From the Department of Housing and Urban Development WASHINGTON - Today, the lead Cabinet secretaries from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) - from the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Veterans Affairs (VA) - joined Executive Director of the USICH Barbara Poppe to unveil and submit to the President and Congress the nation's first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness. Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes accepted the plan on behalf of President Barack Obama. The full report, titled Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, is available at www.usich.gov. The USICH is chaired by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and the Vice Chair is Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. The 19 member agencies span the nation's housing, health, job, education, and human services to coordinate the Federal response to homelessness and to create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end homelessness in the nation while maximizing the effectiveness of the Federal government in contributing to the end of homelessness. "As the most far-reaching and ambitious plan to end homelessness in our history, this plan will both strengthen ...

By Lorrie Irby Jackson - Reporter After twenty years, six studio albums, multiple hit singles and years of touring around the world, some bands are ready to kick back, count up the royalties and call it a day. But that’s not exactly the case for Mint Condition. Not only is the St. Paul, MN-based quintet performing a series of summer dates (including their show at Dallas’ TBAAL on Saturday), the band is putting the finishing touches on new material and remains enthusiastic about maintaining their momentum in today’s turbulent music industry. In fact, according to multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter, Stokley Williams, now is the perfect time for them to get their groove back. [caption id="attachment_4769" align="aligncenter" width="365" caption="(L to R) Rick Kinchen, O'Dell, Jeff Allen, Lawrence El, and Stokely Williams"][/caption] “We have our own unique lane. People are rediscovering soul, and figuring out where to go find it. Everything is cyclical,” Williams says by phone while preparing for the Houston and Dallas dates. “Folks love the real music and then they forget about it due to all of the other distractions out there, so now may be the time for people to discover us again," he said. "We’re blessed to be ...

From CNN

by Paul Kiel, ProPublica - May 4, 2010 Allow us to make an introduction: Homeowners, local journalists. Local journalists, homeowners. We’d like to set you up. Since last May, nearly 800 struggling homeowners from all over the country have shared their stories with ProPublica about their efforts to get a loan modification through the federal program. With their help, we showed the incredible delays and frustrations applicants typically face: mortgage servicers have repeatedly lost documents , misinformed homeowners , and denied modifications for reasons that run contrary to the program’s guidelines. Among the 1.1 million homeowners who’ve begun the program’s trial stage, which is supposed to last three months, hundreds of thousands have waited in limbo for six months or more. We have no doubt that there are many more important stories to be told. By any account, millions of homeowners are facing possible foreclosure. Although we read every homeowner’s story, we can only use a fraction in our coverage. That’s why we’re offering to set up our readers with local journalists (with the homeowner’s permission, of course). Often, the media can be the most effective recourse for homeowners who have nowhere else to turn. We’re calling our service ProPublica’s Reporting ...

White House Office of Media Affairs This month, President Obama, the First Lady, and officials from throughout the Administration will deliver commencement addresses to Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation.  This weekend Mrs. Obama will send off the graduates of University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff Saturday, May 8th and President Obama will greet the graduates of Hampton University Sunday, May 9th.  In total, eleven HBCUs will receive commencement addresses from Obama Administration officials this year. Other officials participating in graduation ceremonies include Secretary Robert Gates, Department of Defense (Morehouse College), Secretary Arne Duncan, Department of Education (Xavier University), Administrator Charles Bolden, NASA (Huston-Tillotson University), Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President (Morgan State University), Melody Barnes, Director, White House Domestic Policy Council (Virginia Union University), and Ambassador Susan Rice, United Nations (Spellman College).  In addition, John Wilson, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, is scheduled to speak to Wilberforce University, Wiley College, and Harris-Stowe State University. America’s 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are where generations of African Americans have gained a sense of their heritage, their history, and their place in the American story. President Obama values the historic contributions HBCUs ...

