November 17, 2016
Associated Press
Gwen Ifill, co-anchor of PBS’ “NewsHour” with Judy Woodruff and a veteran journalist who moderated two vice presidential debates, died Monday of cancer, the network said.
She was 61.
A former reporter for The New York Times and The Washington Post, Ifill switched to television in the 1990s and covered politics and Congress for NBC News. She moved to PBS in 1999 as host of “Washington Week” and also worked for the nightly “NewsHour” program. She and Woodruff were named co-anchors in 2013.
She moderated vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008 and authored the book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.”
Ifill took a leave from “NewsHour” for a month this spring for health reasons, keeping details of her illness private. Her health failing, she left “NewsHour” again shortly before an election night that she and Woodruff would have covered together.
“Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, fairness and integrity in an industry going through seismic change,” said Sara Just, PBS “NewsHour” executive producer. “She was a mentor to so many across the industry and her professionalism was respected across the political spectrum. She was a journalist’s journalist and set an example for all around her.”
NBC News’ Pete Williams, a former colleague, struggled to keep his composure Monday when announcing Ifill’s death on MSNBC.
“She had so many awards in her office you could barely see out the window,” Williams said.
Shortly before moderating the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin in 2008, Ifill brushed aside concerns that she might not be fair because she was writing a book about Obama.
“I’ve got a pretty long track record covering politics and news, so I’m not particularly worried that one-day blog chatter is going to destroy my reputation,” she told The Associated Press then.
Ifill, who was black, also questioned why people would assume her book would be favorable toward Obama. “Do you think they made the same assumptions about Lou Cannon (who is white) when he wrote his book about Reagan?” she said.
November 10, 2016
Staff and Wire Report
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did not make a victory speech November 8, after a variety of media outlets began to call Donald Trump as the new United States president elect. As of Sentinel press time, Trump was ahead with 266 electoral votes to Clinton’s 218 in a nail biting contest that surprised many Clinton supporters. Many attributed the win to Clinton’s weak campaign, saying that it did not inspire enough Trump opposers to actually vote for her.
“Donald Trump's tough talk about Latinos and African-Americans failed to send enough voters in these groups into the arms of Hillary Clinton,” wrote CNN’s Tami Luhby and Jennifer Agiesta.
“Some 88% of black voters supported Clinton, versus 8% for Trump, who said repeatedly that black communities are in the worst shape ever. While that's a large margin, it's not as big as President Barack Obama's victory over Mitt Romney in 2012. Obama locked up 93% of the black vote to Romney's 7%...”
As polls began to close across the country, some were already conceding to a Trump win, albeit not happily or willingly. CNN analyst Van Jones called it a “nightmare” and told reporters that it would be “difficult for many parents to explain to their children how a man who regularly insults and belittles others was the president-elect.”
“People have talked about a miracle ― I’m hearing about a nightmare,” Jones said on CNN. “It’s hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bully.’ You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bigot.’ You tell your kids, ‘Do your homework and be prepared.’ Then you have this outcome, and you have people putting children to bed tonight and they’re afraid of breakfast…”
Trump, 70, will be the 45th president of the United States. A real-estate developer and former reality-TV star, Trump is the first person to win the presidency without having previously held public office or served in the U.S. military.
According to the Washington Post, “Trump’s victory could produce significant repercussions, both economic and political.”
The win also handed the GOP control over both the House and Senate and that, according Washington Post reporters, “could lead to long-sought GOP dreams coming true, like the repeal of Obamacare and the end of regulations limiting greenhouse-gas emissions. But it could also lead to Republican infighting, since Trump’s policy ideas – including more friendliness toward Russia, and protectionist trade positions – are starkly at odds with what other many Republicans believe.”
Perhaps one blogger, D. Watkins summed it up best on Salon.com.
“Maybe we can pool our money together, redefine education, start our own army and even build a wall,” he wrote.
“A real wall — far more impressive than the one Donald is lying about building between us and Mexico. A massive bulletproof structure to separate us from Trump, the KKK, his supporters, his KKK supporters, all the heavily armed George Zimmerman types and the rest of the morons who hate and or try to destroy blackness — like Ben Carson and Stacey Dash.
“I would also like to extend the invitation to all Mexicans as well — because even though we disagree on everything from dance moves to our taste in music to the way we wear our jeans to how rice should be prepared, we all have to unite and protect ourselves from Donald Trump and the long list of angry supporters who are going to be even angrier when he doesn’t make good on any of his promises…”
November 10, 2016
Sentinel Staff Report
It was a close race between the community pick, Senator Isadore Hall, III and his campaign opponent, Nanette Barragán for the Congressional District 44 as both candidates battled into the early morning. As of press time, with 354 of 358 precincts reporting, Nanette Barragán has 51% of the vote over Isadore Hall with 49% of the vote.
