President Joe Biden speaks at Philly conference, touts investments in historically Black colleges

President Joe Biden soaked up energy from a crowd of hundreds who lauded his investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in Philadelphia on Monday as he solidifies his legacy as a supporter of these institutions.

Standing on a stage between two American flags and screens projecting him, Biden addressed a crowd of energetic attendees at the Department of Education’s National HBCU Conference on Monday at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown,.

He was met with a standing ovation when he announced his administration’s total investment in HBCUs — a record $17 billion. That figure encompasses all grants to HBCUs, Pell Grants to HBCU students, federal contracts to HBCUs, GI bill funds, and student aid funding like federal work study dollars.

Pelissier Louis was walking by Franklin Square on his way home when the baby blue ice cream truck stop him in his tracks.

“I agree with the general push to keep Trump out of the office,” said the 22-year-old. “But, I came by mostly for the free ice cream.”

Eager to get a free scoop, he sat through the speeches for a cup of "Unburdened by What has Vanilla Bean," which he described as “pretty sweet.”

Scooper in hand, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield arrived to Franklin Square with free one-of-a-kind Ben and Jerry’s flavors for the “Scoop the Vote” tour.

The Vermont natives accompanied MoveOn.org, a progressive advocacy group, to promote early voting in Pennsylvania, and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris with her own ice cream flavor, Kamala's Coconut Jubilee, which was announced last week.

The hand-made pints were crafted by the pair in Cohen’s kitchen using coconut as the base flavor. A nod to the time Harris’ recalled one of her mother’s sayings: “She would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”

Locals cooled off in Philly's Franklin Square with free ice cream as part of a campaign from MoveOn — the progressive advocacy group — to get out the blue vote.

MoveOn, in partnership with Ben & Jerry's co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, kicked off its national Scoop the Vote ice cream truck tour, which will travel through more than 20 cities in key swing states and districts, according to the organization.

The event started at 3 p.m. and volunteers were in attendance to help visitors make a plan to vote.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, (D., Montgomery) said Monday she wants the congressional taskforce investigating the Butler County assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump to look into Sunday's assassination attempt at his Florida golf club.

"Certainly we are looking at the same very related sets of issues so to me it makes sense to consolidate the two and it makes it only more urgent that we continue our work," Dean said.

She said she would leave the decision of whether to pursue legislation allowing the committee to investigate the Florida incident to the committee's leadership.

Biden’s tone during his speech at the 2024 HBCU Week Conference was largely celebratory, garnering jovial responses from the audience.

But, at the end of his speech, he addressed the challenges still faced by the Black community.

“Today, affirmative action and the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are under attack, like not long since I started as a young Civil Rights guy,” Biden said. “Books are being banned, history is being erased, HBCUS have received bomb threats. And right now, lies and hate are being spread about Haitian Americans in Ohio.”

Biden touted his administration’s policies on HBCUs and how graduates of HBCUs have been a core part of his presidency, including the newly announced funding for eight HBCUS aimed at diversifying the STEM and education workforces.

He championed his administration’s outreach to and working group from the Divine Nine, a group of the main nine historically Black Greek Life organizations on college campuses.

Biden also celebrated $17 billion in funding for HBCUs.

President Joe Biden's appearance at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference in Center City came as his administration touted its $17 billion of federal investments in HBCUs across the country during his time in office.

The Philadelphia Marriott Downtown conference room resembled a dance party ahead of Biden making his way to the stage.

Hundreds held their phones up, danced in their seats, and joyfully listened as Cheyney University’s drumline hyped up the crowd. The revived drumline consists of current, former, and prospective students from Cheyney, the oldest HBCU in the country.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting former President Donald Trump was charged Monday with federal gun crimes, making his first court appearance in the final weeks of a White House race already touched by violence.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and Justice Department prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury.

Routh appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach, where he answered perfunctory questions about his work status and income. Shackled and wearing a blue jumpsuit, he smiled as he spoke with a public defender and reviewed documents ahead of the initial appearance. The lawyer declined to comment after the hearing ended.

Mail ballots in Pennsylvania are not being distributed Monday, the earliest day counties would have been allowed to send ballots under state law, because the final candidate list for November is not yet finalized.

Before election officials can begin distributing mail ballots, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court must resolve all remaining challenges to candidates on the ballot.

While most challenges to independent and third party candidates have been resolved, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not yet said whether Cornel West can be on the state’s ballot as a member of the “Justice for All” party.

Ahead of his planned trip to Philadelphia, President Joe Biden said the Secret Services "needs more help" following an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump Sunday.

"Thank God the president’s okay," Biden told reporters outside the White House Monday morning. "But one thing I want to make clear — the service needs more help. And I think that Congress should respond to their needs if they in fact need more services."

Secret Service agents fired at a man with a rifle while Trump played golf at one of his Florida golf courses Sunday afternoon, according to police. The FBI said the incident “appears to be an attempted assassination."

President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport at 1:15 p.m., according to his public schedule.

From there, he’ll travel to Center City, where he’s scheduled to begin his speech at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference at the Marriott Downtown at 2:30 p.m.

Philly police have not announced any specific road closures, but you can expect rolling shutdowns on I-95 as Biden travels to Center City from the airport and back again. There will also likely be closures surrounding the Marriott Downtown on Market and Filbert Streets.

Sunday was to be a day of relative rest for Donald Trump, a rare breather this deep into a presidential campaign. Aside from sounding off on social media, golf was on the agenda.

Then the Secret Service spotted the muzzle of a rifle sticking out of a fence in bushes at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club, and everything changed.

For the second time in just over two months, someone apparently tried to shoot Trump and came dangerously close to the former president in that effort — within 500 yards Sunday, law enforcement officials said. This time, the gunfire came from the Secret Service, before the suspect could get any shots off at his target.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be interviewed live by members of the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday afternoon at WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR affiliate.

The conversation, which will be streamed on Facebook and YouTube, is scheduled to come roughly seven weeks after former President Donald Trump first publicly questioned and attacked Harris’ racial identity during a combative interview at the group’s conference in July.

The conversation is not a campaign event, but it underscores the important role that Philadelphia continues to play on the national political stage. The conversation will take place a week after Harris and Trump debated at the National Constitution Center — across the street from WHYY.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Sunday afternoon kicked off Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign’s “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour inside the Independence Visitor Center in Old City, where he criticized former President Donald Trump’s record on abortion and said that the western part of the state has seen an influx of women seeking “basic health care.”

“We have seen a dramatic increase, thousands of women, coming from West Virginia and Ohio, where they do not have the same level of reproductive freedom in those states, coming here to get basic health care, coming here to have an abortion if they so choose,” Shapiro told the crowd. “I made clear, our doors are open in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for women across all of these United States.”

Shapiro’s remarks were met with claps, cheers, and nods of agreement from attendees inside the “Liberty View” event room. The popular governor, who has been stumping for the Harris-Walz ticket, blamed the increase on Trump’s “abortion bans.”