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We have no idea if the economy is headed for a soft landing

1 year 3 months ago
Ben Casselman writes about the economy in the New York Times today: After five years of uncertainty and turmoil, the U.S. economy is ending 2024 in arguably its most stable condition since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Inflation has cooled. Unemployment is low. The Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates. The recession that many ...continue reading "We have no idea if the economy is headed for a soft landing"
Kevin Drum

Second Suspect Charged in High School Hockey Player's Murder

1 year 3 months ago
ST. LOUIS — A second individual has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Colin Brown, a high school hockey player from the O'Fallon area, who was fatally shot while riding in a car with his father on Interstate 55 in St. Louis. Donovan Baucom Jr., 28, was charged on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, with first-degree murder, shooting from a motor vehicle, and several other offenses related to the incident. Baucom was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, by St. Louis Police, with assistance from the St. Louis County Police Department. He joins Garrett Jordan, who was charged earlier after investigators traced his phone's location data to the crime scene. Jordan is currently being held without bond and has pleaded not guilty, waiving his initial bond hearing. According to court documents, investigators utilized witness testimony, security video, and cell phone location data to connect Jordan to a dark-colored Audi believed to be involved in the shooting. Authorities allege tha

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Ameren to distribute $61M settlement for coal plant impact

1 year 3 months ago
Ameren Missouri will distribute $61 million in settlement funds to address environmental and health impacts from its now-closed Rush Island coal plant, with $25 million going towards a HEPA Purifier Program and $36 million to an electric bus program.
Joe Millitzer

15 Local Kids Still Need Christmas Gifts: Can You Help?

1 year 3 months ago
GLEN CARBON - Caritas Family Solutions is asking for help to make sure the last few children on their list have a merry Christmas. As an organization, Caritas supports kids in the foster care system, adults with developmental disabilities and seniors. They serve 6,300 individuals every year, including 1,400 children in the foster care system. At their Glen Carbon location, there are 15 kids who still need gifts this holiday season. “Christmastime brings it all together,” said Hope Carbonaro, chief program officer with Caritas. “We always consider the fact that children that have experienced trauma in their young lives, abuse and neglect, that while we care for them all year long in various ways, that waking up Christmas morning and feeling a sense of normalcy and feeling a sense of joy and that people love and care about that experience for them is just something that’s hard to explain in words. It’s very meaningful.” Community members ca

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Down To The Wire: Last Two Days To Back One Billion Users

1 year 3 months ago
Tomorrow is the last day of our Kickstarter campaign for One Billion Users. We’re still beneath the funding threshold, so unless there’s a big closing rush, this campaign won’t reach our goal. Still, if we can get that big closing rush, we’d love your support for the campaign. At the very least, supporting it now […]
Mike Masnick

Mayor Jones Issues Statement Following Announcement that St. Louis Will Host the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

1 year 3 months ago
ST. LOUIS, MO. – On Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, U.S. Figure Skating and the St. Louis Sports Commission announced that the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be hosted at Enterprise Center in Downtown St. Louis City. Mayor Jones issued the following statement: “St. Louis is America’s first Olympic city, and our legacy as a sports town cannot be denied,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “We can’t wait to welcome America’s Olympic hopefuls and figure skating fans from across the country to our beautiful city. See you in 2026!”

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U.S. Senator Urges EPA to Release “Science-Based” Report on Formaldehyde Health Risks

1 year 3 months ago

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

Citing a recent ProPublica investigation, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., urged the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter this week to issue a final report on the health risks of formaldehyde that is “science-based” and “as strong as possible,” adding that “the agency has an obligation to protect the public from the chemical.”

Formaldehyde, used for everything from preserving dead bodies to binding wood products and producing plastic, is extremely widespread and causes far more cancer than any toxic air pollutant. ProPublica’s analysis of EPA air pollution data showed that, in every census block in the U.S., the risk of getting cancer from a lifetime of exposure to formaldehyde in outdoor air is higher than the goal the agency has set for public exposure to air pollutants.

The EPA issued a draft of the formaldehyde risk evaluation in March and, after receiving feedback from the public and a committee of experts, is expected to release the final version by the end of the year. The forthcoming evaluation will be used to inform future restrictions the agency puts on the chemical. But the ProPublica investigation found that the draft version of the report used unusual techniques to underestimate the risk posed by formaldehyde.

In one case, the agency determined whether concentrations of formaldehyde in outdoor air posed an “unreasonable risk” — a level that requires the agency to address it — not by measuring them against a health-based standard, but rather by comparing them to the highest level of the chemical measured outdoors in a five-year period. The measurement the agency chose as a reference point was a fluke, ProPublica found, and had not met the quality control standards of the local air monitoring body.

The EPA did not immediately respond to questions from ProPublica about Sen. Blumenthal’s letter and when the agency plans to release its final report.

The EPA is evaluating the health risks of formaldehyde under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the main federal law that governs chemicals. That process typically relies on toxicity estimates calculated by a separate division of the agency. In the case of formaldehyde, the EPA released the final toxicity values in August of this year, decades after it began the process of calculating them. Throughout that time, companies that make and use the chemical — and could lose money if it is restricted — criticised the agency’s numbers and worked to delay their release.

Some industry-affiliated members of the expert committee that reviewed the draft evaluation of formaldehyde this year have continued to find fault with the EPA’s toxicity estimates and have suggested that the agency weaken them in its final report.

In his letter, Blumenthal advised EPA Administrator Michael Regan against taking this route. “Throughout your tenure, EPA has been steadfast in upholding its vital mission of protecting human health and the environment,” he wrote. “I urge you to continue this commitment and issue a final risk evaluation for formaldehyde that is rooted in the best available science.”

by Sharon Lerner