Venice Floods: Climate Change Behind Highest Tide in 50 Years
Lake Erie's Toxic Algae Gets Worse ; Feral Hogs Destroy Hidden Stash of Cocaine ; and More Picks
Climate Change Intensifies Lake Erie’s Toxic Algae Blooms (Gerry)
From the Chicago Tribune: “Every year, an explosion of microscopic life reigns over western Lake Erie, forming a green slick of algae and bacteria so massive and vibrant that it can be seen from space. The harmful algae bloom slimes fishing boats, paints beaches in toxins and engulfs water intake cribs. In 2014, it left 400,000 people without drinking water for three days after toxins infiltrated Toledo’s water system. … This year, the bloom was among the most severe and toxic since scientists began keeping track in the early 2000s.”
Cenk Uygur Files to Run for Congress in Katie Hill’s District (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “The Cenk for Congress filing popped up on Wednesday on the FEC website, a day after Uygur endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president; [Uygur, the founder and host at the digital news outlet The Young Turks] also teased some ‘dramatic news on Thursday’ and told viewers to ‘stay tuned.’ But he is not commenting publicly on the matter, taking to Twitter shortly after news began circulating about his filed to state, ‘To all reporters: No comment.’”
Sutter Health Settles Kickback Lawsuit for $30 Million (Reader Steve)
The authors write, “Sutter Health has agreed to pay more than $30 million to the federal government after an executive at the Sacramento-based health care giant accused Sutter of paying out millions of dollars in kickbacks to doctors in exchange for patient referrals, one of the lawyers in the case said Thursday. The agreement settles a secret lawsuit filed against Sutter Health in September 2014 by the federal government and Laurie Hanvey, the whistleblower who once worked for Sutter as its compliance officer.”
‘We Don’t Want Any Dictators’: Bolivians Flood Streets to Protest Coup (Chris)
From Common Dreams: “New president [Jeanine] Añez has come under criticism for a history of comments promoting an extreme right-wing Christian theocratic ideology, including referring to the country’s Indigenous population as ‘satanic.’ … ‘Anti-Indigenous racism is at the heart of what’s happening in Bolivia,’ tweeted Cherokee activist and writer Rebecca Nagle.”
Feral Hogs Find and Destroy Cocaine Worth $22,000 Hidden in Woods (Chris)
The author writes, “A stash of cocaine worth $22,000 hidden in an Italian forest by a gang of suspected drug dealers was reportedly destroyed by wild boars. Police dismantled the smuggling operation in Tuscany after placing a wiretap on members of the gang.”
