AURN News

In a move aimed at protecting children from the allure of flavored vapes and e-cigarette products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a marketing denial order. This order will prevent approximately 6,500 vaping products from reaching the market due to their flavors that may target kids.

The FDA's decision comes in response to growing concerns about the rising popularity of e-cigarettes among young people. Flavors such as cotton candy, bubblegum, and fruit punch have been criticized for their potential appeal to underage consumers.

This latest action by the FDA follows a bipartisan effort in Congress to address the issue of flavored vapes and e-cigarettes. Just recently, a new legislation, HR 901, was introduced, which aims to accomplish what the previous Trump Administration failed to do—remove vape flavors that could entice children from store shelves.

HR 901 has been gaining significant attention and support across party lines. The proposed legislation seeks to curb the marketing and availability of flavored e-cigarettes, recognizing the potential harm they pose to young people's health and well-being. Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, a vocal advocate for the cause, has called upon the Biden administration to take action and put an end to vapes with flavors that entice children to become hooked on nicotine.

"If we look at how fast this is, this epidemic is growing, that's what alarms me as a mother. The [number of] high school students using E-cigarettes has doubled since 2017 and 2019, from 11% to 27%, which has even led the US Surgeon General to say that it's an epidemic, and that's why I think that we really have to move and be proactively pressuring the FDA to actually make these changes," she said.

Critics argue that flavored vapes and e-cigarettes have been cleverly marketed to appeal to young people. The FDA's marketing denial order, combined with the ongoing legislative efforts, aims to address these concerns head-on and protect the health and well-being of the nation's young people.

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Today, we celebrate what would have been the 60th birthday of the legendary Whitney Houston, a voice that touched the hearts of millions and left an everlasting impact on the music industry.

With her unparalleled talent, powerful vocals, and mesmerizing stage presence, Whitney soared to unimaginable heights, becoming one of the greatest voices of all time.

From "I Will Always Love You" to "Greatest Love of All," her songs continue to resonate with audiences, reminding us of her immense talent and the indelible mark she left on the world of music.

As we honor her memory, we celebrate the enduring legacy of a true icon and forever treasure the gift of her timeless music.

Whitney Houston passed away in 2012 at the age of 48.

Happy 60th birthday, Whitney Houston. Your voice lives on in our hearts.

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A sharp 12.5% spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations has been reported for the second consecutive week, with an additional 95,056 patients nationwide, according to the CDC.

Among the states facing this alarming surge, New Hampshire takes the lead with an almost doubled rate, a shocking 96% increase, in just one week. While some states have witnessed a decline, others, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Maryland, have all experienced a surge of over 20%.

Experts like Jill Rosenthal of the Center for American Progress suggest that summer surges may become our reoccurring reality with increased travel and indoor socializing playing roles. A noteworthy point: the Omicron variant and its subtypes account for nearly all cases, 99.9%.

So as summer heats up, is this our new normal for the season and what does this mean for the coming weeks?

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In a pivotal five-four emergency ruling, the Supreme Court has temporarily reinstated the Biden Administration's clamp down on ghost guns, which are DIY firearms that dodge standard regulations. This comes as the court set aside a lower court's decision to scrap the regulation entirely.

Previously, Biden had ramped up efforts to control the sale of the untraceable firearms, but the road wasn't smooth. A Texas Republican-appointed federal judge deemed the move an overreach of the ATF's power.

The ATF wanted to redefine certain gun parts and unfinished kits as firearms, compelling sellers to adhere to usual gun sale regulations like background checks. The Texas judge, however, saw this as stretching the law.

The Supreme Court's split decision saw Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett side with the three liberal justices. Conservative Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh were in opposition.

The kicker: the legal battle is far from over. The case will resurface in a lower appeals court next month and could potentially swing back to the Supreme Court.

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Wayne Brady has told People Magazine that he is now pansexual. This means he's attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual, or non-binary -- being able to be attracted across the board, he says. Apparently, Wayne had been struggling with his sexuality for years, but has figured it out now and has the support of his ex-wife and daughter. Hey, the networks love him too.

