The Greene County Democrat

Category: Newswire

  • Newswire : Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos are ‘children’. Touching off national controversy

    From Reuters, BBC and wire reports

    The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos created and stored for in vitro fertilization (IVF) are children under a state law allowing parents to sue for wrongful death of their minor children. The ruling revived three families’ lawsuits accusing a Mobile, Alabama fertility clinic, Center for Reproductive Medicine, and the hospital where it is located, Mobile Infirmary, of failing to properly safeguard frozen embryos, resulting in their destruction.

    The 8-1 majority of the court found that it was a long-established precedent that “unborn children” are “children” for the purpose of the 1872 wrongful death law at issue in the case. It said that any doubt about that was removed by a 2018 amendment to the state’s constitution, which declared that it was “the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children.”

    The court, whose members are all elected Republicans or appointed by a Republican governor, further found that there was no “unwritten exception” for frozen embryos outside of a woman’s uterus. Chief Justice Tom Parker drew widespread attention for his overtly religious concurring opinion, in which he wrote that the state constitution includes the “theologically based view” that “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”

    It is not yet clear, but IVF providers are very concerned about the implications of the ruling. IVF treatment typically involves the creation of multiple embryos in order to maximize the chance of a successful pregnancy, leaving some unused. At least three providers – the defendant in the case, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System and Alabama Fertility – have said they are pausing IVF treatments, citing potential civil and criminal liability in the wake of the decision.

    The ruling left open the question of whether destroying a frozen embryo could result in criminal homicide charges. It also left it to the legislature to determine whether and how IVF could continue in the state.

    When the US Supreme Court struck down a nationwide right to abortion in 2022, in the Dobbs decision, it opened the door for states to make their own laws on the issue.

    Since the decision, Democratic-controlled states have expanded access while Republican-controlled states have restricted it. Alabama already has a total ban on abortion, at all stages of pregnancy.

    It is unclear how the Alabama court decision will affect other states. It has opened a debate between “Pro-Life, anti-Abortion forces” and “Pro-Women’s Right to Choose forces”. The Anti-abortion forces support the concept that “life begins at conception” and all abortion is “baby killing” so they support the court decision which calls into question the IVF process.

    The Biden White House called the Alabama ruling “exactly the type of chaos that we expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and paved the way for politicians to dictate some of the most personal decisions families can make”.
    Some Republican politicians who support and have used IVF themselves are caught in the middle of this debate, which is a consequence of the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion. This issue will be a major factor in the national elections in November and may persuade many women to come out to the polls, to assert their rights to control their bodies and healthcare.

  • Newswire : Superstar Kenyan marathon runner dies in car crash

    Kelvin Kiptum
    

     Feb. 19, 2024 (GIN) – Kelvin Kiptum, a superstar of long distance running and the first man to run the marathon in under 2 hours, died tragically in a late night car crash in western Kenya.
     
    He died along with his coach, Gervais Hakizimana , when he veered off the road into a ditch and hit a large tree, the authorities said. He and Hakizimana were killed instantly. A third person in the car, Sharon Kosgei, was injured. Kiptum was 24 years old.
     
    His record of world records began with his first marathon in Valencia, Spain, in 2022, with a winning time of 2:01:53. At the London Marathon in 2023, he crushed the field to win in 2:01:25, the second-fastest time in history, 16 seconds short of the world record of 2:01:09 held by Eliud Kipchoge, also of Kenya.
     
    Finally, he broke a new world record at the Chicago Marathon, obliterating the world record with a score of 2:00:35
     
    Kiptum was born on Dec. 2, 1999, in Chepsamo, Kenya. As a young man, he worked as a goat herder and trained as an electrician before deciding to become a runner.
     
    In an interview with the BBC, coach Hakizimana recalled the little boy herding livestock barefoot. “It was in 2009, I was training near his father’s farm, he’d come kicking at my heels, and I would chase him away.”
     
    News of Kiptum’s death brought tributes from Kenya, throughout Africa and across the world of road running. William Ruto, Kenya’s president, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Kiptum was our future. An extraordinary sportsman has left an extraordinary mark in the globe.”
     
    Kiptum’s victories came at a time when nearly 300 athletes from Kenya were being punished for using banned substances, tarnishing the country’s image as a running powerhouse.
     
