Valley's News Observer 07.03.25

Public Enemy Drops Surprise Album

‘Black Sky Over the Projects’

The Valley’sNews Observer

Trustees Warn of Looming Cuts to Social Security Medicare as Trust Funds Dwindle

By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Social Security and Medicare are facing mounting financial challenges, with both programs projected to fall short of paying full benefits within the next decade unless Congress intervenes. According to the 2025 Trustees Report, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will only be able to pay full scheduled benefits until 2033. At that point, recipients would receive just 77 percent of their benefits. Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund is also projected to be depleted in 2033, three years earlier than last year’s estimate, after which 89 percent of benefits could be paid. If the OASI and Disability Insurance (DI) funds were combined, the Social Security program would be depleted in 2034, paying only 81 percent of scheduled benefits. The DI fund on its own is projected to remain solvent through 2099. The report cites several causes for the worsening outlook: the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset under the Social Security Fairness Act, slower recovery in fertility rates, and a smaller share of GDP going to labor compensation. As of 2024, the OASI Trust Fund held $2.54 trillion, a $103 billion drop from the previous year. Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration is cutting about 12 percent of its workforce, leading to delays in service. “Today’s report is a reminder that even as DOGE’s cuts to the Social Security Administration are wrecking Social Security’s customer service, they are doing nothing to improve its solvency,” Nancy Altman of Social Security Works told NPR.

House Speaker Mike Johnson recently indicated Republicans have a plan to rein in spending on entitlement programs.

“There are two categories of spending in the federal government. Mandatory spending is on the programs Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid … it’s 73, 74% of spending, which is on autopilot, which is frightening,” Johnson said. “I am committing that we will do that.” A recent survey found most Americans oppose cuts. About half said Medicaid and food assistance are underfunded, and six in 10 said too little is spent on Social Security, Medicare, and education. “At this point, any member of Congress without a plan to fix Social Security is

Legacy Hall of Fame

shirking their duty to preserve the nation’s largest and most important government program,” Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said on NPR.

“Any politician who doesn’t support increasing Social Security’s revenue is, by default, supporting benefit cuts,” Altman said. “America is the wealthiest country in the history of the world, at the wealthiest moment in our history,” Altman said. “That money can remain concentrated in the hands of billionaires, or it can go towards Social Security, enriching all of our lives.”

NAACP Inducts

Dr. Shirley Weber and Steven Bradford

By Joe W. Bowers Jr.

The NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference honored Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber and former State Sen. Steven Bradford at its 13th annual Legacy Hall of Fame Gala on June 28, recognizing their decades of service, legislative impact, and unwavering advocacy for civil rights. Held at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel near LAX, the celebration brought together NAACP branches, elected officials, and community leaders from across California. Attorney and entrepreneur Kerri Harper-Howie emceed the event. Regina Brown Wilson, executive director of California Black Media (CBM), moderated a fireside chat that offered an inside look at the honorees’ journeys and visions for the future of Black political leadership. Weber, California’s first Black Secretary of State, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 and later elected to a full term. Prior to that, she represented San Diego in the State Assembly, where she authored landmark legislation, including Assembly Bill (AB) 392, redefining police use of deadly force, and the bill that established California’s historic Reparations Task Force. In her remarks, Weber reflected on values instilled by her parents, who fled the Jim Crow South and made civic participation a family tradition. “I always told the truth,” Weber said. “My mother taught us never to lie, and that has served me well in everything I’ve done -- whether in the classroom or in the Assembly.” She recalled how her family’s Los Angeles living room became a polling place.

“My dad wouldn’t let folks vote in the garage because it had spiders and cobwebs,” she said. “So, our living room became the polling place, and my mother always made pound cakes and sweet potato pies for the poll workers.”

Weber earned a Ph.D. in communications from UCLA by age 26 and taught Africana Studies at San Diego State University for more than four decades.

Bradford was also honored for his extensive public service and legislative leadership. The first Black person elected to the Gardena City Council, Bradford later served in both the Assembly and Senate, representing South Los Angeles and the South Bay. He is known for authoring key legislation such as Senate Bill (SB) 2, which allows for the decertification of law enforcement officers for serious misconduct, and the California Cannabis Equity Act. Bradford also served as a member of California’s Reparations Task Force and chaired the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) during several major policy battles.

“We don’t do this for the awards,” Bradford said. “But it sure feels good to be recognized.” He spoke candidly about the racism he has encountered, even in the Capitol. “I’ve lost track of the number of people who met me in the Capitol and assumed I was head of security,” he said. “I’ve had lobbyists testify about police use-of-force bills and not one of them looked like the families who were grieving. I called that out -- and within a week, they hired a Black lobbyist. I guess I’m good for jobs.” In a reflective fireside chat moderated by Wilson, Weber and Bradford discussed their personal backgrounds, legislative experiences, and

perspectives on the future of Black leadership in California. The conversation touched on family influences, integrity in public service, and the challenges of representing Black communities in high-stakes political environments. Bradford spoke of his parents’ influence. “My parents taught me to show up, be present, and speak your truth,” he said. “They weren’t political, but they voted, they talked about Dr. King, and they instilled that civic duty in me.” Weber underscored the importance of consistency in public life. “Truth doesn’t change depending on the circumstances,” she said. “People trust me because I’ve never wavered. That’s why we were able to pass difficult legislation. When I told members something, they believed it.”

Both honorees voiced concern about the current political climate and the threat of backsliding on civil rights. “Covert racism is more dangerous than overt racism,” Bradford warned. “This administration scares me. And we have too many folks who look like us saying, ‘Trump isn’t bothering me.’”

Not yet. But he will.” Weber added, “We can’t sit around and do nothing. People died for the Voting Rights Act, and now they’re trying to take it away. We need to be outraged.”

The evening concluded with remarks from NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference President Rick Callender, who thanked both honorees for their decades of courageous service.

“We honor Weber and Bradford not just for what they’ve done,” said Callender, “but for how they’ve done it — with courage, honesty, and an unwavering commitment to Black communities.”

Trump Terminates Legal Status for

500,000 Haitians in the U.S., Wants to Deport Them

Back to Haiti

Nationwide — The Trump administration has officially announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, impacting more than 500,000 Haitian nationals currently residing in the United States. Many of them have been living in the U.S. for years, some of them for more than ten years. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the TPS designation will expire on August 3, 2025, with removals beginning as early as September 2, 2025. This decision effectively cancels the 18-month extension granted by former President Joe Biden, which would have protected Haitian nationals through February 2026.

According to Newsweek, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says this move reinforces the original intent of TPS as a short-term solution. “This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protected Status is actually temporary,” a DHS spokesperson said. The announcement has ignited fierce criticism, with many advocacy groups warning that hundreds of thousands of individuals are now at risk of being sent back to a nation gripped by crisis. Haiti continues to endure widespread political unrest, extreme poverty, and a surge in gang-related violence. Armed gangs reportedly control about 80% of Port-au-Prince, the capital, where they engage in kidnappings, extortion, and violent clashes with authorities. The country is also still reeling from the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which created a power vacuum and exacerbated the instability. With more than a million people internally displaced, basic services such as healthcare and food access have collapsed.

Despite DHS’s claim that Haiti’s conditions have “improved to the point where Haitians can return home in safety,” many experts and Haitian-American leaders strongly disagree. Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition and a Haitian immigrant, told Newsweek: “I’m still in shock, but I’m totally disgusted. This is a complete lie… there has to be a way to stop this administration from sending people to their deaths.” She emphasized that political chaos and unhealed wounds from past disasters still plague the nation.

Under U.S. law, DHS is required to review conditions in designated countries before TPS decisions are made. In this case, DHS cited findings from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and consultations with the State Department. However, critics argue that these assessments ignore the worsening violence and humanitarian emergency on the ground. The administration has also encouraged Haitian nationals to use the CBP Home app to arrange returns and apply for alternative forms of legal status, if eligible.

Since the devastating 2010 earthquake, Haitian TPS holders have legally lived and worked in the U.S., building families, businesses, and communities. Many now face heartbreaking choices, especially those with American-born children who risk being separated through deportation. According to the Migration Policy Institute, the U.S. is home to between 700,000 and

Group photo from the California NAACP State Hall of Fame Induction

NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference President Rick

Callender stands with local NAACP branch presidents, honorees Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber and Hon. Steven Bradford, along with event emcee Kerri Harper-Howie, moderator Regina Brown Wilson and NAACP staff. Photo by Ronald Patton, California Black Media.

California Black Media

What RFK Jr. Isn’t Talking About: How To Make Vaccines Safer

By Arthur Allen

Within an hour of receiving a covid vaccination in November 2020, Utah preschool teacher Brianne Dressen felt pins and needles through her arms and legs. In the medical odyssey that followed, she suffered double vision, chronic nausea, brain fog, and profound weakness. Once a rock climber, she became a couch potato. Although Dressen’s symptoms were rare in that season of hundreds of millions of covid vaccinations, they were common enough to draw the attention of a National Institutes of Health neuroscientist named Avindra Nath, who examined Dressen and more than 30 other people with a similar syndrome in 2021. He recommended Dressen take steroids and antibodies — treatments that saved her life, she said. And then, according to emails reviewed by KFF Health News, Nath said he couldn’t help anymore. His clinical study was ending. He directed the patients to seek local help. But, Dressen said, there wasn’t any. Nath declined to speak to KFF Health News for this article. The FDA searched international vaccine safety databases for small-fiber neuropathy, one of the most common symptoms he mentioned in a write-up of the patients, and found it was less prevalent in vaccinated than in unvaccinated patients, said Peter Marks, who led the FDA division responsible for vaccines until Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. forced him out in May.

