Black America Divided Over Hamas’ Attack on Israel, Raises Questions on Solidarity Page A2
`The Exorcist: Believer` Takes Possession of Box Office with $27.2 Million Opening Page A3
News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 50 Number 6
Serving Kern County for Over 49 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Multiple Suspects Sought After Shooting Incident at Morgan State University
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley and Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher told reporters that the incident happened around 9:25 p.m. when university police officers, on their regular patrol, detected gunfire from the campus. The victims, aged between 18 and 22, which include four men and a woman, sustained injuries that are reported to be non-life-threatening. By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Baltimore police are intensifying their search for multiple suspects involved in a shooting incident that occurred on the campus of Morgan State University, leaving five individuals injured. Among the victims, four are students of the historically Black institution. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley and Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher told reporters that the incident happened around 9:25 p.m. when university police officers, on their regular patrol, detected gunfire from the campus. The victims, aged between 18 and 22, which include four men and a woman, sustained injuries that are reported to be non-lifethreatening. “The entire city of Baltimore’s heart aches for the Morgan community, for the victims and their families, and for our city as a whole,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott stated. Multiple windows were shattered during the incident, and school officials said they immediately began active shooter response protocols. Worley said police systematically cleared buildings in pursuit of those responsible. While there are indications that it could have been more than one shooter, authorities could not confirm whether multiple assailants were involved. Hatcher said university police received notification of the shooting at approximately 9:27 p.m. and sent the first public safety alert to the community at 9:30 p.m., followed by four other notifications. At approximately 11:45 p.m., city police announced via Twitter that the incident was no longer an “active shooter situation.” University officials announced via social media that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted, and shuttle services resumed at around 12:30 a.m. Worley emphasized
Tyler Hall, Morgan State University campus. Morgan State is one of the few historically Black institutions nationally to offer a comprehensive range of academic programs, in business, engineering, education, architecture, social work, and hospitality management. (Photo: morgan. edu) that SWAT officers meticulously combed through every floor of the buildings they searched, conducting two sweeps, before lifting the shelter-in-place order.
Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward and assist in their efforts to bring those responsible to justice.
IRS Unveils New Tax Brackets for 2023
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has introduced updated income tax brackets pertinent to tax year 2023 and subsequent returns filed in 2024. The brackets offer clarity to taxpayers regarding the classification of their income and the computation of taxable amounts. Notably, the IRS has raised the income thresholds for each bracket. Married taxpayers with a combined income of $693,751 or higher will incur a tax liability of $186,601.50, plus 37% of the surplus over $693,750. Similarly, single taxpayers earning $578,126 or more will face a tax obligation of $174,238.25, coupled with 37% of the excess
over $578,125, during the tax return process. The standard deduction for 2023 has been raised, with married couples filing jointly now eligible for a deduction of $27,700, as opposed to the 2022 figure of $25,900. Single filers can claim $13,850, increasing from the $12,950 deduction in 2022. Additionally, the IRS has revised figures for provisions such as the alternative minimum tax. The revised guide delineates tax implications for individuals and couples across varying income brackets. For instance, couples with a combined income of $22,000 or less will be subjected to a 10% tax rate on their taxable income, mirroring the rate applicable to single individuals
earning up to $11,000. Conversely, at the upper echelons of income, married taxpayers earning $693,751 or more will be subject to a tax liability of $186,601.50, plus 37% of the amount exceeding $693,750. Similarly, single taxpayers with earnings of $578,126 or higher will owe $174,238.25, along with 37% of the excess over $578,125, when they complete their tax returns. “As you prepare your tax return, it helps to understand how the tax law views your income and how to determine taxable income,” according to H&R Block. Click here to view the updated IRS tax brackets.
