Uber and Lyft Drivers Reeling as Fuel Prices Soar

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‘I Don’t Want to Waste the Gas’: Uber and Lyft Drivers Reeling as Fuel Prices Soar (Maria)

The author writes, “Drivers for Uber and Lyft across the U.S. are spending hundreds more on fuel each month after the U.S.-Israel war on Iran triggered a sharp rise in oil prices. Support offered by the ride-hailing companies amounts to a ‘slap in the face,’ drivers operating their services told the Guardian, as many are forced to choose between driving more to make the same money as previously — or cutting back their miles to reduce costs.”

Leaked Supreme Court Memos Reveal Why Court Stayed Clean Power Plan — Setting Important ‘Shadow Docket’ Precedent in the Process (Sean)

The author writes, “[April 18th’s] New York Times contains a blockbuster scoop by Adam Liptak and Jodi Kantor: Internal memos from the Supreme Court discussing whether to stay the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan. The NYT has published a narrative story, a chronology of the memos, a list of ‘takeaways,’ and the documents themselves. The documents confirm what a few of us suggested at the time: The Court’s majority was concerned that, without a stay, the Environmental Protection Agency would get away with imposing unlawful regulatory burdens on electric utilities, as has occurred with the mercury regulations held unlawful by the Court in Michigan v. EPA.”

FBI Will Look for Connections to Deaths and Disappearances of Scientists (DonkeyHotey)

The authors write, “The FBI said Monday that it would lead an effort to hunt for any possible connections between the seemingly unrelated deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and government workers over the past few years. The decision comes after online speculation and internet theories linking the deaths caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who said late last week that he’d just left a meeting where the fate of these scientists and workers had been discussed.” 

Louisiana Advances One of the Country’s ‘Cruelest’ Anti-Homeless Bills (Dana)

From Common Dreams: “One homeless advocacy group said the bill, which would require homeless people to perform unpaid labor to pay for involuntary treatment, ‘evokes debtor’s prisons, convict leasing, and the ugliest day of Jim Crow.’” 

Florida Panthers, an Endangered Species in Limbo (Laura)

From National Parks Traveler: “Folklore dating to ancient Egypt has held that cats have nine lives and in modern times that mystique certainly seems true for the Florida panther. …The panthers, a mountain lion subspecies, nearly went extinct in the 1990s, when the population dwindled to 20. … The panther did make a remarkable comeback thanks to an unprecedented experiment by a desperate group of scientists and veterinarians. There are now about 200 prowling the semi-tropical South Florida wilderness. … But it looks like the panther now will need more of those nine lives. Big developments are on the way, including a 10,000-home project square in panther habitat projected to generate enough vehicle traffic to wipe out the population.”

This LA Mailman Retired After 42 Years. Hundreds Showed up to His Farewell Party (Reader Steve)

From the Los Angeles Times: “There were 200 people on the back patio of Glassell Park’s Verdugo Bar, and John Ayala had a hug for all of them. Wiping tears from his eyes as he slowly made his way through the intergenerational crowd, he recognized almost everyone in attendance — if not by name, then definitely by address. For four decades, the 61-year-old Ayala delivered mail to their homes, and now he was finally retiring, to the great surprise of everyone, including himself. He’d been talking about it for years — working it into the many conversations he had each day with the friends he’d made along his mail route in the hills of Mount Washington, a small residential community in northeast Los Angeles.”