While it’s possible that Nath’s patients suffered covid vaccine injuries, Marks said, their symptoms were so varied it was hard to characterize a possible syndrome.

But for Dressen and others convinced the vaccines injured them, their experiences were symptomatic of a well-intentioned but flawed U.S. system for monitoring the rare ill effects of vaccines. The system isn’t well-funded enough to answer questions that people urgently want answered, and that can feed vaccine hesitancy, safety experts say. Its shortcomings were on particular display during the mass vaccination campaigns of the pandemic, when even rare serious side effects could affect thousands of people.

Now some leading vaccine scientists are calling for more resources to research vaccine safety and support people with claims of injury — and asking Kennedy, who has a history as an anti-vaccine activist, to step up.

“Spending money on vaccine safety is not saying vaccines aren’t safe; it’s showing a commitment to continued improvement,” said Y. Tony Yang, a professor of health policy at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.

So far, they’ve been disappointed. While Kennedy gives the public the impression that vaccines are harmful, he hasn’t talked about ways to make them safer. And he’s made the problem worse by cutting programs and dismissing scientists who are most knowledgeable about the problems, according to numerous vaccine experts.

“The reduction in emphasis on the unbiased ascertainment of vaccine safety signals, and redirection toward certain specific issues like autism

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While Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gives the public the impression that vaccines are harmful, he hasn’t talked about ways to make them safer. Instead, he’s cutting programs and dismissing scientists who are most knowledgeable about safety issues, according to numerous vaccine experts. (ERIC HARKLEROAD/KFF HEALTH NEWS)

in vaccines, which we know is not true — that is what’s dangerous,” Marks said.

In March, the Trump administration abruptly canceled a contract with researchers just as they began a massive covid vaccine study aimed at discovering the genetic traits that make certain people vulnerable to vaccine-triggered myocarditis.

That condition struck about 1 in 13,000 teenage boys and young men who received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine in 2020 and 2021.

Then, on June 9, Kennedy sacked the entire 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, which during the pandemic impaneled a group of experts that reviewed safety data from nearly 700 million covid vaccinations.

The new ACIP contains members who have said most vaccines are dangerous and improperly tested. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who chairs the Senate committee with oversight of HHS, said on X on June 23 that the ACIP meeting scheduled for June 25-26 should be delayed until ACIP is staffed with less biased, more knowledgeable members.

HHS officials have suggested that Kennedy intends to throw out the whole vaccine safety system and start over. In a statement to KFF Health News, spokesperson Emily Hilliard accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of “suppressing information about vaccine injuries” and said the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, and the Vaccine Safety Datalink, monitoring systems in place since the early 1990s, were “designed to fail” and “templates of regulatory malpractice.”

She said HHS was “building surveillance systems that will accurately measure vaccine risks as well as benefits.” Asked for details, Hilliard did not respond. The HHS budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 makes no mention of vaccine safety programs.

The current U.S. vaccine safety system began with passage of the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which aimed at stabilizing the vaccine supply by stopping lawsuits against drug companies. At the time they were getting out of the vaccine business, finding it less risky and more profitable to produce drugs for chronic diseases. The act set up the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and VAERS.

CDC vaccine safety officer Robert Chen built on VAERS to create the Vaccine Safety Datalink, which looks for evidence of vaccine harms in electronic health records. In 2001, the CDC set up the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment project, through which a network of eight U.S. centers study rare vaccine reactions.

But the vaccine safety system’s budget has been stuck at around $20 million most years. That hasn’t been enough to study rare but recurring vaccine injuries in a serious way.

“$20 million to look at all the licensed vaccines in this country is woefully inadequate,” Dan Salmon, director of Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Vaccine Safety, said at a recent conference. Without a more serious commitment, he said, “our products won’t be as safe as they could be.”

As an HHS vaccine safety official during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, Salmon helped write two plans that called for expanded safety work, including examinations of whether the vaccine schedule might be contributing to an increase in allergic diseases.

A little-publicized CDC-led 2022 study suggested that the aluminum salts added to make some pediatric vaccines more effective might cumulatively be linked to an increased incidence of asthma. Salmon thinks it merits further research —

to refute or confirm the results. The issue “should have been studied decades ago,” he said.

A Failed Compensation Program Vaccine advocates and skeptics agree that the government program established to compensate people injured by vaccines or other public health measures during emergencies — the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program — has miserably failed those with covid vaccinerelated injuries. As of June 1, the program has compensated only 39 of nearly 14,000 people who have filed covid vaccine injury claims. Only five have gotten awards of more than $10,000.

The program is far less generous and userfriendly than the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, funded since 1988 by an excise tax on vaccines. It has paid out about 12,000 awards worth a total of $4.8 billion, mostly to care for vaccine-injured children.

People with covid vaccine injuries, however, are stuck in a kind of limbo, often without clear medical options. It’s unfair and “very bad for public confidence in vaccines,” said Amy Pisani, CEO of Vaccinate Your Family, a nonprofit that promotes vaccination, speaking on a panel with Salmon at the April conference.

Kennedy has condemned the injury compensation system for shielding drug companies from lawsuits, but if he wants to help patients he should move covid vaccines into the program, said Renée Gentry, who runs a law clinic for vaccine injuries at George Washington University Law School.

“The longer you hang these people out to dry, you are creating a perfect storm where nobody’s going to want to get vaccinated,” she said.

A Curtailed Vaccine Injury Investigation

In December 2021, the NIH’s Nath emailed Dressen and the other patients suffering from postvaccine problems that he could no longer help them. He told Science magazine that investigating vaccine side effects was a delicate business when public health leaders were urging everyone to get their shots.

“You have to be very careful. You can make the wrong conclusion,” he said. “The implications are huge.”

Nath published an article in 2023 calling for more investigation of vaccine-related neurological conditions. His lab also released preliminary results from its study of Dressen and the other patients, which pointed to helpful treatments. But the paper has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

And none of the federal agencies recognized that her condition might be vaccine-related, said Dressen, who received her shot in an AstraZeneca clinical trial. (FDA officials were concerned about the vaccine’s side effect profile, and it was never distributed in the United States.)

Dressen said Nath’s withdrawal left her distraught.

“They reassure everyone there’s a safety net, but every one of those things is a complete failure,” she said. “I didn’t speak out because of my injury. The reason I spoke out is because of what happened after my injury.”

“People are suffering, and we don’t yet understand why or how to help them,” said Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist who is part of a research project at Yale University led by immunobiologist Akiko Iwasaki that includes hundreds of patients with postvaccine issues. “Worse, many of them have felt ignored or dismissed by the very institutions meant to help and support them.”

The NIH appears not to have funded studies of postvaccine syndrome, whose symptoms mimic

those of long covid. Yet genetic studies could help “to determine who might be more susceptible to this condition,” Iwasaki said in an email. Such research appears ideal for the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment, established to examine rare vaccine reactions. But the network has published nothing on covid vaccines, nor are any trials related to the issue listed on government websites.

German researchers have studied postvaccine syndrome in more depth. Germany’s Paul-EhrlichInstitut, a sort of FDA for vaccines, reported in December that it had reviewed 919 cases of postvaccine syndrome that were similar to long covid — a rate of about 1 in 100,000 vaccinations. It said causality was hard to establish because of the diverse symptoms reported.

Can Vaccine Safety Move Out of HHS?

In 1999, Chen, the CDC scientist, published an article suggesting that to speed studies and boost public confidence, vaccine safety should be moved to an independent agency, perhaps modeled on the National Transportation Safety Board, which can subpoena records from industry or other government agencies for its crash investigations.

Although HHS did not respond to a query about the idea, vaccine litigant Aaron Siri, who has been a personal attorney to Kennedy, told KFF Health News that Kennedy supported it. In the meantime, some vaccinologists hope they can persuade Kennedy to spend more money on good vaccine safety research.

While it is “very painful to watch” what Kennedy is doing to HHS vaccine policy, “it would behoove us to find common ground,” Salmon said at the conference. That doesn’t mean “funding terrible studies to confirm hypotheses that some people believe,” he added.

Though that is what many see Kennedy doing. One of his first moves as secretary was to hire David Geier, whose previous publications are considered junk science by many in the field, to conduct a review of vaccine links to autism. Studies around the world have thoroughly debunked such a connection.

Building on an Existing System When HHS’ Vaccine Safety Datalink was set up in the early 1990s, it was the envy of the world. There are now also good systems in Denmark, England, Israel, and Australia, but the U.S. system has worked pretty well, said Steve Black, who codirected the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center from 1985 until 2007.

