The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, a day after a white man in Atlanta, Georgia was charged in the shooting deaths of 8 people, 7 of them women. The Violence Against Women Act has been reauthorized numerous times but was never able to pass the U.S. Senate. Interestingly it was initially authored by then-Senator Joe Biden in 1994. The bill protects women against sexual violence, assault, domestic violence, and stalking among other things. Only 29 Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the bill. A whopping 172 voted against it. The GOP opposition is in part based on the National Rifle Association’s opposition to the bill because it targets gun violence against women. 

Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in the Atlanta-area murders of mostly Asian woman, was charged on Wednesday with 8 counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. His first court appearance scheduled for Thursday was abruptly cancelled after his lawyer waived his rights to a reading of the charges. Mr. Long apparently blamed a “sex addiction,” and police echoed that claim, in explaining his actions. But experts say, “There is no scientific consensus that such a diagnosis exists.” Captain Jay Baker, a deputy in the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department, who has come under fire for suggesting that Long was simply having had, “a really bad day” when he allegedly committed the mass murders, has himself been implicated for having anti-Asian racist beliefs. Baker’s social media posts point to him promoting T-shirts with a racist slogan about COVID-19 being an “imported virus from Chy-na.” Meanwhile, Americans gathered to mourn at vigils in several cities across the country linking the murders of the women to a disturbing spike in anti-Asian racism and hate over the past year. While much focus has been on Long, his Southern Baptist faith, and more, very little so far has emerged about the victims of the shootings. The sole survivor of the shootings is a man named Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz. 

In San Francisco, home to a large population of Asian Americans, a day after the shooting a woman in her 70s was assaulted when a white man in his 30s allegedly punched her in the face. But it was the man who ended up in the hospital after the woman fought back and apparently hit him with a piece of wood. President Joe Biden, addressing the trend of anti-Asian attacks said, “I know Asian-Americans are very concerned. Because as you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans for the last couple months, and I think it’s very, very troubling.” But he refused to condemn the Atlanta-area shootings to racism saying,

FEATURING MANUELLA LIBARDI – If we thought presidential election campaigns in the United States were ridiculously long, in Brazil incumbent leader Jair Bolsonaro and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are both getting a head start on the 2022 Presidential race. Lula, who was convicted in a series of corruption charges that he says were politically motivated, has been all but cleared to revive his political career. Charges against the populist left-leaning leader were overturned amid a crisis of massive proportions as the coronavirus rages through Brazil leaving President Bolsonaro in a weakened position. 

Manuella Libardi, Brazilian journalist and the editor for openDemocracy Brasil. Her new article is entitled Lula is Back. 

FEATURING ILYASAH SHABAZZ – Before he was El-Hajj Malik El- Shabazz,​ Malcolm ​X was Malcolm Little, a Black youth in 1940s America. Sentenced to years in prison, as a young man and precursor to the revolutionary he became, Malcolm read books, befriended other prisoners, and reflected deeply on his life. Those formative years are captured in a fictionalized book called The Awakening of Malcolm X, aimed at young readers and written by his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz. 

Ilyasah Shabazz, third daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, is an educator, activist, motivational speaker, and author of multiple award-winning publications, including her books, Betty Before X and X: A Novel. She is also an active advocacy worker and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Her new book, co-authored with Tiffany D. Jackson is a young adult fictionalized biography of her father’s teenage years called The Awakening of Malcolm X.

Eight people were killed, 6 of them Asian, 7 of them women, in a series of deadly shootings on Tuesday aimed at massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia. The first shooting claiming four lives took place at Young’s Asian Massage around 5 pm on Tuesday; following that at 5:47 pm, three women were fatally shot at Gold Spa and then immediately across the street at Aromatherapy Spa another woman was killed. A 21-year old white male named Robert Aaron Long has been taken into custody in connection with the shootings. Atlanta police began immediately promoting a narrative that the suspect was struck by a “sexual addiction.” Sheriff Frank Reynolds of Cherokee County told press, “He made indicators that he has some issues, potentially sexual addiction, and may have frequented some of these places in the past.” Capt. Jay Baker claimed that he saw the spas as “a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate.” But Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms emphasized that the horrific and deadly violence came at the time when the nation was experiencing a spike in anti-Asian hate and racism.  Mr. Long has just been charged with murder. 

