NATIONAL NEWS

Prison inmates at issue in redrawing political districts

The U.S. Census Bureau has always counted inmates where they are incarcerated, rather than where they last lived. But because the nation's prison population has swelled, states are being urged to abandon a practice that critics call "prisonbased gerrymandering." More »

Still seeking newer world 43 years after RFK's death

Last Sunday marked the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. He was gunned down during the early morning hours of June 5, 1968, immediately after he had claimed victory in the California Democratic presidential primary at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. More »

AG Holder tries to correct drug sentencing disparity

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified last week before the United States Sentencing Commission to support advocating retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. More »

Lower drug costs key to Medicare reform

News articles of recent weeks have been filled with politicians debating Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's plan to privatize Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in early April that Ryan's approach would actually increase an average senior's medical costs by $6,400 in a decade. More »

Obama: US economy still facing challenges

TOLEDO, Ohio - Faced with a dismal new jobs report, President Barack Obama said Friday that the economy "is taking a while to mend" and faces "bumps on the road to recovery." But at an event to celebrate the resurgence of the auto industry he made no mention of the dour economic news that threatened to obscure his optimistic message. More »

Obama prospects might hinge on voter registration

WASHINGTON - In 2008, Barack Obama tapped into a record of nearly 15 million voters who cast ballots for the first time, a surge in registration that may be difficult to replicate next year. More »

Former LA Black Panther leader Pratt dies at 63

NAIROBI, Kenya - Former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, whose murder conviction was overturned after he spent 27 years in prison for a crime he maintained he did not commit, died early Friday from a medical ailment, an associate said. He was 63. More »