Paradise News

Tag: General News

  • Fact Check: Sorting out what Marco Rubio said about Senate immigration bill’s ‘asylum corps’

    Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who has led attempts to update immigration law, this month rejected a bill that would have given immigration officials more funding and changed how asylum is decided for people arriving at the U.S.’ southwest border.

    Rubio justified his decision in a Feb. 11 CNN interview, saying the bill would have led to the hiring of bureaucrats who would easily let people into the country to give them work permits or asylum and a path to citizenship. 

    “The bill basically creates an asylum corps … thousands of bureaucrats, asylum agents that would be empowered right at the border to either allow people into the country with an immediate work permit,” Rubio said. “Or they have the power to immediately release them and grant them asylum.”

    The bill, which failed in the Senate on a 49-50 vote, sought to hire more asylum officers. But Rubio omits that these officers are already part of the immigration system. Currently, they decide the cases of people who already live in the United States and are not in deportation proceedings. 

    The Senate bill wanted to enable these officials to also decide the cases of new southwest border arrivals who would have applied for asylum as a defense against deportation. Immigration experts questioned Rubio’s characterization that the bill would have made it easier for people to get asylum.

    PolitiFact emailed Rubio’s press office for comments but did not hear back.

    Although this bill is no longer being considered, asylum law and policies remain major contention points within Congress and in its negotiations with the Biden administration. So, here’s an analysis of the asylum provisions of this bill, which could influence future legislation.

    Bill aimed to reduce asylum waiting periods

    There’s a backlog of millions of asylum cases that immigration judges and asylum officers must decide. That amount of cases is pending largely because of the high numbers of people applying and the low number of resources available to adjudicate these applications.

    The border bill sought to shorten the asylum decision process from years to six months and to expedite the issuing of work permits to eligible migrants. The bill also tried to make it harder to get asylum by raising the initial screening standard and adding new eligibility criteria (if people could move within their own home country to avoid persecution, they wouldn’t be eligible for asylum in the United States.)

    Would the bill have created bureaucrats and an ‘asylum corps’?

    The bill would have funded the hiring of thousands of new asylum officers who work for the executive branch, specifically the Department of Homeland Security. 

    But asylum officers have been deciding cases for a long time within DHS’ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a Migration Policy Institute policy analyst. USCIS handles cases of people who are already in the United States, not necessarily people who are newly arriving at U.S. borders.

    Rubio in 2013 co-sponsored a bill that would have enabled asylum officers “under certain circumstances” to grant asylum to people arriving at the border, according to the Congressional Research Service.

    Immigration judges, who Rubio suggested he preferred, also are employed by the executive branch, specifically the Justice Department. 

    Both asylum officers and immigration judges receive extensive training on immigration laws, said Bush-Joseph.

    What new powers did the bill try to give asylum officers?

    Asylum officers would have had the power to decide the cases of people arriving at U.S. borders. This responsibility has rested only with immigration judges. Also, a newly created board of asylum officers would review case appeals. Currently, immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (a group of 23 appellate immigration judges within the Justice Department) have this responsibility.

    Under the bill, people arriving at the border who seek asylum would have been released from custody and monitored remotely by immigration officials. 

    Asylum officers would then have had 90 days to interview them and to decide whether there is a “reasonable possibility” that the person is eligible for asylum. People who passed that initial interview could become eligible for work permits and be referred for another asylum interview.

    Asylum officers would also have been able to conduct a second interview within 90 days. This is where immigration courts usually step in. The officers’ supervisors would review decisions to give people asylum after the second interview. 

    There would also be another way to get asylum. During the first interview, if people proved an even higher standard, that they had “clear and convincing evidence,” they would be granted asylum without a second interview.  A supervisor would also review that decision. 

    People not interviewed within the first 90 days would remain in the asylum queue, but become eligible for work permits. (Democratic state and city leaders have asked the Biden administration to issue work permits faster so fewer migrants rely on government services.)

