Weekly Update 11/14/22

Election Updates

The House of Representatives still has a number of seats to be officially called…

Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) is holding a lead of less…

Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) is beating Republican Brian Maryott…

Rep Young Kim’s (R-CA) race in CA-40 was called…

Reps. Michelle Steel (R-CA) in CA-45…

Rep. Lou Correa’s (D-CA) race in CA-46…

Rep. John Garamendi’s (D-CA) race in CA-8 was called…

Rep. Mike Thompson’s (D-CA) race in CA-4 was called…

Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) race in CA-14 was called…

Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) is beating Republican challenger…

Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) is beating Republican challenger…

Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) race in CA-20 was called…

Sen. Alex Padilla’s (D-CA) race has been called…

Coronavirus

COVID-19 at any level of severity is linked to an increased risk of dangerous blood clots…

The CDC estimates there were roughly 26 million cases of COVID-19 among people under 18 during the first 20 months of the pandemic…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday, 11/4, that the U.S. is experiencing the highest hospitalization rates for influenza…

Pfizer-BioNTech said Friday, 11/4, that their updated COVID-19 booster substantially increased protection against the virus compared to previous iterations of the vaccine…

California

California voters said yes to abortion rights, increasing funding for the arts in public schools and to a ban on flavored tobacco…

Earning college credit in high school can be a powerful tool for exposing students to universities and helping them get a leg up on tuition and earning a degree…

California filed suit Thursday, 11/10, against makers of a class of chemical compounds used in many consumer products that don't break down in the environment and are believed to pose a long-term health risk…

Wells are running dry in California at a record pace…

Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a blanket rejection of local California governments’ plans to curb homelessness, putting on hold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid…

Poverty fell in California during the COVID-19 pandemic, recent data shows, largely due to state and national safety net programs, especially the expansion of federal child tax credits…

California lawmakers have approved a proposal for children who qualify for Medicaid to enroll at birth and stay enrolled until age five, starting in 2025, pending federal approval…

President and Administration

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reiterated on 11/1 that his agency is working with other federal departments, local groups and even gaming companies to build out a renewed response to school safety…

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), released a new report…

More than three million middle and high school students have used a tobacco product in the past month…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a new report on Thursday…

McKinsey analysts project nearly $20 billion in federal pandemic relief funds for K-12 schools might not get spent by a 2024 deadline unless the money is spent faster, based on spending projections and a survey of 260 administrators conducted last year…

Congress

In a discussion draft released 11/10, the Senate Finance Committee laid out new ideas for Congress to address mental health…

Education

Nearly 26 million Americans have applied for relief under the student loan forgiveness plan, with 16 million applications approved…

New data indicate that online schools have had a staying power beyond the pandemic that few observers suspected…

Overall foreign student enrollment at U.S. institutions saw a four percent boost during the 2021-2022 school year, up from the severe decline during the 2020-2021 school year, according to a new report from the Institute of International Education…

The Education Department is moving forward to carry out some parts of the FAFSA Simplification Act before unveiling a simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid next fall…

SUNY Westchester Community College and MDRC, a social policy research organization, released the results of a new study Thursday, 11/3, which found that students in the college’s student support program enrolled full-time at higher rates and accumulated more credits than their peers…

A new report examining peer mental health supports on college campuses found that such programs are popular and useful, though they also raise some concerns…

The U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service (CRS) provides services to communities to respond to community tension and allegations of bias and hate incidents…

The expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, likely to occur in January, will create significant complexity for schools that provide telehealth services to students…

The Education Department this morning is releasing new guidance that encourages schools and colleges to use unspent COVID-19 relief money to expand various career options for students…

Public Safety & Justice Update 11/10/22

The Smart Policing Initiative (SPI), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), recently released its Blueprint for Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention in the 21st Century: Principles of a Comprehensive Recruitment, Hiring, Promotion, and Retention Strategy…

 Democrats and Republicans agree that government should provide for public safety, especially after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020…

Oregon voted to pass stricter gun laws on Tuesday — the only ballot measure nationwide that addresses gun violence…

At age 23, Nabeela Syed was just elected as the youngest member of the Illinois House of Representatives…

A federal judge suspended parts of new gun restrictions after a century-old law was struck down over the summer in New York State Supreme Court…

A federal grand jury indictment revealed new details in last month’s attack against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband…

The Justice Department’s inspector general is investigating a top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, prompted by U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins’ appearance at a political fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden…

The Department of Justice is looking into crypto exchange FTX after its apparent collapse…

 Former Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith was found guilty on all six corruption and misconduct counts in her civil corruption trial last week…

“Two LA police officers will not face criminal charges in the July 2021 shooting death of a man holding a lighter that looked like a gun,” the state attorney general said, releasing the first results of an investigation into an officer-involved shooting under a program intended to increase oversight of police…

Public Safety & Justice Update 11/1/22

A gun control group is suing the Biden administration, claiming federal regulators left “mile-wide loopholes” that have increased untraceable, home-assembled weapons…

 After increased gun violence in the U.S., the political power of gun reform will be tested this election cycle…

Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), was struck by a person with a hammer who shouted “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”...

