JOHN LEWIS

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams has been shunned by a top fellow Democrat, who opted to endorse incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp instead.

Black church leaders and activists in Georgia rallied Sunday in a push to get congregants to vote — a longstanding tradition known as “souls to the polls” that is taking on greater meaning this year amid new obstacles to casting a ballot in the midterm elections. At Rainbow Baptist Church just outside Atlanta, about two dozen cars and a large bus emblazoned with the image of civil rights icon John Lewis formed a caravan in the parking lot. Teresa Hardy, an organizer with voting rights group The Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, led a prayer before the caravan set out for a polling site at a nearby mall.

A former Trump White House staffer from New Hampshire could make history as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

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Control of the U.S. Senate could again come down to Georgia — and that means it could further come down to the state's runoff election rules.

OAKLAND, Calif. — (AP) — Before John Burris became the go-to lawyer for Northern California families grieving a loved one killed by police, the civil rights legend was a child suspicious of the Santa Claus narrative. The Burris family had no chimney. DeWitt Burris was a tool room mechanic at a naval shipyard with side businesses in landscaping and fruit-picking, which John Burris did not enjoy. One section is dedicated to Rosa Parks, the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, and other civil rights heroes. “He’s like, ‘What is the principle of this?’” said Oakland attorney Adante Pointer.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Hollywood taps Blue Origin to depict the future of life in space for a new film set to begin filming in 2023. According to a news release, the film, set in 2030, will tell the story of a spaceship, the HELIOS, and its crew during their urgent mission to the International Space Station. “We teamed up with Blue Origin to give moviegoers a thrilling, but realistic depiction of the future of living and working in space and a coordinated response to a space weather emergency,” HELIOS writer Patricia A. Beninati said. Throughout the movie, Orbital Reef is featured as the latest-generation space station used as a critical resource by the HELIOS crew. Orbital Reef is a commercially developed, owned and operated space station to be built in low Earth orbit.

A library where Rosa Parks, John Lewis and other civil rights leaders forged strategies that would change the world is mired in controversy over who gets to tell its story. On one side are preservationists who want to turn the Highlander Folk School library into a historic site. Enraged by race-mixing at the Highlander Folk School in the 1950s, Tennessee officials confiscated the property and auctioned it off in pieces in a vain attempt at stifling the civil rights movement. “The land should be repatriated, back to the Highlander Folk School, which is now the Highlander Research and Education Center.”The trust has spent seven years restoring the library to its original form. “This may be one of the most high-profile civil rights sites — as John Lewis told me — in the nation.”Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

A library where Rosa Parks, John Lewis and other civil rights leaders forged strategies that would change the world is mired in controversy over who gets to tell its story. On one side are preservationists who want to turn the Highlander Folk School library into a historic site. Enraged by race-mixing at the Highlander Folk School in the 1950s, Tennessee officials confiscated the property and auctioned it off in pieces in a vain attempt at stifling the civil rights movement. “The land should be repatriated, back to the Highlander Folk School, which is now the Highlander Research and Education Center.”The trust has spent seven years restoring the library to its original form. “This may be one of the most high-profile civil rights sites — as John Lewis told me — in the nation.”Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

A library where Rosa Parks, John Lewis and other civil rights leaders forged strategies that would change the world is mired in controversy over who gets to tell its story. On one side are preservationists who want to turn the Highlander Folk School library into a historic site. Enraged by race-mixing at the Highlander Folk School in the 1950s, Tennessee officials confiscated the property and auctioned it off in pieces in a vain attempt at stifling the civil rights movement. David Currey, a board member at the Tennessee Preservation Trust, has managed the library's restoration since the trust bought the site in 2014, saving it from redevelopment. “This may be one of the most high-profile civil rights sites — as John Lewis told me — in the nation.”Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

A library where Rosa Parks, John Lewis and other civil rights leaders forged strategies that would change the world is mired in controversy over who gets to tell its story. On one side are preservationists who want to turn the Highlander Folk School library into a historic site. Enraged by race-mixing at the Highlander Folk School in the 1950s, Tennessee officials confiscated the property and auctioned it off in pieces in a vain attempt at stifling the civil rights movement. David Currey, a board member at the Tennessee Preservation Trust, has managed the library's restoration since the trust bought the site in 2014, saving it from redevelopment. “This may be one of the most high-profile civil rights sites — as John Lewis told me — in the nation.”Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

A fight is brewing in Tennessee over a legendary civil rights and labor organizing center whose alumni and supporters include Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Boss Dame Sharon White says the government must think about how to get older people back into work.

