(CNN) -- The Columbus Day holiday is usually observed with a smattering of parades in a few cities and discount sales from retailers.

The question here could come down to whether a majority on the bench believes affirmative action has run its course -- no longer necessary in a country that has come far to confront its racially divisive past, a country that has a president who is African-American.

(CNN) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said Monday that Mitt Romney's widely-applauded debate performance upped the ante for Ryan's own showdown this week.

SAN FRANCISCO—If California Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-raising ballot measure, Proposition 30, passes Nov. 6, "a lot of it will be because of the ethnic voting population," stated Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll.

(CNN) -- Contraception includes condoms and birth control pills, but there are other, longer-term methods that are effective and reversible: Intrauterine devices and implants.

Heath and Rosenbaum reported that Georgia-based Kool Smiles, the biggest Medicaid dental provider, has been accused by state regulators of giving shoddy or unnecessary care to some of America's poorest kids.

LOS ANGELES – Saying that signing the bill into law could cost the state nearly $200 million, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed AB 889, better known as the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

SAN FRANCISCO—When Gerri Goncalves regained her strength after her heart attack some years ago, she began volunteering for AARP's advocacy efforts in Sacramento, California's capital, to help other seniors stand up for their rights.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Over 770,000 homes weatherized. A doubling of energy from wind and solar. Cleaning 688 square miles of land formerly used for Cold War-era nuclear testing.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Friday's monthly jobs report changed the picture of the U.S. economy in more ways than one, showing the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in more than three years and hiring was stronger than originally reported throughout the summer.