By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would likely save taxpayers $39 billion in spending on safety net programs per year, according to a new issue brief by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Researchers at EPI, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank focused on the needs of low- […]

By Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON (IPS) — President Barack Obama is under significant pressure to impose a range of restrictions on travelers coming to the United States from West African countries affected by the current Ebola outbreak. Yet public health experts and development advocates warn that such restrictions would harm the already reeling economies of […]

By Jazelle Hunt, NNPA Washington Correspondent   WASHINGTON (NNPA) — Though the nation increasingly recognizes the importance of early childhood education, young African Americans and other children of color continue to trail their White counterparts on key measurements, according  to a report by  the Center for American Progress (CAP), an independent nonpartisan educational institute dedicated […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent  WASHINGTON — Civil rights advocates praised the updated guidelines for addressing racial disparities in American public schools recently issued by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Education and recommended additional measures to close the Black-White achievement gap. “The Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces […]

By Jazelle Hunt, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — As the National Football League continues to grapple with its policies on domestic violence and sexual assault, Black women have stepped forward to ensure the NFL gets it right this time. Since footage surfaced of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his wife unconscious, […]

By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON (IPS) — Hopes that the strategy announced by President Barack Obama a month ago against the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIL) might yield a relatively quick victory have disappeared amidst growing fears that the U.S.-led air campaign has at most only slowed the radical group’s advance. While air […]

By Lekan Oguntoyinbo, NNPA Columnist This ought to be a season of hope for Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the West African countries that have been battered by the Ebola epidemic. Following a brutal dictatorship and a horrific civil war that lasted more than a quarter of a century, Liberia, a tiny republic founded […]

By Jazelle Hunt, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — While Black girls possess high levels of leadership qualities, they receive the least opportunity to fill these roles throughout their lives, a new report finds. The study, titled, “Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls: A Call to Educational Equity,” was co-authored by the NAACP Legal Defense […]

By Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON  (IPS) – A year after a U.S. company was accused of engaging in the systematic importing of flooring made from illegally harvested timber, pressure is mounting on federal agencies currently investigating the allegations. In September 2013, federal authorities executed search warrants of two of the offices of Lumber Liquidators, the […]

By Jazelle Hunt, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — As the NFL’s 2014 season warms up, Minnesota Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson, prepares to face charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child. A week prior, news surfaced that he had spanked his 4-year-old son with a switch, resulting in major bruises and lacerations […]