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California's 2020 Proposition 17 restored voting rights to approximately 50,000 people on state parole for felony convictions, a significant change from previous law that prohibited voting until completion of both prison and parole terms. Adam Cain, who served a 14-year prison sentence, was actively involved in advocating for this voting rights restoration while incarcerated, organizing fellow inmates and educating their families. Cain shared his experience during California's 60th Anniversary celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, hosted by Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, where he appeared on a panel with prominent figures including former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. Now working as a Program Coordinator for Initiate Justice, Cain continues his advocacy to empower formerly incarcerated individuals and promote systemic change in California's criminal justice system.

Lewis H. Latimer was an influential African American inventor born in 1848 to formerly enslaved parents who taught himself drafting and became a key figure in electric lighting technology. Richard Wright, born in 1908, overcame poverty to become one of the 20th century's most influential African American writers with groundbreaking works like "Native Son." In 1957, the "Little Rock Nine," a group of Black students selected to integrate Little Rock Central High School, were initially blocked by angry mobs and the Arkansas National Guard before President Eisenhower secured their enrollment with federal military protection. These three historical events represent significant achievements and challenges in African American history across different fields and time periods.

Roderick Antonio Smith (known as Rodku), born in 1970 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, led a multifaceted life as a Navy veteran, nurse, musician, and devoted family man. After graduating from Hattiesburg High School and serving honorably in the Gulf War, he married Regina Sutton and raised four children while working as an LVN nurse. Rodku was known for his talents as MC Rodku within the music community, his involvement in organizations like the San Diego All Star DJ's, American Legion, and VFW, and for his deep commitment to his faith and family, including his six grandchildren. He passed away on July 23, 2025, leaving behind a legacy characterized by love, compassion, and joy.

A new report by the Michigan Citizens Research Council reveals that implementing an admissions tax on sports and entertainment venues in Detroit could generate between $14 million and $47 million annually, potentially allowing the city to reduce its high property taxes. The report, commissioned by Detroit's Legislative Policy Division, highlights how the city bears significant costs when hosting major events at its numerous sports venues and entertainment facilities. Detroit City Council president Mary Sheffield supports such a tax initiative, along with considering a 0.5% city sales tax, though implementation would require state authorization, city council approval, and voter support in a general election.

The Michigan Chronicle has opened nominations for the 2026 Women of Excellence awards, marking the 19th year of this program that recognizes Black women's leadership and impact across Michigan. The initiative honors women who excel in various fields including business, community service, civic engagement, and social advocacy, creating a legacy that highlights Black women's crucial contributions to Detroit's progress. Recognition through these awards validates the sacrifices and investments made by women of color who might otherwise go unacknowledged, while also inspiring younger generations by providing powerful role models. The Chronicle's commitment to sustaining this tradition reflects its dedication to highlighting local leadership within broader conversations about gender equity and racial justice.

Rx Kids, an innovative cash aid program created in Flint by Dr. Mona Hanna, has expanded to 11 Michigan communities, providing pregnant women with $1,500 during pregnancy followed by monthly payments after birth. The program, which has distributed approximately $14 million to over 3,300 families, aims to address infant poverty by giving mothers financial resources to stabilize their households. A May 2025 survey revealed that 87% of participants said the program helped them "make ends meet," while 72% reported it allowed them to take time off work for family care. Michigan lawmakers are now considering legislation that would scale Rx Kids statewide, potentially making Michigan the first state to guarantee such support for all new mothers.

Former US President Donald Trump has accepted King Charles III's invitation for a second state visit to the UK from September 17-19, 2024, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described as "truly historic" and "unprecedented." This visit breaks with tradition, as US presidents serving second terms typically receive only tea or lunch invitations rather than full state visits. Trump will be hosted at Windsor Castle due to ongoing renovations at Buckingham Palace, with events including a ceremonial welcome and state banquet in St George's Hall. The visit comes two months after Trump's recent four-day trip to Scotland and is scheduled during a time when only the House of Lords will be in session.

President Donald Trump has appealed to the US Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that deemed many of his sweeping tariffs illegal. A divided Federal Circuit Court ruled 7-4 that tariffs imposed through emergency economic powers exceeded presidential authority and infringed on Congress's core power to set levies. The case could potentially force the US to refund billions in tariffs and significantly impact Trump's economic and foreign policy agenda. While the appellate court ruled against the president, it temporarily delayed implementation of its decision to allow time for the administration's appeal.

