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Reggie Dance
The RDPR Group
rdance@Therdprgroup.com 973-934-0055
The New Orleans Katrina Commemoration Foundation, Hip Hop Caucus and
National Wildlife Federation have teamed up to organize the 5th Annual
New Orleans Katrina Commemoration March on Sunday, August 29, 2010.
3,000 New Orleans residents, local officials and entertainers are
anticipated for the ceremony which will include the reading of names
from those lost during Hurricane Katrina and a 3 mile March to remember
the lives of those lost during the tragic hurricane.
The Hip Hop Caucus, National Wildlife Federation and New Orleans Katrina
Commemoration Foundation organized the March to continue national
awareness to the injustices that took place during the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina which caused additional death and suffering and has
yet to be addressed. The March also calls for a comprehensive recovery
plan of the Gulf Coast which focuses on areas such as housing needs, job
placement, environment restoration and oil spill response amongst other
initiatives necessary to put New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on track
for recovery.
"The 5th Anniversary Katrina Commemoration March and Secondline is an
important ceremony we've built here in New Orleans to show the families
of victims and residents we have not forgotten about their struggle to
resume their lives," said Sess 4-5, Co Founder of the New Orleans
Katrina Commemoration Foundation. "It is vital for the American people
and government officials outside of New Orleans recognize our hardships
continue and we still need their help to get many families back home and
on their feet after this disaster."
"Five years have gone by and New Orleans has still not received the
necessary backing from the United States government to help restore this
city to prominence," stated Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President of the
Hip Hop Caucus. "It is vital the people of New Orleans and local
officials unite and demonstrate our communities are still in dire need
of assistance as well recognize and create an action plan to restore our
coast and protect New Orleans for future generations."
"The Katrina anniversary and oil spill are both wake up calls that we
need to restore Louisiana's coastal wetlands, which are nature's first
defense against storms, sea level rise and flooding," said National
Wildlife Federation President and CEO Larry Schweiger. "Restoring the
coastal wetlands will not only help protect the communities and
ecosystems in south Louisiana but also help the region recover from the
BP oil spill."
The commemoration events begin at 10:00 a.m. with the reading of the
names of our lost loved ones at the Lower 9th Ward Levee Breach at
Jourdan and North Galvez. Following the Healing Ceremony, at 10:45 a.m.
the March Secondline will begin through the streets of New Orleans and
conclude at 12:45 at Hunter's Field. From 12:45, the Commemoration
Program will begin with community members, local musicians, hip hop
artists, gospel choir and spoken word performances.
For more information on the Commemoration Events, please visit, www.HipHopCaucus.org or www.KatrinaCommemoration.org.
List of Endorsers for 5th Annual Katrina Commemoration and Secondline March
1SKY
2CENT ENTERTAINMENT
350.ORG
ADVOCATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS
AFL-CIO
AFRICAN AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALIST ASSOCIATION
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION,
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL FUND
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
AMERICAN RIGHTS AT WORK
ANTI-RACISM WORKING GROUP
APOLLO ALLIANCE
ASANTE FOUNDATION
BENJAMIN FOUNDATION
BLACK LEADERSHIP FORUM
BLACK LOVE MOVEMENT
BLACK MEN UNITED
BLACKS IN GOVERNMENT
BLOWOUT CONSCIOUSNESS
BROTHER UMRANI
CATHOLIC CHARITIES
CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENT COMMERCE AND ENERGY
CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK
CODE PINK
COMMITTEE TO RE-OPEN CHARITY
COMMON GROUND HEALTH CLINIC
COMMUNITY BOOK CENTER
COMMUNITY UNITED FOR CHANGE
CRAIGE CULTURAL CENTER
CRITICAL RESISTANCE
CRESCENT CITY ANTI-AUTHORITARIANS
DC GREENWORKS
DEEP SOUTH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY
DIARY FROM THE DOME
DREAMING OUT LOUD, INC.
