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☆ You may experience a 'mysterious disappearance’ on Halloween — and insurance probably won't pay for it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Renters and homeowners insurance claims related to a "mysterious disappearance" increased by 5% on Halloween and 3% on Mischief Night, which is the night before Halloween, according to Travelers Insurance claims data from 2011 to 2021. Some have clauses that explicitly deny payment in cases of such a "mysterious disappearance." Why 'named perils' matter in insurance coverageHowever, you're not necessarily in the clear just because your policy doesn't explicitly omit a "mysterious disappearance." When it comes to personal property, insurance generally only covers renters and homeowners for a "named peril," Griffin said. So-called all-risk policies or open perils policies, by contrast, cover any event the policy doesn't specifically exclude.

☆ Asian Americans had the highest rate of mail-in voting in 2020. New laws could block that progress.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Claire Wang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Buoyed by the expansion of by-mail voting and grassroots organizing, a record 4 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders voted in the 2020 presidential election and swung key races in contested states. The provision triggered a record number of rejected ballots during the state’s March primary, with Asian Americans facing the highest rejection rate among all racial groups. Lily Trieu, interim executive director of the advocacy group Asian Texans for Justice, said the finding isn’t surprising because the state has conducted little voter education and outreach in Asian languages. In Georgia, where record turnout from Asian American voters helped Biden secure the presidency, lawmakers passed legislation last year that targeted by-mail voting. “A few percentage points of Asian American voters could swing the vote in state House and Senate districts,” Ly said.

☆ Students demand Penn State cancel on-campus comedy show featuring Proud Boys founder: 'They're on the wrong side'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Isabella Zavarise | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Students at Penn State want the administration to cancel an event with the founder of the Proud Boys. The Proud Boys have been labeled a terrorist organization by the Canadian government. He told Insider he's grateful Penn State is following through with upholding the First Amendment and said he wants the protestors there. When asked by Insider whether Penn State would provide comment on students' demands the event be canceled, the university reiterated the First Amendment. "Penn State is really fighting a losing battle on this one.

☆ Snapchat's disappearing message function helped teenagers obtain fentanyl with deadly consequences, lawsuit argues
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Snapchat's disappearing messages helped teenagers to obtain the drug fentanyl, a lawsuit stated. A Snap spokesperson said several allegations in the complaint appeared to be "wholly inaccurate." The lawsuit stated that Snapchat is marketed to minors, and that the erasing messages function encourages drug dealers to use the social media app. A Snap spokesperson told Insider "several allegations in the complaint appear to be wholly inaccurate," but did not give further details. One of the parents' lawyers, Laura Marquez-Garrett of the Social Media Victims Law Center, previously led a lawsuit against Meta alleging Instagram caused eating disorders among children.

☆ Major gun safety group turns its attention to sheriff races with new ads
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Seitz-Wald-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The country’s largest gun safety group is turning its attention down ballot by pumping money into local sheriff races this election. Everytown for Gun Safety, the massive gun control group founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told NBC News on Friday it's “leaving no stone unturned in the fight to end gun violence” and will spend $300,000 on digital ads in two sheriff races this year. County sheriffs, unlike most law enforcement officers, are directly elected by voters in most parts of the country. “Sheriffs are elected to enforce the law, not make them,” said John Feinblatt, head of Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund. The Bernalillo County race in New Mexico race falls along more familiar partisan lines.

☆ 'It's a disastrous situation': Women leaders are leaving companies at the highest rate ever
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate ever, and the gap between women and men in senior roles quitting their jobs is the largest it's ever been, according to new data from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company, which started tracking these numbers in 2015. Women are still struggling to climb the corporate ladderMore than half (58%) of women under 30 say career advancement has become more important to them over the past two years, compared to 31% of women leaders. What's more, women leaders are twice as likely as men leaders to be mistaken for someone more junior — and 37% of women leaders have had a co-worker receive credit for their idea, compared to 27% of men leaders. "It's a disastrous situation … you're not promoting enough women into the leadership ranks, and now you have more women leaving leadership roles," Thomas says. "In a world where women remain dramatically underrepresented in senior leadership, those two problems together create a pretty awful one-two punch for companies trying to hold on to women leaders."

