The Greene County Democrat

Category: Newswire

  • Newswire: Everything We Know About the Alleged White House Correspondents’ Shooter

    Newswire: Everything We Know About the Alleged White House Correspondents’ Shooter

    WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 25: U.S. President Trump is making a statement after the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner due to a possible shooting. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images) , X

    by Phenix S Halley, The Root

    The alleged gunman who tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ dinner was quickly taken into custody following the chaotic scene on Saturday (April 25). Now, more information about Cole Thomas Allen has been released. Here’s what we know.

    We previously told you President Donald Trump and all other members of his cabinet were rushed to safety following several shots fired at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the annual dinner was being held. Minutes before Allen allegedly stormed the building, he sent copies of his manifesto to several family and friends, according to reports. 

    Inside the shocking decree, the 31-year-old referred to himself as the “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen,” before listing his targets and motivations behind the drastic attack.

    “So I may have given a lot of people a surprise today. Let me start off by apologizing to everyone whose trust I abused,” he began. “I don’t expect forgiveness, but if I could have seen any other way to get this close, I would have taken it.”

    Allen went on to explain his frustrations with the current administration and its many controversial policies. “I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me,” he said. “And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

    The Saturday attack marks at least the third assassination attempt on the president. According to Allen– who put Trump as the first on his hit list– he allegedly took action after repeatedly watching the unprecedented actions by Trump and his officials.

    “The United States of America are ruled by the law, not by any one or several people,” Allen continued. “Insofar as representatives and judges do not follow the law, no one is required to yield them anything so unlawfully ordered.”

    Originally from Torrance, Calif., Allen worked as a teacher before allegedly plotting to kill the president. LinkedIn shows he graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He later earned a master’s degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills, in computer science in 2025.

    After working as an engineer, Allen became an independent game developer and part-time teacher. He allegedly traveled across the country days before the Saturday attack. Officials noted he did not have a criminal record before the Saturday incident, NBC News reported. Still, members of his family reportedly warned police about him way before the attack took place, according to Trump.

    The White House shared that Allen’s brother contacted police in Connecticut, after receiving his manifesto. Still, that didn’t stop Allen from rushing into the hotel building and getting extremely close to allegedly killing the president. 

    Authorities confirmed Allen is the primary and only suspect in the ongoing investigation. He was allegedly armed with a shotgun, handgun and several knives at the time of the attack. During a quick altercation with security, Allen was subdued. Trump shared surveillance footage of Allen’s dash and his arrest to social media. 

    Interestingly, Allen made note of what he called a supreme “level of incompetence” by Trump’s security and Secret Service. “I expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo,” he added. “What I got (who knows, maybe they’re pranking me!) is nothing.”

  • Newswire: Black Farmers Aren’t Waiting on Washington to Save Them

    Newswire: Black Farmers Aren’t Waiting on Washington to Save Them

    Above, Eloris Speight, former director of Alcorn’s National Policy Research Center, sits with young farmers-in-training at the conference. (Courtesy of the National Policy Research Center)

    by Aaliyah Wright, Capital B News

    SHANNON, Mississippi — What seemed like almost an empty building on a recent Saturday morning quickly filled with dozens of Black people — from retired federal employees to university officials and even education and land appraisal experts.

    They greeted one another while signing in at the Saving Rural America Small Farmers Conference. Some hugged before grabbing breakfast. Others stopped by Alcorn State University’s table, where a live broadcast took place.

    One thing all the participants and speakers had in common: They were farmers, ranchers, or worked directly with producers. Some were local to the area, located about 10 miles south of Tupelo and about 2 hours from the state capital of Jackson. Others said they drove at least three hours. Many attend the half-day conference every year, hosted by the Mississippi Minority Farmers Alliance and Coalition of Farmers.

    By 8:30 a.m., they’d all taken their seats.

    In a hyper-political climate where resources and support to help farmers have dwindled, this group didn’t focus on the challenges brought on by the Trump administration’s policies and changes to federal programs. Instead, they gathered to talk about how this moment is an opportunity to inspire the youth and build partnerships together. And they aren’t the only ones. 

