
Juneteenth celebrations adapt after corporate sponsors pull support
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Juneteenth celebrations have been scaled back this year due to funding shortfalls as companies and municipalities across the country reconsider their support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Canceled federal grants and businesses moving away from so-called brand activism have hit the bottom line of parades and other events heading into Thursday's federal holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The shrinking financial support coincides with many companies severing ties with LGBTQ celebrations for Pride this year and President Donald Trump's efforts to squash DEI programs throughout the federal government.

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Winnipeg Free Press
35 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
NAACP won't invite Trump to its national convention. He will be 1st president excluded in 116 years
The NAACP announced Monday the group will not invite President Donald Trump to its national convention next month in Charlotte, North Carolina, the first time the prominent civil rights organization has opted to exclude a sitting president in its 116-year history. NAACP President Derrick Johnson announced the move at an afternoon press conference, accusing Trump of working against its mission. 'This has nothing to do with political party,' Johnson said in a statement. 'Our mission is to advance civil rights, and the current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights.' A message to the White House seeking comment was not immediately returned. In recent months, the NAACP has filed multiple lawsuits against Trump. In April, for example, the group sued to stop the Department of Education from withholding federal money for schools that did not end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, arguing the department was prohibiting legal efforts to provide equal opportunity to Black students. NAACP officials noted that the decision was weighty in that the organization had long invited presidents with whom it disagreed. Notably, Republican President George W. Bush addressed the group's convention in July 2006, after months of criticism for his administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which had a disproportionate impact on Black residents in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. —————————————— Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Chris Megerian contributed from Washington.


Toronto Star
41 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Americans want Medicaid and food stamps funding maintained or increased, AP-NORC poll shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Republican senators consider President Donald Trump's big bill that could slash federal spending and extend tax cuts, a new survey shows most U.S. adults don't think the government is overspending on the programs the GOP has focused on cutting, like Medicaid and food stamps. Americans broadly support increasing or maintaining existing levels of funding for popular safety net programs, including Social Security and Medicare, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. They're more divided on spending around the military and border security, and most think the government is spending too much on foreign aid. The poll points to a disconnect between Republicans' policy agenda and public sentiment around the domestic programs that are up for debate in the coming weeks. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Here's the latest polling data on how Americans view federal funding: Most want Medicaid and SNAP funding increased or kept as is Many Americans see Medicaid and food assistance programs as underfunded — even as Congress proposes significant cuts to Medicaid and food and nutrition assistance programs — and few say 'too much' money is going to these programs. About half of U.S. adults say 'too little' funding goes to Medicaid, which is a government health care coverage program for low-income people and people with certain disabilities. Nearly half, 45%, say food and nutrition assistance programs like food stamps, SNAP or EBT cards are underfunded, according to the poll. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults in each case say those programs are receiving 'about the right amount' of funding, indicating that most Americans likely do not want to see significant cuts to the two programs. About 2 in 10 say Medicaid is overfunded, while about one-quarter say that about food assistance programs. Republicans are especially likely to say 'too much' is spent on food and nutrition assistance programs when compared with Democrats and independents — 46% of Republicans say this, compared with about 1 in 10 Democrats and independents. When it comes to Medicaid, fewer Republicans, about one-third, say the government is spending 'too much.' Many believe Medicare, Social Security and education are underfunded About 6 in 10 Americans say there is not enough government money going toward Social Security, Medicare or education broadly. But Democrats overwhelmingly think 'too little' money is allocated to these areas, while Republicans are happier with the status quo. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Very few think Medicare, Social Security and education are getting 'too much' funding. Only about 1 in 10 Republicans say this about either Medicare or Social Security. Roughly one-quarter of Republicans say too much is spent on education. When it comes to Social Security, about half of Republicans say 'too little' is spent, compared with about 7 in 10 Democrats. Americans are divided on money for border security and the military Americans are more divided on whether the government is devoting too much money to the military or border security. About 3 in 10 say the government is spending 'too much' on the military, while a similar share say the government is spending 'too little.' Close to 4 in 10 say the government is spending 'about the right amount.' Republicans are much less likely to say 'too little' is being spent on border security than they were before Trump took office again in January. Now, 45% of Republicans say 'too little' is being spent, down from 79% in a January AP-NORC poll. On the other hand, Democrats are more likely to say that 'too much' is being spent on border security. About half of Democrats now say this, compared with about 3 in 10 in January. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Most US adults say foreign aid gets too much funding The Trump administration has asked Congress for deep reductions to foreign aid programs, including cuts to global health programs and refugee resettlement initiatives. Foreign aid is one area with more general agreement that there is 'too much' federal spending. Most U.S. adults, 56%, say the U.S. government is spending too much on assistance to other countries, which is down from 69% in an AP-NORC poll from March 2023. There is a deep partisan divide on the issue, though. About 8 in 10 Republicans say the country is overspending on foreign aid, compared with about one-third of Democrats. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.


