AYANNA PRESSLEY

The murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police was three years ago today, and the fervent protests that erupted around the world in response, seemed like the catalyst needed for a nationwide reckoning on racism in policing.

The year 2022 is shaping up to be a watershed for women seeking political power in Massachusetts.

A federal court judge sentenced a former Trump supporter to three years probation for an emailed threat to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and three other congresswomen.

Vermont appears poised to lose its distinction of being the only state in the country that has never sent a woman to Congress.

African refugees say the recent decision to grant refugee status and other humanitarian protections to Ukrainians fleeing war underscores the racial bias inherent in American immigration policy.

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss is at the root of the most talked-about moment at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony.

The House Oversight Committee is demanding the Justice Department provide answers about whether Biden administration officials plan to procure the drug used in federal executions despite an ongoing moratorium on capital punishment.

Progressive Democrats are ratcheting up pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to punish firebrand conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado for her recent comments likening a Muslim member of Congress to a bomb-carrying terrorist.

Massachusetts congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is upset that her beloved Mariah Carey Christmas album has gone missing.

Minnesota's Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is calling on House leaders to take “appropriate action" against Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert for using anti-Muslim language in describing a recent encounter with Omar.

Michelle Wu has been sworn in as Boston’s first woman and first person of color elected mayor in the city’s history.

From the moment Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people on the streets of Kenosha during protests over the police shooting of a Black man, he’s been the personification of America’s polarization.

Democrat Michelle Wu has emerged the top vote-getter in a runoff election for the next mayor of Boston, but the race to decide her opponent in November is too early to call.

Tenant advocates and court officials were gearing up Friday for what some fear will be a wave of evictions but others predict will be a gradual trickle after a late-night U.S. Supreme Court action that allows the lockouts to resume.

The Biden administration has announced that federal student loan payments will remain suspended through January 2022, extending a pause that was scheduled to expire next month.

With one week to go before the nationwide ban on evictions expires, the White House is acknowledging that the emergency pandemic protection will have to end at some point.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey says she opposes the current plan by Purdue Pharma to settle thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic in part because it would help preserve wealth for members of the Sackler family who own the company.

President Joe Biden says the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd “can be a giant step forward” for the nation in the fight against systemic racism.

President Joe Biden says the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd “can be a giant step forward” for the nation in the fight against systemic racism.

Former Boston City Council President Kim Janey, 55, speaks after being sworn in as Boston's new mayor at City Hall, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Boston. She was the City Council president and will serve as acting mayor until a mayoral election in the fall. She also pledged to work to ensure that police in the city serve all residents fairly. Pressley described Janey as “a proud fourth-generation daughter of Roxbury," the heart of the city’s Black community. Her father was one of only eight Black students to graduate from the city’s prestigious Boston Latin School in 1964.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, testifies at the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing, on D.C. statehood, Monday, March 22, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. “We dare to believe that D.C. statehood is on the horizon,” said the District's long-serving, nonvoting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who wrote the bill and said it has overwhelming support in the House. AdBowser spent much of Monday's four-hour hearing by the House oversight committee in a series of sometimes pointed exchanges with Republican committee members. AdBowser at the time quickly pointed out the ironies of Washington residents risking their lives to defend a Congress where they didn’t have a vote. “There's not a single Republican in Congress, in the House or the Senate, that supports this bill.”

Action to stop scheduling new executions could take immediate pressure off Biden from opponents of the death penalty. But they want him to go much further, from bulldozing the federal death chamber in Terre Haute, Indiana, to striking the death penalty from U.S. statutes entirely. In the 22 states that have struck the death penalty from their statutes, none succeeded in passing the required laws without bipartisan support. Q: WILL BIDEN GET PUSHBACK IF HE SEEKS TO END THE FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY? Biden may also feel an obligation to do something big on the death penalty, given his past support for it.

“The President continues to support the cancelling of student debt to bring relief to students and families,” Psaki tweeted. AdBiden previously had said he supports erasing up to $10,000 in student debt through legislation, but he had not shown interest in pursuing executive action. “The last thing people should be worried about is their student debt,” she said. Calls for debt forgiveness have been mounting following years of college tuition increases that have contributed to ballooning national student debt. Forgiving $50,000 in student debt would cost an estimated $650 billion, Warren said.

