National News - Page 3

The National Park Service expands its African-American history sites

By John Burnett On a cool spring day, Fredrika Newton ā€” the widow of Black Panther co-founder, Huey P. Newton ā€” stands next to a bronze bust of her late husband. It’s situated in a wide, landscaped median in the west end of Oakland that the Panthers called home. “The Black Panther Party is an American story, and that’s the job of the National Park Service is to tell the American story,” Newton says. Once upon a time, former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover called the Panthers theĀ “greatest threat to internal security.” A half-century later, as perspectives have mellowed, the

North Carolina Supreme Court rejects ‘racially discriminatory’ voter ID law and state electoral map

By Fernando Stewart The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday knocked down a 2018 voter-identification law it said discriminated againstĀ Black votersĀ and ordered a state Senate map be redrawn due to Republican partisan gerrymandering. Both were 4-3 decisions along party lines, with all the courtā€™s Democratic justices voting in the majority and all Republican justices dissenting. The decisions come just before the court flips to GOP control on Jan. 1, when there will be five Republican justices and two Democrats. The court upheld a lower courtā€™s 2021 ruling that a 2018 law requiring voters to present photo ID was unconstitutional. The

Congress Announces $600M Grant To Fix Jacksonā€™s Water Crisis

By Bilal G. Morris The City of Jackson could finally be getting the federal aid they need to fix the massive water crisis that has plagued the Mississippi city for decades. According toĀ Mississippi Free Press, House Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., announced this week that the congressional year-end funding omnibus billĀ will include $600 million in federal funds to fix Jacksonā€™s water crisis and to help rebuild Jacksonā€™s lackluster drinking water system. If congress approves the bill, $150 million will be allotted for ā€œtechnical assistance,ā€ and $450 million will go to ā€œcapital projects.ā€ Last month,Ā Ā the Department

Karen Bass Launches New Housing Program To Help Tackle Homelessness In Los Angeles

By Shannon Dawson Karen Bass is already making powerful moves in herĀ new role as the Mayor of Los Angeles.Ā On Sunday, the 69-year-old politician announced plans to move the cityā€™s homeless from tent encampments into hotels and motels through a new housing program set to launch Tuesday. During an interview with NBCā€™s ā€œMeet the Press,ā€ Bass shared more details about the forthcoming initiative, noting how the program would notĀ ā€œaddress everybody, but it is going toĀ address, hopefully, a significant number,ā€ according toĀ AP News.Ā Under the plan, none of the cityā€™s homeless community will be forced to move from their current location, Bass clarified.Ā ā€œThis

Black Mayors Talk Federal Support For Local Issues At White House Gathering

A group of newly elected mayors recently gathered at the White House to talk with administration officials about the concerns and challenges facing small to mid-size cities in several critical areas of the country. The Biden administration welcomed the group of newly elected mayors to speak with administration officials about the pressing needs facing their respective communities. The new class of mayors included North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown, the first Black mayor in Nevadaā€™s history.Ā Goynes-Brown told NewsOne that her top priorities were public safety, education and her cityā€™s continued economic recovery. Referencing an economic downturn thatĀ impacted the city over

The Jan. 6 committee is about to have its last hearing. Here’s what to expect

By Barbara Sprunt The House Select Committee investigating theĀ attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021Ā is holding what’s likely to be its final public meeting on Monday, wrapping up its year-and-a-half-long inquiry. The panel will vote on criminal referrals against former President Donald Trump on at least three charges: insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to a source familiar with the committee’s plans but not authorized to speak publicly. Insurrection is rarely prosecuted as a criminal charge. Referrals do not carry any legal weight or compel the Justice Department

U.S. Postal Service honors the late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis with a stamp

By Vanessa Romo Civil rights giant and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who spent decades fighting for racial justice, will be honored with a postage stamp next year. In a Tuesday announcement, the U.S. Postal Service said the stamp “celebrates the life and legacy” of the leader from Georgia, who risked his life protesting against segregation and other injustices in the violent Jim Crow-era South. “Lewis spent more than 30 years in Congress steadfastly defending and building on key civil rights gains that he had helped achieve in the 1960s. Even in the face of hatred and violence, as well

Black Georgia voters celebrate Warnockā€™s win and efforts to beat voter suppression

By Curtis Bunn The morning after the Senate runoff election between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican nominee Herschel Walker brimmed with relief and satisfaction for many Black Georgia voters, who were essential in clinching the win for Warnock on Tuesday. But their sense of accomplishment didnā€™t just come from Warnockā€™s win. It came from their perceived success in overcomingĀ what they viewed as voter suppression efforts by Republicans, in the form of the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which established newĀ voter guidelines. After the 2020 election ā€” when Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump, in part by winning Georgia, and Warnock

Who Appointed Van Jones To Be Chief Ambassador Of The Black Delegation?

By Zack Lilly Iā€˜m pretty sure there was a time when I used to likeĀ Van Jones. Iā€™m not sure when that was. It was definitely before he startedĀ urging Black peopleĀ to give Donald Trump his flowers because Trump ā€œdid good stuff for the Black community,ā€Ā even though he really didnā€™t. It was certainly before Jones blamed Black peopleā€™s ā€œlifestyle choicesā€ for why we were disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19. I couldnā€™t have possibly liked Van at any time after heĀ attended CPAC and tap-dancedĀ to the tune of ā€œKumbaya, My White Nationalist Lord.ā€ It must have been well before Jones baby-sat former presidential senior advisor

WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian custody in a high-profile prisoner swap between the U.S. and Moscow

ByĀ Andrea Mitchell,Ā ZoĆ« RichardsĀ andĀ Yuliya Talmazan WNBA star Brittney GrinerĀ is free Thursday after the Biden administrationĀ negotiatedĀ her release from a RussianĀ penal colonyĀ in exchange for anĀ arms dealer, according to a senior administration official. President Joe Biden signed off on the trade, which took place in the United Arab Emirates, even though it meant leaving behindĀ Paul Whelan, an American corporate security executive who remains jailed in Russia. “She is safe, she is on a plane, she is on her way home,” Biden said in remarks from the White House on Thursday morning. “She will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and

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