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☆ Why UnitedHealth, Change Healthcare were targeted by ransomware hackers, and more cybercrime will hit patients, doctors
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Susan Caminiti | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The ransomware attack on UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare subsidiary last month not only brought to light how attractive the data-rich U.S. health-care industry is to hackers and how devastating the consequences for patients and doctors, but also how sophisticated cyber criminals are becoming when targeting vulnerable sectors. Change Healthcare is the largest clearinghouse for insurance billing and payments in the U.S. Since the February 21 attack, the thousands of doctors, hospitals and other health providers that depend on Change Healthcare for billing reimbursements have not been paid as the company works to bring its systems back online. UnitedHealth told CNBC in a statement that it will cooperate with the investigation from the OCR. "Our immediate focus is to restore our systems, protect data and support those whose data may have been impacted," the company said.

Persons: UnitedHealth, Sumedh Thakar, Qualys, it's Organizations: Change Healthcare, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, HHS, Civil Rights, CNBC Locations: U.S

☆ Biden administration investigating Change Healthcare cyberattack as disruptions continue
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The OCR enforces the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's security, privacy and breach notification rules, which most health plans, providers and clearinghouses such as Change Healthcare are required to follow to protect health information. "OCR's investigation of Change Healthcare and UHG will focus on whether a breach of protected health information occurred and Change Healthcare's and UHG's compliance with the HIPAA Rules," the department said. Change Healthcare offers electronic prescription software and tools for payment and revenue cycle management. Parent company UnitedHealth discovered that a cyber threat actor breached part of the unit's information technology network on Feb. 21, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In late February, Change Healthcare said that ransomware group Blackcat was behind the attack.

Persons: UnitedHealth, Blackcat Organizations: U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, UnitedHealth Group, Healthcare, U.S, HHS, Civil Rights, Change Healthcare, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, CNBC, SEC, Department of Justice

☆ Migrant children in open-air desert camps are suffering from hunger and hypothermia, court documents say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Blake Ellis | Melanie Hicken | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The episode was one of many highlighted in a court filing Thursday that takes aim at the living conditions at open-air camps near the U.S.-Mexico border in California. Federal immigration officials have directed migrants to those camps but have failed to provide adequate food, water, shelter and medical services, children’s rights lawyers say. More than 3.3 million immigration court cases remain in the cue, according to according to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which tracks immigration court data. The declarations also described instances in which aid workers had to orchestrate emergency medical care for children in serious distress. Some alleged that Border Patrol agents saw that children were suffering but did little about it.

Persons: —, Adriana Jasso, Joe Biden, ” Neha Desai, “, Jasso, ” Desai, ” Theresa Cheng, ” Organizations: CNN, Border Patrol, National Center for Youth Law, CBP, Department, Homeland, Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, Security, “ Locations: Colombia, porta, U.S, Mexico, California, Venezuela, China, India, Mauritania, Syracuse, San Diego, Colombian

The number of affordable units — with rents under $600 — also dropped to 7.2 million that year, 2.1 million fewer than a decade earlier. Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesThose factors contributed to a dramatic rise in eviction filings and a record number of people becoming homeless. "It just hits you like, ‘This is for nothing.’"In Auburn, Massachusetts, pervasive rent hikes have already hit the last bastion of affordable housing. Just off an interstate alongside a pond, residents at the American Mobile Home Park face rent increases upwards of 40%. The group Lawyers For Civil Rights has sent a letter to the landlord accusing it of “unconscionable rent increases," and failing to provide critical services like adequate garbage and snow removal.

