Indigenous fishermen take state’s oil giant to trial for years of environmental damage to their waterwaysFisherman Ricardo Torres Cruz, a native Nahua community member and resident of the Mexican state of Veracruz, traveled hundreds of miles to Mexico City and affirmed a legal complaint against the state-owned oil company, Pemex, which, he and other leaders of his state's fishing and agriculture collective allege, killed fish in streams around his home in Veracruz. For years, Cruz and his community have been pursuing restitution and a clean-up of the fishery from Pemex — a global oil powerhouse with more than $47 billion in annual revenue — after decades of complaining and asking for the government to take action to address the toxic mud and dead fish in their waterways.
This case, which Alicia Pipitone writes would be "a rare victory" for Cruz's community, has the potential to set a global precedent for other smaller, poorer and marginalized communities to hold governments accountable for environmental harm.
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Rising cases of congenital syphilis in newborns highlight need for timely testing and treatmentThe sexually transmitted infection syphilis, caused by bacteria and transmitted through sexual contact, can be passed to an infant, known as congenital syphilis, during the mother's pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Black Voice News reports that cases of congenital syphilis in U.S. newborns have risen tenfold in the past 10 years, with a total of 3,761 cases in 2022 compared to about 335 cases in 2012. According to county figures in San Bernardino, California, which had the 11th highest congenital syphilis rates in the U.S. in 2021, congenital syphilis primarily impacted Hispanic/Latino infants, non-Hispanic white infants, and non-Hispanic Black or African American infants.
Read to learn how timely testing and treatment can prevent the transmission of syphilis to newborns →
Minn. study finds workers of color in "critical occupations" died at higher rates during the pandemic According to a new study from the University of Minnesota, workers of color in "critical occupations" including healthcare, education and food service were more likely to die during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. This key finding alone did not surprise the study's lead author, Harshada Karnik, but Karnik was surprised by how some critical jobs such as food processing (think: meatpackers, commercial bakery workers) and food production were more deadly than other industries, indicating to the researchers that some industries protected their workers from Covid-19 better than others.
Plus: Get a Covid-19 vaccine for free in NYC if you are uninsured (Documented)
Meet the Game Changers
Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities
Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) is the first Native American in the U.S. Department of the Interior. She spearheads efforts to confront historical trauma from federal Indian boarding schools. In her year-long Road to Healing Tour, Haaland has listened to survivors' stories while offering trauma-informed resources 🎧