National News - Page 173

Boynton Beach Sued Over Mural Depicting Black Firefighter

By Gregory Lemos and Melissa Alonso, The Boynton Beach City Commission will meet this week to discuss a lawsuit filed on behalf of the city’s first Black female firefighter over a mural where she was inaccurately depicted with a White face. “The City Commission will meet in a closed-door session to discuss the litigation. It is not a public meeting,” City Manager Lori LaVerriere confirmed to CNN in an email Sunday. Latosha Clemons filed the lawsuit in April against the City of Boynton Beach. According to the complaint, a mural intended to honor her and others for their service to

Covid Surges Strain Hospitals as Vaccine Booster Debate Grows

By Travis Caldwell, While the rate of Covid-19 infections nationwide is slowing, health care systems in some parts of the country are struggling with hospital wings still packed with patients. Montana, for instance, is facing new highs this week in coronavirus hospitalizations, with 533 Covid-19 patients in hospitals as of Wednesday, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. This eclipses the high set in November, before vaccines were readily available, according to HHS and data from the Covid Tracking Project. The percentages of ICU beds used for Covid-19 patients in Montana, along with neighboring Idaho and Wyoming, are among the highest in

In Defense of Jack Brown: Racial Double Standards in Business

By Benjamin Chavis There is an old African proverb that captures one of the challenges that too many financially successful Black-owned business leaders face today in America. That proverb is “Your earned riches may engender envy and jealous criticism but be not dismayed by the foolishness of the envious.” Across the nation as business owners are attempting to recover from the COVID-19 global pandemic, African America business leaders who are defying the odds with their financial success are often targeted by “mainstream media” and others who summarily and unfairly castigate Black business leaders economic achievements. Is this syndrome racially-motivated? The

Racism and CRT Panic Collide in U.S. Public Schools Debate

By Evan McMorris-Santoro and Linh Tran, Nearly two weeks after a racist petition to bring back slavery circulated at her daughter’s school, Julie Stutterheim is still angry. She says it was yet another example of a racist incident at Park Hill South High School in the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri. “She was very upset about it. My daughter’s Ethiopian,” Stutterheim told CNN this week. Her daughter has encountered racism firsthand, Stutterheim says and “the more she talked about this, the more upset she got.” Stutterheim did what any concerned parent would do and reached out to the school to

Fort Hood Soldier Jennifer Sewell Missing Since October 7

By Dakin Andone, Officials at Fort Hood in Texas are searching for Pfc. Jennifer Sewell, a soldier who’s been missing since last Thursday. Sewell was last seen leaving her barracks around 4 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) October 7, according to a statement by the Fort Hood Directorate of Emergency Services (DES), which said she failed to report to work that day. Law enforcement, Sewell’s chain-of-command and her family have been unable to contact her in the time since. “Initial investigation appears that Sewell left for unknown reasons on her own accord,” the statement said, noting she does not own a vehicle. Officials

Gen. Gwen Bingham: Breaking Barriers in U.S. Army Leadership

By Brianna Keilar and Ryan Bergeron, Lieutenant General Gwen Bingham has spent much of her Army career being a frontrunner. She is only the second African American woman ever to become a three-star General in the Army and as she advanced throughout her career, she has been either the first woman, the first African American, or both to hold that position. The general is quick to mention she would not be where she is without others “plowing tough ground” before her, and her warm, friendly approach has a way of putting everyone at ease. If breaking barriers seems to be a

Trailblazing Women Honored on New US Quarters Series

By Scottie Andrew, They were suffragettes, leaders, artists and astronauts who transformed the US — even if you don’t know them by name. Now, they’ll be immortalized on American currency. The US Mint has announced the full list of five pioneering American women who will appear on the first run of the “American Women Quarters Program.” Images of the women, who represent a wide array of professions from which women were previously shut out, will appear on the backs of select quarters beginning in 2022. (George Washington’s facade will remain on the “heads” side.) Two of the women, Sally Ride, an astronaut who

Experts Warn COVID Decline May Not Signal Pandemic’s End

By Jacqueline Howard, More than 100,000 hospital beds were filled with Covid-19 patients across the United States, with patients occupying more than 30% of the beds in intensive care units nationwide. An average of 159,000 coronavirus infections was recorded each day and physical brawls broke out over vaccine requirements and mask mandates. That was America about a month ago — in early September. Now, fewer than 70,000 hospital beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients, accounting for less than 25% of intensive care unit beds nationwide. The current average of new coronavirus infections has dropped to around 106,000 each day and more than half of the US population — 56% — is fully vaccinated

Black Graduates Face Crisis Amid Crushing Student Loan Debt

By Nicquel Terry Ellis, Tony Montgomery has been forced to put off his law school plans and can’t afford to buy a home or pay for health insurance because he’s drowning in $30,000 of student loan debt. Montgomery, a home-school teacher and tutor from Mansfield, Texas, said he’s had to pick up night shifts at a local grocery store to pay his student loan bills. He’s currently living with his mother and helps her out financially. The federal government’s pause on student loan payments and interest accrual during the Covid-19 pandemic gave Montgomery a chance to build a rainy day

COVID Cases Decline, but Experts Urge More U.S. Vaccination

By Aya Elamroussi, The US is making headway in its battle against Covid-19 — with infection and hospitalization rates on the decline after a surge fueled by the relentless Delta variant. But with the number of Americans getting booster shots surpassing those who are initiating vaccination, experts warn more is needed to continue the progress. Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have both declined by more than 10% from last week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and the US Department of Health and Human Services, respectively. Just over 56% of the total US population is fully vaccinated, according to the US Centers for Disease

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