Bad Bunny turned the Super Bowl halftime show into a Puerto Rican–inspired cultural spectacle, and a deeper message that social media loved
By William Goodwin II, NewsOne Ahead of the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny promised that you didn’t need to understand Spanish to enjoy his halftime show because it’d still be a vibe. And he was right. As football fans finally got a break from the snooze-fest 9-0 game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, Bad Bunny took to the field, which had been transformed into a farm, as he started performing his hit song “Tití Me Preguntó.” He walked through the maze as people began chopping down the crops, passing other hard workers: a jeweler, a coconut cart, old men playing dominoes, a nail tech, bricklayers, a Piraguas (shaved ice) stand, tacos, and boxers sparring, all of which showed the cultural relevance of Puerto Rico. From there, the camera panned to a bunch of people partying on a porch, and eagle-eyed fans noticed Jessica Alba, Pedro Pascal, Karol G, Young Miko, David Grutman, Cardi B, and Alix Earle were just some of the people dancing. Bad Bunny was on top of the house performing “YO PERREO SOLA,” as a dozen women twerked in unison on the field in front of him as the song flowed right into the Rauw Alejandro– assisted track “Party.” After falling through the roof of the house and performing on top of a pickup truck, watching a wedding, Lady Gaga emerged on stage with a full band backing her as she sang a new version of her Bruno Mars collab, “Die With A Smile.” After more dancing in front of elaborately designed bodegas and barbershop, it was time for Ricky Martin to show out, who was also wearing a crisp all-white ‘fit. For his last stunt, Bad Bunny climbed a light pole before ending his set by marching down the field, but he traded the Puerto Rican flag firmly in his hand for a football that read “Together, We Are America,” as he said, “God bless America.” He followed that by naming dozens of other countries, including Panama, Canada, Paraguay, Chile, and Bolivia, as fireworks went off in the background and the jumbotron read, “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love.”
A documentary that puts Alabama prisons in the spotlight is now in the running for one of the most well-known, prestigious awards in Hollywood — an Oscar. Nominees for the 98th Academy Awards were announced Thursday. “The Alabama Solution” is one of five films nominated in the documentary feature film category.
It’s a sobering look at life behind bars in Alabama prisons. Most of the video in the documentary, “The Alabama Solution,” is shot by inmates themselves, on contraband cellphones. It’s graphic and, at times, difficult to watch. Former corrections officer Stacy George is a part of the documentary. He called it an accurate depiction of what an Alabama prison inmate faces.
“These things are real. I mean, there’s a lot of abuse, and there’s a lot of neglect. I saw boxes that said ‘not for human consumption’ on the boxes; they feed them,” George said.
Some say part of the problem is the secrecy. Not many people from the outside ever get to see inside Alabama prisons. Even journalists aren’t allowed to get close. We’re kept about a mile away from St. Clair Correctional Facility. That’s as close as we’re allowed to be.
George claims the culture is the real problem. He said, sadly, many of the corrections officers are simply bullies.
“If they come down here to Birmingham and they want to be a police officer, the first thing they probably do will take a mental evaluation test. Well, if that officer wants to be an officer, if he fails that test, guess where the next place he goes to get a job. It’s with the Alabama Department of Corrections,” George said.
Gov. Kay Ivey’s press secretary released a statement saying, “We already knew the Oscars had a low bar, but as far as corrections goes, there has never been an Alabama governor more dedicated to solving the longstanding challenges facing the system than Governor Ivey. From recruiting a record number of corrections officers to doing sentencing reforms to constructing needed, new facilities, Governor Ivey is getting the job done and making it safer for inmates, officers and the public alike.”
Now that the documentary is a favorite to win an Academy Award, George hopes even more people will watch it and be inspired to push for change. The Oscars ceremony is set for 6 p.m. March 15.
