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OUR NATION by Suzanne Gamboa

Lawmaker says GOP causing minority jobs tension

Black lawmakers are accusing Republicans of trying to "manufacture tension" between African-Americans and immigrants on jobs issues.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Boston schools hit with civil rights complaint

A coalition of lawyers and educators announced Monday it has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Boston public schools over a school closure plan it says discriminates against black and Latino students.

 
 
OUR NATION by Kathy Matheson

Educators seek out more minorities to study abroad

When Sade Adeyina's college roommate started bugging her about studying abroad together, she never thought she could afford a semester in Italy.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse Washington

Washington: the 'blackest name' in America

George Washington's name is inseparable from America, and not only from the nation's history. It identifies countless streets, buildings, mountains, bridges, monuments, cities — and people.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

Obama calls for investments in education, r&d

President Barack Obama says the U.S. must invest in research and development, science, and especially education — or risk seeing the technological breakthroughs of the future happen in some other country.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hope Yen

In a reversal, more blacks moving back to South

The Great Migration, the 60-year escape from segregation and racism that brought American blacks to the North, has reversed course. Better jobs and quality of life in the South are beckoning, as is the lure of something more intangible — a sense of home.

 
 
OUR NATION by Martin Crutsinger

Obama unveils $3.73 trillion budget for 2012

President Barack Obama is sending Congress a $3.73 trillion spending blueprint that pledges $1.1 trillion in deficit savings over the next decade through spending cuts and tax increases.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Kuhnhenn

Obama likens budget to family pocketbook choices

Portraying his fiscal choices as kitchen table budgeting, President Barack Obama says he is making difficult cuts to allow needed spending increases in education, technology and basic infrastructure like roads and bridges.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Mass. gov. considered resigning early in 1st term

Gov. Deval Patrick considered resigning just weeks after he was first elected in 2007 as his wife battled depression.

 
 
OUR NATION by Thomas J. Sheeran

2 arrested in fatal Ohio fraternity house shooting

Two men angry over a dispute at an Ohio fraternity house party left the gathering and returned early Sunday, spraying bullets into a crowd and killing a Youngstown State University student who was trying to separate two groups, authorities said. Eleven other people were injured, including a 17-year-old with a critical head wound.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

Obama says people who hate him don't know him

President Barack Obama says he doesn't take it personally when people say they hate him. And the thing he dislikes most about being president is the constant, intense scrutiny.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Alabama black faculty condemns use of racial slur

A group for black employees at the University of Alabama says it wants swift disciplinary action against a white student accused of using a racial slur toward a black student.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hope Yen

Census estimates show big gains for US minorities

U.S. racial minorities accounted for roughly 85 percent of the nation's population growth over the last decade — one of the largest shares ever — with Hispanics accounting for much of the gain in many of the states picking up new House seats.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Evans

Judge raises questions about Voting Rights Act

A federal judge on Wednesday questioned whether a key component of the landmark Voting Rights Act is outdated, expressing skepticism about using evidence of racial discrimination from 40 or 50 years ago to justify continued election monitoring for a group of mostly Southern states.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

New trial date for man charged in Katrina shooting

A federal judge has agreed to postpone a trial for a Mississippi man charged with firing a shotgun at three black men in New Orleans who were wounded in what prosecutors said was a racially motivated attack in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Espo

Senate Republicans lose vote on health law

A Republican drive to repeal the year-old health care law ended in party-line defeat in the Senate on Wednesday, leaving the Supreme Court to render a final, unpredictable verdict on an issue steeped in political and constitutional controversy.

 
 
OUR NATION by Holbrook Mohr

Small-town paper links ex-Klansman to 1964 killing

Arthur Leonard Spencer says sure, he made some mistakes back when he was a "snot-nose kid," like joining the Ku Klux Klan. But murder?

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Wake County town to host 1st King Day celebration

A Wake County town is holding its first tribute to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King on Sunday. The celebration comes just three years after the mayor outraged black leaders by saying he didn't want any more southeast Raleigh students at Garner schools.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dorie Turner

Duncan calls on black men to go into teaching

Education Secretary Arne Duncan and filmmaker Spike Lee are calling for more black men to become teachers.

 
 
OUR NATION

First lady: Army health initiative may be a model

First lady Michelle Obama said Thursday that the military's push to turn recruits into health-conscious warriors could be a model for making people across the U.S. more focused on fitness and nutrition.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Social Security fund will be drained by 2037

Social Security's finances are getting worse as the economy struggles to recover and millions of baby boomers stand at the brink of retirement.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alex Veiga

Foreclosure activity up across most US metro areas

The foreclosure crisis is getting worse as high unemployment and lackluster job prospects force homeowners in an increasing number of U.S. metropolitan areas into dire financial straits.

 
 
OUR NATION

State of the Union stirs current of hope, doubt

Some craved words of comfort and a strong signal that the many promises made since a gunman's rampage stunned the nation just might, in fact, be kept.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Police: Baby taken at gunpoint by wanted Ark dad

Little Rock police say a man wanted for murder has kidnapped his infant son at gunpoint.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Official: Obama to call for 5-year spending freeze

A White House official says President Barack Obama will call for a five-year freeze in non-security, discretionary spending during his State of the Union address.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Neumeister

NC woman who raised NY baby faces kidnap charges

A North Carolina woman who raised a child snatched from a New York hospital more than two decades ago was scheduled to appear Monday in federal court to face kidnapping charges.

 
 
OUR NATION by Corey Williams

Gunman shoots 4 officers inside Detroit precinct

A gunman opened fire inside a Detroit police precinct on Sunday, wounding four officers including a commander before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mitch Stacy and Tamara Lush

Police: Man kills 2 Fla. officers in firefight

A man hiding in the attic of a home sparked an intense firefight with authorities trying to arrest him on a warrant Monday morning, killing two officers and wounding a deputy U.S. Marshal, police said.

 
 
OUR NATION by Don Babwin

Oprah Winfrey finds sister she didn't know she had

Oprah Winfrey recently learned she has a half-sister — a Milwaukee woman who was put up for adoption by Winfrey's mother nearly 50 years ago.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Woman who helped integrate Memphis State dies

A classmate of Sammie Burnett Johnson, one of the eight black students who marched onto the Memphis State campus in 1959 to integrate the school, is lamenting that there is now a "missing link" in their group.

 
 
OUR NATION by Danny Robbins

Unindicted Texas student: Pledge death 'my fault'

A Texas college student who wasn't indicted last year for his role in the hazing death of a fraternity pledge tearfully told police two days after the incident that he was responsible for the death, according to an audio tape obtained by The Associated Press.

 
 
OUR NATION by Errin Haines

MLK daughter's exit leaves SCLC's future in doubt

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by the giants of the American civil rights movement, has spent years in decline and power struggles. Now the once-proud organization faces what might be a final blow with the refusal of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter to take the helm.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Evans

Democrat urges Obama to target minority hardships

The top-ranking African-American in Congress called on President Barack Obama Friday to sharpen his focus on hard-hit minority communities in his plans for bolstering the economy.

 
 
OUR NATION by Colleen Long

Woman kidnapped in 1987 reunites with NY family

A woman stolen as an infant from a hospital crib two decades ago spent Thursday at a Manhattan hotel with her long-lost mother as investigators sought the evidence they need to identify and arrest her kidnapper.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ray Henry

MLK III: AZ shootings underscore father's message

One of the sons of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. said Saturday evening that the Arizona shootings that claimed six lives and left a congresswoman critically wounded show his father's work must continue.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Group: Oldest living African-American dies at 113

When she turned 113, Mississippi Winn could still stand up on her own and never thought her age was a detriment to her life.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Blacks now leaving for Memphis suburbs

It used to be "white flight" to the Memphis suburbs, but now it's blacks who are moving.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Obama's education focus faces big hurdles

Signs of trouble are arising for President Barack Obama's plan to put education overhaul at the forefront of his agenda as he adjusts to the new reality of a divided government.

 
 
OUR NATION by Liz Sidoti

Short-lived celebration for new RNC chairman?

The new Republican Party chairman's celebration may be short-lived.

 
 
OUR NATION by Liz Sidoti

GOP chief Michael Steele fights for second term

Will he be fired or not?

 
 
OUR NATION

Obama urges nation to honor youngest Ariz. victim

President Obama exhorted Americans to refrain from partisan bickering and urged the country to embrace the idealistic vision of democracy held by 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, the youngest Arizona shooting victim and an aspiring politician who is set to be buried Thursday in the first of half-a-dozen funerals.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama: Dems, GOP must cooperate in new year

President Barack Obama says Democrats and Republicans must work together in the new year and share responsibility for moving the country forward.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama to be nation's consoler at memorial service

Searching for unity out of tragedy, President Barack Obama will honor the victims of the Arizona mass shooting in personal terms and remind those in grief that an entire nation is with them. The president is again stepping into his role as national consoler, a test of leadership that comes with the job.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

FDA helps states get execution drug

The Food and Drug Administration, which has long maintained that it has nothing to do with drugs used in executions, has quietly helped Arizona and California obtain a scarce type of anesthetic so the states could continue putting inmates to death.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse Washington

For minorities, new 'digital divide' seen

When the personal computer revolution began decades ago, Latinos and blacks were much less likely to use one of the marvelous new machines. Then, when the Internet began to change life as we know it, these groups had less access to the Web and slower online connections placing them on the wrong side of the "digital divide."

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Police: Ga. woman accused in child support scam

Police say a Georgia woman used a friend's baby to collect more than $1,600 in child support from an ex-boyfriend after she convinced him the child was his.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Home association: Mayweather won't follow rules

A Las Vegas homeowner association wants a judge to force Floyd Mayweather Jr. to follow its rules and to order the boxing champion to stop threatening its employees.

 
 
OUR NATION by Holbrook Mohr

Sisters who will share kidney released from prison

Two sisters whose life sentences were suspended on the condition that one donate a kidney to the other were released from a Mississippi prison on Friday after serving 16 years for an armed robbery.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Withers

Homeless man's voice prompts job offers

With a deep, refined voice, Ted Williams simply asked for help to get off the streets.

 
 
OUR NATION by Holbrook Mohr

Sisters to be freed on pledge of kidney donation

Two Mississippi sisters, whose life sentences for armed robbery were suspended last week on the condition that one donate a kidney to the other, will be released from prison Friday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Evans

Black caucus swears in first GOP member in years

The liberal Congressional Black Caucus has sworn in its first Republican member in more than a decade, welcoming newly elected congressman Allen West of Florida at a ceremony Wednesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Laurie Kellman

Taking the House, GOP primes for fight with Obama

Republicans were poised Wednesday to seize control of the House after four years in the minority, vowing to use their clout to battle President Barack Obama on health care, spending, taxes and other issues.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama signs Sept. 11 first responders bill

President Barack Obama said Sunday he was honored to sign a bill to provide aid to survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks and first responders who became ill working in the ruins at the World Trade Center.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama signs Sept. 11 first responders bill

President Barack Obama said Sunday he was honored to sign a bill to provide aid to survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks and first responders who became ill working in the ruins at the World Trade Center.

 
 
OUR NATION by Kevin McGill

8 killed in fire in abandoned New Orleans building

The deadliest city blaze in decades killed eight homeless squatters who were burning debris in an abandoned warehouse to stay warm Tuesday, authorities said.

 
 
OUR NATION by Holbrook Mohr

Sister's kidney donation condition of Miss. parole

For 16 years, sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott have shared a life behind bars for their part in an $11 armed robbery. To share freedom, they must also share a kidney.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jennifer Kay

Family: 5 dead in Fla. motel were like brothers

Five young men who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a South Florida motel room were constant companions who acted like brothers and even went shoe shopping together before Christmas so they all would have the same pair, relatives said Tuesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Bluestein

Police fatalities jump 37 percent in 2010

Two officers in a remote Alaska town were ambushed as they chatted on a street. A California officer and deputy were killed by an arson suspect with a high-powered rifle as they tried to serve a warrant. Two other officers doing anti-drug work were gunned down by men along a busy Arkansas highway.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama caps Christmas by visiting US troops

President Barack Obama capped a quiet Christmas Saturday with a surprise visit to a Marine base to thank U.S. troops for the sacrifices they've made, including being away from their families at the holidays.

 
 
OUR NATION by Russell Contreras

Black Harvard doctor pens memoir of Jim Crow South

Growing up in segregated Memphis, Tenn., during the Jim Crow era, Augustus White III knew about those certain places off-limits to him as a black man — restrooms, diners and schools.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama hoping for low-profile Hawaiian vacation

A politically rejuvenated President Barack Obama arrived here late Wednesday for an 11-day family vacation in his home state.

 
 
OUR NATION by Pauline Jelinek

Obama signs 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal

President Barack Obama signed a landmark law Wednesday repealing the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military, fulfilling one of his major campaign pledges and casting the issue as a matter of civil rights long denied.

 
 
OUR NATION by Martin Crutsinger

Soon the government check won't be in the mail

Before too long, the government check will no longer be in the mail.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lolita C. Baldor

Military will write the rules on repeal of gay ban

No public displays of affection. No separate bathrooms. No harassment and no special treatment.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse J. Holland

US executions drop by 12 percent in 2010

The number of executions in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2010, and the number of people sentenced to die is nearing historic lows, a report from an anti-capital punishment group says.

 
 
OUR NATION

23 percent can't pass military exam

Nearly one-fourth of the students who try to join the military fail its entrance exam, painting a grim picture of an education system that produces graduates who can't answer basic math, science and reading questions.

 
 
OUR NATION by Robert Burns

Gay ban repealed, but restrictions remain

While President Barack Obama this week is expected to clear the way for gays to serve openly in the military, the new law won't go into effect immediately and unanswered questions remain: How soon will the new policy be implemented, will it be accepted by the troops and could it hamper the military in Afghanistan and Iraq?

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Aretha Franklin goes home for the holidays

Aretha Franklin is home from the hospital — and she's already making plans for the holidays.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Groups: Blacks unfairly cited on Ohio bus line

Civil rights groups say black riders on a Cleveland bus line are unfairly feeling the brunt of an effort against people who don't pay the fare.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama says he shares mission with business leaders

President Barack Obama and 20 business leaders worked through lunch Wednesday on ways to boost anemic U.S. job creation and improve their own testy relations amid rising anxiety over the slow economic recovery.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Long legal fight ahead for health law

The scorecard on the legal fight over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is two judges in favor and one against.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century

America's neighborhoods became more integrated last year than during any time in at least a century as a rising black middle class moved into fast-growing white areas in the South and West.

 
 
OUR NATION by Liz Sidoti

GOP chairman Steele running for re-election

Embattled GOP Republican Party chairman Michael Steele announced Monday that he will seek a second term despite a rocky two years marked by allegations of financial mismanagement and frequent verbal gaffes.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Events planned for Ala. bus boycott anniversary

Montgomery organizations have planned a week of events to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the 1955 bus boycott that played a key role in the civil rights movement.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Lucky fan to dine with Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe

Basketball great Earl "The Pearl" Monroe is challenging restaurants across the country to make menu items more diabetes-friendly.

 
 
OUR NATION

Borrowers wait for lower mortgage rates and lose

Homeowners who delayed locking in super-low mortgage rates — think close to 4 percent for a 30-year fixed — may have waited too long.

 
 
OUR NATION by Thomas Watkins

Gang moms and dads sent to parenting classes

It's a Saturday morning and a half-dozen adults are sitting in a high school classroom, staring at grim photos of sickly drug addicts and hearing about the deadly consequences of gang crime. They'd rather not be here, but a judge made them come.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Baseball great Jenkins gets his own stamp

Baseball Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins is getting his own stamp for his 68th birthday.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

JSU's NAACP chapter has first white president

The president of the Mississippi NAACP says the selection of a white man to lead one of the organization's chapters shows its real mission to represent more than one race.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dena Potter

Feds: Va. Tech broke law in '07 shooting response

Federal education officials have found Virginia Tech broke the law when it waited two hours to warn the campus that a gunman was on the loose, too late to save 30 students and faculty who went to class and were killed in the 2007 rampage.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Obama predicts tax bill passage, possible changes

President Barack Obama is predicting congressional approval of the tax-cutting compromise he has reached with Republican leaders, but he's not ruling out that unhappy Democrats will make some changes in the mammoth legislation.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Cousin: Aretha Franklin set for hospital release

Aretha Franklin's cousin says the ailing legendary singer is "doing better than doctors expected" and expects to be released from the hospital this weekend.

 
 
OUR NATION

HUD investigates lenders' fair-housing practices

Federal officials launched an investigation Wednesday to determine whether 22 mortgage lenders have been discriminating against qualified African-American and Latino borrowers by denying them government-insured loans.

 
 
OUR NATION by Rhonda Gillespie

Impoverished students at New Orleans school rising above the storm

When you extend your hand to shake Mary Haynes-Smith’s the veteran elementary school principal instead pulls you in for a hug. It’s the kind of warmth that she has also embraced her Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School with.

 
 
OUR NATION by Rhonda Gillespie

Federal education official talks schools

The U.S. Department of Education, headed by former Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan, has poured some $4.8 billion – and counting – into addressing poorly performing schools around the nation and has set on a course to promote turnarounds at schools deemed to be “dropout farms.”

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Obama facing tough sell in own party on tax deal

In a role reversal, President Barack Obama now has to lobby fellow Democrats to vote for a bill he considers crucial — legislation that would retain existing tax rates for the middle class and stretch the safety net for the jobless.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Householder

Jackson: Aretha Franklin 'recovering very well'

The Rev. Jesse Jackson says he's visited with Aretha Franklin four or five times recently and says the legendary singer is "recovering very well" from surgery.

 
 
OUR NATION by Charles Babington

Republicans achieve top goal in Obama tax-cut plan

Republicans control neither the House nor the Senate — and certainly not the White House. But they largely dictated the terms of President Barack Obama's proposed tax-cut compromise, which disgruntled congressional Democrats want to discuss in closed meetings that are likely to be rowdy.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

UPS to require photo IDs for shipping packages

UPS is now requiring photo identification from customers shipping packages at retail locations around the world, a month after explosives made its way on to one of the company's planes.

 
 
OUR NATION by Antonio Gonzalez

Study: Grad rates between blacks, whites widening

The disparity between graduation rates for white and black players at schools headed to bowl games grew again this year even as overall academic progress increased for both, a study released Monday found.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

DA says OJ Simpson case doesn't merit rehearing

Prosecutors are urging the Nevada Supreme Court to deny O.J. Simpson a rehearing of the appeal of the former football star's armed robbery and kidnapping conviction.

 
 
OUR NATION by Brett Zongker

Winfrey, McCartney join top Kennedy Center artists

Oprah Winfrey has come a long way since her childhood years in a Mississippi shack and in public housing with a poster of The Beatles on her bedroom wall. Sunday, she was honored with Paul McCartney, one of the Beatles she so loved.