A federal court has overturned the Trump administration's decision to cut approximately $2 billion in research grants to Harvard University, ruling that the government violated the university's free speech rights. Judge Allison Burroughs issued an 84-page decision that blocks the administration from stopping federal funding to Harvard while acknowledging that the university should have done more to address antisemitism. The White House has vowed to appeal the ruling, calling it an "egregious decision" made by an "activist" judge, while Harvard President Alan Garber affirmed that the ruling upholds the university's First Amendment rights. Unlike Harvard, three other Ivy League universities—Columbia, Penn, and Brown—chose to strike deals with the Trump administration to preserve their funding rather than pursue legal action.

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein gathered at the US Capitol to share emotional accounts of sexual abuse and call for the release of more investigation files about the convicted sex offender. During the two-hour news conference, nine female accusers detailed their experiences of abuse, with some speaking publicly for the first time about being recruited as teenagers. Lisa Phillips announced that victims have begun compiling a confidential list of Epstein associates involved in the abuse, while lawmakers from both parties are pushing for complete transparency despite resistance from the White House and Republican leadership. The recent release of 33,000 pages of documents by the House Oversight Committee has been criticized as largely containing already public information, with Democrats noting that 97% of the documents were previously available.

Florida's health officials are pushing to eliminate all vaccine mandates, potentially making it the first state to remove requirements for childhood vaccinations against diseases like polio for public school attendance. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced this plan, claiming vaccine mandates infringe on bodily autonomy, though officials provided no timeline for implementation. Medical experts, educational organizations, and Democratic lawmakers have strongly condemned the proposal as dangerous to public health, warning it could lead to preventable disease outbreaks. Meanwhile, several Democratic-led states have formed an alliance to coordinate health matters using guidance from medical organizations rather than the federal government under the Trump administration.

An Afghan woman named "Asal" is desperately trying to reunite with her father and two siblings who are detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite being eligible for asylum in Canada. The detained family members are caught in bureaucratic limbo: they can only claim asylum at a Canada-US land border but ICE will only release them if they enter Canada by air, which requires visas that are still under review. This situation exemplifies how asylum seekers have been affected by changing policies under the Trump administration, with the detained family members potentially facing deportation to Afghanistan where they could be targeted by the Taliban due to the father's previous work with U.S. troops. While some family members successfully reached Canada before policy changes, these three remain in ICE detention under difficult conditions, including poor food, strip searches, and inadequate medical care for the youngest brother who has suffered seizures.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner at SCI Mahanoy in Pennsylvania, finally received needed cataract laser surgery on September 2nd after widespread public pressure, restoring clear vision in his left eye. Prior to this intervention, a press conference on August 22nd organized by multiple advocacy groups highlighted how the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections had been systematically delaying and denying necessary eye treatment for Abu-Jamal, putting him at risk of permanent blindness. Medical professionals including Dr. Ricardo Alvarez and Dr. Mark Taylor detailed how Abu-Jamal had experienced significant vision deterioration, preventing him from reading or writing, while also suffering from diabetic retinopathy that requires additional specialist care. Despite knowledge of the severity of his condition since early 2025, the DOC had repeatedly postponed treatments and appointments, which advocates characterized as deliberate medical neglect of an elderly prisoner.

Newsmax, a right-wing media network, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox News in federal court, accusing the Murdoch-owned company of using its market dominance to suppress competition in conservative news. The lawsuit alleges Fox News employs exclusionary tactics including coercing TV providers to restrict competing right-leaning channels, imposing financial penalties on providers that carry other conservative networks, and intimidating guests not to appear on rival networks. Fox News, valued at nearly $26 billion and consistently ranked as the most popular conservative news outlet in the US, dismissed the lawsuit, stating Newsmax "cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures." Both networks have recently faced legal challenges related to the 2020 presidential election, with Newsmax paying $67 million and Fox News settling for $787.5 million in defamation lawsuits filed by voting machine company Dominion.

