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Barack Obama points assertion on Kabul assault: ‘Heartbroken’

Barack Obama issues statement on Kabul attack: 'Heartbroken'

Former United States President Barack Obama is hosting a drive-in rally for Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden on October 27, 2020 in Orlando, Florida.

Eva Edelheit | Reuters

WASHINGTON – Former President Barack Obama made a formal statement on Afghanistan on Friday, his first since the U.S. military entered the final stages of its withdrawal from the country two weeks ago.

Obama said he and former first lady Michelle Obama were “heartbroken when they heard of the terrorist attack outside Kabul airport that killed and wounded so many US soldiers and Afghan men, women and children.”

“As president, nothing was more painful than mourning with the families of the Americans who gave their lives for our country,” he said.

Obama continued, “As President Biden said, these soldiers are heroes who have dangerous, selfless missions to save the lives of others.”

That line served as a rhetorical nod to Obama’s former vice president and essentially confirmed that Biden is now in charge.

Obama’s testimony came the same day that Navy Corpsman Maxton Soviak’s family confirmed he was one of the dead.

“We also think of the families of the deceased Afghans, many of whom stood by America and were ready to risk anything for a chance for a better life,” said Obama.

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Obama is the last of the four US presidents who led the US 20-year war in Afghanistan to comment on the situation.

He is also the president who ordered an additional 30,000 US soldiers into the country in late 2009, a decision that his then Vice President Biden firmly opposed.

At the time, Obama believed that US firepower could sustain Afghanistan’s fragile, corrupt post-Taliban government.

Eleven years later, that government collapsed within hours when the Taliban retook Kabul on August 15 without firing a single shot.

Obama did not mention the entire evacuation effort in his statement on Friday. But earlier this year he said he strongly supported Biden’s decision to end America’s longest war.

“After nearly two decades of putting our troops in danger, it is time to recognize that we have accomplished all we can militarily and that it is time to bring our remaining troops home” Obama said on April 14th.

The two Republicans who led the war, George W. Bush and Donald Trump, have both openly opposed Biden’s decision to withdraw American troops – albeit in different ways.

Bush, who started the war shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said he feared for the country’s women and girls who are facing almost certain repression due to the Taliban’s fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law.

Bush in July also painted a bleak picture of what awaited Afghans who had worked for the US-led coalition over the past two decades.

“I think of all the interpreters and people who have helped not only the US forces but also the NATO forces, and they are simple, it seems like they are just being left behind to be butchered by these very brutal people and it breaks my “heart”, Bush told Deutsche Welle.

Trump has taken a different path, making a number of statements over the past few weeks that skew his own record and falsely accuse Biden of withdrawing American troops in front of US civilians. Trump has also tried to label refugees evacuated from Afghanistan as “terrorists”.

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Health

‘Not Out of the Woods’: C.D.C. Points Warning to the Unvaccinated

‘Not Out of the Woods’: C.D.C. Issues Warning to the Unvaccinated

WASHINGTON – The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday that the United States was “not yet out of the woods” with the pandemic and was again at a “key point” when the highly contagious Delta variant tore through unvaccinated Municipalities.

Just weeks after President Biden threw a party on July 4th on the South Lawn of the White House to declare independence from the virus, the director named Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky the now dominant variant “one of the most contagious respiratory viruses”. Known to scientists.

The renewed urgency within the administration was directed at tens of millions of people who have not yet been vaccinated and are therefore most likely to be infected and become ill. Her grim message came at a time of mounting fear and confusion, especially among parents of young children who are still unsuitable for the injection. And it underscored how quickly the recent surge in the pandemic had unsettled Americans, who had begun to believe the worst was over and prompted politicians and public health officials to recalibrate their responses.

“This is like the moment in horror movies when you think the horror is over and the credits are about to begin,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland. “And everything starts all over again.”