    Across rural America, Black producers in agriculture shared concerns about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s continuing efforts to eliminate grants, but they’re not exhausting their energy on navigating such challenges. From Georgia to New York and even in Kentucky, farmers are inviting their own to lead conversations, workshops, and spend time in their communities. In June, the Texas International Ranchers and Farmers will host a three-day convening for farmers and students in rural Nacogdoches.

    When Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin started planning for her organization’s conference, the news hit that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits would be delayed. Some funders could no longer support the Kentucky Black Farmers Association, the organization she founded. They realized they couldn’t really rely on the government as they once did. After conversations with farmers, they exclaimed, “We got us,” which birthed the theme for this year’s conference focusing on culture, connection, and collective power. 

    “The funding that we usually received was in partnership with Kentucky State University, and we realized that because of their federal funding, they wouldn’t be able to fund it, either. So ‘We got us’ got even deeper,” Bellfield El-Amin said. “[We said], ‘We’ll figure it out.’ Everybody can bring a dish. We can do this family reunion style.”

    The importance of cultivating a space of collective care, addressing farmer’s needs, and knowing where the resources are is critical, she added. Some participants refused stipends. Others showed up, even though their employers couldn’t pay for them to come. Students attended, too, and got to experience the farms.

    “Food was sourced locally from our Black farmer members. We had Black bourbon, Black wine and spirits. We had steppers come in from Louisville, Kentucky. We had people camp out at the farm,” Bellfield El-Amin said. “It felt like the best family reunion, like I was with all my cousins, and we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to maintain and sustain ourselves and our communities.”

    Many panelists at the Shannon convening shared resources to help farmers and reemphasized their commitment to farming. As Carolyn Jones, director of the Mississippi Minority Farmers Alliance, put it, it’s time to cut the noise and “surround ourselves with positivity.”

    Experts like Eloris Speight, former director of the National Policy Research Center at Alcorn State, shared information about farm business protection programs. Mississippi State University professor Kevin Kim provided an overview of projected market conditions, and Walter Jackson, an agronomy consultant and cattle rancher, told the audience about a regenerative agriculture initiative. There were also sessions led by local pastors on religion and the community and a panel on health and wellness, while other panelists brought awareness of potential business opportunities. 

    Take Malone Buchanan, for instance. He’s a retired forester who owns a pine timber company. He emphasized the importance of timber and how others can take advantage of foresting operations.

    “Whatever county you’re in, you need to know who the movers are, who the shakers are, and you need to know where the money comes from,” Buchanan said. “I would like to grow my business with some new younger people.

    The power of the next generation of farmers

    Kameka Cole-Gray emphasized the importance of youth in agriculture. Cole-Gray works as the 1890 National Scholars Program’s USDA program liaison for Alcorn State and Southern University. She celebrated the students who she works with, including Gary McGhee, an agriculture economics major at Alcorn State. 

    McGhee doesn’t come from a farming family, but he became interested in the agriculture industry when a mentor allowed him to tour farms and learn about the business side of farming — from selling crops and livestock to owning land, he said. It pushed him to secure an internship with the USDA.

    “Hearing different people’s different perspectives on agriculture means a lot to me, so I can learn more and gain as much knowledge as possible and hopefully be my own professional in the ag field,” he said. “Hopefully I get my own farm one day.”

    The current climate and the reality of a declining Black farmer population hasn’t deterred McGhee from entering the profession, he said. If anything, it’s encouraged him to get his friends involved.

    “It’s a lot of older Black farmers and not enough young farmers, and I think that comes from not enough exposure,” he added. “I got a lot of friends that don’t know about agriculture, but now they see me doing it and they want to know more about it.” 

    In the room, on this day, everyone had everything they needed to be successful, John Jones, a retired conservationist and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service employee, told the group.

    “I just want you all to keep the faith, keep hope alive, because they can’t take it away from us,” he said. “We have nothing to fear.” 

