Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s first appearance since Election Day
In their first public appearance since Election Day, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday. The ceremony in honor of Veterans Day has become an annual tradition, since Veterans Day was first established as a national holiday in 1954. Following the ceremony, Biden gave a short address, praising his administration’s handling of veterans’ affairs over the last four years. Both Biden and Harris seemed cordial with each other at the event, which was Harris’ first public appearance since she lost the race for president against President-elect Donald Trump. “Our entire administration is proud of our work for the past four years together,” Biden said. “We passed more than 30 bipartisan laws to support our veterans and their families, caregivers and survivors. We brought veterans homelessness down for record low. We delivered more benefits to more veterans than any ever before in VA history.” Biden added he is “particularly proud” of passing the PACT Act, which he called the “most significant law in our nation’s history.” The act expanded Veterans Affairs benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits by requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to assume a causal link between burn pits and certain conditions. “The PACT Act has already helped over 1 million veterans and their families get the benefits they deserve,” Biden said. He also announced plans to further expand medical benefits and coverage for veterans to especially include additional cancer diagnoses. “God willing, we will make sure that any rare condition you’ve developed is covered,” Biden said. “We’re committed to getting this rule in place by the end of my term.” In the speech, which will be one of just a few more public addresses for Biden as president, he also defended his withdrawal from Afghanistan, which took the lives of 13 U.S. service members and was labeled a failure by many. “Four presidents faced a decision after we got Bin Laden, whether to end our longest war in history in Afghanistan,” Biden explained. “I was determined not to leave it to the fifth.” Biden emphasized the importance of America continuing to care for its veterans. “Today, standing together to honor those Americans who have dared all, risked all and given all to our nation, I must say clearly, we will never give up.” Republished with permission from The Center Square. The Center Square is a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation, headquartered in Chicago.
Kamala Harris concedes election to Donald Trump, pledges to help him with transition
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed her supporters and the nation at her alma mater Howard University in Washington, D.C. Wednesday afternoon, where she publicly conceded the race to former President Donald Trump. Harris – the 60-year-old former California Attorney General and U.S. senator currently serving as vice president – called for loyalty to the U.S. Constitution and the peaceful transition of power in her speech. She clearly conceded the race and pledged to help former President Donald Trump with the transition. “My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve,” Harris said to begin her remarks. “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when i say the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.” Harris thanked her family, supporters, her team, President Joe Biden, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and poll workers. “Over the 107 days of this campaign we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and background, united by love and country with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future,” Harris said. “And we did it with the knowledge that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.” Harris’ comments come as voting results continued to pour in showing former President Donald Trump either winning or leading in all seven swing states, putting him over 300 electoral votes and a roughly 5 million vote lead in the popular vote. Now, Harris is expected to certify the election in early January ahead of Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. “We must accept the results of this election,” Harris said in her remarks. “I also told [Trump] that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transition of power. “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people,” Harris continued. Harris reportedly called Trump to concede the race earlier Wednesday afternoon. Harris held off on addressing her supporters or calling Trump into the early morning Wednesday as results poured in and made her path to the White House impossible. Trump gave his own remarks early Wednesday, promising a new “golden age” in America. “Frankly, I believe this was the greatest political movement of all time, and maybe beyond,” Trump said, promising to “help our country heal.” President Biden also reportedly called to congratulate Trump, who outperformed expectations on Tuesday after indictments, assassination attempts and constant media criticism in a historic political comeback. No president has had two nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland, who was elected president for the second time in 1892. In her speech, Harris laid out some of the policy or ideological issues that motivated her campaign, pledging to continue to fight for those ideas. She also spoke an encouraging message to the young people in attendance at her speech. “To everyone who is watching … this is not a time to throw up our hands,” Harris said. “This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.” Republished with permission from The Center Square. The Center Square is a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation, headquartered in Chicago.
