News in :90 – Feb. 5, 2019


The White House says President Donald Trump will call for optimism and unity in his State of the Union address tonight, using the moment to attempt a reset after two years of bitter partisanship and deeply personal attacks.

With the new Feb. 15 funding deadline looming, Trump is expected to use his address to outline his demands, which still include funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam still has not indicated whether he will step down.

The denunciations began within hours of the disclosure that his medical school yearbook page featured a person in blackface standing next to a person in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Democratic activists and presidential contenders quickly called for his resignation.

By the time the Democratic governor held a press conference to defend himself, both the national and state party had also demanded he leave.

Finally, attorneys for 21 Savage said Monday that the Grammy-nominated rapper was being wrongly held by federal immigration authorities.

Law firm Kuck Baxter Immigration released a statement saying U.S. officials have known about his immigration status since at least 2017 when he sought a new visa, and while that application is pending the rapper, who was born in England with the given name Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, should not be subject to detainment.

Samantha HoangLong can be reached at hoan1058@stthomas.edu.