Waste Management To Eliminate 5,000 Jobs By 2026 As it Stresses Technology
'It becomes difficult to find folks to drive a truck or to work on a piece of heavy equipment.'
Houston-based Waste Management plans to transition to a more automation-driven model in 2025, phasing out its physical labor workforce in favor of technology-driven solutions.
By 2026, the company wants to eliminate 5,000 jobs. Kelly Caplan, Waste Management’s senior director of external communications, told the Chronicle that “increased automation is reducing the demand for these types of labor-intensive roles.”
The plan has been in development for a while, Caplan said.
“Our average heavy equipment operator is approaching 53 years old,” Jim Fish, Waste Management’s chief executive, told CNBC’s Jim Cramer last month on Mad Money. “It becomes difficult to find folks to drive a truck or to work on a piece of heavy equipment So this is almost by necessity that we’re using technology to replace difficult-to-hire roles. I think one thing that I wanted to make sure I was clear about on here, though, is we’re not laying folks off. All we’re doing is using attrition. Some of those jobs have very high turnover rates.”
Automated physical labor jobs will include a crane extending from the truck to grab trash bins and a conveyor-style system that picks up the trash and loads it into the truck.
“WM is increasing the use of technology and automation, which will reduce labor dependency for roles that are challenging to recruit and retain across North America,” the company said in a statement. “Technology is helping us mitigate the business risk associated with high attrition rates for these roles—a challenge not only for WM but for the industry at large.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s ‘Not All Hood’ Podcast Launches ‘More Than A Month’ Black History Series
Malcolm-Jamal Warner wants to celebrate and spread love in the Black community beyond Black History Month.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner is using his Not All Hood (NAH) podcast to launch an event series to spread love in the Black community beyond Black History Month.
NAH started its “NAH, More Than A Month” Black history series last week with an inspiring episode featuring Dr. Joy DeGruy, author of Posttraumatic Slave Syndrome. The conversation focused on the importance of fostering “Hope and Unity” in today’s sociopolitical landscape.
After the announcement of the extended series on Tuesday, Warner and his NAH co-host, award-winning journalist and TV personality Candace Kelley, sat down with Stacey Abrams (pen name Selena Montgomery) to discuss romance and the significance of novels that celebrate Black love. As part of the Black History series, Warner and Kelley will engage with the community through live social media events, discussions, and in-person gatherings.
Warner began NAH in June 2024 to explore the diverse experiences and identities of Black Americans through conversation, compelling guests, and discussions that show Black people are “Not All Hood.” Blending pop culture, music, and breaking news, the podcast explores the evolution, joy, and triumphs of Black identity, celebrating its diverse expressions while offering intellectual depth and affirmation.
Warner is building upon themes of Black pride he explored in his 2022 Grammy-nominated album, Hiding In Plain View. Featuring Dr. Daniel Black (of Clark Atlanta University), the album explores universal human experiences of vulnerability. Through NAH, Warner is able to share more of his personal story and insight into life as a Black American.
“This is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been,” Warner said in a statement. “The media keeps trying to tell us who we are, but the Black experience is not universal. This show will highlight the journeys and versions of Black confirmation…”
Fans can catch up on past episodes, whichfeature insightful discussions on topic such as Black masculinity, love, media representation, and more. Guests have included Lamman Rucker, Bill Duke, and Raheem DeVaughn.
ART MEETS COMMUNITY: WILLIE LOGAN’S TEN NORTH GROUP TRANSFORMS COMMUNITIES THROUGH ART AND CULTURE
Willie Logan’s Ten North Group merges art, culture, and development to reimagine communities and empower residents. In this Q&A, Logan reflects on the personal experiences that shaped his mission, the role of historical awareness in his work, and how creative initiatives like the “Art of Transformation” event foster pride and attract investment. Discover his insights into using art as a catalyst for change, the challenges of balancing revitalization with community needs, and his vision for expanding Ten North Group’s impact in Miami and beyond.
Black-Owned Soapmaking Business in Massachusetts Wins State-Wide Sustainability Award
A Black woman-owned, locally sourced soapmaking company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been recognized by the state for its commitment to sustainability.
