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Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele said he has a new ally in his pursuit to become chairman of the Republican National Committee: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. "Newt's decided not to run for the job, and he's, in fact, supporting me in my efforts," Steele exclusively told NPR's Farai Chideya.

Somali pirates have snagged their largest off-shore prize to date: a Saudi oil tanker. Meanwhile, back on the country's mainland, Islamic militants strengthen their grip in key cities. For more, Farai Chideya speaks with contributor Emira Woods.

The inspirational sounds of the Soweto Gospel Choir are unmistakable. The 26-member ensemble blends tribal African gospel music with traditional Western gospel sounds. Farai Chideya learns more about the group's 49-city, North American tour.

Thirty years ago today, the Rev. Jim Jones led more than 900 of his followers in a murder and suicide ritual in the jungles of Guyana. NPR's Tony Cox takes a look back at Jonestown, through the eyes of three people who were entwined with the tragedy.

Yesterday

Leaders of the 20 largest world economies met in Washington over the weekend to tackle the global economic crisis. But how productive was that huddle after all? Plus, retail sales are slumping, so there must be deals, right? Dr. Julianne Malveaux explains.

President-elect Barack Obama rode to the White House championing the slogan, "Change You Can Believe In." But, so far, his transition team is full of hold-overs from the Clinton administration. Is his presidency more of a retake than a fresh take? Our bloggers weigh in.

Yesterday

Tomorrow, we're going to look at Somalia on Africa Update ... The nation is dealing with pirates (yes, pirates, who just hijacked a tanker full of $100 million in crude oil), possible links to al Qaeda, and the aftermath of a horrific stoning death. As an article in the Sunday Herald summed things up: ASHA had been raped by three men. The 13-year-old girl from the Somali port city of Kismayo was taken to the police station by her aunt to report the crime. Asha was the one who was arrested. After being held for three days and tried in secret by an Islamic court, Asha was sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery. Kismayo's rulers encouraged people to come to the football stadium to watch the execution. A lorry load of stones was laid out. Asha, dragged kicking and screaming into the stadium, was buried in the ground. With around 1000 people watching, 50 men stepped forward and started hurling the stones at Asha's head. After a few moments, the stoning was stopped. Two nurses were asked to step forward and check if she was still alive. She was, they said, so the stoning continued. Somalia has witnessed some brutal scenes in recent years. Ethiopian forces have been accused of assassinating civilians, firing indiscriminately at market crowds, and bombing residential areas. Somali government forces have deliberately killed journalists and human rights workers. All of the armed groups in Somalia have blood on their hands. But Asha's killing has served to highlight the growing power of a hardline Islamist group which analysts believe has links - or wants to have links - with al Qaeda. The infamous "Black Hawk Down" incident happened in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993. (Here's a link to multimedia packages including the original, incredible, Philadelphia Inquirer series on the story.) With that kind of history and rancor, will the U.S. be able to intervene successfully in Somalia even if it wants to? And with this economy, plus the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will Somalia even rank on the list of U.S. priorities? We'll take a look tomorrow at Somalia from a foreign policy perspective ... and a human rights one as well. -- Farai Chideya

That's what BlackPressInternational.com calls the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We covered it in last week's Africa Update, and we'll have more tomorrow. Here's more from the report: As many as five million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A quarter million have perished in Darfur, western Sudan. Both are abominations, but only Darfur rates coverage in American media and subsequent concern by the public action. Genocide has been occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been occurring for years, and it's time concerned people asked "why has out attention been directed elsewhere?" The DRC war is the widest interstate war in modern African history, yet western media has ignored the brutal conflicts to decry regime-change targets in Sudan and Zimbabwe. Formerly called Zaire, the DRC is the third largest country in Africa. Located in Central Africa, the Congo's eastern area hosts the world's deadliest conflict since World War II. Quiet as kept, the DRC conflicts involve numerous foreign players, some within the immediate region, and some from Western and Asian capitals. Yet, it is unheard of among most Americans that rely on establishment-oriented forces to shape their perspectives. The DRC conflicts illustrate how the mainstream media skews information it presents us on Africa are skewed. Our perspectives on who is who and what is what among Africa are based on selective agendas of media, governments, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and lobby groups. One or two of scores of ongoing conflicts throughout the world are 'chosen' to be the subject of intense scrutiny and selective indignation -- very rarely on the basis of scale or the level of humanitarian emergency. Read the rest. Five million people dead in the Congo, according to the report. What do you think it will take for stories of this magnitude coming from the continent to register on Western media's radar? -- Geoffrey Bennett

