State of the (Job) Union

By: Jack White

Whenever President Barack Obama gets into a political bind, he extricates himself with a speech. If that pattern continues, we can expect some amazing oratory in Obama’s first State of the Union address. Never in his meteoric public life has Obama been in such a mess. His signature proposal for health care reform is on life support. His Democratic Party is reeling fromthe loss of Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat to an upstart Republican in a pickup truck. The Supreme Court has derailed any hope he might have retained for reducing the power of lobbyists by striking down bans on independent corporate campaign spending. And the unemployment rate is close to 11 percent overall, and at more than 15 percent among African Americans.

State of the (Job) Union....

This Economic Storm Will Pass

The President discusses the state of the economy amidst positive signs from the GDP. Making clear that this is little comfort to those struggling, he notes that we appear to have averted an even worse disaster and offers hope for the time ahead.

4/4/2009: Your Weekly Address

The President discusses the breadth and depth of the global challenges we face, as well as our potential to address them through renewed international alliances. This week's address was filmed aboard Air Force 1 amidst vital diplomatic stops at the G-20 Summit, a NATO summit, and bilateral meetings.

Unemployment Woes Hitting Harder Among Blacks, Latinos

By: Jesse Washington

The ax fell without sound or shadow: Tatiana Gallego was suddenly called into human resources and laid off from her job as an admissions counselor for a fashion college.

"The way people tried to explain it to me was, I was the last one hired so I was the first one out," said Gallego, 25, who had worked there for 17 months.

Last hired, first fired: This generations-old cliche rings bitterly true for millions of Latinos and blacks who are losing jobs at a faster rate than the general population during this punishing recession.

Much of the disparity is due to a concentration of Latinos and blacks in construction, blue-collar or service-industry jobs that have been decimated by the economic meltdown. And black unemployment has been about double the rate for whites since the government began tracking those categories in the early 1970s.

But this recession is cutting a swath through the professional classes as well, which can be devastating to people who recently arrived there.

Since the recession began in December 2007, Latino unemployment has risen 4.7 percentage points, to 10.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Black unemployment has risen 4.5 points, to 13.4 percent. White unemployment has risen 2.9 points, to 7.3 percent.

Gallego, whose parents were born in Colombia, graduated from the University of Rhode Island. Her mother is self-employed, and her stepfather works in construction.

She was stunned when she was told to pack up and leave by the end of the day because enrollment was down at her New York City school. She said she had recently received a positive performance review, and her bosses were planning to send her to a conference.

"Maybe I just don't know that much about the business world, because I felt like I did more, I went above and beyond more than other people in my office did," she said.

William Darity, a professor of economics and African-American studies at Duke University, said that "blacks and Latinos are relative latecomers to the professional world ... so they are necessarily the most vulnerable."

"We don't have those older roots to anchor us in the professional world," Darity said. "We don't have the same nexus of contacts, the same kind of seniority."

Unemployment Woes Hitting Harder Among Blacks, Latinos....

UPI VIDEO NEWS 02.25.08

Nader jumps into presidential race.

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says he's running for president again. This run would be Nader's fifth consecutive bid for the White House. Many Democrats fear that Nader could draw votes from whoever gets the party's nomination. That move could help the nearly-cemented Republican nominee John McCain win the White House in November.

Meanwhile, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama traded sharp words over trade this weekend while campaigning in Ohio. The rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination have blamed trade agreements for the loss of manufacturing jobs. Clinton accused the Illinois senator of misrepresenting her record on the North American Free Trade Agreement. The New York Senator has said she's hesitant about NAFTA, blaming countries for shipping jobs overseas. But, Obama accused the New York Senator for supporting NAFTA when her husband was president.

The brother of former Cuban president Fidel Castro is the new president of the communist country. Raul Castro took to his post yesterday after running Cuba's military for at least 50 years. The news came five days after the 81-year-old elder announced his resignation, citing his critical health condition.

Classes are resuming today at Northern Illinois University where six students were killed nearly two weeks ago. But there won't be any meetings in Cole Hall this semester where a gunman burst in and shot five students before taking his own life. Officials haven't decided what to do about the building yet. Since the incident, memorial services have been held to honor the slain and the 16 others who were wounded.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 02.01.08

Clinton, Obama cordial in latest debate.

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton set a new tone in last night's Democratic debate in Los Angeles. Unlike the last time the rivals took the stage together, Clinton and Obama almost hugged each other at the end, whispering into each other's ear. The night was filled with smiles and gentle joking as they pointed out their differences on Iraq, health care and the economy. This was the Democrats' last debate before next week's Super Tuesday contests.

Microsoft has made a $45 billion bid to acquire the Internet site "Yahoo." The world's biggest software maker is hoping that such a deal would challenge Google's lead in Internet search services and advertising. Yahoo says that it plans to evaluate the proposal promptly.

More than 50 people are dead after two bombs exploded in Baghdad today. Nearly 200 are wounded. It was the worst attack in the Iraqi capital for many months. Iraqi officials say two mentally disabled women were strapped with explosives and blown up by remote control in busy Baghdad markets. The U.S. military is blaming the bombings on Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Economists are hoping for more employment in February following a drop in jobs last month. There was a net loss of 17 thousand jobs in January. It was the first decline in employment in four years, raising new concerns about the risk of a recession. However, the drop was based on a preliminary reading, which could be revised later.