Gubernatorial candidate: FAMU shortchanged by $2 billion and deserves flagship status
By Jena Roberts Early’s Kitchen is the Tallahassee spot for breakfast. Located on the Southside, the Black-owned restaurant draws patrons from miles around the capital city. The David Jolly/ Gwen Graham team stopped by at the invitation of Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor and was greeted by a packed house of folks looking for answers. What they heard went beyond fixing the affordability crisis. Jolly raised the issue most avoid: the institutional neglect of Florida A&M University and the use of diversity, equity and inclusion as an asset to elevate communities. “There was something I didn’t know before this campaign—FAMU
Rep. Kweisi Mfume Talks HBCUs, Civic Engagement & Black Progress
Rep. Kweisi Mfume says Historically Black Colleges and Universities remain essential institutions for educating Black students and developing the next generation of leaders. During a conversation with the Black Information Network at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 55th Annual Legislative Conference, the Maryland Democrat discussed HBCUs, the Congressional Black Caucus and civic engagement. Mfume pushed back against questions about whether HBCUs are still necessary, pointing to the acceptance of other institutions created to serve particular communities, including religious colleges and universities. HBCUs continue to play an outsized role in preparing Black students for advanced degrees. According to the National Science
Kamala Harris to campaign with Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan
By Alexandra Marquez Former Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan next week, a spokesperson for Harris confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday. El-Sayed, a former public health official, faces one of the most competitive Senate races in the country this year against former Rep. Mike Rogers. “Vice President Harris looks forward to returning to Michigan to help turn out the vote in this critical state. While there, she will highlight the issue of Black maternal health, joined by Dr. El-Sayed,” Harris spokesperson Eduardo Negrón said in a statement. “It is critical we flip the Senate so we
House to leave early, punting Hegseth impeachment vote until after November elections
By Scott Wong and Kyle Stewart House members will leave Washington on Wednesday night for the last time before the November midterm elections, after GOP leaders said they were canceling votes set for Thursday. The change in schedule means that the House won’t vote on Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky’s resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after Election Day. GOP leaders insisted their decision had nothing to do with Massie’s impeachment efforts. But they were eager to avoid a difficult vote for many of their vulnerable Republican members who have been uneasy with Hegseth’s leadership during the unpopular six-month war with
Supreme Court pushes back against Trump and GOP ahead of the midterm elections
By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court in the last week has delivered major blows to President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans that suggest the justices will not be receptive to last-minute efforts to change election rules heading into the midterms. With control of Congress at stake, the court on Monday night blocked Trump’s plan to exert federal control over mail-in ballots via a Postal Service regulation. The decision came after the court twice last week ruled against Republicans by declining to revive a new congressional map in Missouri that would have eliminated one of two Democratic-held districts. While the court has a
HBCU students build on civic engagement legacy to mobilize midterm voters
When the leaky roof of her crumbling New Orleans high school left rain-drenched students huddled in moldy classrooms, Alaina Zelaya helped rally her community to demand improvements to school facilities. Now a junior at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Zelaya is channeling that same determination to get out the vote on her campus. “In class, I’d look up at the ceiling and see cracks and think to myself, ‘What is going on? We should not be going through this,’” Zelaya said. “I was tired of being outraged but not doing anything with the outrage. I’ve always been told by my mother
Supreme Court says Trump can’t enforce new mail-in ballot regulation
By Lawrence Hurley and Jane C. Timm WASHINGTON — Casting a decisive blow against President Donald Trump’s hopes of exercising federal control over the midterm elections, the Supreme Court on Monday prevented a U.S. Postal Service regulation concerning mail-in ballots from going into effect. The court in a brief order rejected an emergency application the Trump administration filed seeking to block a lower court ruling that said the regulation was most likely unlawful. The court appeared to be divided 7-2, with two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissenting. The measure would have imposed requirements on states for sending out mail-in ballots to voters. Typically, the Postal Service
North Carolina officials “removed” an early-voting site from North Carolina A&T State University.
By Paul Specht North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper told MSNOW that Republican elections officials in his state “removed” an early-voting site from the campus of a historically Black university — a claim that omits context about past polling sites at the school. Cooper is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, who isn’t seeking reelection. Cooper faces Republican Michael Whatley in a race that political analysts believe could help determine party control of the U.S. Senate. Green Party candidate Michael Dublin and Libertarian Shannon Bray are also running for the
Iran war largely ignored at the Republican midterm convention
By Amanda Terkel and Daisy Conant America has been at war with Iran for more than six months — but it was far from a top issue at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas this week. The war wasn’t entirely absent: Administration officials defended it. President Donald Trump talked about the war in his speeches Wednesday and Thursday nights. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also referred to it in a video shown Wednesday. Vice President JD Vance didn’t explicitly mention Iran in his address Thursday night, but he paid tribute to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saying he “hated war” and acknowledging that there
‘I’m on the ballot’: Trump tries to energize his base by placing himself front and center
By Matt Dixon DALLAS — President Donald Trump wants to make one thing clear: His name is not on the ballot in November, but his supporters need to vote like it is. Republicans from across the country convened here Wednesday for their party’s first-ever midterm convention, an event designed to put Trump front and center in the closing stages of the midterm election cycle. “Pretend that I am on the ballot,” Trump said to loud cheers during his keynote address Wednesday night. “I’m on the ballot.” Indeed, Trump was the star of the show. Speakers mentioned his name 155 times, and