    Did the bill make it easier to get asylum?

    Rubio gave the impression that asylum officers would be more lenient and approve asylum more often than judges. Immigrant advocacy groups say the opposite. 

    The “rapid and truncated procedures will undermine the fairness and thoroughness of asylum screenings” the American Immigration Lawyers Association said in a Feb. 5 statement.

    The bill made it harder for people to get asylum because immigration judges would not have the power to reverse asylum officers’ decisions, said the National Immigrant Justice Center.

    Currently, when asylum officers deny a case, it is sent to immigration courts. In this venue, people may apply for asylum again to prevent their deportation.

    Oftentimes, people who are denied asylum by asylum officers are granted asylum by immigration judges, said Bush-Joseph. She said this might be because by then people have had more time to find attorneys who “may be able to find more evidence or experts who can support their case.”



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  • States target health insurers’ ‘prior authorization’ red tape – Paradise Post

    By Bram Sable-Smith, KFF Health News

    Christopher Marks noticed an immediate improvement when his doctor prescribed him the Type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro last year. The 40-year-old truck driver from Kansas City, Missouri, said his average blood sugar reading decreased significantly and that keeping it within target range took less insulin than before.

    But when his doctor followed the typical prescribing pattern and increased his dose of Mounjaro — a drug with a wholesale list price of more than $1,000 a month — Marks’ health insurer declined to pay for it.

    Marks had Cigna insurance that he purchased on the federal health insurance marketplace, healthcare.gov. After two appeals over a month and a half, Cigna agreed to cover the higher dose. A few months later, he said, when it was time to up his dose once more, he was denied again. By November, he decided it wasn’t worth sparring with Cigna anymore since the insurer was leaving the marketplace in Missouri at the start of this year. He decided to stay on the lower dose until his new insurance kicked in.

    “That is beyond frustrating. People shouldn’t have to be like, ‘It’s not worth the fight to get my medical treatment,’” Marks said.

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  • U.S. Forgives Nearly $137 Billion Of Student Loans

    Announced by the federal Department of Education  in January, this latest expansion boosts the Biden Administration’ s total student loan forgiveness to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million borrowers. Here’s how this unprecedented loan relief was accomplished:

    By Charlene Crowell

    (Trice Edney Wire) – Teachers, social workers, and other public servants are among those expected to benefit from recent Biden Administration efforts to expand eligibility for federal student loan forgiveness.

    Collectively, these borrowers will be relieved of $4.9 billion debt in return for their service to communities that earned them forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Income-Driven Repayment (IDR).

    “The Biden-Harris Administration has worked relentlessly to fix our country’s broken student loan system and address the needless hurdles and administrative inaccuracies that, in the past, kept borrowers from getting the student debt forgiveness they deserved,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

    James Kvaal, U.S. Under Secretary of Education added, “The Biden-Harris Administration is not going to stop until we’ve helped all of those harmed by the broken student loan system.”

    Announced by the federal Department of Education  in January, this latest expansion boosts the Biden Administration’ s total student loan forgiveness to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million borrowers. Here’s how this unprecedented loan relief was accomplished:

    • $56.7 billion for 793,400 borrowers enrolled in PSLF since October 2021. Prior to the Biden-Harris Administration’s fixes to PSLF, only about 7,000 borrowers had ever received forgiveness;
    • $45.7 billion in IDR relief for 930,500 borrowers;
    • $11.7 billion for almost 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability; and
    • $22.5 billion for more than 1.3 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools, saw their institutions precipitously close, or are covered by related court settlements.

    In late 2023, the Federal Reserve determined that although most consumers pay $400 or less in monthly loan payments, 19 percent of borrowers pay far more. As reported by Motley Fool, payments between $500 and $999 are made by 14 percent of borrowers, while payments of $1,000 or more are paid by five percent of borrowers.

