WASHINGTON (AP) _ Republican senators criticized President Barack Obama on Sunday for not taking a tougher public stand in support of Iranians protesting the outcome of the country's contested presidential election, with one saying the president had been "timid and passive.'' As thousands of Iranians have flooded city streets in the past week to demonstrate for a new election, Republicans have been turning up the heat on Obama. The president has sought to send a measured message to the Iranian leadership, with which he still hopes to open a dialogue over its nuclear program.

(NNPA) - Georgia Death Row inmate Troy Davis' 30-day stay of execution has expired and his defense team has filed a final appeal requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court send his case back to a lower court to allow a judge to review recanted testimonies by several critical witnesses who testified for the state in 1991.
If the Supreme Court rejects this appeal, a new execution date could be set in the months to come ...

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Growing up without a father left a hole in his heart, President Barack Obama told boys at the White House Friday in a remarkably personal Father's Day weekend message. He implored fathers everywhere -- and the kids when they're older -- to be involved in the lives of their own children. "This isn't an obligation,'' said the father of two in a message to millions of wayward dads. "This is a privilege to be a father.''

Mayor Sam Adams has been exonerated by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger's investigation into an alleged affair between Adams and a teenager in 2005. Department of Justice investigators, in a report released Monday morning, found that former state legislative teen intern Beau Breedlove's sex claims could not be substantiated and that he in fact was the source of the original "affair" rumors picked up and investigated by local weekly newspapers.

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger will be making several appearances in Portland this week. The author and former federal prosecutor will be reading from portions of his book "Convictions" and talking about his priorities as the top law enforcement officer of the state. Speaking to the City Club this Friday, Kroger will discuss his accomplishments, what he has learned, and how he hopes to reshape the role of attorney general in Oregon ...

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - A report released on June 16 by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund titled, "Confronting the New Face of Hate: Hate Crimes in America in 2009," says recent history that suggests America is on a more progressive path in terms of racial and ethnic relations is simply not true. To stem the tide of hate crimes in the country, a civil rights organization has joined forces with a prominent Jewish group to support fighting hate crimes.

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Ninety years after the passage of the 19th amendment by Congress, a new report for the National Council of Negro Women researched by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) shows that African-American and Latino women continue to receive disparate treatment in the mortgage lending process.

For the last five months of his life, Sam Sachs has spent more time advocating for the rights of minorities than ever before. He's cut out on work, showed up in Salem on a moment's notice and spent hours upon hours advocating for legislation that won't ever personally affect him. Sachs was responsible for House Bill 3118, which requires institutes of higher education in Oregon to interview at least one minority candidate for a head coaching or athletic director position ...

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The insurance industry Tuesday laid down a marker on health care, warning in stark terms that a proposed government insurance plan would dismantle the employer coverage Americans have relied on for a half century and overtake the system. Recent media polls have found strong public support for the idea of a government plan. It would compete with private companies to offer coverage to individuals and small businesses, but eventually might be opened to large employers as well ...

FRANKFURT (AP) _ Iran is big business for Europe, whose companies sell it everything from rail equipment to turbines and even cell phone technology that has been used to block communications between protesters seeking to overturn disputed election results. But while European governments have expressed outrage over Tehran's bloody crackdown on the demonstrations, lucrative business interests will make them think twice about taking tough action like imposing sanctions ...