Happy Wednesday, muggles. The election of Kamala Harris as the Vice President of the U.S. is already changing the future for women. Harris’ alma mater, Howard University, has received a $1 million gift to open a center to promote Black female leaders and gender-based research. Tackling inequalities for Black and minority women are long overdue. In 2020, only 3% of C-suite roles were held by women of color. Here’s to hoping those numbers shift very soon. 

Deadly typhoon leaves whole villages underwater in the Philippines

Sun Nov 15

A deadly typhoon swept through Southeast Asia last week, leaving at least 67 people dead in the Philippines as it continued its destructive path towards Vietnam this weekend. While Typhoon Vamco weakened as it made landfall in Vietnam, the long coastline makes Vietnam susceptible to flooding and attracts dangerous storms. 

In Vietnam, Vamco is the 13th storm to make landfall this year. More than 160 people have died since early October due to a series of storms. Disaster relief agencies say every time they start rebuilding, they have been hit again. 

Meanwhile in the Philippines, Vamco is the 21st cyclone to hit this year and the deadliest. More than 25,000 homes were damaged and about $9.7 million in infrastructure was destroyed. At least 40 neighborhoods and 20 towns across the Cagayan province in the Northern region were still underwater days after the typhoon hit. The heavy rainfall and strong winds also caused agriculture damage worth about $25 million.

SOURCES: CNN, NBC News, The Washington Post

Confronting the suicide risk of gun ownership

Tue Nov 17

With gun suicides outnumbering all other types of gun deaths in the U.S., suicide prevention advocates have been teaming up with gun-rights proponents. These gun-enabled suicides have been a consistent problem even before the pandemic. But this year alone, roughly 70% of people who bought a firearm reported having suicidal thoughts.

So how big is this problem?

While gun owners themselves are not more suicidal than people who don’t own guns, guns are more fatal than other suicidal attempts. And of the 40,000 Americans dying of gun violence each year…

• Almost two-thirds of gun deaths are suicides
• Over half of suicides involve guns
• More than 24,000 Americans used a gun to kill themselves in 2018

What work is being done?

• Suicide prevention booths at gun shows
• A suicide prevention video on the home page of the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s website
• Firearms retailers handing out cards with the suicide-prevention hotline number and information on signs of depression
• Posters with messages to keep firearms locked, store bullets separately, and even offer to store firearms for gun owners who might be going through a crisis

If you’re having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.

SOURCES: The New York Times, Stanford Medicine, Futurity, University of Washington