The Vaccine Safety Datalink was largely responsible for the 1999 removal of a rotavirus vaccine that triggered rare intestinal disorders in babies. And its discovery of a rare but deadly side effect helped keep the AstraZeneca covid vaccine off the U.S. market and led to the removal of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Black said. It also helped pinpoint myocarditis soon after young men began getting mRNA shots in 2021.

Since 2019, Black has co-directed an ambitious, 30-country consortium called the Global Vaccine Data Network, which enables vaccine safety analyses across massive, diverse populations around the world.

The group was just beginning its study of genetic predispositions to myocarditis when the Trump administration withdrew a $2 million CDC payment, halting the work.

An email from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, “asked a bunch of irrelevant questions like, Had we ever been funded by China? Did we have collaborators in Europe?” It ordered the network to cease and desist with no due process or means of appeal, Black said.

Research funded by the grant had progressed to the point of finding seven genetic variants known to be related to cardiac inflammation in people who got myocarditis postvaccination, said Bruce Carleton, the lead investigator, at the University of British Columbia. Work remains, but the data suggests a $6 test could clear vulnerable patients before they are vaccinated, Carleton said.

“Millions got mRNA vaccines. Very few got myocarditis,” Black said. “The public would like to know, ‘Am I at risk?’ Genetics can answer that.”

The CDC has been an honest broker of vaccine safety information, Black added, but if taking the issue out of HHS would improve public confidence, he’s for it.

Vaccines need to be safer, Dressen said, but the idea of banning them doesn’t sit well with her.

“There’s the crowd that wants mRNA vaccines to be pulled off the market, but that’s not going to fix the problem. Vaccines are not going to go away,” she said.

As of June 5, a patient group she leads had provided $1.2 million to 162 people needing medical care for injuries they attributed to vaccination. Meanwhile, the federal countermeasures program, which doles out covid vaccine injury awards through a trust, has committed $2.6 million for one patient and $370,376 for another. As of June 1, it had granted an additional 37 claimants a grand total of $198,809.92.

28 Years Later

By Dwight Brown Film Critic for DwightBrownInk.com and NNPA News Wire

(***)

Waking up in a hospital bed and discovering the world has been devastated by a Rage virus is an opening scene that’s hard to beat. That set of images from the 2002 film 28 Days Later’s intro passage may make some film fans eager to see this third chapter’s beginning.

With that in mind, you wonder what was going through the head of screenwriter Alex Garland as he contemplated taking this legacy forward and devising its beginning: In Scotland, little Jimmy is shocked when zombies are everywhere and turning his town into chaos. Biting, gnawing and changing humans into rabid, rampaging beasts who chase all in sight. That sequence ends, then there’s a 180-degree turn.

Somewhere, on an isolated island off mainland Scotland, a village of survivors live a life both raucous and fearful. Drinking, dancing and joking around like pagans. But afraid to go outside their fortified gate. What scares them? Someone says what’s on all their minds: “There are strange people

Animals) take his 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) into zombie land? With nothing more than bows and a limited supply of arrows? Against the wishes of the boy’s mom (Jodie Comer), who’s already suffering from fits of disabling anxiety? Why?

The screenwriter and director Danny Boyle keep their audience guessing. Nothing is predicable in this coming-of-age film, where a kid is pushed into adulthood. Into being a savior. In the process, what he sees, hears, runs from and into defies all the guesses any audience would make. At some point viewers will stop questioning and let this tale wash over them.

In the meantime, Boyle, aided by cinematographer Anthony Dod, peppers the screen with cryptic images. Fuzzy black and white footage displaying years long gone. Herds of deer running thunderously over hill and dale (with a great assist from telltale CGI effects). Ghouls sprinting around nude and dirty. A mountain of skulls that reach to the sky. Dazzling shots of sea water consuming a footbridge as people run for their lives. Entrancing, well-interspersed visuals set this drama horror film apart from the pack. Think Oppenheimer, but less

on the mainland. That’s why our village is so precious.” The strange people are aggressive zombies infecting all who aren’t. Fiends raging just across a fragile stone causeway that can only be traversed during low tides.

If the world outside is so dangerous, why does the dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal

static.

Boyle does well with action scenes. He also pulls solid performances from his cast, who deftly portray people in constant peril. The director’s efforts get a major assist from the musical score, with its eccentric mix of rock ‘n’ roll songs, especially “Lowly” by the group Young Fathers. A progressive hip hop collective comprised of Alloysious Massaquoi,

Public Enemy Drops Surprise Album

Kayus Bankole and Graham “G” Hastings. Add editor Jon Harris, special makeup effects artist Sally Alcott and production designers Carson McColl and Gareth Pugh into the mix and it’s no wonder the footage is fun to watch and listen to.

Although this is just a movie, what dad with half a brain takes his 12-year-old out to shoot angry wacked out and ex-human beings? This is child abuse. When dad says, “We’re going back, you got your kill—that’s what we came for,” it’s so cold and cruel. Shocking and dismal. As their relationship changes, the film finds its footing. What was shaky before, in terms of plotting, dissipates and a compelling and spiritual adventure story emerges.

Taylor-Johnson portrays a troubled man’s immoral ways with just the right amount of selfishness. Comer as the mother adds complex layers of mental anguish to her character. Especially in a surprisingly humanizing scene when she

one

Precious. Very precious. That scene is in direct contrast to the snarling mayhem brought on by the alpha zombie Sampson, as played by former MMA fighter Chi Lewis-Parry. And his demonic antics are diametrically opposed to the controlled calmness of the shaman-like character Ian Kelson, played by Ralph Fiennes. A stoic man who espouses heady beliefs. If the film has a peak, it’s when the philosophical Fiennes explains, like his words come from above, what the Latin phrase “Memento mori” means. For a kid, Williams paces his dialogue like a pro. Never rushing, always emphasizing the right words with his phrasing. The camera likes his face and captures his emotions well. It’s a performance that should bring him more opportunities. It’s so good audiences will attach their hopes to him. He must endure. He must be the one who can make sense of it all.

An alarming but undistinguished beginning is bookended by an awkward ending. One where characters, who aren’t supernatural, do almost supernatural things. There’s no viable reason for their powers. It throws off the reverent scenes that came before it. Like a misguided afterthought. This may make some viewers yearn for the original and near flawless 28 Days Later. Proving years later aren’t necessarily years better.

Classy, arty, horror. Good enough for genre fans. Advanced enough for grownups. More than enough.

Trailer: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=mcvLKldPM08

Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk. com

‘Black Sky Over the Projects’

new surprise album, “Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025,” a defiant 12-track collection that fuses the group’s signature social commentary with a fresh dose of old-school fire. Released without advance notice, the record is available on a “paywhat-you-want” basis for 72 hours, giving fans unprecedented

to the group’s most urgent work in years. “These new tracks are for you to get down to at home,” said Flavor Flav, who

Chuck D

the

of the

“Pay whatcha want for the next 72 hours.”From the opening bars of “C’mon Get Down,” the album showcases the enduring power of hip-hop to challenge injustice

and unify generations. Chuck D, credited under his real name Carlton Ridenhour, and Flavor Flav deliver scathing verses over production by Carl Ryder, C-Doc, JP Hesser, and Sam Farrar. Cuts like “Evil Way” call out performative gangsterism— “You got to change your evil way / What goes up comes back down”—while “Sexagenarian Vape” explores the tension between youth culture and ageism, a recurring theme throughout the record. Public Enemy also revisits their longtime critique of the American political system. On “March Madness,” the group takes aim at lawmakers’ inaction over gun violence in schools: “Grade One to Twelve / Even kindergarten / Need security from this sick trend started.”Elsewhere, “Fools Fool Fools (Dirty Drums Mixx)” rails against climate

denial, political corruption, and what the group calls “the masquerade parade spinning in webs of charades.” The album doesn’t shy away from humor and swagger. “Messy Hens” finds Flavor Flav taunting gossipers: “Ain’t worried bout another sucker / Talkin’ ‘bout Messy Hens on Hennessy.” “Public Enemy Comin Throoooo,” meanwhile, celebrates the group’s longevity and their place in hip hop’s pantheon, referencing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Lollapalooza, and decades of tours. With production credits spanning California, Pennsylvania, and New York, “Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025” represents a crosscountry statement of resilience. Veteran drummer Tré Cool (Green Day) contributes live percussion on “Fools Fool Fools,” while C-Doc and JP

Hesser’s engineering brings a raw immediacy to the record.On “Ageism,” Chuck D delivers one of the album’s most personal performances, confronting stereotypes about aging artists: “Been their age, they ain’t never been mine… Ageism stuck in the bitterverse.” From the percussive stomp of “…The Hits Just Keep on Comin…” to the confrontational closer “March Madness,” Public Enemy prove they remain as vital—and as unflinching—as ever. The album is now available at www.publicenemy.com, where fans can name their price during a 72-hour window. After decades of speaking truth to power, Chuck D and Flavor Flav are showing no signs of retreat.

Jodie Comer in 28 Years Later

Jodie Comer and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later

confronts

of the female beasts. It’s a primal moment. Warfare set aside. Humanity prevails.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later.

next to a wall of graffiti in Brooklyn, New York, US.