    “Outstanding student loan debt exceeds outstanding auto loan debt and credit card debt,” recently noted Rohit Chopra, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). “If student loan borrowers are unable to successfully enroll in payment plans or obtain accurate information about their accounts, this can have a domino effect on the rest of their financial lives.”

    In December 2023, CFPB issued a new report entitled, Making Ends Meet in 2023. Two findings in this report highlight the heavy and disproportionate financial effects for borrowers of color:

    “Consumers who currently have student debt were 10 percentage points more likely to have difficulty paying bills than consumers who had student debt at some point in the last 10 years but no longer do and consumers who have not had student debt for at least 10 years if ever.”

    “Nearly 58 percent of Black consumers and 54 percent of Hispanic households could not cover expenses for more than a month in February 2023,” continued the CFPB report, “while this was the case for only 34 percent of non-Hispanic white households and 32 percent of households of another race. These differences among groups were largely unchanged since 2022.”

    Secretary Cardona said the Education Department’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan will deliver even greater debt relief and help put more borrowers on a faster track to loan forgiveness. Borrowers who originally took out $12,000 or less for college and are enrolled in the SAVE Plan will see forgiveness after as few as 10 years of payments. Those who are enrolled in SAVE and are eligible for early forgiveness will have their debts automatically cancelled starting next month, months ahead of schedule, with no action needed.

    The Department and its partners are reaching out to encourage eligible but unenrolled borrowers to sign up for SAVE. Borrowers can find additional resources at StudentAid.gov and sign up for the SAVE plan at StudentAid.gov/save.

    Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at [email protected].

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  • Congress Leaves Ukraine Aid Bill in Limbo


    Biden says that failure to back Kiev at such a critical time would “never be forgotten”

    The US House of Representatives failed to pass key international aid legislation that would have devoted some $95 billion in additional funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, before lawmakers broke for winter recess.

    When the lawmakers return from recess on February 28, they will face a higher priority challenge than sending billions in US taxpayer dollars to Kiev, as they will have just a few days to negotiate a deal to avert yet another US government shutdown.

    The House speaker, Republican Mike Johnson, later insisted his fellow party members would not accept an aid bill that did not also contain stiffer border protections.

    “The Republican-led house will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid bill that was opposed by most Republican senators and does nothing to secure our own border,” Johnson said.

    President Biden, who has clamored time and again for the new aid to Ukraine and Israel, voiced outrage after the bill failed to come to a vote, warning that those who obstructed the measure would “never be forgotten.”

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    Lawmakers failed to compromise on a deal after Republicans demanded that the package include new funds to protect the border with Mexico.

    Following months of negotiations, the two major parties were simply unable to reach an agreement on the massive foreign aid bill on Thursday as lawmakers head off for their winter break. The legislation would include some $60 billion for Kiev, more than $14 billion for Israel and around $8 billion for US partners in the Indo-Pacific. Still more funds will be allocated to a number of other projects, including supporting US military action around the globe, bringing its total price tag to over $95 billion.

    While Republicans had insisted that the bill must include new funding for security at the southern US border if they were ever to agree to additional Ukraine aid, negotiations on the Senate version of the legislation ultimately fell through, with several GOP members dropping their support following criticisms by former President Donald Trump.

    House GOP members have refused to pass any stand-alone legislation that only deals with the foreign aid, insisting the bill must address an unprecedented surge in illegal immigration.

    Is the NFL more important than America?

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  • Naval Personnel Shoots Man Dead At Checkpoint In Abia

    A man identified as Major Nwogu was shot dead by a naval personnel at a checkpoint in Abia State. While eyewitnesses allege he was killed for refusing to stop his motorcycle, the Navy claims he was shot during a struggle while being apprehended for a reported tricycle theft.

    According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Nwogu was riding his motorcycle through the checkpoint when he was flagged down by the naval personnel. He allegedly refused to stop, prompting one of the personnel to shoot him in the back. He reportedly died on the scene despite efforts to take him to the hospital.

