Black Women More Likely to Be Murdered and More

Source: REACH Media / Reach Media

Sybil’s Birthday Shout-Outs

Birthdays

Diggy Simmons, 29

Mathew Broderick, 62 (Ferris Bueller)

Rosie O’Donnell, 62 RJ Cyler, 29

Sonequa Martin-Green, 39 (Walking Dead)

Sabrina Le Beauf, 66 (Sandra on The Cosby Show)

DJ Premier, 58

Yandy Smith, 42 (LHHNY)

Hit Boy, 37 (Producer)

Sybil Wilkes Top 5 Stories for ‘What You Need To Know:’ March 21, 2024

1. Trump Says He Might Be Forced to Sell Assets at 'Fire Sale Prices' to Satisfy $464 Million Bond

Trump Says He Might Be Forced to Sell Assets at ‘Fire Sale Prices’ to Satisfy $464 Million Bond

What You Need to Know:

In a court filing this week, New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that Donald Trump’s request to appeal his civil fraud case should be rejected. In addition, the state’s top lawyer said if the former President cannot pay the
 $464 million judgement he owes by a Monday, March 25 deadline, the court should hold his properties in order to use as payment. The James filing was in response to the Trump request to pause his payment until his appeal was complete. 

Last month, Donald Trump was ordered by Judge Arthur Engoron to pay $355 million for “ill-gotten-gains” in a civil fraud case brought by Attorney General James. In his 93-page decision, Judge Engoron wrote that Trump and his co-defendants, including his adult sons, were liable for fraud, conspiracy and issuing false financial statements and false business records, finding that they fraudulently inflated the value of Trump assets to obtain more favorable loan and insurance rates. 

2. Instead of Fixing Them, Family Dollar is Closing Them

Instead of Fixing Them, Family Dollar is Closing Them

WRITTEN & CONTRIBUTED BY KHAMERON RILEY

What You Need to Know:

In a significant development reflecting broader challenges within the discount retail sector, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree have announced the closure of nearly 1,000 stores nationwide. The move comes amidst tense relationships between dollar store chains and communities, particularly in areas predominantly inhabited by Black Americans.

Years of mismanagement, poor store conditions, and increased competition have plagued Family Dollar, which caters primarily to low-income customers in urban settings. Dollar Tree, which acquired Family Dollar in 2015, has struggled to integrate the chain and address longstanding issues.

The closures, which will affect 600 locations this year and an additional 370 stores over the next several years, highlight the financial strain faced by these chains. The decision aims to improve profitability but is likely to exacerbate existing shopping disparities, especially in areas with limited access to supermarkets and other retail options.

3. Life's Essential 8™ – How to Manage Blood Pressure

Life’s Essential 8™ – How to Manage Blood Pressure

What You Need to Know: 

Understand Readings
Make smart choices and swaps to build an overall healthy eating style. Watch calories and eat smaller portions.

Blood pressure is typically recorded as two numbers, written as a ratio like this: 117/76. Read as “117 over 76” millimeters of mercury.

Systolic: The top number, the higher of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats (when the heart muscle contracts).
Diastolic: The bottom number, the lower of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart is resting between heart beats.
Blood Pressure Categories
Normal: systolic lower than 120 mm Hg and diastolic lower than 80 mm Hg
Elevated Blood Pressure: diastolic 120 to 129 mm Hg and diastolic 80 mm Hg.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Stage 1: systolic 130 to 139 mm Hg or diastolic 80 to 89 mm Hg.

4. Black Women Are 6 Times More Likely To Be Murdered Than White Women

Black Women Are 6 Times More Likely To Be Murdered Than White Women

WRITTEN & CONTRIBUTED BY COY MALONE

What You Need to Know:

The Lancet Medical Journal analyzed homicide rates of Black women ages 25 to 44 across 30 states between 1999 and 2020 and found that Black women are six times more likely to be killed than their White counterparts.

The study was designed to provide more comprehensive data about homicide rates among Black women and fill in the gaps in the existing literature, said Bernadine Waller, the paper’s lead author and a postdoctoral psychiatry research fellow at the Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center. Waller was discouraged that no one had previously performed research of this magnitude.

The paper points to structural racism, including poverty, educational attainment, and employment as culprits behind its findings. States with more low-income households, where people tend to live closer together, had the highest disparities in homicide rates. Homicides included death by shooting, piercing, cutting, and other forms of violence. In Wisconsin, Black women were 20 times more likely to be killed than White women. Black women living in Midwestern and Northeastern states were also more likely to be killed by a firearm.

5. What to Expect During Aries Season

What to Expect During Aries Season

WRITTEN & CONTRIBUTED BY WANICA DUNN, AKA MS. ASTROLOGY

What You Need to Know:

Hello Collective. Happy Spring. Happy New Year. Happy Aries Season.

I hope you all are feeling as optimistic as I am about this new cycle. The reason that I am most excited is because many of us are about to experience some real transformation in our lives and (hopefully) we have done the work to prepare for it. The Sun moves into the sign of Aries late on March 19 and with that resets the calendar on this Astrological Year. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, the Sun (and therefore a part of ourselves) begins a new cycle – a cycle that takes with it the lessons of the cycles past.

We are also entering Eclipse Season while preparing for our first Mercury Retrograde of 2024 (yes, also in Aries). Eclipses allow those things we don’t know or unsure of or have been manifesting to reveal themselves. Many of us have been working on our healing, which in turn positions us to achieve and obtain the desires of our heart. We have had to heal, get past and even let go of relationships, mindsets, and even identities that tie us too much to what used to be or could have been. THAT’S OVER!