Category Archives: Health Care

‘Beautiful’: Minnesota Becomes 4th State to Provide Free School Meals to All Kids

“Let this serve as a reminder that poverty is a policy choice,” said one advocate. “In the richest country in the world, it is absolutely inexcusable that millions of our children go to school hungry because they are living in poverty.”

By Kenny Stancil.  Published 3-18-2023 by Common Dreams

Students hug Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after he signed a universal free school meal bill into law on March 17, 2023. Photo: Prem/Twitter

Surrounded by students, teachers, and advocates, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday afternoon signed into law a bill to provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to all of the state’s roughly 820,000 K-12 pupils regardless of their household income.

The move to make Minnesota the fourth U.S. state to guarantee universal free school meals—joining California, Maine, and Colorado—elicited praise from progressives. Continue reading

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Nuclear Plant, Minnesota Officials Hid 400,000-Gallon Leak of Radioactive Water for Months

Xcel Energy reported a leak of tritium-contaminated water at its Monticello nuclear power plant on November 22. State authorities just acknowledged they’re monitoring the ongoing cleanup effort.

By Kenny Stancil  Published 3-17-2023 by Common Dreams

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1 Photo: NRC/flickr/CC

Xcel Energy in late November told Minnesota and federal officials about a leak of 400,000 gallons of water contaminated with radioactive tritium at its Monticello nuclear power plant, but it wasn’t until Thursday that the incident and ongoing cleanup effort were made public.

In a statement, Xcel said Thursday that it “took swift action to contain the leak to the plant site, which poses no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment.” Continue reading

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‘I Will Burn the Session to the Ground’ Over Anti-Trans Bill, Says Nebraska Democrat

“If you want to inflict pain upon our children, I am going to inflict pain upon this body,” said state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who has filibustered for three weeks to block a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for youth.

By Julia Conley  Published 3-15-2023 by Common Dreams

Nebraska state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D-6) speaks at the secretary of state’s office on August 25, 2020. (Photo: Senator Machaela Cavanaugh/Facebook)

The Nebraska state Senate’s 90-day legislative session reached its halfway point on Wednesday, but not a single bill has been passed yet thanks to a filibuster that was begun three weeks ago by state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh in a bid to stop Republicans from “legislating hate” against transgender children across the state.

Cavanaugh (D-6) was horrified to see an anti-transgender rights bill advance to the Senate floor in late February and was determined to keep it from passing into law, as at least nine other anti-LGBTQ+ bills have in state legislatures so far this year. Continue reading

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South Carolina Bill to Execute People Who Have Abortions Gets Support From 21 Republicans

“Executing women is not fringe GOP,” said one human rights lawyer. “It’s your horrifically mainstream ‘pro life’ GOP.”

By Julia Conley.  Published 3–14–2023 by Common Dreams

Protestors in front of the Supreme Court on June 24, the day of Roe v. Wade’s overturn. Photo: Ted Eytan/CC BY-SA 2.0.

A new pro-forced pregnancy proposal in the South Carolina General Assembly that would make people who obtain abortion care eligible for the death penalty was portrayed as coming from the fringes of the Republican Party by one GOP lawmaker—but with 21 state Republicans backing the legislation, critics said the idea is representative of the party’s anti-choice agenda.

Proposed by state Rep. Rob Harris, the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023 would amend the state’s criminal code to give a zygote, or fertilized egg, “equal protection under the homicide laws of the state”—meaning obtaining an abortion could be punishable by the death penalty. Continue reading

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Three Years Into Covid Pandemic, World Leaders Say ‘Never Again’ to Vaccine Apartheid

“These past three years should act as a warning for future pandemics,” said former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “We need a return to genuine cooperation between nations in our preparation and response to global threats.”

By Brett Wilkins.  Published 3–10-2023 by Common Dreams

National COVID 19 Vaccine Introduction Launching Program at Eka Kotebe Hospital Addis Ababa, March 13,2021. Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia/fluckr/CC

Around 200 current and former world leaders, Nobel laureates, health and faith leaders, and activists this week marked the third anniversary of the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 pandemic declaration by taking aim at the “vaccine apartheid” that according to one advocacy group was responsible for one death every 24 seconds during the outbreak’s first year alone.

letter led by the People’s Vaccine Alliance notes that three years have passed since “the World Health Organization (WHO) first characterized Covid-19 as a pandemic” on March 11, 2020 and implores governments to “never again” allow nationalism and capitalist greed to supersede human needs.” Continue reading

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Judy Heumann, ‘Mother of Disability Rights Movement,’ Dies at 75

“Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives—job opportunities or barrier-free buildings, for example,” Heumann told one reporter.

