Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), a member of the Supreme Court died September 18, 2020, of complications from metastatic cancer. On hearing of her death, in front of reporters, President Trump said that “She was an amazing woman whether you agree or not she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life.”
Category Archives: National
How did Hurricane Laura affect people?
By Grace Blummer-Lamotte
On August 16th, 2020, Hurricane Laura started to form a disastrous path. It started its path just off of a large tropical wave that moved off the West African coast. On August 20th, 2020, it became a “tropical depression”.
The highest recorded wind speed of this hurricane lasted one minute and it was 150 miles per hour. This is the twelfth named storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. It dissipated August 29th, 2020.
The storm affected people’s lives by taking 42 lives and destroying homes. Family members have been lost, and major flooding after the hurricane caused damage to homes and towns requiring people to have to rebuild their homes and towns. The damage this hurricane did cost $10 billion dollars just on the Southwestern portion of Louisiana and the Southeastern portion of Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico. To put $10 billion dollars into perspective, you could buy at least 10 football stadiums and still have a lot more money left.
You may be wondering why we name hurricanes. The reason is because they are tropical storms such as hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons that can last for months and sometimes years. Scientists used to track them by their year, but because we could experience 100 storms in 12 months, they started naming tropical storms so they are easier to track.
According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center they are forecasting 13-19 named storms with winds 39 miles per hour and higher, 6-10 that could result in hurricanes with winds of 74 miles per hour and higher, and also 3-6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4, and 5, which is winds 111 miles per hour and higher).
California wildfires are on an all time high
By: Aisha Dirie
With West Coast fires are at an all time high, and there is no doubt that climate change is to blame for these disasters. According to ‘Scientific American’, These fires have expanded across 1 million acres throughout the West Coast. Hundreds of people have lost their houses due to these fires, with California being a hotspot for COVID-19 currently, it’s not ideal.
The causes for the fire is unknown but this has been happening for decades. There are some though that question whether climate change is to blame. “Jon Keeley, a senior scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center, argued that the study from Swain and others failed to show that hotter temperatures are driving wildfires.”
Although California has always been a hotspot of wildfires, it is not a surprise that these fires happen continuously, but this level of destruction has caused more people to wake up and look at the real life effects of climate change.
With the wildfires, fire tornados have also erupted within those fires. Fire tornados happen when heat that is rising pulls in fire, dirt, ash, etc. and spirals into a tornado. “To have even one tornado within a fire is rare,” CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said. These are rare, and with West Coast (specifically California) fires rising and continuing to damage homes, fire tornados are happening more frequently.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “The Creek Fire, which started on September 4, has burned 291,426 acres in the Sierra National Forest and remains just 34% contained.” This is one of the fires that started on the West Coast that left many people trapped in their homes.
All along the West Coast, people were evacuating homes in response to the fires polluting the air. There is no doubt that these fires are getting worse, and we need to take action. If you look at the fires over the years, they have gotten significantly worse, especially since 2018. Climate change is real, and it’s destroying our planet.
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Conditions in Amazon warehouses
So, we all know there is a global pandemic going on right now where everybody who is labeled as a non-essential worker is being asked to stay inside in much as possible.
This, and the fear of contracting or spreading the virus, has many people shopping online.
With the rise in online orders, many things are out of stock or take longer to ship. All of this purchasing has been handled at distribution centers that are having significant losses in staff.
According to the New York Times, workers in Amazon distribution centers across the country are realizing what a large role they play in the success of the company. The workers are using this as leverage to “demand better pay, better sick leave and more of a voice in how the company is run.”
Fear about, and around, the coronavirus has caused attendance at Amazon warehouses to fall as much as 30%, leaving the remaining workers to struggle with the rise in the number of orders while the numbers of staff are falling.
Amazon has also been accused of firing workers who participated in protests about the working conditions inside the warehouses. These conditions depend on what state the warehouse is in, and has also been a rough topic as some are closed for cleanings while others remain open.
Many employees have tested positive for the corona virus. After the first case was found in Queens, NY, employees at 50 other sites had also tested positive.
Recently, Amazon has been giving its workers quarantine leave and has also raised their wages, while also giving more space between stations and tripling the janitorial staff.
Justice for Ahmaud
Ahmaud Marquez Arbery was gunned down on February 23, 2020, during one of his jogs. Ahmaud was a 25-year-old African American.
There have been plenty of cases and where young African Americans have been killed for the color of their skin. Such as: Trayvon Martin, age 17; Jordan Edwards, age 15; Micheal Brown, age 18.
