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☆ Nigerian artist Dotun Popoola’s stunning metal sculpture shows ‘the beauty of Black women all over the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Leah Collins | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Celebrating the beauty of Blackness and protesting “environmental decadence” for a cleaner, waste-free future: that’s the vision of award-winning Nigerian metal sculptor and visual artist Dotun Popoola. Popoola’s most recent sculpture is a 12-foot-tall, 882-pound piece depicting the decorated head and neck of an African woman, inspired by his wife. “The work showcases the beauty of Black women all over the world,” Popoola said of the piece, which he began in 2022. “The amount of support shown by women all over the world made me shed tears of joy in my studio. If you keep doing what you do, one day you’ll be in the spotlight and the world will be watching.”

Persons: Dotun Popoola, ” Popoola, “, ” Dotun Popoola, ”, Adeola, Popoola, Naomi Campbell, I’d, Tera DuVernay, Ava DuVernay, “ Tera, “ I’ve, Wynton Marsalis, Bryan Stevenson, Irinkemi Asake, “ Mr, ” It’s, Popoola’s, I’m Organizations: CNN, Popoola Studios, Legacy Museum, Equal, Initiative, Obafemi Awolowo University, Art Locations: Nigeria, Lagos, Montgomery , Alabama, America, Alabama, Dubai, Qatar, India, Americas, South Dakota, Africa, Osun State, Southwest Nigeria

☆ Biden presents Medal of Freedom to key political allies, civil rights leaders, celebrities and politicians
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Michael Williams | Sam Fossum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden on Friday honored 19 Americans with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom - a diverse list that includes some high-profile Biden political allies, celebrities, civil rights leaders and even one of his former political rivals-turned-financial backer. The list included two of Biden’s core allies in the House of Representatives: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn. President Joe Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to Democratic Rep. James Clyburn during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on May 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2024. They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields,” the White House said in the statement.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Jim Clyburn, Pelosi, Donald Trump, “, ” Biden, “ Nancy, Paul, ” Clyburn, coalescing, Clyburn, James Clyburn, Kevin Dietsch, Jim, ”, Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Yeoh –, Barack Obama, Sen, Elizabeth Dole, Bob Dole, Al Gore –, John Kerry, George W, Bush, Gore “, Donald Trump’s, Kerry, Opal Lee, Medgar Evers, Frank Lautenberg, Jim Thorpe, Clarence B, Jones, Martin Luther King’s, Juneteenth, Judy Shepard, Matthew, Jane Rigby, Ellen Ochoa, Katie Ledecky, Phil Donahue, Greg Boyle, United Farm Workers Teresa Romero, Evelyn Hockstein, Simone Biles, John McCain, Gabby Giffords Organizations: Washington CNN, South Carolina Rep, Democratic, Representatives, Democratic Rep, White, New York, Bloomberg, Republican, Getty, Jesuit Catholic, United Farm Workers, Reuters “ Locations: South Carolina, Washington , DC, Florida, United States, North Carolina, Massachusetts, American, Delaware, Washington ,

☆ Woman who stole and sold Ashley Biden diary sentenced to month in jail and home detention
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ashley Biden speaks alongside her father US President Joe Biden during a Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. A Florida woman who stole and then sold a diary and other items belonging to Ashley Biden — the daughter of President Joe Biden — to a right-wing media group weeks before the 2020 election was sentenced Tuesday to one month in federal jail and three months of home detention. Prosecutors had asked that Harris be sentenced to between four to 10 months in jail, as recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. Although Swain gave Harris a lighter sentence than prosecutors wanted, she called Harris' conduct "despicable," according to the AP. Kurlander, who pleaded guilty at the same time as Harris did, currently is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25 by Swain.

