National News - Page 125

Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt mounts challenge to Texas attorney general Ken Paxton

By Veronica Stracqualursi Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt announced Tuesday that he’s running as Democrat for Texas attorney general, joining a competitive state race to take on Republican incumbent Ken Paxton. Merritt has become nationally known over the past few years for representing several families of Black men and women who have died at the hands of police officers. In his campaign announcement on Twitter, Merritt wrote that he’s “seen the generational impact of the prison-industrial complex and the injustice of mass incarceration up close in my own family.” “I’ve spent my legal career helping families who are unjustly affected

Diversity survey finds 38.3% of Democratic Senate staffers identify as non-Caucasian

By Daniella Diaz and Ali Zaslav More than 38% of Democratic Senate staffers identify as non-Caucasian, an increase from the survey in 2020, where 34.8% of Democratic Senate staffers identified as non-Caucasian, according to a new survey released by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office Tuesday evening. According to the survey, 38.3% of Democratic Senate staffers identify as non-Caucasian, a 3.5 percentage-point increase from last year. The survey found that Senate offices with the most diversity in their staffers were those of Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii (73%), Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico (71%) and Raphael Warnock of Georgia (70%).

In rural Georgia, a door-to-door push to get neighbors vaccinated against Covid-19

By Jen Christensen If it were the fall, this group of volunteers — folders in hand, walking shoes on their feet — would be knocking on doors to get out the vote in rural Cuthbert, Georgia. As they walked in the hot spring sun this April and May, these four have another mission. They are using their powers of persuasion to get more neighbors to take the Covid-19 vaccine. “Excuse me,” Joyce Barlow says to Sherod Shingles, a young man who comes out his front door in shorts and a Utah Jazz shirt, a white medical mask on his face.

Civil rights leaders say Biden fell short on outlining action steps to end filibuster

By Nicquel Terry Ellis While Black civil rights leaders lauded President Joe Biden for taking a strong stance against voter suppression in his speech Tuesday, they said the president still fell short of meeting their demand to discuss the need to eliminate or reform the filibuster. During his address, Biden called on Congress to pass both the For the People and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement act to block the nationwide assault on voting rights. However, Biden did not mention the need to end the filibuster, which has made it impossible for Democrats to move forward with voting rights legislation

‘This Is Bigger Than Freddie Gray’ Coppin State Development Foundation Announces $25K Freddie Gray Scholarship

By Max McGee The Coppin State Development Foundation announced that they have created a $25,000 scholarship in the memory of Freddie Gray. Back in 2015, Baltimore was under an international microscope after the death and uprising of Freddie Gray. “What everyone else watched on television, we watched outside our door,” said a witness. “Every camera in the world was in Baltimore that time.” Six years after his death, his name is now associated with changing the community. It’s an extension of community service. “It is an honor to partner with McDonald’s and the Gray family on this special scholarship we

Biden administration says states can restart pandemic unemployment benefits as lawsuits mount

By Tami Luhby States that have terminated pandemic unemployment benefits early can restart the programs, but there may be a break in payments for some laid-off Americans, the Biden administration said Monday. The guidance comes as jobless residents in more states file lawsuits to reinstate the benefits. Unemployed workers in Ohio and Oklahoma this month joined those in Indiana, Maryland and Texas in turning to state courts to force their governors to resume the payments. Maryland residents will likely receive pandemic benefits until Congress’ mandated expiration date of September 6, after securing another court victory Tuesday, lawyers for the plaintiffs said. And payments in Indiana could

What does Richard Branson’s historic space flight mean for the future of space travel?

By Tom Yun   In the wake of British billionaire Richard Branson’s historic journey to the edge of space on Sunday, astronomers are heralding this achievement as a significant step forward when it comes to making space exploration more accessible. The 71-year-old founder of Virgin Galactic isn’t the first civilian to visit space. However, he is the first to make that journey with a commercial spaceflight company. He made the successful journey on Sunday. “Well, it’s definitely a notable day for the business of space and space tourism. While we’ve had private individuals who’ve gone to space before, it’s always

Charlottesville removes Lewis and Clark statue featuring Sacagawea along with Confederate statues

By Amir Vera, Artemis Moshtaghian and Elizabeth Joseph A Lewis and Clark statue featuring Sacagawea (also spelled Sacajawea), a famous Native American woman, was taken down in Charlottesville, Virginia, making it the third statue to be taken down in the city. The statue was of two White men — Meriwether Lewis and William Clark — and Sacagawea, who was depicted tracking, according to historians. Those against the statue have said Sacagawea appears to be cowering, according tot The Daily Progress newspaper. “It was a very offensive statue, and not only did it delineate me as a Native American, it delineated our women

With 5 kids shot in 2 months, community begs for halt to gun violence

By Marielle Mohs North Minneapolis community and church leaders gathered Sunday afternoon along Emerson and 33rd avenues — just one block from where a 3-year-old child was shot playing outside Friday night — to demand and beg for the gun violence to end. The child is hospitalized in serious condition but is expected to survive. However, that 3-year-old adds to a list of four other kids, under the age of 10, who have been shot in the area by stray gunfire in the last two months. Two of them have died. Bishop Harding Smith, of the Spiritual Church of God,

Biden administration urging state and local governments to use Covid relief funding to address uptick in violent crime

By Betsy Klein The White House is encouraging state and local governments to use funding from the Covid relief package passed earlier this year to address a summer rise in violent crime as pandemic restrictions loosen nationwide. The administration’s strategy to combat crime, a White House memo obtained by CNN said, “uses the American Rescue Plan’s $350 billion in financial support and clear guidance to provide state, local, territorial, and tribal governments the money they need to put more police officers on the beat — including hiring above pre-pandemic levels in communities experiencing an increase in gun violence associated with the pandemic — as well

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