Nestled between Canada and the United States, Lake Superior is an immense and remote body of water — the largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world. On its shores, local communities are sustained by drawing on its natural resources. The fishing traditions supported by Lake Superior were interrupted
The Sackler family and its company Purdue Pharma are facing over 2,500 lawsuits related to the opioid crisis. The Sackler family is attempting to negotiate a rare bankruptcy procedure known as non-consensual third-part release. Through this procedure the Sackler family would pay $4.2 billion in exchange for complete immunity from
Two pipelines have been lying at the bottom of the Great Lakes for six decades. Carrying more than half a million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids every day, Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 runs from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario. The pipeline passes under the environmentally sensitive Straits of
Following months of protests, the Polish government pushed through a controversial ruling that almost completely bans abortions. The ruling was first announced back in October but had been delayed for months after mass protests—the largest the nation had seen in decades. The ruling was published in the Official Journal, meaning
On Monday, 14 December 2020, the United Kingdom and New Zealand announced new rules regarding blood donor eligibility, including looser rules for men who have sex with men (MSM). In both the United Kingdom and New Zealand, the new rules represent a shift toward behaviour-based policies, rather than identity-based policies.
The coronavirus pandemic has left no industry unscathed, but its consequences for the entertainment industry are extremely profound and far-reaching. Independent and low-budget entertainment entities suffer the most under the economic burden of the pandemic, as they often have little wealth to fall back on, and few expenditures to cut.
Scotland has recently passed a bill to make menstrual hygiene products universally available to those who need them. This makes the country the first in the world to have done so. The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill requires local authorities in specified public places to ensure that anyone who
On Tuesday, 24 November 2020, OxyContin Manufacturer Purdue Pharma pled guilty to three criminal charges in federal court. This marks the first time the company has admitted to its contribution to the pervasive abuse of the drug. OxyContin is the brandname for Oxycodone, a synthetic opioid medication used for moderate
Poverty, pollution, and access to health care are challenges traditionally associated with city living. However, a closer inspection of America’s neighborhoods reveals that these issues transcend geographic categorization and are prevalent even in ostensibly prosperous suburbia. Nassau County, located in Long Island, New York, is home to 1.4 million people. Its
On Saturday, November 8th, 2020, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was projected to become the 46th President of the United States. The verdict became clear after he won the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which pushed his Electoral College votes over the 270 he required to win. While Biden’s win was met with
Police have used pepper spray against hundreds of people in Warsaw protesting a recent ruling that almost completely bans abortions. Protesters were stationed outside the home of Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski following a ruling from the Constitutional Court that declared abortions in the case of fetal deformities illegal. Protests
Suburban sprawl is a major contributor to climate change. Often overlooked in discussions of environmental deterioration, suburban sprawl is a North American land development pattern characterized by low-density, unrestricted suburban growth stretching out from metropolitan centers into previously untouched rural land. A single new development or neighborhood does not make
Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito expressed a desire to overturn marriage quality in a four-page opinion released on Monday, 5 October. The two justices previously expressed dissenting opinions during the Obergefell v. Hodges case, the historic 2015 ruling that guaranteed sex-same marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment to
President Donald Trump’s nomination of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett as the Supreme Court justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg has sparked questions about whether a court with a conservative majority could re-assess issues like abortion rights. Abortion is a historically divisive topic, mythologized in American political ideology
Wildfires are raging a path of violent destruction through the American West. California alone has seen more than 2.5 million acres burned, while roughly 5 million acres have burned across several states. Officials in Oregon have warned the public to expect a “mass fatality incident,” prompting roughly 40,000 to flee
