U.S. News

Phroon , in US Federal Reserve launches "FedNow" - the long-awaited instant payments service, modernizing the US banking system

Digging deeper, the Federal Reserve says this about it:

The FedNow Service went live on July 20, 2023. It is available to depository institutions in the United States and enables individuals and businesses to send instant payments through their depository institution accounts. The service is a flexible, neutral platform that supports a broad variety of instant payments. At the most fundamental level, the service provides interbank clearing and settlement that enables funds to be transferred from the account of a sender to the account of a receiver in near real-time and at any time, any day of the year. Depository institutions and their service providers can build on this fundamental capability to offer value-added services to their customers.

So it’s a system your bank uses to send your money to other people’s accounts at other banks. In my mind it’ll kinda be like bill pay, you’d go to your bank’s website to do it.

ericjmorey ,

It’s more of a protocol/standard which can be used to build applications and interfaces. Bill pay will likely be an application and your bank’s website will likely have some interface that uses FedNow. But there will be many other applications and interfaces.

omarciddo , in A Black Man Was Elected Mayor in Rural Alabama, but the White Town Leaders Won’t Let Him Serve

Even taking into account that we’re talking about the rural South, a rightfully elected Black man being denied the ability to serve due to the color of his skin, in a town that is overwhelmingly Black (85%) is absolutely mind-boggling.

sibloure ,

I used to live in this general area and I’m really not surprised. The culture is toxic and depressing. So grateful I was able to get out.

drwho , in Universal Studios might have invoked the wrath of California's Tree Law
@drwho@beehaw.org avatar

They’ll just get fined, and it’ll be a small fraction of their daily revenue.

Idrunkenlysignedup ,

I posted this elsewhere, but according to a quick Google it’s up to $18k per tree and from the images I found, it’s 5 trees. $90k is couch cushion money to Universal. They DGAF about fines.

sat012e , in US Federal Reserve launches "FedNow" - the long-awaited instant payments service, modernizing the US banking system

Terrible name for it.

601error ,
@601error@lemmy.ca avatar

They need an app called FedUp

TheTrueLinuxDev , in Bipartisan senators unveiling measure to ban stock ownership by lawmakers, administration officials

Something like this requires a constitution amendment…

Powderhorn Mod , in US Federal Reserve launches "FedNow" - the long-awaited instant payments service, modernizing the US banking system
@Powderhorn@beehaw.org avatar

Extremely important word in the lede: “eventually.” This won’t be something consumers can use for quite some time. Notable absences from participating banks include Bank of America.

queue OP ,

Should I edit the post?

Powderhorn Mod ,
@Powderhorn@beehaw.org avatar

No need … I just wanted to point out that “launches” doesn’t mean what everyone assumes as a hed verb here. Their error, not yours.

audaxdreik , in Universal Studios might have invoked the wrath of California's Tree Law

You really love to see yet another unsuspecting victim accidentally invoke the wrath of tree law. Really makes that old episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (S1E2) hit different. Ain’t no joke!

termus ,
@termus@beehaw.org avatar

NO FEET

BarrelAgedBoredom ,

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reddit; it’s that tree law is the only thing the us legal system takes seriously

dax , in AAA pulls back from offering insurance in Florida, following Farmers

My natural inclination is toward black gallows humor in situations like these, but I have to keep reminding myself that a lot of people are going to get harmed and laughing is an unacceptable faux pas.

I also have to remind myself that “not knowing what to do with all these feels” may result in unhelpful reactions.

Yet I still want to stand on DeSantis’ head and shout “what the hell did you damn well expect you fucking troglodyte”. Feelings are tricky.

OneStepAhead ,

They (collectively) voted him into office. A lot of people are going to be hurt, but then again most people don’t vote at all.

pixel ,
@pixel@beehaw.org avatar

4.6 million people voted for desantis, and 21 million people live in Florida. Less than a quarter of the people that live in the state voted him into office. It is deeply unfair to say “a lot of people voted him into office” because it ignores the people that are affected by this decision and either voted against it, can’t do anything about it, or just didn’t. I know you said most people don’t vote at all but Florida isn’t a monolith and it’s really important to remember that when things like this negatively affect millions of people that either didn’t want this to happen or had no say.

steltek ,

At some point, people need to take responsibility for their government. DeSantis won by 19 points with >50% turnout. That’s pretty convincing to me. Florida is no longer a swing state. GOPers moved their in droves because of DeSantis’ politics.

pixel ,
@pixel@beehaw.org avatar

Sure, to an extent, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t also be empathetic to those of whom who are adversely affected by this and didn’t really have a say in the matter – kids are an example I brought up in another comment, but all of the victims of voter suppression as well. Florida should be responsible for platforming desantis but that doesn’t mean that florida deserves desantis.