  • Newswire: Mamdani Creates Office to Fight Deed Theft in New York City

    Newswire: Mamdani Creates Office to Fight Deed Theft in New York City

    by Mihir Zaveri, New York Times

    The scammers come in many varieties: The slick broker who “saves” a home from foreclosure, only to vanish with the title. The caregiver who exploits an older man’s trust to hijack his deed. The financial whiz who promises a mortgage renegotiation that ends in an eviction.

    Every year, cases like these afflict homeowners across New York City. The schemes are examples of deed theft, a practice in which people fraudulently take ownership of others’ homes.

    Just two days ago, a Brooklyn city councilman was among several people arrested at a protest against the crime.

    Now, the city is creating an Office of Deed Theft Prevention that will investigate instances of deed theft and try to stamp them out.

    “The theft of a home is the theft of a family’s future,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Friday as he announced the creation of the office.

    “Deed theft preys on the New Yorkers who can least afford it. Today, we are bringing the full force of city government to bear to stop it — to protect homeowners, defend generational wealth and make clear that this City will not tolerate the exploitation of our communities.”

    Deed theft has been a particular problem in predominantly Black neighborhoods, where investors can capitalize on rising property values and gentrification.

    Mr. Mamdani, who has focused much of his attention on helping the city’s renters, is moving to create the office as he seeks to improve his political standing with Black homeowners and their representatives.

    He appointed Peter White, a lawyer who has worked for more than seven years at Access Justice Brooklyn, a nonprofit group, to lead the office. Mr. White worked on several deed theft and foreclosure related cases at the group.

    “My fundamental goal is to make life better for New York City homeowners,” Mr. White said on Friday, appearing alongside Mr. Mamdani at the Brooklyn Bank, a nonprofit based in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood that helps people build financial independence. “This is something I’ve tried to do since the beginning of my legal career.”

    Mr. Mamdani said the office would have a budget of $500,000 in the current fiscal year, which ends in the summer, and $1 million in the next. The office is expected to find ways to better educate homeowners on the warning signs of deed theft, as well as connect potential victims with lawyers and law enforcement.

    The office will also work on crafting new city and state legislation that could help public officials crack down on the practice.

    It will be part of the city’s Finance Department and will coordinate efforts between the housing department, the commission on human rights and more.

    While government officials have pursued deed theft cases in recent years, it remains a difficult problem to address. It is not always obvious to homeowners that they have been victims, and years could pass before any offense is reported.

    It can also be tough to determine when behavior is criminal and when a homeowner may simply be making a bad decision involving getting rid of their home. And the legal ownership of a home may be murky, particularly if the property was inherited by several different heirs or is in the hands of a guardian or conservator.

    The protest this week where the councilman, Chi Ossé, was arrested, did not center on an actual example of deed theft, according to the state attorney general’s office, but a property dispute between heirs and relatives of the property’s former co-owners.

    Still, officials have worked to more effectively address the issue. In 2024, state officials passed a law, known as the Heirs Property Protection and Deed Theft Prevention Act, that firmly established deed theft as a crime. The law was written in part by Letitia James, the state attorney general.

    One government estimate from 2023 found that there were at least 3,500 complaints of deed theft filed over the previous decade.

    The Furman Center at New York University released an analysis last April that found that tens of thousands of New York City homeowners were vulnerable to deed theft, scams, under-market sales and other legal problems that could strip them of their equity.

     

    Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting.

  • Newswire: Gen Z Slang Deeply Rooted In Black Culture, Linguistic Experts Say

    Newswire: Gen Z Slang Deeply Rooted In Black Culture, Linguistic Experts Say

    Photo Source: Mohd Azrin / Getty

    by Shannon Dawson, NewsOne

    Popular Gen Z slang words like “rizz” and “slay” have become so widespread that these terms topped Unscramblerer’s list of most popular slang in 2025. But where do these buzzworthy words come from, and how do they become so deeply embedded in our everyday language that friends and even parents start using them? Experts say many of the words now labeled as Gen Z slang actually have roots that reach back centuries, particularly in Black culture and to African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

    The Black history of Gen Z slang.

