Latest news with #BatonRougePublicRadio
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Communities across US struggle with new threats emerging beneath their feet: 'When you walk, you feel like you're on jelly'
Areas everywhere are being reshaped by rising global temperatures and their effects. But from Alaska to Louisiana and beyond, Indigenous communities are among those experiencing some of the first and most devastating impacts. In the podcast Sea Change, New Orleans Public Radio and Baton Rouge Public Radio, in collaboration with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, recently addressed the growing and disproportionate threats of climate change on some of the Tribal lands in the United States. Indigenous people, especially those living in coastal areas, are being displaced by extreme weather and rising seas. Even in between increasingly destructive storms, everyday existence in these communities isn't what it used to be. Nunapitchuk, Alaska, resident Gertrude Lewis described what it can be like just walking around her Native village since the permafrost has been thawing: "My grandson, he stepped off the boardwalk and he went knee deep. We had to pull him out — we lost his rubber boot." Sharing the Yup'ik word for the feeling, she said, "Angayiiq — it's like where you when you walk you feel like you're on jelly." Having spoken with Morris Alexie, also Yup'ik and in the midst of considering how he will help to migrate his village to firmer ground, the radio report also explains that "the boardwalks in Nunap dip and curve as the ground thaws and unevenly degrades below them … As the permafrost thaws, it also increases riverbank erosion, literally eating away land from underneath the village." Tribal communities are often located in areas already facing some of the most damaging and visible impacts of our warming world — places like the melting Arctic and islands shrinking as sea levels rise. Historically oppressed throughout much of the globe, many Indigenous groups have already been robbed of their lands by colonization, only to face further threats of displacement as thaws and floods threaten the safety of their homes. They have also often been robbed of generational wealth and marginalized from other resources, making survival even more tenuous. This can be especially true as so many Tribal cultures, food sources, and livelihoods — hunting, fishing, berry picking, nature arts like basketry — are interconnected with increasingly imperiled ecosystems. In Alaska, where Lewis and Alexie live, thawing permafrost is a significant cause for concern. In Louisiana, it's rising sea levels, where coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion are displacing the Pointe-Au-Chien Indian Tribe and causing their land to disappear. Indigenous people face continued uncertainty as they lose their ancestral lands — their homes and traditions — to the planet's steady it's the traditional wisdom from these communities that may offer some of the most promising keys to climate resilience for all. As the United Nations Development Programme has noted, Indigenous knowledge can provide insights into drought-resistant crops, sustainable water management practices, and responsible land stewardship. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Funding research and implementation for related projects could help more people benefit from this expertise while properly compensating Indigenous experts. And supporting pro-environment land-back policies has the potential to protect vital ecosystems and Indigenous communities all at once. Taking a traditional approach to understanding today's most critical climate issues might involve appreciating the interconnectedness of all things. And it can inform doable actions and daily choices with a climate benefit, like reducing meat consumption, patronizing local farms, shopping secondhand, and switching to renewable energy sources like home solar power systems. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New York doctor indicted for prescribing Louisiana teen abortion pill
A New York doctor has been indicted for allegedly sending abortion pills to a teenager in Louisiana, in what could be the first time a provider has faced criminal charges for mailing the medication since the rollback of abortion rights in the US. On Friday, a grand jury issued an indictment against Dr Margaret Carpenter for criminal abortion, a felony in the state, which has a near total ban on the procedure. An indictment was also issued against the teenager's mother. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the state would not comply with an extradition request for the doctor's arrest and said they would shield her. "I am proud to say that I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the State of Louisiana under any extradition request," she said in a video statement. Since the landmark Roe v Wade case was overturned by the Supreme Court, Louisiana has enacted a near-total abortion ban, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The state was the first in the US to classify abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol as "controlled dangerous substances", making it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to access the drugs without a prescription. Louisiana Assistant District Attorney Tony Clayton told Baton Rouge Public Radio on Friday that Dr Carpenter sent the pills to the teenager's mother to give to her daughter. "The minor child was home alone, felt that she had to take the pill because of what her mother told her," Clayton said. After the indictment in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement that the state would "hold individuals accountable for breaking the law", according to US media. Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also filed a civil lawsuit against Dr Carpenter last year for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a woman in Dallas. The BBC has contacted Dr Carpenter for comment. In a statement, the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which Dr Carpenter co-founded, called the indictment against her "the latest in a series of threats that jeopardizes women's access to reproductive healthcare throughout this country". The organisation said the medication is approved by US regulators and has been proven safe and effective for decades. New York Gov Hochul called the criminal case "outrageous" and said it is an attempt by Republicans to prevent access to reproductive care not just in conservative states, but across the US. "We must stand firm and fight this," she said. "I will do everything I can to protect this doctor and allow her to continue the work that she is doing that is so essential." In 2023, the state of New York passed a shield law that protects New York doctors who prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed the procedure. It is one of several Democratic states with a shield law. In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said the criminal charges against Dr Carpenter were a "cowardly attempt" to "weaponize the law against out-of-state providers". "We will not allow bad actors to undermine our providers' ability to deliver critical care," she said. Abortion pills are now the most common method of ending a pregnancy in the US, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the country. How safe is the abortion pill mifepristone? Texas sues New York doctor accused of posting abortion pills
BBC News
31-01-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
New York doctor charged with giving Louisiana teen abortion pill
A New York doctor has been indicted for allegedly sending abortion pills to a teenager in Louisiana, in what could be the first time a provider has faced criminal charges for mailing the medication since the rollback of abortion rights in the US. On Friday, a grand jury issued an indictment against Dr Margaret Carpenter for criminal abortion, a felony in the state, which has a near total ban on the procedure. An indictment was also issued against the teenager's mother. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the state would not comply with an extradition request for the doctor's arrest and said they would shield her."I am proud to say that I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the State of Louisiana under any extradition request," she said in a video statement. Since the landmark Roe v Wade case was overturned by the Supreme Court, Louisiana has enacted a near-total abortion ban, with no exceptions for rape or state was the first in the US to classify abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol as "controlled dangerous substances", making it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to access the drugs without a Assistant District Attorney Tony Clayton told Baton Rouge Public Radio , externalon Friday that Dr Carpenter sent the pills to the teenager's mother to give to her daughter. "The minor child was home alone, felt that she had to take the pill because of what her mother told her," Clayton the indictment in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement that the state would "hold individuals accountable for breaking the law", according to US media. Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also filed a civil lawsuit against Dr Carpenter last year for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a woman in Dallas. The BBC has contacted Dr Carpenter for comment. In a statement, the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which Dr Carpenter co-founded, called the indictment against her "the latest in a series of threats that jeopardizes women's access to reproductive healthcare throughout this country". The organisation said the medication is approved by US regulators and has been proven safe and effective for decades. New York Gov Hochul called the criminal case "outrageous", external and said it is an attempt by Republicans to prevent access to reproductive care not just in conservative states, but across the US. "We must stand firm and fight this," she said. "I will do everything I can to protect this doctor and allow her to continue the work that she is doing that is so essential." In 2023, the state of New York passed a shield law that protects New York doctors who prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed the procedure. It is one of several Democratic states with a shield law. In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said the criminal charges against Dr Carpenter were a "cowardly attempt" to "weaponize the law against out-of-state providers". "We will not allow bad actors to undermine our providers' ability to deliver critical care," she pills are now the most common method of ending a pregnancy in the US, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the country.
