What A Day - Visas Banned in DC

Episode Date: June 23, 2020

Trump signed a new executive order yesterday temporarily barring new foreign workers from coming to the US until the end of the year. The tech industry has warned that this order hinders their ability to recruit top talent. In Minneapolis, a city council pledge to dismantle the police department could be harder to implement than expected. And one county jail is facing criticism for allegedly blocking non-white correctional officers from guarding former police officer Derek Chauvin. And in headlines: CARES Act stimulus checks prevented poverty, four authors quit JK Rowling’s agency, and the FDA advises against nine brands of hand sanitizer.

It's Tuesday, June 23rd. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick, and this is What A Day, wishing happy primaries to our friends in New York, Kentucky, and Virginia. Yeah, and shout out to my mom who is working the polls, but if you get her sick, we fightin'. Yeah, you're down for the count, buddy. Don't even try it. On today's show, we check back in on Minneapolis to see how the police reform and defund effort is going there, then some headlines. But first, the latest. And we'll start again with COVID-19 and the latest executive order from President Donald Trump to limit immigration and international workers. All right. So yesterday, Trump signed an order that temporarily bars new foreign workers from coming to the U.S. until the end of the year. This includes those high-skilled workers using H-1B

visas and their spouses who would come here on an H-4. It also affects H2B visas, J1 visas, and L1 visas. So if you're unfamiliar with all those letters and numbers, just know that the order will prevent hundreds of thousands of people from coming to work in the country. The restriction is supposed to go into effect tomorrow, and the administration, for their part, argues that the move is meant to safeguard jobs for unemployed Americans during the economic crisis that we're facing. But the problem is that there's an abundance of jobs for engineers and a shortage of qualified Americans to fill them. The tech industry, for example, warned that this order hinders their ability to recruit top talent to the U.S. Look, there's a joke about Steve Jobs

being the child of immigrants and how he literally changed America forever. But honestly, what's the point? I mean, none of this is funny. Yeah, that's right. And even though this is a pretty far reaching mandate following the restrictions Trump enacted back in April, there are still some exceptions, right? Yes. So the order doesn't affect people here in the US already, existing visa holders, temporary workers in food production industries, or healthcare workers and researchers fighting COVID-19. But to reiterate, it's still hundreds of thousands of people being refused on very short notice. And it's important to note that this is not a popular move on Trump's part. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that nearly 64 percent of Americans believe immigrants primarily fill jobs that Americans don't want.

And back in May, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John Cornyn urged Trump to reconsider broad new restrictions on temporary work visa programs, which the senator said would ultimately hurt U.S. businesses. And just last night, Lindsey Graham tweeted that he thinks this move will hurt the economic recovery. So if it's bad enough for Lindsey Graham to grow a spine, it's probably pretty bad. Right. And usually when we talk about infighting in politics, it's about the left, I'd argue, because they are out of power and have tangible goals in life. But it would appear that the right is also not always in agreement. Yeah, that's correct. And one more thing that I think is getting lost in coverage about the order. So just a few days ago, the administration also finalized a rule that ends

the government's requirement to issue work permits to asylum seekers within 30 days. They claim that issuing the permits promptly is, quote, burdensome and that U.S. Immigration Services needs to redirect its time to do other work. But there's barely any processing going on right now. So I don't know. It just doesn't really make any sense. Yeah. And we know the Trump administration is using the COVID-19 crisis to upend the immigration system in America. So let's talk for a minute about how the pandemic in the United States and worldwide is just not slowing down. One other way to frame this and get an understanding of the scope is this.

The United States accounted for 20% of all new identified cases on Sunday, even though the country is just 4.3% of the world's population. That's according to New York Times data that is tracking the identified cases. Right. And that's the cases. But there are also two other metrics that are critical to how people track this. And those are hospitalizations and positivity rates. That's right. So hospitalizations are up in places like California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona, some at record levels. And in terms of positivity rates, that's just a measure of how many tests come back positive. So if that number is high and rising, it means that there is likely community spread and the outbreak

is worsening, not just that more people are going out and getting tested. If the rate is too high, it could also mean that not enough people are getting tested. So the World Health Organization had recommended that states should be at or below 5% for two full weeks before reopening. At this current moment, around 20 states are above that number. In recent days in New York City, which has opened way more slowly, that number is at about 2%. In Texas, that number. In recent days in New York City, which has opened way more slowly, that number is at about 2%. In Texas, that number is at about 9 to 10%. In Florida, close to 12%. And then there's Arizona, which reportedly has the highest in the nation with a seven day average of over 20%. Goodness, I mean, I'm just never going to Arizona. Like,

nope, never gonna happen now. And this is when you'd like to see more measures being taken, right? Shutting down again, slowing down, more testing, mask wearing. And there are at least three states at this point that have already slowed down the reopening in response to rising cases, Utah, Louisiana, and Oregon. All right. So we're going to continue to follow this, but let's follow up on changes we're seeing to policing nationwide. We talked about the plan in Minneapolis to disband their police department.