As a child, having to view these crimes, and seeing no justice being served, is stomach aching. It’s traumatizing really. Ahmaud Arbery was doing nothing but jogging, simply working out like any other person, and was targeted by people so hateful and sinful. They felt the need to hurt, and not only harm, but kill, Ahmaud Arbery.
The justice system in America is sooo messed it literally makes no sense that someone loses their life and isn’t served the proper justice they deserve.
So, I would like to end this article with saying long live Ahmaud Arbery and #justiceforAhmaud.
How COVID-19 is affecting animal shelters across the nation
There is no question that COVID-19 is changing the world. COVID-19 has affected almost every aspect of our lives. While a majority of the population is in quarantine, and sheltering in place, many people have found themselves bored and lonely. One change that was not anticipated is the change in animal adoption rates. While people are stuck at home, many people are adopting and fostering shelter dogs and cats to keep them company.
As coronavirus spreads across the U.S., an increasing number of people have stepped up to foster and adopt animals, keeping them out of shelters.
According to NBC News, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has seen a 70 percent increase in animals entering foster care in New York City and Los Angeles programs compared to this time last year. Adoption centers like the Riverside County Animal Shelter have a beautiful problem according to Wired; they are all out of adoptable animals.
Well, why are people adopting animals now?
The real reason is no mystery; as people are practicing social distancing, many have decided now is a perfect time to bring an animal into their home. As reported by Wired, some shelters have put out calls for people to adopt, but others have found that this surge is completely organic. An upwelling of kindness and care from the community plays a large part in helping these animals and shelters. People who didn’t have animals because of their work or travel schedule, or problems similar to these, now can adopt which is another cause for the surge. Many shelters have also waived adoption fees to try to ease financial strain on new pet parents affected by COVID-19.
Wired further reports that animals can have an important role in brightening people’s lives, especially in a time like this. Although pets can’t completely fill the void left by isolation from other humans, they do provide emotional support. Pets fulfill the human need for touch and offer significant relief to people’s stress and anxiety levels. Pets can even lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels leaving you feeling better. Animals like dogs are also able to motivate people to stick to strategies to help with isolation, like daily exercise and structure.
However, it is not all good news. There is an increase in the amount of people surrendering their animals because of financial struggles, or because they are too ill to take care of them.
If you are looking for ways to help your local animal shelter, adoption and donations (like food and other important materials) are great ways to help.
Amazon, Whole Foods, Walmart, FedEx, Instacart, Shipt, and Target essential workers protest companies’ responses to COVID-19
On Friday, May 1, essential workers across the US called in sick in protest of Amazon, Instacart, Whole Foods, Shipt and Target’s response to COVID-19. The protests took place in: Staten Island, the California Bay Area, Los Angeles, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, Chicago, and Minnesota.
Organizers were asking for an increase in pay, expanded sick leave policies, and frequent professional cleaning. They also were asking for increased hazard pay, stricter social distancing measures, and transparency from companies on the number of workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 according to BusinessInsider.com.
Many of these businesses are claiming that they have done their part in protecting their workers from the coronavirus. Shipt publicly claimed to have increased pay by 30 percent and that they provided protective gear. However, according to Wired.com, Willy Solis, organizer of that strike, said he had not received a mask from the company and the increase in pay was instead an increase in the amount of work he had to do.
Amazon claims to have expanded their sick leave policies, but this was a temporary decision and only lasted until the end of April. Amazon also says that the majority of their essential workers disagree that the company isn’t doing enough to ensure their workers’ safety, as the majority would come into work May 1st. While this may be true, according to Wired.com, a large portion of essential workers were unaware that it was happening or were in disbelief that protesting would change the companies responses.
It seems the disbelieving workers may be right, seeing as protests have not stopped or even slowed down business for companies according to Vox.com. In fact, business has only increased with the shelter-in-home orders, as many turn to online shopping and delivery so as to not risk contracting the virus from in-person stores.
That being said, the worker’s strike has caught the attention and approval of various political figures including: Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and State Attorney General Letitia James.
We have not seen any further action taken by these companies in response to the strikes, but hopefully, with these political figures backing up essential workers, there will be more pressure on them to act, and in turn, the companies will greatly improve the working conditions for essential workers.
How racism and poverty made Detroit a new coronavirus hot spot
By: Yanyoua Xiong
A report found in March, from the Pew Research Center, said that nearly 50% of black people, compared to 20% of white people, see coronavirus as a major threat to their health. Detroit has one of the largest African American populations in the country with 79% of the population African American. Even though African Americans make up only 14% of the population in Michigan, they make up around 40% of the deaths that occurred in that state.
