Author: DAMON K JONES
The Promise of Technology Artificial Intelligence is present in every part of our lives—phones, jobs, and doctors’ offices. It’s more than a buzzword for Black communities: it’s a tool with the potential to close longstanding health gaps and save lives. We know the story—hospitals closing in Black neighborhoods, long waits, insurance woes. AI-powered telehealth and symptom checkers can’t fix everything, but they help. If you’ve got a phone, you’ve got a lifeline. That means earlier warnings for diabetes, hypertension, or stroke—conditions that hit us hardest. Early detection saves lives, and AI makes that easier. Personal Health That Speaks to Us…
Mount Vernon is stepping into the future — and our children need to be ready. Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC) has launched the second year of its Advanced Computer Science Program, this time with a bold new focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI isn’t science fiction anymore. It’s the driving force behind everything from self-driving cars to voice assistants, medical breakthroughs to financial tools. The jobs of tomorrow will demand AI knowledge — and the students who master these skills today will be the ones shaping, leading, and hiring in the years ahead. Why AI Matters for Our Kids The future of…
When it comes to politics, slogans often carry the day. New York politicians boast of being the “film capital of the East Coast,” promising jobs, tourism, and cultural prestige. To back that promise, taxpayers are on the hook for more than $1 billion in film and TV subsidies in 2025—a figure that raises both eyebrows and fundamental questions. The Logic Behind Subsidies The logic offered by lawmakers is straightforward: Hollywood jobs are good jobs, and without subsidies, productions will flee to states like Georgia, Louisiana, or even Canada. To keep the cameras rolling in New York, the state dangles tax credits…
When Representative Jasmine Crockett stated that “law enforcement is there to solve crimes, not prevent them,” she may have unintentionally revealed a particular perspective—one sometimes seen among officials who speak confidently, but without always considering the broader context, historical precedent, or potential outcomes. The difference between solving crimes and preventing them is not a matter of semantics. It is the difference between protecting citizens and abandoning them to a life of victimhood. Solving a murder does not bring the victim back. Solving a burglary does not erase the trauma of a home invasion. To suggest that law enforcement is not…
Eric Adams has devoted decades to public service — from his years as an NYPD officer fighting for reform inside the department, to his time as Brooklyn Borough President, and now as mayor of the nation’s largest city. That long record of service deserves respect. While it is important to appreciate his contributions and intent to address the city’s challenges, respect for a man’s past cannot blind us to the reality of his present. With poll numbers hovering between 7 and 10 percent and a plague of alleged corruption hanging over his administration, Adams’s decision to stay in the 2025…
SPRINGFIELD, MA — In a moment destined for headlines across Gotham and beyond, Carmelo Anthony, New York City’s own NBA icon, has officially been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. The announcement of Anthony’s long-awaited honor came earlier at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, a fitting venue considering his storied collegiate legacy with Syracuse University—including a national championship and Most Outstanding Player award in 2003. A Career Defined by Scoring, Grit, and Global Impact Anthony’s 19-season NBA journey cemented him as one of the most prolific scorers in league…
For decades, Democrats have treated New York as political home turf—a state so firmly in their grip that the only question was by how many points they would win. But recent voter registration numbers tell a different story. Between 2020 and 2024, Democratic enrollment in New York dropped by about 4 percent statewide and 7 percent in New York City. Meanwhile, unaffiliated registrations rose by double digits, and independents now account for roughly a quarter of the state’s electorate. At the national level, Democrats have lost more than two million registered voters since 2020. Republicans have gained. Independents are surging.…
The Constitution is not a suggestion. It is the law of the land. One of its clearest protections is found in the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “excessive fines.” This safeguard was written to prevent government officials from turning financial punishment into a political weapon. That is exactly what New York’s appellate court found when it struck down Attorney General Letitia James’s $500 million penalty against Donald Trump. The court did not erase the fraud finding — it agreed Trump had exaggerated asset values. But the judges also made an unavoidable point: there was no victim in the crime itself. No banks lost…
If you only watched this week’s Senate questioning of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you might conclude the issue is straightforward: “anti-vaccine advocate versus science.” That is the prevailing narrative. However, the actual discussion concerns the influence over public health messaging in the United States—and the implications when those who interpret scientific evidence also receive funding, sponsorships, or recognition from the companies producing the products they evaluate. At the center of the discussion is Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative (MAHA): dismissing the entire CDC vaccine advisory panel (ACIP), revising leadership, and emphasizing increased transparency after years of reported…
At President Trump’s recent dinner with the titans of Silicon Valley, the future of the world economy was laid out in plain language. Apple announced $600 billion in U.S. investments. Google pledged $250 billion. Microsoft added seventy to eighty billion each year. The leaders of Nvidia, OpenAI, and others compared the AI boom to the Apollo program — ten times larger in scale. They spoke of jobs, data centers, semiconductors, and a technological transformation that will define the century. The White House pledged to back them, not fight them. But amid all the talk of trillions in capital and the…