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== Post news items waiting to be sorted on this page[https://wikidemocracy.us/index.php?title=Posting&action=edit Edit source] ==
== Post news items waiting to be sorted on this page[https://wikidemocracy.us/index.php?title=Posting&action=edit Edit source] ==
=====Women’s representation in politics: The effect of electoral systems=====
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272721000359 by Martin Gonzalez 6/21  ScienceDirect]
 
  Women are underrepresented in politics. For example, they hold only 25% of legislative seats in national assemblies.1 This situation has attracted much attention in the media and in the academic literature. Perhaps the most important reason behind this interest is that having women in public office may have an impact on policy.2 In addition, women in public office may serve as role models, improving women’s self-confidence and affecting attitudes towards them both within politics and in society at large (Beaman et al., 2009, Beaman et al., 2012).
 
=====The Electoral Sweet Spot: Low-Magnitude Proportional Electoral Systems=====
 
[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2010.00495.x by John M Carey 1/2/11 AJPS
 
  A glance at the electoral systems of new democracies, or reforms to electoral systems in established democracies, suggests that electoral engineers regularly seek to soften the representation-accountability trade-off and achieve both objectives. For example, some electoral systems have small multimember districts, others have high legal thresholds below which parties cannot win seats, while others have “parallel” mixed-member systems, where the PR seats do not compensate for disproportional outcomes in the single-member seats. These types of systems sacrifice pure proportionality for the specific purpose of increasing accountability.
=====Trump Wants to Cut Tribal College Funding by Nearly 90%, Putting Them at Risk of Closing=====
=====Elusive indeed – The mechanical versus psychological effects of electoral rules at the district level=====
[https://www.propublica.org/article/tribal-colleges-universities-trump-cuts-funding by Matt Krupnick 3/6/25 PROPUBLICA]
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379417304079 by Philipp Harfst 6/18 ScienceDirect]
  The Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%, a move that would likely shut down most or all of the institutions created to serve students disadvantaged by the nation’s historic mistreatment of Indigenous communities.
While electoral research has become one of political science’s most fertile areas, to date no empirical contribution has addressed the three mechanisms of the electoral chain – strategic entry, strategic voting, and the electoral system’s mechanical effect – in a unified analytical framework. This paper addresses this shortcoming by analysing the effect of electoral systems on party system size, accounting for all three mechanisms. Our study yields three major findings drawing on constituency-level data covering 462 electoral districts in Finland and Portugal between 1962 and 2011.
 
=====The political consequences of the electoral system in the Republic of Ireland
[[Education-Schools]]
Author links open overlay panel
=====Scenic forest trails near Santa Cruz to open to the public for the first time=====
=====
[https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/scenic-forest-trails-santa-cruz/3884608/?amp=1 by Joe Rosalito 4/6/25 NBC]
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0261379486900144 by Michael Gallagher 12/86 ScienceDirect]
  The one-time dairy-turned-national monument sits nine miles north of Santa Cruz at the edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the ocean. Its opening this summer will cap years of fundraising and labor to convert the scenic landscape into a public recreational destination.
The single transferable vote electoral system, popular with many electoral reformers, has been used for parliamentary elections in the Republic of Ireland since 1922. Examination of its impact shows that it has delivered as high a degree of proportionality as most PR systems despite the unavoidable use of relatively small district magnitudes. It has not produced either a fragmented party system or unstable governments. Critics have blamed it for contributing to a weak parliament, but these criticisms remain unproven. Suggestions are made for the wider use of STV, especially in countries currently employing preferential list systems.
[[Environment-Habitat Preservation]]
=====The best of both worlds? The Danish electoral system 1915–20 in a comparative perspective=====
 
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/026137949290014W by Jorgen Elklit 3/9/92 ScienceDirect]
=====We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos.=====
  The Danish 1915–1920 Lower House electoral system combined a traditional plurality system and a PR system with multi-stage compensatory seats in two provincial regions, and closed party list PR in the third, metropolitan, region. This complex system is presented and its effects on the distribution of seats in the Folketing are analysed. It was an early—and now neglected—case of personalized PR which calls for comparisons with later cases of this kind of electoral system, notably the post-1949 German electoral system and the 1990 electoral systems in Hungary and Bulgaria. In order to assess if such comparisons are appropriate, the paper also asks if these four electoral systems are genuine ‘mixed’ systems or PR systems in disguise.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/opinion/medicaid-work-requirements-arkansas.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NU8.wJE1._9ddBnCcgVCO&smid=url-share by Kevin De Liban 8/6/25 The New York Times]
=====Who controls the wealth? Electoral system design and ethnic war in resource-rich countries=====
Many of the Republicans pushing for Medicaid work requirements — permanent program cuts that will strip up to 14 million people of their health care coverage — likely have no idea what it takes to comply with them. We do. As legal aid lawyers, we were on the front lines helping low-income people in Arkansas keep their health care coverage when the state rolled out work requirements in 2018.
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379414000663 by Natasha S. Neudorfer 9/14 ScienceDirect]
[[Health Care-Insurance]]
  Given that both natural resource wealth and electoral system design are frequently investigated factors in the civil wars literature (see e.g. Fearon and Laitin, 2003, Fjelde, 2009, Horowitz, 2002, Reilly, 2001), it is surprising that there is no well-known study which explicitly considers the interaction effect between these two factors on the risk of violent ethnic conflict. We seek to fill this gap in the academic debate by highlighting the impact of electoral systems for the legislature on the risk of ethnic civil war in resource-rich countries
 
