judge grew so infuriated he took the unusual step of holding the Justice Department in contempt.

In court filings, the Justice Department admitted it never turned over notes from an interview with the oil contractor, who estimated the value of the renovation work as far less than he testified at trial.

"I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial," Holder said in a statement released Wednesday. He said the department must ensure that all cases are "handled fairly and consistent with its commitment to justice."

The Justice Department is seeking to have the indictment against Stevens dismissed. If U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan agrees, Stevens' conviction would be vacated.

Stevens' attorneys praised Attorney General Eric Holder as "a pillar of integrity" for his decision to disregard a jury verdict that they said was obtained unlawfully.

"In essence, the government tricked the jury into returning a tainted verdict against the senator based on false evidence," Stevens' lawyers Brendan Sullivan Jr. and Robert Cary said in a statement.

"This case is a sad story and a warning to everyone. Any citizen can be convicted if prosecutors are hell-bent on ignoring the Constitution and willing to present false evidence," their statement said.

In December, Stevens asked a federal judge to grant him a new trial or throw out the case, saying his trial had many deficiencies.

Judge Sullivan held Justice Department lawyers in contempt in February for failing to turn over documents as ordered. He called their behavior "outrageous."

The judge had ordered Justice to provide the agency's internal communications regarding a whistle-blower complaint brought by an FBI agent involved in the investigation of Stevens. The agent objected to Justice Department tactics during the trial, including failure to turn over evidence and an "inappropriate relationship" between the lead agent on the case and the prosecution's star witness.

The decision was first reported Wednesday by National Public Radio.

Sen. Mark Begich, the Democrat who won Stevens' seat away from him, called the decision to drop the case "reasonable."

"I didn't think Senator Stevens should serve time in jail and hopefully this decision ensures that is the case," Begich said in a statement.

US, Russia say they want to reduce nuke warheads

The United States and Russia, striving to ease strained relations, announced jointly Wednesday that they'll try to put a new nuclear arms reduction deal in place before the existing treaty expires in December.

In advance of their first sit down, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a joint statement saying the "era when our countries viewed each other as enemies is long over." They pledged to work together to limit the world's two largest nuclear arsenals, and the White House also announced that Obama was accepting Medvedev's invitation to visit Moscow this summer.

"Over the last several years, the relationship between our two countries has been allowed to drift," Obama told reporters after his meeting with Medvedev. "What I believe we've begun today is a very constructive dialogue that will allow us to work on issues of mutual interest."

Striking a similar tone with the U.S. president at his side, the Russian president said: "I am more optimistic of the successful development of our relations."

As for nuclear arms control, the two said in a joint statement that "we are instructing our negotiators to start talks immediately on this new treaty and to report on results achieved in working out the new agreement by July."

Their newly-professed commitment to reinvigorate arms-control initiatives that have lain dormant for years caused a stir at the London site of a G-20 summit that seemed otherwise transfixed on a deepening worldwide recession.

Obama trumpeted the new arms undertaking as representing "great progress" between Moscow and Washington on areas where the two have mutual interests, although he also said he wouldn't try to minimize differences.

"What we're seeing today is the beginning of new progress in U.S.-Russian relations," he said.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs noted that the two countries have not settled on a new cap for nuclear arms. In the 2002 Treaty of Moscow, they committed to limiting their nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200. But that treaty is considered far weaker than the soon-to-expire START (strategic arms limitation) 1991 pact.

The session between the two presidents was not just a get-to-know-you meeting, said senior Obama administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the private discussions. Both sides worked for weeks ahead of time to develop two joint statements.

Obama and his aides were particularly pleased at what they saw as small progress on Russia's position on Iran, with Moscow coming closer to agreeing that Tehran could be pursuing nuclear weapons and thus pose a threat, and on agreement about the threat from extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But the talks were not all about agreement. Last August's devastating war between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia came up, with Obama saying directly that Georgia's pro-Moscow separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia would never be recognized as independent by the United States, the officials said.

