Robert Hunziker (2018-05-07). Climate Change 10-Year Check-Up. counterpunch.org Ten years ago Kevin J. Surace delivered a fascinating TED talk entitled "Worst Case Climate Change." Based upon credits at the end of his speech, data for his talk came from the following sources: — Fred Pearce, With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear — Tipping Points in Climate Change (Beacon Press, 2007) — John More

Democracy Now! (2018-05-07). Nearly 90,000 Hondurans May Be Deported to Danger and Poverty as Trump Ends Their Protected Status. democracynow.org The Trump administration announced Friday it is ending temporary protected status for nearly 90,000 Hondurans now living in the United States, saying they must return home. TPS is an immigration status granted to foreign nationals who can't safely return to their home countries, and allows them to legally live and work in the United States. Hondurans were first given TPS in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country. Critics note Honduras remains the one of the world's most violent countries. The Trump administration has also ended protections for El Salvador, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan. Only South Sudan and Syria were renewed. An estimated 300,000 people will be impacted overall. We get response from Patricia Montes, an immigrant from Honduras and executive director of Centro Presente in Boston, Massachusetts, which has worked with members from Honduras and Central America since the 1980s. She also has family members who will lose their temporary protected status.

RT (2018-05-07). Alyssa Milano branded a hypocrite for 'armed security' at anti-NRA rally (VIDEO). rt.com US actress Alyssa Milano has been branded a hypocrite by NRA activists for allegedly attending an anti-NRA protest with armed guards as personal protection.
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Shawn Musgrave (2018-05-07). How Customs and Border Protection Illegally Tried to Unmask a Rogue Twitter Account. theintercept.com When the Department of Homeland Security's attempt to unmask an irksome Twitter account imploded last year, few within the agency were surprised, according to newly released records. "Why would we do this?" one official asked in early April 2017 after Twitter filed a complaint in federal court, according to the heavily redacted emails. | The short-lived investigation into @ALT_USCIS, an anonymous account that claims it's run by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employee, sparked an uproar over First Amendment encroachments and potential abuses of power last year, including from members of Congress. | The new documents, released last week by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press after it sued the DHS and Customs and Border Protection, reveal a partial timeline of the abortive investigation. But more importantly, the emails show how a seemingly unsupervised CBP agent improperly attempted…

truth-out.org (2018-05-06). As Rest of World Moves Towards Renewables, US Keeps Offering Exclusive Tax Breaks for Fossil Fuels. truth-out.org About a half decade ago, as the shale drilling rush was sweeping across the US, drillers needed upfront cash — and quick — to let them snap up acreage, drill and frack exploratory wells, and hone their skills at the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) that fueled an oil and gas boom. | Bankers and financiers began attending shale industry conferences, marketing a clever idea. By dusting off an obscure part of the tax code, drillers and pipeline builders could attract a different class of investor than would usually look at a boom-and-bust prone industry, an investor hunting for stability and predictability. Form a Master Limited Partnership, or MLP, shale drillers and pipeline builders were advised, and you'll be able to access that capital. | The pitch for investors on MLPs was hard to resist: They "offer high yields and low taxes,"

RT (2018-05-06). Lava fountains spew aggressively from Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano (VIDEO). rt.com Lava flows continue to persist from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii after the eruption and hundreds of earthquakes forced locals to flee the area. New footage shows molten rock surging relentlessly into the air in huge splatters.
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RT (2018-05-05). 'Shaking side to side': Hawaii's massive 6.9 quake captured on VIDEOS. rt.com Terrifying, rumbling, ripping through houses; steaming cracks in the ground, and panicking locals — the powerful earthquake with aftershocks that hit the Big Island of Hawaii has been captured on videos.
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Kate Aronoff (2018-05-05). Top Republican Plans to Use Fossil Fuels to Make Puerto Rico "the Energy Hub of the Entire Caribbean" theintercept.com Puerto Rico could become "the energy hub of the entire Caribbean area" under a vision laid out by Rob Bishop, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who visited the island. | Bishop is not thinking of wind or solar. | In a press conference held in San Juan on Friday, with Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón — a nonvoting representative to the U.S. House — Bishop, R-Utah, said he had been consulting with oil and gas companies in Washington about how to bring more natural gas to the island. | "Puerto Rico could be a headquarters for the entire Caribbean area," Bishop said in response to a question from The Intercept. "That could be a source of energy not just for Puerto Rico, but it could be a source of export for that kind of energy to other places as…

wsws.org (2018-05-05). Trump ends temporary protected status for 86,000 Hondurans. wsws.org The decision all but ends the temporary protected status program, as 97 percent of total recipients will lose protection.

