Mobilizing $5.3 billion for racial and economic justice
Adair Mosley has been appointed GroundBreak Coalition Chief Executive Officer, beginning September 15.
GroundBreak Coalition is a group of over 40 corporate, civic, and philanthropic leaders and organizations committed to demonstrating that with enough resources, a racially equitable and carbon-neutral future is possible now – first in Minneapolis-St. Paul and then across the country.
GroundBreak’s goals for the region include mobilizing $5.3 billion in capital through what it describes as “a new shared financial system. $4.2 billion of this would be private, market-rate capital. The remaining $1.2 billion would be flexible, non-market rate capital. Coupled with collective, courageous leadership, this will enable us to disrupt the status quo, close long-standing racial disparities, and transform communities,” GroundBreak says in explaining principles that guide its mission and work.
Described as a nationally respected leader with deep roots in North Minneapolis and a legacy of cause-driven, community-centered leadership, Mosley will develop, implement and refine initiatives to scale equitable financial systems change.
Following the Minneapolis police officer murder of George Floyd, calls for justice were loud and urgent. How to create real, lasting change that is based on and that nurtures racial and economic justice was a question that demanded deep thought and deep pockets –resources to fuel change.
That question sparked the creation of the GroundBreak Coalition — a multibillion-dollar effort to close the racial wealth gap by rethinking how communities invest in homes, businesses, and neighborhoods.
Mosely has been part of GroundBreak since its beginning, organizing itself as a focal point for substantive responses to the 2020 murder that shocked the world. He was a member of the founding Board of Directors.
“GroundBreak represents one of the most powerful cross-sector commitments to wealth-building in our region’s history,” said Mosley. “I am humbled to lead this next chapter. I honor the vision and labor of the founders and coalition members who built this movement. Together, we will expand ownership, accelerate access to capital, spur regional economic growth, and shift systems so that everyone, especial-
ly Black communities and all those historically excluded, can thrive.”
In announcing the appointment, GroundBreak said Mosley’s appointment affirms shared values and commitment to impact. GroundBreak highlighted Mosley’s innovative work at the African American Leadership Forum, Northside Forward initiative - the $1.5B initiative for revitalizing North
Minneapolis, leadership of North Market and Justice Built Communities as demonstrations of his unmatched ability to mobilize and move capital with integrity, purpose, and community at the center.
“Adair is a visionary and valuesdriven leader with an undeniable track record of getting big things done,” said Tonya Allen, President of the McKnight Foundation and Chair of the GroundBreak Coalition. “As GroundBreak moves its vision into action and deploys unprecedented resources to benefit the lives of thousands of Minnesotans, Adair will lead with courage, care, and an unwavering commitment to the people.”
Mosley depart his role as CEO African American Leadership Forum (AALF), which was founded on a belief: that “when Black leadership is resourced, trusted, and cen-
tered, our communities thrive.”
Announcing his departure, AALF said GroundBreak Coalition “builds directly on the work we’ve been growing here together, especially through Northside Forward.”
“Adair’s impact on The Forum has been nothing short of transformative. He sustained the organization through one of the most complex periods in our city’s history—holding steady through disruption and rebuilding with vision, AALF said.
AALF:
Under his leadership,
Reimagined itself as a Black-led think-and-do tank rooted in policy, narrative, and design
Launched Northside Forward, a 10-year vision to radically invest in Black life and land
Integrated research, data tools, and AI-powered strategy to shape how we listen, design, and lead
Elevated its presence, voice, and identity—positioning The Forum as a trusted convener and changemaker in the movement for Black equity
“This is not an ending. It’s a deepening. We are proud that The Forum and GroundBreak will continue in close partnership—and that the
seed we planted together will keep growing,” AALF said.
Dara Beevas has been named AALF’s Interim CEO. Beevas joined AALF in January as Chief Narrative Officer, and has brought “clarity to how we communicate, how we move, and how we remain rooted in our mission. She has helped shape our brand, guide our public voice, and carry forward our story with boldness and care. Her appointment reflects not just continuity but alignment,” AALF said. “Adair has been a catalytic and courageous leader. His vision has helped make The Forum what it is today. We are deeply grateful for his leadership and confident that Dara’s presence and perspective will carry that momentum forward. This moment is both a celebration and a commitment—to keep building, together,” Kevin Lindsey, AALF Board Chair.
“In the months ahead, you’ll see that commitment in action. We’re currently launching our new Action Center, welcoming Tricia Hershey to the stage with the Black Collective, and advancing our work across artificial intelligence, civic engagement, policy entrepreneurship, and leadership development.”
Hennepin County Board dissolves Hennepin Healthcare System board
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners last week dissolved the Hennepin Healthcare System (HHS) Board in response to what it said was a mounting financial crisis that threatens the long-term viability of the county’s flagship public hospital and safety-net health system.
The County Board assumed direct oversight of HHS governance seeking to stabilize operations, preserve essential services, and ensure continued access to care for county residents.
By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
“We are stepping in not because of a lack of faith in the people of Hennepin Healthcare, but because we believe so deeply in their mission. Our action today is about protecting the future of this institution and the people it serves.”
Hennepin Healthcare, home to Minnesota’s largest Level I adult and pediatric trauma center, has long been a cornerstone of the region’s health and human services infrastructure. But in recent months, the system has faced unprecedented financial pressures, with the risk
“This is not a moment of doubt — it is a moment of determination,” said County Board Chair Dr. Irene Fernando.
of closure looming by the end of the year if corrective action is not taken.
Hennepin Healthcare is the organization that oversees the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). In 2018, HCMC was rebranded as Hennepin Healthcare to reflect the broader range of services offered. While the hospital retained the name HCMC, the parent organization became known as Hennepin Healthcare.
“We are grateful to the former HHS board members for their years of volunteer service, said County Administrator Jodi Wentland. “But the scale
and urgency of the current crisis require a new level of coordination and accountability. This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to the residents who depend on Hennepin Healthcare every day.”
The County Board said that the restructuring is intended to create a more agile and transparent governance model during this period of transition. County leaders say they will work closely with hospital leadership, staff, and community stakeholders to chart a sustainable path forward,
6
HEALTHCARE
What Trump’s control of D.C. Police means for the city, its mayor, and Black residents
By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
On August 11, 2025, Donald Trump seized direct control of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, stripping authority from Mayor Muriel Bowser and handing it over to Attorney General Tom Cotton. The move, made under a “crime emergency” declaration, invokes Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act—a rarely used law that exists only because the District lacks statehood. Mayor Bowser no longer has operational control of her police department. All deployment decisions now go through the Justice Department, including the authority to shift officers from neighborhood pa-
trols to guarding federal buildings, securing monuments, and policing protests—even if it results in fewer officers in local communities. D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the city received no warning of Trump’s plan, expecting instead a National Guard announcement.
She said she will work with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Having our Metropolitan Police Department working alongside our federal partners who have come into the city to help us assess and deal with the crime,” Smith said.
“We will work alongside them, but intentionally, we want to make sure that our community understands that we are there. We’re going to be boots on the ground.”
For African Americans—nearly half the city’s pop-
ulation—the change puts local policing under a president who has called for racial profiling, attacked other predominantly Black-led cities such as Baltimore and Chicago, and backed “law and order” policies that disproportionately target Black communities. Residents may see federal priorities overriding local strategies, with increased policing at demonstrations and broader latitude for aggressive tactics.
Trump justified the takeover by citing D.C.’s 2024
homicide and vehicle theft rates, even though other majority-Black cities he has targeted have seen significant crime reductions this year. His order has no end date, but the law limits control to 30 days unless extended by Congress.
This is only possible because D.C. is not a state—a political reality that leaves its leadership vulnerable to federal override and its residents without complete control of its government.
The dark history of forced starvation as a weapon of war against
Indigenous peoples
By Rosalyn R. LaPier Professor of History, University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
There is increasing evidence that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths“ in Gaza, a group of United Nations and aid organizations have repeatedly warned.
A July 29, 2025, alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global initiative for improving food security and nutrition, reported that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out
in the Gaza Strip,” as access to food and other essential items is dropping to an “unprecedented level.”
More than 500,000 Palestinians, one-fourth of Gaza’s population, are experiencing famine, the U.N. stated. And all 320,000 children under age 5 are “at risk of acute malnutrition, with serious lifelong physical and mental health consequences.”
U.N. experts have accused Israel of using starvation “as a savage weapon of war and constitutes crime under international law.”
They are calling on Israel to urgently “restore the
UN humanitarian system in Gaza.”
Israel is not the only government in history to cut off access to food and water as a tool of war. As an Indigenous
scholar who studies Indigenous history, I know that countries –including the United States and Canada – have used starvation
As the U.S. House Rules Committee met recently to consider three Republican-backed bills targeting the District of Columbia’s local governance, and ahead of Donald Trump’s takeover of D.C., Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DDC) denounced the measures as “paternalistic” and undemocratic attacks on the will of more than 700,000 D.C. residents.
