realjay

[realjay]

Raising Kanan

Raising Kanan is a 10-episode crime T.V series directed by Sacha Penn who also produced Code 8 and wrote for Creed 2. Raising Kanan has a large variety of actors within the series like Patina Miller, Malcom M. Mays, Mekai Curtis, London Brown, Lovie Simone, and many more. The series is inspired by 50 Cent and imitates his life through Kanan whose character is heavily inspired by him. 50 Cent created the character Kanan as he wanted to portray the most horrible person on T.V. The film’s setting is in Southside Jamaica, Queens in 1991, where Kanan Stark gets involve in the criminal world through his mother, as she ruthlessly runs the family drug empire.

In Queens, corners are operated and managed by drug empires. The more corners a gang has the more money and influence they will have on the streets. Kanan Stark wants to get involved into the business, but his mother and leader of one of the biggest empires, Raquel Stark, refuses, so he puts matters into his own hands. Kanan starts hanging around Scrappy, a longtime member of Raquel’s gang, at the stash house to learn about the business along with the help from his cousin Jukebox. Kanan screws up and gets a target on his back and Raquel is willing to do anything to get it off him. People start suspecting Kanan about a recent gang fight and he has to dodge the suspicions of others. Raquel’s main competitor, Unique, starts making moves on her empire to begin its down fall. Raquel builds the business in apartment complexes, allowing her to see danger before it comes, but with the recent raid that happened at the stash house Kanan suspects a rat is among them. Marvin assembles his recruits to start selling drugs at a gas station off the highway, an idea that Kanan suggests to him. But since Raquel told everyone to stay away from Kanan, Marvin takes matters into his own hands. Unique leaves Scrappy at Raquel’s doorsteps as invitation for war. Raquel accepts his invite and together the two sides clash. Marvin and Kanan hit it big by selling crack to white folk at a new location. But not everyone is doing great. Jukebox is struggling with the recent death of a loved one and even though she isn’t involved in the family business, it still finds its way to ruin her life further. Raquel discovers how Marvin and Kanan’s crack business has harmed the masses and decides to disband Marvin from the crew. Lou-Lou follows Raquel’s orders of attack but gets ambushed by the opposite side. Marvin wastes no time and attempts revenge against Unique. He assualts Unique but was unsuccessful at harming him or his son. On the other hand Unique got a good look at his attacker. Marvin tries to help keep Kanan safe and away from the dangers of Queens.

I really enjoyed the series. The mix between action and crime was amazing and the actions and consequences each character keeps the story enticing. The acting feels so real and smooth like the people were actually born and raised in Queens in the 1990’s. The director did a great job at showing the viewers how Queens truly operated in the hood through the eyes of not only the adults but the children as well. The show is also like a lesson to those who plan to get involve with a gang or is already, so that they know what exactly their getting themselves into and how their choice can impact their lives. But I’ll admit, it was pretty cool to see Raquel troll through the city handling negotiations and gaining intel. It really captured the fierce gangster within her as well as the criminal networks in the city.

I would definitely recommend this show. If you’re into crime and action series that really pay attention to detail, then Raising Kanan would fit you well. The story is easy to follow but also doesn’t gloss over anything. This series would be great especially for the black community as it captures the essence of the struggle of living in Queens, New York as an African American. For teens who are considering to get involve in criminal activity, Raising Kanan truly doesn’t shy away from how dark and terrifying the life of a gangster can be.

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr Bottling the sun

In Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France a huge experiment is being constructed to create a newt type of energy source, that could solve the biggest existential crisis in human history. With 35 countries uniting together to research and exploit nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion naturally comes from the sun and stars, but is very difficult to replicate on Earth.  Fusion promises a virtually limitless form of energy that, unlike fossil fuels, emits zero greenhouse gases and, unlike the nuclear fission power used today, produces no long-life radioactive waste. If fusion energy is mastered it could save humanity from climate change.

If fusion energy is successfully exploited then it will undoubtedly power much of the world. Just 1 gram of fuel as input can create the equivalent of eight tons of oil in fusion power: 8 million to 1. Atomic experts rarely like to estimate when fusion energy may be widely available, often joking that, no matter when you ask, it’s always 30 years away. In February, scientists in the English village of Culham, near Oxford, announced a major breakthrough: they generated and sustained a record 59 megajoules of fusion energy for five seconds in a giant donut-shaped machine called a tokamak.

It was only enough to power one house for a day, and more energy went into the process than came out of it. But it was a historical moment none the less, as the experiment proved that nuclear fusion could be sustained on Earth. This was astounding news for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, better known as ITER. Its main objective is to prove fusion can be utilized commercially. If it can, the world will have no use for fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, the main drivers of the human-made climate crisis.

The project is picking up momentum in the UK, but the people working on the project are also undergoing a major change. Their director general, Bernard Bigot, died from illness on May 14 after leading ITER for seven years. Before his death Bigot’s optimistic infectious optimism of fusion energy helped push others to keep the research going.  “Energy is life,” Bigot said. “Biologically, socially, economically.”

When the Earth was populated by less than a billion people, there were enough renewable sources to meet demand, Bigot said. “Not anymore. Not since the Industrial Revolution and the following population explosion. So we embraced fossil fuels and did a lot of harm to our environment. And here we are now, 8 billion strong and in the middle of a drastic climate crisis,” he said. “There is no alternative but to wean ourselves off our current main power source,” he said. “And the best option seems to be the one the universe has been utilizing for billions of years.”

  Fusion energy is created by forcing together two particles that, by nature, repel. After a small amount of fuel is injected into the tokamak, giant magnets are activated to create a plasma, the fourth state of matter, which is a bit like a gas or soup that is electrically charged. By raising temperatures inside the tokamak to unfathomably high levels, the particles from the fuel are forced to fuse into one. The process creates helium and neutrons., which are lighter in mass than the parts they were originally made of.

The missing mass converts to an enormous amount of energy. The neutrons, which are able to escape the plasma, then hit a “blanket” lining the walls of the tokamak, and their kinetic energy transfers as heat. That heat can be used to warm water, create steam and turn turbines to generate power. This all requires the tokamak to contain serious heat. 

The plasma needs to reach at least 150 million degrees Celsius, 10 times hotter than the core of the sun. The reason for how the tokamak could reach such is is because, Scientists and engineers designed giant magnets to create a strong magnetic field to keep the heat bottled up. Anything else would simply melt.

