Israeli escalation to lead to explosion: Palestine

Israeli forces kills 3 Palestinians near Jenin

News Service

April 02, 2022

File photo

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday condemned the Israeli killing of three Palestinians in the West Bank, warning that the Israeli escalation risks to explode the situation in the region.

"The dangerous Israeli escalation, which coincided today with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, is strongly rejected and condemned, and it would explode the situation," PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement cited by the state news agency Wafa.

He slammed the Israeli actions as constituting “a flagrant challenge to international legitimacy and international law.”

Abu Rudeina called on Tel Aviv to “stop all these dangerous practices” which threaten security and stability, noting that Jewish extremists still continue to storm the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound hence “creating an atmosphere of tension.”

Israel’s domestic intelligence service Shin Bet said early Saturday that three Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces near the city of Jenin. Four Israeli soldiers were injured in the violence.

An official with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society told Anadolu Agency that Israeli forces seized the bodies of the three dead Palestinians.

For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh described the killings as a "crime” and called on the International Criminal Court to hold accountable those responsible.

In a statement, Shtayyeh called on Israeli leaders to "stop committing crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, respond to their legitimate rights to freedom and independence, end the occupation and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital."

'Unscientific and Unlawful': Biden EPA Will Not Regulate Rocket Fuel Chemical in Water

A boy pours tap water into a drinking glass. On Thursday, the Biden administration announced it will not impose new limits on perchlorate in drinking water. (Photo: Teresa Short/Getty Images)

"The Trump EPA gave perchlorate a pass; it was a bad decision then, and it's a bad decision now," said one environmental advocate.

JULIA CONLEY

April 1, 2022


Public health advocates said Thursday that they plan to resume litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency after the Biden administration announced it would uphold former President Donald Trump's decision to not regulate drinking water levels of a chemical used to make rocket fuel and explosives.

Former President Barack Obama's administration proposed limits for perchlorate after finding in 2011 that drinking water for 16 million people may have unsafe levels of the contaminant, which poses a risk to the development of children and fetuses.

"Tap water across America will remain contaminated by this toxic chemical."

Groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) were outraged when Trump refused to impose the limits, claiming regulation was "not in the public interest." The EPA's announcement this week sparked renewed criticism, with the NRDC calling the decision "unscientific and unlawful."

"The Trump EPA gave perchlorate a pass; it was a bad decision then, and it's a bad decision now," said Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the organization. "Tap water across America will remain contaminated by this toxic chemical, which threatens the brain development of babies in the womb, infants, and young children at extremely low levels."

The Trump administration claimed that 56 parts per billion (ppb) was an acceptable level of perchlorate in drinking water—far higher than limits that Massachusetts and California have imposed at the state level, requiring water to contain no more than two ppb and six ppb, respectively.

Before Thursday's announcement, the American Academy of Pediatrics had called on the EPA to establish the "strongest possible" limits on the chemical.

Exposure to perchlorate has been linked to measurable decreases in IQ in newborns; the chemical interferes with the thyroid gland and stunts the production of hormones needed for proper child development.

High concentrations of perchlorate have been found in at least 26 states, with communities near military bases at high risk for exposure because the chemical is a component in munitions.

The limits proposed by the Obama administration were met with aggressive lobbying by military contractors including Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin and were never imposed. The NRDC sued the EPA after it failed to set new standards, securing a court order requiring the agency to regulate the chemical by 2019.

The group then sued the Trump administration when it announced it would not impose limits, but paused the litigation after Biden won the 2020 election.

The risk sciences department at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said the EPA's decision represents "a step backwards that leaves the states and communities most impacted out there by themselves."

The EPA said that instead of imposing limits, it will develop a plan to clean up detonation sites with very high levels of perchlorate contamination, provide a "web-based toolkit" to advise water systems about perchlorate, and "continue to consider new information on the health effects and occurrence of perchlorate."

According to Olson, "By refusing to establish a standard or water testing requirements, the EPA decision will also keep members of the public in the dark, without even basic information about whether they are being exposed to perchlorate."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Perchlorate - Wikipedia

A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, ClO−4. The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging.^[2] Perchlorate contamination in food, water, and other parts of the environment has been studied in the U.S. because of harmful effects on human health. Perchlorate ions are somewhat toxic to the thyroid gland.

Most perchlorates are colorless solids that are soluble in water. Four perchlorates are of primary commercial interest: ammonium perchlorate NH4ClO4, perchloric acid HClO4, potassium perchlorate KClO4 and sodium perchlorate NaClO4. Perchlorate is the anion resulting from the dissociation of perchloric acid and its salts upon their dissolution in water. Many perchlorate salts are soluble in non-aqueous solutions.

