The Skinny on COVID
The latest in numbers: 42M total cases & 673K deaths (+1M & +13K from last week) in the US.
The headlines:
The FDA said “How about not?” to the Biden’s administration’s suggested plan to make Pfizer booster shots available to everyone 16 and over. They did, however, grant approval for boosters for the 65+ crowd.
Nicki Minaj & her “cousin’s friend” set the world ablaze with a story the rapper shared about his alleged vaccination experience. Government officials from Trinidad & Tobago, the US & the UK all gave their two cents on the saga and...issa mess. Also possibly a publicity stunt??
Moderna’s vaccine may be the strongest performing vaccine when it comes to preventing hospitalizations.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
The US, UK & Australia formed a new boy band & France is upset that he was left out. The 3 countries made a deal to share information amongst one another about AI, nuclear-powered submarines & more. France is pissed because Australia abandoned a deal they made years ago to do so.
Has Biden’s Treasury Department declared that the IRS will monitor the account transactions of anyone who has $600+ in their bank account? That’s what’s being shared across social media, but it’s not exactly true...yet? Here’s a breakdown of what’s floating around online and what the current situation is.
VP Harris helped her friend Gavin Newsom beat a recall election in California last week, but will he be competing with her one day as another presidential hopeful?
Congress, What’s Good?
Pelosi, Schumer & nem have 10 days to get hella work done: bypass a government shutdown, make sure the infrastructure bill gets passed in the House, avoid defaulting on the country's debt & craft a budget reconciliation that’s agreeable to all.
We’re starting to sound like a broken record on this, but Dems don’t know unity. On anything. Even without the GOP being an obstacle. House progressives are threatening to tank infrastructure if the reconciliation package (full of ambitious social programs) isn’t supported by the likes of Joe Manchin. At this point, if unity is possible, we might see some serious compromises made.
If they don’t get it together, this will definitely taint their chances retaining & building their majority in the 2022 midterm elections and likely also Biden’s image as a dealmaker.
In other words, the Republican Party has reentered the chat...
Here’s some of what Congress will be meeting on this week:
Reviving travel & ultimately, the tourism industry
Preventing suicide among veterans
Fraudsters’ & scammers’ come ups during the pandemic
Good behavior amongst Congress members (LOL yes, really)
Social Justice Round Up
Republicans in Pennsylvania still can’t get over the fact that Donnie lost in 2020 & are subpoenaing the personal information of millions of (Democratic) voters to confirm they really exist.
North Carolina just passed a criminal justice reform bill that is said to strengthen accountability, screen officers for mental health issues, limit laws that criminalizes poverty, & requires a first appearance in court within 3 days after an arrest. Is this a step in the right direction?
Maybe North Carolina has a little bit of sense? A judge blocked a recent voter ID law because it discriminates against Black voters—like they all do.
Meek Mill, the Certified Lover Boy, & scores of other celebrities asked Biden to pardon nonviolent weed offenders.
Around the Diaspora
Hundreds of Haitian migrants have arrived at the Texas border seeking entry into the US & they are being boarded on flights back to Haiti before they even know where they’re going. Apparently, they’re being sent back under Trump’s Title 42 policy, but why are we able to accept some groups of refugees these days and not others??
The Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, the group that’s been engaged in a civil war with the Ethiopian government for the last year has suggested they’re ready for peace talks.
September 15 to October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. When will more start to acknowledge Afro-Latinx culture and its contributions?
Getting to the Money
Listen up Black filmmakers, show runners, & animators! TBS, TNT, truTV & Tongal want to see more stories for us, by us. Submit your latest & greatest concepts to them by October 1 for the chance to win funding to shoot a pilot episode.
Buying Black
Y’all remember when Barbie dolls in the 90s used to have messed up & matted hair after little girls tried to use water & pink lotion to style their hair? LOL. Well Healthy Roots Dolls created a solution to that problem with dolls whose hair can actually be styled. Honestly, does anything else need to be said? Consider Healthy Roots Dolls for the Black child in your life who loves doing hair. They are pricey, but it’ll save the child the disappointment and save your money from buying 10 more dolls.
Culture that Pops
Last week, the highly publicized & ultra-lavish Met Gala happened while Black Lives Matter protestors outside of the venue were brutalized & arrested by the NYPD. Is it time to cancel the Met Gala or re-envision the event’s connection to community & real-life issues? ‘Pose’ star Indya Moore raised some important questions after attending the event for the first time.
Rooting for everybody Black is a lifestyle. Here are our winners from last night’s Emmy Awards.
Not that we ever need outsiders’ praise to know that we the shit, but Dapper Dan will become the first Black designer ever to receive the CFDA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
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