Fired for Not Speaking English? Pelosi Says No Way

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding up a $53-billion appropriations bill that will provide funds for the FBI, NASA and Justice Department to block an attached amendment, passed by both the Senate and House, that protects the Salvation Army and other employers from federal lawsuits over their English-only policies, reports The Wall Street Journal. The EEOC is suing the Salvation Army for allegedly discriminating against two employees at its Framingham, Mass., thrift store "on the basis of their national origin." The charity gave the employees a year's notice, telling them they had to speak English on the job, but not on breaks. They were fired after they did not learn English, reports The Wall Street Journal.

(See also: Speak English--Or Else)

Oprah Meets Abused Girl's Family

For two hours, Oprah Winfrey met with the father of the South African girl who was abused at her Leadership Academy for Girls, reports People. The father told People that the Sunday meeting was the first since they had withdrawn their daughter from the school after staff ignored her complaints of abuse, reports The Associated Press. The dormitory matron accused of "indecent assault and criminal injury" against six students will be charged in court next month, along with a 23-year-old fellow dormitory matron.

(See also: Abuse, Fondling? What's Going On at Oprah's School?)

Is Music Industry Racist? R&B Legend Answers

R&B legend Patti LaBelle sang "If You Asked Me To" first, but Celine Dion cashed in with her own rendition. Dion's 1992 rendition soared to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while LaBelle's '89 version only hit No. 79. "Why do I think Celine had the sales and I didn't? Because she's a white girl," LaBelle told MonacoRevue.com, reports TheStar.com. "I've been singing for 45 years and that's an obstacle that I'm still ... I'm getting over it because I'm fabulous," LaBelle said. "You know, so you can't beat me up. You can't make me feel less than I am because whenever I get the microphone I'm gonna show you who I am. But the industry is very racist."

(See also: Is the Fashion Industry Racist? Supermodel Says Yes)

FBI Hate-Crimes Report Criticized

The FBI/Department of Justice annual report on hate crimes in America is drawing criticism for its state-by-state statistical disparities, reports National Public Radio. Some states count hundreds of hate crimes while other states count zero. NPR's Farai Chideya gets an explanation from the FBI.

Check out DiversityInc's Noose Watch.

(See also: Hate Crimes in America on the Rise--Are You at Risk?) 

Is Black Women's Breast-Cancer Risk Underrated?

Reevaluation of the formula doctors use to calculate a woman's risk of breast cancer underestimates the danger for black women most of the time and especially for those ages 50 and older, reports The Washington Post. "This could very much change the way we counsel African-American women," Nancy Davidson, a breast cancer expert who heads the American Society of Clinical Oncology, told the Post. "It will make women better attuned to their personal risk and more eligible for standard interventions, as well as for trials to improve prevention or detection."

(See also: Get Educated or Die)

Do Native Americans Descend From One Group?

For decades it's been thought that Native Americans could have descended from one migrant group that crossed a lost land link from Siberia to Alaska, and now a University of Michigan genetic study bolsters those claims, reports AFP. The university's analysis found one unique genetic variant widespread across both the northern and southern American continents, suggesting that all Native Americans were descended from a single group, not various ones as the rival theory holds. "If there were a large number of migrations, and most of the source groups didn't have the variant, then we would not see the widespread presence of the mutation in the Americas," said Noah Rosenberg, a geneticist who worked on the study.

Latino Group Criticizes NYPD

The National Latino Officers Association of America (NLOAA) is criticizing the RAND Corp, a nonpartisan research group, for alleging that the New York Police Department's "stop-and-frisk" policy, which stopped more than 500,000 pedestrians last year, most of them black or Latino, only had "small racial differences in the rates of frisk, search, use of force and arrest."

"If left unchallenged, [the report] is the justification for racial profiling, abuse and discrimination," the NLOAA added, reports MSNBC. In response, the NYPD attacked NLOAA Executive Chairman Anthony Miranda. "Not surprisingly, this statement is riddled with inaccuracies and exposes Miranda's deep ignorance of the statistical process employed by RAND, a nationally respected nonprofit, which subjected its research to rigorous peer review," NYPC spokesperson Paul Browne said in a statement.

Policing Federal Immigration Policies Locally

In Alabama, 56 troopers received special training and high-tech tools from the U.S. government to help them determine whether criminal suspects are in the country legally. Known as the 287 (g) program, the local/federal partnership is becoming very popular. In 15 states, 34 state and local law-enforcement agencies have joined the program, and another 77 have applied, reports Stateline.org. Critics question whether the program could hamper local police officers' ability to protect and serve local communities. They say the program could deter immigrants from reporting crime and lead to racial profiling.

(See also: How Does Your State Measure Up on Immigration?)

Will Gay-Marriage Ban Pass in Indiana?

An Indianapolis Star-WTHR poll indicates Indiana voters do not support a proposed state amendment banning same-sex marriage, reports Indystar.com. The poll, based on the responses of 600 people statewide, found that 49 percent of people support the amendment, down from 56 percent in March 2005. Forty-four percent of respondents said they opposed a constitutional ban, up from 40 percent in 2005. A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage passed the Indiana Senate earlier in the year, but the amendment was voted down in a House committee. The ban is expected to be revived during the 2008 legislative session.

(See also: Same-Sex Marriage in the States) 

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