Persons: Caitlyn Colbert, Colbert, “, ”, —, Whitney Airgood, Obrycki, ” Colbert, haven’t, Amy Case, Ann Urbanovitch, Zach Neumann, Monique Gant, Gant, Nick Graetz, ” Graetz, Chris Herbert, Jared Polis, ___ Casey, ___ Organizations: DENVER, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard, Habitat, Humanity, American Mobile, Civil Rights, Associated Press, Colorado Judicial, Community Economic Defense, Princeton, ”, Colorado Gov, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Denver, U.S, ”, Auburn , Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington, Massachusetts, Boston

Judge Kevin Newsom, a Trump appointee, pushed back against the Fearless Fund's argument that the grants are protected by the First Amendment because they are charitable donations. He asked the Fearless Fund's attorneys whether the same protection would apply to a contest open only to white applicants. “I think that's a pretty simple yes or no,” Newsom said, interrupting when the attorney for the Fearless Fund, Jason Schwartz, started to reply. They’re saying, no, we want all the pie,” Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who is also representing the Fearless Fund Fund, said a news conference following the hearing. But since the lawsuit was filed, the Fearless Fund has had trouble securing new investment, said co-founder Arian Simone.

Persons: Donald Trump, Barack Obama —, Fearless, Kevin Newsom, Edward Blum, ” Newsom, Jason Schwartz, Schwartz, ” Schwartz, ” Ben Crump, ”, Morgan Chase, Arian Simone, “, ” Simone, Newsom, ______ Olson Organizations: MIAMI, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Trump, American Alliance, Black, Bank of America, Mastercard, “ Locations: U.S, Black, Miami, America, “, New York

☆ Complaint Alleges Harvard Didn't Protect Pro-Palestinian Students From Threats
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kanishka SinghWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Over a dozen students alleged on Monday that Harvard University failed to protect them from harassment and threats "based solely" on their pro-Palestinian identity, the group representing them said. The Muslim Legal Fund of America said its legal division filed a civil rights complaint on Monday with the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights on behalf of those students. The Harvard students alleged "harassment, intimidation, threats and more based solely on them being Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and supporters of Palestinian rights," the group said. Some students alleged that Harvard had threatened "to limit or retract the students' future academic opportunities," the Muslim Legal Fund of America said on Monday. The affected students attend Harvard College, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Divinity School, and Harvard Law School, the group said.

Persons: Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Israel's, Claudine Gay, Kanishka Singh, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Harvard University, Muslim, Fund of America, U.S . Education Department's, Civil Rights, Harvard, Rights, Harvard College, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Law School Locations: U.S, Vermont, Illinois, Israel, Gaza, Washington

☆ Palestinian and Muslim students demand investigation into Harvard for allegedly failing to protect them from harassment
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A federal civil rights complaint was filed on Monday against Harvard University on behalf of Muslim and Palestinian students who say the school failed to protect them from harassment and intimidation, according to the Muslim Legal Fund of America. The complaint, filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, calls for an immediate investigation into Harvard, the legal group said. “They are trying to walk the campus but they’re getting accosted because they look like someone who might be Palestinian or Muslim. Last fall, the Education Department launched a federal investigation into Harvard and other universities over alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia. In October, the names and faces of Harvard students allegedly linked to an anti-Israel statement were plastered on a mobile billboard truck that drove near campus.

Persons: MLFA, ”, Christina Jump, “, they’re, “ We’ve, ” MLFA, Alan Garber, ” Garber Organizations: New, New York CNN, Harvard University, Muslim, Fund of America, Department of Education’s, Civil Rights, Harvard, Civil Litigation Department, CNN, Education Department Locations: New York, Israel

☆ Opinion | Full Employment Is Good for Society
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By then, he had come to see fighting for economic equality as a crucial part of the struggle for civil rights. By many measures, the economic divide between Black and white Americans was as wide in the late 2010s as it was in the late 1960s. The good news: Over the past few years, we’ve seen a significant decline in inequality on multiple dimensions, including a narrowing of the gap between Black and white Americans. Did the racial economic gap persist so long because the civil rights movement failed to make any progress against racism and discrimination? Overt racial discrimination has become relatively rare — partly because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — and implicit discrimination has probably declined, because we are a less racist society than we were.

Persons: Martin Luther King Jr, we’ve Organizations: Civil Locations: Memphis

☆ Former researcher alleges Harvard forced her out to preserve Facebook donations
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

WASHINGTON — Social media researcher Joan Donovan says she knows the exact moment her career began to go off the rails. "I got called into the principal's office and was questioned about why I'm talking about Facebook," Donovan said. In a statement to CNBC, Harvard Kennedy School Director of Public Affairs James Smith disputed Donovan's account of her departure. "The narrative is full of inaccuracies and baseless insinuations, particularly the suggestion that Harvard Kennedy School allowed Facebook to dictate its approach to research." Smith told CNBC that Harvard University and the Kennedy School continue to carry out misinformation and social media research to this day.

