The US Government is sending money each month to families with children as part of its new American Rescue Plan.

The Olympics usually provide great entertainment, inspiration, and the kind of wow factor we all need these days. And while the appearance of Simone Biles and other luminaries may raise our spirits, we are confronted daily with the spectre of more and more athletes dropping out because of positive COVID tests. Instead of providing inspiration, the Olympics are bringing us face to face, yet again, with the dire reality that the pandemic is far from over.

The IRS began sending monthly checks to families with children in the US on July 15 — the official launch of President Biden’s American Rescue antipoverty program. The plan promises to halve child poverty, but only if the money actually reaches everyone eligible.

We decided to change it up this week. Instead of presenting an in-depth look at one issue, we are offering some staggering statistics and devastating details about a variety of social justice issues of concern to us. We hope you will find them as compelling as we do — and as clarion calls to action for all of us.

“Mass shootings are now so frequent that it is hard to remember them all,” commentator Scott Pelley said on CBS’s “60 Minutes” earlier this month. Many of us can recall a time when we had never heard of a mass shooting, let alone a rash of them targeting people of all faiths and colors. Yet, here we are, facing a summer that many fear will bring a spike in senseless killings.

Let’s start with this staggering statistic: A couple working full time and earning $7.25 per hour cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country without spending more than the recommended 30 percent of their income, according to Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in Tightrope.

A new Pew Research survey was released yesterday that said that Americans believe that the government has broad responsibilities. This has not changed since 2019. The number of American adults who are "basically content" with the federal government is at its highest point since 2004. The public trust that the government will always or most of the time do what is right remains low, while confidence in the future has increased for Democrats since the election.

When President Biden delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday night, he talked passionately about the importance of expanding educational opportunity by providing free preschool and postsecondary schooling. He pointed to research showing that two years of preschool and post-high school training expands a child’s lifelong learning and earning achievements…

Today is Inauguration Day, a day of new beginnings for our country. As we write this, we do not know if today’s transition of power will be peaceful, but we do know that by the end of the day there will be a new administration - one that promises more equity, more decency, and more compassion than the one that is leaving.

As Congress pursues impeaching the current president of the United States for the second time, and we look forward to the inauguration of a new administration that promises to operate with integrity and decency, we might feel encouraged and even optimistic.…

Leading Ladies stands with those throughout the country and the world who are appalled by the acts of the mob who breached the nation’s capitol after being incited by the current president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

As we write this, it looks very promising that the two Senate races in Georgia will go to the Democratic candidates. This will give the new administration of Biden and Harris a much easier time in addressing many of the causes that Leading Ladies support: homelessness, food insecurity, universal health care, equitable education, prison reform, and humane immigration laws. We rejoice in that good news…

As we look forward to giving thanks this week, albeit in altered venues with fewer people around our tables, we think about those in our land of plenty who are homeless, hungry, jobless, and without adequate health care. Administrators of nonprofit agencies advise that the best donations are financial rather than of goods, so that they may be used where most needed…

The swirl of feelings continues to envelop so many of us in the days following the election. We feel relief that we may soon enjoy an end to the divisive and harmful name-calling; hope that real progress borne of an expansive national plan may result in a reckoning with the Covid-19 pandemic; optimism that the country may heal and move forward in providing equity in access to jobs, housing, food, education, and health benefits under an administration that values all people.

We are hoping against hope that tomorrow night we will be able to revisit the 1960s mantra, “Today is the first day of the rest of our lives!” Alas, we need to face the fact that the results of the 2020 election may well remain unsettled. If, in fact, there is controversy about the results, we encourage you to consult ProtectTheResults.org to find where and when you can join with others…

With less than a week until Election Day, our message this week is simple. Be a pest. Remind everyone you know to vote for candidates who support positions they believe in. For us, this means voting for local, state, and national candidates who are committed to access for all to quality education, health care, food, and housing; to sensible gun control laws and humane immigration laws; to reproductive rights for women; and to protecting and restoring the environment…

The last week has left us gobsmacked with a new startling development almost every day. First, we had to digest the unusual presidential debate unlike any in our nation’s history, with President Trump interrupting former Vice President Biden with what most viewers and analysts agree were below the belt accusations and falsehoods while moderator Chris Wallace was unable to control the proceedings…

Former President Barack Obama took to the airwaves last week to deliver a strong and compelling message to pass on.

Two years ago, a group of students from RAW Art Works , a wonderful program for underserved youth in Lynn, created an installation entitled “Seat at the Table.” It honored Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the US Congress and the first Black major-party candidate to run for President of the United States. Chisholm famously said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."