Kay Ivey demands answers on migrants flown to states
Kay Ivey has joined a group of twenty-four additional Republican governors who want to know how many illegal foreign nationals have been flown into their states by a Biden-Harris administration plan they argue is burdening their residents and creating an unsafe environment. Those being flown in have arrived through more than a dozen parole programs created by U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The governors only inquired about one: the CHNV parole program, created to fast track previously inadmissible citizens of Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela moving into the country. According to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, 530,000 CHNV parolees were released into the country in the past year, in addition to 813,000 foreign nationals processed into the country from all over the world through a CBP One app. Attorneys general from multiple states sued to stop them, arguing they are illegal. The U.S. House impeached Mayorkas for them and other actions they argue created the border crisis. The 1.3 million inadmissables released into the country are among nearly 14 million illegal border crossers reported since fiscal 2021, the greatest number under any administration in U.S. history. In a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the 25 governors described how the CHNV parole program negatively impacted their communities and expressed bewilderment over no communication provided about their “arrival times, duration of residency, legal status, and location.” The influx and lack of communication “has created considerable confusion and alarm among local officials and the general public. In the absence of direction from DHS, law enforcement and municipal leaders have often been left to rely upon news reports and social media posts to determine size and location of incoming migrant populations in order to assess what impact they may have on already limited government services including local public schools,” they said. “The apparent dumping of migrants into our cities and small towns with no advance notice has not only sowed mistrust and fear among the public, but it has also placed the migrants themselves at potential of physical harm. After being met with understandable skepticism from the communities in which they are now living, migrants have become fearful to interact with the public. This isolation has created a ripe environment for their exploitation and abuse.” The governors requested the information they said to best protect illegal foreign nationals who might be targeted for abuse by cartel operatives or are already victims of human smuggling and trafficking, and to protect their citizens. “Without information about the migrants’ sponsors or the location and employment status of migrants, state and local law enforcement are extremely limited in their abilities to investigate potential exploitation of migrants and the possibility of their victimization from human trafficking,” they said. “As chief executives of our states directly responsible for the safety of our citizens and those who reside within our borders,” they said, they are demanding “a full accounting from the Biden-Harris Administration and DHS.” They requested information about the location of each parolee in their state, the vetting process conducted for each parolee, the name and location for each sponsor granted guardianship of parolees, and the system in place to monitor them. The request came after the DHS Office of Inspector General issued multiple reports detailing the administration’s repeated failure to vet them and inability to monitor them after their release. The OIG also expressed alarm that federal agencies were flying illegal foreign nationals on domestic flights who hadn’t been properly vetted and have no identification. It also came after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, demanded answers about how many were being flown and housed in airports, raising concerns about terrorist threats. An unknown number of illegal foreign nationals arriving in their states “potentially in need of state and local services” was done “without our consent, any advance notice or resources,” the governors said. “Accordingly, we request your administration furnish our states complete information about the location and status of migrants being directed to our communities.” Those demanding answers, including Kay Ivey were Mike Dunleavy (AK), Sarah Sanders (AR), Ron DeSantis (FL), Brian Kemp (GA), Brad Little (ID), Eric Holcomb (IN), Kim Reynolds (IA), Jeff Landry (LA), Tate Reeves (MS), Mike Parson (MO), Greg Gianforte (MT), Jim Pillen (NE), Joe Lombardo (NV), Chris Sununu (NH), Doug Burgum (ND), Kevin Stitt (OK), Henry McMaster (SC), Kristi Noem (SD), Bill Lee (TN), Greg Abbott (TX), Spencer Cox (UT), Glenn Youngkin (VA), Jim Justice (WV), and Mark Gordon (WY). Republished with permission from The Center Square.
Poll: Harris more popular than Biden, still trailing Trump in 5 swing states
A new poll of five swing states shows Vice President Kamala Harris trails Donald Trump in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, with the two tied in Wisconsin. But voters in these states support Harris, age 59, by 3 or more points than Biden, whose age and cognitive capacity had reduced voter enthusiasm. “Harris has recovered a portion of the vote for the Democrats on the presidential ticket since the fallout after the June 27 debate,” Executive Director of Emerson College Polling Spencer Kimball said. “Harris’ numbers now reflect similar support levels to those of Biden back in March.” The percentage of undecided voters in each state is enough to tip the votes. Arizona shows the largest discrepancy, with 49% supporting Trump versus 44% supporting Harris 44%. However, 7% are still undecided. In Georgia, Trump leads with 48% while Harris garners 46% of voter support. While Trump and Harris are close in Michigan at 46%-45%, the state has the largest percentage of undecided voters among those polled, 9%. Pennsylvania results show Trump ahead of Harris 48%-46%. In Wisconsin, a major swing state which hosted the Republican National Convention last week and Harris’ first campaign rally Tuesday, Trump and Harris are tied at 47% each. Nevada and North Carolina were not included among the swing states polled. Male voters support Trump around 10 percentage points more than female voters in every state, with male support in the mid-50s and female support in the low or mid-40s. Young voters in particular have become more enthused about the Democratic party now that a younger, female, minority candidate is running. “Young voters have shifted toward Harris: her support compared to Biden increased by 16 points in Arizona, 8 in Georgia, 5 in Michigan, 11 in Pennsylvania, and 1 in Wisconsin earlier polling this month,” said Kimball. More than 75% of voters polled in each state think Harris should be nominated as the Democrat’s candidate in August. The poll was conducted July 22-23. The sample size for Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan respondents was 800 per state with a margin of error +/-3.4%. The sample size in Pennsylvania was 850, and Wisconsin’s was 845. Both had a +/-3.3% margin of error. This story was republished with the permission of The Center Square. The Center Square is a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation, headquartered in Chicago.