 
 
OUR NATION by Verena Dobnik

Censured Rep. Rangel says he still loves Congress

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel returned to his home turf in the city's Harlem neighborhood on Saturday, saying he still loves Congress — despite a showdown with colleagues over ethics violations that led to his censure by the House.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Rights commission raps DOJ over Black Panther case

The conservative-dominated U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has published a report criticizing the Justice Department for its handling of voting rights accusations against the New Black Panther Party.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Gormley

Paterson calls treatment as NY's gov 'cruel'

That late July afternoon in 2008 television screens throughout New York snapped to the image of a stern Gov. David Paterson in an unprecedented statewide address.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ken Thomas

Rearview cameras could become more common in cars

Rearview cameras could become more common in future cars and trucks under rules proposed by the government Friday to address concerns about drivers unintentionally backing over children.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama to sign historic settlement to black farmers

Decades-old claims from African American farmers and native Americans that the government mistreated and swindled them out of billions of dollars can finally be settled starting Wednesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Breen

NAACP: NC county is example of US school problem

The country's most prominent civil rights group has come to Raleigh to draw attention to what it calls a growing erosion of the gains made since a 1954 Supreme Court decision made segregated schools illegal.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Taylor

Deficit-cutting plan wins more support before vote

Defying expectations, a bipartisan majority of President Barack Obama's deficit commission has rallied behind the panel's controversial deficit-slashing proposals.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Taylor

Deficit-cutting plan wins more support before vote

Defying expectations, a bipartisan majority of President Barack Obama's deficit commission has rallied behind the panel's controversial deficit-slashing proposals.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Rangel has swagger back after House censure

Charles Rangel has his swagger back, but not his power.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Censure almost certain as Rangel ethics case ends

Rep. Charles Rangel faces an almost certain censure by the House, a devastating defeat for a 40-year veteran who insisted to the end that he never meant to violate House rules.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Prayer vigil held for ailing Aretha Franklin

A community prayer vigil has been held in Detroit for Aretha Franklin, a day before organizers say the singing legend is to undergo a medical procedure.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Lawmakers stand firm on taxes as talks start

Democrats and Republicans are working to reach a deal to extend Bush-era tax cuts that expire at the end of the year, but neither side is budging as negotiations begin in earnest.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Suhr

Activist pastor: Funeral home gunfire 'disturbing'

Eleven days after being gunned down near an alley, David Davis didn't get a traditional funeral procession of family and friends. After bullets began flying outside the mortuary during his service, killing two men and critically injuring another, the 27-year-old father of three went to his grave with just the undertakers and the police who escorted his hearse present.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Breen

2 million lose jobless benefits as holidays arrive

Extended unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans begin to run out Wednesday, cutting off a steady stream of income and guaranteeing a dismal holiday season for people already struggling with bills they cannot pay.

 
 
OUR NATION

Black lawmakers pledge to fight on redistricting

The outgoing head of the National Black Conference of State Legislators says redistricting will be a "major, major issue" after the midterm elections in which Republicans made big gains.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Philly bar settles suit alleging discrimination

A popular Philadelphia pub has settled a lawsuit filed by one of its bartenders who claimed it discouraged nonwhite customers from visiting.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Evans

House clears Indian, black farmer settlements

American Indian landowners and black farmers who for years have waited for Washington to address their claims of government mistreatment won a hard-fought victory Tuesday as Congress cleared legislation to pay the groups $4.6 billion to settle a pair of historic class-action lawsuits.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Flaherty

Pentagon study dismisses risk of gay troops

A Pentagon study on gays in the military has determined that overturning the law known as "don't ask, don't tell" might cause some disruption at first but would not create any widespread or long-lasting problems.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

White man used black mask in Ohio robberies

Prosecutors say a white man who pleaded guilty to six southwest Ohio robberies used a black mask so lifelike that police initially arrested a black man for one of the crimes.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Borders to offer $15 gift cards for public schools

The much discussed documentary "Waiting for Superman," which offers a harsh portrait of the country's public schools, has inspired a promotional collaboration among the Borders Group superstore chain, an education fundraiser and the publisher of the movie's companion book.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ex-Sec. of State Rice to speak at Harvard

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to give a series of lectures at Harvard University.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Plan for African-American cemetery in suburban NY

Community leaders in a suburb north of New York City plan to inventory grave sites and repair headstones at a noteworthy African-American cemetery where several black veterans are buried.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Probe sought in racial bias claim at Boston club

A Boston city councilor is calling for an investigation after a group of Harvard and Yale black students and alumni were denied entry to a downtown club over concerns they would attract criminals.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Flaherty

Troops buck historical trend by saying gays OK

When a majority of troops told the Pentagon this summer they didn't care if gays were allowed to serve openly in the military, it was in sharp contrast to the time when America's fighting forces voiced bitter opposition to accepting racial minorities and women in the services.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

12 stitches for Obama after errant elbow in hoops

President Barack Obama needed 12 stitches in his lip after taking an errant elbow during a pickup basketball game Friday with a group of family and friends visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday, the White House said.

 
 
OUR NATION

Free HIV tests for fans at Bayou Classic

Louisiana's health department says Bayou Classic fans can get free tests for the AIDS virus.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Rangel could be 23rd House member to be censured

One of Congress' most likable veterans, Rep. Charles Rangel, would become the 23rd House member in the nation's history to be censured if the House goes along with a recommendation of its ethics committee.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black beach survey: Open road to N. Myrtle Beach

A new survey shows most property owners in predominantly black Atlantic Beach favor opening Ocean Boulevard connections to neighboring North Myrtle Beach.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Cleaver chosen to lead Congressional Black Caucus

Kansas City-area Congressman Emanuel Cleaver has been elected the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Kunzelman

Witness: Officer laughed after burning man's body

A New Orleans police officer was laughing after he burned the body of a man who had been gunned down by police in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, a fellow officer testified Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Ethics chief counsel recommends censure for Rangel

The House ethics committee's chief counsel recommended Thursday that veteran Rep. Charles Rangel be censured for financial and fundraising misconduct as lawmakers neared closure on an embarrassing 2½-year-long scandal.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Ex-President Bush, Maya Angelou awarded top honor

President George H.W. Bush, poet Maya Angelou and investor Warren Buffett are among the 2010 winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

 
 
OUR NATION by Errin Haines

Civil rights icon Lewis to get Medal of Freedom

John Lewis was born the son of southern sharecroppers, was unable to vote as a young man and was beaten during the struggle to end racial segregation in America.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hope Yen

Four in 10 say marriage is becoming obsolete

Is marriage becoming obsolete?

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

AP Exclusive: Raising retirement age hurts poor

Raising the retirement age for Social Security would disproportionately hurt low-income workers and minorities, and increase disability claims by older people unable to work, government auditors told Congress.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christine Armario

12th grade students still below '92 reading scores

A national education assessment released Thursday shows that high school seniors have made some improvement in reading, but remain below the achievement levels reached nearly two decades ago.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Voter registration champion Brayboy dies at 92

Ella Mae Brayboy, a lifelong activist who worked during the civil rights movement to register thousands of black voters, has died.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Axelrod starts Obama's re-election work next year

Top Obama administration adviser David Axelrod says he will leave the White House in the first half of next year to begin the president's re-election campaign.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ga. workers to try to find possible slave cemetery

City officials have hired a company to use ground-penetrating radar to find a possible slave cemetery.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Civil rights institute lauds US Rep. James Clyburn

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has presented its highest honor to U.S. Rep. James Clyburn.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Rangel says he needs lawyer, walks out of trial

Denied his plea for a delay, Rep. Charles Rangel walked out of his ethics trial Monday, leaving the ethics committee's top lawyer to cite Rangel's past statements in arguing that the 20-term New York Democrat violated House rules.

 
 
OUR NATION

Smithsonian museum stages exhibit on Gullah speech

Words like "gumbo" and "chigger" have roots in African words long ago, but those connections might have been lost if not for one of the first black linguists.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

First black Citadel football player returns

The first black cadet to play football at The Citadel is returning to campus.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Father sues district over reading about slavery

The father of a black student has sued a Detroit-area school district claiming that his daughter was racially harassed by a fifth-grade teacher's reading aloud from a book about slavery.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lucas L. Johnson II

Alumni call for resignation of Fisk president

A small group of Fisk University alumni have signed a letter requesting the resignation of president Hazel O'Leary in part because of her role in the school's efforts to sell the Alfred Stieglitz art collection.

 
 
OUR NATION by Danny Robbins

Grand jury declines to indict in hazing incident

A grand jury has declined to indict a fraternity member linked to the hazing death of a Prairie View A&M student last year, a prosecutor who presented the case said Wednesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Bauder

George W. Bush says he forgives Kanye West

Kanye West now says he "didn't have the grounds" to call George W. Bush a racist, and the former president said Wednesday that he appreciates the rapper's regret.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

UGA to mark 50th anniversary of desegregation

The University of Georgia will mark the 50th anniversary of its desegregation with a series of events, including a reception honoring the first black students to enroll there.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Justice sought for 1923 Mo. lynching victim

Columbia community leaders are working to correct the record in the 1923 lynching of a black University of Missouri janitor accused of raping a white professor's daughter.

 
 
OUR NATION

OJ Simpson's legal team gets more time for appeal

The Nevada Supreme Court has agreed to give attorneys representing former football star O.J. Simpson more time to try to overturn his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction.

 
 
OUR NATION by Maryclaire Dale

Mumia Abu-Jamal lawyer quits on eve of key hearing

The lead lawyer for celebrated death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal has quit the case days before a key appeals court hearing, amid a rift with his famous client over strategy.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Civil War veteran to get long overdue grave marker

A marker finally will be placed Thursday on the grave of a black Civil War veteran who lay in an unmarked Ohio grave for nearly a century.

 
 
OUR NATION by Laurie Kellman

Black caucus gives Clyburn nod in Dem race

The chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus said Monday that Rep. James Clyburn, the highest ranking African-American in the House Democratic leadership, should be the vanquished party's second in command in the next Congress.

 
 
OUR NATION

Mayweather due in Vegas court on domestic charge

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is expected in a Las Vegas court for a criminal arraignment after prosecutors say he hit the mother of his children and threatened to beat his sons if they called 911 during the scuffle.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama acknowledges his message didn't get through

President Barack Obama is acknowledging in the wake of this week's election rout that he hasn't been able to successfully promote his economic-rescue message to anxious Americans.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Harvard tries to diversify portraits on campus

Harvard University is presenting a new face to the world.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Hearing in Mumia Abu-Jamal case set for Tuesday

A federal appeals court is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday on the death sentence imposed on Mumia Abu-Jamal in the 1981 murder of a Philadelphia police officer.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Clyburn to run for No. 2 in House Dem leadership

Democratic Rep. James Clyburn says he's seeking the No. 2 job in the House Democratic leadership, setting up a possible showdown with the current second in command, Steny Hoyer.

 
 
OUR NATION by Joelle Tessler

Broadband usage growing even as gaps persist

The U.S. still faces a significant gap in residential broadband use that breaks down along incomes, education levels and other socio-economic factors, even as subscriptions among American households overall grew sevenfold between 2001 and 2009.

 
 
OUR NATION by Thomas Watkins

Boy's killing harkens back to troubled times in LA

Arms flexed in a muscleman pose, Aaron Shannon Jr. was getting ready for a Halloween party while his grandfather snapped photos of him in a Spiderman costume.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse Washington

Blacks struggle with 72 percent unwed mothers rate

One recent day at Dr. Natalie Carroll's OB-GYN practice, located inside a low-income apartment complex tucked between a gas station and a freeway, 12 pregnant black women come for consultations. Some bring their children or their mothers. Only one brings a husband.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Risling

White ex-officer's sentence spurs Oakland protest

Police made more than 150 arrests as a crowd broke windows and knocked down fences, protesting a Los Angeles court decision to sentence a white former transit officer to the minimum term for fatally shooting an unarmed black man.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Risling and Terry Collins

Judge has tough call in Calif transit killing case

For nearly two years, the families of Oscar Grant and Johannes Mehserle have agonized over a fatal shooting caught on video that enflamed racial tensions and led to rioting and unrest in Oakland.

 
 
OUR NATION by Patrick Walters

ACLU sues over 'stop and frisk' searches in Philly

A civil liberties group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday challenging the use of "stop and frisk" searches by Philadelphia police, alleging that the policy is violating the rights of blacks and Latinos who have done nothing wrong.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black vets names to be added to Natchez plaques

The federal government says the names of 581 black World War I veterans are missing from bronze plaques hanging outside the courthouse in Natchez.

 
 
OUR NATION by Glen Johnson

Patrick picks state's first black chief justice

Deval Patrick, the first black governor of Massachusetts, on Thursday nominated Roderick L. Ireland to be the first African-American chief justice of the state's Supreme Judicial Court.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

WVU project expands memorial to black WWI soldiers

An interactive exhibit and website honoring black World War I soldiers from West Virginia's southern coalfields will debut Veterans Day.

 
 
OUR NATION by Marjorie Valbrun, America's Wire

Black males missing from college campuses

Walk the campuses of many black colleges, and you are bound to notice young female students strolling and talking, clusters of women having lunch together, classrooms filled mostly with women. It’s impossible to miss the dearth of male students and not worry about that.

 
 
OUR NATION by Elaine Ganley

Germany: Obama too strong a leader to be deterred

President Barack Obama is too strong a leader to be deterred by his party's setbacks in the U.S. midterm election, Germany's foreign minister said Wednesday, but there was some concern that Democratic losses in Congress could affect Obama's nuclear disarmament plans.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama challenges Cabinet, sets bipartisan talks

President Barack Obama sought Thursday to retake the political initiative after a bruising election, inviting Republican and Democratic congressional leaders for talks and challenging his Cabinet to make Washington work better.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse Washington and Laura Wides-Munoz

Latinos, blacks ride GOP wave to major wins

Republican Hispanic lawmakers had a groundbreaking year in the 2010 midterm elections, picking up two governor posts — the first ever for a Latina — while holding onto a U.S. Senate seat and adding several congressional seats.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lisa Leff and Marcus Wohlsen

Pot activists vow to push legalization in 2012

It seemed an easy sell in California: The state that gave us medical marijuana would allow pot for recreation.

 
 
OUR NATION by Kenneth J. Cooper, America's Wire

States Easing Restrictions Against Ex-Convicts

States across the country are passing laws intended to make ex-offenders more likely to find jobs and, as a result, less prone to commit crime again. Behind the legislative trend is an unusual combination of budget-conscious officials seeking to trim prison populations and activists opposing “structural discrimination” against applicants with criminal records.

 
 
OUR NATION by Calvin Woodward

Republicans ride voter unrest to control of House

Seizing control of the House and gaining strength in the Senate, triumphant Republicans ushered in a new era of divided government Wednesday and served notice they will confront President Barack Obama with a conservative agenda to cut government and spur private-sector jobs.

 
 
OUR NATION

Obama pal Patrick wins re-election as Mass. gov.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick bucked the anti-incumbent, pro-Republican trend and won a second term Tuesday with the help of some of the political advisers who hope to do the same in two years for his friend President Barack Obama.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Espo

Tea time: GOP nears House control, piling up wins

Republicans marched confidently to the brink of House control Tuesday night in midterm elections shadowed by recession, promising a conservative majority certain to challenge President Barack Obama at virtually every turn. The GOP gained Senate seats, as well, but a takeover there appeared out of reach.

 
 
OUR NATION by Russ Bynum

Desegregation offers lessons for gay troops debate

Thomas J. Woods joined the military after graduating from an all-black high school in 1950, when Jim Crow laws forced him to the back of buses and Savannah shop clerks would greet him with a surly, "What you want, boy?"

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black diners say Steak 'n Shake didn't seat them

A black family from Detroit has filed a federal lawsuit accusing employees at a Steak 'n Shake restaurant in Anderson of denying them service because of their race.

 
 
OUR NATION by Errin Haines

With images of civil rights, blacks urged to vote

On the Sunday before Election Day, preachers told black churchgoers across the country to get out and vote — and defy predictions that they'll be complacent or uninterested in a year that President Barack Obama isn't on the ballot.

 
 
OUR NATION by Brett Zongker

DC-area gunman may have grievance against Marines

A gunman who fired shots at a Washington-area Marine Corps museum and is believed to be responsible for three similar incidents may have a grievance against the U.S. Marine Corps, the FBI said Friday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Fitzgerald

Lawyer: 'No offer on table' for NFL great Taylor

Lawrence Taylor's lawyer said Thursday that there's no plea bargain in the works that would resolve the pro football great's rape case.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alex Veiga

Foreclosure activity up across most US metro areas

Chicago-area has second-highest annual jump

The foreclosure crisis intensified across a majority of large U.S. metropolitan areas this summer, with Chicago and Seattle — cities outside of the states that have shouldered the worst of the housing downturn — seeing a sharp increase in foreclosure warnings.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Thomas' wife seeks apology from accuser Anita Hill

Anita Hill is refusing to apologize for accusing then-Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her, in an issue that Thomas' wife has reopened 19 years after his confirmation hearings.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sam Hananel

Obama appoints record number of gay officials

Less than halfway through his first term, President Barack Obama has appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in history.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Bauder

NPR chief sorry over handling of Williams' firing

NPR's chief executive says she's sorry for how analyst Juan Williams' dismissal was handled — but not for firing him.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Study: Marshall graduates more African-Americans

A new study shows African-American students at Marshall University graduate at a higher rate than other schools around the country.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Dec. 30 sentencing set in Katrina fraud case

An Alabama woman is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 30 on charges she conspired to defraud the federal government by preying on Hurricane Katrina victims who needed their properties rebuilt.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Crary

Report faults state prisons' treatment of mothers

The number of women in America's state prisons has reached a record high, yet many states have inadequate policies for dealing with the large portion of them who have children or are pregnant, according to a new 50-state survey.

 
 
OUR NATION by Brett Zongker

NPR axes, Fox defends Williams over Muslim remarks

"I'm not a bigot," longtime news analyst Juan Williams said. Then he talked about getting nervous on a plane when he sees people in Muslim dress. Fair game for one of his employers, Fox News Channel, but a firable offense for the other, NPR.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

US black lawyer rejected for bar in 1800s honored

A lawyer rejected from practicing law in Pennsylvania in the 1800s because he was black has been posthumously admitted to the state's bar.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Nuckols

Black male students in Baltimore show improvement

Baltimore officials say black male students are the main reason behind the city school system's improvement in its graduation and dropout rates.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Judge bars NYC from hiring new firefighters

A federal judge has barred New York City from hiring new firefighters after criticizing its handling of a discrimination lawsuit against the fire department.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

LA County seeks stop to juvenile hall violence

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is seeking to curb racial violence at juvenile halls and detention camps.

 
 
OUR NATION by Eric Gorski

Colleges more diverse, but racial gaps persist

While U.S. colleges have grown more racially diverse in recent years, minority students — especially Hispanics — still lag behind on key measures of academic progress, a new report says.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama aide a constant amid change

In a no-drama White House on the brink of big changes, there will remain a constant — Valerie Jarrett, longtime friend and trusted adviser to President Barack Obama.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Quarter of DC students receive dinner at school

Public schools in Washington have started serving dinner to about 10,000 students to help curb childhood hunger.

 
 
OUR NATION by Beth Fouhy

Mrs. Obama: Don't lose faith in president's vision

First lady Michelle Obama asked women on Monday to support Democrats in next month's midterm elections, urging them not to lose faith in her husband's vision for the country even if they are frustrated by the poor economy and slow pace of change he promised.

 
 
OUR NATION by Pallavi Gogoi and Stephen Bernard

Bank of America posts $7.7B loss on special charge

Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday it lost $7.65 billion during the third quarter due to a charge related to credit and debit card reform legislation passed over the summer.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Abrams

Democrats make pre-election pitch to help seniors

Democrats are making a pre-election pitch to give Social Security recipients a one-time payment of $250, part of a larger effort to convince senior voters that their party, and not Republicans, will best look out for the 58 million people who get the government retirement and disability benefits.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Flaherty

Military recruiters told to accept gay applicants

The Defense Department said Tuesday that it is accepting openly gay recruits, but is warning applicants they might not be allowed to stick around for long.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black DC firefighters allege discrimination

A group of black Washington firefighters are alleging systematic racial discrimination in a federal lawsuit that claims they are subjected to harsher discipline and promoted less often by white supervisors.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Purdue naming library after black alumnus

Purdue University is renovating a library that will become the first major campus facility to be named for a black alumnus.