Persons: Ashley Biden, Joe Biden, Joe Biden —, Aimee Harris, Harris, Robert Sobelman, Laura Taylor Swain, Ashley Biden's, Biden, Biden's, Sobelman, Prosecutors, Swain, Ashley, Donald Trump, Robert Kurlander, Nicholas Biase, Anthony Cecutti, Kurlander, James O'Keefe, Judge Analisa Torres, Torres Organizations: White, U.S, Associated Press, AP, Palm Beach, Manhattan U.S, Attorney's, CNBC, Project Veritas, FBI, Veritas Locations: Washington , DC, Florida, U.S, Manhattan, Delray , Florida, Delray, , Florida, New York

☆ We should make the Monday after daylight-saving time a federal holiday
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That is why I propose a common-sense, everyone-wins idea: Let's make the Monday after daylight-saving time starts a federal holiday. Many of our 11 federal holidays were added in recent history: Memorial Day in 1968 (and observed since 1971). And yes, federal holidays come with an economic cost; government workers still get paid for that day. Everyone knows that's the worst of all the federal holidays, in the middle of dreary February. The best Presidents Day has to offer in terms of cultural impact is that it's when mattresses go on sale.

Persons: Let's, —, Juneteenth, You've, Martin Luther King Jr, That's Organizations: Service, Labor, Daylight Locations: —, Caribbean, bam, East Coast, Washington

☆ My family was chased off our land by a racist mob. More than 80 years later, I own it again.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Yoonji Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I didn't know white people until we got to Fort Worth. AdvertisementMy family bought a home in a neighborhood where we weren't wanted, but we didn't know that. LM Otero/APRegaining our landI went to Fort Worth's first Black high school and graduated when I was 16 years old. One day years later, a friend of mine who works at the Star-Telegram, a local newspaper in Fort Worth, mentioned the land my family had bought all those years ago. Opal Lee (bottom second from left) attended President Joe Biden's signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

Persons: —, Opal Lee, weren't, Lee, It's, LM Otero, Fort Worth's, Gage Yager, Gage, I'm twerking, Juneteenth, Joe Biden's, Evan Vucci Organizations: Service, Business, AP, Fort, Wiley College, Star, Humanity Locations: Marshall , Texas, Fort Worth, Marshall

☆ Takeaways from the Emmy Awards
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —After a four-month delay prompted by Hollywood’s twin actors and writers strikes, the 75th annual Emmy Awards finally have their moment in the spotlight. With its trio of technical wins at earlier Emmy presentations, the show drove away with eight awards in all. Brunson became the first Black women recognized as lead comedy actress in more than four decades, since Isabel Sanford of “The Jeffersons.”Quinta Brunson accepting the award for lead actress in a comedy at Monday's Emmy Awards. John Oliver, winner of outstanding scripted variety series with "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," speaks onstage at Monday's Emmy Awards. Because of the postponement, the Emmys somewhat awkwardly followed the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards in rapid succession.

Persons: HBO’s, ”, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, Anthony Anderson, Christina Applegate, Carol Burnett, Quinta Brunson, Ayo, “ Abbott, –, Brunson, Isabel Sanford of, ” Quinta Brunson, Valerie Macon, Edebiri, Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss, Bachrach, “, Jennifer Coolidge, Matthew Macfadyen, ” Niecy Nash, Betts, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Oliver ”, Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Elton John, Oscar, Tony –, Sarah Kate Ellis Organizations: CNN, HBO, Netflix, MLK, “, Getty, Comedy, EGOTs, Disney, Globes, Fox, NFL, The Television Academy, Writers Guild of America, GLAAD Locations: Isabel Sanford of “, AFP, Noah’s, Hollywood

☆ Highlights of UAW deal with Ford
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A United Auto Workers On Strike sign is seen outside the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan U.S. October 25, 2023. The following are issues highlighted by UAW leaders:* Ford will invest $8.1 billion in renovating factories and adding new models. * Raises of 33% or more for many workers over the life of the contract, including cost-of-living adjustments that push up wages in line with inflation. At the top end, workers will see an extra $70,000 in pay over the contract. * Lowest-paid temporary workers could see wages rise 150%* Pathway for battery and electric vehicle plants to come under the union agreement at commensurate pay rates.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, David Shepardson, Joseph White, Peter Henderson, Jamie Freed Organizations: United Auto Workers, Ford Michigan Assembly Plant, Wayne , Michigan U.S, REUTERS, Ford Motor, UAW, Ford, Thomson Locations: Wayne , Michigan

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama. In Texas, Brown ruled that Galveston County leaders redrew local political districts in a way that violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Justice Department also joined in the lawsuit, underscoring the opposition to the maps Galveston County redrew in 2021. How local political districts are drawn has come under increasing attention nationwide. Gavin Newsom this month vetoed legislation that would have required dozens of the state’s largest cities, counties and educational districts to use independent commissions to draw voting districts.