Perchlorate

Perchlorate (ClO4-) is an inorganic compound that occurs naturally in nitrate deposits and potash ore. It may also be present in air, soil, and water as a result of the industrial uses of perchlorate salts (perchlorate combined with another element or compound such as sodium or ammonium) and nitrate fertilizers. Perchlorate salts are primarily used in solid fuels, explosives, fireworks, road flares, air bag inflators, rubber manufacturing, paint and enamel manufacturing and pulp and paper processing. As a result of its ubiquitous presence in the environment, trace amounts of perchlorate may also enter the food chain.

In humans, high doses of perchlorate have been used to treat hyperthyroidism since it has the ability to disrupt the function of the thyroid gland by preventing the uptake of iodine. However, the potential exposure to perchlorate from the diet is expected to be orders of magnitude less than a therapeutic dose.

Health authorities became concerned with perchlorate when it was detected in a number of well water and drinking water supplies across the United States in the 1990s. However, it was mostly detected in water sources in proximity to military areas or perchlorate salt production facilities. Perchlorate has been detected in samples of ground and surface water in Canada, but levels are so low that there would be no human health concern associated with consuming this water. It has also been detected at low levels in certain foods.

Perchlorate

G. Karimi, R. Rezaee, in Encyclopedia of Toxicology (Third Edition), 2014

Water

Perchlorate was sampled in drinking water supplies as part of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) 1, List 1 Assessment Monitoring program. Occurrence data for perchlorate was collected from 3865 public water supplies between 2001 and 2005. Approximately 160 (4.1%) of these systems had at least one analytical detection of perchlorate (in at least one entry/sampling point) at levels ≥4 μg l−1. These 160 systems are located in 26 states and two territories. Approximately 1.9% (or 637) of the 34 331 samples collected by all 3865 public water supplies had positive detections of perchlorate at levels ≥4 μg l−1. The maximum reported concentration of perchlorate, 420 μg l−1, was found in a single surface water sample from a public water supply in Puerto Rico. The average concentration of perchlorate for those samples with positive detections for perchlorate was 9.85 μg l−1 and the median concentration was 6.40 μg l−1. There is limited information on the release of perchlorate to ambient water. Perchlorate may be released to water from its manufacture, processing, or use. Perchlorate may ultimately be released to surface water from the runoff or erosion of sand or soil contaminated with the compound, whereas the percolation of water through contaminated sand or soil could result in perchlorate contaminating groundwater.

Identities divided (Pt. 2): Okinawan Amerasians fight racism, embrace their Black roots


April 2, 2022 

(Mainichi Japan)
Japanese version

Ai Oyafuso, who makes original clothing using local plant dyes and runs a cafe at a market, is seen in Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture, on Feb. 21, 2022. 

(Mainichi/Shinnosuke Kyan)

NAHA -- Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, was under U.S. military rule for 27 years after World War II. Even after its return to Japan in 1972, it has continued to be host to most of the U.S. military bases in the country. Okinawans have rejected the United States' power over their islands, but some children have been caught in the middle: those born between local parents and Americans affiliated with the bases.

The stories of these Amerasians are often painful, laced with prejudice over their appearance and otherness. And the group to suffer the worst of this hateful bullying are those with Black ancestry.



Ai Oyafuso, who makes original clothing using local plant dyes and runs a cafe at a market, is seen in Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture, on Feb. 21, 2022. (Mainichi/Shinnosuke Kyan)

One Amerasian woman in her 50s living in the south of the main island told the Mainichi Shimbun that her father, a U.S. serviceman, had both Black and white roots, though it wasn't obvious from his appearance. Her Okinawan mother did not know he had Black ancestry, and was surprised by her newborn daughter's dark skin tone. Her mother complained that she had been "cursed with bad karma." At age 5, the woman moved in with her maternal grandparents, but was still the target of discrimination outside the home.

At elementary school, when she handed copies to classmates, they told her, "Don't touch them. They'll get dirty," and someone dumped muddy water into her backpack. When locals began protesting U.S. B-52 bombing missions flown over Vietnam from the U.S. military's Kadena Air Base near her home, kids yelled, "B-52 go home!" at the school gate. And sometimes she did.

Once, she bought some U.S.-made bleach with her allowance, dissolved it in the bath and used a brush to scrub herself, trying to turn her skin white. "Won't it get white?" she wondered. She felt like her whole body had been scalded, but her skin stayed dark. She found it increasingly tough to go to school, and she would hide under the bedcovers, crying. "I wanted to run away from the world," she recalled.