Key Job Sectors Drive September Employment Surge of 336,000 By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 6 that American employers added 336,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent. According to the new report, job gains occurred in several sectors, including leisure and hospitality, government, health care, professional, scientific, technical services, and social assistance. The household survey’s key labor market indicators showed minimal to no change over the month. The number of unemployed remained essentially unchanged at 6.4 million. Among different worker groups, unemployment rates showed slight variation in September: adult men (3.8 percent), adult women (3.1 percent), teenagers (11.6 percent), Whites (3.4 percent), Blacks (5.7 percent), Asians (2.8 percent), and Hispanics (4.6 percent). The number of long-term unemployed (those without work for 27 weeks or more) saw little change, resting at 1.2 million in, constituting 19.1 percent of all
Job gains occurred in several sectors, including leisure and hospitality, government, health care, professional, scientific, technical services, and social assistance.
unemployed individuals. The labor force participation rate (62.8 percent) and the employment-population ratio (60.4 percent) remained steady over the month. Approximately 4.1 million individuals were employed part-time due to economic reasons, with their hours either reduced or unable to secure full-time positions, indicating little change from the previous month. Those who desired employment but were not actively seeking work during the four weeks leading up to the survey or were unavailable to take a job totaled 5.5 million, a marginal difference from the prior month. Among those not in the labor force but still seeking employment, about 1.5 million individuals were marginally attached to the labor force. These individuals were available for work and had looked for a job sometime within the past 12 months but not in the four weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached group who believed no jobs were available, held steady at 367,000. Leisure and hospitality witnessed a notable increase in jobs, adding 96,000 positions, surpassing the average monthly gain of 61,000 over the last year. Employment in food services and drinking establishments rose by 61,000 over the month, returning to its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. Accommodation employment also experienced an upward trend (+16,000), though it remains 217,000 below its February 2020 level, a decline of 10.3 percent. Government employment saw an uptick of 73,000, exceeding the average monthly gain of 47,000 over the past 12 months. Gains in local government without regard to education (+27,000) and state government education (+29,000) were the main drivers of the increase. However, overall government employment remains slightly below its February 2020 level by 9,000. Health care added 41,000 jobs in September, a deviation from the average monthly gain of 53,000 over the past year. Ambulatory healthcare services saw the most significant increase (+24,000), with hospitals (+8,000) and nursing and residential care facilities (+8,000) also contributing to the growth. Professional, scientific, and technical services saw an
uptick of 29,000 jobs, aligning with the average monthly gain of 27,000 over the past 12 months. Social assistance also experienced growth, adding 25,000 jobs, consistent with the average monthly increase of 23,000 over the prior year. Individual and family services accounted for most of this job growth (+19,000). Transportation and warehousing employment remained largely stable, with a marginal increase of 9,000 jobs. Truck transportation added 9,000 jobs within this sector, rebounding from a 25,000 job decline in August. Air transportation saw an increase of 5,000 jobs. Employment in transportation and warehousing showed little net change over the year. Employment in the information sector experienced a slight decrease (-5,000). Specifically, the work in motion picture and sound recording industries continued to trend downward (-7,000), marking a decline of 45,000 since May, reflecting the impact of labor disputes. Other major industries, including mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, financial activities, and other services, saw little change in employment over the month. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $33.88. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 4.2 percent. For private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $29.06. The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained unchanged at 34.4 hours. In the manufacturing sector, the average workweek also experienced little change at 40.1 hours, with overtime remaining constant at 3.1 hours. Similarly, for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls, the average workweek held steady at 33.8 hours. The total number of nonfarm payroll employees for July increased by 79,000, from +157,000 to +236,000, while August ‘s numbers increased by 40,000, from +187,000 to +227,000. These revisions bring the combined employment figures for July and August to 119,000, higher than previously reported.
Take One!
