Mayor-elect Gumbs Outlines Her Vision for South Fulton After Historic Win
By: Nakell Williams On her first walk through City Hall as mayor-elect, Carmalitha Gumbs says she immediately sensed a shift. Employees greeted her with congratulations and optimism — a sign, she says, that people are ready for change. Gumbs made history Tuesday night, becoming the first woman ever elected mayor of the City of South Fulton. Although she has served on the city council for eight years, she says the mayor’s office wasn’t something she imagined for herself. “This was not on my bingo card,” Gumbs said. “But the fact that we made history is overwhelming and exciting.” South Fulton,
What the November election results in one key state mean for the battle for the House
By Ben Kamisar and Stephen Pettigrew As both parties race to redraw congressional lines before next year’s midterm elections, Virginia represents one of Democrats’ best chances to blunt Republican attempts to pad their congressional majorities. It’s unclear whether Virginia Democrats will be able to execute a high-wire act to successfully change their map for next year’s elections. Regardless, this November’s election results highlight how an energized Democratic Party could win back control of the House next year. High turnout helped propel Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger in more Republican-leaning areas, and Spanberger improved on Democrats’ 2024 margins in the most diverse congressional districts, a
HHS cuts millions in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics
By Berkeley Lovelace Jr. The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, escalating its confrontation with the group, which is suing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. The grants supported initiatives aimed at reducing sudden infant deaths, improving teen and young adult health, preventing birth defects, such as fetal alcohol syndrome, and identifying autism early, according to an academy spokesperson. The cuts were first reported by The Washington Post. In an emailed statement, Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson, said the grants “were canceled along with a number of other
Maryland to consider slavery reparations after Gov. Wes Moore’s veto is overridden
By The Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland will create a commission to study potential reparations for slavery after lawmakers voted Tuesday to override a veto by Gov. Wes Moore — currently the nation’s only Black governor — that disappointed many fellow Democrats. Moore said in his veto letter in May that it was a difficult decision to veto the bill, which was a priority of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. But he wrote there has been enough study of the legacy of slavery, and it was now time to “focus on the work itself” to address it. But Democrats
ACA shoppers face sticker shock as Congress dithers on health care
By Julie Appleby We’ve been here before: congressional Democrats and Republicans sparring over the future of the Affordable Care Act. But this time there’s an extra complication. Though it’s the middle of open enrollment, lawmakers are still debating whether to extend the subsidies that have given consumers extra help paying their health insurance premiums in recent years. The circumstances have led to deep consumer concerns about higher costs and fears of political fallout among some Republican lawmakers. According to a KFF poll released in December, about half of current enrollees who are registered to vote said that if their overall health care
Indiana Senate rejects GOP-drawn congressional map in a major rebuke of Trump
By Jane C. Timm INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Senate voted against a new Republican-drawn congressional map Thursday, rejecting a bid led by President Donald Trump aimed at boosting the party in next year’s midterm elections. The vote was a rare and stunning instance of elected Republicans rebuking Trump, who had pressured Indiana lawmakers for months to pass new district lines. The GOP leaders of Indiana’s Senate had long resisted joining the unusual mid-decade redistricting battle playing out across the country, saying there wasn’t enough support in the chamber for a new map that was designed to dismantle the state’s two Democratic-controlled
Senate rejects ACA funding and a Republican alternative with premiums set to spike
By Sahil Kapur WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate voted Thursday to reject health care bills offered by each party, as the U.S. barrels toward a cliff with steep premium hikes for millions of Americans set to hit next month. The failed votes raise the likelihood that enhanced Obamacare subsidies passed in 2021 will expire at the end of this year and cause premiums to double on average for some 22 million Americans who benefit from that funding. Neither bill achieved the 60 votes needed to advance, kicking the issue into the political arena. Democrats hope to use the issue to mobilize voters in the 2026 midterm elections if there
Oklahoma Black Lives Matter Leader Indicted for Fraud
By Lexx Thornton A federal grand jury indicted the leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in Oklahoma City over allegations that millions of dollars in grant funds were improperly spent on international trips, groceries, and personal real estate, prosecutors announced Thursday. Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, was indicted earlier this month on 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, court records show. Court records do not indicate the name of Dickerson’s attorney, and messages left Thursday at her mobile number and by email were not immediately returned. According to the indictment, Dickerson has served since
Justice Department again fails to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James
By Ryan J. Reilly, Michael Kosnar, Gary Grumbach and Alexandra Bacallao ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal grand jury here refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, one federal law enforcement source and another person familiar with the matter told NBC News. This was the Justice Department’s third attempt to prosecute James following a monthslong pressure campaign from President Donald Trump. A federal judge last month dismissed mortgage-related charges the Justice Department had brought against James, as well as separate, unrelated charges against former FBI Director James Comey, after ruling that the prosecutor in both cases was unlawfully appointed. The president named that prosecutor,
Trump-Zohran Mamdani voters are at the center of an unexpected relationship
By Allan Smith and Matt Lavietes Adalberto Rodriguez wasn’t someone who paid much attention to politics — until President Donald Trump faced a criminal trial in New York City last year. Rodriguez, a 30-year-old who lives in Brooklyn, felt he saw similarities between his own legal troubles and what he believed was “political lawfare” Trump dealt with in his city. Soon, he was all-in on Trump, attending rallies in the Bronx and Philadelphia and at Madison Square Garden. He proudly voted for Trump in 2024. This year, Rodriguez became enthralled with another New York City political figure on the rise: Zohran Mamdani, now