This has been a hurdle that generations of fusion energy seekers have managed to overcome. The workers of fusion energy are essentially replicating the sun as it’s a perpetual fusion factory, made up of a gigantic burning ball of plasma. It fuses several hundred tons of hydrogen into helium each second. Plasma is what 99.9% of the universe is made of, including the stars, our sun and all interstellar matter. Down on Earth it’s used in televisions and neon lights, and we can see it in lightning and the aurora.

As awesome as that all sounds, generating fusion energy in itself isn’t actually the hard part, several experts at ITER said. Humanity has been pulling off nuclear fusion reaction ever since the invention of the H-bomb. The main challenge is sustaining it. The tokamak in the UK  called the Joint European Torus, or JET, held fusion energy for five seconds, but that’s simply the longest that machine will go for. Its magnets were made of copper and were built in the 1970s. Any more than five seconds under such heat would cause them to melt.

ITER uses newer magnets that can last much longer, and the project aims to produce a 10-fold return on energy, generating 500 megawatts from an input of 50 megawatts. However, ITER’s goal isn’t to actually use the fusion energy but prove that they can sustain it longer the JET was able to. 

Success would mean commercial-scale machines can start generating fusion in the future. While the sun fuses hydrogen atoms to create helium, the JET project used two hydrogen isotopes called deuterium and tritium, which ITER will also use. The isotopes behave almost identically to hydrogen in their chemical makeup and reactions.

Both deuterium and tritium are found in nature. Deuterium is abundant in both fresh and saltwater, the deuterium from just 500 milliliters of water, with a little tritium, could power a house for a year. Tritium is rare, but it can be synthetically produced. At the moment, only 20 kilograms of it exist in the world, and demand amounts to no more than 400 grams per year. Yet only a tiny amount of these isotopes are required to generate a bountiful amount of fusion energy. Tritium is a pricey substance standing at $30,000 and should fusion energy demand will grow exponentially.

The potential growth of demand could pose as another hurdle for fusion energy masters to tackle. ITER has accomplished many things but they still have a way’s to go. The construction of the 39 building sites is a complex situation. The main worksite is a sterile environment, where tremendous amounts of components are stored with the help of 750-ton cranes. Workers have already put together the shell of the tokamak, but they are still awaiting some parts, including a giant magnet from Russia that will sit at the top of the machine.

The tokamak will ultimately weigh 23,000 tons, comprise a million components, and will be surrounded by some of the largest magnets ever created. Some of the magnets have diameters of up to 24 meters so they must be transported in parts and assembled at the main worksite. With so many large parts there can be no room for error. Even the digital design of the machine sits across 3D computer files that take up more than two terabytes of drive space.

Aside from the workers, the ITER project together has around 4,500 companies with 15,000 employees from all over the globe. Thirty-five countries are collaborating on ITER, which is run by seven main members, China, the United States, the European Union, Russia, India, Japan and South Korea. It looks like the UN Security Council have tried hard to keep geopolitics out of ITER entirely.

But as Russia seeks to redraw Europe’s map with its war in Ukraine, and even challenge the post-war world order, there are concerns over the country’s continued role in ITER, and just as many over its potential exclusion. Russia’s actions have had it cut out of many international scientific projects in the fallout of its war, but the European Commission has explicitly made an exception for ITER in its sanctions.

Part of this is because Russia is inextricably linked with not only the project but fusion energy historically. Countries began seeking fusion energy in the 1930s, building all sorts of machines over decades. But it was the tokamak, created in the Soviet Union, that proved most successful. In 1968, Soviet researchers made a historical breakthrough as they were able to achieve the high temperatures required and contain the plasma for a sustained period, which had never been done before.

The Tokamak became the machine to replicate. The name Tokamak comes from Russia and is a portmanteau for “toroidal magnetic confinement”. Russia has also provided some of the most critical elements of the ITER project and is one of its main funders. The magnet for the top of the tokamak, for example, was made in St. Petersburg and waits there, ready to be sent to France, said ITER’s head of communications, Laban Coblentz. Coblentz also stated that Russia’s involvement in the project hasn’t changed.

"ITER is really a child of the Cold War,” Coblentz said. “It's a deliberate collaboration by countries that are ideologically unaligned who simply share a common goal for a better future.” He pointed out that the seven main members have been through many tense events since ITER’s conception in 1985.“Before anything around the latest Russia circumstances, that has to date never affected the collaborative spirit. I think it is not an exaggeration to say that ITER is a project of peace,” he said.

But Coblentz conceded that the war in Ukraine was “unprecedented” and that he couldn’t predict what it might mean for Russia's future in ITER, a delicate issue for the next director general. Part of Bigot’s job is to coordinate the seven main members and their often-differing views on the handling of various political, ideological and economic issues. 

“Now, that is truly no small feat,” Bigot said. “But our joint commitment remains as strong as ever. I can say that, from the beginning of my involvement with the project, daily politics has had virtually no impact on our endeavors,” he said. “Each of the partners seems quite aware dropping the ball could easily mean the demise of the entire project. This, of course, is a tremendous responsibility.”

Geopolitics has always played a role in ITER. It took years and involved more than a decade of technical studies, political bargaining and diplomatic fine-tuning to find the right location. France’s Saint-Paul-lez-Durance was made the official site in 2005 at a meeting in Moscow, and the agreement on construction was signed in Paris a year after. As the diplomacy and technology fell in step, building began. In 2010, the foundations were laid, and in 2014, the first construction machines were switched on.

The scale and ambition of ITER’s project is 

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr

How Black Women Saw Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation Hearing

Watching the nomination of the new judge of the supreme court as well as the first ever black woman judge to be elected with such a position was enticing. However, the treatment of Ketanji Brown Jackson was spiteful and discouraging for other black women. A 25-year-old aspiring lawyer in Valdosta, Ga., Jordan Simpson was excited to watch the Senate confirmation hearing for Ketanji Brown, until Senator Ted Cruz’s line of discouraging questioning.

Jackson's interview sparked emotions within many women of color as they could relate themselves and equally egregious treatment to their own experiences. Fentrice Driskell, a Democrat and a Florida state representative, was reminded of how white male students interrupted her, and rarely gave her the benefit of the doubt, when she was elected the first Black student government president of Harvard College.

Andra Gillespie, a professor at Emory University who studies race and politics, fielded a phone call from her mother, who said that the political spectacle had made her so upset that she was going to seek solace in church. Black women across America had their pride and hope overshadowed by disgust and anguish as Republicans in the Senate Judiciary Committee bombarded judge Jackson with critical race theory and gender identity, also claiming her to be lenient towards people followed with child sexual abuse imagery. The questions from the Republican party had no relevance to Brown's duty as a judge.