Kennedy’s Vaccine Advisers Sow Doubts as Scientists Protest US Pivot on Shots

By Arthur Allen and Sam Whitehead

As fired and retired scientists rallied outside in the Atlanta heat, an advisory panel that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handpicked to replace experts he’d fired earlier met inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s headquarters to plan a more skeptical vaccine future.

The new members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices began their tenure Wednesday by shifting the posture of the 60-yearold panel from support for vaccine advancement to doubt about the safety and efficacy of wellestablished and widely administered inoculations.

Their discussions and votes this week paled in significance, however, in comparison with Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy’s announcement Tuesday that he would withdraw a $1.2 billion U.S. commitment to global immunization.

That decision will kill children in the world’s poorest countries, critics said.

The new ACIP, meanwhile, recommended that newborn Americans get a newly licensed shot to protect them against a respiratory virus. The panel also urged doctors to stop administering influenza vaccine that contains a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal. That decision, in keeping with Kennedy’s disproven claim that thimerosal helped cause an autism epidemic, will have relatively little effect, since only about 4% of flu vaccines currently contain the preservative.

More worrying to vaccine advocates, the committee’s plans to review the government’s childhood vaccine schedule could undermine longaccepted consensus and public confidence, since at least three of the seven committee members have been outspoken opponents of current vaccines. The federal government is legally bound by ACIP’s decisions to provide vaccines it recommends to lower-income children and other groups, and states also follow ACIP’s advice.

Former Harvard University epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, ACIP’s new chair, set the tone in his opening remarks. “Secretary Kennedy has given this committee a clear mandate to use evidence-based medicine when making vaccination recommendations, and that’s what we will do,” he said.

He added, “There are no wrong questions,” and he announced that a new working group would investigate whether children and adolescents are getting too many vaccines. Another will consider whether to continue ACIP’s 34-year-old recommendation of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, a practice that has dramatically reduced liver disease.

Kulldorff, a covid-19 contrarian and biostatistician who said he was fired by Harvard for refusing a covid vaccination after suffering a severe case of the disease, said the reputations of science and public health have fallen to all-time lows. But scientists and public health officials disagree on who’s to blame.

The biggest cause is “fearmongering and pseudoscience that has overtaken our country,” Caroline Brown, a pediatrician outside WinstonSalem, North Carolina, said during the remote public comment session. She noted that her state’s first measles case of the year was reported this week, panicking many of the families she treats.

Measles was declared eliminated in the United States 25 years ago. It “is back now because of declining rates of vaccination fueled by misinformation that is not only allowed but amplified by some of you sitting on this very committee,” Brown said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics declined to send official liaisons to the meeting and announced on Thursday that it would continue to publish “its own evidence-based recommendations and schedules” for vaccines, blasting Kennedy’s panel.

“What we heard in this meeting was really a false narrative that the current vaccine policies are flawed and that they need fixing,” Sean O’Leary, a physician who chairs the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement. “That’s completely false. These policies have saved millions of lives, trillions of dollars.”

The CDC’s immunization safety office has conducted studies of the entire vaccine schedule and found no harms, although a 2023 study indicated a possible link between aluminum salts used in some shots and asthma.

Within the CDC conference room, there was a striking contrast between ACIP members and the

CDC officials who briefed the panel. While the CDC scientists presented studies showing the safety and value of covid and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccines, for example, many of the panel members expressed skepticism.

Biochemist Robert Malone and Massachusetts Institute of Technology management professor Retsef Levi — two panelists who have called for banning the mRNA technology used for covid vaccines — were frequently dismissive of the CDC analysis and data. Malone, Levi, and Vicky Pebsworth — a longtime foe of school vaccination requirements — suggested hidden harms such as “hot lots” of dangerous shots, residual spike protein in the blood from mRNA shots, and inadequate vaccine safety monitoring.

CDC scientists rebutted most of the critiques. But final recommendations on policy will be made by the committee.

Standing along a busy suburban thoroughfare outside the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta as the meeting rolled on, people critical of the new ACIP were dressed in costumes representing vaccinepreventable diseases — measles, HPV, chickenpox. A small cadre carried balloon letters spelling “R-E-S-T-O-R-E A-C-I-P.” One held a leg splint, commonly used to stabilize the limbs of people with polio, a disease driven to near-extinction by vaccination. Many drivers honked in support as they drove by.

Casey Boudreau, who recently retired from a career working on vaccine-preventable diseases at the CDC, said she was upset by Kennedy’s insistence that the verdict was still out on the safety of some vaccines and by his calls for them to be studied further.

“You’re focusing on reinventing the wheel,” she said. “Do we need to go back and test air bags again? Or do we know they work?”

Tony Fiore, who served as a liaison to ACIP during some of his time at the CDC before retiring, said he was “greatly concerned” that the committee’s words and actions would “reduce the confidence

people have in vaccines and hurt our immunization programs.”

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon, who hovered briefly at the edge of rally as people began to gather, dismissed it as “nothing more than a dog and pony show with a lack of serious credibility, evidenced by their Halloween costumes,” in a statement later sent by text message.

At the meeting inside, Kennedy and his agenda loomed in the background, especially after the HHS secretary announced the abandonment of Gavi, an international group that estimates its vaccine programs have saved 18 million lives, mostly in the world’s poorest countries.

The United States has provided 13% of Gavi’s budget, and President Joe Biden had promised an additional $1.2 billion over four years before he left office. Kennedy’s action means that children “will miss lifesaving vaccines” against diseases causing pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, polio, and other diseases, former CDC official Deblina Datta said in an interview.

“There will be deaths,” said Datta, who retired in 2023 after 24 years at the agency. “I am not being hyperbolic. This is a big blow for children worldwide.”

Kennedy said Gavi had not done enough to promote vaccine safety. He also accused the group of complicity in censoring vaccine skeptics like him during the pandemic.

Before Kennedy intervened, the ACIP had been preparing to propose giving children one less shot. The committee was to have voted on reducing vaccinations against HPV, which causes cervical cancer, from two doses to one — because a single shot has proved so effective.

Kennedy has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees from a pending lawsuit against Merck over alleged injuries from one of the HPV vaccines.

While it will have little actual impact, the vote on thimerosal also frustrated vaccine proponents. Public health agencies removed the substance from nearly all childhood vaccines beginning in 1999, out of concern that the accumulation of even tiny amounts of mercury could harm children’s brains

and, some believed, cause autism.

Removal of thimerosal from childhood vaccines had no impact on autism rates, however. But on Thursday, one of the earliest antithimerosal activists, nurse Lyn Redwood, presented a paper to ACIP on its dangers. Her arguments were nearly identical to a paper she co-wrote on the subject in 2001.

A summary of the evidence on thimerosal produced by CDC staff was posted online next to Redwood’s slides on Tuesday, but it was removed before the ACIP meeting began. The CDC paper concluded the evidence did not link thimerosal in vaccines to autism or other developmental issues. According to The Washington Post, Kennedy has appointed Redwood to a position in the CDC’s immunization safety office.

“Removing thimerosal from vaccines didn’t make them safer, just more expensive,” Elias Kass, a naturopathic physician in Seattle, told the committee during a public comment session. “Re-litigation of questions already answered, like the safety of thimerosal, is not advancing radical transparency — it is an insidious attempt to suggest that something was missed or hidden previously.” Removal of thimerosal from all flu vaccines may have drawbacks. Two companies — Seqirus and Sanofi — still sell multi-dose flu vaccine vials that contain thimerosal as a preservative. A single vaccination from these 10-dose vials costs 10 to 40 times less than a single-shot prepackaged syringe, according to a CDC price list.

Seqirus will have no trouble replacing its remaining multi-dose vials with single syringes in time for the flu season, spokesperson Melanie Kerin said. We’d like to speak with current and former personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services or its component agencies who believe the public should understand the impact of what’s happening within the federal health bureaucracy. Please message KFF Health News on Signal at (415) 519-8778 or get in touch here.

Gov. Newsom and Lawmakers Strike Budget

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. California Black Media

California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom have approved a $321.1 billion state budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, closing a $46.8 billion shortfall through a combination of cuts, delays, and revenue shifts. Newsom signed the spending plan on June 27, following months of negotiations marked by divisions over environmental reforms, education funding, and health care access for undocumented Californians.

“This budget delivers on our core values – protecting public education, expanding access to health care, and supporting Californians most in need -- while ensuring the state remains fiscally responsible,” Newsom said in a bill signing statement.

While the budget protects key programs -- education, housing, and health care -- vital to Black Californians, it also imposes new Medi-Cal restrictions that limits access for undocumented adults and low-income seniors.

What Happened in the Legislature

The budget deal came together after legislative leaders agreed to tie the Governor’s signature to the passage of either Assembly Bill (AB) 131 or Senate Bill (SB) 131 -- housing reform bills that include exemptions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These controversial trailer bills evolved separately from the main budget bill, SB 101, which the Legislature passed on June 13.

Lawmakers reconvened on June 27 to pass AB 102, the primary budget implementation bill, along with over twenty trailer bills. The final package reflects changes demanded by Newsom following updated revenue projections and continued policy negotiations.

Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) called the budget “tough but thoughtful.” He said, “We protected our progress while taking a responsible approach to balancing the books.”

Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)

acknowledged the difficulty of the cuts. “There’s a lot to like in this budget, but we also had to make hard choices. We can’t sugarcoat that,” Wiener said during a Senate debate.

Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) described the agreement as “a fiscally responsible budget that protects essential services, continues historic investments in education and health care, and avoids mass layoffs or draconian cuts.”

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), in a statement issued through the Governor’s office, said the budget “reflects the values and priorities of California’s working families.”

Protecting Education and Health Care

The budget directs $114.6 billion in Proposition 98 funds to TK–14 public schools, including a 2.3% cost-ofliving adjustment (COLA) for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCCF) and $1.7 billion in discretionary block grants for student needs.

Education investments include $300 million for teacher stipends, $160 million to implement Universal School Meals, $200 million for literacyfocused professional development, $150 million for career technical education, $70 million for the Teacher Residency Grant Program, and more than $100 million to support schools recovering from the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

In higher education, the budget preserves base funding for the University of California and California State University systems -- support that had been at risk under Newsom’s earlier proposals. The Middle Class Scholarship remains funded at 35% of award levels. Community colleges will receive $100 million for enrollment growth and $60 million for student support.

Medi-Cal saw some of the most contentious changes. Beginning July 1, 2027, undocumented adults ages 19 to 59 covered under state-only Medi-Cal will be required to pay a $30 monthly premium. Starting January

1, 2026, enrollment for this group will be frozen, with a six-month grace period for those who disenroll. The budget also reinstates a $130,000 asset test for Medi-Cal eligibility, reversing recent reforms designed to help lowincome seniors and people with disabilities.

Sen. Laura Richardson (D-Inglewood), Assistant Majority Whip and a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), supported the plan but raised concerns about equity. “We must continue to monitor how these changes affect our communities on the ground. The promise of care and opportunity should not come with new barriers,” Richardson said.

Still, Republicans Criticized the Process and Results Republicans argued that the budget relied too heavily on accounting tactics and failed to address key infrastructure and public safety priorities.

Assemblymember Heath Flora (R-Ripon) said, “AB 102 continues unstable spending levels and provides insufficient funding for Prop 36, provides no funding for wildfire prevention or surface water storage.”

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) added, “This is a phony budget. It’s a budget with accounting gimmicks... something Enron would do. We ought to respect the votes of Californians for Prop 36 by fully funding it.”

The budget provides $85 million for Prop 36, but Republicans contend that meeting the initiative’s goals would require closer to $400 million.

The Budget Reflects Priorities -- But Also Pressure

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), vice chair of the CLBC, highlighted the realities of budget-making during economic stress. “This budget is not perfect,” Bryan said during floor debate. “There are things I fought to keep that were cut. But I also fought to prevent deeper cuts that would have harmed people we all represent.”

Despite trade-offs, legislative Democrats

include

for the

Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program, $100

for encampment resolution, $300 million for the Dream for All

program, and $500 million in

tax credits. The $46.8 billion shortfall was driven by several factors: lower-than-expected revenues, higher costs in programs like Medi-Cal, and disaster-related spending from the Los Angeles wildfires. The state also had to close a $12 billion gap that emerged between January and June, as new revenue projections upended the Governor’s initial plan, which had shown a balanced budget. California’s reserves, including the Rainy Day Fund, now total $15.7 billion, offering some protection against future downturns. Still, the budget leans heavily on onetime solutions -- such as delays, deferrals, and borrowing -- raising concerns about its long-term structural stability. During debate, lawmakers noted that further adjustments may be needed as Congress continues to debate the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” that could significantly affect California’s share of federal funding and force lawmakers to reopen the budget for further cuts.

Martin Kulldorff chairs a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in Atlanta on June 25. It was the panel’s first since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all of its previous members and appointed new ones. (BEN HENDREN/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES)

Too Sick To Work, Some Americans Worry

Trump’s Bill Will Strip Their Health Insurance

By Phil Galewitz and Stephanie Armour

Stephanie Ivory counts on Medicaid to get treated for gastrointestinal conditions and a bulging disc that makes standing or sitting for long periods painful. Her disabilities keep her from working, she said.

Ivory, 58, of Columbus, Ohio, believes she would be exempt from a requirement that adult Medicaid recipients work, but she worries about the reporting process. “It’s hard enough just renewing Medicaid coverage every six months with the phone calls and paperwork,” she said.

In Warrenton, Missouri, Denise Sommer hasn’t worked in five years and relies on Medicaid to get care for anxiety, high blood pressure, and severe arthritis in her back and knees.

Sommer, 58, assumes she could easily qualify for an exemption with a doctor’s note. “There’s too much abuse in the system,” she said. She added that she doesn’t worry about others losing coverage for failing to meet reporting requirements.

“That’s their own fault, because they should just keep their address updated with the state and read their mail,” she said.

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, sprawling legislation to extend his tax cuts and enact much of his domestic agenda, would require 40 states and the District of Columbia, all of which expanded Medicaid, to add a work requirement to the program. Enrollees would have to regularly file paperwork proving that they are working, volunteering, or attending school at least 80 hours a month, or that they qualify for an exemption.

Many Republicans say nondisabled adults should not be on Medicaid, arguing the work requirement will incentivize more people to get jobs. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said it would help preserve Medicaid “for people who rightly deserve” coverage, “not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games.”

Last month, Johnson claimed 4.8 million Medicaid enrollees are choosing not to work, a figure disputed by health policy experts. Spokespeople for Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.

Studies by the Urban Institute and KFF show that, among working-age enrollees who do not receive federal disability benefits, more than 90% already work or are looking for work, or have a disability, go to school, or care for a family member and are unable to work.

Most Medicaid enrollees who are employed hold low-wage jobs, often with long or irregular hours and limited benefits, if any. Notably, their jobs often do not provide health insurance.

A new Urban Institute study found 2% of Medicaid expansion enrollees without dependents, about 300,000 people, report a lack of interest in working as the reason for not having employment.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the work requirement in the House version of the legislation would lead to about 5 million adults losing Medicaid coverage by 2034; it has not yet analyzed the Senate bill. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning research organization, estimates that the Senate’s version could cause as many as 380,000 more people to lose coverage.

According to the CBO, the work-requirement provision represents the largest cut to Medicaid in the House bill — about $300 billion over a decade, reflecting the savings from no longer covering millions of current enrollees.

The projected savings are telling, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA, a consumer policy and advocacy organization. “That gives a sense of the order of its magnitude and harshness,” he said. Wright said that Republican-led states are likely to impose more burdensome reporting requirements. But even a less stringent approach, he said, will impose paperwork mandates that cause eligible beneficiaries to lose coverage.

Stephanie Carlton, chief of staff for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said June 24 at Aspen Ideas: Health in Colorado that Trump administration officials believe the CBO is overstating the impact of the work requirement.

“We’re making it easy” for people to report their work hours using technology, she said. She defended the proposed requirement as a way of better integrating Medicaid beneficiaries into their communities.

“We’re a society, especially through covid, that disengaged from communities. We spend a lot of time online, on social media, and we lose that human-to-human interaction,” Carlton said.

“We’re asking folks to engage in their communities. That’s a fundamentally good thing to do that’s part of getting benefits.”

Under the GOP proposal, people would have to meet the new work requirements when they initially sign up for Medicaid, then report their

work or exemption status at least every six months

— and potentially as frequently as every month.

“This is not a conversation America should be in,” said Leslie Dach, founder and chair of Protect Our Care, an advocacy group that supports the Affordable Care Act. “Think of real life. People are seasonal workers, or they work in retail, and it goes out of business or hours change. If you miss one month, you’re kicked off.”

The GOP legislation lists disability as an exemption, along with circumstances such as being incarcerated or being the parent of a dependent child. (The Senate bill, released on June 16, would exempt only the parents of children 14 and under.)

But even existing state and federal programs serving those with disabilities have different standards for determining eligibility.

Kevin Corinth, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said states may face challenges because many Medicaid enrollees with disabilities do not get Social Security Disability Insurance.

The federal government provides what’s called Supplemental Security Income to those who meet certain thresholds for being low-income and disabled, and states are required to enroll SSI recipients in Medicaid.

But about two-thirds of adult enrollees who are under age 65 and disabled — that is, have difficulties with vision, hearing, mobility, or cognitive function, or in other areas — do not receive SSI, according to KFF.

“It’s hard to know where to draw the line on who is disabled enough” to be exempt from the work requirement, Corinth said. “Some people will fall through the cracks, and states will have to do the best job they can.”

He said states will be expected to rely on government databases, such as those maintained by their labor departments, to determine whether enrollees are working. But proving a disability could be more taxing for enrollees themselves, he said.

Two states that previously tried enacting Medicaid work requirements created strict rules for people with disabilities to get an exemption.

In Arkansas, the Medicaid work requirement had a 10-step online exemption process for individuals who were not automatically exempted by the state.

Consequently, although 30% of people subject to the requirement reported one or more serious health limitations, only 11% obtained a long-term

exemption, according to the National Health Law Program.

