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NNPA President Discusses Menthol Ban Delay with CNN

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “On December 9, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, told Victor Blackwell, Anchor and Correspondent of CNN, “The ban will have negative consequences in the Black community. From my long years as a civil rights activist, I’m against all forms of racial profiling and racial targeting. Bans do not work. We are calling for a Racial Impact Study. The FDA did not study the racial consequences of this new proposal. We want to save lives in the Black community from disproportionate health, but we also want to save lives from police brutality. We don’t want another Eric Garner…”
The post NNPA President Discusses Menthol Ban Delay with CNN first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 years ago

December 15, 2023

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“We must have a Racial Impact Study before a ban is passed.”

By Black Press USA

The Biden-Harris administration will not announce a decision to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco until March 2024 or later. The administration says it will continue meeting with groups in the coming months to understand more about the unintended consequences of the ban.

On December 9, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, told Victor Blackwell, Anchor and Correspondent of CNN, “The ban will have negative consequences in the Black community. From my long years as a civil rights activist, I’m against all forms of racial profiling and racial targeting. Bans do not work. We are calling for a Racial Impact Study. The FDA did not study the racial consequences of this new proposal. We want to save lives in the Black community from disproportionate health [impacts], but we also want to save lives from police brutality. We don’t want another Eric Garner. A ban is not the answer; we need more education and treatment facilities to reduce smoking. To target the product preferred by the African American and Latino community is going to cause disparities. I want to see harm reduction done in an appropriate way, not in a way that’s racially targeting Blacks and Latinos.”

Racial Impact Study

According to letters from Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), a nation’s leading nonprofit advocating for criminal justice and drug policy reforms that will make communities safer and more just, here are reasons for requesting a Racial Impact Study:

“The Committee on Law and Justice of the National Research Council of the National Academies (NRC) should assess the social justice impact a ban on menthol cigarettes would have on underserved, underrepresented, and historically discriminated communities. To craft sound policy recommendations, past administrations have relied on such reports as the 2015 NRC’s Committee on Law and Justice issued a report at the FDA’s request entitled “Understanding the U.S. Illicit Tobacco Market: Characteristics, Policy Context, and Lessons from International Experiences,” which looked at the various implications the illicit tobacco market has on domestic production, taxation, public safety.
“Request that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security conduct a comprehensive study on the implications an illicit menthol cigarette market would have on public safety. This study should be a necessary and informative part of the FDA’s inter-agency decision-making process. It is no secret that the Mexican Cartels have established sophisticated smuggling routes from Mexico and into major U.S. cities for the distribution and sale of illicit drugs like fentanyl. We {LEAP} believe that these same routes would be used to smuggle what would become illegal menthol cigarettes. Illicit markets not only open doors for more crime but also eliminate safeguards put in place by the FDA, the regulatory agency, to ensure and protect what goes into the manufacturing, production, and quality control of cigarettes.”

Reactions

Public health advocates have criticized the Joe Biden administration for delaying a ban on menthol cigarettes, which they say endangers the health of numerous Americans.

Groups have informed the Administration of the criminalization of a menthol ban that could result in “mandatory minimum sentences, revocation of parole, fines, the loss of one’s right to vote, or even deportation, among other criminal legal consequences,” said National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc.

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association are groups that have met with White House representatives, US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. The administration says it has not met with all groups that have a stake in the rule and will continue to do that over the coming months.

In opposition to the ban, the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) launched a #SupportBlackFarmers petition, “Black farmers should not have to deal with the economic consequences of a biased government that always takes into account a predominately white-led viewpoint on what should be done in the Black community, our community—what we should smoke, what we should eat, and what we should grow. It is always under the guise that it is in the “best interest” of the Black community and for our health and well-being, even though there has been little done to address the disparities and inequities within our healthcare system. Harm reduction – not prohibition is the better policy choice.”

A White House Office of Management and Budget spokesperson said the agency “remains committed” to finalizing the rules “as expeditiously as possible” but did not explain the delay.

