National News

Families caring for disabled relatives face unthinkable choices as Medicaid cuts loom

By Mike Hixenbaugh PARKVILLE, Md. — Melissa Gonce used to cry when her son came home from his day program soaked in urine, dehydrated and distressed. Jason, 28, is nonverbal and profoundly disabled, with significant cognitive limitations and little awareness of danger — vulnerabilities that require constant, watchful care. Some nights, the van that was supposed to bring him home arrived hours late. Gonce would call and call, scanning the street, her mind racing. When he finally arrived, he was sometimes slumped over, pants wet down to his socks, his fingertips bitten raw. Six years later, Gonce no longer worries about

Supreme Court voting rights ruling fuels a new push to defend Black representation

By Bill Barrow Same fight. New generation. That’s the mantra of a multiracial group of civil rights leaders and activists organizing opposition to a mostly white conservative alliance dismantling the Voting Rights Act and political districts that allowed Black and other nonwhite voters to choose more of their elected leaders for the last half-century. “We have to respond as quickly as possible,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in an interview. “The real question,” Johnson told The Associated Press, “is how do we as a country really address the effort to shrink us backwards into a 1950s reality?” Johnson’s 117-year-old association, which was at the

Bipartisan IGNITE Act aims to modernize HBCUs in Arkansas & across the country

By Jurnee Taylor  Members of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus joined historically Black college and university leaders Thursday to introduce new legislation aimed at investing in HBCU campuses across the country, including Arkansas institutions. Co-chairs of the caucus, French Hill and Alma Adams, introduced H.R. 8791, the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, during a press conference on Capitol Hill alongside university presidents, advocates, and lawmakers. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would direct the Department of Education to create a competitive grant program for historically Black colleges and universities to modernize, renovate, and construct campus facilities. The proposed funding could support instructional labs, research

China and U.S. agree Hormuz shouldn’t be ‘militarized,’ Marco Rubio says

By Tom Llamas and Jennifer Jett BEIJING — President Donald Trump discussed the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News in an interview Thursday, adding that the United States was not asking for Beijing’s help with Iran. “The Chinese side said they are not in favor of militarizing the Straits of Hormuz, and they’re not in favor of a tolling system, and that’s our position,” America’s top diplomat said in Beijing after Trump, Xi and their delegations held more than two hours of talks. During the wide-ranging interview, Rubio — who traveled to Beijing while

Livestreamer ‘Chud the Builder’ involved in shooting outside Tennessee courthouse

By Marlene Lenthang and Maya Rosenberg Livestreamer “Chud the Builder” was involved in a confrontation “with gunfire” outside a Tennessee courthouse Wednesday, authorities said. The controversial 28-year-old streamer, whose real name is Dalton Eatherly and who is known for using offensive racial language, was involved in a confrontation around 1:20 p.m. outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, District Attorney General Robert J. Nash of the 19th Judicial District said in a statement. The confrontation with an “unknown male” escalated to gunfire, Nash said. Both sustained gunshot wounds, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said. Eatherly was the person who opened fire, and he

Vance announces suspension of $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California

By Rebecca Shabad Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California and is threatening to suspend federal funding to all states if they don’t aggressively prosecute fraud in their Medicaid programs. As part of his role as the fraud czar, Vance said that the administration is targeting California because the state isn’t taking fraud seriously. “There are California taxpayers and American taxpayers who are being defrauded because California isn’t taking its program seriously, but also you have people who have been prescribed medications that they don’t even need. They’ve had drugs put into their

Inflation expected to jump to a 3-year high as Iran war continues to fuel rising prices

By Steve Kopack The Consumer Price Index is widely expected to show inflation has risen to a nearly three-year high when April’s data is released Tuesday morning. The Iran war’s wide-ranging economic fallout has caused prices to spike, and economists and analysts project that inflation will hit 3.8%, up 0.6% from March to April, according to a survey from Dow Jones. April’s inflation reading follows an even sharper 0.9% jump from February to March. Last month’s increase was the largest month-to-month jump since 2022. As inflation continues to accelerate, it’s eating into Americans’ wages at a rapid clip. The pace of wage

Supreme Court lets Alabama speed adoption of congressional map eliminating a majority-Black district

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday removed an obstacle to Alabama’s using a new congressional map in this year’s election that would eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts. The court, over the objection of its liberal members, sent litigation over the Republican-drawn map back to the lower court, which could speed up the state’s effort to use its map. The state has been battling civil rights plaintiffs over its congressional map for years, with a focus on whether a second majority-Black district was required to comply with the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The latest flurry of court filings came in

Energy secretary says Trump administration is open to suspending gas tax amid soaring prices

By Megan Lebowitz Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the Trump administration is “open to all ideas” to lower the cost of gas, including suspending the federal gas tax. Gas prices have been soaring, hitting a national average of $4.52 per gallon on Sunday, according to data from motor club AAA — an increase of more than 50% since the start of the Iran war. Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether he would support suspending the federal gas tax, Wright said that “all measures that can be taken to lower the price at the pump and

Trump calls Iran’s response to U.S. peace proposal ‘totally unacceptable’

By Freddie Clayton, Dan De Luce, Peter Nicholas and Alexandra Marquez President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to a U.S. proposal to bring an end to the war in the Middle East, calling the message “totally unacceptable” on Truth Social. “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives,’” Trump posted Sunday afternoon. “I don’t like it.” Trump did not offer details about Iran’s response, which Iranian state media reported was sent through Pakistani mediators. Talks between Tehran and Washington have stalled in recent weeks. The two sides continued to trade fire in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, more than a month after a temporary ceasefire deal that was initially intended

1 2 3 … 221
Close

Never Miss A Story

Covering HBCUS
and The African American Community