Joe Biden drops reelection bid and endorses Kamala Harris
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), President Joe Biden announced that he is ending his reelection campaign. In a subsequent message on X, he endorsed his vice president and running mate, Kamala Harris, saying, “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.” The news of his withdrawal follows 25 days of pressure for Biden to drop out of the race after what has been described as a disastrous debate with President Donald Trump. NBC News reported just days ago that 13 congressional Democrats joined the call of 12 before them to publicly ask Biden to step aside and forgo his efforts to seek reelection. pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024 My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Well-wishers flock to Rosalynn Carter tribute to bid farewell to former U.S. and Georgia first lady
Ross Williams, Alabama ReflectorNovember 28, 2023 This story was originally published on Georgia Recorder. The museum at the Carter Center in Atlanta typically echoes with the oohs and ahhs of tourists and the banter of field tripping schoolchildren, but all was silent Monday night as hundreds of well-wishers walked through the colorful displays to honor a flower-draped casket. Rosalynn Carter, former first lady of Georgia and the United States, is set to make her final journey to her Plains, Georgia home Wednesday after fans across the state and country say farewell. Carter, 96, died at her home Nov. 19 a few days after her family announced she had entered hospice. Her husband of 77 years, former President Jimmy Carter, called her his “equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” and she was widely admired for her decades of advocacy, especially her work on behalf of people with mental illnesses and their caregivers. Mental health advocate Aisha Bryant of Midtown Atlanta said she had the opportunity to meet Carter at Emory University in 2017 through her work with people with autism. She said the former first lady’s humility and kindness stuck with her. “I just remember her being so humble towards me and just everything that she’s done in life, I didn’t expect that she’s just so happy, so calm, the demeanor about herself,” she said. Many people in the crowd had personal stories of encounters with Rosalynn Carter. When she crossed your path, she always made you feel special, said Shellie Stuart, who came to the Carter Center Monday from Lincoln City, Oregon – about 2,700 miles away. Aisha Bryant, left, and Shellie Stuart sign a guest book for former first lady Rosalynn Carter. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder) Stuart met the Carters through her work with Friendship Force International, a nonprofit promoting cultural exchange around the world, and accompanied them on travels, including a 2002 diplomatic mission to Cuba. “I was always amazed at how Rosalynn Carter had time for everybody,” she said. “Everybody mattered. Nobody was made to feel less important than anybody else. She was a huge inspiration to me and my friends. We felt that it was important to come here from Oregon, just to pay our respects and be part of this.” John Lang, who made the 10-hour trip from Columbus, Ohio, looked back fondly on the seven or eight Habitat for Humanity projects he accompanied the Carters on in the U.S. and in foreign lands that include India, Haiti, and Thailand. He said he’ll never forget Rosalynn Carter’s beautiful smile, but she was far more than just a pretty face at the president’s side. “She was out there working day in and day out,” he said. “I saw her in 90-degree weather, sweating with all the rest of us. And I think that’s one of the things a lot of people don’t realize, that Mrs. Carter and President Carter actually did the work.” Lang said the former first couple were just as loving and affectionate as they are often described. “They really were always holding hands, just on little short jaunts or going to get something to eat, you know, they would be holding hands, and I thought that was a true recognition of a marriage and that commitment to the other person,” he said. Melissa Danielson of Forsyth said she also worked with Rosalynn Carter as her art registrar in the 1990s. When dignitaries sent the Carters gifts and awards, Danielson would catalog them before Rosalynn Carter would decide where to put them in the Carter Center. “It was a pleasure working for them,” she said. “They were such compassionate people, very humble. She was such a wonderful lady to work for. She’s very down to earth and caring so much about people. My heart goes out to her family right now. I mean, she was a grandmother, great-grandmother. Those are the people that I feel for deeply right now.” Carter’s family members are set to say their goodbyes in a series of private services leading up to her funeral on Wednesday. On Tuesday, invited guests will pay tribute at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University. According to the Carter Center, every living former first lady is expected to attend – Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – as is current first lady Jill Biden, who is expected to arrive in Atlanta Tuesday with President Joe Biden. Other notable guests expected to attend include former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and “multiple members of Congress and Georgia elected officials,” according to the Carter Center. On Wednesday, Carter’s motorcade is scheduled to travel the 160 miles south to Plains for a private service at Maranatha Baptist Church, where the Carters worshiped, volunteered, and taught for decades. Members of the public are invited to line the motorcade route down Bond Street and along Ga. 280 in downtown Plains. Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Follow Georgia Recorder on Facebook and Twitter. Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Follow Alabama Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
