National

BALTIMORE — Mayor Sheila Dixon has filed a lawsuit charging Wells Fargo bank with targeting African American homebuyers for subprime loans. The groundbreaking initiative has thrown a spotlight on discriminatory lending across the nation in violation of federal law.

WASHINGTON — Millones de niños, ancianos, gente enferma o incapacitada van a sufrir porque el presidente Bush y sus aliados republicanos en el Congreso bloquearon aumentos de fondos en programas de ayuda a gente de bajo ingresos.

El obispo católico Edward J. Slattery de la Diócesis de Tulsa en Oklahoma fuertemente criticó en una carta pastoral el 25 de noviembre una nueva ley contra los indocumentados y dijo que la iglesia va a desobedecer dicha ley. La ley, que entró en vigencia el 1 de noviembre, convierte en delito estatal transportar a indocumentados, les niega un número de beneficios y pone obstáculos a que puedan trabajar.

CHICAGO — El pasado octubre una coalición de organizaciones de salud llamada Comunidad de Salud del Área del Parque Humboldt, presentó un informe titulado, “Un Llamado a la Acción: Sobre el VIH/SIDA en las Comunidades Latinas de Illinois”.

When human beings are called “illegal” and “alien” by elected officials and law enforcement agencies and in the media, what kind of message are we spreading?

It seems to be a whole new race for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa. This is particularly true for the Republican candidates, who were in a lackluster campaign until Romney, the leader of the pack, saw Huckabee closing in on him from near the back of the pack, and actually nosing ahead by a couple of points. Romney had to do something to stop this momentum.

During the next two weeks, from Dec. 14, 2007, until Jan. 5, 2008, the Audubon Society will conduct the 108th annual Christmas Bird Count across the nation. Last year, nearly 70 million birds were counted by 58,000 volunteers, a record level of participation.

PITTSBURGH — Despite a rare, pro-labor ruling from the National Labor Relations Board, union coal miners who once worked at the Mammoth Mine in Kanawha County, W.Va., near Charleston, have still not been allowed to return to work

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For over two decades, unions here have mobilized during the holiday season to give food and children’s gifts to needy families. This year, however, the campaign was bittersweet. The hundreds of union volunteers who braved the brutal cold to get the gifts out at the big United Auto Workers Local 969 hall on the city’s west side had heard that the Delphi plant where the local’s members worked was being closed.

WASHINGTON — Millions of children, senior citizens, sick and disabled people will suffer because President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress blocked increased funding for low-income programs contained in a domestic spending bill approved this week.