In his memoir, Raphael Warnock describes his role in changing his state's political landscape.

The 4784-piece model is part of the Ultimate Collector Series and is over £100 off.

Georgia's senior congressman is facing his toughest challenge from Republicans in more than a decade.

Maroon 5 and Usher will headline a benefit concert in Atlanta to honor the legacy of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) (Matt Rourke)LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Maroon 5 and Usher will headline a benefit concert in Atlanta to honor the legacy of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis. Along with Usher and Maroon 5’s performances, the benefit concert will feature a program filled with inspiring community stories. The Beloved Benefit was inspired by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of a beloved community where people work together to solve social issues ranging from racism and poverty along with hunger and homelessness.

Maroon 5 and Usher will headline a benefit concert in Atlanta to honor the legacy of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

When President Joe Biden visits a Lockheed Martin plant on Tuesday that manufactures an antitank weapons system, he’s certain to herald the U.S.-made arms as a gamechanger in Ukraine’s stiff resistance to the Russian invasion.

A trial has gotten underway in a federal lawsuit that alleges serious problems with Georgia's election system.

Politicians flock to Selma to use the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a stage for their agendas, meanwhile the city is one of the poorest in the country.

A case before the Supreme Court this fall could determine whether Republicans are forced to draw more Black districts, but voting rights advocates fear it also could backfire and weaken their protections.

Future US Navy ship to be named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg In this Oct. 3, 2019, file photo, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gestures to students before she speaks at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy plans to name a future ship after Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro revealed Thursday. >> Read more trending newsIn a news release, Del Toro said the ship, a “future John Lewis-class replenishment oiler,” will be called the USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg in honor of the late justice, who joined the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 under Democratic President Bill Clinton. >> Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court“As we close out women’s history month, it is my absolute honor to name the next T-AO after the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Del Toro said in a statement. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 15 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses in her robes after she was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice in 1993.

The vice president vowed to push for federal legislation that guarantees voting rights.

The vice president vowed to push for federal legislation that guarantees voting rights.

Selma Commemoration Harris Vice President Kamala Harris speaks near the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on the anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," a landmark event of the civil rights movement, Sunday, March 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) (Brynn Anderson)SELMA, Ala. — (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Selma, Alabama, on Sunday to commemorate a defining moment in the fight for equal voting rights, even as congressional efforts to restore the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act have faltered. Seated near the stage ahead of Harris' speech, they said having Harrison as vice president seemed unimaginable 57 years ago. “That’s why we marched,” said Betty Boynton, the daughter-in-law of voting rights activist Amelia Boynton. Voting rights activists have warned the end of preclearance is emboldening states to pass a new wave of voting restrictions.

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Selma, Ala., to commemorate a defining moment in the struggle for the right to vote.

Kamala Harris Selma Commemoration FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event to celebrate Black History Month in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Washington. Harris will speak in Selma at an event marking the 57th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 when white police attacked Black voting rights marchers. The images of the violence shocked a nation and helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act. I wouldn’t think in 2022 we would have to do all over again what we did in 1965,” Boynton said. Voting rights activists have warned the end of preclearance is emboldening states to pass a new wave of voting restrictions.

Harris will speak at the site often referred to as hallowed ground in the fight for voting right for minority citizens.

Kamala Harris Selma Commemoration FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event to celebrate Black History Month in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Washington. Harris will speak in Selma at an event marking the 57th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 when white police attacked Black voting rights marchers. Harris is traveling to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 57th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 when white state troopers attacked Black voting rights marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. he images of the violence shocked a nation and helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voting rights activists have warned the end of preclearance is emboldening states to pass a new wave of voting restrictions.

