Black-Owned Businesses Push for Targeted Covid Relief Aid
By Nicquel Terry Ellis and Adrienne Broaddus, CNN Civil rights activists and business leaders have asked President Joe Biden’s administration to include targeted funding for Black-owned businesses in the next Covid-19 relief package. They also say that without the federal aid many businesses could be forced to close their doors in the next 90 days. Members of the National Urban League and the U.S. Black Chambers are among the groups demanding that Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan allocate money that will exclusively go to Black entrepreneurs. “It should be specific,” said Ron Busby, president and CEO of U.S. Black Chambers.
Kamala Harris’ Marriage Sparks Debate on Interracial Love
Analysis by John Blake, CNN Nikki Buskirk was watching vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff wave to supporters at an Election Night celebration in November when the future second gentleman did something that made Buskirk glow with admiration. The couple had just taken the stage in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, when red, white, and blue fireworks suddenly exploded in the evening sky. Buskirk says she watched as Emhoff instinctively stepped toward Harris to protect her. That gesture touched Buskirk because her marriage had set off some fireworks of its own. She’s a proud Black woman and Black
Biden Faces Pressure on Covid, Vaccines and School Reopenings
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN An exhausted and impatient nation needs the kind of clarity and leadership only a president can provide as the coronavirus pandemic reaches a potentially decisive stage. President Joe Biden’s responsibilities go far beyond the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 rescue plan on the launchpad in Congress, a federal effort to swiftly accelerate vaccines and a push to get more relief to millions of unemployed. There have been some signs in recent weeks that an injection of new White House urgency has improved the organization of the anti-Covid-19 effort and coordination with state governors who cried out for
Capitol Hero Eugene Goodman to Receive Congressional Medal
By Clare Foran and Ted Barrett, CNN The Senate on Friday approved legislation to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who became a national hero for his actions defending the Senate during the siege of the Capitol on January 6. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer paid tribute on the Senate floor to Goodman Friday evening and announced that he would ask the Senate to pass legislation to award him the honor. It passed by unanimous consent. “In the weeks after the attack on January the sixth, the world learned about the incredible bravery of Officer
Biden Gains Focus After Trump’s Impeachment Acquittal
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN The conclusion of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial finally ends the ex-President’s stranglehold on Washington’s every waking moment and offers President Joe Biden a first chance to fully exercise his influence and power. While the coming days in the capital may not be as wrenching as last week — which saw a horrific recreation of the terror inside the Capitol on January 6 by House impeachment managers — they will be even more critical to the nation’s short-term fate. Biden can now claim the full attention of Congress and the public as he seeks to drive
Rep. Clyburn Pushes to Make “Lift Every Voice” National Hymn
By Eryn Mathewson and Zoë Saunders, CNN This year, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) is bringing some extra attention to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and sponsoring a bill that would make it the US national hymn. “My goal is to make a contribution to trying to bring this country back together,” he told CNN’s Don Lemon on Silence Is Not an Option. “I just think that if we were to make this hymn our national hymn, it will help us to really create a climate within which we can find common ground.” After the racial reckoning that unfolded last year,
Biden to Begin Processing Migrants Stuck in Mexico Feb 19
By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN The Biden administration will begin processing migrants forced to stay in Mexico under a Trump-era policy into the United States on February 19, according to administration officials. It’s the first move toward addressing the thousands of non-Mexican migrants subject to a controversial policy under the Trump administration that required them to remain in Mexico — often in dangerous conditions — until their immigration court dates in the United States. An administration official told reporters Thursday that the effort is “phase one of a program to restore fair and orderly processing at the Southwest border.” The initial
Trump Shows No Remorse After Capitol Siege, Sources Say
By Jim Acosta and Pamela Brown, CNN Advisers to former President Donald Trump say he still has not expressed remorse for the siege at the US Capitol, which could end up being important for Senate jurors to consider after House impeachment managers on Wednesday released new video of the violent mob’s assault on January 6. One of the new clips show then-Vice President Mike Pence and his family being hustled away by Secret Service as the siege was under way. That affirms what Pence aides told CNN in the days following the deadly insurrection. Some of those aides were outraged
House Managers Show Chilling Capitol Riot Footage in Trial
By Clare Foran, Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju, CNN House impeachment managers will finish arguing their case on Thursday that former President Donald Trump incited an insurrection one day after they showed violent and disturbing video footage of the attack on the US Capitol as they urged senators to convict at the Senate trial. Never-before-seen Capitol security camera footage forced senators to relive the harrowing attack and confront chilling new details about the incredibly serious threat posed to everyone in the Capitol, including lawmakers. A number of GOP senators made clear Wednesday evening that they were shaken by what they
Biden Prioritizes Judicial Nominations Amid Court Vacancies
By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter President Joe Biden had been in office less than a week when a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction blocking one of his first immigration-related actions. The order was a victory for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who crowed “WE WON” on Twitter. In fact, Paxton, a controversial conservative Republican, had successfully gambled that his challenge would land before a judge appointed by President Donald Trump. And indeed Judge Drew B. Tipton — appointed by Trump in 2020 — delivered. The order is a potent reminder of the power of the judiciary
