Michelle Obama multitasks at Governors’ Dinner and then the Oscars on Sunday: For the evening, the first lady wore Naeem Khan, choosing a strapless silver design that perfectly complemented her blunt bangs, the Huffington Post reports. The first lady’s second-term swagger is simply marvelous. Voting Rights Act “bailout provision” could play an outsize role in…

Monday, Feb. 25, 1:19 p.m. EST: One year later: Trayvon Martin’s mother pushes for change in “Stand your ground” laws: On Monday’s edition of Tell Me More, Sybrina Fulton tells host Michel Martin that what happened to her son should not be “about black and white.” She hopes for justice, not only in her son’s…

(The Root) — On Monday, CEO Steve Hannah posted a rare apology on behalf of the staff members who called 9-year-old best actress nominee Quvenzhané Wallis the c-word in a tweet from its official Twitter account during the broadcast of the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday. “It was crude and offensive — not to mention…

Friday, Feb. 22, 4:59 p.m. EST: Zimmerman’s attorney wants to question the girl Trayvon Martin was talking to the night he was killed: Zimmerman’s lead attorney, Mark O’Mara, wants to question the woman known as Witness 8, the Huffington Post reports. Described as a friend of the 17-year-old Trayvon, she originally recounted the conversation she…

The Detroit News is reporting that for the second time in a year, a state review team has found that the city is in a financial emergency that requires Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to get involved. But this time, if Snyder agrees that a financial emergency exists, the governor’s choices are more limited. He could…

Rush Limbaugh says talk of a sequester has made him ashamed of his country: The conservative talk-show host lambasted President Obama and other Democrats on Thursday, accusing them of playing politics and creating political tension and public anxiety over a sequester. “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my life, I am ashamed of…

A southwest-Ohio woman who says she was fired because she voted for President Barack Obama has filed a lawsuit against her former defense-contractor employer, according to the Columbus Dispatch. But the employer claims that the woman was laid off for economic reasons. Patricia Kunkle’s lawsuit accuses Dayton-based defense contractor Q-Mark Inc. and its president of…

As polls show Barack Obama leading the GOP in public support on major issues, Republican leaders are increasingly seeking to cast the president in a negative light. To that end, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently penned a scathing rebuke of President Obama, blaming him for the nearly $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts set to…

Some in the press are upset again about a lack of access to the president during his vacation: President Obama kept the press at bay while he spent the weekend relaxing with friends and golfing in Florida. Members of the White House press corps weren’t happy on Sunday, especially after learning that he was hitting…

The Atlantic Wire reports that a recent immigrant from India set in motion a series of events that led Mississippi to finally ratify the 13th Amendment, which bans slavery. The circumstances for Dr. Ranjan Batra almost inadvertently inserting himself into Mississippi state history are accidental at best. After seeing Lincoln in theaters last November, he went…