After graduating from junior high, she went to a private high school far from her hometown. There, for the first time, she met people who had gone through the same things. "It was like paradise," she said. She continued to face discrimination and prejudice at every turn, including when she got a job and when she was married. However, she also recognized that, "because I went through that hardship, I'm capable of being kind, and strict, with people."

Ai Oyafuso, a 39-year-old living in the Okinawan town of Motobu, has a Black father who was once in the U.S. military. Although she was born after the end of direct U.S. military rule in 1972, since she was young she has still been subjected to painful racist barbs from people she doesn't know. That pain has grown new dimensions as her four children suffer similar experiences.

Several months ago, her eldest daughter's third-grade classmates painted their skin with calligraphy ink and crowed, "We're black!" Her eldest son, in fifth grade, has also been called "gaijin," which literally means "outsider" and is used to refer to foreigners.

"I can ignore words aimed at me. But I cannot tolerate it when they're aimed at my children," she said. She has approached the school and talked with the children responsible for the racist acts as well as their parents, urging them to be open to diversity.

Oyafuso has also joined protests against the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the Henoko district of Nago, also in Okinawa. However, when she hears others speak with open antagonism toward the U.S. military, she feels uncomfortable and out of place. She said, "I've asserted my identity as an 'Uchinanchu' (Okinawan), but society and those around me will not let me be one. I've always been Black in their eyes."

It was the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that rippled through the United States and across the world in 2020 that made her feel more positive. Oyafuso also joined BLM demonstrations near Kadena Air Base with family and friends, holding signs condemning anti-Black racism.

Through creating information pamphlets on Black history and Black Lives Matter, she gradually began to feel good that she'd been born Black. When she was young, Oyafuso used to be insecure about her hair, but she now enjoys styling it with colorful braids.

"I feel much more at ease now than the time I wanted to avoid being seen as a Black person," she said. She said hopefully, "Although society doesn't change easily, I'd like Amerasians to get educated about diversity and live without blaming themselves. After all, it's always the side engaging in the discrimination that is 100% in the wrong."

(Japanese original by Shinnosuke Kyan, Kyushu Photo Department)

Related Articles

Identities divided (Pt. 1): Amerasians recall discrimination, pain growing up in Okinawa

Identities divided (Pt. 3): Amerasian school in Okinawa encourages kids to embrace roots - The Mainichi

'There is no discrimination in Japan': survey results show statement is far from true

2nd-gen. Japanese American reflects on internment camp, slams anti-Asian hate crimes (Pt.1)

 

Iranian short film awarded in US Big Water Film Festival

TEHRAN, Apr. 04 (MNA) – Directed by Alireza Ghasemi, the Iranian short film

 "Better than Neil Armstrong" won the prize of the Audience Favorite at the Big Water Film Festival.

This is the 21st international prize for Ghasemi's short film.

The synopsis of 'Better than Neil Armstrong' reads, "Four kids start their journey to the moon with the mission of finding a mysterious place called The Redland but the gates of Redland are being guarded by a mischievous snake."

Some of the short film's cast includes Asal Shakeri, Golnoosh Ghahremani, Kian Alipanah, Nooshika Khodashenas, and Ilia Hasani.

The Big Water Film Festival takes place on the shores of Lake Superior, in Ashland, Wisconsin and surrounding communities. 

The 14th Annual Big Water Film Festival, shown virtually over eight weeks, is now completed. 

MP/5457815

VIDEO: For the first time in US history, Muslims perform Taraweeh prayers at New York Times Square

Worshippers gather for the Taraweeh prayers at Times Square.

Syed Shayaan Bakht, Gulf Today

In a rare event, hundreds of Muslims gathered and prayed Taraweeh at Times Square in New York on Saturday to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

For the first time in history, Muslims performed the Taraweeh prayer in this iconic place in the United States.

The event organiser told local media that Muslims living in the United States want to celebrate Ramadan in this emblematic place in the heart of New York City to show others that Islam is a peaceful religion.

The organisers said that there is a misconception about Islam.  

“We want to explain our religion to all who don`t know what is it about… Islam is a religion of peace.”

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan — when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk - began at sunrise on Saturday.

Muslims follow a lunar calendar and a moon-sighting methodology can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart.

Ramadan tradition calls for colourful lanterns and lights strung throughout narrow alleys and around mosques in many Middle Eastern countries.

