Community Tea

President Joe Biden announced that hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children will now be able to apply for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges. The action will allow participants in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to access government-funded health insurance programs. “They’re American in every way except for on paper,” Biden said in a video released on his Twitter page. “We need to give Dreamers the opportunities and support they deserve.” The move is likely to generate significant pushback from conservative leaders of states such as Georgia, which have been critical of the Biden administration’s response to migrants who enter the U.S. illegally. Since February 2021, Georgia’s attorney general has taken several actions in consort with other Republican states to halt what they have called Biden’s “dangerous” immigration policies, including calls for the resignation of Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary. Georgia also remains one of 11 states that have chosen not to fully expand Medicaid. 

Former President Donald Trump sued onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen who is the key witness in his criminal case. Trump accused Cohen of  “vast reputational harm” for talking publicly about the hush-money payments at the heart of the case. The lawsuit, filed in Miami, accused Cohen of breaking a confidentiality agreement he signed as a condition of his employment, violating ethical standards for lawyers, and “spreading falsehoods” about Trump “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.” It seeks over a half-billion dollars from Cohen.

Clark Atlanta University hosted a Student Town Hall conversation with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and CAU alum, U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson on Thursday, April 13 to talk with students and young people about how they can get involved in critical, public-policy decisions facing the U.S. In his first visit to any college campus, Jeffries appeared at CAU to also discuss evening the playing field with students and making the landscape as equitable as possible in society.

Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has launched an exploratory committee which puts him one step closer to running for president. An exploratory committee allows him to raise money that could then be transferred to an official presidential campaign. Scott is the only Black Republican currently in the U.S. Senate. 

Two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House have returned to the Legislature after Republicans banished them for supporting gun control protesters. Rep. Justin Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones was pushed out over their role in the protest on the House floor over the shooting, which left three children and three adults dead. “The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope. You can’t expel justice”, said Pearson.  

Everyone can now settle down after Prince Harry’s announcement that he will attend his father’s coronation, This ends months of speculation about whether the prince would be welcomed after leveling charges of racism and media manipulation at the royal family. His wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain home in Southern California with their two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The May 6 date of Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey coincides with their son’s birthday.

Actor Jamie Foxx is recovering in an Atlanta hospital after experiencing a “medical complication,” according to an Instagram post Wednesday night from his daughter Corinne Foxx. “We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday. Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery,” the post from Corinne Foxx reads. “We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time.” The exact nature of Foxx’s medical scare has not been disclosed.

A new CD of music from the late Whitney Houston has been released and explores Houston’s gospel roots.  Houston’s upbringing is magnified through the posthumous CD project “I Go To The Rock”. Houston, who sold more than 200 million records worldwide, usually included a gospel song in her live performances. The musical project comes 11 years after the icon’s death.

The first quarterback-specific helmet designed to help reduce concussions has been approved for use by the NFL and NFLPA. The helmet, manufactured by Vicis, reduces the severity of helmet-to-ground impacts, which league data says account for about half of QB concussions, including Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa last season when his head slammed violently against the turf during a game against Cincinnati. 

Kennesaw State officially introduced its new head basketball coach last week, Antoine Pettway who immediately had something to say to the team. He took to the podium, looked straight at the group of current players gathered at the Convocation Center, and delivered saying, “I know change can be difficult. I especially know it can be difficult when you achieve success and then you feel like you have to start over a little bit. We are not starting over. I challenge you to maintain the championship mentality, on the court and off the court, in the classroom, and in the community. Everywhere people see you, I want you to still be champions.” Kennesaw State is coming off its most successful season in school history, including an ASUN Conference regular-season and tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

Consumers can breathe a little easier when in the grocery store thanks to the news that egg prices have tumbled for the second straight month after months of soaring food inflation. Prices for eggs fell 11% for the month, according to Labor Department data.

Gas prices are on the rise in Cobb County and across the country following a jump in oil prices. Last week, the average price of gas per gallon in Georgia was up 15 cents from a week ago, according to AAA. The average gas price in Cobb, $3.37 per gallon, means it now costs $50.55 to fill a 15-gallon tank with regular gas.

The US Postal Service said Monday that it filed a notice with its regulators to increase prices on first-class mail stamps to 66 cents from 63 cents. If approved, the change would take effect in July, raising the cost of mailing a first-class letter by about 5.4%. The Postal Service said the hike was necessary to offset a rise in operating expenses.

A pair of Nike Air Jordan 13 shoes that Michael Jordan wore during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold at auction for $2.2 million — the most ever paid for a pair of sneakers in such a sale. Tuesday’s final bid fell on the lower end of price range estimates offered by Sotheby’s, which said in March that the shoes could fetch as much as $4 million. But it still lived up to expectations that the black and red sneakers would become some of the most expensive ever sold. Sotheby’s did not disclose the buyer’s identity. The shoes, experts said, were especially coveted because Jordan wore them during a winning game of the storied series in which he led the Chicago Bulls to its sixth title in eight years. 

National Public Radio is quitting Twitter after the social media platform owned by Elon Musk stamped NPR’s main account with labels the news organization says are meant to undermine its credibility. “NPR’s organizational accounts will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent,” NPR said in a statement.

Electronic cigarette-maker Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, the attorneys general in several states announced Wednesday. The agreement with New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., is the latest in a string of recent legal agreements Juul has reached to settle lawsuits related to the way it marketed addictive nicotine products. Critics said Juul was trying to lure children too young to smoke. This latest settlement includes restrictions on the marketing and distribution of the company’s vaping products.