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Morehouse invited Biden to speak – and the reaction followed

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ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden will likely be the commencement speaker at Morehouse College in Georgia, shining a key highlight on Democrats on one in every of the nation’s most significant historically black campuses but potentially exposing him to uncomfortable protests as he seeks re-election against former President Donald Trump.

The White House confirmed Tuesday that Biden will deliver a speech on May 19 at the alma mater of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and then address the graduating class of the United States Military Academy at West Point on May 25.

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Morehouse’s statement sparked a backlash amongst faculty and supporters of the school who’re critical of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. That could put the White House and Biden’s re-election campaign in a difficult position as the president works to shore up the racially diverse coalition that catapulted him to the Oval Office.

On Tuesday afternoon, some Morehouse alumni circulated a letter online denouncing the administration’s invitation to Biden and in search of signatures to pressure Morehouse President David Thomas to rescind it.

The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, said Biden’s approach to Israel effectively supports the Gaza genocide and runs counter to the pacifism King expressed in his opposition to the Vietnam War.

“By inviting President Biden to campus, the university affirms the cruel standard that complicity in genocide does not merit sanction from an institution that produced one of the foremost advocates of nonviolence in the 20th century,” the letter reads, emphasizing King’s position that ​​”war is hell that diminishes” humanity as an entire. “If the College cannot affirm this noble tradition of justice by withdrawing its invitation to President Biden, it should reconsider its commitment to Dr. King.”

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Late last week, before the school and the White House formally announced commencement plans, Morehouse Chancellor Kendrick Brown, Thomas’ top lieutenant, sent an email to all faculty expressing concerns about the “rumors” and confirming that the school had prolonged an invite to Biden in September last yr. . That was before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, spurring a sustained counteroffensive that Morehouse, in an alumni letter, called an act of genocide against the Palestinians. Brown’s email made no mention of the conflict in the Middle East.

Brown invited faculty to an internet forum scheduled for Thursday afternoon to discuss the issue. However, he added: “As we enter into this conversation, please know that the College has no plans to withdraw its accepted invitation to President Biden.”

Morehouse officials didn’t respond to an Associated Press inquiry.

Asked about concerns amongst some faculty members, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Biden was eager to speak at the school and added: “We start with the graduates, their families and loved ones; about celebrating the achievements of graduates.”

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“I’m not going to judge the processes that go on at Morehouse, but he’s looking forward to going there and celebrating with the graduates,” Bates said.

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Earlier on Tuesday, Thomas issued an announcement to BET.com that, like the chancellor’s letter, emphasized the September deadline for Biden’s invitation.

Thomas said Morehouse officials “look forward to” the president’s visit, which he called “a reminder of our institution’s enduring legacy and impact, as well as our ongoing commitment to excellence, progress and positive change.”

Reverend Stephen Green, pastor of St. Luke AME in Harlem and the writer of the alumni letter, said in an interview that his group has contacted several Morehouse board members and hopes to speak with Thomas. Green, who graduated in 2014, called the efforts a part of a “common thread of protest and activism in the Morehouse tradition” of social and political involvement.

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“We hope this sends a clear signal that we are serious about the values ​​that have been taught,” Green said, adding that he wants Biden to stand firmly for a Palestinian state and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.

Beyond any dissatisfaction with Israel, polls suggest Biden could have a tough time with black Americans generally. According to an AP-NORC poll conducted in March, greater than half of African American adults approved of the way he was handling his job as president, but that number was down significantly from when he took office, with 94% approving of his job performance.

Biden more and more often were met with protests this yr from progressives who say he is simply too supportive of Israel. The case proved vexing for the president. He has long joined the American foreign policy establishment in recognizing Israel as an irreplaceable ally in the Middle East. Nevertheless, he also criticized the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu Down increasing variety of civilian deaths in Gaza and told him so future US aid relies on Israel taking steps to protect civilians.

That approach has left Biden with vocal critics on the left and right at a time when he has little margin for error in battleground states, including Georgia, which are expected to determine his rematch with Trump.