On the same day that the deadly shootings took place in Georgia, the group Stop AAPI Hate released its national report on anti-Asian hate over the past year documenting 3,795 incidents, the majority of which involved verbal harassment. More than 10% of all incidents involved physical violence and Asian women were 2.3 times more likely than men to be victims of hate. The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism also released its new report on white supremacist propaganda in 2020 and found a, “huge increase of incidents from the previous year, with a total of 5,125 cases reported … compared to 2,724 in 2019.” It was apparently, “the highest number of white supremacist propaganda incidents ADL has ever recorded.” 

In other news, President Joe Biden for the first time endorsed a reform of the Senate filibuster rules. With 50 Republicans refusing to consider any Democratic legislation the mere threat of a filibuster is enough to derail all bills except those that can be passed in a limited manner through a budget reconciliation process. Now a day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened a “scorched earth” policy against changing the rules, Biden said this in an interview on ABC, saying he supported reverting back to the old style of filibuster where Senators had to command the floor continuously through talking while on their feet and that as soon as they stopped, the bill in question had to move forward. 

In other news, Republicans are fighting to use state-aid in the recently passed American Rescue Plan to fund tax cuts. According to the Washington Post, “Twenty-one Republican state attorneys general on Tuesday threatened to take action against the Biden administration over its new $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, decrying it for imposing ‘unprecedented and unconstitutional’ limits on their ...

FEATURING LAWRENCE O. GOSTIN – The new Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, ordered a review of her agency’s adherence to scientific principles during the Trump years. Her review identified several problematic and politically motivated recommendations that were not based on science. As the CDC attempts to rebuild its tattered reputation in the post-Trump era, new guidance on school reopening is expected based on research showing that 3 feet of social distancing may be just as good as 6. 

In the meantime, a massive vaccine rollout continues to be hampered by confusing tiers, complex online navigation, and inequity in distribution. To top it off, there is widespread vaccine skepticism and Republican-run states are reopening prematurely, posing ever-greater challenges to attaining herd immunity. As Europe struggles with a third surge in infections, can the U.S., with its massive supply of vaccines, avoid the same fate? 

Lawrence O. Gostin is a University Professor, Georgetown University where he directs the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He is also the Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law where he has served in numerous high-level capacities. He also co-chairs the Lancet Commission on Global Health Law and served on two global commissions to report on the lessons learned from the 2015 West Africa Ebola epidemic.

FEATURING TYLER SANDNESS – Rideshare drivers on Tuesday rallied in various cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco in support of the PRO Act, a House bill that just passed that would help workers unionize. Drivers with companies like Uber and Lyft have faced well-funded opposition from their multi-million dollar companies to organize in any way including to be treated as employees. The Washington Post on Tuesday revealed how rideshare drivers received $80 million of Covid-related economic relief even as Uber and Lyft refused to pay into unemployment funds.

Tyler Sandness is a Lyft driver and member organizer for Rideshare Drivers United based in Los Angeles. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week released a review of its Trump-era recommendations that were problematic and not based on scientific evidence. The new CDC head Rochelle Walensky had ordered the review and said in statement on Monday, “It is imperative for the American people to trust CDC. If they don’t, preventable illness and injury can occur — and, tragically, lives can and will be lost.” A large holdover from the previous administration was the skepticism fueled from the highest echelons of government over science and the seriousness of the virus. Now, Republicans are the most vaccine-hesitant group in the United States, posing a particular challenge to President Joe Biden’s administration. Another disturbing trend is how 25% of House Representatives have yet to be vaccinated in spite of having had access to the life-saving shots for months. In other communities of color in particular skepticism toward the medical establishment is also fueling vaccine hesitancy and the New York Times on Tuesday reported that in Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation there are currently more vaccines than people willing to get them. 