ALIPAC calls for impeachment of Joe Biden
On Monday, the conservative group Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden over his unwillingness to enforce America’s immigration laws. William Gheen is the spokesperson and founder of ALIPAC.us. “Republicans should impeach Biden & [Kamala] Harris to put Congress in charge of all tax-funded renegade agencies conducting this costly and deadly illegal alien invasion and overthrow of our 2024 elections and the American Republic!” Gheen said in a statement. “These unConstitutional, illegal actions are high crimes, treason, fueling an invasion that kills thousands of innocent U.S. citizens directly each year, and countless others through illegal immigration vectored rapes, thefts, assaults, addictions, and diseases.” Gheen shared a press release from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) claiming that new data reveals the Biden Administration’s failure to remove over 99% of released illegal aliens, fueling the border crisis. The report claims that the Biden Administration opened the Southwest border and abandoned interior immigration enforcement. DHS produced data showing that between January 20, 2021, and March 31, 2023, there were over 5 million illegal alien encounters. Of these encounters, at least 2,464,424 had no confirmed departure from the United States. During the same period, DHS released at least 2,148,738 illegal aliens into the United States. Only 5,993 illegal aliens encountered at the southwest border and placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge were actually removed from the United States during this time. A mere six percent of illegal aliens released into the United States were even screened for fear of persecution for purposes of asylum. As of March 2023, DHS had removed only 874 of the illegal immigrants found to have a credible fear of persecution and whose claims were adjudicated on the merits and denied by an immigration judge. An additional 205,473 aliens were released into the country through the administration’s categorical parole programs. The White House maintains that enforcing immigration laws or not enforcing them is at the discretion of the President. If the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives did impeach Biden, the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate would almost certainly reject it. The growing border chaos has become an increasing concern for lawmakers. “The Biden Administration has continued to roll out the welcome mat at our southern border,” U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) said recently. “His policies have jeopardized our national security, and the numbers don’t lie. The Biden border crisis is the worst border crisis in American history. There have already been seven million illegal border crossings since Joe Biden took office. That is more than the population of Alabama. More than 1.6 million illegal immigrants got away that we know of.” To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Biden administration to target drugs for price negotiations to lower Medicare costs
President Joe Biden’s administration will announce on Tuesday the first prescription drugs being targeted by the U.S. government for price negotiations as part of an effort to lower Medicare costs. The announcement is a significant step under the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed by Biden last year. The law requires the federal government for the first time to start negotiating directly with companies about the prices they charge for some of Medicare’s most expensive drugs. The process has drawn legal challenges from drugmakers and heavy criticism from Republicans in Congress. It’s also a centerpiece of Biden’s reelection pitch as he seeks a second term in office by touting his work to lower costs for Americans at a time when the country has struggled with inflation. Biden plans to deliver a speech on health care costs from the White House after the announcement. He’ll be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris. More than 52 million people who are either 65 or older or have certain severe disabilities or illnesses get prescription drug coverage through Medicare’s Part D program, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. About 9% of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older said in 2021 that they did not fill a prescription or skipped a drug dose due to cost, according to research by the Commonwealth Fund, which studies healthcare issues. CMS aims to negotiate the lowest maximum fair price for drugs on the list released Tuesday. That could help some patients who have coverage but still face big bills like high deductible payments when they get a prescription. Currently, pharmacy benefit managers that run Medicare prescription plans negotiate rebates off a drug’s price. Those rebates sometimes help reduce premiums customers pay for coverage. But they may not change what a patient spends at the pharmacy counter. The new drug price negotiations aim “to basically make drugs more affordable while also still allowing for profits to be made,” said Gretchen Jacobson, who researches Medicare issues at Commonwealth. Drug companies that refuse to be a part of the new negotiation process will be heavily taxed. The pharmaceutical industry has been gearing up for months to fight these rules. Already, the plan faces several lawsuits, including complaints filed by drugmakers Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb and a key lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA. PhRMA said in a federal court complaint filed earlier this year that the act forces drugmakers to agree to a “government-dictated price” under the threat of a heavy tax and gives too much price-setting authority to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. PhRMA representatives