Kamala Harris Selma Commemoration FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event to celebrate Black History Month in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Washington. Harris will speak in Selma at an event marking the 57th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 when white police attacked Black voting rights marchers. Harris is traveling to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 57th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 when white state troopers attacked Black voting rights marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. he images of the violence shocked a nation and helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voting rights activists have warned the end of preclearance is emboldening states to pass a new wave of voting restrictions.

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Selma, Alabama, to mark the anniversary of a defining moment in the fight for equal voting rights.

Some Democrats wanted a Black woman picked six years ago after Scalia died.

A new foundation has been created in the memory of Rep. John Lewis and his wife. >> Read more trending newsThe John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation was established for “strengthening democracy through civic engagement” and to give a voice to future generations, The Associated Press reported. The foundation was announced by the couple’s son, John-Miles Lewis, Monday on what would have been the congressman’s 82nd birthday. The statesman had come up with the idea of the foundation and its mission before his death, his son said. “When my dad thought of this foundation, it was his vision that it would support good work, inspire good troublemaking and do its part to make the world a better place,” Lewis said.

Scott Applewhite, File) (J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Growing up in the civil rights epicenter of Selma, Alabama, Terri Sewell heard all the stories. As she set out for the Ivy League, law school and eventually Congress, Sewell focused on the civil rights battles to come. Then the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. Since the court's decision, every session of Congress she has introduced legislation, now called the John R. Lewis Voting Advancement Act. For Sewell, it was a reminder of how the battle of the earlier civil rights generation has swiftly, intractably become her own.

Growing up in the civil rights epicenter of Selma, Alabama, Terri Sewell heard all the stories about the voting rights battles.

"Fox News analysts already reaping the benefits of banning books, I see," the lawmaker tweeted on Tuesday.

There’s a problem with putting someone on a pedestal: Exposed on all sides, a hero to some can be seen as a traitor to others.

Blocking the new congressional map from taking effect, a panel of judges says Alabama needs at least two, not one, congressional districts in which Black voters are the majority, or close to it.

That's the question Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells kids she asks herself every night before she goes to sleep. The book comes out Tuesday and is Sotomayor's third book for young readers. In the book, children help in a variety of ways: sending care packages to American soldiers overseas, recycling plastic bags, cleaning up a park, donating toys to a children's hospital and encouraging others to vote. Sotomayor's mom, Celina Baez Sotomayor, died last year and is the inspiration for Sotomayor's next book, tentatively titled “Just Shine," she said. Sotomayor says living with diabetes has taught her to take care of and listen to her body.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — “Whom have I helped today?” That's the question Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells kids she asks herself every night before she goes to sleep. Her new children's book “Just Help!” challenges kids to ask how they will help too. In the book, children help in a variety of ways: sending care packages to American soldiers overseas, recycling plastic bags, cleaning up a park, donating toys to a children's hospital and encouraging others to vote. Sotomayor's mom, Celina Baez Sotomayor, died last year and is the inspiration for Sotomayor's next book, tentatively titled “Just Shine," she said. Sotomayor says living with diabetes has taught her to take care of and listen to her body.

“Whom have I helped today?”.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats "made progress” toward changing the Senate’s filibuster rules to advance voting legislation, despite the dramatic collapse of the package that his party says is central to protecting democracy.

Linda Blackford: Sometimes gaffes have a way of stating the truth and they confirm many people’s suspicions about who is worthy of our democracy and who is not.

(AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades) (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)The sweeping elections bill that has collapsed in the Senate was about far more than voting. The legislation was an effort by Democrats to pass a major overhaul before the November elections. The bill would have made interfering with the vote count or failing to accurately report the results of that count a violation of the Voting Rights Act. The Senate bill was silent about that subject. It would have strengthened provisions of the Voting Rights Act to counter a Supreme Court decision last year that made it harder to sue over laws that hamper minority voting.

The sweeping elections bill that has collapsed in the Senate dealt with much more than voting changes.

Martin Luther King III came to Arizona with harsh words for Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, whose refusal to change filibuster rules makes voting rights legislation unlikely to pass in the Senate.

The longtime journalist recounts the oddball characters and vibrant newsroom of the Washington Star.

The president has been under increasing pressure to more aggressively combat threats to voting rights. And advocates say speeches are not a substitute for legislative action.

