Thursday, 29 August 2019

Trump administration barring tours of migrant detention centers, Democrats say

Trump administration barring tours of migrant detention centers, Democrats sayDemocrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday said the Trump administration is blocking investigators from touring immigrant detention facilities nationwide after recent visits revealed what they called “serious ongoing problems” concerning how detainees are being treated. Representative Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said committee staff were barred from visiting 11 U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities days after previous inspections found conditions that threatened the health and safety of the adult and child migrants being held, writing in a letter to Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. The administration, Cummings said, had also imposed new restrictions on visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities that also house migrants, including a two-hour time limit.




Omar tweets she received death threat targeting her at the Minnesota State Fair

Omar tweets she received death threat targeting her at the Minnesota State Fair"I hate that we live in a world where you have to be protected from fellow humans," said Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota.




Canada: workers race to free millions of salmon trapped after huge landslide

Canada: workers race to free millions of salmon trapped after huge landslide* Rockslide on banks of Fraser River created impassable barrier * Heavy machinery and helicopters used to help gather fishA vessel used to transport salmon up the Fraser River. Crews have leaned heavily on local Indigenous communities to help gather tens of thousands of fish. Photograph: Darryl Dyck/APHelicopters, heavy machinery and nearly 200 workers are frantically working to free millions of salmon trapped by a landslide in western Canada.Government crews in the area have worked relentlessly along the banks of the Fraser River to clear debris after a rockslide, discovered in a late June, created an impassable 5m-high waterfall.Each year, several species of Pacific salmon – sockeye, chinook, pink and coho – travel up British Columbia’s Fraser River to reproduce. But the newly formed barrier has blocked the fish from accessing critical watersheds for egg laying.Weeks of excavation have shown success: already, 12,000 salmon have passed through carefully constructed channels. And 44,000 salmon – as many as 3,000 per day – have been transported by helicopter.“Nothing is off the table unless it’s determined as not being feasible. We are looking at any and all options,” Michael Crowe of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, told reporters on Wednesday. The team hopes to continue moving fish by truck, after the road was rebuilt, as well as developing a fish ladder.Emergency crews have leaned heavily on local Indigenous communities, and their knowledge of salmon spawning, to help gather tens of thousands of fish.“First Nations’ technical knowledge in fish capture – from beach-seining crews to a second fish wheel – underpins the operation,” said the government in a media release.Muddy, fast-moving water has made it difficult for officials to estimate the number of salmon trapped below the landslide site. In previous years, said Crowe, millions of salmon would be passing through this section of the Fraser River. A number of fish have been outfitted with radio tracking collars in order to give a clearer picture of how many have successfully moved upstream.The landslide, and the frantic effort to clear it, highlights the barriers – natural and human-made – that salmon face each year.In much of western North America, hydroelectric dams have blocked critical spawning routes. In recent years, the plight of displaced salmon has prompted increasingly dramatic attempts to move the fish, including the “salmon cannon” – footage of which recently went viral.The efforts in British Columbia to free the trapped salmon comes amid a difficult times for the fish: recent data suggests sockeye salmon have plummeted 75% over the last century in Canada. Last week, the department of fisheries and oceans confirmed the dire state of sockeye when it warned only 600,000 were expected to spawn this year, as apposed to the normal return of five million. Chinook salmon, which are also stranded in the river, are also endangered.




How Undocumented Students Can Access Financial Aid for College

How Undocumented Students Can Access Financial Aid for CollegeOne of the first roadblocks undocumented immigrant youths living in the U.S. might face because of their status is learning they are ineligible for federal financial aid like student loans and the Pell Grant, used to pay for college. When Damian, an undocumented immigrant who preferred to only give his first name, decided he wanted to study beyond high school, he relied on private scholarships and paid out of pocket to cover the remaining tuition bills at a local community college. Achieving a community college education required sacrifices, like working 12-hour weekend shifts instead of spending time with friends and eating at McDonald's on a daily basis.




Surgeon General to teens and pregnant women: Weed is way too risky for developing brains

Surgeon General to teens and pregnant women: Weed is way too risky for developing brains'No amount of marijuana use in pregnancy or adolescence is safe,' said Surgeon General Jerome Adams.




Trump cancels Poland visit as hurricane heads for Florida

Trump cancels Poland visit as hurricane heads for FloridaUS President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled a trip to Poland as Hurricane Dorian bore down on Florida, where it could make landfall as a dangerous Category 4 storm. Trump, who had been scheduled to attend World War II anniversary commemorations in Poland this weekend, said he would focus instead on preparations for the approaching hurricane. Vice President Mike Pence would go to Poland in his place, Trump said.




US intelligence suggests Russia was fishing Putin's doomsday missile out of the sea when it mysteriously exploded

US intelligence suggests Russia was fishing Putin's doomsday missile out of the sea when it mysteriously explodedSources familiar with an intelligence report told CNBC that Russia was trying to recover the weapon after another unsuccessful flight test.