=====Democratic electoral systems around the world, 1946–2000=====
=====‘Tremendous uncertainty’ for cancer research as US officials target mRNA vaccines=====
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379404000034 by Matt Golder 1/3/05 Science Direct]
[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/12/mrna-vaccine-cancer-research-trump-administration by Melody Schreiber 12/7/25 The Guardian]
  This article describes a new data set that covers the electoral institutions used in all of the democratic legislative and presidential elections in 199 countries between 1946 (or independence) and 2000. A clear and consistent classification of the electoral institutions used in these elections is followed by a concise geographical and temporal analysis. The worldwide focus of the data set reveals several striking patterns. For example, there have been almost as many elections under dictatorship as there have been under democracy. Other patterns include the fact that presidential regimes nearly always employ proportional electoral formulas, absolute majority rule has become the worldwide norm for electing presidents, and non-majoritarian systems have become more complex due to the increasing use of multiple tiers and mixed electoral formulas.
  Amid Trump cuts and state-level backlash, experts worry that progress in messenger RNA vaccines could stall
=====Public support for electoral reform: The role of electoral system experience=====
[[Health Care-Prevention]]
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379421000676 by Abigail L. Heller 8/21 Science Direct]
 
  What affects citizen preferences about electoral rules and under what conditions will they support changes to those rules? These questions are critical because in established democracies, citizens increasingly directly influence electoral rules through initiatives or referenda. For example, in New Zealand in 1993, voters overrode the preferences of political elites in two referenda, leading to the introduction of a mixed member proportional (MMP) system for national legislative elections (Vowles 2005).
=====The Texas way: why the most disaster-prone US state is so allergic to preparing for disasters=====
=====Can We Fire the Electoral College? Probably Not, but We Can Put It Under New Management=====
[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/texas-disaster-weather-preparations-us by Ed PilKington 13/7/25 The Guardian]
[https://www.aclu.org/news/voting-rights/can-we-fire-electoral-college-probably-not-we-can-put-it-under-new-management by Susan N. Herman 19/12/16 ACLU]
It faces hurricanes, heat, drought, rising seas and – as last week showed – deadly floods. But despite the clear need for preventive action, that is not the political mood
  The electors of the Electoral College met this afternoon in their respective states and anointed as president the candidate who won the popular vote in a larger number of states — Donald Trump — regardless of the fact that another candidate — Hillary Clinton — won the larger number of votes by several million.
[[Doing Nothing]]
=====The voting system we use can determine the winner. Here's how=====
 
[https://www.npr.org/2024/11/04/1257825207/election-2024-vote-results-voting-system-winners by Hannah aaaaaaaaaaachinn 5/11/24 npr]
=====Colville Tribes confirms first salmon sighting in Kettle River eight years after reintroducing salmon near Coulee Dam=====
  It's Election Day in the United States! Across the nation, millions of ballots are being cast. But what would happen if the rules of our electoral system were changed?
[https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin/colville-tribes-confirms-first-salmon-sighting-in-kettle-river-eight-years-after-reintroducing-salmon-near/article_5a29f663-bcba-4c83-b106-69dc3c9410aa.html by ONE News Staff 11/7/25 SOURCEONE]
=====1970s Backlash: Counter-Revenge in Plain Sight=====
  NESPELEM — A juvenile Chinook salmon was recently photographed in the Kettle River near Cascade Falls in British Columbia, marking the first confirmed sighting of a Chinook in the river since the Colville Tribes began reintroduction efforts upstream of Grand Coulee Dam in 2017.
[https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/11/2332815/-1970s-Backlash-Counter-Revenge-in-Plain-Sight?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web by KirkLC 11/7/25 DAILY KOS]
[[Environment-Habitat Preservation]]
  The 1960s upended longstanding norms around race, gender, sexuality, war, and authority. Civil rights legislation, feminist demands, sexual freedom, environmental activism, youth rebellion, antiwar protests, and increased government programs for the marginalized challenged traditional hierarchies. While these movements energized progressives and the marginalized, they also unsettled millions of Americans who felt left behind or disoriented. For them, the 1960s were not an era of liberation, but one of moral collapse, lawlessness, and cultural decline.
 