    The Nigerian Navy, however, claim Mr. Nwogu was invited for questioning related to a tricycle theft case and was shot during a struggle with a naval personnel’s rifle. They maintained that efforts were made to take him to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

    Adding to the controversy, motorcycle riders in the area reported being routinely humiliated by naval personnel at the checkpoint, forced to dismount and walk past a barricade before continuing their journey.

    The Director of Naval Information, Rear Admiral Ayo-Vaughan, who said he confirmed the incident from the Commandant, Naval School of Administration and Finance,Owerri- Nta, Abia State, confirmed the incident and stated that an investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances surrounding Mr. Nwogu’s death.

    “On Thursday 15 February, 2024,at about 04:50 pm, a case theft of a tricycle was reported. Mr Majo was invited for questioning by own personnel deployed at Umukpeyi-Nvosi, Abia state checkpoint. In the course of apprehending him, there was an altercation and while struggling with the rifle of the personnel a round was released.

    “Immediately, efforts were made to evacuate him to a hospital where he was reported dead on arrival. The personnel is a rating of Nigerian Navy College of Accounts and Finance Owerri-Nta deployed on internal security duties at the checkpoint which is part of own aid to civil authority in Abia state.

    “The general public is requested to note that investigations are ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident.”

    While the investigation is ongoing, Mr. Nwogu’s family and community members are demanding justice. They question the Navy’s account of events and express outrage over the alleged use of excessive force.

    Naval Personnel Shoots Man Dead At Checkpoint In Abia is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

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  • Fact Check: What’s going on at the US-Mexico border, and what are asylum and parole?

    With immigration a top issue heading into the 2024 election, politicians have been speaking often about the challenges at the southern border.

    The stunning collapse of a bipartisan border security bill after months of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats was the latest chapter in the national political saga.

    The heated conversation over immigration often includes inaccuracies. For instance, a Politifact analysis in 2022 of a claim from U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman found his representation of a border apprehensions statistic to be misleading.

    To clear up common areas of confusion, we dived into the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, and how the country found itself in this position. Plus: what do policies such as asylum and Title 42 look like in practice?

    Here’s a guide to help you understand the debate.

    How many encounters with migrants did U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have in the last fiscal year at the southern border?

    Agents encountered migrants at the southern border about 2,476,000 times in the 2023 fiscal year, which ran from October 2022 through September 2023, according to CBP data.

    That number includes people who tried to cross the border more than once. It also includes people who sought out border agents to claim asylum, and those who scheduled appointments to claim asylum at official ports of entry.

    Encounters include both the cases where someone is apprehended or detained temporarily, then released into the U.S. with a future court date, and people who are turned away.

    The peak month was September, when agents encountered migrants nearly 270,000 times.

    But the 2024 fiscal year has even topped that number. In December, the most recent month with available data, agents encountered migrants over 302,000 times.

    Poor economic conditions, violence and instability in migrants’ home countries often push them to leave, and the appeal of a better life in the U.S. prompts people to embark on dangerous journeys to cross the border.

    Another reason for higher encounters is improved detection efforts by border agencies, according to a report from the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group.

    “As border security improves and becomes more effective, the total number of encounters are likely to rise as well,” the report said.

    How do last year’s encounters at the southern border compare to prior years?

    Customs and Border Protection data shows agents have encountered people more times in the 2023 fiscal year than in previous years.

    In 2022, CBP recorded 2,379,000 encounters. In 2021, there were 1,735,000 encounters.

    Now that Title 42 has ended, what happens to asylum seekers?

    Under the pandemic-era Title 42, most migrants were sent back over the border and denied the right to seek asylum. U.S. officials turned away migrants more than 2.8 million times.

    But there were no real consequences when someone illegally crossed the border. So migrants were able to try again and again to cross, on the off chance they would get into the U.S. That’s one of the common errors, equating encounters with actual people. Indeed, the more people turned away consistently, the more this measuring stick can balloon as they try a second, third or fourth time.