    As a result, the 23-year-old record-holder — who has not been accused of doping — found himself defending not only what he had done in Chicago, but what he had not. His record time, he said, was the product of running 150 miles or more per week at altitude, not the use of banned substances.
     
    “My secret is training,” he said. “Not any other thing.”
     
    World Athletics president Sebastian Coe offered his condolences. “We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach,” he wrote. “An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly.”, 
     
    Kiptum’s survivors include his wife and two children.
     
    Meanwhile, in Cairo, around 10,000 runners participated in a Run for Gaza marathon. Ticket sales will be used for much needed humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip
     
    Runners from 30 different countries took part, with French participant Lauren Cocula telling the AP news: “If we don’t save people in Gaza, we are going to just fail humanity as humans so I think it is important.”
     
    The event was organized by Egyptian minister of Social Solidarity Nevin Al-Qabbaj in cooperation with the Egyptian Tribal and Families Council, the Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad and the Minister of Youth and Sports.
     

  • Newswire: U.S. forgives nearly $137 Billion of student loans – teachers, social workers, public servants among those to benefit

    By Charlene Crowell

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Teachers, social workers, and other public servants are among those expected to benefit from recent Biden Administration efforts to expand eligibility for federal student loan forgiveness.
    Collectively, these borrowers will be relieved of $4.9 billion debt in return for their service to communities that earned them forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Income-Driven Repayment (IDR).
    “The Biden-Harris Administration has worked relentlessly to fix our country’s broken student loan system and address the needless hurdles and administrative inaccuracies that, in the past, kept borrowers from getting the student debt forgiveness they deserved,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
    James Kvaal, U.S. Under Secretary of Education added, “The Biden-Harris Administration is not going to stop until we’ve helped all of those harmed by the broken student loan system.”
    Announced by the federal Department of Education  in January, this latest expansion boosts the Biden Administration’ s total student loan forgiveness to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million borrowers. Here’s how this unprecedented loan relief was accomplished:
    $56.7 billion for 793,400 borrowers enrolled in PSLF since October 2021. Prior to the Biden-Harris Administration’s fixes to PSLF, only about 7,000 borrowers had ever received forgiveness;
    $45.7 billion in IDR relief for 930,500 borrowers;
    $11.7 billion for almost 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability; and
    $22.5 billion for more than 1.3 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools, saw their institutions precipitously close, or are covered by related court settlements.
    In late 2023, the Federal Reserve determined that although most consumers pay $400 or less in monthly loan payments, 19 percent of borrowers pay far more. As reported by Motley Fool, payments between $500 and $999 are made by 14 percent of borrowers, while payments of $1,000 or more are paid by five percent of borrowers.
    “Outstanding student loan debt exceeds outstanding auto loan debt and credit card debt,” recently noted Rohit Chopra, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). “If student loan borrowers are unable to successfully enroll in payment plans or obtain accurate information about their accounts, this can have a domino effect on the rest of their financial lives.”
    In December 2023, CFPB issued a new report entitled, Making Ends Meet in 2023. Two findings in this report highlight the heavy and disproportionate financial effects for borrowers of color:
    “Consumers who currently have student debt were 10 percentage points more likely to have difficulty paying bills than consumers who had student debt at some point in the last 10 years but no longer do and consumers who have not had student debt for at least 10 years if ever.”
    “Nearly 58 percent of Black consumers and 54 percent of Hispanic households could not cover expenses for more than a month in February 2023,” continued the CFPB report, “while this was the case for only 34 percent of non-Hispanic white households and 32 percent of households of another race. These differences among groups were largely unchanged since 2022.”
    Secretary Cardona said the Education Department’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan will deliver even greater debt relief and help put more borrowers on a faster track to loan forgiveness. Borrowers who originally took out $12,000 or less for college and are enrolled in the SAVE Plan will see forgiveness after as few as 10 years of payments. Those who are enrolled in SAVE and are eligible for early forgiveness will have their debts automatically cancelled starting next month, months ahead of schedule, with no action needed.
    The Department and its partners are reaching out to encourage eligible but unenrolled borrowers to sign up for SAVE. Borrowers can find additional resources at StudentAid.gov and sign up for the SAVE plan at StudentAid.gov/save.
    Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.