CTV News
44 minutes ago
- CTV News
What's not being discussed at G7 as Trump shapes agenda
Mounties wait in front of Air Force 1 as U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in Calgary, Alta., on Sunday, June 15, 2025, to attend the G7 leaders meeting taking place in Kananaskis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Kananaskis, Canada — Gender equality, climate change, biodiversity, poverty, health, gay rights and more - the list of issues missing at the Canada G7 from past summits is long. The G7 gathering has been carefully planned to ensure U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to attend at all and Canada is keen to avoid a public dust-up. Official agenda items are the global economic outlook and energy security, with organizers naming priorities as critical mineral supply chains and AI adoption, as well as 'international peace and security.' Last year's Group of Seven summit in Italy, when Joe Biden was U.S. president, ended with a joint declaration promising better ties with Africa, action on poverty, and determination to tackle 'the triple crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.' Such subjects are almost totally absent at the G7 talks this year in order to placate Trump, said John Kirton of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto. 'There's no point in putting them on the agenda if the Americans will just refuse to discuss them. And if you put too many of them on, Trump wouldn't even come,' he said. Kirton added that the schedule was also crowded out by crises from Ukraine to the Middle East, with G7 nations increasingly concerned with defense spending rather than development aid. For the G7 - founded 50 years ago by the world's leading economies at the time - such a lurch in priorities poses major questions about the club's purpose and future. But, for the Trump administration, the group is just returning to its original function of promoting global economic stability and growth. 'Canada knows its audience and if it wants a unified outcome of this year's G7 leaders summit then it should stick close to traditional G7 values while avoiding controversial topics,' said Caitlin Welsh of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'Retreat' from world problems The impact on the ground has alarmed many campaigners who say the G7 reduction of foreign aid is hitting millions of world's poorest, threatening food supplies, water, education and health. 'The G7's retreat from the world is unprecedented and couldn't come at a worse time,' said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar. 'Rather than breaking from the Trump administration's cruel dismantling of USAID and other U.S. foreign assistance, G7 countries like the U.K., Germany and France are instead following the same path.' Oxfam calculated that G7 nations, which provide three-quarters of all official development assistance, are cutting aid by 28 percent between 2024 and 2026. No joint communique is expected at the end of the summit on Tuesday to avoid the potential failure for all members to agree on the text. But there is one way that the non-U.S. members of the G7 are fighting back - discreetly. An unexpected item on the agenda is to 'boost collaboration to prevent, fight and recover from wildfires.' The wildfire issue 'allows us to talk about climate change without saying it directly because we know that unfortunately not everyone likes it,' a Canadian official speaking anonymously told AFP. Both Canada and the U.S. are increasingly affected by major forest fires - worsened by climate change - including blazes that burnt down swathes of Los Angeles earlier this year. Professor Kirton said the wildfires agenda tactic was 'clever rather than sneaky.' 'They saw wildfires as a point of entry, and one that would work with Donald Trump.' Kirton highlighted that wildfires are currently causing damage across the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, both Trump heartlands. 'That's getting into his MAGA base,' he said. By Ben Sheppard.