    President Joe Biden ended Title 42 in May 2023. Now in place is Title 8, a set of longstanding immigration laws in the U.S. Code.

    U.S. law states that people have a right to claim asylum if they arrive at a border and express a “well-grounded fear of persecution.”

    Border agents give a brief screening to people who say they fear returning to their home country.

    “If you say, ‘I have a fear of return,’ it triggers a protection under our laws that ensures that a government official will review your case to see if you are likely to be successful with qualifying for asylum in the U.S.,” said Erin Barbato, director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the University of Wisconsin.

    If a migrant passes the initial screening, their case then goes to the immigration court system to determine if they can stay in the U.S., but that process can take years. Usually they are released into the U.S. to wait out their cases because Border Patrol stations don’t have the capacity to detain everyone.

    These are generally “defensive asylum” cases, where people are placed in removal proceedings and must prove they should stay in the U.S. If an asylum seeker loses the case, they face deportation.

    Asylum seekers with a court date have an incentive to go to their hearings because if they don’t show up, they will be ordered deported, Barbato said.

    How long do migrants wait for asylum court hearings?

    The asylum system is massively backlogged, with over 1.1 million pending cases. Petitioners are waiting an average of nearly four years, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, at Syracuse University.

    But going through process is not a sure way to stay in the U.S. About 50% of asylum claims in the last fiscal year were denied, according to TRAC data.

    While they wait for their court dates, asylum seekers can apply for work permits.

    What is parole and how is it being used?

    One point of debate during border bill negotiations in the Senate was humanitarian parole. That is the president’s authority to allow migrants into the U.S. for special cases during emergencies or global unrest. It does not provide a path toward U.S. citizenship.

    Biden’s administration has relied heavily on humanitarian parole. The U.S. airlifted nearly 80,000 Afghans and brought them to the U.S. after the Taliban takeover. The U.S. has admitted tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled after the Russian invasion.

    Last year the administration announced a plan to admit 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela via parole, provided those migrants had a financial sponsor and flew to the U.S. instead of going to the U.S.-Mexico border for entry.

    Also being admitted into the U.S. through the parole authority: Migrants who make appointments through the CBP One phone app and are processed at official ports of entry.

    What is the CBP One app?

    The Biden administration wants more people to be processed at these official border crossings instead of crossing unlawfully between ports. So, the administration has tried to encourage migrants in Mexico to schedule appointments through the CBP One app.

    There is an incentive for those who use the app and cross lawfully: a fast-track to legal work authorization.

    Glitches and challenges with the app are well-documented. Many people try every morning to get an appointment in the lottery system. About 1,450 appointment slots are available each day.

    CBS News reported that in the app’s first year, 450,000 migrants were allowed into the U.S. with the process. Migrants made more than 64.3 million requests to enter the country using the app, the outlet reported.

    Those who do book an appointment have a brief meeting with a border agent and, if they pass certain safety checks, are released into the U.S. with a notice to appear in court at a certain date. They could go through the asylum process at a later point.

    “Most people, after that interview, are allowed to live in the United States, but they are in deportation proceedings. So they receive that Notice to Appear, and they also have to have a sponsor in the U.S.,” Barbato said.

    What are ‘got-aways,’ and how many are entering the U.S.?

    Several Republican politicians have expressed concern about so-called “got-aways,” or people who crossed the border into the U.S. without being stopped by border agents.

    It is difficult to know exactly how many people entered without being inspected, but the Department of Homeland Security creates an estimate based on models and observations. For example, an agent may see someone in the distance but can’t reach them, or a sensor or surveillance tool detects that someone is crossing.

    The Congressional Budget Office used DHS officials’ public statements about got-aways to make its own estimate of 860,000 people in the 2023 fiscal year.