also have said pharmacy benefit managers can still restrict access to drugs with negotiated prices by moving the drugs to a tier of their formulary — a list of covered drugs — that would require higher out-of-pocket payments. Pharmacy benefit managers also could require patients to try other drugs first or seek approval before a prescription can be covered. Republican lawmakers also have blasted the Biden administration for its plan, saying companies might pull back on introducing new drugs that could be subjected to future haggling. They’ve also questioned whether the government knows enough to suggest prices for drugs. CMS will start its negotiations on drugs for which it spends the most money. The drugs also must be ones that don’t have generic competitors and are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. CMS plans to meet this fall with drugmakers that have a drug on its list, and government officials say they also plan to hold patient-focused listening sessions. By February 2024, the government will make its first offer on a maximum fair price and then give drugmakers time to respond. Any negotiated prices won’t take hold until 2026. More drugs could be added to the program in the coming years. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Thousands converge on National Mall to mark the March on Washington’s 60th anniversary
Thousands converged Saturday on the National Mall for the 60th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington, saying a country that remains riven by racial inequality has yet to fulfill his dream. “We have made progress, over the last 60 years, since Dr. King led the March on Washington,” said Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. “Have we reached the mountaintop? Not by a long shot.” The event was convened by the Kings’ Drum Major Institute and the Rev. Al Sharpton‘s National Action Network. A host of Black civil rights leaders and a multiracial, interfaith coalition of allies rallied attendees on the same spot where as many as 250,000 gathered in 1963 for what is still considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice and equality demonstrations in U.S. history. Inevitably, Saturday’s event was shot through with contrasts to the initial, historic demonstration. Speakers and banners talked about the importance of LGBTQ and Asian American rights. Many who addressed the crowd were women, after only one was given the microphone in 1963. Pamela Mays McDonald of Philadelphia attended the initial march as a child. “I was 8 years old at the original March, and only one woman was allowed to speak — she was from Arkansas where I’m from — now look at how many women are on the podium today,” she said. For some, the contrasts between the size of the original demonstration and the more modest turnout Saturday were bittersweet. “I often look back and look over to the reflection pool and the Washington Monument, and I see a quarter of a million people 60 years ago and just a trickling now,” said Marsha Dean Phelts of Amelia Island, Florida. “It was more fired up then. But the things we were asking for and needing, we still need them today.” As speakers delivered messages, they were overshadowed by the sounds of passenger planes taking off from Ronald Reagan National Airport. Rugby games were underway along the Mall in close proximity to the Lincoln Memorial while joggers and bikers went about their routines. Yolanda King, the 15-year-old granddaughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., roused marchers with remarks delivered from the same spot her grandfather gave the “I Have A Dream” speech sixty years ago. “If I could speak to my grandfather today, I would say I’m sorry we still have to be here to rededicate ourselves to finishing your work and ultimately realizing your dream,” she said. “Today, racism is still with us. Poverty is still with us. And now, gun violence has come for places of worship, our schools, and our shopping centers.” From the podium, Sharpton promised more demonstrations to push back against injustices, new and old. “Sixty years ago, Martin Luther King talked about a dream. Sixty years later, we’re the dreamers. The problem is we’re facing the schemers,” Sharpton said. “The dreamers are fighting for voting rights. The schemers are changing voter regulations in states. The dreamers are standing up for women’s right to choose. The schemers are arguing whether they are going to make you stop at six weeks or 15 weeks.” After the speeches, the crowd marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Several leaders from groups organizing the march met Friday with Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the civil rights division, to discuss a range of issues, including voting rights, policing and redlining. Saturday’s gathering was a precursor to the actual anniversary of the Aug. 28, 1963 March on Washington. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will observe the march anniversary on Monday by meeting with organizers of the 1963 gathering. All of King’s children have been invited to meet with Biden, White House officials said. