Asylum seekers from El Salvador wait at a Texas bus station after being released by US immigration officials. Via CNN.

Your Summit Weekly Briefing

By Alex Tananbaum and Ashwath Vimal

 Disclaimer: Though the Weekly Briefings are no longer tagged in the Opinions section of Summit News and we try to remain as unbiased as possible, our opinions may show through in this article, especially in the “Actions” section.  

1. Summit: A reflection on Summit Denali’s reopening policies

Summit Denali reopened the first of last month, three days after negotiations with the teacher’s union, Unite Summit, concluded. Though Denali teachers are returning to in-person school on a voluntary basis (as is the case with all Summit schools), this did not always look like this was going to be the case. In their article “Union Leaders And Denali Students Reflect On Sps Reopening Policies”, Denali Staff Editors Keith Dinh and Angela Hwang interview Unite Summit members as well as students within the Denali community, chronicling the struggles related to pay, mandated return exceptions and teacher resignations that were at play during reopening negotiations. This article, which is co-written by our editor, is a fascinating read, and I would highly recommend it. 

2. General News: Some families separated at border reunited

Four migrant families from South and Central American countries will be reunited with children they were separated from at the border by the Trump administration this week, in large part due to the efforts of volunteer organization Al Lado Otro (“to the other side”). Two of these families include mothers who were separated from their children in 2017, as part of a “pilot program” for then-President Donald Trump’s 2017-2018 Zero Tolerance Policy, which enacted family separation as standard practice and was ended by the Department of Justice due to a court order in 2018. Though the more than 5,500 migrant families separated under Zero Tolerance were somewhat recorded, the documents for the families in the 2017 pilot program were lost completely. Executive Director of the reunification task force Michelle Brané stated that “1,000 families that we know of that remain separated or that we believe remain separated.” This includes the pilot program families. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt adds that 400 additional parents are still missing. Mr. Gelernt has been arguing a class action law-suit against the policy since 2018, which is in the process of being settled by the Biden administration. His team is requesting financial compensation and mental health services along with legal and permanent residency for all separated families, among other terms. The four families in question will reunite in the United States and be allowed to remain temporarily on humanitarian parole, which could last a few years. 

3. Covid-19: Pfizer vaccine authorized for more age groups

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine may be authorized for use in children from 12 to 15-years-old by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) next week. The FDA is looking over evidence that shows that in over 2,000 12 to 15-year-olds, there was a 100% vaccine efficacy and did not cause any harmful side effects. After the FDA makes a decision on this matter, the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control will be advised by an advisory committee part of their division on whether or not to recommend that 12 to 15-year-olds should take the vaccine. On another note, both Pfizer and Moderna are testing their vaccines on infants as well and will most likely request authorization for infants and younger children to be able to take their vaccines later this year. 

The long awaited her immunization with COVID-19 may actually never happen or will never be permanent, many scientists report. Here’s why: 

• One of the biggest things decreasing our chances of herd immunity are the fact that only one of the three vaccines in circulation are authorized people under the age of 18. Even then, 16 is the youngest age of any person allowed to take one. While trials area going on for people younger than 16, young children will most likely have to wait until the beginning of 2022 to get vaccinated,
• Not enough people want to get vaccinated, as many are wary of them and underestimate the severity of COVID-19
• Herd immunity may be seasonal,as COVID-19 is more easily spread in the winter than in the summer due to different climates and increased gatherings during the holiday season.
• Variants could halt herd immunity. Right now, current vaccines protect people from variants, but in the future new variants may get progressively dangerous. 
• International travel could bring in new variants from different countries if global immunity is not reached
• How long natural immunity may last, as of right now, is unpredictable. Immunity from getting infected is most likely not going to be very effective.

Best case scenario: COVID-19 stops spreading on its own because enough people will have gotten vaccinated. 

Worst case scenario: COVID-19 will resurge in different periods of time if not enough people get vaccinated.

Stay Informed: CNN reports live, bite-sized updates on Coronavirus here.

