100,000 projected Covid-19 deaths
According to the University of Washington’s Covid-19 death projection model, it is projected that the U.S. will face an additional 98,000 deaths by the start of December. This projected number would bring the overall death toll to almost 730,000. Currently the U.S. is facing its fourth wave of the virus largely powered by the Delta variant. The projection also states that the death rate will rise to nearly 1,400 deaths per day by mid-September before slowly declining. The model is largely affected by human behavior, with experts claiming that the anticipated death toll can be cut in half if a majority of citizens wore masks in public spaces.
Voting rights reform
According to the Associated Press, last Tuesday the House of Representatives, which is currently under democratic majority, passed legislation that restored sections of historic voting legislation that allowed for legal challenges to state voting laws. This act also required that states with a history of voter discrimination must get federal preclearance before changing laws. To show their support of voting rights reform, numerous multiracial coalitions and groups of civil and human rights held rallies last weekend to urge the passage of federal voter protections. The reform now falls on the Senate, where Republican politicians have promised to block any voting rights legislation. Proposals from the Democratic party include the John Lewis Voter Advancement Act, which would add protections against suppression tactics affecting Indigenous communities, and the For the People Act which would create a national standard for voter registration and curb racial gerrymandering.
Gaps in smoke sensors leave many exposed
To alert citizens when smoke pollution from wildfires becomes a dangerous amount, the United States government relies on around 950 permanent smoke monitoring stations and dozens of mobile units capable of being deployed around major wildfires. However, according to the Associated Press there are huge gaps between air quality sensors in the west that have created blind spots in the warning system. Many of the stations are concentrated around major cities on the West Coast leaving many people, especially those in rural areas, unable to determine risks from smoke. Wildfire smoke can travel for thousands of miles, losing its odor, but retaining its danger to public health. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Forest Service have provided an online exposure map from the smoke sensors.
Defendant in plot to kidnap governor sentenced.
Last Wednesday, Ty Garbin, a 25-year-old airplane mechanic, was the first defendant among 15 men to be sentenced for extremist plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in October. Garbin was the only defendant to plead guilty of the 14 other men involved in the plot. Garbin was sentenced to six years and three months in prison. Many of the defendants were members of an anti-government paramilitary group located in Michigan called the Wolverine Watchmen, which heavily protested Covid-19 lockdown measures. The 13 other members of the plot are still facing trial.
Evictions resume in the United States
The Supreme Court ended the temporary ban on evictions that was put in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic last Thursday. This action blocked the Biden administration’s plan to protect roughly 3.5 million people in the U.S. who are facing eviction within the next two months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reimposed the moratorium on Aug. 3, but according to the court the health organization lacked the authority to do so under federal law without congressional authorization. This decision followed another loss for the Biden administration where the court allowed the reinstatement of a Trump policy, informally known as the Remain in Mexico program, forcing Mexican citizens seeking asylum to wait in Mexico for their hearings.