The decision by millions to reject the vaccine had the consequences health officials had predicted: the number of new cases in the country has increased nearly 250 percent since the beginning of the month, with an average of more than 41,000 infections diagnosed each day Week – versus 12,000.

The disease caused by the virus kills about 250 people each day – far fewer than during the peak period last year, but still 42 percent more than two weeks ago. More than 97 percent of hospital patients are unvaccinated, said Dr. Walensky last week.

The public health crisis is particularly acute in parts of the country where vaccination rates are lowest. In Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, the number of new cases every day has increased more than 200 percent in the past two weeks, leading almost entirely to new hospital admissions and deaths among the unvaccinated. Intensive care units are being filled or replenished in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

The turnaround is forcing both political parties in Washington to grapple – hitherto hesitantly and hesitantly – with questions about what tone to use, what guidance to give, and what changes to make to meet the latest generation of the worst public Health crisis in a century.

The White House on Thursday announced new grants to local health departments for vaccines and stepped up testing in rural communities, despite administrative officials saying they would “make further progress in our fight against the virus” and insisted it was not necessary to do their basic Rethink measures strategy. Although reports of breakthrough infections in vaccinated people are increasing, they remain relatively rare and those that cause serious illness, hospitalization, or death are particularly rare.

But the rise in infections and hospitalizations in some parts of the country, even if mostly limited to people who have chosen not to vaccinate, has presented Mr Biden with an evolving challenge that threatens economic recovery and his own political standing could.

The stock market is shaky. His administration is under renewed pressure to reintroduce mask mandates, as Los Angeles County did this week. And the president’s top aides are on the defensive in their strategy to keep the pandemic in check again.

“It’s frustrating,” Mr. Biden admitted Wednesday night during a town hall event on CNN.

The rise of the variant could also change the equation for some Republicans who see many of their own constituents hospitalized – or worse. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, received his first shot on Sunday, noting a “further spike” in the pandemic. Fox News host Sean Hannity said on his show, “I believe in the science of vaccination.”

On Capitol Hill, House Republican leaders and doctors were reluctant to signal their support for vaccinations Thursday, even though that support was mixed.

“If you are at risk you should get this vaccine,” said Maryland doctor Andy Harris, adding, “We urge all Americans to speak to their doctors about the risks of Covid and to speak to their doctors about the benefits.” get vaccinated and then make a decision. “

Updated

July 22, 2021, 1:43 p.m. ET

Republican Rep. Greg Murphy, North Carolina, said, “This vaccine is a medicine and, like any other medicine, there are side effects and it is a personal choice.”

Their press conference was promoted as an attempt to “discuss the need for vaccination for individuals”. But it was dominated by efforts to spread an unproven theory that the Chinese released a virulent, man-made virus in the world and allegations that the Democrats were covering it up.

The vaccines work to protect those who have been injected from serious danger, but charts tracking the pandemic, which has been declining for months – heralded by Mr Biden as evidence his approach worked – are going up sharply.

The rapid momentum of the new variant makes people wonder whether they have to withdraw from restaurants, cinemas, bars, sporting events and their offices again. What seemed like clear – and mostly positive – decisions just a few days ago now seems muddy.

White House officials on Thursday turned down questions about whether vaccinated people should return to wearing masks indoors, as Los Angeles County health officials ordered days ago. Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House’s coronavirus coordinator, just said that the CDC’s current guidelines don’t require it.

“It is up to each and every American to make their own contribution,” he said. “We know that every vaccination route is different. We are ready to have more Americans vaccinated anytime, anywhere. “

Amid the concern, one thing is clear: the variant has once again turned hopes of an end to the pandemic on its head and sparked a new fear on the horizon – that a highly anticipated return to work and school could be disrupted after much of the country’s nearly 18 Months of seclusion from home.