4. Politics: Biden’s infrastructure-and-jobs plan

Biden’s next major proposal appears to be underway in the form of a $2 trillion plan that would aim to improve the United State’s infrastructure, including shifting towards green energy, in the next eight years. CNN breaks down the spending as follows:

• Transportation—$621 billion. This section includes improvements to roads, bridges, railways, among other systems and creates “really good-paying jobs”, according to the President. 
• Home care services and workforce—$400 billion. This portion of the plan would increase funding for caregiving of older and disabled Americans. It would expand long-term care access services under Medicaid, thereby reducing waitlist numbers for hundreds of thousands of people. Opportunities for community and family-based care service would also increase, as would the wages of at-home health workers. 

• Manufacturing—$300 billion. Portions of this amount would be invested in semiconductor manufacturing (semiconductors are a part of computer chips), medical manufacturing, clean energy, rural communities, and programs that give credit access to small businesses as well as “regional innovation hubs that would support community-led projects.”
  • The purchase of parts used to make electric cars, charging ports, and other clean energy devices is included in this part of the bill.

• Housing— $213 billion. Investments in building, renovating and retrofitting over 2 million American homes and housing units are covered under this portion. It would also end exclusionary zoning laws which, according to the Biden administration, inflate housing and construction costs. It would also aim to increase access to affordable housing.

• Research and development—$180 billion. Investments in advancing American leadership of “critical technologies” as well as research infrastructure and climate change related issues and solutions are part of this section. It also aims to eliminate racial and gender inequities in the STEM fields, in particular through investments into historically Black colleges. 

• Water—$111 billion. The plan allocates this amount of money to rebuilding the United State’s water infrastructure, replacing lead pipes and service lines. It would also upgrade drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems. 

• Schools—$100 billion. Building new public schools as well as upgrading current ones with amenities such as better ventilation systems, technology labs and kitchens is included in this section.
  • Community colleges—an additional $12 billion
  • Child care facilities— an additional $25 billion. Expanded child tax credit and funds for child care facilities at places of work included.

• Digital infrastructure—$100 billion. Funds from this section would go towards giving all Americans reliable and affordable access to high-speed internet. 

• Workforce development—$100 billion. Parts of this fund would go to helping displaced workers, underserved groups and aiding students on finding career paths before high school graduation. 
  • $40 billion—displaced workers in high-demand sectors (clean energy, caregiving, manufacturing).
  • $12 billion—training formerly incarcerated people, creating subsidized job programs, ending sub-minimum wage provisions, supporting community violence prevention programs.
  • $48 billion—apprenticeships, career programs for middle and high schoolers, job training at community colleges. 

• Veteran’s hospitals, federal buildings—$18 billion. This section would provide for the modernization of Veterans Affairs’ hospitals and federal buildings. 

The President would pay for these items by increasing corporate income tax from 21% to 28%, a minimum corporate tax of 21% calculated on a country-by-country basis to prevent the sheltering of profits in “international tax havens”, 15% minimum income tax on the largest corporations report to investors (book income), and making it harder for corporations to claim they are foreign through merging with corporations from other countries, which currently gives them a U.S. tax reprieve. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has already stated that Republicans will most likely not support such a large spending plan, stating “We’re open to doing a roughly $600 billion package which deals with what all of us agree is infrastructure and to talk about how to pay for that in any way other than reopening the 2017 tax-reform bill,” and “If it’s going to be about infrastructure, let’s make it about infrastructure.” 

5. Sports: Caitlyn Jenner Opposes Trans Girls Playing in Women’s Sports

Former Olympic athlete and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner is running for governor of California in light of Gavin Newsom’s recall. One political stance that she has already taken is that she does not support transgender girls playing in women’s sports. Jenner, who is a transgender woman herself, says that it is a “question of unfairness.” In the past, Jenner has criticized former President Donald Trump for prejudice against transgender peole despite her initial support of him. Now, many transgender rights activists have condemned Jenner for not properly using her influence to benefit their cause. Many also say that Jenner is not a good representation of the community, with some saying that she will step on other transgender people to win the election, while current governor Gavin Newsom would not. In the past, Jenner has expressed hope that transgender athletes may be able to participate in sports. Her changing perspective on the matter has proved to activists that she just wants to gain the support of Californian republicans for the election. This year already, five states have put laws into place that forbid transgender athletes from playing sports and from seeking medical treatment. Hopefully, in the future, transgender people can gain equal rights. 