By Shannon Dawson, NewsOn This year marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month. As we reflect on our stories, this centennial is not only a moment of celebration but a call to urgency, a reminder that protecting, preserving, and uplifting Black history matters now more than ever. Let’s take a look back at how we got here and why this year carries such deep significance. Black History Month traces its roots back to 1926, when historian Carter G. Woodson and his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History launched Negro History Week. Woodson, the son of formerly enslaved parents, understood something radical for his time: that the absence of Black history in American education wasn’t accidental; it was structural. Woodson witnessed firsthand that racial discrimination was not simply a social reality; it was enforced by law. Segregation was codified across nearly every aspect of public life, with states mandating separate transportation, schools, and public spaces for Black and white Americans. From buses and trains to classrooms, water fountains, hospitals, and even courtrooms, these laws institutionalized inequality and shaped daily life, reinforcing a system designed to exclude and marginalize Black communities. In response to this reality, Woodson created Negro History Week, driven by a sense of urgency and the belief that change had to begin with education. He was determined to ensure that Black children, and the nation as a whole, were exposed to Black history. Woodson chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, figures long honored within Black communities. Negro History Week was not born in a vacuum. The 1920s marked a flourishing of African American cultural expression through the Harlem Renaissance, as noted by the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Writers such as Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Claude McKay explored the joys and struggles of Black life, while musicians like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Jimmy Lunceford captured the rhythms of a changing urban America shaped by the Great Migration. Visual artists, including Aaron Douglas, Richmond Barthé, and Lois Mailou Jones, created powerful images that celebrated Black identity and offered affirming representations of the African American experience. Woodson hoped to build on this momentum, using Negro History Week to further spark curiosity, pride, and sustained engagement with Black history and to challenge a national narrative that erased Black contributions, giving Black communities a way to tell our own stories in classrooms, churches, and civic spaces. Teaching Black history was an act of resistance against a society invested in forgetting. What began as a week quickly grew beyond Woodson’s original vision, not because the work was finished, but because it became clear that a week was never enough. By the 1960s and ’70s, amid the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, educators and students pushed for broader recognition. In 1976, the U.S. officially designated February as Black History Month, with President Gerald Ford recognizing the month, according to AP News. The expansion reflected both progress and tension. On one hand, Black history gained national visibility. On the other hand, it risked being contained, treated as an add-on rather than as foundational to American history. The month became a compromise: acknowledgment without full integration. Still, communities used the space creatively, building archives, hosting lectures, preserving oral histories, and insisting that Black history was not a niche subject, but central to understanding the nation itself. This February, we mark the 100-year anniversary of this incredible commemoration, and the work of preserving, protecting, and honoring Black leaders and communities is far from finished. Reaching this milestone is not just symbolic; it’s urgent. We are living in a moment where Black history is actively being censored in schools and other educational institutions, where DEI initiatives are under attack, and where deliberate historical erasure is becoming policy, not coincidence. In 2025, President Donald Trump signed “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling” (Executive Order 14190), an executive order aimed at removing what it labels “specific ideologies” from public education and reorienting schools toward so-called “patriotic education.” In practice, the order significantly restricts how Black history, and particularly the history of slavery and systemic racism, can be discussed in classrooms. By redefining discussions of equity and racism as “discriminatory,” it creates a chilling effect on honest teaching. That we are living in a time when truth itself is treated as a threat should alarm us all. Across the country, school districts are banning books, limiting how race can be discussed, and reframing accurate history as “divisive.” The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson are just a few of the many works that have been targeted. These aren’t isolated decisions; they are part of a broader effort to control the narrative of America’s past, and we can’t let it happen. While Black history should be taught and celebrated year-round, Black History Month remains a powerful and necessary space to ensure our stories are told truthfully and to push back against policies designed to erase the contributions and sacrifices Black Americans have made. The centennial forces an essential question: What happens if we stop telling these stories? The answer is already visible. When Black history is minimized, inequality becomes easier to justify. When contributions are erased, power appears natural rather than constructed. Remembering Black history, publicly, loudly, and accurately, is not nostalgia. It is a defense against revisionism. It is a refusal to allow the past to be rewritten to serve the present. And finally, Black history must move beyond February. The goal has always been year-round integration, where Black experiences are woven into how we teach literature, science, politics, labor, and culture, rather than reduced to a single month. If the first 100 years were about fighting to be seen, the next 100 must be about refusing to be confined. Black history isn’t a supplement. It’s a foundation, and the future depends on how well we protect it.