“I’m concerned about the fall,” said Rep. Lauren Underwood, an Illinois Democrat and registered nurse. “August will be tough. It’s going to be tough back to school. We will see more sickness and more death. “

Andy Slavitt, a public health expert who recently left the Biden White House’s coronavirus response team, said the government would not consider mandating vaccinations for the military or federal workers until the Food and Drug Administration clears the coronavirus – Vaccines that are now available have been given permanent authorization under emergency use authorization.

However, the final approval of the Pfizer vaccine will take place “within weeks to a few months”. Once that happens, he said, “it should all be on the table and I can tell you that is the attitude in the White House.”

Public school systems could also require vaccinations at this point, just as they would require vaccinations against polio, measles, mumps, and rubella – with a few exceptions for religious or health reasons. That would quickly drive up vaccination rates.

Aside from mandates, there are few obvious policy changes as Congress has already inundated health officials with funding for vaccination campaigns and making vaccines widely available. Ami Bera, a Democrat from California, who is a doctor, suggested that the Biden government launch a public advertising campaign modeled on smoking cessation campaigns in which a dying man once smoked through his windpipe.

“Let’s do an ad with a 20 year old man who says, ‘I didn’t take it seriously. I got it and killed my grandmother, ”he said.

Republicans have emphasized their refusal to go backwards.

“You don’t have to shut things down,” said Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, a doctor. “Look, as far as I know, no child under the age of 18 has died of Covid unless they also had a serious illness.”

The death toll among American children is extremely small – 346 on July 15 – but some of them most likely did not have any underlying health conditions.

Even the Republicans have so far resisted sounding the alarm in the conservative population. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported in late June that 86 percent of Democrats had at least one shot, compared to 52 percent of Republicans.

Policy makers are feeling paralyzed, in large part because once Americans resume life without masks and other restrictions, it will be difficult to return. Vaccination and masking requirements would almost certainly trigger a violent backlash, but could also save lives.

“We all have this psychology, well, it’s over, but intellectually we know it’s not over yet,” said Maryland Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Majority Leader. He asked, “How do we get a society that had an enormous feeling of being locked in a mask, then being free again, to go back?”

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Health

The C.D.C. Points New College Steerage, With Emphasis on Full Reopening

The C.D.C. Issues New School Guidance, With Emphasis on Full Reopening

In another shift, the C.D.C. made clear that masks could be optional for vaccinated people, in line with its recommendations for the general public.

Still, the agency said that schools may opt to require universal masking if local cases were rising, for example, or if a school could not determine how many of its students and staff members were vaccinated. And it urged schools to “be supportive of people who are fully vaccinated, but choose to continue to wear a mask.” In general, students and staff members did not need to be masked when outdoors, the agency said.

The C.D.C. also strongly urged schools to promote vaccination, which the guidance called “one of the most critical strategies to help schools safely resume full operations.” Studies suggest that vaccines remain effective against the Delta variant.

The country’s two major teachers’ unions, which have close relationships with the Biden administration, praised the guidance. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, whose members in some cases fought the reopening of schools this past school year, said the recommendations are “grounded in both science and common sense.”

Still, both school and public health officials predicted challenges ahead.

Ms. Weingarten said the mask guidance posed a particular test, since classes with students 12 and older would most likely include a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated students. Many officials in areas with low vaccination rates have already said they will not require masks in schools — and at least eight states have already banned such requirements.

Updated 

July 9, 2021, 6:08 p.m. ET

Some parents who have advocated school reopening greeted the new guidelines with relief. Meredith Dodson, whose son is entering kindergarten this fall in San Francisco, organized a group of parents who spent the last school year fighting for the city to open its schools. The city finally allowed elementary school students to return in mid-April, but most middle and high school students were not able to do so at all.

“This is a huge step in the right direction,” Ms. Dodson said.

Many schools have already largely or entirely returned to in-person learning. By mid-spring, the vast majority of districts had allowed at least younger students to return to classrooms, although many, especially on the West Coast, only allowed them to attend part-time. Many families — especially Asian American, Black and Hispanic families — chose to keep their children learning remotely.