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Washington remarks have resounded through decades of push and pull toward progress in civil and human rights. But dark moments followed his speech, too. Two weeks later, in 1963, four Black girls were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, followed by the kidnapping and murder of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi, the following year. The tragedies spurred passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The voting rights marches from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama, in which marchers were brutally beaten while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in what became known as “Bloody Sunday,” forced Congress to adopt the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Speakers warned that King’s unfinished dream was in danger of being further whittled away. “I’m very concerned about the direction our country is going in,” Martin Luther King III said. “And it is because instead of moving forward, it feels as if we’re moving back. The question is, what are we going to do?” Rosetta Manns-Baugh knew the answer: Keep fighting. “I think we have accomplished a lot, but I also think we lost.” said Manns-Baugh, who was a Trailways bus counter worker in 1963 when she left her seven children and husband at home in Virginia to come to D.C. Now she’s so disillusioned she’s stopped singing “We Shall Overcome,” the anthem of the civil rights movement. But even at age 92, she returned to Washington for the 60th anniversary, bringing three generations of her family, all the way down to her 18-month-old grandchild. “I think that’s why we all are here because we do expect the world to get better,” Manns-Baugh said. “We can’t stop working at it that’s for sure.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Joe Biden will establish a national monument honoring Emmett Till, the Black teen lynched in Mississippi
President Joe Biden will establish a national monument honoring Emmett Till, the Black teenager from Chicago who was abducted, tortured, and killed in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, and his mother, a White House official said Saturday. Biden will sign a proclamation on Tuesday to create the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument across three sites in Illinois and Mississippi, according to the official. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House had not formally announced the president’s plans. Tuesday is the anniversary of Emmett Till’s birth in 1941. The monument will protect places that are central to the story of Till’s life and death at age 14, the acquittal of his white killers, and his mother’s activism. Till’s mother’s insistence on an open casket to show the world how her son had been brutalized, and Jet’s magazine’s decision to publish photos of his mutilated body helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement. Biden’s decision also comes at a fraught time in the United States over matters concerning race. Conservative leaders are pushing back against the teaching of slavery and Black history in public schools, as well as the incorporation of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from college classrooms to corporate boardrooms. On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris criticized a revised Black history curriculum in Florida that includes teaching that enslaved people benefited from the skills they learned at the hands of the people who denied them freedom. The Florida Board of Education approved the curriculum to satisfy legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate who has accused public schools of liberal indoctrination. “How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” Harris asked in a speech delivered from Jacksonville, Florida. DeSantis said he had no role in devising his state’s new education standards but defended the components on how enslaved people benefited. “All of that is rooted in whatever is factual,” he said in response. The monument to Till and his mother will include three sites in the two states. The Illinois site is Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, a historically Black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Thousands of people gathered at the church to mourn Emmett Till in September 1955. The Mississippi locations are Graball Landing, believed to be where Till’s mutilated body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Till’s killers were tried and acquitted by an all-white jury. Till was visiting relatives in Mississippi when Carolyn Bryant Donham said the 14-year-old Till whistled and made sexual advances at her while she worked in a store in the small community of Money. Till was later abducted, and his body was eventually pulled from the Tallahatchie River, where he had been tossed after he was shot and weighted down with a cotton gin fan. Two white men, Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, were tried on murder charges about a month after Till was killed, but an all-white Mississippi jury acquitted them. Months later, they confessed to killing Till in a paid interview with Look magazine. Bryant was married to Donham in 1955. She died earlier this year. The monument will be the fourth Biden has created since taking office in 2021, and just his latest tribute to the younger Till. For Black History Month this year, Biden hosted a screening of the movie “Till,” a drama about his lynching. In March 2022, Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law. Congress had first considered such legislation more than 120 years ago. The Justice Department announced in December 2021 that it was closing its investigation into Till’s killing. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Supreme Court rejects GOP in North Carolina case that could have reshaped elections beyond the state
