Air Quality Plummets in 20 States as Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Spreads
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Air Quality Plummets in 20 States as Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Spreads Across US (Maria)
The author writes, “Smoke from wildfires in south-central Canada and parts of Minnesota is spreading across the U.S., prompting air quality alerts in more than 20 states with millions of Americans expected to face unhealthy air conditions this week. Smoke from more than 180 active wildfires in northern Ontario briefly made Toronto’s air quality among the worst in the world on Wednesday. By nighttime, smoke had spread across several U.S. states — from Minnesota to New York — blanketing the skies with haze and degrading air quality.”
Child Deaths Caused by US Law Enforcement More Than Quadrupled, Study Finds (Sean)
The author writes, “The number of deaths caused by U.S. law enforcement has risen significantly over the last two decades, as new research shows that child deaths have quadrupled, rising by over 362 percent. The study, led by Dr. Caroline Raymond-King of the Yale School of Medicine, analyzed national mortality data and identified 11,775 deaths caused by law enforcement between 2003 and 2024. That figure accounts for the deaths of 11,505 adults and 270 children during the 21-year time frame.”
US Military To Start Screening for Testosterone Deficiency, Hegseth Says (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that military personnel aged 30 and older will undergo testing for testosterone deficiency as part of annual health screenings. In a video posted on X, captioned ‘High-T Department,’ Hegseth said he was authorizing the screening program for troops to ensure ‘you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best.’ Troops with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy.”
To Protect Its Drinking Water, This City Has to Appeal to the Oil Regulators That Put It at Risk (Laura)
From ProPublica and The Frontier: “Oklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells to protect against pollution. Regulators have let companies do it anyway.”
The Internet Is Slowing Down. And Nobody Is Talking About It. (Bethany)
The author writes, “You’re in the middle of an important Zoom call. Your face freezes. Your voice turns robotic. Your colleague’s sentence cuts off mid-word. Then silence. You frantically wave at the screen like that’ll help. You mutter the words every remote worker knows too well: ‘Sorry, can you repeat that? My internet’s acting up.’ … We’ve all been there. Multiple times a week. Maybe every day. Here’s the strange part: your internet package has never looked better on paper. You’re paying for blazing-fast speeds. Your ISP’s ad shows a family streaming, gaming, and video-calling simultaneously. No sweat. So why does the real world feel like a digital traffic jam at rush hour? Because it is.”
Winners of the International Aerial Photographer of the Year (Dana)
From The Atlantic: “A collection of winners and selected images from the competition’s ‘Top 101’ grouping, chosen from more than 1,500 entries by professional and amateur aerial photographers around the world.”
