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OP-ED: Improving Maternal Health Care in America

NNPA NEWSWIRE — As a Republican and as a Democrat we have made a conscious decision to work closely together on this issue in our respective home states of Louisiana and North Carolina. Yet, we also know that disparities in maternal health and mortality are national problems that warrant effective and timely congressional, statewide, and local responses and remedies.

Published

4 years ago

July 20, 2022

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BY SEN. WILLIAM “BILL” CASSIDY (R-LA.) AND BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR, | The Hill

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Black women experience maternal mortality two to three times higher than that of white women. The estimated national maternal mortality rate in the United States is about 17 per 100,000 live births –– but it is about 43 per100,000 live births for Black women.

We both are advocates and supporters of proposals that address public health disparities in America, particularly with respect to inequities concerning the maternal mortality rates of Black women. As we bring awareness this week to Black Maternal Mental Health Week, we shine a light on an issue that should transcend partisan divisions and the racial divide that unfortunately persists across the nation.

As a Republican and as a Democrat we have made a conscious decision to work closely together on this issue in our respective home states of Louisiana and North Carolina. Yet, we also know that disparities in maternal health and mortality are national problems that warrant effective and timely congressional, statewide, and local responses and remedies.

The two of us have been actively involved in addressing various social inequities for decades from the formidable days of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to today, in our communities and in our nation’s capital. In addition, our two families have had a positive history in the medical, health care, and environmental fields.

But what really served as a catalyst that enabled us to initiate a public bipartisan unity and resolve to work together going forward to address the issues of maternal mortality and other matters that impact the quality of life of all Americans was simply our mutual impatience with the current widening, unproductive partisan divide in Washington, D.C., and throughout nearly all the state legislatures.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr once prophetically affirmed, “We must be impatient with injustice.” We are impatient with the injustice of nonproductive political polarization in America. We also believe that beyond the labels and aisles of our different political parties, there is both an opportunity and a responsibility to work together to address the systemic injustices and disparities of our nation.

Fortunately, there are some recent successful bipartisan actions by the U.S. Congress that each of us have personally supported and endorsed. The John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Endowment Revitalization Act is now law. This new law provides funds to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to conduct research into and to address minority health disparities.

Also, the Maternal Health Quality Improvement (MHQI) Act enacted by the U.S. Congress is now law. The MHQI Act looks specifically at reducing maternal mortality among Black women and other minority women and creates racial and ethnic bias training programs for health care providers while studying best practices to reduce and prevent discrimination in the American health care system.

But there is much more that needs to be done to ensure equality and equity in how our nation provides the highest quality health care to all. Today the U.S. Congress should also pass the Connected Maternal Online Monitoring Services (MOM) Act that will allow Medicaid to cover remotely monitoring pregnant women from their homes who are at a higher risk of complications. Imagine a woman in her third trimester of a high-risk pregnancy having to take public transportation to the doctor’s every two weeks for a check-up. Instead, with the passage of the MOM Act, the doctor can remotely monitor the mother’s vital signs and basic labs. If a problem arises, home health care providers or an ambulance can be sent.

Lastly, there is also a bipartisan bill, the Telemental Health Care Access Act, that Congress should pass. That bill would reduce barriers to telemedicine and make health care more accessible to Medicare patients. We witnessed the success of telehealth services during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We call on all Americans to be united to address maternal mortality. Let’s eliminate racial disparity in all health outcomes but especially among those about to give birth or who have just given birth. Let’s pass the other proposed health care reforms and support the research to make our nation’s health care more system effective, fair, equitable, and just.

Senator William “Bill” Cassidy (Republican) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Louisiana, a seat he has held since 2015. He served in the Louisiana State Senate from 2006 to 2009 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2009 to 2015. Cassidy sponsored the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Endowment Revitalization Act; the Maternal Health Quality Improvement (MHQI) Act; the Connected Maternal Online Monitoring Services (MOM) Act; and the Telemental Health Care Access Act. Senator Cassidy can be reached at Cassidy.senate.gov.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr, (Democrat), worked as the North Carolina Youth Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr; civil rights icon and former Executive Director and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); chemist and first to coin the term “environmental racism,” and is currently president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and executive producer/host of The Chavis Chronicles on PBS TV stations across the nation, and can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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