    Republicans have argued that people who cross undetected pose a security threat. Laurence Benenson, vice president of policy and advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, agrees that the government can do better at getting control over the border, and that it’s important to know who is crossing into the country.

    But Benenson also believes that most of the people who cross undetected are coming to the U.S. for the same reasons as those who encounter border agents.

    “They come here for a better life, they come here to escape persecution, they come here to work and be with their families,” he said.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

     



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  • Ex-Detroit Red Wings forward Filip Zadina a factor for San Jose Sharks

    Filip Zadina left millions on the table last offseason when he parted ways with the Detroit Red Wings and signed a modest one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks worth only a few hundred thousand dollars more than the NHL’s minimum salary.

    It was a huge bet by Zadina on himself, one that brought with it a certain amount of pressure. And through the first half of the season, perhaps Zadina was feeling a bit of that strain.

    It didn’t necessarily help Zadina that he was demoted to the fourth line, averaging less ice time per game than in his previous five NHL seasons. Before the all-star break, Zadina had just one assist in his last eight games, averaging just 10:31 in ice time per night.

    Still, Zadina, even as he’s adjusted to a reduced role, has never stopped competing.

    Thursday, that effort paid off in a career-best four-point night, as Zadina’s two goals and two assists paved the way to a 6-3 Sharks victory over the Calgary Flames.

    “One thing about Z, he works his ass off, night in and night out,” said Sharks coach David Quinn, who helped recruit Zadina to San Jose last July. “You’re always going to get an honest effort.

    “He puts an awful lot of pressure on himself, and he cares so much and wants to do so well, and sometimes that gets in his way. I think he’s been a little bit more relaxed lately. Nice to see him get rewarded statistically. But there’s definitely been some growth in his game here.”

    Zadina, 24, said playing a smaller role has been a grind at times.

    “I was just playing the way I was playing before,” Zadina said. “Obviously, it’s hard mentally because you’re not playing that much. You’re not really on the ice. But when you’re on the ice, you’re trying to be your best to help the team.”

    Zadina’s work ethic and improved two-way game have been major reasons why he kept his spot in the lineup, despite the inconsistent production.

    Against the Flames, his effort on the forecheck, not to mention his skill, helped lead to second-period goals by Mikael Granlund and Bailey as the Sharks took a 2-1 lead.

    Then with his team holding onto a 3-2 lead, Zadina scored goals 37 seconds apart to put the Sharks up by three with 14:45 left in regulation time. One came on a beautiful deflection that fluttered past Flames goalie Dustin Wolf and into the net.

    Zadina now has seven goals and 10 assists and is on pace to eclipse his career highs of 10 goals and 24 points, set in 2021-22 when he was 22.

    More than points, though, Zadina’s been a better two-way player. On Nov. 23, after 19 games, Zadina was minus-19. In the 28 games since then, he’s only been a minus-4.

    “Recently, I’ve done a better job in the D-zone,” Zadina said. “We’re not giving up that many goals. At the beginning of the season, obviously, the crazy number I had, so I’m trying to put a bandage on the wound and trying to get better and go lower a little bit.

    “Once I do that, the hockey’s easier.”

    Zadina entered the NHL with high expectations after he was selected sixth overall by Detroit in 2018. But he was never a huge point producer with the rebuilding Red Wings, and perhaps it was unrealistic to expect that he would become one soon after he broke into the NHL.

    He had 68 points In 190 games in Detroit.

    Seeking a fresh start, Zadina left behind $4.56 million in actual money he was owed to become a free agent.

    After he and the Wings mutually agreed to terminate his previous contract, he joined the Sharks on a one-year, $1.1 million deal in July, just $325,000 over the league minimum. He is slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights after the season.

    It was a slow start in San Jose for Zadina, no doubt. But it appears he’s discovered what he needs to do to remain in the NHL for years to come, whether it’s in San Jose or elsewhere.

