Compiled by Dr. Ghislaine Lewis
FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats tied to disinformation
By MAKIYA SEMINERA and SARAH BRUMFIELD
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Federal disaster personnel have resumed door-to-door visits as part of their hurricane-recovery work in North Carolina, an effort temporarily suspended amid threats that prompted officials to condemn the spread of disinformation.
Over the weekend, reports emerged that workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency could be targeted by militia as the government responds to Hurricane Helene. A sheriff’s office said Monday that one man was arrested during an investigation, but that the suspect acted alone.
FEMA made operational changes to keep personnel safe “out of an abundance of caution,” agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said at a briefing Tuesday. FEMA workers were back in the field Monday, accompanied by Criswell, and she said disaster-assistance teams helping survivors apply for FEMA aid as well as state and local assistance will continue to go door-to-door. She emphasized that the agency isn’t going anywhere.
What’s behind the widening gender wage gap?
BY ALEXANDRA OLSON AND CLAIRE SAVAGE
NEW YORK (AP) — Just how much of a setback was the COVID-19 pandemic for U.S. working women?
Although women who lost or left their jobs at the height of the crisis have largely returned to the workforce, a recent finding points to the price many paid for stepping back: In 2023, the gender wage gap between men and women working full-time widened year-over-year for the first time in 20 years, according to an annual report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Economists trying to make sense of the data say it captures a complicated moment during the disjointed post-pandemic labor market recovery when many women finally returned to work full-time, especially in hard-hit low-wage industries where they are overrepresented like hospitality, social work and caretaking.
The news is not all bad: Wages rose for all workers last year, but faster for men. And while the gender wage gap rose, it’s on par with what it was in 2019 before the pandemic hit.
Hundreds of troops kicked out under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ get upgraded to honorable discharges
By TARA COPP
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon announced Tuesday that more than 800 military personnel have seen their service records upgraded to honorable discharges after previously being kicked out of the military under its former “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
It is the latest development over the decades to undo past discrimination against LGBTQ service members.
The 1951 Uniform Code of Military Justice’s Article 125 had criminalized consensual gay sex. In 1993, former President Bill Clinton modified the military’s policy to “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which allowed LGBTQ troops to serve in the armed forces if they didn’t disclose their sexual orientation.
That policy was repealed in 2011, when Congress allowed for their open service in the military. The 1951 UCMJ code was modified in 2013 to be limited to nonconsensual gay sex.President Joe Biden in June announced he was issuing pardons to service members convicted under repealed military policies.
