It's a new month and everybody is out here trying to leave with something: Far right members of the House want McCarthy out, jobseekers are accepting nothing less than their worth in salary negotiations, and we can all keep AI from taking our jobs by looking at the Hollywood writers' strike
What the Health
As you all know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Recent studies suggest Black women should approach the disease differently than their counterparts. One way they can do this is by beginning annual screenings in their 40s instead of in their 50s.
While fighting the development of a gas storage plant in their backyard, Black folks in one Houston neighborhood are also fighting to make the world see that environmental racism can have just as much of an impact on our mental health as it does on our physical bodies.
Been exposed to the Rona? Don’t expect that expired test in your bathroom cabinet to automatically give you an accurate result.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
Looks like the POTUS wanted to prove he was a regular ol’ Joe. He joined the picket line alongside striking auto workers in Michigan.
Rail projects across the country will receive a collective $1.4B from the White House for safety and supply chain updates.
Biden know he pissed Republicans and the fossil fuel industry off with this one: He recently announced a record low of 3 new offshore oil leases that would be available over the next 5 years. In comparison, Trump gave the greenlight for as many as 47 new sales over the last 5 year period.
Congress, What’s Good?
After a chaotic week of infighting, moderate Republicans rebuffed their far-right colleagues with the passage of a bipartisan stopgap bill that will fund the government until November 17. With just hours to go before the shutdown would have begun, the bill, which neither included funds for Ukraine (a desire for Dems) nor the southern border wall (a GOP request), made its way through the Senate and to Biden’s desk for signing. Now we can all breathe a little easier. For 45 days.
Because the far-right basically lost the shutdown fight, they’re now on a mission to leave here with something. Up next on their agenda: get McCarthy outta here while simultaneously taking care of Biden.
In other news, California Senator Diane Feinstein passed away over the weekend and Gavin Newsom promised to fill the vacancy with a Black woman. Laphonza Butler, president of a PAC that helps women into public office, will replace her through the start of the next congressional term in January 2025.
On deck in this week’s committee meetings:
Looking to 2024
The 2nd GOP debate was last week and it experienced a 25% decline in viewers compared to the first one.
Trump was absent from the debate again, but his legal troubles keep him busy enough. He was found guilty of inflating property values in a pretrial judgment. The trial, in which Donnie is facing a $250M penalty, will begin today.
New York has become the 36th state to allow no-excuse absentee voting.
Social Justice Round Up
JP Morgan Chase, Delta, and other companies want to stimulate the economy by getting those with criminal records back to work.
LA’s no bail policy started yesterday. This means poorer people accused of nonviolent or non serious crimes can go home to await trial. You know…like the rich white people who can afford to pay bail already do.
For what’s hopefully the last time, the SCOTUS rejected Alabama’s tired-ass congressional map with only one majority black district. (If entitlement was an entire state…). Now that the SCOTUS has maintained its position, Alabama can now move forward with any of the 3 maps that were drawn for them according to the Court’s original ruling.
California will double the tax on gun & ammunition sales and use the money for improved safety at schools and for violence prevention programs. added security at schools. If one of the ways the state plans to improve safety at schools is hiring more campus police or security guards, we wonder how they’ve factored in the fact that Black & brown students are criminalized more often than their counterparts in other racial/cultural groups.
Around the Diaspora
A Rwandan diplomat criticized the UK for a lack of compassion in its immigration policy.
Of the 10K young Black Britons that responded to a recent survey, nearly half of them say the country’s racism will cause them to migrate elsewhere at some point in their lives.
Getting to the Money
Salary negotiations can be awkward, but they don’t have to be. Here’s how you walk away from those conversations with the money you want.
Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax, claims the government’s plans to create a free tool for tax filing would hurt the Black community specifically. Is that true? Maybe.
Oh, and our Hollywood writer friends are back at work. Their contract negotiations may also be useful for the rest of us if we ever come face to face with losing our jobs to AI.
Buying Black
Noirebud offers affordable CBD wellness products to help its customers navigate the ups and downs of life in a natural way. They offer drops, herbal teas, hard candies and more to keep anxiety at bay throughout the day. If CBD is your thing (and you’ve consulted a medical professional on your use of these products), check them out.
Culture that Pops
The REFORM Alliance and Roc Nation gathered in Atlantic city over the weekend to raise $24M for parole and probation reform.
Regardless of whether you’ll be engaged in cuffing activities this fall, ‘tis the season for getting cozy with your favorite blanket and a good movie or TV show. Here’s what’s new and Black on Netflix this month.
A new computer science program is coming to the D to teach Black children the skills needed to eventually land lucrative careers in the field.