President Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, compared the president to a son who was being treated unfairly and said it was hard weathering the media storm after Obama became a serious contender for the White House and controversy erupted over Wright’s antagonistic sermons.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Utility crews pushed through fallen trees and windblown debris to reach downed power lines today, working to restore electricity to more than a half-million homes and businesses after strong winds and heavy rain wreaked havoc in parts of the Northeast.

For all the evidence of a divided GOP, the Democratic Party has its own widening cracks that could make a potentially bleak election year even more dour.