Study finds urban pupils improve in math Students in city schools are improving their addition, subtraction and higher math skills from the first grade up, but it's not so clear how much better their reading skills are, a study of the nation's 55 largest urban districts found. Aide hoped to protect Jackson As the Rev. Jesse Jackson considered a third bid for president in 1998, an aide was pregnant with his child. The Rev. Al Sharpton and three elected New York officials were behind bars yesterday after being sentenced for trespassing on Navy land while protesting bombing exercises on Vieques, Puerto Rico, said aides, elected officials and family members. Universities employ few Black chemists The country's top universities employ few minority group members as chemistry professors and have not hired a Black chemistry faculty member in 10 years, a study shows. 79 Internationally known bluesman Willie Foster died early Sunday of an apparent heart attack, shortly after a performance at a private party, a family member said.
Blacks see a shrinking political role in Calif.
At a time when Latino power is exploding across the state and a swelling Asian population is gaining clout, Blacks are losing political ground from Sacramento to South-Central Los Angeles. No evidence has emerged to indicate that anyone illegally conspired to keep African Americans from voting in November. Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, has denied that state officials tried to disenfranchise anyone. Six years after banning affirmative action and plunging into a wrenching national debate over race-based preferences, University of California regents voted unanimously to drop their controversial policy. Houston to Win BET Lifetime Award Grammy-winner Whitney Houston has been chosen as the recipient of Black Entertainment Television's inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.