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Black Man`s 1845 Downtown Indianapolis Lynching Historical Marker
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) –- The story of a Black man beaten to death in Indianapolis in a racist 1845 lynching is now part of the city’s cultural trail in the form of a historical marker. The marker describing John Tucker’s slaying was unveiled Saturday by state and local leaders and members of the Indiana Remembrance Coalition, The Indianapolis Star reported. It was placed along downtown Indianapolis’ cultural trail close to where Tucker was killed nearly 180 years ago. “Uncovering and documenting uncomfortable history is an obligation that we all must share. We must always seek to tell the full story of our history,`` Eunice Trotter, director of Indiana Landmark’s Black Heritage Preservation Program, said at the unveiling. Tucker was born into slavery in Kentucky around 1800 and later obtained his freedom. He moved to Indianapolis in the mid-1830s and was a father to a boy and a girl. On July 4, 1845, Tucker was assaulted by a white laborer, Nicholas Wood, as Tucker walked along Washington Street. He defended himself while retreating up Illinois Street, after which Wood and two other white men beat Tucker to death. A crowd gathered to watch. Wood was later convicted of manslaughter, “a rarity in an era when Black Hoosiers could not testify in court,” the marker reads. The other men involved in his beating death served no time. Tucker’s lynching forced his children into a legal battle over his property and perpetuated generational trauma for the family he left behind, said Nicole Poletika, a historian and editor of Indiana History Blog. While often associated with hangings, the term lynching actually is broader and means “to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal approval or permission,” according to Merriam-Webster. Lynchings in Indiana from the mid-1800s to 1930 “intentionally terrorized Black communities and enforced the notion of white supremacy,” the historical marker states. Trotter said lynchings were not uncommon and happened in communities across the state. “Having the knowledge of such instances forces us to confront some of the most harmful, painful layers of the African American experience in Indiana,” she said. “Acknowledging them is an important part of the process of healing and reconciliating and saying that Black lives matter.”
Federal Judges Select New Congressional Districts in Alabama to Boost Black Voting Power
By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) __ Federal judges selected new congressional lines for Alabama to give the Deep South state a second district where Black voters comprise a substantial portion of the electorate. The judges ordered on Thursday the state to use the new lines in the 2024 elections. The three-judge panel stepped in to oversee the drawing of a new map after ruling that Alabama lawmakers flouted their instruction to fix a Voting Rights Act violation and create a second majority-Black district or something “quite close to it.`` The plan sets the stage for potentially flipping one U.S. House of Representatives seat from Republican to Democratic control and for a second Black Congressional representative in Alabama. “It`s a historic day for Alabama. It will be the first time in which Black voters will have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in two congressional districts,`` Deuel Ross, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund who represented plaintiffs in the case, said Thursday morning. Black voters in 2021 filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s existing plan as an illegal racial gerrymander that prevented them from electing their preferred candidates anywhere outside of the state’s only majority-Black district. “It’s a real signal that the Voting Rights Act remains strong and important and can have impacts both locally and nationally for Black people and other minorities,” Ross said. The three-judge panel selected one of three plans proposed by a court-appointed expert that alters the bounds of Congressional District 2, now represented by Republican Rep. Barry Moore, in southeast Alabama, who is white. The district will now stretch westward across the state. Black voters will go from comprising less than one-third of the voting-age population to nearly 50%. The Supreme Court in June upheld a three-judge panel’s finding that Alabama’s prior map __ with one majority-Black district out of seven in a state that is 27% Black __ likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The three judges said the state should have two districts where Black voters have an opportunity to elect their preferred candidates. Alabama lawmakers responded in July and passed a new map that maintained a single majority Black district. The three-judge panel ruled the state failed to fix the Voting Rights Act violation. It blocked use of the map and directed a court-appointed special master to draw new lines. The judges said the new map must be used in upcoming elections, noting Alabama residents in 2022 voted under a map they had ruled illegal after the Supreme Court put their order on hold to hear the state`s appeal. “The Plaintiffs already suffered this irreparable injury once,`` the judges wrote in the ruling. “We have enjoined the 2023 Plan as likely unlawful, and Alabama’s public interest is in the conduct of lawful elections.” Under the new map, District 2 will stretch westward to the Mississippi, taking in the capital city of Montgomery, western Black Belt counties and part of the city of Mobile. It used to be concentrated in the southeast corner of the state. Under the court map, Black residents will comprise 48.7% of the voting-age population. The special master said an analysis showed that candidates preferred by Black voters would have won 16 of 17 recent elections in the revamped district.