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Biden’s speech at Morehouse will likely be the second straight spring that the president has addressed the graduating class of the historically black school. In 2023 he delivered starting address at Howard University. The Washington school is the vice chairman’s alma mater Kamala Harris, the first black woman to hold this position. Morehouse, a non-public all-male school that is an element of the multi-campus Atlanta University Center, can also be the senator’s alma mater. Rafał Warnockfirst black U.S. senator in Georgia.

Warnock, who can also be senior pastor of King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, avoided any consternation on campus.

“I couldn’t be more delighted and honored to see President Biden return to our great country,” the senator said in an announcement. “I know the president will have a timely, powerful and forward-looking message for the people of Morehouse.”

President Joe Biden receives an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at Howard University’s 2023 commencement ceremony on May 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo: Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

The controversy could overshadow policy priorities that Biden and Democrats have emphasized for months on HBCU campuses across the country. Members of Harris and the cabinet spoke on several campuses. Among other achievements and policy priorities, the White House touts increased federal financial support for HBCUs; Biden is in search of to forgive up to $10,000 student loan burden per borrower and increase the Pell Grant for low-income students; energy investments to combat the climate crisis and Democratic support for abortion rights and decriminalization of marijuana possession.

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In his reaction to Biden’s invitation, Warnock emphasized his work with the president “to address the high cost of higher education.”

Reflecting the nation’s overall racial disparities in income and net value, Black students are disproportionately depending on Pell Grants, which generally cover only a fraction of faculty costs, and student loans. According to Federal Reserve data, about 1 in 3 black households have student loan debt, compared with about 1 in 5 white households. The average black borrower also owes about $10,000 more in debt than the average white borrower. Additionally, federal statistics show that about 60% of black students receive Pell grants compared to about 40% of the overall undergraduate population and one-third of white students.

In 2020, Biden won Georgia by lower than 12,000 votes over Trump out of about 5 million votes solid. The total student population at Morehouse and the adjoining schools that make up Atlanta University Center is roughly 9,000 students. Biden’s lead in Wisconsin was slightly below 21,000 votes. The president had more comfortable margins in Michigan and Pennsylvania, but he couldn’t afford to lose black support in the Detroit and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.

Among the states Trump won, Biden is targeting North Carolina, which has a big black student population. Trump’s lead there was about 75,000 votes.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

Politics and Current

Donald Trump under fire after he was caught on Hot Mic

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In some ways, the White House tried to manage the narrative on Wednesday.

After taking on the rotation of reporters allocated to cover the day by day schedule of the president – work previously carried out by Association of White House Corresponders -President Donald Trump went a step further, asking one in every of the reporters of the brand new within the press pool, together “Fox and Friends” by Lawrence Jones to say to the viewers: “We did a great job, please. Ok? “

“Say it was unbelievable,” said the president after casting the primary meeting of the office of the second term on February 26. The White House was already cut off, however the Audio Associated Press channel remained and captured the moment of a hot microphone.

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US President Donald Trump, to whom the Golf legend of Tiger Woods joined, speaks through the party of the Foreign Black History within the Eastern White House on February 20, 2025 in Washington. (Photo of Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Jones, who has already lobbyed a number of inquiries to Softball for the president (including “Who is your favorite member of the office?”) I didn’t disappoint.

“The president chose members of the office who can really present their ideas and their ideas. He does not have to worry that they will leave and blow up everything-they are on the same side, “said the co-host Steve Doocy.

“I also think it’s great,” Jones replied. “They are guys who normally – and girls – are used to communicate their ideas. They divide the president’s vision and communicate it in such a concise way. I don’t think we’ve ever seen it in administration. “

“It is people who show how uncertain this president is,” said one in every of the critics who responded to a viral report on the moment of Caugh-on-Camera. “He knows that most of them we watched, right?” Someone said.

In fact, the meeting was dominated by Elon Muskwho opened with a weak joke, saying: “Well, I should simply call myself modest technical support,” and from there he initiated. Photos showed that the president was napping through the presentation of Musk.

