By Sahil Kapur, Melanie Zanona and Julie Tsirkin WASHINGTON — Inside a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday, Rep. Jen Kiggans, a swing district member who is a linchpin of the party’s narrow majority, stood up and made a plea. “Doing nothing on health care is not the right answer,” the Virginia Republican later told NBC News, summing
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Written by Sean Mitchell The University of the District of Columbia (UDC), Washington, D.C.’s only public university and the nation’s only urban land-grant HBCU, has achieved a major milestone — ranking #18 among all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and #9 among public HBCUs in the U.S. News & World Report 2025 rankings. The
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By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON — Seizing on allegations of federal law enforcement officials’ committing constitutional violations as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, Democrats have launched a new effort to allow civil rights claims against rogue agents. Lawmakers reintroduced legislation Tuesday that would ensure federal officials, including immigration agents and other law enforcement officers, can be sued individually for constitutional
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By Blaise Gainey, Andrew Schneider Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has quickly appealed to the Supreme Court a ruling that the redistricting passed by lawmakers at the urging of President Trump was based on racial gerrymandering. “Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings,”
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Courtesy of Spelman College In ESSENCE’s recent Fall/Winter 2025 issue, the magazine highlighted the recent emergence of HBCU alumni and students in markets like fashion, business and STEM markets. Contributor Rachel Ruff spoke with seven HBCU changemakers, including Spelman College student Reese Winston, C’2026, about what it means to pave the way and defy the
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Written By Lexx Thornton Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate Texas Southern University on Monday after a new state audit found evidence of poor bookkeeping and financial mismanagement. Patrick said he will discuss with Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows a freeze on TSU’s state funding.
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Written By Lexx Thornton The Religious Sisters of the Holy Spirit from Mazabuka, Zambia, led by Sister Juunza Mwangani and Sister Rosalia Sakayombo, have been chosen as the 2025 Opus Prize Laureate, presented with a $1 million award at Xavier University of Louisiana on Thursday. Nov. 13. The Opus Prize is an annual humanitarian award
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Written By Lexx Thornton Rihanna, the global icon known for her chart-topping music, has officially cemented her status as a business titan, achieving a milestone that transcends entertainment: she is the first Black woman in history to own two companies each valued at over a billion dollars. This isn’t just a story about celebrity endorsements;
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The Division II Football Championship field has been announced and it features a historic five HBCU teams, including the two major Division II HBCU conference champions. This marks the most HBCU selections in the history of the Division II football tournament, having never surpassed three before this year. Here is every HBCU football team that
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The nation’s first private historically Black university is notching up another first. Wilberforce University is one of 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities named to the Brilliance Initiative’s first cohort. The Brilliance Initiative is a program announced earlier this year by the Reinvestment Fund, a nationally focused Community Development Financial Institution. It aims to support the financial
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