Persons: Harvard Kennedy, Joan Donovan, Donovan, John F, Frances Haugen, Haugen, Elliot Schrage, Schrage, Nick Clegg, Clegg, didn't, Douglas Elmendorf, Dean Elmendorf, Sheryl Sandberg, Sandberg, Elmendorf, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan –, –, Zuckerberg's, Guillermo S, Hava, Eleanor V, Wikstrom, —, Chan, Public Affairs James Smith, Smith, Kennedy, Chan Zuckerberg, Donovan's Organizations: Harvard, Media Politics, WASHINGTON — Social, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Dean's Council, CNBC, Meta, Facebook, Dean's, Kennedy School, Elmendorf, Harvard's Kennedy School, Twitter, Google, Washington Post, Initiative, Technology, Research, Whistleblower, Massachusetts, U.S . Department of Education's, Civil Rights, Harvard Kennedy School, Public Affairs, School, Kennedy, Media, Politics, Public, Tech, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Locations: Malden, Harvard, Central, Dean's, FBarchive.org

☆ Feds Launch Investigation of Harvard for Possible Civil-Rights Violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Douglas Belkin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters demonstrated over the war in the Gaza Strip at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., this month. Photo: brian snyder/ReutersThe U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights on Tuesday added Harvard University to the list of schools the agency is investigating as part of a federal crackdown on race- and religious-based harassment since the start of the conflict in Gaza began last month. Harvard is the 15th school and 8th college or university added to the list since the conflict began Oct. 7, according to the agency’s website. Other colleges include The University of Pennsylvania, Wellesley College and Columbia University. The number of schools under investigation this year doubled since the conflict started.

Persons: brian snyder Organizations: Harvard University in, U.S, Education Department’s, Civil Rights, Harvard University, Harvard, The University of Pennsylvania, Wellesley College, Columbia University Locations: Gaza, Harvard University in Cambridge

☆ Federal Civil Rights Investigation Opened Into Antisemitism at Harvard
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anemona Hartocollis | More About Anemona Hartocollis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Education Department has opened an investigation into allegations of antisemitism at Harvard University, where the campus, like many others, has been roiled by demonstrations and confrontations between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students in the weeks since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The complaint against Harvard, filed on Tuesday, joins a growing list of federal civil rights investigations into complaints of discrimination based on “shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics,” including at Columbia, Cornell, Wellesley College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Tampa and the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The list includes a handful of school districts as well, including New York City public schools, Clark County School District in Las Vegas and Hillsborough County Schools in Tampa. The Office for Civil Rights announced on Nov. 16 that it was investigating such complaints as part of its efforts to “take aggressive action to address the alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination and harassment on college campuses and in K-12 schools since the October 7 Israel-Hamas conflict.”

Persons: “, ” Organizations: Civil Rights, U.S . Education Department, Harvard University, Israel, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Wellesley College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Tampa, Cooper Union for, Advancement of Science, New, Clark County School District, Hillsborough County Schools Locations: Israel, New York City, Las Vegas, Hillsborough, Tampa

☆ Students are lawyering up in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Hafez, who CNN has reached out to for comment, is now suing Accuracy in Media for defamation and emotional distress, and the violation of his civil rights. Hafez is among the politically and ethnically diverse students across the country who are filing lawsuits in the wake of October 7. Some are invoking the Civil Rights Act, claiming their schools aren’t protecting them from religious discrimination. “We believe that a number of universities are violating Title VI in this moment. “We have had a massive and unprecedented spike since October 7.”The legal standard for Title VI cases is high, Cron said.