 
 
OUR NATION by Todd Richmond

Wis lawyer: Vote fraud laws stacked against blacks

Two black men accused of voting illegally in 2008 have challenged Wisconsin's prohibition on felon voting, saying the ban discriminates against African-Americans because they're convicted of felonies more often than whites.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Leading anti-abortion activist dies in Mass. at 84

Mildred Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and a nationally recognized leader of the anti-abortion movement, has died at age 84.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

2 workers killed in Tenn. post office shooting

Authorities say two post office workers have been killed in a shooting at a post office in West Tennessee.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

$21K video review in Cleveland serial killings

A judge has approved about $21,000 for a defense review of surveillance videos which could provide clues in the killing of 11 women whose remains were found at the suspect's home.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sonya Ross

Black voters may sway 20 House races in Nov. vote

On the corner of Collington Road and Route 301, a bright blue poster screams the Democratic Party's wishful thinking at passing cars: "We've got your back President Obama."

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Students to help find unmarked graves

Students from Murray State University are helping look for unmarked African-American burial plots.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jeff Karoub

Report: Mich. infants' well-being affected by race

Race, place and ethnicity still play large roles in whether a baby is born prematurely or to a teenager or single mother in Michigan, according to a new report.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama goes after youth vote, gets a grilling

Going after the youth vote, President Barack Obama got a grilling Thursday from a mostly under-30 crowd of adults, who sternly challenged him across his economic and social agenda and showed little hesitation to press him for greater results.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jocelyn Noveck

Obama's related to WHO? You betcha!

And you thought it was strange to hear that Barack Obama was related to Dick Cheney. Well, betcha can't guess who he's related to now!

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Gearan

Gates says court should not set policy on gays

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says abruptly ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy would have "enormous consequences" for the troops.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Zibel

Officials in 50 states launch foreclosure probe

Officials in 50 states and the District of Columbia have launched a joint investigation into allegations that mortgage companies mishandled documents and broke laws in foreclosing on hundreds of thousands of homeowners.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jessica Gresko

DC public schools head Rhee expected to resign

Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the District of Columbia's public schools, is expected to announce Wednesday that she is stepping down after a tension-filled, three-year tenure during which she gained a national reputation as a reformer who also fired hundreds of teachers.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Stobbe

In US, Hispanics live the longest, CDC says

U.S. Hispanics outlive whites by more than two years and blacks by more than seven, according to the government's first calculation of Hispanic life expectancy.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

First lady begins campaigning Wed to help Dems

To make stop in Chicago

Democrats struggling to hold onto their congressional seats — or just make it to Washington — are getting backup, a cash infusion and a dash of star power from a political spouse who's making a highly anticipated return to the campaign trail: first lady Michelle Obama.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Watson

Judge orders 'don't ask, don't tell' injunction

A federal judge issued a worldwide injunction Tuesday immediately stopping enforcement of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, suspending the 17-year-old ban on openly gay U.S. troops.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Langston U. gets grant for economic development

Langston University has received an $800,000 federal grant that it plans to use to help spur economic development in the Logan County town in which the school is located.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Civil rights groups to hold 'black Boston' forum

A coalition of civil rights groups has scheduled a forum on African Americans in Boston.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

'Housewives' star launches program for DC girls

"Real Housewives of D.C." star Stacie Turner is going beyond her business and her turn as a TV personality to help girls in the D.C. foster care system.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Memorial dedication planned for SC black cemetery

A memorial is being dedicated on the South Carolina coast at one of the nation's oldest black cemeteries.

 
 
OUR NATION by Eric Gorski

Report: College dropouts cost taxpayers billions

Dropping out of college after a year can mean lost time, burdensome debt and an uncertain future for students.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Fram

White House doubts need to halt all foreclosures

A top White House adviser questioned the need Sunday for a blanket stoppage of all home foreclosures, even as pressure grows on the Obama administration to do something about mounting evidence that banks have used inaccurate documents to evict homeowners.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

No boost for Social Security checks in 2011

As if voters don't have enough to be angry about this election year, the government is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million Social Security recipients will go through another year without an increase in their monthly benefits.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Negro League player honored with Va. marker

The state has approved a new round of historical highway markers, honoring a Negro League baseball player and 13 Virginia events and places linked to the War of 1812.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mary Clare Jalonick

E-mails: Vilsack hastily decided to oust Sherrod

Former Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod pleaded with officials to hear her out after she was ousted from the USDA during a racial firestorm in July, internal e-mails show.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

A mock jazz funeral at LSU for budget cuts

Wearing black and holding signs such as, "Goodbye LSU hello Louisiana State Community College," several hundred students, faculty and staff led a funeral march for education.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Pioneering school of social work is 90 years old

The state's first accredited school of social work is celebrating 90 years this week.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hope Yen

College-educated young adults more likely to marry

Young adults with college degrees are now more likely to be married than those who are less educated, a reversal of longtime trends as the struggling economy pushes weddings to all-time lows.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ray Henry

Ga. congressman says he didn't steer scholarships

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop says he wasn't involved in decisions to award scholarships from the nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to his stepdaughter and a niece, an issue dogging his re-election campaign.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Zibel

Bank of America delays foreclosures in 23 states

Illinois on the list

Bank of America is delaying foreclosures in 23 states as it examines whether it rushed the foreclosure process for thousands of homeowners without reading the documents.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Obama promotes technology; GOP calls for tax cuts

President Barack Obama is promoting his administration's investments in clean energy technologies like wind and solar, arguing they produce jobs and are essential for the country's environment and economic security.

 
 
OUR NATION by Geoff Mulvihill and Samantha Henry

Facebook founder's $100M gift could change Newark

Education in New Jersey's biggest city could be in for a big change — and not just because of the $100 million stock donation Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is expected to announce Friday on Oprah Winfrey's show.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Court refuses to hear appeal from reputed Klansman

The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from reputed Ku Klux Klansman James Ford Seale for the killing of two black men in rural Mississippi in 1964.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

White House chief of staff: Emanuel out, Rouse in

President Barack Obama is making official what has been clear for days: Rahm Emanuel, the relentless enforcer of his agenda as White House chief of staff, is resigning. The job Emanuel wants now is mayor of Chicago, where his next fierce political fight awaits.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

La. landowner ordered to pay $50K for housing bias

A judge has ruled that a north Louisiana landowner violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in a discriminatory pattern of excluding blacks from a marina outside Shreveport.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

FBI building named for civil-rights workers, agent

The new FBI headquarters in Mississippi will be named for three civil rights workers killed in the state in 1964 and a veteran FBI agent who led the investigation into their deaths.

 
 
OUR NATION by Errin Haines

Bishop Long asked DA to drop burglary charge

Prosecutors say Bishop Eddie Long wanted to drop burglary charges against one of the young men now accusing the megachurch pastor of coercing him into a sexual relationship.

 
 
OUR NATION by Charles Babington

Obama: GOP hasn't been honest with Americans

Arguing doggedly against returning Republicans to power, President Barack Obama told Iowa voters Wednesday that the GOP has been dishonest about what needs to be done to revive the economy and restore middle-class dreams.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

EEOC sues Utah builder for racial discrimination

Federal authorities are suing a Utah construction company for workplace discrimination.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

SC neighborhood doesn't like Confederate flag

Some residents of a historically black neighborhood in South Carolina are complaining about a new neighbor flying a Confederate flag on the front porch.

 
 
OUR NATION by Marcus Wohlsen

Court finds Calif dumping interns on poor schools

A federal appeals court has ruled that California illegally classified interns as "highly qualified" teachers and assigned them to schools in low-income and minority areas.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hope Yen

Census finds record gap between rich and poor

The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record as young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama: Democratic voter apathy 'inexcusable'

Admonishing his own party, President Barack Obama says it would be "inexcusable" and "irresponsible" for unenthusiastic Democratic voters to sit out the midterm elections, warning that the consequences could be a squandered agenda for years.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Bluestein

Carter taken to Ohio hospital with upset stomach

A grandson of former President Jimmy Carter says he is out of a Cleveland hospital after being taken there with an upset stomach.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Taylor

Senate advances bill aimed at averting shutdown

A stopgap spending bill that's needed to avert a government shutdown on Friday advanced in the Senate as lawmakers prepared to head for the exits for the midterm elections.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Taylor

Senate advances bill aimed at averting shutdown

A stopgap spending bill that's needed to avert a government shutdown on Friday advanced in the Senate as lawmakers prepared to head for the exits for the midterm elections.

 
 
OUR NATION by Russell Contreras

4 dead, including child, 1 hurt in Boston shooting

A shooting early Tuesday left a toddler and three others dead, and a fifth person was hospitalized and not expected to survive, police said. There have been no arrests, and outraged city officials asked residents for help.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama: Money alone can't solve school predicament

President Barack Obama started the school week Monday with a call for a longer school year, and said the worst-performing teachers have "got to go" if they don't improve quickly.

 
 
OUR NATION by Errin Haines

Ga. megachurch pastor's flock standing by him

Many followers of embattled Baptist megachurch leader Bishop Eddie Long remained unwavering in their support as their pastor vowed to fight like David versus Goliath against claims he lured four young men into sex.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black Union soldier honored at Va cemetery

A black Union soldier who died at a Civil War field hospital in Lynchburg is being remembered by the local Sons of Union Veterans.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Jackson church fights to regain financial footing

A Jackson megachurch is trying to regain the trust of its remaining members after a disastrous spate of what a top church official called financial mismanagement.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse Washington

Racist messages pose quandary for mainstream sites

Although you rarely hear racial insults on Main Street these days, there's a place where unashamed bigotry is all too easy to find: tossed off in the comments sections of some of the Internet's most popular websites, today's virtual Main Street.

 
 
OUR NATION by Karen Matthews

Descendants of 1st black US doctor mark NYC grave

White descendants of the nation's first professionally trained African-American doctor gathered in a cemetery on Sunday to dedicate a tombstone at the unmarked grave where he was buried in 1865.

 
 
OUR NATION

Report: US would make Internet wiretaps easier

The Obama administration is pushing to make it easier for the government to tap into internet and e-mail communications. But the plan has already drawn condemnation from privacy groups and communications firms may be wary of its costs and scope.

 
 
OUR NATION

Va. governor unveils civil rights activist’s portrait in capitol building

She was only 16, but her role in the Civil Rights Movement was one of great importance. And now the commonwealth of Virginia is again ready to honor Barbara R. Johns for heroically leading a school strike in 1951 that led to the abolition of segregated schools in the Old Dominion and across the country.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jeannine Aversa

The recession is over! So where's the party?

It turns out the recession ended more than a year ago. Feeling better now?

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Watson

'Don't ask, don't tell' injunction now up to judge

U.S. government lawyers are trying to stop a federal judge from issuing an injunction that would immediately do what President Obama has yet to accomplish so far in his first term: Halt the military's ban on openly gay troops.

 
 
OUR NATION by Maryclaire Dale

US court sets Nov. hearing for Mumia Abu-Jamal

A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia, acting on orders from the Supreme Court, will again review the death sentence of death-row inmate Mumia Abu Jamal.

 
 
OUR NATION

Va. governor unveils civil rights activist’s portrait in capitol building

She was only 16, but her role in the Civil Rights Movement was one of great importance. And now the commonwealth of Virginia is again ready to honor Barbara R. Johns for heroically leading a school strike in 1951 that led to the abolition of segregated schools in the Old Dominion and across the country.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jeannine Aversa

The recession is over! So where's the party?

It turns out the recession ended more than a year ago. Feeling better now?

 
 
OUR NATION by Errin Haines and Greg Bluestein

Lawyer: Other young men went on trips with pastor

The pastor of a nationally known Atlanta-area megachurch took other young men on trips as part of a mentoring program but stands by his denial of claims that he had sex with three of them, a lawyer for the religious leader said Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Nuckols

Man with Hitler tattoo guilty in Md. beating

A white supremacist who goes by the nickname "Hitler" pleaded guilty Wednesday in the unprovoked beating of a black fisherman in a Baltimore park.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Flaherty

Republicans block bill to lift military gay ban

Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked legislation that would have repealed the law banning gays from serving openly in the military.

 
 
OUR NATION by Nancy Benac

First lady jumping into midterm politics

Michelle Obama is jumping into the midterm political fray in a big way: She'll headline at least nine fundraisers in six states next month for the Democrats.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Householder

Spokeswoman: Aretha Franklin's son severely beaten

Aretha Franklin's son was severely beaten at a gas station in Detroit, the singing legend's spokeswoman said Tuesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

For Obama, time to remind the world of his agenda

Consumed by concerns at home, President Barack Obama turns back to the world stage this week, hoping to remind anyone listening of his efforts to reshape the image and diplomacy of the United States. Yet even this moment is shadowed by economic woes.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Lawsuit claims Bishop Long coerced males into sex

Two men have filed a lawsuit accusing Bishop Eddie Long of exploiting his role as pastor of an Atlanta-area megachurch to coerce them into sexual relationships when they were members of his congregation.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

White House looks to boost health law at 6 months

President Barack Obama once told Democratic lawmakers they'd be proud to campaign on historic health care legislation. Six months later, the only Democrats running ads about it are the ones who voted "no."

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Bluestein

Third lawsuit filed against pastor of megachurch

Attorneys representing two men who say a prominent pastor of a 25,000-member megachurch near Atlanta coerced them into a sexual relationship have filed a third lawsuit on behalf of another young male member of his church.

 
 
OUR NATION by Errin Haines

Atlanta megachurch head denies sex with young men

The prominent pastor of a 25,000-member megachurch near Atlanta denies allegations in a lawsuit that he coerced two young men from the congregation into a sexual relationship, his attorney said.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Dueling Mumia Abu-Jamal movies premiere in Philly

A pair of documentaries about death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal have debuted in Philadelphia.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Sheriff: Broncos WR Kenny McKinley found dead

Authorities in Colorado say Denver Broncos and former South Carolina wide receiver Kenny McKinley has been found dead in his home in an apparent suicide.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

St. Louis-area school named after Obama

A suburban St. Louis school district is naming its new elementary school after President Barack Obama.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Fla. police chief suspended for racist e-mails

A South Florida police chief is beginning his suspension for sending racist e-mails on his work account.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Census estimates show blacks moving to suburbs

In the 1960s and 1970s, it was white families who moved from urban areas like Birmingham to the suburbs seeking better schools and in some cases hoping to avoid integration.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Mo. deputies win suit prompted by noose 'prank'

Two black sheriff's deputies who sued after a supervisor hung a noose in a St. Louis courthouse have won a combined $850,000 in damages.

 
 
OUR NATION by Adrian Sainz

Newspaper's revelation rocks photographer's family

Civil rights movement veterans are struggling to explain the motives of a revered photographer recently unmasked as an FBI informant who spied on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others even as he captured their most intimate moments. His children don't believe it's true.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mark S. Smith

Obama: Black lawmakers must rally voters back home

President Barack Obama came out swinging against Republicans in a fiery campaign-season speech to black lawmakers Saturday night, making an urgent appeal for the kind of grassroots organizing that propelled the civil rights movement.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ruling in editor murder case expected in next week

A judge says he will decide in less than a week whether to move the murder trial for a slain Oakland journalist out of Alameda County.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Motive behind Assumption teen's threats unclear

Assumption Parish authorities aren't discussing the possible motivations behind a black student's posting of racially oriented threats against other black students on the social networking site Facebook.

 
 
OUR NATION by Nigel Duara

Police say Wash. acid attack self-inflicted

When the initial shock faded, police in this suburb of Portland, Ore., began to question some details in Bethany Storro's account of the day her face was irreparably burned by acid.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

SC Senate leader defends photo evoking slave past

A South Carolina Senate leader is defending a photo he posed for wearing a Civil War uniform alongside two blacks in servants' costumes reminiscent of slavery.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

NYC pastor resigns, accused of sexual abuse

A prominent Harlem pastor accused of sexually abusing children in the 1980s has resigned.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

UNC recognizes 3 who were first blacks to enroll

Three African-American men who were the first to attend the University of North Carolina will be honored in a series of events.

 
 
OUR NATION by Shelia Byrd

NAACP backs pardon for 2 serving life for robbery

The head of the NAACP urged Mississippi's governor on Tuesday to pardon two black women who are serving life in prison for their role in an $11 armed robbery.

 
 
OUR NATION Defender Staff Report

Political analyst Ron Walters dies of cancer

Dr. Ronald Walters, author, columnist, political analyst and Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland College Park succumbed to cancer Friday in a Maryland hospital, sources told the Defender.

 
 
OUR NATION by Laurie Kellman

House Dems deeply divided over Obama tax cut plan

Congressional Democrats are confronting deep divisions in their nervous ranks over whether to support President Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans — or just punt the entire matter until after voters go to the polls Nov. 2.

 
 
OUR NATION by Beth Fouhy

NY Rep Rangel wins primary, despite ethics charges

Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel prevailed in a crowded Democratic primary Tuesday, with voters in his New York City district signaling they are willing to stand by the 40-year House veteran despite more than a dozen ethics charges pending against him.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hillel Italie

Obama children's book 'Of Thee I Sing' out Nov. 16

Coming two weeks after Election Day, a book from President Barack Obama for some of the nation's nonvoters: inspirational stories for children about American pioneers.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ken Ritter

Arrest report released in Mayweather case in Vegas

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. gave his ex-girlfriend $200 to put under their daughter's pillow for a lost tooth before threatening, hitting and taking a cell phone from the woman in an argument that led to a felony charge last week, according to a police arrest report made public on Monday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Evans and Russ Bynum

Ga. Rep. Bishop awarded scholarships to family

A Georgia congressman awarded his stepdaughter, a niece and an aide's future wife college scholarships through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, making him the second House Democrat known to use the group to steer money to relatives and associates.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Service to honor Walters, Wichita civil rights pioneer

A memorial service is planned for later this month for Ronald W. Walters, a Wichita civil rights pioneer and professor at Howard University and the University of Maryland.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jessica Gresko

DC mayor's fall from public favor

Before Barack Obama there was Adrian Fenty: a young, energetic, biracial lawyer and Democrat looking to fill a top political post in Washington.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Miss. universities increase private fundraising

Alumni groups at some of Mississippi's public universities are ramping up their private fundraising in hopes of decreasing the impact of state budget cuts.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hazel Trice Edney

Dr. Ron Walters: ‘Scholarly Giant’, Just ‘Never Stopped’

He was a political analyst, a professor, a lecturer, a strategist, a mentor, a commentator, a thought leader, a Black Press columnist, a husband and a friend. And he did it all while remaining true to his life’s passion as an advocate for the progress and advancement of Black people. Dr. Ron Walters died of lung cancer Sept. 10, shocking many in the civil rights community who were unaware of the extent of his illness.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Obama remembers Sept. 11, calls for unity

Amid an atmosphere of unease, President Barack Obama wants Americans to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by recapturing the sense of common purpose felt on that dreadful day.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

Obama says voters may blame him for economy

President Barack Obama insisted Friday that the U.S. economy is showing improvement from the deepest recession in decades but conceded the "progress has been painfully slow." He said he understands that many voters in November's elections may blame the weak recovery on him.

 
 
OUR NATION by Odochi Ibe

CBC to Tackle Unemployment Head-on During Annual Legislative Conference

The Congressional Black Caucus this year is tackling the current debilitating joblessness in the Black community head on with several sessions on the connection between education and employment at its 40th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC). The conference will be September 15-18 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ken Ritter

Vegas police arrest Mayweather in domestic case

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been arrested in Las Vegas on a felony theft charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint by his ex-girlfriend.

 
 
OUR NATION by Beth Fouhy

Rangel undeterred by ethics charges, grudge match

It sounds like a political grudge match for the ages: Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, battered by ethics charges and stripped of his chairmanship of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, defending his seat against Adam Clayton Powell IV, son of the legendary Harlem lawmaker Rangel ousted 40 years ago.

