Tim Walz made school meals free for all children in his state, while Project 2025 is gunning for programs that feed students in high-poverty schools
The humble school meal is having a moment. With the nomination of Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, as Kamala Harris’s running mate, many voters and pundits are suddenly talking about school meals. And that’s good, because the stakes are high for the national school lunch and school breakfast programs since the campaigns and their parties have very different records and plans.
Since Walz became the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, an image of him has frequently circulated. In the photograph, he’s surrounded by smiling children hugging him after he signed a 2023 bill making school meals universally free for all Minnesota children. His was the fourth state to commit to feeding all children at school; now nine states have done so, and more are considering similar measures. No more forms to fill out to prove your income, which busy parents can forget or that get crumpled in a backpack. No more penalizing children when their parents fall behind on lunch accounts. Every kid gets fed, powering them up for their day’s work learning and growing.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/13/2024 - 08:57
08/13/2024 - 05:00
An electric-powered complex debuts with hundreds of ‘passive’ homes
It was the midst of a July heatwave, with humidity sticky in the air. Phoebe Saldana sat in the colorful plaza of her East Harlem housing complex, watching her two young daughters ride scooters and climb on workout equipment.
They were getting some playtime outside before returning to the cool respite of their two-bedroom apartment. To Saldana, 37, the air conditioning was a godsend.
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08/13/2024 - 02:17
£4.3bn subsea cable will transmit renewable electricity from Scottish windfarms to 2m homes in England
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Great Britain’s energy regulator has given the green light to a £4.3bn low-carbon electricity “superhighway”, which will carry renewable power for 300 miles from north-east Scotland to the north of England.
The first phase of the Eastern Green Link subsea power cable, the longest in Great Briain, will have the capacity to transmit enough renewable electricity from Scotland’s windfarms to power 2m homes in England, according to Ofgem.
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08/13/2024 - 00:56
In today’s newsletter: As visitors overwhelm Venice, Barcelona and other famous cities, a model rewarding travellers for being more responsible could inspire other municipalities
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Good morning. Today we’re taking a little trip to Copenhagen to explore a new pilot initiative designed to reward tourists for “climate-friendly actions”. The CopenPay scheme has been designed to encourage visitors to act a bit more responsibly and think about their impact on the environment during trips to the Danish capital.
In return for small environmental actions – like cycling to attractions or fishing litter out of the canals – visitors have been rewarded with small gifts such as free ice-cream and museum tours.
Climate crisis | Hot weather inflamed by carbon pollution killed nearly 50,000 people in Europe last year, with the continent warming at a much faster rate than other parts of the world, research has found. Heat-related mortality was highest in Greece, with 393 deaths per million people.
Ukraine | Ukrainian forces have captured 1,000 sq km (386 square miles) of Russia’s bordering Kursk region, Kyiv’s top commander has claimed, as Vladimir Putin vowed a “worthy response” to the attack. 121,000 people have fled the region since the incursion began.
UK news | A shop security guard has described how he overpowered a knifeman as he stabbed an 11-year-old girl and her mother, 34, in a “horrific” and apparently random attack in London’s busy Leicester Square in front of shocked workers and tourists.
UK news | A “series of errors and misjudgments” in Valdo Calocane’s mental health care led to him being discharged, despite repeatedly not taking medication and showing signs of aggression, months before he killed three people in Nottingham, a report says. The Care Quality Commission warned of “systemic issues with community mental health care”.
Technology | Labour MPs have begun quitting X in alarm over the platform’s direction, with one saying Elon Musk had turned it into “a megaphone for foreign adversaries and far-right fringe groups”. Meanwhile, Donald Trump gave a rambling interview to Musk on the platform that was marred with technical issues initially preventing many users from watching the conversation.
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08/13/2024 - 00:00
If elected, the Democrat is likely to face a trade-off over manufacturing jobs and economic independence from China
Every US presidential election is consequential but American voters face an unusually weighty decision in 2024. The outcome will have implications for foreign policy, social policy, and the integrity of the political system. But none of its consequences will be more profound or far-reaching than on global efforts to combat the climate crisis.
As president, Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement, while the US under Joe Biden rejoined it. Trump has promised to expand oil and gas production, and his campaign has said he will again withdraw the US from the Paris accord if he wins a second term.
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08/12/2024 - 19:37
Communities need better engagement from developers and planners to back clean energy transition, research finds
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There is growing discontent on the plains of western Victoria as renewable energy companies chase the region’s abundance of sun and wind.
The Wimmera Southern Mallee region, home to prosperous cropping and cattle farms, is in a renewable energy zone, earmarked for wind and solar farms and transmission lines.
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08/12/2024 - 15:02
Forest restoration can benefit humans, boost biodiversity and help tackle climate change simultaneously, new research suggests.
08/12/2024 - 14:00
‘Integrated’ work to help biodiversity and tackle climate crisis can also benefit humanity, says Dr Trisha Gopalakrishna
Restoring and protecting the world’s forests is crucial if humanity is to stop the worst effects of climate breakdown and halt the extinction of rare species.
Researchers have been concerned, however, that actions to capture carbon, restore biodiversity and find ways to support the livelihoods of the people who live near and in the forests might be at odds.
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08/12/2024 - 11:25
Yellow heat health alert in place for much of England as temperatures soar
Temperatures in the UK have surged to their highest point of the year so far with 34.8C recorded in Cambridge on Monday, the Met Office said.
The previous highest UK temperature in 2024 was 32C, recorded at Heathrow and Kew Gardens, south-west London, on 29 July.
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08/12/2024 - 10:21
Thirty mothers take turns with their babies in front of Mujur, 19, to try to encourage her to bond with newborn
When staff at Dublin zoo discovered an orangutan named Mujur was pregnant they decided to stage maternal workshops.
The 19-year-old female had not sufficiently bonded with either of her previous infants, who died in 2019 and 2022, so when she became pregnant earlier this year the zoo enlisted breastfeeding human mothers to try to show her how it was done.
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