Clegko ,

By these people not voting, we assume that they are OK with how things are going in their state. In which case, they asked for it.

cadeje ,
@cadeje@beehaw.org avatar

You realise voter suppression is a thing right? It’s unfair to say these people asked for it. It’s also unfair to everyone stuck there and too poor to leave, or don’t want to leave because it’s their home.

JaeSuis ,
@JaeSuis@beehaw.org avatar

“They said nothing, therefore they asked for it” isn’t a great opinion, friend.

pixel ,
@pixel@beehaw.org avatar

You know kids are adversely affected by desantis’s policy and cannot vote, right? just as a single example.

Clegko ,

Theres only ~5 million kids in Florida - that still leaves about 16 million people who are eligible to vote who didn’t.

pixel ,
@pixel@beehaw.org avatar

1.4 million in florida have felony convictions, and a disproportionate number are minorities in florida. Then 1.8 million non-citizen immigrants in Florida, from Mexico or Cuba or other places in the Carribean. And that’s not including the people that didn’t vote because of local efforts of voter suppression, which is a nebulous number but still statistically significant.

eladnarra ,

The 21 million includes everyone, not just registered voters. Until 2015, I couldn’t vote because I wasn’t a citizen. Still had to live with the shitty policies that Floridian politicians passed into law.

alyaza OP Mod ,
@alyaza@beehaw.org avatar

By these people not voting, we assume that they are OK with how things are going in their state. In which case, they asked for it.

people have already chimed in but, as just one example of how not-clearcut this is: Florida essentially refused to implement a policy which was democratically passed that enfranchised felons. Florida has over 1 million felons, a disproportionate number of whom are black and would otherwise likely vote Democratic. when they finally had to implement the policy, they made it much harder for felons to be re-enfranchised (against the will of voters)—such that in practice, the state maintains a ban on voting while being a felon which disproportionately impacts Democratic voters. you cannot seriously blame people for the situation the state is in, except in a very abstract sense.

argv_minus_one ,

Unless I’m mistaken, the vast majority of the people who own houses, and therefore stand to lose them, are middle-class white people with no criminal record, not black people or felons.

alyaza OP Mod ,
@alyaza@beehaw.org avatar

i have absolutely no idea what point you’re trying to raise here when the context of the conversation is whether the people of Florida, collectively, deserve to suffer for voting in the wrong guy when:

  1. the vast majority of them explicitly didn’t vote for the guy, and;
  2. large—and literally decisive—numbers of them were legally disenfranchised from voting against the guy and continue to be disenfranchised under Florida law. DeSantis won the gubernatorial election in 2018 by approximately 32,000 votes against a million felons, many of whom are Black.
argv_minus_one ,

My argument is that the people who now stand to lose their homes are not the same people who have been disenfranchised.

Black felons did not vote for DeSantis, but the wealthy white law-abiding homeowners who are now losing their homes did vote for DeSantis, unless I’m mistaken.

alyaza OP Mod ,
@alyaza@beehaw.org avatar

My argument is that the people who now stand to lose their homes are not the same people who have been disenfranchised.

then that’s a fundamentally incorrect understanding of the situation and of how class and race disparities are going to play out during the climate crisis. white, middle-class homeowners aren’t going to lose their homes—and if they do they’re just going to move because they have the capital to do that even at a loss. the people who are going to lose their homes, or who will be stuck in their position even if they need to leave will overwhelmingly be Florida’s working poor and minority groups. this has been the story of every natural disaster in that part of the country. take, for example, Hurricane Harvey:

Among black Texans impacted by the storm, 60 percent say they are not getting the help they need. That compares to 40 percent of Hispanic respondents and 33 percent of white respondents.

Half of respondents with lower incomes say they’re not getting the help they need, compared 32 percent of people with higher incomes. The survey classified people into two income groups — those making double the poverty-level income and those making less than that threshold. Twice the poverty level is an income of $24,280 for a single person and $50,200 for a family of four.

Meanwhile, 27 percent of Hispanic respondents affected by Harvey said their previous homes remain unlivable. Twenty percent of black respondents and 11 percent of white respondents said their previous homes cannot be lived in. And 27 percent of Texans earning lower incomes say their previous homes aren’t safe, while only 9 percent of higher earners said the same thing.

