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NATION IN BRIEF

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CHICAGO -- Fire destroyed the landmark 1890 Pilgrim Baptist Church, which played a major role in the development of gospel music in the 1930s.

MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Zeta fell apart in the open Atlantic, finally bringing the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season to an end.

LOS ANGELES -- The major-crime rate in Los Angeles dropped 14 percent last year, making it the second-safest large city in the country, police said. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, Los Angeles moved ahead of San Diego but remained behind New York as the safest among the nation's 10 largest cities.

NEW YORK -- The city's death rate in 2004 fell to the lowest level ever recorded, led by a 14 percent drop in fatal heart attacks, as smoking declined, the city health department said. New Yorkers died at a rate of 7.2 per 1,000 in 2004, down from 7.4 per 1,000 in 2002 and 2003, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said. The national mortality rate was 8.1 per 1,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

-- From News Services

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