    A report by NBC News correspondent Marquis Francis explored the history of some of these phrases with language enthusiasts. According to the report, some of these words emerged during periods of enslavement, born out of struggle and trauma. Linguists note that such language was often used to communicate openly within the community while remaining opaque to outsiders. Today, many of these words are recognized as part of African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also called Ebonics.

    As previously reported, historians believe AAVE’s roots trace to English dialects introduced to the American South in the 17th and 18th centuries, according to The Oxford Handbook of African American Language. These dialects were adopted and adapted by African Americans, influenced by both British English and African languages, as well as Caribbean creole varieties brought over by enslaved people. Although AAVE is frequently mischaracterized as slang or “incorrect” English, it is a fully distinct linguistic system with its own grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation patterns — such as dropping “-ing” (e.g., “goin’” instead of “going”) or r-lessness, and substitutions like “fo’” for “four” or “he be” instead of “he is.”

    Negative stereotypes and improper attribution lead to the erasure of history, experts say.

    Over time, this vernacular evolved. Many of the popular Gen Z terms that thrive today eventually circulated within popular Black subcultures, including early hip-hop and underground drag scenes, and were not widely embraced by the mainstream. Words with letters dropped, or entire phrases combined to form new expressions, were often dismissed as improper speech associated with poverty or lack of education. 

    Those negative stereotypes still exist today. A 2021 study involving 20 audio recordings of 14 Black North American men and six Black British men asked participants to guess the speakers’ race and age. The study found that speakers perceived as using AAVE were more likely to be stereotyped as “lazy,” “uneducated,” and “poor.” Controversies surrounding AAVE are not new — the 1996 Ebonics debate, in which the Oakland, California, Board of Education recognized it as a primary language to improve literacy, sparked nationwide discussion and criticism.

    Today, however, these terms have permeated the default dialect of a generation, transcending race, region, and class in the digital age. Critics, however, have highlighted the erasure of Black origins, pointing out that non-Black Gen Zers often use these words without understanding their cultural significance and complicated history.

    “I don’t necessarily say that no one else can speak it, but what I do say is it comes from those people that created it,” said Sonja Lanehart, a linguistics professor at the University of Arizona and the author of The Oxford Handbook of African American Language, which she wrote to address misconceptions around AAVE.

    Linguists warn that when a word’s origins are viewed negatively or stripped away, it can erase a community’s history, a potentially dangerous consequence. For Jamaal Muwwakkil, a sociocultural anthropologist and linguist, it is crucial that Gen Zers understand the history of these words and credit the people who created them.

    “It doesn’t make any sense to me that you can hear a word and then say, ‘That word sounds cool or it’s interesting; let me never look into it and just start saying it,’” Muwwakkil told Francis. “That seems strange to me.” He explained that AAVE was more than slang: it was a tool for enslaved people brought to the U.S. in the 17th century to find common ground among themselves, using language to communicate within the community while remaining covert to outsiders. It was a form of protection. 

    Language experts stress that African American language is not exclusive to Black people, but understanding its history and giving proper attribution is essential. Without that recognition, some people may benefit from the language, while those who created it are often erased.

  • Newswire: RFK Jr. set to face Bill Cassidy in back-to-back Senate hearings

    Newswire: RFK Jr. set to face Bill Cassidy in back-to-back Senate hearings

    RFK Jr. talking with Senator Bill Cassidy

    by Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News

    Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. heads to Capitol Hill on Wednesday on a potential collision course with the Republican who helped put him in the job: Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

    It will be Kennedy’s first appearance in nearly a year before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which Cassidy chairs. The senator, who is up for re-election, cast the key vote to confirm Kennedy last year after securing a series of promises from Kennedy, including that he would preserve federal vaccine recommendations and regularly appear before the committee.

    Kennedy has not kept those promises; Cassidy has limited his criticism of the health secretary to posts on social media and press statements.

    Cassidy, however, has been vocal in his support of vaccines, including during the March confirmation hearing for Dr. Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s pick for surgeon general. Means is a Kennedy ally who has questioned vaccines. Cassidy has not yet scheduled a vote to advance Means’ nomination.

