Paddlings, swats, licks. A quarter of a million schoolchildren got them last year — and Blacks, American Indians and kids with disabilities got a disproportionate share of the punishment, according to a study by a human rights group....

Grace Kuto, author of Harambee - Stories and Recipes from the African Family Circle, signs her book during a celebration and dinner at Portland State University's Smith Memorial Center. Ambassador Peter N.R.O. Ogego, from the Republic of Kenya, and Grace's husband Paul are in the background....

When the U.S. men's swimming team won gold by setting a new world record in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the Olympics Aug. 11, most of America celebrated the fact that swimming sensation Michael Phelps had just earned his third gold medal....

The Ford Opportunity Scholarship winner for 2008 is Yvette Davis of Portland. She is pictured here with Carmen Ford Phillips of the Ford Family Foundation....

The judge overseeing the criminal cases for the remaining Jena 6 defendants has been removed against his will for making questionable remarks about the teenagers....

Sitting in a leaky, flyblown hut, a few dozen Ethiopian villagers are anxiously waiting to be transported to another world.... with what is probably the last wave of Ethiopian immigrants to Israel....

Arts Gumbo 2008 opens at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center at 6 p.m.  Wednesday, Aug. 27 with a Free World Music Festival at Columbia Park. Entertainers include Red Eagle Soaring... International Capoeira Angola Foundation; Abr"ce; Adefua Cultural Education Workshop ... and Global Heat....

Parents, educators and childcare providers should mark their calendars for an upcoming series of early literacy programs at The Seattle Public Library.... free and open to the public...

The Girls Rock! Program, now accepting signups for fall, combines self-esteem building with mountaineering, mentoring and performing arts, right in urban Seattle....

Rising fuel prices and an economic downturn have caused a record number of suburban residents to use Metro buses....