The County of San Diego has launched a new Overdose Surveillance Dashboard to help address the opioid crisis by consolidating data on overdose deaths, emergency department visits, and naloxone usage across the region. Developed by County Public Health, this quarterly-updated tool supports the County's Overdose Surveillance and Response program by providing trend analysis and demographic information related to drug overdoses. The dashboard helps officials target resources where needed, such as distributing naloxone and fentanyl test strips in affected areas. These comprehensive efforts have contributed to a 21 percent reduction in overdose deaths from 2023 to 2024, marking the third consecutive year of decline.

Epstein survivors gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday for a rally and news conference, demanding the release of Epstein files, justice for victims, and no pardons for Ghislaine Maxwell. Over a dozen survivors spoke out, challenging President Trump's dismissal of the Epstein files as a "Democrat hoax" and pressing for transparency across political lines. Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) are leading a bipartisan resolution to compel the Justice Department to release the estimated 100,000 pages of Epstein-related files, while House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer recently released 33,000 pages that survivors and lawmakers claim are heavily redacted and mostly already public. The survivors emphasized their collective strength, with one survivor stating, "What once kept us silent now fuels that fire and the power of our voice."

Lincoln High School's football team, the Hornets, celebrated their first home game since 2023 with a decisive 36-20 victory over Long Beach Poly. The event began with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring NFL Hall of Famer and Hornet alumnus Terrell Davis, followed by an explosive game where Junior Curtis returned the opening kickoff for an 89-yard touchdown. Star running back Rashad Robinson contributed significantly with four touchdowns, helping Lincoln build such a commanding lead that they implemented a running clock before Long Beach Poly managed to get on the scoreboard in the third quarter. Despite the win, Head Coach David Dunn acknowledged that while he was pleased with the outcome, the team still has improvements to make.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s nonvoting congressional representative now in her 12th term, has been criticized for her limited response to the Trump administration's federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department. The article explores Norton's background, from her civil rights work with SNCC in 1964 Mississippi to becoming the first female head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and eventually winning her congressional seat in 1990. Throughout her career, Norton has been known as "D.C.'s Warrior on the Hill," securing important victories including budget autonomy, the D.C. College Act establishing DCTAG, and legislation attempting to advance D.C. statehood, though some critics like Kymone Freeman argue she hasn't been radical enough in fighting for District residents.

Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Ketamine Queen," has pleaded guilty to five charges including distributing ketamine that resulted in the death of Friends actor Matthew Perry in October 2023. Sangha is one of five individuals, including two doctors and Perry's assistant, who were accused of exploiting the actor's addiction by supplying him with ketamine. Federal authorities discovered more than 80 vials of ketamine and thousands of other drugs during a raid on her Los Angeles home, which prosecutors described as a "drug-selling emporium." Facing a maximum sentence of 65 years, Sangha is scheduled for sentencing on December 10 in Los Angeles, while the four other defendants have also agreed to plead guilty.

Mayor Muriel Bowser is spearheading an initiative to transform Washington, D.C., into the country's premier entertainment hub alongside its status as the nation's capital. Her strategy involves significant investment in arts, culture, film, entertainment, and sports to diversify D.C.'s economy beyond its traditional reliance on the public sector. Through programs like 202Creates, operating since 2016, Bowser's administration has successfully grown the creative economy from generating $2.6 billion in 2016 to $15.9 billion currently. The mayor is positioning D.C. as the "Capital of Creativity" while leveraging incentives like the DC Film, Television and Entertainment Rebate Fund to attract production companies and foster a thriving creative ecosystem.

Three bills from the California Legislative Black Caucus's "2025 Road to Repair" package have advanced from the Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File to the Assembly floor. Senate Bills 515, 518, and 437 focus on gathering detailed demographic data for Black or African American ancestry, establishing a Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery, and allocating $6 million to the CSU system to research genealogical eligibility for reparations, respectively. Committee Chair Buffy Wicks emphasized the importance of these bills moving forward despite financial considerations. While the bills have garnered support from organizations like the NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference, some reparations advocates have expressed concerns about potential delays in the reparations process, particularly regarding SB 518 and SB 437.