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2020, file photo, people line up for the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site outside St. Luke's Episcopal Church in the Bronx borough of New York. Data from some states has shown hard-hit nonwhite Americans who are eligible to get the vaccine are not receiving it in proportion to their share of the population. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, all of Massachusetts, say the agency must work with states, municipalities and private labs to collect and publish demographic data about vaccine recipients. Without that information, policymakers and health workers cannot efficiently identify vaccine disparities in the hardest-hit communities, the lawmakers say. Dr. Paul Offit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a vaccine adviser to the U.S. government, on the slow and steady process of scaling up vaccine production.

Along with Hispanic and Native American people, Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at nearly three times the rate of white Americans. AdPressley, who made early calls for racial case data last year, said communities of color cannot afford to wait longer for vaccine demographic data to become available. During a White House briefing on Wednesday, Nunez-Smith said federal officials were calling for states to “get better, more consistent data” on the already administered vaccinations. Nationwide, health officials in 18 states included ways to measure equity in their vaccine distribution plans last fall. But as issues in the vaccine supply chain emerged, some states have had to slow or rework distribution plans.

___5:40 p.m.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vows there will be an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, even if it’s after he leaves office and Democrat Joe Biden is inaugurated. If the House impeaches President Donald Trump, a Senate trial on whether to convict him of inciting insurrection seems all but certain to have to wait until President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. ___1:05 p.m.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is suggesting that President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting Arab-Israeli peace. ___12:45 p.m.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump represents a “clear and present danger” to the nation and must be impeached. ___8:15 a.m.Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is predicting more Republicans will join him in voting to impeach President Donald Trump.

A tweet by the Girl Scouts congratulating new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett drew such outrage from Barrett’s critics that the youth organization swiftly deleted it – only to draw a new backlash from Barrett’s supporters. As the online criticism mounted, the Girl Scouts deleted their original tweet and posted a new statement. Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonpolitical, nonpartisan organization. There was no immediate reply from the Girl Scouts' media spokeswoman to an Associated Press request for additional comment and for any details on whether Barrett had been in the Girl Scouts. The Girl Scouts, along with the Boy Scouts of America and other youth organizations, have experienced membership declines in recent years, for reasons ranging from busy family schedules to the lure of online games and social media.

But some challengers lost, and their overall wins were a modest number compared with the 535 House and Senate members. Kessler wasn't impressed with the three progressive challengers who defeated Democratic incumbents, either. Other high-profile progressive hopefuls lost Senate Democratic primaries in Colorado, Maine and Texas, and House contests in states including Georgia, New York and Ohio. Jamaal Bowman, a Black educator raised by a single mom, defeated House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel of the Bronx and Westchester, New York. They're an effective and well-funded operation now," said Sean McElwee, who does polling and research for progressive Democrats.

The loss marks the first time a member of the political dynasty has come up short in a race for Congress in Massachusetts. The Kennedy legacy hung over the race, especially in the closing weeks, when Kennedy more explicitly invoked his pedigree including JFK; former U.S. Kennedy helped raise millions of dollars for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats campaign arm, during the 2018 midterm elections. Massachusetts voters may have rejected him, but few remaining House Democrats carry the same national fundraising appeal as Kennedy. In 1986, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend lost a U.S. House race in Maryland, and in 2002, Mark Kennedy Shriver also lost a congressional primary in Maryland.

Sanders and the others spoke to activists from five Midwestern states during a virtual meeting coinciding with the third day of the Democratic National Convention. Democrats from South Dakota and North Dakota also participated on the call, which attracted around 250 viewers at any given time. Hes hiding from Wisconsin, Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt said of Biden on Tuesday. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, and Michael Bennett, of Colorado, along with the state Democratic Party chairs from Michigan and Minnesota. Tlaib, who was elected to Congress in 2018 representing parts of Detroit, said the Midwest would deliver the White House for Biden.

In this image from video, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., delivers a nominating speech during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)WASHINGTON For nearly three minutes at this week's Democratic National Convention, Cindy McCain recounted Joe Biden's friendship with her late husband, John McCain, the Arizona senator and former Republican presidential candidate. Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most dynamic young stars of the Democratic Party, spoke for just 60 seconds. California Rep. Ro Khanna, head of the California delegation to the convention, said people need to be inspired to vote. Among those who have addressed the convention is Ady Barkin, a progressive activist who after being diagnosed with A.L.S.

