Author | Lightnews

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Jigar Shah @jigarshahdc.bsky.social · 2d

Insurance now makes up 20% of today's mortgage payment -- up from 8% in the 2000s.

Climate change is worsening the insurance crisis. Some states have solutions

As the homeowners insurance crisis gets worse, some state-led efforts are tackling the problem.

www.usatoday.com

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Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 2d

📣 The "U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters" data is back today through @climatecentral.org! And more soon!

➡️ Explore our new interactive website at www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv..., which is now updated through the first half of 2025 & totaling over $101 billion from 14 events.

Map showing the U.S. 2025 Billion-Dollar Weather & Climate Disasters and highlights wildfires and severe weather so far through June 2025. Graphic is produced by Climate Central.

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Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · 4d

Report is here if you’re interested in our approach quantifying caregivers www.rand.org/pubs/researc...

Supporting America's Military and Veteran Caregivers

There are 14.3 million military and veteran caregivers—5.5 percent of the U.S. adult population. How does caregiving affect their health, their economic security, and their families' well-being? And w...

www.rand.org

Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · 4d

Recent RAND research suggests that about 40% of Americans provide some kind of unpaid care for another adult. These tips are likely going to be important for you at some time in your life.

NPR @npr.org · 4d

Family caregivers offer their wit, wisdom and survival tips for the hardest unpaid job in America.

A caregiver's survival guide: Advice from people who've been there

Family caregivers offer their wit, wisdom and survival tips for the hardest unpaid job in America.

n.pr

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Bradley Stein @bradleydstein.bsky.social · 24d

New research alert: Medicaid covers nearly 40% of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), but recent “unwinding” of pandemic-era enrollment protections led many to lose coverage nationwide. How did this affect life-saving buprenorphine treatment?

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Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · Sep 19

SCOOP: The Trump administration has installed a new acting director of the Census Bureau, @npr.org has learned. George Cook takes over the federal government’s largest statistical agency after it's been thrust into the middle of a renewed attempt by President Trump to alter the national head count

The Census Bureau is now headed by a Trump official in an acting position

George Cook is the Trump administration's new acting director of the Census Bureau, which has been thrust into the middle of a renewed attempt by President Trump to alter the national head count.

www.npr.org

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NPR @npr.org · Aug 29

People were forced to leave their pets behind during Hurricane Katrina, creating an unprecedented animal welfare crisis that has shaped the country's disaster response ever since.

A lesson learned after pets were left behind in Hurricane Katrina: Save the animals

People were forced to leave their pets behind during Hurricane Katrina, creating an unprecedented animal welfare crisis that has shaped the country's disaster response ever since.

n.pr

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Bluesky @bsky.app · Aug 22

Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users.

While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.

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Lauren Rosenthal @laurenthal.bsky.social · Aug 5

Scoop: The U.S. billion-dollar disaster database is set to return this fall over at @climatecentral.org. They've hired the former NOAA scientist who ran the project for 10+ years www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Researchers Are Resurrecting Billion-Dollar Disaster Tool Trump Killed

Nonprofit Climate Central has hired the scientist behind a key database of costly weather disasters to rebuild it.

www.bloomberg.com

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Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · Jul 14

Because so few people purchase flood insurance, costs are extremely high for the people who need it most.

NPR @npr.org · Jul 14

Climate change is increasing the risk of dangerous floods. But people often balk at the cost of flood insurance, especially since many doubt they need protection.

Flood risk is widespread in the U.S. Few people have insurance for it

Climate change is increasing the risk of dangerous floods. But people often balk at the cost of flood insurance, especially since many doubt they need protection.

n.pr

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Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · Jul 10

RIP Sophie you will always be famous.

NPR @npr.org · Jul 9

To commemorate 10 years of SOPHIE's debut, World Cafe put together a mix of "proto-hyperpop" tracks.

10 songs that were hyperpop before the subgenre was born

To commemorate 10 years of SOPHIE's debut, World Cafe put together a mix of "proto-hyperpop" tracks.

n.pr

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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · Jul 8

Evergreen reminder that wind turbines are not even remotely a leading cause of human-driven bird mortality. This is classic concern trolling in the interest of fossil fuels - if they really cared about birds they'd focus on domestic cats and building glass. And what's not shown here: climate change.

$Chart by Statista with data from US Fish & Wildlife Service: Annual estimated bird mortality from selected anthropogenic causes in the U.S. Domestic cats are by far the main killers of birds, followed by building glass collision, vehicle collision, poison, electrical lines, electrocutions and, at a small fraction of each of the above, collision with wind turbines.$

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Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · Jul 2

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · Jun 25

Here's the ultra-short read on the Mamdani logo design www.gq.com/story/zohran...

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David Shor @davidshor.bsky.social · Jun 25

@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social is a great example of how far you can go if you genuinely center your campaign in an engaging way around the issue that voters overwhelmingly say in surveys they care the most about

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyL4...

NYC is Suffering from Halalflation

YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC

www.youtube.com

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AccuWeather @accuweather.com · Jun 23

Video captured the moment a road buckled and sent a car flying as a heatwave impacted Missouri on Sunday.

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Dan Baldassarre @evornithology.bsky.social · Jun 1

Bisexual flag: Purple-breasted Cotinga

📷 Tomaz Melo, eBird

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Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · May 30

Super timely report as cuts to FEMA loom.

Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · May 30

77% of Americans say stricter building standards are a good idea for communities at high risk of extreme weather. And 64% think it is a good idea for government to provide financial assistance for people in these communities to rebuild in the wake of extreme weather events.

A green and blue horizontal bar chart showing that a large majority of Americans support stricter building standards in places at high risk of extreme weather

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Kevin Keegan @mothpotato.bsky.social · May 28

Hahaha Oneil Cruz is eating an Uncrustable after hitting an enormous home run

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Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · May 19

There are wide partisan gaps when it comes to whether the federal government has a responsibility to provide health insurance for all Americans. 90% of Democrats say it does, while half as many Republicans (45%) say this. www.pewresearch.org/...

A dot plot showing that there is bipartisan agreement on some core responsibilities of government, but wide partisan gaps over health insurance, education, income and retirement support.

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Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · May 16

The partisan divide is especially telling. Partisanship is so deeply entrenched that it can shape the perception of our finances.

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RAND @rand.org · May 13

On Policy Minded, our new podcast, we'll pick the brains of the world's top policy experts, so you can get even smarter about the issues that shape the world.

🎙️ Our first episode drops May 15. Listen to the trailer and subscribe: www.rand.org/pubs/podcast...

Graphic with the text 'Policy Minded' over a stylized brain illustration in shades of purple and mauve, set against a dark purple background.

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Kelly Hereid @kellyhereid.bsky.social · May 1

The Florida building code has reduced losses by 72% - but population in the area hit by Hurricane Ian has increased over 600%. Building codes help but that math ain't mathing.

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Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · Apr 27

a person is doing a handstand on a set of stairs with pictures on the wall behind them

ALT: a person is doing a handstand on a set of stairs with pictures on the wall behind them

media.tenor.com

Vanessa Parks @vanessaparks.bsky.social · Apr 26

I PRed my Dri Tri time by over six minutes! I hope everyone has fun :) #otfsky #orangetheory

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