“When I was on the Senate Judiciary Committee, we did not ask that many questions about crime,” said Carol Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois in the Senate from 1993 to 1999 as a Democrat and was the first Black woman elected to the chamber. “So why are you singling this woman out? Is it because of her color? Because of her race?”

Throughout the questioning Ketanji steeled herself to not loose her temper; resulting in more intense inquiries. But her her body language and responses didn't go unnoticed to her women audience. “Every sigh, every time her jaw tightens, every time her eyebrow raises a certain way,” said Jazzi McGilbert, 33, the owner and founder of Reparations Club, a concept bookstore and creative space in Los Angeles. “Every Black woman speaks that language.” They also recognized Judge Jackson’s response: the same steely endurance that they have tried to display through gritted teeth, even when under far less intense public scrutiny.

Judge Jackson's composure inspired many women as she stood ferm and stronge against the jury's grilling claims and questioning. However not every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee rebuked Judge Jackson as Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, tell Judge Jackson all agreed that she truly earned her position and is worthy. These comments touched the hearts of not only Ketanji but other women.

Some spectators of the interview started questioning the future state of America. “If America as a country does not course-correct, this is a harbinger of bad things to come,” said Ms. Driskell, who is 43 and a lawyer. “Because the end result will be the undermining of public faith and confidence in the judicial system.”

That is in part why the Supreme Court needs Judge Jackson, said Denise Lewin Loyd, a childhood friend of Judge Jackson who is an associate dean and business professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studies how diversity affects the performance of small teams. “She will add so much value to the court because of this,” she said. “I’m thrilled.”

-------------------------------

This article impacts the society of women communities. Ketanji's election as Supreme Court Judge would provide many values the the nation. Offering many different perspectives on how our Judge system could improve as well as represent the power and abilities women have.

My question to you is how would Judge Jackson shift the views of the nation and what values will come from her?

------------------------------

The New York Times:How Black Women Saw Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation Hearing, Patricia Mazzei, Tariro Mzezewa, and Jill Cowan.

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr: America added 428,000 jobs in April

After an electric economic recovery from the pandemic, the job market starts to recover to normal. It continues to grow at an astonishing strong pace, however the months of millions of jobs added are likely ending.

On Friday reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows America's employers added 428,000 jobs in April, the same as in March. America remains 1.2 million jobs in the hole from the early days of Covid, when nearly 22 million jobs vanished over the span of two months. The unemployment rate (expected to drop due to the pandemic) held steady at 3.6%, only a small amount above the pre-pandemic rating 3.5%, which matched a 50-year low first set in 2019.

It was the 16th straight month of job growth and the 12th straight month that more than 400,000 jobs were added, but gains have began moderating. Last month, most positions were added in the leisure and hospitality industry. Along with  Manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing jobs.

Workers also continued returning to their offices. The pandemic affected the  percentage of Americans teleworking as it decreased to 7.7% in April from 10% in March. Even with the past year’s job number being higher than economists predicted, being 391,000, it didn’t come as a surprise in the slowdown in job growth. "We're in for a slower 2022," said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor.

Signs of cooling in the labor market are all over the April report, with label force participation inching down to 62.2% from 62.4% for both men and women in March. The moderation in the jobs recovery is partly due to the fact that the labor market has come a long way and was bound to see a slowdown at some point. It is also party due to labor storage which makes finding workers to hire more difficult.

As businesses struggle to find staff, they keep raising wages to attract workers. Average hourly earnings increased 10 cents, 0.3%, last month to $31.85. Wages have risen consistently since June 2020. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have gone up by 5.5%. "The April report might not be as stellar as recent releases, but it still depicts a very strong labor market," economic research director Nick Bunker said through email. "The current clip of job gains is remarkable given how tight the labor market is." 

  Prior to the pandemic, the US economy was adding, on average, fewer than 200,000 jobs during the Trump administration. So the Biden administration's constant reminder that the economy remains strong is undoubtedly true. The pandemic recession came and went, but America’s workers were still affected. "We're on track to return to pre-pandemic employment levels in June, which would put us at about two and a half years after the pandemic began," said Zhao.

Compared to following the 2008 financial crisis it took double the time to get back to pre-recession employment levels, though not America is still in the process of recovering. For non-white workers joblessness is still noticeably higher. At 5.9%, the black employment rate dropped to the lowest level since Nov. 2019 in April, but it is still close to double the 3.2% of white workers. 

While the number of employed men over the age of 20 has now exceeded the figure from February 2020, women in the same age group remain 1.1 million employees short of their pre-pandemic level. Furthermore, American households are also struggling with large inflation that the pandemic recovery, supply chain chaos and the current geopolitical environment have all brought. 

The Federal Reserve is meant to keep prices stable and employment as close to a maximum as possible. However the Federal Reserve is having trouble meeting one task. The central bank began raising interest rates in March and will begin reducing its balance sheet starting in June. For now, there isn’t an issue with forceful monetary policy adjusting leading to a recession with high unemployment. 

----------------------------------------------------------

America added 428,000 jobs in April, is such an impacting article covering the affects of the pandemic not only on our nations jobs but inflation. Understanding the future of our workforces is vital in learning how to counter such issues from causing more disruption in our economy. As it appears that the later years will remain a bit troublesome for employments, preparing ourselves by reading articles related to America added 428,000 jobs in April, can help improve and protect citizens as to report what should be expected within the coming years.

Even though issues regarding recessions with high unemployment aren’t occurring, what strategy does the Federal Reserve have to heal the damaged economy to prevent such issue?

---------------------------------------------------------------

America added 428,000 jobs in April, by Anneken Tappe, CNN Business, Fri May 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/economy/april-jobs-report/index.html

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr: Disney Hit With Sexual Discrimination

Unequal pay and promotion of an employee earns Disney a lawsuit describing the discriminations of sexual orientation. During the first day of Pride month in 20201, Joel Hopkins reports his complaints to HR about the discriminative treatments. As he endured consistent unfair pay grades and promotion rates compared to other department heads.

  When Joel’s sexual orientation became known to his superiors, his job became limited and development was hardly possible for him. He was denied promotions even when the window appeared multiple times. Joel was informed about the promotions appearing and believed that they were occurring because, Disney was hurting financially and not promoting.

The named defendants are the Walt Disney Company, ABC Signature Studios, Inc., and Riverside Television Services LLC. Hopkins’s history with each company was a very productive and developing job. In 1994 Hopkins joined  ABC Signature as Director of Production Finance for Buena Vista TV. 

