Excessive heat forecast for central, northeast US as Juneteenth holiday nears
Ahigh-pressureweathersystemcouldbringrecordbreaking temperatures to central and eastern parts of the United States this week, National Weather Service forecasters said on Monday, threatening a large swath of the country with multi-day excessive heat
Some 80 million people are currently under a heat advisory or warning as heat is expected to surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 degrees Celsius) and flirt with 100 degrees in some areas, which is 20 degrees above average this time of year, meteorologist Andrew Orrison of the National Weather Service said.
The heat wave comes as the nation prepares to observe Wednesday's Juneteenth holiday, which commemoratestheendofU.S.slaveryin1865.While it become an official federal holiday in 2021, Black Americans, especially in Texas, have traditionally celebrated the day with barbecues and other outdoor activities.
Rate of US uninsured to rise to 8.9% in the next decade, Congressional Budget Office says
The rate of Americans who are uninsured will rise to 8.9% over the next decade from 7.7% in 2024, driven by rising immigration and reduced eligibility for 19-to-24 year-olds following federal government policy changes, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released on Tuesday.
"We expect the uninsured rate for the immigrants arriving in the surge to be roughly four times the rate for the overall population," said Jessica Hale, an analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, Congress' non-partisan budget agency.
"This is largely the result of eligibility for major federal health programs, which is contingent in part on a person's immigration status," Hale added.
Souce:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/excessive-heat-forecast-central-northeast-us-
On US-Mexico bridge, two sides of Biden border crackdown
AgroupofmigrantswalkedintoMexicoonSaturday against pedestrian traffic on the international bridge between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez minutes after being deported from the United States under the Biden administration's new asylum ban.
The mainly twenty-something Venezuelan men were ejected under the June 5 proclamation fasttracking deportations of most people crossing the border illegally.
In a scene that showed both the pitfalls and promises of President Joe Biden's new approach, the deportees who crossed the border only days earlier in deadly triple-digit heat, passed another group of migrants with wheelie suitcases standing in a line.
These migrants were awaiting interviews through CBP One, a mobile phone app promoted by the administration that provides a way to lawfully approach the port of entry.
Hawaii agrees to 'groundbreaking' settlement of youth climate change case
Hawaii on Thursday agreed to take action to decarbonize its transportation system by 2045 to settle a lawsuit by 13 young people alleging the U.S. state was violating their rights under its constitution with infrastructure that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Democratic Governor Josh Green announced the "groundbreaking" settlement at a news conference attended by some of the activists and lawyers involved in the lawsuit, which they called the first-ever youth-led climate case seeking zero emissions in transportation.
They argued that the state had prioritized infrastructure projects such as highway construction and expansion that lock in the use of fossil fuels rather than focusing on projects that cut carbon emissions.
Souce:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-mexico-bridge-two-sides-biden-bordercrackdown-2024-06-19/
US offers $850 million in grants to clean up oil sector methane emissions
The U.S. government opened up on Friday competitive bidding that will close on Aug. 26 for $850 million in grants to help small oil and gas producers monitor and reduce methane from their operations, a major part of the Biden administration's plan to crack down on leaks of the potent greenhouse gas.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
The funding, made available through the administration's signature climate law called the Inflation ReductionAct, willspecificallyhelpsmalloiland naturalgas operators reducemethaneemissions andgain access to methane detection and reduction technologies. It will be open to industry, academia, NGOs, Native American tribes, and state and local governments.
Souce:
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/us-offers-850mln-grants-clean-up-oil-sector-methane-emissions-2024-06-21/