January 21, 2008

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Leaders gather to honor King's legacy
USA Today wire reports (01/21/2008)
Nearly 40 years after he was assassinated, civil rights and political leaders Monday are commemorating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on the holiday that bears his name.

Historians Fear MLK's Legacy Being Lost
Deepti Hajela/Associated Press (01/21/2008: abcnews.go.com)
Nearly 40 years after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., some say his legacy is being frozen in a moment in time that ignores the full complexity of the man and his message.

Top Dem hopefuls to mark King's birth in S.C. march
Kathy Kiely/Chicago Sun-Times (01/21/2008)
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Taking a brief intermission from their sparring, the top three Demo- cratic presidential contenders plan to join thousands of others here today for a symbolically charged commemoration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
On Eve of King Holiday, Race Dominates Campaign
Jeff Zeleny/New York Times (01/21/2008)
As Democrats headed to South Carolina to campaign in earnest for the primary on Saturday, state party officials estimate that black voters could make up 60 percent of the electorate. Those projections increased an already fierce competition among Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton and John Edwards, all of whom will share a stage Monday at a debate that will be focused, in part, on racial issues.

Obama Echoes King's Call For Unity at Atlanta Church
Alec MacGillis/Washington Post (01/21/2008)
ATLANTA -- Sen. Barack Obama took the pulpit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s church here Sunday and drew a clear link between King's vision of an America free of segregation and racism and the central tenet of his own presidential campaign, a call for unity after years of partisan rancor and division.

Prominent minister endorses Clinton in Harlem
Karen Matthews/Associated Press (01/21/2008: boston.com)
NEW YORK - Senator Hillary Clinton accepted the endorsement of an influential Harlem clergyman yesterday, while praising Senator Barack Obama, her chief rival for the Democratic nomination for president.

Houston minister Kirbyjon Caldwell endorses Obama
Associated Press (01/21/2008: dallasnews.com)
HOUSTON – An influential Houston minister who has long been a spiritual adviser to President George W. Bush says he will endorse Barack Obama's bid for the presidency.

ABORTION
Abortion still hotly debated as Roe v. Wade turns 35
John Iwasaki/Seattle Post-Intelligencer (01/21/2008)
As Roe v. Wade heads toward middle age, the most recent issues in the battle over hearts, minds and wombs include the role of pharmacists in dispensing Plan B, known as the 'morning after pill,' and the psychological effect of abortion on women long after the procedure.

Movement Gets a Youthful Infusion
Pamela Constable/Washington Post (01/21/2008)
Despite the steady drop in abortions across the United States in the three decades since the Supreme Court legalized the procedure in 1973 in the case of Roe v. Wade, a new generation of activists is taking up the cause with conviction and sophistication. There are Students for Life chapters on more than 400 college campuses nationwide.

DEATH PENALTY
Inmates want their executioners named
Associated Press (01/21/2008: cnn.com)
ST. LOUIS, Missouri -- Lawyers for five death row inmates are pressing Missouri to identify members of its execution team after a newspaper revealed that a nurse on the team was once accused of stalking.

EDUCATION
Evolution's status may be debated by state board
Katherine Cromer Brock/Star-Telegram (01/21/2008)
The state's standards for teaching science are up for approval this year, and the recent dust-up over the teaching of evolution may be a signal of events to come. Committees are beginning a review of the science curriculum this month, and while members of the State Board of Education say they don't want major changes, philosophical differences among them have led to concern about whether Texas will become the next flashpoint in the debate over the instruction of evolution.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Rabbis play online cupid to help Jews marry Jews
Ed Stoddard/Reuters (01/21/2008)
DALLAS - U.S. rabbis are turning to an on-line dating service in a bid to help Jews marry Jews. Marrying outside the faith is an issue for many in the U.S. Jewish community who are concerned about dwindling demographic numbers, family tensions and the pressures on children pulled in different religious directions.