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☆ Old trailer parks are being torn down, driving up homelessness as one of the last options for low-income renters fades away
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Anita Snow | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Residents of mobile home parks in Arizona are being asked to leave, so student housing can be built. Mobile homes, not always mobile, are hard to repair so they're being razed. "We are in the deepest affordable housing crisis we've ever experienced," said Joanna Carr, acting head of the Arizona Housing Coalition. Efforts under way to revitalize old mobile homes have limits. Many park residents are Spanish-speaking immigrants earning minimum wage as landscapers or restaurant workers.

☆ Brazil police accuse agency bosses of misconduct in Amazon murder case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police recommended misconduct charges be filed on Friday against two ex-officials of Indigenous agency Funai in the case of a journalist and a native expert murdered last June in the Amazon rainforest. The police said the two former officials failed to act on information ahead of the murders of British reporter Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Reuters was not immediately able to locate the two former Funai officials, or their lawyers, to request comment. The valley is a remote jungle area on the Peruvian border with Brazil that is home to the world's largest number of isolated Indigenous communities, as well as cocaine-smuggling gangs and illegal hunting and fishing rackets. Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Deep in the Amazon, scientists race to find unknown bat viruses
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Some scientific studies have found that deforestation causes stress in bats, and stressed bats carry more viruses and shed more germs in their saliva, urine and feces. It spiked following the highway’s construction, making the Amazon in the early 1980s a rallying cry for the global environmental movement. When examining spillover risk, scientists use the number of bat species in a given area as a key variable. When humans encroach on their habitat, and bat species commingle, the viral cocktail intensifies. “Odds of it being documented are very slim,” said Caio Graco Zeppelini, an ecologist and bat researcher at the Federal University of Bahia.

☆ Why has India's Manipur state exploded in ethnic violence?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

People are evacuated by the Indian army to a temporary shelter as they flee ethnic violence that has hit the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, near Imphal on May 7, 2023. Manipur, a lush, hilly state which borders Myanmar, has long history of civil conflict since modern India’s creation. The divide between the Meiteis and the other ethnic groups is cut sharply across political and geographic lines. People wait at a temporary shelter in a military camp, after being evacuated by the Indian army, as they flee ethnic violence that has hit the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on May 7, 2023. Modi, who is in the southern Indian state of Karnataka to campaign for state elections, is yet to speak publicly about the unrest, sparking widespread anger among Manipur’s residents.

☆ Manipur: Over 50 dead, hundreds hospitalized by ethnic violence in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Sania Farooqui | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New Delhi CNN —Ethnic violence in the Indian state of Manipur has left at least 55 people dead, according to hospitals in the city of Imphal. A further 260 people have been hospitalized since violence broke out between members of the Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups earlier this week, hospital officials told CNN on Sunday. A vehicle set on fire during an outbreak of ethnic violence in Imphal, the capital of India's Manipur state, on May 4. Scheduled tribes are among the most socio-economically disadvantaged groups in India and have historically been denied access to education and job opportunities. If the Meitei community are given scheduled tribe status, other tribal groups say they fear they will not have a fair chance for jobs and other benefits.

☆ CDC will have less data to track Covid and new variants after public health emergency ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"The end of the public health emergency means CDC will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data — that means less data will be available to us," Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC's principal deputy director, told reporters during a call Thursday. Congress required these labs in March 2020 to send results to the federal government, but that mandate was tied to the public health emergency. "In some of the jurisdictions or some of the states those authorities will go away with the end of public health emergency," he said. The spotty reporting of case data also means the CDC will no longer report virus transmission at the county level after the public health emergency ends. Shah said the CDC will still have ways to monitor Covid after the public health emergency ends.

New Delhi CNN —Authorities in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur have issued “shoot-at-sight” orders after violence broke out this week between tribal and non-tribal groups that saw properties and vehicles set ablaze. Shoot-at-sight orders were authorized for “extreme cases whereby all forms of persuasion, warning, reasonable force etc. If the Meitei community are given scheduled tribe status, other tribal groups say they fear they will not have a fair chance for jobs and other benefits. Marginalization from societyAbout 25% of India’s population of 1.4 billion are grouped under the scheduled castes (Dalits) and scheduled tribes (Adivasis) in India’s constitution. “It has been seen that most Dalits and Adivasis, find it difficult to get these government ID cards … or ration cards.

☆ How the nation's first alert system to help find Indigenous people brings new awareness for the missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Nicole Chavez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Nearly a year since the nation’s first alert system for missing Indigenous people launched in Washington, the push to address the crisis of unsolved cases continues spreading in the state and beyond its borders. As of this week, authorities have issued 56 alerts, according to the Washington State Patrol. “It’s working because of the community coming together and people stepping up,” said Patti Gosch, a tribal liaison with the Washington State Patrol. The focus on the crisis of missing Indigenous persons in the state and its efforts are expanding. As of Monday, there were 142 Native Americans missing in Washington state, according to the Washington State Patrol.

