Alabama embryo ruling, Nex Benedict death investigation, 150,000 student loan debts erased, and redlining’s connection to air pollution
Alabama ruling on embryos as humans could hit women of color harder: With Black and Brown women accounting for more than one-fourth of in vitro fertilizations, Alabama’s ruling that defines embryos as human life is likely to affect women of color harder than other demographics, writes The Grio. Black and Brown women are “more than likely going to be targets of criminalization,” said Nourbese Flint, president of All* Above All, a nonprofit led by women of color that aims to “catalyze abortion justice.” On Wednesday, Alabama’s highest court ruled that embryos are now considered human lives, a tenet of the new fetal personhood movement that seeks to proclaim personhood at the moment of conception. Flint said the Alabama ruling could lead to restrictions on not only in vitro fertilization, but also stem cell research and birth control bans, The Grio writes.
Police say nonbinary teen’s death unrelated to bathroom assault injuries: The death of a 16-year-old Owasso, Okl., teen Feb. 8, a day after being beaten in the school bathroom after pouring water on older students in retaliation for being bullied, was unrelated to injuries received in the beating, Owasso police announced late Wednesday, reports AP News. Preliminary autopsy results “indicated that the decedent did not die as a result of trauma,” investigators announced, and the full autopsy results will be released following toxicology and other texts. Nex Benedict texted a family member about the assault the night before they died and described the encounter and being taken to the hospital shortly after the assault, where they said they had received “a shot in the butt for pain” for the cuts and bruises they received. Benedict returned home that night, but died the next day shortly after emergency responders were called to their home for a medical emergency, AP also reports. Benedict was also “dead-named” by their family in a GoFundMe account and a funeral announcement, fueling social media rumors that the school, police and the media had misnamed and misgendered the youth. Benedict’s grandmother asked for understanding and patience about the family’s mis-step. The youth’s death has sparked viral social media posts focusing on the anti-transgender rhetoric of Oklahoma’s schools leader, and the state’s pattern of anti-transgender laws. Oklahoma passed a bill requiring youth to use the bathroom of their birth gender in 2022, and last year passed a law banning gender transition care for minors, reports the New York Times.
Student loan debts forgiven for 150,000: Debtors who borrowed less than $12,000 and have paid their student loans for 10 years now have their loans forgiven, under the first phase of President Joe Biden’s SAVE program for student loan forgiveness, reports HuffPost. The plan wipes out student loan debt for 153,000 people. Borrowers who received loans for more than $12,000 are also eligible for forgiveness, but on a longer timeline, Huffpost writes.
Redlined neighborhoods of the past suffer higher air pollution today: Air pollution from vehicles, and power generators, vehicle exhaust, cooking and wildfires is worse in Denver’s neighborhoods populated mostly by People of Color, according to a new study published this week in Environmental Science and Technology. The researchers traced the disparities to a direct correlation with neighborhoods marked in “red” in the 1930s and 1940s, under redlining polices that ranked neighborhoods in terms of safety determined by racial population, The Hill reports. The study also showed that gas and vehicle emissions were likely greater in formerly redlined neighborhoods because those areas were more often chosen as land to be used for highway construction.
(cover photo features logo for Owasso High School that Nex Benedict attended, a human embryo, and President Joe Biden announcing parts of his student loan forgiveness program in October 2023, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
New context for Nex Benedict assault, charges in Kansas City shooting, Iowa’s Religious Freedom act advances, polysubstance use, and a more accessible Starbucks
Oklahoma school superintendent’s anti-transgender comments emerge in light of nonbinary teen’s death: New details have emerged about context surrounding the Feb. 8 death of a nonbinary teen in a small Oklahoma town, who passed away a day after they were beaten by older classmates in an Owassa school restroom. Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters publicly condemned transgender people last year, calling being transgender “an assault on the truth,” reports The Daily Dot. Last month, Walters also appointed the founder of Libs of TikTok, a conservative organization also considered anti-transgender, to a library advisory board, reports the Associated Press. In addition, the family of Owassa teen Nex Benedict, who died after twice being taken to the hospital following the beating, has released screen shots of messages sent by Benedict the night before their passing. Fox23 reports that Benedict texted a family member that they had been jumped by three girls in the bathroom after Benedict poured water on the girls in retaliation for the girls’ bullying of Nex and their friends. Benedict’s death has received national focus after social media posts suggested the youth’s death was related to their nonbinary identification, and a flood of anti-transgender legislation proposed and passed nationwide this year and last year. A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family and had raised almost $50,000 as of Wednesday morning.