=====Enduring confusion is the only certainty amid Trump’s latest tariff threats=====
=====Why the Southwest megadrought is here to stay=====
[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/11/donald-trump-latest-tariff-threats-analysis-us-economy by Heather Stewart 11/7/25 The Guardian]
[https://www.earth.com/news/why-the-southwest-megadrought-is-here-to-stay/ by Jordan Joseph 13/7/25 earth.com]
  “There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,” Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform this week. “All money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 – no extensions will be granted.”
  Snowpack once reliably fed water into the Colorado River, yet winter precipitation across the Four Corners has dropped by roughly 23 percent since 1980. Reservoirs and ranchers feel the strain each spring.
=====How extreme rainfall in New Mexico is linked to wildfires=====
[[Heat and Drought]]
[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jul/11/how-extreme-rainfall-in-new-mexico-is-linked-to-wildfires by James Michelin 11/7/25 The Guardian]
 
  In the town of Ruidoso, 35 homes were swept away and three people died. The National Weather Service attributed the extreme event to the wildfires that devastated the same area in 2024.
=====The deepening water shortage row between the US and Mexico=====
=====Is Lebanon’s New Electoral System a Path Out of Sectarianism?=====
[https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0epzp21z47o by Will Grant 13/7/25 BBC]
[https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/is-lebanons-new-electoral-system-a-path-out-of-sectarianism by Elias Muhanna 29/6/17 THE NEW YORKER]
  After the thirtieth consecutive month without rain, the townsfolk of San Francisco de Conchos in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua gather to plead for divine intervention.
On Friday, June 16th, Lebanon quietly ended one of the longest stretches of government paralysis in post-Second World War history. The parliament met to ratify a new electoral law that will govern national elections next year, nearly a decade after the last parliamentary polls were held. The law’s proponents claim that it will improve representation for the many sects that compose the country’s religiously diverse population.
[[Heat and Drought]]
=====How does the UK's voting system affect smaller parties?=====
 
[https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977m09v60go by Chas Geiger 1/7/24 BBC]
 
  Winning a healthy share of votes in Thursday's election does not necessarily mean securing a similar proportion of seats in Parliament, smaller parties have complained.
=====There is no safe amount of processed meat to eat, according to new research=====
=====Russian Hacks on U.S. Voting System Wider Than Previously Known=====
[https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/07/02/health/processed-meats-sweet-drinks-disease-wellness by Madeline Holcombe 2/7/25 CNN]
[https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-13/russian-breach-of-39-states-threatens-future-u-s-elections by Michael Riley 13/6/17 Bloomberg]
  There is strong evidence that there is “no safe amount” of processed meat to eat, nutrition experts say in response to a new study on the connection between diet and the risk of major diseases, including cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The researchers also found elevated risks from the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and trans fatty acids.
  Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported.
[[Diet]]
=====Voting Restrictions Are Further Politicizing U.S. Electoral System, Journalist Says=====
 
[https://www.npr.org/2021/05/27/1000869614/voting-restrictions-are-further-politicizing-u-s-electoral-system-journalist-say by Terry Gross 27/5/21 npr]
 
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Nick Corasaniti, has been reporting on what he describes as how the Republican Party is attempting to lock in political control for years to come by pushing through new laws to restrict voting access, limit ballot initiatives that could undermine Republican goals and stiffen penalties for poll workers and election officials who make even minor mistakes.  
=====Six-hour ‘undo’ button: GAI-17 rewinds stroke damage and may beat Alzheimer’s=====
=====Commentary: Why the Electoral College System Makes Little Sense Today=====
[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250715043357.htm by Osaka Metropolitan University 15/7/25 Science Daily]
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/commentary-why-the-electoral-college-system-makes-little-sense-today by Politics 1/11/12 PBS NEWS]
  Protein aggregation inhibitor shows lower levels of cell death and paralysis in mice with acute strokes.
  Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, center, carries a ballot box containing the 12 Massachusetts electoral votes for Vice President Al Gore during the Electoral College voting at the Statehouse Dec. 18, 2000, in Boston. Is the Electoral College system outdated?
[[Health Care-Illness]]
=====AN ISRAELI ELECTORAL SYSTEM THAT FRUSTRATED EVEN BEN-GURION=====
 