Parents and Students Organize Sit-In in Solidarity with Striking Sacramento Teachers

In Sacramento, parents and students are organizing sit-ins to support their teachers, who are on strike for higher pay and increased staffing

Molly Rosenzweig and Emma Lee 

April 3, 2022

Photo: Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

In an incredible show of solidarity, Sacramento parents and students have organized a sit-in to support striking teachers and support staff. Parents have been camping out at district headquarters in the Serna Center, calling for the school board to meet with teachers and reach an agreement. They are watching movies and playing board games, and have vowed to continue the sit-in until the district takes action. These community-led tactics demonstrate the interconnectedness between teachers and their communities.

Since March 23, 4,000 educators in Sacramento have been on strike demanding higher pay in pace with inflation, increased staffing in their schools, no cuts to health benefits, and improved support for students. These educators and staff have gone without pay since the strike began and many of the lowest-paid staff members are struggling to make ends meet. Yet these workers are holding out and keeping up the fight, keenly aware that their fight is not only their own, but also that of their students and community.

On the first day of their strike, at least 25,000 people gathered in support. On Thursday, 80 teachers and staff members took over the district office’s cafeteria, vowing to stay put until the district met and negotiated a contract. On Friday, members of the workers’ bargaining team waited for ten hours to be joined by the district bargaining team.

Did you know Left Voice has a podcast? Listen to All That’s Left on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Parents April Ybarra and Amber Verdugo have been leaders in the sit-in efforts, and gave moving speeches on Saturday showing their unwavering commitment to the struggle. Ybarra, who has been camping out in solidarity with the teachers, talked about how it was her teachers who helped her find her voice in an educational system designed to fail her. “We are tired,” she shouted, “but we are not defeated!” In a powerful moment, the workers voted unanimously to admit Ybarra and Verdugo to the negotiation team.

The chants from the picket line reflect a deep hatred toward the Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jorge Aguilar. Aguilar, whose salary exceeds $400,000 and has very little classroom experience, has refused to show up to the bargaining table for the past three years. Aguilar reportedly refused to meet with teachers over strike talks, even at the request of California Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The capitalist system is responsible for creating the overwhelming and understaffed working conditions at schools. There is never enough money for education, but there is always enough room in the budget to fund the police.

Sacramento City Unified School District is short staffed by 250 regular teachers and 100 substitute teachers. Students are dismayed at the lack of help that their teachers have if they become sick or need to take a day off. Phoenix Leri, a high school senior in the district, told Associated Press, “It’s a struggle for [teachers] to find someone to stand in and help our class. It’s honestly kind of jarring, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 have been negotiating a contract with the district since 2019, and have been negotiating Covid-related issues since 2020. The pandemic has laid bare the contradictions faced by education workers: they are both indispensable to their communities, yet treated by their districts as expendable, as evidenced by nearly two years of unsafe reopening plans and massive budget cuts, including staff lay-offs. While teachers have been contracting Covid due to unsafe reopenings, now the district wants to make current and retired teachers pay hundreds more to keep a non-HMO health plan.

Larry Ferlazzo, a well-known English and social studies teacher in Sacramento, described district leaders’ indefensible decision to use Covid funds to opt for occasional one-time “bonuses” or “stipends,” while refusing to permanently increase staff wages, despite projections of increased state and local funding. Instead, funds were used to boost salaries of high-level administrators while there are unfilled teacher positions at just about every school, sub positions go unfilled, and already stressed staff are forced to cover classes during their free periods. Other districts have chosen to hoard funds rather than use them to hire much needed staff.

As we have also seen in Minneapolis, education workers have been taking the lead and are showing us how to fight back. Minneapolis students also organized a several-day sit-in in solidarity with teachers. And like their Minneapolis counterparts, Sacramento education workers, parents, students, and community members refuse to be pitted against each other and know their fight is one and the same. As they have been shouting in Sacramento: “When we fight, kids win!”

Both Sacramento and Minneapolis teachers are showing what it means to stand united with all of one’s co-workers, whether represented by the same union or not. In Minneapolis, teachers were standing side by side with the lowest-paid educational support professionals. In Sacramento, teachers are also fighting for support staff. As Ferlazzo wrote in his op-ed in Education Week, “teacher and custodian and paraprofessional and bus driver and school secretary working conditions are student learning conditions.”

The sub-par working conditions for education workers are not just a problem in Minneapolis or in Sacramento. A recent poll found that over half of teachers are considering quitting their jobs. Sacramento and Minneapolis are just the beginning. Unions across the country need to mobilize to make this fight a success and help teachers fight to defend public education nationwide. Leaders from teachers’ organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and support staff unions need to go all out and financially support the striking teachers. And we, as the working class, must put pressure on our unions to stand in solidarity with striking teachers across the country, and make our voices heard on the streets.

