WASHINGTON (AP)—For young people who came of age in the recession, the American dream of life getting better for each new generation feels like a myth.

A majority expect to have a harder time buying a house and saving for retirement than their parents did. More than 4 in 10 predict it will be tougher to raise a family and afford the lifestyle they want, according to an Associated Press-Viacom poll of Americans ages 18 to 24.

Only about a fourth expect things to be easier for them than the previous generation—a cherished goal of many hardworking parents. High unemployment has left lots of young lives in limbo.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNPA)–In an act of civil disobedience, Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent C. Gray, and six members of the District’s City Council were arrested April 11 by the U.S. Capitol Police for protesting the highly publicized congressional budget deal. According to District officials, this budget violated the rights of the city’s residents to autonomy and self-determination.

Mayor Gray and the City Councilmembers were arrested for blocking Constitution Avenue, a major thoroughfare near the U.S. Senate office buildings. Throughout the ordeal, Gray encouraged all residents of the District of Columbia to stand up and take actions aimed at bringing about the end of this long-standing injustice against the District. He urged District residents to educate friends, family members and neighbors on the issues facing the nation’s Capital.

BLOCKING TRAFFIC—Shown here blocking Constitution Avenue prior to their arrest are Council Chairman Kwame Brown, Councilmember Michael Brown, Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Councilmember Tommy Wells and Councilmember Yvette Alexander. (NNPA Photo/Lateef Mangum)

Week of April 23-29

April 23

1856—One of the greatest inventors in American history, Granville T. Woods, is born in Columbus, Ohio. During his life he received 65 patents for electrical, mechanical and communications devices. Among his inventions was an advanced telephone transmitter. The transmitter was so advanced that the Alexander Graham Bell Company purchased the rights to it from Woods, both because it was superior to what Bell had invented and for fear that Woods might become a major rival to the Bell Company. At his height, the Cincinnati, Ohio Catholic Tribune (Jan. 14, 1886) wrote of Woods: “…the greatest colored inventor in the history of the race and equal, if not superior, to any inventor in the country…”

GRANVILLE T. WOODS

CHESTER, Pa. (AP)—Shots rang out in a suburban Philadelphia social hall where a teenage party was being held, killing two people and sending eight others to hospitals, authorities said Saturday.

Police in Chester, where a state of emergency was declared last summer because of crime concerns, said a suspect was taken into custody after officers were called to the Minaret Temple No. 174 around 11:30 p.m. Friday and found “numerous victims.”

THE CARNAGE CONTINUES—Israel Laboy, father of Robel Laboy who was shot and killed Friday night, is comforted by family members at a candlelight vigil at Fourth and Ward streets, April 9, in Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Delaware County Daily Times, Eric Hartline)

Police said nine people were transported to Crozer Chester Medical Center, where a spokesman said one died soon afterward and another died Saturday afternoon. Four other victims remained in stable condition, and three had been discharged, the spokesman said. A 10th person was treated at Taylor Hospital and was released.