  • Newswire : Trump and associates ordered to pay $354 Million in damages in fraud trial

    New York AG, Leticia James


    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    When she assumed the role of New York Attorney General, Letitia James made little bones about her desire to take down Donald Trump for what she said was the massive business fraud his organization had committed in the Empire State.  She also took aim at his politics, filing numerous lawsuits related to immigration and environmental policies during Trump’s White House tenure. James also inherited an ongoing state lawsuit against Trump’s charitable foundation, initiated before her term, successfully steering it towards a settlement that included a substantial $2 million fine.
    Demonstrating her commitment, she filed another civil lawsuit against Trump the following year, accusing his company of deceiving banks, insurers, and others by artificially inflating the value of assets and his net worth on financial documents. In a clever twist, when announcing the case against Trump, James quipped, “It’s the art of the steal,” playing on the title of Trump’s book, “The Art of the Deal.”
    On Friday, Feb. 16, James nailed the twice-impeached and four-times indicted former president as Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in a civil business fraud trial against the MAGA leader, his sons, business associates, and the Trump Organization, ordering him to pay over $354 million in damages. Engoron also slapped Trump and his company with temporary restrictions on conducting business in New York.
    The verdict comes after a prolonged trial where James sought $370 million, alleging “repeated and persistent fraud,” including the falsification of business records and financial statements. And, in a clear-cut victory for James, Engoron dismissed attempts by Trump to shift blame to accountants. “The buck for being truthful in the supporting data valuations stopped with the Trump Organization, not the accountants,” the judge determined.
    The judgment imposes a three-year ban on Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation, along with the appointment of an independent monitor and a directive to install an independent director of compliance for the Trump Organization.
    The judge highlighted Trump’s lack of remorse, stating it “borders on pathological” and necessitates external oversight. This marks the second financial setback for Trump this year, following an $83.3 million defamation verdict he was ordered to pay for sexually assaulting a journalist. He also faces four criminal trials later this year, with the first scheduled for March 25 in New York State Court. By the time the November election arrives, Trump could also be a convicted felon.
    During the New York civil trial, Trump and his executives, including his sons attempted to downplay the significance of exaggerated financial statements. Examples of fraud included inflating property values, such as at Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago, by significant amounts. Trump, who claimed his innocence, asserted that the case was politically motivated.
    The judgment cancels Trump’s business certificates in New York, a decision he is appealing. Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, naturally denounced the ruling as a “manifest injustice” and expressed confidence in overturning the verdict through the Appellate Division.
    Los Angeles-based trial attorney V. James DeSimone, of V. James DeSimone Law, added that Trump found out exactly how powerful New York’s civil fraud law is. DeSimone opined that Engeron’s detailed opinion provides ample basis for the $354 million in penalties he assessed against the Republican presidential frontrunner and his family. “When it comes to anything involving Donald Trump’s court cases, it’s best to figure that he’ll appeal any ruling that finds him in the wrong, and he’ll appeal until the end of time, or he runs out of lawyers. At some point, the findings of fraud against a presidential candidate should matter to the voting public.”
     

  • Newswire : Patient advocacy groups call on governor to close the coverage gap

    By: Alabama Health Advocates
    From Alabama Political Reporters

    Here’s the startling reality: in Alabama, a couple with one child earning $5,000 a year would make too much to be eligible for Medicaid.
    We represent the patients, families and advocates served by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, American Heart Association and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  We advocate of behalf of people facing serious and often life-threatening medical conditions. We know about the healthcare plight of patients and workers in Alabama because we see it every day.
    We also stand up for hard-working Alabamians who want to stay healthy, like the construction worker with high blood pressure who can’t afford medication, the hairstylist with a family history of breast cancer who wants a screening mammogram and the truck driver who previously smoked and knows he should have his lungs checked. These Alabamians deserve to take care of themselves but often they fall into the coverage gap where they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford health insurance.
    For our neighbors with risk factors for cardiovascular disease or recovering from a heart attack or stroke, or those who are battling cancer, access to affordable and adequate health insurance is a matter of life and death. By closing the coverage gap, hundreds of thousands of working families, veterans, and small business owners would be able to have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare and get the medications and treatments they need to stay healthy.
    In fact, recent studies show nearly half of Alabama workers do not get employer-sponsored health insurance. On behalf of these patients and hard-working Alabamians, we want to see a solution to close the coverage gap and take action to address the healthcare crisis in Alabama.
    When workers can’t stay healthy, they leave the workforce, which puts a strain on their families as well as on businesses. And it strains the healthcare system when uninsured patients only have access to emergency care. We have seen rural hospitals close, leaving people vulnerable to more health challenges in those areas. The resistance to closing the coverage gap in Alabama is costing us all. Patients have worse outcomes that still require care and our federal tax dollars currently fund coverage in other states without any of it benefitting Alabama.
    As we head into this year’s legislative session, it is more important than ever for our state’s leaders to take Alabama’s health crisis seriously. Gov. Ivey and Alabama legislators, we’re calling on you to expand healthcare access in Alabama and close the coverage gap as soon as possible. It’s time to shift from talking to action. We need to implement solutions to solve the health system and workforce problems that impact Alabamians every day. Give us and all our friends and neighbors a fighting chance to get healthy, stay healthy and continue working.

