Newark Mayor: NYPD Misled City on Muslim Spying

Rising Democratic star says he never authorized the surveillance action

2012-02-22

Samantha Henry and Dave Porter The Associated Press

Newark, N.J. (AP) -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker and his top police official say the city was misled by the New York Police Department and never would have authorized such wholesale spying on Muslims if they had known about it. Read the complete article

Rising Sales Point to Better Year for Housing

Home purchases have risen nearly 13 percent over the past six months

2012-02-22

Derek Kravitz AP Real Estate Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The housing market is flashing signs of health ahead of the spring-buying season. Read the complete article

Two Western Journalists Killed as Syria Shells Homs

Hundreds have died in government’s latest siege; international pressure growing against Assad

2012-02-22

Bassem Mroue The Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) -- A French photojournalist and a prominent American war correspondent working for a British newspaper were killed Wednesday as Syrian forces intensely shelled the opposition stronghold of Homs. President Bashar Assad's regime also escalated attacks on rebel bases elsewhere, with helicopter gunships strafing areas in the northwest, activists said. Read the complete article

Poll: Santorum Surges, Obama Leads Republicans

Troubling signs for the well-funded Mitt Romney

2012-02-22

Laurie Kellman and Jennifer Agiesta The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A surging Rick Santorum is running even with Mitt Romney atop the Republican presidential field, but neither candidate is faring well against President Barack Obama eight months before Americans vote, a new survey shows. Read the complete article

How Community Colleges Are Propelling Economic Recovery

Agility of two-year schools helps provide tech, manufacturing firms with ideal “middle skill” workers

2012-02-21

Justin Pope AP Education Writer

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) -- Fitzpatrick Manufacturing Co. is a high-tech job shop, crafting super-precise parts for machines used in everything from robotics to aerospace to oil exploration. Macomb Community College lies a few miles down the road in this Detroit suburb. Read the complete article

Dow Breaks 13,000 for First Time Since '08 Crisis

Reaching threshold could influence more cautious investors to pump more money back into the stock market

2012-02-21

Christina Rexrode AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008, when the Lehman Brothers investment bank was solvent, unemployment a healthy 5.4 percent and the worst of the Great Recession months ahead. Read the complete article

Former US Rep. Katie Hall of Indiana Dies at 73

State’s first Black rep was pivotal in establishing national MLK holiday

2012-02-21

Tom Coyne The Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Former Indiana congresswoman Katie Hall, one of the sponsors of the 1983 legislation that established a national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died. She was 73. Read the complete article

Magic Johnson Starting TV Network Targeting Blacks

Former NBA star’s Aspire aims to provide uplifting images of African Americans

2012-02-21

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Earvin "Magic" Johnson is launching a basic cable television network targeting black viewers with positive, uplifting images of African Americans. Read the complete article

High Court to Take New Look at Affirmative Action

First time justices have examined issue since 2003, when they OK’d the practice

2012-02-21

Mark Sherman The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will once again confront the issue of race in university admissions in a case brought by a white student denied a spot at the flagship campus of the University of Texas. Read the complete article

GOP 'Super PACs' Overtaking Campaigns' Fundraising

Latest disclosures show groups supporting Romney and Gingrich spent nearly $24 million last month

2012-02-21

Jack Gillum The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An unmistakable dynamic is playing out in the money game among Republican presidential candidates: New "super" political action committees are growing more powerful than the campaigns they support. Read the complete article