#NNPA BlackPress
Governor calls homelessness ‘a human crisis’
THE LOS ANGELES WAVE — Gov. Gavin Newsom visited staff and residents at a board and care home in a Los Angeles neighborhood on the second day of his weeklong homelessness tour, calling the growing problem “a human crisis.” Newsom stressed the need for the state to take a leadership role in addressing homelessness while also asserting the need to mandate that cities and counties across California take action.
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom visited staff and residents at a board and care home in a Los Angeles neighborhood on the second day of his weeklong homelessness tour, calling the growing problem “a human crisis.”
Newsom stressed the need for the state to take a leadership role in addressing homelessness while also asserting the need to mandate that cities and counties across California take action.
“No longer can we volunteer our support,” Newsom said. “No longer can we encourage a response to this. We need to mandate it. We need accountability. We need to own this. And we need to own up to our responsibility to do more and do better.
“This is the wealthiest state in the world. It’s the fifth-largest economy on planet Earth. It’s running unprecedented surpluses. … And yet the homeless rate continues to climb and climb and climb. It’s unacceptable and we need to do better.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas joined Newsom on the visit. Ridley-Thomas is a co-chair of Newsom’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors, whose work Newsom credits for inspiring many of his new proposals to address the homelessness crisis.
Newsom said his tour is highlighting the “staggering” numbers of homeless across the state.
“We no longer can assume that a city even as large as Los Angeles, a county even as extraordinarily large as Los Angeles County, can do this alone. The state of California needs to assert itself,” Newsom said.
“The state of California needs to take responsibility. The state of California needs a plan. The state of California needs to implement this plan. The state of California and its representatives, its governor, needs to call this what it is — a human crisis. And we need to respond accordingly.”
Newsom’s tour began Jan. 13 when he visited two homeless service providers and shelters in Grass Valley, about 60 miles north of Sacramento. He visited Riverside Jan. 14 before his stop in Los Angeles.
Newsom signed an executive order Jan. 8 as part of a comprehensive state response to homelessness.
The order includes creation of the California Access to Housing and Services Fund, expediting the availability of state land assets to temporarily house the homeless and directing the Department of General Services to supply 100 camp trailers from the state fleet and the Emergency Medical Services Authority to deploy modular tent structures to provide temporary housing and delivery of health and social services across the state.
In his state budget proposal released Jan. 10, Newsom formally announced more than $1 billion in homeless response funding, including $750 million for the Access to Housing and Services Fund, and making changes to the Medi-Cal system to better serve individuals experiencing mental illness and homelessness.
“The state of California is treating homelessness as a real emergency because it is one,” Newsom said in connection with signing the executive order.
“Californians are demanding that all levels of government — federal, state and local — do more to get people off the streets and into services, whether that’s housing, mental health services, substance abuse treatment or all of the above.
“That’s why we’re using every tool in the toolbox — from proposing a massive new infusion of state dollars in the budget that goes directly to homeless individuals, emergency housing and treatment programs to building short-term emergency housing on vacant state-owned land.”
Ridley-Thomas said Newsom’s action could allow the county to move more quickly and scale up solutions.
“I am pleased to partner with a governor who doesn’t just talk the talk — but walks the walk,” Ridley-Thomas said.
Before the tour, Ridley-Thomas previewed a motion — to be heard Jan. 21 — urging his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to adopt a crisis response informed by recommendations from the governor’s council.
“Implicit in Gov. Newsom’s proposal and the council’s recommendations is a call for state, county and city governments to respond to this crisis with new urgency, boldness and ingenuity,” Ridley-Thomas said.
Ridley-Thomas said he was pleased with Newsom’s action.
“We know what works,” Ridley-Thomas said. “Los Angeles County established a flexible housing subsidy to support our most vulnerable residents and it has proven to be much more affordable and effective than watching homeless Angelenos cycle in and out of emergency rooms or jails.
“I am pleased to see Governor Newsom taking this model, innovated in Los Angeles County, and proposing that it be scaled up in all corners of the state.”
Wave Wire Services
The post Governor calls homelessness ‘a human crisis’ first appeared in The Los Angeles Wave.
#NNPA BlackPress
Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

By Lauren Burke
By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.
The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.
“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.
“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

#NNPA BlackPress
Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.
“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”
Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”
A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.
Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”
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