Cabinet members look on Monday as Obama discusses government shutdown (White House Photo by David Lienemann). WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Because government jobs have been more available to Blacks than private sector employment over the years, especially under de jure segregation, Blacks, who comprise 13.6 percent of the U.S. population, make up 17.7 percent of the federal workforce. Overall, people of color represent 34 percent of the federal workforce. Latinos are 8 percent of government workers, Asians are 5.8 percent, Native Americans are 2.1 percent and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders are .40 percent of federal employees. People of color are 37 percent of the U.S. population, a figure projected to grow to 43.3 percent as soon as 2025 and 57 percent by 2060.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Matt Latos, center, and his wife Dallas, right, touring the Reds museum in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/The Cincinnati Enquirer, Michael E. Keating) by Joe MandakAssociated Press Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh police say they're not filing charges against a Pirates fan accused of punching and pulling the hair of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos' wife during the National League wild-card game. Sgt. John Fisher says police broke up an argument involving Dallas Latos and other Cincinnati and Pirates fans at a bar inside PNC Park during the Pirates' 6-2 win Tuesday night.
A National Park Service employee posts a sign reading "Because of the Federal Government SHUTDOWN All National Parks are Closed" on a barricade closing access to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) by David Espo and Donna CassataAssociated Press Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — First slowed, then stalled by political gridlock, the vast machinery of government clanged into partial shutdown mode on Tuesday and President Barack Obama warned the longer it goes "the more families will be hurt." Republicans said it was his fault, not theirs. Ominously, there were suggestions from leaders in both parties that the shutdown, heading for its second day, could last for weeks and grow to encompass a possible default by the Treasury if Congress fails to raise the nation's debt ceiling. "This is now all together," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill..
President Barack Obama, stands with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and people who support the Affordable Care Act, his signature health care law, as he speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) by Josh LedermanAssociated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Hailing it as an "historic day," President Barack Obama pressed forward his flagship health care program Tuesday, inaugurating new insurance exchanges to expand access for those without coverage despite the shutdown taking hold across much of the government.
This photo released by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office shows Woodrow Karey, Jr. after being charged in the shooting death of Pastor Ronald J. Harris, Sr., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. (CNN Photo/Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office) by Lateef Mungin (CNN) -- A sheriff says he's closer to finding the motive behind the fatal shooting of a Louisiana pastor who witnesses say was gunned down by a former deacon as the horrified congregation looked on. Friday's shooting may have resulted from allegations of a complicated sexual relationship between the pastor and the deacon's wife, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said.
In a June 30, 1982 file photo, President Ronald Reagan signs an expansion of the 1965 Voting Rights Bill during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The Justice Department will sue the state of North Carolina for alleged racial discrimination over tough new voting rules, the latest effort by the Obama administration to fight back against a Supreme Court decision that struck down the most powerful part of the landmark Voting Rights Act and freed southern states from strict federal oversight of their elections. North Carolina has a new law scaling back the period for early voting and imposing stringent voter identification requirements. It is among at least five Southern states adopting stricter voter ID and other election laws. (AP Photo, File) by Michel Biesecker and Pete Yost RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's Republican governor and GOP lawmakers are vowing to fight a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department challenging the state's tough new elections law on the grounds it disproportionately impacts minority voters.
A man walks through City Creek shopping center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Jack Harry Stiles was arrested Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, accused of plotting a deadly attack on the mall in the heart of Salt Lake City, telling investigators he planned to "just randomly shoot and kill people." (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) by Jesse WashingtonAP National Writer It almost feels these days as if there is no safe place — that after global jihad strikes a Nairobi shopping mall or a deranged shooter invades the Washington Navy Yard, the next target could very well be our own store, school, theater or stadium. Yet those who study such violence have a message: Don't worry.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu listens as Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, where they talked about their campaign to cut the nation’s murder rates, reduce gun violence and address other issues affecting the urban community. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is calling on the U.S. to find new ways to combat street violence because too many "Black men are getting slaughtered."
President Barack Obama smiles as audience member applaud while the president spoke about the Affordable Care Act, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Md. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) by Darlene SupervilleAssociated Press Writer LARGO, Maryland (AP) — With just five days to go before Americans can begin signing up for health care under his signature law, President Barack Obama on Thursday ridiculed Republican opponents for "crazy" doomsday predictions of the impact and forecast that even those who didn't vote for him are going to enroll.
