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"A majority-Black rural community in Georgia is battling to stop a railroad company from seizing private land for a new train line they say will cause environmental and economic harms."
If the government is already struggling to protect iconic creatures like the endangered red wolf from extinction in the wild, how will it manage with other threatened species? That concern is at the core of an Inside Story Q&A with journalist Jimmy Tobias, whose award-winning feature turned stacks of dry documents into the story of one wolf’s death and helped turn things around. Watch a brief video summary from Tobias of what drove the collapse of the reintroduction program.
For journalists of all stripes, the central pillar of libel law protecting them from damaging defamation suits is Times v. Sullivan. And while at least a couple of Supreme Court justices have indicated an openness to reevaluating the decades-old decision, WatchDog Opinion warns that the real risk to defamation protections may come in the form of legislation, such as from states like Florida.
"Coal industry influence and climate change denial paved the state’s race to the clean energy bottom. As one lawmaker put it: “God created coal for people.”"
"A bill that would make it harder for Kentucky’s utility regulator to allow utilities to retire coal plants on the state’s electricity grid became law Friday without Gov. Andy Beshear’s signature."
With the federal government now requiring that states pay closer attention to cybersecurity risks in their regular audits of public drinking water systems, environmental journalists should be doing the same, suggests the latest TipSheet. Here’s how to gauge the cyber risk and to understand the current safe drinking water regulatory regime, plus story ideas and resources to bolster your local reporting.
"Rescuers combed through rubble on Saturday after a powerful storm tore across Mississippi late on Friday, killing at least 25 people there and one person in Alabama as it leveled hundreds of buildings and spawned at least one devastating tornado."
"Scientists for the federal government say documents that Georgia state regulators relied upon to conclude a proposed mine won’t harm the nearby Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge contain technical errors and “critical shortcomings” that render them unreliable."
"‘People need housing now,’ says the head of one local nonprofit. ‘They need to know there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.’"
"St. James Parish community groups are calling for a ban on new petrochemical plants to halt what they say is a history of racist land use decisions that have concentrated polluting industries in Black neighborhoods, according to a federal lawsuit."
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