Kansas City shooting of 20 allegedly committed by two men angry at looking at each other: Two men who got into an argument for looking at each other have been arrested and charged with murder for shootings at a Super Bowl celebration parade that killed a popular local DJ and injured 20 others, reports NBC News. Dominic M. Miller of Kansas City and Lyndell Mays of Raytown are accused of pulling guns from their backpacks and shooting at each other, striking each other and others, after arguing about “why they were staring at each other,” investigators announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, another man falsely accused of being part of the shooting, and of being an “illegal alien,” is holding press conferences to try and clear his name, reports News One. Denton Loudermill has been receiving death threats since Feb. 14, when Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett (R) circulated a photo of Loudermill being arrested for public intoxication and portrayed him as an “illegal alien” being arrested for the Kansas City shooting. “Help us save his life,” said Loudermill’s attorney in pleading with the public to help correct the erroneous information spread by Burchett and several other Republican lawmakers.
Iowa activists sound alarm on Religious Freedom Restoration Act: A bill that applies an existing 1993 federal “religious freedom” act at the state level in Iowa advanced through the Iowa Senate Tuesday, triggering concerns by LGBTQ activists that the law may open the door for discrimination against people because of sexual or gender identity, reports Iowa Capitol Dispatch. Though the bill’s sponsor said research shows the act has never been used at the federal or state level to target LGBTQ+ people, Democrats called the bill a “license to discriminate.” The bill was approved along party lines, with all 31 Republicans voting for it and all 16 Democrats voting against it, reports the Dispatch. It now heads to the House for debate. Nationwide, 23 states including Illinois already have Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, in addition to the federal act.
Polysubstance use becoming more common in “fourth wave” of addiction: More than 90 percent of people in treatment for drug addiction who had fentanyl in their system also showed traces of methamphetamines, heroine, cocaine, or prescription opioids, reports KFF Health News. In addition, methamphetamine — especially dangerous because of its high addictive potential and how it affects breathing and the brain — was found in 60% of those who tested positive for fentanyl. The study involved urine samples of more than 4 million in drug treatment. The presence of multiple substances presents challenges
Columbia is now Missouri’s second LGBTQ+ sanctuary city: Columbia’s city council voted Monday 6-1 to follow Kansas City in offering a “sanctuary” for LGBTQ+ people, a distinction that means publicly and openly “deprioritizing” the enforcement of state laws that disproportionately impact LGBTQ people, writes The Columbia Daily Tribune. Some examples of anti-LGBTQ laws that will not be enforced in because of the new law include transgender health care restrictions; laws that ban people from using the bathroom of their declared identity rather than their birth identity; and drag performance restrictions.
Starbucks launches accessibility campaign: Better sound and lighting, power-operated doors, equipment that is easier for employees to access, and easy-access countertops are among the changse Starbucks is making so that its locations are more accessible to people with physical limitations, reports Forbes. The changes will be included in all new and remodeled locations and were introduced in a Washington, D.C., location last month.
(cover photo features a map of Missouri showing the LGBTQ sanctuary cities Columbia and Kansas City, and Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Hendricks part of worldwide MCC panel, Tyson stands up for cannabis dealers, the sinking Windy City, “Divisible” in Omaha, and mental health exceptions for abortion
Davenport’s Rich Hendricks appointed to worldwide MCC board: Rev. Rich Hendricks, pastor of Davenport’s MCC of the Quad Cities, is among eight people appointed to be elders with the worldwide MCC denomination. Hendricks is among 14 people in seven countries who applied for the elder positions, wrote Cynthia Eggleston, moderator of MCC. Eggleston chose the elders based on their experience, spiritual perspective, and “current efforts to make MCC more racially equitable, diverse and inclusive.” He and the other seven elders will “offer spiritual and pastoral supoprt and leadership” to MCC churches, pastors and people. The MCC denomination was founded 56 years ago, originally to provide a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ Christians to worship. Now with more than 220 churches in 37 countries, it focuses overall on “inclusion, community, justice and spiritual transformation,” its website says. Hendricks, a former lawyer, helped found One Human Family QCA and QC Unity Pride in the Quad Cities. He recently received the LGBTQ Legacy award from dsm magazine.
Tyson presses for cannabis prisoners’ release: Former boxing star Mike Tyson is pressing President Joe Biden to pardon more than 2,000 people imprisoned for cannabis-related offenses, the vast majority of which are People of Color, reports The Guardian. In a letter he is delivering to Biden today, Tyson questioned why people were doing “murderers’ time” for trafficking a “mild medicine” The Guardian reports that 24 states now have legalized recreational cannabis, yet 2,000 federal prisoners and 30,000 state-level prisoners remain incarcerated for non-violent cannabis-related offenses. The vast majority are People of Color, according to States Reform Act.
