Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.

The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.

"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.

On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.

Pace said that day has yet to arrive.

"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.

View the original article here

Tropical Storm Fernand heads to Mexico's coast

Updated 11:06 PM ET

VERACRUZ, Mexico Tropical Storm Fernand brewed up just off Mexico's Gulf coast Sunday, and heavy rains and strong winds caused some power failures and street flooding in the colonial city of Veracruz. The storm was expected to move ashore before dawn Monday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm had winds of at least 50 mph (85 kph) late Sunday. Fernand was about five (10 kilometers) north of Veracruz and moving westward at 9 mph (15 kph).

A tropical storm warning was in effect on Mexico's coast from Veracruz north to Barra de Nautla.

The government of Veracruz state advised its 7.7 million residents to stay home, and Gov. Javier Duarte suspended classes in the whole state to protect children from venturing out into winds and rain.

Blackouts hit parts of Veracruz city as skies turned gray and rain flooded major roads, causing cars to stall in the middle of the streets. Several trees were reported to have fallen.

Forecasters said the storm could bring 4 to 8 inches of rain over parts of several states as it moved inland toward central Mexico.

In the eastern Pacific, former Tropical Storm Ivo weakened further from a tropical depression into a remnant low.

View the original article here

Tropical Storm Fernand heads to Mexico's coast

Updated 11:06 PM ET

VERACRUZ, Mexico Tropical Storm Fernand brewed up just off Mexico's Gulf coast Sunday, and heavy rains and strong winds caused some power failures and street flooding in the colonial city of Veracruz. The storm was expected to move ashore before dawn Monday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm had winds of at least 50 mph (85 kph) late Sunday. Fernand was about five (10 kilometers) north of Veracruz and moving westward at 9 mph (15 kph).

A tropical storm warning was in effect on Mexico's coast from Veracruz north to Barra de Nautla.

The government of Veracruz state advised its 7.7 million residents to stay home, and Gov. Javier Duarte suspended classes in the whole state to protect children from venturing out into winds and rain.

Blackouts hit parts of Veracruz city as skies turned gray and rain flooded major roads, causing cars to stall in the middle of the streets. Several trees were reported to have fallen.

Forecasters said the storm could bring 4 to 8 inches of rain over parts of several states as it moved inland toward central Mexico.

In the eastern Pacific, former Tropical Storm Ivo weakened further from a tropical depression into a remnant low.

View the original article here

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.

The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.

"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.

On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.

Pace said that day has yet to arrive.

"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.

View the original article here