The bills under consideration would override local D.C. laws on voting, policing, and immigration cooperation. Norton said the legislation represents yet another federal overreach into matters that should be decided by D.C.’s local government. One of the bills, intro-
duced by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), seeks to prohibit noncitizen D.C. residents from voting in local elections. The D.C. Council passed a law in 2022 allowing noncitizen residents— such as green card holders and DACA recipients—to vote in local races, such as for mayor or city council. The measure does not apply to federal elections. Pfluger’s bill, H.R. 192, would nullify that law and bar any such local legislation in the future. A second bill, introduced by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), would roll back parts of D.C.’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022. That act was passed by the D.C. Council in the wake of the 2020 police protests and includes provisions to increase police transparency and accountabili-
Trump administration cuts to terrorism prevention departments could leave Americans exposed
By Kris Inman Professor of African Studies and Security Studies, Georgetown University
Staff at the State Department’s Office of Countering Violent Extremism and Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, which led U.S. anti-violent extremism efforts, were laid off, the units shuttered, on July 11, 2025. This dismantling of the country’s terrorism and extremism prevention programs began in February 2025. That’s when staff of USAID’s Bureau of Conflict Prevention and Stabilization were put on leave. In March, the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships at the Department of Homeland Security, which worked during the Biden administration to prevent terrorism with a staff of about 80 employees, laid off about 30% of its staff. Additional cuts to the center’s staff were made in June.
And on July 11, the countering violent extremism team at the U.S. Institute of
Peace, a nonpartisan organization established by Congress, was laid off. The fate of the institute is pending legal cases and congressional funding. President Donald Trump in February had called for nonstatutory components and functions of certain government entities, including the U.S. Institute of Peace, to “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
These cuts have drastically limited the U.S. government’s terrorism prevention work. What remains of the U.S. capability to respond to terrorism rests in its military and law enforcement, which do not work on prevention. They react to terrorist events after they happen.
As a political scientist who has worked on prevention programs for USAID, the U.S. Institute for Peace, and as an evaluator of the U.S. strategy that implemented the Global Fragility Act, I believe recent Trump administration cuts to
Dr Irene Fernando. Hennepin County Board Chair & Dr. Thomas Klemond, Interim CEO of Hennepin Healthcare.
Police Car with Lights on at night in City
AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi
Yazan Abu Ful, a 2-year-old malnourished child, sitting in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on July 23, 2025.
Wikimedia Commons / Photo by Federal Office of Eleanor Holmes Norton Delegate en: Eleanor Holmes Norton
AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui
Ghanaian special forces take part in U.S. military-led counterterrorism training near Jacqueville, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 16, 2022.
Columnist
By Haley Taylor Schlitz, Esq.
It finally happened. The Trump administration and their congressional allies have gotten their wish. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down, and with it, the decades of educational programming that PBS has provided to millions of American children. Big Bird has been evicted. Elmo is out of work. And Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is now officially a ghost town.
If this were simply about budget cuts, it would be bad enough. But let’s be clear. This is not about saving money. This is about clearing space for something else. And that “something else” is PragerU.
Yes, that PragerU. The one that is not, in fact, a university. The one whose founder, Dennis Prager, has waxed
Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) last week said Minnesota will award $12 million in grants for workforce development. The State Drive for 5 program provides competitive grants for workforce training and job placement in five high growth industries: caring professions, education, manufacturing, technology and the trades.
“Minnesota depends on a skilled, trained, and educated workforce,” said Governor Walz. “We’re equipping Minnesotans with the support they need to step into high-demand industries, helping employers fill critical positions, supporting families and communities, and keeping our state competitive.”
“Drive for 5 strategically targets occupational categories that are projected to be high-growth in the years
nostalgic about racial slurs and claimed that Black students are behind most on-campus hate crimes. The one that thinks Frederick Douglass would have smiled politely and called slavery a “compromise.”
PBS offered a generation of children, mine included, programming that introduced them to the joy of reading, the wonder of science, and the value of kindness. PragerU offers children animated history lessons that whitewash chattel slavery, defend Christopher Columbus’s treatment of Indigenous people, and tell kids to “back the blue” without any discussion of systemic racism.
As an attorney, I am deeply concerned about the educational void this will create.
As a former 5th grade civics and U.S. history teacher, I am horrified about what will fill it. And as a Black woman, I am acutely aware that Gen Alpha, today’s elementary school students, is the most diverse generation in American history. The majority are students of color, many from communities that have long been misrepresented or erased
ahead and that provide jobs with family-sustaining wages for workers,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. “We’re building on the program’s initial successes to benefit even more Minnesotans who need training and assistance to join the labor force in high-demand fields and to support Minnesota’s economy by preparing people for in-demand careers and meeting employers’ needs.”
“We are excited about this initiative and encourage training program providers, industry associations, chambers of commerce and other business organizations to apply for this next round of Drive for 5 grant funding,” said DEED Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development Marc Majors. “The Drive for 5 initiative has been pivotal in transitioning Minnesotans into family-sustaining-wage careers that help lead to generational wealth.”
in our history books. When you replace PBS’s Arthur and The Electric Company with PragerU’s “Leo and Layla Meet Frederick Douglass,” you are not just swapping out one set of talking points for another. You are telling an entire generation of children that truth is negotiable, that history is a matter of political convenience, and that the people who fought for freedom should be remem-
DEED launched Drive for 5 in 2023 to expand access to workforce training in occupational groups where there is high demand for employees and a pathway to careers with fami-
bered for their “compromises” instead of their courage. It is absurd. It is dangerous. And it is intentional. PragerU is not even trying to hide its mission. Their annual report bragged about going “toe-to-toe” with PBS Kids and Disney. Republican officials in Florida, Oklahoma, and possibly New Hampshire have already opened the schoolhouse doors to them. And now,
ities faced by Minnesotans and a labor force shortage in key fields. The Drive for 5 grant round announced today is comprised of two programs:
with federal funding for public broadcasting eliminated, they are ready to claim prime real estate in America’s classrooms and living rooms.
This is why parents, especially Black parents, need to pay attention. When the nightly bedtime routine shifts from Sesame Street to a PragerU “history” video, your child’s understanding of who they are and where they come from is
ing opportunities, and job placement and
Tim Walz
Courtesy PragerU
News From City Hall
Community updates from Michael Rainville Ward 3
During the week of August 4, 2025, Council Member Vetaw and I teamed up to attend the graduation ceremony for 18 new firefighters and a fundrais¬er for the mounted patrol host¬ed by Martin Patrick 3 and the Downtown Council. Our public safety eco system is strong as we continue to grow the fund¬ing for non-armed public safety.
At the Council meeting, we approved an ex¬tension to the contract with Canopy Roots who provide the Behavioral Crisis Re¬sponse teams for the entire City on a 24/7 basis.
A warm welcome to the MN Black Chamber of Com¬merce who have opened in the North Loop. I was honored to be invited to their grand opening on Thursday.
On Saturday, August 9, the public celebrated the grand re-opening of the Stone Arch Bridge. The event took place at the Downtown side of the bridge.
A big thank you to all the or¬ganizers of National Night Out block parties. I had a chance to visit 14 events and enjoyed meeting so many of my neighbors.
The full Council re¬ceived a report by the City Auditor on his findings of fact regarding the federal law en-forcement action at Lake St. and Bloomington Ave. on June 3rd. The high risk search warrant was issued to collect records pertaining to money launder¬ing, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. As the raid unfold-ed, misinformation was spread via social media that it was an immigration raid and a crowd formed and began confront¬ing federal law enforcement and Hennepin County Sheriffs. MPD was called in to assist with crowd control after the raid began. The main takeaways from the Auditor’s report are:
The City did not have pri¬or knowledge of the search warrant or investigation.
MPD did not violate the City’s separation ordinance.
It is unfortunate that it took as long as it did to learn what the federal agencies were doing as they did not notify MPD of the search until they were already on the scene. With the 900lbs of meth seized before the raid on June 3rd, and anoth¬er 900lbs seized in early July, law enforcement agencies are doing their job to keep our com¬munities safe and I thank them for that.
As always, Henry, Patrick, and I are here to serve you. We can be reached at ward3@minneapolismn.
gov. Please report all issues to 311 before contacting us so there is a paper trail and staff are al¬ready aware of the issue when we speak with them. You can contact 311 by simply dialing 311, email them at Minneap-olis311@minneapolismn.
gov or by submitting a 311 Contact Form.
Mayor Frey’s budget address was streamed live on Aug. 13 and is available for replay
The budget address can be viewed by scanning the QR code.
Minneapolis anti-discrimina¬tion protections now include housing status, criminal histo¬ry, height and weight
Anyone living in, working in or visiting Minneap¬olis will enjoy new civil rights protections under the City’s ex¬panded civil rights ordinance. It’s now illegal in Minneapolis to discriminate based on height or weight, a criminal history, or housing status. There are also expanded rights around race, family status, disability, preg¬nancy and religion.