iStockphoto.com From T-shirts and bumper stickers to cable TV and even video games -- Obama mania has reached a fever pitch, and perhaps a plateau ... and the man hasn't even been sworn in yet. We've been guilty of OD'ing on Obama at times, given the historic nature of the campaign and his victory. But it's also true that moderation is often underrated. Have you had your fill of Obama coverage for now? If so, tell us about it. And what other stories have had your attention in the interim? But if you need to fill your daily Obama fix ... check out today's bloggers' roundtable. -- Geoffrey Bennett

November 14

German hematologist Gero Huetter speaks during a news conference about a successful treatment of an HIV-infected patient. Michael Sohn, AP Photo An American man who suffered from AIDS appears to have been cured of the disease 20 months after receiving a targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to fight leukemia, his doctors said. While researchers and doctors caution that the case might just be a fluke, others say it may inspire more interest in gene therapy to fight the deadly disease, which claims two million lives each year. Black Voices has more on this discovery: Dr. Gero Huetter said his 42-year-old patient, an American living in Berlin who was not identified, had been infected with the AIDS virus for more than a decade. Huetter's patient was under treatment for both AIDS and leukemia, which developed unrelated to HIV. As Huetter -- who is a hematologist, not an HIV specialist -- prepared to treat the patient's leukemia with a bone marrow transplant, he recalled that some people carry a genetic mutation that seems to make them resistant to HIV infection. If the mutation, called Delta 32, is inherited from both parents, it prevents HIV from attaching itself to cells by blocking CCR5, a receptor that acts as a kind of gateway. "I read it in 1996, coincidentally," Huetter told reporters at the medical school. "I remembered it and thought it might work." Before the transplant, the patient endured powerful drugs and radiation to kill off his own infected bone marrow cells and disable his immune system -- a treatment fatal to between 20 and 30 percent of recipients. He was also taken off the potent drugs used to treat his AIDS. Huetter's team feared that the drugs might interfere with the new marrow cells' survival. They risked lowering his defenses in the hopes that the new, mutated cells would reject the virus on their own. "It helps prove the concept that if somehow you can block the expression of CCR5, maybe by gene therapy, you might be able to inhibit the ability of the virus to replicate," Fauci said. Even for the patient in Berlin, the lack of a clear understanding of exactly why his AIDS has disappeared means his future is far from certain. "The virus is wily," Huetter said. "There could always be a resurgence." If this does indeed prove true, will it come quicker to those with access? Africa is inundated with AIDS cases, but would they be last in line to get "the cure," due to a lack of resources? -- Geoffrey Gardner

Global Grind aspires to be the homepage for the hip-hop generation. GlobalGrind.com is the latest investment by entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Simmons, chairman of Rush communications. Farai Chideya speaks with Russell and Global Grind's President and CEO, Navarrow Wright, to talk about presidential politics and the future of social media networking. var so = new SWFObject("/player/media1/mediaplayer.swf", "mediaplayer1", "400", "287", "8", "#FFFFFF"); so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "sameDomain"); so.addParam("allowfullscreen", "true"); so.addVariable("callback", "http://www.npr.org/player/media1/track.php?Log=1"); so.addVariable("file", "http://media.npr.org/programs/newsnotes/features/2008/11/russell_final_2.flv"); so.addVariable("image","http://media.npr.org/programs/newsnotes/features/2008/11/russell_still2.jpg"); so.write("flashcontent111408rundown"); -- Geoffrey Gardner