Persons: Yusuf Hafez, “ Columbia’s, ” Hafez, Hafez, Minouche Shafik, “, ” John Beckman, ” Beckman, Beckman, Justin Sadowsky, ” Sadowsky, Sadowsky, Dylan Saba, State University of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, DeSantis, ”, Brittany Wise, ” Adam Steinbaugh, ” Steinbaugh, you’re, Matthew Cron, Donald Trump, ” Saba, Kenneth Marcus, Wellesley, ” “ Wellesley, UPenn, Magill, “ We’ve, Marcus, George W, Bush, Cron, ” Cron, Yusuf Hafez’s, SWATTING, ” – CNN’s Matt Egan, Celina Tebor Organizations: New, New York CNN — Columbia University, Media, CNN, Civil, Columbia, Columbia University, New York University, Jewish, gaslighting, NYU, New York police, Islamic, Civil Rights, Department of Education, Palestine, American Civil Liberties Union, Palestine Legal, University of Florida, UF, Justice, State University of Florida, ACLU, ” CNN, State University System of, University of Florida’s, “, Governors, Foundation, Rights, Florida, DOE, of Education Office, Legal, University of Illinois Chicago, UIC, Brandeis Center, University of Pennsylvania, ”, University, Trump, Ivy League, Private, AIM, U.S . Locations: New York, Israel, Gaza, Palestine, Florida, State University System of Florida, Colorado, “, Penn, Chicago

☆ University of Tampa facing investigation in the wake of Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Katie Lobosco | Rene Marsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —The University of Tampa and a Florida school district, Hillsborough County Schools, are under investigation by the Department of Education related to alleged incidents of discrimination in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The investigations were launched by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Any person or organization can file a Title VI complaint with the Office for Civil Rights. The Office for Civil Rights has now opened a total of 27 Title VI investigations this year. Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center, told CNN he thinks the Office for Civil Rights could be doing more.

Persons: CNN doesn’t, they’ve, ”, Jonathan Fansmith, Kenneth Marcus, Trump, “ It’s, ” Marcus Organizations: Washington CNN — The University of Tampa, Hillsborough County Schools, Department of Education, New York’s Columbia University, Columbia, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Education’s, Civil Rights, Civil, Office, CNN, American Council, Education, “, University of Tampa, Columbia University, College, FBI, Ivy League school’s, Brandeis Center, Wellesley College Locations: Florida, Hillsborough, Israel, New, ”, Massachusetts

☆ U.S. Investigates Colleges for Antisemitism and Islamophobia Complaints
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Hurubie Meko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Protests by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups on college campuses have intensified tensions between students groups, faculty and administrations in recent weeks. Universities have struggled to contain the blowback as students and faculty raise concerns over both security and free speech. On Tuesday, about 400 students gathered at Columbia University to protest the war and to criticize university leaders for suspending two pro-Palestinian student groups through the end of the semester. The university said it would cooperate with the investigation and said it was taking steps to address antisemitism. Three Jewish students sued New York University this week over what they said was a hostile environment that had allowed antisemitism to go unchecked.

Persons: Biden, Catherine E, Lhamon, Ben Chang, Kathy Hochul, banged, N.Y.U, John Beckman Organizations: Columbia, Cooper Union, Cornell, Hamas, U.S . Department of Education’s, Civil Rights, Wellesley College, University of Pennsylvania, Lafayette College, Maize, Office, Civil, Israel, Universities, Columbia University, Cornell University, Gov, New York University Locations: New York, Israel, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kansas

☆ Opinion | The Question of Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Charles M. Blow | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Last week, I gave a lecture at the University of California at San Diego about politics and social justice. Afterward, as I was signing books, a young Black woman approached my table and whispered a question, asking me what I thought about the horrors playing out in Gaza. Almost all of them described themselves as anti-Zionist, but in our conversations, all of them also condemned antisemitism. When I talked to the pro-Palestinian activists and scholars, I posed a simple question that is often asked: Do you believe that Israel has a right to exist? When I told Greenblatt that none of my interviewees gave a direct “yes” to the right-to-exist question, he said that was “almost indescribably offensive” because he connects any hesitation on the question to historical antisemitism and a denial of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.