To support these striking teachers, contribute to the SEIU GoFundMe.

Fox​ viewers are less likely to believe lies after being paid to watch CNN for 30 days: study

Sarah K. Burris
April 03, 2022

Screengrab.

A groundbreaking new study paid viewers of the Fox News Network to watch CNN for 30 days. What they found is that the viewers ultimately became more skeptical and less likely to buy into fake news. The early impacts, after just three days, showed that the viewers were already starting to change.

The findings of the study, written by David E. Brockman and Joshua L. Kalla, explained that the experiment used content analysis comparing the two networks during Sept. 2020.

"During this period, the researchers explained that "CNN provided extensive coverage of COVID-19, which included information about the severity of the COVID-19 crisis and poor aspects of Trump's performance handling COVID-19. Fox News covered COVID-19 much less," said the study. The coverage of COVID-19 it did offer provided little of the information CNN did, instead giving viewers information about why the virus was not a serious threat. On the other hand Fox News extensively but highly selectively covered racial issues, and its coverage of these issues provided extensive information about Biden and other Democrats' supposed positions on them and about outbreaks of violence at protests for racial justice in American cities. CNN provided little information about either. The networks both covered the issue of voting by mail, but again dramatically different information about it (in addition to offering different frames)."

"It's far from obvious," they surmised, that viewing different networks would affect the beliefs and attitudes of the viewer. In fact, It wasn't so much that viewers were tuning in because they already felt that way, their attitudes were actually being formed from the Fox network.

The Fox viewers were nearly all very conservative and strong Republicans, the study explained. "Of 763 qualifying participants, we then randomized 40 percent to treatment group. To change the slant of their media diet, we offered treatment group participants $15 per hour to watch 7 hours of CNN per week, during Sept. 2020, prioritizing the hours at which participants indicated they typically watched Fox News."

At the three-day mark, the viewers took a survey. "We found large effects of watching CNN instead of Fox News on participants' factual perceptions of current events (i.e., beliefs) and knowledge about the 2020 presidential candidates' positions," they found. They discovered changes in attitudes about Donald Trump and Republicans as well as a large effect on their opinions about COVID.

The viewers also evolved to believe that if Donald Trump made a mistake, "Fox News would not cover it—i.e., that Fox News engages in partisan coverage filtering."

The findings might suggest that the most cost-effective way for Democrats to win elections is to start running their own infomercials or commercials on the Fox networks.

While the report is 126 pages long, the first five explain the full findings.

National Park Service's oldest active ranger Betty Reid Soskin retires - just months after turning 100 years old

She was hired at age 84 and worked for more than 15 years as a park ranger at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in California

She also worked for the U.S. Air Force in a segregated union auxiliary in 1942, called the Boilermakers Union

A big part of her life was to voice the role of black women during the conflict

In 1945, Soskin and her first husband founded one of the first black-owned record stores in the San Francisco area

In 2015, Soskin received a presidential coin from President Barack Obama, who also congratulated her after learning about her retirement

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and ALASTAIR TALBOT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED:  3 April 2022

The nation's oldest active park ranger is hanging up her Smokey hat at the age of 100 after only starting to work for the National Park Service at 84-years-old to tell the ‘untold stories’ of Black people’s efforts during World War Two.

Betty Reid Soskin retired Thursday after more than 15 years at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California, the National Park Service announced.

Soskin 'spent her last day providing an interpretive program to the public and visiting with coworkers,' a Park Service statement said.

She led tours at the park and museum honoring the women who worked in factories during wartime and shared her own experience as a Black woman during the conflict. She worked for the U.S. Air Force in a segregated union auxiliary in 1942, called the Boilermakers Union A-36 and was responsible for filing change of address cards for the workers, who moved frequently.

'Being a primary source in the sharing of that history – my history – and giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling,' Soskin said in the Park Service statement. 'It has proven to bring meaning to my final years.'

Betty Reid Soskin, the National Park Service's (NPS) oldest active ranger ever, retired on March 31 after a decade and a half of sharing her personal experiences and the efforts of women from diverse backgrounds who worked on the World War II


President Barack Obama greeted Betty Reid Soskin and awarded her with a presidential coin for her civil rights and National Parks service at a Christmas tree lighting in Washington in 2015

Soskin won a temporary Park Service position at the age of 84 in 2007 and became a permanent Park Service employee in 2011. She celebrated her 100th birthday last September.

