To Straighten or Not: Hair Politics Snags Black Women

First lady dishes on husband's skills with Jay Leno

(NEWSER) - If you thought the recent clip of President Obama singing was a fluke, think again: "He does have a beautiful voice, and he sings to me all the time," Michelle Obama told Jay Leno last night. Her husband often sings that very same song (Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"), she said, adding, "He sings a lot of Al Green, Marvin Gaye, a little Stevie [Wonder]. He likes the classics." More»

Protesters also hold rallies against Voter ID laws

(NEWSER) - Martin Luther King day inspired an Occupy march on New York and more traditional remembrances across the US today. Among the events:

• Hundreds of Occupiers staged an "Occupy the Dream" march on Manhattan, stopping to chant, "The banks got bailed out, we got sold out." At least two protesters were arrested, MSNBC reports. "Dr. King dedicated the last months of his life to planning a campaign for the right of all to a decent-paying job," Occupy said in a statement.

Everyone should be over this slur: Kathleen Parker

(NEWSER) - The latest round of attempts to portray Michelle Obama as an "angry black woman" are enough to make any sensible person angry, writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post . Parker says the various political operatives and former staffers she has talked to, including Republicans, "without exception" have all had strongly positive things to say about the first lady. Even if Michelle Obama clashed with Rahm Emanuel , so what? "Who doesn’t butt heads with Emanuel?" asks Parker. More»

First lady has been a powerful player in her husband's White House: Book

(NEWSER) - A new (unauthorized) book by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor depicts Michelle Obama as an "unrecognized force" in her husband's administration, according to an adaptation of The Obamas in the Times . Though initially reluctant to be a meddling first lady, she began voicing concerns when she felt her husband's big-picture agenda was getting sacrificed to mundane politics and even pushed the president to shake up his team of advisers, writes Kantor. Some highlights:

• Clashes with Rahm: She had a testy relationship with former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and he "chafed" at her influence. The president once passed along a criticism of hers to his staff ("She feels as if our rudder isn't set right"), and Emanuel reportedly repeated it with disdain to others. The excerpts also note that Emanuel offered his resignation at one point, when his criticisms about health care reform went public.

Nope. Bo didn't go to Hawaii with Michelle...

(NEWSER) - Oh-oh. The star of the Obamas' holiday card is in trouble again. After the first family got a shellacking from Sarah Palin for featuring their dog, Bo, alone, on their White House greetings, they're now under fire for transporting the dog all the way back from Hawaii just to appear in a photo op with the president during a shopping trip in Virginia. It must have been expensive to ship Bo from Hawaii, where a neighbor reported seeing the Portuguese water dog and the first daughters, reports Politico . Not so, according to the White House: Bo didn't actually travel to Hawaii with Michelle and the girls. The family who reported spotting Bo in the Aloha state said: "We would like to apologize to Bo and the Obama family for any inconvenience this may have caused them." More»