Persons: Jonathan Greenblatt, Defamation League —, ”, I’m, Marc Lamont Hill, “, Hill, Greenblatt, “ There’s, ” Greenblatt, Israel Organizations: University of California, Palestinian, Defamation League, Amnesty, West Bank Locations: San Diego, Gaza, Israel, America, Palestine, East Jerusalem

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is warning U.S. schools and colleges that they must take immediate action to stop antisemitism and Islamophobia on their campuses, citing an “alarming rise” in threats and harassment. In a Tuesday letter, the Education Department said there's “renewed urgency” to fight discrimination against students during the Israel-Hamas war. “Hate-based discrimination, including based on antisemitism and Islamophobia among other bases, have no place in our nation’s schools,” wrote Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the department. The Education Department offered few specifics on how colleges should respond, and it did little to answer questions about where to draw the line between political speech and harassment. Last week the Education Department added language to a federal complaint form clarifying that certain forms of antisemitism and Islamophobia are prohibited by federal civil rights law.

Persons: —, Biden, there's “, “, ”, Catherine E, Lhamon, Miguel Cardona Organizations: WASHINGTON, Education Department, Universities, Tulane University, Cornell University, The Education Department, Civil, Department, Associated Press, Carnegie Corporation of New, AP Locations: Israel, Baltimore, Carnegie Corporation of New York

☆ Opinion | It Isn’t Easy to Be Mitt Romney
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Carlos Lozada | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Coppins depicts Ann Romney as the pivotal influence in her husband’s life; he is always trying to win and preserve her approval. A close second is his father, George Romney, the governor of Michigan, Republican presidential candidate and Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Nixon administration. The controversy surrounding his use of that term finally derailed George Romney’s presidential aspirations. “The one question Romney would struggle to answer — even a decade later — was whether he had been true to himself in his pursuit of the presidency,” Coppins writes. Did it allow Romney to make a statement rather than a difference, in that his isolated vote could not produce Trump’s conviction?

Persons: Ann Romney, George Romney, Nixon, “ He’s, ” Coppins, Barry Goldwater, George Floyd, Mitt, Richard Nixon peddled, Romney, —, ”, George, Coppins, “ It’s, “ Romney, he’d, Trump, marginalize, Paul Ryan, ” Romney Organizations: Republican, Housing, Urban, Trump, Senate, Republican Party Locations: Michigan, Vietnam

Tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups have sprung up on some U.S. campuses, including several in New York, prompting university officials to tighten security. "There is no place for hate in America, and we condemn any antisemitic threat or incident in the strongest terms," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told a regular briefing. The Jewish leaders included representatives of the campus Jewish organization Hillel, the Anti-Defamation League and the National Council of Jewish Women, the White House official said. Cardona and White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden will visit a university and meet with Jewish students later this week, the official said. Over the weekend, threats were posted online to Jewish students and the Center of Jewish Living at Cornell, according to the student newspaper and the campus Hillel group.

Persons: Karine Jean, Pierre, Biden, Kamala Harris's, Douglas Emhoff, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Deborah Lipstadt, Israel, Hillel, Cardona, Neera Tanden, Kathy Hochul, Hochul, Doina Chiacu, Andrea Shalal, Trevor Hunnicutt, Howard Goller Organizations: Columbia University, REUTERS, Rights, Biden, White, Israel, Cornell University, Defamation, Education Secretary, Department of Education's, Civil Rights, Defamation League, National Council of Jewish Women, White House, Islamic Relations, Center of Jewish, Cornell, Hillel, FBI, New, Jewish, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Gaza, New York City, U.S, New York, America, Israel

☆ Ed Dwight was NASA's first Black astronaut candidate in the 1960s. A new documentary tells his forgotten story.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Two decades before Bluford's flight, Ed Dwight was an Air Force pilot who trained to be the first Black astronaut. Whitney Young of the National Urban League urged Kennedy to push the Air Force to find and train the first Black astronaut. Dwight said the famed pilot felt slighted and not being included in the decision to train a Black astronaut. "All of a sudden we were able to hire astronauts who didn't look like the classic NASA astronaut," Bolden said. During his flight, Glover had a group call with Dwight, Bluford, Bolden, and other Black astronauts.