The ordinance pro¬tects you from discrimination across the city including in the workplace, at school, where you rent, where you shop, when in¬teracting with City employees and more. Anyone experiencing discrimination in Minneapolis can make a complaint. Trans Equity Summit honorary resolution adopted
The City Council and mayor have adopted a resolu¬tion honoring the sold-out 10th Trans Equity Summit. The res¬olution dedicates the day to cel¬ebrating the accomplishments and victories of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness, edu¬cation and collaboration around the work that is still needed to save trans lives.
Miss Major Grif¬fin-Gracy, iconic transgender activist and veteran of the 1969 Stonewall riots, will head¬line the summit as the keynote speaker. Miss Major’s career has centered on activism to up¬lift transgender women of col¬or, particularly those who have been incarcerated.
The Trans Equity
housing.
Summit is a community gather¬ing that brings together resourc¬es, healing and learning oppor¬tunities for our trans and gen¬der-nonconforming resi-
Community mem¬bers are invited to learn about the planning and evaluation of street design concepts, ask questions and be heard.
period is open today through August 25 for the Minneapolis Consolidated Annual Perfor-mance and Evaluation Report to the U.S. Department of
Develop housing and ser¬vices for people experienc¬ing homelessness. Provide special needs hous¬ing. • Expand economic opportu¬nities. Improve neighborhood con¬ditions.
Residents can com¬ment on how this funding was used in the community and what strategies should the City consider to support the goals as it develops its budget later this fall.
New firefighters graduate from Fire Academy
The Minneapolis Fire Department welcomed the newest class of firefighters at a ceremony Aug. 4. The 18 new cadets completed the intense, three-month training program to learn the cutting-edge skills essential to keep Minneapolis, themselves, and their fellow firefighters safe. They will now join the ranks of others who are thoroughly trained and ready to serve by rapidly responding – with skill, courage and compas¬sion – to emergencies and haz¬ardous conditions, while also working across the com-
dents. It includes workshops on name changes and rights, and career and resource fairs. This year’s theme is Trans Equity and Inter¬generational Power: Strength¬ening the Future by Honoring Our Past. Minneapolis banned discrimination based on trans¬gender identity in 1975, the first city in the U.S. to do so. 38th and Chicago pedestrian mall concept: Open house Aug. 19
The City is evaluating a pedestrian mall concept layout along Chicago Avenue between 37th and 38th streets. A new concept would restrict through traffic and create a cul-de-sac and public plaza near 3744 Chi¬cago Ave. (also known as The Peoples’ Way). Public Works will present the findings around the pedestrian mall alternative at a community open house on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
38th and Chicago concept open house 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19 Chicago Ave Shops, 3736 Chicago Ave. S.
The engagement feedback and findings of this evaluation will be presented to the City Council’s Climate and Infrastructure Committee to consider Dec. 4.
Public comment on HUD-funded housing and services projects
A public comment
Housing & Urban Development (HUD) on how the City used its HUD entitlement grant funds.
The funds support the City’s housing and community development strategies for resi¬dents with low and moderate in¬comes. The City will submit the final report to HUD at the end of August.
• Programs, projects and strategies supported by these funds helped with these goals: Provide decent affordable
munity to reduce risks before disasters happen. The diverse class in¬cludes children of current or former Minneapolis firefight¬ers, U.S. military veterans, and former wildland firefighters. The rest had a variety of careers ranging from teachers to car¬penters to engineers. All have said that they joined the Fire Department for a higher calling and to serve their community
From left to right Tony from Martin Patrick, CM Rainville, CM Vetaw, and Christopher from Martin Patrick
New firefighters graduate from Fire Academy
“This is a time of un-
to conquer Indigenous peoples and acquire their land. As a descendant of ancestors who endured forced starvation by the U.S. government, I also know of its enduring consequences.
Dismantling Indigenous food systems
From the founding of the U.S. and Canada through the 20th century, settler colonizers often tried to destroy Indigenous communities’ access to food, whether it was their farms and livestock or their ability to access land with wild animals –with the ultimate aim of forcing them off the land.
In 1791, President George Washington ordered Secretary of War Henry Knox to destroy farms and livestock of the Wea Tribe that lived along the Ohio River valley – a fertile area with a long history of growing corn, beans, squash and other fruits and vegetables.
Knox burned down their “corn fields, uprooted veg-
From 3
ty, such as limits on use of force, expanded access to body camera footage, and restrictions on the hiring of officers with prior misconduct records. Garbarino’s bill seeks to repeal several of those measures.
The third bill, intro-
Terrorism
From 3
terrorism prevention programs risk setting America’s counterterrorism work back into a reactive, military approach that has proven ineffective in reducing terrorism.
The US war against terrorism Between 9/11 and 2021, the cost of the U.S. war on terrorism was $8 trillion and 900,000 deaths, according to a Brown University study. Nonetheless, terrorism has continued to expanded in geographic reach, diversity and deadliness.
Though it was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, the Islamic State – designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government – has expanded globally, especially in Africa. Its nine affiliates on the continent have joined several al-Qaida-linked groups such as al-Shabab.
The Islamic State has expanded through a decentralized model of operations. It has networks of affiliates that operate semi-autonomously and exploit areas of weak governance in places such as Mali and Burkina Faso. That makes them difficult to defeat militarily.
These terrorist organizations threaten the U.S. through direct attacks, such as the ISIS-linked attack in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, that killed 14 people.
These groups also disrupt the global economy, such as Houthi attacks on trade routes in the Red Sea.
To understand why terrorism and extremism continue to grow, and to examine what could be done, Congress charged the U.S. Institute of Peace in 2017 to convene the Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States.
This bipartisan task force found that while the U.S. military had battlefield successes, “after each supposed defeat, extremist groups return having grown increasingly ambitious, innovative, and deadly.”
The task force recommended prioritizing and investing in prevention efforts. Those include strengthening the ability of governments to provide social services and helping communities identify signs of
certainty, but also of opportunity,” said Dr. Thomas Klemond, Interim CEO of Hennepin Healthcare. “We are grateful for the County Board’s support and partnership. Our staff — from
etable gardens, chopped down apple orchards, reduced every house to ash, [and] killed the Indians who attempted to escape,” historian Susan Sleeper-Smith noted in her 2018 book, “Indigenous Prosperity and American Conquest.” Women and children were taken hostage. The goal was to destroy villages and farms so that Indigenous people would leave and not return.
Seventy-two years later, General Kit Carson conducted a scorched-earth campaign to remove the Navajo from what is now Arizona and New Mexico. Similar to Knox, he destroyed their villages, crops and water supply, killed their livestock and chopped down over 4,000 peach trees. The U.S. military forced over 10,000 Navajo to leave their homeland.
Indigenous famine By the late 19th century, numerous famines struck Indigenous communities in both the U.S. and Canada due to the “targeted, swift, wholesale destruction” of bison by settlers, according to historian Dan Flores; this, too, was done in an effort to acquire more Indige-
duced by Rep. Clay Higgins (RLA), would nullify D.C. laws, policies, or practices that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It would require the District to honor all requests from the Department of Homeland Security related to immigration detainers and other enforcement measures. D.C. has enacted sanctuary city policies in recent years, aligning with broader efforts to shield undocumented immigrants from fed-
conflict – and helping to provide tools to effectively respond when they see the signs.
The report contributed to the Global Fragility Act, which Trump signed in 2019 to fund $1.5 billion over five years of prevention work in places such as Libya, Mozambique and coastal West Africa.
Programs funded by the Global Fragility Act included USAID’s Research for Peace, which monitored signs of terrorism recruitment, trained residents in Côte d’Ivoire on community dialogue to resolve disputes, and worked with local leaders and media to promote peace. All programming under the act has shut down due to the elimination of prevention offices and bureaus.
What the US has lost The State Department issued a call for funding in July 2025 for a contractor to work on preventing terrorists from recruiting young people online.
It stated: “In 2024, teenagers accounted for up to two-thirds of ISIS-linked arrests in Europe, with children as young as 11 involved in recent terrorist plots.”
In the same month, the department canceled the program due to a loss of funding.
It’s the kind of program that the now defunct Office of Countering Violent Extremism would have overseen. The government evidently recognizes the need for prevention work. But it dismantled the expertise and infrastructure required to design and manage such responses.
Lost expertise The work done within the prevention infrastructure wasn’t perfect. But it was highly specialized, with expertise built over 2½ decades.
Chris Bosley, a former interim director of the violence and extremism program at the U.S. Institute of Peace who was laid off in July, told me recently, “Adequate investment in prevention programs isn’t cheap, but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than the decades of failed military action, and more effective than barbed wire – tools that come too late, cost too much, and add fuel to the very conditions that perpetuate the threats they’re meant to address.”