 2000, he was promoted to VP Production Finance for Touchstone TV, which was around the time Hopkins revealed his sexuality as a gay man to several individuals, including Plaintiff’s direct supervisor, Jim Hedges, the CFO of ABC. Hopkins is now searching for compensatory damages, punitive damages and various lawsuit costs.

If the Judge considers the opportunities and earnings rebuked from Hopkins if he continued to climb in positions within Disney, then the charges can cause a stir. Hopkins also believes that his compensation and title is less than other department, specifically for someone with his experience and tenure. The paper work was submitted by lawyers Omid Nosrati and Michael ZaroCostas to LASC.

Representatives of Disney didn’t respond towards the filing, yet is shouldn’t be unsuspected as Hopkins filed a complaint of discrimination with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing in April. The executive’s complaint was closed April 30 as Hopkins and his lawyers received a Right To Sue notice from the state agency.

Informed by DFEH’s correspondence, Hopkins within one year from the date of notice to file the civil actions. The timing for filing the paper would cause critical issues for Disney, potential more than other times. Hopkins reacted quickly to make his advancement.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to write this report because of the issues it creates for society, especially the LGBTQ+ community. As well as the development of Disney and the future the company will face from their discriminative actions. Lots of conversations will form from this unfortunate lawsuit, and people will have to consider to support Disney or avoid the company.

How do you expect the impact would have on in the long run Disney considering it is a multi billion dollar company?

Source:https://deadline.com/2021/06/disney-pride-sexual-orientation-discrimination-lawsuit-joel-hopkins-1234767315/

by: Dominic Pattern, published June 1, 2021

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr: Detroit Public Schools Break Ranks on Mask Mandate

One month ago the Centers of  for Disease Control announced new instructions for mask mandates in public buildings across the country. On Feb. 16,  the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services dispelled the mask requirements for all the schools in the state. On Feb. 18, Wayne County shortly followed by lifting the mask mandates for all the schools in the county. 

However, Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) has stayed stagnant with dropping mask requirements for the schools. Taking on a more wait-and-see approach towards the newly instructed mask mandate. DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti explained that the students and staff will remain to wear masks until they reconsider the threat assessment.

Local vaccination rates play as the key factor for  Vitti’s decision to keep the recommendation in place for the time being. “ We currently agree with the Detroit Health Department that, due to the city’s lower vaccination rate, our mask removal date will be later than other districts,” Vitti declared. Also adding that Detroit will consider  “between mid-March and mid-April.”

Within the district’s letter of agreement from the Detroit Federation of Teachers, the district will “abide with the most current legally required” orders, recommendations, and guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new recommendation requires schools to mandate masks only when COVID cases and hospitalizations are high.

In early February a new first-of-its-kind in-school immunization program for all 109 public schools serving 49,000 students was announced by DPSCD. “Detroit has a 4% childhood vaccine rate, 10 times less than other surrounding cities. This creates an increased chance of positive cases and outbreaks [of Covid],” Vitti commented. According to Vitti, ounce all Detroit’s consenting students have been tested and non-consenting students transferred over to virtual learning, the district can properly implement the mask-wearing requirements.

Vitti reported the test mandates results on Jan. 31, with  nearly 100% of the consenting students having been tested. “We also want to ensure that the city does not experience another surge after spring break,” Vitti wrote. “It would be difficult to remove the mask requirement and then enforce it once again if a surge occurs near spring break when staff and students are not in school.”

“Once those two obstacles are cleared, we would consider lifting the mask requirement,” Vitti continued. If the Detroit school district lifts its mask mandate, it will be the first time since the pandemic began.

My reason for writing this article is based on the impact of dropping masks requirements in schools will affect the health of the students of DPSCD. Especially as Detroit has a low percentage of childhood vaccinations, being 4%. Moreover, how this decision will affect the future of DPSCD schools.

Is accepting the new mask mandate after break a good time or should the mandate remain longer?

Sources: https://sacobserver.com/2022/03/detroit-public-schools-break-ranks-on-mask-mandate/,The Observer: Detroit Public Schools Break Ranks on Mask Mandate, by WORDINBLACK.COM, March 8, 2022

[realjay]

Canadian police start arresting protesters in Ottawa

On Friday, Ottawa police started to arrest protrstors and towed their vehicles as they're movement angered hundreds of truck drivers because of the trafficking on the roads and the COVID-19 restrictions.

The police worked on arresting the other protesters by going to truck doors or investigated camps people were sitting at. The operation was slow but they carefully executed it and were able to take some protesters into custody without hassle. But one in particular held a sign while being apprehended reading "Mandate Freedom".

The rest of the drivers refused to be taken away. One by the name, Kevin Homaund left a message before his arrest. "Freedom was never free. So what if they put the handcuffs on us and they put us in jail?" The officers's first move was to end the tenancy late Thursday by restraining the two major leaders of the protest.

The authorities blocked off most of downtown from outsiders to prevent any outside protesters from aiding there fellow Freedom Convoy associates. The stand at the capitalarked the Freedom Convoy's last stronghold after police demonstrations and blockades shutting down any boarder into the U.S.

Economic damage occured for both Canada and America resulting in a political crisis that Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has to confront. The reputation for Canada has also taken damage in its civility, some enemies even blaming the influence of the U.S. for the damage. Within the following week officers have slowly been stopping taking protesters into custody due to the fear of violence that could erupt.

The demonstrations have brought out armed right-wing extremists and veterans. One of the leaders of the Ottawa protests, Pat King, requested the truck drivers and towers helping the police to, "Please say peaceful". A threat used against the livelihood of the drivers for being associated with the police. He continued his threats onto social medias like Facebook.

Saying, “To the tow truck drivers, you are committing career suicide. We know where the trucks came from." Blame was pointed towards the police and government officials for letting the extremists gain speed and power. But the on Monday Trudeau invoked Canada's emergency act. Allowing the authorities to extreme power to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks, arrest the drivers, suspend their licenses and freeze their bank accounts.

After the police chief's warning on Thursday, "Action is imminent", it was clear that the Ottawa officers were ready to stop all protests and remove all 309 trucks from the roads. The plan played out on Friday as the police methodically arrested the protested a few blocks away from Parliament Hill the heart of protest zone.

There trucks lined up as barricades, police were equipped themselves with automatic weapons and more tactical gear. Tow trucks started pulling away a few big rigs, but not long after the arrest started one big rig pulled away near the front of Parliament. Protesters began dancing to the Beastie Boys anthem and Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up", while shouting "Freedom!" Even after the authority's warning to leave posted on social media.

