MORE NEWS:  Over four years, a Los Angeles school district manager enriched herself with $3 million in kickbacks by working with a tech company executive to deliver $22 million in work, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by the school district.

SPOTLIGHT:  Clarence George Carter (1936 - 2026) was an influential American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose career spanned over six decades. 

SPOTLIGHT:  Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock were an American hiphop duo from Harlem, New York City. Rob Base was the stage name of Robert Ginyard (May 18, 1967 – May 22, 2026) and DJ E-Z Rock was the stage name of Rodney "Skip" Bryce (May 8, 1967 – April 27, 2014). They are best known for the 1988 single "It Takes Two", a "hip-hop staple“ that was a top 40 hit and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. 

ELECTIONS:  Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will win the Democratic primary for Georgia governor in her quest to become the nation’s first Black woman elected governor.If she wins in November, Bottoms also would become the first woman and African American to serve as Georgia’s chief executive.

The Miami-Dade Democrat will leave Congress at the end of her ninth term.U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson has announced she will not seek a ninth term in Congress.

In this episode of BHN Talk Show, news hosts Julia Ann Dudley Najieb, Brigitte Jones review the latest news concerning historical graves vandalized with president Trump's name.

Research shows that a cup of tea has billions of nanoplastic particles in just a few sips.

Spotlight:  HBCU website highlights all the Black colleges throughout the USA.

Georgia gubernatorial candidates Keisah Lance-Bottoms faces scrutiny by her own Democratic Party.

Florida’s newly drawn 20th District is devolving into an intense and bruising showdown over race, criminal charges and political power.

BREAKING:  An alleged cyberattack involving “unauthorized activity” on Canvas -- an education platform widely used by universities and schools across the United States -- caused the site to temporarily shut down on Thursday, officials said.

The company said it confirmed that an unauthorized actor carried out the activity by “exploiting an issue related to our Free-For-Teacher accounts.”

As the Louisiana state Senate debated what the National Homelessness Law Center says is “one of the cruelest anti-homeless bills in the country,” more than 50 mainly Black unhoused people sat and lay on the sidewalk in New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood. 

The bill, which already passed overwhelmingly through the state’s Republican-dominated House of Representatives, could subject unhoused people to fines, jail time, or even unpaid labor if they are found sleeping outdoors. 

SPOTLIGHT: Raye Montague was only seven when she visited a submarine exhibit in her hometown of Little Rock. It sparked in her a love of engineering that would inspire her to shatter the glass ceiling of opportunity for African American women in the 1950s.

Elections & Politicians:Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new U.S. House map Thursday that carves up a majority-Black district in Memphis, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections.

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday blocked a new Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect, delivering a major boost for Republicans as they defend their narrow House majority in the midterm elections.Weeks after Virginia narrowly approved the plan in a statewide vote, the court ruled that Democratic lawmakers did not meet the procedural requirements to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, which was written to pave the way for the redrawn district lines. Democrats were seeking a map designed to give the party up to four new House seats.

News hosts explore the surprise tornado weather in California, and the mediocre weather in Texas, White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, Sarah's Oil movie, President Donald Trump has resurrected his public rebuke of former President Barack Obama, reparations argument revisited in 3 minutes, and California's unique way of connecting to nonprofits throughout the state.

On April 15, 2026, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recited a prayer during a Pentagon service that was an adapted version of the fictional "Ezekiel 25:17" monologue from the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. Hegseth, referring to it as the "CSAR 25:17" prayer, used the adapted quote—famously delivered by Samuel L. Jackson—to describe a military rescue mission.

(Capital B) Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who was the second Black American to hold that office in the state, fatally shot his estranged wife, Cerina Fairfax, and then himself at their home, police said.

(NBC News) President Donald Trump announce that he was nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Schwartz served as deputy U.S. surgeon general during Trump’s first term.  The CDC has been without a permanent director since August.

SPOTLIGHT:  On April 21, 1937, Illinois congressman Arthur Wergs Mitchell, was told to move to the section of the train designated for African American passengers, in accordance with the Arkansas Separate Coach Law of 1891.Under threat of arrest, Mitchell moved to the designated area and filed a lawsuit once he returned to Illinois.

(GAMBIT) The Louisiana House Judiciary Committee April 16 passed a bill essentially eliminating New Orleans’ clerk of criminal court just weeks before Calvin Duncan, a Black man who was wrongfully imprisoned for decades before being elected to the position last year, is set to take office.  The committee quickly passed Senate Bill 256 by Sen. Jay Morris, a Monroe Republican, on an 8-5 vote in a push to get it before Gov. Jeff Landry so that it can take effect before Duncan starts his term as criminal clerk of court on May 4.

