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Former ATL Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Reminds Trump: ‘You Can’t Fire Someone Who Has Already Resigned’

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Atlanta News First reports that Former White House Export Council member and former Mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms reminded President Donald Trump that she resigned weeks ago after Trump claimed he fired her .

Using his infamous “You’re Fired!” catchphrase from the show The Apprentice , Trump took to his Truth Social platform to “fire” Lance Bottoms and other members of the Biden-Harris administration on Jan. 21. The now former White House employees include Chef Jose Andres from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition; Ret. Gen. Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council; and former State Department official Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars board.

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1881583751756443787

Trump claims the group doesn’t “align” with his “Make America Great Again vision.” Lance Bottoms reminded Trump that it’s impossible to fire someone who has already resigned.

“A day late and a dollar short … My resignation from the President’s Export Council was submitted January 4, effective yesterday,” Bottoms wrote in response.

“You can’t fire someone who has already resigned. Of all the things happening in the world, not sure why I’m on Donald Trump’s mind at 1:30 am following his inauguration, but I count it as a badge of honor.”

She recommended that Trump pay more attention to the other pressing issues facing the U.S., such as the growing wildfires in Los Angeles.

“No matter how you voted, I think we can all agree that targeting me, along with a man who is feeding displaced people in Los Angeles and a decorated military General in the early morning hours via social media is not the best use of time for the President of the United States,” she said.

Several supporters joined Lance Bottoms in shifting the indicted president’s focus back to other issues by congratulating her on a job well done in the White House.

“He behaves like a toddler …thank you for your service sis,” @vanilla_sky81 wrote.

Another user questioned how someone could be officially fired on social media. “How you fire someone via social media???,” @tarratresha said.

Host of Sirius XM’s “The Reecie Colbert Show” @reeciecolbert said the script is the same as that of Trump’s first term. “New term. Same script of using Black women and brown men as red meat for his rabid base. I’m so disgusted we are back to waking up,” the media personality wrote.

Lance Bottoms has worked in Washington, D.C., since June 2022, according to Fox 5 Atlanta , leading the White House Office of Public Engagement – a vital role in former President Joe Biden’s reelection bid .

She was later appointed to the role of principal national advisory committee on international trade in July 2023. She then joined Biden’s official campaign in June 2024 , just weeks before he handed the baton to former Vice President Kamala Harris to run as the Democratic presidential nominee.

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Immigration officer charged with accepting bribes from migrants to change legal status

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An immigration officer from Pennsylvania has been charged with accepting bribes in exchange for adjusting immigrants’ legal status over a nearly decadelong period.

Amara Dukuly, 43, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with bribery of a public official, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced Thursday.

Dukuly had allegedly used his status as a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer since 2015 to receive payments in exchange for adjustments to some people’s immigration statuses. Those adjustments include receiving a green card, work authorization documents, or visas.

USCIS handles “processing immigration and naturalization applications and establishing policies regarding immigration services.”

“Dukuly did not have the authority to do any of the things he promised these individuals,” the press release says. “After corruptly seeking, receiving, and accepting money in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act, Dukuly converted the monies he obtained from these bribes for his personal benefit.”

The case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve will lead the prosecution.

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Bernice King’s Redemption Bank is now the first Black-owned in the West

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In 2023, a group of Black investors based in Atlanta agreed to buy a white-owned bank, Holladay Bank & Trust, and convert it into a Black-owned one. The investors included Dr. Bernice A. King, a daughter of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr; Ashley D. Bell, a former White House policy adviser, and former NFL player Dhani Jones.

They planned to rename the Utah-based institution Redemption Bank and said they wanted to provide financial services to Black communities historically underserved by financial institutions while offering online banking services and small business loans.

The deal, which was awaiting regulatory approval, would mark the first time Black investors purchased a non-Black bank, a statement by Redemption Holding Company said at the time. It would also be the first time in American history that an existing commercial bank would become a Black-owned Minority Depository Institution (“MDI”) through acquisition, the statement added.

After two years, Redemption has finally completed its acquisition of Holladay Bank & Trust. It makes it the first time a bank has been owned by a Black-led investment group in the Western U.S., the AP reported this month.

The acquisition got delayed due to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023, Bell, CEO and chairman of Redemption Holding, told the AP.

“This process has undoubtedly taken longer than any of us anticipated,” Bell said. “However, we are grateful for the diligence of the staff at the FDIC, the leadership of the (American Bankers Association), and the renewed sense of urgency from the new administration this year, all of which helped bring everything together.”

While Bell is the CEO, King is expected to be Redemption Bank’s senior vice president for corporate strategy and serve on the company’s advisory board.

With about $65 million in assets, Redemption Bank will be the first Black-owned bank not physically located within an economically vulnerable community and the first in the Rockies, according to the AP.

It will also be the only one located in the Black-banking desert that stretches from Houston to Los Angeles, the AP added.

The company will further become the 24th Black-owned bank in the nation, termed as Minority Depository Institutions (MDI). MDI is a federal designation for banks and unions that are owned or controlled by minority groups. The most recent MDI was Adelphi Bank, launched in January 2023.

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Crockett questions Melania Trump’s reported ‘Einstein visa’: ‘The math ain’t mathin”

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) questioned first lady Melania Trump’s reported “Einstein visa” at a House hearing Wednesday.

“Let me remind y’all that Melania, the first lady, a model — and when I say model, I’m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell level — applied for and was given an EB-1 visa, and what that stands for is an Einstein visa. Now y’all that don’t know, let me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa,” Crockett said.

“You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist, or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt,” the Texas Democrat added. “It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.”

The Washington Post has reported that Trump in 2001 was given a green card via the elite EB-1 program. The program has been used by people such as academic researchers and multinational business executives, as well as people who have demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim,” according to the Post.

Crockett’s comments came amid already heightened tensions over immigration in the U.S. as President Trump and his administration pursue an immigration crackdown.

The Trump administration has recently looked to social media more as a national security tool to vet immigrants, raising concerns the action could result in a chilling effect on political speech in the U.S.

The State Department announced earlier this month it was relaunching interviews and processing foreign student visas, with applicants having to make their social media accounts public for vetting or face possible denial.

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