 
 
OUR NATION by Corey Williams and Jeff Karoub

Detroit gets rare assist from suburbs for fires

As exhausted Detroit firefighters battled wind-fed blazes burning wild in some neighborhoods and threatening to char much of the city, a half-dozen departments from surrounding communities brought in sorely needed — and gladly accepted — help.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dina Cappiello, Harry R. Weber and Michael Kunzelman

BP report blames itself, others for oil spill

Oil giant BP PLC laid much of the blame for the rig explosion and the massive Gulf of Mexico spill on itself, other companies' workers and a complex series of failures in an internal report released Wednesday before a key piece of evidence has been fully analyzed.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama to pitch trio of economic proposals in Ohio

Seeking to give anxious Democrats a boost ahead of the November elections, President Barack Obama is pitching a trio of economic initiatives Wednesday and voicing unwavering opposition to Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthy.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Zibel

Government launches plan to help "underwater" borrowers

The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort to assist homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Raum

Suddenly, a raft of tax-break proposals from Obama

President Barack Obama's proposed tax breaks for business sound like ideas that have enjoyed broad Republican backing in the past. But in today's toxic political atmosphere, he's unlikely to get much — if any — GOP help.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Little Rock Nine member Jefferson Thomas dies

Little Rock Nine member Jefferson Thomas has died at age 68 in Columbus, Ohio.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black family settles bias suit against NJ town

An African-American family has reached a second settlement with a New Jersey shore town for more than $100,000 in a racial discrimination lawsuit.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

Obama says he's committed to helping middle class

A healthy economy needs bustling Main Streets and a thriving middle class even more than a healthy stock market, President Barack Obama said as he reaffirmed his commitment to work hard for America's hardworking men and women.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Longtime Dunbar basketball coach dies

A longtime basketball coach at Lexington Dunbar who was at the forefront of integrating the high school game in the 1950s died on Thursday. S.T. Roach was 94.

 
 
OUR NATION by Rebecca Santana

US enters final phase of Iraq war

The U.S. marks on Wednesday the transition to the final phase of the Iraq war, shifting the focus of the remaining 50,000 American troops from combat operations to preparing Iraqi security forces to protect the country on their own.

 
 
OUR WORLD by Robert Burns

Obama opens long-shot talks on Mideast peace

President Barack Obama is opening a new round of Mideast peacemaking, bringing Israeli and Palestinian leaders together Wednesday for talks aimed at forging agreement within one year on a two-state solution: a sovereign Palestine and a secure Israel.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama ends Iraq combat effort: Time to turn page

Declaring no victory after seven years of bloodshed, President Barack Obama on Tuesday ended the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, telling millions who were divided over the war in his country and around the world: "It is time to turn the page."

 
 
OUR NATION by Joe Mandak

Arts student sues over Pittsburgh police beating

A black teen who attended the city's performing arts high school claims three white Pittsburgh police officers wrongfully assumed he was involved with drugs when they beat him, then allegedly conspired to file false charges against him and concoct a cover story for their actions, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Black Caucus Foundation orders scholarship audit

An internal audit of the scholarship program of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation was under way Tuesday, sparked by the admission by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson that she had steered scholarships to her relatives and the children of a staff member.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

FEMA: US evacuations may be required for Earl

Federal officials say evacuations may be required in the U.S. if Hurricane Earl tracks too close to the East Coast.

 
 
OUR NATION by Henry C. Jackson

Texas congresswoman admits she violated rules

A Texas congresswoman admitted that she wrongly steered thousands of dollars in college scholarships from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to her own relatives and the children of a staff member but said she did so unintentionally.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama to honor troops as Iraq combat mission ends

As President Barack Obama prepares to officially end the lengthy and divisive U.S. combat operation in Iraq, he'll personally thank some of the soldiers who fought there for their service to a mission he forcefully opposed from the start.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ore. officer put on leave after fatal shooting

The Portland police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man in the back during a standoff last January has been placed on administrative leave pending a decision on review panel recommendations.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Sharpton, civil rights groups plan DC rally, march

The Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders are planning to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Sharpton: Planned Beck rally counters MLK's vision

The Rev. Al Sharpton says Glenn Beck and others have a right to rally in Washington, but they don't have a right to distort Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision.

 
 
OUR NATION by Philip Elliott

Thousands expected at Beck's DC rally

Broadcaster Glenn Beck is calling on thousands to rally Saturday in the nation's capital on the anniversary and at the same site of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Civil rights leaders are protesting the event.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Cosby, Jackson help lead Detroit schools rally

Bill Cosby and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are showing their support for the Detroit Public Schools.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mark S. Smith

Obama Iraq speech to signal shift to Afghan focus

With his Oval Office speech Tuesday night, President Barack Obama will signal a shift in America's focus from the Iraq War to the war in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Services set for farm activist 'Dick' Morgan

Services are scheduled in Dinwiddie for William C. Morgan Jr., a pioneering member of the National Black Farmers Association.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Jury deciding fate of man accused of racist attack

A jury began deliberating in the case against a reputed member of a racist street gang charged with murdering a 14-year-old black girl and a potential witness.

 
 
OUR NATION by Garance Burke and Jason Dearen

Gulf waste heads to landfills, some with problems

The cleanup of history's worst peacetime oil spill is generating thousands of tons of oil-soaked debris that is ending up in local landfills, some of which were already dealing with environmental concerns.

 
 
OUR NATION by Kate Brumback

Serial stabbings suspect leaves Atlanta jail

A man suspected in 18 attacks in three states, including five fatal stabbings, was being extradited to Michigan on Thursday to face charges in at least one of the assaults.

 
 
OUR NATION by Philip Elliott

Beck rally on anniversary of King's 'Dream' speech

Glenn Beck's rally on the anniversary and at the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech is drawing criticism, protests and questions about his intentions.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Hip-hop mogul displays support for NYC mosque

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is demonstrating his support for a proposed mosque near ground zero with some huge window displays.

 
 
OUR NATION by Russ Bynum

Judge: Troy Davis failed to prove innocence

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Georgia death row inmate whose case attracted international support failed to prove his innocence after the U.S. Supreme Court gave him a rare chance to clear his name.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Bluestein

DEA seeks Ebonics experts to help with cases

Federal agents are seeking to hire Ebonics translators to help interpret wiretapped conversations involving targets of undercover drug investigations.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Police release dates, times of serial attacks

A list detailing attacks linked to a string of five serial killings reveals the suspect has been most active during pre-dawn hours and on Mondays.

 
 
OUR NATION

Number of US troops in Iraq falls below 50,000

The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has fallen below 50,000 for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and ahead of the end-of-the-month deadline mandated by President Barack Obama, the American military said in a statement Tuesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mary Clare Jalonick

Ousted worker Sherrod rejects return to Ag agency

The Agriculture Department official ousted during a racial firestorm last month has declined to accept an invitation to return to fulltime work at the agency.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ga. State U projects highest ever enrollment

Georgia State University is expected to break its highest ever student enrollment this year.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Tenn. school desegregation case headed to judge

A long-running western Tennessee school desegregation case is set to go before a judge, who will decide whether to end the legal wrangling.

 
 
OUR NATION

Grieving mom offers swim lessons to poor Ohio kids

As a child, Wanda Butts learned to stay away from the water. Her father had witnessed a drowning when he was young and passed down a fear of swimming.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Report: Wayne State has big racial graduation gap

A new report says the graduation gap between white and black students at Wayne State University is the worst in the nation among public universities.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Iowa gets its first African-American female judge

An assistant Polk County attorney has been chosen as Iowa's first African-American female judge.

 
 
OUR NATION

Denver groups want officers on video beating fired

Anger over a video showing Denver police slamming a Hispanic man to the ground intensified Thursday as Latino and African-American leaders called for the resignation of the city official who decided against firing the officers involved.

 
 
OUR NATION

Obama doesn't travel light _ even on vacation

President Barack Obama had a simple task for his first morning on vacation: shoot over to a Martha's Vineyard bookstore to fill out his daughters' summer reading list and grab himself a novel.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

'48 Hours' correspondent Harold Dow dies at 62

Emmy-winning CBS News correspondent Harold Dow, who helped shape the documentary program "48 Hours" and covered the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst and the Sept. 11 attacks, has died. He was 62.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

City yields, allows guns at Detroit-area festival

Royal Oak officials have voted to allow licensed handgun owners to openly carry their weapons at a popular Detroit-area summer arts festival.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hazel Trice Edney

Obama signs Jobs Bill as CBC Chair Calls for Specific Help for Blacks

As the Black unemployment rate rose slightly last month, President Obama has signed the long-awaited jobs bill with hopes of turning around employment rates, which for African-Americans still nearly doubles the national average of 9.5 percent.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jennifer Kay

9 Democrats seek Kendrick Meek's US House seat

Haitian-Americans have the best opportunity yet to represent themselves in Congress, with an open House seat in a South Florida district that includes more Haitians than any other in the country.

 
 
OUR NATION by Meg Kinnard

Sheriff: SC mom killed kids before sinking car

A South Carolina mother who claimed her children drowned when their car careened into a river was charged with murder Tuesday after authorities said she confessed to suffocating the two toddlers to be free of them and then faking the accident.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Jury: Life in prison for woman in death of girl

A jury in Crown Point has determined a 20-year-old Indiana woman convicted of murdering her 2-year-old cousin will go to prison for life without parole.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Hawaii lawmaker plans resolution to ban N-word

A Hawaii state lawmaker intends to introduce a symbolic resolution banning the N-word after he heard talk radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger say it on air.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama welcomes Super Bowl champs Saints

The New Orleans Saints have come marching in to the White House.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Rangel: 'Don't leave me swinging in the wind'

A combative Rep. Charles Rangel told the House on Tuesday he's not resigning despite 13 charges of wrongdoing and demanded the ethics committee not leave him "swinging in the wind."

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Abrams

House ethics panel outlines charges against Waters

The House ethics committee on Monday announced three counts of alleged ethics violations against California Democrat Maxine Waters, including a charge that she requested federal help for a bank where her husband owned stock and had served on its board.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Lawyer says toddler's death wasn't intentional

A defense attorney says his client didn't intend to kill a toddler whose body was found encased in concrete in a swampy area of northwestern Indiana.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Hirschfeld Davis

Senate confirms Kagan as 112th justice

The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan Thursday as the Supreme Court's 112th justice and the fourth woman in its history, granting a lifetime term to a lawyer and academic with a reputation for brilliance, a dry sense of humor and a liberal bent.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

2 dead, dozens hurt in school bus crash in Mo.

Two buses carrying high school band students to an amusement park were involved in a freeway wreck involving a tractor-trailer Thursday that left two people dead and dozens injured, officials said.

 
 
OUR NATION

Family: Racial bias caused Conn. gunman to snap

Omar Thornton sat calmly in a meeting with union representative and his supervisors as they showed a video of him stealing beer from the distributor where he worked.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

AP Exclusive: USDA racial flap reconstructed

As a racial firestorm erupted last month, the White House buzzed with questions and concerns about the forced ouster of a black Agriculture Department employee. But no one stepped in to stop Secretary Tom Vilsack from pressuring Shirley Sherrod to resign, a decision administration officials from President Barack Obama on down now say was a mistake.

 
 
OUR NATION by Liz Sidoti

Another incumbent down as Michigan Rep. loses

Incumbents beware. Another lawmaker just bit the dust.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ann Sanner

Obama awards 13 citizens for their good deeds

Two Chicago-area women awarded

The all-volunteer rifle squad that George J. Weiss Jr. started three decades ago has delivered the final salute at more than 56,400 military burials.

 
 
OUR NATION by NNPA

Rangel, Waters Fight Ethics Charges as Black Support Mounts

As U. S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) prepares to fight 13 ethics charges, U. S. Rep. Maxine Waters, another leading member of the Congressional Black Caucus, has also come under scrutiny.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Texas in need of more minority teachers

Experts say a lack of black and Hispanic teachers could hinder the achievement of minorities as their enrollment rises in Texas.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama signs bill reducing gap in cocaine sentences

President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a bill reducing the disparity between federal mandatory sentences for convictions for crack cocaine and the powder form of the drug.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

ACLU sues town of Hartford over police records

The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the town of Hartford over what it says is the town's refusal to release records relating to an incident in which police dragged an African-American man from his home in handcuffs.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Breen

NC death row inmates look for life in new law

Five death row inmates are testing a new North Carolina law that would allow them to argue racial bias played a role in their sentences, and they may soon be joined by dozens of others.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Discrimination suit filed against Conn. agency

Four African American employees of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families are suing the state agency, saying it discriminates against minority workers.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

6 teens drown in La. river during family outing

Six teenagers wading in the shallows of a Louisiana river drowned in front of their horrified families after falling into deep water. None of the teens or nearby adults could swim.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama: US commitment in Iraq is shifting

President Barack Obama is ready to spell out in greater detail America's changing mission in Iraq with the approach of an end to combat operations there.

 
 
OUR NATION

Free Press Targets Poor Blacks and Women for Net Neutrality Campaign

In a bid to ensure Net Neutrality, the Free Press has commissioned the Harmony Institute to develop a strategy that will target poor, rural African- Americans in the South and women to increase support for a Net Neutrality (NN) strategy. Net Neutrality is basically the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally. In other words, everyone has access, and all platforms, content, and sites are treated equally.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Ethics panel: Charges filed against Rep. Waters

A House panel announced Monday that it had charged Rep. Maxine Waters with violating ethics rules, setting the stage for a second election-season trial for a longtime Democratic lawmaker and adding to the party's political woes.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hazel Trice Edney

At 100th Anniversary Speech: Morial Promises NUL is Here to Stay

The National Urban League, known for its hundreds of affiliates tucked in mostly inner city neighborhoods across the nation is confronting the human faces of unemployment, home loss and economic blight every day.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

Rangel says he's ready to fight ethics charges

Rep. Charles Rangel, who has spent half of his 80 years as a member of Congress, says he looks forward to fighting ethics charges. Other Democrats won't be so pleased.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Va professor thinks he found oldest black school

A College of William and Mary professor thinks he may have found the nation's oldest surviving schoolhouse for African American children.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Taylor

House pressured to pass stripped-down war measure

After a take-it-or-leave-it vote by the Senate, House Democrats face little choice but to drop billions in aid for schools, college students and others that they had hoped could ride on legislation paying for President Barack Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Evans and Mary Clare Jalonick

Obama voices regret to ousted Agriculture official

President Barack Obama has conveyed "his regret" to former Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod over her ouster in the midst of a racially-tinged firestorm, the White House said Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hazel Trice Edney

NAACP Celebrates Victory Over Tea-Party Racism

Prepares for ‘One Nation’ March

On the heels of a major win after the NAACP’s call for an end to the racist wing of the political Tea Party movement, the organization pushed forward this week with plans for a national march and rally in D.C. on October 2.

 
 
OUR NATION by Bill Poovey

Investigation says 59 police gunshots justified

Chattanooga police officers will not be charged for firing 59 gunshots at an armed man on his front porch after he walked around his neighborhood with a rifle ranting about suicide, a prosecutor said Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

NAACP asks Ky. AG to investigate student's arrest

The NAACP is asking the Kentucky attorney general to investigate the arrest of a black college student from Florida who was selling textbooks door-to-door.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ousted Detroit police chief fires back on Facebook

Ousted Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans lashed out at critics on his Facebook page on Thursday as the city's mayor said he fired the chief a day earlier because of his role in a reality TV show and relationship with a fellow officer.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse Washington

Black racism: a real problem, or pure politics?

Is black racism a real problem? Or is it pure politics?

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Baker

Racial tensions roil NC school board; 19 arrests

Protesters and police scuffled Tuesday at a school board meeting in North Carolina over claims that a new busing system would resegregate schools, roiling racial tensions reminiscent of the 1960s.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Evans

Sherrod not sure she would go back to Ag Dept

The woman at the center of a racially tinged firestorm involving the Obama administration and the NAACP said Wednesday she doesn't know if she'd return to her job at the Agriculture Department, even if asked.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Kuhnhenn

Historic financial overhaul signed to law by Obama

Reveling over a new milestone in his presidency, a triumphant Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the most sweeping overhaul of lending and high-finance rules since the Great Depression, adding safeguards for millions of consumers and aiming to restrain Wall Street excesses that could set off a new recession.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Indy mayor condemns shooting on Black Expo weekend

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said Sunday he's outraged at shootings that wounded 10 young people during the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama to GOP: Restore unemployment benefits now

President Barack Obama took aim at Republican lawmakers Monday, accusing them of holding the public hostage to Washington politics by blocking extended unemployment benefits for millions of out of work Americans.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Pushing his agenda, Obama makes policies personal

To show how well he understands life's daily struggles, President Barack Obama likes to tell the tale of a regular guy who has been out of work, coped with college loans, endured a fatherless childhood and longs at times to just escape.

 
 
OUR NATION by Allen G. Breed

Fear of 'resegregation' fuels unrest in NC

In the annals of desegregation, Raleigh is barely a footnote.

 
 
OUR NATION by Colleen Long

BP, feds clash over reopening capped Gulf oil well

BP and the Obama administration offered significantly differing views Sunday on whether the capped Gulf of Mexico oil well will have to be reopened, a contradiction that may be an effort by the oil giant to avoid blame if crude starts spewing again.

 
 
OUR NATION by Colleen Long

BP encouraged that capped-off oil well still holds

BP said its capped-off well appeared to be holding steady Friday morning, almost midway into a white-knuckle waiting period in which engineers watched the pressure gauges for signs of a leak.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hazel Trice Edney

First Lady Obama Tells NAACP Not to Rest

Those who struggled and many who died in battles for freedom, justice, and racial equality during the Civil Rights Movement left a legacy that must yet be fulfilled - even in caring for the health of Black children, First Lady Michelle Obama reminded thousands at the NAACP Annual Convention in Kansas City, Mo., this week.

 
 
OUR NATION

Medal of Honor hero Vernon Baker dies at age 90

Vernon Baker, a black U.S. soldier who belatedly received the Medal of Honor for his World War II battlefield valor after historians concluded he'd been wrongly denied the military's top award because of his race, died at his home near St. Maries, Idaho. He was 90.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Kuhnhenn

Wall Street crackdown, consumer guards, on the way

Congress on Thursday passed the stiffest restrictions on banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression, clamping down on lending practices and expanding consumer protections to prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown that knocked the economy to its knees.

 
 
OUR NATION by Harry R. Weber

BP: Cap should start choking oil 'soon' after fix

After fixing a leak on a cap designed to plug up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP engineers readied Thursday to see if the new top is enough to contain the gusher.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Kunzelman

Cops could face death in post-Katrina shootings

Four New Orleans police officers could face the death penalty after being accused of gunning down two unarmed people in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the latest twist for a corruption-plagued department that already faces several federal investigations.

 
 
OUR NATION by Harry R. Weber

Setback: BP cap in limbo over gov't questions

BP's work to cap its Gulf of Mexico gusher was in limbo Wednesday after the federal government raised concerns the operation could put damaging pressure on the busted well and make the leak worse.

 
 
OUR NATION

Black political leaders to recapture '08 momentum

The head of the nation's largest and oldest civil rights organization, fearing a loss of momentum since the 2008 election, plans to use the group's annual convention to get people "off the couch" and re-energized to fight back against a tea party movement that opposes much of President Barack Obama's agenda.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama spokesman says Democrats could lose House

President Barack Obama's party could lose its House majority in this fall's elections, his spokesman said Sunday, perhaps trying to jolt Democratic voters with the specter of GOP lawmakers rolling back White House policies.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

NAACP: Minorities assigned tougher oil spill jobs

The NAACP has sent a letter to BP expressing concerns that minorities helping to clean up after the massive oil spill tend to be assigned tougher, lower paying jobs than whites.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama says country must help vets with PTSD

With the military fighting two wars, President Barack Obama said Saturday the country has a "solemn responsibility" to ensure that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder get the help they need.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Risling

Ex-officer convicted in Calif. train killing

Violent protests erupted in Oakland with stores damaged and dozens arrested after a Los Angeles jury convicted a white former transit officer of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.

 
 
OUR NATION by Gillian Flaccus

DNA trail in LA serial killer case detailed

A string of murders of young black women had south Los Angeles on edge in the mid-1980s, then the killings suddenly stopped, only to resume again 14 years later.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Black political leaders to rally members in KC

Black political leaders say they want to recapture the energy of the 2008 presidential election and respond to the tea party movement.