For now, the U.S. has lost a trove of counterterrorism
nurses and doctors to technicians and support teams — are the heart of this organization. With their continued dedication and the County’s leadership, we will emerge stronger and more
nous land. One U.S. military colonel stated at the time: “Kill every buffalo you can! Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone.” There were an estimated 60 million bison before U.S. and Canadian settlement; by the 1890s, there were fewer than 1,000. Indigenous communities on the northern Great Plains in both the U.S. and Canada, who believed bison were a sacred animal and who relied on them for food, clothing and other daily needs, now had nothing to eat.
Historian James Daschuk revealed in his 2013 book, “Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life,” that between 1878 to 1880, Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald did little to stop a multiyear famine on the Canadian Plains, in what is now Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Macdonald did not hide his intentions. He and his government, he said, were “doing all we can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation.”
Indigenous peoples on the Canadian Plains were
eral deportation operations and to promote trust between local officials and immigrant communities. “Republicans introduced 14 bills or amendments to prohibit noncitizens from voting in D.C. or to repeal, nullify, or prohibit the carrying out of D.C.’s law that permits noncitizens to vote last Congress,” Norton said in a statement ahead of the Rules Committee meeting. “Despite being fixated on the subject of D.C. elections, Republicans re-
expertise. And it has removed the guardrails – community engagement protocols and conflict prevention programs – that helped avoid the unintended consequences of U.S. military responses.
Without prevention efforts, we risk repeating some of the harmful outcomes of the past. Those include military abuses against civilians, prisoner radicalization in detention facilities and the loss of public trust, such as what happened in Guantanamo Bay, in Bagram, Afghanistan, and at various CIA black sites during the George W. Bush administration.
Counterterrorism prevention experts expect terrorism to worsen. Dexter Ingram, the former director of the State Department’s Office of Countering Violent Extremism who was laid off in July, told me: “It seems like we’re now going to try shooting our way out of this problem again, and it’s going to make the problem worse.”
What can be done?
Rebuilding a prevention-focused approach with expertise will require political will and bipartisan support.
U.S. Reps. Sara Jacobs, a Democrat from California, and Mike McCaul, a Texas Republican, have introduced a bill that would reauthorize the Global Fragility Act, extending it until 2030. It would allow the U.S. government to continue preventing conflicts, radicalization and helping unstable countries. The measure would also improve the way various government agencies collaborate to achieve these goals.
But its success hinges on securing funding and restoring or creating new offices with expert staff that can address the issues that lead to terrorism. This analysis was developed with research contributions from Saroy Rakotoson and Liam Painter at Georgetown University.
Disclosure statement
Kris Inman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
resilient.” In a press release announcing its vote on the matter at last Tuesday’s Board meeting, the County Board reaffirmed its commitment to open
forced to eat their dogs, horses, the carcasses of poisoned wolves and even their own moccasins. All the Indigenous peoples in the region – an estimated 26,500 people – suffered from the famine. Hundreds died from starvation and disease. Malcolm C. Cameron, a House of Commons member at the time, accused his government of using “a policy of submission shaped by a policy of starvation” against Indigenous peoples. His denunciation did little to change their policy.
What my great-grandparents experienced Many Indigenous peoples’ families in the U.S. and Canada have stories of surviving forced starvation by the government. Mine does, too. In the winter of 18831884, my grandmother and grandfather’s parents experienced what is remembered as the “starvation winter” on the Blackfeet reservation in what is now Montana. Similar to what happened in Canada, the near extinction of bison by American settlers led to a famine on the Blackfeet reservation. In an ef-
fuse to make the only election law change D.C. residents have asked Congress to make, which is the right to hold elections for voting members of the House and Senate by passing my D.C. statehood bill.” Norton also criticized the timing of Garbarino’s police legislation, noting that it came just days after House Republicans passed a continuing resolution that slashed D.C.’s local budget by $1 billion. “That was
communication, transparency, and collaboration in support of Hennepin Health’s mission to provide compassionate, high-quality care to all, regardless of background or ability to
fort to slow the famine, Blackfeet leaders purchased food with their own money, but the U.S. government supply system delayed its arrival, creating a dire situation. Blackfeet leaders documented 600 deaths by starvation that one winter, while the U.S. government documented half that amount.
As historian John Ewers noted, the nearby “wellfed settlers” did nothing and did not offer “any effective aid to the Blackfeet.”
My family survived because a few men and women within our family were able to travel far off the reservation by horseback to hunt and harvest Native foods. I was told the story of the “starvation winter” my entire life, as were most Blackfeet. And I now share these stories with my own children.
Weapon of war
Thousands of children in Gaza are malnourished and dying of hunger-related causes.
Due to mounting international pressure, Israel is pausing its attacks in some parts of Gaza for a few hours each day to allow for some aid,
an act of fiscal sabotage, which did not save the federal government any money,” she said.
“It’s been almost three months since the Senate passed the D.C. Local Funds Act to reverse the cut and over two months since President Trump called for an immediate House vote on it.
The D.C. Local Funds Act is still just sitting in the House.
Like President Trump and the National Fraternal Order of Police, I call on the House im-
but experts have noted it is not enough.
“We’re talking about 2 million people. It’s not 100 trucks or a pausing or a few hours of calm that is going to meet the needs of a population that has been starved for months,” Oxfam official Bushra Khalidi told The New York Times.
“This is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation, pure and simple,” Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Aug. 10, 2025. Many might assume that the use of starvation as a weapon of war happened only in the past. Yet, in places like Gaza, it is happening now.
Disclosure statement
Rosalyn R. LaPier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
mediately to pass the D.C. Local Funds Act.” Norton said D.C. has followed its values, the available evidence, and the democratic process in adopting laws to protect the safety and dignity of all residents, including immigrants. “Congress has no business overturning D.C.’s democratically enacted local laws and should keep its hands off D.C.,” she said.
Education
Early childhood education advocate offers advice to parents
By Janna Rodriguez Black Press USA
BlackPressUSA interviewed Janna Rodriguez, an advocate, educator, and champion for early childhood education. She’s the founder and owner of Innovative Daycare Corp in Freeport, NY, where she has created a nurturing, bilingual, and inclusive environment serving children of all abilities.
Janna leads advocacy efforts through organizations including the CDA Council, NAEYC, Small Business Majority, Childcare Changemakers, and the CSEA/VOICE Union, where she represents thousands of family childcare providers across New York State.
Her efforts ensure that children—especially those from underserved communities— have access to a strong educational foundation and a brighter future.
Q: What should parents consider when enrolling their child in an early childhood education program?
A: Parents should first consider the program’s philosophy and whether it aligns with their values and goals for their child. It’s not just about finding care—it’s about finding an environment that nurtures the whole child: physically, emotional-
ly, socially, and intellectually. Look for programs that have developmentally appropriate practices, a strong focus on safety and emotional well-being, and educators who genuinely understand child development. Accreditation and staff qualifications matter, but so does observing how teachers engage with children daily.
Q: From your perspective, how should a parent decide which early childhood program is best for their child?
A: Choosing the right program is a personal decision. Parents should visit multiple programs, ask questions about curriculum, ratios, and communication, and watch how their child responds during a visit. The best program feels like an extension of the home—warm, welcoming, and attuned to each child’s unique needs. Trust your instincts. An early childhood program should empower your child to be curious and confident while also supporting you as a parent.
Q: We live in a multicultural country. How does the early childhood education community ensure it’s reflective of that reality?
A: Quality early childhood programs must honor diversity. At our program, we intentionally create a bilingual environment and celebrate dif-
ferent cultures through music, art, and storytelling. This isn’t an occasional themed week— it’s woven into our daily interactions. Representation matters; children should see themselves and their peers reflected in books, toys, and the people who care for them. Beyond the classroom, early childhood professionals need continued training in cultural competency to foster true inclusivity.
Q: You’re very effective at making the case that we need to do a better job of valuing the early childhood education workforce. How do you see things right now? What’s going well and where do hurdles still exist?
A: We’ve made progress in elevating conversations about early education, especially since the pandemic exposed its essential role in our economy. However, many educators still face low wages, limited benefits, and societal undervaluation. What’s going well is that advocacy is growing; educators are organizing, unions are strengthening, and policymakers are listening. The hurdle remains translating awareness into sustainable funding and policy changes that ensure educators receive professional pay and respect for the critical work they do.
Q: You recognize that
people of color are more likely to face disparities in affordable childcare. How do you help in this regard? What more do you think others should be doing to help?
A: As a Latina educator and advocate, I’ve experienced these disparities firsthand. Our program prioritizes access for low- and middle-income families and participates in programs like the child care assistance program in New York to make care affordable. Beyond our own classrooms, I advocate for systemic change through my role in childcare organizations and lobbying efforts, pushing for increased subsidies and equitable policies. Others can help by challenging biases, supporting minority-owned early childhood programs, and urging leaders to address racial inequities in funding and licensing.
