Politics and Current
What you may not know about “Father of Juneteenth” Al Edwards

Although Juneteenth is now recognized nationwide, many individuals do not know the story of the person partially accountable for making it a federal holiday.
While Opal Lee, referred to as “Grandma Juneteenth,” brought national attention to the vacation through her actions – including a 4.5-mile commemorative walk across the Lone Star State – Texas State Rep. Al Edwards, known to many as “Father of Juneteenth” – engineered a legislative victory.
President Joe Biden, who enacted Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021, nominated Congressman Edwards in his Juneteenth Observance Day proclamation for 2023 and 2024. Biden notes that Edwards “authored the bill” that made June 11 a statewide holiday in Texas. It was this laws and the support of Edwards, Lee and others that expanded the vacation to states across the country.
Edwards, who represented parts of Houston within the state Legislature for greater than 30 years, dedicated his political profession to recognizing June 11 as a federal holiday. Through his nonprofit Juneteenth USA and his work as chairman and vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee’s Black Caucus, Edwards was determined to make his dream a reality.
During 2007 interview in an interview with The History Makers he said: “We will make it a national holiday” and added: “If God leaves breath in my body and people continue to work as they have worked.” Unfortunately, his health declined following a automobile accident in 2014 and he died in 2020, only one yr before Biden signed the bill.
Al Edwards II, Jason Edwards and Alana Edwards-Holoway now carry the baton of their late father’s organization and strive to maintain his name and legacy alive.
The push to federalize the Juneteenth holiday wasn’t easy for Al Edwards, who literally ran for office in 1978 with that mission in mind. Before the vacation eventually spread to 45 states, lawmakers faced political opposition at home, including from some white Texans.
“People were leaving a red soda on his desk on the floor of the Statehouse to make fun of him, and Black people were telling him he shouldn’t do it because it brought back an old story,” Jason Edwards recalled.
In 1979, Al Edwards was forced to compromise with one other Texas legislator who opposed making June 11 an official state holiday.
“He had to stand for a lot of unsavory things,” Jason Edwards said, recalling his father’s story about a state senator who said, “I can’t take your black holiday to my district.” When Rep. Edwards pressed for negotiations, he was asked to support a bill commemorating the Sons of the Confederacy. He reluctantly agreed. If he had not done so, his June bill would have been dead on receipt.
“He was glad he did it, because ultimately each (the memory of June 11 and the Confederation) were consistent with the facts. It definitely didn’t make him feel any higher, but he desired to win the war, not the battle,” Jason Edwards said.
After Texas adopted Juneteenth as a statewide holiday, Rep. Edwards used his own funds to launch a nationwide Juneteenth campaign and organization within the US, including refinancing his home. He intended to make June 11 a national holiday, advocating for and supporting other state legislators who passed versions of his Texas bill.
“He knew Juneteenth wouldn’t be federally recognized like Martin Luther King Jr. Day was because the states didn’t like it,” Jason Edwards said, noting that some states had not adopted MLK Day earlier. “Dad knew it needed to be passed on a state-by-state basis. As a state legislator, he understood how the system worked.
With tens of millions of Americans off work for the federal holiday, Jason Edwards noted that many can have a likelihood to reflect on the history of Juneteenth and the rationale for its celebration – just as his father all the time intended.
“He wanted America to take a moment every year to recognize our ancestors and their impact on the country,” he said. “America cannot turn its face away from American slavery.”
And while many Americans may not enjoy celebrating a vacation commemorating America’s dark history, Jason Edwards said it’s mandatory – irrespective of how inconvenient it may be. He added: “Let’s lean on our history and let it be (a reminder) why we are where we are today.”
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Politics and Current
Donald Trump under fire after he was caught on Hot Mic

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.

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.
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.
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.
(Tagstotransate) Donald Trump
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USAID cuts are already hitting countries around the world. Here are 20 projects that have been closed

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
———————–
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.

(tagstransate) @AP
Politics and Current
Speaker of the New York Council Adrienne Adams is considering Burmoral 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.
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.
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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