National News - Page 116

Investing in HBCUs Post-Affirmative Action Ruling

Written By President David A. Thomas, Ph.D. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions is a moment for Atlanta to continue to lead our nation by investing in its historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) — the very institutions that overwhelmingly launch Black students into graduate schools, professional careers of influence, and leadership roles. The impact of the court’s landmark decision will be felt deeply by the most selective colleges and universities, in both graduate and undergraduate schools. Several studies suggest that selective, predominantly white higher education institutions such as Harvard and Emory are likely to

Biden Admin Moves Forward on New Student Loan Relief Plan

By Katherine Knott The U.S. Education Department is gearing up to hold meetings in two weeks on how to provide debt relief to federal student loan borrowers, especially now that a potential government shutdown has been at least temporarily averted. The Biden administration announced Friday who will serve on the advisory negotiated rule-making committee that will discuss how to change federal regulations to offer debt relief and offered a glimpse at what those discussions might look like. The announcement came a day before the potential shutdown, which Congress averted with a last-minute measure to keep the government open for 45 days. Student loan payments

How a U.S. Government Shutdown Could Impact Key Services

By Ximena Bustillo, Tom Bowman, Selena Simmons-Duffin Lawmakers are inching closer to a government shutdown when government funding runs out at the end of the day on Sept. 30. With a deal nowhere in sight, federal agencies are bracing to place hundreds of thousands of workers on unpaid furlough until funding is restored. The federal government hasn’t faced this dilemma since 2018 when the federal government shut down for 35 days, stretching into the new year in 2019. As in shutdowns past, people across the country will see a pause in federal services, programming and pay. Washington, D.C., residents and visitors

U.S. Soldier Travis King Returns After North Korea Detention

By Stella Kim, Patrick Smith, Courtney Kube and Mosheh Gains SEOUL, South Korea — Travis King, the U.S. Army private who intentionally ran across the border into North Korea this summer, is in U.S. custody in China, U.S. officials said Wednesday, shortly after the isolated East Asian country said it would expel him. “U.S. officials have secured the return of Private Travis King from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the Defense Department press secretary, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, said in a statement. He went on to thank the U.S. military personnel who worked to “bring Private King home,” as well as the governments of Sweden and China. Later, two

Judge Upholds Fearless Fund Grants for Black Women

A federal judge in Atlanta ruled Tuesday that a venture capital firm can continue offering a grant program only to Black women entrepreneurs, saying a lawsuit arguing it illegally excluded other races was not likely to succeed. Senior U.S. Judge Thomas Thrash denied a preliminary injunction that would have blocked the grants by the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund. The judge issued the decision in court after hearing arguments from attorneys and said he planned to issue a written order by the end of the week. The Fearless Fund is a tiny player in the approximately $200 billion global venture capital market, but

Black UAW Workers Fight to Preserve Middle-Class Dreams

By Curtis Bunn When Tiffanie Simmons joined her father for Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, she left knowing that one day she’d return to the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant as an employee. She was 12. Sure, the self-proclaimed “Daddy’s girl” wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps, but more crucially, she understood that her family lived a comfortable middle-class life as a Black family in Detroit. “My father supported an entire household with one paycheck,” she said. In 2012, after toiling part time for five years, Simmons, now 38, joined the same Ford Michigan Assembly Plant as her dad, fulfilling

San Francisco Debates Reparations for Black Residents

 Reparations advocates urged San Francisco supervisors Tuesday to adopt recommendations aimed at shrinking the racial wealth gap and otherwise improving the lives of Black residents as atonement for decades of discriminatory city policies, including the granting of a lump-sum $5 million payment to every eligible adult. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors was expected to vote this week to accept the final reparations plan issued by the city’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee. The city has set aside $4 million to open an office of reparations, but it has not acted on major recommendations. Supervisors have expressed enthusiasm for reparations but

Kamala Harris to Lead New Gun Violence Prevention Office

By Myah Ward Vice President Kamala Harris will lead a new federal office of gun violence prevention, the White House said Thursday. President Joe Biden will formally announce the new office Friday during a Rose Garden event where several advocates and lawmakers have been invited to attend. Harris, who has played a leading role in gun safety policy, will oversee the office, according to a White House statement. Longtime Biden aide Stefanie Feldman, who has worked on gun policy for more than a decade, will serve as its director. “The new Office of Gun Violence Prevention will play a critical

Illinois Becomes First State to Abolish Cash Bail System

By Jessica Washington Criminal justice advocates in Illinois are celebrating a major victory this week. On Monday, Illinois became the first state to fully abolish the cash bail system, meaning defendants will no longer be held in jail because they can’t pay. The provision of the SAFE-T Act abolishing cash bail went into effect on Monday, revolutionizing the bail process state-wide. But what exactly does it mean to abolish cash bail? The Root has you covered with everything you need to know about the changes. What Is Cash Bail? Cash bail is the money a defendant is required to pay as a

Justice Jackson Honors 1963 Bombing, Defends Racial Truths

By Laura Jarrett and Lawrence Hurley Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday urged Americans not to shy away from uncomfortable facts about the history of violence against Black Americans. The first Black woman on the nation’s highest court offered her frank assessment of the tendency to avoid acknowledging racism in a speech in Birmingham, Alabama. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have recently led the charge in public school curriculum changes that critics say whitewash the country’s past. Her remarks were part of a ceremony at the 16th Street Baptist Church marking the 60th anniversary of the racist 1963 bombing of the building, in which four

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