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Beneath Greenland’s Ice Lies a Climate Solution — And a New Geopolitical Battleground (Maria)
The author writes, “Greenland’s massive cap of ice, containing enough fresh water to raise sea levels by 23 feet, is in serious trouble. Between 2002 and 2023, Greenland lost 270 billion tons of frozen water each year as winter snowfall failed to compensate for ever-fiercer summer temperatures. That’s a significant contributor of sea level rise globally. … But underneath all that melting ice is something the whole world wants: the rare earth elements that make modern society — and the clean energy revolution — possible. That could soon turn Greenland, which has a population similar to that of Casper, Wyoming, into a mining mecca.”
Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian Director Beaten by Israeli Settlers, Is Now Released (Laura)
From NPR: “Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian directors of the Oscar-winning documentary, No Other Land, was attacked by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Monday, according to eyewitnesses and his attorney. Ballal was then detained by Israeli forces but was released on Tuesday. Ballal’s lawyer, Lea Tsemel, told NPR that her client said he was punched and kicked by a known settler and will file a complaint against him. Several residents and activists also described a violent scene that night.”
Florida Debates Lifting Some Child Labor Laws To Fill Jobs Vacated by Undocumented Immigrants (Sean)
The author writes, “Florida has been working for years to crack down on employers that hire undocumented immigrants. But that presented a problem for businesses in the state that are desperate for workers to fill low-wage and often undesirable jobs. Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state legislature have a potential solution: children. The state’s legislature on Tuesday advanced a bill that would loosen child labor laws, allowing children as young as 14 years old to work overnight shifts. If the new law is passed, teenagers would be able to work overnight jobs on school days. They are currently prevented from working earlier than 6:30 am or later than 11 pm per state law. The bill passed through the Florida Senate’s Commerce and Tourism committee on Tuesday with five votes in favor of the loosened child labor restrictions and four against them.”
Almost 70,000 South Africans Interested in US Asylum (Mili)
The authors write: “Close to 70,000 South Africans have expressed interest in moving to the US following Washington’s offer to resettle people from the country’s Afrikaner community, a business group has said. The South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA (Saccusa) said its website received tens of thousands of registrations from those seeking more information. In a February executive order, President Donald Trump said Afrikaners — descendants of mainly Dutch settlers who arrived in the 17th Century — could be admitted as refugees as they were ‘victims of unjust racial discrimination.’ Relations between the US and South Africa have become increasingly strained since Trump became president in January.”
How Musk Was Recruited to Back Brad Schimel (Al)
From Urban Milwaukee: “Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who probably still hopes to run for president some day, is always seeking the limelight. The Republican’s latest effort to gain attention won him coverage from the New York Times, in a story suggesting it was Walker and his longtime political strategist Keith Gilkes who might have sold billionaire Elon Musk on getting involved in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election that will determine whether it has a liberal or conservative majority.”
Columbia’s Capitulation, and Wesleyan’s Pushback (Russ)
From The American Prospect: “On Friday, Columbia University’s acting president, Katrina Armstrong, caved in to all of Donald Trump’s major demands, in the vain hope that the administration will restore $400 million in lost federal funds. Fat chance. Despite Armstrong’s capitulation, Trump has made no binding commitments in return, and Trump now has Columbia on a very short leash that he can jerk at his pleasure. … The university’s leaders were fearful of further stoking Trump’s wrath. Rather than turning to the courts, they decided to salvage what they could. That is not likely to be much. Columbia’s leadership has disgraced itself in exchange for no deal, and has only whetted Trump’s appetite. ‘It’s a Vichy moment in American history,’ [said] Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University.”
Fossils of Chipmunk Shark, an Ancient Species With an Adorable Name, Found in Mammoth Cave (Dana)
The author writes, “Researchers at Mammoth Cave National Park have uncovered a small, but significant addition to their ongoing Paleontological Resource Inventory with the discovery of a previously unknown Chipmunk Shark species. Clavusodens mcginnisi, or McGinnis’ nail tooth, lived roughly 340 million years ago, when Kentucky was still covered in a warm, shallow sea during the Mississippian Period. The small shark measured between three and four inches in length. According to a release from Mammoth Cave National Park, the creature’s small size allowed it to avoid larger predators and feed on small crustaceans, worms, and brachiopods found on the sea floor. The discovery was made in the Ste. Genevieve Formation rock layer, a popular section of tours at the park.”
