Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on politics, media news + other going ons in Latin America and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today.
- Joe Biden is trying to walk back comments he made during a pre-taped interview in which he said the Latino community is “incredibly diverse,” “unlike” the Black community. Biden tweeted that he “in no way [meant] to suggest the African American community is a monolith—not by identity, not on issues, not at all.” A campaign spokesperson also said Biden was referring to diversity of political opinion, not cultural diversity. [Politico]
- Immigration along the southwest border decreased as countries locked down because of the pandemic, but now, the U.S. government says that the number of immigrants apprehended between the U.S. and Mexico has more than doubled between April and July. The Trump administration is using the news as continued ammunition to tout a border wall and hard-line immigration policies. [NYT]
- A 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit the south of Puerto Rico on Thursday night. No casualties or damages have been reported yet, but Puerto Ricans say the shock was “felt everywhere.” [The Independent]
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is officially an Emmy nominee. A seven-minute project she did with The Intercept called “Art of the Green New Deal: A Message From the Future With AOC” was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy. [Twitter]
- After news broke that the U.S. Census had pushed its deadline up by a month, advocates noted that the change could have dire effects on the Latino community. In a statement, Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said the earlier cutoff could lead to an undercount that would limit funding for federal programs and weaken Latino voter representation. [Latino USA]
- In a new report from the Aspen Institute, more than 40 million Americans could face eviction by the end of the year, bringing the U.S. to the worst housing crisis in history if conditions don’t improve. 80% of those facing eviction are Black and Latino individuals. Meanwhile, Congress is still fighting over a stimulus bill and federal protections to keep people from being removed from their homes. [CNN]
- Journalists in El Paso spent the last week reporting on the one-year anniversary of the tragic mass shooting that took place after a man opened fire on a Walmart. Poynter went back and interviewed staff at the El Paso Times about covering the attack and working through their own trauma.
- According to a report released by Nielsen, during the pandemic, Latinos are using their cell phone apps, social media, and digital platforms at higher rates than the rest of the U.S. population. The report says Latinos are 57 % more likely than non-Latinos to use social media as a primary information source about the virus. [NBC Latino]
- The Latino Victory Fund is teaming up with Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Manuel will join his castmates Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones in a conversation moderated by journalist Soledad O’Brien. [Billboard]