After being dumped by Spotify, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's production company has landed a best-selling book and they're going to do a Netflix series about it. Author Carley Fortune confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Archewell Productions are adapting her romance novel, "Meet Me at the Lake," for Netflix. The book has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and the interesting thing is it's kind of a story similar to Harry and Meghan's love story. So, I'm sure they will do a good job on that one.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The pending menthol ban proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has raised serious concerns within the Black community. The ban, expected to be finalized this month, targets menthol cigarettes, which are disproportionately preferred by African Americans.

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which represents more than 200 Black newspapers across the country, spoke out against the proposed ban, highlighting the potential racial profiling implications it could have.

"I don't think it's right for Black people to be targeted by the FDA, or any federal agencies. We’re living in a time now, where they are banning books - they're trying to revise Black history. They're trying to say that Africans enjoyed and benefited from enslavement, which we know is a lie. I just think that the timing is wrong, it’s out of place. And we should be against all forms of racial profiling. And we should be against all forms of racial targeting," Dr. Chavis stated in a recent interview with AURN News.

Citing the tragic and sometimes fatal consequences of racial profiling Black people sometimes experience in interactions with law enforcement, Dr. Chavis emphasized the need to be vigilant about public policies and proposals that put African Americans at disproportionate risk.

“I predict that if this FDA ban is put in place it is going to enhance and increase negative, often fatal interactions between the police and Black America. This is unfair, it's unwarranted. And I think the FDA is off base on the one hand of its science, but on the other hand, it's off base in terms of the social and racial impact of this ban,” he said.

“What we need to be banning in America is racism. We need to be banning police brutality. We need to be banning inequity and inequality and racial injustice. But they're choosing to ban menthol cigarettes that are favored by African Americans and other people of color and for that reason, I, on behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, we're in complete opposition to the proposed menthol ban,” he added.

As the debate continues, important community voices and leaders like Dr. Chavis emphasize the importance of equitable policy-making and understanding the broader social implications of regulatory decisions.

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Attention shifts to Georgia as anticipation builds over another potential indictment against former President Donald Trump.

District Attorney Fani Willis has been meticulously scrutinizing Trump's attempts to interfere with Georgia's tight 2020 election. After more than a year, it seems Willis is prepared for action.

The potential indictment would be Trump's second case tied to the 2020 election, with a federal indictment handed down just last week. In the federal case, he faces four counts over his efforts to impede the transfer of power.

There's also buzz that Georgia might utilize RICO charges, typically reserved for organized crime. Georgia's broad RICO statutes could paint Trump's campaign activities as part of a larger orchestrated effort, potentially bringing additional conspirators into the spotlight.

With the capability to address more than just election-related defenses, could this indictment touch on the Trump campaign's alleged efforts to access voter data in Georgia's Coffee County? Georgia could very well be the next battleground in Trump's ongoing legal saga.

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Edward Blum, the man behind the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling to exclude the consideration of race in college admissions, is now eying a Black woman-led venture capital firm.

Blum, who leads the nonprofit American Alliance for Equal Rights, is suing the Fearless Fund, launched in 2019 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Arian Simone, corporate business strategy executive Ayana Parsons and actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Blum's nonprofit is accusing the Fearless Fund of unlawful racial discrimination because only Black women are eligible in a grant competition. The fund also offers mentorship opportunities in partnership with Mastercard.

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Director Spike Lee's first feature-length film, "She's Gotta Have It," premiered in theaters on Aug. 8, 1986.

"She’s Gotta Have It" is a comedy about Nola Darling, a free-spirited African-American woman in Brooklyn, New York, and her three suitors. Lee makes an appearance in the film as one of those suitors, a bike messenger named Mars Blackmon.

Some of Lee’s other notable works include "Do the Right Thing" and "School Daze," his second and third feature-length films. 

"Do the Right Thing" earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule, has produced dozens of films -- several of them dubbed "Spike Lee joints" -- since the '80s.

"She’s Gotta Have It" was also a Netflix series from 2017 to 2019.

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 In a powerful rebuff, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris refused an invitation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for a conversation on Florida's revised Black history curriculum. DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, had sought Harris' engagement following her disapproval of the state's new teaching guidelines.

These guidelines Harris criticized seem to teach a revisionist history of slavery, emphasizing instances where enslaved people could develop skills for their benefit. She addressed a crowd in Orlando earlier this week at an AME Church event and said, "There is no round table, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact. There were no redeeming qualities of slavery."

So how will these tension-fueled exchanges between Harris and DeSantis impact the 2024 presidential race?

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