John Lewis File photo of Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia, in his offices in the Canon House office building on March 17, 2009, in Washington, D.C. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, announced he is donating $100 million in memoriam of Lewis to the Obama Foundation. (Photo by Jeff Hutchens/Getty Images) (Jeff Hutchens/Getty Images)Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is donating $100 million to former President Barack Obama’s private foundation in honor of the late John Lewis. Lewis, a 17-time congressman and civil rights icon, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80 in 2020. >> Related: US Rep. John Lewis, iconic civil rights leader, dead at 80As part of the gift, Bezos has asked that the plaza at the Obama Presidential Center be named the John Lewis Plaza, the foundation said in a statement. “Freedom fighters deserve a special place in the pantheon of heroes, and I can’t think of a more fitting person to honor with this gift than John Lewis,” Bezos said in the statement.

Separately on Monday, New York University’s medical center said it has received a $166 million gift from Bezos and his family. For its part, the Obama foundation said in a statement that the gift from Bezos is intended “to help expand the scope of programming that reaches emerging leaders” in the United States and around the world. As part of the gift, the foundation said Bezos has asked for the plaza at the Obama Presidential Center, under construction in Chicago’s South Side, to be named after Lewis. “I’m thrilled to support President and Mrs. Obama and their Foundation in its mission to train and inspire tomorrow’s leaders." Last year, Bezos committed to spend $10 billion by 2030 to enhance climate change efforts through his Bezos Earth Fund.

Former President Barack Obama’s foundation says it has received a $100 million donation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos that it says is the largest individual contribution it has received to date.

UK alt-folk duo The Portraits say the ad is like their arrangement of Together In Electric Dreams.

The Navy ship is the second of six vessels in the Navy's John Lewis-class program, second to the USNS John Lewis. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) (Alex Gallardo)SAN DIEGO — (AP) — A Navy ship named for slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk, who served four years in the Navy before being forced out, was christened and launched in San Diego Bay on Saturday. Milk were forced into the shadows or, worse yet, forced out of our beloved Navy,” Del Toro said. Stuart Milk, co-founder and president of the Harvey Milk Foundation, thanked Mabus for providing the family details of his uncle’s discharge from the Navy. General Dynamics NASSCO began construction of the six oilers in San Diego in 2018 under a $3.2 billion Navy contract.

A Navy ship named for slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk has been launched in San Diego Bay.

It's a work of art by two local Black artists honoring the late U.S. congressman and the Freedom Riders.

Senate Democrats forced another test vote on voting rights legislation.

George Floyd statue vandalized This image released by the New York City Police Department shows a man on a skateboard throwing paint onto a bronze bust of George Floyd in Union Square Park on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. (New York City Police Department)NEW YORK CITY — Police arrested an actor who played small roles in “Parks and Recreation” and “CSI: NY” this week on suspicion of vandalizing a statue of George Floyd in New York City, according to multiple reports. He is accused of throwing gray paint onto a bronze bust of Floyd installed in Manhattan’s Union Square Park on Oct. 3. The statue is part of Confront Art’s SEEINJUSTICE exhibit, which also includes bronze busts of Breonna Taylor and Congressman John Lewis. Authorities previously released video footage of the incident, which showed a man on a skateboard throwing a cup of paint onto the statue before skating away.

The statue honoring Floyd was vandalized on Sunday, Oct. 3, police said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) (John Minchillo)NEW YORK — (AP) — A statue honoring George Floyd in New York City’s Union Square Park was vandalized on Sunday, police said. According to police, a video showed an unidentified man on a skateboard throwing paint on the statue at approximately 10 a.m. then fleeing. Sunday's act wasn't the first example of vandalism to the statue memorializing Floyd, whose killing at the hands of police in Minneapolis last year galvanized a racial justice movement across the country. Members of the group that installed the statue cleaned it, and local residents and one of Floyd’s brothers gathered in July as it was prepared to move to Union Square, in the heart of Manhattan.

A statue memorializing George Floyd in New York City's Union Square Park has been vandalized.

