There were a few feel-good news stories this week. But only a few...
The Skinny on COVID
The latest in numbers: 45M total cases & 736K deaths (+509K & +11K from last week) in the US.
The headlines:
Pfizer vaccines for children 5-11 years of age could be fully authorized as soon as early next week. The FDA will be the first organization to vote for or against the decision tomorrow.
Remember the Delta+ variant? Homegirl is running through the UK. Could she be on her way to cause issues here too?
A group of protesters in support of Kyrie Irving pulled up to the Barclays Center over the weekend to demand the NBA put him back in the game despite him not following NYC’s vaccine mandate.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
Remember when President Biden said he was going to cancel student loans? It almost feels like a dream at this point, but we ain’t forget. By failing to keep his promise to cancel $10K in federal student loans, 15M people remain burdened by having to pay back money that the pandemic has shown the government doesn’t even need. It’s almost like he wants people to dislike him.
China has its sights set on overtaking Taiwan & Biden can’t keep his cool (which is US custom) on the matter.
The Justice Department wants to address racially discriminatory lending aka redlining.
Congress, What’s Good?
Say what now? Nancy Pelosi says Democrats are close to agreeing on Biden’s budget resolution. If you let her tell it, they’re about 10% away from the finish line as most of the bill is aligned on & written. Must be because Biden pulled Manchin to the side over the weekend to find areas of compromise. When asked what’s left to work out, Pelosi said, “It’s just the language of it.” Are we the only ones confused by what exactly that means? Legal/political experts, help us out on this one.
Anyway, Congress is on the hook to pass these things (yes, the SAME things we’ve been talking about forever...budget & infrastructure) by EOW. Do you think they’ll succeed? Let’s hope for the best because we’re honestly tired of hearing & talking about it.
This week in committee meetings:
Protecting the babies from the dangers of Snap, TikTok & YouTube
Big Oil’s campaign against saving the climate
Social Justice Round Up
A white Tennessee judge was recently exposed for illegally jailing Black children under a fake law. Despite the issue going as far back as 2016, she has not been disbarred. In what world is an officer of the court allowed to keep their job after not only not following the law, but also making up their own laws? Clearly only one that runs off of white supremacy.
The SCOTUS will let Texas’ abortion ban stay in place until after it hears arguments on November 1. But they won’t be ruling on whether the law is right or wrong. Instead, they’ll be making a decision as to whether the law can be challenged given the unique way it was written.
The student protest at Howard continues into its second week. 150 students camped out in tents were definitely a sight to see during this year’s homecoming festivities.
We talked last week about Rikers Island detaining so many who haven’t even been charged with a crime. Images of the horrible conditions the detainees are forced to live in have surfaced & honestly WTF.
Although some of us were young when Condoleeza Rice was running around DC, we always knew she wasn’t really kinfolk. Last week, she went on TV to coddle sensitive white folk who are afraid of Critical Race Theory.
Around the Diaspora
The Ethiopian government is still conducting airstrikes on its Tigray region. Despite fighting having slowed down since the early summer, 4 attacks on the northern part of the country happened this week.
Senegalese women want in on the conversation about climate change & climate injustice.
People in Jamaica are still violently attacking their fellow citizens that are members of the LGBTQ community, huh? Ain’t it 2021?
Getting to the Money
Get your resume right with The Resume Agency. This Black woman-owned company will write your resume or cover letter, update your LinkedIn profile, or sell you guides & templates for you to do the same for yourself. In this case, you’re putting money in their pocket & they’re helping put more money in yours. Feels like a win-win to us.
Buying Black
We love adding things to our “There’s a Black-owned version of that” list. This week, it’s a wellness resort & spa called The Jenesis House. Located in Prescott, Arizona, TJH aims to bring mental & physical wellness to the forefront for its guests. You can pre-book your stay today or you can wait & buy one of their all-natural candles instead. Either way, your contribution will help open the doors of this resort sooner rather than later.
Culture that Pops
Meet the Black fathers that joined forces to prevent fights at their children's high school. We just wanna hug them all & tell each one: “You’re doing amazing, sweetie.”
Is Dave Chappelle ready to listen? A walkout by Netflix employees might have been the thing to finally make the comedian stop & GAF. Maybe.
Is the NBA on the right track when it comes to HBCUs? They will soon roll out programs focused on professional development for students at all 107 schools & host a classic for Howard to play Morgan State during their 75th anniversary celebration.