“My best guess as to why it has been pushed back is because of the strength of politics related to tobacco in the US. Menthol cigarettes comprise a growing share of the cigarette market. I think the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission is that they now make up 37% of the cigarette market, and so a menthol ban would have significant economic impacts for cigarette companies,” said Dr. Andrea Villanti, deputy director of the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies.

Others have taken to social media to applaud the Administration’s decision.

“Thank you, Mr. President. You are listening to the concerns brought to you by communities of color asking for #NoMentholBan,” NYS Trooper Director Elliot Boyce (Ret.) said in an X post.

Election 2024

At the forefront of the 2024 election, Americans face many issues like public safety, abortion, human rights, the Israeli-Palestinian War, and the unemployment rate for Black Americans which is the highest jobless percentage in the U.S. at 5.8%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Biden’s poll numbers with Black and youth voters, whom he needs to turn out in large numbers in 2024, have been sagging lately.

“I believe that the ill-advised timing of this ban will have a negative impact on how Black Americans vote in 2024,” Chavis told the Washington Post.

Deputy Inspector Corey Pegues (Ret.) proclaims, “I guess the Biden/Harris administration figured out if they lass the ban on menthol, a whole segment of the population might not come out and vote for them! Whatever the reason, I’m glad it gives me more time to talk about the ban. #stoptheban.”

Smoking

A 2020 study showed that while 43% of all adult smokers smoked menthols, more than 83% of Black smokers did. Only about 30% of White smokers chose menthols.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said in a statement, “This delay betrays the Administration’s own top priorities. There is no other single action the Biden Administration can take that would do more to advance health equity and achieve the goals of the President’s Cancer Moonshot initiative. As the Administration has repeatedly stated, smoking causes 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States and is “the biggest single driver of cancer deaths in this country.” If the White House is serious about health equity and the Cancer Moonshot, and about improving the health of Black Americans, it must issue and implement a final rule to eliminate menthol cigarettes without further delay.”

Overall, adult and youth smoking rates in the U.S. are the lowest they have ever been in public health history. The most smoked cigarette in America is the non-mentholated Marlboro, which would be exempt under the proposed ban. Reports show that Marlboro’s are smoked by more White Americans.

Dr. Chavis, recently named the Duke University Inaugural Environmental Justice and Racial Equity Fellow, told CNN, “In the Black Press, we defend the overall interest of the Black community. We are an advocate for civil rights and racial justice. And we again oppose the ban; this is like stop-and-frisk. You remember when they passed the Crime Bill in 1994, everybody was glamming for it, including some in the Congressional Black Caucus, and look what happened: it had a devasting consequence on Black and Brown communities.”

The post NNPA President Discusses Menthol Ban Delay with CNN first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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A Nation in Freefall While the Powerful Feast: Trump Calls Affordability a ‘Con Job’

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything. It enters the grocery aisle, the overdue bill, the rent notice, and the long nights spent calculating how to get through the next week. The latest numbers show that this season has not passed. It has deepened.

Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in November, according to ADP. Because the nation has been hemorrhaging jobs since President Trump took office, the administration has halted publishing the traditional monthly report. The ADP report revealed that small businesses suffered the heaviest losses. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers shed 120,000 positions, including 74,000 from companies with 20 to 49 workers. Larger firms added 90,000 jobs, widening the split between those rising and those falling.

Meanwhile, wealth continues to climb for the few who already possess most of it. Federal Reserve data shows the top 1 percent now holds $52 trillion. The top 10 percent added $5 trillion in the second quarter alone. The bottom half gained only 6 percent over the past year, a number so small it fades beside the towering fortunes above it.

“Less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes,” John Campbell said to CBS News, while noting that the complexity of the system leaves many families lost before they even begin. Campbell, a Harvard University economist and coauthor of a book examining the country’s broken personal finance structure, pointed to a system built to confuse and punish those who lack time, training, or access.

“Creditors are just breathing down their necks,” Carol Fox told Bloomberg News, while noting that rising borrowing costs, shrinking consumer spending, and trade battles under the current administration have left owners desperate. Fox serves as a court-appointed Subchapter V trustee in Southern Florida and has watched the crisis unfold case by case.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump told those present that affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.” He added that Democrats created a “con job” to mislead the public.