Persons: Juneteenth, Jeffrey Brown, Donald Trump, Brown, Black, ”, Hilary Harris Klein, Gavin Newsom, Newsom Organizations: Republican, U.S, Supreme, Union, U.S . Justice Department, Galveston County redrew, Brown, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Democratic Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Galveston, Alabama, In Texas, Gulf, United States, Galveston County, California

☆ Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour: Best looks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —It’s not the diamonds or the pearls that make Beyoncé that girl, but fashion is a critical part of what’s made her Renaissance World Tour unforgettable. In celebration of her seventh album of the same name, Beyoncé’s first solo tour in seven years featured a wardrobe fit for a queen. For me, during her Renaissance tour she is Queen B Beyond, a timeless queen that moves in a dazzling constellation.”“This ethereal and futurist femininity complements and extends her other looks in the tour that beautifully highlight other aspects of feminine empowerment,” van Herpen added. Here are some of the best looks from the Renaissance tour. Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty ImagesThis custom Balmain look by Olivier Rousteing was one of multiple silver ensembles Beyoncé wore on tour.

Persons: CNN — It’s, what’s, Beyoncé’s, ” Beyoncé, “ Beyoncé, ”, Iris van Herpen, Beyoncé, “, ” van Herpen, David Koma, ” Koma, Kevin Mazur, Alexander McQueen bodysuit, Courrèges, ” Kevin Mazur, Roksanda Ilincic, Loewe, Shiona Turini, Jonathan Anderson, Gucci, Frank Micelotta, Casey Cadwallader, Turini, ” Coperni, Bob Mackie, Iris, Herpen, David Koma “, Sylvia Earle, — “, Daniel Roseberry, Richard Quinn bodysuit, Gaurav Gupta’s, ” Gupta, Elie, Karen Langley, Tara Greville, Olivier Rousteing, Peter Dundas, Ibrahim Kamara Organizations: CNN, Chrome, Beyoncé, Paris Haute Couture, Elie Saab Locations: Stockholm, London, Amsterdam, Chicago, Atlanta, Warsaw, Minneapolis

☆ Where key issues stand as UAW closes in on extended strikes against GM, Ford and Stellantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Headline economic issues and benefits such as hourly pay, retirement benefits, cost-of-living adjustments, wage progression and work-life balance remain central to the discussions. Here's a general overview of where the union and companies stand on key issues. Wage tiers — putting autoworkers into distinct pay ranges or classifications — is a tricky, moving target. The companies and union have defined tiers differently during past negotiations as well as during the talks this year. UAW leaders are specifically concerned with vehicle production commitments at Stellantis, which has proposed closing, selling or consolidating 18 facilities.

Persons: Ryan Sullivan, Chris Sanders, Stone, Casey Miner, Kennedy R, Barbee, Stephen Brown, Sarah Rice, Shawn Fain, Mark Reuss, there's, wouldn't, GM Organizations: United Auto Workers, Jeep, Getty, DETROIT, Detroit, UAW, General Motors, Ford Motor, Union, Media, GM, Ford Locations: Toledo , Ohio, Michigan , Ohio, Missouri, Wells Fargo, Here's, Stellantis

☆ Stellantis offers 14.5% pay increase to UAW, days before possible strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Demonstrators during a United Auto Workers (UAW) practice picket outside the Stellantis Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. The automaker's offer would provide a 14.5% wage increase over the four-year term of the proposed deal for most of Stellantis's roughly 43,000 UAW-represented hourly workers. The proposed wage increase is larger than those offered to the union by rivals General Motors and Ford Motor, which offered raises of 10% and 9%, respectively. But the proposed deal still falls well short of the union's demands, which include a 40% hourly pay increase, a 32-hour workweek, and restoration of traditional-style pension plans, among other items. Only about 30% of Stellantis's UAW-represented workers — those hired before October 2007 — currently have pension plans.