The two protest leaders were arrested and charged with mischief and obstructing police. The bumper-to-bumper operation infuriated many Ottawa residents as they would be intimidated and harrased on the street. Including obtaining a court injunction to stop the truckers' incessant honking of their horns.

The demonstration from protesters originally focused on Cananda's vaccine requirement for truckers to enter the country. But later transformed into a broad attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau’s government. The protested created the a huge blockade on the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit.

Preventing the flow of auto parts forcing the industry to curtail production. The authorities lifted the seige last weekend arresting dozens of associates. The final blockade in Manitoba across North Dakota went down peacefully on Wednesday. The protest was encouraged and recieved donations in the U.S.

This article heavily impacts society in Canada and America regarding the restriction caused by COVID-19. More broad protests could occur from the influence of the Canandians. Which could become a global problem within societies. Even with the vaccine covid is still dangerous and precautions should still be followed to a degree in order to keep the safety of our community.

How do you feel about the protest, do you support them or is their protesting restricting the community?

Canadian police start arresting protesters in Ottawa, published by Rob Gillies, Wilson Ring And Robert Bumsted, Feb. 18, 2022

Associated Press https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/world/2022/02/18/canadian-police-start-arresting-protesters-in-ottawa/

[realjay]

12 people found frozen to death near Turkey’s border with Greece

12 Turkey migrants were found dead on Wednesday from freezing to death. Turkens migrate through frigid lands with little to no clothes or shoes to get to Greece. When they finally arrive at Greece's borders they are repelled and sent back to Turkey. With no shelter the migrants would die from the harsh climate.

Ankara’s interior minister, Süleyman Soylu, accused Greek guards of deliberately pushing the refugees back across the border. Many refugee showed several frost bite while recovering in hospitals. This was from a group of 22 people all rejected from entering Greece. Soylu expresses his anger for his people for the mistreatment of his people and the rudeness of the boarder guards. Saying, “They behave like thugs,” and claiming the EU to being “helpless, weak and inhumane”.

The Greece migration minister, Notis Mitarachi, sees these deaths as a tragedy but claims that Turkey’s version is “false propaganda”. Mitarachi refuses the accusations of his guard units being "inhuman" and expelling the refugees. Instead he retaliated by saying these incidents are “Turkey's responsibilities”, with the deaths showing that these journeys are extremely dangerous and shouldn't be allowed.

Safa Msehli the IOM spokesperson said that the International Organization for Migration were horrified by the reports of deaths and believe that repelling people on the move to Europe or across the world should be investigated and dealt with. “We reiterate that such practices are prohibited under international law and should not happen under any circumstances. The obligation and primacy of saving lives and prioritising the wellbeing and human rights of migrants are vital to the integrity of any border. ” she said.

Turkey and Greece continued to blame each other for the incidents that occurred at the Greece boarders via foot or boat. Greece again denies the argument by saying it is the within the breach of international law and that they are doing their duty to protect the EU’s southern boarders. Then the EU started to agree and take sides with Greece which made Turkey furious. However, on Wednesday  the group’s Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson was alarmed by the discovery of 12 new bodies. 

“ I just received the information and I must say I’m a bit shocked, we have the Greek minister here, I will raise it with him and ask for clarification on this. This needs to be investigated of course,” she said to the ASP through the telephone at a meeting of the 27-nation bloc’s interior ministers in France. Greece is one of the main routes to enter the European Union for migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and beyond. 

Although, the numbers of people attempting the journey have diminished within recent years, the UN refugee agency estimates that more than 2,500 people have died or gone missing at sea trying to enter Europe from North Africa and Turkey last year. Under a recently extended deal from 2016, the EU provides billions of dollars in aid to Ankara in exchange for Turkey agreeing to host refugees from Syria and other countries. Nearly four million Syrian refugees and 300,000 Afghans are in Turkey.

The reason behind me publishing this article has to do with the horrid events occurring in Greece. Refugees all over the world die from harsh journeys around the world to make it to better more suitable locations. But, are usually kept out and face harsh conditions. Nations should accept those in need and willing to make such harsh travels or at least provide some sort of care or protecting to them.

Even after hearing of the deaths of many trying to enter Europe, why did  Ylva Johansson support Greece instead of Turkey?

3 Feb 2022 ,Twelve refugees found frozen to death near Turkey-Greece border, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/3/12-migrants-found-frozen-to-death-near-turkey-greece-border#:~:text=Tragedy%20sparks%20war%20of%20words,after%20stripping%20them%20of%20clothes.&text=The%20partially%20clothed%20bodies%20of,they%20apparently%20froze%20to%20death.

[realjay]

Sources: Miami Dolphins working on deal with San Francisco 49ers OC Mike McDaniel to make him head coach

The Miami Dolphins are working on a deal with the 49ers to get Mike McDaniel, the 49ers’ offensive coordinator, to transfer over to the Dolphins. If the deal goes through it will end the team’s nearly month-long search for a replacement after firing Brian Flores on January 10. This deal will grant Mike McDaniel his first head-coaching job. McDaniel has been in 15 seasons in the NFL and two in the UFL. His first NFL career was as an intern for the Denver Broncos in 2005, then went three seasons as Houston Texans offensive assistant under Gary Kubiak.

 He continued another three years as an assistant and received an additional role as a wide receivers coach. This time for the Washington Football Team with a staff that included current head coaches Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers, Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams, and Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers. McDaniel followed Shanahan, the offensive coordinator of the team, to a one-year stint with the Cleveland Browns, where he remained a wide receivers coach.

Then McDaniel went two years with the Atlantic Falcons as their wide receivers coach. Shanahan became the 49ers' head coach in 2017 and hired McDaniel as the run game coordinator before promoting him to offensive coordinator last offseason in January 2021. With his lead the team was placed seventh best offense of the league in terms of yards per game and produced an All-Pro in wide receiver, Deedo Samuel. They also placed 11th in rushing yards with the fifth-highest percentage of runs that pick up 10 or more yards in McDaniel’s previous five seasons.

McDaniel will become the Dolphins' 11th head coach, interim or otherwise, since 2000, after they employed three head coaches in their 34 previous years. Flores was fired after going 24-25 in three seasons, including two of the franchise's seven winning seasons this century. Flores filed a racial-discrimination against the NFL, the Dolphins, and two other teams last week. He alleged that the owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season. However, these accusations were denied by Stephen Ross last year.

I wanted to bring this article to light for all sports fans specifically Miami Dolphin fans. With how well Mike McDaniel has done in his coaching I believe this deal will shift the play offs for the Dolphins and could make them a threatening team in the coming year. This deal will become a deal of a life time for the Dolphins if accepted.