    Wednesday’s hearing will mark Kennedy’s first appearance before Cassidy since a confrontational Senate Finance Committee hearing in September and could offer the clearest sign yet of how the senator plans to handle those concerns. A spokesperson for Cassidy declined to comment on what the senator plans to ask Kennedy.

    Kennedy is also expected to face questions from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring next year and has said he plans to speak more freely about his views, including on members of Trump’s Cabinet. (Tillis voted to confirm all members of Trump’s Cabinet in 2025.)

    Kennedy will appear before the Finance Committee in the morning and the HELP Committee in the afternoon.

    In January, Kennedy overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of recommended diseases for children to be vaccinated against from 18 to 11 — a move Cassidy later said in a post on X would “make America sicker.” The changes removed recommendations that all babies should be protected against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, RSV, dengue, and two types of bacterial meningitis.

    In March, a federal judge blocked those changes and put on hold the new members Kennedy appointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee. The administration hasn’t yet appealed the ruling. But Kennedy signed off on new rules for the committee that could make it easier to work around the court’s decision.

    Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy expert at the University of California Law School, San Francisco, said she hopes that Cassidy will hold Kennedy accountable.

    “There’s a raging measles outbreak,” Reiss said. “Kennedy may have given lukewarm endorsements to the MMR vaccine but, as far as I know, hasn’t made any efforts to call on people to vaccinate or to do anything practical to reduce the risk.”

    Kennedy has already testified at five congressional hearings over the last week. He has faced blistering criticism from Democrats over his vaccine policy and overhaul of federal health agencies. At one hearing, Kennedy said the U.S. has “done better” at preventing measles than any other country.

    “Judging by Secretary Kennedy’s recent testimony to Congress, he is likely to continue to gaslight the Senate Finance and HELP committees,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. “He continues using terms like ‘world-class science,’ ‘rigorous evidence,’ and ‘radical transparency,’ when in fact he has done the opposite.”

    In an emailed statement, Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, called what Gostin said “a baseless accusation that doesn’t match reality.”

    Another potential wild card for Kennedy is Tillis, a Republican who is not seeking re-election, Reiss said.

    During the September hearing, she noted, Tillis suggested that Kennedy had broken his promises on vaccines, saying, “I do also believe that some of your statements seem to contradict what you said in the prior hearing.”

    “The fact that you’re a Republican doesn’t mean that you need to blindly accept [Kennedy’s actions],” Reiss said.

    A spokesperson for Tillis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Kennedy could also face questions about his recent comments to overhaul the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a federal panel that makes recommendations on preventive services, including cancer screenings, as well as on Trump’s executive order meant to spur research into psychedelics.

  • Newswire: How can we solve the Black maternal health crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?

    Newswire: How can we solve the Black maternal health crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?

    U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 04, 2026, in Washington, DC. Photo by: Anna Moneymaker

    by Kay Wicker

    That question went from rhetorical to real on Friday, April 17, when Rep. Summer Lee asked it outright during a committee hearing with the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    “Your agency told programs to remove a list of nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications, including the word ‘Black.’ Do you have an idea of how we could solve the Black maternal mortality crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?” she asked as she grilled him intensely on the matter.

    During the exchange, which came at the close of another annual Black Maternal Health Week, the Democratic congresswoman laid out the stakes. She explained that Black women are at least three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women and that most of those deaths are preventable, while also sounding the alarm about proposed cuts to key maternal health programs and how the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts is impacting Black maternal health.

    Kennedy attempted to push back, but when pressed on disparities, he largely pivoted to general maternal health, citing overall improvements and claiming the administration had done more than its predecessors. He downplayed his past claims about Tylenol during pregnancy, saying he “doubted” avoiding it would significantly affect Black maternal deaths.

    In addition to facing mortality rates three to four times higher than any other demographic, Black women in the United States also face disproportionately high rates of complications like preeclampsia and emergency C-sections. Those disparities are all the result of longstanding gaps in access to care, medical bias, and systemic inequities—and in recent years, the landscape has only grown more precarious.

    The fallout from Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, which saw an end to Roe v. Wade and protections for abortions in this country, has complicated pregnancy care nationwide, while the rollback of DEI initiatives has put funding for targeted programs at risk. Doulas, often cited as critical support for improving outcomes, are also navigating increasingly restrictive policies.

