This is our newsletter, Hard Reset. Sign up here. Donate to Big If True here.

Crunching the numbers

• Yesterday, Donald Trump became the only president to be impeached twice.
• In 2015, an inactive mine in Colorado spewed 3 million gallons of wastewater into rivers in three states. As part of a settlement connected to the spill, Sunnyside Gold Corp. will pay $11 million to New Mexico and $10 million to the Navajo Nation.
• A bill in the Kansas state legislature would double the state’s minimum wage of $7.25.

The pandemic through local news

• In Oklahoma, some hospitals are only admitting the most sick covid patients, the Tulsa World reported. Hospitals are treating patients in hallways and conference rooms, and patient transfers can take days.
• New York state’s system for booking a vaccine online and by phone was flooded with interest, with some vaccine-seekers spending hours on hold or hitting roadblocks on stalled websites. New York receives 300,000 doses per week from the federal government, compared to the 7 million residents who now are eligible for the vaccine.
• Schools in Atlanta, Georgia had a substitute teacher shortage before the pandemic, and now fewer subs are willing to risk exposure to covid in classrooms. In the fall, the state’s largest school district used substitutes to fill just 67% of teacher absences, down from about 90% in an average year.

On the bright side

• On Monday, Mississippi raised its new state flag for the first time. In November, Mississippians voted for the magnolia flag to take over for a 126-year-old flag that contained the Confederate battle emblem. That flag was retired in 2020 after years of pressure, which came to a head during sustained racial justice protests over the summer.
• Also on Monday, Melissa Long became the first justice of color to serve on the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

New on Big If True

On this week’s episode of our podcast, Hard Reset, we talked about last week’s assault on the US Capitol and Twitter banning Trump. We also spoke with Jeremy Martin, who recently wrote about the state of evictions after a federal ban was extended through January.

Our next in-depth story will examine how the health care workforce is changing during the pandemic. Become a monthly donor to support this story and others down the line.

Send me feedback, questions and tips: bryant@bigiftrue.org and 405-990-0988.
 
– Mollie Bryant
Founder and editor, Big If True