 
 
OUR NATION

Poll: Fewer opportunities seen for minority kids

Minority children have fewer opportunities than their white peers to gain access to high-quality health care, education, safe neighborhoods and adequate support from the communities where they live, according to a nationwide survey of professionals who work with young people.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sheree Patterson

3 HBCU medical schools top list

Howard University, Morehouse College, and Meharry Medical School topped a recent national study for having a strong social mission as part of its medical teachings.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Minn. court allows trial on Mpls racial bias claim

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has cleared the way for a trial on an African-American pastor's claim of racial discrimination by two police departments.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Obama bypassing Senate for new Medicare chief

Bypassing Republicans eager to grill an administration official over the new health care law, President Barack Obama is planning to appoint the head of Medicare and Medicaid without Senate hearings.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama naming 18 to advisory council on exports

President Barack Obama is naming 18 corporate chiefs to an advisory council charged with helping the administration fulfill his promise to double U.S. exports and create millions of new jobs over the next five years.

 
 
OUR NATION by Randolph E. Schmid

Post office plans to announce new rate increase

Post office wants to increase stamp price by 2 cents to 46 cents

Battered by massive losses, the Postal Service wants to raise rates to bring in more money.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

Obama, Netanyahu agree to focus on peace talks

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to soothe rocky relations on Tuesday, declaring that any talk of a rift is unfounded. Obama said the U.S.-Israeli bond is "unbreakable."

 
 
OUR NATION by Chevel Johnson

Bill Cosby on education, responsibility at Essence

Bill Cosby used his trademark humor and storytelling style to chide hundreds gathered Saturday at the Essence Music Festival's empowerment seminars into talking to their children about real life and, in the process, keeping it simple.

 
 
OUR NATION by Juan A. Lozano

Tar balls in Texas mean oil hits all 5 Gulf states

More than two months after oil from BP's blown-out seafloor well first reached Louisiana, a bucket's worth of tar balls that washed onto a Texas beach means the crude has arrived in every Gulf state.

 
 
OUR NATION by Corey Williams

Missed meetings could mean jail time for parents

The night Demarco Harris shot and killed a woman during a robbery on a Detroit street, his parents told police knocking on their door at 2 a.m. they didn't know where their 12-year-old was.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Juveniles, staff blamed for Ohio prison's problems

Combative youth, how guards restrain them and the guards' failure to coordinate their responses to violent run-ins are all to blame for injuries to juveniles at an Ohio youth prison with the highest rate of such incidents, a study found.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak

NY Rep. Rangel: Power Loss Portrait in Congress

Just about everyone likes Charlie Rangel.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

Health overhaul first provisions start to kick in

The first stage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is expected to provide coverage to about 1 million uninsured Americans by next year, according to government estimates.

 
 
OUR NATION by Matthew Lee

GOP lawmakers wary of Obama's Afghan deadline

Leading Republican lawmakers and the Afghan ambassador to the United States are voicing opposition to President Barack Obama's plan to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan starting next year.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Tour sheds light on Louisiana's high HIV-AIDS rate

It's not something people like to talk about, but Louisiana has one of the highest HIV-AIDS rates in the country, and the problem particularly plagues the black community.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ex-School Board president turns himself in

Former Detroit School Board President Otis Mathis has turned himself in on charges of misconduct in office related to a complaint that he fondled himself in front of an employee.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Mass. Gov. signs texting ban for drivers

Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a bill that bans texting while driving and requires older drivers to get vision tests every five years when they renew their licenses.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama: Economy headed in right direction

President Barack Obama says the economy is headed in the right direction, but not fast enough to satisfy him or many Americans.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Breen

Volunteers ready but left out of spill cleanup

BP and the Obama administration face mounting complaints that they are ignoring foreign offers of equipment and making little use of the fishing boats and volunteers available to help clean up what may now be the biggest spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

GSU's new president orders review of 'every dime'

Grambling State University's new president has hired the former president of Virginia's largest historically black university to review "every dime" of GSU's budget.

 
 
OUR NATION by Seth Borenstein

BP spill nears a somber record as Gulf's biggest

BP's massive oil spill will become the largest ever in the Gulf of Mexico by Thursday based on the highest of the federal government's estimates, an ominous record that underscores the oil giant's dire need to halt the gusher.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

New program targets violent criminals in Detroit

A push is on to take violent criminals off the streets of Detroit.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

MSU study to look at clearing rape kit backlog

A Michigan State University study will look at how long it might take to clear a huge backlog of rape evidence kits that were never analyzed by the former Detroit Police crime laboratory.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lucas L. Johnson II

Armed robbery legislation among new Tenn. laws

Legislation that requires people convicted of armed robbery to serve most of their sentences in prison is among a number of measures that will become law July 1.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Mich. court questions ethics of Detroit-area judge

The Michigan Supreme Court has overturned a multimillion-dollar verdict and criticized a Detroit-area judge for keeping a woman on a jury because she's black.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Farrakhan accuses Jews of "anti-black" behavior

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan has written Jewish organizations nationwide accusing Jews of hurting blacks and asking for what he calls "repair of my people from the damage."

 
 
OUR NATION by Ryan J. Foley

Ex-vets board member: E-mails were 'poor judgment'

A woman who resigned from the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs has admitted she inappropriately used an Army e-mail account for board business, including to plot the firing of the secretary last year.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

NC campus denies more applications than in past

Officials at a historically black university in North Carolina have denied more applications this year than any time in its 143-year history because of higher admission standards.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

US childlessness is up, but racial gaps narrowing

Nearly 1 in 5 American women beyond childbearing years never gave birth as fewer couples, particularly higher-educated whites, view having children as necessary to a good marriage.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Challenged by GOP, Kagan says she reveres military

Challenged bluntly by Republicans, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said Tuesday the Pentagon's recruiters had access to Harvard Law School students "every single day I was dean" and rejected claims she maneuvered to thwart them.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Calif NAACP to back pot legalization initiative

The California chapter of the NAACP is announcing its support for a marijuana legalization ballot measure, saying current laws unfairly target people of color.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

More than 300 aim to be 'Promise Neighborhoods'

Woodlawn Children's Promise Zone an applicant

More than 300 communities around the U.S. have submitted applications to the Department of Education to receive grants under a federal program designed to revitalize troubled neighborhoods.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Rapides commission stops 'FEMA trailer' permits

The Rapides Area Planning Commission won't issue permits for house trailers once used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency until legal issues are worked out.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

BP meets deadline for oil spill payments to government

BP has met its July 1 deadline to pay the federal government for the initial costs of responding to the Gulf oil spill.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

White supremacist can be charged for website post

A federal appeals court has ruled that a lower court should not have dismissed a charge that an avowed Virginia white supremacist used his website to urge others to harm a juror.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Police: Vick interviewed about Va shooting

Michael Vick was interviewed by a detective Monday about a shooting that took place outside a nightclub where he had celebrated his birthday, a Virginia Beach Police spokesman said.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Emancipation Proclamation leaving White House

Oval Office special guest leaving

A special visitor to the Oval Office soon will be moving on.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

2 Tampa officers killed in Florida shooting

A second Tampa police officer has died following a shooting during a traffic stop. Officials say 31-year-old officer David Curtis died at Tampa General Hospital. Officer Jeffrey Kocab, also 31, died earlier following the shooting early Tuesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Hirschfeld Davis

Confirmation all but sure, Kagan ending hearings

Her confirmation all but assured, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan neared the end of a final grueling day of Senate questioning Wednesday, fielding GOP challenges on abortion, gays in the military and other divisive issues while sidestepping Democrats' invitations to blast conservative decisions by the court she's hoping to join.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Unable to pass stimulus, Dems push aid for jobless

Unable to deliver more stimulus spending for President Barack Obama, Democrats in Congress are trying at least to restore jobless benefits for 1.3 million laid-off workers.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama attacks GOP over vision for the country

Seizing on a political opportunity, President Barack Obama on Wednesday lashed out at Republicans as out of touch with the daily problems of Americans, hoping to sharpen the contrast with the opposition party as midterm elections loom and economic anxiety still runs high.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

First lady Michelle Obama to speak to NAACP in KC

First lady Michelle Obama will be the headliner at the NAACP convention in Kansas City in July.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia dead at 92

Robert C. Byrd, who rose from the poverty of West Virginia coal country to become the sage and conscience of the U.S. Senate in a political career stretching more than half a century, died Monday. He was 92.

 
 
OUR NATION by Maryclaire Dale

Philadelphia: Scouts should pay for excluding gays

PHILADELPHIA - A Boy Scouts chapter in Philadelphia may have ousted just one gay scout in the decade since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the organization’s right to ban gays, but that doesn’t mean untold others haven’t been shut out, a city lawyer told jurors Tuesday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Kunzelman

Judge blocks Gulf offshore drilling moratorium

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge struck down the Obama administration’s six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, saying the government rashly concluded that because one rig failed, the others are in immediate danger, too.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Porter

N.J. city leading way in crime-fighting technology

Pictured is a small gunshot sensor, with an antenna, top right, can be seen mounted on a pole just above a camera in East Orange, N.J. The gunshot sensor triggers the camera via the control box at left. AP/Mel Evans, File

 
 
OUR NATION by Imani Evans

New president of Paul Quinn College talks about challenges of rebuilding

Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell has to walk a fine line between drawing attention to his school’s challenges and pleading for sympathy. The historically Black college, located in a distressed section of Oak Cliff, is fighting to keep its doors open in the wake of last year’s decision by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to revoke the school’s accreditation because of academic and financial woes.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jane Wardell

Nations rethink drilling in wake of BP oil spill

LONDON — Britain has doubled rig inspections. Bulgaria scrapped plans for a new oil pipeline. Chinese and French oil giants are upgrading equipment and procedures designed to prevent spills. As oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, nations around the globe are taking a cue from this cautionary tale and ratcheting up their oversight of the petroleum industry.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Documents: BP estimated 4.2M gallon in worst case

NEW ORLEANS — Newly released internal documents show BP PLC estimated 4.2 million gallons of oil a day could gush from a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico if all equipment restricting the flow was removed and company models were wrong.

 
 
OUR NATION by Hazel Trice Edney

Jackson hopeful after key economic meetings, but set to strategize with NNPA

“We want fair share to go to NNPA,” said Jackson, who has fought alongside NNPA Chairman Danny Bakewell for inclusion in advertising dollars for NNPA newspapers and economic parity for small and Black-owned businesses in general.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Watson

Michelle Obama vows to help Camp Pendleton troops %u2028

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — First lady Michelle Obama is launching a national challenge for every American to find ways to make life easier for the families of U.S. troops.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

BP begins more aggressive response to spill as Obama prepares to make another visit to Gulf

NEW ORLEANS — BP mounted a more aggressive response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday as it deployed undersea sensors to better measure the ferocious flow of crude while drawing up new plans to meet a government demand that it speed up the containment effort ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to the coast.

 
 
OUR FOCUS Letter to the Editor

Chicagoland can send message to the nation

Some experts and policymakers believe our country could do more to prevent problems before they occur.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jennifer Kay

Deadline nears for Haitians' deportation reprieve

MIAMI — With their homeland ravaged by an earthquake, more than 50,000 Haitians have applied to legally stay and work in the U.S. and immigration advocates are urging others not to miss their chance.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Celeb adviser pleads not guilty in NY fraud case

NEW YORK — A jailed financial adviser to the stars has pleaded not guilty to alleged securities fraud worth $59 million.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mark Pratt

Guilty plea expected in Mass. black church arson

BOSTON — One of the three white men who allegedly torched a predominantly black church in western Massachusetts because they were angry with President Barack Obama's election has agreed to plead guilty, a person familiar with the investigation says.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ken Ritter

Lawyers: OJ, co-defendant hopeful about appeals

LAS VEGAS — One of O.J. Simpson's lawyers says the former football star is "upbeat" and hopeful the Nevada Supreme Court will overturn his conviction and grant a new trial in a September 2007 hotel room heist.

 
 
OUR NATION Defender Staff Report

MLK Memorial construction project now offers Web camera views

Pictures is a EarthCam view of the MLK Memorial construction site in Washington, D.C. The virtual camera is available online.

 
 
OUR NATION by Harry R. Weber and Ray Henry

Oil spill facts seem as murky as stricken waters

NEW ORLEANS - The cap over a broken wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is collecting more gushing crude day by day, but that’s about the extent of the details known as authorities try to pinpoint how much oil is escaping, where it's going and what harm it will cause.

 
 
OUR NATION by Keith Rogers

Study: Military life brings challenges to couples

LAS VEGAS – Researchers have found that wives who stay behind and maintain the home front when husbands go off to war often experience a roller coaster of emotions that makes communication difficult before, during and after deployments.

 
 
OUR NATION by NNPA

‘Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway’ may be coming soon to Tennessee

A section of Interstate 40 in Tennessee is a step closer to being named after legendary soul musician Isaac Hayes, according to Eurweb.

 
 
OUR NATION by John Seewer and Meghan Barr

Ohio tornado kills 7, wrecks cop cars, graduation

MILLBURY, Ohio — A community whose high school was destroyed the day before graduation by a tornado that killed seven people, including the valedictorian's father, rescheduled the ceremony as residents sifted through houses in many cases reduced to rubble.

 
 
OUR NATION by Laurie Kellman

Election spooks lawmakers, curbs Congress spending

WASHINGTON — The 2010 elections have changed the direction of government only half way through the primary season, with voter anger and economic jitters causing lawmakers to balk at their most basic duties as well as key elements of President Barack Obama's agenda

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Coast Guard says more oil being captured

WASHINGTON — The man who's overseeing the government's response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill says the cap on the damaged oil well is now keeping up to 462,000 gallons of oil a day from leaking into the Gulf.

 
 
OUR NATION by Justin Pritchard

McDonald's pulls 12M cadmium-tainted Shrek glasses

Shrek glasses, from left to right, Puss In Boots, Shrek, Donkey and Fiona, are displayed June 4, 2010. Cadmium has been discovered in the painted design on "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at McDonald's, forcing the burger giant to recall 12 million of the cheap U.S.-made collectibles while dramatically expanding contamination concerns about the toxic metal beyond imported children's jewelry.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Bernard

Disappointing jobs report sends stocks tumbling

NEW YORK — Stocks have tumbled after the government said hiring remains weak and Hungary became the latest European country to report its economy is in crisis.

 
 
OUR NATION by Philip Elliott

Dems hope 2008 first-time voters return this year

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's political operation is going door-to-door this weekend in more than a thousand cities to try to persuade the voters who helped elect him to turn out for Democrats in the midterm elections.

 
 
OUR NATION by Nancy Benac

Obama sees progress on oil spill response

KENNER, La. — President Barack Obama says progress apparently is being made in fighting the enormous Gulf oil spill.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jay Reeves and Melissa Nelson

Cap collects some Gulf oil; crude washes into Fla.

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — Waves of gooey tar balls crashed into the white sands of the Florida Panhandle on Friday as BP engineers adjusted a sophisticated cap over the Gulf oil gusher, trying to collect the crude now fouling four states.

 
 
OUR NATION by Pete Yost

Crime rates down for third year, despite national recession

WASHINGTON – Crime in the United States dropped dramatically in 2009, bucking a historical trend that links rising crime rates to economic woes. Property crimes and violent offenses each declined about 5 percent, the FBI said Monday, citing reports from law enforcement coast to coast.

 
 
OUR NATION by NNPA

SCLC leadership dispute boils over

The feud between two factions of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has come to a head over an alleged break-in at the group's Atlanta headquarters. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday to settle the matter.

 
 
OUR NATION by Eric Tucker

Handling of rape claim at Brown University raises questions

Brown President Ruth Simmons told the AP the allegations are "utter poppycock" but wouldn't comment further.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jennifer Dobner

'Diff'rent Strokes' star Gary Coleman dies

PROVO, Utah — Gary Coleman, the adorable, pint-sized child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" who spent the rest of his life struggling on Hollywood's D-list, died Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Abrams

Congress moves to end ban on gays in military

WASHINGTON — Congress has taken two big steps toward ending the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Nuckols and Greg Bluestein

Obama arrives in Gulf as BP tries to stop oil leak

COVINGTON, La. — BP kept pumping heavy mud into its blown-out well beneath the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, but the company's chief executive cautioned it will be two more days before anyone knows if the latest fix attempt will end the uncontrolled flow of crude that has already become the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Bluestein and Matthew Brown

BP says doing all it can, everyone's frustrated

BARATARIA BAY, La. — The BP executive in charge of fighting the Gulf of Mexico oil spill acknowledged Monday that everyone is frustrated at his company's failure to plug the gushing well more than a month into the disaster that is now spreading damage through Louisiana's wetlands.

 
 
OUR NATION by Brian W. Carter

Kwame Kilpatrick: Former Detroit mayor tells his story

Kwame Kilpatrick was referred to as the young, “hip-hop” mayor of Detroit and the youngest in the history of that city to be elected to office. At the age of 31, he was full of enthusiasm, energy and had plans to help Detroit become a great city.

 
 
OUR NATION by Cyril Barker

Queens, N.Y. street renamed in honor of Sean Bell

Rainy conditions didn’t stop crowds of people from attending the ceremony to rename a street in Queens, N.Y. after the late Sean Bell. Liverpool Street, between 94th Avenue and 101st Street, will now bear the name of “Sean Bell Way.” The street is significant in that it is the location where Bell was shot and killed in November 2006 in a hail of over 50 bullets at the hands of the NYPD before his wedding day.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Fed officials pick up pressure on BP over spill

GALLIANO, La. - U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says federal officials are working to hold BP PLC responsible for cleaning up the growing Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Fed officials pick up pressure on BP over spill

GALLIANO, La. — U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says federal officials are working to hold BP PLC responsible for cleaning up the growing Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alicia A. Caldwell and Jim Salter

Deadly, ultra-pure heroin arrives in U.S.

WINFIELD, Mo. — Mexican drug smugglers are increasingly peddling a form of ultra-potent heroin that sells for as little as $10 a bag and is so pure it can kill unsuspecting users instantly, sometimes before they even remove the syringe from their veins.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Raum

Landmark overhauls may not help Democrats at polls

WASHINGTON — Anxious and angry, Americans are not in a congratulatory mood. That's bad news for President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies.

 
 
OUR NATION by Corey Williams

Prosecutor: Put former Detroit mayor in prison

DETROIT — A prosecutor is seeking a prison term of two years to five years for former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who violated his probation in a criminal case.

 
 
OUR NATION by Meghan Barr

U.S. court grants asylum to Obama’s African aunt

CLEVELAND – A U.S. immigration court has granted asylum to President Barack Obama’s African aunt, allowing her to stay in the country, her attorneys announced Monday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mark Sherman

Court rules out some life sentences for juveniles

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has ruled that teenagers may not be locked up for life without chance of parole if they haven’t killed anyone.

 
 
OUR NATION by Corey Williams

Atty: Video shows police fired into Detroit home

DETROIT – An attorney for the family of a 7-year-old girl slain during a weekend raid at their Detroit home says video footage contradicts the police department's version of events.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Zibel

Foreclosures down 2 percent from last year

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans are still likely to lose their homes in the coming years, but the foreclosure crisis is finally showing signs of subsiding.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

AG Holder speaks at Wayne State center dedication

DETROIT – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is spoke Monday at the groundbreaking for a center for civil rights studies at Wayne State University.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Bernard

AP Source: N.Y. AG probing 8 banks over securities

NEW YORK — The New York attorney general has launched an investigation into eight banks to determine whether they misled ratings agencies about mortgage securities, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

 
 
OUR NATION by Barry Hatton

Pope offers hope against suffering at Fatima Mass

FATIMA, Portugal — Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for an outdoor Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday at Fatima, the Catholic shrine that pilgrims visit in search of cures for their ailments.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

FBI searches Mass. home in Times Square probe

BOSTON — The FBI says agents have executed search warrants at several locations in the Northeast in connection with the failed Times Square car bomb.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

New claims for unemployment insurance inch down

WASHINGTON — New claims for unemployment benefits dipped for the fourth straight week, a sign the job market is improving at a slow but steady pace

 
 
OUR NATION by Pharoh Martin

FEMA, Black officials work toward partnerships after Katrina

WASHINGTON – FEMA's botched response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 reduced the Federal Emergency Management Agency to a different four-letter word in the eyes of many, especially African-American New Orleans residents, who were disparately victimized and displaced by the storm and the floods that killed more than 1,800 people.