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state courts can curtail the actions of their legislatures when it comes to federal redistricting and elections, rejecting arguments by North Carolina Republicans that could have dramatically altered races for Congress and president in that state and beyond. The justices, by a 6-3 vote, upheld a decision by North Carolina’s top court that struck down a congressional districting plan as excessively partisan under state law. The high court did, though, indicate there could be limits on state court efforts to police elections for Congress and president, suggesting that more election-related court cases over the issue are likely. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court that “state courts retain the authority to apply state constitutional restraints when legislatures act under the power conferred upon them by the Elections Clause. But federal courts must not abandon their own duty to exercise judicial review.” The decision was the fourth major case of the term in which conservative and liberal justices joined to reject the most aggressive legal arguments put forth by conservative state elected officials and advocacy groups. Earlier decisions on voting rights, a Native American child welfare law, and a Biden administration immigration policy also unexpectedly cut across ideological lines on the court. Major rulings are expected by Friday on the future of affirmative action in higher education, the administration’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan, and a clash of religious and LGBTQ rights. The practical effect of Tuesday’s decision is minimal in North Carolina, where the state Supreme Court, under a new Republican majority, already has undone its redistricting ruling. Another redistricting case from Ohio is pending, if the justices want to say more about the issue before next year’s elections. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch would have dismissed the North Carolina case because of the intervening state court action. Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement that the decision “preserves state courts’ critical role in safeguarding elections and protecting the voice and the will of the American people.” The Democratic administration defended the power of state courts in the case. Former President Barack Obama, in a rare public comment on a court decision, applauded the outcome as “a resounding rejection of the far-right theory that has been peddled by election deniers and extremists seeking to undermine our democracy.” At the same time, the leader of a Republican redistricting group said he was pleased the court made clear there are limits on state courts. The decision “should serve as a warning to state courts inclined to reach beyond the constitutional bounds of judicial review. This is a first, positive step toward reining in recent overreaches of state courts,” Adam Kincaid, president and executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, said in a statement. Derek Muller, a University of Iowa law professor and elections expert, said Tuesday’s decision leaves some room to challenge state court rulings on federal election issues, “but these are likely to be rare cases.” “The vast majority of state court decisions that could affect federal elections will likely continue without any change,” Muller said. The North Carolina case attracted outsized attention because four conservative justices had suggested that the Supreme Court should curb state courts’ power in elections for president and Congress. Opponents of the idea, known as the independent legislature theory, had argued that the effects of a robust ruling for North Carolina Republicans could be reached much further than just that one state’s redistricting. Potentially at stake were more than 170 state constitutional provisions, over 650 state laws delegating authority to make election policies to state and local officials, and thousands of regulations down to the location of polling places, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. The justices heard arguments in December in an appeal by Republican leaders in the North Carolina Legislature. Their efforts to draw congressional districts heavily in their favor were blocked by a Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court on grounds that the GOP map violated the state Constitution. A court-drawn map produced seven seats for each party in last year’s midterm elections in the highly competitive state. The question for the justices was whether the U.S. Constitution’s provision giving state legislatures the power to make the rules about the “times, places and manner” of congressional elections cuts state courts out of the process. Former federal appeals court judge Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative who has joined the legal team defending the North Carolina court decision, said in the fall that the outcome could have transformative effects on American elections. “This is the single most important case on American democracy — and for American democracy — in the nation’s history,” Luttig said. Leading Republican lawmakers in North Carolina told the Supreme Court that the Constitution’s “carefully drawn lines place the regulation of federal elections in the hands of state legislatures, Congress, and no one else.” During nearly three hours of arguments, the justices seemed skeptical of making a broad ruling in the case. Liberal and conservative justices seemed to take issue with the main thrust of a challenge asking them to essentially eliminate the power of state courts to strike down legislature-drawn, gerrymandered congressional district maps on grounds that they violate state constitutions. In North Carolina, a new round of redistricting is expected to go forward and produce a map with more Republican districts. The state’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, praised Tuesday’s decision, but also implicitly acknowledged that it does nothing to inhibit Republicans who control the legislature from drawing a congressional map that is more favorable to them. Cooper, who by state law can’t block redistricting plans approved by lawmakers, said that “Republican legislators in North Carolina and across the country remain a very real threat to democracy as they continue to pass laws to manipulate elections for partisan gain by interfering with the freedom to vote.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Joe Biden declares ‘America will not default,’ says he’s confident of budget deal with GOP lawmakers
