As of 1:09am PST, President Barack Obama widens his electoral college vote margin over Mitt Romney to 303 vs. 206, and is now projected to win the popular vote with 50% versus Romney’s 48.4%. Click here to read and hear the transcript of President Obama’s speech.
Posts tagged as “Politics”
President Barack Obama has been re-elected to the Presidency of the United States tonight, defeating opponent Mitt Romney, 275 electoral votes to 203. The final tally on the popular vote still hasn’t been verified, but with 60% of the ballots counted, Mitt Romney leads 50% to 49% in that measure. More on this momentous victory as it comes.
Eighty six of the 98 new firefighters who graduated Thursday were bypassed by a discriminatory 1995 entrance exam. Sharon Wright reports.
At age 53, Marvin Jones finally became the fireman he’d always dreamed of becoming. “It’s been a long struggle. I feel blessed. I’m almost closed to tears,” he said before walking across the stage in Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom to shake hands with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Jones was among 98 new firefighters who graduated Thursday, 86 of whom were overlooked by city officials who used discriminatory practices in evaluating applicant scores for a 1995 entrance exam.
“It is my hope that we never, ever make those mistakes again,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel, stressing that the Chicago Fire Department should be as diverse as the city it serves.
After a series of back-and-forth legal battles over the years, Chicago was ordered in May 2011 to hire 111 black firefighters and pay a total of $30 million to nearly 6,000 clients listed in the class-action lawsuit known as the Lewis case.
Would-be firefighters who chose other career paths and those who chose to bypassed a “jobs lottery” six months later received cash awards of at least $5,000 per person.
Jones never took that payout, opting instead to follow his dream.
“We persevered. We’re here today. We’re graduating. We’re about to be Chicago firefighters,” said Jones, a postal worker for 33 years.
Whitney Paul, who was a first-time voter, looked over a handout with suggestions as she waited with college friends for early voting to start in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday. (Brian Blanco for The New York Times)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Rev. Eugene W. Diamond of the Abyssinia Missionary Baptist Church here rarely pays attention to the clock when the spirit moves him to preach, but mid-sermon on Sunday, he said something unusual to his flock of hundreds: “Timing is critical, so let me hustle.” He had already scaled back the minutes devoted to worship. Congregants had been instructed to forget wearing their Sunday best in favor of comfortable shoes because they all had work to do: moving thousands of “souls to the polls.” And they had only one Sunday to do it. Mr. Diamond stressed the urgency in a tambourine-shaking, trumpet-blaring finale to his prayers: “Bless us as we make our voices heard!” he shouted above the music. “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Across Florida, black churches have responded with ferocity to changes that Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, and the Legislature made to eliminate six days of early voting this year — including the Sunday before Election Day, which had been the traditional day to mobilize black congregations. In 2008, black voters cast early ballots at twice the rate of white voters, and turned out in significant strength on the Sunday before Election Day to help propel Mr. Obama to victory here.
Now, with Florida’s 29 electoral votes up for grabs in a close race, Obama supporters are counting on a newly energized black base to put them over the edge despite the tighter window for early voting. A victory here for the president would defy recent polling and make his path back to the White House much easier.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on CBS This Morning earlier today.
Saying that “I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on” and that fellow Republican Mitt Romney has not “thought through these issues as thoroughly as he should have,” former secretary of state and retired Gen. Colin Powell this morning endorsed President Obama’s re-election bid. Powell made the announcement on CBS This Morning. The show has been tweeting his comments and has posted video here. Then-Sen. Barack Obama also got Powell’s endorsement in 2008. Powell also told CBS that “I’m a Republican of a more moderate mold … dying breed.”
article by Mark Memmott via npr.org
Oakland Mills resident Ambrose Lane Jr. tightens the bolt on the newly named April Wind Court on Monday. A name change for the street, previously called Coon Hunt Court, was approved by the County Planning Board in September. (Photo by Jon Sham, The Baltimore Sun)
After seven months of petitioning, a group of Columbia, Maryland residents gathered Monday for an official ceremony revealing their neighborhood’s new street name. Coon Hunt Court has now been changed to April Wind Court, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“For more than 175 years, the word ‘coon’ represented racism and bigotry against African-American people,” April Wind Court resident Ambrose Lane Jr. said at the ceremony. “We come here today to right the wrong, to correct the mistake, to continue James Rouse’s vision and dream of an inclusive, neighborly, and multiracial Columbia community.”
Oakland Mills resident Ambrose Lane Jr. tightens the bolt on the newly named April Wind Court on Monday. A name change for the street, previously called Coon Hunt Court, was approved by the County Planning Board in September. (Photo by Jon Sham, The Baltimore Sun)
After seven months of petitioning, a group of Columbia, Maryland residents gathered Monday for an official ceremony revealing their neighborhood’s new street name. Coon Hunt Court has now been changed to April Wind Court, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“For more than 175 years, the word ‘coon’ represented racism and bigotry against African-American people,” April Wind Court resident Ambrose Lane Jr. said at the ceremony. “We come here today to right the wrong, to correct the mistake, to continue James Rouse’s vision and dream of an inclusive, neighborly, and multiracial Columbia community.”
“What Washington needs is adult supervision.”
–President Barack Hussein Obama
(Watch the debate tonight @6pm/9pm PST/EST — and VOTE!!!!)
In one of the country’s most high-profile voter ID cases, a Pennsylvania Commonwealth judge has ordered an injunction to block the state’s strict photo ID law. The law, which was passed by the state’s Republican-controlled government, required voters to produce a government-issued photo ID in order to cast their ballots–which has been highly criticized by advocates who say it discriminates against minority, low-income and elderly voters, among others.
Pennsylvania is one of many states that passed photo ID laws, many of which are being contested in court. The injunction comes just in time for the November presidential election.
Court Rules Pennsylvania Can Vote Without Photo ID.