COMMON DREAMS: Top News: Housing Crisis Must Be 'Top of Our Agenda'

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 ■ Today's Top News  'Victory for Cleaner Air' as Federal Court Upholds California Vehicle Emissions Standards "This ruling ensures that the 17 other states that follow California can keep driving towards a future with cleaner air and cleaner vehicles," said one advocate. By Julia Conley Arizona Supreme Court Upholds 1864 Abortion Ban—But Voters Will Get 'Ultimate Say' in November "Arizona is what happens when abortion policy is, as Donald Trump claims he wishes, left up to the states," said one columnist. By Julia Conley Refuting Jurists, Lloyd Austin Says US Has No Evidence of Gaza Genocide The U.S. defense secretary's remarks came after Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other law experts around the world asserted that Israel's Gaza onslaught meets the legal definition of genocide. By Brett Wilkins Three-Day Sanders Institute Event Details the Case: 'Housing Is a Human Right' "We can't address the housing crisis by chopping the weed off at the top. We have to pull it out by the roots," said one panelist at the intimate event in Los Angeles that looked at the issue from the local, state, and federal level. By Jon Queally Average US Taxpayer Contributed More to Militarism Than Medicare in 2023: Report "This year $5,109 of the average American's taxpayer dollars went to fund the military and its support systems," said the co-author of a new analysis. By Jake Johnson Jayapal, Sanders, and Khanna Say US Housing Crisis Must Be 'At the Top of Our Agenda' "We really need a revolution in housing and how we deal with housing," said Sen. Bernie Sanders at a gathering on the issue. By Jake Johnson

JOIN THE MOVEMENT As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future.

JOIN WITH US TODAY

■ More News Sanders Seeks Public Input for Long Covid Moonshot Legislation 'No One Deserves Power for Life': Coalition Demands Supreme Court Term Limits Norfolk Southern Agrees to Pay $600 Million—A Fraction of Its 2023 Profits—for East Palestine Disaster The company reported nearly $3 billion in income from its railway operations last year. A decision from a class-action lawsuit has determined Norfolk Southern will now have to pay $600 million—a mere fraction of the company’s 2023 profits—for the toxic derailment of its train in East Palestine, Ohio last year. The decision deals with everyone within a 20-mile radius of the derailment. The train spilled more than a million pounds of hazardous chemicals in East Palestine. "Individuals and businesses will be able to use compensation from the settlement in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment," the company said in a statement. "This could include healthcare needs and medical monitoring, property restoration and diminution, and compensation for any net business loss." "We believe this is a fair, reasonable and adequate result for the community on a number of levels, not the least of which is the speed of the resolution, and the overall amount of the awards residents can expect, which will be significant for those most impacted by the derailment," said Seth Katz of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, M. Elizabeth Graham of Grant & Eisenhofer, Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy and T. Michael Morgan of Morgan & Morgan, the attorneys for the plaintiffs, in a combined statement. The Biden administration recently announced that at least two people will now have to be on board the trains of the country's largest freight operators, following the East Palestine disaster, which drew national attention to Norfolk Southern’s history of dangerous practices and lobbying against more stringent federal safety rules. Last year, even after adjusting for a $1.1 billion hit associated with the East Palestine wreck, the company reported nearly $3 billion in income from its railway operations. In 'Landmark' Ruling, Top EU Court Rules Swiss Climate Inaction Violates Human Rights

VIEW ALL NEWS

■ Opinion Why Israel Should Be Banned From the Paris Olympics If the IOC has excluded Russia from the games for actions contrary to the Olympic ethos of peace, then consistency demands scrutiny of all participants. By Sophia Brooks If Trump Wins, the GOP Is Ready to Wage War on the Working Class Project 2025 offers a plan to thoroughly dismantle more than a century of workers’ achievements in the struggle for both dignity and simple on-the-job survival. By Rebecca Gordon How Biden Can Win on the Economy: Stop Mass Layoffs The federal government awards approximately $700 billion per year in federal contracts; what if the Biden administration added one simple clause: “No compulsory layoffs.” By Les Leopold No, We’re Not Stuck With Nuclear Weapons To say an technology will always be with us because it can’t be disinvented is like saying you will always be alive because you can’t be disborn. By David P. Barash,Ward H. Wilson

VIEW ALL OPINION

Call 207.775.0488 to donate by phone or mail a check to: Common Dreams · PO Box 443 · Portland, ME 04112-0443 · USA Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your contribution is tax-deductible. EIN: 20-3368194