JDPoZ ,

The “not voting” thing is actually a little complicated.

First off - there are many people who don’t vote. The reasons are not always simple.

Yes there are lazy asshats who would support non-ghouls and could easily do it and don’t. You can shit on them.

But they aren’t necessarily the majority.

There are numerous hurdles that on their own aren’t tough, but that overlap and stack sometimes and when added up act as a significant obstacle that many just don’t see the benefit to trying to overcome :

  • Polling places aren’t open on weekends or holidays. And there really isn’t strong protections for workers being given time to wait in long lines to vote. Many people work 40+ hrs a week at places that - although legally technically have to give you time to go vote, really have middle management types that WILL retaliate against you in a way that is technically hazy enough that any sort of legal consequence for them doing so isn’t worth pursuing if you are barely getting by and making poverty-line income.
  • The Rs close polling stations ANYWHERE near poorer areas they can. That’s why places like Houston have like ONE polling station for a county with literal millions of voters. They know no one wants to stand for 4 hours in line in 105F Texas heat just to drop a ballot in a box that they also think won’t win because of how often the Rs like Cruz, Abbott, etc. keep winning or just holding on to their seats.
  • Democratic officials voluntarily water down their own legislation in a stupid attempt to “reach out” and seek middle ground, which only lessens the motivation for voters… like instead of “we’re going to wipe out all medical debt” you get stuff like “we’re going to allow voters to go to a website (that barely functions) and they can fill out a 12 page form that will allow them to apply for a 1-time partial percentage-based rebate that changes depending on your income and insurance information for the past 3 years.”

All this shit adds up to only make people feel discouraged or that their vote wouldn’t matter anyway, or that there’s nothing really to show up to fight for.

Yes that sucks, yes people should understand that by not showing up, they then FORFEIT various EXISTING rights like the right to an abortion… but that’s not how people think. People show up for a REWARD… not to defend what they already have but don’t know what they might lose.

Like - here’s my favorite way to help people better understand this because I get into arguments all the time about that last point :

In the US, people show up for Black Friday sales, because the reward they imagine they’ll get is a motivating factor. Now imagine if instead of getting a shitty 65" TV for 75% off, Best Buy said “come in on Black Friday and fill out a form to protect your right to get a refund within 90 days when products are defective.”

No one would show up. And when Best Buy then decided because no one showed up to fill out the form to now no longer allow refunds, suddenly would a bunch of assholes saying “TOLD YOU TO SIGN UP FOR THE BEST BUY PROTECT YOUR PURCHASES FORM! SUCKS TO SUCK LOLOLOL!” be in the right? Yeah… I guess… but - again - showing up en masse to do something that protects a possible loss isn’t how people generally think when making decisions to do or not do something that asks them to inconvenience themselves.

argv_minus_one ,

Yes that sucks, yes people should understand that by not showing up, they then FORFEIT various EXISTING rights like the right to an abortion… but that’s not how people think. People show up for a REWARD… not to defend what they already have but don’t know what they might lose.

Then I find it difficult to feel sorry for their losses. The history books are filled with people losing rights that they refused to defend, and we’re all taught the contents of those history books in school. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and no one born in America has any excuse for not realizing this.

reric88 , in A Black Man Was Elected Mayor in Rural Alabama, but the White Town Leaders Won’t Let Him Serve
@reric88@beehaw.org avatar

These situations make me wonder what I can do to help these people out. Besides echoing my frustrations, there’s nothing I can do except vote, which clearly doesn’t matter anyway. Well, I’m not a local, either, but hypothetically…

It makes me want to become a vigilante but that’s a poor choice, not that I’m even capable.

SkepticElliptic ,

I wonder how much it would cost to hire a 4-5 blackwater type guys to run ‘security’ for him. Just go collect everything from the previous ‘admin’ and tell them to f-off.

Didros ,

I would guess around a couple ten thousand a day.

SkepticElliptic ,

I bet we could find 1M people that want to make things interesting. Get $1 from each person and let’s have a party!

Didros ,

The real question is if black water guys would actually protect a black man with their lives against rural white people.

SkepticElliptic ,

Money is money.

LiesSlander , in A Black Man Was Elected Mayor in Rural Alabama, but the White Town Leaders Won’t Let Him Serve

Holy moly this is a wild story. I really hope people don’t get murdered, and Braxton gets a positive outcome from the legal system. But beyond the shock from reading this, I’m left with anger.

