National

Major Universities are Using Race as a “High Impact Predictor” of Student Success - Major universities are using their students’ race, among other variables, to predict how likely they are to drop out of school.

How Inequity Gets Built Into America’s Vaccination System - It’s a fact that simply being eligible for a vaccine in America doesn’t mean that you can instantly get one. Yet the ability to get to the front of the line isn’t the same for everyone. ProPublica has found that, whether intentionally or not, some vaccine programs have been designed with inherent barriers that disadvantage many people who are most at risk of dying from the disease, exacerbating inequities in access to health care.

Lawsuit Reveals New Allegations Against PG&E Contractor Accused of Fraud (California) - Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric accused two of its former employees of accepting bribes to funnel business to a waste-hauling company after the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Postmates Workers Scammed out of Their Earnings Are Reimbursed Following The Markup’s Report - Postmates courier Benjamin Safer was certain he’d never again see the $346.73 that had been stolen from him.

Small businesses owned by women, minorities get first chance at new PPP loans (Washington DC) - The Biden administration is expanding the federal Paycheck Protection Program as well as targeting women and minority-owned businesses to give them greater access to loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. With less than half the allocated $284 billion in PPP funds yet to be claimed, by U.S. businesses, the Small Business Administration has said it would soon begin accepting a new round of applications.

"Don't be McFooled!" Area leaders are calling on a 90-day McDonald's protest. Several lawsuits have been filed against the McDonald's corporation alleging racism.

Lawyers Who Were Ineligible to Handle Serious Criminal Charges Were Given Thousands of These Cases Anyway - Soon after receiving his license to practice law in Maine in May 2015, Jeremiah McIntosh, 36, began a new career as a small-town lawyer in the northeast corner of the state’s rural Aroostook County.

“Power Companies Get Exactly What They Want”: How Texas Repeatedly Failed to Protect Its Power Grid Against Extreme Weather - In January 2014, power plants owned by Texas’ largest electricity producer buckled under frigid temperatures. Its generators failed more than a dozen times in 12 hours, helping to bring the state’s electric grid to the brink of collapse.

Why We Can’t Make Vaccine Doses Any Faster - President Joe Biden has ordered enough vaccines to immunize every American against COVID-19, and his administration says it’s using the full force of the federal government to get the doses by July. There’s a reason he can’t promise them sooner.

Dying on the Waitlist - In early December, Miguel Fernandez lay unconscious in the intensive care unit at a Los Angeles area hospital. A mechanical ventilator pumped oxygen into his lungs, which had been ravaged by COVID-19. The 53-year-old was dying.