Persons: Stellantis, —, Mark Stewart, Rich Boyer, Shawn Fain, CNBC's Michael Wayland Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, Mack Assembly Plant, Detroit, Union, America, CNBC, General Motors, Ford Motor, Stellantis's UAW, GM, Ford, America's Locations: Mack, Detroit , Michigan, U.S

☆ Opinion | Vivek Ramaswamy’s Voting Rights Proposal Isn’t Serious, but It Is Revealing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Vivek Ramaswamy is a 38-year-old investor and former pharmaceutical executive who wants to be the Republican nominee for president. We need to revive civic duty among young Americans,” Ramaswamy said on the website X, formerly known as Twitter. I think people, young people included, do not value a country that they simply inherit,” he told NPR. “I think we value a country that we have a stake in building. And I think that asking a young person, asking any citizen to know something about the country before voting, I think is a perfectly reasonable condition.”

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, He’s, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Ramaswamy, ”, Juneteenth, Trump, Mike Pence’s, ” Ramaswamy, “ Organizations: Republican, Trump, NPR Locations: Florida, Mexico

Republican presidential hopefuls have just two weeks left to qualify for the first presidential primary debate, which is set for Aug. 23. Candidates must hit the minimum threshold of 40,000 unique donors and the polling thresholds 48 hours prior to that debate, and also commit to supporting the eventual GOP nominee. So far, seven candidates have appeared to qualify for the debate in Milwaukee: former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Ambassador Nikki Haley as she struggles to break through the GOP presidential primary field.

Persons: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Mike Pence, Asa Hutchinson, they’re, Perry Johnson, he’s, … Trump, Gavin Newsom’s, ’, Matt Dixon, Robert Bigelow, ”, Harris, Kamala Harris, Pence, Sarah Dean, Mike Pence’s, Alex Tabet, Katherine Koretski, Will, won’t, Dean Phillips, Biden, Phillips, “, Henry J, Gomez Organizations: GOP, Florida Gov, United Nations, Tim Scott , North Dakota Gov, New, New Jersey Gov, Trump, Arkansas Gov, Republican National Committee, California Democratic, Fox, NBC, Florida Keys, Reuters, “, New York Times, DeSantis, Minnesota Democratic, CBS, Buckeye, Senate Locations: Milwaukee, Florida, South Carolina, Tim Scott , North, New Jersey, California, Iowa, Ohio

☆ GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy calls Juneteenth a 'useless' holiday 2 months after he said the holiday should be a 'celebration of the American Dream'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy blasted Juneteenth while speaking in Iowa, calling the holiday "useless." Black activists, notably 96-year-old Opal Lee, fought for decades for a federal Juneteenth holiday. "Single day voting, on Election Day. When NBC News pressed Ramaswamy on whether he thought Juneteenth was a "useless" holiday, he replied: "I basically do." But when asked by the network whether Memorial Day and Veterans Day were "useless" holidays, Ramaswamy took the opposite view.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Opal Lee, Juneteenth, Ramaswamy, Martin Luther King Day, George Floyd, Joe Biden, Martin Luther King Jr, Biden, Will Hurd, Hurd Organizations: Service, NBC, Veterans, Twitter, Union, White, Republicans, NBC News Locations: Iowa, Wall, Silicon, Galveston , Texas, United States, Texas