The sheer audacity of these racist clowns, and the fact that its working!? Like, courts just refuse to hear cases on a lot of the discrimination that happens surrounding elections, so even though it might be illegal its the white courts that decide that. And they BURNED DOWN LEWIS’ HOME! Holy shit is that terrifying, and we know nobody’s ever facing any consequences for it.

One thing that is truly inspiring amidst all the racism and systemic violence is the mayor himself. This guy is out here practicing mutual aid, organizing community events, and fighting to get food for his community. One of his goals with becoming mayor was to get a grocery store in town, huge respect for this guy.

Fuck White Supremacy, fuck the State, but hats off to this man. I hope he gets what he’s fighting for.

TerryTPlatypus ,

Agreed, and this couldn’t be said better. This made me angry just reading it, that we still have some parts of the country living like its the mid 1900s.

dingus , in Atlanta City Leaders Are Subverting Democracy to Save Cop City
@dingus@lemmy.ml avatar

Almost everywhere in this country the city officials are in bed with the local police. Sometimes literally.

I live in the northwest, in a very progressive city. Quickly after the murder of George Floyd the city council tried to act like they gave a damn and claimed to have a plan on the way to prevent local police from using tear gas at protests. Then the George Floyd protests got bigger, which made city officials nervous, so they took it back, because they wanted the police to have bigger guns to protect themselves from unhappy citizens.

City officials are always way more willing to let the cops brutalize the citizens as long as it means some cops protect them from the citizens they claim to represent.

middlemuddle , in A Black Man Was Elected Mayor in Rural Alabama, but the White Town Leaders Won’t Let Him Serve

Jesus, that man is a hero. The bigots don’t deserve that level of man as their mayor, but he clearly desires to represent everyone, as a mayor should. The fact that this has been going on for so long is extremely depressing to hear. I hope the feds get involved immediately and help set things right.

Dankenstein , in U.S. Gun Deaths Dropped Slightly in 2022 — But Were Still High

A total of 48,117 people died of gunshot wounds last year, according to the CDC data, the second highest single-year tally on record. That’s a 1.5 percent decrease from 2021, when 48,830 people died of gunshot wounds.

The data comes from the CDC’s WONDER database, which collects mortality information from death certificates at the state level. The estimates are provisional, and are likely to change slightly before final figures are released in December. While the data is not yet final, it provides the most comprehensive and accurate accounting of gun deaths in America.

The other stats, which I think are more interesting, are further down:

Suicides accounted for the largest share of gun deaths in 2022. According to the data, 26,993 people died by gun suicide last year, accounting for 56 percent of all gun deaths. That’s a 2.5 percent jump from 2021.

A total of 19,592 people died by gun homicide in 2022, accounting for 41 percent of gun deaths. That amounts to a 6.5 percent drop from the previous year.

I didn’t see anything in the article that suggested why this occurred but the last paragraph seems to allude firearm accessibility:

Wintemute of U.C. Davis said widespread gun ownership and easy access to firearms “remains a major determinant of firearm mortality,” while strong gun access laws are associated with low gun death rates.

The second to last paragraph states which States have the highest/lowest gun deaths which directly relate to the highest/lowest gun ownership rates and lax/comprehensive firearm regulations but I kinda figured that would be the case.

It’s nice to see that total gun-related deaths are down but sad to see that suicide rates are up.

housepanther , in Montgomery County, Maryland Council passes rent stabilization bill: law will cap annual increases at 6%
@housepanther@lemmy.goblackcat.com avatar

This is a neoliberal answer, which is to say a non-answer, to a serious problem. Rent increases still outpace salary increases so it still puts the renter one or two paychecks away from homelessness. The problem will not get solved this way.

alyaza OP Mod , in Montgomery County, Maryland Council passes rent stabilization bill: law will cap annual increases at 6%
@alyaza@beehaw.org avatar

MoCo, for the unaware, is huge—as a county it has a population of over 1,000,000—so even with a few caveats this still applies to quite a lot of people:

An amendment crafted by Luedtke will exempt from the bill any unit owned by a “natural person” landlord, as termed by the legislation. That means an individual—as opposed to a corporate entity—who owns four or fewer rental units in the county will be exempt from the legislation. Another amendment will provide a 15-year exemption for buildings that “have been substantially renovated or rehabilitated,” per the amendment language.

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