[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/05/opinion/l-an-israeli-electoral-system-that-frustrated-even-ben-gurion-109080.html by The New York Times Archives THE NEW YORK TIMES]
=====Agroecological farming promotes yield and biodiversity but may require subsidy to be profitable=====
  This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
[https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70079 by B.A Woodcock 1/7/25 BTITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY]
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.
  The intensification of global agriculture has devolved reliance on natural ecosystem services to agrochemicals and crop breeding, while simultaneously losing semi-natural habitats (Priyadarshana et al., 2024; Pywell et al., 2015; Stoate et al., 2009). In the short term this has increased yields at a level inconceivable in previous centuries but has come with negative externalities like biodiversity loss, nutrient losses and pollution burdens (Defra, 2023; Stoate et al., 2009;
=====Here’s how US presidents get elected (it’s not by winning the most votes)=====
[[Environment-Agriculture]]
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/10/here-s-how-a-us-president-gets-elected-it-s-not-by-winning-the-most-votes/ by John Letzing 1/10/20 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
  The Electoral College is a mostly winner-take-all system that delivers a set number of electoral votes per state to the winner of the popular vote there. That set number is based on a state’s headcount in Congress – the minimum is three (as in Alaska and Wyoming, for example), and the maximum is 55 (California). There are 538 in total, and 270 are needed to win.
=====#290  ReWilding our Water: From Rain to River to Sewer and back with Tim Smedley, author of The Last Drop=====
=====How to Fix America’s Confusing Voting System=====
[https://accidentalgods.life/rewilding-our-water-from-rain-to-river-to-sewer-and-back-with-tim-smedley-author-of-the-last-drop/ by Tim Smedley The Last Drop]
[https://www.propublica.org/article/improve-voter-turnout-solutions-accessibility by Aliyya Swaby 12/9/22 PROPUBLICA]
  If you listen to this podcast for any length of time, you’ll know that I believe the way forward is predicated on our finding shared values—I’d go for integrity, compassion, courage and generosity of spirit as the baselines—and then a suite of clear asks in the outer world and needs in the inner world.  
  Faye Combs used to enter the voting booth with trepidation. Unable to read until she was in her 40s, she would struggle to decipher the words on the ballot, intimidated by how quickly the people around her finished and departed.
[[Environment-Habitat Preservation]]
=====voting system failures:
 
a d ata b a s e s o l u t i o n =====
=====First-of-its-kind wildlife overcrossing in Northern California officially in progress=====
[https://motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/norden_report.pdf by Lawrence Norden BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE]
[https://krcrtv.com/news/local/first-of-its-kind-wildlife-overcrossing-in-northern-california-in-progress by Timea Horvath 18/7/25 KRCR]
  The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a non-partisan public policy and law
  Wildfire Crossing Structure Project includes construction of a single-span, approximately 100-foot long by 140-foot wide wildlife overcrossing bridge at Post Mile 19.77. Caltrans crew will also install approximately two miles of 8-foot-high wildlife exclusion fencing on both sides of the highway, jump-outs every half mile to allow wildlife to escape the roadway corridor, cattle guards at private road access points and a reinforced concrete box culvert to enhance wildlife undercrossing opportunities.
institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Our work ranges from voting rights to
[[Environment-Biodiversity]]
campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to presidential power in the fight against terrorism.
 
A singular institution – part think tank, part public interest law firm, part advocacy group – the Brennan Center
=====Named after a historic dairy ranch that still stands today, Wilder Ranch covers a staggering 7,000 acres, from the treelined ridges of Ben Lomond Mountain to rugged cliffs overlooking a particularly untamed expanse of the Pacific Ocean. A testament to the area's rich agricultural history, farmers still grow artichokes, Brussels sprouts, and other fog-loving crops on the land between the ocean and Highway 1. 
combines scholarship, legislative and legal advocacy, and communication to win meaningful, measurable change
 
in the public sector.
Read More: https://www.islands.com/1911800/california-coastal-wilder-ranch-state-park-near-downtown-santa-cruz-uncrowded-beach-trails/=====
=====Could the Electoral College system ever change?=====
[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/20/trump-energy-environment-agenda by Peter Stone 20/7/25 The Guardian]
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/electoral-college-system-ever-change by PBS News Hour 13/11/16 PBS NEWS]
  Ever since Donald Trump began his second presidency, he has used an “invented” national energy emergency to help justify expanding oil, gas and coal while slashing green energy – despite years of scientific evidence that burning fossil fuels has contributed significantly to climate change, say scholars and watchdogs.
  President-Elect Donald Trump captured the White House by winning the Electoral College, even as Hillary Clinton won about half a million votes more than Trump. In response, some are calling for a national popular vote to decide the election. Josh Tucker, a politics professor at New York University, joins Alison Stewart to discuss.
=====California's Hidden Coastal State Park Near Downtown Santa Cruz Offers Uncrowded Beach Access And Ethereal Trails
=====In Georgia, primary election chaos highlights a voting system deeply flawed
 