However, more than $30 million in taxpayer funds reportedly have supported his golf travel. Reports show Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel have also made extensive use of private jets through government and political networks. The administration approved a $40 billion bailout of Argentina. The president’s wealthy donors recently gathered for a dinner celebrating his planned $300 million White House ballroom.

During an appearance on CNBC, Mark Zandi, an economist, warned that the country could face serious economic threats. “We have learned that people make many mistakes,” Campbell added. “And particularly, sadly, less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes.”

Stacy M. Brown

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The Numbers Behind the Myth of the Hundred Million Dollar Contract

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut. He looked into the camera and tried to offer a truth most fans never hear. “You give somebody a five-year $100 million contract, right? What is it really? It is five years for sixty. You are getting taxed. Do the math. That is twelve million a year that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt,” said Beckham. He added that buying a car, buying his mother a house, and covering the costs of life all chip away at what people assume lasts forever.

The reaction was instant. Many heard entitlement. Many heard a millionaire complaining. What they missed was a glimpse into a professional world built on big numbers up front and a quiet erasing of those numbers behind the scenes.

The tax data in Beckham’s world is not speculation. SmartAsset’s research shows that top NFL players often lose close to half their income to federal taxes, state taxes, and local taxes. The analysis explains that athletes in California face a state rate of 13.3 percent and that players are also taxed in every state where they play road games, a structure widely known as the jock tax. For many players, that means filing up to ten separate returns and facing a combined tax burden that reaches or exceeds 50 percent.

A look across the league paints the same picture. The research lists star players in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland, all giving up between 43 and 47 percent of their football income before they ever touch a dollar. Star quarterback Phillip Rivers, at one point, was projected to lose half of his playing income to taxes alone.

A second financial breakdown from MGO CPA shows that the problem does not only affect the highest earners. A $1 million salary falls to about $529,000 after federal taxes, state and city taxes, an agent fee, and a contract deduction. According to that analysis, professional athletes typically take home around half of their contract value, and that is before rent, meals, training, travel, and support obligations are counted.

The structure of professional sports contracts adds another layer. A study of major deals across MLB, the NBA, and the NFL notes that long-term agreements lose value over time because the dollar today has more power than the dollar paid in the future. Even the largest deals shrink once adjusted for time. The study explains that contract size alone does not guarantee financial success and that structure and timing play a crucial role in a player’s long-term outcomes.

Beckham has also faced headlines claiming he is “on the brink of bankruptcy despite earning over one hundred million” in his career. Those reports repeated his statement that “after taxes, it is only sixty million” and captured the disbelief from fans who could not understand how money at that level could ever tighten.

Other reactions lacked nuance. One article wrote that no one could relate to any struggle on eight million dollars a year. Another described his approach as “the definition of a new-money move” and argued that it signaled poor financial choices and inflated spending.

But the underlying truth reaches far beyond Beckham. Professional athletes enter sudden wealth without preparation. They carry the weight of family support. They navigate teams, agents, advisors, and expectations from every direction. Their earning window is brief. Their career can end in a moment. Their income is fragmented, taxed, and carved up before the public ever sees the real number.

The math is unflinching. Twenty million dollars becomes something closer to $8 million after federal taxes, state taxes, jock taxes, agent fees, training costs, and family responsibilities. Over five years, that is about $40 million of real, spendable income. It is transformative money, but not infinite. Not guaranteed. Not protected.

Beckham offered a question at the heart of this entire debate. “Can you make that last forever?”

Stacy M. Brown

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FBI Report Warns of Fear, Paralysis, And Political Turmoil Under Director Kash Patel

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 2, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership. The 115-page document, submitted to Congress this month, is built entirely on verified reporting from inside field offices across the country and paints a picture of an agency gripped by fear, divided by ideology, and drifting without direction.

The report’s authors write that they launched their inquiry after receiving troubling accounts from inside the Bureau only four months into Patel’s tenure. They describe their goal as a pulse check on whether the ninth FBI director was reforming the Bureau or destabilizing it. Their conclusion: the preliminary findings were discouraging.