Obama and Medvedev made it clear that progress on a new arms-reduction deal must be made by the time of the U.S. president's planned visit to Moscow in July, the officials said. Both sides recognize that negotiating a new treaty will be difficult, with many thorny issues to resolve.

Obama's administration has reached out to Russia during its first two months in power, trying to repair a rift that emerged over the United States' plan to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe that Moscow vehemently opposes. Obama called a new arms control treaty push "a good place to start" in rebuilding a partnership with Russia.

Answering questions at a news conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama lamented tensions and "drift" between Moscow and Washington in recent years. He told reporters that "I have no interest in papering those over," but also said the two countries share many interests, including reducing the threat of terrorism and stabilizing the world economy.

"I think people on both sides of the Atlantic understand that as much as the constant cloud — the threat of nuclear warfare — has receded since the Cold War, that the presence of these deadly weapons, their proliferation, the possibility of them finding their way into the hands of terrorists continues to be the gravest threat to humanity," Obama said. "What better project to start off than seeing if we can make progress on that front."

The president said his country wants to "press the reset button," a phrase that has been used by other top members of his administration — initially by Vice President Joe Biden — in addressing US-Russian relations.

The Kremlin has made clear it believes it is up to Washington to open the effort with concessions.
U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated in recent years to lowest point since the early 1980s. And Obama has indicated less enthusiasm than predecessor George W. Bush for the proposed U.S. missile defense system based in Eastern Europe.

It's an idea whose time shouldn't come, Russia has argued.

Irish unemployment soars to 11%

Ireland's unemployment rate surged to 11 percent in March from 10.4 percent in February, official data showed Wednesday, as the eurozone nation's recession-hit economy worsens amid a global crisis.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said 173,279 extra people had signed on for benefits on the state's Live Register in the year to March, the largest annual increase since records began in 1967.

The month-on-month increase in the number signing on in March was 16,834.

This brought the number of people signing on in March to 371,271, which is also the highest since records began, said a CSO spokeswoman.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen told parliament that a drop in unemployment was unlikely in the short term.

"The recent rise showed some signs of abating however a fall is unlikely in coming months," Cowen said.

Main opposition leader Enda Kenny of Fine Gael described the jobless increase as "appalling."

The Live Register is not designed to be a fully accurate measure of unemployment, however, because it includes part-time workers and casual staff entitled to benefits.

Jobless rates rise in all US metro areas in Feb.--By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

Unemployment rates moved higher in all of the nation's largest metropolitan areas in February with Indiana's Elkhart-Goshen and North Carolina's Hickory-Lenoir-Morgantown registering the biggest annual increases.

The U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday that all 372 metropolitan areas tracked saw their jobless rates rise in February from a year earlier.

Elkhart-Goshen and Hickory-Lenoir-Morgantown were both hammered by manufacturing layoffs.

Eklhart-Goshen's jobless rate soared to 18 percent, up 12.5 percentage points. The area has been battered by layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry. RV makers Monaco Coach Corp., Keystone RV Co. and Pilgrim International have cut hundreds of jobs.

The unemployment rate in Hickory-Lenoir-Morgantown, hit by layoffs at furniture makers, jumped to 15.7 percent, a 9.3 percentage point increase.

Fallout from housing, credit and financial crises — the worst since the 1930s — is forcing companies to lay off workers and resort to other cost-saving measures to survive the recession.
3M Co., the maker of Scotch tape, Post-It Notes and other products, said Tuesday it's cutting another 1,200 jobs, or 1.5 percent of its work force, because of the global economic slump. Fewer than half the jobs will be in the U.S., but include "several hundred" in its home state of Minnesota, a company spokeswoman said. The 1,200 figure includes cuts made earlier in the first quarter.

