Farai Chideya scans the day's headlines for news affecting black life and culture. Tuesday's headlines include allegations of discrimination at MIT, and the trial of a man accused of participating in two civil rights-era murders.

Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) has been indicted on 16 corruption-related counts, ranging from bribery and money laundering to obstruction of justice. Bruce Alpert covered Jefferson's indictment for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and he talks to Farai Chideya about the latest developments.

Silas Lee is a pollster and runs his own public-opinion research company in New Orleans. He talks to Farai Chideya about Louisiana voters and their support for indicted Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), as well as the pressure the case puts on Democratic congressional leaders.

Gwen Thompkins and Farai Chideya discuss the latest news from Africa, including recent U.S. sanctions against Sudan, and an assassination attempt on the life of Somalia's transitional prime minister.

A lawsuit has been filed against the ex-President of Mauritania, a small country on Africa's northwestern coast. The suit alleges Mauritania's Arab government once perpetrated a campaign of ethnic cleansing against its black African residents. Abda Wone, a plaintiff in the class action case, and Wesley O'Brien, attorney and General Counsel of the Refugee Defense Alliance, talk to Farai Chideya about race and justice in Mauritania.

Aisha Conteh lives in Central California, but she's on a mission to save the hospital her father built a continent and an ocean away in Sierra Leone 45 years ago. She talks to Farai Chideya about her father and her own efforts to continue his work.

Somi is a jazz singer whose music fuses African and African-American musical traditions. She talks with Farai Chideya about her twinned roots in Rwandan, Uganda and Champaign, Ill.