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Uber, DoorDash Sue New York City Over Minimum Wage Law (Maria)
The author writes, “Uber Technologies Inc., DoorDash Inc. and other app-based food delivery companies filed lawsuits on Thursday seeking to strike down New York City’s novel law setting a minimum wage for delivery workers. The companies filed separate complaints in New York state court claiming the law, which takes effect July 12, is based on a misunderstanding of how the food delivery industry works. Grubhub Inc joined DoorDash in its lawsuit. The law will require companies to pay delivery workers $17.96 an hour, which will rise to nearly $20 in April 2025.”
The New Power Couple Taking on Wall Street: J.D. Vance and Elizabeth Warren (Sean)
From Politico: “Sen. J.D. Vance — the Trump-backing former venture capitalist — is trying to lead Republicans in a new cause: cracking down on big banks. Following a Senate campaign in which he pledged to prioritize rural America over titans of industry, the Ohio lawmaker is using a seat on the Banking Committee to flex his populist bona fides, teaming up with Democrats including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Dick Durbin of Illinois on bills that the industry’s biggest players despise — while championing legislation that protects smaller banks.”
Texans Die From Heat Exhaustion After Governor Bans Water Breaks (Dana)
From the Texas Observer: “As a part of a bill critics have dubbed the ‘Death Star’ bill — an expansive law that preempts legislation in eight key areas of local government — the Legislature has overridden local ordinances that require giving workers water breaks. Otherwise known as House Bill 2127, it was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 6. Since then … at least four workers have died after collapsing while laboring in triple-digit heat: a post office worker in Dallas, a utility lineman in East Texas, and construction workers in Houston and San Antonio. While the precise nature of the worker deaths is being investigated, hyperthermia is the likely cause. Climate scientists have projected that Texas summers will get increasingly hot if climate change continues, exacerbating the public health risk.”
Conservatives Go to Red States and Liberals Go to Blue as the Country Grows More Polarized (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Colorado and Idaho represent two poles of state-level political homogenization. Both are fast-growing Rocky Mountain states that have been transformed by an influx of like-minded residents. Life in the two states can be quite similar — conversations revolve around local ski areas, mountain bike trails, and how newcomers are making things too crowded. But, politically, they increasingly occupy two separate worlds.”
Critics Slam DeSantis Campaign for Sharing an Anti-Trump Ad Targeting LGBTQ Rights (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing criticism from within and beyond his party after his presidential campaign shared a video touting his record of opposing LGBTQ rights and attacking former President Donald Trump for his past support. The more than a minute-long video was made by the Twitter account Proud Elephant and shared by the DeSantis War Room — his campaign’s ‘rapid response’ account — on Friday, the last day of June.”
The Feds Have Thousands of Stadium Lights on the Border. Switching Them on Would Devastate Desert Ecosystems. (Laura)
From The Intercept: “According to a new survey, federal contractors have placed nearly 2,000 stadium-style lights in southern Arizona alone in recent years, imperiling some of the most ecologically complex and celebrated public lands in the United States. In a report published [last month], the Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental organization, revealed the placement of more than 1,800 lights on federal land in the Sonoran Desert between 2019 and 2021, including wildlife preserves that are home to at least 16 threatened or endangered species. The new lights are not yet in use, and according to the report’s authors, they never should be.”
Inside the Cave Where a Nonhuman Species Carved Mysterious Symbols (Sean)
The author writes, “Discoveries within the Cradle of Humankind’s limestone caves in South Africa are changing the way scientists understand human evolution. The cavern system, about a half hour’s drive northwest of Johannesburg, is where the first fossils of previously unknown human relatives were uncovered. The UNESCO World Heritage Site contains many hominid fossils and tools. But two textbook-altering finds would not have occurred without a dose of happenstance.”