    “Everybody wants to score and we want people to score,” Quinn said. “But sometimes it doesn’t happen and in the course of a night, you’ve got to find different ways to contribute and take value in it, and that’s something I think (Zadina’s) doing a good job of.”



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  • This Book Helps Black Moms Navigate Infant Loss

    “The Mourning After” by Xaviera “Zay” Bell features personal stories from mothers who’ve experienced loss, policy experts, and birth workers.

    by Alexa Spencer

    “Why can’t you save my son?”

    Xaviera “Zay” Bell questioned every doctor at the University of North Carolina’s maternal ward the day she gave birth to her son, Xander. Most responded, “There is nothing that we can do.” A head nurse practitioner looked at her and said, “I know you want to be a mom, but this is not the way to do it.”

    Born at 21 weeks and 6 days, Xander was an 11-inch micropreemie weighing 15 ounces. Doctors said if he lived, he could be deaf, blind, and unable to walk, but he was perfect to his mama.  

    “‘A disabled child is worse than a dead child? Is that what you’re saying to me?’” Bell says she asked the nurse.

    She was forced to watch her son take his last breath on the first day of his life — April 25th, 2018. 

    A Need for Relatable Resources

    A day after Xander’s birth and death, Bell was sent home with a cardboard pastry box full of documents, including a “damaging” book about child loss. On the cover, a white mother’s heart-shaped hands wrapped around the feet of white baby. Inside, unrelatable scenarios filled the pages.

    “This is the craziest thing I have ever received in my life, because it was a compilation of all these stories, and some of them looked like children getting killed in car accidents,” she says. “It was just not relatable to me.”

    Bell spent days searching for books to recommend the hospital give to women of color, but didn’t find any titles specific to Black women. So, as she navigated the loss of Xander, she stepped out on faith and wrote her own.

    “The Mourning After: The Personal and Professional Effects of the Black Infant & Maternal Health Crisis” is an anthology and a resource guide for Black moms and their advocates. The two-part book features 30 personal stories from mothers, policy experts, and birth workers.

    Bell’s goal is for the book to be handed out in hospitals to Black moms who experience infant loss.

    A Common Experience

    Bell says doctors repeatedly ignored her concerns about feeling cramps and pressure and advised her to take vitamins. “Just take a Flintstone tablet,” she says she was told. 

    Then she went into premature labor. “If they had taken me seriously, that’s something that could have been caught early on,” she says. 

    Sadly, her experience is not uncommon. 

    Black infants have the highest mortality rate compared to other races and ethnicities in the United States. The year Xander was born, 10.75 out of every 1,000 Black infants died before their first birthday. The rate increased slightly in 2022 to 10.86 out of every 1,000 live births. In both years, the mortality rate was over twice that of non-Hispanic white infants.

    Regardless of the circumstances surrounding infant loss, it’s a vulnerable time for mothers emotionally and mentally. They may feel anxious, depressed, or like their world no longer makes sense.

    “When you lose both of your parents, you’re an orphan. When you lose your spouse, you’re a widow, but when you lose your children, there is nothing that defines that,” Bell says. 

    Healing From Loss

    When deciding where to start reading the anthology, Bell says, “It depends on where you are in your journey.”  For mothers who are healing from loss — no matter how long ago it was — reading the book front-to-back may be helpful. 

    “I have met women on this journey that lost children 30 years ago and still carry that because they had no support,” Bell says. “I specifically put those stories specifically of loss in the front so that women know that you are not alone.”

    Toward the back, readers will find practical advice, from what to do when breastmilk continues to produce post-loss to how to plan a funeral or ceremony — decisions Bell had a hard time navigating after losing Xander. 

    The book, which took six years to produce, will later take the form of an audiobook and a documentary, Bell says. 

    “The seed that I had to plant was a humongous sacrifice, but it’s going to produce an incredible harvest in this state, in this country, in this world.” 

