Uplifting News

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SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Sea Turtle Inc. helped 190 sea turtles affected by the recent cold stun. The organization announced that with improving weather conditions and the affected sea turtle's health, they hope for a quick recovery and potential release.

According to the National Park Service, a cold-stunned sea turtle is one that has become hypothermic due to severe cold water or weather. If water temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit a sea turtle can become lethargic and are unable to swim.

A rock hit a car in a Walmart parking lot in Lehighton, PA in 2023, busting the window and landing in a half gallon of ice cream. A group of open-minded scientists agreed to take the case and identified the rock as a genuine meteorite. Source is Pennsylvania Geology Winter 2024.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/36793071

Good! Keep those patients safe!

The CFPB’s new rule amends Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), to end this exception and establish guardrails for credit reporting companies, prohibiting them from including medical bills on credit reports sent to lenders, who are banned from considering them. The final rule:

Prohibits lenders from considering medical information: The rule ends the special regulatory carveout that previously allowed creditors to use certain medical information in making lending decisions. This means lenders will also be barred from using information about medical devices, such as prosthetic limbs, that could be used to require that the devices serve as collateral for a loan for the purposes of repossession.

Bans medical bills on credit reports: The rule bans consumer reporting agencies from including medical debt information on credit reports and credit scores sent to lenders. This will help end the practice of using the credit reporting system to coerce payment of bills regardless of their accuracy. Lenders will continue to be able to consider medical information to verify medical-based forbearances, verify medical expenses that a consumer needs a loan to pay, consider certain benefits as income when underwriting, and other legitimate uses.

After seeing people sleeping outside in the cold year-after-year, a Toronto man is building tiny mobile homes attached to bicycles to give temporary relief to those who are unhoused.

Summary

The removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, completed in October 2023, is the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. The dams had blocked salmon migration, disrupted ecosystems, and worsened toxic algal blooms for over a century.

Decades of advocacy by tribal groups, environmentalists, and locals led to their removal, marking a significant environmental milestone. Early recovery signs include salmon returning to the upper basin for the first time in 60+ years.

The project also restored sacred lands to the Shasta Indian Nation and opened 400 miles of habitat for native species.

Challenges like sediment-clearing and climate impacts persist, but stakeholders celebrate it as a model for ecological renewal.

Summary

Teen drug, alcohol, and tobacco use in the U.S. continues to decline, with record-low usage levels reported in 2023, according to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future survey.

Among 12th graders, 66% reported no recent use of alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, while 80% of 10th graders and 90% of 8th graders avoided these substances entirely.

Experts attribute the decline partly to reduced peer pressure during the pandemic.

However, nicotine pouch use has doubled among 12th graders, raising concerns.

Despite pop culture's glamorization of smoking, teen cigarette use remains low.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/172650

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Note: No leopards were slain in this article.