☆ For Mayor Adams, Any Day Has the Makings of Flag Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Dana Rubinstein | More About Dana Rubinstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On any given weekday, there is a statistically significant chance that Eric Adams, the mayor of America’s largest city, will be conducting official New York City business next to the upturned tail of the famed “Charging Bull” sculpture, engaging in what appears to be one of his favorite activities: Raising flags. He does it with such frequency that it borders on obsession: Since taking office in January 2022, Mr. Adams has raised flags for at least 31 countries representing 16 percent of the United Nations’ member states. He has honored some places twice: Haiti, Ireland, Ukraine and the Philippines. He has also raised the flags for one U.S. territory, two transnational organizations and one holiday, Juneteenth. If he keeps his current pace, Mr. Adams is on track to raise flags for roughly 80 percent of the world’s countries by the end of 2029, should he win a second term in 2025 and serve it to completion.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams Organizations: New, United Nations Locations: America’s, New York City, Haiti, Ireland, Ukraine, Philippines

☆ Fact Check-No proof of ‘deadly mosquitoes’ at AFRAM in Baltimore
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

AFRAM, an annual cultural festival celebrating Black excellence, was held over Juneteenth weekend at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland (here), (aframbaltimore.com/about-afram). Weeks later, Instagram posts shared a clip from the festival that shows attendees swatting and fanning themselves and includes the text: “Helicopter released deadly mosquitoes in Baltimore, MD AFRAM 2023” (here). In other posts from the event, however, users say the flying bugs were gnats, not mosquitoes (here), (here). MALE MOSQUITOES SWARM, DON’T BITEMale mosquitoes swarm to mate but don’t bite, and the swarming flies in social media posts do not look like mosquitoes, said George Dimopoulos, a deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (here). Social media clips of a Baltimore festival do not show “deadly mosquitoes,” entomology and health experts said.

Persons: Weeks, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Michael Raupp, gnats, Raup, Brian Federici, midge, ”, George Dimopoulos, Johns, Laura Harrington, “, Arinze Ifekauche, Dimopoulos, Read Organizations: Baltimore, Helicopter, Baltimore Mayor, University of Maryland, University of California, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Cornell University, Health Department, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Reuters Locations: Maryland, Baltimore City, Druid, Baltimore , Maryland, Baltimore, Riverside

☆ A Michigan city stopped people from repainting a Black Lives Matter street mural, claiming it posed 'traffic safety concerns'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Volunteers can't repaint a Black Lives Matter mural on a main street in Flint, city officials said. But the state's transportation department said they aren't preventing the project. Edwards did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, nor did the Flint chapter of Black Lives Matter. However, a spokesperson from the Michigan Department of Transportation denied Edwards' claim that the department would shut down the street, The Flint Journal reported. Black Lives Matter murals across the state have previously been vandalized.

Persons: Martin Luther King, Clyde Edwards, Edwards, Jocelyn Garza, Garza, It's Organizations: Service, Martin Luther King Avenue, Flint Journal, Michigan Department of Transportation, MLK Locations: Flint, Wall, Silicon, Flint , Michigan

☆ US weekly claims rise moderately; private payrolls surge in June
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"A tight labor market will keep the rate path on an upward trajectory, until policymakers see a material rebalancing in supply and demand." Claims, relative to the size of the labor market, are below the 280,000 level that economists say would signal a significant slowdown in job growth. A survey last month showed consumers' views of the labor market more upbeat in June relative to May. Though policymakers viewed the labor market as remaining "very tight," they "anticipated that employment growth would likely slow further." The claims data has no bearing on June's employment report, scheduled for release on Friday.

Persons: Rubeela Farooqi, Unadjusted, payrolls, nonfarm payrolls, Andrew Challenger, Lucia Mutikani, Safiyah Riddle, Chizu Organizations: Federal Reserve, Labor Department, Reuters, Treasury, Fed, ADP, Challenger, Companies, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, White Plains , New York, Minnesota, Michigan , New York , Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, New Jersey, U.S

☆ On Independence Day, People in Tennessee Are Not Free - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

NASHVILLE — Two weeks ago, while the rest of America was absorbed by the hunt for a doomed submersible, people in Tennessee discovered that their attorney general was conducting a witch hunt. healththe names of people referred to the gender-affirming clinic for careTell me this isn’t a witch hunt. Tell me this isn’t an open campaign of terror against already vulnerable citizens who had every reason to believe that their medical records — their medical records! — were confidential and every reason to believe that the medical clinic of a major university hospital was a safe space. During the Juneteenth holiday weekend, Vanderbilt notified patients whose confidential medical records were now in the possession of the state attorney general.