Q: Successful educa-
tion outcomes require parents to build on and expand lessons taught in early childhood education. How can parents advance what you and your team try to teach at your program?
A: Partnership with parents is essential. We encourage parents to read daily with their children, ask open-ended questions, and allow for unstructured play at home. Consistency matters—when families mirror the routines and positive behavior guidance we practice in our program, children thrive. We also provide digital tools and weekly lesson plans so parents know what we’re focusing on and can reinforce those skills through everyday activities like cooking, nature walks, and family conversations.
Q: Please share an example of a student you know who’s benefited greatly from
their time in your early childhood program. How did you know they were excelling? What made it such a positive experience?
A: One child joined us with significant developmental delays and struggled socially. Through individualized attention, collaboration with specialists, and a nurturing environment that built confidence through play, this child flourished. Within a year, they were communicating more clearly, forming friendships, and demonstrating problem-solving skills we hadn’t seen before. The success came from teamwork—educators, therapists, and parents aligning around the child’s strengths and needs. Watching that transformation reaffirmed why high-quality, inclusive early childhood education is life-changing.
By Shelbie Witte Dean, College of Education and Human Development, University of North Dakota
Each afternoon, a familiar conversation unfolds in many households.
“How was school today?”
“Fine.”
“What did you learn?”
“Nothing.”
In the classroom, teachers also struggle with stonewalling students. They’ll pose a question, only to be met with blank stares. They
might incorporate “wait time” to give students a moment to gather their thoughts. But even then, their students offer brief or vague responses. Students, meanwhile, often get nervous about asking for clarification or diving deeper into a topic in front of their peers. This can have consequences: Children who hesitate to ask or answer questions risk becoming adults with the same habits. Adults who avoid asking questions or avoid admitting what they don’t know can become willfully ignorant: They skirt the consequences of their lack of knowledge and the impact it can have on themselves
and others. With the start of school just around the corner, it’s an important time to create opportunities for children to stretch their conversational and curiosity muscles.
I’m an educator, researcher and parent who studies adolescent education and teacher preparation.
Here are five strategies parents and caregivers can use with children to make them better conversationalists and cultivate curiosity. The suggestions might appear straightforward. But they outline an easy way to avoid being iced out with “yes” or “no” answers.
1. Be creative with your questions
Part of the issue arises from asking questions that can be batted away with a one-word response.
Children want to know whether the adults in their lives are genuinely interested in their day. Asking the same, rote questions each day says otherwise.
Try shaking things up and ask more specific, open-ended questions instead: “What was the most interesting thing you did today?”
“If you could turn back time and change how you handled something at school today, what would it be?”
“If you were in charge of your class tomorrow, what would you teach?”
2. Engage with their curiosity
As important as it is for adults to ask questions that convey genuine interest, it’s just as valuable to engage with questions kids ask.
Young children ask “why” so often that adults can find themselves falling back on a classic retort: “Because I said so!”
When a “why” gets shut down, a child’s curiosity and wonder are also snuffed out. Instead, try acknowledging and engaging with this curiosity: “Good question. Here’s my thinking …” or “Let’s talk about why this is important …”
At the same time, you can also model other ways to ask questions: “I’ve wondered that too. Do you think it’s because …?”
3. Think out loud
When adults verbalize their thinking out loud, they’re showing children how their brains work and how problems get solved.
“Do you ever wonder why cats purr?”
“Do you think I can mix the dry and wet ingredients for the cake at the same time?”
“I noticed the flags were at half-staff today in front of your school. Could you ask someone to find out why?”
Doing so encourages children to listen to their inner voice – and to trust the questions that emerge, no matter how silly they might seem.
4. Be a seeker Admitting you don’t know the answer to something can be uncomfortable, especially because children often expect their parents to know everything. But simply responding “I don’t know” to a question isn’t enough. It’s important to show children how to find answers, whether it’s through assembly manuals, recipes or a nutrition label.
If you come across a confusing passage in a book, you can show kids how to use the tools contained within the book: a glossary, table of contents or index.
Then there are the questions that don’t have a single, simple answer. You can explain how more than one internet search might be necessary and it’s probably not a great idea
to simply accept the first answer that pops up.
By showing children that it’s OK to not know all the answers, you give them the confidence to ask more questions.
5. What I heard you say was … Children can have a hard time articulating what they’re curious or confused about. For this reason, active listening is a critical behavior to model. If you’re confused about what you’re hearing, rather than saying something like, “I don’t get what you’re saying,” you could repeat what you heard, and then ask, “Is that what you’re saying?”
If they give a meandering answer to your question – even if they go off topic – you can highlight what stood out to you to show that you were really listening: “What I really appreciated about your answer to my question was …”
Avoid the temptation to multitask when children approach you with questions. If you put your phone away, make eye contact and ask follow-up questions, kids will be more willing to keep asking questions in the future.
Children are born with a natural wonder and enthusiasm for learning. As Carl Sagan said, “The complex and subtle problems we face can only have complex and subtle solutions and we need people able to think complex and subtle thoughts. I believe a great many children have that capability if only they are encouraged.”
Prodding children to tap into their own curiosity while respecting their needs, limitations and fears can have a powerful impact on their ability to ask and answer questions about the world, big and small – or, at the very least, give them the confidence to try.
Disclosure statement
Shelbie Witte does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Children learning at the early childhood education center Janna Rodriguez and her team created.
Janna Rodriguez
How Trump and his family made a billion off the White House
By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Donald Trump’s second stint in the White House has proven to be a gold mine — for Donald Trump. An investigation by The New Yorker has tallied more than $1 billion in personal and family gains tied directly to his two presidencies, from foreign mega-projects to luxury perks and merchandise sales that blur, if not obliterate, the lines between public office and private profit. When Trump first took office in 2017, he assured Americans he would not “destroy the company he built” but would turn daily operations over to his sons. He claimed such a handoff would avoid the appearance of exploiting the presidency. Eight years later, that promise is in shreds.
The New Yorker reports that Trump and his family have reaped massive windfalls, including Persian Gulf real estate and golf course contracts in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Dubai, and Qatar that would be inconceiv-
AFL-CIO Secy-Treasurer
able without the presidency. Jared Kushner’s private-equity firm, Affinity Partners, secured a $2 billion investment from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s sovereign wealth fund, along with hundreds of millions more from the UAE and Qatar, generating hundreds of millions for Kushner personally. Mar-a-Lago’s revenues have quintupled since Trump entered politics, producing at least $125 million in extra profit from members willing to pay as much as $1 million to join.
Trump’s personal merchandising empire — separate from his campaign store — has brought in $27.7 mil-
lion selling MAGA-style hats, koozies, and flip-flops. Donor-funded PACs have spent over $100 million covering his personal legal bills. The Emir of Qatar offered him a Boeing 747-8 as a “gift” for his use after leaving office, worth an estimated $150 million. A massive Hanoi golf and hotel complex, advanced by Vietnam’s Communist Party with “special attention” from the Trump administration, is projected to bring $40 million in licensing profits. Major media companies — ABC, Meta, X, and CBS — have collectively paid $63 million to Trump’s presidential library foundation to settle defamation claims that legal experts described as baseless but were resolved under the weight of presidential power. Meanwhile, Trump and his family have dived into cryptocurrency, NFTs, and token sales, pocketing at least $14.4 million from licensing fees and digital currency holdings. Ethics watchdog Fred Wertheimer told The New Yorker that “when it comes to using
Fred Redmond: Black workers being ‘played’ by Trump’s economic games
By Stacy M. Brown
Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American in the history of the American labor movement, is sounding the alarm on what he calls a full-scale assault on Black workers under President Donald Trump’s second term.
“Black unemployment has now surged—more than double the national average,” Redmond told Black Press USA. “For Black women in particular, it’s reached its highest level since 2021, and that’s likely to grow.”
Today, Redmond’s first op-ed for BlackPressUSA. com as a new regular contributor was published: “Trump Didn’t Just Fail to Protect Black Jobs. He’s Leading Us to Black Unemployment.”
Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, also spoke today at the A. Philip Randolph Institute’s annual convention in Chicago, where he said the energy of the gathering has fueled his commitment to fight back against what he described as reckless and dangerous policies targeting the work-
ing class—especially African Americans.
He directly blamed Trump’s continued attacks on federal agencies, noting that government work historically provided a path to the middle class for African Americans, especially Black women. “The attack on federal agencies has really damaged the Black community—with particular emphasis on Black women,” Redmond said, pointing to job losses at HUD, VA hospitals, and other critical institutions.
As for the president’s abrupt firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner, Redmond didn’t mince words. “Numbers don’t lie. This is typical Donald Trump. You don’t like the numbers, so you fire the person who presents the numbers—as opposed to digging into the cause,” Redmond stated.
“The president shot the messenger. He’s trying to justify a failed month of economic policies that aren’t working for average Americans— particularly Black and brown communities who still live under the old paradigm: last hired, first fired.”
