Rights activists, political leaders mourn Rep. John Lewis
FILE - In this Sunday March 4, 2007, file photo, from left, Brown Chapel AME Church Pastor James Jackson, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, and Rev. Two years later, Lewis helped lead the Bloody Sunday voting rights march intended to go from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing, Trump tweeted. The measure would restore federal oversight of state elections, after the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated much of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2013. Harris, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others urged McConnell to allow a vote, and several said it should be given a new name: the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Remembering John Lewis, rights icon and `American hero'
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON People paid great heed to John Lewis for much of his life in the civil rights movement. A son of Alabama sharecroppers, the young Lewis first preached moral righteousness to his familys chickens. If that speech marked a turning point in the civil rights era or at least the most famous moment the struggle was far from over. The American public had already seen so much of this sort of thing, countless images of beatings and dogs and cursing and hoses, Lewis wrote in his memoirs. People just couldnt believe this was happening, not in America, Lewis wrote.
Under Trump, 'You're fired!' even greets federal prosecutors
Bharara had a snickering response to news that his successor as top federal prosecutor was stepping down from the job. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)NEW YORK Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara had a snickering response to news that his successor as top federal prosecutor was stepping down from the job. Doesn't sound like stepping down, Bharara tweeted soon after the announcement was made Friday night that Geoffrey S. Berman was out. He explained he was appointed by Manhattan federal judges and wouldn't budge until a successor was confirmed by Congress. A few months into his work, Manhattan judges appointed him permanently because Trump never formally nominated him.
Trump speech to project optimism at time of bitter division
“We’re really looking to giving a very, very positive message,” Trump told reporters Sunday during a Super Bowl watch party. “This has been a very partisan process and this is an opportunity for him to unify the country around opportunities for all Americans," added White House spokeswoman Jessica Ditto. But it's one the White House believes will reach a broader audience and have a more potent impact given the venue, especially among independent voters. Yet Trump made no direct reference to the shutdown in the speech he eventually delivered to a newly divided Congress. In past years, the White House has tried to connect with audiences at home by highlighting the stories of guests invited to the speech.