Jun 22, 2020 6:35 PM EDT
Read More: https://www.islands.com/1911800/california-coastal-wilder-ranch-state-park-near-downtown-santa-cruz-uncrowded-beach-trails/=====
=====
[https://www.islands.com/1911800/california-coastal-wilder-ranch-state-park-near-downtown-santa-cruz-uncrowded-beach-trails/ by Eva Johnstone 19/6/25 Islands]
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/in-georgia-primary-election-chaos-highlights-a-voting-system-deeply-flawed by Miles O'Brien 22/6/20 PBS NEWS]
  Named after a historic dairy ranch that still stands today, Wilder Ranch covers a staggering 7,000 acres, from the treelined ridges of Ben Lomond Mountain to rugged cliffs overlooking a particularly untamed expanse of the Pacific Ocean. A testament to the area's rich agricultural history, farmers still grow artichokes, Brussels sprouts, and other fog-loving crops on the land between the ocean and Highway 1. 
  Georgia experienced major problems with its voting processes during a primary election earlier in June. People waited in line up to eight hours to cast ballots, and poll workers struggled with new machines on which they hadn’t been trained due to the pandemic. What do Georgia’s election issues mean for other state primaries -- and for American democracy more broadly?
 
=====The real reason we have an Electoral College: to protect slave states=====
Read More: https://www.islands.com/1911800/california-coastal-wilder-ranch-state-park-near-downtown-santa-cruz-uncrowded-beach-trails/
[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/12/13598316/donald-trump-electoral-college-slavery-akhil-reed-amar by Sean Illing 12/11/16 Vox]
=====Only 3 years left – new study warns the world is running out of time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change=====
  There’s too much news and too little context. At Vox, we’ll help you understand what really matters. We report urgently on the most important stories shaping our world, but we also spend time on issues the rest of the media neglects.
[https://theconversation.com/only-3-years-left-new-study-warns-the-world-is-running-out-of-time-to-avoid-the-worst-impacts-of-climate-change-261229 by Piers Forster 20/7/25 THE CONVERSATION]
=====Republican bid to alter Nebraska's electoral system to boost Trump stymied=====
Bad climate news is everywhere. Africa is being hit particularly hard by climate change and extreme weather, impacting lives and livelihoods.
[https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republican-bid-alter-nebraskas-electoral-system-boost-trump-fails-2024-09-23/ by Joseph Ax 23/9/24 Reuters]
 
