Local

Know: St. Louis hosted PrideFest, a LGBT festival and parade, June 23-25.

Inform: PrideSTL, an organization working to raise acceptance for the LGBT community and eliminate prejudice within St. Louis, puts on PrideFest annually since 1981. The festival always takes place in June which is  nationally recognized as LGBT Pride Month. Since then, they have grown tremendously in strength and numbers. The 2016 PrideFest had 250,000 attendees, the organization’s greatest turnout. Not only is the festival the host of a parade, but also of various entertainers such as “The Voice” season 10 winner, Alisan Porter and “American Idol” finalist, Jessica Sanchez.

Care: Another way the community is eliminating prejudice is GSA, the Gender and Sexuality Advocacy club. GSA, hosted by EHS, meets twice a week to provide a safe place for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender students. The club raises support, provides education and holds awareness days for the different sexualities. GSA is open to anyone and everyone, whether they are LGBT or not.

National

Know: The Senate has delayed their vote on the American Health Care Act.

Inform: The bill, which is trying to replace ObamaCare, passed in the House of Representatives, May 9. As it heads towards the Senate, five plan to vote against the bill, which prevents the progression of the bill. This is not the first setback for the American Health Care Act; in March, the House delayed the vote. Republican leader, Mitch McConnell announced the plan to delay the Senate’s vote, June 27, until after July 4.

Care: According to the Congressional Budget Office, the American Health Care Act would leave 49 million people uninsured by 2026, almost 22 million more than the current law would. To put this in perspective, that is 10 million more uninsured citizens than residents of California, the most populous state. Although the government seems unsure about the bill, it continues to slowly climb its way up through the system. The first to be affected by the repeal and replacement would be the low income families. EHS has over 188 students who come from “low income” families.

International

Know: Several large firms throughout the world have been the targets of recent malware attacks.

Inform: British advertiser, WPP, Russian energy company, Rosneft, and Danish shipping company, Maersk, have all been targets of recent cyber attacks. American pharmaceutical company, Merck, was hit, as well. All targeted companies demanded a ransom in Bitcoin, an untraceable cyber currency. The company’s files would be essentially locked until the price was paid. Group IB, an international cyber security company, estimated that over 80 companies were attacked.

Care: The International Police Organization, Interpol, released a statement claiming that they will be monitoring the global attacks. Last month, a group of nearly identical hacks known as “WannaCry” was identified as terrorism. Rather than any actual violence, confidential information may be in jeopardy. It is best to stay cautious when using any technology in order to protect your device and your identity.