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Referring to his work as “necessary”, Musk presented one other federal agency within the Doge chopping block. “We spend lots within the defense department, but we spend that over a trillion dollars for interest. If this happens, the country goes, it is going to turn into de facto bankrupt – he said.

Jones was not the one Trump friendly correspondent who joined the press pool on Thursday.

The correspondent of Brian Glenn’s chief house from Real America, perhaps essentially the most absorbing the Networks Pro-Trump network, and the correspondent of the White House Newsmax, James Rosen, were a part of Gaggle, replacing older media, including the Associated Press, which was blocked within the events of the White House for refusing to call the Mexican bay with Mexico with Mexico with Mexico with Mexico with Mexican America after the president announced a change performed by the manager.

Meanwhile, the Association of White House correspondents announced that it might now not coordinate the common range of the White House until the dispute over unlimited access to the media is sustained. Also on Wednesday, the president announced He will sue reporters who use the common practice of anonymous quotes in unfavorable stories or books about it. Such quotes are sometimes used to cause greater honesty from the source, which otherwise might be afraid to talk.

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What does all this mean for residents? Less difficult questions and a more favorable relationship for the president, whose crossing of the management has now not checked by Congress.

This explains why this clip He was on the web on Thursday with “The Simpsons”. When the owner of the nuclear plant, Montgomery Burns, decides to use for the governor, his campaign suggests dinner with the Simpsons family to assist the energy director involved with voters from the working class. Lisa Simpson is forced to ask This is an issue From a guest dinner of a guest:

“Mr. Burns, your campaign seems to have a fugitive momentum. Why are you so popular?”

Get used to it.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nicwjeliniu

(Tagstotransate) Donald Trump

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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USAID cuts are already hitting countries around the world. Here are 20 projects that have been closed

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Countries around the world already feel the influence of Trump’s administration decision to eliminate over 90% of foreign assistance contracts and reduce the financing of around $ 60 billion. A number of hours after the announcement at the starting of this week, The programs have been closed, Leaving tens of millions of individuals without access to life -saving care.

About 10,000 contracts with the American International Development Agency were accomplished on Wednesday, in letters sent to non -governmental organizations around the world.

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Letters said that the programs were rejected “for the convenience and interests of the US government”, based on an individual with knowledge of the content that they spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly on this subject.

Many programs are present in the fragile countries that are highly depending on American help with a purpose to support healthcare systems, nutrition programs and stop hunger.

Here, several key projects around the world, which AP confirmed, have been closed:

1: In Congo, the motion of a bunch of help against hunger will stop to treat tens of hundreds of malnourished children from May, which, based on a charity, will make children put children in “deadly danger”.

2: According to the Committee on Cadastral Risk Management in Ethiopia in Ethiopia, help stopped for over 1 million people. The Ministry of Health was also forced to terminate the contract of 5,000 employees throughout the country, focused on stopping HIV and malaria, vaccination and assist in a difficult situation in coping with the trauma of war.

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3: In Senegal, the largest malaria project was closed. According to a USAID worker, who was not authorized to talk over with the media. Mother and youngsters’s health and nutrition services were also closed. They provided look after tens of hundreds of pregnant women and treatment that would prevent acute malnutrition.

4: In South Sudan, the International Emergency Committee closed a project that provides access to prime quality health and nutrition services over 115,000 people.

5: The program closed by the Norwegian refugee council in Colombia left 50,000 people without saving their lives, including in the northeast, where the growing violence caused a humanitarian crisis once a generation. This included food, shelter, clean water and other basic items for people displaced in the region.

6: According to the International Rescue Committee, 90 community cuisines closed in the capital in the torn war of Sudan, leaving greater than half 1,000,000 people without consistent access to food.

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7: According to Bangladesh, 600,000 women and youngsters will lose access to mother’s critical health care, protection against violence, reproductive health services and other life -saving care, in accordance with the United Nations Fund.

8. In small critical assistance, equivalent to access to water, food and health services for over 270,000 people, based on a help group, which didn’t wish to be listed for fear of repression.