  • School Board holds emergency meeting to consider teacher resignation

    The Greene County Board of Education met in an emergency meeting, Friday, February 9, 2024, to consider action on a personnel item. The three board members present, Mr. Leo Branch, Board President, Mr. Robert Davis and Mr. Brandon Merriweather, forming a quorum, voted unanimously to approve Superintendent Corey Jones recommendation to accept the resignation of Mr. Elroy Skinner, Math TEAMS teacher at Robert Brown Middle School, effective February 8, 2024.
    No additional information relative to the resignation was available to the public.
    This was the only item considered by the board. The meeting was adjourned

  • Greene County Commission urges ‘yes’ vote on Amendment 1 on March 5th primary ballot

    The Greene County Commission held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 12, 2024. All five commissioners were present, including: Corey Cockrell, Chair and District 3, Garria Spencer, District 1, Tennyson Smith, District 2, Allen Turner, District 4, and Roshonda Summerville, District 5. The Commissioners handled an agenda of routine business, taking a forty-minute Executive Session to discuss personnel and legal matters, without announcing any actions that needed to be approved by vote.
    The Commission approved a resolution urging voters to support Amendment No. 1 on the March 5th primary ballot. Amendment No. 1 would allow the Alabama Legislature to consider and approve ‘local legislation” by a majority vote prior to passing a budget in the session.
    Currently the legislative rules require a 60% super-majority for votes on legislation prior to the approval of the budget. This change would allow for easier passage of ‘local legislation’ when the Legislature does not approve a budget until the end of the session. In the past, some ‘local legislation’, including some Greene County proposals, have been lost or postponed because they could not be voted on prior to passing the state budget.
    In other actions, The Greene County Commission:
    • Approved levies for Alcohol Licensing for 2024-2025.
    • Approved a contract with M&H Construction for $1,950 to replace ceiling tiles at J. C. Poole Memorial Library, that were damaged in a recent storm. The Commission had already repaired the library roof with insurance funds.
    • Approved contract with the State of Alabama for clean-up at dump site on County Road 181; and also accepted state funding for clean-up of up to three other illegal dump sites.
    •Approved travel for Assistant Engineer to attend a training class in March in Prattville, Alabama.
    •Approved purchase of a full-page ad in the Greene County Democrat’s Black History issue.
    •Tabled action on the Greene County Golf Course to gather more information.
    The Commission also heard and accepted a financial report from CFO, Mac Underwood, in which he listed $8,610,648 in Citizens Trust Bank of which $4,189,591 is in unrestricted General Funds and $4,421,055 are in restricted funds for designated government purposes, like road and bridge repairs. He also reported $5,542,720 in Merchants and Farmers Bank, including $3,129,181 in unrestricted funds and $1,413,539 in restricted funds. This is a total of $14,153,366 in restricted and unrestricted funds available to the county government. There is also $894,166 in Bond Sinking Funds.
    He also reported the expenditure of $1,769,202, in bills and claims paid for January 2024. Another $101,056 in electronic claims were paid during the same period. For the four months of the fiscal
    year, October 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024, 68% of the budgeted funds are left to be utilized for expenditures this fiscal year, which is in line with proposed budget, for this point in the fiscal year.

