News in Brief

Blacks are completing high school at the same rate as whites, after years of lagging behind, according to figures released last week by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Since 1985, the percentage of African-Americans ages 25 to 29 who hold a high school diploma has risen from 81 percent to 87 percent, the government figures show. The proportion of white students in that age group with a high school diploma has stayed the same--about 87 percent.

Alaska has the highest graduation rate in the country, the Census Bureau report says, while the District of Columbia has the highest percentage of adults...