The U.S. unemployment rate, released last month, rose to 8.1 percent in February, the highest in more than 25 years. Economists predict the national jobless rate will climb to 8.5 percent in March. The government releases that report on Friday. It will probably hit 10 percent by year-end even if the recession were to end later this year, they said.

El-Centro, Calif., continued to lay claim to the highest unemployment rate — 24.5 percent. The jobless rate is notoriously high in the area, where many unemployed are seasonal agriculture workers.

Following close behind were Merced, Calif., with a jobless rate of 19.9 percent, and Yuba City, Calif., at 18.9 percent. Elkhart-Goshen rounded out the top four.

Louisiana's Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux region had the lowest unemployment rate at 3.5 percent.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession, which began in December 2007, could end this year, setting the stage for a recovery next year only if shaky financial markets are stabilized.

To brace the economy, the Fed has slashed a key bank lending rate to an all-time low and has embarked on a series of radical programs to inject billions of dollars into the financial system.

The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package includes money that will flow to states for public works projects, help them defray budget cuts, extend unemployment benefits and boost food stamp benefits. The administration also is counting on programs to prop up financial companies and reduce home foreclosures to help turn the economy around.

Companies are cutting jobs and other costs to survive the recession. Sales and profits have been hurt as consumers have hunkered down. That's caused the economy to shrink. Analysts believe the economy will keep on shrinking through the first six months of this year.

U.S. private sector axes 742,000 jobs in March

Job losses in the U.S. private sector accelerated in March, more than economists' expectations, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday.

Private employers cut jobs by a record 742,000 in March versus a 706,000 revised cut in February that was originally reported at 697,000 jobs, said ADP, which has been carrying out the survey since 2001.

The big drop foreshadows a huge decline in the non-farm payroll reading in the government's employment report that will be released on Friday, some analysts said.

"It's a terrible number. It is almost a loss of three quarters of a million jobs which is possibly the highest we have seen so far over the length of this crisis," said Matt Esteve, foreign exchange trader with Tempus Consulting in Washington.

U.S. stock futures and the dollar fell after news of the bigger-than-expected job losses, while U.S. Treasury bonds regained some of their lost ground.

Economists had expected 655,000 private-sector job cuts in March in the ADP report, according to a recent Reuters poll.

(Reporting by Richard Leong and Nick Olivari, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

U.S. plans to ease GM into bankruptcy: report

The Obama administration is seeking to ease General Motors Corp into a "controlled" bankruptcy by persuading some creditors to agree to a plan that would divide the company into two pieces, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Citing people briefed on the matter, the Times said the plan is to push GM into a structured bankruptcy "somewhere between a prepackaged bankruptcy and court chaos," using taxpayer financing for leverage.

The administration is drawing in part from its experience with troubled banks, seeking to create a new, healthier GM, but leaving behind its liabilities and less valuable assets, possibly for liquidation, the Times said on its website.

Under the plan, GM would file for prearranged bankruptcy, the report said, and would then use a sale authorized under Section 363 of the U.S. bankruptcy code to sell off desirable assets to a new company financed by the government.

These more valuable assets might include Cadillac and Chevrolet, as well as assets the company needs to run its business, the Times said.

Plans are still under discussion and details are subject to change, the report said.

GM officials warned on Tuesday there was a rising chance it could file for bankruptcy by June.

One plan under discussion would be to form a new company of the automaker's best assets, while laggard brands and money-losing assets would remain under bankruptcy protection, a person familiar with that strategy told Reuters.

President Barack Obama's thinking on the crisis facing GM has not changed since Monday, a senior administration official told Reuters on Tuesday.

"Nothing has changed on this," the official said when asked about a Bloomberg report that the president has determined that a prepackaged bankruptcy is the best way for GM to restructure and become competitive. "This report is not accurate."