Redmond warned that the BLS—used by the labor movement and business
community alike—relies on a decades-long methodology to analyze the workforce. If Trump installs someone who manipulates those figures to fit his narrative, Redmond warned, “that could throw the country into a very precarious situation with devastating consequences.”
He said the Trump administration is playing a dangerous game with tariffs, creating widespread uncertainty. “Black men aren’t seeing layoffs reported in manufacturing, but unemployment is at a standstill because companies are refusing to invest in equipment and modernization. They’re reducing shifts and capacity,” he explained.
Redmond pointed out that during the Great Migration, Black workers—particularly women—found economic mobility in manufacturing and government jobs. But with Trump’s unstrategic tariffs and budget-slashing, that pathway is disappearing. “He says we’re saving money through tariffs, but it’s not reflected in the stats or the jobs numbers,” Redmond said. “He’s playing games with people’s lives.” Redmond made clear the labor movement doesn’t oppose tariffs outright, but they must be applied strategically.
“When you just blanketly place tariffs on every good and commodity, that money is paid by the consumer. Corporations aren’t going to eat that cost. That’s a misnomer,” he said. “This is reckless, and it’s going to cost the American public dearly.”
The AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer also emphasized the historic role and ongoing work of the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), where he serves as board chair. “Mr. Randolph’s vision was a Black-labor alliance. He believed organized labor’s priorities should reflect those of the Black community—good jobs, retirement security, decent pay, and healthcare,” Redmond said. “He knew that collective bargaining built the Black middle class.”
He praised the leadership of Clayola Brown, APRI President, and noted that its 120-plus chapters are on the ground organizing in Black communities across the country. And Redmond isn’t just talking—he’s on the move. “We’ve got buses rolling across the country. Last week in Chicago, we stood with workers forced to work under horrendous conditions. We’re headed to Cleveland and Columbus, mobilizing for 2026,” he said. He added, “Our goal
is to make Hakeem Jeffries Speaker of the House, fight for democracy, and rebuild the social contract—by working people, for working people. We must stop this tyranny and stop this president from building an economy for billionaires by billionaires.”
Redmond, who has led the AFL-CIO’s racial justice initiatives and helped shape national labor policy for decades, said he’s working on an op-ed to further expose the administration’s economic failings.
“I’ve spent my entire life fighting for racial justice in the workplace and throughout our communities,” Redmond said. “We’re going to keep fighting—because the stakes have never been higher.”
NASA plans to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon A space lawyer explains why, and what the law has to say
By Michelle L.D. Hanlon Professor of Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi
The first space race was about flags and footprints. Now, decades later, landing on the Moon is old news. The new race is to build there, and doing so hinges on power. In April 2025, China reportedly unveiled plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon by 2035. This plant would support its planned international lunar research station. The United States countered in August, when acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy reportedly suggested a U.S. reactor would be operational on the Moon by 2030. While it might feel like a sudden sprint, this isn’t exactly breaking news. NASA and the Department of Energy have spent years quietly developing small nuclear power systems to power lunar bases, mining operations and long-term habitats.
As a space lawyer focused on long-term human advancement into space, I see this not as an arms race but as a strategic infrastructure race. And in this case, infrastructure is influence.
A lunar nuclear reactor may sound dramatic, but its neither illegal nor unprecedented. If deployed responsibly, it could allow countries to
peacefully explore the Moon, fuel their economic growth and test out technologies for deeper space missions. But building a reactor also raises critical questions about access and power.
The legal framework already exists
Nuclear power in space isn’t a new idea. Since the 1960s, the U.S. and the Soviet Union have relied on radioisotope generators that use small amounts of radioactive elements – a type of nuclear fuel –to power satellites, Mars rovers and the Voyager probes.
The United Nations’ 1992 Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space, a nonbinding resolution, recognizes that nuclear energy may be essential for missions where solar power is insufficient. This resolution sets guidelines for safety, transparency and international consultation.
Nothing in international law prohibits the peaceful use of nuclear power on the Moon. But what matters is how countries deploy it. And the first country to succeed could shape the norms for expectations, behaviors and legal interpretations related to lunar presence and influence.
Why being first matters
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, ratified by all major spacefaring nations including the U.S., China and Russia, governs space activity. Its Article IX requires that states
act with “due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties.”
That statement means if one country places a nuclear reactor on the Moon, others must navigate around it, legally and physically. In effect, it draws a line on the lunar map. If the reactor anchors a larger, long-term facility, it could quietly shape what countries do and how their moves are interpreted legally, on the Moon and beyond.
Other articles in the Outer Space Treaty set similar boundaries on behavior, even as they encourage cooperation. They affirm that all countries have the right to freely explore and access the Moon and other
celestial bodies, but they explicitly prohibit territorial claims or assertions of sovereignty. At the same time, the treaty acknowledges that countries may establish installations such as bases — and with that, gain the power to limit access. While visits by other countries are encouraged as a transparency measure, they must be preceded by prior consultations. Effectively, this grants operators a degree of control over who can enter and when. Building infrastructure is not staking a territorial claim. No one can own the Moon, but one country setting up a reactor could shape where and how others operate – functionally, if not legally.
Infrastructure is influence
Building a nuclear reactor establishes a country’s presence in a given area. This idea is especially important for resource-rich areas such as the lunar south pole, where ice found in perpetually shadowed craters could fuel rockets and sustain lunar bases.
These sought-after regions are scientifically vital and geopolitically sensitive, as multiple countries want to build bases or conduct research there. Building infrastructure in these areas would cement a country’s ability to access the resources there and potentially exclude others from doing the same. Critics may worry about radiation risks. Even if designed for peaceful use and contained properly, reactors introduce new environmental and operational hazards, particularly in a dangerous setting such as space. But the U.N. guidelines do outline rigorous safety protocols, and following them could potentially mitigate these concerns.
Why nuclear? Because solar has limits
The Moon has little atmosphere and experiences 14-day stretches of darkness. In some shadowed craters, where ice is likely to be found, sunlight never reaches the surface at all. These issues make solar energy unreliable, if not impossible, in some of the most critical regions.
A small lunar reactor
could operate continuously for a decade or more, powering habitats, rovers, 3D printers and life-support systems. Nuclear power could be the linchpin for long-term human activity. And it’s not just about the Moon –developing this capability is essential for missions to Mars, where solar power is even more constrained. A call for governance, not alarm
The United States has an opportunity to lead not just in technology but in governance. If it commits to sharing its plans publicly, following Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty and reaffirming a commitment to peaceful use and international participation, it will encourage other countries to do the same.
The future of the Moon won’t be determined by who plants the most flags. It will be determined by who builds what, and how. Nuclear power may be essential for that future. Building transparently and in line with international guidelines would allow countries to more safely realize that future. A
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Photo by Douglass Rissing White House - Midterm Election
NASA/The Planetary Society
The stark landscape of the Moon as viewed by the Apollo 12 astronauts on their return to Earth.
Insight 2 Health
Vaccines hold tantalizing promise in the fight against dementia
By Anand Kumar Professor and Department Head of Psychiatry, University of Illinois Chicago
Jalees
Rehman Department Chair and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Illinois Chicago
Over the past two centuries, vaccines have been critical for preventing infectious diseases.
The World Health Organization estimates that vaccination prevents between 3 million and 5 million deaths annually from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, measles and, more recently, COVID-19.
While there has long been broad scientific consensus that vaccines prevent or mitigate the spread of infections, there is new research suggesting that the therapeutic impact might go beyond the benefit of preventing infectious diseases.
An April 2025 study published in the prominent journal Nature found tantalizing evidence that the herpes zoster – or shingles – vaccine could lower the risk of dementia in the general population by as much as 20%.
We are a team of physician scientists with expertise in the clinical and basic science of neurodegenerative disorders and dementia.
We believe that this study potentially opens the door to other breakthroughs in understanding and treating dementia and other degenerative disorders of the brain.
A role for vaccines in reducing dementia risk?
One of the major challenges researchers face when trying to study the effects of vaccines is finding an unvaccinated “control group”
Youth
for comparison – a group that is similar to the vaccine group in all respects, save for the fact that they haven’t received the active vaccine. That’s because it’s unethical to assign some patients to the control group and deprive them of vaccine protection against a disease such as shingles.
The Nature study took advantage of a policy change in Wales that went into effect in 2013, stating that people born on or after September 2, 1933, were eligible for the herpes zoster vaccination for at least a year, while those born before that cutoff date were not. The vaccine was administered to prevent shingles, a painful condition caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, which can lie dormant in the body and be reactivated later in life.
The researchers used the policy change as a natural laboratory of sorts to study the effect of shingles vaccination on long-term health outcomes. In a statistically sophisticated analysis of health records, the team found that the vaccine reduced the probability of getting dementia by one-fifth over a seven-year period. This means that people who received the shingles vaccine were less likely to develop clinical dementia over the seven-year follow-up period, and women benefited more than men.