 
 
OUR NATION by NNPA

Mississippi officials report latest storm damage following torrential rain, flooding

PEARL, Miss.- Although the death toll remains at six, new reports show that the number of destroyed and damaged homes continue to rise due to the devastating May 1 storm systems that caused major flooding and produced two tornadoes in North Mississippi.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Program ends after field trip for Black students

ANN ARBOR, Mich.- A program for African American elementary students in Michigan has been disbanded after a field trip to meet a Black rocket scientist that excluded children of other races.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Abrams

House takes up Cash for Caulkers stimulus bill

WASHINGTON — Democrats say homeowners could foster jobs, clean up the earth and save themselves some serious money — just by making their homes more energy efficient under a bill expected to pass the House Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Martin Crutsinger

Productivity gains slow, signal job growth ahead

WASHINGTON — U.S. companies are running out of ways to increase productivity from leaner workforces, a sign that they may need to step up hiring in the months ahead.

 
 
OUR NATION by Daniel Wagner and Marcy Gordon

Ex-official defends actions in U.S. financial crisis

WASHINGTON — Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday the U.S. government-brokered rescue sale of Wall Street firm Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in March 2008 held off the financial crisis for much of that tumultuous year.

 
 
OUR NATION by Colleen Long

Official: NYC suspect did dry run before car bomb

NEW YORK — A day before driving an SUV with a rigged homemade bomb into Times Square, a Pakistani-American made a test drive into the heart of the city, dropped off a getaway car blocks from his target and took a train home to Connecticut, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

 
 
OUR NATION by NNPA

Obama signs debt relief bill for Haiti

WASHINGTON – President Obama has signed into law a bill calling for the United States to take the lead in forgiving debt owed to international lenders by earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

 
 
OUR NATION by Pharoh Martin

Black farmers still waiting to collect on USDA race settlement

Willard Tillman and others converged on Capitol Hill recently to find when Congress would disperse funds from the historic $1.25 billion settlement in the Pigford II case against the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture where Black farmers claimed discrimination.

 
 
OUR NATION Special to Defender

Notre Dame’s first Black valedictorian

Katie Washington, a biological sciences major from Gary, Ind., has been named valedictorian of the 2010 University of Notre Dame graduating class and will present the valedictory address during Commencement exercises May 16, in Notre Dame stadium.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jennifer Peltz

Malcolm X assassin is freed on parole in NYC

NEW YORK – The only man to admit shooting Malcolm X has been freed on parole, 45 years after he helped assassinate the civil ri

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville and Tom Raum

Obama slams Wall Street ways while asking support

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama rebuked Wall Street for risky practices Thursday even as he sought its leaders' help for "updated, commonsense" banking regulations to head off any new financial crisis.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Pay raises for Congress? No dice in election year

WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed a bill to deny members of Congress their annual pay raise next year.

 
 
OUR NATION by David N. Goodman

Mourners pay respects to ex-NAACP director Hooks

DETROIT – Mourners paid respects Monday to longtime NAACP executive director Benjamin L. Hooks as he lay in repose at the Detroit church where he preached for 30 years.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Home sales rise as unemployment claims fall

WASHINGTON — Home sales rose sharply last month and claims for jobless benefits fell last week. The two reports Thursday sketched a picture of a modestly improving economy.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Dorothy Height, U.S. civil rights activist, dies

WASHINGTON – Dorothy Height, the leading female voice of the 1960s U.S. civil rights movement and a participant in historic marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, died Tuesday. She was 98.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku

‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ A tribute to Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks

On Dec. 1, 2006, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks welcomed Memphis filmmaker George Tillman Jr. into his living room to capture Dr. Hooks' reflections for a documentary under the working title The Million Woman March - 10 Years Later. The film project continues as a work in progress.

 
 
OUR NATION by Marcy Gordon

SEC accuses Goldman Sachs of civil fraud

WASHINGTON — The government has accused Goldman Sachs & Co. of defrauding investors by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in subprime investments it sold as the housing market was collapsing.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tim Talley

1995 US bombing victims' children build new lives

In this photo made Friday, April 16, 2010, Dion Thomas, 30, of Oklahoma City, Okla., a graduate student in Howard University's speech and language pathology program, is seen on campus in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

 
 
OUR NATION by Maryclaire Dale

Ex-NJ mayor appeals guilt in mistress's land deals

Hundreds of supporters greet former Newark Mayor Sharpe James as he arrives at Newark Penn Station after an 18 month prison term, April 6 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Joe Epstein

 
 
OUR NATION by Charles Babington

Obamas: $5.5 million income, $1.8 million tax bill

WASHINGTON — Thanks to revived book sales after he became president, Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, made $5.5 million last year. They paid about one-third of it in federal income taxes.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

2nd man goes to court in NJ child gang rape case

Defendant Timear Lewis is seen on a television screen in the Mercer County Courthouse during his video bail hearing Friday, April 9, 2010, in Trenton, N.J. Lewis is charged with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. (AP Photo/MJ Schear)

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ft. Hood suspect moved from hospital to Texas jail

BELTON, Texas — The Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly Fort Hood shooting was transferred early Friday from a San Antonio military hospital to a jail near the Army post, his attorney said.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mark Sherman

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retiring

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill.

 
 
OUR NATION by Cain Burdeau

Amnesty: U.S. guilty of Katrina-related abuses

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. government and Gulf Coast states have consistently violated the human rights of hurricane victims since Hurricane Katrina killed about 1,800 people and caused widespread devastation after striking in August 2005, Amnesty International said Friday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Flaherty

Republicans expected to line up behind New START

WASHINGTON — Despite near gridlock in the U.S. Senate, Republicans were expected to swing behind a new arms control treaty with Russia even though some are reserving judgment until Obama can assure them the pact won't set back U.S. defenses against other potential foes such as North Korea and Iran.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

New policy boosts needy students, HBCUs

WASHINGTON - With the signing of yet another historical piece of legislation, President Obama made good on his promise to make higher education more affordable and accessible for all Americans.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ken Thomas and Larry Margasak

Toyota exec urged automaker to 'come clean'

WASHINGTON — In the days leading up to its massive recall in January, Toyota executives debated when they should inform the public about safety problems with accelerator pedals, prompting one executive to urge the company to "come clean," according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dena Potter and Lawrence Messina

Crews search mine for 4 missing in W.Va. blast

MONTCOAL, W.Va. — Rescue crews began working their way by rail car and on foot through a coal mine early Thursday in search of four miners missing since a blast killed 25 colleagues in the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than two decades.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Initial jobless claims increase unexpectedly

WASHINGTON — The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, a sign that jobs remain scarce even as the economy recovers.

 
 
OUR NATION by George Jahn and Vladimir Isachenkov

Obama, Medvedev sign treaty to cut nuclear arms

PRAGUE — Seeking to end years of rancor, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed the biggest nuclear arms pact in a generation and envisioned a day when they can compromise on the divisive issue of missile defense.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lawrence Messina

25 dead in W.Va. mine blast, worst since 1984

MONTCOAL, W.Va. — A huge underground explosion blamed on methane gas killed 25 coal miners in the worst U.S. mining disaster since 1984, and rescuers on Tuesday began a dangerous and possibly futile attempt to rescue four others still missing.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama: U.S. would go bankrupt without health changes

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he did a full court press for a health care system remake because "this country was going to go bankrupt."

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Govternment to help get coverage for uninsured

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is taking the first steps toward showing voters concrete benefits from the new health care law, moving to help people with pre-existing health conditions get coverage.

 
 
OUR NATION by Laurie Kellman

FAA: Pilots allowed to take antidepressants on job

WASHINGTON — Some pilots taking medication for mild or moderate depression will be able to fly as soon as next week under a new government rule aimed partly at getting those taking antidepressants to disclose the treatment.

 
 
OUR NATION by Philip Elliott

Obama welcomes jobs report as rare good news

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a new government report showing the most jobs created in nearly three years. "We are beginning to turn the corner," he told employees of a manufacturing plant that received government stimulus money.

 
 
OUR NATION by Devlin Barrett and Eileen Sullivan

FBI warns letters to governors could stir violence

WASHINGTON — The FBI is warning police across the country that an anti-government group's call to remove governors from office could provoke violence.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Employers added most jobs in 3 years in March

WASHINGTON — The nation's economy posted its largest job gain in three years in March, while the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent for the third straight month.

 
 
OUR NATION by Pharoh Martin

Lee receives political leadership award

U. S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., center, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was honored for her political leadership by National Newspaper Publishers Association Chairman Danny Bakewell, lefte, NNPA foundation Chairwoman Dorothy Leavell, right, and Rep. Cloves Campbell of the Arizona House of Delegates, also publisher of the Arizona Informant. Photo/Roy Lewis

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Graczyk

Houston man executed for robbery-slaying

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Condemned prisoner Franklin Dewayne Alix was executed Tuesday evening for fatally shooting a Houston man during a robbery.

 
 
OUR NATION Defender Staff Report

National Black McDonald’s Operators Association fund Haitian relief

Representing more than 1,400 McDonald’s restaurants throughout the United States with annual sales collectively exceeding $3.2 billion, the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association recently announced a $100,000 donation to the Red Cross for its continual Haiti relief efforts.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jeannine Aversa

Year-end growth spurt not likely to be repeated

WASHINGTON — The burst of energy the economy showed at the end of last year isn't likely to be repeated anytime soon.

 
 
OUR NATION by Greg Bluestein

Ga. man charged with flurry of false FEMA claims

ATLANTA — A Georgia man who claims he was the victim of hurricanes in Louisiana, tornadoes in Indiana and flooding in New Hampshire has been charged with fraud.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Zibel and Christophen S. Rugaber

Gov't unveils plan to shrink some home loans

WASHINGTON — After months of criticism that it hasn't done enough to prevent foreclosures, the Obama administration announced on Friday a plan to reduce the amount some troubled borrowers owe on their home loans.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Deputies raid 4 Ariz. McDonald's in ID theft case

PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies have arrested 12 people in raids on four Phoenix-area McDonald's restaurants in a stolen identity case.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Fram

Senate OKs health care fix-it bill, House is next

WASHINGTON — Democrats muscled legislation through the Senate on Thursday reshaping parts of the new health care overhaul law, sending it back to the House for what is expected to be final congressional approval. President Barack Obama dared Republicans to try to repeal the law.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

'Go for it,' Obama tells GOP on health repeal

IOWA CITY, Iowa — President Barack Obama dared Republicans to try to repeal his new health care law, telling them Thursday to "Go for it" and see how well they do with voters in November.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama signs landmark health care reform bill

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law a landmark health care reform bill, presiding over the biggest shift in U.S. domestic policy since the 1960s and capping a divisive, yearlong debate that could define the November congressional elections.

 
 
OUR NATION by Denise Lavoie

Opponents take last stand against health care bill

In a defiant last stand against a newly passed health care overhaul, opponents are trying everything they can to stop it from becoming the law of the land.

 
 
OUR NATION by Matthew Perrone

Health overhaul promises pain, gain for businesses

WASHINGTON — When historians write the book on how President Barack Obama's health care overhaul became law, they'll need to leave space for some unlikely advocates: lobbyists for the drug, insurance and hospital industries.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Economic mixed bag: No inflation but little hiring

WASHINGTON — The picture of an economy growing modestly without producing inflation yet struggling to create jobs emerged from government reports Thursday

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

MDOC to end segregation of HIV inmates

JACKSON, Miss. — Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps says the Mississippi prison system will end the practice of keeping male HIV-positive inmates in segregated units.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama postpones Asia trip to focus on health care

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has postponed his trip to Asia until June so he can stay in Washington for a possible Sunday vote on his health care overhaul plan.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Democrats near vote on Obama health care bill

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders are unveiling what is expected to be their final health care bill Thursday, setting the stage for a Sunday vote on a plan that would affect most Americans and has become the defining issue in Barack Obama's presidency.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

Obama signs jobs bill, says more must be done

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a package of tax breaks and spending designed to give the nation a jobs boost by encouraging the private sector to start hiring again.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration.

 
 
OUR NATION Defender Staff Report

Communities of color plan march on National Mall

Organizations from around the country are preparing to make their national presence known - and have their collective voices heard - as they organize to march on the National Mall March 21.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jennifer Kay

Probe: U.S. botched Haiti relief flights to Florida

Haiti earthquake overwhelmed Florida hospitals in January, state officials pleaded with the federal government for basic information about arriving patients but got little assistance, e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show.

 
 
OUR NATION by Elliot Spagat and Tom Krisher

AP Source: Toyota to cast doubt on Prius case

DETROIT — Toyota plans to cast doubt Monday on a California man's claim that his Prius sped out of control last week on the freeway, a person briefed on the matter told The Associated Press.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama seeks to reassure seniors on health care

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — With a fresh sense of urgency, President Barack Obama sought to reassure seniors Monday about health care legislation approaching a final vote in Congress, pledging it would make preventive care cost-free and close a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Kuhnhenn

Senator unveils U.S. financial regulation plan

WASHINGTON — A new Democratic Senate bill to tame U.S. financial markets would give the government new powers to break up firms that threaten the economy and would force the industry to pay for its failures.

 
 
OUR NATION by Matt Leingang

Ohio State janitor’s gunfire kills co-worker, self

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio State University janitor who was about to lose his job walked into a maintenance building for his early morning shift Tuesday and shot two supervisors, killing one of them and fatally shooting himself. No students were hurt. AP/Courtesy of Ohio State University

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Kunzelman

Ex-New Orleans officer pleads in shooting cover-up

From left to right, Lance Madison, Dr. Romell Madison and Jackie Madison Brown talk to attorney Mary Howell in New Orleans last month after Michael Lohman, a former lieutenant of the New Orleans Police Department, pleaded guilty to conspiring with fellow NOPD officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting that killed their brother, Ronald Madison, during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (AP Photo/Cheryl Gerber)

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

First-time jobless claims drop slightly last week

WASHINGTON — The number of newly laid-off workers requesting unemployment benefits slipped last week, but remains above the level many economists say would signal new hiring.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Dems look to health vote without abortion foes

WASHINGTON — House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama's health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.

 
 
OUR NATION by Justin Pritchard

Feds recall more children jewelry in cadmium probe

LOS ANGELES — Federal regulators expanded their efforts Thursday to go after children's jewelry that contains high levels of the toxic metal cadmium by telling parents to throw away "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"-themed charm bracelets.

 
 
OUR NATION by Matt Leingang

Ohio State shooter left note, tells woman 'sorry'

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio State janitor who shot two supervisors in a campus maintenance shop before killing himself left behind a brief handwritten note directed to a woman named Donna that said "sorry I let you down," according to documents released Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dave Carpenter and Jeannine Aversa

Slowly, Americans are regaining their lost wealth

WASHINGTON — Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth — gradually.

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Margasak and Laurie Kellman

Nation’s Democrats mired in swamp they vowed to drain

WASHINGTON – A rash of ethics lapses has given Democrats an election-year headache: how to convince skeptical voters that they’re any cleaner than Republicans they accused of fostering a “culture of corruption” in 2006. AP/Harry Hamburg

 
 
OUR NATION by David Crary

Survey finds sharp drop in children's bullying

NEW YORK — There's been a sharp drop in the percentage of America's children being bullied or beaten up by their peers, according to a new national survey by experts who believe anti-bullying programs are having an impact.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Fram

Obama presses fellow Dems: Seize moment on health

WASHINGTON — Support from his own party in doubt, President Barack Obama summoned more than a dozen House Democrats to the White House Thursday, pleading with them to put aside their qualms, seize a historic moment and vote for his massive health care overhaul.

 
 
OUR NATION by David B. Caruso and Michael Gormley

N.Y. governor abandons bid for full, 4-year term

Beset by waning support and a recent scandal with a top aide, N.Y. Gov. David Paterson sets aside the idea of running for a full term.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama argues for health care reform on TV forum

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama alternatively courted and blasted Republicans who have impeded his health care plan Thursday, in an extraordinary live-on-TV summit aimed at breaking a partisan deadlock over his top domestic priority.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jessica Gresko

In D.C. Blacks were crucial to gay marriage debate

The debate over same-sex marriage has sounded different in the nation's capital, with references to interracial marriage and Martin Luther King Jr.

 
 
OUR NATION by Clarke Canfield

Nearly 200K without power after Northeast storm

PORTLAND, Maine — Nearly 200,000 homes and businesses were still without power Monday as restoration efforts continued days after a slow-moving storm battered the Northeast with heavy snow, rain and high winds.

 
 
OUR NATION by Darlene Superville

Obama seeks money, interventions to stem dropouts

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama took aim Monday at the nation's school dropout epidemic, proposing $900 million to states and education districts that agree to drastically change or even shutter their worst performing schools.

 
 
OUR NATION by Kathleen Miller

States may ban credit checks on job applicants

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It's hard enough to find a job in this economy, and now some people are facing another hurdle: Potential employers are holding their credit histories against them.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ula Ilnytzky

Paterson declares he'll use authority to govern

NEW YORK — New York Gov. David Paterson declared Monday that he still has the authority to govern and plans to do so through the final year of his term, despite calls for his resignation amid a state police scandal.

 
 
OUR NATION by Angela K. Brown

Fort Hood suspect moving from hospital to jail

FORT WORTH, Texas — An attorney says the Army psychiatrist charged in the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military base will soon be moved to a county jail near Fort Hood after four months in a military hospital.

 
 
OUR NATION by Eva Vergara and Michael Warren

Chile troops, police attack post-quake looting

CONCEPCION, Chile — Rescuers found signs of life in the wreckage of a 15-story building Monday as the world offered aid to victims of an earthquake that killed more than 700 people. Troops and police arrested dozens of people for violating a curfew designed to prevent looting.

 
 
OUR NATION by Adam Goldman

2 indicted in foiled NYC subway bomb plot case

NEW YORK — Two high school classmates of admitted terrorist plotter Najibullah Zazi were indicted Thursday in a foiled scheme to bomb New York City subways that a prosecutor said was directed by "al-Qaida leadership."

 
 
OUR NATION by Dan Strumpf

Only last-minute buyer will save Hummer brand

NEW YORK — Unless a last-minute buyer steps forward, General Motors Co.'s Hummer brand is fading into history.

 
 
OUR NATION by Holbrook Mohr

Former Klansman convicted in '64 slayings sues FBI

JACKSON, Miss. — A former Ku Klux Klansman convicted in the 1964 slayings of three civil rights workers is suing the FBI and Mississippi's attorney general.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Zibel

Republicans slam Obama loan help effort

WASHINGTON — Republicans are taking aim at the Obama administration's struggling mortgage assistance program. They argue the effort is making the economic crisis worse and say many homeowners would be better off as renters.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Jobless claims rise due to weather-related factors

WASHINGTON — New claims for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week, mostly because state agencies processed a backlog of claims caused by snowstorms the previous week.

 
 
OUR NATION by Herb Boyd

NAACP unanimously elects youngest chair

NEW YORK – Hours before the NAACP officially announced that Roslyn M. Brock was the new chair of the National Board of Directors, she sat down in her suite at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan recently for an exclusive interview.