 On the same day an intruder assaulted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at their San Francisco home, federal officials announced a 22-year-old Pennsylvania man, Joshua Hall, pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Bay Area congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA), and issued a broader warning about politically motivated violence in advance of Election Day…

A New Jersey legislative committee voted to require liability insurance for gun owners and restrict where they could carry their weapons, moving what would be some of the strictest U.S. firearms limits closer to becoming law…

Families of the Uvalde school shooting victims slammed the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Col. Steven McCraw, at a public safety commission meeting in Austin on 10/27…

Black drivers in California are nearly five times more likely than white motorists to get pulled over by sheriffs for traffic violations, according to a new report on racial profiling…

Republicans cite crime as a top issue in many midterm elections and have demanded solutions to crime increases, criticizing Democrats for supporting major changes to criminal justice policy in recent years, claiming that they, and progressive prosecutors, have fueled swelling crime rates…

The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday, 10/31, in two cases challenging race-conscious admissions policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard…

Eight officers at the Antioch Police Department are under federal investigation, according to Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe…

 Chief LeRonne L. Armstrong of the Oakland Police Department (OPD) announced he is extending the department’s current 30-day crime plan…

 Six-term Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith resigned Monday, 10/31 morning as jurors are actively deliberating whether she abused her powers in office…

 Last year, fentanyl killed one-fifth of 15-to-24-year-olds. In 2021, California’s death rate from all drug overdoses surpassed that of lung cancer and ranked just below hypertensive heart disease…

 San Jose officers working the midnight shift Saturday were so busy with emergencies that no one was sent to look into a disturbance at a party where a man was later fatally shot…

Both Los Angeles mayoral candidates Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA) and Rick Caruso have consistently rebuffed calls from residents, politicians and far-left activists to cut the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) roughly $3-billion budget because of what many see as the agency’s historical mistreatment of Black and Latino Angelenos…

Aspire Academy gives high school girls an opportunity to see what a career in public safety looks like…

As part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, a California prisoner has admitted to running a huge, multi-state drug ring from his cell and to plotting to kill a member of the Aryan Brotherhood at the behest of prison gang members, records show…

Weekly Update 10/31/22

Coronavirus

Gov. Gavin Newsom is ending the COVID-19 state of emergency on 2/28/23 nearly three years to the day after he first declared it on March 4, 2020…

Low-income children should be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations at no cost under the federal Vaccines for Children Program, according to a panel of U.S. health advisors…

California

California has less than a quarter of the therapists it needs to care for the state’s population, and the majority specialize in treating adults, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation…

Fentanyl overdoses killed about 4,000 people in California in 2020 – more than double the previous year…

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in California, behind only heart disease…

As applications for CalFresh surge at California colleges, college staff warn that the application process remains cumbersome and bureaucratic…

President and Administration

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided more than $456 million in disaster assistance to Puerto Rico in the month since Hurricane Fiona devastated the island…

Many state Medicaid offices are stymieing the use of remote patient care, refusing coverage for low-income residents who suffer from chronic diseases at higher rates than Americans with private insurance…

President Biden said that his administration would prevail in lawsuits challenging his student debt relief plan and predicted that applicants would start getting checks within two weeks…

The Education Department said that many borrowers who are eligible to receive retroactive credit towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PLSF) under temporary rules expiring 10/31 will instead be able to obtain that credit under a separate policy by 7/1/23…

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) review released Thursday, 10/27, said the department has “not yet clearly communicated time frames and performance measures” for a vision Secretary Cardona detailed in June to address teacher recruitment and support…

 Today, 10/31, the Department of Education released final regulations that streamline and improve the rules for major targeted debt relief programs…

On 10/26, Vice President Harris provided a six-month progress report on the Biden-⁠Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing denial orders on Wednesday, 10/26, for Logic's menthol vape capsules that work with Logic's currently authorized e-cigarettes…

The Department of Justice took legal action against six e-cigarette manufacturers on Wednesday, 10/24, seeking permanent injunctions against the manufacturers on behalf of the FDA…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs more extensive data on the extent to which compounds known as forever chemicals are impacting drinking water in communities of color and other disadvantaged areas…

