Author: Donovan Bell-Farmer

Donovan Bell-Farmer is a digital intern at Unmutedco.

The bill bans all abortions except those to save the mother’s life in a medical emergency and is on schedule to go in effect at the end of August. What We Know: Republicans intend to put pressure on the Supreme Court to revisit the case Roe v. Wade, which is responsible for legalizing abortion nationwide. Governor Asa Hutchinson recently signed into legislation a law that bans nearly all abortions in the state of Arkansas. Arkansas is one of 14 states where near outright abortions have been banned. Hutchinson signed the bill because of its “overwhelming legislative support and my sincere…

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The checks belong to the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion bill that was recently passed by the Senate on Saturday. What We Know: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has not yet indicated exactly when those payments could be distributed. According to sources, $1.1 trillion of the bill’s budget will be used this year and $459 billion in 2022. A new Quinnipiac poll reveals 68% of U.S adults favor the bill and 24% oppose it. Other details surrounding the bill include payments up to $1,400 per person, $300-per-week in jobless benefits through the summer, and a child…

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The White House announced Monday that they would offer deportation relief and work permits to a number of Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. What We Know: An authoritarian government currently rules Venezuela, and nearly 1.8 million Venezuelan migrants have fled oppressive conditions in their home country. President Nicolas Maduro is currently heading the country, but outside countries, such as the U.S, recognize Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim president. Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S are the fifth most extensive South American group of migrants. The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) policy was issued by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.…

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The two politicians were confirmed into Biden’s cabinet on Wednesday, March 10th. What We Know: Marcia Fudge was given duties to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development while Michael Regan was appointed to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Fudge is an established lawmaker and congresswoman from Ohio and is the first black woman to run the agency in decades. She is the former mayor of Warrensville Heights and a longtime advocate for assistance for the needy. Fudge has valuable experience and has stated that her priority in her new position is protecting the people who have fallen…

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In New York City, students apply to high school during their 8th-grade year. What We Know: A group of NY students is filing a lawsuit against the largest public school system in the U.S They are accusing the system of perpetuating racism by using a flawed admissions process for selective programs that favor white students. One of the lawsuit’s stipulations asks a judge to order the school system to eliminate its current admissions screening process. The segregated programs include the more academically rigorous middle and high schools and gifted & talented programs. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is IntegrateNYC, which…

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Evanston is the first city in the United States to establish reparations and the official bill is due for a vote on March 8th. What We Know: Reparations were first introduced as a promise in early 1865. The goal was to redistribute land in the southeast U.S to formerly enslaved people, but Andrew Johnson later overturned the policy in the same year. Black Americans have had to endure policies designed to keep generational wealth-building out of their reach in the decades following. Evanston is committed to pay up to $10 million over the next decade and current eligible residents will…

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On Friday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) unanimously vetoed a request to cut $16 billion from state power charges. What We Know: During the winter storm that is now being dubbed “one of the worst blackouts in U.S history,” ERCOT raised power prices, giving power plant operators a choice to either increase power or stayed running for five days. Unfortunately, the price increase stayed in place longer than originally intended, meaning it was still in place well after the emergency had passed. The incident that is now being referred to as a “mistake” has garnered up to $16…

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Illinois has implemented a program that offers health coverage to low-income immigrant seniors regardless of their legal status in the U.S. What We Know: This is important because, under federal law, Americans who lack legal status are not eligible for Medicare, Medicaid, or Obamacare enrollment. The bill was signed into law last year, and 2,200 people have enrolled since its institution. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services expects the policy to cover almost 4,600 people statewide. According to Hayley Burgess of the National Immigration Law Center, Illinois is the first state to fully fund a health coverage program that…

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The U.S Department of Homeland Security issued an emergency directive on March 3rd in response to recent cyber attacks deemed unacceptable risks to federal agencies. What We Know: Exchange Server is an enterprise-class collaboration product that primarily focuses on sending, receiving, and storing e-mail messages. Microsoft urges customers to update their Exchange Server in order to patch out vulnerabilities that were most recently exploited by a hacker group called Hafnium. The vulnerabilities in question were first discovered in early January by researchers at a cybersecurity firm called Volexity Inc. Hafnium is suspected as having backing from the Chinese government. Last…

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A senior official at the World Health Organization (WHO) says that despite the ignorance surrounding pandemic expectations, the recent arrival of effective vaccines could assist in dramatically reducing hospitalizations and death. What We Know: Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s emergency program, believes that the world’s only focus should be keeping COVID-19 numbers as low as possible. Ryan has stated in a recent briefing that he believes that we can end hospitalizations and death associated with the pandemic by the end of the year. However, he warns against complacency by asserting that nothing is guaranteed although the virus is…

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