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Health

Mother and father and caregivers reported psychological well being points extra usually than others through the pandemic, a C.D.C. examine says.

Parents and caregivers reported mental health issues more often than others during the pandemic, a C.D.C. study says.

Parents and unpaid caregivers of adults in the United States reported far higher rates of mental health issues during the coronavirus pandemic than people who held neither of those roles, federal researchers reported on Thursday.

About 70 percent of parents and adult caregivers — such as those tending to older people, for example — and about 85 percent of people who were both reported adverse mental health symptoms during the pandemic, versus about a third of people who did not hold those responsibilities, according to new research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study also found that people who were both parent and caregivers were eight times more likely to have seriously considered suicide than people who held neither role.

“These findings highlight that parents and caregivers, especially those balancing roles both as parents and caregivers, experienced higher levels of adverse mental health symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic than adults without these responsibilities,” the authors said.

“Caregivers who had someone to rely on for support had lower odds of experiencing any adverse mental health symptoms,” they said.

The report follows innumerable anecdotes and several studies suggesting spikes in mental health problems among parents and caregivers during the pandemic. But the new C.D.C. report noted that “without prepandemic mental health data in this sample, whether adverse mental health symptoms were caused by or worsened by the pandemic is unknown.”

The study is based on data from online English-language surveys administered to panels of U.S. residents run by Qualtrics, a company that conducts commercial surveys, for the Covid-19 Outbreak Public Evaluation Initiative, an effort to track American attitudes and behaviors during the pandemic. The data was gathered from Dec. 6 to 27 last year, and from Feb. 16 to March 8 of this year, and relied on 10,444 respondents, weighted to match U.S. demographic data, 42 percent of whom identified as parents or adult caregivers.

The study noted that the results might not fully represent the U.S. population, because of factors like the surveys only being presented online and in English.

The surveys included screening items for depression, anxiety, Covid-19 trauma and stress-related disorders, and asked respondents whether they had experienced suicidal thinking in the past month. About half of the parent-caregivers who responded said that they had recently had suicidal thoughts.

Elizabeth A. Rohan, a health scientist at the C.D.C. and one of the study’s authors, said in an interview that what set this research apart was a large sample size and a broad definition of caregiver, which allowed for a more inclusive picture of people in that role.

“Our net captured more people than other surveys,” Dr. Rohan said.

Dr. Rohan said that the study reinforced the need to destigmatize mental health issues among caregivers and for better support systems. Communication is key, she said, and “it doesn’t have to be professional help.”

She added, “We cannot underestimate the importance of staying connected to one another,” which is helpful whether the person is “a trusted friend, a family member or a professional.”

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can find a list of additional resources at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

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Health

OSHA Points Covid Office Security Rule, However Just for Well being Care

OSHA Issues Covid Workplace Safety Rule, But Only for Health Care

During the Trump administration, OSHA passed a policy to largely limit Covid-related inspections to a small number of high-risk industries such as healthcare and emergency aid. Meat wrap was not included in this high-risk group – studies showed it was a major source of virus transmission.

Some labor groups praised OSHA under President Donald J. Trump for enforcing health care safety regulations, including proposed fines of over $ 1 million for violations in dozens of health and nursing homes. However, critics accused the agency of largely failing to punish meat processors for lax safety standards, such as a lack of adequate distancing from workers.

Mr Walsh said the risks for most non-healthcare workers had decreased as cases decreased and vaccination rates increased. He also noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines last month, telling vaccinated individuals that they generally do not need to wear a mask indoors, played a role in OSHA’s decision on one dispense with the broader Covid-19 standard.

“OSHA has adjusted the rule to reflect the reality on the ground, the success of the vaccine effort, as well as the latest guidance from the CDC and the changing nature of the pandemic,” Walsh said on the call.