By Julia Conley.  Published 3-6-2023 by Common Dreams

Judy Heumann as a panelist at TASH’s Outstanding Leadership in Disability Law Symposium and Awards Dinner, George Washington University’s Marvin Center, July 25 2019. Photo: Taylordw/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Disability rights advocates were joined by labor leaders, progressive politicians, and other advocates for justice on Monday in mourning the death of influential activist Judy Heumann, who began decades of advocacy work fighting for employment as a teacher and was credited with paving the way for numerous federal laws to protect people with disabilities. She was 75 and died on March 4.

Known as the “mother of the disability rights movement,” Heumann’s first experience with advocacy work came in 1970 after she was denied employment at a New York City public school, with the school citing her “paralysis of both lower extremities” as the reason and saying she would not be able to evacuate students and herself in case of a fire. Continue reading

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Feds ‘Cave to PG&E,’ Allowing California Nuclear Plant to Keep Operating Sans Safety Review

“This is an ominous warning sign for how independent the NRC will be in evaluating the earthquake risk and the overall operational integrity of the Diablo Canyon reactors,” said one critic.

By Brett Wilkins.  Published 3-3-2023 by Common Dreams

The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Photo: dirtsailor2003/flickr/CC

In a move blasted by one environmental group as a “cave to PG&E,” the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved the criminal corporation’s continued operation of California’s last nuclear power plant without a renewed license or safety review while it seeks a 20-year-extension.

The NRC granted an “administrative” exception allowing the Diablo Canyon plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County—which began operating in 1985—to remain operational under its current license beyond its scheduled 2025 closure date. The commission said in a statement that the exemption “will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security.” Continue reading

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Why aren’t child soldiers treated as human trafficking ‘survivors’?

Child soldiers are often shunned when they return from war. This is no way to treat ‘survivors’

By Benedetta Wasonga.  Published 2-22-2023 by openDemocracy

Child soldiers in South Sudan. Photo: UNMISS/flickr/CC

What happens to child soldiers once the fighting is over? How do they re-integrate into society, and who supports them to find a new place in civilian life? These questions are not as easy to answer as one might think. In post-conflict settings in Africa, former child soldiers return traumatised. Warring parties have used them not only as fighters, but also in many other jobs. Some, especially girls, have also been subjected to gender-based violence.

Yet, for the most part, they are not greeted warmly by those back home. International organisations do not trip over themselves to provide them with services. They are instead met, for the most part, with suspicion. And because they are not seen as ‘survivors’, there are few places they can turn to for help. Continue reading

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‘I Am Disturbed’: Locals Alarmed Over Plan to Inject Toxic Ohio Wastewater Underground in Texas

“It’s foolish to put it on the roadway,” said one Houston-area resident. “We have accidents on a regular basis. Do they really want to have another contamination zone?”

By Kenny Stancil.  Published 2-24-2023 by Common Dreams.

Photo: Jamie Brown/Twitter

Residents and officials in Harris County, Texas have expressed alarm since learning that contaminated water used to extinguish a fiery train crash in East Palestine, Ohio has been transported more than 1,300 miles to a Houston suburb for disposal.

Houston’s Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience tweeted Thursday: “We are disturbed to learn that toxic wastewater from East Palestine, Ohio will be brought to Harris County for ‘disposal.’ Our county should not be a dumping ground for industry.” Continue reading

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US Strike Activity Surged in 2022 as SCOTUS Workers’ Rights Ruling Looms

“The right to strike is a critical source of worker power, but that right could be under further threat from the Supreme Court,” warned one expert.

By Julia Conley.  Published 2-23-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Joe Piette/flickr/CC

The number of U.S. workers who staged work stoppages in a wide array of industries in 2022 surged by nearly 50% from the previous year, new federal data shows—but the resolve among employees demanding fair pay after years without a raise, better working conditions, and paid sick leave may be under threat as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a key labor case.

An analysis by three Economic Policy Institute (EPI) experts—Margaret Poydock, Jennifer Sherer, and Celine McNicholas—of data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that at least 120,600 U.S. workers were involved in major strikes in 2022, up from 80,700 in 2021. Continue reading

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