Sept 23 (Reuters) - A last-minute Republican effort to award Nebraska's five Electoral College votes on a winner-take-all basis - a change that would help Donald Trump's odds of winning the White House - appeared doomed on Monday, after a key Republican lawmaker said he opposed the proposal despite lobbying from Trump's allies.
We are living in a world that is warming at the fastest rate since records began. Yet, governments have been slow to act.
=====Lebanese candidates push for change in a corrupt electoral system=====
=====“Remarkable” Results – Scientists Say This Supplement Reversed Heart Damage=====
[https://www.npr.org/2022/05/14/1098942947/lebanese-candidates-push-for-change-in-a-corrupt-electoral-system by Arezou Rezvani 14/5/22 npr]
[https://scitechdaily.com/remarkable-results-scientists-say-this-supplement-reversed-heart-damage/ by THE UNIVERSITY OF OSAKA 19/7/25 SciTechDaily]
Lebanon is going through one of the worst economic crises in recent history. Food and fuel prices are way up. Certain medicines are hard to find. Power outages sometimes drag on for days. Tomorrow, voters have a chance to hold the ruling establishment to account in parliamentary elections. But NPR's Arezou Rezvani in Beirut explains, it won't be easy for new candidates to break through a system that's built to keep the same usual parties in charge.
  Japanese researchers have uncovered that tricaprin, a dietary supplement, triggered a dramatic reversal of heart disease symptoms in two patients with a rare, treatment-resistant condition. After years of chest pain and failed therapies, the patients experienced relief and even regression of artery-clogging fat deposits. The key wasn’t lowering cholesterol, but breaking down triglycerides inside heart cells—a novel and potentially groundbreaking approach to cardiac care.
=====US election: how does the electoral college voting system work?=====
=====Can cannabis impact aging? Study shows marijuana could alter 'genetic code'=====
[https://theconversation.com/us-election-how-does-the-electoral-college-voting-system-work-242283 by Richard Hargy 4/11/24 THE CONVERSATION]
[https://komonews.com/news/offbeat/can-cannabis-impact-aging-study-shows-marijuana-could-alter-genetic-code-pot-weed-smoke-smoking-smokers-epigenetic-research-effect-impact-body-health-healthy-lungs-brain-drugs-substance-abuse-addiction-tobacco-disorders-infections-cincinnati by WKRC 20/7/25 KOMONEWS]
On November 5, millions of Americans will cast their votes for president, with the vast majority deciding between Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump. This historic election, however, is not determined by a singular national poll, but rather a state-by-state contest. Many people outside the US, and some inside, do not understand how this complicated system works.
  The study highlighted the importance of understanding marijuana's effects on the body, as it remains one of the most widely used drugs globally. While some effects are well-known, the research indicated a broader impact than previously anticipated.
=====How has the Electoral College survived, despite being perennially unpopular?=====
=====Stop telling us it’s not about that=====
[https://www.npr.org/2024/11/04/nx-s1-5173568/electoral-college-explained by Bill Chappell 4/11/24 npr]
[https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/23/2334876/-Stop-telling-us-it-s-not-about-that?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web by MurielVieux 23/7/25 DAILY KOS]
A majority of Americans — more than 60% — support abolishing the Electoral College, according to a September report by the Pew Research Center. But the system has survived an unprecedented number of attempts to change it.
  Deny the truth to yourselves all you want people, but stop telling us Black folks that what’s going on today, what won the 2024 election is not white supremacy.
=====Making elephants dance - a guide to Germany's electoral system=====
=====The 5 Best Drinks for Kidney Stones (Plus 3 to Avoid)=====
[https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-election-electoral-system-exp/explainer-making-elephants-dance-a-guide-to-germanys-electoral-system-idUKKBN2GJ0KC/ by Thomas Escritt 23/9/21 Reuters]
[https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/kidney-stones/best-drink-for-kidney-stones?srsltid=AfmBOor1LT8uh3L5QL8wWUjNkhhr98fzsrGgsTkJ98A-9iN8PcID1ern by Tracy Norfleet 13/3/24 GoodRx]
BERLIN (Reuters) - Sixty million voters, casting twice as many votes for 47 parties, leading to a parliament that could have anywhere from 700 to as much as 1,000 legislators - the German electoral system is baffling even to Germans.
  If you’ve ever had a kidney stone, you know that they can be incredibly painful. And about half of people with kidney stones end up having more in the future. But there are things you can do to lower your risk of kidney stones, like drinking the right things.
=====Fox News settles blockbuster defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems=====
=====What to do about gallstones=====
[https://www.npr.org/2023/04/18/1170339114/fox-news-settles-blockbuster-defamation-lawsuit-with-dominion-voting-systems by David Folkenflik 18/4/23 npr]
[https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/what-to-do-about-gallstones by Harvard Health Publishing 20/7/23]
Judge Eric Davis of the Delaware Superior Court announced the settlement from the bench on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the trial's scheduled start.
  Gallstones begin with bile, a substance that helps with the digestion of fats and the absorption of certain vitamins. Bile is made in the liver and carried to the gallbladder, a small, pear-shaped organ that concentrates and stores it. The fat in food triggers the release of a hormone that causes the gallbladder to contract and release bile into the intestine.
=====All politicians “game” the system. The question is how?=====
=====Where the next deadly flood wave could strike=====
[https://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2018/5/14/17352208/ranked-choice-voting-san-francisco by Lee Drutman 14/5/18 Vox]
[https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/24/climate/flash-flood-risk-hot-spots by Andrew Freedman 24/7/25 CNN]
There’s too much news and too little context. At Vox, we’ll help you understand what really matters. We report urgently on the most important stories shaping our world, but we also spend time on issues the rest of the media neglects.
  The ingredients that led to the Hill Country disaster — steep terrain, swollen rivers and unsuspecting people in harm’s way — are not unique to Texas. Across the United States, there are pockets of vulnerability where geography, weather and human nature converge in ways that heighten the risk of flash flooding.
=====Election system needs an overhaul, but it's not that easy=====
=====Why the U.S. is leading the world in extreme weather catastrophes=====
[https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us-politics/election-system-needs-an-overhaul-but-its-not-that-easy-idUSBRE8A71F9/ by Deborah Charles 8/11/12 Reuters]
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-the-u-s-is-leading-the-world-in-extreme-weather-catastrophes by Seth Borenstein 2/4/23 PBS NEWS]
Election Day problems have become commonplace in the United States in recent general elections. But a comment by President Barack Obama offered a glimmer of hope that problems that have dogged voting for years might finally be addressed.
  The United States is Earth’s punching bag for nasty weather.
 
Blame geography for the U.S. getting hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on the planet, several experts said. Two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, jutting peninsulas like Florida, clashing storm fronts and the jet stream combine to naturally brew the nastiest of weather.
=====It is one of the deadliest chemicals on Earth – but even Mexico’s cartels can’t resist the lure of mercury=====
[https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jul/24/mexico-toxic-mercury-smugglers-gold-rush-poisoning-amazon by Luke Taylor 24/7/25 The Guardian]
  An undercover investigation reveals 200 tonnes of the deadly substance is being smuggled across South America, where it is poisoning rivers, soil and air

Latest revision as of 15:43, 21 September 2025

Post news items waiting to be sorted on this pageEdit source

Trump Wants to Cut Tribal College Funding by Nearly 90%, Putting Them at Risk of Closing

by Matt Krupnick 3/6/25 PROPUBLICA 

The Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%, a move that would likely shut down most or all of the institutions created to serve students disadvantaged by the nation’s historic mistreatment of Indigenous communities.

