DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Sheila Jackson Lee, long-serving Democratic congresswoman and advocate for Black Americans, dies at 74
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Michelle Shen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Sheila Jackson Lee, a longtime Democratic congresswoman from Texas who was an outspoken advocate for Black Americans for decades, has died. Jackson Lee announced in June that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty ImagesDuring her congressional tenure, Jackson Lee was an outspoken advocate for progressive interests and Black Americans. “Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a patriot and a fighter to the very end. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her,” Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford and members of the Congressional Black Caucus said in a statement following her death.

Persons: Sheila Jackson Lee, ”, Jackson Lee, ’, Elwyn Lees, Brett Coomer, Donald Trump, Trump, George Floyd’s, “, ” Jackson Lee, Steven Horsford, Jackson Lee’s, –, Lee, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Lina Hidalgo, Sen, John Whitmire, Amanda Edwards, Hakeem Jeffries, Houston “, ” Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, Jamie Raskin, “ Laura Coates, Al Green, Bebe Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Black, “, United States, Congressional, of, Yale University, Texas, Congressional District, Houston, Getty, House Democrats, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Black, Enron, The New York Times, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Houston City, Democrats, Congressional Black Caucus and House Democratic Caucus, Texas Rep, State of, Huffington Locations: Texas, of Texas, Queens , New York, Houston, Iraq, House, Washington, Harris, America, State

☆ Biden officials set $3 bln bank deposit, procurement goals to boost minority firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, U.S., September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday urged big companies to deposit another $2 billion into U.S. community lenders to boost loans to minority and underserved businesses, and asked them to devote 15% of their procurement budgets to such firms. Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) will commit to spending at least $1 billion annually with "diverse-owned suppliers" in the United States, the Treasury said. The Treasury had previously invested nearly $9 billion into Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and minority-owned banking firms to make more capital available to minority firms. "In order for these minority owned banks and CDFIs to lend that money, they need deposits," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Walter E, Elizabeth Frantz, Biden, Harris, Wally Adeyemo, David Lawder, Sonali Paul Organizations: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Washington Convention Center, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Micron Technology, Air Products, Xcel Energy, Treasury Department, Treasury, Freedman's Bank, Community Development Financial, Management, Internal Revenue Service, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States

☆ Biden to deliver speech on democracy, legacy of Sen. John McCain in Arizona
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden is set to deliver a speech Thursday in Phoenix, Arizona, on the state of democracy and to honor his late friend, Republican Sen. John McCain. It is the fourth such speech on democracy Biden has made during his presidency, the first of which was delivered on the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Biden is set to say that McCain was representative of the old guard of Republicans and was willing to put his country over his party. The friendship continued after McCain lost the 2008 presidential contest to Barack Obama, whose vice president was Biden. "Not every Republican — not even the majority of Republicans — adhere to the extremist MAGA ideology," Biden plans to say.

Persons: Joe Biden, Walter E, Republican Sen, John McCain, Biden, MAGA, Donald Trump, McCain, Barack Obama, Republican —, Republicans —, I've Organizations: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Washington Convention Center, Washington , D.C, Republican, Capitol, Arizona State University, McCain Institute, American, McCain, Democratic, White, House, Trump, Senate, Republicans, Republican Party, American Democracy, GOP House Locations: Washington ,, Phoenix , Arizona, America, New York, California

Ahead of a White House welcome for the leaders, Biden announced U.S. diplomatic recognition of two more Pacific islands nations, the Cook Islands and Niue. The White House said this year it would focus on priorities including climate change, economic growth, sustainable development, public health and countering illegal fishing. In Baltimore on Sunday, Pacific island leaders visited a Coast Guard cutter in the harbor and were briefed on combating illegal fishing by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, an official said. The White House in 2022 said the U.S. would invest more than $810 million in expanded programs to aid the Pacific islands. She added that Pacific island countries "welcome the U.S. re-engagement with the region, but don't want geopolitical tussles to result in an escalation of militarization."

