And another day of votes, SCOTUS rulings, reducing polling places, the NY AG and Trump, Putin paying a ‘dear price,’ FL shielding whites from discomfort, the US economy not working for POC, TX college students confront anxiety, and malicious QR codes comes to a close:
“The folks who called us snowflakes would like to ban teaching anything that might make someone feel uncomfortable…” — Jess Piper
“You cannot be pro-democracy and against voting rights. Simple enough?” -- Ken Olin
“Honestly, no one should be in a voting line long enough to require water.” -- Genetta Adams
Deaths
US: 880,976 (+3736)
World: 5,583,738 (+10,339)
Cases
US: 69,808,350 (+1,042,103)
World: 339,395,547 (+4,089,108)
Voting bill blocked by GOP filibuster, Dems try rules change. Voting legislation that Democrats and civil rights groups argued is vital for protecting democracy was blocked Wednesday by a Republican filibuster, a setback for President Joe Biden and his party after a raw, emotional debate.
Supreme Court allows Jan. 6 committee to get Trump documents. The justices on Wednesday rejected a bid by Trump to withhold the documents from the committee until the issue is finally resolved by the courts. Trump’s lawyers had hoped to prolong the court fight and keep the documents on hold. Following the high court’s action, there is no legal impediment to turning over the documents, which are held by the National Archives and Records Administration. They include presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes dealing with Jan. 6 from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows. -- Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
“The fact that Clarence Thomas continues to fail to recuse himself, given the activities of his wife that are directly related to the insurrection, is mind-boggling.” -- Norman Ornstein
President Biden said he believes Congress can pass "big chunks" of his sweeping social safety net and climate spending plan, Build Back Better, acknowledging that negotiators will have to "fight for the rest later."
Plans to close all but one polling place in a rural Georgia county reverberate through a battleground state. While battles over poll closures often garner little attention, Diaz said, "the procedures that happen behind the scenes can really affect whether your vote matters."…All voting would happen at a central location in Lincolnton, the county seat, under the consolidation plan the elections board is set to consider. But in a community with little reliable public transportation, "the poor and marginalized people won't be able to vote because, bottom line, they won't be able to get to the polls.” — The GOP doesn’t want everyone who has the right to vote, to vote.
New York AG says Trump’s company misled banks, tax officials. In a court filing late Tuesday, lawyers for Attorney General Letitia James told a judge they have not decided whether to bring a lawsuit in connection with the allegations, but that investigators should be allowed to question Trump and his two eldest children under oath as part of the civil probe.
“You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” — Donald Trump (It’s a video)
What comes next in New York’s investigation of Donald Trump. After investigating former President Donald Trump for several years, New York Attorney General Letitia James used a court filing Tuesday to outline much of the evidence her investigators have gathered so far. The legal memo claimed the Republican’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of its assets while seeking loans and tax breaks. Here’s what this development could mean for Trump and his namesake company:
Biden says Putin will pay ‘dear price’ if he invades Ukraine. President Joe Biden said he believes Vladimir Putin doesn’t want full blown war in Ukraine and would pay a “dear price” if he moves forward with a military incursion.
Florida could shield whites from ‘discomfort’ of racist past. A bill pushed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past received its first approval Tuesday…Democrats argued the bill isn’t needed, would lead to frivolous lawsuits and said it would amount to censorship in schools. They asked, without success, for real-life examples of teachers or businesses telling students or employees that they are racist because of their race…DeSantis held a news conference last month in which he called critical race theory “crap,” and said he would seek legislation that would allow parents to sue schools and employees to sue employers if they were subject to its teachings.
“I am reminded of segregationists who justified separate restrooms, elevators, waiting rooms, restaurants, phone booths, water fountains, parks, schools, pools, and even cemeteries by claiming White adults and children felt "discomfort" around Black people. And now this.” — Ibram X. Kendi
US economy 'has never worked fairly for Black Americans—or, really, for any American of color,’ Treasury chief says. The insidious legacy of slavery in the U.S., as well as decades of racist policies that followed, results in systemic economic issues that are still present today -- such as the racial wealth gap, experts said. A Brookings Institution report published last year said that the net worth of a typical white family ($171,000) is nearly 10 times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in America, with researchers saying the gaps in wealth between Black and white households "reveal the effects of accumulated inequality and discrimination, as well as differences in power and opportunity that can be traced back to this nation’s inception." Separate and more-recent data from the Federal Reserve indicated that in 2019, the typical White family has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family and five times the wealth of the typical Hispanic family. The Fed dataset indicates that in 2019, the median wealth of a white family in the U.S. was $188,200 and the median wealth of a Black family was some $24,100. The data notably is before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Black and Latino communities with inordinate furor and in many cases widened the gap between the haves and have-nots.
Texas college students confront anxiety, apathy as another pandemic semester begins. As Texas universities and colleges begin a fifth semester during the COVID-19 pandemic, many students say they are struggling with uncertainty and an indifference toward school and the future. “We are forced to act like everything’s OK,” said Kevin Christman, a sociology graduate student at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley. “We’re close to a million COVID deaths [in the United States] already and the government is like, ‘You guys got to keep working because the economy needs to keep running.’ So it’s just like, what’s the point of it all?”
University of Michigan reaches $490M settlement with sexual abuse accusers. The University of Michigan has agreed to pay $490 million in damages to the more than 1,000 former students, mostly male, who said they were sexually abused by sports doctor Robert Anderson. The announcement appeared to close the book on one of the nation's biggest sex abuse scandals, which involved several generations of victims going back to the 1960s.
Beware scanning malicious QR codes, FBI warns. Here's how to protect yourself. Before you scan that QR code, the FBI has a warning that could keep you from being separated from your money or personal information. "A victim scans what they think to be a legitimate code but the tampered code directs victims to a malicious site, which prompts them to enter login and financial information. Access to this victim information gives the cybercriminal the ability to potentially steal funds through victim accounts." The FBI also said fake QR codes can be used to embed malware onto a victim's phone, giving a scam artist access to the device and potentially any information on it, including financial information. The Bureau said if you become a victim, there is no guarantee law enforcement can get lost funds back to you. Here are some tips from the FBI on how to protect yourself from being taken advantage of.
Rare, pristine coral reef found off Tahiti coast. Deep in the South Pacific, scientists have explored a rare stretch of pristine corals shaped like roses off the coast of Tahiti. The reef is thought to be one of the largest found at such depths and seems untouched by climate change or human activities.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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