An optimistic President Joe Biden declared Wednesday he is confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive. He left for a G-7 summit in Japan but planned to return by the weekend in hopes of approving a solid agreement. Biden’s upbeat remarks came as a select group of negotiators began meeting to try and hammer out the final contours of a budget spending deal to unlock a path for raising the debt limit as soon as June 1. That is when the Treasury Department says the U.S. could begin defaulting on its obligations and trigger financial chaos. “I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget, and America will not default,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Later Wednesday evening, negotiations resumed behind closed doors at the Capitol. Democrat Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have traded blame for a debt-ceiling impasse for weeks. But Biden said of the latest White House session with congressional leaders that “everyone came to the meeting, I think, in good faith.” McCarthy was upbeat, too, though contending Biden had given ground. The president said the budget talks were still separate from the debt limit issue, but the speaker said Biden had “finally backed off” his refusal to negotiate. “Keep working — we’ll work again tonight,” McCarthy told reporters later. “We’re going to work until we can get it done.” Biden said that every leader at Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting — Vice President Kamala Harris, McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — agreed the U.S. must not default on its obligations. “It would be catastrophic for the American economy and the American people if we didn’t pay our bills,” Biden said. “I’m confident everyone in the room agreed … that we’re going to come together because there’s no alternative. We have to do the right thing for the country. We have to move on.” He said he would be in “constant contact” with White House officials while at the summit in Hiroshima. He is canceling stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea that were to follow so he can return to Washington on Sunday. Biden and McCarthy tasked a handful of representatives to work swiftly to try and close out a final deal. They include Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president; legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young for the administration, and Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., a close McCarthy ally, for the Republicans. McCarthy, who has said he would personally be involved, said he planned to stop by the talks later Wednesday. He said he would be in Washington for the weekend while negotiations are underway. Agreement by the negotiators would still leave any deal needing approval by Democratic Senate and Republican House. Democrats are upset about the possibility of new work requirements for some recipients of government aid. And Republicans want much tougher budget restraints than the Democrats support. The positive comments by Biden and McCarthy suggest they believe they can gain the backing of their parties’ lawmakers. McCarthy was flanked Wednesday on the Capitol steps by some of the most conservative Republicans from the House and Senate in a feisty show of support. The national debt currently stands at $31.4 trillion. An increase in the debt limit would not authorize new federal spending; it would only allow for borrowing to pay for what Congress has already approved. The contours of an agreement have begun to take shape, but the details of spending cuts and policy changes will make or break whether the divided Congress can strike a bipartisan deal with the White House. In exchange for lifting the debt limit to keep paying the bills, newly majority House Republicans are trying to extract steep budget caps of no more than 1% growth a year over the next decade, alongside bolstered work requirements. Negotiators are preparing to claw back some $30 billion of unspent COVID-19 aid, now that the government has lifted the pandemic emergency. And they are working on a potential agreement for permit changes that would speed the development of energy projects that both Republicans and Democrats want, though the details remain daunting. But Democrats are not at all willing to accept the 10-year cap on spending that Republicans approved in their own House bill, and the Democrats are instead pushing for a shorter window of budget cuts. Biden is facing fierce blowback from progressive Democrats after he opened the door to tougher work requirements. But he insisted Wednesday any new work requirements would be of “no consequence” and that he’s not willing to impact health programs, presumably referring to Medicaid. Asked about that, the Republicans behind McCarthy — who support more work requirements on Medicaid, food stamps, and cash assistance programs — broke out in laughter at the Capitol. The Republicans scoffed aloud as helicopters with the presumably departing Biden flew overhead. McCarthy, who depended on Donald Trump’s backing to become the new speaker, still has work to do to keep his narrow House majority in line for any final deal, particularly among the hardline Freedom Caucus conservatives who almost blocked his election earlier this year for the gavel. Former President Trump has encouraged Republicans to “do a default” if they don’t get everything they want from Biden. “Bipartisanship is needed,” Schumer said Wednesday. “It’s the only way to go.” As backup on Wednesday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries launched a process that would force a vote on raising the debt limit. It’s a cumbersome legislative discharge procedure, but Jeffries urged House Democrats to sign on to the measure in hopes of gathering the 218 majority backers, including Republicans needed to put it in motion. “Emerging from the White House meeting, I am hopeful that a real pathway exists to find an acceptable, bipartisan resolution that prevents a default,” Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues. “However,