    County Commission Work Session

    At the Greene County Commission’s monthly work session, held Wednesday, February 7, 2024, County Coroner, Ronald Kent Smith, presented his concern regarding his salary. Smith noted that a local Bill authorizing an increase in salary for the County Coroner was passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2020. The Bill scheduled the salary increase for the next election term. Smith was re-elected in 2022, expecting that his salary increase would go into effect at that time. To date, the Greene County Coroner has not received an increase in salary as designated in the 2020 Legislation. Smith also indicated he receives no travel compensation for transports to Montgomery. The Commission’s response was to take all this under advisement, referring the matter to the Alabama State Attorney General for an opinion on how to proceed.
    The County’s Greenes Committee also addressed the Commission at this work session.relative to the Greene County Golf Course. Committee members James E. Morrow, Don Black, and Doug Bell alerted the Commission that the golf Course was in danger of closing within the next three weeks, due to lack of funds to continuing operating.
    Morrow noted that the Golf Course was receiving Bingo resources until Sheriff Jonathan Benison cut off community distributions in May, 2023. Morrow indicated that there are no designated funds from the county for the Golf Course. “The county owns the Golf Course. It comes under county sponsored recreational activities, therefore the county should support it,” he stated.
    The Greenes Committed stated that there are 22 members, contributing $40 per month, but it takes approximately $4,000 per month for utilities and upkeep.

  • Newswire: NFL turns to Africa to build a market beyond the U. S.

    Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, in his home atire

    Feb. 12, 2024 (GIN) – By the time you read this, the Super Bowl will be over and done. As will the Africa Cup of Nations 2023. What you may not have heard is how the league swapped the greenery of American football fields for an Accra marketplace in a mission to grow its brand and engage new fans across the continent.

    In the 15-second teaser seen over the weekend, the NFL spotlights growing global initiatives in a Super Bowl commercial. Three of the league’s top stars are seen in downtown Accra, scampering through Ghana’s Makola Market, passing street vendors, flipping and leaping, before doing the Azonto dance.

    In the ad campaign, titled “Born to Play,” Giants running back Saquon Barkley, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Saints defensive end Cam Jordan are centerpieces in the spot.

    The NFL has been growing its presence in Africa, starting in Ghana, with the Cleveland Browns’ Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. A linebacker, his use of Ghanaian and other African cultures in his pre-game wardrobe makes his fashion sense stand out – not often seen in American pro sports.

    In the league today, there are currently over 125 players of African descent (born in Africa or children born to African immigrants), per the NFL.

    Last year, the National Football League’s “NFL Africa” program expanded to Kenya as the League continues to invest in growing the game at all levels across the continent.

    The Indianapolis Colts currently have six Africans on their 53-man roster: defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore, tight end Mo Alie-Cox, linebacker Segun Olubi and defensive ends Samson Ebukam (Nigerian), Dayo fOdeyingbo and Kwity Paye (Liberian). Defensive tackle McTelvin Agim, who is of Nigerian descent, is on their practice squad.

    That’s the most of any team in the league, creating an environment where players are able to share different experiences that many of their other teammates can’t relate to.

    While the players enjoy their shared experience, there is also a sense of pride that comes with representing Africa.

    “You’re definitely an ambassador in everything you do,” Olubi said. “I’m an ambassador with my last name. Everybody knows where my last name comes from. My first name, my family, got to make them proud and make the people around them proud.”

    In January 2024, the League announced its International Player Pathway (IPP) program Class of 2024, which features 11 athletes from around the world.

    Osi Umenyiora, who spent part of his youth living in both London and his native Nigeria, played 12 seasons in the NFL, winning two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. After retiring, Umenyiora began working for the league, eventually rising to lead the NFL Africa initiative, where he foresaw a lot of potential on the continent.

    “This is just the beginning for these players, and we eagerly anticipate sharing their stories and the game of football with the world.”

    Since its inception, 37 international players have signed with NFL teams. “Without a shadow of a doubt, that is the home of the most incredible athletes in the world,” Umenyiora said of Africa.

  • Newswire : Thrilling history of Black excellence in our National Parks

    By Audrey Peterman
    Buffalo herd grazing in Yellowstone National Park
    As recipient of the National Park Conservation Association’s Centennial Leadership Award 2022 “for outstanding contribution toward ensuring our national parks are ready for their second century of service,” I embrace Black History Month as an opportunity to take you on a tour to some of the glorious places in the National Park System where our forebears helped turn the tide of history. I take it as a point of pride that I have literally walked in the majority of these places which is why my thirst to share them may never be quenched.

    I could take you geographically from the southernmost point of the continental United States at the Dry Tortugas National Park, where enslaved Black men helped build massive Fort Jefferson as part of America’s coastal defense system in the 1830s.

