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Last year, Republican attorneys general in 17 states sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), asking courts to declare Section 504 unconstitutional. Section 504 is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It protects people with disabilities from discrimination and gives them equal access to federally funded services such as education, employment and healthcare. The lawsuit came in the wake of the Biden administration’s update to Section 504 to include gender dysphoria as a disability in some circumstances. It received intense criticism from disability rights advocates who said it threatened to upend more than 50 years of established law. Now the states have released a status report that seemingly walks back the original case. They noted that it was not their intention to declare Section 504 unconstitutional, writing: Plaintiffs clarify that they have never movedand do not plan to movethe Court to declare or enjoin Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, as unconstitutional on its face.” However, disability advocates warn that this status report does not actually mean anything substantial and, in fact, disability rights are still under threat. The attorneys general obviously got a lot of pushback,” says Alison Barkoff, a professor at George Washington University who led HHS’s Administration on Community Living under the Biden administration. “Some responded to the pushback saying that they were going to drop the claim. That didnt happen. They didnt change the complaint. They didnt drop out of the case.” In other words, the status update is little more than legalese. It says, The context of the entire Complaint . . . is an as-applied challenge to any purported application of Section 504 to funds that are not authorized by the Rehabilitation Act. What does this mean? According to Barkoff, the states are saying that Section 504 only applies to the handful of programs that the Rehabilitation Act directly funds, such as state vocational rehabilitation programs and some employment programs. She points out that healthcare programs are funded through Medicare and Medicaid, and educational services such as 504 plans are funded through the Department of Education. These are all still at risk if the states were to win the court case. She notes that the court required a status update by February 25, and this was filed a few days earlierprobably because of the pushback the original case received. Currently, the case is on pause at the request of both the states and HHS. What happens next? There are a few possible paths forward. First, HHS could decide it will step in to defend Section 504. The current Trump administration, according to Barkoff, has made its stance on gender dysphoria very clear, and it is unlikely that HHS will defend anything regarding gender dysphoria. However, it’s unclear what the implications of this will be for Section 504 as a whole. Second, HHS could decide not to fight and another party, such as a disability rights organization, could step in to defend Section 504. Third, during the pause, HHS could decide to change Section 504 to address the states grievances in hopes that its enough for the states to drop the lawsuit. Barkoff was unwilling to speculate on the future of disability rights, she but urges people to contact their state attorney general and educate him or her on the importance of Section 504. The case that has been filed is very concerning and we have to take it seriously, she says.
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E-Commerce
David Droga is a legendary advertising creative and executive. Hes also CEO of Accenture Song, one of the largest advertising and marketing services firms on the planet. For those two reasons, we kick off Brand New World with Droga at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Why there and then? Its the worlds biggest convergence of media, marketing, entertainment, technology, and brands, and a mirror of what’s happening and a bellwether of what’s to come, on a global scale. Theres no better time and place to start a conversation about how brands, and the marketing and advertising industries, are approaching AI at this crucial and nascent moment. In this episode, I talked to Droga about what Accentures $3 billion commitment to AI means for his work, how it compares to the first digital revolution two decades ago, where it may be headed in the not-so-distant future, and the impact it will have on the art of persuasion and pop culture. On AI’s existential threats Fundamentally, I think we have to look beyond job preservation. This is not about preserving specific jobs within an agency. What we look at is what it unleashes for the skillsets that you have, and how you can parlay that into new things. AI is going to open up possibilities that we don’t understand quite yet and allow us to do things we wish we could have done, or didn’t anticipate being able to do. And if we have that attitude, then we will move forward. On AI vs human creativity Not all creativity is worth saving. I know that’s a provocation, that’s probably going to annoy some people. But I really mean it, because just turn on the TV. Look at most advertising. Look at most of the stuff that follows you online. Who wrote this shit? Who’s creating this stuff? Does that need saving? A lot of it’s written by something more alarming than AI, which is research and conformity. And that’s why it’s bland. Now, what’s interesting about that is, that it does not erase the need for incredible things, innovative things. Things that touch you and [allow you to] experience the new. There’s always room for things that are really, really wonderful and delightful. That’s where our role as creators and shapers is always going to be needed and necessary. That’s where my optimism is. Listen to the full episode for more.
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E-Commerce
If youre feeling a little apprehensive about your next flight because of Trump administration policies, thats not unreasonableand not just because Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency fired hundreds of workers at the FAA, including some whose roles supported air safety, according to a union representing workers. Now, job cuts are imminent at NOAA, the agency in charge of weather forecastingwhich supports air travel with critical data and analysis around the clock. NOAA’s work “isn’t a ‘nice’ thing to havethis is an absolute essential for aviation,” says Rick Spinrad, who served as NOAA administrator until January. “I would argue that NOAA’s weather information is as important as jet fuel to the aviation industry. You can’t fly without it.” The agency has 22 weather service units around the country that provide detailed analysis and support to FAA air traffic controllers as the weather changes. “They provide all of the information that’s used to make predictions about delays, times, flight times, optimal routes for the aircraft, and this has been done for decades,” Spinrad says. “That’s one critical function. There are literally hundreds of NOAA weather service employees who are involved in providing that information to the FAA. This is not just when there’s a storm. This is all the time, 24/7/365.” NOAA also operates and maintains hundreds of automated observation systems at airports that track things like precipitation, cloud cover, and temperature so the FAA can clear flights for landing and takeoff. The agency also tracks weather in space, including solar flares and geomagnetic storms that can disrupt GPS navigation and communication systems. “NOAA has the responsibility for space weather forecasts,” Spinrad says. “We’ve seen that being used to redirect flights. If you’re flying from San Francisco to New York, if there’s a solar storm and it may impact GPS, your flight may be redirected to the south.” Internal weather teams at major airlines also rely on NOAA data. So do the private companies that offer weather forecasting; it’s not the case that NOAA’s work in this area could be easily replaced. “There really is no substitute,” says Spinrad. “NOAA is the primary source.” “If NOAA gets broken up and privatized, like Project 2025 recommends, the threats to aviation safety will increase dramatically,” says Jeff Masters, the cofounder of Weather Underground, who now writes for Yale Climate Connections. “The aviation industry heavily relies on NWS forecasts for safety. While private companies add value, they ultimately build on the foundation of NWS-provided weather information, and the years-long transition period to a system where private companies do aviation forecasting would bring chaotic and unpredictable consequences to a system that needs utmost stability. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ definitely applies here.” In fact, private weather companies have been successful because of their reliance on NOAA forecasts, Spinrad wrote in a recent LinkedIn post: Its NOAA that operates 122 Doppler weather radars, 16 environmental satellites, 15 ships (that provide accurate nautical charts and sustainable seafood), and 10 airplanes (including the Hurricane Hunters, and the planes that monitor atmospheric rivers). Without NOAA, someone would have to pick up the bill for all of those assets, and their continuing operations and maintenance costs. And that someone will be the privileged few willing to pay the private sector the fees and subscriptions that would have to be charged… Wanna know when that hurricanes going to make landfall, or where those tornadoes are going? Pay up. It’s not clear yet which specific jobs at NOAA will be cut. (A NOAA spokesperson said that the agency could not discuss internal personnel and management matters based on long-standing policy.) But it was arguably already understaffed: The agency has around 12,000 employees now, which is small for its duties. Spinrad argues that it needs around 5,000 more workers to fully meet its mission.
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E-Commerce
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