More Latinos Than Whites Graduating High School: What Does It Mean for Your Work Force?

Latinos are graduating high school at higher rates than whites, according to a new national report by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). The report projects the number of Latino public high-school graduates will rise by 54 percent and expects the number of white graduates to drop by 11 percent as a composition of the total, reports Inside Higher Ed. But Latino high-school students come from middle- and low-income families to a higher degree than their white counterparts, which makes it difficult to afford higher education. Under pressure from Congress, Ivy League universities are offering financial aid. Harvard was the first Ivy League school to offer a generous financial aid package. Now, students from low- and middle-income families can get a free education at Harvard. The report also found that the number of Asians graduating high school is expected to rise 32 percent, 7 percent for Native Americans and 3 percent for Blacks. What do these trends mean for your company? Read It's 2050 … What Does Your Work Force Look Like?  

Half as Many Blacks Enlist in Military

The number of Blacks in the military dropped significantly from 2000 to 2005; some experts say the number of Black enlistees has declined by as much as half in that time, reports BlackAmericaWeb.com (BAW). "There has been a 50 percent drop in recent years in the number of blacks enlisting in the Army and Marines," retired Navy Commander Gregory Black, founder of the web site BlackMilitaryWorld.com, told BAW. Numbers from the Department of Defense support Black's claim. Why is this happening? The military is facing this shortage of Black enlistees as it struggles to recruit more Muslim service members.

New Fla. Bill Pushes for LGBT Adoption Rights

Florida Sen. Nan Rich has introduced a new bill that would allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children, but the bill is not expected to get far, reports 365gay.com.  Rich filed similar bills over the past three years but none were successful. The bill is now in the hands of the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs committee, which is headed by Sen. Rhonda Storms, who ran on the anti-same-sex-marriage platform and supports the current adoption ban, which allows gay and lesbian couples to serve as foster parents but not adopt. Read more about the gay-marriage battle in Florida and check out the same-sex-marriage laws in your state.

All-White Jury Convicts Black La. Man of Murder; Supreme Court Calls Re-Trial

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction and death sentence of Allen Snyder, who is Black, and granted him a new trial after judges discovered that the prosecutors purposely kept Blacks out of the jury, reports CNN.com. Snyder, who was on trial for allegedly using a knife to kill his wife's companion, was tried and convicted in three and a half days by an all-white jury. Justice Alito said, "The trial court committed clear error" and was "incredibly short." No date has been set for Snyder's new trial. This is the same Supreme Court that overturned voluntary school-integration plans in two public-school districts. Read The End of an Era? Supreme Court Deals Blow to School Integration.

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