A Black-woman-owned soapmaking business has been recognized as one of Massachusetts’s most environmentally conscious small businesses.
Artifact Soapworks, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently received a 2024 Sustainable Business Award, The Harvard Crimson reports earlier this month. The soapmaker, Barbara A. Thomas, was one of seven small business owners around Massachusetts to receive the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts award.
Thomas, who makes and sells soaps from organic, biodegradable ingredients, is “shocked” and “proud” to have won a 2024 Sustainable Business Award.
“I had no idea that a small business as small as mine, let alone someone working out of their studio, was on the radar for such a prestigious award,” Thomas said.
“Because the types of people that win this award are farms or Indigenous shellfishers or people with brick-and-mortar.”
The holistic soap company thrives through community support. Drawing from her studies in integrated chemical engineering at MIT in the early ’90s, Thomas sources her soapmaking ingredients from local farms and businesses. She purchases olive oil and shea butter from Catania Oils, a family-run business in Ayer, Massachusetts, and maintains a sustainable operation using manual tools to minimize her carbon footprint.
Thomas began her soapmaking journey at MIT, where a professor offered extra credit for students who completed batch processing projects outside of class—one of which was soapmaking.
“I decided to make soap, and I started giving it to my family and friends during Christmastime,” Thomas said. “Just like when you have, like, a fruitcake that you give out -– something that’s traditional and delicious or only expected during the holiday seasons in December.”
After seeing her family share their handmade soap with other family and friends, Thomas soon turned Artifact Soapworks into an LLC. She models her artistic soaps to be shaped like iconic figures and statues like the Venus of Willendorf, gargoyles, and Buddha.
“Anyone can make square soap, but I like to make soaps that look like artifacts,” Thomas said.
Beyond soapmaking, Thomas educates others on creating their own soaps to raise awareness about the environmental impact of commercial soap use. Artifact Soapworks was recently showcased at the Black History Month Marketplace Pop-Up in Harvard Square, which Thomas used as an opportunity to deepen community connections and highlight the challenges of being a Black business owner in a pricey area like Cambridge.
“This month, coming together as Black business owners, or just acknowledging Black History Month, it serves as a catalyst for difficult but necessary conversations about systemic racism, both historically and present day,” Thomas said.
“Me, by choice, decided to be a home business, but some people aren’t doing pop-ups by choice,” Thomas added. “They want a store, and they’re looking for something that they can afford near their home here in Cambridge.”
‘Beyond The Gates’ Brings Excellence To The First Black-Led Soap Opera
Beyond the Gates follows the prestigious Dupree family
Written By Janeé Bolden
For decades, daytime soaps have been a staple of American television, delivering romance, betrayal, and family drama in ways that keep audiences coming back for more. But for all the scandalous secrets and passionate love affairs, one thing has been glaringly absent—a Black-led soap opera. That all changes on Feb. 24, 2025, when Beyond the Gates makes its historic debut on CBS.
Set in an affluent Black gated community just outside Washington, D.C., Beyond the Gates follows the prestigious Dupree family—Black royalty navigating power, love, and long-buried secrets. With a powerhouse cast and an all-star creative team, this is more than just another soap opera—it’s a long-overdue cultural moment.
Sheila Ducksworth, president of CBS Studios/NAACP Venture and executive producer of Beyond the Gates, has spent years working to make this vision a reality. “This project is four years in the making at this point. But it had been something that I dreamed of for decades, quite frankly,” Ducksworth shared.
Ducksworth, alongside creator and showrunner Michele Val Jean (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful), has meticulously crafted a show that authentically represents the Black experience at the highest levels of success. “Having a Black family that’s affluent in a setting where it really does exist—this DMV area with predominantly Black gated communities and the influence of Howard University—it just had not been done,” Ducksworth explained.
For Val Jean, the chance to helm a brand-new soap opera was as unexpected as it was groundbreaking. “When I started writing, there were 13 shows on the air. Now there are four, and one is on streaming,” she noted. “Networks have been canceling soaps, not greenlighting them. So nobody was more surprised than I was when Sheila called and said, ‘We got a go.’”