November 13

These unlicensed T-shirts are currently being sold on eBay. eBay The family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has a long tradition of protecting the image and peaceful message of Dr. King. Now that Barack Obama has been elected the first black president, it makes sense that artists and vendors would combine the two iconic figures in a symbolic way. What has the King family upset is that they often don't see a dime of the profits that result from using MLK Jr.'s likeness. According to an AP report: Isaac Newton Farris Jr., King's nephew and head of the nonprofit King Center in Atlanta, said the estate is entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees - maybe even millions. "Some of this is probably putting food on people's plates. We're not trying to stop anybody from legitimately supporting themselves," he said, "but we cannot allow our brand to be abused." But while Obama's election as the first black president may be the fulfillment of King's dream and could yield a big windfall for his estate, policing his image and actually collecting any fees could prove to be a legal nightmare because of the great proliferation of unauthorized King-Obama paraphernalia, much of it sold by street vendors. Any proceeds from King-Obama merchandise would also go to the King Center. What do you think? Should the vendors pay up? And should the family profit from the use of King's image? -- Geoffrey Gardner

The controversy over California's gay marriage ban, known as Prop 8, has spilled into the streets. Protests have snaked their way through Los Angeles and across the country. But in some places, the fight for gay rights has turned into an public indictment of African-Americans who voted in favor of the ban. Some neighborhoods have become hotbeds for racial tension. Farai Chideya moderates a conversation about race and sexual identity, the proposition's impact on American politics, and the future of coalition building between blacks and gays. Click here to listen to the interview, which aired November 13th. She speaks with Gary Gates, distinguished professor from the Charles R. Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public policy at University of California Los Angeles; Patrick Sammon, President of the Log Cabin Republicans; and Ron Buckmire, Board President of the Barbara Jordan/ Bayard Rustin Coalition. var so = new SWFObject("/player/media1/mediaplayer.swf", "mediaplayer1", "400", "287", "8", "#FFFFFF"); so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "sameDomain"); so.addParam("allowfullscreen", "true"); so.addVariable("callback", "http://www.npr.org/player/media1/track.php?Log=1"); so.addVariable("file", "http://media.npr.org/programs/newsnotes/features/2008/11/propeight_flash.flv"); so.addVariable("image","http://media.npr.org/programs/newsnotes/features/2008/11/propeight_still2.jpg"); so.write("flashcontent111308rundown"); Related NPR Stories: Calif. Gay-Marriage Backers Go To Court Over Ban California's Prop. 8 Passes, Passions Flare -- Geoffrey Gardner

November 11

The new MSNBC slogan. The New York Times just published an article on MSNBC and its new slogan, "Experience the power of change." It read in part: Watch MSNBC, a new commercial for the cable channel intones, and "experience the power of change.".... Jeremy Gaines, a spokesman for the network, suggested that the message was a temporary one. "'The Power of Change' is a line we're using in an election week promotion campaign. MSNBC has been and will continue to be 'The Place for Politics,'" he said. It seemed clear that MSNBC, in tapping into the theme of "change," was seeking to appeal to its liberal constituency just as the Fox News Channel seeks to appeal to conservative viewers. On election night, Fox attracted many more viewers than MSNBC -- until Mr. Obama was pronounced the victor. During the midnight hour, when Mr. Obama spoke in Chicago, MSNBC averaged 5.6 million viewers, compared with Fox's 3.9 million. What I observed, when I watched the commercial that goes along with this new campaign, is that "change" is personified by five white journalists (one of them a woman, Rachel Maddow) standing shoulder to shoulder. Does "change" come sans key black journalists? Yes, there are plenty of black opinion analysts on MSNBC and all the cable outlets (not so many Latinos and virtually no Asian or Native Americans though). But there are many fewer black hosts and reporters on television or radio; or key reporters covering the White House or Congress in print and other forms of media. So: does it matter that there are so few black reporters and hosts at the heart of the era of "change"? I'm not being cavalier here, I'm asking you a real question. Do you care? Or does it not matter? (We are also living through a total decimation of media as we know it, particularly print, but no media [including online] is exempt. To get the latest info, I've been scanning Richard Prince, Romnesko, and Gawker.) Since we'll be doing a conversation on race, media economics and coverage on Thursday, this is your chance to give us your take on the issue ... and we'll get some of your wisdom on the air. -- Farai Chideya