Reports Describe Widespread Internal Distrust and Open Hostility Toward President Trump

Sources across the country told investigators that a large number of FBI employees openly express hostility toward President Donald Trump. One source reported seeing an “increasing number of FBI Special Agents who dislike the President,” adding that these employees were exhibiting what they called “TDS” and had lost “their ability to think critically about an issue and distinguish fact from fiction.” Another source described employees making off-color comments about the administration during office conversations.

The sentiment reportedly extends beyond domestic lines. Law enforcement and intelligence partners in allied countries have privately expressed fear that the Trump administration could damage long-term international cooperation according to a sub-source who reported those concerns directly to investigators.

Pardon Backlash and Fear of Retaliation

The President’s January 20 pardons of individuals convicted for their roles in the January 6 attack ignited what the report calls demoralization inside the Bureau. One FBI employee said they were “demoralized” that individuals “rightfully convicted” were pardoned and feared that some of those individuals or their supporters might target them or their family for carrying out their duties. Another source described widespread anger that lists of personnel who worked on January 6 investigations had been provided to the Justice Department for review, noting that agents “were just following orders” and now worry those lists could leak publicly.

Morale In Decline

Morale among FBI employees appears to be sinking fast. There were a few scattered positive notes, but the weight of the reporting describes morale as low, bad, or terrible. Agents with more than a decade of service told investigators they feel marginalized or ignored. Some are counting the days until they can retire. One even uses a countdown app on their phone.

Culture Of Fear

Layered over that unhappiness is something far more corrosive. A culture of fear. Sources say Patel, though personable, created mistrust from the start because of harsh remarks he made about the FBI before taking office. Agents took those comments personally. They now work in an atmosphere where employees keep their heads down and speak carefully. Managers wait for directions because they are afraid a wrong move could cost them their jobs. One source said agents dread coming to work because nobody knows who will be reassigned or fired next.

Leadership Concerns

The report also paints a picture of leaders unprepared for the jobs they hold. Multiple sources said Patel is in over his head and lacks the breadth of experience required to understand the Bureau’s complex programs. Some said Deputy Director Dan Bongino should never have been appointed because the role requires deep institutional knowledge of FBI operations. A sub-source recounted Bongino telling employees during a field office visit that “the truth is for chumps.” Employees who heard it were stunned and offended.

Social Media and Communication Breakdowns

Communication inside the Bureau has become another source of frustration. Sources said Patel and Bongino spend too much time posting on social media and not enough time communicating with employees in clear and official ways. Several told investigators they learn more about FBI operations from tweets than from internal channels.

ICE Assignments Raise Alarm

Nothing has sparked more frustration inside the FBI than the orders requiring agents to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reporting shows widespread resentment and fear over these assignments. Agents say they have little training in immigration law and were ordered into operations without proper planning. Some said they were put in tactically unsafe positions. They also warned that being pulled away from counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations threatens national security. One sub-source asked, “If we’re not working CT and CI, then who is?”

DEI Program Removal

Even the future of diversity programs became a point of division. Some agents praised Patel’s removal of DEI initiatives. Others said the old system left them afraid to speak honestly because they worried about being labeled racist. The reporting shows a deep and unresolved conflict over whether DEI strengthened the organization or weakened it.

Notable Incidents

The document also details several incidents that have become part of FBI lore. Patel ordered all employees to remove pronouns and personal messages from their email signatures yet used the number nine in his own. Agents laughed at what they saw as hypocrisy. In another episode, FBI employees who discussed Patel’s request for an FBI-issued firearm were ordered to take polygraph examinations, which one respected source described as punitive. And in Utah, Patel refused to exit a plane without a medium-sized FBI raid jacket. A team scrambled to find one and finally secured a female agent’s jacket. Patel still refused to step out until patches were added. SWAT members removed patches from their own uniforms to satisfy the demand.

A Bureau at a Crossroad

The Alliance warns that the Bureau stands at a difficult crossroads. They write that the FBI faces some of the most daunting challenges in its history. But even in despair, a few voices say something different. One veteran source said “It is early, but most can see the mission is now the priority. Case work and threats are the focus again. Reform is headed in the right direction.”