6. Entertainment: Marvel Movies Announcement

Marvel Studios has published a video on YouTube announcing the titles and dates of 10 upcoming movies from their studio. While we knew many of these were coming, there has been a lot of confusion on the exact release dates and titles of some of these movies. The 10 movies include: 

• July 9: “Black Widow”
• Sept. 3: “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
• Nov. 5: “Eternals”
• Dec. 17: “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
• March 25, 2022: “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
• May 6, 2022: “Thor: Love and Thunder”
• July 8, 2022: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
• Nov. 11, 2022: “The Marvels”
• Feb. 17, 2023: “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
• May 5, 2023: “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3”

One movie that we did not have a title or release date for was the second black panther movie, until now. After the passing Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, Marvel announced that his version of the character will not be recast. This has left many to speculate that Shuri (played by Letitia Wright), the younger sister of Black Panther will take over the role. We also have titles and release dates for the second Captain Marvel movie and the third Ant-Man movie. “The Marvels”, starring Captain Marvel, will also include Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, continuing her storyline from “WandaVision”. The third Ant-Man movie will include many of the same characters, while also starring a teenage version of Ant-Man;s daughter, Cassie Lang, played by Kathryn Newton. The end of the trailer also included an end segment that seemingly teased an upcoming Fantastic Four movie, which many fans are excited for. 

Note: Click here to watch the video. 

7. Weather

Atlas (West Seattle): There will be a dip in highs towards the middle of the week, though they will start today at 62℉, then rise to 67℉ Weds. The dip will then take place with Thurs at 58℉ and Fri down again to 55℉, then back up to 60℉ Sat, 63℉ Sun and 67℉ again Mon. Lows will stay in the 44-45℉ range Tues-Fri and 46-47℉ Sat-Mon with the exception of 51℉ Weds. There won’t be much sun this week, as today will be partially cloudy, Weds cloudy, Thurs-Fri showers, Sat scattered showers and Sun-Mon partially cloudy again. Stay dry, wear a mask, and have a good week.

Summary: Highs in the high 50’s-high 60’s, lows in the mid 40’s, partial and full clouds, full and scattered showers.

Olympus (Tacoma): Highs this week will dip midweek, starting at 64℉ today, 69℉ Weds, down to 58℉ Thurs, 54℉ Fri, back up to 60℉ Sat, 64℉ Sun and 67℉ Mon. Lows will mostly stay in the 43-44℉ range, though today’s will be 42℉, Weds 49℉ and Mon 45℉. Meanwhile, bring an umbrella because today might bring scattered showers, Weds clouds, Thurs-Fri showers, Sat scattered showers again and Sun-Mon partial clouds. Stay dry, wear a mask, and have a good week.

Summary: Highs in the high 60’s-mid 50’s, lows in the low-mid 40’s, scattered and full showers, partial and full clouds.

Sierra (Seattle): This week’s highs will start at 62℉ today, rise to 69℉ Weds, then fall to 58℉ Thurs and 54℉ Fri, rise to 59℉ Sat, 62℉ Sun and 66℉ Mon. Lows will start at 43℉ today, 51℉ Weds, 44-45℉ Thurs-Sun and 46℉ Mon. Meanwhile, today will be partially cloudy, Weds cloudy, Thurs-Fri will see showers and Sat-Mon partially cloudy again. Find some sun, wear a mask, and have a good week. 

Summary: Highs in the high 60’s-mid 50’s, lows in the mid 40’s, partial and full clouds, showers. 

Denali (Sunnyvale): This week’s highs will start warm at 83℉ today-Weds, then dip down to 69℉ Thurs, 67℉ Fri, come up to 76℉ Sat, 73℉ Sun and 79℉ Mon. Lows will begin with 52℉ today, 50℉ Weds, 48-49℉ Thurs-Sat, 50℉ Sun and 52℉ again Mon. The majority of the week will see full sun with the exception of partial clouds Thurs. Soak up that sun, wear a mask, and have a good week.

Summary: Highs in the low 80’s-high 60’s, lows in the high 40’s-low 50’s, full sun and partial clouds. 

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): This week will be a hot one with today-Weds’ highs starting at 77℉, Thurs-Fri’s 65-66℉, 72℉ Sat, 70℉ Sun and 73℉ Mon. Lows will mostly remain in the 48-49℉ range, though today’s will be 50℉ and Mon’s 51℉. Additionally, the majority of the week will be fully sunny, though Thurs will be partially cloudy. Enjoy that sun, wear a mask, and have a good week.

