National News - Page 156

Lee Statue to Be Melted for New Public Art in Charlottesville

By David Williams and Amy Simonson, A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that stood in the heart of Charlottesville, Virginia, for almost a century will be melted down into bronze ingots that will be used to create new public art. The City Council voted 4-to-0 early Tuesday to hand over the statue to a local bidder, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, which is housed in what was once Charlottesville’s only high school for Black students. “I think the goal for us when we started this process was to take something that has been traumatic in our community, a

NYC Imposes Private Sector Vaccine Mandate by Dec 27

By Aaron Cooper, Matt Egan and Chris Isidore, All private sector employers in New York City will now be required to implement a Covid-19 vaccine mandate by December 27, the city’s mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. This new move, which de Blasio announced Monday on MSNBC, means everyone who works in the city will now be subject to a vaccine mandate. “The more universal they are, the more likely employees will say okay, it’s time. I’m going to do this. Because you can’t jump from one industry to another or one company to another,” de Blasio said. “It’s something

Supreme Court Questions Maine’s Ban on Religious Vouchers

By Ariane de Vogue, The Supreme Court expressed deep skepticism Wednesday of a Maine school tuition assistance program that allows parents to use vouchers to send their children to attend public and private schools but excludes religious schools from the program. Conservative justices such as Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh suggested that if a state makes the choice to provide a public benefit, it can’t exclude schools based on the fact that they teach the curriculum through the lens of faith. “All they are asking for is equal treatment,” Kavanaugh said at one point, referring to the parents

Biden Warns Putin of Sanctions Over Ukraine Invasion Threat

By Maegan Vazquez, The White House says President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the United States is prepared to launch strong economic measures should Russia invade Ukraine — signaling that these new measures would pack a bigger punch than the sanctions issued in 2014 that failed to stop Russia from occupying Crimea. “I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday afternoon after Biden’s call

Omicron Partly Evades Pfizer Vaccine, Study Finds

By Maggie Fox, The Omicron coronavirus variant partly escapes the protection offered by the Pfizer vaccine, but people who have been previously infected and then vaccinated are likely to be well protected, researchers working in South Africa reported Tuesday. Boosters are also likely to protect people, Alex Sigal of the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, who led the study team, told CNN. It’s the first experiment to directly look at how the Omicron virus might behave in vaccinated people. Tests in lab dishes using samples from 12 people who had been fully vaccinated with Pfizer’s vaccine showed the Omicron variant could

VP Harris Praises Symone Sanders Amid Staff Departures

By Donald Judd and Jasmine Wright, Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday offered praise for her departing senior adviser, Symone Sanders, while brushing off a question about a larger staff shake up in her office. “I love Symone, and I can’t wait to see what she will do next, and I know that it’s been a, you know, it’s been three years of a lot of jumping on and off planes and going around the country, and she works very hard, and I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next, and I mean that sincerely,” Harris told reporters traveling with her in

Biden’s Court Reform Panel Backs Term Limits Debate

By Ariane de Vogue and Paul LeBlanc, A controversial commission set up by President Joe Biden to explore changes to the US Supreme Court concluded in a draft final report Monday that there was “profound” disagreement over whether to add more seats to the bench but suggested more consensus for term limits for the justices without taking a final position on the issue. The report — which was widely criticized before its release because it would not offer concrete recommendations to the President — spans hundreds of pages and also tackles issues such as the court’s emergency docket and the current state of confirmation

Minneapolis Police Chief Arradondo to Retire in January

By Amir Vera, Carma Hassan and Michelle Watson Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, whose tenure will be remembered for his handling of the George Floyd murder investigation, announced Monday that he will retire in mid-January. “After much personal reflection and thoughtful discussions with my family and Mayor Frey, I have made the decision that I will not be accepting a new term as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department,” Arradondo said. He was the city’s first Black police chief, appointed in 2017. Arradondo was chief when Floyd died while in police custody on May 25, 2020. Video of Floyd’s death ignited protests around the US

Black Applicant Sues Encore Over Hair Discrimination

By Nicquel Terry Ellis and Cheri Mossburg, A Black job applicant suing an employer over hair discrimination is demanding an apology and policy change — but the company said it was a misunderstanding. Jeffrey Thornton filed a lawsuit this week against Encore Group, LLC, claiming the company denied him employment when he refused to cut his hair, which he wears in locs. Thornton’s complaint claims the San Diego office for the company violated the state’s CROWN Act, which prohibits employers from withholding employment based on discrimination against the protected applicant’s hairstyle. According to the lawsuit, when Thornton interviewed for the

Kamala Harris Leads First Maternal Health Day of Action

By Jasmine Wright and Jacqueline Howard, Vice President Kamala Harris will mark the White House’s first ever Maternal Health Day of Action on Tuesday when she hosts a summit with lawmakers, Cabinet secretaries and celebrities, a White House official said. At the summit, Harris will issue a nationwide call to action to the private and public sectors and announce a series of federal reports and guidance, among other things aimed at improving maternal health in the United States. The United States continues to have the highest maternal death rate of all developed countries, according to researchers. And Tuesday’s summit marks the administration’s latest

1 … 154 155 156 157 158 … 219
Close

Never Miss A Story

Covering HBCUS
and The African American Community