Daily News 08/19

Daily News 08/19

The 1%’s Media Monopoly Determines the News ‘That’s Fit ot Print’: Federal Communications Commission scraps limit on broadcast TV ownership The move sets the stage for more corporate consolidation in the media industry. The Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that regulates the broadcast airwaves, voted Thursday to eliminate a cap on the share of U.S. television households a single company can reach, a major move that could pave the way for more corporate consolidation in the media industry. In a 2-1 vote, the FCC repealed a 22-year-old rule holding that a company cannot own stations that reach more than a combined 39% of the U.S. television audience. The ownership limit will be replaced by a ‘case-by-case approach’.

Decades of mismanagement, fiduciary irresponsibility, a lack of shared governance and accountability, and divestment are responsible for a plethora of failures. Irrespective of these failures, university presidents and boards have been transparent about their singular mindset (at least in their visible actions). To them, growth is essential, but such growth can only take place by cutting various services and programs that are no longer deemed “essential.” Faculty and staff at many institutions have raised warning flags, insisting that universities cannot cut their way to growth. Such illusory growth will weaken programs and prevent students from truly being educated. Such short-term growth will ultimately threaten the long-term foundation of higher ed and lead to the collapse of one of the biggest arenas of 21st-century thought: the university. — Neoliberal Policy Hollowed Out Universities. Now They Are Collapsing.

A critical moment for water and all that it touches — food, energy, health, infrastructure, equity, investment, geopolitics. It’s our secret. IWT. It stands for “I was there.” That’s how we go deep and sort fact from fiction. We see, we write, we share — most often from the front lines. Every day, decisions made about this water, food and energy nexus determine who thrives and who suffers — and Circle of Blue tracks that story more closely than any newsroom in the world. We also share those findings — from local community presentations to high-level convenings in Washington, Singapore and Davos. Before you close this tab, we’re asking you to support this work. For over two decades, our reporters have covered aquifers running dry in India, drought gripping the Colorado River, alarming childhood cancer rates across the Great Lakes and Midwest, and the policy fights shaping who controls these resources. We also reveal the pathways to solutions — and what’s holding us back. This work gives policymakers, scientists, communities… and you… the facts needed for action and accountability. Trust matters more than ever in an era thick with misinformation, disinformation and AI. Every photograph in our coverage is captured by photojournalists in the field; we apply basic color correction and never alter an image’s content unless it’s clearly labeled as an illustration. Circle of Blue is an independent nonprofit newsroom. Reader support keeps our journalism and events free and available to everyone. Your support funds our field work and sustains the data and innovative tools we use to reveal breakthrough trends and context. Please consider a gift today and be there — “IWT” — alongside us. Know that every contribution, large or small, makes a difference.— Federal Water Tap, August 17, 2026: Two Big Colorado River Reservoirs Hit Record Lows

Letters: Our climate is in crisis. We are going backward on renewables in the US. “2026 is just the beginning. It will inevitably get worse. It will get worse and worse and worse to the point where, I’m afraid, we’ll be passing the limits of adaptability,” said Johan Rockstrom, a Swedish scientist who is director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. Extreme weather has been lashing many parts of the world, including the United States, yet President Donald Trump calls climate change a hoax as he hauls in millions of dollars in political contributions from oil interests. For over four decades, it has been the consensus of climate scientists — including climate scientists employed by oil companies — that burning fossil fuels is causing a greenhouse effect that is warming our planet and causing more extreme weather. The scientists’ predictions over these four decades have proved to be accurate. The predictions of the deniers and minimizers have proved to be wrong. China has surged to a wide lead in the production of solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles, increasing its jobs, wealth, prestige and influence. In contrast, Trump promotes fossil fuels and blocks clean-energy solar and wind projects, even though clean energy with battery storage is less expensive, especially when fossil fuels’ health-threatening pollution and contribution to climate change and its damage are considered.

Uninformed Public is Danger to DemocracyThe economy continues to struggle, the educational system underperforms, and tensions exist at just about every point on the international landscape. And, there is a national presidential selection process underway. It seems, in such an environment, that citizens would feel compelled to get themselves fully up to date on news that matters. It also would stand to reason that the nation’s news media would feel an obligation to focus on news of substance. Instead, too many citizens are woefully uninformed of the day’s significant events. A pandering media, primarily television, is content to post a lowest-common-denominator news agenda, featuring Beyonce’s “Lemonade” release and extensive tributes to Prince.