☆ Ye’s graveyard of hate: What Kanye West’s agreement to purchase Parler actually means
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —After being locked out of his Twitter and Instagram accounts for anti-semitic posts, Monday’s announcement Kanye West will buy the far-right social platform Parler for an undisclosed amount drove headlines. As of press time, the music icon had just 10,000 followers on the platform — a tiny sliver of the 31 million followers he has amassed on Twitter. (By comparison Twitter, also a small social platform compared to giants like Meta, has more than 237 million daily active users.) In truth, West did not even agree to purchase a “conservative social media platform,” as many headlines in the press would have led readers to believe. What he agreed to purchase is a platform with an embarrassingly small user base comprised of far-right extremists and racists.

They also note that adjustable rate mortgages and other atypical home loans make up a much smaller percentage of total mortgages than what was seen during the 2008 crash. But consumer advocates and others close to the real estate industry warn that homebuyers could still find themselves in a precarious financial position when their mortgage interest rates reset and they find their monthly payments going up. “We are watching anxiously as we see more interest in these alternative mortgage products that often seem to involve some sort of initial teaser interest rate and the interest rate is going to go up,” said Sarah Mancini, a staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. “Now, they are feeling like, 'Oh, God, higher interest rates are coming, we want to jump on it, we don’t want to miss it again,'" said Holeman. In marketing material, mortgage brokers often suggest that buyers can refinance after the two-year period, suggesting rates will go down in the near future.

☆ Los Angeles’ Nury Martinez’s shocking anti-Black remarks hurt at the deepest level
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Amir Whitaker | Amir Whitaker Is Senior Policy Counsel With The Aclu Of Southern California. Before Joining The Aclu | Whitaker Represented Students | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Many of us in Los Angeles are still in shock from the recently leaked audio recording of politicians spewing racist and hateful language. It laid bare the true colors of four of the most influential Latinx leaders in the country, whose collective power affects nearly 4 million Angelenos. But this is Los Angeles, one of the most diverse cities in the world. Hearing a public servant in one of the most powerful seats in our city government fantasize about committing violence against a Black child was extremely troubling. I get anxious just thinking about having to explain to my Black child what they need to know to survive in America.

☆ Violence, chauvinism, and no masturbation allowed: 'We Are Proud Boys' details the 4 tiers of membership in the extremist group
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A new book, "We Are Proud Boys," details the four tiers of membership in the extremist organization. The top Proud Boy tier requires an arrest or a "serious violent fight," per founder Gavin McInnes. "The Proud Boys' actions," notes the Southern Poverty Law Center, "belie their disavowals of bigotry: Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists." While Proud Boys are encouraged to boast of their membership, obfuscation is an essential part of being in the group. Tarrio was not in DC the day of the attack but, prosecutors allege, helped direct his fellow Proud Boys' actions from afar.

☆ CPS workers search millions of homes a year. A mom who resisted paid a price.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Eli Hager | Eli Hager Is A Reporter For Propublica Covering Issues Affecting Children | Teens In The Southwest. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Ferguson, a nurse working 16-hour double shifts, knew instantly who she’d find in her hallway that day in February 2019. A domestic violence survivor who previously lived in a shelter, Ferguson had never been accused of child abuse, ACS case records show. But many parents don’t know that they have the right to deny these government agents or don’t push back for fear of losing their children, according to parents and their advocates. It’s a staggering reality — likely millions of warrantless searches a year — and one that has not been reported before. Ferguson believes her constitutional rights were violated that day at her apartment, and is now suing New York City in federal court.

