More than 38,500 people registered to vote in the US in the 48 hours following President Biden's announcement Sunday - a nearly 700% increase in daily registrations (and more than the 34,000 who registered after Taylor Swift urged them to) - and younger voters, those between 18 and 34, make up 83% of them. The Alliance for Youth Action is here to help young people vote.

Low voter turnout - especially among young people - is often attributed to apathy. But as attorney Joyce Vance writes in her column today (sorry, Substack):

In 2020, pollster Nate Silver (I know, but bear with me) looked at reasons young people are less likely to vote and concluded, "Instead, younger people are much more likely than older people to report that they or members of their household have experienced barriers to voting, which suggests that they may genuinely find it more difficult to cast a ballot." Issues include standing in lines for over an hour, being unable to get off of work, missing voter registration deadlines, not receiving absentee ballots in time to vote, and an inability to find or physically access a polling place. Younger voters also cited day-of-election issues as impediments to voting, problems like arriving at the polls only to be told their name wasn't on the roll, having to vote a provisional ballot which takes extra time, lacking the correct ID, or being unable to get help filling out a ballot. The Harris campaign seems to be addressing those issues head on, and in an impressive way. They're holding a series of phone calls and Zoom meetings, some small and targeted, others enormous—like the call with 44,000 Black women that mobilized a tidal wave of support for the Vice President just as her campaign was getting started. Victor Shi [with the] Youth Team on the Biden campaign ... announced an "ALL YOUTH call" that will happen ... Thursday, July 25. There is a link anyone who wants to participate can use to sign up: https://joebiden.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5sZdd8wDTrWOpiy4qJWBcw#/registration Share it with all the young people you know. Something about the announcement that caught my eye was the message of inclusivity! It said, "Join us here. If you are a young person or know a young person in your life, sign up here. We have lots of ways for young people, no matter their age, to get involved with our efforts to turn out young voters." In other words, in the big tent of the Democratic Party, there is room for everyone. Whether you're young yourself or someone who cares about young people and young voters, join the call. There is work for you to do! There is work for all of us to do. Voting is habit-forming. Social scientists have documented that the more you and the people around you vote, the more likely you are to keep doing it. People can become "habitual voters." There is no time like this election to encourage people to get started down that path.

The Alliance for Youth Action offers lots of ways to take action, including their VoteReady campaign, Campus Takeover, National Voter Education Week, Vote Early Day, and Power the Polls. More great voter registration organizations: Field Team 6 - a volunteer army doing partisan voter registration in battleground states and flippable districts League of Women Voters - a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights VoteRiders - provides voter ID assistance so that every American can cast a ballot that counts Vote.org - helps voters to register, verify their registration, request a mail-in ballot, sign up for election reminders, find their polling location and stay up to date on the laws or policies that affect their ability to vote Help new voters understand their choices: Blue Voter Guide - Blue Voter Guide helps you make quick, informed, pro-democracy choices of candidates and propositions by showing what's on your ballot, with endorsements from trusted, forward-looking organizations The For the People Act - HR 1 of 2021 and the updated version, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act - would introduce several measures to make it easier to register and easier to vote, especially for young people, including automatic registration (for example, when getting a state driver's license or state ID card). A Democratic majority in the House and Senate would make it easier to pass the popular bill. Still going strong after almost 35 years: Rock the Vote.

Though the cybersecurity vendor has since reverted the update, chaos continues as companies continue to struggle to get back up and running.

Biden administration cancels another $1.2B in student debt (Axios). President Biden's Complete Track Record on Student Loan Forgiveness: "The Biden administration has now cumulatively forgiven $168.5 billion in federal student loan debt for 4.75 million borrowers."

Today's statement from President Biden noted that, in addition to extensive efforts to reduce the burden of student debt, his administration has also made the largest increases to Pell grants in over a decade, fixed Income-Driven Repayment, and prosecuted for-profit colleges that took advantage of students. Biden: "I will never stop working to make higher education affordable – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us."

Scrap Dragon is a delightful story by the wonderful Naomi Kritzer (previously). Both text and audio, so you can read or listen, courtesy of the Cast of Wonders podcast. Featuring the youngest of three daughters and a talking nutria.

Originally published in the January/February 2012 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, narrated for Cast of Wonders by Rachel Lackey and Heather Klinke. This post is thanks to the fabulous brainwane, who has posted extraordinary numbers of wonderful stories to MetaFilter, via the LinkMe thread.

This week, the Biden-Harris administration announced the largest federal investment in Registered Apprenticeships in the history of the United States, with new policies "to ensure all workers – including women, people of color, veterans, and those that have been historically left behind – have equitable access to good-paying jobs".