A statue honoring George Floyd in New York City’s Union Square Park was vandalized on Sunday, police said. Nearby statues of late Congressman John Lewis and Breonna Taylor, a Louisville, Kentucky, woman shot and killed by police last year, apparently weren’t touched. Sunday's act wasn't the first example of vandalism to the statue memorializing Floyd, whose killing at the hands of police in Minneapolis last year galvanized a racial justice movement across the country.

Bloody Sunday Identities FILE - In this March 7, 1965, file photo, civil rights demonstrators struggle on the ground as state troopers break up a march in Selma, Ala. A class at Selma High School is helping as students enlist relatives to help identify marchers. They were savagely beaten by troopers and members of the Dallas County sheriff's posse; images of the violence helped build support for voting rights across the segregated South. But many of the marchers have never been publicly identified, an omission the project could help resolve. As marchers are identified, they get messages through the social media platform offering the chance to share their stories in the future.

The world knows the names of John Lewis and a few more of the voting rights demonstrators who walked across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 only to be attacked by Alabama state troopers on “Bloody Sunday.”.

Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Wednesday evening.

In the nation’s capital on Saturday, multiracial coalitions of civil, human and labor rights leaders are convening rallies and marches to urge passage of federal voter protections that have been eroded since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

House Democrats have passed legislation that would strengthen a landmark civil rights-era voting law weakened by the Supreme Court over the past decade.

House Democrats are offering a new proposal to update the landmark Voting Rights Act.

Democrats are renewing their push to enact their marquee elections bill.

Top congressional Democrats huddled with President Joe Biden, looking to salvage their push to enact voting rights legislation.

Hank Johnson is second member of Congress to face arrest this month during protests urging Senate to pass critical voting rights protections

Memo to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema:

"I'm not really nervous, I'm excited," Bezos said as he and 3 crewmates prepared to become the first people to launch aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are both marking the one-year anniversary of the death U.S. Rep. John Lewis by urging Congress to enact laws to protect voting rights.

Nashville will formally dedicate and rename a downtown street in his honor.

Nashville will formally dedicate and rename a downtown street in his honor.

President Joe Biden is declaring that preserving voting rights is “a test of our time” as he urges passage of federal legislation to combat efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to ballots.

Congressional Democrats want to reinstate key sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Biden administration has unveiled new efforts to help protect voting rights as complaints grow louder from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House has not done enough to fight the push from several Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot.

The Biden administration has unveiled new efforts to help protect access to the ballot as complaints grow louder from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House has not done enough to fight attempts by Republican-led state legislatures to tighten voting laws.

Congressional Democrats are facing renewed pressure to pass legislation that would protect voting rights after a Supreme Court ruling made it harder to challenge Republican efforts to limit ballot access.

The filibuster is here to stay, for now, and that’s posing a challenge to President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress.

While many Americans have a vast array of knowledge about Juneteenth, others don’t know as much about the holiday and the history behind it.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest daughter says she’s afraid American society is unraveling.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he wasn't swayed by civil rights leaders who implored him to back his party's sweeping voting rights bill.

Black Voters Matter co-founders LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright aim to increase the political power of Black communities.

The immunologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the United States says “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to unacceptable health disparities.

Senate Democrats are holding new Georgia voting rules up as a warning as they push a broad legislative overhaul of U.S. elections.

George W.

Some of the Black college students who integrated downtown Nashville in 1960 went on to play integral roles in nearly every major campaign of the civil rights era.

Some last thoughts from Rep. John Lewis will be published as a book this summer.

FILE - This Nov. 18, 2016 file photo shows Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., in the Civil Rights Room in the Nashville Public Library in Nashville, Tenn. The award-winning graphic novels about the congressmen and civil rights activist John Lewis will continue a year after his death. Abrams announced Tuesday that Run: Book One will be published Aug. 3, just over a year after Lewis died at age 80. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)NEW YORK – The award-winning series of graphic novels about congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis will continue a year after his death. Abrams announced Tuesday that “Run: Book One” will be published Aug. 3, just over a year after Lewis died at age 80.