The study design allowed researchers to compare two groups without actively depriving any one group of access to vaccination. The two groups were also of comparable age and had similar medical comorbidities – meaning similar rates of other medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
Results from this and other related studies raise the possibility that vaccines may
athletes,
have a broader role in experimental therapeutics outside the realm of infectious diseases.
These studies also raise provocative questions about how vaccines work and how our immune system can potentially prevent dementia.
How vaccines might be protective
One scientific explanation for the reduction of dementia by the herpes zoster vaccine could be the direct protection against the shingles virus, which may play a role in exacerbating dementia.
However, there is also the possibility that the vaccine may have conferred protection by activating the immune system and providing “trained immunity,” in which the immune system is strengthened by repeated exposure to vaccines or viruses.
The study did not differentiate between different types of dementia, such as dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia due to stroke. Additionally, researchers cannot draw any definitive conclusions about possible mechanisms for how the vaccines could be protective from an analysis of health records alone.
The next step would be a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study – the “gold standard” for clinical trials in medicine – to directly examine how the herpes zoster vaccine compares with a placebo in their ability to reduce the risk of dementia over time. Such studies are necessary before any vaccines, as well as other potential therapies, can be recommended for routine clinical use in the prevention of dementia.
The challenges of untangling dementia Dementia is a major noncommunicable disease that is a leading cause of death around the world.
A January 2025 study provided updated figures on lifetime dementia risk across different subsets of the U.S. population. The researchers estimate that the lifetime risk of dementia after age 55 is 42% – more than double earlier estimates. The dementia risk was 4% by age 75, and 20% by age 85, with the majority of risk occurring after 85. The researchers projected that the number of new cases of dementia in the U.S. would double over the next four decades from approximate-
ly 514,000 cases in 2020 to 1 million in 2060. Once considered a disease largely confined to the developed world, the deleterious effects of dementia are now apparent throughout the globe, as life expectancy increases in many formerly developing countries. While there are different forms of dementia with varying clinical manifestations and underlying neurobiology, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
Prospective studies that specifically test how giving a vaccine changes the risk for future dementia may benefit from studying patient populations with specific types of dementia because each version of dementia might require distinct treatments.
Unfortunately, for the past two to three decades, the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease – which posits that accumulation of a protein called amyloid in the brain contributes to the disorder –dominated the scientific conversation. As a result, most of the efforts in the experimental therapeutics of Alzheimer’s disease have focused on drugs that lower the levels of amyloid in
not just professionals,
the brain.
However, results to date have been modest and disappointing. The two recently approved amyloid-lowering therapies have only a minimal impact on slowing the decline, are expensive and have potentially serious side effects. And no drug currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical use reverses the cognitive decline.
Studies based on health records suggest that past exposure to viruses increase the risk of dementia, while routine vaccines, including those against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, pneumonia, shingles and others, reduce the risk.
Innovation and an open mind
There is sometimes a tendency among scientists to cling to older, familiar models of disease and a reluctance to move in more unconventional directions.
Yet the process of doing science has a way of teaching researchers like us humility, opening our minds to new information, learning from our mistakes and going where that data takes us in our quest for effective, lifesaving therapies. Vaccines may be one of those paths less traveled. It is an exciting possibility that may open the door to other breakthroughs in understanding and treating degenerative disorders of the brain.
Disclosure statement
Jalees Rehman receives funding from NIH. Anand Kumar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
may face mental health risks from repeated traumatic brain injuries
By David B. Sarwer Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Temple University
On July 28, 2025, a 27-yearold gunman entered a New York City office building that is home to the National Football League’s headquarters. He shot and killed four people and injured one other before killing himself.
In a note found in his
wallet, he claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain condition believed to develop from repeated traumatic brain injuries. He asked experts to study his brain.
CTE has received much attention over the past two decades as multiple NFL players have been diagnosed with the condition after their deaths. The 2015 movie “Concussion,” about a forensic pathologist named Dr. Bennet Omalu who
documented the first case of CTE in an NFL player, also highlighted the issue. The gunman in the New York City shooting played high school football, but he did not play professionally. It is not known whether he had CTE.
I’m a clinical psychologist who studies mental health issues and their relationship to physical illness. Although people generally associate CTE with professional athletes, a growing body of re-
search, including my own work, shows that adolescents and young adult athletes experience traumatic brain injuries that can have both short-term and longterm effects on mental health. In my view, young players and their families, as well as coaches, should pay attention to these emerging risks.
From traumatic brain injuries to CTE At least 55 million people worldwide are thought to experience a traumatic brain injury each year. The actual number may be higher, as many brain injuries are never diagnosed or treated.
Some people with a brain injury recover quickly. Others do not. Over half of people with a brain injury reported mental health symptoms one year later. These include difficulties concentrating, memory problems and irritability, as well as physical concerns such as recurrent headaches and difficulties with balance. Many people who sustain a traumatic brain injury also report difficulties with anxiety, depression and substance misuse as they are recovering. Some report thoughts about ending their lives or suicide attempts.
Although the link between traumatic brain injuries and CTE is still being studied, many experts believe that the condition is caused not by a single, severe blow to the head but by repeated trauma to the head over time.
It is not uncommon for former competitive athletes across a range of contact sports to believe they may have CTE –not only because they remember the injuries or being diagnosed with a concussion, but also because they experience many of the cognitive symptoms that affect people with traumatic brain injuries and sometimes misuse alcohol, pain medications or other substances to cope with them.
However, there’s no way for someone to get a diagnosis for the condition while
they are experiencing these symptoms. There is currently no test for CTE. Doctors generally diagnose it after an autopsy. Repeated brain injuries in youth sports
The focus on CTE has brought greater interest in the effects of traumatic brain injuries in general. Such injuries are common not only in professional athletes but also in adolescents and young adults who play sports. They are seen frequently in military veterans as well.
In a study published in March 2025, my colleagues and I assessed more than 500 varsity and club sport athletes. We found that 75% said they had experienced a head injury before starting college. Almost 40% reported being diagnosed with at least one concussion, and just over half of those athletes experienced a loss of consciousness.
We also found that student athletes who had experienced head injuries were much more likely to be diagnosed with at least one psychiatric disorder in their lifetime. They were more likely to drink alcohol excessively and have a substance use disorder in their history. Greater symptoms of an alcohol use disorder were associated with having their first head injury at an earlier age, as well as having more head injuries, diagnosed concussions and losing consciousness from those injuries.
These troubling observations highlight the often overlooked mental health effects of head injuries in adolescents and young adults. Our study aligns with others that have found a relationship between sports-related traumatic brain injuries and mental health symptoms – and it is among the first to look not only at self-re
ported symptoms but also at formal psychiatric diagnoses.
How exactly these cases might relate to CTE is unknown, but there are hints of a link: Researchers examining the
records of 152 former contact sport athletes who died before age 30 identified signs of CTE in the brains of 40% of them. Family members described mental health symptoms in the majority of them, and alcohol and substance misuse were reported in approximately onethird.
Increasing safeguards for brain health in young athletes
While head injuries in youth sports were once met with a shrug, youth sports leagues are increasingly paying attention to the issue.
Studies suggest that limiting the amount of physical contact in preseason training or between games can reduce young players’ head injury risks. Coaches of contact sports such as football and soccer often receive training on identifying the signs and symptoms of head injuries and are given strategies to manage them.
Athletic trainers, routinely available at many high school sporting events, are involved in sporting events for younger children as well. As first responders to athletic injuries, they are trained to assess symptoms of head injuries and can provide guidance, as part of a medical team, on when an athlete can return to play. Athletic trainers also may be well positioned to observe some of the mental health symptoms commonly seen after head injuries. Following a head injury, parents and guardians should also keep an eye on their athlete. Changes in mood or behavior after a head injury warrant a referral to a neurologist or mental health professional for additional assessment and treatment.
Disclosure statement The study was supported by a multi-project grant from the FY2015 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Program Formula Funding (PA CURE). .
Lynx, Sabathani Community Center host Back to School event
Minnesota Lynx players surprised youth with a back-to-school shopping event, including special gifts from Odele and LOLA
The Minnesota Lynx, in partnership with Target and Sabathani Community Center, hosted 13 youths last Wednesday for a back-to-school shopping event at Target’s flagship store in downtown Minneapolis. The event highlighted the importance of community connection, school readiness and the annual joy of back-to-school shopping
Lynx game day emcee, B-Dot and Prowl tipped-off the event, calling each youth’s name and pairing them with a Lynx player. Each participant was provided a $1,000 Target gift card, courtesy of Target and the Lynx, along with a custom jersey and personalized shopping cart for their afternoon of back-to-school shopping. Lynx partners, Odele and LOLA added to the special day with surprises, including Odele hair care and LOLA feminine care products.
