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The Hidden Cost of Costa Rican Bananas (Maria)
The author writes, “The endless green sea of banana fields surrounding [Lidieth] Gomez’s spartan wooden home belongs to Limofrut, part of Grupo Acón, one of the main players in Costa Rica’s banana and pineapple export industry. Gomez, a single mother of three, is one of 451 women participating in research. … For 14 years, this study on pesticide exposure has investigated how chemicals used on banana plantations affect thyroid health and fetal development in pregnant women. ‘Every time the planes pass by, my eyes start to burn and my arms itch,’ says Gomez.”
These Americans Want Out (Reader Jim)
From The New York Times: “Amid an election cycle fueled by existential rhetoric, some Americans are thinking about walking away. Not from politics. From the entire country. This summer, nearly 2,000 readers responded to a New York Times survey asking if they would leave the United States should their favored candidate lose the presidential election in November. Another 3,000 people responded to similar questions asked over social media. … Their reasons were varied, though the candidates at the top of the ballot figured prominently. Many said they feared the country might spiral into authoritarianism should Donald Trump win a second term. Others were deeply concerned about how a Kamala Harris administration would handle the war in Gaza and the economy. There was more general angst — about gun violence, political vitriol, abortion restrictions, rising antisemitism, racism, and L.G.B.T.Q. discrimination.”
Pro-Palestinian Mural Blending Star of David, Swastika Draws Outrage of Milwaukee Jewish Leaders (Al)
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “A new mural on a prominent street corner suggests Jewish people are carrying out a new Holocaust and intertwines a Star of David and a swastika. The mural carries the words, ‘The irony of becoming what you once hated,’ in all capital letters. Milwaukee Jewish community leaders Thursday decried it as ‘vile’ and ‘horribly antisemitic.’”
Democrats Abandoned Their Anti-Death Penalty Stance. Those on Federal Death Row May Pay the Price (Laura)
The author writes, “Witnesses to Trump’s execution spree are dismayed by Democrats’ decision to remove death penalty opposition from their party platform.”
RFK Jr. Says He Faces Federal Investigation for Beheading Whale (Sean)
From The Guardian: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that he is being investigated by federal authorities for collecting the head from a decapitated whale carcass. During a campaign event on Saturday for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, in Glendale, Arizona, the former independent presidential candidate said: ‘I received a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Institute saying that they were investigating me for collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago.’ He added: ‘This is all about the weaponization of our government against political opponents.’ Kennedy, who endorsed the former president after dropping out of November’s election, fell under scrutiny in recent weeks after the resurfacing of a 2012 interview that his daughter Kick gave to Town & Country in which she addressed the whale in question.”
A Rumble Echoed Around the World for Nine Days. Here’s What Caused It (Gerry)
The author writes, “The strange rumble was detected mid-September last year. An odd seismic signal appeared at scientific stations around the globe, but it didn’t look like the busy squiggles of an earthquake. A day passed, and the slow tremor still reverberated. When it continued for a third day, scientists worldwide began assembling to discuss what was causing the grumble in the ground. … Some initially thought the seismic instruments recording the signal were broken, but that was quickly nixed. Maybe it was a new volcano emerging before their eyes, others said. One jokingly ruled out an alien party. As theories were checked off, the scientists dubbed the signal an ‘Unidentified Seismic Object,’ or USO.”
Huge Payout Expected for a Rare Coin Bought by Ohio Farm Family and Hidden for Decades (Dana)
From AP News: “Three sisters from Ohio who inherited a dime kept in a bank vault for more than 40 years knew it had some value. But they had no idea just how much until just a few years ago. The extraordinarily rare coin, struck by the U.S. Mint in San Francisco in 1975, could bring more than $500,000, said Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, which specializes in currency and is handling an online auction that will end in October. What makes the dime depicting President Franklin D. Roosevelt so valuable is a missing ‘S’ mint mark for San Francisco, one of just two without the mark known to exist.”