'Betty has made a profound impact on the National Park Service and the way we carry out our mission,' Director Chuck Sams said. 'Her efforts remind us that we must seek out and give space for all perspectives so that we can tell a more full and inclusive history of our nation.'

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, whose role includes responsibilities such as managing use of public lands and maintaining national parks among many others, paid tribute to the ranger after more than 15 years as a member of the National Park Service.

'Park Ranger Betty Reid Soskin has been a trailblazer for women and the Park Service,' she tweeted. 'After countless tours at @RosieRiveterNPS and millions of smiles, today she is retiring. On behalf of @Interior, thank you, Betty, for your service. You will be missed'

Secretary Deb Haaland, who oversees the National Park Service and its natural parks, thanked Soskin for her 15 years as a ranger, saying she contributed to 'millions smiles'
Betty Reid Soskin speaks at Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center

Soskin was born Betty Charbonnet in Detroit in 1921 but recalled surviving the devastating Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 while living with her Creole family in New Orleans, according to the Park Service biography.

Her family then moved to Oakland, California, and Soskin remained in the San Francisco Bay Area, where in 1945 she and her first husband founded one of the first Black-owned record stores in the area, the biography said. The couple and their children encountered considerable racism, and she was the subject to death threats after they built a home in a white suburb.

She also was a civil rights activist and took part in meetings to develop a general management plan for the Home Front park. She has received several honors.

She was named California Woman of the Year in 1995.




Prior to becoming a park ranger at the age of 84, Soskin worked as a file clerk during World War II and also founded a record record in Berkeley, California, specializing in Gospel music


Soskin worked in a segregated unit of the Boilmakers union (pictured), during World War II with other black women who were responsible for filing workers' documentation

In 2015, Soskin received a presidential coin from President Barack Obama after she lit the National Christmas tree at the White House.

Upon learning the veteran ranger's retirement on Thursday, the former President tweeted: 'I heard Betty Reid Soskin is retiring at 100, and want to congratulate her for more than a decade of service as a National Park Ranger.'

'Betty, I hope you realize just how many people appreciate everything you’ve done—myself included,' he added.

In June 2016, she was awakened in her home by a robber who punched her repeatedly in the face, dragged her out of her bedroom and beat her before making off with the coin and other items.

Soskin, then 94, recovered and returned to work just weeks after the attack. The coin was replaced.

Soskin also was honored with entry into the Congressional Record. Glamour Magazine named her woman of the year in 2018.

President Obama congratulated Soskin for her public service after learning about her decision to retire on March 31, noting that

After learning about her retirement, Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has previously represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Brianna Taylor, said on Twitter:

'The oldest active National Park Service ranger, Betty Soskin, has retired at the age of 100! She's been a source of inspiration for many Black girls and has done an outstanding job at the Rosie the Riveter Park! We wish her a joyous & peaceful retirement!'

The National Park Service also paid tribute to its highly-regarded employee and congratulated her after a 'remarkable career.'

The governmental agency announced that it will host an event to celebrate Soskin's retirement on April 16 in Richmond, California, at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Pak.












Other influential figures, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, and environmental friendly organizations also took to Twitter to congratulate the centenarian

RENT INCREASES = INFLATION

States clash over rental assistance as the federal government reallocates funds




By —Michael D. Regan

NPR

Nation 

Apr 3, 2022 


In her office at a nonprofit in central Nebraska, Karen Rathke routinely encounters residents still stung by the pandemic and hoping to get help with their rent.

Rathke, president of the Heartland United Way, was hoping to tap into an additional $120 million in federal Emergency Rental Assistance to help them. But that money, part of what’s known as ERA2, is at risk after Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts said he doesn’t want it.

Many other states have in recent months returned tens of millions of dollars in unused rental assistance because they have so few renters — but only Nebraska has flat out refused the aid.

“I’m very concerned about not having anything,” Rathke said of the federal money, which can be allocated over the next three years for everything from rent to services preventing eviction to affordable housing activities.

“All these nonprofits, when people come to them asking for help, the bucket will be empty,” she said. “It is hard to tell people no, to tell people that we don’t have the funds to help them.”

READ MORE: California lawmakers agree to help cover some unpaid rent

The debate is playing out across the country as the Treasury Department begins reallocating some of the $46.5 billion in rental assistance from places slow to spend to others that are running out of funds.

States and localities have until September to spend their share of the first $25 billion allocated, known as ERA1, and the second $21.55 billion, known as ERA2, by 2025. So far, Treasury says $30 billion has been spent or allocated through February.