Medicaid enrollees in Arkansas described a poorly functioning web-based reporting portal, inadequate outreach, and widespread confusion, according to focus-group interviews conducted by KFF.

Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement also has presented challenges for people seeking an exemption based on a disability. They must request a “modification” from the state on its online portal, then wait for a phone call from the state to set up an interview to review the application. Then they must enroll in the state’s job-training program before being allowed to sign up for Medicaid, according to the National Health Law Program.

Georgia has not disclosed how many people have applied for an exemption because of a disability or how many were approved. Over 1 in 5 Medicaid enrollees have a disability, including 22% of those ages 19 to 49 and 43% of those 50 to 64, according to KFF.

Michael Karpman, principal research associate for the Urban Institute, said his group’s findings — that only a small fraction of Medicaid enrollees are unemployed because they aren’t interested in a job — explain why work-requirement programs in Arkansas and Georgia had no significant effect on employment even as they increased the number of uninsured adults.

“Many people fall off the Medicaid rolls due to red-tape reasons,” he said, noting challenges requesting exemptions or reporting work. “People struggle with the documentation process.”

Karpman said many people rely on Medicaid when they lose jobs that provide health coverage. The GOP work requirement, though, would deny them coverage while they’re seeking new jobs.

Chris Bryant, a Medicaid enrollee in Lexington, Kentucky, has a bleeding disorder and lives in government housing on $1,100 per month in federal disability payments. He said adding a work requirement to Medicaid will only add barriers for people whose health issues prevent them from working. “It will be messy,” he said. Bryant, 39, said he knows people on Medicaid who could work but don’t, though he surmises it’s a small portion of the population. “People are on Medicaid because they have to have it and have no other option.” Emmarie Huetteman contributed to this report.

Restoring the Balance:

Supreme Court Rulings Highlight

Importance of Parental Rights and Religious Freedom in Education

concerning educational policy in Montgomery County, Maryland, further reflects the Court’s commitment to religious freedom. Parents rightly took issue with a local school board’s decision to enforce mandatory inclusion of LGBTQ+ themed materials in elementary classrooms without offering a means of opting out. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority opinion, asserted that the state cannot condition access to public education on acceptance of ideologically charged materials that undermine parental authority and religious beliefs. This ruling is a profound affirmation of parental rights and a bulwark against the encroachment of government-mandated ideologies into the sanctity of the family. It is not merely a matter of educational content; it is a clarification that the exercise of religious freedom is paramount and must be respected within our public institutions. Lastly, the decision regarding the Texas law mandating age verification for access to sexually explicit content online showcases the Court’s recognition of the government’s duty to protect children from harm. Justice

Clarence Thomas, in writing the court’s majority opinion, while contentious, emphasized the necessity of ensuring minors do not encounter such material freely. Contrary to the dissenting voices who might assert a violation of First Amendment rights, this decision rightly positions the protection of children not as an infringement of liberties but as a legitimate and necessary exercise of state power. These three cases collectively illustrate the Supreme Court’s commitment to conservative jurisprudence -- upholding individual liberties, promoting religious freedoms, and strengthening parental rights. Importantly, they signal a broader recognition of limits on judicial authority, ensuring that no one branch of government can unilaterally impose its will on the populace. Each ruling reaffirms the principles designed to maintain a balance of power and protect the rights of citizens against overreach, whether from the state or the judiciary itself. As we reflect on these decisions, let us be grateful for a Supreme Court that dares to uphold constitutional values amidst

Protesters from Service Employees International Union — a large labor union whose members include health care workers — gathered outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in near-100-degree heat on June 23 to express displeasure with congressional Republicans’ plans to make cuts to Medicaid as part of President Donald Trump’s

“One Big Beautiful Bill.” (PHIL GALEWITZ/KFF HEALTH NEWS)

Josephine Rios, who works in nursing at Kaiser Permanente in California, was among the Service Employees International Union members who gathered outside the U.S. Capitol. She worries that potential Medicaid cuts could cause her to lose her job and cause her grandchild, on Medicaid because of a disability, to lose his coverage.(PHIL GALEWITZ/KFF HEALTH NEWS)

California Capitol News You Might Have Missed Political Playback

By Bo Tefu and Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media

Black Student Enrollment in California’s Public Schools

Reaches Lowest Level Since 1990s

The number of Black students in California’s public schools has dropped sharply over the last 10 years, as overall school enrollment across the state continues to fall. New data shows that enrollment has declined from 6.2 million students in 2014–15 to just 5.8 million in 2024–25.

According to a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), this is the lowest total seen in California schools since the late 1990s.

The report shows that “in absolute terms, declining enrollment has meant falling numbers of students across most racial/ethnic subgroups.” While the number of Asian and multiracial students has grown, the number of Black and White students has gone down. The changes are most visible in large urban districts, where housing costs and migration out of state are likely playing a role.

At the same time, Latino students now make up the majority of the student population. “In 1998, shares of White and Latino students were similar, almost 40%, but by 2024–25, the share of Latino students had risen over 16 percentage points, while the share of white students fell 18 percentage points,” the report stated.

The share of students classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged has increased, while the share of migrant and foster students has decreased. The number of English Learners has also dropped, partly due to a policy that exempts some transitional kindergarten students from testing.

PPIC researchers say these shifts are likely to continue as enrollment keeps falling. “The state’s education system will need to find ways to serve a changing student body,” the report concluded. Advocates say that means paying close attention to groups like Black students, whose numbers are shrinking but whose needs remain high.

Civil Rights Leaders Call on Gov. Newsom To Commute

All 574 Death Penalty Sentences in California

California and national civil rights leaders called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to use his constitutional authority to commute the death sentences of all 574 individuals currently on death row in the state.

The coalition comprised of civil rights and social justice leaders as well as other advocates assembled at the California State Capitol on June 26 to deliver a statement from nearly 200 organizations asking Newsom to grant “universal clemency” to every “individual on death row in California without delay,” the document stated.

California has the largest death row in the country. Oakland-based civil rights attorney Lisa Holder, President of the Equal Justice Society, said that 34% of the inmates on death row in California are Black.

“I’m here to say, ‘wake up.’ Snap out of it. These disparities are egregious,” Holder said. “The racial gaps and outcomes should make you feel outraged. State killing under any circumstances is unacceptable in a civilized society.”

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), as of June 9, 191 death row inmates are Black while 181 are White (29.4%). There are 162 Latinos (27%) among all condemned inmates in the state. Holder, who was a member of the California Reparations Task Force, tapped into her research on that project to enhance and focus her advocacy on behalf of death row inmates.

Additional speakers at the Capitol rally included Dorothy Ehrlich, former Deputy Executive Director of ACLU National; Eric Harris, Disability Rights California; and Michael Mendoza, Latino Justice National Criminal Justice Director. Pastor Mike McBride, LIVE FREE; Vincent Pan, Chinese for Affirmative Action; Robert Rooks, One for Justice; Imani Rupert-Gordon, National Center for LGBTQ Rights; and Morgan Zamora, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and other members of the Clemency California Coalition gathered at the West Steps of the State Capitol to help launch the campaign.

26,

The leaders’ request comes as the California Supreme Court weighs a lawsuit filed by several civil rights groups, which argues that the state’s death penalty law is enforced in a racially discriminatory way -- and is therefore unconstitutional under the California Constitution’s Equal Protection clause.

The petition to the state’s Supreme Court was filed by the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the American Civil Liberties Union Capital Punishment Project (ACLU CPP), and the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU NorCal), among others.

“Who is on death row and by the process of how they get there is plagued with racial discrimination, injustice, and constitutional failures,” said Mendoza.

“Honestly, this is not a crisis of policy, but this is a crisis of conscience,” he added.

Assembly Committee Takes on Racism, Hate and Xenophobia

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), chaired a hearing of the California Select Committee on Racism, Hate, and Xenophobia on June 25.

Titled “The State of Hate and Charting a Path Forward,” the hearing, held at the State Capitol, was a three-panel discussion that examined incidents of racial, ethnic and other forms of aggression experienced by different racial groups in the state.

“Over the last five years, California has experienced the highest rates of hate and discrimination in our state’s history,” Jackson said.

The Assembly Select Committee on Racism, Hate, and Xenophobia was established to confront the biases, perceptions and systems fueling division in California.

The panel discussion was centered on three subjects: the State of Hate and Xenophobia, the Voice of Protected Classes, and Future Equality.

Participants on the first panel were Damon Brown, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Assistant Attorney General and Attorney General Bonta’s Legal and Policy Advisor on Civil Rights and Police Practices. Brian Levin, the chairperson of the California Commission on the State of Hate, accompanied Brown.

Rick Callender, the President of the California

Hawaii State Conference, outlined what he perceives as “systemic racism” as well as hate crimes that are “pervasive across multiple dimensions.”

Callender shared that systemic racism is harmful because it’s not just about the individual acts of prejudice or discrimination -- it is embedded into the fabric of society, operating on large-scale societal systems, practices, ideologies, and programs.

