ECONOMY WATCH — In a CNN/SSRS poll from May 2026, 76 percent of Americans identified costs of living as their biggest economic concern—a sharp increase from 58 percent in April 2025. In a January 2026 New York Times/Siena poll, 65 percent of voters said that a middle-class lifestyle was out of reach, and 77 percent said that it was harder to achieve than a generation ago. As of April 2026, inflation had outpaced wage growth over the previous 12 months, meaning workers' wages are no longer keeping up with rising prices. Black families already disproportionately affected by housing and food costs face compounded strain.
GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS — Cuts in funding by the Trump administration for PEPFAR (The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) have undermined HIV prevention and treatment across dozens of countries, with organizations forced to shut clinics, cut staff and scale back services across a survey of 166 outfits in 46 countries. A new study found that PEPFAR-supported treatment for children with HIV dropped 14 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, reaching 77,000 fewer youngsters. The Trump administration has announced it will permanently cease PEPFAR funding by early 2027.
Prairie View A&M will not open its season against Texas Southern in the Labor Day Classic, breaking from a tradition that has placed the Houston-area HBCU rivals against one another at the beginning of the season for decades. Instead, they will begin against Tarleton State, a top-five FCS opponent on national television.
| S&P 500 | 7,652.86 -0.3% | |
| Dow Jones | 53,417.16 +0.3% | |
| 30-Yr Mortgage | 6.65% | FRED / Freddie Mac |
| CPI (YoY) | 3.3% | BLS via FRED |
| Bitcoin | $80,710 +4.7% | CoinGecko |
| Ethereum | $2,508 +2.6% | CoinGecko |
| UONE | $4.80 | -2.0% |
| RLJ | $11.53 | +0.3% |
| CARV | $1.81 | +3.7% |
Family-owned since 1983, The Busy Bee Cafe has served Atlanta since 1947 and is recognized as one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation. The cafe played a role in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and is expanding to a new location in Centennial Yards in 2026.
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