National News - Page 183

Biden Honors Fallen Troops in Afghanistan Dignified Transfer

By Kevin Liptak President Joe Biden watched stoically as flag-draped cases carrying the remains of American service members killed in Afghanistan returned Sunday to the United States. The President’s attendance at what the military calls a “dignified transfer” is among the gravest responsibilities for any American commander in chief, a searing reminder of the consequences of his decisions and the weight of the job. In withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan, Biden hopes to be the last US president to witness war dead returned home from that country. The 13 service members whose remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base

CDC Chief Calls Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis

By Elizabeth Cohen, John Bonifield and Justin Lape, For the first time in decades, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the nation’s top public health agency — is speaking out forcefully about gun violence in America, calling it a “serious public health threat.” “Something has to be done about this,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in an exclusive interview with CNN. “Now is the time — it’s pedal to the metal time.” This summer alone has seen a spree of gun injuries and deaths, and the weekends have been especially violent, with an

March on for Voting Rights: Continuing the Civil Rights Fight

By Nicquel Terry Ellis When Medgar Evers and Jimmie Lee Jackson were killed amid a yearslong battle for voting rights, it brought a sense of doom and darkness over the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Evers, a NAACP field secretary and civil rights leader who organized voter registration drives, boycotts and protests against school segregation, was shot in the back by a White supremacist in his driveway in June 1963. Jackson, a church deacon, was shot in the stomach by an Alabama State Trooper while trying to protect his mother during a march for voting rights in Marion, Alabama,

Capitol Officer Michael Byrd Defends Ashli Babbitt Shooting

By Marshall Cohen The veteran US Capitol Police officer who killed pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt went public Thursday, revealing his identity and defending his actions on January 6. “I know that day I saved countless lives,” Lt. Michael Byrd said in an interview with “NBC Nightly News.” “I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that’s my job.” The officer fatally shot Babbitt in the shoulder while she climbed through a window that led into the Speaker’s Lobby, adjacent to the House chamber, while lawmakers were evacuating.

Hurricane Ida Devastates Louisiana, Over 1M Lose Power

/

By Madeline Holcombe, Hurricane Ida slammed Louisiana with devastating force Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving at least one person dead and more than 1 million customers without power as it flooded homes, ripped off roofs and trapped residents in dangerous rising waters. While the scope of the damage won’t be clear until day breaks Monday and teams can assess the chaos, initial reports indicate the situation for many residents who stayed behind is dire. The storm slowed after it made landfall around 1 p.m. ET Sunday near Port Fourchon, delivering catastrophic winds and torrential rains for hours. Ida weakened

$1.1B Student Loan Debt Cancelled for ITT Tech Borrowers

By Katie Lobosco The Department of Education said Thursday that it will cancel $1.1 billion in student loan debt for some students who attended the now-defunct for-profit ITT Technical Institute — bringing the total amount of loan discharges approved under President Joe Biden to $9.5 billion. The majority of that debt is held by permanently disabled borrowers who have long been eligible for loan forgiveness but who have not applied. The Department of Education is making the cancellation automatic by using federal data to identify borrowers who qualify. The change will impact 320,000 borrowers, eliminating $5.8 billion in debt starting in September. Much of

Black Maternal Mortality Crisis Worsened by COVID-19

/

By Priya Krishnakumar Black women in the United States are more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than any other demographic — and the Covid-19 pandemic may be exacerbating one of the starkest disparities in American health care. Health care practitioners and advocacy groups have raised the alarm that the pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color and strained the resources of the country’s health care system, may further increase barriers to care for pregnant people. “Even before the pandemic, the United States was considered the most dangerous developed nation to be pregnant,” said Stacey Stewart, CEO and President

Supreme Court’s Role in Policing and Racial Justice Failures

/

Analysis by Brandon Tensley The Senate has left for its August recess, meaning that two of the primary negotiators for policing legislation — Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey — can add another blown deadline to the tally. More than a year after the police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and other Black Americans catalyzed a summer of uprisings, the atmosphere remains thick with calls for social transformation. Mostly, civil rights activists have laid the responsibility for curbing police abuse at the feet of national lawmakers, whose efforts have

Deadly Kabul Airport Attack Hits US Evacuation Efforts

By Ivana Kottasová, Barbara Starr, Kylie Atwood, Nick Paton Walsh, Sam Kiley, Zachary Cohen, Jennifer Hansler and Nectar Gan The United States has vowed to continue the evacuation of American citizens and allies from Afghanistan, as US troops brace for the threat of more terrorist attacks following two deadly bombings at Kabul’s airport. At least 90 Afghans died and another 140 were injured Thursday, an official with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health said, after suicide bombers and gunmen attacked packed crowds outside the airport. “It was as if someone pulled the ground from under my feet; for a moment I thought my eardrums

J&J COVID-19 Booster Shows 9x Antibody Increase

By Maggie Fox Booster doses of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot coronavirus vaccine generated a big spike in antibodies, the frontline immune system defenses against infection, the company reported Wednesday. People who received a booster six to eight months after their initial J&J shots saw antibodies increase nine-fold higher than 28 days after the first shot, Johnson & Johnson said. The data comes from two Phase 2 studies conducted in the United States and Europe, the company said in a statement. Some of the 2,000 or so people in the studies got booster doses six months after their first doses of

1 … 181 182 183 184 185 … 221
Close

Never Miss A Story

Covering HBCUS
and The African American Community