The Drudge Report, which examines political fare, is among the most visited sites on the Internet. Getty Images The two-way dialogue that Barack Obama's campaign opened up with eligible voters made a difference this election, according to an article at RealClearPolitics. We all remember the way Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign levied the Internet, albeit briefly, to gain a wave of enthusiastic supporters. President-elect Obama took that strategy and ran away with it. As Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said of the Obama campaign's online work: "They were Apollo 11, and we were the Wright Brothers." This year, the Internet was a force for both recruiting and organizing volunteers and for real-time distribution of political messaging directly to millions of voters. Both campaigns relentlessly used their own Web sites to post videos of campaign appearances and policy addresses, share campaign ads, solicit donations, and roll out policy papers. The Internet became their town center. For most voters, the Internet has replaced the campaign rally. The Pew Foundation reports that 39 percent of voters have watched a campaign video online; and the Internet is where five million turned for replays of the President-elect's 37-minute race relations speech last March. Until this year, Americans would have been restricted to a 90-second sound bite of that speech on the nightly news. What we have is a new business model for politics in the Internet era. And, this collaboration between old and new media multiplies the power of both. Among the campaign's most damaging moments was Sara Palin's fumbling interview with Katie Couric on CBS Nightly News. The impact was heightened by voters who watched the video online and shipped it to friends with an e-mail. With all the advantages of this digital technology comes a price to pay. Newsweek recently reported that hackers had compromised the campaign computer systems of both Barack Obama and John McCain. In midsummer, the Obama campaign's computers were attacked by a virus. The campaign's tech experts spotted it and took standard precautions, such as putting in a firewall. The next day, the Obama headquarters had two visitors: from the FBI and the Secret Service. "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," said an FBI agent. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system." The security firm retained by the Obama campaign was finally able to remove the virus. The Obama team was told that its system had been hacked by a "foreign entity." The official would not say which "foreign entity," but indicated that U.S. intelligence believed that both campaigns had been the target of political espionage by some country--or foreign organization--that wanted to look at the evolution of the Obama and McCain camps on policy issues, information that might be useful in any negotiations with a future Obama or McCain administration. There was no suggestion that terrorists were involved; technical experts hired by the Obama campaign speculated that the hackers were Russian or Chinese. What was your on-line experience like during Election 2008? Do you follow Barack Obama on Twitter? Are you Facebook friends with Ron Paul? Honestly, how many times did you watch Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin on Hulu? Leave us a comment below! And just for fun, here's a look back at Bill Clinton and Bob Dole's innocent-looking 1996 campaign Web sites. Maybe those Russian hackers will enjoy Elizabeth Dole's cookie recipe. -- Geoffrey Gardner