Education-Schools

Scenic forest trails near Santa Cruz to open to the public for the first time

by Joe Rosalito 4/6/25 NBC 

The one-time dairy-turned-national monument sits nine miles north of Santa Cruz at the edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the ocean. Its opening this summer will cap years of fundraising and labor to convert the scenic landscape into a public recreational destination.

Environment-Habitat Preservation

We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos.

by Kevin De Liban 8/6/25 The New York Times 

Many of the Republicans pushing for Medicaid work requirements — permanent program cuts that will strip up to 14 million people of their health care coverage — likely have no idea what it takes to comply with them. We do. As legal aid lawyers, we were on the front lines helping low-income people in Arkansas keep their health care coverage when the state rolled out work requirements in 2018.

Health Care-Insurance

‘Tremendous uncertainty’ for cancer research as US officials target mRNA vaccines

by Melody Schreiber 12/7/25 The Guardian 

Amid Trump cuts and state-level backlash, experts worry that progress in messenger RNA vaccines could stall

Health Care-Prevention

The Texas way: why the most disaster-prone US state is so allergic to preparing for disasters

by Ed PilKington 13/7/25 The Guardian 

It faces hurricanes, heat, drought, rising seas and – as last week showed – deadly floods. But despite the clear need for preventive action, that is not the political mood

Doing Nothing

Colville Tribes confirms first salmon sighting in Kettle River eight years after reintroducing salmon near Coulee Dam

by ONE News Staff 11/7/25 SOURCEONE 

NESPELEM — A juvenile Chinook salmon was recently photographed in the Kettle River near Cascade Falls in British Columbia, marking the first confirmed sighting of a Chinook in the river since the Colville Tribes began reintroduction efforts upstream of Grand Coulee Dam in 2017.

Environment-Habitat Preservation

Why the Southwest megadrought is here to stay

by Jordan Joseph 13/7/25 earth.com 

Snowpack once reliably fed water into the Colorado River, yet winter precipitation across the Four Corners has dropped by roughly 23 percent since 1980. Reservoirs and ranchers feel the strain each spring.

Heat and Drought

The deepening water shortage row between the US and Mexico

by Will Grant 13/7/25 BBC 

After the thirtieth consecutive month without rain, the townsfolk of San Francisco de Conchos in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua gather to plead for divine intervention.

Heat and Drought


There is no safe amount of processed meat to eat, according to new research

by Madeline Holcombe 2/7/25 CNN 

There is strong evidence that there is “no safe amount” of processed meat to eat, nutrition experts say in response to a new study on the connection between diet and the risk of major diseases, including cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The researchers also found elevated risks from the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and trans fatty acids.

Diet


Six-hour ‘undo’ button: GAI-17 rewinds stroke damage and may beat Alzheimer’s

by Osaka Metropolitan University 15/7/25 Science Daily 

Protein aggregation inhibitor shows lower levels of cell death and paralysis in mice with acute strokes.

Health Care-Illness

Agroecological farming promotes yield and biodiversity but may require subsidy to be profitable

by B.A Woodcock 1/7/25 BTITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY 

The intensification of global agriculture has devolved reliance on natural ecosystem services to agrochemicals and crop breeding, while simultaneously losing semi-natural habitats (Priyadarshana et al., 2024; Pywell et al., 2015; Stoate et al., 2009). In the short term this has increased yields at a level inconceivable in previous centuries but has come with negative externalities like biodiversity loss, nutrient losses and pollution burdens (Defra, 2023; Stoate et al., 2009;

Environment-Agriculture

#290 ReWilding our Water: From Rain to River to Sewer and back with Tim Smedley, author of The Last Drop

by Tim Smedley The Last Drop 

If you listen to this podcast for any length of time, you’ll know that I believe the way forward is predicated on our finding shared values—I’d go for integrity, compassion, courage and generosity of spirit as the baselines—and then a suite of clear asks in the outer world and needs in the inner world.

Environment-Habitat Preservation

First-of-its-kind wildlife overcrossing in Northern California officially in progress

by Timea Horvath 18/7/25 KRCR 

Wildfire Crossing Structure Project includes construction of a single-span, approximately 100-foot long by 140-foot wide wildlife overcrossing bridge at Post Mile 19.77. Caltrans crew will also install approximately two miles of 8-foot-high wildlife exclusion fencing on both sides of the highway, jump-outs every half mile to allow wildlife to escape the roadway corridor, cattle guards at private road access points and a reinforced concrete box culvert to enhance wildlife undercrossing opportunities.