That was huge news for protesters. So it's a few weeks later now. Where do things stand? Yeah, so as you mentioned, the Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle the MPD. And that process has gotten started, but it's not as simple as just doing a council vote, even with that veto-approved majority that they have on the council, and then, you know, stab your fingers and it's gone. It's reportedly going to take over a year. And voters in the city are going to have to approve of the plan to remove the police from other city

departments in Minneapolis via a ballot initiative. If a majority of voters do approve, the city would be able to change its city charter and then begin to divert money to other resources. So that's the dismantle, defund part. But when it comes to rebuilding and taking a new approach, what do we know about what that looks like? Yes, that's also going to take a while. The city council voted to embark on this yearlong project to look into other public safety models as alternatives to the police department. The group formed for that part will listen to residents and interview experts to figure out how exactly to proceed. And then separately, Democrats in the Minnesota state legislature proposed a big reform package. But this past weekend, it ran into Republican

opposition with the Republicans only agreeing to piecemeal changes. So then there was a deadlock, and that's where it stands for now on criminal justice reform in the state legislature. Well, I guess that's why we have to vote in every election, but specifically the ones that appoint state legislators. But that's not all that's going on in Minnesota. So there's a major story involving the officer who killed George Floyd in a jail that only allowed white staff to guard him. What the fuck? Yeah, there's certainly a lot to unpack here. So basically, what we know is this. There were eight correctional officers at a Minnesota county jail where Derek Chauvin was first held, filed complaints with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, saying that solely because of their race, they were kept from

bringing Chauvin to his cell or even being on the same floor as him. They say the decision was from the superintendent, Steve Lydon, with segregation and indicated to them that they couldn't be trusted to do their job. Additionally, per the Washington Post, one of the officers who described herself as a mixed race woman in the complaint said that there was at least one incident of Chauvin getting special treatment, including an alleged incident in which a white female lieutenant allowed him to use her cell phone. Okay. Major note. What is the jail saying? Yeah, so a spokesman for the county sheriff's office said that Lydon, the superintendent, had been temporarily removed pending a further investigation into all of this. So then Lydon apparently claimed in a statement to investigators that he chose to keep non-white staff away from Chauvin because he thought that

the interactions could have, quote, heightened ongoing trauma. Like, you know, they don't work in a jail already, which is already a traumatic experience, but whatever. Yes, yes. And the lawyer representing the correctional officers called the decision a, quote, blatantly discriminatory order and said that Leiden's claim about protecting officers of color was, quote, absurd. So this is now expected to balloon into a civil rights investigation by the State Department of Human Rights on top of the one they are already conducting on the Minneapolis Police Department overall examining their actions over the last 10 years. So safe to say a lot to keep covering in Minnesota as investigations continue. But that is the latest we have for now. It's Tuesday, WOD Squad, and today we are doing what could become our most controversial temperature check. Uh-oh. All right, so a new study from Colorado State University found that women are less likely to date men who own cats.

Participants were shown pictures of guys and asked about their interests. Significantly fewer women, though, were interested when the guys were holding a cat. So this is a bombshell. Oh, to say the least. And for you, Akilah, as a trained social scientist, does this research check out? I mean, you know, I'm not looking to be canceled first thing in the morning, but I gotta say, when I see cats in pictures with men, I often think, oh, these are the men who don't smell their cats. And so, you know, if they didn't have the cat in the picture, but we were in the same room, I would be like, you have a cat because it probably smells bad.

