Oprah Endorses Obama

It's official: Oprah Winfrey confirmed her endorsement of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week. When asked what made her decide to back Obama, Oprah said she believes in Obama's capabilities. "I think that what he stands for, what he has proven that he can stand for, what he has shown was worth me going out on a limb for--and I haven't done it in the past because ... I didn't know anybody well enough to be able to say I believe in this person." But why not endorse Sen. Hillary Clinton? Oprah stressed that her decision to support Obama does not imply she is somehow against Clinton or any other presidential candidate. Oprah's endorsement marks the first time the talk-show host has endorsed a political candidate. Read more.

Univision Radio in Trouble After Anti-Gay Slurs

Clearly, the world of radio is in trouble. First Don Imus, and now it appears others may be in danger of losing their job for perpetrating offensive comments. Last week, Univision radio host Luis Jiménez of "The Luis Jiménez Show" and his co-hosts performed a song called "Las Patas," which means "The Dykes," in which they used homophobic slurs and ridiculed lesbians. Later, during the program, the show introduced an offensive stereotypical gay character called "Chef Pepín" in which Jiménez then ridiculed and verbally abused Chef Pepín for being gay, shouting "Cállate pato" at him, which means "Shut up, faggot." Read more.

Obama and Clinton Criticize Bush Administration's Handling of Katrina

For once, Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton can agree on something--both feel the Bush administration acted incompetently during Hurricane Katrina. The candidates, who were present at the National Conference of Black Mayors, held in Baton Rouge, La., spoke during the conference, and while Obama's speech focused mostly on the Iraq war and Clinton's on domestic issues, both criticized the Bush administration's handling of the victims of Katrina. According to the Bush administration, more than $110 billion has been committed to the Gulf Coast for rebuilding since the 2005 hurricanes. However, the pace of the recovery and the disbursement of aid dollars appear to be sluggish in several areas, including New Orleans. In response to this disappointment, Obama said, "When it comes to education in New Orleans, it's not enough to just clean up damage from the storm. We have to clean up the damage from before the levees broke." Clinton added, "It is a great injustice that you would deny the resources to your own people, but that shouldn't surprise us, because many people are invisible to this president." Read more.

President of HBCU Suspended

Board members from the Southern University system have suspended the president, Ralph Slaughter, for two months with pay, and ordered him to cooperate with an investigation into allegations that the board chairman, Johnny Anderson, sexually harassed university employees. Slaughter was suspended through July 5 by the institution's Board of Supervisors during a special meeting. Last month, Slaughter and the board were criticized by Baton Rouge lawyer Mark Falcon, who complained that they had ignored his inquiry into the sexual-harassment complaints made against Anderson by some university employees. As a result, Falcon submitted a report stating he could not determine the validity of the allegations. Slaughter said that he wasn't comfortable investigating the harassment allegations, which have been denied by Anderson. Anderson stepped down as chairman on April 21, saying he wanted to avoid any appearance that he was influencing the investigation, reports CNN.com.

Latinos Leave Imprint on U.S. Catholic Church

Latinos are bringing a little Spanish flavor to U.S. Catholic churches. Puerto Rican band members exclaiming, "Everyone on their feet! Get ready to celebrate God!" might be considered an unusual sight in Catholicism, but the scene has recently become very popular among some parishes. The movement known as charismatic mass--a type of worship that includes faith healing and prophesying--is sweeping across Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, where Catholic leaders are using rock-star priests and beachfront masses to declare their born-again Christian faiths. Such scenes used to be rarely witnessed in any language inside Catholic churches, but as waves of Latinos continue to influence American life, they are leaving one of their biggest imprints on the Roman Catholic Church. Read more.

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