George Wuerthner (2018-05-04). The National Forests Should be Off Limits to Logging. counterpunch.org Logging, conducted ostensibly to "thin the forest," "reduce fuels" or for so-called "restoration," causes a net loss of carbon from forest ecosystems. One of the best strategies for reducing CO2 levels is by protecting our forests. Yet few environmental groups, even those who focus on climate change, advocate for the reduction of logging on federal More

C. L. Cook (2018-05-04). The Fault in Our Stars: Requiem for a Hollywood Fat Cat. counterpunch.org Let's all give it up for the #MeToo movement. Sexual assault and abuse is a scourge older than Methuselah. Since the beginning of recorded time, Patriarchy has made a Hell on Earth for women and girls. It continues to do so, and the fact Harvey Weinstein's career immolation served to spark awareness and activism going More

John Laforge (2018-05-04). Russian Sea Monsters: Rudderless Reactors on the High Seas. counterpunch.org Did you hear the one about the Exxon Valdez, Fuku-Chernobyl, Gulf Oil Titanic? Yeah: Russia floated two nuclear reactors on a barge to power oil rigs in the Arctic Ocean and nothing went wrong! Unsatisfied with trouncing Japan at the Winter Olympics, 14 gold medals to four, Moscow wants to topple Tokyo as Oceanic Polluter No. More

Sharon Lerner (2018-05-04). How Scott Pruitt Helped Arkansas Poultry Giants Pollute One of Oklahoma's Prettiest Rivers. theintercept.com Scott Pruitt, the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency, took the side of poultry companies and other businesses in Arkansas in a dispute over the pollution of an ecologically sensitive and economically vital watershed, environmental groups say. While he was representing Oklahoma as its attorney general, Pruitt helped to slow the implementation of a plan, forged years ago by both states, to clean a river in his home state. | Even before he was appointed to head the EPA, Pruitt faced questioning about his failure, as Oklahoma attorney general, to implement a standard for phosphorus levels in the Illinois River, which flows from Arkansas into Oklahoma. The river had high levels of phosphorus from animal waste, and poultry producers in Arkansas opposed the standard. In 2013, after receiving contributions from poultry companies that benefited from his inaction, Pruitt agreed to…

wsws.org (2018-05-04). Decision not to prosecute over New Zealand building collapse ignored crucial evidence. wsws.org The police and judicial system is shielding those responsible for the Canterbury Television crash during the 2011 earthquake.

RT (2018-05-04). Powerful 6.9 quake, numerous aftershocks hit Hawaii's Big Island near erupting volcano. rt.com A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 6.9 has struck just off the Big Island of Hawaii as numerous smaller jolts, including a 5.4 tremor, shook the island in the past hours, amid ongoing volcanic eruption.
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RT (2018-05-02). Climate change activists plan bizarre Donald Trump iceberg project. rt.com A climate change group is attempting to raise half a million dollars to fund its mission to carve the face of US President Donald Trump into an iceberg.
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RT (2018-05-02). Back to earth, Bezos! Amazon chief under fire for space travel plans as workers struggle. rt.com Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is facing criticism for plans to spend billions on space travel as his workers sleep in tents to save money and pee in bottles to avoid missing their daily work targets. |
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Sharon Lerner (2018-05-01). EPA Adviser Albert Kelly Resigned Amid Ethics Inquiries. Is Scott Pruitt Next? theintercept.com Albert Kelly, a senior adviser to Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency, resigned Tuesday. Kelly, who was overseeing the agency's Superfund program, left amid questions about his banking career. Pasquale "Nino" Perrotta, Pruitt's head of security, also abruptly resigned, leading many to question whether Pruitt would be next. | As The Intercept reported in December, Kelly was the chair of SpiritBank in Bristow, Oklahoma, until he was banned for life from the banking industry by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Kelly, or "Kell" as he's known by his friends, had provided several loans to Pruitt, including mortgages and funding for his share of a Triple-A baseball team, the Oklahoma City RedHawks. While Kelly was its chairman, SpiritBank became financially unstable and unable to pay back most of $30 million it received from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program. | An…

Democracy Now! (2018-04-27). "You Really Should Resign": Lawmakers Slam EPA's Scott Pruitt over Mounting Ethics Scandals. democracynow.org Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt was grilled by lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill about a slew of scandals over his spending habits and ties to industry lobbyists. Pruitt faces more than a half-dozen investigations. Among the scandals, he paid only $50 a night to live in a Capitol Hill condo owned by the wife of a prominent Washington energy lobbyist whose firm represents a roster of fossil fuel companies. Pruitt had a $43,000 soundproof phone booth installed in his office, which a government watchdog says violated spending laws. Pruitt had the EPA spend $3 million on his security detail, including 18 full-time agents. Pruitt routinely travels first- or business-class, reportedly because Pruitt was confronted by economy-class customers angry over his policies. For more, we speak with Emily Atkin, a staff writer at The New Republic. Her latest pieces include "Scott Pruitt Is Forced to Confront Reality" and "The EPA Is Acting Like Big Tobacco." We also speak with Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club.

Democracy Now! (2018-04-26). Headlines for April 26, 2018. democracynow.org Supreme Court Justices Suggest They'll Allow Trump Travel Ban, U.S. Cancels Protected Status for Nepali Immigrants on Earthquake Anniversary, Veterans Affairs Nominee Ronny Jackson Withdraws Amid Misconduct Claims, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt to Face Lawmakers' Questions About Ethics Scandals, Trump Attorney Michael Cohen to Take the Fifth in Stormy Daniels Lawsuit, French President Blasts Trump's Policies in Address to U.S. Congress, Second Palestinian Journalist Shot Dead by Israeli Forces in Gaza, Afghan Journalist Abdul Manan Arghand Assassinated in Kandahar, Japan: Okinawans Protest Construction of U.S. Military Base, HUD Chief Ben Carson's Bill Would Triple Poorest Tenants' Rents, California Police Say They've Captured the "Golden State Killer", Philippines Activist Denied U.S. Entry, Claims Torture in CBP Custody, New Alabama Memorial Is Dedicated to Victims of White Supremacy…