By KENYA HUNTER, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington . As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017. Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race , held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets , he didn’t just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin. “It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.” After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris , many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing. Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote in their communities. They had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Harris, who would have been the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency. Harris’ loss spurred a wave of Black women across social media resolving to prioritize themselves, before giving so much to a country that over and over has shown its indifference to their concerns. AP VoteCast , a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy in the United States was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, with Trump set to return to office in two months, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to. “America is going to have to save herself,” said LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the national voting rights group Black Voters Matter. She compared Black women’s presence in social justice movements as “core strategists and core organizers” to the North Star, known as the most consistent and dependable star in the galaxy because of its seemingly fixed position in the sky. People can rely on Black women to lead change, Brown said, but the next four years will look different. “That’s not a herculean task that’s for us. We don’t want that title. ... I have no goals to be a martyr for a nation that cares nothing about me,” she said. AP VoteCast paints a clear picture of Black women’s concerns. Black female voters were most likely to say that democracy was the single most important factor for their vote, compared to other motivators such as high prices or abortion. More than 7 in 10 Black female voters said they were “very concerned” that electing Trump would lead the nation toward authoritarianism, while only about 2 in 10 said this about Harris. About 9 in 10 Black female voters supported Harris in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, similar to the share that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Trump received support from more than half of white voters, who made up the vast majority of his coalition in both years. Like voters overall, Black women were most likely to say the economy and jobs were the most important issues facing the country, with about one-third saying that. But they were more likely than many other groups to say that abortion and racism were the top issues, and much less likely than other groups to say immigration was the top issue. Despite those concerns, which were well-voiced by Black women throughout the campaign, increased support from young men of color and white women helped expand Trump’s lead and secured his victory. Politically engaged Black women said they don’t plan to continue positioning themselves in the vertebrae of the “backbone” of America’s democracy. The growing movement prompting Black women to withdraw is a shift from history, where they are often present and at the forefront of political and social change. One of the earliest examples is the women’s suffrage movement that led to ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution , which gave women the right to vote. Black women, however, were prevented from voting for decades afterward because of Jim Crow-era literacy tests, poll taxes and laws that blocked the grandchildren of slaves from voting. Most Black women couldn’t vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Black women were among the organizers and counted among the marchers brutalized on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, during the historic march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that preceded federal legislation. Decades later, Black women were prominent organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes. In his 2024 campaign, Trump called for leveraging federal money to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government programs and discussions of race, gender or sexual orientation in schools. His rhetoric on immigration, including false claims that Black Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs, drove support for his plan to deport millions of people . Related Articles Tenita Taylor, a Black resident of Atlanta who supported Trump this year, said she was initially excited about Harris’ candidacy. But after thinking about how high her grocery bills have been, she feels that voting for Trump in hopes of finally getting lower prices was a form of self-prioritization. “People say, ‘Well, that’s selfish, it was gonna be better for the greater good,”’ she said. “I’m a mother of five kids. ... The things that (Democrats) do either affect the rich or the poor.” Some of Trump’s plans affect people in Olivia Gordon’s immediate community, which is why she struggled to get behind the “Black women rest” wave. Gordon, a New York-based lawyer who supported the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s presidential nominee, Claudia de la Cruz, worries about who may be left behind if the 92% of Black women voters who backed Harris simply stopped advocating. “We’re talking millions of Black women here. If millions of Black women take a step back, it absolutely leaves holes, but for other Black women,” she said. “I think we sometimes are in the bubble of if it’s not in your immediate circle, maybe it doesn’t apply to you. And I truly implore people to understand that it does.” Nicole Lewis, an Alabama-based therapist who specializes in treating Black women’s stress, said she’s aware that Black women withdrawing from social impact movements could have a fallout. But she also hopes that it forces a reckoning for the nation to understand the consequences of not standing in solidarity with Black women. “It could impact things negatively because there isn’t that voice from the most empathetic group,” she said. “I also think it’s going to give other groups an opportunity to step up. ... My hope is that they do show up for themselves and everyone else.” Brown said a reckoning might be exactly what the country needs, but it’s a reckoning for everyone else. Black women, she said, did their job when they supported Harris in droves in hopes they could thwart the massive changes expected under Trump. “This ain’t our reckoning,” she said. “I don’t feel no guilt.” AP polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux and Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.49ers QB Brock Purdy resumes throwing but status for this week remains unknown