by Olga Pierce, ProPublica - May 10 Before Elena Kagan was a Supreme Court nominee, she was Obama’s nominee for Solicitor General, a position she now holds. And as an administration nominee, she was required to file a financial disclosure, and an ethics agreement – outlining potential conflicts of interest and what she plans to do about them -- which are both posted on our site for your perusal. Much has been made, in particular, over the $10,000 “stipend” she received for being a member of the Goldman Sachs Global Markets Institute advisory council. And while any connection to the toxic Goldman Sachs brand is likely to be political fodder during the confirmation process, the jury is out on how substantive the connection really is. As the disclosure shows, the $10,000 was a pittance next to the $427,299 salary she reported as a Harvard Law School dean. And, according to reports [3], the advisory board was more likely to discuss policy issues than ways to profit from complex securities. In other news, we’re guessing that – if confirmed as Supreme Court Justice – Kagan will probably abandon her plan to return to Harvard after a two-year leave of absence. See anything [1] we missed [2]? Flag it in ...

DSN Newswire (Office of Public Health and Science Communications) Twenty-two percent of 18-44 year old women in the United States reported hearing more about lupus compared to a year ago, according to a national online survey released today by the Ad Council. In an effort to further engage minority women, who are at the greatest risk for lupus, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office on Women’s Health (OWH) and The Advertising Council are distributing new radio public service advertisements (PSAs) in time for  World Lupus Day (May 10). Lupus affects minority women three times more than white women. Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory disease that causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the body’s own healthy cells and tissue. It strikes adult women 10 to 15 times more frequently than adult men. Symptoms of the disease include fatigue, hair loss, painful or swollen joints, fever, skin rashes and kidney problems. Launched in March 2009, The “Could I Have Lupus?” PSA campaign targets young, minority women of childbearing age, 18 to 44, who are at greatest risk for lupus. The objective is to help these women understand the disease, its effects, and identify early warning signs so that they ...

DSN Newswire (Office of the Press Secretary) What:             Hampton University 140th Commencement Ceremony Where:          Hampton University Armstrong Stadium When:            May 9.  Processional begins at 9 a.m., Ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Hampton, Va. - Hampton University is pleased to announce that President Barack Obama will serve as the University's 140th Commencement speaker on May 9, 2010.  We are honored that President Obama has accepted Hampton's invitation to speak to our 2010 graduates during our commencement exercises. CEREMONY DETAILS The stadium gates will open at 6:30 a.m. No one will be allowed entry after 9 a.m. Procession begins at 9 a.m. and the ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Due to the popularity of this event, there are no more tickets available.  Please visit commencement.hamptonu.edu for additional ceremony details.

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele released the following statement today: “Now more than ever, Floridians need leadership in Washington. With unemployment at an all-time high in Florida, they want a Senator to exercise strong fiscal discipline and be a catalyst for job creation. Without question, the Republican nominee this fall will offer those qualities. Governor Charlie Crist, however, will not be that candidate" "Over the years, he has served this party well, which is why his decision to run as an Independent is so disappointing. To be sure, he left this party. This party did not leave him. His decision will in no way impede our path to victory in Florida. The challenges that Floridians face are many. And this November, we will have a nominee in place that will listen to them and put forth solutions to get Floridians back to work.”

(Young Conservatives of Texas) The Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) chapter at Texas Tech University, a student group affiliated with CampusReform.org, will protest the controversial "Tornado of Ideas" sculpture on campus from 10am to 2pm today. YCT will gather signatures on paper and online for a petition to remove the sculpture and send a letter of protest to the president of the university, the Board of Regents, and other alumni and supporters of the university. Texas Tech University spent $142,000 to purchase the sculpture.  Among the scenes on the piece are  a version of the Texas Tech mascot, the Masked Rider, holding a javelin, attempting to sodomize a police officer and two lesbian women sitting arm-in-arm looking out at passersby. On top of a book labeled "The Way Things Ought to Be" is a woman staring at a man clinging to the edge of the sculpture about to fall off. The work also features a number of books, including Soul on Ice, written by a former Black Panther leader who was imprisoned for serial rape, which he called "revolutionary." More questionable titles, such as Quotations from Chairman Mao, who killed over 65 million people in China, and Das Kapital by Karl Marx are included ...