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
A quiet clarification by the United States Postal Service is drawing renewed scrutiny after health care advocates and voting rights observers warned that the change could carry serious consequences for millions of Americans who rely on postmarks to meet legal deadlines. Under new USPS guidance that took effect late last month, the date printed on a postmark no longer reflects when a letter or ballot is dropped into a mailbox. Instead, the postmark now reflects the date the mail is first processed at an automated sorting facility, which can occur days after the item is mailed. The Postal Service says the change is intended to clarify how postmarks are applied, particularly as transportation schedules and regional processing systems evolve. For voters in states that count mail-in ballots based on postmark deadlines, and for patients navigating appeals, authorizations, and Medicare paperwork, the distinction is anything but academic. “In recognition of the importance that the election laws in some states place on postmarks, it has been the longstanding policy of the Postal Service to try to ensure that every return ballot mailed by voters receives a postmark, whether the return ballot is mailed with postage pre-paid by election officials or with a stamp affixed by the voter,” officials wrote in a release. “A voter can ensure that a postmark is applied to his or her return ballot by visiting a Postal Service retail office and requesting a postmark from a retail associate when dropping off the ballot.” The issue gained wider attention after a detailed explanation circulated to millions of viewers on social media from the account @cjnlegalnurse, a health care advocate who outlined how the rule shift moves risk away from institutions and onto individuals. “The postmark rule changed quietly, and it affects voting and health care. Let me explain what just happened at USPS because this is not minor and it’s not theoretical,” the user said. “So as of this week, the United States Postal Service clarified that a postmark date is no longer tied to when you drop your mail off. It’s tied to when that mail is first processed by an automated facility.” As the user explained, a letter placed in a mailbox on Monday may not reach a sorting center until Wednesday, making Wednesday the official postmark. For ballots and legal filings governed by strict deadlines, that delay can mean rejection despite timely mailing. “Many states say a mail-in ballot counts if it’s postmarked by election day,” the user said. “Under this rule, you can mail your ballot before election day and still have it postmarked after. So that’s not voter fraud, that’s logistics quietly overruling intent.” USPS guidance confirms that most postmarks are now applied at large processing plants rather than local post offices and that mail may sit before receiving a postmark due to updated transportation schedules. The agency recommends that customers with deadline-sensitive mail bring items directly to a post office counter and request a manual local postmark. Health care advocates say the implications extend far beyond elections. “Health care runs on mail deadlines, appeals, prior authorizations, Medicare notices, and prescription paperwork,” the user said. “If an appeal has to be postmarked by a certain date and USPS processes days later, it looks late. So late appeals get denied. Denied appeals delay care.” The user said the shift places the burden squarely on individuals navigating already complex systems. “In nursing and health care advocacy, timing is everything,” the user said. “And this rule shifts the risk from the institution back to the patient. The system didn’t get faster, the rules just got tighter.” “So if you’re mailing anything time-sensitive now, ballots or health care documents, dropping it in a box is not enough,” the user said. “Go inside the post office for deadline mail. Ask for a manual postmark or receipt. Use certified mail for appeals and legal documents, and do not rely on blue mailboxes for last week’s deadlines. So, this isn’t panic; it’s adjustment.”
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
Famed journalist Don Lemon may draw the headlines, but Emmy-winning independent reporter Georgia Fort and Trahem Jenn Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy were also taken into custody as federal agents moved against four Black journalists whose only apparent offense was documenting protests critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Lemon, a veteran broadcaster and longtime critic of President Donald Trump, was arrested late Thursday night in Los Angeles after livestreaming an anti-ICE demonstration connected to a January protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota, church. A short time later, Fort, a respected Minnesota-based journalist, was arrested by federal agents in her home state for reporting on the same protest, according to public statements and court records. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the arrests signal a dangerous escalation by the Trump administration rather than any attempt to ease tensions following the fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents in Minnesot. She said Lemon was simply doing his job when agents arrested him and stressed that Fort’s detention made clear this was not an isolated incident but a broader assault on press freedoma. Federal authorities revived charges tied to a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul after a magistrate judge had already declined to approve arrest warrants against Lemon and others, citing insufficient evidence. Prosecutors then pursued indictments through a grand jury, a move civil liberties advocates say appears designed to sidestep judicial scrutiny and chill coverage of protests against ICE operations. Fort documented her own arrest in a brief livestream as agents arrived at her door, telling viewers she was being taken into custody for filming the protest as a member of the press. Her arrest, announced publicly by Attorney General Pam Bondi, placed an Emmy-winning journalist alongside protesters in a case the administration has described as a coordinated attack. Civil rights leaders said the symbolism was unmistakable. Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, said Lemon’s arrest marked a direct blow against the First Amendment and warned that journalists critical of the president were being singled out. Press freedom advocates echoed those concerns. Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, said the arrests represent a constitutional crisis for journalism in the United States, adding that reporters have the right to document and share information with the public without fear of retaliation. Mayor Bass said she contacted the U.S. attorney to demand information about Lemon’s status and warned that arresting journalists for entering a church while reporting crosses a line the Constitution was written to prevent. “It’s an egregious assault on constitutionally protected First Amendment rights,” Bass said.