LEAD:  Each year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of plastic—enough to fill more than a million garbage trucks—and less than 10 percent of these products are recycled. The rest are stuffed into landfills; strewn across our land, oceans, and waterways; or burned in incinerators that create dioxin, a potent cancer-causing chemical.

Breaking:  Over 100 Nigerian civilians were accidentally killed, according to the local government.Afrika Bambaataa, the rapper and producer who helped create and bring hip-hop and electronic music to the world with songs such as "Planet Rock" and "Looking for the Perfect Beat," has died. He was 68 years old.  He carries with him the past of sexual abuse allegations, according to a former member of the group.Trick Daddy’s performance at an AKA conference sparks controversy.Automatic military draft explained.Spotlight: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (Los Angeles, CA): Founded in 1966, is considered the only Black college in California.Elections:  The Texas Supreme Court has effectively blocked a lower court’s order to remove Brittanye Lashay Morris, a Democratic candidate for Fort Bend County Precinct 4 commissioner, from the May 26 runoff ballot.Lead Story:  The Pine Bluff Branch NAACP has formally requested that the National NAACP Board adopt a resolution addressing systemic institutional failures that leave elderly African Americans with dementia vulnerable to financial exploitation — failures documented in the case of Dr. Jacquelyn W. McCray, a 2024 Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame inductee whose family trust was allegedly exploited while state and local agencies designed to protect her failed to act.

Applause erupted in the UN General Assembly Hall on Wednesday as Member States adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity.  The resolution spearheaded by Ghana received 123 votes in favor.  Three countries – Argentina, Israel and the United States – voted against and 52 abstained.  

“No Kings” demonstrations took place across the nation today, with crowds in major cities, suburbs and small towns marching, singing, and speaking out against President Donald Trump’s policies, the rising cost of living and the war with Iran.

The Defense Department has requested $200 billion in funding to support Operation Epic Fury against Iran, but the Pentagon has yet to provide Congress much clarity on how it plans to spend that money, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said March 25.

Here is a a review of the United States Alleged War Crimes and Violations since 2026 ...

United States-Iran relations have shifted from close, strategic partnership (1953–1979) to bitter, adversarial conflict (1979–present), largely driven by the 1953 CIA-backed coup and the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Formerly a Cold War ally under the Shah, Iran became a major adversary characterized by the Hostage Crisis, diplomatic estrangement, and sanctions.

Spotlight:  Chiquita Renee Shepard (July 15, 1951 – March 16, 2026), known professionally as Kiki Shepard, was an American television host, actress and dancer best known as the co-host of Showtime at the Apollo from 1987 to 2002.

So far, 36 House Republicans — including the most recent, Rep. Sam Graves (Mo.) — have announced they will leave their seat at the end of their term, pointing to legislative gridlock, family commitments or a wish to make room for the next generation of leaders.

(The Wrap) California, New York and six other attorneys general filed an emergency motion to block the recently approved Nexstar-Tegna merger. The FCC’s media bureau approved Nexstar’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival TV station owner Tegna on Thursday.

(Capital B) Angelica Johnson is forced to recount the images and sounds of her son, Da’Quain Johnson, being attacked by a police K-9 dog and being shot three times by police last month.  In the month since the Feb. 18 shooting of the 32-year-old father by Grand Rapids, Michigan, police, Johnson remains skeptical of everything the police and local media have reported about her son’s death.  

Metro Atlanta is undergoing a housing crisis, which has been fueled in part by corporate investors and left unchecked by Georgia state lawmakers. Many of these lawmakers are real estate investors themselves, an investigation by Capital B and Type Investigations has found.

Atlanta has long been called the Black Mecca, and through the early 2000s, the city boasted a reputation as an affordable city with a growing and prosperous Black middle class. In recent years, however, the lack of affordable housing has pushed thousands of Black people to the margins — or out of the city entirely.

FAMU students not happy with secret agreement between their college and ICE without prior notification.

Ryan Coogler's 2025 movie, Sinners, wins four Oscar, along with other Academy Award winners and historical firsts on his production team.

Savannah, Georgia has a first, Black Ms. St. Patrick's Day.

The special election to fill former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's vacant House seat in Georgia's solidly red 14th Congressional District is headed to a runoff next month.

Nearly 40% of nonorganic fruits and vegetables grown in California contain traces of pesticides that are also PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” according to a new investigation.