NEW YORK (AP)—There’s a new author in the White House: Michelle Obama.

The first lady has signed with the Crown Publishing Group for a book about healthy eating and the garden she started on the South Lawn of the White House. The book, currently untitled, is scheduled to come out in April 2012. Crown announced Wednesday that Obama received no advance and will donate all proceeds to a charity or charities to be determined.

FIRST GARDENER—First Lady Michelle Obama talks with her gardening partner as she participates in the third planting of the White House kitchen garden with local school children at the White House, March 16, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)

The first lady has been an advocate for locally grown food and last year started an anti-obesity campaign, “Let’s Move!”

(AP)—Diet Coke has topped rival Pepsi-Cola for the first time to become the second-most popular soft drink in the country behind Coca-Cola.

It marks a victory for Coca-Cola Co. as its sodas now hold the top two rankings, beating out its rival PepsiCo Inc.

A study by Beverage Digest released March 17 found that Coca-Cola sold nearly 927 million cases of the diet soda in 2010. PepsiCo sold roughly 892 million cases of Pepsi.

Sales of soft drinks in the U.S. have fallen for six straight years as consumers cut back on spending and switched to healthier alternatives. While both Diet Coke and Pepsi’s sold less soda, Pepsi’s fell more.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP)—An Oregon school bus driver fired after he refused to remove a Confederate battle flag from his pickup truck has filed a federal lawsuit to get his job back.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Medford on March 16 against First Student Inc., the school bus contractor that fired Ken Webber earlier this month.

FIRED FROM JOB—This March 2, 2011 file photo shows school bus driver Ken Webber, 28, at his home in Medford, Ore. (AP Photo/The Medford Mail Tribune, Bob Pennell)

The lawsuit claims Webber’s First Amendment rights to free speech were violated, and demands he be reinstated with back pay.

Webber has said that the flag—emblazoned with the word “Redneck”—is an expression of his cultural identity, and in no way a statement of racism or political beliefs.

The superintendent of the Phoenix-Talent School District had demanded the flag be removed from the bus yard, which is on school property, because it violated a policy about displaying symbols that could be offensive to minorities.

Week of March 26-April 1

March 26

1831—The founder of the AME Church, Richard Allen, dies at age 71 in Philadelphia, Pa. As its first bishop, Allen set the African Methodist Episcopal Church on the path to becoming the first Black religious denomination in America to be fully independent of white control. He, in effect, chartered a separate religious identity for African-Americans. He also founded schools throughout the nation to teach Blacks. This includes Allen University in Columbia, S.C.

RICHARD ALLEN