Persons: Ed Dwight, Robert Lawrence, NASA didn't, —, Guion Bluford, Bluford, Dwight, Lisa Cortés, hadn't, John F, Kennedy, Whitney Young, Cortés, Dwight wasn't, Chuck Yeager, Yeager, Frederick Gregory, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Park, Ella Fitzgerald, Martin Luther King, Craig F, Walker, Ed, Leland Melvin, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Bernard Harris , Jr, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, Ron McNair, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Charles Bolden , Jr, Tamayo Méndez, Gregory, Bolden, McNair, they'll, Charles Bolden, Melvin, de Mendoza, Katherine Johnson, Ed's, kickstart, Victor Glover, George Floyd, who's, Leland D, Victor, Glover Organizations: NASA, Service, Air Force, Black, Atlanta Constitution, National Urban League, Bettmann, Denver's, Denver, Getty, Soviet Union, Space Shuttle Challenger, Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Station, NASA’s Office, Education, Geographic, Disney Locations: Atlanta, Rosa, Cuban, Cuba, United States, Soviet Union

☆ Black UAW workers won progress in America's auto industry. They are on strike for its future
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The percentage of Black workers in the auto industry today is more than double their share of the workforce overall. But the decline in US auto jobs and the erosion of unions have hit Black workers hardest. Black workers are likelier to belong to unions, in any industry, compared to White and Hispanic workers. Black union workers earn on average 16.4% higher wages than non-union Black workers, and they are likelier to have health care and retirement benefits, studies show. Hard-won gains disappearSoon after Black auto workers broke into better paying jobs, the US auto industry began its long decline, decimating Black communities in particular.

Persons: Lynda Jackson’s, Jackson, ” Jackson, ” Lynda Jackson, Lynda S, Emily Elconin, ”, Tiffanie Simmons, Simmons, Steven Pitts, Luke Sharrett, Tesla, “, ” Pitts, Jim Crow, Henry Ford, Nelson Lichtenstein, “ Walter Reuther, Ford, Irving Haberman, Kevin Boyle, Boyle, Philip Randolph, Randolph, Franklin Roosevelt, Walter Reuther, —, James Meredith, Martin Luther King, Jr, Roy Wilkins, Phillip Randolph, Walther Reuther, Martin Luther King Jr, Reuther, ” Boyle, Spencer Platt, Josh Bivens, Biden, Erica Smiley, ” Smiley Organizations: New, New York CNN, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, United Auto Workers, UAW, Detroit’s, Processing, Bloomberg, Getty, Ford Motor, Economic Policy Institute, UC Berkeley Labor Center ., Tesla, Ku Klux Klan, University of California, America, Northwestern University, Jobs, Walther Reuther . Express, Hulton, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, The League, Revolutionary Black Workers, Black, Economic, Institute, P Global Market Intelligence, Justice Locations: New York, Alabama, Detroit, America, Ypsilanti , Michigan, Wayne , Michigan, Detroit , Michigan, White, Fremont , California, . Mississippi, sharecropping, Chicago , New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, AFP, Santa Barbara, Ford's, Rouge, Dearborn , Michigan, Washington, Birmingham, Selma, Black, Flint, Midwest, autoworkers

☆ Anti-affirmative action group, emboldened by US Supreme Court, targets scholarships
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The challenges are part of a growing campaign against diversity initiatives after a U.S. Supreme Court landmark ruling in June outlawed use of race in college admissions, commonly known as affirmative action. A departmental spokesperson said the office for civil rights does not discuss details of its cases. But you can't do it through racial discrimination, and the Supreme Court has been very clear about that." On Tuesday, the organization that won the Supreme Court case, Students for Fair Admissions, filed a new lawsuit challenging affirmative action admission practices at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The Supreme Court had exempted military academies from its June decision, saying in a footnote that these schools might have "distinct" interests.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, William Jacobson, Jacobson, Evan Caminker, Joseph Ax, Colleen Jenkins, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, REUTERS, Conservative, Cornell University, U.S . Department, Western Kentucky University, Kansas State University, University of Nebraska, Education Trust, Democratic, Belmont University, The University of Missouri, Republican, University of Michigan, The, Harvard, Fair, U.S . Military Academy, West, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Washington , U.S, Lincoln, American, Missouri

