Wesley Pruden sparked anger when he wrote that President Obama lacks a "natural instinct or blood impulse" for what America is about because of his family's racial history. It wasn't the first time the native Arkansan and the paper he once edited have expressed troubling views on race. More...

Joseph Pizarchik's nomination to head the Office of Surface Mining was opposed by coalfield activists, who warn that the move will intensify scrutiny of the Obama administration's dealings with the mining industry. More...

The organizations raise concerns about whether the Army is more interested in making soldiers "deployable" than it is in helping them deal with mental health issues. More...

One fact stands above all others in explaining Republican Bob McDonnell's resounding victory for Virginia governor: Turnout was the lowest it's been in 40 years. More...

A trailblazing African-American physician with a long record of service to Alabama's rural poor, Dr. Regina Benjamin has said she will emphasize disease prevention and public health. More...

President Obama visited the nation's largest solar photovoltaic facility in Florida last week -- but Dr. Stephen A. Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy says that doesn't necessarily signal that the state is on its way to a clean energy future. More...

What's the South thinking about global warming, President Obama and the public option? Read our latest poll roundup and find out. Plus: Deeds done in Virginia? More...

Obama's quick trip to New Orleans won't end questions about his administration's commitment to post-Katrina recovery -- but he can silence the critics by supporting several practical proposals for Gulf Coast renewal. More...

Here in New Orleans, residents and community leaders -- including many who worked tirelessly for his campaign -- are waiting for Obama to signal he has a real plan for post-Katrina recovery. More...

In a letter released to coincide with Obama's visit to New Orleans today, more than 50 leading religious leaders and faith-based groups have asked the president to take action to address challenges still remaining along the Gulf Coast. More...

President Barack Obama arrives in New Orleans today for his first visit to the city and region since his presidential campaign. But some local lawmakers and community leaders criticize the short visit and the lack of attention paid to the still struggling region. More...

Wake Up America, a conservative political advocacy group based in North Carolina, posted to its website today a call for the impeachment of President Obama -- and to illustrate the story it used a bizarre illustration showing the president as a dictator standing behind the Star of David. More...

Despite the assertion of one Republican leader that it's as unpopular as a "garlic milkshake," the public health insurance option is in fact embraced by the majority of the American people and American doctors. A look at that support by the numbers. More...

In a column posted yesterday to the conservative website NewsMax, John L. Perry asked his readers to "[i]magine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution." But if you think Perry can be dismissed as part of the far-right fringe, think again. More...

Historian and writer Tim Tyson delivered the guest sermon at Duke University Chapel this Sunday, using the Biblical story of Queen Esther bravely pleading to the king for her libeled Jewish people to offer important lessons for today on how to respond to those who bear false witness. More...

Independent research from two university professors raises important questions about the way major news outlets frame stories -- and offers hard evidence that ACORN has been treated unfairly. More...

With concern growing over the racially charged rhetoric in the current political debate, we look at the hard numbers on racial resentment and how it relates to support for health insurance reform. More...

While pundits focus on Rep. Joe Wilson's checkered history on black/white relations, an even bigger factor may be Wilson's leadership in the nativist anti-immigrant movement, based in a state that has the fastest-growing Latino population in the nation. More...

Environmental justice expert Robert D. Bullard calls on the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General to take action on racism in EPA Region 4, which includes eight states from North Carolina to Mississippi. More...

Rep. Joe Wilson's heckling of President Obama wasn't his first time in the spotlight -- as a state senator in the 1990s, he emerged as one of the fiercest defenders of flying the Confederate battle flag over the South Carolina capitol, even calling the Confederate heritage "very honorable." More...