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Healthy Environment a Human Right, UN Court Says in Landmark Climate Ruling (Maria)
The author writes, “A ‘clean, healthy and sustainable environment’ is a human right, according to judges at the top court of the United Nations. The international court of justice (ICJ) delivered a landmark advisory opinion on Wednesday about countries’ obligations to tackle climate change, and the consequences they may face if they do not. The nonbinding opinion runs to more than 500 pages and is seen as a potential turning point in international climate law.”
Gaza Is Starving (Dana)
The author writes, “‘Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die.’ This is the title of a statement published by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday. The association is composed of employees at the AFP, the world’s oldest news agency: Based in Paris, they’ve reported for nearly 200 years, including from present-day Gaza. And now employees are sounding the alarm on near-death conditions for both the people they cover, and the people who tell their stories. Since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over as the chief provider of food in Gaza on May 27th, more than 1,000 people desperately seeking nourishment have been killed by the Israeli Military, according to the United Nations. As a cancer nurse in Gaza messaged a BBC reporter on Tuesday, ‘Hunger is killing us faster than illness ever could.’ The situation has been an intolerable humanitarian disaster since day one, and it would be unfair to say it’s gotten worse. But as the entire population is crowded into a small corner of the region and the man-made famine takes hold, it’s become impossible to ignore.”
Jewish Woman’s Challenge of Kentucky’s Abortion Ban Gets Green Light From Appeals Court (Reader Steve)
From News From the States: “A Court of Appeals panel has ruled that one of three Jewish women suing the state has standing — the right — to challenge Kentucky’s abortion ban. Chief Judge Larry E. Thompson and judges Susanne M. Cetrulo and Jeff S. Taylor all agreed on Friday: two of the three women — Lisa Sobel and Sarah Baron — don’t have standing, while the third, Jessica Kalb, does. This is because Kalb has nine frozen embryos right now that she’s paying to preserve as part of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process and doesn’t know how she can proceed with the process under the state’s restrictions on abortion and definition of life. Kalb also canceled having an embryo implanted in 2022 ‘due to her uncertainty surrounding Kentucky’s abortion laws,’ according to the ruling.”
By Refusing to Show Faces or Badges, ICE Opens Door to Vigilante Impersonators (Reader Jim)
From Truthout: “For weeks, unidentifiable men and women wearing neck gaiters, mismatched camouflage attire, gloves, and baseball caps have stood outside hearing rooms at the federal immigration courthouse in Lower Manhattan. They block stairwells and elevators, waiting for immigrants to leave mandatory court appointments, before handcuffing them and taking them to processing centers. Family members may wait days before finding out where their loved ones are being held — or if they’re even still in the country. As US immigration officials seek to arrest more than a million people this year, an army of plainclothes law enforcement agents has dispersed across the country. They arrive in unmarked vehicles while only their eyes peek out from a balaclava. Their bulletproof vests may identify them as ‘police’ or a ‘federal agent’ but often offer no hint as to their agency or division.”
Violating California Residents’ Right to Water (Laura)
The author writes, “People in the nation’s richest strawberry-growing region have lacked safe drinking water for decades. A Biden administration grant promised them a clean, climate-resilient drinking water system. Trump took it away.”
Mark Zuckerberg Is Expanding His Secretive Hawaii Compound. Part of It Sits Atop a Burial Ground (Sean)
From WIRED: “As a child, Julian Ako would visit his maternal great-grandfather’s home near Pilaa Beach in Kauai, Hawaii, where he and his family would gather edible fungi that grow on kukui trees and collect seaweed and fish from the reef. For about a decade, that land has belonged to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is constructing a massive compound at an estimated cost that exceeds $300 million. WIRED can now reveal that Zuckerberg’s property is atop a burial site: Ako’s great-grandmother and her brother were buried on the land. After months of discussions with a Zuckerberg representative, Ako was successfully able to gain access to the property and identify and register the graves with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, though he was not able to locate remains of other ancestors, who he believes could be buried on the property.”
1,000-Year-Old Health Hacks Are Trending — and Backed by Science (Mili)
The author writes, “Medieval medicine is undergoing a reputation makeover. New research reveals that far from being stuck in superstition, early Europeans actively explored healing practices based on nature, observation, and practical experience — some of which uncannily echo today’s wellness trends on TikTok.”