What do you think of Mike McDaniel shifting over to the Miami Dolphins?

Published: February 6th 2021, Sources: Miami Dolphins working on deal with San Francisco 49ers OC Mike McDaniel to make him head coach, https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/sources-miami-dolphins-working-deal-san-francisco-49ers/story?id=82711834

[realjay]

 Jayden Pharr

Opinion: Michigan deeply divided on teaching about race — and our kids are paying the price

Within the last year, Michiganders have never heard of CRT but this year CRT has become a hot topic in school discussions. Michigan school boarding meetings would have heated debates about CRT, which were caused by inaccurate information about the subject. Some meetings even went on the news. Michigan, along with other states have decided to ban the education of CRT for k-12. The state legislate is currently working on two bills which revolve around banning race or gender stereotyping which are terms often used by CRT substitutes.

Michiganders will be heavily effected by this subject and have a choice to voice their opinions about the matter. Trust within teachers and schools will be effected depending on how the citizens view how race should be conversed in schools. Some political gulfs between republican and democratic Michiganders have began to rise because of the change. The discussion of race and CRT have caused the people's trust to dwindle in teachers.

On September and October of 2021, through SOSS a survey was conducted by a group of researchers who had 1,500 Michiganders participate in a sample of questions on how CRT should be handled. 65% of Republican Michiganders believed that CRT should be banned from schools; opposite to the 43% Michiganders, 23% being democratic and the remaining independent.

However, the split political groups also had different beliefs in what should be taught in schools, resulting in a universal agreement, a small percent of republicans even thought the same as the democrats when it came to race education. 92% of democrats thought schools should teach children about equality and fairness, 61% of republicans also agreed. When the two groups where asked if teachers ought to discuss racism as a part of American history towards kids, the split became more prominent.

 35% of republicans believed teachers should converse to kids of nation events that related to race. 86% of democrats also thought the same. When it came to trust in teacher the sides split even more but a gulf remained. The results were, 46% republicans trusted local public school teachers, while 82% of democrats trusted these teachers. But when it came to trust of teachers discussing racism the two political groups plummeted in results. With a small fraction of republicans, 28%, trusting teachers to discuss racism and  fewer than 71% of democrats also trusting teachers.

The cause for such distrust in teachers, political gulfs, and CRT were manly caused through misinformation. Another research group casted a survey that asked Michiganders if they are familiar with certain information about CRT like “CRT teaches children to hate the United States”. Throughout the survey not many people weren’t aware of similar info. Only 26% of democrats, 17% of independents, and 18% of republicans were oblivious to these statements. However, miss leading information were received more from republicans with 57% knowing of these statements, only 29% of democrats have received such info.

With all these debates and conflict, political discussions of education will no longer be on hold and will likely remain as a serious topic in the coming year. The CRT conflicts will cause a split in the community and heavily impact school districts. Neither republic nor democratic parties wish for division and as a community we should come together and form trust in our teachers, schools, and each other to heal the damaged caused from such events.

I chose to write about this story because as said in the article, CRT debates have deeply damaged our community. Division will only get deeper if we do not band together and face racism head on and come to an equal agreement. The future of the younger generation rests with how our community will take and handle CRT and the history of racism in America.

What is your take on the new ban of racism in schools?

Opinion: Michigan deeply divided on teaching about race — and our kids are paying the price,  Ariell Bertrand, Rebecca Jacobsen, Sandy Frost Waldron, Annie Gensterblum and Jane  Lo, published Dec. 17 2021

https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2021/12/17/michigan-critical-race-theory-schools/8914668002/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These parents questioned critical race theory and DEI programs in public schools. They interviewed experts and here's what they found.

An interview was conducted by Bart and Coley Glasgow and recorded by 11Alive. The two are parents and attend a Cherokee County school board meeting on May 20, 2021. Within the meeting other parents also attended and through information from their district they learned an administrator has been hired to lead the DEI program. The Glasgow and other parents of the meeting didn’t know or agree about the sudden hiring and protested against it. Thus the admin withdrew themselves from the position, no member that attended the meeting even saw what the admin looked like.

Other than the administrator, the group of parents discussed their concerns of schools teaching critical race theory. 11Alive introduced the Glasgow family to Dr. Carol Anderson, a professor and chairmen of  African American Studies at Emory University. They family decided to interview Dr. Anderson for his opinion of CRT, within the interview he defined what is taught in schools and what isn’t regarding race and how the law has defined race in the U.S.

Dr. Anderson’s take on this was represented in his statement, “ There is this fear that talking about, teaching slavery, teaching the removal of Indigenous people, that what that will do is that, it will make our students feel ashamed, it will make our students feel embarrassed," said Dr. Anderson. "No. Because, when we’re teaching that, we’re also talking about the strengths of the American people to fight for democracy.”

The Glasgow family had some anxiety about how their school district administrator will handle the diversity, equity, and inclusive programs for the school. Bart and Coley started another interview with someone that had a similar role in their school, Dr. Tommy Welch, a Chief Equity and Compliance Officer at Gwinnett County Schools. Who is now a teacher and Georgia principal of the year. Dr. Welch talks about how talks about how the parent’s bias can affect their kids and wants to make sure everyone has equality with the new banning of CRT.

The Glasgow then sit down with an expert in implicit bias, a psychological professor at University of Georgia. Her name is Dr. Allison Skinner-Dorkenoo. She specializes in how biases are established, maintained, and shared over our lifetime. Dr. Skinner encourages Bart and Coley that teaching kids about bias and race can benefit them more so than harm them.  “Just being aware isn’t going to do it, you also have to be kind of like concerned,” she states.

The family takes one last interview as they get a personal tour of the Center for Civil and Human Rights from the museum’s director of education, Nicole Moore. Director Moore explains how she helps Georgia educators to teach kids about  the civil rights movement through archival news stories, pictures and recorded speeches, that aren’t normally found in American history books.

The tour then trails to a simulated lunch sit-in that had white workers yelling, assaulting, and spitting at civil rights activists. This simulation had the family at the verge of tears, but director Moore assured them, “Let's be honest, history is ugly. It doesn’t feel good all the time. We need to be okay with that. But, we also need to learn from that”. Director Moore explained how she believes the best way to teach kids is to have them connect, see themselves, and empower them. Bart and Coley left the museum with new knowledge from their discoveries.