Persons: Vanderbilt, Sam Stockard, Anita Wadhwani, “, — Organizations: NASHVILLE —, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tennessee Lookout Locations: America, Tennessee

☆ Mayor Compares Housing Activist, Who Fled Holocaust, to Plantation Owner
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The woman, Jeanie Dubnau, an 84-year-old housing activist and molecular biologist, said in an interview afterward that her Jewish family had fled Europe during the Holocaust. Mr. Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, has often raised concerns about racism when he has felt under attack. More recently, he has twice compared himself to Kunta Kinte, a character from the 1977 television series “Roots” who was beaten for refusing to accept the slave name Toby. Mr. Adams also claimed recently that there was a “coordinated” effort to prevent him from winning a second term. When asked who was coordinating that effort, the mayor again compared himself to Kunta Kinte and said, “There’s a body of people who were pleased with 30 years without having a mayor that looked like me.”

Persons: Jeanie Dubnau, ”, Adams, Andrew Yang, Kathryn Garcia, Kunta, Toby, “, Kunta Kinte, Keechant Sewell Locations: Europe, New York

☆ Mortgage demand grows, driven by sales of new homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage rates turned higher again last week. Total mortgage application volume rose 3% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. These applications have increased for three straight weeks to the highest level since early May, despite still-high mortgage rates. Builders are driving demand in part by offering incentives, like paying down mortgage rates. The widening spread and the increase in the jumbo rate stem from the recent regional bank failures.

Persons: Joel Kan, Kan, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Organizations: Mortgage, Census, Builders, Bank Locations: U.S

☆ A Reuters journalist explores his ancestors’ ties to slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +38 min

It took me a few minutes of research to figure out why I was losing track of the descendants of the people George Julian enslaved. If the racial cleansing of Forsyth County was mentioned, I didn’t notice. Still hopeful that I might be able to somehow identify and locate living descendants of the people my family enslaved, I flew to Georgia last November. Her father was also a butler for a wealthy white family, her mother a cook. In 1860, Osby’s ancestors were enslaved and working the fields of Forsyth County.

Persons: Julian, Abijah’s, George Julian, George, ”, Adaline, –, Abijah, Dick, Lott, Aggy, Henry, Lewis, Ellick, Jim, Josiah, Reuben, Woodrow Wilson, Rob Edwards, Black, Oprah Winfrey, Forsyth, “, Cumming, who’d, Abijah Julian, ” Gov, Joseph Mackey Brown, ‘ Dick, I’d, Grandma Horseyfeather, Brice gesturing, ” I’d, Grandma Horseyfeather’s, – I’ve, “ Lott, Abijah Julian’s, Richard Julian, Charlotte Julian, Richard, Charlotte, George Julian’s, She’d, “ I’m, That’s, Martin Luther King, wasn’t, Sophia Dodd, Dodd, Elon Osby, – Dodd, Osby, Bailey, George H, Julian ” –, – “, ” Osby, ” Dodd, Ida Julian ., Ida Julian’s, Ida ., Ida hadn’t, Ida Julian, Bagley, Willie M, Willie Mae Bagley, Willie Mae Butts, Elon Butts Osby, Osby’s, ’, Elon Osby’s, Ida Bagley, William Bagley, Adaline Julian, Richard Julian –, Abijah Julian –, she’d, we’ve, you’ve, ELON, crunched underfoot, could’ve, Abijah John Julian ”, Webster, I’ve, weren’t, “ We’re, – we’re, …, Horseyfeather, gesturing, “ You’re, Tom Lasseter, Corinne Perkins, Wong, Jeremy Schultz, Catherine Tai Design, John Emerson, Blake Morrison Organizations: ., Reuters, ”, Black, Charlotte, Toyota, Atlanta History, Elon, Lockheed, Tiffany, Atlanta Housing Authority, Task Force, Mazda, American Legion, United, Confederacy Locations: Forsyth, Negros, negros, Virginia, . Civil, Georgia, Cumming, U.S, Forsyth ., Dawson, Atlanta, Tulsa , Oklahoma, Jefferson County , Georgia, Forsyth County, Charlotte, Thai, Macedonia, Buckhead, Bagley, America, Fulton County, Fulton, Bagley Park, Iraq, Afghanistan, Osby, England, Juneteenth, Brooks County

