Nation

WASHINGTON — When chunks of plaster began falling from the ceiling of the national cathedral of African Methodism last year, one of Washington’s oldest black congregations nearly had to abandon its sanctuary.

From TheRoot.com: They were armed to the teeth. They were mad. They gathered at public buildings, guns tucked into their waistlines, demanding limited governmental authority and the right to self-determination.

ATLANTA — Two factions entangled in a power struggle for control of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference say one side locked and chained the civil right group’s downtown Atlanta headquarters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week by the largest amount in three months. The surge is evidence of how volatile the job market remains, even as the economy grows.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House promised tighter security for Wednesday’s state dinner — and it delivered.

From SFWeekly.com: San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris has been dealing with a storm of bad publicity lately, with revelations that her office’s felony trial conviction rates have dropped precipitously and that local prosecutors’ failure to disclose police officers’ criminal backgrounds could jeopardize past convictions.

From the Huffington Post: A new study released by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy revealed that even when African-Americans had a good education and well-paying jobs, they could not achieve the wealth of their white peers in the workforce. As a result the wealth disparity between white and black households has more than […]

From CNN: New York — A Somali pirate who prosecutors say led the attack on a U.S. vessel off the coast of Africa last year pleaded guilty in New York on Tuesday to charges he hijacked the ship and kidnapped the captain.

From CNN: Mecklenburg County, Virginia — On his southern Virginia farm on a recent warm Saturday, John Boyd Jr. needs a dose of rain before he can plant soybeans.