STORIES TO READ 8-4-25

It's Monday. Welcome to your day. You're alive, you're doing your best in difficult times and I'm glad you are here. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and read some news stories.

Texas House Democrats flee the state in bid to block GOP’s proposed congressional map (Texas Tribune) – The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab.

20 Years After Katrina, Louisiana Residents Are Most Vulnerable to ‘Die of Despair’ (Capital B) – This story is part of a series Capital B is reporting on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the surrounding region. This piece is about how New Orleanians are more vulnerable to "deaths of despair" than 99% of the U.S., as Black residents navigate hopelessness after the disaster.

Marine Tourism in Mexico Remains Damaging to Wildlife Despite Regulations, Research Finds (Inside Climate News) – "There is bad behavior on both ends: on behalf of the tourists, ignorance; and on behalf of the service providers, a desire to satisfy tourists and get a good tip," Gisela Heckel, a professor of conservation biology at the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education in Baja California, told Inside Climate News.

Meta brought AI to rural Colombia. Now students are failing exams (Rest of World) – Students using AI tools and apps to cheat or do their work for them is certainly not unique to the U.S. Rest of World reports that when Meta embedded AI bots in its apps, even students in the most remote corners of Colombia gained access. But rather than boosting learning, it’s getting in the way.

Well-known Palestinian activist committed to nonviolence killed by an Israeli settler (Religious News Service) – Awdah Hathaleen, who worked as an English teacher, was a beloved leader in his community’s nonviolent resistance. The 31-year-old Palestinian Bedouin was shot and killed by a Jewish settler in his village of Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank.

Opinion | PBS and NPR Are Independent of Government Propaganda and Provide Key Benefits to U.S. Democracy (The Conversation) – As someone who's spent most of their career at NPR, I'm a little biased (but not uncritical) about the virtues of public media. But this thorough op-ed by Stephanie A. Martin of Boise State University shows how the claims of liberal bias in public media by the Trump administration and its allies rarely survive empirical scrutiny.

And there you go. Read some stuff and enjoy your Monday. If you want more news from independent and nonprofit media sources, follow my feed on Bluesky .