☆ More than 100 U.S. political elites have family links to slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +46 min

Then the war came, and according to the family history, Union soldiers plundered Sessions’ 27-room house. About 48 years old at the time, he did not stand a chance to succeed without slavery, the family history suggests. ‘A Better Nation’Some historians and genealogists say there is a valuable reason for white leaders – and other white Americans – to explore their links to slavery. Nicka Sewell-Smith, a professional genealogist with the family history website Ancestry.com, said people frequently ask her what to do with such documents. The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Meeks said in an interview that he has spent years trying to trace his family history back before 1870.

Persons: Black, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, James Lankford, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Joe Biden, –, Donald Trump –, Jimmy Carter, George W, Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Trump’s, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch –, Asa Hutchinson, Doug Burgum, Tim Scott, James Clyburn, Henry McMaster, ”, Henry Louis Gates Jr, Gates, ” “, ” Gates, enslavers, Tony Burroughs, Biden, Obama, McConnell, Burroughs, Joseph Maddox, Maddox, Sela, Rubin, James, Sal, Sam ”, Graham, Graham didn’t, Nancy Mace, Drucilla, Drucilla Mace, John Mace, Hector Godbolt, John Mace’s, Godbolt, “, ” Nancy Mace, Henry Coe, Duckworth, Coe, Margaret, Isaac, Warner, George …, Isaac Franklin –, “ There’s, ” Duckworth, George Floyd, Donald Trump, ” Biden, ‘, ’, Ben Affleck, ” Affleck, Independent Angus King, Mo Brooks, ” Brooks, Sean Kelley, Kelley, White, don’t, wasn’t, Richard Sessions, Pete Sessions, Richard’s, William Sessions, John Cowger, Tom Cotton of, ” Cotton’s, Cowger, Cotton, Archibald Crawford, Juneteenth, Shaheen, Pocahontas, Edmond Dillehay, Peter ”, Milly, Lankford, ” Lankford, Joe Wilson, Stephen H, Wilson, Boineau, General David Addison Weisiger, Wilson –, Addison Graves Wilson –, Weisiger “, ” Wilson, Daniel Weisiger, Daniel Weisiger’s, Samuel, Samuel Weisiger, Daniel, Julia Brownley, Jesse Brownley, Brownley, ” Brownley, Thomas Ferguson, Brooks, Manumission, Marie Jenkins Schwartz, ” “ It’s, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, Harvard’s Gates, Sherman, Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Nicka Sewell, Smith, Ancestry.com, ” Sewell, LaBrenda Garrett, Nelson, Garrett, Rick Larsen, John Wiggins, Larsen, – Gilbura, George, Agg –, ” Larsen, Gilbura, Agg, Gregory Meeks, Meeks, Jim Crow South, – Meeks, – “, ” Meeks, “ I’m, I’m, Tom Bergin, Makini Brice, Nicholas P, Brown, Donna Bryson, Lawrence Delevingne, Brad Heath, Andrea Januta, Gui Qing Koh, Tom Lasseter, Grant Smith, Maurice Tamman, Catherine Tai Design, John Emerson, Jane Ross, Emma Jehle, Jeremy Schultz, Blake Morrison Organizations: Reuters, Republicans, U.S, Supreme, Republican, Harvard University, PBS, United States Congress, Representative, WikiLeaks, Sony, Facebook, White, FedEx, National Museum of, 117th, Independent, University of Essex, Geographic, American Economic, Pete Sessions, Sessions, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jeanne Shaheen U.S, CNN, Biden, Trump, ” Reuters, South, South Carolina General Assembly, Confederate, statehouse, Congressional, Chesterfield County, Mount Vernon College, George Washington University, Mo Brooks Former U.S, “, New York Times, United, Federal Government, Union, Black, Southern, Democrat, House Foreign Affairs, Klux Klan Locations: U.S, America, Confederate States, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Carolina, Congress, Black, Northern, Southern, Illinois, Virginia, Frederick County , Virginia, United States, Minnesota, ”, Mo Brooks of Alabama, American, Texas, Mississippi, Chicot County , Arkansas, Chicot County, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Yell County, Yell County , Arkansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Frankfurt, Germany, Chesterfield County , Virginia, California, Portsmouth , Virginia, Alabama, Haywood County , North Carolina, Antebellum, United States of America, Washington, Nicholas County , Kentucky, Queens , New York, New York, York County, Mende, Sierra Leone, Africa, Bunce