N ational Literacy Instituete Literacy Statistics 2024-2025

On average, 79% of U.S. adults nationwide are literate in 2024
21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2024.
54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level).
Low levels of literacy costs the US up to 2.2 trillion per year.
34% of adults lacking literacy proficiency were born outside the US
Massachusetts was the state with the highest rate of child literacy.
New Mexico was the state with the lowest child literacy rate.
New Hampshire was the state with the highest percentage of adults considered literate.

New Evidence Raises Fresh Concerns Over AMOC Stability As Collapse Fears GrowThe Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation entered a severely weakened state during the last deglaciation and then began making abrupt shifts between weaker and stronger circulation. A new high-resolution reconstruction of that period shows two major AMOC intensifications developing while the wider circulation remained suppressed. Heat transport across the Atlantic changed rapidly, tropical rainfall moved with it, North Atlantic temperatures jumped, and carbon stored deep inside the ocean was pushed toward the Southern Ocean and released into the atmosphere. The record adds a new problem to the growing debate over what happens if the modern AMOC continues to weaken.

Simular to New England Town Hall Meetings Type Government, But on National Scale!: All in this together: Cuba’s Participatory DemocracyThrough Cuba’s mass organisations and Organs of Popular Power the country’s citizens have multiple opportunities to participate in the government of their country The Cuban Communist Party (PCC) traces its ideological roots to the Cuban Revolutionary Party founded by Cuba’s national hero, José Martí, in exile in New York in 1882. Its purpose was to free Cuba from Spanish rule by uniting into a single party all those who wanted Cuban self-determination. Following the 1959 Revolution which swept out the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s progressive forces began a process of uniting into a single party, which finally came to fruition six years later when the PCC was formed in 1965. Today one in six of Cuba’s eleven million people are Party members. To become a member of Cuba’s Communist Party, a person must be first nominated by fellow workers or neighbours and then voted in by their local branch. A year has to be served as a ‘candidate member’ before becoming a full member as this brings with it responsibilities and duties, especially within the local community. To be a member of the PCC is seen as an honour in Cuba, and members are generally respected as honest and committed revolutionaries. The mass organisations. Cuba’s principal mass organisations are the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR), the Cuban Women’s Federation (FMC), the trade unions – Cuba Workers Federation (CTC), and the Association of Small Farmers (ANAP). All are involved in organising meetings for mass policy debate, implementing new legislation and evaluating policy outcomes. Almost everyone in Cuba belongs to one or more of these organisations, and all have grassroots, local branches and higher structures at the Municipal, Provincial and National levels. They are the means by which Cubans can engage, and participate, in the political life of the country. All mass organisations have the right to initiate and be consulted on new legislation. The Organs of Popular PowerSince the early years of Revolution there have been several experiments and pilot schemes in local government in order to gain experience and develop the capacity of local people. Cuba’s system of local, provincial and national government was enshrined in its first Constitution of 1976. This created 169 Municipal Assemblies, 14 Provincial Assemblies, and a National Assembly.

US imperialism weakened in Southeast Asia, but the spectre of militarism looms In recent times, US imperialism’s increasingly apparent decline and erratic behaviour on the world stage has seen it losing wars and losing friends. As a result, its grip is also loosening over Southeast Asia, pushing many of its traditional allies to look elsewhere.

From The CIA Iran Coup To Trump’s War: It Was Always About Oil

US Oil Reserves Plunge To 40-Year Low; War On Iran Strains Supplies

Ralph Nader: $1.1 MILLION AN HOUR!!—Trump’s Personal Profit in 2025

He’s Trumps’s Lawyer: Todd Blanche declines to pledge independence from White House US attorney general says no one in his role ‘should ever’ make this vow amid concern over Trump steering DoJ

Hegseth Announces Expansion Of US Military Sphere Of Operations

New Mexico’s attorney general pushes new social media safety laws after $900m court victory over Meta Exclusive: Raúl Torrez is drafting two bills with state lawmakers to bolster consumer protections and child safety online, building on state’s landmark case against Meta