So I will say I'm one of those people who, you know, I have friends who are men who have cats. I don't dislike cats. Not all cats, but some cats smell bad and pee everywhere. And when you don't clean that, that is a turn off. So, yeah, I would say that I do at least't clean that, that is a turnoff. So yeah, I would say that I do at least take a beat when I see a cat mentioned. Yeah, I think that's fair. Treading lightly, you know, firmly landing on the side of cat pee smelling bad. I think we, you know, as American citizens and, you know, patriots can all agree on that point. Yeah, for sure. And like,

also, you know, sometimes I'm allergic. It depends on the cat. And I don't want to have to figure that out necessarily. I'm really just defending myself. But I think that the point is, it checks out. But Gideon, does cat ownership affect your romantic interest? And did you have to ditch a cat to I've babysat for cats before, but I've never owned one. And we're currently in a position where we can't have one per apartment rules. So it negates smell conversations. But I have to agree. I will say that people with apartments who have cats, you can get into a lot of trouble in terms of the scent that's going on. These are confined spaces. We're talking hot summers. We're talking cats leaving litter off their feet in various places

as you walk around the apartment. So as much as I would love to have a small furry friend, be it a dog or a cat or perhaps a rabbit in certain circumstances if they behave. I got to agree. I don't think this is the right moment.

And I don't think, yeah, I don't think that I want to be a cat guy who smells like Cat Pete. Right. See, I think it's fair to have a cat, but you got to, you know, take the stigma that comes with it. Yes. Well, all right, you cats and kittens, just like that. We have checked our temps. We'll check in, you cats and kittens. Just like that, we have checked our temps.

We'll check in with you all again tomorrow. And please do not add us about your cat. We are sure that they are perfect angels. Yes. But, you know, we're just speaking our truth. Beautiful creatures from above, but they're yours and not ours. let's wrap up with some headlines headlines an expected rise in poverty levels during the pandemic was prevented thanks to cold, hard cash from our government. New studies found that the $1,200 stimulus checks and

weekly unemployment bonuses under the CARES Act succeeded in keeping millions of people financially afloat during the pandemic. According to a study from Columbia University, the federal aid prevented around 12 million people from falling into poverty. The new findings reveal how effective expansive federal aid is, especially for lower-income workers. Now, unfortunately, a lot of that aid is set to expire next month, which could leave some families a lot more vulnerable. It's up to Congress to decide whether or not the aid should continue. Well, if they can read, they'll see that this study pretty much proves that it should continue. All right, well, four authors represented by the same literary agency as J.K. Rowling resigned after their company refused to make a statement supporting

transgender rights. Fox Fisher, Owl Fisher, Drew Davies, and one author who wished to remain anonymous said they would no longer be working with the Blair Partnership based in London. In a joint statement, they expressed disappointment that their company didn't commit to a meaningful action in response to J.K. Rowling's most recent anti-trans posts. A spokesperson for the Blair partnership responded that they believed in freedom of speech and were unwilling to have staff, quote, reeducated to meet the demands of clients. That's an interesting way to say we want to remain loud and ignorant. The departing writers also made a donation to Shakti Women's Aid. Ultimate stab in the back that Al Fisher sounds like it could be a Harry Potter name as well.

So two for the price of one there. The hacking group that was into masks before COVID made them mainstream anonymous is back with what some are calling their most significant operation in nearly a decade. They got a hold of the, quote, Blue Leaks, a 269 gigabyte collection of internal data from over 200 law enforcement agencies at the state, local and federal level. Released by a partner group called Distributed Denial of Secrets, the data set serves less to expose police abuses and more to clarify what law enforcement agencies do legally. It's already led to some revealing discoveries like evidence that the FBI monitored protesters' social media and alerted law enforcement to anti-police posts. The Bureau should check and make sure they're not over-reporting those, because sometimes ACAB just stands for all cops are buds.

Yeah, that's what I was told. Yeah, distributed denial of secrets for sure sounds like another Harry Potter. Yes, it does. The FDA is warning people to avoid nine brands of hand sanitizer because they could contain a toxic ingredient. Our love affair with hand sanitizing has been fast and furious. We should have known it would end in heartbreak. All nine brands come from a manufacturer in Mexico called Escobio Kim, and they allegedly contain methanol. That's an alcohol that can lead to nausea, vomiting, and more lasting effects when ingested in large quantities, which you'd think would be fine since we're not drinking the sanitizer, but no such luck.

Methanol is also toxic when absorbed through skin. Thankfully, that one travel-sized bottle of Purell that's been your lifeline for the past three months is still safe. The brands implicated are not super common, with names like Clean Care No Germ Advanced Hand Sanitizer and Good Gel Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer. Yeah, a full list can be found online. Just don't get a really long one that sounds made up. There you go. If it's got a short name, it's probably safe.

And those are the headlines. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review. Please don't hack us, Mr. Anonymous, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just the labels on off-brand hand sanitizers like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes.

I'm Gideon Resnick. And we still love you, cat owners. Post those pics and videos. Just, you know, maybe don't date me. Yeah, it's okay to be who you are. Just clean up after them. That's all we ask. What a day is a product of Crooked Media.

It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein, and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.