Spartan Echo

     COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Michelle Obama is using an address to college students in Maryland to stress the importance of education to the African-American community. The first lady notes that Bowie State University was founded in 1865 to train black teachers and mentions the “hunger” that the school’s first students felt to be [...]

  NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The steam from a plump roasted yam greets Peggy Miller for dinner most days. It doesn’t take much to satisfy the 72-year-old’s appetite, but she’s picky about what’s on her plate. Fresh vegetables are her first choice, but they’re not easy to come by in Ballentine. The closest supermarket, a [...]

  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – State lawmakers are calling for more financial accountability at Norfolk State University, which has not been able to complete a financial audit for two years. Norfolk State does not have adequate administrative staff or documentation to complete the audits for fiscal years 2011 and 2012, state Auditor Of Public Accounts [...]

  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Hours after barely winning Venezuela’s presidential election, the ruling party started to flood state media with accusations that opposition provocateurs were firebombing Cuban-run neighborhood health clinics across the country in revenge. More than a week later, a national dispute is raging as the opposition wages a remarkably successful media counteroffensive [...]

  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Before he became pope, Francis spoke his mind about many of the most sensitive topics the Roman Catholic church faces today. Here is a sampling from “On Heaven and Earth,” published in 2012, and his authorized biography “The Jesuit,” published in 2010 and republished last month as “Pope Francis. [...]

  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — She uses a wheelchair and carries the weight of her 87 years, but Clelia Luro feels powerful enough to make the Roman Catholic Church pay attention to her campaign to end priestly celibacy. This woman, whose romance with a bishop and eventual marriage became a major scandal in the [...]

  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Before she became Brazil’s bikini queen, with an empire of chic boutiques and legions of VIP fans that include Hollywood A-listers and pop royalty, Lenny Niemeyer was locked away in her garage, making swimwear out of old pareos and sliced cow bones. Sitting before this perfectly coiffed blond businesswoman [...]

  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The tomato has long been a near-obligatory garnishing for just about any Brazilian dish, yet it’s becoming the country’s apple of discord. A longer-than-usual rainy season, high fuel prices and superheated demand have combined to send prices for the beloved food soaring, and consumers are seeing red. Facebook pages [...]

  BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — At Montana State University, final exams stress is going to the dogs. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/11pDoHV) Intermountain Therapy Animals is bringing dogs to campus this week and next to help students take a break from the stress of studying for and taking semester exams. Jacqueline Frank is the [...]

             SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The fishing trip off the rugged north coast of St. Lucia was supposed to last all day, but about four hours into the journey, the boat’s electric system crackled and popped. Dan Suski, a 30-year-old business owner and information technology expert from San Francisco, had been wrestling a [...]

         AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — The U.S. service academies are ramping up efforts to groom a new breed of cyberspace warriors to confront increasing threats to the nation’s critical computer networks. Students at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies are taking more courses and competing in elaborate cyberwarfare exercises as they learn [...]