After the journey the two parents went through they discovered many things they changed them. Previously Coley saw no need for the district to hire a DEI administrator, but now she sees the need. All the information she heard about CRT were highly exaggerated and didn’t get the main message of CRT. Coley learned from experts and hearing their true feeling about racism and has become enlightened.

Bart’s says, “My heart didn’t change, but it was now filled with information he didn’t have before.”  “I had filled in myself with assumptions what I had heard, what I had heard other people say,” said Bart. He hopes that people will see how easy and beneficial it is to connect with each other and both and equal interest and reasonings within a topic.

I chose to summarize this article to shed light on the views of citizens in the south and what they think of the CRT. After reading this I hope people will become more understanding of racism and find an agreement amongst each other. Schools can also develop through researching and having genuine and reasonable debates on the views of both sides of the spectrum.

After reading this article have your views of CRT changed, why or why not?

These parents questioned critical race theory and DEI programs in public schools. They interviewed experts and here's what they found,  Andy Pierrotti, 11Alive Staff, published Oct. 4, 2021.

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/investigations/cherokee-county-ga-parents-skeptical-critical-race-theory-dei-speak-to-experts/85-8a198b32-ad58-45bc-956f-563b8b5dce90

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr

1-14-22

Polish discus thrower auctions silver medal to help cover child's cancer treatment

A polished discus by the name of Piotr Malachowski won a silver model in his match in Rio. He then auctioned the medal in hopes of paying for a young 3-year-old boy, Olek Szymanski, who suffered from eye cancer. The surgery would cost 126,000, dollars and Malachowski was determined to gather the money to pay it off.

He started auctioning the medal in hopes of making a profit out of it to pay for the surgery, even posting on Facebook to get people's attention of his cause. Eventually a wealthy couple by the names of Dominika and Sebastian Kulczyk, who were willing to pay for the medal. Allowing Malachowski to gather a third of the money needed.

Malachowski was now closer to his goal to save Olek's eyes. Malachowski is grateful for the appreciation and support everyone gave him stating "We were able to show that together we can do wonders. My silver medal today is worth a lot more than a week ago. It is worth the life and health of a small Olek. It is our great shared success."

I believe this effects society by showing people that when together we can pass through tough obstacles. The compassion Malachowski showed towards healing Olek will inspire others to follow his example and help others in desperate need. Never give up on your goals and continue to meet them no matter how difficult is may seem.

How many people supported Malachowski in his goal, would you have assisted in paying for Olek's surgery?

Polish discus thrower auctions silver medal to help cover child's cancer treatment,

[realjay]

Oxford Shooting

Four students killed and at least eight injured by mass shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. 

The suspect of the school shooting was a 15-year-old sophomore by the name of Ethan Crumbley. The student was charged with four counts of first degree murder and terrorism. These charges would send Ethan to a life time sentence in prison if he were to be convicted in court. James and Jennifer Crumbley have also been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

They were involved in the mass murder by making the purchase of the semiauto that Ethan used to terrorize the school with as a Christmas gift. The Oxford shooting has become the deadliest shooting this year according to Education Week. The motive behind Ethan’s action are still unclear but there are bits and pieces of info around the incident.

At 12:51 on the day of the shooting police received 11 of hundreds of 911 calls. The suspect came out of the bathroom and starting firing at students, when the shots were heard all students rushed for cover and barricaded  the doors with desks and chairs. By the time the authorities arrived it was concluded that 11 students were killed.

30 shots were fired before Ethan was apprehended by the police. They found Ethan through the cameras and when he was apprehended they investigated and came to a conclusion that the targets were “random”. “Absolutely brutally coldhearted”, was what sheriff Michael Bouchard said when the information was cleared. 

Oakland county’s prosecutor, Karen D. McDonald found some red flags from Ethan before the shooting occurred. On Nov. 30 Ethan’s parents were urgently called after the teacher spotted alarming messages of drawing on Ethan’s desk. The images drawn where a gun shooting a person and a laughing emoji, with a message saying “Blood everywhere” and “ The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”

This is all the information that is available at the moment of the Oxford shooting.

News like this needs to be spoken about for the betterment of our society and community. Situations like this not only endangers our society but also is an example of poor mental health that students or adults may have. Hopefully because of the Oxford shooting Schools will consider the mental state of their students to ensure nothing like this happens again.

Will Schools start taking more into account of the mental states of their students, what methods will they use to heal the minds of their precious student body.

Source: What We Know About the Michigan High School Shooting ,Livia Albeck-Ripka, https://www.nytimes.com/article/oxford-school-shooting-michigan.html

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr

Johnny Depp scores big win over Amber Heard as judge rejects her bid to throw out his defamation suit

Johnny Depp's defamation lawsuit against his ex wife Amber Heard is still ongoing, as a Virginia Judge ruled Tuesday meaning the case will proceed to a trial next year. Penny Azcarate, Fairfax County's Judge rejected Heard's third motion since Johnny Depp filled his lawsuit in March 2019. Which was on various grounds set out in an opinion from USA TODAY.

Amber attempted to have the Virginia lawsuit discarded citing the ruling of a London Judge last year in a libel lawsuit Depp filled against The Sun tabloid. He afterward lost following of a controversial legal showdown in an English courtroom. The London Judge concluded that the 2018 article accusing Johnny Depp a wife beater were false and the majority of Heard's claims of domestic abuse could be proved to the civil standard.

However, Virginia's Judge Arzcarate found the two cases to be different and that Heard was not a party in the London lawsuit; even being a witness for The Sun, failing her argument for dismissal under well-established legal precedents governing when civil cases can be dismissed. Arzcarate said in her opinion, the defendaint's claim that refusing the U.K. Judgement in this case would set a dangerous precedent is unfounded. She also stating that upholding English libel judgement in the U.S. would create the chilling effect and could make a dangerous precedent. The defendaint's argument was unpersuaded in this court.

The decision marks a major victory for Johnny in his continues warfare against his ex wife, which started in 2016 during their divorce in California and now outlasted their brief hectic marriage. Benjamin Chew of Brown Rubnick, Depp's lawyer stated "Mr. Depp is most gratified by the court's decision".

USA TODAY have reached out to Heard's Virginia lawyer, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft. The two will resume their case trial on April 11, 2022 of discovery proceedings such as taking dispositions including Heard's. The trial will take place in Fairfax County, Virginia's largest and most populous county in suburban Washington, D.C. The Virginia case rose from an opinion article Heard wrote in the Washington Post in December 2018 which contained content claiming Heard had become a public face of domestic violence. She mourned that she "felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out".