9. Over 400,000 people in North Burkina Faso lost access to services equivalent to water. According to the help group, which didn’t want to get replaced for fear of a repressiveist.

File-Somalians who escaped from the affected areas are sitting in a makeshift camp on the outskirts of the capital of Mogadishu, Somalia on February 4, 2022 (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Abdi Warsameh, File)

10. In Somalia, 50 health centers serving over 19,000 people were closed per thirty days because health care employees are not paid, based on the American help group.

11. In Ukraine, based on money, humanitarian programs, which last yr reached 1 million people, were suspended, based on the spokesman for the Secretary General of the UN.

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12. Hundreds of mobile health teams and other services were suspended in Afghanistan, they concerned 9 million people, based on the UN spokesperson.

13. According to the UN Secretary General in Syria in Syria, for about 2.5 million people in the northeast of the country ceased to supply services. Also in the north, a dozen or so health clinics, including the primary hospital recommending this area, closed, said doctors without borderlines.

14. In Kenya, over 600,000 people living in drought -harassed areas and chronic sharp malnutrition will lose their access to the rescue lifetime of food and nutrition, based on Mercy Corps.

Officials say that Trump's administration plans to lower the entire part of the USAID work

15. At Haiti, 13,000 people lost access to dietary support, in accordance with actions against hunger.

16. In Thailand, hospitals help around 100,000 Refugees from Myanmar According to the Border Consortium of the Help Group, closed.

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17. According to the International Emergency Committee in Nigeria, 25,000 extremely malnourished children will stop to receive food assistance until April.

18. A program to enhance access to warning systems for disabled people for disabled people was detained in the Philippines.

19. In Vietnam, a program helping disabled people through training carers and providing medical care at home stopped, in accordance with humanity and integration.

20. In Yemen, 220,000 resettled people will lose access to mother’s critical health care, protection against violence, treatment of rape and other life -saving care, in accordance with the United Nations Fund.

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The Associated Press Writers Sylvie Corbet got here in Paris, France, Robert Badendieck in Istanbul, Turkey, Evelyn Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, Thalia Beata in New York and Edith Lederer in the United births contributed to this report.

Health supporters in Africa are worried that Trump will introduce a

(tagstransate) @AP

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Speaker of the New York Council Adrienne Adams is considering Burmoral Run

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NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams ‘Seriously Considering’ Mayoral Run


The speaker of the City Council in New York Adrienne Adams submitted documents to the financial council of the New York campaign to be able to create a campaign committee in the upcoming mayor’s race.

“We currently have chaos and we have reduced confidence in the other side of the town hall,” Adams said in an interview with Gothamist. “That is why I am seriously considering the campaign to become the first woman of the mayor of New York.”

In addition to becoming the first woman chosen as the mayor, Adams could be the first black woman and the first speaker of the city council who took the highest elected place in New York.

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confirmed that Adams would do it Wait until the next week to make the final decision to launch. It is expected to offer the address of the “city state” on March 4.

“I wasn’t looking for it; It was not in my plans – she said, adding, “I believe someone have to be the soul of the city.”

A possible Adams offer for the mayor comes amongst the precipitation with the current mayor, Eric Adams. Adams, who is not related to the mayor, recently joined other city leaders, asking him to subside because of the corruption scandal.

If he joins the race, Adams will join the crowded, qualified field. Comptroller City Brad Lander and his predecessor Scott Stringer, Queens Assemblymber Zohran Mamdani, senator of the state Queens Jessica Ramos and senator of State Brooklyn Zellor Myrie.

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There were also rumors that the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was considering returning to politics and applying for the mayor.

A recent survey with the Honan Strategy Group showed that Cuomo has a most important role in a democratic basic race of 38%. Mamdani is second at 12%, and the mayor of Adams is in third place with 10%. The Adams speaker received only 2% support from survey respondents.

(Tagstranslate) Mayoral Race (T) Adrienne Adams (T) New York City (T) Eric Adams

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This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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