WASHINGTON (AP) _ The nation can't afford to wait for the economy to recover before tackling out-of-control medical costs, President Barack Obama is telling some of the most powerful players in the health care reform debate.
"If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy, then we must address the crushing cost of health care this year, in this administration,'' Obama says in remarks prepared for delivery to a White House forum on the issue Thursday. ...

Pratt Fine Arts Center and Pilchuck Glass School announced Saya Moriyasu as the 2009 recipient of the Pratt/Pilchuck Partnership Glass Scholarship ...

The Kayak Academy is now taking registrations for its annual spring nature tour along the shores of Lake Sammamish.
A professional kayak guide leads the two-hour tour along the shores of Lake Sammamish and up a portion of Issaquah Creek. ...

Back in July, the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of two satellite radio giants XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Some critics were concerned that the merger of the two companies – Sirius XM – would result in abuse of the public digital airwaves. As part of that agreement, the merged companies will also be providing 4 percent of full-time audio channels to "Qualified Entities" (i.e. minority radio channels) ...

Washington State Civil Rights activist Karen Bohlke will participate in the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage March 6-8 representing the Institute for Community Leadership (ICL). The Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage, created and hosted by Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta, Ga., offers members of the U.S. Congress a link to the history and sacrifices of the Civil Rights movement ...

Author and talk show host Tavis Smiley will read from his book, "Accountable: Making America as Good as Its Promise" at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12 at The Seattle Public Library ...

Tolling grimly higher, the recession snatched more than 650,000 Americans' jobs for a record third straight month in February as unemployment climbed to a quarter-century peak of 8.1 percent and surged toward even more wrenching double digits. . . .

The search for agreement on health care may be short lived. The flashpoint is a proposal that would give Americans the option of buying medical coverage through a government plan. President Barack Obama and many Democrats have endorsed it, as one part of a broader health overhaul. On Saturday, Republicans laid down a challenge. . . .

Sudan's president threatened to kick out more aid groups and expel diplomats and peacekeepers on Sunday during his first trip to the beleaguered Darfur region after an international court indicted him on war crimes. Sudan has already expelled 13 of the largest aid groups operating in Darfur as part of its defiant response to the International Criminal Court's decision last week to issue an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has accused them of cooperating with the Netherlands-based ICC. . . .

For Lawrence Miller, the most painful part of being in jail in the District and Maryland was not being able to interact with his 9-year-old son.
Photo by James Wright/Afro-American Newspapers
According to a report released Feb. 9 by the D.C.-based Sentencing Project, mass incarceration has had significant and long-lasting impacts on American society and particularly on communities of color. . . .