Heat wave in British Columbia, Canada sets yet another high temperature record, more than 100 excess deaths reported. “Lytton, B.C., has broken the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada for a third straight day, hitting a scorching 49.6 C (121 F) on Tuesday…. From Friday to Monday, there were 233 deaths reported deaths in the province, up from an average 130 deaths over a four-day period…. Between Friday and Monday morning, ambulances responded to 187 calls related to heat exhaustion and 52 related to heat stroke.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canada-bc-alberta-heat-wave-heat-dome-temperature-records-1.6084203
Heatwave in Pacific Northwest melts power cables, buckles roads. “In downtown Portland, the Portland Streetcar service shut down on Sunday, posting a picture on Twitter of a power cable with a hole burnt into it…. ‘State Route 544 (at) milepost 7 near Everson, Wa is currently closed. The asphalt roadway is buckling and unsafe for travel.'” https://www.npr.org/2021/06/29/1011269025/photos-the-pacific-northwest-heatwave-is-melting-power-cables-and-buckling-roads Oregon farm worker collapses and dies after working in 104 degree heat. “The employee who died was working on a crew moving irrigation lines, (Oregon OSHA spokesperson Aaron) Corvin said. Officials have not yet identified the person.” https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2021/06/29/oregon-farmworker-dies-willamette-valley-record-heat/7800594002/
Supreme Court narrowly sides with tenants, throws out landlord lawsuit asking for end to pandemic eviction ban. “Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said they would have ended it.” https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-courts-supreme-courts-health-coronavirus-pandemic-157f6feec3197dd34cba492fd1b92f71
Seven days after Sunrise, Florida condo collapse, 149 people still missing. “Authorities said it’s still a search-and-rescue operation, but no one has been found alive since hours after the collapse on Thursday.” https://fox8.com/news/death-toll-now-at-12-in-florida-condo-collapse/
Fox News settles sexual harassment and workplace retaliation violations, will pay $1 million and conduct anti-harassment training. “The (New York City Commission on Human Rights) said that women who rejected advances were retaliated against with fewer appearances on the air and bad work assignments and had their text messages spied upon. Fox News ‘ensured that those who have complained have no future’ working at the network, it said in its findings.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-news-fined-1-million_n_60dc2a7be4b0d3e35f9ac4ec
Mexico’s supreme court decriminalizes recreational marijuana after the country’s legislature fails to act. “The decisive 8-3 ruling comes after advocates pushed for decriminalization as a means to reduce drug-fueled cartel violence in the country.” https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/29/americas/mexico-cannabis-decriminalization-intl/index.html
Tigray insurgents pushing out Ethiopian troops and allied forces. “The Tigrayan forces said on Tuesday the regional capital, Mekelle, was ‘100 percent’ back under their control following the retreat of the Ethiopian government forces the day before, adding that they were conducting ‘mop-up’ operations.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/29/tigray-rebels-vow-to-drive-out-enemies-despite-ceasefire
10,000 foreign IS fighters still being held in Syrian prison camps. “Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday pressed U.S. allies to (take) back citizens arrested overseas for joining the Islamic State group, warning they could not be held indefinitely in Syria…. According to a Human Rights Watch, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are holding over 63,000 women and children of suspected IS fighters from over 60 nations in two camps surrounded by barbed wire.” https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-presses-allies-to-bring-back-citizens-who-joined-is/article35023938.ece
Germany withdraws the last of its troops from Afghanistan. “Germany’s last troops left Afghanistan on Tuesday after a near 20-year deployment in the country, the defense minister said…. Germany’s contingent, which focused on northern Afghanistan, was the second biggest in the current Resolute Support mission after the United States’. Its last bases were in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul…. Fifty-nine German troops died in Afghan missions over the years.” https://www.euronews.com/2021/06/29/last-german-troops-leave-afghanistan-after-nearly-20-years-deployed
Government Accountability Office says six federal agencies targeted George Floyd protesters with facial recognition technology. “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported using the technology. The use of facial recognition came under scrutiny last year over concerns about how state and local law enforcement was using the technology to identify protesters.” https://thehill.com/policy/technology/560805-watchdog-6-federal-agencies-used-facial-recognition-software-to-id-george
Hubbard County, Minnesota Sheriff’s Office blocks residents’ access to road to thwart pipeline protests. “The first 150 feet of the driveway leading to the Namewag camp are owned by the county. The notice states that the sheriff’s office is blocking the county trail ‘due to no easement for the current landowner’. It adds, ‘Vehicles driving on this county owned trail are in violation of the Hubbard County Land Ordinance and enforcement action will be taken.’ ….. ‘The state of Minnesota has already demonstrated a clear lack of understanding when it comes to the rights of Indigenous peoples,’ (Tara) Houska said, ‘and it appears there’s a loose grasp on the basics of U.S. property law as well.’” https://theintercept.com/2021/06/28/minnesota-sheriff-pipeline-camp-barricade/
Environmental and climate change groups call on the Biden administration to end fossil fuel subsidies. “… climate impacts are mounting but more than $15 billion in annual wasteful and destructive federal giveaways to the fossil fuel industry remain on the books…. it is past time to remove the burden of dirty energy support from the public and instead turn the efforts of the government to supporting clean energy and the jobs it generates.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/29/500-groups-rally-capitol-hill-demanding-end-outrageous-fossil-fuel-subsidies
Climate activists arrested during White House protest calling for massive investment in green energy. “Dozens of youth activists with the Sunrise Movement were arrested by Secret Service agents on Monday while blockading all 10 entrances of the White House to demand that President Joe Biden and federal lawmakers deliver an infrastructure package that invests in job creation and combats the climate emergency.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/sunrise-activists-arrested-over-no-climate-no-deal-blockade-white-house
Automated vehicle manufacturers required to report accidents to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “The order comes after NHTSA has dispatched special investigation teams to 31 crashes involving partially automated driver assist systems since June of 2016…. Of those crashes, 25 involved Tesla’s Autopilot system in which 10 deaths were reported, according to data released by the agency.” https://www.courthousenews.com/us-agency-orders-automated-vehicle-makers-to-report-crashes/