    Since the Pennsylvania representative’s remarks began circulating online, many responses, including those from non-Black content creators, have highlighted that addressing the needs of those most at risk improves outcomes across the board. The idea that targeted solutions exclude others misunderstands how public health works.

    If a table is wobbly, you can adjust everything around it, but it won’t be steady until you fix the leg that’s most off balance.

    During the hearing, Lee ultimately said, “We can improve healthcare for everybody at the same time as helping the people who are most likely to die.”

  • Newswire: Trump nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, for CDC director

    Newswire: Trump nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, for CDC director

    Rear Adm. Erica G. Schwartz was deputy surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term. 

    by Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Erika Edwards, and Sara G. Miller, NBC News

    President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Schwartz served as deputy U.S. surgeon general during Trump’s first term.
    “Erica graduated from Brown University for College and Medical School, and served a distinguished career as a Doctor of Medicine in the United States Military, the Greatest and Most Powerful Force in the World, and then served as my Deputy Surgeon General during my First Term,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “She is a STAR!”

    Trump also announced his picks for three top health positions: Sean Slovenski, a health care industry executive, as the CDC’s chief operating officer; Dr. Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, as the agency’s chief medical director; and Dr. Sara Brenner, principal deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, as senior counselor for public health for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    “This is a team with great potential if political interference and the self interest of the secretary of health doesn’t hamper their ability to deliver for the health of the country,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Daskalakis resigned from the agency in August in protest of Kennedy’s firing of former CDC director Susan Monarez.
    In a post on X, Kennedy thanked Trump for nominating Schwartz and said he looked forward “to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity.”

    The CDC has been without a permanent director since August.

    The Trump administration’s first pick, former Rep. Dave Weldon of Florida, was pulled in March 2025 after Republican senators signaled he wouldn’t be confirmed. Officials then turned to Monarez, a career scientist who had already been serving as acting director. She led the agency for just one month last summer before she was dismissed in August after clashing with Kennedy over vaccine policy.

    Jim O’Neill then served as the agency’s acting director for several months. O’Neill signed off on a major overhaul of the childhood vaccination schedule in January that has since been blocked by a federal judge. He was replaced by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya in February, who has since been overseeing the agency in an unusual dual role.

    Health Service Commissioned Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard. She left as deputy surgeon general in 2021.

    Schwartz, a physician, earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a medical degree from Brown University. She also holds a master’s degree in public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

    If confirmed, Schwartz would step into the role as the agency grapples with controversial policy changes under Kennedy.

    Last month, a Massachusetts federal judge, in a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other medical organizations, halted many of the vaccine policy changes made under Kennedy’s handpicked CDC vaccine advisory panel, also known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. That ruling also blocked the overhaul of the vaccination schedule. The agency has yet to appeal the ruling.

    This month, Kennedy signed off on a new charter for ACIP — a move that was seen by health policy experts as a way to sidestep the judge’s ruling.

  • Newswire: Citing a “Grave National Security Crisis”, the NAACP pushes 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office

    Newswire: Citing a “Grave National Security Crisis”, the NAACP pushes 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office

    NAACP poster on Trump

    by Hazel Trice Edney

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – The NAACP is among those leading the call on the  President’s cabinet, including Vice President Vance, cabinet secretaries,  or another body that could be assembled by Congress, to “invoke the 25th Amendment” of the U. S. Constitution in order to have President Donald Trump removed from office amidst what appears to be the loss of his mind to the extent that he could endanger masses of innocent lives in a “grave national security crisis”.

    The call, coming from the NAACP, Democratic members of Congress, activists, and other political observers, has grown louder since Trump, joining with Israel, waged war against Iran – with no declaration of war by Congress.

    In addition to concerns about Trump’s history of what appears to be pathological lying, talk of the use of the 25th Amendment especially hit the fan on Easter Sunday morning, April 6. That was when Trump posted a profanity-laced threat to Iran on the day that is considered among the highest and holiest days on the Christian calendar as people prepared to worship in commemoration of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    With all curse words spelled completely out, Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform, “Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH. Praise be to Allah.”

