Indigenous girl Beka from Munduruku tribe is pictured during a four-day pow wow in Piaracu village, in Xingu Indigenous Park, near Sao Jose do Xingu, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, January 16, 2020. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Welcome to a new daily evening edition of NewsHero. Here we’ll check in briefly with a few top items from around the world, and spend a little more time with one story that we feel deserves a good look. As always, we’ll provide sources for you to visit below should there be topics you wish to plunge into further. We’ll continue to have a more comprehensive wrap-up put together for you each Saturday.
Have a see and let us know what you think!
NewsHero Notes:
As we kick off this format for Tuesday, January 21, 2020, we must call attention to Monday's honoring of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Born in Atlanta, Ga. on Jan. 15, King’s message of peace and unity as the leader of America’s Civil Rights movement continues to inspire a nation and serve as a guide for the ongoing reach for equality.
Also, Jan. 19 marked the 100th anniversary of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The organization took to Twitter to celebrate its origins, mission, major accomplishments, and hopes for the future. “100 years ago today, a few determined activists dared to create a more perfect union, and the ACLU was born. #ACLU100,” the tweet said, adding that its founders, “set out to amplify the voices of the marginalized and secure our civil rights and liberties so that our Constitution is not just theoretical.”
Evening Brief
Impeachment Already!
The impeachment trial of Donald Trump got (even more) officially underway today. We expect to see House Democrats attempt to shed a brighter light on Trump’s dealings in Ukraine—among other activities featuring a colorful cast of characters—while Republicans work to expose as little as possible as quickly as possible in order to exonerate the president. The New York Times is streaming live coverage with updates.
2nd Amendment
A proactive move by Virginia governor Ralph Northam set in motion a peaceful outcome for a rally held by gun rights activists on Monday at the state’s Capitol in Richmond. Gov. Northam declared a state of emergency ahead of Monday’s scheduled event, in an effort to avoid the disastrous results of a white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville in 2017. The Associated Press reports that the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police had a heavy presence, with officers deploying on rooftops, patrolling in cars and on bicycles at Monday’s pro-gun rally.
Climate
China has announced it will ban single-use plastics, including the dreaded non-degradable bag. Plastic bags, which can be found emptily flapping sadly in the branches of so many trees in the U.S., will be banned in major cities by the end of 2020 and in all cities and towns by 2022, according to a report from BBC News. Restaurants will no longer be allowed single-use plastic straws by the end of the year, as well.
Health
In promising news out of the UK, British scientists have inadvertently discovered a type of immune cell that kills most cancers. Researchers at Cardiff University analyzing blood from a bank in Wales found an entirely new type of cell that carries a previously unseen receptor that latches on to most human cancers while ignoring healthy cells.
Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) says 139 cases of an illness caused by a new coronavirus in China have been reported. Despite scores of sensational headlines (how worried should we be!?), China’s National Health Commission says the sickness is completely controllable, according to Reuters. Health officials are continuing to monitor the mysterious form of pneumonia as China preps for the Lunar New Year. Heads up: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that travelers entering three U.S. airports from the city where the virus was first identified are being screened.
Electric Youth: Teen Activists Energize Climate Awareness
Young women around the world strengthen the fight for a livable planet
Xiye Bastida Patrick. Image courtesy of Nexus Media
While great work is being done all over the world, many people are frustrated with a lack of action in tackling the climate change problem. Meetings and summits with top leaders from countries everywhere are certainly visible efforts that make headlines and start conversations, but it's taken a spark from Earth's youth, the ones that will be left to inherit this place, to make some serious noise in the streets (and hallways).
On the heels of global coverage of teen Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg’s school walkouts and long strides in spreading awareness of the environmental crisis, stories of many more brave, determined young women are emerging.
NPR reported this week on four girls from the U.S. and Australia, all climate activists and all teenagers managing schoolwork alongside their activism.
In New York City, Xiye Bastida, 17, led her school in the city's first major student climate strike last March. She and fellow classmates have continued to strike on Fridays ever since.
Jayden marching at the People's Climate March in Washington D.C., April 29, 2017. Photo: Robin Loznak
In Louisiana, 16-year-old Jayden Foytlin was one of 21 young people who sued the federal government for violating their rights to a livable planet.
Milou Albrecht, a teenager from Australia. Credit: Private.
In Castlemaine, Australia, 15-year-old Milou Albrecht has co-founded School Strike for Climate Australia, which arranges student walkouts.
In Rhinebeck, New York, 16-year-old Scout Pronto Breslin is the founder of a group called Hudson Valley Wild, focusing on wildlife in our changing climate.
Reuters delivered a story from Brazil where Beka Munduruku, 16, has reached the ears of the United Nations and the Vatican, pleading for the world to help protect the rainforest that is her home and a combatant against global warming. Environmentalists in Brazil have referred to her as the Amazon’s Greta Thunberg.
Thanks for reading!
Team NewsHero
Sources:
100 years ago today, a few determined activists dared to create a more perfect union, and the ACLU was born. - ACLU Twitter
MLK Day 2020: Parades in Georgia for King's birthday - AJC
Trump Impeachment: Live Updates From the Senate Trial - The New York Times
Pro-gun rally by thousands in Virginia ends peacefully - AP
China to ban plastic bags in major cities by end of 2020 - NBC
Single-use plastic: China to ban bags and other items - BBC
China Says It Will Ban Plastics That Pollute Its Land and Water - The New York Times
Breakthrough discovery could lead to ‘one-size-fits-all’ cancer treatment - The Independent
Immune discovery 'may treat all cancer' - BBC News
Immune cell which kills most cancers discovered by accident by British scientists in major breakthrough - The Telegraph
China Virus: 'Control measures' upped to stop Chinese New Year spread - Business Insider
China's Mystery Illness Continues to Spread Ahead of Lunar New Year, the World's Biggest Human Migration - Newsweek
Chinese virus: How worried should we be? - BBC News
China virus spreads to U.S., curbing travel plans and spooking markets - Reuters
Brazil's answer to Greta Thunberg wants help protecting Amazon rainforest and its tribes - Reuters
4 Activist Girls Trying To Save The World From Climate Change - NPR
Meet Xiye Bastida Patrick, the New York version of Greta Thunberg - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists/Yale Environment 360