(AP Photo/Ben Gray)ATLANTA – Critics of Georgia's new Republican-backed election law issued fresh calls Monday to boycott some of the state’s largest businesses for not speaking out more forcefully against the law, a day after advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging it. The new election law was signed Thursday by Republican Gov. It also bans people from handing out food or water to voters waiting in line and allows the Republican-controlled State Election Board to remove and replace county election officials. “Georgia’s Election Integrity Act that I signed into law expands early voting and secures our vote-by-mail system to protect the integrity of our elections,” Kemp said in a recent tweet. But he said he does not support provisions that remove him as the chair of the State Election Board and replaces him with an appointee of the state legislature.

He told reporters the Georgia law is an “atrocity" and the Justice Department is looking into it. Allies meanwhile plan to fight the Georgia law, and others, in court. He called as well for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore some aspects of a landmark law struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. Donald Trump, the former president who promoted false claims of election fraud, congratulated the Georgia governor and state leaders on the new law. 1 is vast, and its Senate counterpart would confront the new Georgia law by expanding voting by mail and early voting, both popular during the pandemic.

Democrats are vowing action on several of their top priorities in April, including strengthening hate crime laws to include Asian Americans and restoring voting rights protections to combat minority voter suppression. It would seek to restore elements of the Voting Rights Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013, a decision that Democrats say left minority voters vulnerable to disenfranchisement. Democrats see it as a forceful response to voting rights restrictions advancing in Republican-controlled statehouses across the country. Republicans are strongly opposed to the voting rights bill, arguing that it would tilt elections toward Democrats and take control of elections away from the states. While strengthening background checks is broadly popular among the American public, Senate Republicans have said they oppose the two House bills.

Democrats are vowing action on several of their top priorities in April, including strengthening hate crime laws to include Asian Americans and restoring voting rights protections to combat minority voter suppression. It would seek to restore elements of the Voting Rights Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013, a decision that Democrats say left minority voters vulnerable to disenfranchisement. Democrats see it as a forceful response to voting rights restrictions advancing in Republican-controlled statehouses across the country. Republicans are strongly opposed to the voting rights bill, arguing that it would tilt elections toward Democrats and take control of elections away from the states. While strengthening background checks is broadly popular among the American public, Senate Republicans have said they oppose the two House bills.

Bruce Springsteen, left, appears with former President Barack Obama during their podcast of conversations recorded at Springsteen's home studio in New Jersey. The eight-episode series covers their upbringings, racism, fatherhood and even recall a White House singalong around a piano. (Rob DeMartin/Spotify via AP)NEW YORK – Former President Barack Obama reveals in an upcoming podcast with rocker Bruce Springsteen that he chose a career of public service in part due to his mother, an acknowledgement that lands in the middle of Women’s History Month. Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, was an anthropologist who worked to help improve the lives of the poor in Indonesia. But it has blossomed into deeper conversations since he left office, Obama said in the first episode.

The Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee marks the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — the day on March 7, 1965, that civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. Vivian, and attorney Bruce Boynton were the late civil rights leaders honored on Sunday. Footage of the beatings helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Let the people vote.”Lowery, a charismatic and fiery preacher, is often considered the dean of the civil rights veterans and led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Organizers acknowledged the fallen civil rights leaders and planned to lay wreaths at the bridge in their honor.

House Democrats are expected to pass a sweeping elections and ethics bill, offering it up as a powerful counterweight to voting rights restrictions advancing in Republican-controlled statehouses. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation. The bill is a powerful counterweight to voting rights restrictions advancing in Republican-controlled statehouses across the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s repeated false claims of a stolen 2020 election. It would limit states' ability to purge registered voters from their rolls and restore former felons' voting rights. AdSome Democrats have discussed options like lowering the threshold to break a filibuster, or creating a workaround that would allow priority legislation, including a separate John Lewis Voting Rights bill, to be exempt.

As we all know, February is Black History Month, so it’s a great time to brush up on Black history and educate yourself.

A photograph of Henry "Hank" Aaron, longtime Atlanta Braves player and Hall of Famer, sits outside his casket during his funeral on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. (Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves via AP, Pool)ATLANTA – The Hammer made one last trip to the spot where he hit No. “Hank Aaron never bragged about anything — except carrying Georgia for me in 1992." “Just his presence, before he hit a hit, changed this city,” the 88-year-old Young said. A longtime Braves fan, Carter noted he was at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the night Aaron hit his iconic home run.