The Biden-Harris Administration is making sure all Americans can access the hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs created by the President's Investing in America agenda—whether they went to college or not. They've launched nine Investing in America Workforce Hubs across the country that are bringing together unions, local governments, employers, training providers, schools, community colleges, and other stakeholders to train and connect workers to jobs in high-demand sectors. First Lady Jill Biden launched five Workforce Hubs last year—Columbus, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Augusta, and Phoenix—to expand pre-apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeships, train thousands of workers for good-paying union jobs, and expand community college programs. Building on that success, President Biden announced four new Workforce Hubs this year—upstate New York, Michigan, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. What is a Registered Apprenticeship Program?: "individuals can obtain paid work experience, receive progressive wage increases, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally-recognized credential." Biden announces investments in workforce development, apprenticeships , Construction Dive, Carolyn Crist, July 16, 2024

The Biden-Harris administration is expanding the Registered Apprenticeship program in certain U.S. industries and investing in workforce development to provide job access to women, people of color, veterans and other historically marginalized workers ... As part of the July announcement, Philadelphia launched new efforts to build workforce development pipelines to attract workers. For instance, the Geographic and Economic Hiring Preference program aims to hire 50% of apprentices and 20% of journeypersons on certain public works projects from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods across the city, ensuring 200 new apprenticeships in underserved communities. ... Additional funding will support the Registered Apprenticeship program, including public-private partnerships across in-demand fields, such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, IT and cybersecurity, and K-12 education. Although apprenticeships remain outside the mainstream in the U.S., they've received more attention in recent years, particularly as part of Biden administration expansions. The apprenticeship programs are intended to serve as another avenue to fill talent gaps and build pipelines, particularly in industries that don't receive high interest from younger workers.

RI Delegation Announces Over $3.7 Million Investment in Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse press release, July 15, 2024

"This is another win for young people looking to earn while they learn, for employers who are looking to hire skilled, well-trained workers, and for growing the state's workforce." - Senator Reed

Indiana receives more than $1.2M in federal grant to expand Registered Apprenticeships, Indiana Public Media, Kirsten Adair, July 16, 2024

Indiana's Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship said 94 percent of apprentices who complete a program retain employment and earn an average salary of $70,000 a year.

Department of Labor press release, July 11, 2024

The investments are part of the Biden-Harris administration's Investing in America agenda, which is rebuilding the middle class and increasing opportunities for underrepresented populations to enter in-demand occupations and careers that offer family-supporting wages.

Biden announces workforce hub in Michigan, The Michigan Independent, Oliver Willis, April 26, 2024

The Washington Post reported in 2020 that under Trump, federal investment in water infrastructure fell to a 30-year low and spending on roads and bridges as a share of the economy had remained stagnant. Trump had promised during his 2016 presidential campaign that he would pass and implement significant investments in infrastructure. Republicans in Congress have opposed the majority of the legislation forming Biden's economic agenda; two key pieces of legislation — the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act — were passed with only Democratic votes and a tie-breaking vote in the Senate by Vice President Kamala Harris.

First Lady Jill Biden visits Columbus touting new Ohio workforce hub initiative, Ohio Capital Journal, Nick Evans, July 13, 2023

In addition to the engineering and semiconductor commitments, local and federal officials were quick to praise CSCC's work to boost health care training. The school is partnering with OhioHealth to double the number of students it trains in fields like nursing and medical imaging. ... Before hiring technicians, Intel will need another 7,000 workers to actually build the fabs, and that's where local unions come in. Electricians and ironworkers have committed to expanding their apprenticeship programs. Plumbers and pipefitters, sheet metal workers, and roofers are all expanding training facilities.

Workforce Hubs: 5 cities creating pathways to good-paying local jobs in high-demand industries, WorkingNation.com, Ramona Schindelheim, March 8, 2024

... the aim is to bring about change for the future workforce by creating generational wealth and targeting groups that have historically been left behind. "The priority populations that the Pittsburgh Hub has selected are individuals who are young adults who have faced a systemic barrier to employment," explains Puskar. "Maybe they were in the foster care system or are aging out of the foster care system. It's Individuals who have a criminal background or a re-entrance back into the workforce. It's people who live in high- and extreme-need neighborhoods as defined by our local Department of Human Services. It's folks who are immigrants and refugees." Puskar says the keys to the success are support services such as childcare and transportation to make sure that these training opportunities are accessible and lead to family-sustaining wages.

The gang already uses varied tools in its attacks, such as phishing, SIM swapping, and MFA fatigue.

The state-sponsored threat group is capable of exploiting fresh software vulnerabilities within hours of their initial discovery.

On April 24, 2024, NIST was awarded the 'Ecosystem Champion Award' at the inaugural edition of the Cyber Policy Awards in Washington, DC. This award recognizes an individual, small group, or organization whose efforts have led to broad structural and

The NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has published the final version of NIST SP 1800-22 Mobile Device Security: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). This guidance aims to help organizations address security and privacy concerns with

Did you know that 99.9% of businesses in America are small businesses? [1] Small businesses are a major source of innovation for our country—but they’re often faced with limited resources and budgets. Many of them need cybersecurity solutions, guidance, and training so they can cost-effectively address and manage their cybersecurity risks. Hmmm…where can you find guidance like this all in one place? Voila! The Small Business Cybersecurity Corner ! This website was created by NIST in 2019 in response to the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act, which directed us to “disseminate clear and