Obama chipping away at Clinton's base: The political race tightens up on the democratic side as Obama trounces Clinton in Wisconsin and Hawaii. Obama is slowly chipping away at the Clinton base. Obama won 48 percent of women voters, and 53 percent of white voters making him the candidate to beat going into the next round of primaries. "If Ohio and Texas weren't already must-win states for Sen. Hillary Clinton, they certainly are now."

Full Story: www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/20/feb19.analysis/index.html

5 Midwood High School students taken to hospital: Five students from Charlotte's Midwood High School were transported to area hospitals Wednesday morning. The students were complaining of feeling shaky and woozy. Charlotte-Mecklenburg spokeswoman Kathleen Johansen said, "They were just feeling woozy and were taken to the hospital as a precaution." CMS officials believe that the students ingested something but as of 11:15 a.m. they do not know what.

Full Story: www.charlotte.com/news/story/501739.html

CMS hits employees with credit checks: On Tuesday CMS hit its employees with an ultimatum: Let us check your credit or face termination. Over 18,000 CMS employees were given forms to sign that authorized CMS to check their criminal records as well as credit reports. Many people don’t mind the criminal background checks; it is the credit checks that many are vehemently opposed to. "I don't know where CMS is pulling this from and I don't understand why. It's like they're intimidating people," said Mary McCray, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators.

Full Story: www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-022008-krg-creditchecks.f18b113.html

— Charity Frederick

Castro resigns as president, state-run paper reports:

Fidel Castro at age 81 resigned as president of Cuba today. Castro ended his 50 year command over Cuba without warning. His letter of resignation was published in the state-run newspaper “Granma.” He says he will elect a new president in a few days. Two years ago Castro experienced intestinal problems and he now says, “I wish only to fight as a soldier of ideas … Perhaps my voice will be heard.”

Full story: www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/02/19/castro.letter/index.html

'Help me. Help me.': Joshua Jackson, Ranson Middle School sixth grader, was shot and killed after a birthday party in the parking lot of the Rameses Temple No. 51 in northwest Charlotte. After shots rang out Jackson ran like everyone else, but he was hit. He lay in the arms of his friends after being wounded. He said “Help me. Help me.” His step-sister remembers him saying he did not want to die.

Full story: www.charlotte.com/local/story/499610.html

CMS overhauls tracking of trouble: Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools have devised a new system of tracking student behavior. Principals are now responsible for filing monthly suspension reports. The data will be reviewed to catch the problem students. The new District Regional offices will meet weekly to find repeat behavior problem offenders so the trouble-makers are disciplined every time without fail.

Full story: www.charlotte.com/408/story/499611.html

— Kia Moore

Watch your wallets and purses, friends. Jim Bakker is at it again. The former PTL Club preacher/TV host — whose career at Heritage USA in Fort Mill brought him fame,

After his release from prison, Bakker admitted that, as the title of his book said, "I was wrong." But now, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bakker has found new accomplices, um, helpers — his wife, evangelist Lori Graham Bakker, and a former PTL Club "partner," Jerry Crawford — while the disgraced preacher once again sings from the same old hymnal.

Bakker and Crawford have begun building Morningside Church: A Place of Refuge — a Christian "retreat center and retirement community" located on 600 acres of land owned by Crawford outside Branson. The main building will be "world headquarters" for The Jim Bakker Show and "related ministries." The TV show is now on the air and is co-hosted by Bakker and his wife. Does any of this sound eerily familiar?

It should, because although he stresses that he's a changed, humbled man, Bakker is still preaching the same brand of happy-talk Christianity, still avoiding taxes, and, more ominously, has begun a donation campaign that seems awfully similar to the real estate schemes for which he was sent to prison.

Bakker doesn't technically own Morningside, and with good reason — he still owes the IRS more than $6.1 million. Money is on his mind, however, during the TV show, in which he asks for $1,000 "Builders' Club" donations to help finish construction at Morningside. Of course, Bakker promises donors a Builders Bible sent as "a love gift." A $5,000 gift will buy a place for the donor's name on an "Amazing Grace" plaque. If you consider that a bargain, go to jimbakkershow.com and have your credit cards ready

I really should file this under Random Dumb Sh*t because the current controversy created by the Clinton camp about Obama stealing lines for his "Just Words" speech is just dumb.

And it smacks of desperation.

And for Obama to actually dignify the statement by attacking back is the height — or the utter depths — of stupidity.

But, honestly, I'm more pissed at Hillary and Co. than anything.

I actually supported Bill and the gang back in the day. I happen to think he was a pretty good president. But now, it seems like Hillary and Bill will do anything to win.

Does anybody remember what the issues were again?

Focus turns to customers of sex ring: Sallie Saxon, madame of Charlotte's "HushHush" internet escort service, is not so quiet anymore. After pleading guilty a month ago, she is ready to tell all: the inner workings of the sex ring, the big name "Johns" and how the high rollers helped the illegal business flourish. The government is now contemplating taking the unusual step of prosecuting the "Johns."

Full story

12-year-old shot dead at party: On Feb. 17, a 12-year-old boy was found dead in a vehicle outside of Ramses Temple on Beatties Ford Road. The police arrived on the scene right after midnight and found the 12-year-old fatally shot; two others were injured. The identity of the 12-year-old boy has not been released and police are still gathering details about what occurred.

Full story

University shooter's girlfriend: 'I couldn't believe it': Jessica Baty, girlfriend of the Northern Illinois University shooter, may have received the worst Valentine’s Day gift ever. Her boyfriend, Steven Kazmierczak, committed the mass shooting on Feb.14. She said he was not erratic or delusional; he was just normal Steve, but more annoyed than usual. She knew he stopped taking his psychotic medication three weeks ago because they made him feel like a zombie.

Full Story

— by Kia Moore

— Cartoon by Jim Hunt