EARLINE'S PRALINES
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVE
FM 98.5
FEDERALLY EMPLOYED WOMEN
FINDING OUR FOLKS
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
FYRE YOUTH SQUAD
GET FRESH
GLOBAL EXCHANGE
GRASSROOTS AMERICA
GREEN DMV
GRIND FOR THE GREEN
GRINDSTAFF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
GRIS GRIS LAB
HEADCOUNT
HIGHLANDER RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER
HIP HOP CAUCUS
HOT 8 BRASS BAND
HOT OFF DA PRESS PROMOTION
INDUSTRY INFLUENCE
IRON RAIL BOOK COLLECTIVE
JUNEBUG
JUVENILE JUSTICE PROJECT OF LOUISIANA
LEVI.ORG
LOUISIANA JUSTICE INSTITUTION
LOYOLA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
MALCOLM X GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE--NEW ORLEANS
MIKE B. DA GRINDA
OLD SKOOL 106.7 FM
N'COBRA
NATION OF ISLAM MOSQUE #42
NATIONAL BLACK LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BLACK MAYORS
NATIONAL CONGRESS OF BLACK WOMEN
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN
NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
NEW ORLEANS WELFARE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION
NOLA.TV
NUTHIN' BUT FIRE RECORDS
PEACE KEEPERS
PRAXIS PROJECT KATRINA INFORMATION NETWORK
POWER 102.9 FM
Q93.3 FM
RAINBOW PUSH COALITION
RS SECURITY INC
SESS 4-5
SAFE STREETS
SLAM NEW ORLEANS
SOJOURNER TRUTH COMMUNITY CENTER
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AT NEW ORLEANS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
STAND WITH UNITY
STOOGES BRASS BAND
SURVIVORS VILLAGE
TAMBORINE AND FAN
THE FRUIT WIZARD
THE UPTOWN WING SHACK
TRANSAFRICA FORUM
TRUTH UNIVERSAL
TULANE UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM
UNITED TEACHERS OF NEW ORLEANS
UPTOWN WING SHACK
VITAMINWATER
WBOK 1230 AM
WILD WAYNE
YOUNG SINO
ZION TRINITY
"Regulating AI is winning issue for Democrats, but their own party leaders are too complicit with Silicon Valley to use it," said one observer.
Polls show that a majority of US voters—and especially Democrats—want more robust guardrails on artificial intelligence, but Democratic governors' silence on President Donald Trump's directive banning states from regulating AI has some observers asking if lobbying by the powerful industry is to blame.
Sludge's David Moore and Donald Shaw reported Friday that tech titans including OpenAI and Meta last week sent a small army of lobbyists to meet with attendees of the Democratic Governors Association’s annual meeting, held this year at the swanky Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.
According to the report, lobbyists and governors—some of whom "are teasing White House bids in 2028 or rumored to be in the mix"—gathered for a closed-door meeting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore were among those who reportedly met with the lobbyists.
Trump signed an executive order trying to prevent states from regulating AI and following through on the safety laws they enacted, but there was little public pushback from Democratic governors.AI lobbyists descended on the DGA winter meeting last weekend in Phoenix, per a list we obtained:
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— David Moore (@davidrussellmoore.bsky.social) December 12, 2025 at 11:15 AM
The meeting preceded Trump's Thursday signing of an executive order aimed at limiting states' ability to regulate rapidly evolving AI technology. The order directs the US Department of Justice to establish an AI Litigation Task Force empowered to sue states that enact “onerous and excessive" AI regulation. The edict also threatens to withhold federal funding from states that implement AI regulations that the Trump administration finds objectionable.
Democratic governors have been relatively muted on the order, especially given the overwhelming support for regulation of AI—which many experts say poses threats to humanity that may equal or outweigh its benefits—across the political spectrum.
As Moore and Shaw wrote:
While Democratic governors were silent, their Republican counterparts have been loudly arguing for months against the federal government preempting state AI policies. In June, 17 Republican governors sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune [R-SD] and House Speaker Mike Johnson [R-La.] warning them against preempting their states’ protections on AI use. Over the past couple months, a trio of Republican governors—Spencer Cox (Utah), Ron DeSantis (Fla.), and Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Ark.)—continued to make known their opposition to the Trump administration’s executive order.
Newsom, who many observers believe is eyeing a 2028 White House run, especially disappointed proponents of AI safeguards last year when he vetoed what would have been the nation's strongest AI safety regulations.
It's not just Democratic governors—congressional Democrats have increasingly partnered with an industry expected to soon be worth trillions of dollars. Some Democrats, like Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, are personally invested in AI stocks. The AI industry also made record contributions to political campaigns during the 2024 cycle.
Other Democrats, including some who may have their sights set on higher office—notably Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York—advocate stronger guardrails on AI development.
The public is worried about AI. Regulating AI is winning issue for Democrats but their own party leaders are too complicit with Silicon Valley to use it. www.thenation.com/article/poli...
