Morning Buzz: March 21, 2008

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former Democratic presidential candidate himself, will endorse Barack Obama for president today. In a statement released on Thursday, Richardson wrote: "I believe [Obama] is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world."

Chinese forces are continuing to expand their crackdown on Tibetan rioters. Earlier today the government dispatched air and ground forces to various regions in western China, attempting to reassert control over areas believed sympathetic to the protesters. In India, meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with the Dalai Lama, whom Chinese authorities have blamed for the riots.

In a decision that promises to make hundreds of Starbucks baristas even perkier, a California court yesterday ordered the coffee giant to pay $100 million of back tips and interest to Golden State baristas. The case was brought in 2004 by a barista who claimed that shift supervisors, in violation of state law, were taking a portion of employees' tips for themselves.