Amnesty Arrives for Thousands of Immigrants Following a recent legal settlement approved by a U.S. District Court in Washington State, tens of thousands of immigrants can now apply for amnesty and thus earn legal status in the country. The settlement applies to the approximately 2.7 million immigrants under the jurisdiction of the 1986 immigration reform law, who entered the U.S. with a valid visa and fell out of legal status between 1982 and 1988. Los Angeles Times. ‘Obama Effect’ Keeps On In Cuba Obama’s victory continues to inspire Black communities all over the world, and causes many to re-examine the state of racial equality in their respective countries. Cuba, which has long denied the existence of institutional racism in its state, finds that its Black citizens are beginning to more vocally demand for changes in its historically discriminatory policies. New America Media. Race Not Just Skin Deep A columnist expands on a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which analyzed data showing how our understanding of race evolves over time, rather than simply remaining a static social construction. Chicago Tribune. Racial Extremists Gain Access to Military’s Weapons For Own Projects New evidence shows that large numbers of white supremacists are entering the military under lowered recruiting standards and the lack of strong enforcement of anti-extremist regulations. They want to receive military combat training and gain access to weapons and explosives, skills and resources that some have confessed they would use for their own personal "projects." Alternet.org