Environment-Biodiversity

=====Named after a historic dairy ranch that still stands today, Wilder Ranch covers a staggering 7,000 acres, from the treelined ridges of Ben Lomond Mountain to rugged cliffs overlooking a particularly untamed expanse of the Pacific Ocean. A testament to the area's rich agricultural history, farmers still grow artichokes, Brussels sprouts, and other fog-loving crops on the land between the ocean and Highway 1. 

Read More: https://www.islands.com/1911800/california-coastal-wilder-ranch-state-park-near-downtown-santa-cruz-uncrowded-beach-trails/===== by Peter Stone 20/7/25 The Guardian 

Ever since Donald Trump began his second presidency, he has used an “invented” national energy emergency to help justify expanding oil, gas and coal while slashing green energy – despite years of scientific evidence that burning fossil fuels has contributed significantly to climate change, say scholars and watchdogs.

=====California's Hidden Coastal State Park Near Downtown Santa Cruz Offers Uncrowded Beach Access And Ethereal Trails

Read More: https://www.islands.com/1911800/california-coastal-wilder-ranch-state-park-near-downtown-santa-cruz-uncrowded-beach-trails/===== by Eva Johnstone 19/6/25 Islands 

Named after a historic dairy ranch that still stands today, Wilder Ranch covers a staggering 7,000 acres, from the treelined ridges of Ben Lomond Mountain to rugged cliffs overlooking a particularly untamed expanse of the Pacific Ocean. A testament to the area's rich agricultural history, farmers still grow artichokes, Brussels sprouts, and other fog-loving crops on the land between the ocean and Highway 1. 

Read More: https://www.islands.com/1911800/california-coastal-wilder-ranch-state-park-near-downtown-santa-cruz-uncrowded-beach-trails/

Only 3 years left – new study warns the world is running out of time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change

by Piers Forster 20/7/25 THE CONVERSATION 

Bad climate news is everywhere. Africa is being hit particularly hard by climate change and extreme weather, impacting lives and livelihoods.

We are living in a world that is warming at the fastest rate since records began. Yet, governments have been slow to act.

“Remarkable” Results – Scientists Say This Supplement Reversed Heart Damage

by THE UNIVERSITY OF OSAKA 19/7/25 SciTechDaily 

Japanese researchers have uncovered that tricaprin, a dietary supplement, triggered a dramatic reversal of heart disease symptoms in two patients with a rare, treatment-resistant condition. After years of chest pain and failed therapies, the patients experienced relief and even regression of artery-clogging fat deposits. The key wasn’t lowering cholesterol, but breaking down triglycerides inside heart cells—a novel and potentially groundbreaking approach to cardiac care.
Can cannabis impact aging? Study shows marijuana could alter 'genetic code'

by WKRC 20/7/25 KOMONEWS 

The study highlighted the importance of understanding marijuana's effects on the body, as it remains one of the most widely used drugs globally. While some effects are well-known, the research indicated a broader impact than previously anticipated.
Stop telling us it’s not about that

by MurielVieux 23/7/25 DAILY KOS 

Deny the truth to yourselves all you want people, but stop telling us Black folks that what’s going on today, what won the 2024 election is not white supremacy.
The 5 Best Drinks for Kidney Stones (Plus 3 to Avoid)

by Tracy Norfleet 13/3/24 GoodRx 

If you’ve ever had a kidney stone, you know that they can be incredibly painful. And about half of people with kidney stones end up having more in the future. But there are things you can do to lower your risk of kidney stones, like drinking the right things.
What to do about gallstones

by Harvard Health Publishing 20/7/23 

Gallstones begin with bile, a substance that helps with the digestion of fats and the absorption of certain vitamins. Bile is made in the liver and carried to the gallbladder, a small, pear-shaped organ that concentrates and stores it. The fat in food triggers the release of a hormone that causes the gallbladder to contract and release bile into the intestine.
Where the next deadly flood wave could strike

by Andrew Freedman 24/7/25 CNN 

The ingredients that led to the Hill Country disaster — steep terrain, swollen rivers and unsuspecting people in harm’s way — are not unique to Texas. Across the United States, there are pockets of vulnerability where geography, weather and human nature converge in ways that heighten the risk of flash flooding.
Why the U.S. is leading the world in extreme weather catastrophes

by Seth Borenstein 2/4/23 PBS NEWS 

The United States is Earth’s punching bag for nasty weather.

Blame geography for the U.S. getting hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on the planet, several experts said. Two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, jutting peninsulas like Florida, clashing storm fronts and the jet stream combine to naturally brew the nastiest of weather.

It is one of the deadliest chemicals on Earth – but even Mexico’s cartels can’t resist the lure of mercury

by Luke Taylor 24/7/25 The Guardian 

An undercover investigation reveals 200 tonnes of the deadly substance is being smuggled across South America, where it is poisoning rivers, soil and air
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