Persons: Joe Biden, Walter E, Elizabeth Frantz, Biden, Manasseh Sogavare, Washington, Sogavare, Meg Keen, Sato Kilman, Kilman, Ishmael Kalsakau, David Brunnstrom, Trevor Hunnicutt, Kirsty Needham, Don Durfee, Grant McCool Organizations: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Washington Convention Center, REUTERS, Rights, Pacific, NFL, White, U.S ., Niue, Sunday, Coast Guard, Sunday's National Football League, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Solomon, Biden, Australia's Lowy Institute, USAID, Vanuatu, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Washington, Cook Islands, Niue, The U.S, Papua New Guinea, U.S, Asia, Cook, Baltimore, Pacific, China, Beijing, Congress, Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Kiribati, Hawaii, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall, Sydney

☆ Biden says Republicans should live up to budget deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, U.S., September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday rebuked what he called "extreme Republicans", saying the party's lawmakers needed to take immediate steps to prevent a government shutdown ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline. "Now a small group of extreme Republicans don't want to live up to the deal," he said. Biden also cast his 2024 campaign against likely Republican challenger former President Donald Trump as a battle against political extremism. "I wish I could say our threat to democracy ended with our victory in 2020 but it didn't," Biden said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Walter E, Elizabeth Frantz, Biden, Donald Trump, Trevor Hunnicut, Joel Schectman, William Mallard, Jamie Freed Organizations: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Washington Convention Center, REUTERS, Rights, Republican, Republicans, America, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S

With a potential government shutdown now less than a week away, President Biden and other administration officials this weekend intensified their warnings of the consequences of closing government agencies as they pressed congressional Republicans to find a way out of their spending stalemate. Both the president and the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, made public calls for Republicans to resolve their differences before next Sunday, when federal funding is set to lapse. Yet even after a weekend of private haggling at the Capitol, there was no sign that the G.O.P. “Now everyone in America could be forced to pay the price.”“Funding the government is one of the most basic responsibilities of Congress,” he said. “It’s time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do.”

Persons: Biden, Pete Buttigieg, ” Mr, ”, Kevin McCarthy, “ Organizations: Republicans, Capitol, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, America Locations: America

CNN —House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Saturday he still lacks support from a handful of GOP hardliners to put a Republican stopgap measure on the floor next week, making a government shutdown likely with just one week until the deadline. There are still a few members that won’t vote for funding the government while we finish all the 12 bills. When pressed on whether Americans should expect a government shutdown, McCarthy insisted there is still time. That would give House Republicans a position from which to begin negotiations with the Senate. “I think now some members feeling the pressure of the time line coming up,” McCarthy said.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, “ I’ve, ” McCarthy, “, who’ve, McCarthy, ”, Joe Biden, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s, Biden, Garret Graves Organizations: CNN —, Republican, GOP, Capitol, Republicans, Congressional Black Caucus, America, Senate, Louisiana GOP Rep, Coast Guard Locations: California, Louisiana

“The attacks on our democracy are happening on all fronts,” said Nicole Austin-Hillery, president & CEO of the foundation. Several speakers also criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year ending affirmative action in college admissions. LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, drew on the struggle for civil and voting rights as inspiration to push back harder against restrictive laws and to expand the ability to vote. She noted how Black Americans had once been denied even the ability to learn to read and write. ___The Associated Press coverage of race and voting receives support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.

Persons: ”, Nicole Austin, “, Ron DeSants, Damon Hewitt, ” Hewitt, LaTosha Brown, You’ve, Stacey Plaskett, Donald Trump, Jonathan Logan Organizations: WASHINGTON, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Black Caucus, Republican, Black, U.S, ’, Civil, Fund, Virgin Islands, Department, Associated Press, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, AP Locations: U.S, ”, Florida, U.S .

☆ Will Smith's first project since Oscars fiasco gets December release date
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-03 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

US actor Will Smith accepts the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for "King Richard" onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. Will Smith's upcoming film "Emancipation" will be released in theaters on Dec. 2 and on Apple TV+ a week later on Dec. 9. It's Smith's first project since the Oscars, where he made headlines for slapping host Chris Rock on stage and winning Best Actor for his titular role in "King Richard." In "Emancipation," Smith plays a runaway slave searching for his family in the swamps of Louisiana. In a tweet, NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson called the film "a story of adversity, of resilience, of love, and of triumph."

Search resuls for: "Congressional Black Caucus Foundation"

9 mentions found