(5-10-26) Watch now BHN Talk Show discusses multiple-college campuses cyberattack, new Louisiana law jails the unhoused, voter map changes in Memphis, and Virginia congressional map rejected by courts

Watch new episodes of the BHN Talk Show now on Sundays at 4:00 PM PST/6:00 PM CST

By Black Headline News

BREAKING: An alleged cyberattack involving “unauthorized activity” on Canvas -- an education platform widely used by universities and schools across the United States -- caused the site to temporarily shut down on Thursday, officials said.

The company said it confirmed that an unauthorized actor carried out the activity by “exploiting an issue related to our Free-For-Teacher accounts.”

As the Louisiana state Senate debated what the National Homelessness Law Center says is “one of the cruelest anti-homeless bills in the country,” more than 50 mainly Black unhoused people sat and lay on the sidewalk in New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood. 

The bill, which already passed overwhelmingly through the state’s Republican-dominated House of Representatives, could subject unhoused people to fines, jail time, or even unpaid labor if they are found sleeping outdoors. 

SPOTLIGHT: Raye Montague was only seven when she visited a submarine exhibit in her hometown of Little Rock. It sparked in her a love of engineering that would inspire her to shatter the glass ceiling of opportunity for African American women in the 1950s.

Raye Montague (1935–2018) was a trailblazing U.S. Naval engineer and the first person to create a computer-generated ship design, revolutionizing naval engineering. As the first female Program Manager of Ships for the U.S. Navy, she overcame racial and gender discrimination to design ships like the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Elections & Politicians:

Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new U.S. House map Thursday that carves up a majority-Black district in Memphis, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections.

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday blocked a new Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect, delivering a major boost for Republicans as they defend their narrow House majority in the midterm elections.

Weeks after Virginia narrowly approved the plan in a statewide vote, the court ruled that Democratic lawmakers did not meet the procedural requirements to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, which was written to pave the way for the redrawn district lines. Democrats were seeking a map designed to give the party up to four new House seats.