Treasury announced earlier this month that over $1 billion of ERA1 funds would be moved, for a total of $2.3 billion reallocated this year. Larger states like California, New York, New Jersey and Texas are getting hundreds of millions of dollars in additional money. Native American tribes, including the Oglala Sioux Lakota in South Dakota and Chippewa Cree in Montana, are also receiving tens of millions of dollars in additional help.

Those losing money are almost all smaller Republican states with large rural populations and fewer renters. Many were slow to spend their share as required by program rules, so they either voluntarily returned money or had it taken. Some, like South Dakota, Wyoming and New Hampshire, unsuccessfully pitched to use the money for other things like affordable housing.

Treasury officials, housing advocates and many Republican governors argue there is still plenty of money to help renters in these states and that the reallocation gets money where it’s most needed. Montana, for example, returned $54.6 million but still has $224.5 million. West Virginia returned more than $42.4 million but still has $224.7 million, according to Treasury.

READ MORE: Across the U.S., rents at ‘insane’ levels with no relief in sight

“We are trying to reallocate the best we can,” said Gene Sperling, who is charged with overseeing implementation of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package. “This is a balancing act, but one that is rooted in commitment to getting the most funds to the most people in need as possible.”

North Dakota returned $150 million of its $352 million, saying it couldn’t effectively spend all the money by the deadline. The state believes the remaining funds are sufficient to meet the needs of those who are eligible.

Some Democratic lawmakers disagree.

“Outrageous and unacceptable: turning back rental assistance funds when applications are piling up and people are being evicted,” tweeted Democratic Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, of Fargo.

South Dakota was forced to return more than $81 million — though more than $9 million went to Native American tribes in the state. Gov. Kristi Noem suggested the money was not necessary, adding: “Our renters enjoy something even better than government hand-outs: a job.”

But Democratic Sen. Reynold Nesiba said there was a lack of awareness about the rental assistance and criticized the state for not doing more to promote it. He pointed to a $5 million tourism advertising campaign that was paid for with coronavirus relief funds and questioned why that level of promotion didn’t happen for pandemic relief programs.

Meanwhile, organizations that are helping administer the rental assistance still available expect a continued need. The state has long faced a run on affordable housing, which has only been exacerbated during the pandemic.

“Housing costs are just too high,” said Sandy Miller, who coordinates the rental assistance program for an organization called Community Action in the western half of South Dakota. “It’s harder for them to get in a home, it’s harder for them to stay in their home.”

Several states argued the reallocation addresses a flaw in the program, which created a funding formula based on population, not the number of renters in a state.

“Congress … did not take into consideration Wyoming’s small population, income levels, actual renters’ needs, and that the majority of Wyoming households — 70% — are owner occupied,” said Rachel Girt, the state’s rental assistance communication coordinator, after the state returned $164 million out of $352 million. Another $2.8 million was shifted to the Northern Arapaho Tribal Housing Program and Eastern Shoshone Housing Authority.

Josh Hanford, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, noted that the $352 million it received far surpassed the $25 million given to Memphis, which has a similar population.

“As long as we’re able to serve all our eligible households, hopefully folks will see that there is greater need in other parts of the country that have received a lot less assistance per household,” Hanford said when asked about the state returning $31 million.

In Nebraska, the loss of funds is projected to hit rural areas hardest.

READ MORE: States, cities running out of rental assistance funds

The state program already reallocated $85 million of its $158 million in ERA1 to its biggest cities of Omaha and Lincoln and their respective counties. It still has nearly $30 million. Without the additional $120 million in ERA2 money, an analysis by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center on Children, Families and the Law found that tenants in Omaha and Lincoln will still have help after September, but those in other counties will not.

Ricketts, the Nebraska governor, defended the decision not to take the additional money.

The state “has received and distributed an unprecedented amount of federal funding to help Nebraskans weather the storm over these past two years,” he wrote in an opinion column. “But at a certain point, we must acknowledge that the storm has passed and get back to the Nebraska Way. We must guard against becoming a welfare state where people are incentivized not to work and encouraged to rely on government handouts well after an emergency is over.”

But housing advocates say his decision will leave many vulnerable tenants without a lifeline. Tenants in rural areas often have access to fewer resources, including affordable housing, internet access and reliable transport.

Lawmakers passed a bill last month requiring the state to apply for the money. But Ricketts vetoed the bill, saying the state “must guard against big government socialism.” If lawmakers don’t override his veto, the money is likely to be reallocated by Treasury to other states.

“We know from communities across Nebraska that the need is not only there, but is fairly severe,” said Erin Feichtinger, director of policy and advocacy for the social service agency Together.

