Julie Rose of NPR’s All Things Considered is delving into North Carolina’s brutal past with eugenics. As reported by Sheryl Salomon in November, “Eugenicists believed that sterilization was a way to address poverty and the spread of lifestyles they considered to be dysfunctional, a way of thinking rooted in racism and class prejudice.” North Carolina…

Marie Diamond of Think Progress is reporting that Thelma Mitchell, 93, will not be able to vote for the first time in decades because her old Tennessee state ID failed to meet new voter-ID regulations. Mitchell, who cleaned the state Capitol for more than 30 years, was accused of being an undocumented immigrant because she…

John Timpane of the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that world-renowned poet Sonia Sanchez has been named Philadelphia’s first poet laureate. Mayor Michael Nutter will name Sanchez, 77, the city’s first poet laureate in an 11 a.m. ceremony Thursday at City Hall. A poet, teacher, mentor and activist, Sanchez has authored at least 18 books of…

David Kenner of Foreign Policy magazine is reporting that Sudanese Gen. Mohammad Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi is heading the Arab League’s humanitarian mission to expose Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on protesters. Dabi’s position in the mission has come under scrutiny because he stands accused of presiding over the creation of the feared Arab militias known…

Avis Thomas-Lester of the Washington Post is reporting the story of Evangeline Moore, 81, who is still seeking justice for the murder of her parents on Christmas day in Orlando, Fla., in 1951. Moore’s father, Harry, was a civil rights activist who was investigating the lynching of blacks in Florida at the time of the…

Channing Kennedy of ColorLines is reporting that U.S. Somalis are having a difficult time sending money home because of strict anti-terror laws. Because Somalia has spent the better part of 20 years without a government, the country’s GDP is dependent on remittances from those who live abroad. Somalia has no banks to accept transfers, so…

David S. Hilzenrath of the Washington Post is reporting that NFL legend Willie Gault has been charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 1983 first-round draft pick had been in the news recently when the 1985 Super Bowl ring that he won with the iconic Chicago Bears squad was recovered after his…

The Miami Herald is reporting that Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents Florida’s 17th District, will propose a federal anti-hazing bill when Congress returns from holiday. The Miami Democrat says that her proposal is designed to ensure that no one endures a beating like the one leading to the death of Florida A&M drum major Robert…

The holiday season has brought great news to World War II veteran Carl Clark, who will be awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with the Combat Distinguished Device on Jan. 17, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) announced Thursday. The Associated Press reports that Clark, 95, a black Navy veteran credited with saving the…

The American people have been facing tough economic challenges. While politicians often lecture Americans about tightening up their proverbial belts to help themselves during these dire economic times, it appears that many politicians are in fact doing the opposite, since their income has grown exponentially while they’ve been in office. Peter Whoriskey of the Washington…