In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today!

Howsabout a little good news? The US Department of Justice "released a memo to its employees Monday that same-sex marriages will be given equal protection under the law in all of its programs—even if the marriages are not recognized in the state where the same-sex couple lives. ...The announcement will allow same-sex couples to enjoy federal benefits through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, and the US Trustee Program. ...Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. also noted that the DOJ would recognize same-sex couples' marital privilege not to testify in civil and criminal cases and allow federal inmates in same-sex marriages to visit and correspond with their spouses and enjoy furloughs during a crisis involving a spouse." That's progress.

[Content Note: Transphobia; racism; violence] On the sixth anniversary of his death, Larry King is remembered by Chase Strangio.

[CN: Class warfare] Nearly a third of people living in the US "experienced a stint of poverty between 2009 and 2011." Partly, that's because of the increasing number of unsalaried jobs without guaranteed hours. Jessmynda Dosch-Evangelista, a 22-year-old from Wellsville, NY, who makes $5/hour + tips at her part-time job serving pizza, "rarely knows how many hours she'll be working, or how much money her customers will leave on the table. That means she also rarely knows whether she'll make enough to pay the rent or put food on her own table. 'It's not even month to month. It's week to week or night to night,' she said."

[CN: Misogyny] In the grand meritocracy [sic] of Silicon Valley, men with a graduate or professional degree earn 73% more than female coworkers with the same degrees. Neat! Naturally, these are averages and women who live in intersections of multiple marginalizations will earn less, i.e. white women may make on average more than 73% less, and women of color may make on average even less than 73% less than their male counterparts.

[CN: Misogyny] Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz says that Republicans are "obsessed" with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ha ha ya think?!

OH NO! A massive sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY, swallowed eight Corvettes!

[Possible Scandal spoilers] Two favorite shows collide! "[Homeland's Nazanin Boniadi], perhaps best known for playing FBI analyst Fara Sherazi on the third season of the Showtime drama, will recur in the final eight episodes of Scandal's third season. Details on Boniadi's character are being kept under wraps but she will have a heavy presence in the remainder of the season."

I am such a mush that even this headline got me all choked up, never mind the rest of the story: "Four Junior High School Girls Save Dog."