RIP to disability rights activist Judith Heumann. Heumann was a leader in the disability rights movement and contributed to the development and implementation of national disability rights legislation. She co-authored a memoir, Being Heumann, and was featured in the 2020 award winning documentary Crip Camp. “Some people say that what I did changed the world,” she said, “But really, I simply refused to accept what I was told about who I could be. And I was willing to make a fuss about it.”
In 2016, the village of Moffat in southern Scotland upgraded their lighting to minimize light pollution, and became the first designated Dark Sky Community in Europe. After the designation, two women campaigned to go further and turn off all electrical lights in town for two weeks a year. Moffat now goes dark for two weeks every January. (Related: Yesterday’s Astronomy Picture of the Day was a map of Artificial Night Sky Brightness.)
Astronomers have detected water in a cloud surrounding a new star 1,300 light years away. The discovery offers a hint of one way that water could have been brought to Earth.
After tremendous pressure from both activists and lawmakers, Eli Lilly has lowered the cost of some Insulin to $35. Back in November, during Twitter’s $8 verification fiasco, a fake, verified account named “@EliLillyandCo” tweeted “we are excited to announce insulin is free now.” Stock of Eli Lilly fell over 4% and the (real) company tweeted an apology to “those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account.” The exorbitant and prohibitive monthly cost of insulin — the patents for which were originally sold for $1 each by inventors who, noting its life-saving importance, said, “insulin belongs to the world” — has resulted in documented and preventable deaths.
The National Transportation Safety Board has announced an investigation into Norfolk Southern after a second train derailment in Ohio and the death of a train conductor. Last fall, a dozen rail workers’ unions considered striking over numerous issues, including safety concerns.
Last week, Tennessee banned drag shows and gender-affirming care. Jaya Saxena wrote about drag bans and their ramifications for business in Tennessee. Jon Stewart interviewed Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm about anti-trans legislation.
I’ve been thinking lately of the poem “Why Write Love Poetry in a Burning World” by Katie Farris, one of my favorites.
Thanks for reading,
Kate