May 27 Watch 7:27 The UN wants to drastically reduce plastic pollution by 2040. Here’s how By William Brangham, Lorna Baldwin, Harry Zahn As plastic waste piles up in the world’s landfills, sewer systems and oceans, the United Nations has set a goal to reduce plastic pollution by 80 percent by the year 2040. Inger Andersen, head of the United Nations Environment Programme,… Continue watching
May 27 Watch 6:06 What the U.S. is doing to address its deepening maternal mortality crisis By Ali Rogin, Kaisha Young The U.S. maternal mortality rate continues to steadily increase, with 2021 being one of the worst years on record. According to the Centers for Disease Control, mental health conditions are among the leading causes of pregnancy-related death. Carole Johnson, head… Continue watching
May 27 Analysis: How Memorial Day came to have a history of contentious meanings By Ben Finley, Associated Press Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members. But it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of retail discounts. Continue reading
May 27 The Supreme Court just narrowed protection for wetlands, leaving many valuable ecosystems at risk By Albert C. Lin, The Conversation For the last 45 years, the EPA has required discharge permits in wetlands “adjacent” to water bodies, even if a dune, levee or other barrier separated the two. The Sackett decision upends that approach, leaving tens of millions of acres at… Continue reading
May 26 Watch 8:36 Migrants endure appalling conditions at border while waiting for chance to seek asylum By Amna Nawaz, Mike Fritz, Lena I. Jackson, Karina Cuevas, Layla Quran Earlier this month, a pandemic-era rule that allowed for the quick expulsion of migrants at the border, known as Title 42, officially ended. It created ripple effects on both sides of the border, though not necessarily what many expected. Authorities… Continue watching
May 26 Judge says fire retardant drops are polluting streams but allows use to continue By Matthew Brown, Associated Press The ruling Friday from U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Montana came after environmentalists sued the government for dropping the red slurry material into waterways hundreds of times over the past decade. Continue reading
May 26 Republican 2024 hopeful Ron DeSantis is ‘blazing a trail’ on school book bans By Andrew DeMillo, Anthony Izaguirre, Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press Florida last year became the first in a wave of red states to enact laws making it easier for parents to challenge books in school libraries they deem to be pornographic, deal improperly with racial issues or in other ways… Continue reading
May 26 Iowa law limits gender identity instruction, bans books depicting sex acts from school libraries By Scott McFetridge, Hannah Fingerhut, Associated Press The new law signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds mandates the removal of all books depicting sex acts from Iowa school libraries. Religious texts will be exempt from the ban. Continue reading
May 26 California officials warn about deadly river torrents ahead of busy holiday weekend By Haven Daley, John Antczak, Associated Press An extraordinary series of storms this past winter buried the Sierra range in deep snow that is now melting, swelling Central Valley rivers that just months ago were running low because of years of extreme drought. Continue reading
May 26 WATCH: Bidens host NCAA basketball champions LSU and UConn at the White House By Associated Press The visit had once appeared in jeopardy after Jill Biden suggested that the losing Iowa team be invited, too. But none of that was mentioned as Biden heralded the players for their performance and the way they have helped advance… Continue reading