David Michaels, an OSHA chief during the Obama administration, said the CDC guidelines made it difficult to implement a broader OSHA rule. “In order to justify an emergency standard, OSHA needs to demonstrate that there is great danger,” said Dr. Michaels. “To do this, the CDC should have clarified its recommendation and said that there is a great danger for many workers.”

Without such clarification, said Dr. Michaels, now a professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health, would have employer groups likely challenged any new OSHA rule in court, arguing that the CDC guidelines indicated that a rule was unnecessary.

Dr. Michaels said the new standard was an overdue move, but it was disappointing that no Covid-specific standard had been issued for industries such as meat packaging, corrections and retail. “If exposure is not controlled in these workplaces, they will continue to be major drivers of infection,” he said.

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Business

U.S. Asks Mexico to Examine Labor Points at G.M. Facility

U.S. Asks Mexico to Investigate Labor Issues at G.M. Facility

WASHINGTON – The Biden government on Wednesday asked Mexico to investigate whether there have been labor violations at a General Motors plant in the country. This is an important step in using a new labor enforcement tool in the revised North American trade agreement.

The Mexican government said later that day it would begin a review as requested.

The Biden administration moved to review the novel “rapid response” mechanism in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement and came into force last summer. The mechanism allows penalties to be imposed on a specific factory for violating workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The government “received information indicative of serious labor rights violations” at the GM facility in Silao, central Guanajuato, in connection with a recent vote on its collective agreement, the United States sales representative’s office said.

The vote was canceled last month on allegations that the union at the facility had tampered with it, according to news reports. The Mexican Ministry of Labor said Tuesday that it had found “serious irregularities” in the vote and ordered the vote to take place again within 30 days.

The updated North American trade agreement called for Mexico to overhaul its labor system, and the country revised its labor laws in 2019. Bogus collective bargaining agreements, so-called protection agreements, that are made with employer-dominated unions and that have a shortage of workers are widespread Country. As part of a new legitimation process, the unions hold votes for workers to confirm existing agreements.

In a statement, Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, said the request for a review “shows the Biden Harris government’s serious commitment to workers and worker-centered trade policies.”

In business today

Updated

May 12, 2021, 4:56 p.m. ET

“Using USMCA to protect freedom of association and collective bargaining rights in Mexico is helping workers both at home and in Mexico by stopping a race to the bottom,” she said, using the initials for the trade deal. “It also supports Mexico’s efforts to implement recent labor law reforms.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Wednesday: “If there is abuse of workers in a company that exports to the US, if there are no fair wages, if there is no democracy, we need to intervene and a dialogue from government to government. “

GM said in a statement that it believed it had no role in the alleged labor violations and that it had asked a third party company to look into the matter. The company, which makes Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Cheyenne and GMC Sierra pickups at its Silao plant, said it will work with the Mexican Department of Labor and the US government.

“General Motors supports the USMCA’s labor regulations, including the rapid response process,” the statement said. “As a company, we respect and support the right of our employees to make a personal decision about union representation and collective bargaining on their behalf. GM condemns labor law violations and measures to restrict collective bargaining. “

By announcing its request for a Mexican review, the Biden government avoided finding a controversial tone with the Mexican government.

Ms. Tai commended the government for “stepping in to suspend the vote when it became aware of voting irregularities,” adding: “Today’s action will complement Mexico’s efforts to ensure these workers get theirs.” Unrestricted exercise of collective bargaining rights. “

On Monday, the AFL-CIO and other groups filed a Rapid Reaction Mechanism complaint alleging alleged labor violations at Tridonex auto parts plants in the Mexican city of Matamoros across the border with Brownsville, Texas.

The Biden administration will look into the complaint, said an official in the agent’s office. It could then ask Mexico to conduct a review of the matter similar to the one it is seeking for the GM facility.

Oscar Lopez contributed to coverage from Mexico City.

