Oregon lawmakers completed action Saturday on a measure to suspend most provisions of a voter-approved measure requiring longer sentences for repeat property and drug offenders. The Senate's 22-8 vote to send the bill to Gov. Ted Kulongoski came as lawmakers continued their push to wrap up the 2009 Legislature by Tuesday's adjournment deadline. In a rare Saturday gathering, the Senate acted on dozens of other measures . . .

The Jena Six case, which once prompted a massive civil rights demonstration and drew international attention, saw the final chapter played out quietly. Five neatly dressed young men answered "Yes Sir,'' on Friday as state District Judge Tom Yeager asked them if they accepted the terms of a deal that included pleading no contest to misdemeanor simple battery. The charges against the five. . . .

It was the mid-1970s.  The nation was fresh off the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War was finally over and people began adjusting to a newly, fully integrated society.  Blacks and Whites worked side by side, and women and minorities slowly but surely began to crack open that all too visible glass ceiling in triumphant ways.  As society progressed however, we waited – and yearned – for that one individual who could break the mold in mainstream pop culture. . . .

The cardiologist who was with Michael Jackson during the pop star's final moments sat down with investigators for three hours to explain his actions, and his spokeswoman says he is not a suspect. Dr. Conrad Murray, a physician with a tangled financial and personal history who was hired to accompany Jackson on his planned summer concert tour, reportedly performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived at Jackson's rented home. . .

In one of the most important employment law cases of the decade, the U.S. Supreme Court handed employees a 5-4 victory by recognizing that even good-faith employment decisions can sometimes lead to results that give rise to lawsuits if those results fall more harshly on one class of employees than on another. But the news is certainly not all bad for employers – the Supreme Court's ruling provides justification for those tough decisions . . . .

From cell phones and texting to religion and manners, younger and older Americans see the world differently, creating the largest generation gap since the tumultuous years of the 1960s and the culture clashes over Vietnam, civil rights and women's liberation. A new study released Monday by the Pew Research Center found Americans of different ages increasingly at odds over a range of social and technological issues. It also highlights a widening age divide after last November's election, when 18- to 29-year-olds voted for Democrat Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio . . .

Some of the biggest stars on the planet turned back into gushing Michael Jackson fans at the BET Awards, donning single gloves, swapping stories about their idol and singing The King of Pop's standards.
In her first public appearance since her brother Michael's shocking death, Janet Jackson memorialized him as her beloved sibling and vowed his memory would live forever. "To you, Michael is an icon,'' a somber Janet Jackson told the crowd . . .

Last weekend when the National Newspaper Publishers Association ("the Black Press of America") held its annual convention in Minneapolis, The Skanner walked away with an armful of coveted national awards. "We dominated," said publisher Bernie Foster, gleeful that his small paper had triumphed. . . . Photo: Moses Brewer, Bernie Foster, publisher, and Larry Waters.

Government experts are scheduled to vote Tuesday on a range of options to curb deadly overdoses with Tylenol and other pain relievers, including reducing dosages and even pulling certain products off the market. As the second day of the Food and Drug Administration's meeting began, the agency is asking more than 35 experts to discuss and vote on ways to prevent overdose with acetaminophen - the pain-relieving, fever-reducing ingredient in Tylenol and dozens of other prescription and over-the-counter medications. . .

The Supreme Court ruling in favor of white New Haven firefighters who said they were victims of reverse discrimination will probably leave employers confused, civil rights advocates and labor attorneys say.
The court ruled 5-4 Monday that the white firefighters were denied promotions unfairly because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as a federal appeals court judge. The majority of justices said the city was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results. The city said it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities. . . .