“The majority of the households we have supported within the last year have had an income lower than $15,000 a year/$1250 a month. Very basic school supplies such as pencils, crayons, and notebooks, will cost at least a tenth of that,” said Kelina Morgan, Vice President of Housing Services, Sabathani Community Center.
“The need for clothes and shoes, and the need to pay for rent and housing needs, schools supplies can be unaffordable. Events like these are so important and impactful for the families we serve. Most importantly, it allows the child to pick the things they want and like, not just what they need, which gives them more confi-
dence as they go to school. Confidence is so vital, and an event like this helps to support their confidence not only in their appearance, but because they have all of the tools they need to have a successful year,” Morgan said.
“We are so grateful to continue to partner with the Lynx and support community led efforts that truly make difference. Helping to cover what’s needed – via personal care – to empower these kids to focus on the school year ahead is our privilege. We applaud the Lynx for their continued community outreach and their tireless work and dedication—both on and off the court,” said Lindsay Holden, Co-founder, Odele.
“Our partnership with the Minnesota Lynx is rooted in advancing health equity and normalizing access to period care in professional sports. Today’s back-to-school event with
the Lynx, Target, and Sabathani Community Center allowed us to extend that same mission to young students in the Minneapolis community. By providing First Period Kits and essential hygiene products, we hope to help remove a barrier that too often stands in the way of confidence, participation, and belonging—whether on the court
or in the classroom,” said Kelly Murphy, General Manager of LOLA.
“Today was a powerful example of community partnership in action,” said Timberwolves and Lynx Chief Impact Officer Jennifer Ridgeway.
“We’re grateful to Sabathani Community Center, Target, Odele, and LOLA for making this back-to-school shopping experience so meaningful for local families.”
Sabathani Community Center is one of Minnesota’s oldest African American-founded nonprofits. Sabathani each year helps more than 59,000 South Minneapolis residents tackle barriers and move from surviving to thriving. As a multi-service organization, Sabathani delivers a comprehensive range of community-oriented, culturally tailored services and programming in an environment of dignity and re-
spect.
Minneapolis-based Target since 1946, has given 5% of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week.
Odele is a clean beauty brand whose products are vegan, dermatologist-tested, pediatrician-tested and formulated to be free from 1,800+ questionable ingredients, with a gender-neutral, 100% natural fragrance.
Grounded in advo-
cacy for women’s health and safety, LOLA offers clean, organic period care and reproductive wellness products to help women and menstruators feel comfortable and in control from puberty through menopause and beyond, while prioritizing customer education. For more information on LOLA, visit mylola.com and follow LOLA on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
Kelina Morgan, Vice President of Housing Services, Sabathani Community Center
Lindsay Holden, Co-founder, Odele Lynx Chief Impact Officer Jennifer Ridgeway
Kelly Murphy, General Manager of LOLA.
Books, Art & Culture
Towards an African Education
Sharing Our Stories
By W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor
When it comes to education, there has been misinformation, myths, and erasure when it comes to children of African descent. A prevalent one is that Black parents don’t care about their children’s education. Another in the canon of white supremacy is that Black children aren’t capable of learning at the level of their white counterparts. That being said, these myths, beliefs, and institutions are addressed and deconstructed
through the community activists, educators, and administrators in Towards an African Education: Selected Writings and Development of Children of African Heritage.
First, I would like to acknowledge the contributors to this powerful anthology: Mahmoud El-Kati, Seba Ahmad Azzahir, Dr. Mary K. Boyd (with James F. Boyd), Kambon Camara, Carol Dawson, Gevonee E. Ford, Dr. Josie R. Johnson, Eric Y. Mahmoud (with Jeffrey A. Hassan), Ngeri Nnachi, and Rekhet Si-Asar, for their work in advocacy for our children and our community.
The contributors address the issues of our history, be it African born, Caribbean, or African American, and the impact colonialism, racism (white supremacy), and the institutions that perpetuate it have had on us as a people, with
emphasis on education. Black parents have always been concerned about education; in times of slavery, they were willing to take the risks to get it. We have mythbusters in our community, such as Harvest Prep and Best Academy here in the Twin Cities, that have shown high achievement in reading and math among the Black student population. In other schools, however, for a state that boasts of high achievement and literacy, the disparities are telling, as is the academic achievement of the U.S. in comparison to other countries worldwide.
Knowing our history and our cultural identity is crucial, as is an African-centered, community approach to teaching vs. a European one. As I read each essay, as a man of African descent, it encourages me to re-examine everything I have been taught in school by
a system that didn’t value my humanity or my culture, not to mention the ways African-born, African Americans, and Caribbeans are divided by said system. Our contributors, in addressing the issues and sharing their stories and research, have also implemented solutions in this interactive method of teaching and learning.
In the words of Frederick Douglass, “It easier to build strong children than to repair broken men,” further underscoring the importance of a quality education. In the appendix, Mahmoud El-Kati has included 20 Tenets of a Quality Education, as well as quotes from some of our great African thinkers.
Towards an African Education is available through Amazon, In Black Ink, and Pa
pyrus Publishing Inc.
In the words of Kam
Is AI coming for your creative job? Maybe not – with some human intervention
By Afsoon
about artificial intelligence (AI) taking over their jobs.
Generative AI (GenAI) is making machine learning and creative work more accessible to everyone. But for industry professionals, the rise of generative AI can signal the destruction of creative jobs.
Yet, according to a recent report by the World Economic Forum, AI will create more jobs in the next five years than it will displace.
Many writers, actors and other creatives are currently experiencing a small wave of panic
We are four scholars in different creative industries hoping to explore educational approaches to AI. We want to help prepare the next generation to innovate within human-AI collaborative frameworks. To do this, we have begun to confer with other creative professionals
We believe creative professionals can harness new technologies while still upholding their foundational creative and ethical principles. How AI is being used in creative sectors AI is becoming deeply embedded within the operational workflows of creative industries, from a nascent concept to an integrated reality. Media and creative workers have gone on strike to
protest the use of AI, sparking important conversations. For example, Screenwriters in Hollywood and the Writers’ Union of Canada have raised concerns and helped shape new policies around AI and creative work.
Within media production, large language models (LLMs) can facilitate the rapid prototyping of narrative concepts, scripts and audiovisual materials, while automated editing platforms and AI-driven visual effects create massive efficiency gains in post-production. This technological integration allows creators to shift their focus from laborious manual tasks to higher-level creative refinement.
In graphic communication and packaging, AI and machine learning are acknowledged drivers of change. AI can enhance processes from ideation to production logistics like sorting and personalized webto-print platforms. In the realm of Digital Asset Management, AI is instrumental in improving asset discoverability and utility through automated metadata tagging and sophisticated image recognition.
Journalism is also undergoing a significant transformation. AI has been used for a while now to analyze large datasets for investigative reporting, but LLMs now routinely streamline article summarization. More advanced applications are emerging: AI systems are designed to identify news values and auto-generate articles from live events. Major news organizations like the Financial Times and The New York Times are already deploying AI tools in their newsrooms.
Ethical challenges
The integration of AI is not without considerable challenges.
The generation of fabricated information and non-existent sources are documented failures. These examples highlight critical issues with accuracy and reliability.
Many people have said they do not fully understand the extent to which AI is incorporated into their standard software. This disparity between deployment and user consciousness underscores the subtle yet pervasive nature of AI’s integration. This points to an urgent need for greater transparency and digital literacy.
Bias and intellectual property
Models trained on vast, uncurated internet data often replicate and amplify existing societal biases. For example, studies demonstrate persistent issues such as anti-Muslim bias in LLMs.
At the same time, urgent ethical and legal questions regarding intellectual property have emerged. The training of LLMs on copyrighted content without compensation has created significant friction. For example, the pending New York Times litigation against OpenAI highlights unresolved issues of fair use and remuneration for creative work.
Conversely, GenAI demonstrates considerable potential to democratize creative production. These tools, by lowering technical barriers and automating complex processes, can provide access to individuals and groups historically excluded from creative fields due to resource or educational constraints.
Specific applications are already enhancing media accessibility, such as AI-powered tools that automatically generate alt text for images and subtitles for video content.
Navigating this dual-use landscape necessitates the adoption of robust governance frameworks. Fostering industry-wide equity, diversity and innovation education is essential to mitigate risks while harnessing GenAI’s potential for an inclusive creative ecosystem.
Labour and skill evolution
Technological revolutions have historically catalyzed significant transformations in creative labour markets and Ge-
nAI represents the latest disruptive force.
The proliferation of GenAI has once again reshaped the creative industries, demanding new professional competencies.
Human creativity and intervention are indispensable, providing cultural and contextual accuracy. Humans must also review AI-generated content for quality and inclusivity.
In response to this
shift, higher education institutions need to recalibrate curricula from tool-specific training towards fostering curiosity, ethical reasoning and AI literacy. Disclosure statement
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
YYZ Media/TMU
Students at the creative AI Symposium at TMU present their projects incorporating AI and analytics tools.