Federal agencies need to improve how they work together on cybersecurity for K-12 schools across the country amid an increase in cyberattacks against educational institutions, a congressional watchdog says…

The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected James L. Moore III to head the Directorate for Education and Human Resources…

 Learn how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) can help homeowners save on solar energy in the updated homeowner’s guide to the federal solar tax credit…

The number of Black and Latino Americans covered through Healthcare.gov has risen significantly since 2020, according to a new report from HHS released Tuesday, 10/25…

Millions of people with hearing loss can now purchase hearing aids without prescriptions or medical exams from Walgreens, CVS and Best Buy…

Congress

The Senate’s fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act is finally being debated…

A GOP super PAC will spend another $1.9 million in Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-CA) district…

On Wednesday, 10/26, the Congressional Tri-Caucus -  which includes the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus… 

Two years after Congress offered a fix to struggling rural hospitals, the overwhelming majority are taking a pass…

Education

After years of lobbying, the so-called 90-10 loophole that advocates argued encouraged some for-profit institutions to aggressively recruit military service members and veterans is closing under final regulations effective 7/1/2023 that were announced Thursday, 10/27…

Northern Virginia school systems grant fewer than 1 percent of requests from parents of children with disabilities seeking enrollment in schools that better accommodate their needs, according to data submitted in a civil rights lawsuit…

Just 33 percent of teens said they felt supported extremely or very well by their school, 38 percent by teachers, 56 percent by parents, and 65 percent by friends…

School shootings have hit close to home for many U.S. parents…

The vast majority of LGBTQ students who attended school in person during the 2020-21 academic year experienced some form of harassment or assault, according to the most recent National School Climate Survey…

 Total undergraduate and graduate enrollment continued to decline in the fall 2022 semester as colleges saw a 1.1 percent decline compared to the prior year, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center…

A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found that 39 percent of voters said the advantages of race-based affirmative action in education for “minority groups” are more important than the disadvantages for others…

National testing data released on Monday, 10/24, reveals severe damage inflicted on student math and reading performance, reaffirming COVID-19’s ongoing educational toll….

Students who learned to read during the pandemic are still performing below those who were in early grades before schools closed - in some cases, well below, new data shows…

Public Safety & Justice Update 10/21/22

Federal judges have struck down gun restrictions in the months since a Supreme Court decision that expanded Second Amendment rights…

 Gun owners in San Jose who disobey a requirement to carry liability insurance and pay a yearly fee will pay up to $1,000 in fines as part of the city’s push to combat gun violence…

New Jersey residents hoping to carry guns in public would be required to buy insurance and complete gun-safety training under a measure introduced by legislative leaders last week…

 In June 2021, the city of Baltimore  launched the Behavioral health 911 Diversion Pilot Program…

 A report released Wednesday, 10/19, from 97Percent, a bipartisan group of gun owners and non-gun owners that conducts research on gun safety policies, surveyed 1,078 gun owners nationwide to examine their perceptions of specific gun safety policy details…

 Caliber Change Makers Academy was put on lockdown last week after reports of shots fired in the premises of the school…

 Two reports of rape at Stanford University in the last two months have raised issues of how univiersity officials prevent sexual violence, support victims and hold perpetrators accountable, sexual violence prevention advocates…

Texas school districts are set to receive nearly $8 million from the Justice Department to improve campus security this year through funding from the bipartisan gun safety law passed this summer…

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison last week by a Florida jury for carrying out the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that claimed 17 lives…

 Millions of Texas K-8 students will get identification kits designed for parents to collect fingerprints and DNA to be used in case their kids are in an emergency such as a school shooting…

Between 2014 and 2020, the number of smaller gunmakers — those producing fewer than 50,000 weapons a year — surged 70 percent to more than 4,700, according to a Bloomberg analysis of the most recent federal data…

 The suspect in a string of killings has been charged with three counts of murder in San Joaquin County Superior Court…

 Abusers are less likely to return to abusing their partners if they complete an intervention program required by the courts, according to the California State Auditor, but many of them do not finish the courses…

 Santa Clara County has set aside $2.4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of people held in jail long after prosecutors decided not to charge them — sometimes for several days — during a two-year window that coincided with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic…

 A federal judge sentenced longtime Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon to four months in jail for defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol…

 President Joe Biden’s administration says it needs more money to bring Jan. 6 rioters to justice…

 The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is expected to issue a subpoena for testimony and documents from former president Donald Trump before the end of the week…