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Health

EU prepares authorized motion in opposition to AstraZeneca over vaccine supply points

EU prepares legal action against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery issues

President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen

Thierry Monasse | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON – The European Union is preparing legal action against AstraZeneca for insufficient supply of its coronavirus vaccine, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The EU and the pharmaceutical company were at odds several times this year. Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca said it couldn’t deliver as many vaccines as the block expects in both the first and second quarters. This has delayed the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in the 27 EU countries.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, told the 27 European ambassadors at a meeting on Wednesday that they were considering legal action against AstraZeneca over these delivery issues, four EU officials who said they refused to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue CNBC Thursday. Politico first reported on the Commission’s plan late Wednesday.

“The commission wants to act quickly. It’s a matter of days,” one of the officials told CNBC over the phone, adding that the ambassadors had given “great support” to the legal process.

The same official stated that “few legal issues” were considered before the trial proceeded.

A second official said the Commission is taking this step to ensure that upcoming deliveries are as expected.

When a European Commission spokesman was contacted by CNBC on Thursday, he said: “It is critical that we ensure the delivery of a sufficient number of cans in line with the company’s previous commitments.”

“Together with the member states, we are examining all possibilities to achieve this,” said the same spokesman, without confirming or denying that legal action has been considered.

In March, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed her disappointment with AstraZeneca during a press conference and said: “Unfortunately, AstraZeneca has produced too little and delivered too little. And of course this has painfully slowed the vaccination campaign. “

At the time, von der Leyen said the block was expecting 70 million cans from the company in the second quarter, compared to an originally expected 180 million.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, told EU lawmakers in February that low yields in EU manufacturing facilities were causing the delays.

A medical worker holds a vial containing the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Ronquieres, Belgium, on April 6, 2021.

Yves Herman | Reuters

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Business

The Fed Faces Criticism as It Wades Into Local weather and Fairness Points

The Fed Faces Criticism as It Wades Into Climate and Equity Issues

And Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said he was concerned that the Fed’s focus on boosting equity – by lowering undeclared unemployment, for example – could make it too hesitant to raise interest rates and raise them Let inflation bubble in the air.

But Fed officials say the central bank is pragmatic, not political. Ms. Daly regularly points out that understanding the risks of climate change to the financial system is important for bank regulators and regulators. Mr Powell said during a webcast on Wednesday that the Fed sees such problems “through the lens of our existing mandates” – racial, gender and other disparities in economic outcomes “hold the economy back, for example.”

“I also think we are now realizing that unemployment can go down for quite a long time without inflation being a problem – which will tend to help these groups,” he said.

Even so, the Fed knows that it is in a difficult area. Mr. Powell avoids approving certain pieces of legislation. When Fed officials talk about inequality, they are often discussing opportunity – a framework with more bipartisan support.

There is risk in viewing the Fed as a “quote unquote democratic institution,” said Peter Conti-Brown, a Fed historian at the University of Pennsylvania. It could lose support across political cycles, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely viewed as a liberal project.

“The Fed always needs political support to do its job well and have the autonomy it wants,” said Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University who studies the Fed’s politics. Pushback that led to reform came generally from Democrats – who forced them to focus more on employment and curb their ability to help Wall Street – rather than Republicans, she noted.

And even now, some Democrats say the central bank could go further. Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, has urged the Fed to do more, such as providing cheaper loans to states and communities.

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NBA points second $three million in grant program for Black communities

NBA issues second $3 million in grant program for Black communities

An empty seat and bench will appear after the scheduled start time in the fifth game of the first round of the Eastern Conference between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena in the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 26th Shown in 2020 is Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Kevin C. Cox | Getty Images

The National Basketball Association on Monday announced another series of grants for social organizations that will continue to help nurture economic opportunity in the black community.

As part of its $ 300 million pledge to support underserved areas, the league selected nine organizations including New Heights Youth from New York, City Year, Road to Hire, Big Brothers Big Sisters from Miami, and CodeCrew from Memphis.

