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Recalibration: Kentucky’s Mountaintop Mines Turned Into Neighborhoods (Maria)
The author writes, “In 2022, apocalyptic flooding swept across eastern Kentucky, killing 45 people, destroying 542 homes and damaging thousands more. Now, instead of rebuilding in the floodplain, the state is permanently lifting residents onto safer land. Officials are more than two years into a nearly $800 million plan to reclaim these landscapes again, turning them from deserts into developments. ‘Climate change is real,’ Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, said in an interview last month. ‘It’s hard to say which natural disaster would or would not have occurred without climate change, because we’ve had some big ones in the past. But what we know is that we see them more often, and sadly, we see them hit a lot of the same places.’”
Fact Check: Can Trump Technically ‘Take Back’ Panama Canal? (Reader Jim)
From Deutsche Welle: “In his inaugural address, US President Donald Trump promised to ‘take back’ the ‘foolish gift’ from the United States that was the Panama Canal. But was it in fact a gift? And does China really control it as he claims?”
What Do Midwest Law Enforcement Agencies Say About Helping ICE With Deportations? (Dana)
From the Midwest Newsroom: “The Midwest Newsroom and its partners asked police departments and sheriff offices in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska to tell us whether they will cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies as part of the Trump White House ‘mass deportation’ plan.”
Israeli Troops Fire on Displaced Palestinians Hoping To Return to Homes, Killing 2 (Sean)
The author writes, “Israeli troops have blocked thousands of displaced Palestinians from traveling back to their homes in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip, amid Israeli accusations that Hamas had breached the ceasefire deal by delaying the release of specific hostages. Israeli soldiers fired on the large crowds of Gaza residents hoping to return home several times, wounding nine people and killing two others, according to health officials at the nearby Al-Awda Hospital.”
Indiana Man Pardoned by Trump Is Fatally Shot During a Traffic Stop (Reader Steve)
From the AP: “An Indiana man was fatally shot by a deputy during a traffic stop just days after he was pardoned by President Donald Trump for a misdemeanor related to the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot. Matthew Huttle, 42, of Hobart was killed Sunday by a Jasper County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said. State police are investigating. They said the deputy tried to arrest Huttle when ‘an altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect.’”
Trump Wants to Rename Denali. Alaska Lawmakers Don’t (Laura)
The author writes, “President Donald J. Trump’s plan to return Denali, the Alaska Native name for North America’s tallest peak, to its earlier name, Mount McKinley, has run into opposition from Alaska lawmakers. Shortly after taking the oath of office on Monday, Mr. Trump surprised many in the state when he announced ‘we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley where it should be and where it belongs.’ … But Alaska’s two senators, Lisa Murkowsi and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, said they wanted to keep Denali National Park and Preserve as is, calling Denali the rightful name of the awe-inspiring white peaks, 20,310 feet above sea level in the home of the Koyukon people and other Alaska Native groups.”
