Census undercount risks funding for Native American reservations
WASHINGTON — Native Americans on reservations face another decade of underfunding from federal programs because thousands were not counted in the 2020 census — a problem shared by minority communities across the country.
Tribal governments use those federal funds for basic needs on reservations, where poverty rates historically have been among the highest in the nation. The federal government distributes $1.5 trillion annually based on census results, which missed 5% of Native Americans this time.
That will mean less money for food programs, building roads and keeping schools operational, said Joshua Arce, president of Partnership with Native Americans, a nonprofit providing education, infrastructure and other grants to tribes across the country.
“The programs these communities are eligible for, they’re really just for survival,” Arce said.
Native Americans consistently have been the worst counted demographic group. But the 2020 census also missed a significant portion of other minority communities nationwide, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last month.
While the overall count was within 0.25% of the country’s estimated 331 million people, the agency missed almost 5% of the Hispanic population, the largest miss for that group in decades, and about 3% of the Black population,that report found.
—CQ Roll Call
Feinstein defends herself amid new questions about her capabilities in Senate job
WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein pushed back Thursday on a news report that renewed questions about her age and capacity to fulfill the job responsibilities of the Senate.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that four senators — including three Democrats — and one Democratic House member said that Feinstein’s memory is rapidly deteriorating and that it appears she can no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff. Three former Feinstein staffers made similar claims.
None of them agreed to be identified, but the story comes after two years of chatter on Capitol Hill about Feinstein’s mental capacity to do her job.
After the Chronicle posted the story, Feinstein, 88, said in a written statement that “the real question is whether I’m still an effective representative for 40 million Californians, and the record shows that I am.”
While she said she focused much of the last year on husband Richard Blum’s illness and death, “I have remained committed to achieving results, and I’d put my record up against anyone’s.”
The statement said that Feinstein, D-Calif., led the reauthorization of the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act, “secured more direct government funding for my state than any other Democratic senator other than the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and secured additional funding to retain federal firefighters to help California prepare for the upcoming wildfire season.”
Feinstein is almost always trailed by staffers while walking around the Capitol, and staffers frequently interject on her behalf when the senator gets questions from reporters.
—Los Angeles Times
Oxford, Michigan, school officials covered up culpability after massacre, lawsuit claims
DETROIT — The family of a student killed in the Oxford school massacre filed a civil lawsuit Thursday against the district and several officials.
The father and older sister of Hana St. Juliana, 14, accused school district officials of manufacturing a cover story to justify letting accused killer Ethan Crumbley return to the classes despite the student exhibiting a "disturbing pattern of behavior." That includes an obsession with guns, access to firearms and being in the "throes of a mental health crisis."
The federal lawsuit is the first of its kind by relatives of a slain student and comes five months after prosecutors say Crumbley killed four students and wounded six others and a teacher during a Nov. 30 shooting spree at the high school.
The claim is at least the third civil lawsuit filed against the district since December, including a $100 million case filed on behalf of survivors.
The lawsuit Thursday accused school officials, including a counselor, of creating and increasing danger to students by letting Crumbley return to class. That includes warnings that he was watching video of a shooting while at school, searching online about bullets and writing “The thoughts won't stop. Help me ... blood everywhere ... My life is useless ... The world is dead.”
Instead of detaining Crumbley, Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and school counselor Shawn Hopkins let Crumbley return to class without searching his backpack, according to the lawsuit filed by father Hana's father Steve St. Juliana and sister Reina,16, a junior who survived the shooting.
—The Detroit News
Ahead of Easter, pope washes prisoners' feet after 2-year hiatus
ROME — Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday, washing the feet of 12 incarcerated people in a prison near Rome.
The head of the Catholic Church was able to perform the traditional Maundy Thursday rite again after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 85-year-old traveled to the Civitavecchia prison northwest of Rome in the afternoon. In front of prisoners and guards, he said that God always grants forgiveness.
Following the homily, he then washed the feet of 12 incarcerated men and women of different ages and origins, according to the Holy See.
The washing of feet goes back to a gesture by Jesus Christ to his disciples at the Last Supper and is a sign of humility.
Francis repeatedly preaches humility as well as charity, often reminding his followers of people on the margins of society.
In the morning, the pontiff had blessed the holy oils at the Chrism Mass in St Peter's Basilica, which are used in the church for baptisms, ordinations of priests and anointing of the sick.
On Good Friday, the celebration of the Passion and Death of Christ will take place in St. Peter's Basilica before the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum later in the evening.
—dpa
