Maroon 5, Usher to headline concert to honor Rep. John Lewis
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.
wftv.comFuture US Navy ship to be named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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.
wftv.comKamala Harris marks 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma
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.
wftv.comKamala Harris marks 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma
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.
wftv.comHarris to mark 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma
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.
wftv.comHarris to mark 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma
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.
wftv.com‘Strengthening democracy through civic engagement’: Foundation founded in memory of Rep. John Lewis
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.
wftv.comAcross the bridge: Alabama Dem carries torch for voting bill
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.
wftv.comIn kids' book, Sotomayor asks: Whom have you helped today?
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.
wftv.comIn kids' book, Sotomayor asks: Whom have you helped today?
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.
wftv.comSchumer: 'We made progress' on voting bill, filibuster rules
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.
Democrats' elections bill offered voting changes and more
(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.
wftv.comJeff Bezos honors late John Lewis with $100 million gift to Obama foundation
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.
wftv.comBezos makes gifts to Obama foundation and NYU medical center
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.
wftv.comNavy launches ship named for gay rights leader Harvey Milk
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.
wftv.comActor arrested, accused of vandalizing George Floyd statue
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.
wftv.comGeorge Floyd memorial statue in New York City defaced again
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.
wftv.comGeorge Floyd memorial statue in New York City defaced again
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.
news.yahoo.comProject aims to ID voting rights marchers of 'Bloody Sunday'
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.
wftv.comAmid growing frustration, White House pushes voting rights
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.
As frustration mounts, a White House push on voting rights
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.
Black Teens Tased, Kneed by Cops for Boardwalk Vaping: ‘Glad We Made It Out Alive’
TwitterIt was supposed to be a weekend trip to celebrate high school graduation, but it turned into something far more traumatic. A group of eight teens from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who’d traveled three hours to the beachfront town of Ocean City, Maryland, were walking on the boardwalk Saturday evening when police approached them about the local vaping ordinance one of them was allegedly violating.According to five of the teens who spoke exclusively to The Daily Beast, the vape was put away. B
news.yahoo.comMississippi city honors Freedom Rider legacy 60 years later
Mississippi's capital city is honoring the civil rights activism of the late Rev. C.T. Vivian 60 years after he and other Freedom Riders were arrested upon arrival in Jackson as they challenged segregation in interstate buses and bus terminals across the American South. After several days in a local jail, the young activists were transferred to Mississippi's notorious Parchman prison, where guards beat Vivian and others — one of many times that Vivian faced violence as he worked to dismantle systemic racism and injustice. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba proclaimed Wednesday as C.T. Vivian Day.
news.yahoo.comKid reporter who interviewed Obama at White House dies at 23
The student reporter who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009 has died of natural causes, his family says. Damon Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. Weaver was 11 when he interviewed Obama for 10 minutes in the Diplomatic Room on Aug. 13, 2009, asking questions that focused primarily on education.
news.yahoo.com‘It’s hard to look at’: Donald Trump makes National Portrait Gallery debut
Photo of ex-president will make way for a painted portrait as gallery says Trump’s team is considering artists A photo of Donald Trump at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images A picture is worth a thousand tweets. Donald Trump gained immortality of sorts on Friday when he made his debut at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. But he also ran into some “good trouble”. Canny curators have placed the 45th president face-to-face with a painting of John Lewis, the late congressman and civil rights hero whose habit of making what he called “good trouble” included boycotting Trump’s inauguration. “Keeping him honest!” remarked Eric Bargeron, 40, a book editor from Columbia, South Carolina, as he observed Lewis in an exhibition called The Struggle for Justice, staring across the room at Trump in the popular America’s Presidents show. The photo of Trump was taken by New York–based Pari Dukovic for Time magazine on 17 June 2019, the day before the president officially announced he would seek re-election. It shows him sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, wearing his trademark long red tie. A man takes a selfie with the photo of Trump at the National Portrait Gallery. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP The picture is accompanied by a caption in neutral museum language, noting that Trump was elected “after tapping into populist American sentiment” and that he “put forth an ‘America First’ agenda”. It records his two impeachments and says the coronavirus pandemic “became a key issue during his re-election campaign”. The caption adds: “Trump did not concede [defeat], and a mob of his supporters, who refused to accept the results, attacked the US Capitol complex on 6 January 2021, when Congress was working to certify [Joe] Biden’s win.” The caption also appears in Spanish, a policy rarely seen at the Trump White House. In another symbolic twist, the Trump picture has supplanted Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of Barack Obama, which is embarking on a year-long, five-city tour. Trump is now back-to-back with the famous Hope poster featuring Obama, by the artist Shepard Fairey. The gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution, reopened to timed pass holders on Friday after a six-month pandemic shutdown. It includes a special exhibition of portraits of first ladies, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump. A trickle of visitors made their way to see Trump, whose likeness never quite made it to Mount Rushmore, join the pantheon of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt on the gallery walls. Dan Freedman, a British documentary maker based in Louisville, Kentucky, was celebrating his 40th birthday but did not see Trump at first. “I deliberately averted my eyes,” he said. “It’s cool they put Obama behind the bad guy.” A bronze-looking emblem with the number 45 is visible next to the photo of Trump. