Jackson: Banks 'getting off lightly'

WASHINGTON — In a spectacular fall from political prominence, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife agreed Friday to plead guilty to federal charges growing out of what prosecutors said was a scheme to use $750,000 in campaign funds for lavish personal expenses, including a $43,000 gold watch and furs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was charged Friday with scheming to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. His wife was charged with filing false income tax forms.

Wyo. pols say they see positives in dealing with gay rights issues, despite measures failing CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — To say merely that Wyoming is a conservative state doesn't begin to capture it. Republicans hold nearly every elected office. Lawmakers squirrel away much of the revenue from the state's mineral wealth in a multi-billion-dollar savings account they can't touch without voters' OK. And gun ownership and hunting are as much a part of a cherished way of life as are ranching and rodeo.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson criticized Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert on Sunday for "arrogant" remarks about departing superstar LeBron James.Jackson blasted Gilbert over comments calling James "cowardly," made after James announced he would leave Cleveland - where he has played all seven of his NBA seasons - for the Miami Heat.

And so the surreal criminal saga of former Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. ("JJJR", "Junior" or just "Jackson") has ended.

U.S. civil rights activist Jesse Jackson has challenged the UK to do more to tackle racism following the conviction of two men for a notorious racist murder more than 18 years ago.

It's a contentious question, but curiously, one that doesn't get debated nearly as fiercely as things like "how many uninsured people are there?"  I find that surprising, because after all, we don't necessarily care whether people are marked by some survey as "insured" or "uninsured"; we care whether there is preventable suffering in the world.