WASHINGTON (AP) -- He's not being timid, that's for sure.
President Barack Obama's first federal budget lays out the most far-reaching agenda for American life since Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society.'' But paying for it by having upper-income earners shoulder much of the cost is already provoking cries of "class warfare'' in Congress.
The Obama priorities reflected in the $3.6 trillion budget guarantees a fierce political battle ahead over taxes. And it assumes a fairly quick economic recovery from the worst recession in decades. ...

'Black Press giant' Wilbert "Bill" Tatum, publisher emeritus, CEO and chairman of the board, 76, died in a hospital in Croatia on the evening of Feb. 25, after a brief illness. His wife, Susan, and family were working to bring Tatum's body back to the U. S. from Croatia, a country in Central Europe. His daughter has expressed her gratitude for the outpouring of support and condolences from leaders in the Black Press, political, public service and Black leadership communities across the nation. . . .

 A historian has netted $60,000 from the auction of vintage films depicting the life of blacks in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Currie Ballard, the assistant secretary to the state Senate, first sold a copy of the films to the Oklahoma Historical Society, then had his collection of 29 film reels auctioned at the Swann Auction Galleries in New York.
Ballard said the buyer wanted to remain anonymous but that the films were purchased by an Ivy League university. . . .

The Ku Klux Klan was rising again. Segregation was the law and Martin Luther King Jr. was not even born yet. Amid the terror and oppression, civil rights pioneer W.E.B. DuBois published a groundbreaking book in 1924 that challenged the pervasive stereotypes of Black Americans and documented their rarely recognized achievements. His book, "The Gift of Black Folk: The Negroes in the Making of America," detailed the role of Black Americans with the earliest explorers to inventions ranging from ice cream to player pianos. He argued that Blacks were crucial to conquering the wilderness, winning wars, expanding democracy and creating a prosperous economy by producing tobacco, sugar, cotton and rice and helping to build the Panama Canal. . . .

The life-saving gifts of blood and organs for transplant needed by African Americans are not always available. 
Because blood and organ recipients are most likely to find compatible matches from donors of the same ethnic background, low donation rates among the African American community can result in shortages of blood supply and organs for transplant.
The sixth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blood and Donor Registry Drive ...

(GIN) -  After the initial moment of euphoria for the landslide victory of Barack Obama, some Africans are now expressing a more cautious note of hope for the new leader.
''Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East conflict, Pakistan and India is where the focus of U.S. policy is going to be,'' said Francis Kornegay of Johannesburg's Institute for Policy Studies. ''So there is no realistic prospect that Africa will overtake any of those concerns. On the other hand there are some pressing security concerns on the continent.'' ...

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - A candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee is drawing fire for distributing a CD to members that features a song called "Barack the Magic Negro." The story broke Dec. 26 on the Web site of The Hill newspaper, a publication that covers the U.S. Congress and the neighborhood around the U.S. Capitol ...

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – As much of America prepared to celebrate the election of its first Black president and began anticipating a holiday season with family, a dubious anniversary passed quietly inside the Lee State prison in Leesburg, Ga. That was Nov. 3, 2008, the 17th anniversary of the day that William Jonathan Mayo was arrested and charged with armed  robbery - only three credits shy of graduation from Morehouse College ....

July 27, 2004 – A little-known senator from Illinois makes a speech before the Democratic National Committee that propels him into the national spotlight.
Feb. 10, 2007 — Obama declares his candidacy in Springfield, Ill. The crowd endured sub-zero temperatures to hear his views on everything from health care to the war in Iraq.
Jan. 8, 2008 – Hillary Clinton wins New Hampshire Democratic Primary after she appears to shed a tear about the personal nature of the campaign ....

... Oct. 20, 2008 – Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorses Obama; McCain counters that he was endorsed by Nixon's Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and over 200 retired military leaders. McCain is also endorsed by al Qaeda, according to the New York Times.
Nov. 4 – Obama wins 349 Electoral College votes. McCain wins 162. ...