Now the Michigan Democrat is the squad's most vulnerable member, as she faces Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones in the Aug. 4 primary. Now Tlaib is the squads most vulnerable member, as she and Jones are set to square off again in Michigan's Aug. 4 primary. In 2018, Jones finished a close second to Tlaib in a six-person primary for the seat long held by Democratic Rep. John Conyers, who stepped down amid sexual harassment allegations. Folks are wanting someone to make their case in their own words, said Conyers, who also ran in the 2018 primary. Black, white, Hispanic, Martian, I dont care who is in power, just do what you say youre going to do, he said.

FILE - In this May 31, 2020, file photo, demonstrators kneel in a moment of silence outside the Long Beach Police Department in Long Beach during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Proposed federal legislation that would radically transform the nation's criminal justice system through such changes as eliminating agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of federal surveillance technology is set to be unveiled Tuesday, July 7, by the Movement for Black Lives. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

Proposed federal legislation that would radically transform the nation's criminal justice system through such changes as eliminating agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of federal surveillance technology is set to be unveiled Tuesday, July 7, by the Movement for Black Lives. Dubbed the BREATHE Act, the legislation is the culmination of a project led by the policy table of the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 organizations. The proposed changes are sweeping and likely to receive robust pushback from lawmakers who perceive the legislation as too radical. The polling found that the majority of Americans say the criminal justice system needs major changes, including many saying it needs a complete overhaul. We are a generation that wants to make sure that the needs of all Black people are met, Cullors said.

A battle is emerging between presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Harris for the support of black women, the Democratic Partys most loyal and consistent voters. The dueling endorsements signal an emerging battle between Warren and Harris for the support of black women, who are the Democratic Party's most loyal and consistent voters. Both White House hopefuls are struggling with black voters, who have sided with Joe Biden by large margins. "We're still on a long road, and black women are still shopping," said Higher Heights co-founder Glynda Carr. In a call with reporters this week, Harris acknowledged the campaign still has work to do to win black women.

WASHINGTON, DC Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts is endorsing home-state Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign breaking with other members of "The Squad," who backed Bernie Sanders. But Pressley chose Warren. She said in a video posted Wednesday: "For Elizabeth and for me, power belongs in the hands of the people. Pressley, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Tlaib are outspoken progressives seen as rising stars in Democratic circles. Warren is now a Democratic primary front-runner along with former Vice President Joe Biden, while Sanders runs third in many polls.

FILE - In this July 15, 2019 file photo, from left, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., respond during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, to remarks by President Donald Trump after his call for the four Democratic congresswomen to go back to their "broken" countries. Scott Applewhite, File)BOSTON, MA Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley says she's being courted by top party candidates for president for her endorsement. But unlike her fellow members of the "squad" four Democratic freshmen female representatives of color who have been sharp critics of President Donald Trump Pressley has yet to announce which candidate she'll back. Pressley told The Associated Press Tuesday she's been approached by top Democrats including the campaigns of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden but said she's focused on local elections. Asked when she'll endorse, Pressley said, "I'll move when I move."

President Donald TrumpCHICAGO - An Illinois Republican group has apologized and removed from its Facebook page a post that showed images of four Democratic congresswomen who have been criticized by President Donald Trump and referred to them as the "Jihad Squad." The post appeared Friday night on the Republican County Chairman's Association page. The Chicago Tribune reported that it showed images of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib on a poster. It said: "Political jihad is their game," and "If you don't agree with their socialist ideology, you're racist." Mark Shaw, president of the GOP group, condemned what he called an "unauthorized" post and apologized to anyone who was offended.

CNN(CNN) - London Mayor Sadiq Khan stood up for Rep. Ilhan Omar and the rest of "The Squad" as he joined dozens of British politicians in condemning U.S. President Donald Trump's "blatant unashamed racism" against the four Democratic congresswomen. The mayor, who, like Omar, is Muslim, added that "their home is America, but their message crosses borders." The letter, written by the campaign group Hope Not Hate and circulated on Thursday, said: "We are disgusted by Donald Trump's attack on you. His blatant, unashamed racism has appalled people around the world." Khan and Trump have repeatedly sparred in public, most recently during the President's state visit to the UK in June.

The President of the United States told four elected congresswomen of color to go back to where "they came" from. Four freshman representatives believe President Trump's tweet was directed at them: Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Michigan's Rashida Tlaib. Of the four Democrats, Omar is the only one who wasn't born in the United States. WATCH MORE: Tlaib, congresswomen hold news conference following Trump's controversial tweetsCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.