Several European nations have paused their rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine developed in conjunction with Oxford university over concerns of potential links to severe blood clots. However, the European Union regulator remains “convinced” that there is no causal link and that any side effects are outweighed by the benefits of the vaccine. The BBC reports that, “the number of blood clots reported is no more than would have been expected to have happened naturally.” Meanwhile the U.S. drug manufacturer Moderna has just begun clinical trials on young children, as little as 6 months old. And China has just approved a fifth new vaccine for use. 

Indigenous groups across the U.S. are celebrating Deb Haaland’s inauguration as head of the Interior Department as the former New Mexico Congresswoman becomes the first Native American Cabinet secretary in history. The U.S. Senate voted 51 to 40 to confirm her with 6 Democrats and 3 Republicans choosing not to vote. Haaland’s opposition to the fossil fuel and particularly the fracking industry is what scares some pro-oil and gas lawmakers and what has thrilled the climate justice movement. 

The U.S. Commerce Department reports that retail sales fell by 3% in February in part due to poor weather and also because December’s stimulus checks were spent and struggling American...

FEATURING CRISTINA BELTRÁN – The issue of immigration in American has always been the focus of controversy, racist rhetoric, and cruel policies. Indeed, this is by design as part of a nation whose origin is built on white supremacy. A new book examines how “migrant suffering sustains white democracy.” In it, author Cristina Beltrán points out that anti-immigrant practices offer nativist Americans, “a legally sanctioned opportunity to impose tyranny over a nonwhite population while still claiming constitutional protections for themselves.”

Cristina Beltrán, associate professor in New York University’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. She is author of The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity. Her latest book is called Cruelty as Citizenship: How Migrant Suffering Sustains White Democracy.

President Joe Biden has picked a top Democratic aide named Gene Sperling to oversee spending of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan designed to lift the economy from the devastation of the pandemic. Sperling had served under both Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as director of the National Economic Council. The President, together with Vice President Kamala Harris are embarking on a tour of the nation called “Help is here,” to promote the benefits of the plan. According to Associated Press, “The White House has detailed a theme for each day, scheduling a focus on small businesses, schools, warding off evictions, and direct checks.” Meanwhile Axios reported that Goldman Sachs economists are predicting an 8% growth of the U.S. economy, which if correct, “would mark the largest economic expansion for the U.S. in generations.” According to Axios, “Not only would 8% annual growth denote a stupendous turnaround from the coronavirus pandemic, it would significantly outpace the firm’s growth expectations for the U.S. from as recently as late 2020.”  To fund the American Rescue Plan, Mr. Biden is planning to raise taxes, which according to a report in The Hill includes, “raising the corporate tax from 21 percent to 28 percent; increasing the income tax rate on people making more than $400,000; expanding the estate tax; paring back tax preferences on pass-through businesses such as limited-liability companies; and setting up a higher capital gains tax rate for individuals making at least $1 million.” 

As vaccinations continue ramping up across the U.S. parent groups are demanding that schools reopen fully after a year of remote education. There were several protests over the weekend in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Their demands were underscored by a new report showing that a year into the pandemic, at least 12 million school-aged children continue to have no access to the internet. Meanwhile a group of scientists say that their research revealed social distancing between children in a school environment does not need to follow the 6-foot guidelines and that 3 feet of space between kids is just as good at preventing Covid-19 infections from spreading. On Sunday, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked about the research on school re-openings on CNN. And a new report has found that the pandemic’s impact on the mental health of young people has been quite serious. A U.S. based non-profit group called Sapien Labs surveyed nearly 50,000 young people in 8 countries and concluded that more than a quarter of them are at risk of being diagnosed with clinical mental health disorders. 

Among the surprising health impacts related to the pandemic are lead poisoning of children. The stay-at-home orders of the past year have result...

FEATURING JOHN BOYD – The newly passed American Rescue Plan, voted on by no Republicans, and signed in to law by President Joe Biden, is a whopping $1.9 trillion relief bill aimed at the financial pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But the bill has numerous provisions that have a longer term goal. One such provision is billions of dollars set aside to assist Black farmers and farmers of color. Black farmers in particular are a historically marginalized group that have lost some 90% of their land over the past century. 

John Boyd, founder and President of the National Black Farmers Association and a fourth-generation farmer from Baskerville, Virginia.