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP Freedman made a noble sacrifice for the Guardian, walking across the room to study the Trump portrait. “He looks like an insecure man holding the desk to believe in himself,” he reported. “He doesn’t look very humble.” Fellow Brit Fran McDonald, a professor at the University of Louisville, agreed: “It’s hard to look at. I started to take a picture of it and then decided I don’t want it on my phone. I’m so relieved we don’t have to look at him or listen to him any more. It was a relentless assault on the senses to have him in the 24-hour news cycle.” The gallery draws visitors from all over America but judging by Friday’s crowd there will be few Trump worshippers eager to turn this into a “Make America Great Again” shrine ahead of a potential White House run in 2024. Kevin Newman, 38, a police sergeant from Chicago, said he was “not a fan” of Trump. “I was interested in how they would portray him because he was a controversial president,” he said. “They have made him look good. If they had made him look bad it would have inflamed the controversy. They didn’t make him look orange.” The photo will make way for a painted portrait – the gallery says Trump’s team is considering artists. Newman added: “He obviously cares very much about his image so it be interesting to see who he picks.” Trump could look to the 1968 painting of Richard Nixon for a template. The artist, Norman Rockwell, admitted that, finding Nixon’s appearance elusive, he decided to err on the side of flattery. Meg Krilov and James Fogel were visiting from Trump’s birthplace, New York. Krilov, 65, a retired physician, said of his portrait: “He looks very unhappy. I don’t think he really wanted to be president. He wanted to be king.” Her husband Fogel, 70, a retired judge, added: “He was treasonous. He tried to overthrow the government. And I guess he’s still trying.” Did it feel strange to see a former reality TV host, credibly accused of paying off a porn star, enshrined in the same room as Lyndon Johnson and George HW Bush? “It felt strange the entire time,” Fogel said. “It continues to feel strange.”
news.yahoo.comJohn Lewis' newest graphic novel will be posthumously released this summer
A new graphic novel by late Representative John Lewis will be released this summer, publisher Abrams ComicArt announced. The book, "Run: Book One" is the sequel to another graphic novel series, "March" that covered the life story of the congressman and accomplished civil rights activist. Lewis wrote the graphic novel with former co-collaborator Andrew Aydin, who also worked on the "March" series. The new comic book by late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis covers an "often overlooked chapter of civil rights history." The graphic novel covers an "often overlooked chapter of civil rights history."
cbsnews.comLatest graphic novel about John Lewis coming in August
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.
Georgia's new GOP election law draws criticism, lawsuits
(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.
Democrats assail Georgia law, make case for voting overhaul
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.
Voting rights, hate crimes on Senate's 'big, bold' agenda
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.
Voting rights, hate crimes on Senate's 'big, bold' agenda
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.
Obama in upcoming podcast credits his mother for his path
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.
Bloody Sunday memorial honors late civil rights giants
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 passes sweeping voting rights bill over GOP opposition
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.
The Hammer makes one last trip to spot where he hit No. 715
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.
New Georgia senators carry John Lewis' influence with them
Sen. Raphael Warnock was Lewis’ pastor and stood at his bedside before Lewis died. It seeks to restore portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. Democrats and voting rights groups argue that the ruling has led to a cascade of changes in many states that have disenfranchised voters, including polling place closures. They are the first Democrats to win a U.S. Senate election in Georgia since 2000. “My friend John Lewis planted the foundation of this Georgia over his career,” Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey said in a tweet.
Ossoff seals Democrats' sweep; will be youngest US senator
At 33, the millennial Democrat will assume his own leadership mantle after being one of two candidates to help the party sweep Georgia's crucial U.S. Senate runoff elections, a victory that sealed Democrats' control of the chamber. Ossoff defeated Republican David Perdue in the runoff that was held Tuesday after neither he nor Perdue received 50% of the vote in November. This is Ossoff's first election to public office, and he will be the youngest member of the Senate. For his Senate campaign, he took a sharper approach. In a victory speech early Wednesday, Ossoff said he would follow the example set by Lewis.
GEORGIA TAKEAWAYS: Black turnout fuels Warnock victory
But Black voters were a force in the early vote and on Election Day. Notably, it wasn’t just in metro Atlanta, but also in rural and small-town counties across South Georgia, where Black turnout has historically lagged. That means it was an alliance spanning from the most affluent Black residents of Atlanta, including recent transplants to Georgia, to those Black Georgia natives who hail from the most economically depressed pockets of the state. But Black voters can point to Tuesday’s vote count and take credit for that strategy ending in defeat. According to AP VoteCast, Republican voters are siding with Trump: About 6 in 10 approve of Kemp’s handling of the election aftermath.