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Rat Poison’s Long Reach (Maria)
The author writes, “Around the world, second-generation rodenticides have been implicated in the deaths of predatory birds and the many other kinds of animals that feed on living or dead rodents, including wolves, foxes, skunks, and coyotes. The threat to wildlife — and people, too — has led many nations to impose some limits on how the compounds can be sold and used. But conservation scientists say there’s growing evidence that such controls have done little to reduce nontarget poisoning. … Such findings have become a catalyst for groups that are now urging the U.S. and other nations to tighten limits on some rodenticides.”
The Request for Federal Aid After Beryl Opens Rift Between White House and Texas (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “President Joe Biden said he tried tracking down Republican Gov. Greg Abbott — who has been in Asia on a trade mission since last week — to get the state to formally request a major disaster declaration that unlocks federal aid. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Biden also said he tried reaching Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has served as acting governor since Beryl made landfall Monday, before they eventually connected the next day. Both Texas leaders have sharply pushed back on Biden’s version of events in the middle of a hurricane recovery that has left some coastal residents facing the possibility of days or weeks without electricity.”
Every Democrat Other Than Joe Biden Is Unburdened by What Has Been (Laura)
From The Intercept: “President Joe Biden has an electability problem. To counter that reality — evident for months but put on the spotlight by a dismal debate performance last week — his campaign on Monday touted a poll finding that eight other Democrats would lose to former President Donald Trump at similar margins as the incumbent. Team Biden would have you believe that the poll shows that he has the best chance at beating Trump. Yet if the poll is meant to answer the question of which Democrat would fare best against Trump, the answer, evidently, is nearly anyone else.”
Students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their School (Sean)
The author writes, “Some 20 educators — about one quarter of the school’s faculty — discovered they were victims of fake teacher accounts rife with pedophilia innuendo, racist memes, homophobia and made-up sexual hookups among teachers. Hundreds of students soon viewed, followed or commented on the fraudulent accounts.”
To Save the Amazon, What if We Listened to Those Living Within It? (Laura)
From Inside Climate News: “Aiming to prevent ‘climate and ecological collapse,’ rainforest inhabitants release a detailed plan to save their home, honing in on ending fossil fuel subsidies and securing Indigenous land rights.”
Fossils Show Huge Salamanderlike Predator With Sharp Fangs Existed Before the Dinosaurs (Dana)
From AP News: “Researchers have long examined such ancient predators to uncover the origins of tetrapods: four-legged animals that clambered onto land with fingers instead of fins and evolved to amphibians, birds and mammals including humans. Most early tetrapod fossils hail from hot, prehistoric coal swamps along the equator in what’s now North America and Europe. But these latest remnants, dating back to about 280 million years ago, were found in modern-day Namibia, an area in Africa that was once encrusted with glaciers and ice.”
