LOS ANGELES (AP)—Don Cornelius, who with the creation of "Soul Train" helped break down racial barriers and broaden the reach of black culture with funky music, groovy dance steps and cutting edge style, died early Wednesday of an apparent suicide. He was 75.

DON CORNELIUS

by Angela Delli Santi

TRENTON, N.J. (AP)—Two of New Jersey’s most influential Black leaders blasted Gov. Chris Christie, Jan. 25, for proposing gay marriage be put to a popular vote in November, but the Republican governor insisted he’s offering a reasonable compromise amid his personal opposition to same-sex nuptials.

UNDER FIRE—New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie answers a question in Trenton, N.J., Jan. 25, about his statement that he will veto a bill being considered by the legislature to legalize gay marriage. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Newark Mayor Cory Booker said in separate forums that civil rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and don’t belong on the ballot.

ATLANTA (AP)—The owner of a small Jewish publication in Atlanta is resigning over a column he wrote suggesting Israel might consider a hit on President Barack Obama.

Interim editor John McCurdy said Monday that Andrew Adler is relinquishing his day-to-day duties at The Atlanta Jewish Times.

Adler wrote Jan. 13 that Obama’s assassination could be one of Israel’s options in preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons. He was roundly condemned by national and local Jewish groups after larger media outlets reported on his column.

Week of Feb. 4-10

February 4

1913—Civil rights heroine Rosa Parks is born on this day in Tuskegee, Ala. It was her refusal in December 1955 to give up her seat to a White man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus that sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement. For refusing to obey the laws of segregation, she was arrested and convicted. Montgomery Blacks responded with a boycott of city buses. A young minister named Martin Luther King Jr. was called upon to lead the boycott, which would last for nearly 13 months. The drama and accompanying legal challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court captivated the nation and propelled Dr. King into the national international spotlight as the nation’s premier civil rights leader. Mrs. Parks died in 2005 at 92.

ROSA PARKS