politics (148)

New challenges arise for minorities in 2010 census

What seems like a simple question — How many Hispanics are living in the United States? — has become surprisingly complex as the 2010 census approaches. Hispanics and other minorities have historically been undercounted in the once-a-decade survey. Advocacy groups are now launching their traditional efforts to ensure an accurate count, but a variety of factors have created new problems for the painting of America's official portrait. Activists and government officials say fears over immigratio
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Amid fears that millions of people may be overlooked during next year's census, the Census Bureau will launch a $250 million promotional campaign to encourage participation in the decennial head count, especially among hard-to-reach minority groups in urban areas. More than half those funds will go for advertising across traditional and social media, and nearly a quarter will be devoted exclusively to Asian, black and Hispanic outlets. READ FULL STORY
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Hispanics, once among the smallest of Minnesota's minority groups and predicted to remain so for decades, are now expected to become the state's largest minority group within the next 10 years, the state demographer's office said Monday. But with a lot more white folks than what experts were predicting as recently as the mid-1990s, Minnesota will also remain overwhelmingly white through the early part of this century. READ FULL STORY
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'Rescued' Citigroup Buying $50M Jet

Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed. Even though the bank's stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it's burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the airhead execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal. READ FULL STORY
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A Fence Can’t Stop the Future

America has long been the envy of the rest of the world, and for good reason. Over the past century, the United States has harnessed its economic, scientific, cultural and educational resources to produce remarkable achievements in every field of human endeavor. But with nations like China and India emerging as major powers, many argue that U.S. dominance will soon be eclipsed, and what is known as the American Century will soon be over. Our fate is far from sealed, though. Whether America surm
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Latinos Celebrate at Inaugural Ball

Attendees of the Latino inaugural ball spoke of the huge stake they say Latinos hold in the incoming administration of Barack Obama. "We are so hopeful, the Latino community came out in big numbers for him because of the hope and the dreams that he has placed in front of us," said Illinois senator Iris Martinez, (D) Chicago. At the 2009 event, the Obama-inspired hope was flowing like the fountain in the Organization of American States building lobby. The event was sponsored by the Hispanic Leade
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Hate Crimes Rise as Immigration Debate Heats Up

U.S. civil rights leaders today said an increase in hate crimes committed against Hispanics and people perceived to be immigrants in recent years "correlates closely" to the nation's increasingly contentious debate over immigration, faulting anti-immigrant rhetoric in the media and extremist group mobilization on the Internet. Hate crimes targeted against Hispanic Americans increased 40 percent between 2003 and 2007, the most recent year in which FBI statistics are available, from 426 to 595 in
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Economy, Not Immigration, a Top Worry of Latinos

The immigration issue has receded in importance for Latinos amid their mounting alarm over the economy, according to a nationwide poll released yesterday by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center. Only 31 percent of Latinos surveyed cited immigration as an "extremely important" priority for the incoming Obama administration, ranking the issue behind not only the economy but education, health care, national security and the environment. READ FULL STORY
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Anthony, Rubio to sing at Inaugural Gala

Singers Marc Anthony and Paulina Rubio are among entertainers slated to perform at the upcoming Latino Inaugural Gala in Washington, organizers said. Also confirmed to participate in the Jan. 18 festivities at Union Station are Rosario Dawson, Tony Plana, War, Cucu Diamantes & Yerba Buena, Elida Reyna and Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. READ FULL STORY
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Bill Richardson bows out of commerce secretary job

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state. Two Democratic officials told CNN the investigation involves a California company that won municipal bond business in New Mexico after contributing money to various Richardson causes. In a statement Sunday, Richardson said he asked Obama "not to move forward" with his nomination now. READ FULL ST
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Cuba eagerly awaits Obama

Barack Obama's inauguration is still nearly two months away, but you can already hear the thawing sound over the Florida Strait. Latin America experts anticipate that Obama will quickly make good on his campaign promise to "immediately" revoke the restrictions imposed by George W. Bush in 2004 that severely limit Cuban-American travel and remittances home. Obama has also vowed to shut the Guantánamo Bay prison, long a gringo thumb in the eye to Cubans (and all Latin Americans). READ FULL STORY
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The Latino presence in the suburban political arena will take an important role in this spring’s Municipal Elections. Eira Corral, a seventeen year resident of the Village of Hanover Park, IL and community organizer is running for the Village’s open seat for Village Clerk. With over thirty percent of Latino residents, the municipality has the tenth largest Latino community outside of the City of Chicago and has the youngest demographic composition in the Northwest suburbs. "Hanover Park is a y
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With his choice of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary, President-elect Barack Obama broke with tradition, putting a longtime public servant in a position that has recently been held by private-sector executives. Richardson, who was one of Obama's rivals for the Democratic nomination, has spent almost his entire career in prominent government roles -- as a governor, congressman, United Nations ambassador and energy secretary. Obama cited the range of Richardson's experience in
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Immigrant Latino Workers and the Recession

A small but significant decline has occurred during the current recession in the share of Latino immigrants active in the U.S. labor force, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. The proportion of working-age Latino immigrants active in the labor force has fallen, at least through the third quarter of 2008, while the proportion of all non-Hispanics as well as of native-born Hispanics has held steady. Among Hispanic imm
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Room at the Top for More Diversity

Diversity within the group of men -- and still only men -- who have been president of the United States will change significantly when Barack Obama is sworn in next month. But when he looks across the highest level of civil servants managing the government, he'll see a mixed bag when it comes to improving the diversity of the federal Senior Executive Service. A new report by the Government Accountability Office says representation of women and people of color in the senior corps grew overall b
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President George W. Bush couldn't fix it. Neither could several sessions of Congress. But several groups in the Bay Area are already sending their immigration policy suggestions to President-elect Barack Obama, hoping he can break the stalemate that for years has prevented lawmakers from enacting comprehensive immigration reform. "Immigration is going to be kind of sticky, but I know he's going to do something," said the Rev. Marvin Webb of Richmond's Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church. Webb
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Election of Obama provokes rise in U.S. hate crimes

Barack Obama's election as U.S. president has provoked a rise in hate crimes against ethnic minorities, civil rights groups said on Monday. Hundreds of incidents of abuse or intimidation apparently motivated by racial hatred have been reported since the November 4 election, though most have not involved violence, said the Southern Poverty Law Center. White supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Council of Conservative Citizens have seen a flood of interest from possible new membe
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Danielle Soto isn't wasting any time transitioning from college to a career in the family business. The 22-year-old environmental studies senior will be sworn into the Pomona City Council on Dec. 15, two days after her last final this week. She won election Nov. 5 to a seat once held by her grandmother, Nell Soto, who went on to serve in the California Assembly and Senate, retiring this year at age 81. Her grandfather, the late Philip Soto, was one of the first two Latinos elected to the Asse
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Latinos pin hopes of immigration reform on Obama

Barack Obama borrowed more from the immigrant labour movement than just a slogan. Just as Latinos historically had marched for worker rights to the chants of "Yes, we can," ("Si, se puede"), they organised and stumped by the thousands this year to help elect Obama. Although they initially leaned more toward Hillary Clinton, Latinos threw support to Obama by 67% nationwide, increasing their turnout, delivering several key states and gaining clout in the Democratic party. READ FULL STORY
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