The magnitude of this moment isn’t lost on the daytime TV world. “The support that I have felt from the daytime community—everybody is so excited and so happy that this new soap is launching,” Val Jean said. “It’s good for the genre, and it’s about time.”
Photo credit: Quantrell Colbert/CBS
The heart of Beyond the Gates is the Dupree family, played by an incredible ensemble cast. Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis, Daphnee Duplaix, and Karla Mosley bring to life the kind of complex, layered Black characters rarely seen in daytime drama.
Tunie, a legend in her own right (Law & Order: SVU, As the World Turns), steps into the role of Anita Dupree, the formidable matriarch of the family. “Anita Dupree is my mother,” Tunie said, revealing her primary source of inspiration. “She is a fierce mama bear, righteous, talented, et cetera, et cetera.”
She also pulled from two of the most glamorous women in entertainment history. “I had the privilege of working with Lena Horne when I first came to New York, and Lena remained a force in my life,” Tunie shared. “I also had the privilege of knowing Ms. Diahann Carroll. And, of course, Dominique Deveraux is one of the iconic, classic forces in soap opera.”
Clifton Davis (Amen, Madam Secretary) plays Vernon Dupree, the proud patriarch of the family, and he drew inspiration from civil rights icon John Lewis. “He was personally involved; he took the beating on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and then he became a congressman,” Davis said. “That relates a lot to Vernon Dupree.”
Photo credit: Quantrell Colbert/CBS
However, Davis also found personal meaning in the role. “I thought, here I’ll get a chance to be the me I wasn’t. I got a chance to live out the love of my family in a better way than I did in my real life,” he admitted. “This character really loves these two girls and that incredible wife of his. He will commit and do anything to protect them, defend them, and support them. I drew actually from my father — and I try to make the difference that a lot of African American men don’t always have the opportunity to–means and money stand in the way of some of our fathers being the better fathers. It’s sad, but it’s true. I wanted to embody what Michele had written on the page, and I think I’m doing it.”
Daphne Duplaix, who plays Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson, originally had her eyes on another role. “When the audition first popped up, I actually wanted to play Dani,” Duplaix admitted. But fate had other plans. “I talked to Sheila and Julie, and they were like, ‘The minute we saw your tape, we knew you were Nicole.’”
At first, Duplaix wasn’t sure. “I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll do what I can with this,’” she said, laughing. “But as I got through the scripts, I realized—holy cow—this is more like me than I realized. Who she is, what she says, all of those things. So yes, I’m having as much fun as I possibly can, with the help of my writers crafting incredible storylines for us, but when it comes down to it, I am Nicole, so I am my own inspiration.”
For Karla Mosley (Guiding Light, The Bold and the Beautiful), playing Dani Dupree has been an experience of deep connection. “I find that characters come at just the right moment,” Mosley said. “They sort of find you in the place where you’re needing to stretch. And that’s what’s exciting about sharing this show—I think these characters will feel close, they’ll feel known. People will see themselves and their families reflected on screen.”
With Beyond the Gates, CBS Studios and the NAACP are making history by launching the first Black-led daytime soap opera and the first new network soap since Passions premiered in 1999.
“This started as one idea—‘this would be great to have on air’—and now more than 200 people are devoting every bit of their talent and spirit to making it happen,” Ducksworth said. “It takes a village.”
That village is committed to ensuring Beyond the Gates isn’t just a moment but a movement. “We look forward to the longevity that we know soaps typically have,” Ducksworth said. “And with Paramount+ taking it global, this isn’t just for viewers here in the U.S.—this is for the world.”
A Black soap opera led by a Black creative team and centered on an affluent Black family? It’s about time.
Beyond the Gates premieres Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, and airs on CBS weekdays from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST and 1: 00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PST.
Music has always been an influential part of Black history, inspiring generations to feel good about themselves and Black achievements
Music has always been an influential part of Black history, inspiring generations to feel good about themselves and Black achievements. Some songs have even become theme songs that have helped kickstart movements. That’s right. Not only has Black music been used to express pride and joy, but Black songs have also been used to rally military troops and fight against injustice. BLACK ENTERPRISE curated a playlist of 8 Black songs contributing to Black art, history, and pride.