Who Is Luigi Mangione’s Lawyer? 5 Things About Karen Friedman AgnifiloSANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy took part in some light throwing on Monday after missing his first career game because of an injury and the 49ers are hoping he can return this week. Purdy hurt his throwing shoulder during a loss to Seattle on Nov. 17. Purdy underwent two MRIs last week that showed no structural damage. But Purdy he felt discomfort after making a few throws at practice on Thursday and was shut down for the game at Green Bay on Sunday that San Francisco lost 38-10 . Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Purdy made it through the session without pain and will rest on Tuesday and hopefully be able to return to practice on Wednesday as the Niners prepare to play at Buffalo this coming week. “We rested it throughout the weekend hoping that would help,” Shanahan said. “He threw lighter today to see if that rest helps and the rest did help him. So we’ll see again, going through the same things we did last week. We’re going to let him rest all the way up to Wednesday. We’ll see how it feels on Wednesday and then we’ll take the exact same course throughout the week. Hopefully it responds better this week than it did last week with the rest.” Brandon Allen went 17 for 29 for 199 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble in his first start since the 2021 season. Allen would play once again if Purdy is unable to go on Sunday at Buffalo. Purdy wasn't the only star player missing for the 49ers on Sunday with defensive end Nick Bosa missing the game with injuries to his left hip and oblique and left tackle Trent Williams out with an ankle injury. “Just waiting to see how they respond,” Shanahan said. “They didn’t respond great last week. That’s why they weren’t able to go. Nick and Trent are both in the same boat. ... We’ll evaluate as this week progresses and hopefully it turns a better corner than it did last week.” In other injury news, linebacker Dre Greenlaw will return to practice this week for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl last season. Greenlaw will likely need at least a couple of weeks of practice before being able to return to play. Offensive lineman Jon Feliciano will be shut down for the rest of the season after his knee injury didn't fully heal. Feliciano's three-week practice window ended Monday and the Niners decided to keep him on injured reserve instead of activating him. Left guard Aaron Banks, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott and receiver Jacob Cowing all remain in concussion protocol to start this week and their status is unknown. Right guard Dominick Puni (shoulder) and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee) underwent MRIs on Monday and the team is waiting for results. Cornerback Renardo Green (neck) and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) are day to day. Defensive tackle Kevin Givens is expected to return to practice this week after missing the past four games with a groin injury. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed over the weekend that the socialist regime will not allow new elections in Venezuela because, according to him, the opposition “manipulates the results.” Cabello — a long-suspected drug lord actively wanted by U.S. authorities on multiple narco-terrorism charges with a $10-million bounty to his name since 2020 — made the assertion in remarks given at the opening of the “World Congress of Anti-Fascist Youth and Students,” an international far-left event organized by the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in Caracas. Diosdado Cabello (photo: U.S. Department of State) “Here there will not be an election anywhere because they [the opposition] will manipulate it, they will change it,” Cabello said. “They manage the networks and information systems. They can enter any system at any time and it is a mechanism of domination that they are using.” Cabello reportedly claimed during the event that the Venezuelan opposition “technologically manipulated” the results of the fraudulent July 28 presidential election. On that day, the Venezuelan regime held a sham election which socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro — who appeared 13 times on the ballot — claims he “won.” Maduro ran against a handful of handpicked “opposition” rivals and 75-year-old former diplomat Edmundo González, the only genuine opposition candidate the socialist regime allowed to run. Venezuela’s National Electoral Center (CNE) proclaimed Maduro the “winner” of the election hours later but refused to publish any voter data or documentation that could corroborate the claimed results, blaming the omission on a purported “ cyber-attack ” on its website, which it has also offered no evidence of actually happening. The Venezuelan opposition immediately contested the results and published voter data obtained from local tallies nationwide on the day of the election that appeared to indicate González defeated Maduro in a landslide. Watch: Billboard of Maduro Set Ablaze Amid Venezuelan Election Protests According to Cabello, “any election, anywhere in the world, is under threat of fraudulent technological intervention by those who have mastered digital information systems.” Cabello further claimed that “they are applying the same procedure that they applied in Venezuela to Mozambique” after that country’s opposition contested the results of the October election, where Daniel Chapo, of the decades-long ruling far-left Front for the Liberation of Mozambique party, was declared the winner, leading to nationwide protests . “The elections, someone clearly won and it was one person and he said: I won, and here are the (...) my numbers are here in the networks, whoever wants to see them, let him see them; and they are self-proclaimed,” Cabello said. The socialist minister told the participants of the regime’s “anti-fascist” event, “that is why you must maintain a direct, constant, brotherly relationship, because today, you are gathered here in Bolivarian Caracas, but in 40 years, you will be at the United Nations, trying to see if it becomes an organization that is in favor of world peace.” Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro appointed Cabello the regime’s interior minister in August , putting him in charge of his regime’s brutal crackdown campaign against dissidents and protesters of the dictator’s highly fraudulent “victory.” Over the past weeks, Cabello has accused the United States and Spain of using their respective intelligence agencies to “scheme” against the Venezuelan regime, allegedly orchestrating assassination plots against Maduro and other high-ranking socialist officials or attempts to “sabotage” the country’s state infrastructure. The Maduro regime arrested seven American nationals — four in October and three in September — accused of participating in the purported murder plot and other plans. The Maduro regime has not publicly presented proof that can substantiate its accusations at press time. Maduro, whose current presidential term was also obtained in an election sham in 2018 , is slated to begin another six-year term on January 10, 2025, following his “reelection” in July. González has repeatedly claimed that he intends to return to Venezuela on that day to be sworn in as president but has not publicly given any further details on the matter. Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here .Claro Enterprise Solutions Expands Technology Service Offerings to Accelerate Mergers and Acquisitions Integrations
Returning the ‘three sisters’ – corn, beans and squash – to Native American farms nourishes people, land and cultures