    He was demanding that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz, which is a primary passageway for about 20 percent of the global oil supply, according to the New York Times.

    The next day, he threatened all of Iran – even innocent citizens – if there was no deal by 8 pm: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that ‌to ⁠happen, but it probably will,” he wrote on Truth Social.

    The NAACP responded Monday with an emailed note to its members, signed by its president/CEO Derrick Johnson:

“The stability of our nation is hanging in the balance,” Johnson wrote. “In recent weeks, we have witnessed alarming signs of President Trump’s deteriorating health and increasingly delusional behavior. The rhetoric and actions coming from the highest office in the land have reached a level of instability that we cannot ignore. His behavior is not only alarming but dangerous.”

    The NAACP email continued, “This is no longer just a matter of political disagreement. It’s a grave national security crisis. A leader unable to think clearly or act decisively jeopardizes our military readiness, erodes public trust, and threatens the safety of millions of Americans. We cannot wait for further chaos. We must protect the fabric of our democracy right now.”

    The organization then listed three demands:

    • “Invoke the 25th Amendment: The Vice President and the Cabinet must step forward immediately to ensure the continuity of governance.”
    • “Remove the threat: We must address this presidential incapacity to protect our nation from further uncertainty.”
    • Congressional action: “Once the Vice President and the Cabinet step up, Congress must follow through and act with the urgency this situation demands to uphold the principles of our Constitution.”

    Section 4 of the Constitution’s 25th Amendment states as follows:

    “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
    “Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
    “Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.”

    It is not likely that there would be enough will to remove Trump from office given the dedication that the Republican majorities have maintained toward him. Besides, this week, Congress remained on Easter recess and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has not criticized Trump’s conduct, nor his war with Iran. The primary criticism is coming from Democrats.

    Still, the NAACP is adamant about what it feels must be done:
    “There’s no sugarcoating it,” Johnson concluded in his email. “President Trump has shown himself to be unfit, unwell, and unhinged. Together, we can force our leaders to prioritize the health and safety of our nation before it’s too late.

  • Newswire: Inflation hits highest one month spike in four years due to Iran War

    Newswire: Inflation hits highest one month spike in four years due to Iran War

    Gas station sign in California, showing high gas prices

    By Joe Jurado, NewsOne

    While Iran and the United States have agreed to a two-week ceasefire that’s looking shakier by the day, the impact of the war is still being felt by the global economy. Last month, inflation rose at its sharpest in four years, largely driven by higher gas prices. 

    According to NBC News, inflation rose to 3.3% in March, up 0.9% from the month before. Gas prices increased by 21.2%, their largest single-month increase since 1967. I gotta be honest, folks, I’m getting real tired of living through historically bad economic changes. While a ceasefire was declared last Tuesday, there hasn’t been a meaningful drop in gas prices. Anecdotally speaking, I’ve seen gas prices drop a whopping 10 cents from $4.99 to $4.89 in Arizona. 

    The misguided Iran war has created a series of headaches for the Trump administration. Trump ran on lowering prices, and AP reports that there are growing concerns that if gas prices continue to stay so high, it would have dramatic downwind consequences for the American economy. There was already a cost-of-living crisis before the Iran war, and the inflated gas prices could result in families struggling to afford other necessities, such as rent. Once the essentials become a struggle to afford, it would slow spending in other sectors, slowing the economy and potentially leading to further unemployment. 

    “It’s painful in the near term,” Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told AP. “It’s going to get more painful in April,” as a result of further gas price increases lifting inflation even higher. 

    AP reports that there are growing concerns that if gas prices continue to stay so high, it would have dramatic downwind consequences for the American economy. There was already a cost-of-living crisis before the Iran war, and the inflated gas prices could result in families struggling to afford other necessities, such as rent. Once the essentials become a struggle to afford, it would slow spending in other sectors, slowing the economy and potentially leading to further unemployment. 

    From AP: Consumer sentiment plunged to a record low in April, according to a survey released Friday by the University of Michigan, largely because of the Iran war and concerns over higher gas prices. Their Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 47.6, from 53.3 in March.