A few months later, Depp filled his lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages. He depicted himself a victim of false allegations, according to his suit he was part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Heard to advance her career. The suit also said "Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse; she is a perpetrator". Heard never pointed towards the actor by name in her essay but it was clear who an what she was referring to, according to Depp's lawsuit.

Her article followed the couple's toxic 2016bdivorce proceedings, during the time Heard alleged domestic abuse, filed for a retraining order against Depp and claimed he had thrown a cell phone at her face during a fight at their downtown Los Angeles loft. Depp intensly denied all her allegations, when the Los Angeles police went to the loft they found no such evidence of the crime. By the end of the summer the two reached an settlement outside of court and issued an effusive joint statement professing their love.

USA TODAY obtained a statement saying the two had a very passionate relationship that at times become volatile, but always bound by love. Neither of the two parties made false accusations for financial gain, there was never an intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future and she will be donating financial proceeds from their divorce to charity. For the past two years Heard's multiple legal teams have tried to get Depp's Virginia lawsuit dismissed, to no avail. Meanwhile, the two movie stars were the witnesses in Depp's libel lawsuit in London, which finalized in June 2020 after a three week trial.

In the wake of that case Johnny Depp's role as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen. During an interview Depp expressed how he felt boycotted by Hollywood, implying to the surreal five years surrounding the case. He spoke about the film industry fall-out on his ounce formidable career. Meanwhile, Heard has became a single mother on her own terms announcing it on Instagram, welcoming her daughter Oonagh Paige Heard this year. Depp won another defamation suit when a New York Judge partially granted a petition to determined if Heard truly donated the seven million dollars to the American Civil Liberty Union and to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, as she pledged.

As a result of that ruling the ACLU must release documents that confirm Heard followed through with her pledge, which has become a point of contention in the Virginia case.

I wanted to report on this news because it will determine how future movies that envolve Johnny Depp and Amber Heard will continue. It may not have a big impact but some people will still be anticipating how their favorite movies like Pitates of the Caribbean will continue without their leading star. The stars' lives would also be in question as how their careers will continue.

Does this mean Johnny Depp will continue with his other movie roles, what will become of Amber Heard?

Johnny Depp scores big win over Amber Heard as judge rejects her bid to throw out his defamation suit, USA TODAY, Aug. 17 2021,https://usatoday.com/stroy/entertainment/celebrities/2021/08/17/johnny-depp-scores-win-over-amber-heard-virginia-defamation-suit/91711254002/

[realjay]

Jayden Pharr

U.S. default this fall would cost 6 million jobs, wipe out 15 trillion in wealth, study says

The United States is slowly reaches it's debt ceiling each day and if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling, America would be hit extremely hard. Chief economist of Moody's Analytics, Mark Zandi found an impass over the situation and found that the American economy would lose six million jobs, wipe out around 15 trillion dollars in household wealth, and increase the unemployment rating from five percent to nine. Both parties have agreed that increasing the debt ceiling would avoid economic catastrophe. However, they remain at a stand still because, republican parties refuse to work with democrats to raise the debt ceiling. The treasury has been said to use its "extraordinary measures" to pay the U.S. within October.

Unfortunately, the date is not enough time for lawmakers to act on the calamity. A report by assistant director and economist of Moody's Analytics, Zandi and Bernard Yasis declares that this calamity would have a downturn comparable to the suffering financial crisis of 2008.

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of debt the Treasury can afford to pay the U.S.'s bills. During Trump's administration the debt was postponed from 2019 through the beginning of last month. Janet Yellen, secretary of the Treasury stated early this week that such a catastrophe would be the first in U.S. history. Moody's Analytics has estimated that the Treasury will likely proceed with their plan on Oct. 20, but the date is still not final.

The Treasury is faced with excruciating decisions, like deciding if they should fail to pay $20 billion owed to seniors and Social Security or to not pay bondholders. Either decision could weaken the faith in U.S. credit and increase federal borrowing costs forever. The impact of exceeding the debt limit would cause catastrophic damage to global financial markets, do to interest rates increasing as demands of high rates of returns for risks of taking on U.S. debt with its uncertainty of repayment. Crippling the economy and raising prices on everything including auto and home loans for taxpayers and consumers, the American dollar will also lose value. Investor are in question about the safety of purchasing U.S. treasuries.

Moody's reports found that stock prices will be cut in one-third, wiping out $15 trillion in household wealth. The markets will bounce back ounce the impasse is concluded but some losses cannot be fixed. Treasury yields, mortgage rates, and many other consumer and corporate borrowing rates will spike until the debt limit is resolved and Treasury resumes payments.

Both Democrats and Republicans remain at a stand still on rather a debt ceiling breach can be avoided. White house officials and GOP lawmakers have concluded two ideas, the debt ceiling will be raised or supsended, but they are strongly divided on which decision should take place. Republicans believe Democrats should increase the limit by themselves since they are using trillions of dollars for new spending priorities. But Democrats rejected their idea because current national debt levels require raising the debt ceiling and are due to an arrange of policy priorities from both parties.

Regardless the ceiling will have to be raised or suspended no matter the spending package of the Biden administration. The future of America is still unclear. On Monday the Congressional Democrats revealed a plan to package the debt ceiling suspension with funding the federal government, along with emergency funds for disaster relief and Afghan refugee resettlement funds. While Republicans are expected to stop the measure along with the GOP senators stating they will vote against the package as long as it includes increasing the debt ceiling. Leaving Democrats to face a choice about their next steps.

Even if they resolve the problem before the breach the U.S. could still be hurt, causing taxpayers and the American economy to be damaged in the long terms. According to Zandi and Yaros, the previous debt ceiling battle of 2011 and 2013 under the Obama administration created financial uncertainty and lowered business investment, which costed the U.S. economy $180 billion and 1.2 million jobs by 2015. In past history the two parties come together to ensure the debt ceiling gets raised, without turning it into a political pawn which would jeopardize the faith of the U.S. government internationally. That would cause the cost of borrowing higher even when there isn't a breach.

In Zandi's interview he states that the whole process will be reflected in higher costs to taxpayers, the cost to do this will be at least somewhat bipartisan.

I chose this article because of the importance and effect it has on America and it's future. If the debt ceiling breaches, American economy will be hit hard effecting the lives of many such as putting them into unemployment or taking their homes. Whatever the two parties decide will decide how our country will progress and ensure our safety and how the people will view the government after this catastrophe is avoided.

What will the Democrats do to ensure our country survives?

U.S. default this fall would cost 6 million jobs, wipe out 15 trillion in wealth, study, by Jeff Stein, The Washington Post

https://washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/09/21/debt-ceiling-recesion