National News - Page 189

Kathy Hochul to Become New York’s First Female Governor

By Chandelis Duster and Veronica Stracqualursi New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will become governor of New York after Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that he will resign in two weeks following the state attorney general’s investigation that found he sexually harassed multiple women. Hochul will become the state’s first female governor and stands to inherit a political landscape that Cuomo dominated for more than a decade. She will also assume office at a time when New York is fighting a resurgent coronavirus pandemic and the fallout over Cuomo’s departure. “I agree with Governor Cuomo’s decision to step down. It is the right

Biden Praises Team USA Olympians in Virtual Reception

By Donald Judd President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met with members of the 2020 US Olympic Team Saturday in a livestreamed virtual reception. “You handle yourself with such grace, and such decency, it just — you made me so damn proud,” the President told the group of Olympians over Zoom from his home in Delaware, where the first couple is spending the weekend. Biden offered shoutouts to Olympic athletes Katie Ledecky, who he said, “can probably swim a mile quicker than most people could run a mile,” gymnast Simone Biles and runner Isaiah Jewett. He also took the opportunity to invite

NAACP Launches National Voting Rights Mobilization Drive

By Nicquel Terry Ellis The NAACP is partnering with several other civil rights groups to launch a national voter mobilization campaign this week that aims to engage more people in the fight for federal voting legislation and motivate voters to participate in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. NAACP leaders say the “Fighting for Our Vote” campaign will target diverse cities in states that have passed restrictive voter laws such as Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Miami. The campaign will include radio and digital promotions, phone banking and knocking on doors to urge people to register to vote and call their state

Experts Urge Vaccines, Masks as COVID Cases Surge in Schools

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By Madeline Holcombe As Americans gear up for a new school year against a backdrop of rising Covid-19 cases, experts say there is no time to waste in getting already rising vaccination rates even higher. The US is currently averaging 486,332 people initiating vaccinations a day, which is a 10% increase over last week’s pace and the highest daily average since June 18, according to data published Monday by the CDC. Though the improvements are promising, more Americans still need to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, especially considering that it takes six weeks from the first injection for people to be

Black Leaders Battle COVID Vaccine Hesitancy, Myths & Fear

By Nicquel Terry Ellis Jeniffer Hall was hesitant to get vaccinated until early July when a Detroit pastor convinced her that she needed the shot to protect herself and her brother — who she has cared for since he suffered an aneurysm — from Covid-19. After surviving Covid-19 herself in 2020, Hall said she decided to follow the science instead of listening to her adult children who say the US government can’t be trusted. “The way I felt when I had Covid was the weakest I had ever been and I don’t want to experience that anymore,” Hall said. “I

School Mask Mandate Battles Intensify Amid Delta Surge

Analysis by Maeve Reston The back-to-school season is turning into a frightening one for parents and children as they find themselves in the middle of political skirmishes over mask and vaccine mandates, leaving students’ safety determined more by geography and the political whims of governors than the science that should be guiding best practices. In this dangerous new phase of the pandemic, when the seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases is topping 100,000, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other acolytes of former President Donald Trump have made school mask requirements the new front in the Covid culture wars. Republicans like DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott,

First Black Woman Joins FBI SWAT Training in Puerto Rico

By Alaa Elassar An FBI agent in Puerto Rico is believed to be the first Black woman to be selected to train for any of the bureau’s SWAT teams. The newly chosen agent, who has only been identified as Tai, will be undergoing New Operator Training School (NOTS), a 10-week course that prepares selectees for SWAT field operations, the FBI said in a news release. If Tai passes NOTS, she will join the San Juan Division’s SWAT team as a probationary member. Within six to 18 months, she will undergo more training to become officially certified, according to the FBI. Despite

FDA Nears Full Approval of Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine

By Jen Christensen Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is currently only authorized for emergency use in the United States, but its full approval by the US Food and Drug Administration could happen within weeks. The ramifications could alter the course of the pandemic in several ways. First, full approval of a Covid-19 vaccine could persuade more people to get vaccinated. More than 30% of the eligible population in the United States still hasn’t gotten a vaccine. To qualify for emergency use authorization, Covid-19 vaccine makers submitted about three months of clinical trial data. This included at least 2 months of safety data on

Black August and Lessons from the Kerner Commission

Analysis by Brandon Tensley This week marks the start of Black August. The annual commemoration originated in California’s prisons in the 1970s following the deaths of brothers Jonathan and George Jackson and other incarcerated Black men who protested prison conditions. Black August is a time to revisit the rich history of Black resistance. Historically and ironically, August has long been an active month for Black rebellion. In 1791, enslaved people in what is today Haiti launched a successful revolt against French colonial rule in a “revolutionary fight for freedom” that “helped make the United States the country that it is today,” as

House Select Committee Takes Over Jan. 6 Investigation

By Ryan Nobles, Zachary Cohen and Whitney Wild The newly formed House select committee is taking the lead on investigating January 6 going forward, consolidating the investigation, as other committees looking into the matter begin handing over their work, according to a multiple sources familiar with the matter. That includes interviews with key figures related to that day that were already scheduled to meet with other committees but were postponed. “The Select Committee will, as part of its ongoing comprehensive investigation mandated by House Resolution 503, conduct interviews related to January 6th and the events leading up to it. The Committee will announce additional

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