President-elect Barack Obama gets a kiss from daughter Malia (left) as he leaves her and daughter Sasha (right) at the University of Chicago Lab School. Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images On Thursday's show, we are planning to speak with Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones magazine about her essay (below) titled "Public School For the Obama Girls, Please?" Finding the right school is sure to be one of the most important decisions for the Obama family upon relocating to Pennsylvania Avenue. During Farai's conversation with Stephanie, we'd like to share with her some of your reaction. So here's your homework: Read the following essay and tell us what you think. Dear President-elect Obama, I'm writing to you as a resident of the District of Columbia, where you'll soon be moving with your two lovely children. I would like to respectfully request that you seriously consider sending your kids to DC public schools -- and not a charter school, either, but a full-on traditional neighborhood public school. I realize that you've already taken some flack for ensconcing your daughters in a private institution in Chicago. I don't intend to pile on. I understand that choosing a school is fraught with anxiety and it's the most private of decisions. But you are a public figure, so I think it's fair to ask that you give the public schools a boost of confidence by electing to send your kids to one. Full disclosure: I send one of my children to public school, and the White House is within the same school boundary as my own home. After 5th grade, my kids would attend the same school as yours. So I have a vested interest in where your kids end up, as any school that lands the president's kids is likely to see a host of improvements. But my self-interest aside, whatever happens with your administration, you could at least leave a lasting impact on hundreds of poor, mostly minority kids languishing in schools that routinely fail to teach them to read simply by sending your kids to public schools. Bill Clinton greatly disappointed city residents when he and Hillary Clinton opted to send Chelsea to the tony Sidwell Friends School. His argument at the time was that he and Hillary wanted to protect their daughter's privacy, an argument some found disingenuous, given that private schools are crawling with the children of the media elite who rarely, if ever, set foot in DC's crappy public facilities. City residents were immensely disappointed that the leader of the free world did not seize the opportunity to help improve one of the nation's worst school systems, without having to spend a dime. One of the major problems with the city's schools is that they've been all but abandoned by middle-class parents who can use their political clout to hold schools to higher standards and to demand sufficient resources for them. Right now, DC schools are at a critical turning point. Some middle class families, particularly with very young kids, are starting to come back into the system, which holds great promise for the future of education in the city. But keeping those families -- and convincing more to do so -- is a major challenge. The arrival of the Obama girls in a DC public school would send a powerful message to other nervous yuppie parents: your kids will be OK here -- come join us! Those parents can be a major force for good that, unlike tax cuts, does have a trickle down effect on lots of kids whose parents don't know how to write grant proposals or lobby Congress. And imagine the turnout for PTA meetings should Michelle join! While the prospect of throwing your kids into the maw of public school is something that can definitely keep you up at night (believe me, I've been there), you should take heart in the fact that you wouldn't be the first president to do it. Jimmy Carter sent Amy to Stevens Elementary School downtown, and she seemed to emerge unscathed. Stevens was closed this summer and consolidated with Francis Junior High to create the Francis-Stevens Educational Campus, the pre-K through 8th grade facility near Dupont Circle where, technically, your kids would go. There are no school performance test scores available yet for the reconstituted school, but the building was recently rehabbed and now sports a lovely new playground. True, it's a far cry from Sidwell, but it's closer to the White House and, like Sidwell, it has a tennis court. Compared with Sidwell's $28,000 annual tuition (plus $5,000 for aftercare), it's a real bargain, too. Still, I'd be a hypocrite if I said you should send your kids to Francis when I myself have serious reservations about eventually sending my own kids there. Its junior high predecessor was pretty dreadful; many of its 9th graders looked old enough to vote. So I can see where you might balk at the idea. But Francis isn't your only option. DC actually has a number of very good schools. Thompson Elementary, also not far from the White House, is an up-and-coming school housed in a brand new building and features a Chinese immersion program. The city might even cut you some slack and give you a coveted spot at Oyster Elementary, the award-winning Spanish bilingual school in Woodley Park where schools chancellor Michelle Rhee sends her kids. (Si se puede!) Rhee, in fact, has said she hopes to persuade you to send your kids to DC public schools. (Please don't respond by making her Secretary of Education, as some rumors have suggested you might do; DC needs her, and she's just getting started.) Her motivation is plainly obvious. She needs the PR. DC schools have such a bad rep that our own mayor, who has made education reform his signature issue, refuses to send his kids to one, so luring in the Obama girls would be an enormous coup. I'm not asking you to sacrifice your children's education and well being for a good cause. I firmly believe that your kids can receive a perfectly good education in public school here. It takes some work, but it can be done. Besides, private school no more guarantees future success than public school guarantees failure (case in point: Al Gore III, a graduate of the prestigious St. Alban's). Regardless of which public school you pick, your family's mere presence in the building would force the school bureaucracy to rise to the occasion. And think about this: For four -- or maybe eight -- years, your kids will live inside the White House bubble. What better way to give them a daily reality check than to send them to school with regular folks? Here's hoping we see you at math night. UPDATE: At Barack Obama's first press conference as president-elect, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lynn Sweet asked whether Obama would be sending his children to private or public schools in Washington. He replied that no decision has yet been made and that he and Michelle would be "scouting out schools." -- Stephanie Mencimer Share your thoughts below. -- Geoffrey Bennett