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Minimum Wage Rises In Some States As Workers Struggle With Basic Costs (Maria)

The author writes, “As the rising cost of basic expenses continues to fuel an affordability crisis, millions of workers will see an increase in pay this month with new minimum wages taking effect. Nineteen states, as well as 49 cities and counties, are increasing their wage floors to at least $15 per hour for some or all employees after wage hike campaigns across the country.”

Can ICE Arrest You? What the Law Says About Agents’ Actions and Protester Rights (Reader Steve)

From the San Francisco Chronicle: “After a federal immigration officer fatally shot a Minneapolis woman who appeared to be trying to drive past the officer in her car, questions have arisen about the rights of people who are being increasingly confronted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on city streets. … Since the Supreme Court’s Dec. 23 ruling that barred Trump from sending National Guard troops to Chicago, the president has halted his deployments of federal forces to Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and other cities. But he says they’ll be back, which raises questions about the rights and obligations of everyday people who encounter federal officers. Here is a look at the laws guiding how immigration agents are allowed to interact with the public, and those they suspect of immigration law violations.”

Inside a Gaza Medical Clinic at Risk of Shutting Down After an Israeli Ban (Dana)

For NPR: “Mohammed Ibrahim wants to run and play soccer again, but the 14-year-old has had three surgeries since an accident this summer when he was run over as he tried to grab food off an aid truck for his starving family. A nurse at this Gaza City clinic changes the gauze on his right leg. He winces in pain. … This clinic is run by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French initials MSF, an international aid group that provides lifesaving care in war zones around the world. But this clinic and MSF’s 19 other health care facilities and medical points across Gaza are facing massive pressure, and some may even have to shut down. Israel banned MSF and dozens of international aid organizations, preventing them from bringing in aid or international staff to Gaza and the occupied West Bank under new security and transparency rules that came into effect on Jan. 1.”

Former Republican Chair Says Us Institutions Yielded to Trump, ‘The Bully’ (Russ)

From The Guardian: “The biggest surprise of Donald Trump’s first year back in office is how quickly America’s institutions capitulated to ‘the bully,’ said Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) turned arch critic. But with the midterm elections for Congress looming, Steele predicts a resounding Democratic victory amid a hunger among voters to hold the president and his allies accountable for threatening democracy. Steele, 67, was the first Black chair of the RNC. … As the first anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration approaches, Steele said the president’s authoritarian assault on the constitution and rule of law was more expected than the way in which many law firms, universities and media companies caved.”

Trump Bill May Result in Over a Million Missed Cancer Screenings (Mili)

The author writes, “Projected losses in Medicaid coverage as a result of President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ could result in more than 1 million missed cancer screenings and hundreds of avoidable deaths within 2 years of federal Medicaid eligibility restrictions taking effect, researchers found. … Those missed screenings would translate to 2,341 undetected cancers — with an excess of 326 cancers presenting at an advanced stage — and 155 excess deaths.”

Uruguay’s Renewable Charge: A Small Nation, A Big Lesson For The World (DonkeyHotey)

From Forbes: “Uruguay did what most nations still call impossible: it built a power grid that runs almost entirely on renewables — at half the cost of fossil fuels. The physicist who led that transformation says the same playbook could work anywhere — if governments have the courage to change the rules. For Ramon Méndez Galain, the energy transition isn’t just about climate — it’s about economics. Uruguay’s shift to renewables, he argues, demonstrated that clean energy can be cheaper, more stable, and create more jobs than fossil fuels. Once the country adjusted the playing field that had long favored oil and gas, renewables outperformed on every front: halving costs, creating 50,000 jobs, and protecting the economy from price shocks.”

First, the Frogs Died. Then People Got Sick (Laura)

The authors write, “[Brian] Gratwicke is a conservation biologist who leads amphibian work at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. He had flown to Panama, in the middle of rainy season, to help resurrect frog species that had vanished from the cloud forest decades ago. Whether these amphibians can strike out on their own and thrive here again is uncertain. What is becoming increasingly clear is that without them, humans are in trouble. It turns out that frogs — in biblical times regarded as a plague — are actually guardians against disease. As dozens of frog species have declined across Central America, scientists have witnessed a remarkable chain of events: With fewer tadpoles to eat mosquito larvae, rates of mosquito-borne malaria in the region have climbed, resulting in a fivefold increase in cases.”