1) “I”
“I” by Compton, California artist Kendrick Lamar was released in September 2014 as the lead single for his Grammy-winning album To Pimp A Butterfly. What makes “I” a great listen during Black History Month is how it relates to reclaiming one’s power and finding self-love in the face of oppression.
Blackity Black Lyric:
Dreams of reality’s peace (Ayy, ayy)
Blow steam in the face of the beast
The sky could fall down, the wind could cry now
The strong in me, I still smile
2) “Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud!”
“Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” was performed by South Carolina’s own James Brown and was released in August 1968. “Say it Loud” was a No.1 record in the late ’60s, dropping the same year as the Civil Rights Act of 1968. This iconic record has staying power because of its message of empowerment to Black people, calling for them to have pride in their race, dignity, and self-respect even through adversity.
Blackity Black Lyric:
We’re people, we like the birds and the bees
We’d rather die on our feet
Than be living on our knees
3) “Fight The Power”
“Fight the Power” was the title track for Spike Lee’s movie Do the Right Thing andits soundtrack. It was created by the New York group Public Enemy in June 1989. The protest song celebrates Black resilience and resistance. It is a call to action “to fight the powers that be,” encouraging oppressed Black communities to challenge systemic racism, police brutality, and injustice.
Blackity Black Lyric:
Elvis was a hero to most, but he
Never meant sh*t to me, you see, straight out
Racist—that sucker was simple and plain
M*therf*ck him and John Wayne!
4) “Respect”
Respect was written by Otis Redding and performed by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who, contrary to popular belief, hails from Memphis, Tennessee. Respect was released in 1967 during the Civil Rights era and the second wave of the Women’s Rights Movement. The tell-it-how-it-is song became an anthem, where Aretha boldly spelled it out R-E-S-P-E-C-T and told listeners to “find out what it means.” Black folks, particularly Black women, demanded respect and knew their worth.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has bought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.
6) “Keep Ya Head Up”
Tupac Shakur dropped “Keep Ya Head Up” in October 1993. The song’s melody and uplifting rap lyrics caught the hip-hop community off guard, especially with its positive messaging to Black women at a time when many rap songs used disparaging language toward women. “Keep Ya Head Up” promotes Black unity, self-love, endurance, and perseverance.
Blackity Black Lyric:
Ayo, I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to me
He had me feelin’ like black was the thing to be
And suddenly the ghetto didn’t seem so tough
And though we had it rough, we always had enough
7) “A Change Is Gonna Come”
“A Change is Gonna Come” was sung by Mississippian Sam Cooke. The soulful song was released in 1964 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and tells a hopeful story of yearning for change around the Black American experience.
Blackity Black Lyric:
It’s been too hard livin’
But I’m afraid to die
‘Cause I don’t know what’s up there
Beyond the sky
8) “Get Up, Stand Up”
Jamaican icons Bob Marly and Peter Tosh released “Get Up Stand Up” in April 1973. Get Up Stand Up is a protest song and call to action against oppression. Much like Black Americans, Jamaicans had societal struggles of their own and were dealing with extreme poverty and oppression in the 1970s.
Blackity Black Lyric:
Get up, stand up (Don’t be a n*gger in your neighborhood, yeah)
Don’t give up the fight (Get up, stand up)
Get up, stand up (I don’t think that should be very good, Lord)
Ally Charitable Foundation Announces $1M Grant to Support Detroit Neighborhoods
The Ally Charitable Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to Detroit’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund (SNF). The foundation is partnering with the City of Detroit and Invest Detroit to target 10 neighborhoods across the city.
The Ally Charitable Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to Detroit’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund (SNF). The foundation is partnering with the City of Detroit and Invest Detroit to target 10 neighborhoods across the city.
“Affordable housing is a pressing need both locally and nationally, and empowering small businesses through Spark Grants is essential for fostering vibrant communities,” said Kathie Patterson, the incoming chair of the Ally Charitable Foundation. “We are committed to advancing the progress SNF has initiated and promoting inclusive economic mobility for our hometown, in collaboration with the City of Detroit and Invest Detroit.”
