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‘Ghost Resorts:’ As Hundreds of Ski Slopes Are Abandoned, Will Nature Reclaim the Alps? (Maria)

The author writes, “The Céüze resort in the southern French Alps had been open for 85 years and was one of the county’s oldest. Today, it is one of scores of ski resorts abandoned across France. … More than 186 have permanently closed, driving debate about what should happen and whether to let nature reclaim the mountains.”

Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera. (Dana)

From ProPublica: “Trump officials were told that cutting aid to South Sudan would exacerbate a deadly cholera epidemic. They did so anyway.” 

Trump and Putin Share a Craving for Status. That’s Why They Both Want To Destroy Europe (Reader Jim)

From The Guardian: “There are people who argue that Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is not motivated by fears or imperial ambitions, but by other countries’ disrespect. Russia once commanded authority as one of the world’s two superpowers, but it has since forfeited that status. It knows it has lost the respect of other countries (Barack Obama famously dismissed Russia as just a ‘regional power’), and the Ukraine war is its way of winning it back. What is perhaps surprising is that Donald Trump’s turn against Europe has similar motivations.”

My Letter to the President. (Al)

The author writes, “Mr. President … I write as a citizen who has served this Nation in uniform across three decades, five combat deployments, and as someone deeply invested in America’s continued prosperity and security. What follows is an honest assessment; offered with the respect the office demands, but also with the candor this moment requires.”

Climate Change Is Straining Alaska’s Arctic. A New Mining Road May Push the Region Past the Brink (Laura)

From the Associated Press: “The Trump administration approved construction of the Ambler Access Road — a 211-mile (340-kilometer) route designed to reach massive copper deposits that would cut through that wilderness, crossing 11 major rivers and thousands of streams where salmon spawn and caribou migrate. The approval, which is facing lawsuits though proponents believe construction could start next year, came as record rainfall in Northwest Alaska flooded villages and ripped through fish spawning habitat — the latest climate-driven blow to Indigenous communities already watching caribou and salmon numbers plummet.”

Rick Steves’s $2.25M Gift Saves Center for ‘My Homeless Neighbors’ in Washington State (Reader Steve)

The author writes, “Sandra Mears refused to believe the Lynnwood Hygiene Center would close, even as she planned its goodbye party. Around 700 unsheltered people in south Snohomish County relied on the center for hot showers, meals and a safe place to rest. But last month, after five years of renting the site for free to the Jean Kim Foundation, the landowner said he had to sell. The center announced its Dec. 12 closure in early November while Mears, the nonprofit’s director, launched ‘a Hail Mary effort’ to save it. … Meanwhile, about 500 miles away on a scorching Arizona sidewalk, an unexpected benefactor was preparing to answer Mears’ prayers: famed travel author and TV host Rick Steves, whose tour and guidebook company is based in Edmonds.”