Kamala Harris Certifies Trump Win in Historic Senate Role
By Chris Megerian Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday presided over the certification of her defeat to Donald Trump four years after he tried to stop the very process that will now return him to the White House. Her task was ceremonial and her remarks perfunctory. Standing on the dais, Harris passed copies of each state’s election results to lawmakers, and she stood silently with her hands clasped in front of her while they were read out loud. When the process was finished, Harris announced Trump’s victory. She smiled tightly as Republicans gave the next president standing ovation. “The chair declares this joint session resolved,” Harris
New 2025 State Laws: Wages, TikTok Bans, Ticket Reforms
By Clay Masters Across the country, the new year will usher in thousands of new state laws. At least 20 states increase statewide minimum wage starting Jan. 1 — the highest in Washington state at $16.66 an hour, followed by California at $16.50. Kentucky becomes the latest state to legalize medical marijuana and several states, including Delaware, tighten gun control. Here are other significant state laws taking effect Jan 1. Taylor Swift ticket meltdown spurs industry changes Minnesota is the latest state to increase transparency when purchasing tickets to concerts, sporting events and other large-scale events. “The Ticketing Fairness Act” will require “all-in pricing” to ensure ticket
Biden Awards Citizens Medal to Cheney and Thompson
By Tamara Keith President Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who led the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6 , 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Presidential Citizens Medal honors Americans who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. It is the second-highest civilian honor a president can bestow and awarding it to Cheney and Thompson sends a signal to President-elect Trump. Trump has criticized the pair repeatedly, falsely accusing them of breaking the law with their investigation into his
Senate Slams SCOTUS Justices Over Ethics Violations Report
By Josh Gerstein Senate Democrats wrapped up their extensive investigation of Supreme Court justices’ ethics practices Saturday, issuing a report blasting two conservative justices for accepting expensive gifts from wealthy benefactors and slamming Chief Justice John Roberts for a lackadaisical response to ethical lapses by his colleagues. “Now more than ever before, as a result of information gathered by subpoenas, we know the extent to which the Supreme Court is mired in an ethical crisis of its own making,” outgoing Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said in a statement. “Whether failing to disclose lavish gifts or failing to recuse from cases with
Jimmy Carter’s Legacy With Black Women in U.S. Leadership
By Donna M. Owens When Alexis M. Herman first met Jimmy Carter back in the 1970s, she never imagined how their fates would intertwine, nor the heights to which their careers would rise. “He was governor of Georgia then, and I was just a few years out of college,” Herman said. Herman, an Alabama native and Xavier University alumna, was a volunteer on civil rights leader Andrew Young’s congressional campaign when “Andy introduced me to Jimmy Carter and told him of the work I was doing.” At the time, Herman was involved in an experimental project to create a minority women’s employment program
Protecting Black Students in Trump’s Second Presidency
By Shaun Harper One day after Donald Trump was re-elected president of the United States, Black students across the country received racist text messages. This same thing happened within 10 days following the 2016 presidential election: Black freshmen at the University of Pennsylvania received messages via GroupMe with threats of being lynched; I was a professor there at the time. That it happened again—this time on a larger national scale—is one indicator of what is likely to ensue on college and university campuses over the next four years. As I insisted at Penn eight years ago, I maintain now that Black students
Spelman Unveils Amanda Williams’ Exhibit on Black Identity
Courtesy of Spelman University Spelman College Museum of Fine Art presents We Say What Black This Is, an exhibition showcasing mixed media and watercolor paintings by MacArthur award-winning artist Amanda Williams. The new exhibit opens February 7, 2025, and will be on view through May 24, 2025. We Say What Black This Is challenges reductive definitions of Blackness, instead celebrating its diversity, resilience and depth. The exhibition features works from Williams’ series What Black is this, You Say?, created in response to the ‘Blackout Tuesday’ social media moment in 2020. The exhibit will include a new abstract painting by Williams and student-written didactic labels.
Kamala Harris and the 2028 Democratic Primary Shake-Up
Kamala Harris is weighing whether to run for president again, and some Democrats seem open to the idea. But she’s hardly likely to clear the field next time. Potential rivals on Democrats’ deep bench were already beginning to maneuver for 2028 during her short-lived second candidacy. And it’s widely expected that the earliest stages of the party’s next primary will start to pick up not long after Donald Trump’s inauguration next month. With 2024 drawing to a close, we pulled together five of our plugged-in politics reporters to talk about Harris’ political future, how the rest of the party’s most ambitious
Biden Sets Record for Black Federal Judge Appointments
By Char Adams President Joe Biden has appointed more federal judges of color than any president before him, and overtaking Donald Trump’s record for overall federal judge appointments in the process. On Friday the Senate confirmed Biden’s judicial nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Benjamin Cheeks. With Cheeks’ confirmation, Biden has appointed 63 Black federal judges, the most of a presidency of any length, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Tiffany Johnson, Biden’s judicial nominee for the Northern District of Georgia, making her the 40th Black