The White House wants the 60-day period for GM and a 30-day period for Chrysler to play out, as announced by the president on Monday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki and Jeff Mason in Washington and Soyoung Kim in Detroit; writing by Todd Eastham; editing by Lincoln Feast)

Pardon sought for first black heavyweight champ--By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Writer

Sen. John McCain wants a presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, who became the nation's first black heavyweight boxing champion 100 years before Barack Obama became its first black president.

McCain feels Johnson was wronged by a 1913 conviction of violating the Mann Act by having a consensual relationship with a white woman — a conviction widely seen as racially motivated.

"I've been a very big fight fan, I was a mediocre boxer myself," McCain, R-Ariz., said in a telephone interview. "I had admired Jack Johnson's prowess in the ring. And the more I found out about him, the more I thought a grave injustice was done."

On Wednesday, McCain will join Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., filmmaker Ken Burns and Johnson's great niece, Linda Haywood, at a Capitol Hill news conference to unveil a resolution urging a presidential pardon for Johnson. Similar legislation offered in 2004 and last year failed to pass both chambers of Congress.

King, a recreational boxer, said a pardon would "remove a cloud that's been over the American sporting scene ever since (Johnson) was convicted on these trumped-up charges."

"I think the moment is now," King said.

Presidential pardons for the dead are rare.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton pardoned Lt. Henry O. Flipper, the Army's first black commissioned officer, who was drummed out of the military in 1882 after white officers accused him of embezzling $3,800 in commissary funds. Last year, President George W. Bush pardoned Charles Winters, who was convicted of violating the Neutrality Act when he conspired in 1948 to export aircraft to a foreign country in aid of Israel.

The Justice Department and the White House declined to comment on this latest Johnson pardon effort.

However, the idea has a passionate supporter in McCain, who has repeatedly said he was wrong in 1983 when he voted against a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

"It's just one of those things that you don't want to quit until you see justice," McCain said of Johnson's case. "We won't quit until we win. And I believe that enough members, if you show them the merits of this issues, that we'll get the kind of support we need."

Johnson won the world heavyweight title on Dec. 26, 1908, after police in Australia stopped his 14-round match against the severely battered Canadian world champion, Tommy Burns. That led to a search for a "Great White Hope" who could beat Johnson. Two years later, the American world titleholder Johnson had tried for years to fight, Jim Jeffries, came out of retirement but lost in a match called "The Battle of the Century," resulting in deadly riots.

Johnson lost the heavyweight title to Jess Willard in 1915.

In 1913, Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act, which outlawed transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes. The law has since been heavily amended, but has not been repealed.

Authorities first targeted Johnson's relationship with a white woman who later became his wife, then found another white woman to testify against him. Johnson fled the country after his conviction, but agreed years later to return and serve a 10-month jail sentence. He tried to renew his boxing career after leaving prison, but failed to regain his title. He died in a car crash in 1946 at age 68.

"When we couldn't beat him in the ring, the white power establishment decided to beat him in the courts," Burns told the AP in a telephone interview. Burns' 2005 documentary, "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," examined Johnson's case and the sentencing judge's admitted desire to "send a message" to black men about relationships with white women.

Both McCain and King said a pardon, particularly one from Obama, would carry important symbolism.

"It would be indicative of the distance we've come, and also indicative of the distance we still have to go," McCain said.

Burns, however, sees a pardon more as "just a question of justice, which is not only blind, but color blind," adding, "And I think it absolutely does not have anything to do with the symbolism of an African-American president pardoning an African-American unjustly accused."

Burns helped form the Committee to Pardon Jack Johnson, which filed a petition with the Justice Department in 2004 that was never acted on. Burns said he spoke about the petition a couple of times with Bush, who as governor of Johnson's home state of Texas proclaimed Johnson's birthday as "Jack Johnson Day" for five straight years.

Bush gave Burns a phone number which led to adviser Karl Rove, Burns said, but Rove told him a pardon "ain't gonna fly."

Rove doesn't recall any such conversation with Burns, his spokeswoman Sheena Tahilramani said, and "if he had been approached, he wouldn't have offered an opinion."