Obstacles

Take LaFawn Weaver, for instance. Here's a young man who admits to making bad choices and getting arrested a couple of times -- back when he was a teenager, primarily -- and blowing a good job because he liked to smoke reefer. OK. So it's time to move on. He says he's made a personal declaration to try again and do it right. But so far, Weaver hasn't been able to find the legitimate job that gets him off the street for good and into America's taxpaying, mainstream work force. So he contacted The Sun for a little help.

Oprah Winfrey is one great storyteller. So let her set the stage for the story of her years in Baltimore - seven and a half years starting in 1976 that would profoundly shape not only the life of the young anchorwoman, but also give birth to the media phenomenon known as Oprah. "I came to Baltimore when I was 22 years old. Drove my red Cutlass up from Nashville, Tenn., arrived and was as close to 'The Beverly Hillbillies' as I could be," Winfrey says in that rich, inviting voice that millions have tuned in to for decades.

IF YOU ARE 60 hoping to reach 80, take joy in what I have found: People who reach 80-plus in comparatively good health can have a great time.When people hit 80 they seem to get a second lease on life, an upbeat attitude that 65-year-olds feign but don't always have.I think some 60-year-olds are still coping with the fact they are ''seniors'' -- called by non-advocates the ''gray squad'' -- trying to adjust to the tag ''older.'' Although it is finally being recognized that the 65-year-old dividing line distinguishing senior citizens is arbitrary and absurd.

LANDOVER -- Can one shot make a point guard? Duane Simpkins thinks so. Gary Williams hopes so. And the fate of Maryland's season might depend on the answer.It was only one game, only the season opener, but what a game, what an upset, what a gutsy, storybook shot.First, the Maryland sophomore drove past Georgetown senior Joey Brown, who torched him in a summer-league game before last season and dissed him with an elbow in the ribs in the second half.Then, he lofted a left-handed layup over the outstretched fingers of 6-foot-8 forward Don Reid, who shook his head and smiled later when asked how close he came to making the game-saving block.

MIKE CRONIN, husband, father of two and a Social Securit Administration analyst, whipped out his shopping list and started to scour the supermarket for fruits, various veggies, chicken and fish."

Hundreds of Baltimore students and residents have had their high school completions hanging in limbo since the state transferred the General Education Development responsibilities to a new department, according to city and adult education officials. As a consequence, a program that was designed to fast-track a high school diploma for teens and adults is in some cases preventing them from having access to jobs and college enrollment, officials and students say. On Thursday, the City Council will hold a hearing to discuss the issues that city GED seekers have faced, such as an increase in wait times, since the service was moved from the state education department to the labor department in 2009.

MAINSTREAM news media are shortchanging the public -- especially women -- in their coverage of affirmative action. Consideration of affirmative action's impact and meaning for women of all colors is largely missing from news stories, and women are severely under-represented on opinion pages.Worse, with few exceptions, major media are reporting the debate on affirmative action without reference to the continued existence of racist and sexist practices. Severed from the context of discrimination to which it is a response, affirmative action is presented as a confusing, "hot-button" issue.

New Jersey became the first state in decades yesterday to abolish the death penalty, giving hope to opponents of capital punishment that Maryland and other states could soon follow. But the obstacles to passing a repeal or even a moratorium in the General Assembly next month remain high. Key lawmakers concede that the legislature is as polarized over the emotionally charged issue as it was last year, when a bill seeking a repeal was defeated by one vote in a Senate committee. Still, the news of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's decision to sign the repeal bill yesterday and to commute the sentences of the state's eight death-row inmates led many to believe that the momentum in Maryland will be on the opponents' side.

A lovely African-American woman enters a room, glowing with confidence, dignity and self-assurance.Heads turn.Should any of these people summon the nerve to speak with this woman, they would probably find that her road to exuberant self-confidence was paved with obstacles and challenges, and filled with plain hard work.The truth is, black women have never had it easy, and some say that in many ways the going is getting tougher.Look at the images of African-American women that bombard them each day via television, movies and rap music.

Click here to see more sports videos   CM Punk will have to defend his WWE title against John Cena and Ryback at Survivor Series. Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero created the match at the insistence of Chairman Vince McMahon.