The new health care law that was signed on March 23 has been a much needed reform. According to the Census Bureau’s website, in 2008, 19.1 percent of African-Americans were without health insurance. And as the unemployment rate continues to rise, the percentage does as well. Rising health care costs have been labeled as a cause of bankruptcy among many Americans. Many feel that with this new law comes a new hope.

WASHINGTON (AP)—He kept coming back to the letters.

Perhaps nothing crystallized President Barack Obama’s determination to press forward on health care legislation more than the 10 letters he reads each day from ordinary Americans.

The letters became talismans for him: He carried them around. He recited their stories. He used them as rallying cries. (Or as props, as his critics saw it.)

And when at last it came time to sign the landmark health care bill, Obama still had them very much in mind.

(NNPA)—Many factors can increase the risk of developing cervical cancer. Cigarettes, for example, contain a laundry list of chemicals that have been proven to cause cancer. These chemicals move all throughout the body and the cervix is no exception.

Diet can also be a factor. Many fruits and vegetables have antioxidants and vitamins, which supply ammunition to the body to prevent cancer. A diet that is very low in fresh produce means you may miss protective phytochemicals.

WASHINGTON (NNPA) —It finally passed. The health care bill for which President Barack Obama has vehemently fought almost since Day One at the White House has finally passed both houses of Congress and was headed to his desk for his signature March 23.

HAPPY 11-YEAR-OLD— Marcellus Owens of Seattle, left, and others look on as President Barack Obama signs the heath care bill in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 23.

As Congressional Black Caucus Members celebrated the 219-212 vote, the president put the historic moment in perspective Sunday evening:

“Tonight, after nearly 100 years of talk and frustration, after decades of trying, and a year of sustained effort and debate, the United States Congress finally declared that America’s workers and America’s families and America’s small businesses deserve the security of knowing that here, in this country, neither illness nor accident should endanger the dreams they’ve worked a lifetime to achieve.”