How The Grant Improves Quality of Life in Detroit Neighborhoods
Invest Detroit, a nonprofit community development financial institution, administers SNF. The nonprofit has worked to catalyze growth in Motor City for over thirty years. The organization does this critical work by bringing partnerships and philanthropic resources together. These resources support real estate and business projects that struggle to find traditional financing.
Through SNF, residents in each neighborhood go through a yearlong planning process to shape the implementation of streetscapes, commercial corridors, and parks. Work through the SNF helps to reduce displacement with the help of residents. The goal is to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods for people who already live there.
“Creating more affordable housing across Detroit has been a major focus of my administration and City Council. Ally’s generous support for the Strategic Neighborhood Fund will help us accomplish that.” Said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “The SNF strategy has been incredibly effective in driving new investment into our neighborhoods, and I encourage other civic-minded companies to join Ally in supporting this important work.”
Since its inception in 2016, SNF has invested $262 million across 10 neighborhoods.
Black Stories Build Black Futures: Afrofuturism And Digital Resistance
Black creativity has always been a force of resistance
Written by Michele Y. Smith
Black creativity has always been a force of resistance, a lens for liberation, and a tool for imagining new possibilities. From Octavia Butler’s prescient novels to Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer, Black storytelling continues to reflect and shape the world around us. As the CEO of the Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP), I’ve seen how these narratives allow us to envision futures where Black storytelling centers into realms of joy, resilience, and boundless creativity.
Recently, a powerful movement emerged that underscores the strength of Black storytelling in transforming challenges into opportunities. Professors and educators have taken to TikTok, creating what’s now being called “HillmanTok University.” Inspired by the fictional HBCU from the TV show, A Different World, HillmanTok is a decentralized, community-driven virtual campus where lessons on civil rights, entrepreneurship, life skills, and content creation are shared with audiences around the world.
This grassroots initiative is more than a clever use of technology in a time when access to education, particularly for marginalized communities, remains fraught with barriers, HillmanTok represents a reimagining of education itself. It transforms an online platform into a space where the Black community can teach, learn, and create together. It’s not just about the lessons shared — it’s about affirming the importance of Black knowledge and the strength of shared learning.
This spirit of collective storytelling and reimagining is what we are celebrating at Black Beyond, MOPOP’s latest exploration of Black speculative fiction and Afrofuturism. With exhibits featuring iconic artifacts such as the manuscript for Samuel R. Delany’s Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand and Geordi La Forge’s VISOR from Star Trek: The Next Generation,Black Beyond honors the countless ways Black creators, from visionary writers like Nnedi Okorafor to groundbreaking filmmakers and artists, have influenced and expanded the science fiction genre. The exhibition is a celebration of Black joy, liberation, and imagining futures where Black lives thrive in galaxies and realities that transcend the everyday.
Afrofuturism, Black speculative fiction, and movements like HillmanTok share a common goal: they center Black people in worlds that have historically excluded them. They demand we consider not only what is, but what could be. They challenge us to imagine futures where Black joy and freedom are limitless, where we have the agency to build better systems, and where we are heroes in our own stories.
The stories we tell matter. They are the roadmaps we use to envision a freer, more equitable world. Black storytelling reminds us that Black history isn’t just about looking back, it’s about envisioning and building forward. This Black History Month, I invite you to celebrate the power of Black creativity not just as entertainment but as a vital force shaping the future. Whether it’s through the lens of Afrofuturism, the platforms of digital innovation, or the walls of a museum, Black storytelling reminds us what is possible when we dare to dream expansively.
Photo credit: Natalie Post Courtesy of Michele Y. Smith
Michele Y. Smith is the CEO of the Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP), known for her mission-focused leadership in the nonprofit sector, emphasizing business development, operations, and finance. Her approach prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and mentoring, advocating for philanthropy’s democratization through pop culture.
Black Businesses Call Out Structural Barriers That Blocked Federal Contract Work Before Trump
Black-owned businesses are calling for real solutions to securing equity in federal contract work.
President Donald Trump has returned to the White House with a clear agenda to dismantle DEI initiatives. While this may seem like a setback for Black-owned businesses, many had already faced challenges securing federal contracts under the Biden administration.