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— Jeet Heer (@jeetheer.bsky.social) December 12, 2025 at 7:24 AM
"Voters want the party to get tough on the industry. But Democratic leaders are following the money instead," Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, wrote Friday.
Citing voters' desire for stronger regulation, Heer argued that "Democrats have a tremendous opportunity to use the AI backlash for wedge politics," adding that "it's a way to win back working-class voters who are already disillusioned with the GOP and Trump."
The progressive congresswoman also warned that "an extension with abortion restrictions kills women."
The US House of Representatives is set to vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies next week, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned Friday that if Republicans let the ACA tax credits expire at the end of the year, "people are going to die."
The New York Democrat spoke to reporters in Washington, DC a day after only four Republicans voted with Democratic senators in an unsuccessful effort to pass legislation extending ACA subsidies, as over 20 million Americans face a surge in health insurance premiums. A GOP bill to replace the subsidies with annual payments to tax-advantaged health savings accounts also failed.
"We have to remember who's in charge of the House, the Senate, and the White House. Republicans have a House majority, they have a Senate majority, and Donald Trump is president of the United States, and JD Vance is vice president of the United States," Ocasio-Cortez said in remarks shared by her and multiple news sources on social media.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) "refused to engage" in a debate on the looming healthcare crisis and "kept Republicans home for over a month so that they would not negotiate," she said. Trump and Vance "did the same thing—they stuck their heads in the sand for the entirety of a... government shutdown where we were urging them to come to a solution on extensions of ACA premium subsidies," she continued, calling for a "clean" extension while the GOP sorts out its supposed healthcare plan.
Rep. @AOC on healthcare subsidy proposals: "An extension with abortion restrictions kills women." pic.twitter.com/HOCqHMGemp
— Forbes Breaking News (@ForbesTVNews) December 12, 2025
"People are gonna be kicked off of their insurance. Open enrollment is happening right now, and there are going to be millions of Americans that are affected—that aren't gonna be able to go to a doctor, aren't gonna be able to afford their prescription drugs, because of some petty fight in Washington," the congresswoman said, noting Democratic efforts to force votes on an extension.
As NBC News reported Thursday, early enrollment data from several states shows that "more people appear to be walking away from Affordable Care Act coverage or switching to cheaper plans for 2026 compared to this time last year," which "could reflect signs of financial strain for people who can't afford to pay hundreds of dollars more in monthly premiums once enhanced federal subsidies expire at the end of the year."
Demanding that her colleagues in DC recognize the urgency of the issue, Ocasio-Cortez—who supports Medicare for All—said Friday that "I don't understand why they can't just extend these subsidies so that we can save people's lives while they figure out whatever their political food fight is."
AOC also pushed back against GOP efforts to restrict reproductive healthcare in an ACA subsidy bill, saying "an extension with abortion restrictions kills women—so no, I'm going to allow this Republican majority to kill women in this country so that they can try to do whatever their victory lap is. I will not accept women, and the lives of women, as some political cost for them being able to extend these things. Reproductive care is healthcare. Period."
Since the right-wing US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and GOP-led states further restricted reproductive rights, multiple stories have emerged from places including Georgia and Texas exemplifying how "Republican abortion bans kill women."
After Johnson met with the House GOP's "Five Families" on Friday, he is expected to allow a floor vote to extend the subsidies next week and, according to Punchbowl News, is considering giving moderates an option without abortion funding restrictions.
As Politico reported Friday evening:
[GOP] leaders ultimately expect the extension vote to fail, resulting in skyrocketing premiums for millions of Americans when the subsidies expire at the end of the year.
Instead, according to House Republican leadership aides, Republicans are preparing to roll out a healthcare framework that would allow businesses that fund their own health plans to purchase "stop-loss" policies—which would protect businesses from going bankrupt from just a few unexpectedly expensive insurance claims.
It also would appropriate funds to pay for "cost-sharing reductions" in Obamacare and include some elements of a separate legislative proposal designed to crack down on pharmacy benefit managers—companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurers and large employers.
Like Ocasio-Cortez—who has faced mounting calls to launch a 2028 primary challenge to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) over his handling of the March funding fight and recent shutdown—the upper chamber's top Democrat put the blame squarely on Republicans after both bills failed to advance on Thursday.