 
 
OUR NATION by Foster Klug and Jennifer Loven

Dalai Lama gets upbeat – but quiet – Obama welcome

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama personally welcomed the Dalai Lama to the White House Thursday and lauded his goals for the Tibetan people, but he kept their get-together off-camera and low-key in an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions with China.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sarah Karush

Md. mom convicted of killing kids found in freezer

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A Maryland woman who adopted three children despite a troubled past was convicted Monday of murdering two of the girls, whose bodies were stored in a freezer as the woman continued collecting payments meant to help with their care.

 
 
OUR NATION by Charles Babington

White House: Dems near accord on health care bill

WASHINGTON — The White House and congressional leaders are preparing a detailed health care proposal designed to win passage without Republican support if GOP lawmakers fail to embrace bipartisan compromises at President Barack Obama's summit next week.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Vertuno

Official: Plane crash pilot left anti-tax Web note

AUSTIN, Texas — A software engineer furious with the Internal Revenue Service plowed his small plane into an office building housing nearly 200 federal tax employees on Thursday, officials said, setting off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing as thick plumes of black smoke poured into the air.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Vertuno

Official: Plane crash pilot left anti-tax Web note

AUSTIN, Texas — A software engineer furious with the Internal Revenue Service plowed his small plane into an office building housing nearly 200 federal tax employees on Thursday, officials said, setting off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing as thick plumes of black smoke poured into the air.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

AKA lawsuit dismissed in D.C. court

WASINGTON – A D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by eight members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, or AKA, the nation’s oldest Black sorority.

 
 
OUR NATION by Maria Cheng

Experts explore ways to circumcise men in Africa

LONDON – The most powerful force against AIDS in Africa may be circumcision, a procedure that’s easily done in the developed world. But it’s a challenge on a continent where there are too few medical workers and a reluctance by men for cultural reasons and fear of pain.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

South gets 2nd dose of snow in days

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Snow and ice pelted parts of the South on Monday for the second time in a matter of days, glazing Tennessee highways and reaching into northern Alabama.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Nuckols

Rawlings-Blake sworn in as Baltimore mayor

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was sworn in Thursday as the 49th mayor of Baltimore, replacing Sheila Dixon, who resigned amid a scandal.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lindsey Tanner

Autism risks detailed in children of older mothers

A woman's chance of having a child with autism increase substantially as she ages, but the risk may be less for older dads than previously suggested, a new study analyzing more than 5 million births found.

 
 
OUR NATION by Nancy Benac

Capital Culture: First lady tackling child obesity

WASHINGTON — By now, it is abundantly clear that Michelle Obama loves french fries.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sarah Karush

Snow bears down on D.C. as Mid-Atlantic region preps

WASHINGTON — A powerful winter storm bore down on the Mid-Atlantic on Friday with as much as 2 feet of snow in store for the nation's capital, where the federal government prepared to shut early.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

January unemployment rate drops to 9.7 percent

WASHINGTON — The outlook for jobs became a bit less bleak with January's unexpected decline in the unemployment rate, which fell to 9.7 percent from 10 percent as more Americans said they had jobs.

 
 
OUR NATION by Yuri Kageyama

Toyota chief apologizes for global recalls

TOKYO — Toyota's president apologized Friday for the massive global recalls over sticking gas pedals as the automaker scrambles to repair a damaged reputation and sliding sales.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ed White

Autopsy: U.S. imam shot 20 times at FBI raid

DETROIT — A Muslim prayer leader accused of encouraging his followers to commit violence against the U.S. government was shot 20 times during an FBI raid at a suburban warehouse last year, according to an autopsy report released Monday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lindsey Tanner

U.S. study: Experimental class aided teen abstinence

An experimental abstinence-only program without a moralistic tone can delay young teens from having sex, a new study found.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dan Strumpf

Questions and answers on Toyota's gas pedal fix

NEW YORK — Toyota says it's found a fix to its problem of sticky accelerator pedals. That problem has triggered one of the company's largest recalls, an unprecedented halt in sales and a public relations headache.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Tarm

Money woes could threaten high-speed rail's future

The $8 billion in stimulus cash awarded to 13 high-speed rail corridors across the country may seem like a windfall, but there's a catch. The money isn't enough to finish any of the major projects.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Vanacore

Study finds gov. support for media is shrinking

NEW YORK — Government subsidies for the media, which are not widely known but are a long-running source of revenue for publishers, are quietly vanishing just as the industry is struggling to remain commercially viable, according to a new report released Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Fox and Vivian Sequera

Teenage girl rescued 15 days after quake is stable

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A 16-year-old girl pulled from the rubble more than two weeks after a deadly earthquake was in stable condition Thursday, able to eat yogurt and mashed vegetables to the surprise of doctors, who said her survival was medically inexplicable.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Taylor

Senate rejects near-freeze on spending

WASHINGTON — Just days after President Barack Obama endorsed a partial freeze on domestic spending, his Democratic allies in the Senate have rejected a plan attempting to do pretty much the same thing.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Chris Matthews on Obama: 'Forgot he was Black'

NEW YORK — MSNBC's Chris Matthews says President Barack Obama has done so much to heal racial divisions that he "forgot he was Black" while watching his State of the Union address.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Rep.: Bill would ban 9/11 trial in civilian court

NEW YORK — Rep. Peter King says he has introduced a bill that would prevent the Sept. 11 terrorist trial from being held in New York City.

 
 
OUR NATION by Russ Bynum

Navy sued to halt training near endangered whales

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Environmental groups are suing the Navy in an effort to halt plans for an offshore training range that they say would threaten endangered right whales.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Obama speech fails to break health care logjam

WASHINGTON — The morning after President Barack Obama urged Congress to finish the job on health care overhaul, a key moderate Democrat on Thursday likened the sweeping legislation to a patient hovering near death.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tom Krisher

GM: No deal yet to sell Saab, but still talking

DETROIT — Dutch luxury car maker Spyker Cars NV is still in talks with General Motors Co. to buy its ailing Saab brand, but no deal has been reached, GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. said Monday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mae Anderson

Economic survey: Slow recovery continues

NEW YORK — Businesses expect to boost hiring and capital spending in the first half of the year as the U.S. recovery from the recession slowly continues, according to a new survey.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Pace

Obama announces initiatives for middle class

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is offering new ideas meant to help struggling people pay bills and care for their families, aiming to help a middle-class he says has been "under assault for a long time."

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Melia and Vivian Sequera

Urgent need for tent cities for Haitian refugees

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The collapse of much of Haiti's capital has a large part of the nation struggling just to find a place to sleep.

 
 
OUR NATION by Philip Elliott

Defiant Obama urges Congress to pass jobs bill

ELYRIA, Ohio — A combative President Barack Obama exhorted Congress Friday to pass a new job-creation bill, taking a populist appeal to America's recession-racked Rust Belt in hopes of recapturing the energy of his campaign and moving his presidency beyond this week's blows.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alfred de Montesquiou and Michelle Faul

Many flee Haiti capital, govt plans tent cities

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitians are fleeing their quake-ravaged capital by the hundreds of thousands, aid officials said Friday, as their government promised to help nearly a half-million more move from squalid camps on curbsides and vacant lots into safer, cleaner tent cities.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jeannine Aversa and Philip Elliott

Bernanke faces more Sen. opposition for 2nd term

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke faced mounting Senate opposition for another four-year term Friday, even as the White House described President Barack Obama as confident about his confirmation.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Kuhnhenn

Obama steps up campaign against Wall Street banks

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama stepped up his campaign against Wall Street on Thursday with a far-reaching proposal for tougher regulation of the biggest banks.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Politics of terrorism emerge anew in election year

WASHINGTON — Terrorism is creeping back to the forefront of the American mindset, creating an election-year issue for emboldened Republicans and forcing President Barack Obama to reassert himself after a wobbly period of homeland protection.

 
 
OUR NATION by Alan Fram

Pelosi: House lacks votes to OK Senate health bill

WASHINGTON — The leader of the House of Representatives said Thursday that she lacks the votes to move the Senate's sweeping health overhaul bill through the House, dealing a jarring blow to Democrats' hopes of finally speeding President Barack Obama's top domestic priority through Congress.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mark Sherman

Court eases business, union election spending rule

WASHINGTON — A major U.S. Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance Tuesday could alter drastically who gives and gets hundreds of millions of dollars ahead of the November congressional elections.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Melia and Paul Haven

Haiti's mass graves swell; doctors fear more death

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Workers are carving out mass graves on a hillside north of Haiti's capital, using earth-movers to bury 10,000 people in a single day even as relief workers warn that Haitians are still dying of injuries from the Jan. 12 quake for lack of medical care.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

White House adviser criticizes evangelist's remark

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A senior White House adviser says evangelist broadcaster Pat Robertson's remark that Haiti has been "cursed" doesn't express the spirit of the American people or the president.

 
 
OUR NATION by Deepti Hajela

Immigration reformers see parallels in King's work

NEW YORK — Hundreds of immigrants across the United States became citizens this week in special ceremonies honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have turned 81 Friday

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Kuhnhenn

Obama tells banks: 'We want our money back'

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Thursday he wants to tax banks to recoup the public bailout of foundering firms at the height of the financial crisis. "We want our money back," he said.

 
 
OUR NATION by Pauline Jelinek

U.S. ups ante on Haitian assistance, commits $100M

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Thursday that "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history" is moving toward Haiti as he continued to mobilize the U.S. response to the island's devastating earthquake.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sam Hananel

AP Sources: Tentative deal on health bill tax

WASHINGTON — The White House reached a tentative agreement with union leaders early Thursday to tax high-cost insurance plans, officials said, removing one of the major stumbling blocks in the way of a final compromise on comprehensive health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Organizations accepting donations to help Haiti

Want to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti? Aid organizations say cash donations are best. Here are some that are accepting donations:

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

SF economist says gay marriage ban costs city

SAN FRANCISCO — An economist for the city of San Francisco says prohibiting same-sex couples from getting married hurts the city's finances.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

D.C. court rejects bid for a gay marriage referendum

WASHINGTON — A judge in Washington, D.C., has thrown out a lawsuit by opponents of gay marriage against the city's elections board.

 
 
OUR NATION by Randall Chase

Del. pediatrician accused of abuse waives hearing

GEORGETOWN, Del. — A Delaware pediatrician accused of sexually abusing possibly more than 100 patients has waived a preliminary court hearing and bond review.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Melia

Quake aid starts to arrive for desperate Haitians

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Desperately needed aid from around the world slowly made its way Thursday into Haiti, where supply bottlenecks and a leadership vacuum left rescuers scrambling on their own to save the trapped and injured and get relief supplies into the capital.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Red Cross estimates 50,000 dead in Haiti quake

GENEVA — The Red Cross federation says it estimates there have been 45,000-50,000 deaths in the Haitian earthquake.

 
 
OUR NATION by Brett J. Blackledge and Matt Apuzzo

AP IMPACT: Road projects don't help unemployment

WASHINGTON — Ten months into President Barack Obama's first economic stimulus plan, a surge in spending on roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment and only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry, an Associated Press analysis has found.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lisa Leff

Groundbreaking gay marriage trial starts in U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO — The first federal trial to determine if the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from outlawing same-sex marriage gets under way Monday, and the two gay couples on whose behalf the case was brought will be among the first witnesses.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Drug benefit expanded to 1 million more seniors

WASHINGTON — In case the prospect of nearly $4,000 in prescription assistance isn't enough to perk up low-income seniors, the government is using '60s singer Chubby Checker to publicize "the twist" in the Medicare drug program.

 
 
OUR NATION by Pablo Gorondi

Energy prices slide as employment numbers dip

Energy prices fell for a second consecutive day Friday as the U.S. reported a sharp plunge in jobs.

 
 
OUR NATION by Julie Carr Smyth

Experts debate Ohio's 1-drug lethal injection

LUCASVILLE, Ohio — Another successful execution using a lethal injection of just one drug instead of the traditional three has fueled debate over whether the state's unique approach should be adopted elsewhere.

 
 
OUR NATION by Eileen Sullivan

Obama orders up more air security, intel sharing

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of law enforcement officers are being trained as federal air marshals to ramp up security as the Obama administration tries to prevent a repeat of the near-catastrophic attempt to blow up an airliner bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Salter

Cops: Suspected shooter among dead at U.S. plant

ST. LOUIS — Police on Friday identified the four people killed in a shooting at a Swiss-owned U.S. industrial plant and confirmed that man suspected of opening fire was among the dead.

 
 
OUR NATION by James MacPherson and Meghan Barr

Snow pushes east after fatal course across Midwest

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A broad snowstorm pushed eastward early Friday ahead of a powerful cold front, complicating the morning rush and closing schools a day after contributing to a crash in Ohio that killed four people in a van carrying disabled adults.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Economy loses 85K jobs, unemployment rate steady

WASHINGTON — Lack of confidence in the economic recovery led employers to shed a more-than-expected 85,000 jobs in December even as the unemployment rate held at 10 percent. The rate would have been higher if more people had been looking for work instead of leaving the labor force because they can't find jobs.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama ordering changes after anti-terror missteps

WASHINGTON — Security officials flagged the name of the Nigerian airline bombing suspect for extra screening after he was already in the air, U.S. officials said Thursday, as President Barack Obama got ready to outline government missteps in the near-catastrophe and order fixes.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Crumb

Frigid weather hits Midwest, -52 wind chill in N.D.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Snow was piled so high in Iowa that drivers couldn't see across intersections and a North Dakota snowblower repair shop was overwhelmed with business as heavy snow and wind chills as low as 52 below zero blasted much of the Midwest on Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Holbrook Mohr

Disgraced Miss. judge to report to federal prison

JACKSON, Miss. — Bobby DeLaughter, a former Mississippi prosecutor and judge whose legal conquests became the subject of books and a movie, is set to report to federal prison Monday for lying to the FBI in a judicial bribery investigation.

 
 
OUR NATION by Devlin Barrett

Threats against federal judges, prosecutors are up

WASHINGTON — Threats to federal judges and prosecutors have jumped dramatically, according to a new government report issued Monday that found such threats more than doubled in the past six years

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Baker

AP: 2009 bankruptcies total 1.4 million, up 32 pct

RALEIGH, N.C. — U.S. consumers and businesses are filing for bankruptcy at a pace that made 2009 the seventh-worst year on record, with more than 1.4 million petitions submitted.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Ex-Ga. state senator takes office as Atlanta mayor

ATLANTA — Former Georgia state Sen. Kasim Reed is being sworn into office as Atlanta's 59th mayor.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Feds probe Obama effigy in Jimmy Carter's hometown

PLAINS, Ga. — The mayor of former President Jimmy Carter's hometown says the city acted immediately to remove an effigy of President Barack Obama that was found hanging from a building.

 
 
OUR NATION by Philip Elliott

Obama ends Hawaiian holiday, returns to Washington

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama returned Monday to the White House he never really escaped.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Power goes out at Reagan National outside DC

ARLINGTON, Va. — The power is out at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., bringing flights and security screening to a standstill.

 
 
OUR NATION by Eileen Sullivan

More suspected terrorists moved to watch lists

WASHINGTON — Counterterrorism officials have moved the names of dozens of people onto the terror watch list and the no-fly list after reviewing a massive government database of suspected terrorists.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Porter

TSA: Man who caused breach at N.J. airport soon left

NEWARK, N.J. — A man who caused a security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport, forcing major delays and grounding flights for six hours, left about 20 minutes after he walked the wrong way through a security checkpoint, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ken Ritter

Court officer, gunman killed in Las Vegas shootout

LAS VEGAS — A hospital official says a court officer has died after being wounded in a shooting at a Las Vegas federal building. A second officer is in serious condition.

 
 
OUR NATION by John Curran

Winter system drops record snow, chills the South

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Snow falling like New Year's confetti joined forces with a chill that dipped deep to the South on Monday to close schools, delay commuters, threaten fruit farmers and shut down at least one nuclear power plant.

 
 
OUR NATION by Eileen Sullivan

Napolitano concedes airline security system failed

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that the aviation security system failed when a young man on a watchlist with a U.S. visa in his pocket and a powerful explosive hidden on his body was allowed to board a fight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Koenig

New restrictions add to air-travel headaches

New security restrictions swiftly implemented following a botched attempt to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day are making air travel more burdensome and could discourage some business fliers, key customers for the airlines.

 
 
OUR NATION by Calvin Woodward

House Democrats pessimistic about public option

WASHINGTON — House Democrats aren't optimistic that a government insurance plan, a central element of health care legislation passed in their chamber, will survive negotiations with the Senate.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne D`Innocenzio

Shoppers spend a little more during holiday season

NEW YORK — Holiday shoppers spent a little more this season, according to data released Monday, giving merchants some reason for cheer.

 
 
OUR NATION by Timberly Ross

Winter weather leaves behind flooding concerns

OMAHA, Neb. — Snow and rain storms that have battered much of the country for days have started subsiding, leaving behind concerns about flooding in some areas.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

EMTs say they weren't asked to examine ill woman

NEW YORK — Two emergency medical technicians accused of refusing to help a dying pregnant woman say they were never asked to examine her nor told the extent of her condition.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Senate OKs health care measure, reaching milestone

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history.

 
 
OUR NATION by Martin Crutsinger and Daniel Wagner

Jobless claims, goods orders signal modest rebound

WASHINGTON — A fitful economic recovery is drawing strength from a stabilizing job market and signs that manufacturing will contribute to the rebound.

 
 
OUR NATION by John Hanna

Winter storm spreading snow, ice across Midwest

TOPEKA, Kan. — A powerful storm lumbered across the nation's midsection with heavy snow, sleet and rain Thursday, glazing roads and disrupting air travel but promising a white Christmas for some.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Grand jury says Rockford police shooting justified

ROCKFORD, Ill. — A grand jury ruled Wednesday that the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by two white police officers at a daycare facility filled with children was justified, an official said

 
 
OUR NATION by Larry Neumeister

Storm-walloped East Coast returns to work _ slowly

NEW YORK — Millions of East Coast commuters returned to work Monday over slick roads and icy sidewalks after a weekend winter storm dropped record snowfall, interrupted holiday shopping and stranded travelers.

 
 
OUR NATION by Glenn Adams

Maine to consider cell phone cancer warning

AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Senate Dems clear hurdle on health care

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats won a crucial test vote on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, putting them on track for passage before Christmas of the historic legislation to remake the nation's medical system and cover 30 million uninsured.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michael Astor

Group: HIV/AIDS among Top 10 crises of the year

NEW YORK — Dwindling funding for HIV/AIDS threatens to leave an estimated 10 million infected people without treatment in the developing world, making it one of 2009's Top 10 humanitarian crises, according to Doctors Without Borders.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Video: D.C. officer draws gun at snowball fight

WASHINGTON — Washington D.C. police are investigating after Internet videos showed a detective waving his gun during a mass snowball fight on a city street.

 
 
OUR NATION by Emily Fredrix

Snowstorm cuts into sales, may mean stronger week

The snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast, closing malls and snowing in shoppers, spelled trouble for retailers, but elsewhere in the country stores saw a strong turnout on the last weekend before Christmas.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Bernard

Citigroup to repay $20 billion in bailout money

NEW YORK — Citigroup said Monday it is repaying $20 billion in public bailout money, freeing the banking giant from the close scrutiny and pay restrictions that came with the rescue program. The government will also sell its stake in the company.

 
 
OUR NATION by Calvin Woodward and David Espo

Senate Dems struggle to get health care on track

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Lieberman strongly rebutted charges Monday that he flip-flopped to oppose the expansion of Medicare as part of health care legislation, as Democratic leaders struggled to get President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative on track for passage by Christmas.

 
 
OUR NATION by Daniel Wagner and Philip Elliott

Obama pushing bankers on industry overhaul

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is asking bank executives to support his efforts to tighten the U.S. financial industry, while bankers are prepared to tell the president he should stop oversimplifying their concerns if he wants good-faith collaboration.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

U.S. court to review access to worker messages

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will decide how much privacy workers have when they send text messages from company accounts.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Kuhnhenn

House passes broad Wall Street regulatory overhaul

WASHINGTON — A year after Wall Street failures plunged the nation into recession, the House on Friday passed the most ambitious restructuring of financial regulation since the New Deal.