Callender pointed to the criminal justice system and the recent data collected by the California Racial Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA). Callender testified that RIPA’s annual report states that Black drivers are stopped 126% more frequently than expected, and Black and Latino youth are disproportionately impacted.

“Police use force, handcuffs or firearms against Black youth at an alarmingly high rate, 45% for ages 12 to 14, compared to 19% for White youth,” Callender told the committee.

Callender added that the California Legislature should consider looking at police oversight and reform to prevent racial profiling.

Administered by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), the Stop the Hate program is an initiative aimed at combating hate incidents and hate crimes.

“It’s clear these efforts are still gravely needed in our community. We need this kind of hate prevention dollars to be able to address these things in our communities,” Callender said.

“This is what today is all about. Uplifting the voices of protected classes and proclaiming solidarity as we face a common enemy,” Jackson said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, Calif. State Officials, Blast Pres. Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill”

Gov. Gavin Newsom came out swinging June 27 against what he called the “Big Ugly Bill” and the “Big Beautiful Betrayal” -- former President Donald Trump’s latest budget proposal, which Newsom says would devastate California’s health care and food assistance systems. Kim Johnson, secretary of the state’s Health and Human Services Agency, and Michelle Baass, director of California’s Department of Health Care Services, also participated in the news conference.

The bill, officially touted by Republicans as the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” would slash at least $28.4

billion in federal Medicaid funding to California and threaten health coverage for up to 3.4 million Californians. It also proposes billions in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), putting at risk the food security of hundreds of thousands of low-income families.

“The so-called ‘Big, Beautiful bill’ is not cost saving. It is not smart. It is cruel, costly, and a significant encroachment on states’ rights – the opposite of what Republican leadership claims to stand for. Big government is getting bigger under Trump and Speaker Johnson, as they attempt to dictate every move states make and micromanage Americans through even greater bureaucracy. It’s dangerous, and anyone with common sense should oppose it.”

Cuts to Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid, serves about 15 million Californians, which accounts for about 35% of the state’s population.

Under the plan, states would be forced to reverify eligibility for ACA expansion adults every six months instead of annually, a move expected to strip coverage from over 400,000 Californians and cost the state $2.4 billion. Work requirements would eliminate benefits for up to 3 million more. Planned Parenthood warns the bill could shut down nearly 200 clinics in California alone.

SNAP changes would strip away between $2.8 and $5.4 billion annually, pushing 735,000 Californians off CalFresh -- the state’s SNAP program -- while saddling state and local governments with up to $4 billion in new costs. Newsom pledged to fight back and urged Californians to speak out against the cuts that could lead to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.

The governor led a press conference June 27 alongside top health officials to outline the bill’s projected impact.

“This is devastating,” said Newsom at the press conference. “I know that word is overused, but his is, in many ways, an understatement of how reckless and cruel and damaging this is to millions and millions of people across this country -- but more than any other state, here in California.

A Boost to State’s Economy: California Touts 48 Film Projects Benefiting From New Tax Credits

California is welcoming 48 new film productions made possible, in the state’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week.

The projects are expected to bring in $664 million in spending and create more than 6,500 jobs across the “Californiastate.didn’t earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident,” said Newsom on June 23. “Today’s awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home and supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes.”

The new round includes 43 independent films, many of which will be shot outside of Los Angeles. Locations include San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, Riverside County and Bakersfield. Five major studio films were also selected, including a sequel to “One of Them Days” from Sony Pictures, which plans to spend over $39 million in qualified expenses.

Colleen Bell, director of the California Film Commission, said the tax credits are key to keeping productions from moving out of state. “This industry is core to California’s creative economy and keeping production here at home is more important than ever,” said Bell. The productions are expected to hire 6,515 cast and crew and create over 32,000 background acting jobs measured in workdays. The program has been a major driver of economic growth since it launched in 2009. Nearly 800 projects have been approved, generating almost $27 billion in statewide spending.

Newsom recently proposed expanding the program’s annual funding from $330 million to $750 million to keep California competitive.

On June

Oakland-based civil rights attorney Lisa Holder speaks at the State Capitol, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute the sentences of individuals on California’s death row. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

Robert Rooks, CEO of One for Justice, shares the story of a man

Rooks is calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute

nia. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

Community Honors Beloved Coach at Annual Golf Classic

By Earl Heath

Contributing Sports Writer

The legacy of beloved coach Steve Medina lives on through a cherished tradition in Southern California—the Steve Medina Classic Golf Tournament.

Now in its third year, the event brought together around 30 participants for a day of camaraderie, remembrance, and fundraising. The tournament is the brainchild of Medina and longtime friend Eric Caro.

“We want to honor our friend Steve,” said Caro. “It’s a way to build camaraderie and support our team.”

A Coach Who Shaped Lives

If I had a son, I would’ve wanted Coach Medina to mentor him. He was a tough but caring disciplinarian who prepared his players for life beyond sports. With a sharp sense of humor and an unshakable work ethic, he connected with his players as long as they gave their all.

Medina graduated from the University of La Verne, where he met his wife, Sara. After college, he carried his coaching philosophy across Southern California.

Dedicated On and Off the Field

Sara was often seen on the sidelines as the team photographer—not just for football, but for other

sports like women’s basketball, soccer, and softball. She continues that work today, capturing moments at USC and UCLA football games at the Rose Bowl and LA Memorial Coliseum.

Coach Medina’s passion for mentoring young people was evident throughout his career. He taught and coached at several high schools, including:

Gahr HS, Cerritos (1999–2000)

Huntington Park HS (2001–2006)

Millikan HS, Long Beach (2016)

Garfield HS (2016–2017)

Marquez HS (2018–2021)

Legacy High, where he also coached girls JV soccer At Legacy, he found his true niche. His leadership earned him recognition as LA City Coach of the Year by the Los Angeles Rams.

Before one game at Legacy, he told the head referee, “If any of my players talk back, send them over to me.” He insisted on discipline and respect. His teams rarely committed avoidable penalties like offsides or false starts.

A Lasting Tribute Medina battled kidney disease and was awaiting a transplant when he passed suddenly in November 2023. He is survived by his wife Sara and son Samuel. “He missed the first tournament, but his

Dodgers Return Home in Style with 6-1 Victory Over White Sox

speech as Lisa Lesie looks on (Photo Credit: Sara Medina)

By Earl Heath

The Los Angeles Dodgers returned to Chavez Ravine riding high after a successful road trip and kept the momentum going with a 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead in the first inning, giving starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto all the cushion he needed. The Japanese right-hander improved to 8-6 on the season, delivering a solid performance backed by the team’s

most run support in a game this year.

Shohei Ohtani, who had been in a brief slump, made headlines with a towering 408-foot home run to center in the fourth inning. The blast came moments after he fouled a ball off the knee of home plate umpire Alan Porter. Ohtani showed concern, checking on Porter and waiting until the veteran ump got to his feet before stepping back into the box.

Then he went “uptown,” as Earl would say, ending an 0-for-6 streak and stretching the Dodgers’ lead to 6-1.

The homer marked Ohtani’s 30th of the season, making him the third player to hit 30 or more homers before the All-Star break this year, alongside Seattle’s Cal Raleigh (33) and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (30). He matched Cody Bellinger’s 2019 feat of 30 home runs before the break, reaching the milestone in just 84 games—one fewer than Bellinger.

With six games left before the break, Ohtani has a chance to raise the bar even higher.

The win was the Dodgers’ 13th in their last 16 games, and it extended their NL West lead to a

By Earl Heath

Contributing

Candace Parker had a night to remember as her No. 3 jersey was lifted to the rafters of Crypto.com Arena during a special halftime ceremony at the Los Angeles Sparks game against the Chicago Sky. Surrounded by her family, Parker was celebrated for her trailblazing career and deep impact on the WNBA and the Sparks franchise. A two-time league MVP (2008, 2013), she leads the Sparks in career assists with 1,331 and ranks second in both points and rebounds. Over her 13 seasons with L.A., she averaged 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. Selected first overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft out of Tennessee, Parker spent 13 of her 16 WNBA seasons with the Sparks. She helped lead the team to a championship in 2016, earning WNBA Finals MVP honors. She later added titles with her hometown Chicago Sky in 2021 and the Las Vegas Aces in 2023, her final season.

“You are one of the greatest to ever wear a Sparks jersey,” said former coach Michael Cooper during the tribute. Parker, 39, becomes just the third Sparks player to have her jersey retired, joining Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie (No. 9) and Penny Toler (No. 11). Her number now hangs alongside Lakers greats at Crypto.com Arena.

“That means you’re a super, super, superstar in the game of basketball to be right up there next to me, Kareem, Kobe, and so many greats,” said Lakers legend Magic Johnson. “That will be a special moment and a great way to say to herself, ‘Look at me, I really have arrived.’”

Dressed in an orange outfit as a nod to her Tennessee roots, Parker received a standing ovation as she walked onto the court during the game’s first timeout. Fans were gifted commemorative yellow jerseys reading “That’s Our Ace” with the number 3 incorporated into the design.

“I represent coming from a family that told me I could do and be anything,” Parker said. “I’m really proud of that kid. I think I’d do things exactly the same way because it’s why I’m sitting here. I made mistakes and took two steps forward and one back, but I was always moving forward.”

By Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer

The Los Angeles Clippers are reshaping their roster with a mix of promising young talent and seasoned veterans as they gear up for the 2025–26 NBA season.

After finishing last season 50–32—second in the Pacific Division—the team exited early in the playoffs, prompting leadership to rethink the roster. Draft Brings Defensive Edge

With the 30th overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Clippers selected Yanic Konan Niederhauser, a 6-foot-11 center out of Penn State. The 22-year-old averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 61.1% from the field. He led the Big Ten in blocked shots and was 12th nationally.

“Yanic is a talented young big with great positional size who can run the floor, protect the rim, roll and finish,” said Clippers President of

Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank. “He is an excellent athlete and we’re excited to add him to the organization.”

A native of Fräschels, Switzerland, Niederhauser also played for Northern Illinois, where he led the conference in blocks during the 2023–24 season, and has represented Switzerland in FIBA competitions.

The Clippers also acquired Kobe Sanders, the 50th pick, from the New York Knicks in exchange for their 51st pick and the rights to Luka Mitrović. Sanders, a 6-foot-7 guard from Nevada, posted 15.8 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game, earning All-Mountain West Third Team honors.

“Kobe is a playmaking wing who is a skilled passer and an effective scorer,” Frank noted.

Veteran Reinforcements

On the first day of free agency, L.A. added a major presence in the paint by signing Brook Lopez from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Harvard-Westlake

alum is one of the NBA’s most reliable centers, playing nearly every game over the past three seasons and averaging 13 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists last year. He also shot 37.3% from three and averaged 1.9 blocks per game. Lopez joins Ivica Zubac to form a formidable defensive duo down low. Meanwhile, James Harden and Nicolas Batum are returning on new deals. Harden declined a player option for the second

Candace Parke gives

James Harden declined a player option, only to resign with another player option attached. (Courtesy Photo)

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani reacts after striking out against the Chicago White Sox during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Shohei Ohtani Made Dodgers History With His 30th HR

Participants at Steve Medina Classic (Courtesy Photo)

memory lives on through every one since,” said Caro, a physical education teacher and head girls flag football coach at Legacy. “It’s a fundraiser for the girls’ team—and a tribute to Steve.”

Caro encourages the community to support the squad. “Everyone is welcome to come see our team play this season,” he said. “We start August 20 at Narbonne High, and we’d love to see everyone out there.”

Music’s Role for Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families

By Head Start, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesHearing is one of the first senses to develop — babies are listening to and learning from their birth parents before they are born! Once children are born, music and singing have important impacts on their early development. It supports brain development and skills across multiple Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) domains.What does research say?Music is universal across languages and cultures. Parents and other adults regularly sing to their babies. They sing for many reasons — to soothe their babies, entertain them, lull them to sleep, and help them wait or transition to the next activity. Singing engages infants more effectively than just speech. When we sing to babies, we often use facial expressions, exaggerate words and sounds, and use playful movements and gestures. This special combination of communication methods provides babies with rich social-communicative information. The rhythmic patterns and predictability help give infants important communication cues.Singing with babies promotes bonding and reduces stress. When singing with babies, parents and other adults pay close attention to the baby’s cues and adjust their singing to match the baby’s needs. These interactions provide a powerful opportunity for bonding between the baby and the adult. Singing to infants reduces the infant’s distress and increases their emotional regulation more than just

speech. Singing also benefits the adult by reducing stress and anxiety, increasing feelings of well-being and self-esteem, and promoting feelings of closeness with their baby.Singing with infants supports learning across many developmental areas. Research shows that singing increases emotional regulation, social skills like prosocial behavior, and language

learning. Using instruments like shakers and bells helps young children build fine and gross motor skills as they move and make music along to the beat. Listening to music and moving to the beat helps young babies learn to recognize patterns in music and language. Singing songs with rhymes, numbers, and patterns supports older infants’

and toddlers’ cognitive development, including memory, sequencing, and storytelling.Connecting at HomeSinging with your young child can improve their focus, communication, emotional regulation, social, cognitive, and physical skills. It can also help you feel calmer and more connected to your infant. Word SwapIf you aren’t sure what to sing to your baby, try using a song you and your baby already enjoy, and change the words to adapt todifferent situations. Like singing, “Ba ba bottle, it’s time to eat” to the tune of “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”Bounce to the BeatWhen singing or listening to music together, bounce your baby in your lap or pat them to the rhythm of the music. This helps young infants become familiar with musical rhythms before they are able to move their bodies independently. Follow the LeaderWhen singing your young child’s favorite song, pause, wait, and look for them to fill in the next word or movement. These backand-forth interactions support social connections, language, memory, and sequencing skills.Hear Me OutLearn songs that include feelings and emotional words along with matching facial expressions and body language. Combining singing with language and emotional expression helps young children understand their own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Even if they’re not talking about feelings yet, singing is a great way to calm them when upset.

California Leaders Address Rising Hate Incidents with Policy Focus and New Data

California lawmakers and state agencies are intensifying efforts to combat the growing prevalence of hate crimes and bias incidents across the state. On June 25, a legislative hearing and two newly released government reports highlighted the persistent threats facing communities targeted by race, religion, gender identity and other forms of discrimination.

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), chaired a hearing of the Assembly Select Committee on Racism, Hate, and Xenophobia, titled “The State of Hate and Charting a Path Forward.” Held at the State Capitol, the hearing featured three panels focused on the impact of hate across California and strategies for moving forward.

“Over the last five years, California has experienced the highest rates of hate and discrimination in our state’s history,” Jackson said during the opening of the hearing.

The hearing’s panelists included Damon Brown, Special Assistant Attorney General at the California Department of Justice (DOJ), and Brian Levin, chairperson of the California Commission on the State of Hate. Both offered expert testimony about the drivers of hate and the importance of statewide collaboration.

Rick Callender, president of the CaliforniaHawaii NAACP, presented testimony describing systemic racism as a pervasive issue that manifests across institutions.

“Police use force, handcuffs or firearms against Black youth at an alarmingly high rate -- 45% for ages 12 to 14, compared to 19% for White youth,” Callender said, citing data from the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board. Callender urged lawmakers to examine oversight and reform within law enforcement systems, adding, “It’s clear these efforts are still gravely needed in our community. We need this kind of hate prevention dollars to be able to address

these things in our communities.”

The Stop the Hate program, a statewide initiative co-administered by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and Department of Social Services (CDSS), was cited by Callender as one solution that should continue to receive strong support and funding.

“This is what today is all about,” said Jackson. “Uplifting the voices of protected classes and

proclaiming solidarity as we face a common enemy.”

The hearing coincided with the release of two significant reports: the DOJ’s “Hate Crimes in California 2024” and the CRD’s “Hate Crimes Across California,” produced in partnership with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

According to the DOJ report, hate crimes involving a religious bias increased by 3.0%, from 394 in 2023 to 406 in 2024. Notably, anti-Jewish bias events rose by 7.3%, from 289 to 310 incidents.

“There is absolutely no place for hate in California. Transparent and accessible data is a critical part of understanding where we are and how we can end hate crimes in our communities,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement on June 25.

The DOJ data also showed a small overall decline in hate crimes motivated by race, with a 0.6% drop from 1,017 events in 2023 to 1,011 in 2024. However, anti-White bias incidents rose by 15.1%, and anti-Black and anti-Asian incidents both saw modest declines of 4.6% and 4.8%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the CRD report estimated that 2.6 million Californians experienced at least one act of hate between 2022 and 2023. Approximately 525,000 individuals encountered hate that was potentially criminal -- including physical assault or property damage -- and another 5 million reported witnessing such acts.

“These estimates make it clear that people across our state continue to experience hate and discrimination well beyond what is reported to law enforcement,” said CRD Director Kevin Kish. “It takes all of us working together to live up to

our values of respect and compassion for every Californian.”

The data drawn from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), the largest state health survey in the country, has provided new insight into the scope of hate incidents not captured in police reports.

“What we’ve learned in this report about hate acts -- in terms of who gets targeted, why, and how often -- can be an invaluable resource,” said Dr. Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Both reports confirmed that, when disaggregated by race and ethnicity, Black Californians experience hate incidents more frequently than any other group.Community voices echoed these findings during the committee hearing. “Our committee initially came together in 2022, in response to police harassment in our county, particularly with the African American community,” said Marlene Thomas, executive director of the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee, a nonprofit located near the California-Mexico border. The state has continued to promote resources like CAvsHate.org, a non-emergency, multilingual hate reporting portal, and hotline (833) 866-4283. These services allow Californians to report bias incidents and get support confidentially.

Bonta reinforced the need for collective action: “I urge leaders up and down the state to review the data and resources available and recommit to standing united against hate.”

Music programs have been implemented in Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms

Screenshot Asm. Cory Jackson ( D-Moreno Valley) chairs hearing on Racism, Hate & Xenophobia at the State Captiol.

Screenshot from the hearing on the State of Hate and Charting a Path Forward

By Antonio Ray Harvey and Edward Henderson California Black Media