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  • WSJ Tells Readers: “To Save Money, Maybe You Should Skip Breakfast”

    As the number of “Bidenomics” news stories soared, polling data via Real Clear Politics shows the president’s job approval rating fell. In other words, the American people quickly called bullshit on this PR campaign.

    President Biden’s attempt to sell Americans on ‘Bidenomics’ could be one of the most significant marketing failures by an administration in an election cycle in modern times. 

    According to Bloomberg data, the number of news stories mentioning “Bidenomics” in corporate media erupted in June 2023. This was around the time when the White House launched its propaganda campaign to persuade trick the American people about the alleged successes of the president’s economic policies. 

    As the number of “Bidenomics” news stories soared, polling data via Real Clear Politics shows the president’s job approval rating fell. In other words, the American people quickly called bullshit on this PR campaign. 

    In this era of failure, legacy media told consumers inflation is their fault. But ignore the Federal Reserve’s massive easing program during the Covid era and the federal government helicopter dropping trillions of dollars blindly across the economy. 

    Remember this Bloomberg opinion piece from 2022 that told readers who made under $300k and suffer from high inflation: “Try lentils instead of meat.” 

    • Introducing Next Level Foundational Energy from Dr. Jones Naturals starting at 30% off! This cutting-edge dietary supplement is designed to elevate your energy levels and support your overall well-being.

    And now, the Wall Street Journal told readers: “To Save Money, Maybe You Should Skip Breakfast.” 

    As another reminder, lower inflation touted by the White House does not mean lower prices.

    And the consumer environment is getting worse – not better ahead of the elections. 

    The Atlantic pointing fingers at consumers for inflation, Bloomberg advising readers to eat lentils, and WSJ suggesting skipping breakfast are all indicators of the US economy’s distress, in stark contrast to the White House’s continuous assurances that everything is fine.

    Watch: Democratic Leaders Tell America That Illegal Aliens Come First

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  • BREAKING: Wanted Kingpin Arrested Two Days After Wike’s N20m Bounty

    A wanted kidnap kingpin, Dahiru Adamu has been arrested, two days after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike placed a bounty of N20m on him and his counterpart, Abu Ibrahim.

    On Wednesday, Wike placed the bounty on the suspected terrorists, allegedly responsible for attacking and kidnapping two defence staff at an Army Estate in Abuja and kidnappings across the capital city.

    Adamu, whose real name is Saudi Abdulkadir was arrested on Thursday, by the FCT Police Command attached to the Anti-kidnapping unit following a kidnapper’s raid at a camp bordering Nasarawa and Abuja via Kuje area council.

    The FCT police command in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Josephine Adeh on Friday said the operation occurred at midnight.

    The statement read partly: “In a continued effort against criminality in the Territory, raided two (2) kidnappers’ camps bordering Nasarawa and Abuja via Kuje area council on 15/02/2024 at about 12 AM, dislodged the camps and arrested one Saidu Abdulkadir ‘m’ popularly known as (Dahiru Adamu), who is the gang leader and one of the wanted suspects of the kidnapping syndicate paraded by the Police Command on 14th February 2024.

    “The bandits on sighting the police operatives, opened fire and engaged the Police in an intense gun duel and were eventually overpowered by the Police, as one Habu Yakubu and Isufu Abubakar, earlier abducted from Kwaita village via Pegi district of Kuje area council, were rescued unhurt and the suspect arrested.

    “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect masterminded the kidnap and killing of one Mr Sunday Yahaya Zakwai, the district head of Ketti village.

    “While effort is till ongoing to apprehend the other wanted suspects on the run, the Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Benneth C. Igweh psc, mni, wishes to reassure criminals in FCT that there is no hiding place for them.

    “He equally urges residents to report suspicious activities through the following emergency lines; 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653, and 08028940883; PCB: 09022222352.“

    BREAKING: Wanted Kingpin Arrested Two Days After Wike’s N20m Bounty is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

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