Hey News-Changers! Hope y’all enjoyed spending Thanksgiving doing...whatever it is you do! Whether that was spending time with family, eating enough food to warrant your own mukbang, or just plain hangin’ out.

If anything, I hope our special edition from last week gave you some things to reflect on. It’s not about choosing between cooking a turkey or learning about history. Or between reading cute Thanksgiving stories or news that impacts Indigenous communities. I’d like to believe that, at the end of the day, we can have both.

Anyway, scroll down to hear the latest about the Supreme Court weighing in on gun rights, Gabrielle Union calling out America’s Got Talent, and a college basketball player whose game-winning lay-up is helping his family in the Bahamas.

- Jackie, DoSomething

This Supreme Court Case May Expand Gun Rights in a Really Major Way

The Supreme Court doesn’t usually weigh in on gun rights -- in fact, they’ve only done it twice before in this century. That’s why it was kind of a big deal when the court heard arguments on Monday in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York.

What’s This About?

Basically, New York City wanted to limit the transportation of guns within the city.An ordinance allowed gun owners to take their firearms from their home to the seven firing ranges within city limits and nowhere else -- which means guns can’t be moved out of the city, either.

What Do Folks Think?

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association thinks that the ordinance is unconstitutional, and gun rights advocates have pointed out that it would prohibit gun owners from taking their firearms to ranges or competitions outside NYC.

The city said that it’s a step to protect the residents of the most densely populated city in the US (because there are so many people in such a small space that weapons could cause devastating damage even in just a few minutes).

But It’s Also Complicated Because…

The ordinance doesn’t actually exist anymore. This case has already been through two lower-level courts, who ruled that restricting the transportation of guns in the city was just fine as far as the Constitution is concerned. But once the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, New York City removed the ordinance.

Why’d They Do That?

Probably because this case has the potential to make a HUGE impact on gun regulation nationwide (more on that below). The Supreme Court didn’t throw out the case after the regulations were amended, so now there are two big questions in this case:

1. Is this case moot (and should be thrown out) now that the regulations don’t exist?

2. Does the Second Amendment right to bear arms extend beyond the self-defense of your home?

What Could Happen?

Here are a few possibilities:

The Supreme Court rules that the case is moot, throws it out, and the ordinance remains removed (for now). The status quo for gun rights remains.
The Supreme Court rules that the ordinance is constitutional, clearing the way for governments to regulate guns outside the home.
The Supreme Court narrowly rules that this specific ordinance is unconstitutional, but that the Second Amendment is not unlimited. Gun regulations outside the home can continue to exist within reason.
The Supreme Court broadly rules that the ordinance is unconstitutional, and that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms outside the home. It gets A LOT harder for governments to regulate guns outside the home.

Gabrielle Union Calls Out the Allegedly Toxic Culture of America’s Got Talent After Being Dropped From the Show for Speaking Up

Last week, Variety reported that actress and America’s Got Talent judge Gabrielle Union was cut from the NBC show after raising concerns about things happening behind the scenes.

One incident in the report involves comedian Jay Leno, who starred as a guest judge on AGT. While filming, Leno allegedly made an offensive joke that played on Asian stereotypes, and Union urged producers to report it to human resources. Sources say the incident was never escalated, but the line was cut from the show.

Allegedly, Union herself experienced race-based microaggressions while on set. (A microaggression is a put-down based on a person’s identity, usually in subtle and sometimes unintended ways). Union was told by showrunners that her hairstyles were “too Black” for the show’s audience. She also pushed back when producers implied that a 10-year-old Black rapper wasn’t an act that “America can get behind.”

Celebrities have come forward to defend Union and call out NBC for punishing her for speaking out. Ariana Grande, Jameela Jamil, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and others have shown their support, and even AGT judge Howard Stern weighed in.

Time’s Up started a petition in support of Union, and CEO Tina Tchen pointed out a pattern of problematic behavior at NBC that protects the careers of powerful men at the expensive of the women who work with them. The movement for safe and respectful work environments for women in entertainment has been gaining momentum since 2018, and if it’s taught us anything, it’s that Union and women like her won’t go down without a fight.

Take Action: Stand with Gabrielle Union. Sign the Time’s Up petition to demand accountability from NBC.

He Won This Basketball Game for His Family in the Bahamas. Now Folks Are Raising Thousands to Help

In the final seconds of the game, college basketball player Nathan Bain made a game-winning shot that put the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Lumberjacks ahead of the Duke Blue Devils. In a touching post-game interview, Bain said he did it for his family back in the Bahamas, who “lost a whole lot” in the wake of Hurricane Dorian (I’m not crying, you’re crying).

Back in September, the SFA Athletics department organized a fundraiser for Bain and his family, but donations had slowed since then...that is, until now. After Bain’s lay-up went viral, the GoFundMe raised over $140,000 to help his family rebuild their home.

Even months after Hurricane Dorian first struck, the Bahamas are still recovering from the damage it left behind. An estimated 13,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, displacing about 29,500 people.

Take Action: Help Hurricane Dorian relief efforts. Use this list of approved partners from the Bahaman government to encourage others to donate funds or supplies.

“There is no ‘right time’ to call out destructive, immoral behavior. In the ever-widening shadow of the climate emergency, there is only the present.” - Carl Denton and Jaden Deal, Harvard students who stormed the field during a Yale-Harvard football game to protest their university’s investment in fossil fuels.

Why aren’t more people talking about… how ICE operated a fake (but accredited) university to lure immigrants trying to obtain student visas?

And why aren’t more people also talking about… how “the Amazon effect” is causing a crisis in cardboard waste (which is why we should all learn how to properly recycle cardboard and other materials)?

Meanwhile, in Iraq… the country’s prime minister has resigned as the death toll rises in anti-government protests.

My hero today is… Gage Hoffman, an Alaska Native student who helped bring Yup’ik language courses to Stanford University.

My *other* heroes today are… the members of this high school robotics team who modified Power Wheels cars for kids with disabilities.

And my third hero today (let me live) is… 11-year-old Charlotte Nebres, who’s making history as the first black lead in NYC Ballet’s The Nutcracker.

Today in viral cuteness… this cat says, “Well, hi!” in a Southern accent (which I think is fitting since I just got back from visiting my home state of Arkansas).

I’m obsessed with… Baby Yoda today. Baby Yoda tomorrow. Baby Yoda forever.