    “Many consumers blame the Iran conflict for unfavorable changes to the economy,” said Joanne Hsu, the university’s director of consumer surveys.

    High prices had angered American voters before the war and the spike in prices for oil and everything that entails, from the pump to the grocery store, could make it more difficult for the president’s party to hold on to seats in both the House and the Senate in next year’s midterms.

    Polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research last month found that about six in 10 Republicans are at least “somewhat” concerned about affording gas in the next few months.

    Another point of concern regards the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a focal point in the conflict. While ships were able to flow freely through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, Iran has locked down access and is considering charging a toll for entry. This would obviously lead to a permanent increase in prices, as that cost would definitely be passed down to the consumer. 

    One of the downwind effects of the Strait’s closure is rising food prices. While food costs remained relatively neutral throughout March, much of the world’s fertilizer supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Should Iran and the U.S. fail to agree on a permanent ceasefire resolution, it would likely lead to food scarcity, which would obviously increase prices. Those increases would also be compounded by rising fuel costs, as the nation’s food supply is largely transported via diesel trucks. 

  • Newswire: Pentagon official threatens Vatican and Pope Leo XIV over Iran War criticism

    Newswire: Pentagon official threatens Vatican and Pope Leo XIV over Iran War criticism

    Pope Leo XIV

    By Zack Linly, NewsOne

    On a regular basis, members of the Trump administration, especially President Donald Trump himself, prove they are not the champions of free speech that they purport themselves to be, and now their glaring constitutional hypocrisy has Pentagon officials threatening the Vatican and Pope Leo XIV — who is no fan of the president — just because the pope joined most of the world in criticizing Trump’s disastrous war on Iran.

    According to a detailed report by the Free Press, on Easter Sunday, while Trump was threatening to bomb Iran’s bridges and power plants and unleash “Hell” on the nation, Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, delivered his State of the World speech, during which he urged world leaders to lay down their weapons, choose peace and relieve themselves of the “desire to dominate other.” The global leader of the Catholic Church also condemned “the imperialist occupation of the world” and warned that God rejects the prayers “of those who wage war” — which seems to be a direct rebuke of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has been hosting a monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the Iran war began, and has been praying to his god that “every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.”

    So, according to the Free Press, Leo’s speech angered some officials at the Pentagon, resulting in Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s U.S. representative, being summoned to a closed-door Pentagon meeting, where he received a stern lecture from Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, who reportedly told Pierre: “The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

    Besides the fact that these so-called Christian leaders of a so-called Christian nation are out here threatening to unleash the U.S. military on the world’s highest authority on all things Christ, just because the pope said things that are Christ-like, we really should be more concerned that Trump officials keep boasting about how they can do anything they want because they have the most powerful military.

    Remember when Trump was talking about “running” Venezuela and taking over Greenland, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller defended those remarks by beating his little bird chest and declaring, “We are in charge because we have the United States military stationed outside the country,” and “we’re a superpower, and under President Trump, we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower” as if he himself had ever served even a day in the U.S. mlitary.

    MAGA minions keep defending the Trump administration against allegations that it’s an authoritarian regime, and the administration just keeps undermining that defense by vocally vindicating its accusers.
    The truth is that Trump and his band of stooges — who have been given way more power than incompetent, imbecilic sycophants like them should ever have — have been scrambling and struggling to control the narrative around which side is “winning” regarding the conflict in Iran, and they’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with endless criticism, both globally and domestically, and the growing consensus that this war and the administration’s lack of competent leadership makes the nation look weak.

    Trump is even out here threatening news outlets for reporting statements of “victory” made by Iranian leadership that have also been reported by Iranian media, which brings us to a reminder that the Pentagon recently tried to ban every mainstream news outlet from reporting on it after all of those outlets refused to bend to its new policy that reporters cannot obtain or solicit any information that hasn’t been pre-approved by the Department of Defense. Thankfully, a federal judge stepped in and essentially told Hegseth and other Pentagon officials that they were out of their freedom-of-the-press-defying minds.