Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 5-22-20

Political News
"If the world’s going to get bet- ter, it going to be up to you."
With most graduations can- celed as a result of the coron- avirus pandemic, former President Barack Obama ap- peared on television and social media platforms to give two vir- tual commencement addresses— one for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and another for 2020 high school graduates, the latter broadcasted as part of a special called Gradu- ate Together: America Honors the Class of 2020.
On May 16, President Obama used his time to con- gratulate students and teachers, but also to call out leaders who "don't have all the answers" and encouraged graduates to learn from the past to carve out their own path and make the world a better place.
Obama spoke firmly about the pandemic, describing how it has "shaken up the status quo and laid bare a lot of our coun- try’s deep-seated problems— from massive economic inequality to on-going racial dis- parities to a lack of basic health care for people who need it." He also noted that it's woken up young people "to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don’t work."
"It’s also pulled the curtain back on another hard truth, something that we all have to eventually accept once our child- hood comes to an end," he con- tinued, "All those adults that you used to think were in charge and
Biden Launches HBCU Investment Plan With Help From Randall Woodfin
Barack Obama Calls On Graduates To 'Set The World On A Different Path' During Commencement Speech
Joe Biden has decided to launch a full offensive to court historically Black col- lege and university (HBCU) graduates and current stu- dents in his bid for the presi- dency.
To support Biden in his efforts, Birmingham, Ala- bama Mayor Randall Woodfin joined a call with HBCU students and alumni on Thursday, May 14, to lay out Biden’s plans for Black America, and HBCUs more
JOE BIDEN
specifically.
HBCU students for Biden,
a segment of the National Students for Biden, laid out the former vice president’s $70 billion investment plan for HBCUs. Southern Politi- cal Director Vincent Evans, an HBCU graduate himself, explained that Biden’s plan was partially written by HBCU graduates who under- stand the intricacies, com- plexities, and necessities of expanding access to universi- ties, Pell grants and afford- ability, once accepted.
BARACK OBAMA
knew what they were doing? It turns out that they don’t have all the answers. A lot of them aren’t even asking the right questions. So, if the world’s going to get bet- ter, it going to be up to you."
He evoked a similar tone in his earlier speech to HBCUs, en- couraging graduates to find their own solutions to propel the world forward. During the Grad- uate Together special, which also featured Zendaya, the Jonas Brothers, and Malala Yousafzai, President Barack Obama emphasized the ideas of community and sticking to- gether.
"So be alive to one another’s struggles," he said. "Stand up for one another’s rights. Leave be- hind all the old ways of thinking that divide us – sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed–and set the world on a different path."
Senate Votes To Allow FBI To Look At Your Web Browsing History Without A Warrant
The U. S. Senate has voted to give law enforcement agencies access to web browsing data without a war- rant, dramatically expanding the government’s surveil- lance powers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The power grab was led by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell as part of a reauthorization of the Patriot Act, which gives fed- eral agencies broad domestic surveillance powers. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) at- tempted to remove the ex- panded powers from the bill
with a bipartisan amend- ment.
But in a shock upset, the privacy-preserving amend- ment fell short by a single vote after several senators who would have voted “Yes”
failed to show up to the ses- sion, including Bernie Sanders. Nine Democratic senators also voted “No,” causing the amendment to fall short of the 60-vote threshold it needed to pass.
Paul Manafort Released To Home Confinement Amid Coronavirus Threat In Prison
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was transferred Wednesday to home confinement after he requested release because of the threat COVID-19 poses to his health, his lawyer, Kevin Downing, confirmed to CBS News.
CBS News was told that early Wednesday morning two family members includ- ing his wife picked up Man- afort at FCI Loretto, the low-security federal prison in Pennsylvania where he has been serving his term.
In March 2019, Manafort was sentenced to a total of 90 months — or 7.5 years — in two separate cases involving tax and bank fraud and re- lated charges. CBS News was told that early Wednesday
PAUL MANAFORT
morning two family mem- bers including his wife picked up Manafort at FCI Loretto, the low-security federal prison in Pennsylvania where he has been serving his term.
On April 13, his attor- neys, Todd Blanche and Downing, wrote a letter to
the director of the Bureau of Prisons and the warden at Federal Correctional Institu- tion (FCI) Loretto to request the immediate transfer to home confinement "to serve the remainder of his sentence or, alternatively, for the du- ration of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic."
Manafort's lawyers pointed out that he is 71 years old and suffers from a num- ber of maladies, including "high blood pressure, liver disease, and respiratory ail- ments." In the letter, first ob- tained by CBS News, the lawyers noted that he was hospitalized for several days in December for a heart con- dition, and in February, that he became ill with influenza and bronchitis.
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2020