NPR's Tony Cox runs through the day's headlines, including last night's Democratic presidential debate at Howard University.
TONY COX, host: From NPR News, this is NEWS & NOTES. I'm Tony Cox in for Farai Chideya.</s>TONY COX, host: Happy Friday. I hope the week's treated you well.</s>TONY COX, host: And I think we've got a nice show to send you into the weekend. In just a moment, we'll have a one-on-one with presidential candidate John Edwards.</s>TONY COX, host: And later, an interview you won't want to miss - lead singer and founder of the O'Jays, Eddie Levert talks about life after losing his son Gerald. They had just finished writing a book together the day before Gerald suddenly and tragically passed. We'll have that and more.</s>TONY COX, host: But first, we've got just one headline for you today, and it takes us across the country, from Oakland to Oklahoma, Chicago to Charlotte. I'm talking about race and the presidential race. Yesterday, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision restricting the use of race to determine what kids can attend what public schools. The ruling made headlines around the world.</s>TONY COX, host: And it coincided with the Democratic presidential debate last night that focused on issues important to black America. The forum was hosted by PBS and Tavis Smiley on the campus of Howard University.</s>TONY COX, host: Senator Hillary Clinton started things off, saying America has made great strides toward racial equality, but we've got quite a ways to go.</s>Senator HILLARY CLINTON (Democrat, New York; Presidential candidate): You could look at the opportunity gap, the cradle to prison superhighway that the Covenant talks about. And you can look at this decision today, which turned the clock back on the promise of Brown v. Board of Education.</s>TONY COX, host: Rarely, if ever, had the candidates discussed issues of race and the legacy of discrimination more candidly.</s>TONY COX, host: Former Senator John Edwards helped set the tone for the evening.</s>Mr. JOHN EDWARDS (Former Democratic Senator, North Carolina): Slavery followed by segregation, followed by discrimination has had an impact that still is alive and well in America. And it goes to every single heart of American life. We still have two public school systems in America, these two Americas that I've talked about in the past. Man, they are out there thriving every single day.</s>TONY COX, host: Again, that was John Edwards at last night's Democratic debate.