Normally this would mean the price is going up, but the recent climate & health care bill passed by the Senate suggests the opposite might happen for the everyday citizen.
What the Health
The latest in COVID numbers: 92M total cases & 1M total deaths (+823K & +3K from last week) in the US.
The headlines:
Don’t get it twisted like many of us had it at the beginning of the pandemic: monkeypox is disproportionately impacting Black & Latino people.
Studies suggest that the risk of heart attacks or strokes are high even months after a COVID infection.
The pandemic is also impacting the environment. Amazon’s 2021 emissions increased nearly 20% from 2020 (and up 40% from 2019) as more customers turned to the retail giant for their shopping needs.
Free BG
After being detained for 6 months, a Russian judge sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to more than 9 years in prison for traveling into the country with less than 1 gram of cannabis oil. Should she have taken more care to not bring a prohibited substance into Russia? Sure. Is she also being treated unfairly because she’s a Black public figure who happened to be arrested just as US relations with Russia intensified to levels not seen since the Cold War? Abso-fkn-lutely.
Using her sentence as leverage, Russia says it’s now ready to negotiate a prisoner trade, but wants the details to be kept on the low. Typically the US can’t hold water, but hopefully it can for Brittney’s sake.
Ps. We wanna see these US politicians apply the energy they’ve given to Brittney’s case towards Black people here who BEEN locked up for cannabis convictions and who are still being targeted & systematically locked out of the now-decriminalized industry. Thanks.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
46 has issued a new executive order for reproductive rights, this time directing the Department of Health & Human Services to protect people’s right to travel out-of-state to for abortion access.
Well, looka here. Biden’s approval rating got a little boost just before the midterms. 44% of poll respondents approve of his recent job performance compared to his personal low of 36% back in May.
VP Harris announced $1B in competitive grants to help communities cope in light of states nationwide facing increased extreme weather events. Anyone else think it weird that this country makes us compete for much-needed aid?
Congress, What’s Good?
Mere days before Congress’ summer recess began, the Senate passed a bill to address climate change, healthcare costs, and tax reform. In short, yesterday’s price is not today’s price and everyday people are supposed to benefit from that.
Here’s a bit of what the bill will do:
Invest over $300B in climate reform, create more jobs, and offer new tax incentives for electric vehicles & energy efficient homes
Lower the cost of select prescription drugs, starting in March 2026
Establish a 15% minimum tax for corporations bringing in more than $1B in income
The House is expected to pass the bill this week and send it over to the POTUS to sign.
Now that’s almost out of the way, your elected officials can kick up their feet for a few weeks. There are no committee meetings until the week of September 5.
Election Watch: 2022 Midterms
Just a few more weeks until primary season ends. Tomorrow, voters in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, & Wisconsin will have the chance to make their voices heard. Hawaii will hold its primary on Sunday, August 13. Whether your primary is coming up or you're waiting for November to roll around, make sure you know all you need to before hitting the polls.
Abortion access was on the ballot in Kansas last week and the results were unmistakably pro-choice.
Is Meta deprioritizing its fight against election misinformation?
With the outrage over the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the recently-passed climate package, Democrats are feeling like they got the juice right now. Do they?
Social Justice Round Up
“Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” is no longer just a call for justice. It is now a reality, thanks to the FBI.
The Justice Department comes for Idaho’s abortion ban.
A small Alabama town has dissolved its 3-person police department after a racist text is revealed. BYE.
A judge has ruled that the lawsuit brought against Tulsa by the survivors of the 1921 race massacre can proceed.
Around the Diaspora
A Nigerian engineer has developed a bra that she says can detect breast cancer.
In the Horn of Africa, 37M people are facing an acute hunger crisis.
Monkeypox has been endemic in western and central Africa for years and yet the Continent is left to battle the disease with no vaccines. The western world really believes the practice of hoarding vaccines is actually the right thing to do. Wild.
Getting to the Money
Jopwell’s mission is to leave the door open for Black, Latinx & Indigenous professionals. Check out their job board to see open positions from their corporate partners here.
Buying Black
August is Black Business Month. Have you ever considered investing in a Black business? If this is something you might be interested in, iFundWomen has a list of Black women-owned businesses seeking funding to execute their vision. Check them out here.
Culture that Pops
Florida Memorial University, a small HBCU in Miami, wants to help end the pilot shortage and add some color in the process. Currently, less than 2% of commercial airline pilots are Black.
According to Sister Mary Clarence (aka Whoopi Goldberg), Sister Act 3 is in the works and it may feature one of today’s biggest pop stars.
Teyana Taylor is partnering with Bumble to produce a series highlighting the Black dating experience. Are you tuning in?