☆ Native Burial Sites Will Soon Be Protected Under Law for the First Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jay Root | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, New York law permitted developers to built atop Native American burial sites without taking steps to preserve the ancient remains, making the state one of only four with no meaningful protection for graves on private lands. But that is set to change thanks to a provision included in the state budget deal Gov. The new law now heads to the governor, and she is expected to sign it this week. “This is a major victory for Native Americans across the state of New York,” said Assemblyman Fred Thiele, a Long Island Democrat and author of the bill. And when a grave protection bill finally passed last year with unanimous approval, Ms. Hochul vetoed it, saying it stripped landowners of their property rights.

☆ FAA sued over SpaceX Starship launch program following April explosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The SpaceX Starship explodes after launch for a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20, 2023. The groups argue that the FAA should have conducted an in-depth environmental report, known as an environmental impact statement (EIS), before ever allowing SpaceX to move ahead with its Starship Super Heavy plans in Boca Chica. Later, "based on SpaceX's preference," the lawyers wrote, the federal agency settled on using "a considerably less thorough analysis," which enabled SpaceX to launch sooner. The exact impacts of the launch on the people, habitat and wildlife are still being evaluated by federal and state agencies, and other environmental researchers, alongside and independently from SpaceX. Boca Chica land and wildlife there, namely ocelots, are also sacred to the Carrizo-Comecrudo tribe of Texas.

☆ America's broken housing market is making millennials and Gen Z lonelier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Loneliness is a perceived lack of connection — the discrepancy between the social connection someone has and the connection they want. Holt-Lunstad's widely-cited research has found that loneliness and social isolation have health impacts comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. People who live in communities with more walkable neighborhoods, shared space, greenery, and diverse types of housing, feel more socially connected and less lonely. In her work, Peavey has come up with six design strategies for creating third spaces — places that aren't home, work, or school — to facilitate social connection. But neighborhoods need to be dense and walkable in order for people to easily access these places because cars and physical distance get in the way.

☆ Veracruz state: Home of the flying Voladores, Mexico's top coffee and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Tim Leffel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Voladores of Veracruz in Mexico have a history that goes back at least 1,400 years. “The flying ritual has never had a learning age, it is a project of a lifetime,” he says. Nearly all of the Voladores train in or around Papantla, where the flying schools prepare young people to take over for those who are eventually aging out. Coffee, ancient ruins and an overlooked capital cityMen with ankle ropes flying deftly around a pole are not the only export from this state, though. The big draw, however, is Mexico’s second most important archaeological museum after the one in Mexico City.

☆ Brazil's Mura people report threats amid pressure to approve Amazon potash mine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Ana Mano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sergio, a Mura leader, said false information began to circulate after Funai showed up, including that the agency would "take away farmers' land." Potassio do Brasil, a unit of Toronto-based Brazil Potash, has previously denied any coercion and said it has followed the consultation protocol strictly. Federal prosecutor Fernando Soave said ongoing court-supervised Mura consultations have not been "free" or "in good faith," citing threats against the Mura since the company began trying to approve the mine project. The prosecutor reiterated that the Mura consultations should be suspended because demarcation studies have not concluded. Potassio do Brasil needs three years to build the installations for the mine and aimed to start potash production there in 2026.

CNN —The violence that has exploded in Sudan as the country’s two top generals grapple for power has unfolded at a terrifying, breakneck speed. Hemedti uses this discourse as a bloody shirt to maintain his influence and military forces for future use,” Fareid said. Marwan Ali/APFrom a subclan of the Mahariya Rizeigat tribe, nomadic people that herded camels in Darfur, Hemedti got his start as a commander of the Janjaweed. Unlike Sudan’s former dictator, Hemedti has not faced charges from the International Criminal Court. The general’s shared sense of impunity was underlined in October 2021, when they staged a coup, arresting Hamdok and his cabinet.

CNN —A once powerful member of the former Sudanese government wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity has been freed from prison in the capital Khartoum. Prisoners of Kober prison were released by authorities after inmates protested the lack of food and water by burning two cars inside the prison grounds, two Sudanese police sources told CNN. Unconfirmed reports claimed the former President al-Bashir was among the prisoners released from Kober prison. Sudan’s then-President, Omar al-Bashir, was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC, including genocide, related to the Darfur conflict in 2009. He was ousted in a military coup in April 2019 following a lengthy popular uprising and jailed in Khartoum.

☆ Irsina, the Italian village being repopulated by Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Silvia Marchetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

More than 15 families from the US and Canada have bought old properties in this remote village, known for its premium wheat fields and olive groves. The first foreign “pioneer” to buy a house in Irsina was Sandy Webster, a 63-year-old writer from San Diego. The couple fell in love with the village, bought an old house with thick stone walls, antique furniture and ancient maiolica-tile floors, and spent four years renovating it. “When we got here in 2016, over 80% of the population had fled to the newer district of Irsina, the old Irsina was empty and we loved how it looked. Their house, built into the old village walls, was on sale for 70,000 euros ($77,000).