They include eight chief executives of the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America, which seceded and waged war to preserve slavery. Although white people enslaved Black people in Northern states in early America, by the eve of the Civil War, slavery was almost entirely a Southern enterprise. South Carolina, where the Civil War began, illustrates the familial ties between lawmakers and the nation’s history of slavery. Each of the seven white lawmakers who served in the 117th Congress is a direct descendant of a slaveholder, Reuters found. In researching America’s political elite, Reuters found names – almost always just a first name – of 712 people enslaved by the ancestors of the political elite.

Persons: Black, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen, Joe Biden, –, Donald Trump –, Jimmy Carter, George W, Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch –, Asa Hutchinson, Doug Burgum, Tim Scott, James Clyburn, Henry McMaster, ”, Henry Louis Gates Jr, Gates, ” “, ” Gates, enslavers, Tony Burroughs, Biden, Obama, McConnell, “ it’s, ” Burroughs, LINDSEY GRAHAM, Joseph Maddox, Maddox, Sela, Rubin, James, Sal, Sam ”, Graham, Graham didn’t, NANCY MACE, Nancy Mace, Drucilla Mace, John Mace, Hector Godbolt, John Mace’s, Godbolt, “, ” Nancy Mace, TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Duckworth, Henry Coe, Coe, Margaret, Isaac, Warner, George …, Isaac Franklin –, “ There’s, ” Duckworth, Tom Bergin, Makini Brice, Nicholas P, Brown, Donna Bryson, Lawrence Delevingne, Brad Heath, Andrea Januta, Gui Qing Koh, Tom Lasseter, Grant Smith, Maurice Tamman, Blake Morrison Organizations: U.S, Reuters, Republicans, Supreme, Republican, Harvard University, PBS, United States Congress, Geographic, Journalists, Black, Thomson Locations: America, U.S, Confederate States, Arkansas, North Dakota, Black, Northern, Southern, South Carolina, Congress, New Hampshire , Maine, Massachusetts, United States, Illinois, Virginia, Frederick County , Virginia

☆ Fact Check-Video of people surrounding ambulance is not related to Illinois 2023 shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chicago mass shooting. The video, however, was published in 2021 by news outlets (here) and (here) showing a crowd “twerking” as they lean against an ambulance after a mass shooting at a Juneteenth celebration in Oakland, California. The DuPage County, Illinois Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The claim surfaced online after at least 20 people were shot, one fatally, at a Juneteenth celebration outside Chicago shortly after midnight on Sunday, June 18, 2023 (here). Video shows people dancing and leaning against an ambulance after a shooting in California in 2021, not in Illinois in 2023.

Persons: Aneeka Chaudhry, ” “ Falck, ” Chaudhry, Read Organizations: Alameda County Emergency Medical Services, Facebook, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Reuters Locations: Alameda County, California, Willowbrook , Illinois, Chicago, Oakland , California, Lake Merritt, Oakland, DuPage County , Illinois, Illinois

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