Historic California law establishes path to reparations (Source nbcnews.com)

California on Wednesday became the first state to adopt a law paving the way for Black residents and descendants of slaves to receive reparation payments. The legislation, which was authored by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a Democrat representing San Diego who is chair of California’s Legislative Black Caucus, does not commit to any specific payment. Instead, it establishes a nine-person task force that will study the impact of slavery on Black people in California and recommend to the Legislature what kind of compensation should be provided, who should receive it and what form it will take. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law Wednesday afternoon. “After watching last night’s debate, this signing can’t come too soon,” he said during a videoconference with lawmakers and other stakeholders, including the rapper Ice Cube, who used his celebrity to champion the bill. “As a nation, we can only truly thrive when every one of us has the opportunity to thrive. Our painful history of slavery has evolved into structural racism and bias built into and permeating throughout our democratic and economic institutions,” Newsom said in a statement.

It’s 2020, So of Course a Texas City Is Dealing With a Brain-Eating Amoeba in Its Water System

(Source gizmodo.com) The city of Lake Jackson, Texas issued a disaster declaration after it detected the microscopic amoeba Naegleria fowleri in its water systems. Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm freshwater—such as lakes, rivers and hot springs—and in soil, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The amoeba can cause a rare brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, which almost always results in death. In general, cases occur when water contaminated with the amoeba enters the body through the nose, the CDC states. Once the amoeba is in the nose, it travels to the brain and It causes inflammation and destruction of the brain and the linings of the brain, and is usually fatal.. The city got word that something was amiss in early September when it learned about the hospitalization of 6-year-old Josiah McIntyre due to Naegleria fowleri, who eventually died because of the infection. His family suspected that he could have inhaled contaminated water at a city splash pad or from a hose at his home. Officials immediately took action to try to get to the bottom of the matter. They closed the splash pad and tested the water for the amoeba. The test came back negative, but additional tests of water in various locations by the CDC found three positive samples. The positive samples were in the splash pad storage tank, a dead-end fire hydrant in the city’s downtown closest to the splash pad location and in the hose bib at the 6-year-old boy’s home.

(Source gizmodo.com) The city of Lake Jackson, Texas issued a disaster declaration after it detected the microscopic amoeba Naegleria fowleri in its water systems. Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm freshwater—such as lakes, rivers and hot springs—and in soil, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The amoeba can cause a rare brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, which almost always results in death. In general, cases occur when water contaminated with the amoeba enters the body through the nose, the CDC states. Once the amoeba is in the nose, it travels to the brain and It causes inflammation and destruction of the brain and the linings of the brain, and is usually fatal.. The city got word that something was amiss in early September when it learned about the hospitalization of 6-year-old Josiah McIntyre due to Naegleria fowleri, who eventually died because of the infection. His family suspected that he could have inhaled contaminated water at a city splash pad or from a hose at his home. Officials immediately took action to try to get to the bottom of the matter. They closed the splash pad and tested the water for the amoeba. The test came back negative, but additional tests of water in various locations by the CDC found three positive samples. The positive samples were in the splash pad storage tank, a dead-end fire hydrant in the city’s downtown closest to the splash pad location and in the hose bib at the 6-year-old boy’s home.

IMF calls for urgent action to prevent debt crisis in emerging economies (Source ft.com)

The IMF has called for urgent action and ambitious reforms to prevent a much more pronounced debt crisis in some of the world’s poorest countries, underscoring its concerns that many emerging economies will struggle following the Covid-19 pandemic.  IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva warned there was a risk of a spate of sovereign bankruptcies unless temporary debt relief measures put in place earlier this year are extended and sovereign debt contracts and processes are overhauled. “No debt crisis has happened yet thanks to decisive policy actions by central banks, fiscal authorities, official bilateral creditors and international financial institutions in the early days of the pandemic,” she wrote in a blog post published on Thursday and co-authored by her colleagues Ceyla Pazarbasioglu and Rhoda Weeks-Brown. “These actions, while essential, are fast becoming insufficient.” Ms Georgieva urged the G20 group of leading nations to extend its freeze on bilateral government loan repayments for low-income countries until 2021, and warned that a failure to do so could result in widespread economic pain. The scheme, which has been criticised for failing to secure the involvement of private creditors, is set to expire at the end of the year. Many countries have already been pushed to the brink by the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Americans Increasingly Believe Violence is Justified if the Other Side Wins (Source politico.com)

Like a growing number of prominent American leaders and scholars, we are increasingly anxious that this country is headed toward the worst post-election crisis in a century and a half. Our biggest concern is that a disputed presidential election—especially if there are close contests in a few swing states, or if one candidate denounces the legitimacy of the process—could generate violence and bloodshed. Unfortunately, we’re not being alarmist about the potential for violence; trends in public opinion that we’ve been tracking provide strong grounds for concern. Our research, which we’re reporting here for the first time, shows an upswing in the past few months in the number of Americans—both Democrats and Republicans—who said they think violence would be justified if their side loses the upcoming presidential election.