Hall’s campaign has read as an impressive fact list of why he is the best choice for the district citing experience, results and knowledge of district as factors.
“This has been an extraordinary opportunity for me to touch every region of this district,” said Hall at his Campaign Headquarters. “To have a coalition of supporters from the Latino community, [Asian and Pacific Islander] community, Caucasian community and the African American community.”
Hall has demonstrated his skills as a local leader and public servant from Sacramento to South Los Angeles a councilman, school board member, Assemblyman and State Senator. His fight would be for working with families, securing the largest increase in funding for education, expanding immigrant rights, and fighting for common-sense gun laws.
In July 2016, Governor Brown signed a package of bills creating the strongest gun violence prevention laws in the nation which included SB 880 by Hall and Senator Steve Glazer (D – Orinda). This bill closes the bullet button loophole in California’s assault weapons ban. The measure was approved by the State Assembly on a vote of 44 to 30 and had been approved by the State Senate in May on a vote of 24 to 14.
SB 880 specifically redefines an assault weapon to include military-style semi-automatic firearms that do not have a fixed ammunition magazine, requires such weapons to be registered with the California Department of Justice and prohibits the future sale, purchase or possession of such weapons in the state. SB 880 will take effect on January 1, 2017.
Hall has received the support of every mayor in the district and endorsements from fellow elected officials, high-powered figures and organizations such as California Governor Jerry Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti , incumbent Congresswoman Janice Hahn, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilman Joe Buscaino, the California Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the California Labor Federation, the California Small Business Association, the National Organization for Women, L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis, CA Senator Ricardo Lara, Laker legend and Dodgers Owner Earvin “Magic” Johnson, L.A. former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Mayor Richard Riordan.
Barragán put herself through UCLA and USC Law School. During her time as councilwoman, she balanced budgets, fixed streets, helped expand afterschool programs and hired new police officers without raising taxes.
Barragán has been fighting for children and families since college. She’s helped immigrant families escape violence and kept them together. She also volunteered to help build homes for low-income families within the community and is currently an advocate for children in foster care with special education needs.
Barragán has worked as a community advocate in Los Angeles as well as in Washington. She worked in President Bill Clinton’s White House and then at the NAACP – focusing on racial and social justice issues – and volunteered to ensure voters’ rights were protected at the polls during President Obama’s campaign.
Hall thanked all his supporters, friends and family for believing in him and his campaign. He spoke on his plans for the CD44 and the duties the representative of the district must uphold. Hall also spoke about how proud he was with his campaign and how it was conducted.
“It has been great being able to deliver a message and know, you didn’t have to go low when our opponents went low, and when they went low, we obviously went very, very high,” said Hall.
November 03, 2016
LAWT News Service
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Howard University, announced the results of the 2016 Howard University/NNPA National Black Voter Poll. Nearly 90 percent of Black voters plan to cast ballots for Hillary Clinton and two percent plan to vote for Donald Trump, according to the poll.
The HU/NNPA national polling center, located on the campus of Howard University, made over 21,200 telephone calls across the United States from October 23, 2016 to October 30, 2016.
The HU/NNPA National Black Voter Poll revealed that the top issues influencing Black voters included the economy and jobs, income inequality, race and race relations, college affordability and high quality education in pre-kindergarten.
Howard University faculty and students from multiple departments and disciplines including economics, political science, sociology, communications and media studies, were represented in the coordinated effort.
“This multi-disciplinary team has drawn on its expertise to develop a comprehensive polling instrument designed to assess the opinions of Black Americans on the presidential candidates and other important issues facing the Black community and the nation,” said Terri Adams-Fuller, the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Howard University.
Highlights from the HU/NNPA National Black Voter Poll:
• 94% of those polled plan to vote in the upcoming election
Of those who plan to vote:
• 89.8% for Clinton
• 2% for Trump
• 0% for Johnson
• 0% for Stein
• 7.2% for another candidate
The respondents also identified their party affiliations:
• 82% Identify as Democrat
• 2% Identify as Republican
• 9% Identify as Independent (67% normally vote for Democrats, 5% normally vote Republican, 28%
normally don’t vote for either major party)
• 7% Identify as Other
“As a result of this poll, candidates and those who will be successful in occupying the White House and controlling Congress will know the prioritized issues and nuanced concerns of the Black community,” said Rubin Patterson, the chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. “We hope that these findings will shape their policy and legislative agendas starting next year.”
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA said that the NNPA-HU National Black Voter Poll is timely and very significant for Black America.
“The fact that 94 percent of Black Americans polled indicated that they intend to vote on November 8, or have already voted during the early voting period is indicative of the importance of the right to vote in Black America at a time when there has been inaccurate speculation about how Blacks in United States view the 2016 national elections,” said Chavis.
Chavis added: “This poll provides clarity on the national issues and the candidates for President of the United States. The poll verifies that Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming favorite of Black American voters over Donald Trump.”