While some minority-owned firms may have gained from DEI programs and initiatives, these efforts fell short of addressing the deeper systemic barriers that continue to hinder many Black-owned businesses.
“DEI isn’t for us,” Casey Cooper, owner of a Black-woman-owned long-haul trucking company, told Reuters. “It looks good on paper, but that money doesn’t go to us anyway.”
When Trump set his sights on dismantling DEI initiatives across the federal government—including programs designed to help Black-owned firms secure federal contracts—Cooper remained unfazed. While some minority-owned businesses may have benefited from DEI efforts, these initiatives did not go far enough in addressing the deeper systemic barriers that continue to challenge many Black-owned enterprises.
“Many of these business owners feel disillusioned, betrayed, and deeply concerned about the future of their enterprises,” said Ken Harris, president and chief executive of the National Business League, a trade association for Black-owned businesses. “DEI policies, while far from perfect, provided a semblance of opportunity in an otherwise exclusionary system.”
Government data show that in 2023, small disadvantaged businesses received just over 12 percent of federal contract dollars while Black-owned businesses secured only a small portion—1.61 percent. That share shrank in 2024, with Black-owned firms receiving only 1.54 percent of the $637 billion allocated for small business-eligible federal contracting. In both years, the majority of federal contracts overwhelmingly went to large corporations.
According to interviews with 10 experts in DEI, government contracting, public policy, and advocacy, the Trump administration’s rollback of DEI initiatives now threatens to undermine the limited progress made under the Biden administration in increasing Black-owned businesses’ participation in federal contracting.
“People want you to believe that, oh, the government got this big minority business program to give Blacks this multitude of contracts,” said Wendell Stemley, the owner of Black IPO Construction Management in San Diego and president of the National Association of Minority Contractors. “That’s just not the way it works.”
Stemley has requested a meeting with Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, whose department oversees contracting for infrastructure projects, and is seeking a meeting with Trump. His goal is to tackle the lack of contracting opportunities for Black and minority business owners, labeling it a “bipartisan failure.”
The NAMC president aims to highlight the need for better workforce training for minorities, enabling them to secure contract work with vendors committed to dismantling the exclusive networks that shut out smaller, minority-owned businesses. Leaders of other minority-focused trade associations are also considering legal challenges to the Trump administration’s orders.
Legal advisers are being commissioned to consult with members and are planning to meet with lawmakers to advocate for the continuation of diversity initiatives.
“If you take away the little bit of progress that we’ve gotten over the years, that’s not fair,” said Drexel Johnson, a Black general engineering contractor with the state of California.
The signing marks her first post-White House move since handing over the reins to JD Vance.
In a statement, the talent agency, which worked with Harris when she was a California senator, said it will work with the former prosecutor “in all areas, focusing on speaking engagements and publishing.”
Harris joins the Los Angeles-based agency’s robust portfolio of politically cool kids, including former President Joe Biden, who announced his deal earlier this month, and Barack and Michelle Obama. CAA’s roster also includes former Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke and Harris supporters such as Beyoncé and Trevor Noah, according to Newsweek.
Harris has mostly avoided the spotlight since her presidential run ended in November 2024. However, while attending the Broadway production of A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, Harris took some time to make a speech to the cast and crew.
“Where there’s a vacancy, let’s fill it. Let us know that the reality is that the progress of our nation has been about the expansion of rights, not the restriction of rights,” Harris said. “We’re seeing a U-turn right now. For those rights to be maintained, which means we have to be vigilant. It’s just the nature of it.”
NEW: Kamala Harris gives inspiring speech to the cast of 'A Wonderful World' on Broadway, inspires by noting how "nature abhors a vacuum."
"When we think about these moments where we see things that are being taken but also let's see it as you know, nature abhors a vacuum."
Harris has been pressed about her post-White House moves, even during her visit to the devastating LA wildfires. A survey conducted by Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill, showed her as a promising frontrunner if she decides to run in 2026.
When a spectator asked her about running for governor of California, Harris stayed on the now.
“I have been home for two weeks and three days,” she said. “My plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders, and figure out what I can do to support them.”
