The city of Detroit is putting a 15-day moratorium on water shut-offs to thousands of households following escalating public protests against what critics charge is a mass-scale human rights violation. “There is no question this is the result of all of the pressure that has come to the city of Detroit,” Shea Howell of the People’s Water Board and Detroiters Resisting Emergency Management told Common Dreams. Darryl Latimer, deputy director for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, announced the temporary suspension of disconnections to Detroit’s bankruptcy judge, Steven Rhodes, in federal court on Monday, according to numerous media reports. He said that the pause in disconnections—ostensibly aimed at identifying and…

Over 400,000 people in and near Toledo, Ohio were urgently warned on Saturday to avoid public drinking water due to dangerous levels of toxins that likely stem from a large algae bloom fed by farm fertilizer pollution. The city of Toledo instructed residents of Toledo and several surrounding suburbs to avoid drinking, brushing their teeth with, or washing dishes in the toxic water, which cannot be decontaminated by boiling. People with liver disease, and skin sensitivities, as well as young children, are being advised by local officials to avoid showering and bathing in the toxic water. Ohio Governor John Kasich declared a state of emergency on Saturday, and officials warn that areas…

The Neskonlith Indian Band on Thursday served an eviction notice to Imperial Metals, the company responsible for the massive tailings pond breach at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia, which is seeking to site a separate lead and zinc mine near the headwaters of the Adams River — within Neskonlith territory and home to an important sockeye salmon run. Known as the Ruddock Creek Mine, the contested project is still in the development phase and has yet to go through the environmental assessment process. “As…the caretakers of our land and waters, Neskonlith, part of the Lake Secwepemc People, have an obligation to protect our land for our future generations,” according to a statement…

In a decision welcomed by women’s health advocates, a federal judge on Friday struck down (pdf) new restrictive abortion regulations in Texas due to their “unconstitutional undue burden” on women. The case focused on part of HB2  that requires abortion clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers. If it had gone into effect on Monday, the law could have slashed the number of abortion providers in the state from just 19 to a mere 8. In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel states that in addition to the “ambulatory-surgical-center requirement [being] unconstitutional because it imposes an undue burden on the right of women throughout Texas to seek…

The world’s top luxury brands could lose up to 35 billion dollars of brand value cumulatively as a result of the devastating pandemic. The figures are reported in the latest Brand Finance Luxury & Premium 50 2020 report, which shows luxury apparel brands as the most heavily impacted from Covid-19, facing a 20 percent brand value loss. Beyond luxury fashion, the value of the 500 most valuable brands in the world, ranked in the Brand Finance Global 500 2020 league table, could fall by an estimated 1 trillion dollars as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Within the luxury and premium ranking, three sub sectors are represented: apparel, automobiles and…

Obama administration officials late this week made conflicting statements about the critical question of whether the United States is at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIL). The White House and Pentagon on Friday used the word “war” to describe U.S. military actions in Iraq and Syria. “In the same way that we are at war with Al Qaeda and its affiliates around the globe, we are at war with ISIL,” declared White House press secretary Josh Earnest in briefing to reporters on Friday. “What I said was this is not the Iraq war of 2002. But make no mistake, we know we are at war with…

Barely a year removed from the devastation of the 2008 financial crisis, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York faced a crossroads. Congress had set its sights on reform. The biggest banks in the nation had shown that their failure could threaten the entire financial system. Lawmakers wanted new safeguards. The Federal Reserve, and, by dint of its location off Wall Street, the New York Fed, was the logical choice to head the effort. Except it had failed miserably in catching the meltdown. New York Fed President William Dudley had to answer two questions quickly: Why had his institution blown it, and how could it do better?…

Greenhouse gas emissions’ impacts on the world’s oceans have caused a growing and expensive problem. The issue is ocean acidification, oulined in a Convention on Biological Diversity report launched Wednesday in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, at the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12). The report, An Updated Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity, explains how the oceans’ absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide has driven a change in ocean chemistry that lowers ph levels, meaning the waters are more acidic. This acidification has increased 26 percent since pre-Industrial times, the report says, and it is occurring at…

Arriving in Minnesota to play their scheduled Sunday afternoon match, Washington football players were greeted by thousands of Native Americans and supporters who were there to declare: “We are not your mascot!” According to the Washington Post, at least two thousand demonstrators carried signs, banged drums and chanted outside the University of Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium, in what organizers expect will be the largest-ever protest against the name of the Washington Redskins. Participants traveled from as far as Kentucky, Indiana, North Dakota, Montana and Oklahoma.  “‘Redskins’ is an offensive racial slur and stereotype. The continued use of mascots and team names in sports has resulted in widespread racial, cultural, and…

Two people are confirmed dead from Wednesday’s shooting. The Canadian soldier shot while guarding Canada’s War Memorial has reportedly died from his injuries. Furthermore, a “male suspect” is confirmed dead. Police are reportedly searching cars leaving attempting to travel from Ottawa to Quebec and going door to door in downtown Ottawa, where schools remain on lockdown. “At an afternoon press conference, [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] would not say whether another gunman was believed at large,” CBC reports. CBC continues: Downtown Ottawa buildings are on lockdown after multiple shots were reportedly fired near Parliament and at soldiers guarding Canada’s War memorial on Wednesday morning. Canadian publication rabble.ca reports: Marc Soucy of…