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s education chief said he’s open to using “whatever levers” are available — including federal money — to discourage colleges from giving admissions preference to the children of alumni and donors. He made the remark when asked about using federal money as a carrot or rod on legacy admissions. By banning affirmative action but allowing legacy preferences, critics say the court left admissions even more lopsided against students of color. Political Cartoons View All 1173 ImagesThe agency recently opened an investigation at Harvard University after a federal complaint alleged that legacy admissions amount to racial discrimination. Without action, Cardona warned that the nation could face the same setbacks seen in California after it ended affirmative action in 1996.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, he’s, —, Miguel Cardona, Cardona, “, ” Cardona, there’s, ”, James Murphy, they’ve, — Cardona, Ron DeSantis, can’t, ” — Cardona Organizations: WASHINGTON, Associated Press, Education, The, Department, Harvard University, Central Connecticut State University, Democratic, China, Education Department, Reform, Republican Gov, ” Conservatives, Carnegie Corporation of New, AP Locations: California, Black, Florida, Carnegie Corporation of New York

“The attacks on our democracy are happening on all fronts,” said Nicole Austin-Hillery, president & CEO of the foundation. Several speakers also criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year ending affirmative action in college admissions. LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, drew on the struggle for civil and voting rights as inspiration to push back harder against restrictive laws and to expand the ability to vote. She noted how Black Americans had once been denied even the ability to learn to read and write. ___The Associated Press coverage of race and voting receives support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.

Persons: ”, Nicole Austin, “, Ron DeSants, Damon Hewitt, ” Hewitt, LaTosha Brown, You’ve, Stacey Plaskett, Donald Trump, Jonathan Logan Organizations: WASHINGTON, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Black Caucus, Republican, Black, U.S, ’, Civil, Fund, Virgin Islands, Department, Associated Press, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, AP Locations: U.S, ”, Florida, U.S .

Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller told suspended football coach Mel Tucker Monday that he will be fired without compensation for misconduct involving activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy. Eight months later, Tracy filed a complaint with the school’s Title IX office and the investigation was completed in July. A hearing is scheduled for the week of Oct. 5 to determine if Tucker violated the school’s sexual harassment and exploitation policy and a ruling could take up to 60 days. Michigan State paid her $10,000 to share her story with the football team. Michigan State hosts Maryland (3-0) on Saturday.

Persons: Alan Haller, Mel Tucker, Brenda Tracy, “, Tucker, ” Haller, Haller, Tracy, ” Tucker, ”, Harlon Organizations: Michigan State, Michigan State isn't, Spartans, Washington, Maryland, AP

☆ Opinion | Bayard Rustin Challenged Progressive Orthodoxies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( James Kirchick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In May 1966, the moderate integrationist John Lewis was ousted from the chairmanship of SNCC by the Black Power radical Stokely Carmichael. Committed to a political program that would improve the lives of the poor and working class regardless of their skin color, Mr. Rustin opposed racial preferences . Contrary to contemporary “antiracism” advocates who claim that the existence of racial disparities necessarily constitutes evidence of racism, Mr. Rustin asserted, “That blacks are underrepresented in a particular profession does not by itself constitute racial discrimination.”Another major source of tension between Mr. Rustin and the progressive left concerned American foreign policy. Briefly a member of the Young Communist League in the 1930s, Mr. Rustin followed the path of many a disillusioned ex-Communist by becoming a staunch anti-Communist. Although an early opponent of American military involvement in Vietnam, Mr. Rustin could not, as he wrote in 1967, “go along with those who favor immediate U.S. withdrawal, or who absolve Hanoi and the Vietcong from all guilt.

Persons: —, John Lewis, Stokely Carmichael, Rustin, “, Mr, ”, antiracism ”, George McGovern’s, leftward, Scoop Jackson Organizations: SNCC, Black Power, Negro, Democratic Party, Young Communist League, Communist, Social Democrats, USA, Socialist Party of America, Soviet Union, Democratic, Coalition for Locations: American, Vietnam, Hanoi, South Vietnam, Soviet, Washington

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