DOJ makes 1,500 arrests in 10 cities during violent crime crackdown
The Justice Department (DOJ) has made more than 1,500 arrests across 10 cities in the past month as part of an operation to crack down on violent crime, according to a Wednesday news release. The release says that the U.S. Marshals Service completed a 30-day initiative at the end of last month, called Operation North Star, to arrest sex offenders, “violent criminals” and self-identified gang members. The op
Read MoreCongress must ease inflation by making housing more affordable
Americans are feeling the impact of historic inflation, and rising rents are a primary driver. The price of housing is by far the largest category in the Consumer Price Index and one of the greatest contributors to the inflationary pressure squeezing all households, especially those with the lowest incomes. In restarting negotiations on a major spending package, Congress and the Biden administration have a crucial opportunity to tackle inflation and ensure that America’s lowest-income and most marginalized people can get and stay stably housed. Even before the pandemic, millions o
Read MoreBlack women demand Biden, Harris bring Brittney Griner home
More than 1,000 Black women have signed a letter to President Biden demanding the administration step up its efforts to free WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian detainment. The letter, signed by 1,200 women of all ages and professions, was the work of Win With Black Women, a collective of intergenerational and intersectional Black women across the nation. “It’s been more than 134 days and in our opinion that’s just 134 days too many for anyone to be subjected to the conditions [Griner] has been,” s
Read MoreSCOTUS decisions leave little recourse but to try new models of civic engagement
The highly selective recent rulings by the Supreme Court, including to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to regulate carbon emissions of power plants, overturning Roe v. Wade and undermining state gun safety laws, places responsibility on individuals in cities and communities without the governmental tools or federal support they have enjoyed in the past. In deferring to Congress, which has failed to address these issues due to high levels of partisan rancor and political dysfunction; the courts are actually pushing the burden onto communities and individuals to navi
Read MoreWith recession looming, the Fed may be doing more harm than good
Hope springs eternal at the Federal Reserve. At a time when all clues point to a recession before year’s end, the Fed clings to the belief that it can slay the inflation dragon while securing a soft economic landing. This does not bode well for the economic outlook. It likely means that much in the same way as last year the Fed kept monetary policy too loose for too long thereby producing multi-decade high inflation, it will
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