More than $ 3 million will be distributed in this grant round. The NBA said the money would help businesses create jobs and support black career advancement.

“The grants will enhance and build upon the vital work of these national and local organizations, consistent with the NBA Foundation’s mission to provide qualification, mentoring, coaching, and pipeline development for high school, college-age, professional, and middle-aged careers Individuals in black communities in the US and Canada, “the league’s press release read.

Last year, the NBA and their players union worked together to create the NBA Foundation that promises to help blacks for the next 10 years. All 30 NBA clubs will band together to commit $ 30 million annually for the next decade as the league seeks to improve economic and income inequality.

“The NBA Foundation’s mission to drive the economic empowerment of black communities through employment and career advancement is critical to the mobility and prosperity of future generations,” Greg Taylor, executive director of the NBA Foundation, told CNBC via email . “We look forward to continuing our work and honoring our second round of fellows who have firsthand influence in their communities and individual lives.”

Professional sports leagues increased their interest in helping black communities in 2020 after high-profile police murders made headlines, including the death of George Floyd. Former Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin is currently on trial for his role in Floyd’s murder last May.

The NBA made its first installment of grants to support educational and employment opportunities last December. Organizations such as the Marcus Graham Project, Operation DREAM and Management Leadership for Tomorrow were selected to receive the funds.

Phoenix Suns co-owner Jahm Najafi added a $ 10 million donation to the foundation last month. The money is on top of the $ 10 million that the suns have already pledged. Najafi is the CEO of Arizona-based venture capital firm Najafi Companies.

Correction: The heading of this story has been updated to reflect that this is the NBA’s second grant distribution.

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Health

Science Performs the Lengthy Recreation. However Folks Have Psychological Well being Points Now.

Science Plays the Long Game. But People Have Mental Health Issues Now.

When assessing government-funded research projects – presumably a cleaner company – I re-asked the questions that people in crises keep asking me. Is this study useful in any way to my son or sister? Or, more generously, given the pace of research, could this work possibly be useful to someone at some point in their life?

The answer was almost always no. Again, this does not mean that the tools and technical understanding of brain biology have not been further developed. It’s just that these advances didn’t affect mental health in one way or another.

Don’t take my word for it. In his upcoming book, Recovery: Healing the Mental Health Care Crisis in America, Dr. Thomas Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health: “The scientific advances in our field have been breathtaking, but as we studied risk factors for suicide, the death rate had increased by 33 percent. As we identified the neuroanatomy of addiction, deaths from overdose had tripled. While we were mapping the genes for schizophrenia, people with the disease were still chronically unemployed and died 20 years earlier. “

And it continues to this day. Government agencies like the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Mental Health Institute continue to double up, pouring huge sums of taxpayers’ money into biological research to someday find a neural signature or “blood test” for possible psychiatric diagnoses, perhaps someday in the Future useful – while people are in crisis now.

I’ve written about some of these studies. For example, the National Institutes of Health is conducting a $ 300 million study of brain imaging in 10,000+ young children with so many interacting variables for experience and development that it is difficult to pinpoint the study’s main goals. The agency also has a $ 50 million project underway to try to understand the myriad, cascading, and sometimes random, processes that occur during neural development and that could underlie some mental health issues.

This kind of great scientific effort is well-intentioned, but the payoffs are indeed uncertain. The late Scott Lilienfeld, big-budget psychologist and skeptic of brain research, had his own terminology for these types of projects. “They are either fishing expeditions or Hail Marys,” he would say. “Make your choice.” When people drown, they care less about the genetics of breathing than they are about a lifesaver.

In 1973, well-known microbiologist Norton Zinder took over a committee that considered the National Cancer Institute’s grants to study viruses. He concluded that the program had become a “gravy train” for a small group of preferred scientists and recommended that their support be cut in half. A tough, Zinder-like review of current behavioral research spending, I suspect, would result in equally sharp cuts.