by Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves and Zeke Miller WASHINGTON  — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he had a productive debt ceiling discussion with President Joe Biden late Monday at the White House, but no agreement yet as Washington strains to strike a budget compromise and raise the nation’s borrowing limit in time to avert a potentially chaotic federal default. It’s a crucial moment for the Democratic president and the Republican speaker, just 10 days before a looming deadline to raise the debt limit. As soon as June 1 the U.S. could start running short of cash to cover its debts,…

by Meg Kinnard NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.  — As Sen. Tim Scott enters the 2024 GOP presidential field, he will be eager to introduce himself to voters who might not know much about him. Here is what you should know about the South Carolina Republican: FOREMOST: FAITH Raised by a single mother, Scott, 57, talks often of how Frances Scott worked long hours as a nurse’s assistant to provide for her two sons. It was a meager existence, the senator said, but it was centered around their strong Christian faith. At age 18, Scott became what he terms a “born-again believer.” His faith…

 by Joseph Omoremi CHICAGO, IL A combination of programs lined up to turn around the lives of recent Blacks in Chicago and across Illinois is imminent and an “Immigration Task Force” topped  the lists according to  Third Ward Alderman Pat Dowell. “We have a new immigration committee now and we are meeting on Monday, May 22, 2023 unlike the previous committee that never met,” she said and urged the African community to stand up for their rights and make them accountable. “It is important you engage us” she said while speaking at the seminar on “Reimagining Black Empowerment in Illinois” organized…

by Tim Reynolds MIAMI  — Erik Spoelstra had his team fully expecting that Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals would be extremely difficult, that the Miami Heat were going to have to take the best shot that a desperate bunch of Boston Celtics could muster. He was wrong. It was a Heat romp — and a team that had to pull off a frantic rally just to make the playoffs is now one win from the NBA Finals. Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seeded Heat rolled past the Celtics 128-102 on…

by Agency reports They’re known as “family photos,” the images of world leaders posed in faux relaxation during global summits. And like portraits of a family that has isolated a dysfunctional member, recent “family photos” from the G7 and G8 — the world’s most industrialized nations — show how Russian President Vladimir Putin has been outcast. The Russian president has faced unprecedented international isolation since his nation invaded Ukraine in February 2022. An International Criminal Court arrest warrant hangs over his head and clouds his prospects of traveling to many destinations, including those viewed as Moscow’s allies. It was only…

by Emeka ObasiCoal City, full of Black Rocks turned red for Paul Okoku on a day his eyes were on a national silverware. It was in the grand finale of the 1981 Ramat Cup between Lagos and old Anambra State.Okoku was in the Lagos team of future superstars. Tajudeen Disu, Chris Anigala, Raymond King, Alphonsus Akahon, Segun and Femi Olukanni, they were just too good.Anambra, represented by Enugu Black Rocks, was also star studded with Charles Okonkwo, Christian Obi, Benedict Ugwu, Ikechukwu Ofoje, Kingsley Onye, Ejike Ekwueme, Ben Okaro and Joe Oha.Anambra State governor, Jim Nwobodo, was at the Enugu…

by Joseph Omoremi A-year long action plan to reverse  the hostilities against Blacks in the United States and around the world was advocated in Chicago  yesterday as Bishop Tavis Grant 11 of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition wondered how the world would look like inadequate without the fortunes and resources of Africa. “Each of you have a phone and a tablet but we cannot make it without Africa. We need investment and economic development in Africa,” said Bishop Grant 11 who doubles as the Acting Head of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at a seminar on the state of Black Asylum Seekers…

by Stephen Groves, ZekeMiller and Josh Boak WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will meet in person Monday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about averting an economy-wrecking federal default, and the Republican leader expressed cautious optimism about a possible debt ceiling compromise as Washington races to raise America’s borrowing limit before the funds could be depleted early next month. The leaders spoke by phone Sunday while the president was returning home on Air Force One after the Group of Seven summit in Japan. McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters at the Capitol that the call was “productive” and that the on-again, off-again negotiations between his…

by Mike Schneider ORLANDO, Fla.  — The NAACP over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida, joining two other civil rights groups in warning potential tourists that recent laws and policies championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.” The NAACP, long an advocate for Black Americans, joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organization, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state’s largest job sectors.…

by Zeke Miller, Eloise Morton and Susie Blann HIROSHIMA, Japan  — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren’t occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow’s insistence that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen. Responding to a reporter’s question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Zelenskyy said: “Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.” “We are not throwing people (away) to die,” Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian through an interpreter. “People are the treasure. I clearly understand what is happening in Bakhmut. I cannot share with you the…