National News - Page 97

Biden set to deliver major speech on next phase of pandemic response, sources say

By Kaitlan Collins and Veronica Stracqualursi, President Joe Biden is set to deliver a major address on the next phase of his pandemic response this week, two sources familiar with the speech tell CNN. While officials were still finalizing specifics early this week, the speech will have multiple components related to schools, private companies and requirements for federal employees. It’s the most they have done to date, one person said. The speech was initially slated for Wednesday, but a White House official told CNN later Tuesday morning that the timing is still fluid and would instead come on Thursday. “On Thursday, the President will speak

West Point will unveil a statue honoring a group of Black soldiers

By Leah Asmelash, After years of fundraising, the US Military Academy at West Point will finally unveil a new monument dedicated to the Buffalo Soldiers, a group of Black soldiers who played a key role in the westward expansion of the United States. The monument — a 10-foot-tall bronze statue depicting a Buffalo Soldier on a horse — has already been installed at the military academy, but will not be officially unveiled until a ceremony on September 10. “These Soldiers embodied the West Point motto of Duty, Honor, Country and ideals of the Army Ethic,” said US Military Academy 60th Superintendent, Lt.

This Texas high school principal was put on administrative leave after being accused of promoting critical race theory

By Nicole Chavez, A Texas high school principal who found himself in the middle of a controversy over critical race theory was placed on paid administrative leave this week. James Whitfield, principal of Colleyville Heritage High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, was placed on leave Monday, a month after a community member at a school board meeting publicly accused him of having “extreme views on race” and called for him to be fired. The decision to place Whitfield on administrative leave was not a result of the complaints made by community members against him, the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District said in

Robert E. Lee statue in Virginia’s capital will come down Wednesday, officials say

By Deanna Hackney, Chandelis Duster and Veronica Stracqualursi, A 12-ton statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that sits on the historic Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, is set to be taken down Wednesday, state officials said Monday. Gov. Ralph Northam announced his intention to remove the Confederate statue, which is the largest remaining in the US, in June 2020, amid nationwide protests for racial justice, but was challenged in court. A group of Richmond residents sued, arguing that an 1890 deed and an 1889 General Assembly joint resolution prohibits the governor from directing the removal of a state monument from state property. Another lawsuit brought

Like Washington and Jefferson, he championed liberty. Unlike the founders, he freed his slaves

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By Eliott C. McLaughlin, It was 230 years ago Sunday that Robert Carter III, the patriarch of one of the wealthiest families in Virginia, quietly walked into a Northumberland County courthouse and delivered an airtight legal document announcing his intention to free, or manumit, more than 500 slaves. He titled it the “deed of gift.” It was, by far, experts say, the largest liberation of Black people before the Emancipation Proclamation more than seven decades later. On September 5, 1791, when Carter delivered his deed, slavery was an institution, a key engine of the new country’s economy. But many slaveholders — including founding fathers

White House toils amid multiple crises on Labor Day

Analysis by Stephen Collinson There is no rest for an under-pressure White House this Labor Day as President Joe Biden tackles health, economic and legislative challenges that deepened on his watch and are beginning to erode his political standing. A worsening Covid-19 pandemic, with the added concern of the impact of the Delta variant on kids, the fallout from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and new concerns over job growth are weighing on the administration after a tough summer. New complications over passing the President’s sweeping infrastructure and social program, and a shocking move by Texas to all but outlaw abortion are exacerbating an extraordinary menu of crises. On Afghanistan and

Biden set to travel to Louisiana to survey damage from Hurricane Ida

By Maegan Vazquez President Joe Biden is headed to Louisiana on Friday to survey damage from Hurricane Ida, after almost a week of the deadly storm ravaging the eastern half of the United States. The White House has said Biden would survey storm damage and meet with state and local officials. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that the President would travel to New Orleans and is expected to meet with Louisiana Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, among other officials. Since the Category 4 Hurricane plowed through the Gulf Coast over the weekend, there have been at least five

Senate passes bill to provide assistance to Americans returning from Afghanistan

By Clare Foran and Ali Zaslav, The Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would provide temporary assistance to American citizens who have returned from Afghanistan. The bill would set aside up to $10 million for each fiscal year during fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to provide emergency repatriation assistance to affected individuals. Vice President Kamala Harris came to the Senate to preside over the bill’s passage on Tuesday. The bill was approved by unanimous consent during the Senate’s August recess when the chamber came into session for a quick pro-forma session where no other business was conducted. The bill has

Black Americans are being priced out of the pandemic housing boom

By Chauncey Alcorn Everett Benyard thought he was finally in a strong enough financial position to purchase his first home earlier this year. He’d saved money by living with his parents for a time and secured a higher-paying job in 2020. But the 30-year-old San Diego corrections officer has struggled to compete in one of the country’s hottest real estate markets, where the median home price on single-family houses reached $860,000 in July, according to the California Association of Realtors. “I was just getting outbid, outbid big,” Benyard told CNN Business during a recent phone interview. “I went and saw many different places. … I would go

Three doses of Covid-19 vaccine are likely needed for full protection, Fauci says

By Travis Caldwell, With the latest Covid-19 surge upending American life yet again, an official rollout of booster doses could begin within weeks pending FDA authorization. And it’s likely that three doses of the vaccine are needed for full protection, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. He cited two Israeli-based studies that showed a decrease in infections among people who got a third or booster shot. There was good reason to believe that a third dose “will actually be durable, and if it is durable, then you’re going to have very likely a three-dose regimen being the routine regimen,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy

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