“There is really no good reason to pass up these funds. It’s money that is allocated to Nebraskans,” she said. “Nothing bad will happen if we accept this funding, but lots of bad things can if we don’t.”

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Associated Press reporters Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Lisa Rathke in Marshfield, Vermont, contributed.

Biden faces rising pressure on student loans with deadline looming

BY ALEX GANGITANO AND ARIS FOLLEY 

- 04/03/22 

President Biden is in a difficult position on student loans ahead of the midterms, as pressure builds from borrowers and Democrats for widespread cancellation.

Adding to the pressure is a key deadline: On May 1, millions of borrowers will have to pay unless a freeze on federal student loan payments put in place during the pandemic is extended.

Biden has been called on to extend the freeze until the next year — beyond the midterms.

But advocates for forgiveness, along with key Democrats, want more than another freeze.

“We’ve been saying for years now that we need to keep payments on pause until we cancel student debt,” said Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center (SDCC).

Biden last extended the suspension in December. Loan payments were first paused in March 2020 under former President Trump, and have since been extended five times.

A growing number of Democrats are calling for a new extension, ramping up pressure on the White House.

“I’m hopeful that the president is going to take action,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told The Hill this week. “It is something that is extraordinarily popular, not just with people with student loans, but families of people going to college.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said a decision needs to be made before May. She said the administration will “factor the impacts of economic data on ranges of groups of people, including students.”

In 2020, Biden was one of a number of Democratic presidential candidates who called for widespread cancellation of federal student loans.

The number of student borrowers has risen sharply over the past two decades. According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, federal student debt has grown seven times over, from $187 billion to $1.4 trillion, between 1995 and 2017.

The Federal Reserve estimated last year that roughly $1.7 trillion in student loan debt had been racked up by borrowers nationwide.

Biden in the campaign supported forgiving at least $10,000 in federal student loans per person. Others, including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), have pressed for $50,000 per borrower or to cancel debt entirely.

Democrats are warning that inaction could cost them in November, when the party will try to hold on to House and Senate majorities.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has called on Biden to wipe out “all student debt” in the past, said this week she thinks “inaction is going to be really dangerous for us in the midterms.”

“Enthusiasm is really low,” Omar said of Democratic voters. She added that “it’s important to listen to the people who have sent us to represent them and then us, and I know that student debt cancellation is a priority.”

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) last month called for extending the freeze until 2023. Since then, nearly 100 Democrats across both chambers have also pushed for the extension, citing inflation loan-holders are facing.

“We’re definitely hearing from borrowers who will be changing their voting preferences and maybe not even voting because of the failure to see student loan cancellation passed,” said Cody Hounanian, SDCC’s executive director.

Leaders of the House Progressive Caucus raised the issue with Biden in a sit-down on Wednesday. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who attending the meeting, said members discussed potential next steps, including “possible cancellation, possible extension of some of the programs that we’re already doing and repayments.”

“The president’s very cognizant that this is important to a lot of people who are just trying to get by and the good news is we had a really great conversation on that and a whole lot of other, I think, essential pocketbook issues,” he said.

Biden in April requested a memo from the Department of Education to determine his authority to cancel student debt through executive action. Since then, the administration has not publicly announced if the memo is complete.

The White House, when asked for comment, pointed to the “breathing room” the pause has given to borrowers. It also noted that no one has paid any federal student loans since Biden took office.

“The Education Department will continue working to ensure a smooth transition to repayment in May. The president supports Congress providing $10,000 in debt relief. And he continues to look into what debt relief actions can be taken administratively,” a White House official said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education told The Hill that alleviating the burden of student debt is a critical priority. The administration is “committed to providing needed relief and meeting our ultimate goal of permanently making college more affordable,” the spokesperson added.

The department said it will keep communicating with servicers and borrowers about repayment updates.

The Biden administration reportedly told companies in recent weeks to not send out notices about student loan payments resuming.

​​Council of Economic Advisers Member Jared Bernstein acknowledged that student loan borrowers “face real challenges making debt payments,” when asked during the White House press briefing on Friday if borrowers are prepared to resume payments.

Bernstein also noted that White House chief of staff Ron Klain has previously “leaned into that” question. Klain signaled in early March that the White House would extend the freeze on student loan payments.

But advocates contend more action is needed.

“If Biden restarts payments on May Day we know that nearly 8 million people will be pushed into default,” said Thomas Gokey, organizer with the Debt Collective.

“We don’t need to pause this crisis, we need to end it. Biden can cancel all federal student loans with a signature,” he added.