☆ People said her business idea wouldn’t work — but it’s now a blooming beauty empire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

When Trinny Woodall founded her skincare and makeup company Trinny London in 2017, she was often met with skepticism. But since then, she has turned it into a successful business, seeing a sales boom during the coronavirus pandemic. Trinny London products include makeup in a wide range of shades, colors and coverage intensity, as well as skincare tailored to specific skin types and issues. Speaking to CNBC's Tania Bryer last month, Woodall explained that she believes being an online business helped her when the coronavirus pandemic hit. One of the ways Woodall has done this is through social media, both through her own and Trinny London's accounts and online Trinny London community groups, known as "Trinny Tribes."

PALIMIU, Brazil—As two helicopters from Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama and the police landed in a clearing in the heart of the Amazon, the hard-bitten men who make a living illegally panning for gold here made a run for it, right into the thick of the forest. This is Yanomami land, the protected territory of one of Brazil’s biggest indigenous tribes. Or at least it is supposed to be.

☆ Racial Disparities are worsening disaster recovery for people of color. With climate change, things could get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Rolling Fork, Mississippi suffered massive damage from a powerful tornado on March 24. Racial disparities existed in Rolling Fork for decades. She started I-DIEM after spending over 14 years in disaster management. Shirley Stamps stands in the rubble of her home in the aftermath of the Rolling Fork tornado. And increasingly, non-profits are doing things differently to address racial disparities in disaster management.

☆ Harris to close out ‘Invest in America’ tour by announcing $300M in bridge repair funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Donald Judd | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Biden administration will announce nearly $300 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to repair and replace bridges across eight states and the District of Columbia Thursday, closing out its three week “Invest in America” tour highlighting legislative achievements under President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris will make the announcement at the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge, which connects Washington, DC, to Northern Virginia and will receive $72 million in funding for repairs, the White House said. According to a fact sheet shared with CNN, the bridge serves over 88,000 vehicles per day. Thursday’s announcement marks the last stop on the administration’s “Invest in America” tour, which Biden launched last month by touring a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Durham, North Carolina. Per an administration official, 20 representatives from the Biden administration traveled to over 50 cities across 25 states during the tour, highlighting $435 billion in funding for 23,000 infrastructure projects in 4,500 cities and towns across the US.

☆ Juul settlement: E-cigarette maker to pay $462 million in several states for marketing nicotine for youth vaping
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462 million for its role in the youth vaping surge. The settlement includes restrictions on Juul's marketing and distribution of vaping products. Like some other settlements reached by Juul, this latest includes restrictions on the marketing and distribution of the company's vaping products. For example, it is barred from any direct or indirect marketing that targets youth, which includes anyone under age 35. The spokesperson added that underage use of Juul products has declined by 95% since 2019 based on the National Youth Tobacco Survey.

The report - a collaboration between the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and the university - found that the school developed and taught revisionist narratives intended to conceal the systemic harm perpetuated against Indigenous people. The University of Minnesota extracted vast amounts of wealth from tribes in the region, the project's research team said on Tuesday. The report urged the university to enact policies that benefit Indigenous people, including a combination of "reparations, truth-telling, policy change, and transformative justice processes." Robert Larsen, president of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, said the report only scratched the surface of local history, which was mostly ignored in schools or not known to the general public. The University of Minnesota has over 50,000 students and 20,000 faculty and staff, according to its website.

☆ Wind and solar power generators wait in yearslong lines to put clean electricity on the grid, then face huge interconnection fees they can't afford
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

The local utility in charge of overseeing the interconnection process told Pine Gate it would be more than $30 million. Pine Gate had to terminate the project because it couldn't afford the new fees, its vice president of regulatory affairs, Brett White, told CNBC. "Those projects ended up withdrawing from the queue or terminating, because they don't pencil anymore," White told CNBC. "There is Texas, and then there's the rest of the country with respects to interconnection," White of Pine Gate told CNBC. And that means getting those engineers out of some of the rote manual data entry and into the actual analysis," White told CNBC.

CompaniesCompanies Law Firms Conocophillips FollowApril 3 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by environmentalists to temporarily suspend the U.S. government’s approval of ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) multibillion-dollar oil drilling project in Alaska’s Arctic. Gleason said an injunction was inappropriate because the groups wouldn't be irreparably harmed by the construction that ConocoPhillips has scheduled for this month, which includes building roads and a gravel mine. Bridget Psarianos, an attorney challenging the approval, called the planned construction schedule "aggressive" and said the judge's decision is "heartbreaking." The approvals for the project in northern Alaska give ConocoPhillips permission to construct three drill pads, 25.8 miles of gravel roads, an air strip and hundreds of miles of ice roads. The 30-year project would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, according to the company.

The biggest makers and network operators of EV charging stations include Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), ChargePoint Holdings Inc (CHPT.N), EVgo Inc (EVGO.O) and Electrify America. In Arizona, the state's Department of Transportation is leading efforts to build charging stations, and expects $76.5 million in federal charging funds over the next five years. The first, $1.25 billion round of the Biden buildout is focused squarely on the highway fast chargers, with later rounds including slower chargers for overnight charging, for instance. Its South Korean charger manufacturer, SK Signet Inc (260870.KN), is planning to open a Texas factory to produce up to 10,000 direct-current fast chargers annually by 2026. Shares of EVgo jumped nearly 10% on Feb. 15, when the U.S. government announced the new rules for chargers.

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