U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., looks on as Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference in front of the U.S. Capitol on May 19, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The long, often agonizing struggle for Black political clout in Washington faces a new, uncertain and potentially troublesome chapter. Black political power in the nation’s capital is centered on the Congressional Black Caucus. In the U.S. House, the caucus has enough members to comprise roughly-one fourth of the votes needed to reach a 218-vote majority, including some of the most senior and influential Democrats in Congress. Their numbers and cohesion have been enough to push landmark legislation such as the Affordable Care Act across the line. But the April 29 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais narrowing the scope of the federal Voting Rights Act, as well as this year’s aggressive Republican redrawing ...
Empty tables line the pier at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, where a drop in Canadian visitors has affected business. Nationally, leisure and hospitality jobs dipped 61,000 in June, reflecting slower seasonal hiring. (Photo by Kevin Hardy/Stateline) Job growth slowed in June to an increase of 57,000 after three straight months of gaining more than 100,000, according to a new report released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job gains were also revised down from 172,000 to 129,000 for May, and from 179,000 to 148,000 for April. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% — the lowest since June 2025, when it was 4.1%. The jobs increases were especially weak considering that the men’s World Cup soccer tournament likely added 40,000 jobs in June, said Elise Gould, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, in a statement. Gould said the unemployment rate drop was “for the wrong reasons” as 720,000 people left the labor market. The industries adding the...