I am Roshanda Summerville, and I am seeking reelection for Greene County Commissioner of District 5. I ask the Citizens of Greene County, District 5, For your continued and unwavering support. You have a representative who has always been dedicated to serving the people of District 5 and all of Greene County. Together, let’s keep progress working for you. On May 19, 2026 voted and re-elect Roshanda Summerville, Commissioner of District 5.
To the Citizens of Greene County and Voters of District 2. When I took the oath of an elected official years ago, I pledged to do my best to help improve Greene County and District 2. Today, I am pleased to say, I have done my best to uphold that pledge. Each decision and vote were made with you, the citizens, and voters of District 2, in mind. I am seeking reelection as Greene County Commissioner of District 2 in the May 19, 2026 Primary Election. *I am dedicated to the task that is before me. *I am available to you whenever you need me. * I operate an Open-Door Policy; no appointment is needed to see me. *I will continue to return each of your calls and check on and resolve all concerns and problems. Vote to re-elect experienced, Knowledgeable and Ready to Serve!
My name is William Mack and I am a candidate for Greene County Commissioner, District 3.
I have been married for 16 years to Rosie Mack. We have four children and 3 grandchildren. I attended school at Caver High School. I furthered my education in Detroit Michigan at Old Eastern High School.
Later on I obtained my Associate degree at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
After become a minister, I worked for Mac’s Trucking Co., in which we built Highway & Express way for 39 years. I am now a retired CME Pastor. I drive school bus for the Greene County Board of Education. I am running because I believe our community deserves leadership that is honest, accountable, and truly committed to serving the people. As a Pastor and lifelong servant of the community. I understand the importance of listening, standing up for what’s right and working together to build a stronger future for our county.
My mission is to advocate for our families and improve our infrastructure, support economic growth, and ensure that every voice is District 3 is heard and respected. I believe in leadership rooted in faith, integrity, and service -not politics as usual.
I humbly ask for your support and your vote as we work together to move Greene County forward. Vote William Mack for Greene County Commissioner, District 3 together
This is a report of the Eutaw City Council regular meeting on January 27, 2026, and a Community Informational Meeting, the next day on January 28, 2026 also at Eutaw City Hall.
The January 27th meeting of the Eutaw City Council dealt with routine business. The Council approved a 020 Restaurant Retail Liquor License for Main Street Grill. Representatives of Main Street Grill were present and thanked the Council for its support.
The Eutaw City Council also agreed to approve payments for required training courses provided on on-line for the Mayor and Council members. The Council also approved a $200 registration fee for Councilwoman Carrie Logan to attend the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, D. C. On March 16-18, 2026. Later in the meeting, the Council approved registration and travel expenses if other council members wanted to attend this NLC Conference.
The Eutaw City Council reappointed James Powell to the Eutaw Housing Board. They also approved payment of monthly bills.
Mayor Cockrell in his report recognized Julia Carter, the new Water Clerk, who will be handling billing and collection for the Water Department. The Mayor also explained he was working on steps to improve the conditions of the City Hall, tennis courts, National Guard Armory and Robert H. Young Community Center (formerly Carver School) and other City owned facilities so they could be fully utilized by city residents.
The January 28, 2026 Community Meeting, was one of several that the Mayor has set up around the city to provide information to residents, most of the City Council members also attended this meeting.
The first item on the agenda dealt with the operation of the Water Department. The Mayor asked anyone with complaints about the quality of water, coloration, or billing to contact him and the Water Department in City Hall to correct the problems. Payment plans can be developed for high water bills, caused by leaks. Insurance is also available, at moderate cost, to cover leaks on the resident’s side of the meters. Mayor Cockrell urged everyone to pay their water bills on time, to avoid late charges, and allow the system to operate properly.
The next agenda item concerned improving the community appearance by not littering and not putting furniture, appliances, electronic devices or other large materials by the side of the road. The Mayor said the City was arranging a schedule to pick up furniture and other large items.
Before placing any items, other than tree limbs and other organic yard waste, on the side of the road, contact City Hall and arrange for pick-up. A ‘Community Clean-up Day’ will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2026 to help pick up litter and beautify the city.
The Mayor also advised that the Police Department would be enforcing ’Noise Ordinances’ which prohibit playing loud music, especially at night, when other residents and neighbors are asleep. The Mayor introduced Kendrick Howell, Chief of Police who said he was running a ‘community oriented police force’ with an open door policy and was ready to meet with citizens and businesses to improve public safety in the city.
The Mayor also mentioned his efforts to repair and improve major city owned buildings so that they could be fully utilized for activities to improve quality of life for residents. The next Community Meeting will be held February 11 at the Presbyterial Church Fellowship Hall.
