Top news stories this week include ICE-involved shooting, removal of slavery exhibits ahead of Black History Month, and Georgia Gullah-Geechee community securing county support to protect historic land.
Massive Winter Storm Leads To Travel Delays and Power Outages
More than 15,000 flights have been canceled and countless delays in response to the recent winter storm across states in southern and eastern regions of the country, reaching new heights in travel cancellations since the pandemic.
The storm has caused heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, leaving travelers impacted at many of the country’s major travel hubs in Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Charlotte and Philadelphia. Travelers are expected to continue to see delays as airlines work to get back on track.
In addition to travel delays, nearly 700,000 homes are without power in states like Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Georgia. Damages from the storm have impacted powerlines, leaving several fallen trees on icy roads.
While local officials state that impacts from the storm could last for days, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expects air travel to return to normal by midweek.
Updates On ICE Agents In Minnesota
National outrage grows with the Trump Administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota as video footage of agents using deadly force circulates along with contradicting statements from federal officials on shooting and condemning a deceased man.
Alex Pretti, an intensive-care nurse at a Veteran Affairs hospital, was shot and killed by ICE agents in broad daylight. In a statement by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, she states that Pretti “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” referring to him legally being in possession of a firearm. No evidence shows that Pretti attempted to draw his weapon on agents.
Protests continue to increase in Minnesota and across the country after the killing of Pretti, including a student group pushing for a nationwide anti-ICE strike this week.
The Trump Administration is also under fire after the White House posted a digitally altered image of a woman, Nekima Levy Armstrong, after her arrest during a demonstration in Minnesota. Homeland Security posted the original image of Armstrong’s arrest with another image being posted shortly after from the White House showing her sobbing. A review of the two images confirmed that the photo was altered.
North Carolina A&T State University Students Urge State Board to Keep Campus Early Voting Site
In a recent decision by the North Carolina State Board of Elections, early voting sites on North Carolina A&T State University’s campus and other institutions across the state are set to be removed ahead of upcoming primary elections.
A large group of A&T students traveled from Greensboro to Raleigh with signs, urging board members to keep voting accessible for college students. The early voting site was rejected in a 3-2 republican majority vote.
“This work is not just about one polling site,” A&T student Khadijah Berry tells ESSENCE. “It is about affirming that HBCU students are legitimate stakeholders in the democratic process, deserving of access, respect, and representation.”
Students enrolled at Elon University and Western Carolina University are also impacted by this decision. During the meeting, a board member threatened to call the police on students if they did not leave.
A&T sits as the largest public historically Black college or university with total enrollment over 15,000 students. Although students come from cities and states across the country, their enrollment status makes them eligible to register to vote in Guilford County, serving as a large youth voting group.
Their eligibility is due to Prairie View A&M University students and a 1979 Supreme Court decision, Symm v. United States, granting college students access to register to vote where they attend school.
“Our long-term goal is to secure and protect our on-campus polling site so it is never up for grabs again,” added Berry. “But that goal cannot be achieved without consistent student participation.”
Sunday voting hours were also rejected in some counties.
Slavery Memorial Exhibits Removed from Independence National Historical Park
Ahead of Black History Month, National Park Service workers in Philadelphia removed memorial exhibits recognizing slavery in the United States and honoring nine enslaved people owned by former President George Washington.
“Donald Trump will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history,” said Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania in a statement on social media condemning the Trump administration for the abrupt removal.
It is said that the removal of the exhibits are in response to a March 2025 executive order by President Trump in hopes of “restoring truth and sanity to American history.” The order urges for any monument, memorials or other federal government properties to not contain descriptions or content that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
The state of Philadelphia has sued officials representing the Department of Interior and the National Park Service in hopes of halting the permanent removal of the memorial exhibit.
Coastal Georgia Gullah Geechee Community Wins Countywide Vote To Strengthen Developer Restrictions
A 2023 zoning ordinance in a Gullah-Geechee community in Georgia was repealed after more than 1,500 voters cast ballots to reject a decision that would have doubled the permitted square footage for home developments.
Sapelo Island’s Hogg Hammock district is located in McIntosh County and is home to a small community of descendants of enslaved people who worked on the island. Although residents of the district only make up a small percentage of the county, voters across the entire county voted “yes” to repeal the ordinance.
Rhonikki “Nikki” Williams told Capital B, “residents across McIntosh County are standing with us to protect our community and others from displacement,” detailing how the countywide vote sent a “powerful message.”
This decision is part of a multi-year battle to bring the ballot measure to a vote. Residents led a “Keep Sapelo Geechee” campaign collecting more than 2,300 signatures of county registered voters to support the repealing of the “harmful” zoning.
“This outcome reflects our unity, resilience, and commitment to preserving our land, culture, and future,” Williams added. “This vote proves that growth should never come at the cost of heritage.”