Connect with us

News

Kamala Harris delivers powerful concession speech after loss to Donald Trump

Published

8 months ago

on

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the nation from Howard University, her alma mater, publicly conceding defeat in the presidential election to Donald Trump.

“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” she said. “But hear me when I say — the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”

She urged her supporters to accept the results of the election

“We owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States,” she said.

The Associated Press called the presidential race Wednesday morning around 5:30 a.m. ET after Trump won 276 electoral votes to Harris’s 223, although Trump declared victory at 2:30 a.m. ET during a speech to supporters at an election party in Florida. Harris did not address supporters or the country on Tuesday night as the election results were coming in.

“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said Wednesday. “The fight — the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and for the dignity of all people.”

In a message directed specifically at young voters, Harris said, “Sometimes the fight takes a while, that doesn’t mean we won’t win. This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves.”

Harris called President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him, and during the reportedly brief conversation they discussed the “importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans,” a senior Harris aide told CNN. Trump’s campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, said Trump “acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”

President Biden also congratulated Trump over the phone on Wednesday, and invited Trump to meet with him at the White House in the near future. Biden will address the nation on Thursday.

Harris launched her presidential campaign at the end of July after Biden withdrew from the race following Democratic calls for him to drop out due to his June debate performance. Harris locked up the Democratic nomination within two weeks but had about 100 days to sway voters compared to Trump, who announced his intention to run in November 2022 and clinched the Republican nomination in mid-March.

The Harris campaign focused on helping middle- and lower-class families, making housing more affordable, bringing down the cost of health care and protecting reproductive rights. But the campaign seemed to struggle with connecting to working-class voters, with the Teamsters union declining to endorse either candidate for the first time in almost 30 years.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

News

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

Published

2 weeks ago

on

June 27, 2025

By

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.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

Black History

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

Published

2 weeks ago

on

June 27, 2025

By

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.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

News

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

Published

2 weeks ago

on

June 27, 2025

By

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.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

Trending