"Republicans must answer for why people will lose coverage. Republicans must answer why families see premiums double and triple over the next year," Schumer said. "Democrats' focus does not change. We fought like hell to stop these hikes, and we're going to continue to fight like hell to bring costs down for the American people on healthcare, on housing, on electric rates, on groceries."
"But Republicans are fighting like hell to send those costs right through the roof," he added. "They're fighting like hell to kick people off insurance. They're fighting like hell to cut taxes and give sweet giveaways to billionaires and the ultrarich. January 1st is coming. Republicans are responsible for what happens next. This is their crisis now, and they're going to have to answer for it."
"Palestinian babies freeze to death as shelters and lifesaving humanitarian aid—located just a few miles away—for 1 million civilians is blocked by Israel," noted one journalist.
A second Palestinian infant and a young girl died of hypothermia in Gaza as heavy rains and flooding—whose effects are exacerbated by Israel's genocidal annihilation and ongoing siege of the coastal strip—raised the death toll from Storm Byron to at least 16.
Taim Al-Khawaja—who was several months old—died in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, while 9-year-old Hadeel al-Masri died in a shelter west of Gaza City, according to local officials. Their deaths follow that of Rahaf Abu Jazar, an 8-month-old who died Thursday of exposure after floodwaters inundated her family’s tent in Khan Younis.
At least five other people were killed when a building in Beit Lahia collapsed amid the storm, and two others were killed when a wall collapsed onto tents housing displaced Palestinians in the Remal neighorhood of Gaza City. According to Gaza's Government Media Office (GMO), at least 13 buildings have collapsed and more than 27,000 tents have been destroyed or left uninhabitable by Byron's winds, rain, and floodwater.
While farmers in neighboring Israel welcomed the torrential rains, which delivered relief from drought conditions, the storm is devastating Palestinians already reeling and weakened from nearly 800 days of war and siege. Israel's US-backed onslaught has left more than 250,000 Gazans dead, maimed, or missing and 2 million more starved, sickened, or displaced. Roughly 1.5 million Palestinians are currently living in tents or other makeshift shelters.
The recent hypothermia deaths evoked horrific memories of the past two winters in Gaza, when more than a dozen Palestinians—most of them infants and children—died from hypothermia caused by exposure. While many Israelis and their supporters abroad point to the relatively mild Mediterranean winters in an effort to deny these deaths, experts note that hypothermia can be deadly at temperatures over 60°F (15°C) in overexposed conditions such as those in Gaza.
Reporting from Gaza, Al Jazeera's Ibrahim al-Khalili said Friday that genocide-ravaged Gazans are now enduring “an added layer of suffering."
“The tents are collapsing. The cold is unbearable. Basically, they don’t have anywhere to go. What is unfolding is devastating,” he said. “It’s not just a storm; it’s a new wave of displacement even after the war has stopped. Many people here told me that a new war has really begun after this flooding, and people are being forced to flee whatever fragile shelters they had.”
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem on Friday called the recent exposure deaths a "continuation of the war of extermination."
“The successive collapses of homes bombed during the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, caused by the storm, and the resulting deaths, reflect the unprecedented scale of the humanitarian disaster left by this criminal Zionist war,” he said.
Jonathan Crickx, chief of communications for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), told Agence France-Presse Friday that Gazans are also enduring "absolutely appalling hygiene and sanitary conditions."
"There aren't enough toilets; there are places—I saw some in Gaza City—where large pools of water are essentially open sewers right next to the displacement camps," he added.
While the shaky two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has somewhat eased the Israeli blockade on Gaza, the GMO said Friday that “the occupation continues to close crossings and prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and materials that could provide shelter."
“This includes blocking the entry of 300,000 tents, prefabricated mobile homes, and caravans," the agency added.
The #Gaza Strip has been left flooded by #StormByron, destroying already damaged buildings and causing additional loss of life.MSF is concerned about the upcoming winter and heavy rain.Caroline Seguin, Emergency Coordinator, updates:
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— Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (@msf.ca) December 12, 2025 at 2:02 PM
In a statement Friday, Doctors Without Borders Gaza emergency coordinator Caroline Seguin said that the charity is "very, very worried about the next month with the winter coming and the heavy rain."
"Last year we saw a huge increase in respiratory infections for children, diarrhea as well, and of course all the wounded that are living inside the tents will have big difficulties to heal their wounds and will have probably an increase of infection for the wound of the wounded," Seguin noted. "It's near to be not possible to live in this conditions."