Chicago is sinking: A new study that identifies “subsurface heat islands” beneath the city of Chicago suggest the inland city will soon be facing the same challenge as metropolises along shorelines, of gradually sinking into the water. Financial Times reports that “garages, basements, tunnels and underground transportation systems emit heat into the ground and in a dense area such as the Loop,” causing the ground to expand and contract. The city has already sunk four inches over the last century, FT reports.
Divisible redlining documentary to premier March 1 in Omaha: A groundbreaking documentary that explains “redlining” — lending practices that segregate People of Color — will premiere at the Omaha Film Festival March 1. “Divisible” helps explain redlining by looking at Omaha itself, a popular relocation spot for Blacks leaving the South in the late 1800s, and a city documented to have been shaped through redlining for the first half of the 20th century. The film will debut at 5:45 p.m. Fri., March 1.
“Mental health exceptions” receiving greater focus in abortion policy debates: More states are being asked to look at whether threats posed to the potential mother’s mental health are grounds for exceptions to abortion bans, reports PBS. Iowa is among at least 10 states that do not allow mental health conditions to be considered regarding exceptions to bans on abortions of fetuses older than 20 weeks. States where lawsuits are pressing bans to consider mental health exceptions include Missouri and Alabama. learn more here.
(cover photo features Rich Hendricks courtesy of MCC, “Divisible” documentary cover, and Chicago’s Marina City Towers courtesy of Ken Lund through Wikimedia Commons)
Public hearing today for Iowa TG ID proposal, tax credit pitch in Illinois, business orgs and redlining, the warmest January ever, and the future of cultivated meat
Public hearing today over modified Reynolds proposal regarding transgender identification rules : A public hearing will take place at 5 p.m. today (Monday) over House File 2389, which would focus on biological sex at birth for some government identification , and require gender transition documentation on others. The proposal was advanced to the full House last week by the House Education Committee Tuesday, reports Iowa Capital Dispatch. The panel split on party lines (15 Republicans for, eight Democrats against) in the vote to advance the proposal, after removing a provision that called for Iowa driver licenses to note whether someone had changed genders, reports Iowa Public Radio. Lawmakers removed that provision. The proposed law would still require birth certificates to note gender transitions. It would also categorize “male” and “female,” in settings that include rape crisis centers, domestic abuse shelters, prisons and restrooms, according to biological abilities to produce or fertilize ova. You can listen to the public hearing here. To become law, the bill faces debate and approval in the full House; then debate and approval by the full Senate; followed by the governor’s signature. Any amendments to the bill by either House will require the other House’s approval.
Illinois lawmaker proposes tax credit for those fleeing anti-trans and abortion-restricted states: Whether you’re a transgender person seeking transitionary care, a woman seeking abortion care, a teacher impacted by content restrictions, an Illinois legislator wants you to get a tax credit if you choose Illinois over your existing state, reports The Hill. Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy introduced the tax credit bill this week. The Hill reports that 23 states now have laws that ban gender transition care for minors, and 29 states have limited access to abortion since the 2022 Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that ended Roe V. Wade abortion protections.
Business organizations sue to stop redlining initiative: As the federal Department of Justice continues to stack up settlement agreements over redlining, a coalition of business organizations has sued other U.S. government to stop their efforts to combat redlining, which is the historic practice of creating lending rules that minimize access of some identities to loan funds, writes Insurance Journal. The American Bankers Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Bankers Association are among the groups that filed the suit against the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to stop new rules the groups claim will make it harder, rather than easier, to loan to Blacks and Hispanics.
January was world’s warmest ever: Not only was 2023 the hottest year on record worldwide; January 2024 was also the world’s hottest January on record, reports Nature World News. The world’s average surface air temperature of 13.14 degrees Celsius was 0.70 Celsius degrees warmer than the world’s previous warmest January in 2020, writes Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
Cultivated meat to get a close look: How will cultivated meat, or meat created through cell cultivation rather than slaughter, affect the environment, and farming jobs? What will it require in terms of energy, and waste disposal? A British panel will study these questions and more, reports Vegconomist. Currently, Axios writes, an estimated 150 companies worldwide are producing cultivated meat, which is seen by energy experts and animal welfare advocates as a possible tool in mitigating climate change and animal suffering.
(cover photo features the Iowa State Capitol by Ashton B. Crew, and the Illinois State Capitol, courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