    We could go all the way north to the highest peak on the North American continent where George Crenshaw left his footprints on Mount Denali in Denali National Park July 9, 1964. Because in every facet of American life -from exploration; conquest; defense; economy; resistance; conservation and the pursuit of human rights – I can show you a unit of the National Park System where the event took place, where African Americans made the difference, and the park is the means of protecting the story.
    The legacy is so extensive I might have to share it in multiple pieces, and the best thing of all is that the contributions of every race and ethnic group is similarly protected in units of the Park System at the places where it happened. Literally, the National Park System “preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values” of our country “for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.”
    Let’s begin at Fort Monroe National Monument in Virginia, marking the site where the first Africans were traded onto American soil in 1619. The plantation economy subsequently built upon the labor of millions of enslaved Africans, and its impact on their lives can be experienced at the Charles Pinkney National Historic Site in South Carolina  (he being a signer of the US Constitution) and the Kingsley Plantation outside Jacksonville, (where the plantation mistress, Anna Madgigine Jai was a Senegalese princess  whom the Florida planter Zephaniah Kingsley married in 1806 when she was 13 years old) Their offspring include Johnetta Betsch Cole, legendary educator and former president of Spelman College.

    The first shot to ring out in the Revolutionary War took the life of Crispus Attucks, and the place where he fell still is identified as the site of the Boston Massacre in Boston National Historical Park. Valley Forge National Historical Park in Philadelphia contains the encampment site of General George Washington’s Continental Army in the dire winter of 1777-78 when, lacking a supply chain, soldiers were forced to forage for food, heat and clothing. The anguish suffered by Black and brown men and women in the encampment was visible from the bloody footprints left on the snow. Yet the ragged band persevered and emerged “a cohesive and disciplined fighting force” that went on to secure the new nation.

    At nearby Independence National Historical Park let’s tune in to the words of the Declaration of Independence ringing out July 4, 1776:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” The dramatically flawed and cracked Liberty Bell, that unbowed symbol of the drive for freedom stands sentinel outside, reminding us that the job is not yet finished.

    I hope your appetite is sufficiently whetted. Next time we’ll start at Fort Sumpter and Fort Moultrie National Park in Charleston Harbor where the first shot of the Civil War rang out signifying the rejection of slavery, and conclude at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park in Virginia where confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. In a meeting reportedly so cordial it was dubbed “A gentleman’s agreement,” Lee accepted the gift of rations for his starving troops and told them to return home and resume their lives as Americans.
    Black history is inextricably interwoven with American history, because we are an indispensable part of everything that happened here. Our Herculean efforts in the face of rabid racism helped make America the beacon she remains today.
    (Audrey Peterman is an environmentalist and diversity advocate since 1995. Book her to speak at your next event, Audrey@AudreyPeterman.com.)

  • Newswire: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization reignites controversy over transparency amid health concerns

    Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III official portrait session, July 6, 2023. (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)

    Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin found himself back in the spotlight as he was urgently admitted to an emergency hospital on Sunday afternoon for symptoms related to a bladder issue, just weeks after his previous hospitalization. The 70-year-old cabinet official’s decision to withhold information from the White House about his earlier health episode has triggered a renewed wave of criticism and scrutiny.
    The latest incident, detailed in a report by USA Today, saw Secretary Austin move to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment—the announcement, made by Pentagon press secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder disclosed that Austin is undergoing treatment for symptoms indicating a severe bladder issue, raising concerns about the gravity of his health condition.
    This recurrence comes on the heels of Austin’s earlier hospitalization, a matter that was not promptly disclosed to the White House, Congress, and other Pentagon officials. The deliberate delay in communication has intensified scrutiny and fueled outrage among right-leaning media pundits and lawmakers.
    During his prior hospitalization, Austin delegated his duties to his deputy, but the decision to withhold pertinent information from key stakeholders has ignited widespread criticism. Shortly before 5 o’clock, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced that Kathleen Hicks had taken over as deputy secretary of defense.
    The Pentagon’s statement emphasized the urgency of Austin’s hospitalization for symptoms related to a bladder issue. The White House, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Congress have all been informed about the unfolding situation.
    The controversy surrounding the delayed disclosure raises fundamental questions about transparency within the Defense Department and the communication protocols governing the health status of high-ranking officials.