News — Coronavirus

Will Coronavirus Get Them off the Hook? This piece was originally published in Grist and appears here as part of our Climate Desk Partnership. Over the years, Phillips 66 and Cenovus Energy, the companies that own the Wood River Refinery in Roxana, Illinois, have been sued by both the state and federal government for polluting the air and discharging toxic wastewater into the Mississippi River. In 2018, they settled one such lawsuit, agreeing to spend about $10 million to upgrade and monitor the refinery’s leaky vents, as well as an additional $500,000 to clean up low-income homes and buildings contaminated by lead in...

On her phone, Crystal Rodriguez keeps a photo of her father hooked up to a ventilator. Nurses at the hospital sent her the image after he’d spent close to a month in the intensive care unit at UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado, battling severe complications from COVID-19. At 58, he was unable to speak or visit with family. Rodriguez is convinced that her father was exposed to the coronavirus at work on the meatpacking line at JBS, a Brazilian-owned multinational that brings in $50 billion annually as the world’s largest meat processor. “They have so much...

Under normal circumstances, “honey-do” lists and “weekend warrior” projects often get pushed aside by the daily grind. But in this bizarre new pandemic reality, that grind has ground to a halt. If there’s an upside, it’s that you have both time and incentive to knock out some of those around-the-house chores you may have put off. We spoke to a project manager and lead carpenter with a home remodeling business to find out what projects anyone can do to keep their homes in tip-top shape. And don’t worry if DYI isn’t your thing. Not only are these 11 tips easy for...