Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 7-8-16 Online Edition

President /Race To The White House
President Obama Announces Financial Aid To Inmates
First Family Women ‘Rock’ Fashion On Multi-Country Tour
Cory Booker May Be Hillary Clinton’s
Running Mate
President Obama was the first sitting president to visit prisoners.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and N. J. Senator Cory Booker.
Mass incarceration is a huge problem in the United States, one that has been a hot topic this campaign season.
On a mission to provide suc- cessful alternatives to incarcer- ation and eliminate unnecessary barriers to re- entry, President Obama has announced the Second Chance Pell Grant Pilot Program.
The Second Chance Pell Grant Program will provide $30 mil- lion dollars in financial aid to inmates at 141 state and federal correctional institutions.
With the creation of this new pilot program up to 12,000 pris- oners will be able to participate. In order to qualify for the finan- cial aid, inmates must be eligi- ble for release within 5 years of enrolling in coursework. Those who qualify will be eligible to use up to $5,815 to pursue a 2 or 4-year degree from one of 67 approved colleges and universi- ties. The universities participat- ing in the program will offer in classroom instruction, online courses or a mix of both.
In 1994 Congress instituted a
ban on providing financial aid to prisoners. Congress has ar- gued for the last 22 years that it is unfair for prisoners to receive financial aid when financial aid dollars are already limited. Even though the ban is still in place, President Obama has exercised authority to create limited experiments in the de- ployment of federal student aid. The President has received support from Education Secre- tary John B. King, Jr. who fully stands by the pilot pro- gram.
“We all agree that crime must have consequences, but the men and women who have done their time and paid their debt deserve the opportunity to break with the past and forge new lives in their homes, work- places ad communities.This be- lief in second chances is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” King said on a call with reporters last Thursday.
This is great news for those who are looking for a second chance behind walls that tend not to easily provide them.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is no longer flat out denying that he is being vetted as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton, a change from just weeks ago. He is now refer- ring questions of the sort to “the Clinton campaign.”
On Sunday, speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Booker now says, “I’m just referring ques- tions about the vice presidency to the woman who is going to have to make this decision. You should talk to the Clinton cam- paign.”
CNN reports that just last month, Booker told MSNBC straight out: “I’m not being vet- ted” by the presumptive Demo- cratic nominee.
Booker is one of several De- mocrats believed to be under consideration by Clinton, notes CNN. Sen. Tim Kaine of Vir- ginia; Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Rep. Xavier Beccera of California are also on the short list.
One thing that Booker has going against him is that New Jersey’s Republican governor, Chris Christie—an early Don- ald Trump surrogate—would pick his replacement if he leaves for the White House. Democrats want the majority in the Senate this election and may not want to risk the young Senator.
Fittingly, the women of the Obama family took a multi- country tour in support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn ini- tiative, which promotes educa- tion in young girls around the globe, and specifically in Africa for this trip.
According to the Washing- ton Free Beacon, the First Lady kicked off the tour in Liberia, the African nation founded by repatriated African Americans in 1847, before moving on to Morocco and fi- nally Spain.
On last Thursday, the First Lady attended a lavish dinner with Moroccan Princess Lalla Salma, the wife of King Mohammed VI, wear- ing a black and white paisley printed Altuzarra maxi dress, available at Barneys for $2,995.
She was joined by daughters, Sasha and Malia as well as her mother, Marian Robin- son, and all four represented with beautiful patterned dresses that were appropri-
ately striking and modest. The trip, which Mrs. Obama outlined in a blog post, saw the First Lady joined by award-winning ac- tresses and education advo- cates, Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto and by CNN correspondent Isha Sesay, who will “work together to cre- ate a CNN film highlighting the stories of girls who are struggling to get an educa-
tion.”
On Friday, Mrs. Obama
penned an op-ed on CNN giv- ing further detail:
In Liberia we’ll be running girls’ empowerment programs, working to end gender vio- lence in schools, and support- ing new, second-chance schools for girls who were forced to drop out because of pregnancy or rape.
In Morocco we’ll be working closely with the Moroccan gov- ernment to help transform high schools across the coun- try, and we’ll be supporting new school dormitories to allow girls from rural areas to attend school far from home.
In just a few short weeks, Malia Obama, whose 18th birthday was July 4, is sched- uled to head to Spain for an U.S. Embassy internship.
After graduating from Sid- well Friend School she report- edly decided to take a sabbatical year before starting at Harvard University in the fall of 2017.
American embassies often take State Department interns during the year, usually recent college graduates. According to ABC, Malia’s decision to intern in the Spanish capital may be related to the Oba- mas’ friendship with the U. S. ambassador in Madrid, James Costos.
First Lady Michele Obama, her mother and daughters in Mo- rocco.
Malia Obama Snags Internship At U. S. Embassy In Spain
You Better Vote!!!: Chris Christie Or Newt Gingrich Could Be Donald Trump’s Pick For V. P.
Bumbling billionaire Don- ald Trump has finally for- mally started vetting prospective vice presidential picks.
Christie tops the short list of potential running mates and have received vetting paper- work, the Washington Post re- ported Thursday.
Trump has promised to un- veil his veep choice at the Re- publican National Convention in Cleveland — which is less than three weeks away.
Trump appeared to give
CHRIS CHRISTIE Christie, who campaigned
frequently with the former re- ality TV show star after bowing out of the presidential race, a nod on Thursday.
NEWT GINGRICH
“I’m certainly looking at him and I always will,” Trump told conservative radio host Howie Carr. “Whether it’s for that or something else.”
The First Daughters arrive at one stop of multi-country trip.
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2016