The state of Michigan will pay $600 million to Flint families who were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water. “Under the terms of the agreement, 80 percent of the monetary award will go to residents who were younger than 18 at the time of their exposure. More than half of that amount will go toward the children younger than 6 — whose age put them at greatest risk for lead poisoning and the physical damage and neurological problems that can result… The debacle began when Flint stopped drawing its water from Lake Huron and switched to the Flint River. But state officials failed to ensure that corrosion-control treatments were added to the new water supply. Without them, rust, iron and lead leached from the city’s aging pipes and contaminated the drinking water of homes and businesses. Residents started complaining of discolored and foul-smelling water and then worse — skin rashes after bathing — but their concerns were largely ignored. Among some children tested in 2015 at a local hospital, the percentage with lead poisoning doubled after the switch in water sources. In some neighborhoods, it tripled. Rather than prompting immediate action, the test results were questioned, and the pediatrician who tried to highlight them was harshly criticized. When the city and state finally responded, forced in part by the federal Environmental Protection Agency invoking its emergency powers, a massive effort got underway to distribute bottled water and water filters throughout Flint. Snyder told residents in a State of the State address that “government failed you at the federal, state and local level.” Although officials have declared the crisis over and Flint’s drinking water no longer a health hazard, residents say they have little trust in what comes out of their taps. Most continue to use bottled water.”
A few Mexican states are moving to ban the sale of junk beverages and foods to children, partly in response to COVID-19. “Spurred by growing evidence that being overweight increases the risk of serious illness with an infection by the novel coronavirus, a number of Mexican states are moving to ban the sale of junk food to children. On Monday, legislators in Tabasco voted to prohibit the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages and highly processed foods to anyone under 18, just 12 days after Oaxaca took similar action. The pandemic has created an explosion of awareness about why Mexicans are so vulnerable to certain diseases, prompting ambitious new bills in at least 10 states and Mexico City. Tabasco legislator Manuel Gordillo Bonfil said in a statement that the covid-19 pandemic is a historic opportunity to establish public policies that protect the health of children.”
The Guardian reports on US residents “scraping by” after $600/week in unemployment benefits expired. “The scale of the jobless crisis in America is immense. For 20 straight weeks, new unemployment claims in the US were above 1m. About 30 million Americans claiming jobless benefits are being left to rely on state unemployment benefits while waiting on Trump’s reduced federal benefits of $400 a week to begin if they are eligible to receive them. Trump’s executive order has been criticized by Democrats and labor groups for circumventing Congress and the obstacles it places for recipients and state unemployment systems that have already been struggling with backlogs of claims and amending claims for recipients to receive back pay for weeks they missed while waiting to be processed. “My only choice right now is for us to eat the bare minimum, pay what I can toward at least my rent and vehicle payment and hope for the best,” said Michelle Cieslewski, 51, of Cleveland, Ohio, who lost her two jobs in March, in construction and at an auction house, when the pandemic hit.”
CNN reports that “opioid manufacturers have cost the American economy $2.15 trillion, according to a notice of claim filed in bankruptcy court by nearly every US state and many territories. The filing was made Monday by New York, 48 other states, Washington, DC, and various other territories against Purdue Pharma and other distributors and manufacturers, according to the New York attorney general. A financial breakdown per state provided in the court filing shows that New York is seeking to claim $165 billion. An official with knowledge of the filing acknowledges it is not likely anyone will recoup this high dollar figure. Purdue Pharma, the maker of the painkiller OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in September as part of its plan to settle litigation over the opioid crisis, which is fueled by both illicit and prescription drugs. An estimated 10.3 million Americans aged 12 and older misused opioids in 2018, including 9.9 million prescription pain reliever abusers and 808,000 heroin users.”
The Guardian reports on concerns over the rights and wellbeing of prisoners in California as fires approach and COVID-19 outbreaks spread. "California’s raging wildfires have created a crisis at multiple state prisons, where there are reports of heavy smoke and ash making it hard to breathe, unanswered pleas for evacuation, and concerns that the fire response could lead to further Covid-19 spread. A massive fire in the Vacaville area, north of San Francisco, has rapidly spread within miles of two state prisons this week, including one that imprisons terminally ill people in hospice care and the elderly and medically vulnerable. Despite mass evacuation orders in surrounding areas authorities have resisted calls to evacuate the two adjacent prisons – California Medical Facility (CMF) and Solano state prison. In Los Angeles, a separate fire has grown near the Lancaster state prison, which has also suffered a significant Covid outbreak. “They are breathing in fire and smoke, and they have nowhere to run,” said Sophia Murillo, 39, whose brother is incarcerated at CMF in Vacaville. “Everyone has evacuated but they were left there in prison. Are they going to wait until the last minute to get them out?” To increase social distancing and limit the spread of Covid, CMF had moved 80 people to sleep in outdoor tents instead of indoor cells, but with the fire approaching and air pollution rising, the prison moved them back indoors. Murillo said she now fears a major Covid outbreak inside the prison, and noted that mass evacuations could also spread the virus if people are packed in buses together."