Black people, of all ages, die in disproportionately higher numbers than white people in Detroit, due to asthma, heart disease, and other chronic lung disorders. Fabiola Cineas says the reasoning is because “hundreds of years of slavery, racism, and discrimination have compounded to deliver poor health and economic outcomes for black people.”
Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, commented on the difference in treatment of people of color and non people of color, “From basic lack of access to health care, transportation, and protections in the workplace, these inequities hit people of color and vulnerable communities the hardest. This task force will help us start addressing these disparities right now as we work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Michigan.”
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, Detroit was mostly white but we can start to see a shift in demographics with suburbanization and “white flight.” For some reason though, that didn’t decrease redlining and black people are still more likely than whites to be denied a loan today.
However, it’s not just in Detroit but across the United States where inequalities between skin colors lead to experiencing higher numbers of COVID-19 cases. The death rates from COVID-19 are also disproportionate (by race) in places like Milwaukee, Georgia, and New York City.
Evidence of disadvantage is everywhere in Detroit: there are dozens of food banks, empty homes, and thousands of water shutoffs due to people being unable to pay their water bills. Detroit has remained one of the most segregated cities in the country despite being in a pandemic and it really shows.
Couple arrested for selling tickets to heaven
A couple in Florida, Tito and Amanda Watts, were arrested for selling tickets to heaven. They sold each of the tickets for $99.99. They claimed the tickets were real gold, and all you had to do is show the tickets at the pearly gates at the entrance of heaven, and you would get full access to get in. They made over 10,000 dollars in cash from selling those tickets.
When searching their home, the police also found a baby alligator. No one knows where they found this alligator, but a witness said that they picked it up from the ocean.
The spokesman for the Jacksonville Department said that “You can’t sell something as gold when it’s not. That’s where the Watts crossed the line into illegal.”
In the police statement, Tito said, “The tickets are solid gold. And it was Jesus who gave them to me behind the KFC and said to sell them so I could get some money to go to outer space. I met an alien named Stevie who said if I got the cash together he’d take me and my wife on his flying saucer to his planet that’s made entirely of crack cocaine. You should arrest Jesus because he’s the one that gave me the golden tickets and said to sell them. I’m willing to wear a wire and set Jesus up”
In Amanda’s statement, she said that “We just wanted to leave earth and go to space and smoke cocaine. I didn’t do anything. Tito sold the golden tickets to heaven. I just watched.”
The couple has been charged for illegal possession of an alligator, several accounts of cocaine in their possession, and also for false advertising to hundreds of people.
For more information, please visit: http://news-af.feednews.com/news/detail/36f2f8934bbc1877a8594075bb3ea873?client=news
Illegal immigration in the United States
There are four types of immigrants: citizens, residents, non-immigrants and undocumented. Today I will be talking about undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are people who are foreign-born and who also don’t have a legal right to stay or be in the United States.
You may ask, where do they all come from? Half of illegal immigrants come from Mexico or other Latin American countries such as: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, or Colombia. The other half comes other countries like Poland, Sweden, Pakistan, Somalia, and Iraq, which all provide large numbers of illegal immigrants here in the United States.
Illegal immigrants come to the United States often because of new job opportunities that could be offered. They are able to build a better life in the United States because their own country is lacking certain things such as resources, decent living conditions, or safety. They could also flee to the United States because of war.
A myth that has been well ingrained in peoples heads is that immigrants steal other’s jobs. The truth is they don’t. They take jobs that the American workers decide not to take. They also start their own businesses and spend their income on American services and goods. According to the ACLU, over 100 years, Immigrants pay more than $90 billion in taxes every year and only receive $5 billion in welfare. Without any contributions to the public treasury, the economy would then suffer huge losses.
Some people ask the question “Why don’t they come here legally?” The answer to that question is that, it’s not that easy. The first thing immigrants have to do is get a visa and have a qualified reason to be in the United States.
There are many ways to be here temporarily, such as being a student, tourist, or being here for short term business. But all of these require for you to prove that you intend to go back to your home country. Each year visas are allowed globally for each type of relationship and once they are all issued, the rest are put on a waiting list. The process can take from anywhere up to 27 years.
The Pledge of Allegiance states “with liberty and justice for all.” We don’t see any of this going on with illegal immigrants. They instead are kept in detention centers. Families are being pulled apart; women and men are housed separately and they are not allowed to know how long they will be detained, their personal belongings are taken away from them and they are not treated as humans, they are treated as ‘aliens’ and outsiders. This is a worldwide issue that deserves more attention than it gets.
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