 
 
OUR NATION by Daniel Wagner

Treasury pay czar limits pay at automakers, banks

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's pay czar is limiting the cash compensation for executives at companies that received the largest taxpayer bailouts to $500,000.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Democrats fend off effort to kill consumer agency

WASHINGTON — House Democrats have fended off an effort to kill a proposed consumer agency contained in legislation to regulate Wall Street. The vote was 223-208.

 
 
OUR NATION by Martin Crutsinger

Economic news raises hopes for global recovery

WASHINGTON — Signs of a strengthening global recovery emerged Friday, with consumers boosting retail sales, companies restoring stockpiles and Chinese exports mounting a comeback.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Obama says Afghanistan not U.S. 'protectorate'

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he needed to set a deadline to start withdrawing U.S. forces so the Afghans wouldn't assume their country would be "a permanent protectorate" of the United States.

 
 
OUR NATION by Bruce Smith

S.C. first lady files for divorce from cheating gov

CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina's first lady, a former Wall Street vice president who helped launch her husband's political career, filed for divorce Friday more than five months after his tearful public confession of an affair with an Argentine woman

 
 
OUR NATION by Marilynn Marchione

Novel drug combo extends breast cancer survival

SAN ANTONIO — Women with very advanced breast cancer may have a new treatment option. Doctors say that a combination of two drugs that more precisely target tumors significantly extended the lives of women who had stopped responding to other treatments.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Nobel-winning Obama defends war in call for peace

OSLO — Newly enshrined among the world's great peacemakers, President Barack Obama offered a striking defense of war.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Senate confronts abortion in health care debate

WASHINGTON — The divisive issue of abortion emerged Monday as an obstacle to Senate passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul as a moderate Democrat proposed tough restrictions that liberals said they could not possibly accept.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ben Feller

Obama eyes 'selective' use of bailout dollars

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Monday the massive federal bailout program for financial insititutions has turned out to be much less costly than expected and there may be ways to redirect some of the money toward creating new jobs.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Ohio killer awaits fate as 1st execution on 1 drug

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A condemned killer scheduled to become the first person in the U.S. put to death with a single drug — in an execution that could take longer than previous procedures — arrived Monday at the Ohio death house.

 
 
OUR NATION by Matthew Perrone

Drugmakers, FDA move to curb painkiller abuse

Pharmaceutical executives laid out plans Friday to prevent the misuse of prescription painkillers, under pressure from regulators trying to stop hundreds of fatal overdoses each year.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Unexpected drop in jobless rate sparks optimism

A surprising drop in the unemployment rate and far fewer job losses last month raised hopes Friday for a sustained economic recovery. The rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent, from 10.2 percent in October, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since the recession began.

 
 
OUR NATION by Martin Crutsinger

Administration plans new efforts on foreclosures

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, battling a foreclosure crisis that shows no signs of relenting, will step up pressure on mortgage companies to do more to help people remain in their homes, officials said Saturday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

Turbulence ahead: Senate opens health care debate

With the Senate set to begin debate Monday on health care overhaul, the all-hands-on-deck Democratic coalition that allowed the bill to advance is fracturing already. Yet majority Democrats will need 60 votes again to finish.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Bauder

Exec: Obama dinner crashers shopping interview

NEW YORK — The couple who crashed President Barack Obama's first state dinner are peddling their story to broadcast networks for hundreds of thousands of dollars, a television executive says.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

Debate opens on health bill; Democrats divided

WASHINGTON — The Senate opened debate Monday on landmark health care legislation that would extend coverage to millions of uninsured and ban onerous insurance practices, with Democrats vowing to work weekends to deliver on President Barack Obama's domestic initiative by year's end.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dominique M. Grant

Miss. governor to merge state’s HBCUs

JACKSON, Miss. – Dozens of students, members of the NAACP, alumni and concerned constituents gathered in a ‘rally’ at the Mississippi State Capitol last Friday to protest Gov. Haley Barbour’s proposal to merge Mississippi’s three historically Black universities.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Salter

Plea deal reached in store scuffle case

KENNETT, Mo. - A Black school teacher who claimed white police officers abused and assaulted her agreed Friday to a plea deal convicting her of resisting arrest and disturbing the peace.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sheila Byrd

FBI wants public's help in civil rights killings

JACKSON, Miss. — Over the last three years, the FBI scoured faded documents, interviewed aging lawmen and tracked down witnesses from killings that occurred decades ago, many of them involving white police officers who shot black men or teenagers.

 
 
OUR NATION by Suzanne Gamboa

Napolitano pronounces U.S. border more secure now

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has met many of the border security benchmarks Congress set in 2007 as a prerequisite to immigration reform and now it's time to change the law, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jon Gambrell

Evangelist sentenced to 175 years for sex crimes

TEXARKANA, Ark. — Evangelist Tony Alamo used his stature as a self-proclaimed prophet to force underage girls into sham marriages with him, controlling his followers with their fears of eternal suffering.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

DC sniper's ex-wife, children cope with execution

WASHINGTON — One of sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad's ex-wives says it was "very difficult" to watch her children grieve as their father was executed.

 
 
OUR NATION by Judy Lin

Report: 10 states face looming budget disasters

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In Arizona, the budget has grown so gloomy that lawmakers are considering mortgaging Capitol buildings. In Michigan, state officials dealing with the nation's highest unemployment rate are slashing spending on schools and health care.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mark S. Smith

Obama faces daunting challenges in Far East tour

WASHINGTON — Facing a daunting array of Asian challenges, President Barack Obama left Thursday on his first major trip to the region, where a surging China and newly assertive Japan are chipping away at America's standing on diplomacy and trade.

 
 
OUR NATION by Zinie Chen

Waning Ida's downpours swamp Mid-Atlantic coast

RICHMOND, Va. — Relentless rain drenched much of the Atlantic seaboard Thursday, pelting communities from North Carolina northward with gusty winds and heavy rains, inundating streets and stranding drivers in hard-hit Virginia.

 
 
OUR NATION by P. Solomon Banda

Lawyer: Colo. balloon boy parents to plead guilty

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The Colorado parents who reported their 6-year-old son floated away aboard a helium balloon will plead guilty to some charges so that the family can stay together, the attorney for the boy's father said Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Federal deficit sets October record of $176.4B

WASHINGTON — The federal deficit hit a record for October as the new budget year began where the old one ended, with the government awash in red ink.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

ACORN says U.S. funding cut was unconstitutional

NEW YORK — ACORN has filed a lawsuit claiming that Congress violated the Constitution when it passed a law cutting off federal funding to the organization.

 
 
OUR NATION by Angela K. Brown and Lolita C. Baldor

Army: Fort Hood suspect charged with murder

FORT HOOD, TEXAS — The Army psychiatrist accused in the Fort Hood shootings was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the military's legal system, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted, officials said Thursday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Zinie Chen

Waning Ida's downpours swamp Mid-Atlantic coast

RICHMOND, Va. — Relentless rain drenched much of the Atlantic seaboard Thursday, pelting communities from North Carolina northward with gusty winds and heavy rains, inundating streets and stranding drivers in hard-hit Virginia.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

Jobless claims fall, but hiring gains seem far off

WASHINGTON — Fewer people are claiming unemployment benefits — but still too many to signal that the economy is close to gaining jobs.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ron Todt

Transit moving again in Philly after 6-day strike

PHILADELPHIA — Trolleys, subways and buses were running again Monday and riders were trickling back to the city's transit system after an early-morning contract agreement ended a crippling six-day strike.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Welsh-Huggins and John Seewer

Onlookers flock to site of Cleveland killings

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Reggie Turner stopped by a growing memorial to 11 victims of an alleged serial killer because he knew one of the women. Michelle Lee came to pay her respects as a mother and grandmother. Mark Mason and two buddies rode their motorcycles to just take a look.

 
 
OUR NATION by David Dishneau

DC area relives terror as sniper's execution nears

WHEATON, Md. — When James D. Martin was shot dead seven years ago in the parking lot of a grocery store in suburban Washington, it got little attention on the nightly news.

 
 
OUR NATION by Liz Sidoti

2010 elections: Democratic fears, Republican hopes

WASHINGTON — Oh, how the tables have turned. Nervous Democrats are on defense and emboldened Republicans sense opportunity heading into 2010 and the midterm elections. It was just three years ago that the GOP lost the House and Senate as well as governors' races in a cross-country Democratic wave.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

House health bill unacceptable to many in Senate

WASHINGTON — Don't look for the Senate to quickly follow the House on health care overhaul.

 
 
OUR NATION by Thomas J. Sheeran

Case against Ohio bodies suspect expands overseas %u2028

CLEVELAND — Authorities are investigating whether a suspected serial killer whose home and yard harbored the remains of at least 11 people is connected to any killings in places he lived while in the military, including Japan, California and the Carolinas.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

House, Senate health care bills detailed

WASHINGTON — A comparison of the three health care bills before Congress, including one by House Democrats and an alternative by House Republicans.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jim Abrams

Obama signs homebuyer, jobless bill assistance

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed a $24 billion economic stimulus bill into law Friday, giving tax incentives to prospective homebuyers and additional jobless benefits to those idled by the business slump.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

House Dems say Sat. vote on health care may slip

WASHINGTON — House Democrats acknowledged they don't yet have the votes to pass a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system, and signaled they may push back the vote until Sunday or early next week.

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

Mosques step up security after Fort Hood rampage

STERLING, Va. — U.S. mosques fearful of a backlash after the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas are stepping up security.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Schneider

1 dead, 5 hurt in Orlando shooting; gunman caught

ORLANDO, Fla. — Police in Orlando say a gunman has been apprehended after killing one person and injuring five others at a downtown office building where he was let go two years ago.

 
 
OUR NATION by Mike Stobbe

Poll: One-third can find, get swine flu vaccine

ATLANTA — Only about a third of adults who have tried to get a swine flu vaccine have been able to get it, according to a new national poll.

 
 
OUR NATION by Brian Bakst

Construction co. settles bridge collapse lawsuits

MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys say a construction company that was working on the Minneapolis bridge when it collapsed in 2007 have settled lawsuits filed by victims.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Gearan

Army: Shooting suspect was bound for Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — An Army spokeswoman says the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings had been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan to counsel soldiers suffering from combat stress.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jeff Carlton and Mike Baker

Neighbor: Fort Hood suspect emptied his apartment

FORT HOOD, Texas — An Army psychiatrist suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood cleaned out his apartment and left a phone message saying goodbye to a friend in the days before the rampage that left 13 people dead, neighbors said Friday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Anne Gearan and April Castro

Army: 12 dead, 31 hurt in attacks at Fort Hood

FORT HOOD, Texas — A soldier opened fire at a U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday, unleashing a stream of gunfire that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman, and apprehended two other soldiers suspected in the attack.

 
 
OUR NATION by Andrew Taylor

Senate blocks census citizenship question

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats Thursday blocked a GOP attempt to require next year's census forms to ask people whether they are U.S. citizens.

 
 
OUR NATION by Meghan Barr and Vicki Smith

Ohio woman: I got away from serial killing suspect

CLEVELAND — A Cleveland woman said Thursday that she was choked and threatened this year by the man now charged with murder after the remains of several people were found on his property — and that she is racked with guilt for not speaking up earlier.

 
 
OUR NATION by Patrick Walters

Rail worker killed in Philly on 3rd day of strike

PHILADELPHIA — A packed commuter train struck and killed a rail worker during the morning rush Thursday, disrupting service for three hours and stranding hundreds of riders on a system already crippled by a transit strike.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

Obama welcomes AARP backing of health care bill

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama trumpeted two major endorsements for his health overhaul push Thursday as House Democratic leaders pushed toward a vote Saturday on the far-reaching legislation remaking the U.S. health care system.

 
 
OUR NATION by Libby Quaid

Obama coaxes states to change with school dollars

Using stimulus dollars as bait, President Barack Obama is coaxing states to rewrite education laws and cut deals with unions as they compete for $5 billion in school reform grants.

 
 
OUR NATION by Kathy Matheson

Philly transit strike a tough sell in down economy

The Philadelphia transit system's largest union went on strike early Tuesday over wage, pension and health care issues, stalling the city's bus, subway and trolley operations

 
 
OUR NATION by John Seewer and Thomas J. Sheeran

Police: 4 more bodies found at Ohio rapist's home

Remains of four more people were unearthed from the backyard of a rapist's home Tuesday

 
 
OUR NATION Associated Press

U.S. soldier arrested over explosives in field

CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee — An Army Special Forces soldier has been arrested following the discovery of about 100 pounds (45.3 kilograms) of explosives outside his Tennessee home.

 
 
OUR NATION by Ken Thomas and Stephen Manning

GAO: Full recoup of gov't auto investment unlikely

WASHINGTON — Government investigators say the U.S. government is unlikely to recover all of its investment in General Motors or Chrysler because the companies' value would need to "grow substantially above what they have been in the past."

 
 
OUR NATION by Joe Mandak

Court rejects Pa. buffer law on abortion clinics

PITTSBURGH — A federal appeals court has struck down an ordinance that created two types of buffer zones around medical facilities after a Christian legal group challenged the law on behalf of a nurse who protests abortions.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tali Arbel

3 strong economic reports lift hopes for recovery

NEW YORK — Hopes for the fledgling economic recovery got a boost Monday from better-than-expected news on manufacturing, construction and contracts to buy homes.

 
 
OUR NATION by Joan Lowy

Wayward pilots were working on their laptops

WASHINGTON — Two Northwest Airlines pilots have told federal investigators that they were going over schedules using their laptop computers in violation of company policy while their plane overflew their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Heidi Vogt and Robert H. Reid

DEA agents among 14 Americans dead in Afghanistan

KABUL — A U.S. military helicopter crashed Monday while returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents in a not-so-noticed war within a war.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jeannine Aversa

Bernanke urges Congress to act now on overhaul

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke prodded Congress Friday to enact legislation overhauling America's financial regulatory system to prevent a repeat of the banking and credit debacles that had thrust the country into crisis.

 
 
OUR NATION by Joan Lowy

Wayward plane's cockpit recorder may be no help

WASHINGTON — Safety investigators say the Northwest Airlines plane whose two pilots overflew their destination by 150 miles had an older model cockpit voice recorder that records only 30 minutes at a time.

 
 
OUR NATION by Peter Svensson

Microsoft's naming math: Vista plus 1 is 7

NEW YORK — Microsoft's new operating system launches Thursday, and you may be asking: How did we get to Windows 7? Did I miss 5 and 6?

 
 
OUR FAITH by Lucas L. Johnson II

Baptists' ex-president sues to overturn election results

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The former president of the National Baptist Convention USA has sued the denomination over an election he overwhelmingly lost.

 
 
OUR NATION Defender Staff Report

WHO: nearly 5,000 swine flu deaths worldwide

GENEVA — Nearly 5,000 people have reportedly died from swine flu since it emerged this year and developed into a global epidemic, the World Health Organization said Friday.

 
 
OUR NATION by Marilynn Marchione

FDA warns: Swine flu scams lurk on the Internet

Air "sterilizers." A photon machine. Supplement pills to boost the immune system. Protective shampoos and face masks. Even fake Tamiflu.

 
 
OUR NATION by Maria Sanminiatelli

'Widow penalty' provision to end under new law

NEW YORK — A legal provision criticized for making personal tragedies worse by triggering the automatic deportation of a small group of widows and widowers of U.S. citizens will not be in effect for much longer.

 
 
OUR NATION by Tali Arbel

Leading indicators signal growth, but jobs scarce

NEW YORK — A private forecast of economic activity rose for the sixth straight month in September, a sign the economy may keep growing early next year despite rising unemployment.

 
 
OUR NATION by Martin Crutsinger

U.S. to order bailed-out firms to slash pay

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department on Thursday is expected to order seven companies that have not paid back last year's government bailouts to halve their top executives' average compensation.

 
 
OUR NATION by Justin Pope

College tuition cost rising again this fall

Average tuition prices rose sharply again this fall as colleges passed much of the burden of their own financial problems on to recession-battered students and parents.

 
 
OUR NATION Defender Staff Report

4 areas get almost $13.5 M from HUD

NEW ORLEANS — Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and St. Tammany Parish will get nearly $13.5 million in federal grants for community development and affordable housing.

 
 
OUR NATION by Jesse J. Holland

Justice Ginsburg briefly hospitalized again

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had cancer surgery earlier this year, was kept at a hospital overnight after she became drowsy and fell from her seat aboard an airplane. Court officials blamed a reaction to medicine.

 
 
OUR NATION by Stephen Ohlemacher

Social Security makes it official: No COLA in 2010

WASHINGTON — There will be no cost-of-living increase for more than 50 million Social Security recipients next year, the first year without a raise since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975.

 
 
OUR NATION by Erica Werner

Pelosi makes case for government-run health option

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the case is growing stronger for allowing the government to sell health insurance in competition with private companies, contending recent attacks from the industry should dispel any doubts.

 
 
OUR NATION Special to Defender

More than $21.7M granted to New Orleans schools

NEW ORLEANS - The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Louisiana Recovery Authority have announced an additional $21.7 million for schools throughout the New Orleans area, including funding for Edward Hynes Elementary and Holy Cross schools.

 
 
OUR NATION by Christopher S. Rugaber

New jobless claims drop unexpectedly to 545K

OUR NATION by Lou Ransom

Roland Burris having a ball in the U.S. Senate

For those who might think that Sen. Roland Burris is beset by problems and is weighed down by the constant criticism both from the press and from local and national elected officials of his own party, think again.

 
 
OUR NATION by Lou Ransom

Roland Burris having a ball in the U.S. Senate

For those who might think that Sen. Roland Burris is beset by problems and is weighed down by the constant criticism both from the press and from local and national elected officials of his own party, think again.

 
 

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OUR NATION

President Barack Obama's remarks on Sept. 11

President Barack Obama's Sept. 11 address Friday at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Va.:

 
 
OUR NATION

Crews battling Calif. wildfire race to clear brush

IRWINDALE, California — Firefighters were racing against the weather to clear brush before heat descends on Southern California, stoking the giant 15-day-old wildfire burning in the Angeles National Forest.

 
 
OUR NATION by Roger Alford

Marijuana farming rebounds in economic hard times

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. — Machete-wielding police officers have hacked their way through billions of dollars worth of marijuana in the country's top pot-growing states to stave off a bumper crop sprouting in the tough economy.

 
 
OUR NATION by Michelle Roberts

Report urges more thorough ICE detention records

SAN ANTONIO — Better record-keeping could ensure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement keeps dangerous immigrants in custody while operating its sprawling detention system safely and lawfully, according to a new report from a nonpartisan think tank.

 
 
OUR NATION

Twenty govs support prison cell phone jamming bill

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Twenty governors have signed a letter to support legislation in Congress to allow states to jam contraband cell phones in prisons.

 
 
OUR NATION by Sue Lindsey

Va. judge orders release of white supremacist

ROANOKE, Va. — A U.S. magistrate judge in Virginia has ordered the release of an avowed white supremacist, but prosecutors have appealed.

 
 
OUR NATION by Cheryl Smith

Conversation with former mayor now Ambassador Ron Kirk

DALLAS–During a recent visit “home” former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk shared his thoughts on a number of issues and provided insight into his role as the U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama Administration. When first approached by President-elect Barack Obama about being in the Obama Administration, Kirk said he expressed his desire to be in an area where he could grow.

 
 
OUR NATION by Dinesh Ramde

Milwaukee police: DNA links man to nine slain women

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man authorities say is linked by DNA to the slayings of nine women since 1986 was captured by police after an alert officer spotted his car at a motel, authorities said.

 
 
 
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