(2022-04-02). Denver's Program To Dispatch Mental Health Teams Instead Of Police Is So Successful It Is Expanding 5-Fold. popularresistance.org After dispatching mental health teams, instead of police officers, to certain 911 emergency calls, the city of Denver is proclaiming their pilot program a huge success—and expanding it significantly. Since June 2020, the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) has deployed medical and behavioral health clinicians to respond to over 2,200 low risk calls reporting trespassing, intoxication, or mental health crises involving poverty, homelessness or addiction. In all that time, STAR teams have never called for police back-up due to a safety issue, according to their January report.
(2022-04-01). U.S. unemployment drops but inflation rises. america.cgtn.com 
The monthly jobs report was released Friday.
(2022-04-01). March Employment Growth Closes in on Pre-Pandemic Levels. truthout.org 
The economy added 431,000 jobs in March, in line with expectations. Revisions to the prior two months data added 95,000 jobs to January and February growth, bringing the three month average to 562,000. Total employment is now down by 1.6 million from the pre-pandemic level. The strong job growth brought unemployment down to 3.6 percent, just 0.1 percentage point below its pre-recession low. | Employment Closes in on Pre-Pandemic Levels: | The rise in employment in March left total employment at 1.6 million jobs below its pre-pandemic level, less than three months of growth at its recent pace. Private sect…
(2022-04-01). Wealth bonanza for Australia's billionaires continues as the pandemic rages. wsws.org Australian billionaires added more than $50 billion to their coffers over the past year, amid a surge of COVID, wage suppression and a cost-of-living crisis.