Masks off: Bill would allow Arizona businesses to ignore city, county mandates
by Victoria Hill, Cronkite News Thursday, February 18, 2021 Phoenix – A House committee has passed a Republican-sponsored bill that would allow Arizona business owners to decide whether to enforce mask mandates for employees and customers,…
Father Vincent O’ Connell deserves better than a smear
by Wade Rathke Thursday, February 18, 2021 New Orleans This was random. A friend and comrade got it in her mind to memorialize Father Vinnie O’Connell, one of the rare and now vanished labor priests,…
Reclaiming our common home: expand the commons to include everything we need
Ecological civilization is based on the consciousness that we are part of the Earth, not her masters, conquerors, or owners. by Vandana Shiva Thursday, February 18, 2021 The path to an ecological civilization is paved by…
Dying on the waitlist
In Los Angeles County and around the country, doctors have had to decide who gets a lifesaving COVID-19 treatment and who doesn’t. by David Armstrong and Marshall Allen Thursday, February 18, 2021 In early December, Miguel…
Climate, obits, and frozen pipes
by Wade Rathke February 17, 2021 New Orleans I called a friend in Houston to see how bad the snow and ice had hit them. He said they were among the lucky ones and didn’t…
Indian farmers are a powerful force in Indian politics, and here’s why their protests matter
by Surupa Gupta, University of Mary Washington Tuesday, February 16, 2021 A large number of women have joined the protests against new farm laws in India. Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images For over two months, farmers…
New study finds sea level rise projections ‘are on the money’
“If we continue with large ongoing emissions as we are at present, we will commit the world to meters of sea level rise over coming centuries.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Tuesday, February 16, 2021 A…
Citing anti-KKK law, NAACP and Rep. Bennie Thompson sue Trump and far-right allies over Capitol attack
“Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for deliberately inciting and colluding with white supremacists to stage a coup, in his continuing efforts to disenfranchise African-American voters.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Tuesday, February 16, 2021…
‘Indian Country’ is excited about the first Native American secretary of the interior – and the promise she has for addressing issues of importance to all Americans
by Traci Morris, Arizona State University Tuesday, February 16, 2021 U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland speaks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Oct. 1, 2018. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images President Biden’s nomination of U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland of…
The IRS cashed her check. Then the late notices started coming.
A mountainous backlog of paperwork at the IRS continues to wreak havoc on America’s tax collection system — which especially hurts lower-income filers. by Lydia DePillis, ProPublica Kathy Brenneman hears plenty of taxpayer horror stories in…
Deb Haaland faces GOP backlash over role in pipeline protests
Opposition to fracking and fossil fuel pipelines “are the exact reasons Deb Haaland is the right pick for Interior secretary,” said one advocacy group. by Jake Johnson, staff writer Tuesday, February 16, 2021 Republican Sen. John…
Inciting to riot
by Wade Rathke February 15, 2021 Pearl River Predictably, former President Trump was acquitted in his latest impeachment trial. It has always been important to him to set records, and he notched a couple of…
Global outrage after India arrests climate activist over farmer protest toolkit shared by Greta Thunberg
#ReleaseDishaRavi Ravi’s arrest “is an unprecedented attack on democracy,” said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “Supporting our farmers is not a crime.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Public figures within and beyond India are demanding the…
‘An arm and a leg’: Viral TikTok video serves up recipe to ‘crush’ medical debt
by, Dan Weissmann, Kaiser Health News February 15, 2021 Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Jared Walker, who runs a nonprofit that helps people pay medical bills, posted a TikTok video explaining the…
EPA awards $220 million for uranium mine cleanup on Navajo Nation
Work could start later this year following the completion of assessments for mining sites coordinated between the EPA and the Navajo Nation’s environmental agency, the federal agency said. by Haleigh Kochanski, Cronkite News Friday, February 12, 2021…
Slave-built infrastructure still creates wealth in US, suggesting reparations should cover past harms and current value of slavery
by Joshua F.J. Inwood, Penn State and Anna Livia Brand, University of California, Berkeley Sunday, February 14, 2021 The Port of Savannah used to export cotton picked by enslaved laborers and brought from Alabama to Georgia…
Why a shootout between Black Panthers and law enforcement 50 years ago matters today
by Paul Ringel, High Point University Members of the Black Panther Party outside the High Point property raided by police. Sonny Hedgecock/High Point Enterprise, CC BY-SA In the early hours of Feb. 10, 1971, police surrounded…
Federal judge rejects Apache Stronghold request to block Oak Flat mine
by Ryan Knappenberger, Cronkite News Saturday, February 13, 2021 Washington, D.C. – A federal judge Friday refused to order a halt to the proposed Resolution Copper Mine on Oak Flat, land that opponents say is sacred…
Sinema, Kelly vote to convict, as Senate acquits Trump of incitement
by Staff reporters, Cronkite News Saturday, February 13, 2021 Washington, D.C. Arizona’s senators joined all Democrats and a handful of Republicans Saturday in an unsuccessful attempt to convict former President Donald Trump in a historic…
No veritas in O’Keefe’s Project Veritas
New Orleans The scurrilous, criminal provocateur, James O’Keefe, and his have finally been reined in after a dozen years of mayhem and damage. Ironically, they are being hobbled by a new sheriff in the public…
AstraZeneca told to justify unequal vaccine pricing amid soaring profits
“Why is the global south paying more than rich countries for your #Covid19 vaccine?” Global Justice Now asks the pharmaceutical giant, which has pledged not to profit from the vaccine during the pandemic. by Jessica Corbett,…
Outrage and disgust as charges dropped for Buffalo police officers who fractured skull of 75-year-old peaceful protester
“Despite the video evidence of the officers’ misconduct, a grand jury has dismissed the charges.” by Kenny Stancil, staff writer Friday, February 12, 2021 Outrage erupted after all charges against Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe—the police…
“I don’t trust the people above me”: Riot squad cops open up about disastrous response to Capitol insurrection
Interviews with 19 current and former officers show how failures of leadership and communication put hundreds of Capitol cops at risk and allowed rioters to get dangerously close to members of Congress. by Joaquin Sapien and…
People over 75 are first in line to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The average Black person doesn’t live that long.
Prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations for people 75 and up can leave out Black Americans, who tend to die younger than their white counterparts. In one majority-Black county, this age gap raises questions about how to make the…
