AURN News

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against portions of Florida's new election law, which would have prevented non-U.S. citizens from handling voter registration applications and made it a felony for registration workers to keep personal information of voters.

The ruling by U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker granted a preliminary injunction against the law. In his order, he wrote, "When state government power threatens to spread beyond constitutional bounds and reduce individual rights to ashes, the federal judiciary stands as a firewall."

The order sides with several groups, including the NAACP, who argued that the law was unconstitutional.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed the measure in May, claiming it would be needed to ensure election security.

The judge's ruling is a major victory for voting rights advocates, who have argued that the law would disproportionately impact minority voters. The injunction will remain in effect until the case is fully resolved.

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Audio of a hazmat team coming across a white powdery substance found at the White House was logged by a website that gathers radio communications:

"We have a yellow bar stating cocaine hydrochloride. Staff number 53-21."

Formal lab tests have now confirmed that the substance was cocaine. It was found inside a cubby commonly used by staff and security, where many times electronics are stored, in the West Wing.

The Secret Service is conducting an investigation to try to determine who brought it in. The small dime-sized bag was found by Secret Service around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, while President Biden and his family were away at Camp David for the holiday weekend.

The discovery led to a brief evacuation of the White House.

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Elon Musk’s new vision for Twitter appears to be backfiring and a new social media app created by Black tech entrepreneurs is surging.

Last week, Musk announced new rate limits that will prevent unverified users from viewing more than 600 tweets a day. This comes after removing verified check marks and pushing people to pay for basic features that were available to everyone before he took over the app.

According to AfroTech, a new app called Spill, created by Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown, two former Twitter employees, is built around creating safe spaces for diverse communities. According to recent reports from AfroTech, the Spill app has been soaring on the Apple App Store where it hit number one. Spill is currently only available for iPhone users.

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A new poll shows that a slight majority of Americans, 52%, agree with the Supreme Court’s decision to remove race as a factor in college admissions. However, there is a significant divide along racial lines with most white Americans, 60%, in favor of the decision, and most Black Americans and Latinos opposed.

The poll, conducted by ABC News-Ipsos, also found that most white Americans believe that people of all racial backgrounds have an equal chance of being accepted by a college. However, 70% of Black Americans and 60% of Latinos believe that is not the case.

The Supreme Court’s decision is a significant setback for affirmative action, which has been used by colleges and universities to increase diversity on campuses. The decision is likely to have a major impact on college admissions, making it more difficult for students of minority groups to gain admission to select and elite schools

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On July 4, 1881, educator and activist Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, known today as Tuskegee University, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Washington served as the school’s first principal and presided over the first day of class, which was held in a one-room church before the first official building was erected one year later.

Washington recruited the most qualified Black teachers to teach at the school, including scientist George Washington Carver, who arrived in 1896. While only 30 men and women made up the school’s inaugural class, Tuskegee University’s influence and legacy has since flourished.

Today, the university is the largest producer of African-Americans with degrees in Math, Science and Engineering in Alabama, according to the school’s website.

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On July 3, 1861, boxer Peter “The Prince” Jackson was born in Saint Croix. After moving to Australia as a child, Jackson got his start boxing in 1882 when he stopped a shipboard mutiny.

His defense skills attracted fight promoters from around the country, and in 1886, Jackson won the Australian heavyweight title by knocking out Tom Leeds in the 30th round.

Because few white fighters agreed to face Jackson, he left Australia for the United States. On May 21, 1891, Jackson famously went 61 rounds with James “Gentleman Jim” Corbett in a bout eventually ruled as a draw.

He traveled to England in 1892 and won the British Empire championship, but was forced to retire for six years after sustaining three broken ribs and a punctured lung in a separate injury.

On July 13, 1901, at age 40, he died of tuberculosis, which he contracted from his 1892 lung injury.

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In a surprising turn of events, the NYPD may now arrest Jonathan Majors' accuser, according to multiple reports. Majors' career was recently sidelined and unraveled because of the domestic violence allegations from his girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, who claims Majors attacked her.

Majors was arrested back in March. But his lawyer has been saying all along that he was actually the victim. Well, it appears that someone now within the police department agrees. Majors has filed a cross-complaint accusing Jabbari of slapping and scratching him when she was drunk and hysterical.

The New York Times cited three sources who said that the NYPD believes there is enough evidence to support Jabbari's arrest. But they have not said anything else other than that.

By the way, the news comes as Jonathan's Marvel co-star, Anthony Mackie, offered him some public words of encouragement, saying basically, here in America, nobody is guilty until proven so -- which is true.

Well, this one is really playing out, so we'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

And for all these stories and a whole lot more, don't forget to follow Tanya Hart on social media @tanyahollywood and @aurnonline.

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In a ruling that has historical significance, a Washington D.C. judge has ordered the Proud Boys, a white supremacist group, to pay more than $1 million in damages for vandalizing a predominantly Black church.

The vandalism took place in December 2020, just days after then-President Donald Trump lost his re-election bid. Members of the Proud Boys burned a Black Lives Matter sign and tore down a banner at Metropolitan AME Church, one of the oldest Black churches in the U.S. The church sued the Proud Boys for the damages, and last week, Judge Neal Kravitz approved a default judgment against them after four of the named defendants failed to show up in court.

Judge Kravitz called the vandalism a hateful and overtly racist attack and ordered the four defendants and the group's LLC to pay the church just over $1 million.

The ruling is a significant victory for the church and the Black community as it sends a message that hate crimes will not be tolerated. It's also a reminder of the long history of white supremacy in the U.S. and the need to continue to fight for racial justice.

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Airports are being hit with more travel issues as a record number of Americans travel during the extended 4th of July weekend. FlightAware reports that over 600 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were canceled Sunday and more than 7,000 flights were delayed.

New York area airports were among the hardest hit, along with Philadelphia and Boston. The latest disruptions come amid severe weather threats throughout the U.S. in recent days.

Meanwhile, the cost of mailing a letter is going up. The U.S. Postal Service is hiking the price of a stamp from 63 cents to 66 cents. This month will mark the fourth price increase in two years on Forever Stamps.

USPS says the new hike is needed to offset inflation. The postal service will also increase rates for packages and marketing mail. The changes will take effect on Sunday, July 9.

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President Biden said Friday he feels disappointed after the Supreme Court struck down his student debt forgiveness plan and blames Republicans for forcing the issue all the way to the high court.

Speaking from the White House, he outlined steps his administration is taking to help ease the burden of millions of borrowers. First, the president said he's directing the Department of Education to use the Higher Education Act of 1965.

"Now, that will allow [Education] Secretary [Miguel] Cardona, who is with me today, to compromise, waive or release loans under certain circumstances. This new path is legally sound. It's gonna take longer. And in my view, it's the best path that remains to student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible." President Biden said.

Second, while it does take a long time to put in place, he's implementing a 12 month repayment program.

"That's why we're creating a temporary 12 month, what we're calling on-ramp repayment program. But if you cannot, if you miss payments this on-ramp temporarily removes the threat of default or having your credit harmed, which can hurt borrowers for years to come." President Biden explained.

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