Patrick Braxton, the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama, has won re-election by a significant margin, receiving 66 votes to his opponent's 26 in the town's first election since at least the 1960s. This election follows a contentious period when Braxton, after running unopposed in 2020, was locked out of town hall by white residents who refused to let him serve as mayor. The election was held under a federal settlement after Black residents sued, challenging what they called "hand-me-down governance" where mayors appointed their successors, resulting in predominantly white leadership despite the town's 2-to-1 Black majority. After a three-year legal battle, Braxton was finally able to occupy the office last year, though he served only one of his intended five years.

The County of San Diego is partnering with the San Diego Foundation on a new initiative called Born Well, aimed at improving birth outcomes for mothers and newborns in high-risk communities. As part of this collaboration, a guaranteed income pilot program will provide $750 monthly payments to 25 expectant mothers for one year, allowing them to address their most immediate needs. This initiative responds to significant disparities in San Diego County, where babies in highest risk groups can be six times more likely to die before their first birthday and 60 percent more likely to be born prematurely than those in the lowest risk group. The County has experience with similar guaranteed income programs, including the Family Income for Empowerment Program and the Recovery Action Fund for Tomorrow (RAFT), which have shown promising preliminary results.

During a heated exchange following Taylor Townsend's victory at the US Open, Jelena Ostapenko told the American she had "no class" and "no education," sparking widespread reaction from tennis players. Naomi Osaka called the remarks among "the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport" while defending Townsend's character and intelligence. Ostapenko later explained on social media that her frustration stemmed from Townsend not apologizing after benefiting from a net cord during their match. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka mentioned she spoke with Ostapenko after the incident, describing her as someone who sometimes loses emotional control.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, who evaded authorities for 21 years after bombings in San Francisco in 2003, was arrested in rural Wales last November and now faces extradition to the United States. The 46-year-old suspect, who was on the FBI's most wanted terrorist list, appeared via video link from Belmarsh Prison at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where his full extradition hearing was scheduled for September 8. San Diego is accused of bombing two office buildings in the San Francisco area, including an attack where a bomb strapped with nails exploded at a nutritional products corporation. FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized that despite the lengthy time as a fugitive, the FBI ultimately found San Diego and will hold him accountable.

Detroit residents are urging city officials to take a stronger stance against the potential deployment of federal troops in their city amid President Trump's considerations to mobilize the National Guard in "Democrat-run" cities. While Trump hasn't specifically mentioned Detroit, his previous actions of sending troops to Los Angeles and Washington D.C., along with his stated plans for Chicago, have raised concerns among Detroit activists. During a city council meeting, residents called for preparations to resist what they described as potential "illegal occupation," drawing parallels to the deadly National Guard deployment in Detroit in July 1967. Some residents view Trump's focus on Black-majority cities as deliberately targeted and are requesting preemptive action from local leadership.

Detroit City Council has passed an ordinance allowing city attorneys to prosecute certain misdemeanor offenses starting in July 2026, shifting this responsibility from Wayne County prosecutors. The measure, which passed 8-1, will cost Detroit an additional $750,000 annually and require six new staff members in the Law Department. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy supports the change as it will help her office focus on more serious crimes, though Council President Mary Sheffield opposed it citing concerns about funding and accountability. The city will prosecute quality of life offenses in 36th District Court while collecting a portion of fines and costs, though officials emphasized the program isn't intended to be funded through these penalties.

President Donald Trump announced that U.S. military forces conducted a strike against a drug vessel in international waters in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, whom he described as "narcoterrorists." Trump shared a video of the operation on social media, stating the vessel was transporting illegal narcotics bound for the United States. This military action comes amid increased pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government, including a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest on drug trafficking charges. The Trump administration has recently bolstered its military presence in the southern Caribbean and designated several criminal groups as terrorist organizations while signaling readiness to use force against drug trafficking.

Multiple Black candidates are contending for county executive positions across Maryland amidst a nationwide trend of Republican efforts to reduce Black leaders' authority. Notable candidates include Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando, Anne Arundel County Council member Pete Smith, and Baltimore County Council member Julian Jones, all seeking to follow the example of recently-installed Prince George's County Executive Aisha Braveboy. These candidates have secured significant endorsements from term-limited officials, fellow council members, labor unions, and progressive organizations. Political observers like Courtney Finklea Green view this trend as a meaningful advancement of Black political power that could reshape governance priorities in Maryland's suburban counties.