Author: Reporter

For four years, the Environmental Protection Agency made environmental justice one of its biggest priorities, working to improve health conditions in heavily polluted communities often made up largely of Black, Latino, and low-income White Americans. Now that short-lived era is over. President Donald Trump in his first week removed a team of White House advisors whose job it was to ensure the entire federal government helped communities located near heavy industry, ports and roadways. Trump eliminated the “Justice40” initiative the Biden Administration had created. It required 40% of the benefits from certain environmental programs go to hard-hit communities. When...

The Air Force restored training courses it had previously removed, reflecting the swirl of confusion and ongoing struggles as leaders across the Defense Department are trying to purge mentions of diversity from their websites and training in response to White House mandates. The videos about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) – the female World War II pilots who were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military, were shown to Air Force troops as part of DEI courses they took during basic military training. In a statement, the Air Force confirmed the courses with those...

Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the surge in demand as Easter approaches. The average price per dozen nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts prices are going to soar another 20% this year. Shoppers in some parts of the country are already paying more than double the average price,...

The death of an Oregon house cat and a pet food recall are raising questions about the ongoing outbreak of bird flu and how people can protect their pets. Bird flu has been spreading for years in wild birds, chickens, turkeys, and many other animals. It was first confirmed in U.S. dairy cattle in March. The virus has been causing sporadic, mostly mild illnesses in people in the U.S., and nearly all of those infected worked on dairy or poultry farms. When the virus is found, every bird on a farm is killed to limit the spread of the...

Susan Scarbro stares down a bowling lane at the distant pins. She hears a sound that breaks her focus. Was that a cough? Will her mask protect her? COVID-19 remains a very present threat for the 55-year-old. Scarbro has multiple immune disorders, making her vulnerable to infection. “Any minute anybody could cough, just incidentally,” said Scarbro, who lives in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. “And that cough could be the one thing that could make me sick.” January 20 marked the fifth anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. The virus would go on to kill...