Concerned pastors are making a statement to Congress today: Don’t balance the federal budget on the backs of the poor. As Republicans and Democrats fight over cuts, taxes and debt limits, faith leaders are worried that the ultimate losers will be the programs relied on by the poorest Americans for food, education and health care. […]

Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton vowed this week to file a federal inquiry into the death of Mitrice Richardson, a missing 25-year-old woman thought to be mentally ill whose remains were found last week. She had been allowed to leave a sheriff’s station nearly a year ago against the wishes of her parents.