Summary: Highs in the mid 60’s-high 70’s, lows in the high 40’s-low 50’s, sun and partial clouds. 

K2 (El Cerrito): Highs this week will start at 76℉ today, 66-67℉ Weds-Thurs, 69℉ Fri, 75-76℉ Sat-Sun and 77℉ Mon. Lows will mostly stay within the 49-50℉ range with the exception of 51℉ Sat and 52℉ Mon. Though the majority of the week will be fully sunny, Weds-Thurs as well as Sat will be partially cloudy. Enjoy that sun, wear a mask, and have a good week. 

Summary: Highs in the high 60’s-high 70’s, lows in the low 50’s, full sun and partial clouds. 

Tam (Richmond): Highs this week will start at 74℉, then fall to 65-66℉ Weds-Thurs, 68℉ Fri and 74-75℉ Sat-Mon. Lows will remain in the 50-51℉ range, with the exception of 52℉ Mon. Today will be fully sunny, while Weds-Sun will see partial clouds, Fri full clouds, Sat partial clouds again and Sun-Mon full sun. Wear a mask, enjoy that sun, and have a good week.

Summary: Highs in the mid 60’s-mid 70’s, lows in the low 50’s, sun, full and partial clouds. 

Shasta (Daly City): This week’s highs will start at 61℉, then down to 57-58℉ Weds-Fri, 61-62℉ Sat-Sun and 63℉ Mon. Lows will mostly remain in the 48-49℉, with the exception of 50℉ Mon. Meanwhile, today will be sunny, Weds-Thurs partially cloudy, Fri-Sat fully cloudy and Sun-Mon fully sunny. Enjoy that sun, wear a mask, and have a good week. 

Summary: Highs in the high 50’s-low 60’s, lows in the high 40’s, full sun, full and partial clouds. 

Tahoma (San Jose): Highs today-Weds will sit at 82℉, then fall to 70℉ Thurs, 68℉ Fri, back up to 77℉ Sat, 75℉ Sun and 80℉ Mon. Lows will start at 53℉ today, 51℉ Weds, 48-49℉ Thurs-Fri, 50-51℉ Sat-Sun and 52℉ Mon. Today-Weds will be fully sunny, Thurs-Sun fully cloudy, and Mon fully cloudy again. Enjoy that sun, wear a mask, and have a good week.

Summary: Highs in the low 80’s-low 70’s, lows in the high 40’s-low 50’s, full sun and full clouds. 

8. Cooking: Easy fried rice

Note: if you don’t have a wok, you can use a large frying pan or skillet to cook this recipe. Via taste.com.au.

Ingredients

1 cup white long-grain rice

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly whisked

2 bacon rashers, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and grated

2 shallots, trimmed, finely sliced

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Sesame seeds, to serve

Shallots, sliced, extra, to serve

Method

1. Cook the rice in a large saucepan of boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and leave to cool.
2. Heat oil in non-stick wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add eggs. Swirl over base to form an omelette. Cook for 2 minutes or until set. Transfer to a chopping board. Set aside to cool slightly. Cut into short strips.
3. Add bacon to wok. Cook 4 minutes until light golden. Add carrot. Stir fry 1 minute. Add shallots, peas and rice. Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes. Add egg and soy sauce. Stir until heated through. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and top with extra shallots. Serve immediately.

9. Actions

Editor’s note: The “Actions” section includes petitions to sign, prompts and scripts to write officials with as well as other opportunities to engage in your local, national and global communities.

• Sign up for a workshop, action hour or phonebank with Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). Just signing up for an action hour will give you access to a list of actions, which you can complete on your own time if attending the actual Zoom meeting is not possible. 
• Sign this petition from Color of Change to urge governors to protect the rights of protestors. 

And, as always:

• Watch or listen or listen to this playlist. All advertisement revenue goes to Black Lives Matter. I currently have it on in the background as I am writing this brief. Do not skip the ads, the donations will not go through otherwise.

• Watch or listen to this video. All advertisement revenue goes to various aid organizations easing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Please note it is blocked on school Chromebooks due to being in the “Entertainment” category
  • Learn more about the crisis at www.monareliefye.org/.