National News - Page 100

HBCUs are canceling students’ debt, highlighting how integral they are to Black Americans’ lives

By Amir Vera Covid-19 ruined Brécha Byrd’s inaugural season as a basketball player at Saint Augustine’s University, a historically Black school in North Carolina. The 19-year-old had been excited to play since her high school season months earlier was cut short in 2020. She lost her chance to play when the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) canceled the men’s and women’s basketball season between December 2020 and January, putting the once excited freshman’s athletic scholarship at risk. “I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Byrd told CNN. By June, Byrd was back home in Surry County, Virginia, still concerned about her

More And More Black Academics Are Choosing HBCUs Over Other Colleges

by Vanessa Roberson Just as HBCU students have found the value in attending predominantly black institutions over PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions), academics are starting to do the same. Learn what about HBCU culture is bringing academics to our beloved institutions in the NBCarticle by Curtis Bunn below. Nikole Hannah-Jones made waves when she chose Howard University over UNC-Chapel Hill. But she’s one of countless educators who see a bigger purpose in teaching at HBCUs. Not long after she returned to Howard University as a professor in 2013, Jennifer Thomas found herself overcome with emotion. Tears formed in her eyes as

Obama to host Covid-compliant 60th birthday party amid rising virus concerns, source says

By Allie Malloy Former President Barack Obama will celebrate his 60th birthday this weekend with a party in Martha’s Vineyard, with many Covid-19 safety protocols in place amid heightened concerns over the Delta variant, a source familiar with the planning told CNN. The event this weekend, which will be held outside, will follow all US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public health protocols, the source said. There will be testing for guests and a Covid safety coordinator on site. Martha’s Vineyard, in Dukes County, is currently designated by the CDC as an area of “moderate” Covid-19 community spread. The CDC

A Black man feared the vaccine because of the Tuskegee experiment. After Covid-19 devastated his family, he changed his mind

By Neelam Bohra and Christina Zdanowicz Timothy Moore grew up wary of medical treatments in his hometown of Tuskegee, Alabama. His parents had seen what happened to Black people who participated in the unethical Tuskegee syphilis study, where researchers let syphilis progress in Black men without treating them to justify treatment programs for them between 1932 and 1972. So when Covid-19 vaccines became available, Moore and his family didn’t rush out to get inoculated. His parents, both born in the 1960s, had only recently been open to getting flu vaccines, Moore said Monday on CNN’s “New Day.” But one after another, his family

Demonstrators call for end to systemic racism, new Police Commissioner in Springfield

By Lexi Oliver, Olivia Hickey Springfield community and faith leaders gathered Saturday to call for the dismissal of Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood and to address what they call systemic racism in the city. Hundreds of demonstrators met at Adams Park and marched down to Wesley United Methodist Church on State Street. They said they want to ask the mayor if he believes systemic racism exists in the city. “Things will not get better in the city of Springfield until we have new leadership,” said Charles Stokes, a community organizer. Springfield community leaders gathered on Saturday, to call for Police Commissioner

Democrats increase pressure on party leadership to act on eviction moratorium as White House shifts focus to federal aid

By Devan Cole and Kevin Liptak Congressional Democrats are increasing pressure on their party’s leadership to act on the now-expired federal eviction moratorium as the White House shifts its focus to unspent housing assistance after the order ended and left millions of renters in limbo. The eviction issue has exposed a major and rare disconnect between President Joe Biden and his party on Capitol Hill that appeared no closer to resolution Sunday night nearly a day after the eviction moratorium expired. Each side privately accused the other of misreading the situation, but the resulting agony for tenants facing potential removal from their homes amounted

Expert hopes the rise in Covid-19 vaccinations means the US is waking up to the dangers of the Delta variant

By Madeline Holcombe The Delta variant is wreaking havoc through much of the United States, but the “silver lining” is that more Americans appear to be at the tipping point of understanding the importance of Covid-19 vaccinations, one expert said. “People are waking up to this,” Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins told CNN Sunday. “That’s what desperately needs to happen if we are going to get this Delta variant put back in its place, because right now it is having a pretty big party in the middle of the country.” In the past two weeks, daily case

Lawmakers consider withholding housing funds from tribes that discriminate against descendants of enslaved people

By Harmeet Kaur House lawmakers are considering legislation that would withhold federal funds from tribal nations who discriminate against Freedmen, the descendants of people they once enslaved. The House Committee on Financial Services held a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday to discuss reauthorizing the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), a federal government program that provides assistance to tribal governments to support affordable housing and infrastructure. Included in the draft bill is a provision that would require tribes to uphold their ends of agreements made with the US government and ensure full tribal citizenship rights to Freedmen before they can receive federal housing assistance. “This

New science leads to another CDC update on masks. Even for the vaccinated.

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf You could almost hear the collective groan of frustration around the country Tuesday when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention again updated its guidance, encouraging more Americans and all schoolkids and teachers to wear face masks to stop the spread of Covid-19. But the health community’s understanding of the coronavirus, its variants and vaccine efficacy has evolved with the virus itself, and this new guidance is based on new information. The country missed President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose by July Fourth, what he’d wanted to frame as a

American workers are facing increasing pressure to get vaccinated against Covid-19

By Jason Hanna and Madeline Holcombe Unvaccinated American workers are facing increasing pressure to get Covid-19 shots, as the country sees a dramatic rise in the number of government and private sector employers pushing inoculations for those who want to come to work. The moves, which picked up pace this week, came as the highly contagious Delta variant helped send daily Covid-19 case rates higher and spurred the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue new masking guidance. Employers’ emerging vaccine policies take many forms, including those requiring shots for being on site, and those that provide alternatives such as strict testing and masking

1 … 98 99 100 101 102 … 131