In his final State of the State address on Jan. 8, 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted California’s role as a national "beacon" of progress. He also criticized the Trump administration’s federal policies, calling them a "carnival of chaos" and an "assault on our values." CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey. Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media Before a joint session of the California Senate and Assembly, Gov.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at a protest (Photo Credit: Library of Congress) By Charlene Crowell As 2026 unfolds, affordability, which emerged as a critical issue last year, will become a more pressing concern for most people in America. A comment by a respondent to a recent student loan borrower survey by The Institute for College Access & Support (TICAS) summarized the complexity of the affordability problem for striving workers:

Andrew Campanella By Andrew Campanella All parents in California and across America want their children to thrive in learning environments that reflect their diverse interests, talents, and individual challenges. That’s why one in five parents last year enrolled at least one of their children in a new K–12 school. In fact, the process of moms and dads actively choosing how and where their children learn—often referred to as school choice—reached a five-year high in 2025.

Early educator apprentice Mayra Aguilar, right, and her mentor teacher Jetoria Washington supervise children during outdoor play at the Wu Yee Children’s Services’ Bayview Early Learning Center in San Francisco. Credit: Emmanuel Guillén Lozano for The Hechinger Report By Nirvi Shah, The Hechinger Report SAN FRANCISCO — In a playground outside a YMCA, Mayra Aguilar rolled purple modeling dough into balls that fit easily into the palms of the toddlers sitting across from her.

By BCP Staff If you’re hoping your athletic talents will lead you to endorsements during college or eventually to pro sports, signing with a sports agent might be an exciting first step — but it’s also serious business. That’s why the FTC is seeking information from universities about sports agents’ compliance with the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act. SPARTA requires agents to provide important information to student athletes and schools about agency contracts — and prohibits them from making false or misleading statements to student athletes or offering illegal gifts to induce student athletes to sign agency contracts.

By Bo Tefu | California Black Media Proposed California Initiative Would Force State Action if President Exceeds Two-Term Limit California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that a new initiative was cleared for circulation on Jan. 5, 2026, allowing the proponent to begin collecting petition signatures. The measure, formally titled “Requires State Response if President of the United States Unlawfully Retains Office Beyond Two-Term Limit.

Pending SCOTUS case could make it harder for millions of Americans to vote by mail WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and California’s former Secretary of State, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) led their colleagues in filing an amicus brief in Watson v. Republican National Committee, a landmark mail-in voting case that will be argued before the U.S.

One Battle After Another emerged as a major winner, taking home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. The film continued its strong showing by earning three additional honors, including Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor, along with Best Director and Best Screenplay awarded to Paul Thomas Anderson. Taylor’s win stood out, as she surpassed fellow nominee Amy Madigan for Weapons.

Donna Bollinger This past year I continually heard myself repeating the same phrase: “My bar is really low.” I was describing advocacy work at the United Nations and the multiple issues confronting the world: conflicts and wars, gender-based violence, climate change, racism and incitement to violence, food insecurity, economic instability, rising nationalism, eradication of religious freedom, increasing poverty, natural disasters across the globe… the list continues.

Most people reach for juice when swallowing pills because it tastes better than water. But certain juices — especially grapefruit, orange, apple, and cranberry — can turn everyday medications into overdoses, failures, or toxic reactions without you realizing it. The problem is that chemicals in the fruit can get in the way of the medicine breaking down, called metabolizing, in the digestive system.

For the longest time, Crohn’s was not a major concern. At least for Black folks, who had lower rates of the gastrointestinal disease than other races. Unfortunately, that’s quickly changing. Today, there is an alarming trend in diagnoses of the condition – everything from severe abdominal pain and discomfort to malnutrition, diarrhea, and even severe mental health impacts. Why is Crohn’s disease increasing in Black populations?

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved recovery fee waivers to help eligible property owners repair and rebuild following severe winter storms that started on Dec. 23. The storms delivered more than 17 inches of rain to some areas, causing flooding, mudslides and debris flows, impacting mountain and high desert communities including Wrightwood, Lytle Creek, Phelan, Piñon Hills and Hesperia, as well as multiple roadways, including areas near Mt.

Photo Credits: Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino Riverside, CA – January 13th, 2026 – Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino (FARSB) reflects as it concludes the food bank’s 45th year of operating. With rising needs in the Inland Empire (IE), the food bank highlights the vital work it does within the community while bringing attention to the ways the region must focus on addressing major issues within the food system to ensure equitable access to all community members.

Alice T. Crowe, a lawyer, educator and entrepreneur that has practiced law for over 25 years in New York. This week she gives insight to the impact of crypto markets promising liberation but subjecting Black communities to extreme financial risk. (Courtesy photo) In this commentary, attorney and educator Alice T. Crowe warns that major cryptocurrency firms are positioning themselves as banks without being subject to the same consumer protections, posing heightened risks for Black communities.

Confidential File By Stacy M. Brown The fight over the Epstein files reached a boiling point today as Congress moves to force their release, but the real story has already unfolded behind closed doors. The documents were scrubbed long before lawmakers ever approached the floor. What should have been a moment of transparency has become a demonstration of how political power shields itself while the public is told to wait.

ANAHEIM, CA (January 13, 2026) – January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and patients of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) now have access to a compassionate, lower-stress method of getting tested for human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common cause of cervical cancer. Self-collection HPV testing is now available as an option for patients aged 30 years and older at all nine of PPOSBC’s health centers in Orange and San Bernardino Counties.

Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA By Robin Urevich Contributing Writer, Los Angeles WAVE One of the biggest landlords in the region has been turning away people seeking apartments under the Section 8 housing assistance program in many of its buildings, in apparent violation of state law, a Capital & Main investigation found. Jamison, a group of family-run real estate companies, has been lauded for its civically active executive and its efforts to turn underused office space into housing.

Thomas Parker as a Head Start student (left) and today (right). By Thomas Parker “We never talked about the definition of collective impact formally. It was a lived-out experience, and I grew up seeing the positive results,” says Thomas Parker. “My community exemplified it.” Thomas now has a formal definition for collective impact, which he shared as the opening plenary speaker during a recent National Head Start Association conference.

Allen White <allen.white@connective3.com> California has ranked among the most stressed states in America, according to new research from health insurance comparison service iSelect. The study analyzed survey data from Americans alongside 28 national data sets, ranking each state from 1 (most stressed) to 50 (least stressed) across key stress categories. California stress rankings: Overall rank: 21st Overall stress score: 49.3 / 100…

AI-generated image by Stacy Brown / NNPA. By Stacy M. Brown Black pop culture in 2025 did not chase attention. It set terms. Across music, television, film, fashion, and sports, Black creators tightened control over narrative, ownership, and meaning at a moment when the country itself felt unmoored. Hip hop provided the year’s clearest line of separation. “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar did more than dominate playlists.

102-year-old U Mya uses his laptop to connect with friends. (Photo courtesy of the Myanmar Gazette) By SweSwe Aye In Oakland, California, 102-year-old U Mya uses YouTube and Messenger to maintain spiritual and social connections. “When I talk to my friends online, I don’t feel lonely anymore.” he said. Within the US Burmese community, digital literacy has become a lifeline. “Digital literacy is necessary for easier, faster communication,” said retired architect Myo Sein.

AI-generated image by Stacy Brown / NNPA. By Stacy M. Brown The losses came steadily in 2025, not as a single rupture but as a quiet procession. Voices that once filled sanctuaries, arenas, studios, television screens, and living rooms went still. The year closed with Black America taking inventory not only of who died, but of what each life carried into the culture and what now remains behind.