☆ University of Florida students protest against Ben Sasse’s anti-LGBTQ past
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Hundreds of University of Florida students held protests this week criticizing the anticipated appointment of Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., to lead the school. Sasse has said that as university president, he would do his best to represent the views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students. But for some, his candidacy has called to mind the university’s anti-LGBTQ history and the extent to which many of them feel it continues to sideline their needs and experiences, four LGBTQ students told NBC News. The university’s LGBTQ+ Affairs office, for example, has a high staff turnover rate, he said. He said a “silver lining” of the protests was that many LGBTQ students made their concerns more widely known.

☆ The Teen Mental Health Industry Is Failing Them - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Alexander Stockton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +26 min

Sometimes they are treated in ways that are illegal to treat prisoners, let alone kids seeking mental health treatment. But former patients from residential treatment facilities whom Times Opinion interviewed said they received one-on-one therapy only once a week, if that. The company owns dozens of hospitals and hundreds of behavioral health facilities and makes about $11 billion a year. In 2017, when he was 15 years old, his mother, Renee Hanania, sent him to a UHS facility in Virginia. America’s patchwork mental health treatment is still insufficient.

☆ How structural racism plays a role in lowering credit scores
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Nathaniel Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Credit scores, which represent how likely a person is to pay his or her bills, affects almost every aspect of an American's financial life. "Credit scores are based on past performance," said Aaron Klein, senior fellow in economic studies at The Brookings Institute. Forty-two percent of Americans said their credit scores prevented them from accessing financial products like credit cards or loans. "If the information is not on a credit report, it is systematically impossible for your credit score to be influenced by it," said John Ulzheimer, a longtime expert in the credit industry. Watch the video to find out more about how credit scores can help — and hurt — consumers.

☆ Alabama’s arguments in voting rights case are rooted in white supremacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-08 | by ( Bradley E. Heard | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Stripping away the right of communities of color to equal representation is just the latest effort by anti-voter politicians to destroy voting rights in America. Just 16 years ago, the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized unanimously by the Senate and signed into law by President George W. Bush. Now, politicians are showing that they do not want Black communities to have a fair voice in government by blocking any attempt to restore federal protections for voting rights, such as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. This ongoing assault on voting rights calls for a renewal of the civil rights movement. We must stand against politicians who wish to strip away our democracy and threaten our voting rights.

☆ Chief Justice Roberts is in the spotlight as the Supreme Court tackles race cases
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | Lawrence Hurley Covers The Supreme Court For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

As chief justice, Roberts was in the majority on both occasions when the court in previous cases weakened the Voting Rights Act, enacted in 1965 to protect minority voters. A 1981 memo written by Roberts about the Voting Rights Act. Then, he unsuccessfully advocated against legislation in Congress that lowered the barriers to bringing race discrimination claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. A 1981 memo written by Roberts advocating against legislation in Congress that would lower the barriers for race discrimination claims. “That would be devastating for minority voting rights in this country,” she added.

The Supreme Court in June announced it would hear the case in its new term, which begins on Monday. This showed the increasing willingness of its 6-3 conservative majority take on divisive issues as it steers the court on a rightward path. According to Irv Gornstein, executive director of Georgetown University Law Center's Supreme Court Institute, Kavanaugh now wields outsized influence over the speed and limits of the court's rightward shift. In its most recent term, there were 14 rulings decided on a 6-3 tally with the conservative justices on one side and the liberals on the other. The court appears likely to continue to take up cases particularly important to conservatives, Feldman said.

There is “no better time to be a young woman of color” than right now, Pierre-Bravo emphasized, “because the tide is shifting. In 2019, Pierre-Bravo teamed up with her mentor Mika Brzezinski to co-author “Earn It!” a book aimed at helping young women navigate their careers. During the pandemic, Pierre-Bravo created Acceso, an online platform dedicated to opportunity and mentorship for young women. According to Maria Chávez, professor of political science at Pacific Lutheran University, it is not uncommon for professional Latinas to feel stress both in the workplace and at home. With “The Other,” Pierre-Bravo hopes that young women can benefit from her journey and learn how to move ahead.

