from c-span:

· US & Trading Partners Pledge to Complete World Trade Deal

· New Unemployment Claims Hit Two-Month High
this tho unemployment fell to 4.4% in march, a 5-year low, and there were 180,000 new jobs, the biggest gain in 3 months. guess what they blame it on: easter!

· Retired Gen. Says Health Care System Shortchanges Disabled Vets

· Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) Quits Hispanic Caucus

· Sen. Dodd (D-CT) Said He Would Return to Imus Show
smart...


from yahoo:

• Bush condemns attack on Iraq's parliament
Green Zone blast

• North Korea unlikely to shut reactor down by deadline

• Senate's top Democrat seeks vote on green energy bill

• Prosecutor apologizes to three Duke lacrosse players

• Mexican telecom magnate passes Buffett on world's rich list
ah, but did he give $30B to charity?

• Researchers pinpoint gene linked to obesity risk

• CBS fires Don Imus from radio show amid furor
More on Imus
Imus' Slur Meme (Sleme) by Cathleen Schine [from huffington post]
interesting. is imus racist or merely racially insensitive? does it matter? i suspect we've all got the memes schine is writing about, but we don't all unleash them indiscriminately. racism, sexism, and homophobia are phobias. they're caused by those memes. i imagine it's possible to be insensitive without actually being phobic, but when you give voice to those memes they get heard, and when they get heard repeatedly, they produce phobias in at least some of the hearers. it's a kind of codependency: repeaters of slurs are enablers of phobias, even if they're not phobes themselves, so we all need to heighten our awareness so we don't unconsciously contribute to the creation of phobias in unsuspecting minds. and don't forget how hurtful slurs can be to people talked about in that way.