National News - Page 3

After Black pushback, AP Black Studies Course Is Getting Another Makeover

By Jessica Washington Not to promote bullying or anything, but it turns out that dogging something for months can be effective. After facing a ton of backlash from notable Black scholars, the College Board said they’d be revising their AP Black studies course again. In a statement on Monday, the College Board announced that they’d be making the changes over the next few months. “We are committed to providing an unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture,” they wrote. Here’s a little refresher course for anyone who forgot about all the backlash. The new African American AP course

Chicago mayor’s progressive strategy to be tested amid public safety, growth concerns

Brandon Johnson took office Monday, facing an influx of migrants in desperate need of shelter, pressure to build support among skeptical business leaders, and summer months that historically bring a spike in violent crime. Progressives viewed Johnson’s election as evidence that bold stances lead to victory at the ballot box. Now, his first term leading the nation’s third-largest city will test the former union organizer’s ability to turn those proposals into solutions for stubborn problems worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, including public safety, economic growth and housing affordability. “There’s no honeymoon in mayoral politics or city governments,” said Dan Gibbons, CEO

DeSantis signs bill defunding diversity programs at Florida colleges

By Rose Horowitch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday a bill restricting how race and gender can be taught in Florida’s public higher education institutions and banning them from using state or federal funding for diversity programs. At a ceremony at the New College of Florida in Sarasota, DeSantis signed three bills that he said would give students foundational skills and prevent people from imposing orthodoxies at public universities. It marked an escalation of a broader conservative effort to limit the ways schools can teach about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Referring to the initialism for “diversity, equity

One year after Tops supermarket shooting, friends and family honor victim with scholarship fund

By Claretta Bellamy One year after a mass shooting at a Tops supermarket devastated a Black community in Buffalo, New York, one victim is being memorialized through the gift of education. Friends and former colleagues spearheaded a scholarship fund for local high school students to help pay for college expenses in honor of Aaron Salter, the security guard who worked at Tops and was one of the 10 individuals killed. Named the Lt. Aaron Salter Memorial Scholarship, the fund provides $5,000 scholarships to 10 graduating high school seniors from schools throughout Buffalo. Earl Perrin Jr., Salter’s longtime friend and colleague of 10 years

Fort Lee, Virginia, named for a Confederate general, will be renamed to honor Black Army pioneers

By Emma Sánchez Fort Lee in Virginia will be officially renamed Fort Gregg-Adams on Thursday after two Black officers who made significant contributions to the U.S. Army. The post is one of nine Army bases that will be renamed as part of the process of  redesignating bases named after Confederate leaders, according to an Army statement. “We are deeply honored to have Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams as the new namesakes for our installation,” Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly, commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command and senior commander of Fort Lee, said in the statement. At

State attorneys general announce probe into the NFL over workplace discrimination

The attorneys general of New York and California announced Thursday that they are investigating allegations of workplace discrimination at the NFL, citing lawsuits filed by employees that describe sex, racial and age bias, sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment. Attorneys General Letitia James, of New York, and Rob Bonta, of California, said they have issued subpoenas to NFL executives as part of an examination into the workplace culture at the the league’s corporate offices in both states. The officials, both Democrats, said they are exercising their legal authority to seek information from the NFL regarding allegations of gender pay disparities,

California reparations panel OKs recommendations on state apology and payments

 California’s reparations task force voted Saturday to approve recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by discriminatory policies. The nine-member committee, which first convened nearly two years ago, gave final approval at a meeting in Oakland to a hefty list of proposals that now go to state lawmakers to consider for reparations legislation. U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who is cosponsoring a bill in Congress to study restitution proposals for African Americans, at the meeting called on states and the federal government to pass reparations legislation. “Reparations are not only morally justifiable, but

Three-time Olympic medalist Tori Bowie dies at age 32

By David K. Li Three-timeOlympic medalist Tori Bowie, a Mississippi native who sprinted to gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, was found dead in a Florida home, officials said Wednesday. She was 32. Her management company and USA Track & Field announced her death. No cause of death was shared. “We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister,” Icon Management Inc. said in a statement. “Tori was a champion…a beacon of light that shined so bright! We’re truly heartbroken and our prayers are with the family, friends and everyone that loved her.” Orange County sheriff’s deputies were asked Tuesday afternoon “to conduct a well-being

Republican-controlled states target college students’ voting power ahead of high-stakes 2024 elections

By Fredreka Schouten  Republican-controlled legislatures around the country have moved to erect new barriers to voting for high school and college students in what state lawmakers describe as an effort to clamp down on potential voter fraud. Critics call it a blatant attempt to suppress the youth vote as young people increasingly bolster Democratic candidates and liberal causes at the ballot box. As turnout among young voters grows, new proposals that change photo ID requirements or impose other limits have emerged. Laws enacted in Idaho this year, for instance, prohibit the use of student IDs to register to vote or

Illinois dust storm pile-up crash on I-55 involving 72-vehicles leaves 7 dead, over 30 hurt

By Jessica D’Onofrio and Eric Horng  A dust storm in central Illinois led to a pile-up crash of more than 70 cars Monday that Illinois State Police now say killed seven people. More than 30 people were injured. ISP said said that while they were working to identify the remains of the victims, they found that remains they previous believed to belong to one person were actually the remains of two people. The total number of people killed in the crash i snow seven. Crushed vehicles lined the expressway south of Springfield, closing a nearly 20-mile stretch of I-55. Authorities

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