The Skinny on COVID
The latest in numbers: 39M total cases & 637K deaths (+1M & +9K from last week).
The headlines:
COVID is making its rounds amongst children now that schools are open (and mask mandates are so controversial). You want to know which kids are most at risk? Black and Brown children.
A judge ruled that Florida’s head Florida Man (Gov. DeSantis) cannot outlaw mask mandates. Somebody in Florida has sense. Amen.
Wanna stay ahead of all the variants popping up? Check out Axios’ COVID-19 variant tracker. It’ll tell you which variants are more vaccine-resistant, which are more transmissible, etc.
Saving Lives vs. Property
It’s a delicate situation between renters and small landlords particularly, but the Supreme Court ruled that slowing the spread of COVID-19 was not enough to keep people in their homes. The ruling came Thursday night after they determined the CDC did not have the authority to enforce an eviction moratorium. The court made a similar ruling earlier this year, but when Congress failed to pass an extension before going on recess, the CDC took a chance & announced another extension through early October. Unfortunately for 3.5M people, that’s not gonna fly.
If you or your loved ones are part of that impacted group, nearly 90% of the government's rental assistance funding remains. Much needed help can be found here: Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Say a Prayer for the Gulf Coast
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana yesterday on the 16th anniversary of Katrina. The storm has caused 1 known death, power outages, extreme flooding & more. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to our family & friends in New Orleans, across Louisiana, & the entire Gulf Coast region.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
As the military worked to evacuate more people from the Kabul airport, more than 170 people were killed in an ISIS-K suicide bombing. What’s ISIS-K? It’s a faction of ISIS that hates the US AND hates the Taliban. (Sadly, there’s levels to this.) The US launched drone strikes in response to the attack, but warned that ISIS-K isn’t done. So much for that “safe & orderly” withdrawal.
All that said, it sounds like evacuations from Afghanistan might could go past Tuesday’s deadline.
Kamala Harris and China went tit for tat during her visit to South East Asia.
When it came to the Supreme Court, 45 did his job. The Biden administration attempted to reverse one of Trump’s policies that required asylum seekers to “remain in Mexico” while their cases were processed. The SCOTUS’ conservative majority upheld Trump’s rule.
Congress, What’s Good?
The House came back from recess & wasted no time getting to work. One of the week’s biggest moves was Nancy Pelosi straightening out a few holdout Democrats to pass the budget resolution. From there, appropriations committees in both chambers will determine how to spend the $3.5T in question. This pivotal step doesn’t guarantee the package will pass. Dems will need to keep their entire party on board in order to send this to Biden by October 1.
Pelosi says the infrastructure bill will be passed by September 27.
House Dems also passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and like we mentioned last week, the aim is to limit the Supreme Court’s ability to gut voting rights. Unfortunately, this would also need to make it past the filibuster in the Senate to become law & “you know how that shit go.” (Did you read that in Drake’s voice?) This effort will likely prove to be futile at the end of the day.
In another lowkey week for committee meetings, we’ve got the following on the agenda:
Authorizing finances for the military in 2022
Social Justice Round Up
The 58th anniversary of the March on Washington was this weekend & activist groups marked the occasion by stirring up some good trouble in DC.
Is your state attacking your voting rights? What voting-related issues are getting the most heat? Keep up with that & more with the Voting Rights Lab.
A recent report revealed the US government actively targeted BLM activists during last year’s protests, seeking to harshly punish them for actions that would have normally been charged at the state level, if at all. Old dog, old tricks.
When it comes to prison reform, New Yorkers feel let down by former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Speaking of Cuomo, he’s finally out after a string of sexual assault allegations refused to go away. Kathy Hochul officially succeeded him last week, becoming the state’s first woman governor.
Around the Diaspora
Aid is making its way to Haiti after it experienced a devastating earthquake 2 weeks ago & it appears many got the message that donating to grassroots organizations was the way to go. Here’s to hoping Haiti finally gets everything intended for them to build back in the way they desire.
By the end of November, Barbados will become a republic, removing the UK’s Queen Elizabeth as its head of state. At that time, the island will make history as the first nation to have Black women in its top two elected offices: President & Prime Minister.
Hospitals in Jamaica are running low on oxygen as they battle a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Getting to the Money
A Black hiring manager at Warner Media in LA is seeking a Social Media Marketing Manager. This you?
MasterCard is also hiring across all specialties globally. Share this information with a friend who could use a change of scenery in their work life.
Buying Black
In light of Black Business Month coming to a close, here are 2 lists (here & here) of Black businesses that you can support through the end of this month and beyond. You’ll find companies that specialize in everything from home goods, plants, books, & more. Note: the restaurants listed are primarily based in NYC. Don’t live there? Save those businesses for your next trip to the Big Apple.
Culture that Pops
The weekend marked a year since we lost Chadwick Boseman and his impact is still felt by us all.
Interested in knowing more about your family’s roots? Ancestry.com has just added 3.5M records from the Freedmen's Bureau to their database. On top of that, they’re letting you access this information for FREE (y’all know they nickel & dime you for everything else). Black people who were enslaved in the US were not counted in Census records prior to 1863, so any family records found from this information would likely be the earliest some of us can find of our ancestors.
This woman is educating people on cannabis and pushing for further legalization with her annual music festival in Washington, DC.