AURN News

Novelist and activist Alice Walker was born on this day in 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia. Emerging from the segregated South, Walker's experiences profoundly shaped her writing, leading her to become a prominent voice in African American literature.

Best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Color Purple," Walker's literary contributions delve into themes of race, gender, and resilience. The novel, which explores the lives of African American women in the early 20th century South, brought her widespread acclaim and remains her most famous work. It was adapted into a successful film directed by Steven Spielberg.

Her commitment to activism, spanning civil rights to feminism, underscores her belief in using art as a catalyst for social change, solidifying her status as a towering figure in both literature and advocacy.

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"I've seen the headlines since the report was released about my willful retention of documents. These assertions are not only misleading, they're just plain wrong."

President Joe Biden is calling out the special counsel who investigated how he handled classified documents. In a primetime address Thursday, he lashed out at special counsel Robert Hur following the nearly 400 page report being released.

Hur wrote that he felt Biden's memory was significantly limited, also raising questions about whether he remembered the timing of his son's death. Biden said that when he was asked the question, he did not think it was anyone's business on the matter.

The president also pushed back at questions regarding how his age might not make him the top choice to defeat former President Donald Trump.

Thursday's report concluded that Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified military and national security documents, but he will face no charges. The investigation focused on documents related to Biden's time as vice president.

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President Joe Biden is sending senior advisers to Michigan to meet with Arab-American and Muslim leaders over criticism that the White House is not doing enough to demand a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

One of the people invited to the meeting is University of Michigan neurosurgeon Dr. Yamaan Saadeh, who's been trying to get his family out of Gaza.

"You know, there has to be a mechanism to allow and to help families of Palestinian-Americans to leave Gaza," Saadeh said.

The Detroit Free Press reports Deputy Wayne County Executive Assad Turfe, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Mariam Bazzi, Dearborn Attorney Ali Dagher, and Arab-American news publisher Osama Siblani will attend the meeting. The White House has not officially announced the visit.

Arab-Americans and Muslims want Biden to do more to stop Israel's counterattack, which has been ongoing since October, when Hamas attacked southern Israel.

"Overall, we're grateful that President Biden is sending senior aides, you know, I think that's kind of the bare minimum, but it's still not enough."

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On Feb. 8, 1986, Debi Thomas, a figure skater, made history by becoming the first African-American to win the Women's Singles title at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championship. This achievement occurred while she was pursuing her pre-med studies at Stanford University.

In addition to her national success, Thomas also etched her name in Winter Olympics history by winning a bronze medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, making her the first African-American to medal in any Winter Olympic sport.

Born in 1967, in Poughkeepsie, New York, Thomas started skating at the young age of five. After retiring from skating in 1992, she pursued medical studies at Northwestern University, graduating in 1997. Today, she practices medicine as a physician in Virginia.

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Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity from prosecution on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. A three-judge federal appeals court made the decision in the criminal election interference case being prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith.

Trump is now expected to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. Trump's legal team argues he's immune from prosecution because the charges relate to official acts performed while he was president. The former president is charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

Here's MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin on the timing of the case: "They have a lot of time if they choose to try and run out the clock and then the onus would be on special counsel Jack Smith and his team to try and expedite things. The further out he can push this trial into the election season or potentially beyond, that advantages him."

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(AURN News) – A recent report from the New York Federal Reserve has revealed a staggering increase in household debt in the United States, prompting concerns about the financial stability of American households.

The report indicates that the total outstanding debt has surged to $4.89 trillion in 2023, compared to $2.12 trillion in 2004. One of the most alarming aspects of this report is the spike in outstanding credit card balances, which now stand at a whopping $1.13 trillion. This marks an increase of $50 billion. Auto loans have also witnessed consistent growth, rising by $12 billion since the 2nd quarter of 2020, reaching a total of $1.61 trillion.

The New York Fed's findings extend beyond credit cards and auto loans, shedding light on the surge in retail cards and consumer loans by an additional $25 billion. The growing debt problem in our country emphasizes the need for increased financial literacy and responsibility among consumers. It’s important because as debt burdens increase, Americans may face challenges in meeting their financial obligations.

If you need help getting out of debt, the Federal Trade Commission offers tips on its website: consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-get-out-debt.

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President Biden is blaming former President Donald Trump for the near-collapse of the bipartisan Senate border deal.

"Donald Trump thinks it's bad for him politically. Therefore, he doesn't, even though it helps the country, he's not for it," the president said.

In remarks from the White House, Biden said Trump would rather weaponize the immigration issue for political reasons than solve it. He also said Trump has been threatening and intimidating Republican members of Congress to vote against the package.

"For the last 24 hours, he's done nothing, I'm told, but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal."

Biden called on Congress members to "show some spine" and back the bill, which he called the strongest the country has ever seen. His comments were made in the context of increasing opposition from Republicans to the legislation, which proposes changes to border policy and provides further assistance to Ukraine and Israel.

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Mo'Nique posted photos of herself posing with Shannon Sharpe and captioned it in part: "THE TRUTH THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!!!!"

Yep, looks like she's up next for what has become the money train. Sharpe's Katt Williams interview on his Club Shay Shay podcast on YouTube reportedly has netted over $600,000 so far. So I guess everybody's going to try to be on there.

Anyway, we can always count on Mo'Nique to call out a few folks as well, so I am so sure this is going to be interesting.

The case was postponed by the slew of post-conviction motions filed by his lawyers at the start of his misdemeanor trial. Now, the judge told him he could face up to a year behind bars for charges that related to an alleged fight between him and his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. This, of course, happened in New York City last March. In a split verdict in December, Majors was found guilty of misdemeanor assault in the third degree, recklessly causing physical injury, as well as harassment in the second degree.

I just hope the judge isn't too harsh. Hey, at this point, losing what was a stellar career is rough enough.

And Sunday is the 58th Super Bowl, but we are celebrating 25 years of the Super Bowl Soulful Celebration. This show has been an unparalleled convergence of music, faith, and sports for 25 years. It started back in 1999, and the annual event joins NFL players, top gospel, contemporary Christian, and mainstream Grammy award-winning artists and special guests.

They come on stage to bring audiences together for an evening of uplifting music and messages. Well, this year, after 25 years, it's finally being aired on CBS with hosts Cedric the Entertainer and Tichina Arnold. We caught up with them last week and you can check it out on AURN's YouTube channel.

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On February 6, 1820, a contingent of 88 free Black individuals embarked on a journey to the British colony of Sierra Leone aboard a vessel known as the Mayflower of Liberia.

Financed by the U.S. Congress and coordinated by the American Colonization Society, a Quaker group, this endeavor was driven by the belief among many Quakers that Africa provided a more conducive environment for African Americans to prosper, viewing full integration into American society as unattainable.

Arriving safely at Sherbro Island, off the coast of Sierra Leone, on March 9, the group unfortunately faced significant casualties due to malaria.

The concept of establishing an African-American colony in West Africa regained momentum in 1821, when a U.S. Navy vessel journeyed to Liberia in pursuit of suitable land for settlement.

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A House vote on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could come as early as today. On Monday, the Republican-led House Rules Committee voted to send the measure to the full House for a vote after Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma accused Mayorkas of refusing to uphold his oath of office by failing to enforce immigration laws.

Cole referred to Mayorkas as a "principal architect" of the border crisis. Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern, meanwhile, slammed Republicans over the effort, calling it the most frivolous impeachment effort the House has ever seen.

If the vote is successful, Mayorkas would be the first cabinet official impeached in almost a century and a half.

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