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Vice President Harris Opens NAACP Image Awards by Urging People Across America to Register to Vote

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WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris opened the 55th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday night by urging people across the nation to register to vote or check their registration status. During a surprise video that kicked off the ceremony, the Vice President asked Queen Latifah to remind viewers to go to Vote.Gov.

“Remind people about how important this election is coming up in November,” Vice President Harris urged Queen Latifah. “If you can ask people to go to Vote.gov to register to vote or to check their registration status, that would mean a lot.”

The Vice President has consistently led efforts to protect voting rights and advance voter registration. Last month, she convened her second meeting of 2024 with leaders who are on the frontlines of protecting voting rights and registering communities to vote. During the roundtable conversation, she announced new steps that the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to ensure Americans have the information they need to vote, promote voter participation for students, protect election workers, and fight voter suppression laws. In January, she was in Atlanta, GA for a roundtable conversation on voting rights where she called out extremists across the country for their full-on assault on the freedom to vote at a time when more than 300 anti-voter bills were introduced last year.

Since being sworn in, Vice President Harris has been working with President Biden to ensure that the voting rights of Americans are protected and advanced. In addition to her work on pushing for federal legislation, the Vice President has consistently convened a broad coalition of voting rights champions to strategize about what we must do to ensure that Americans have access to the ballot. She has consistently brought together leaders from the Black community, Latino community, Asian American and Pacific Islander community, Native American and Tribal community, voters with disabilities, youth, poll workers and election officials, and democracy advocacy groups.

In addition to these convenings, Vice President Harris has continued her leadership on voting rights and in the fight for fundamental freedoms:

  • In January, the Vice President traveled to South Carolina to mark the third anniversary of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by delivering the keynote speech at the 7th Episcopal District AME Church Women’s Missionary Society’s annual retreat. Her address focused on the full-on attack on hard fought, hard-won freedoms.

 

  • In the fall, the Vice President launched a nationwide “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour in which she energized more than 15,000 students and young leaders. The Vice President took questions from students on a range of issues – including voting rights – and called on students to register to vote, organize, and stay involved in the fight for our freedoms.

 

  • Last year, the Vice President also held a Summer of Action in which she traveled to 17 states to hold a series of events. During these events, the Vice President spoke about voting rights and how the Administration is fighting back against attacks on fundamental freedoms. For example, she visited the Gila River Indian Community where she spoke about the need for the Native American Voting Rights Act.

 

  • In July, the Vice President convened a roundtable discussion on the Americans with Disabilities Act that focused on voting rights and built on an earlier convening about making voting more accessible for those with disabilities.

 

  • In March of 2022, the Vice President delivered remarks commemorating the President’s Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting.

 

  • The Vice President has regularly held meetings about voting rights with state legislators and members of Congress across the country. This includes traveling to Tennessee after Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson were expelled, speaking with Texas legislators who were working to block voter suppression efforts, and holding a listening session in Michigan.

Politics

State Rep. Angie Nixon Condemns Deadly ICE Shooting, Calls for Independent Investigation

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FNN NEWS) — Following the fatal shooting of 52-year-old father and construction worker Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Houston, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and Florida State Representative Angie Nixon released the following statement:

Statement from Rep. Angie Nixon

“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was a father who spent decades building homes and providing for his family. He was fatally shot in the street by an ICE agent operating from an unmarked vehicle. My heart breaks for his wife and three sons.

“Our nation faces a moral choice. We must stop investing billions of taxpayer dollars in an agency that, in my view, terrorizes communities, operates with too little accountability, and often conducts enforcement actions without body cameras or clear identification. Those resources should instead be invested in strengthening our communities and helping families meet their basic needs. I believe ICE should be abolished.

“I stand in full solidarity with Lorenzo’s family in calling for a fully independent and transparent investigation into his death. I also call for the immediate release of his brother and the other individuals who were detained during this incident if they are being held without legal justification.”

Key Points

  • Rep. Angie Nixon expressed condolences to the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
  • She called for a fully independent and transparent investigation into the fatal shooting.
  • Nixon criticized ICE’s enforcement practices and renewed her call to abolish the agency.
  • She urged the release of Lorenzo’s brother and others detained during the incident if their continued detention is not legally justified.

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US NATIONAL NEWS

U.S. Expands Sanctions Targeting Iran’s Financial Networks and Regime Financiers

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WASHINGTON (FNN NEWS) — The Trump administration announced a new round of sanctions Friday targeting individuals and businesses accused of helping finance Iran’s ruling elite and facilitating international financial transactions on behalf of the Iranian regime.

The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, target a global financial network that U.S. officials say supports Iran’s Supreme Leader and other senior regime officials.

Global Financial Network Targeted

According to the administration, the sanctions focus on Ali Ansari, a Dubai-based Iranian national accused of managing an extensive network of real estate and commercial holdings across multiple countries on behalf of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and other regime insiders.

U.S. officials said the network includes assets and business interests in:

  • Germany
  • United Kingdom
  • Spain
  • Cyprus
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Other international jurisdictions

The administration alleges the network has been used to help Iranian regime officials maintain access to international financial markets.

Currency Exchange Houses Sanctioned

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on three Iran-based currency exchange firms and their associated leadership:

  • Mohammad Darbani and Partners
  • Lavasani and Partners
  • Mohsen Khandan and Partners

The sanctions also extend to the firms’ managing partners and affiliated front companies.

According to the administration, these entities allegedly enabled Iran to obtain foreign currency and conduct international financial transactions despite existing U.S. sanctions.

Administration Cites Maximum Pressure Campaign

The White House said the latest designations are part of President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to increase economic pressure on Iran.

Administration officials said they will continue targeting individuals, businesses and financial institutions—including foreign entities—that facilitate illicit Iranian commerce or assist the regime in evading U.S. sanctions.

The administration maintains that the sanctions are intended to pressure Iran to end what it describes as destabilizing activities in the region and to hold accountable those who enable corruption within the Iranian government.

Authorities Used for Sanctions

The sanctions were imposed under multiple executive authorities, including:

  • Executive Order 13902, targeting Iran’s financial and petroleum sectors.
  • Executive Order 13876, focusing on Iran’s Supreme Leader and affiliated individuals.
  • Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886, which provides counterterrorism sanctions authority.

Treasury officials said the latest designations build upon previous actions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeting Iran’s shadow banking system and currency exchange networks.

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US NATIONAL NEWS

White House: Trump Administration Deports Convicted Child Sex Offender After Minnesota Pardon

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WASHINGTON (FNN NEWS) — The White House announced Friday that the Trump administration deported a Laotian national convicted of sexually abusing a child after Minnesota officials granted him a pardon.

 

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