☆ The White House calls a lawsuit to block student loan forgiveness 'baseless' because anyone can opt out of relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A conservative legal organization sued the Education Department over Biden's debt relief plan. It's the first major lawsuit against the Biden administration's announcement that it would forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000. "The claim is baseless for a simple reason: No one will be forced to get debt relief. Anyone who does not want debt relief can choose to opt out," Abdullah Hassan, White House assistant press secretary, said in a statement to Insider. Because opponents of the debt relief plan are trying anything they can to stop this program that will provide needed relief to working families."

☆ Biden made a major dent in the student debt crisis — and it's time he does the same for the growing medical debt load in the US, attorneys and advocates say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

America's medical debt problem has parallels to the student debt crisis, experts told Insider. But experts on medical debt say that student loans are just one piece of a household debt crisis, which debilitates millions of Americans. Haynes also noted that younger adults are more likely to hold student debt, medical debt, or both. Lawsuits for medical debt are more common than those for student debt, but both transpire. Haynes pointed out that much of medical debt is paid using credit cards, which means it doesn't register as medical debt — it's anonymized as credit card debt.

☆ A Colorado man who showed up to the Capitol riot wearing a 'Guns don't kill people, Clintons do' shirt and got into a 'tug-of-war' with police received a 30-month prison sentence
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Thomas Patrick Hamner from Colorado was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his participation in the Capitol riot. Hamner showed up to the riot with a "Guns don't kill people, Clintons do" shirt. At the riot, he engaged in a "tug-of-war" with officers over a bike rack being used as a barricade, the DOJ said. Hamner showed up to the riot wearing a "Guns don't kill people, Clintons do" shirt, according to evidence compiled by investigators. The Capitol riot left five people, including one police officer, dead.

☆ How this 29-year-old is helping Black women land jobs at Disney, Amazon—and increase their pay by as much as $60K
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

#HireBlack's mission is to get 10,000 Black women hired, trained and promoted. Tolbert, who serves as CEO, and her team of eight employees work with top companies such as Amazon, Uber and Disney to recruit and hire Black women. Another aspect of #HireBlack's mission is to help close the stark pay gap Black women still face: Black women working full-time, year-round make just 67 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, according to new research from the National Women's Law Center. The wage gap shortchanges Black women $22,692 per year and $907,680 over the span of a 40-year career. Since its inception, #HireBlack has helped Black women boost their collective earnings by over $2 million, with some women seeing pay raises as high as $60,000, Tolbert reports.

☆ September 21 is Black Women's Equal Pay Day. It shows how far America has to go to close the gender and racial wage gap.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

September 21 is Black Women's Equal Pay Day. The pay gap affects Black women in multiple ways, including their savings for retirement. Equal pay day is calculated based on the size of that wage gap. The over $900,000 in loses over a 40-year career for Black women from the pay gap can negatively impact Black women financially. Mason said the money lost due to the pay gap affects "their ability to build wealth."

☆ Veterans group presses state and local prosecutors to go after far-right Patriot Front
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

"We as veterans are tired of watching fascists run around, hurt people, and not be brought to justice. In July, group members marched in Boston, where no arrests were made. That same month, in Philadelphia, police detained but did not arrest members of the group after members of the public disrupted their march. Members of the Patriot Front attend the 49th annual March for Life rally Jan. 21, 2022, in Washington. He said he's hopeful his military and advocacy background will help prompt some prosecutorial movement against Patriot Front members.

☆ The CEO of a major student-loan company says he won't sue Biden on debt cancellation even though he 'clearly' has standing
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Navient CEO Jack Remondi said he won't sue Biden on his student-loan forgiveness plan. However, he did note his company would have standing to bring forth legal action. Remondi addressed those threats and said that Navient would "clearly" have the legal standing to challenge the policy because it owns loans within the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. But in terms of whether Navient will actually sue, Remondi said: "It won't be us." "It's pretty clear that the precedent here requires someone to have standing in order to sue.

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