THE BIG STORY
"Bad for humans": The world is on track to warm 3 degrees Celsius this century Rob Dobi for BuzzFeed News The collective worldwide goal under the Paris climate agreement is to prevent rising global temperatures from increasing no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit). But currently, we're on track for well over that — a potentially catastrophic 3 degrees (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit). This is a huge, huge, huge, huge, huge, huge, huge problem. Climate scientists agree that if this temperature increase happens, deadly heat waves, massive wildfires, and damaging downpours will hit much harder and frequently than they do today. The ocean will be hotter and more acidic, causing fish declines and likely the end of coral reefs. Sea levels will rise significantly, drowning places like Charleston, South Carolina's Market Street, downtown Providence, Rhode Island, and the Space Center in Houston. Sounds bad, right? But don't go fleeing to your apocalypse bunker just yet. Humankind can still do a lot to mitigate the climate crisis — if world leaders agree to more aggressive and immediate measures to limit greenhouse gases.
BuzzFeed News reporter Zahra Hirji spoke with experts about what the world would look like if we barrel toward this 3 degrees increase, and what it would take to prevent this future. Read the full report to learn more.
STAYING ON TOP OF THIS Biden is trying to end "Remain in Mexico" even as his administration prepares to restart it An immigrant boy passes the time at a makeshift encampment occupied by asylum-seekers, most of whom were sent back to Mexico from the US under the Remain in Mexico program. Loren Elliott / Reuters For the second time, the Biden administration moved to shut down the Migrant Protection Protocols, a controversial Trump-era program that the government had been preparing to relaunch in November. This comes after a federal judge in Texas thwarted a previous attempt to end the program via court filing. MPP, also known as the "Remain in Mexico" policy, led to tens of thousands of asylum-seekers being forced to stay in Mexico as they waited for their day in a US court. Migrants were often left with nowhere to go but the streets of dangerous Mexican border cities, where human rights advocates tracked hundreds of cases of returned immigrants being kidnapped, raped, and tortured while the US government forced them to wait there. Whether MPP is actually reinstated in mid-November as planned, the Biden administration will continue to use another Trump-era border policy. At the start of the pandemic, the Trump administration used an obscure public health law called Title 42 to quickly block immigrants from the asylum system. Biden officials have said they plan to continue using Title 42 on immigrants who are "amenable" to it in order to quickly expel them from the southern border. SNAPSHOTS
Survivors of "Unite the Right" violence testified about how the attack unfolded: "I thought I was about to die." On Friday, one plaintiff spoke about the events that left her with a fractured skull, a dead tooth, various cuts and bruises, and eventually acute anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Top Black model Leomie Anderson had to do her own hair and makeup for a runway show, highlighting how the fashion industry fails models and Black stylists. Anderson pleaded for fashion houses to hire more Black hair and makeup artists so other models wouldn't have to endure similar treatment.
The energy and life of Día de Muertos, in photos. The centuries-old tradition maintains that death is a natural part of life and that remembering the dead should be joyful.
BUILD BACK BETTER EVER? Democrats are still fighting to get paid leave and lower drug prices in the Build Back Better Act The back-and-forth in Congress over the Build Back Better Act has been going on for months. Here's what's going on right now, and what comes next for one of the biggest potential social policy bills in recent US history: - Last Thursday, President Biden released a new version of the bill, leaving out Democrats' proposals for the country's first universal paid family and medical leave program.
- Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said the party is working on a modified proposal in response to Biden's plan. In addition to negotiating for paid leave, Democrats are also fighting for policy language that allows the federal government to negotiate the price of prescription drugs covered under Medicare.
- The bill still needs to be passed by both the House and Senate, likely giving the party weeks to amend the bill if new deals can be reached. But given the Democrats' fragile congressional majority, it takes only a single senator or a handful of House members opposing a provision to risk sinking the entire bill.
NEVER TOO LATE Kal Penn shares his experiences with sexuality and racism in Hollywood in his new book Kal Penn attends the New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons game at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2018. James Devaney / Getty Images In his new memoir You Can't Be Serious, Kal Penn opens up about growing up as the son of Indian immigrants, what it was like trying to make it as an actor of color in Hollywood, and his experiences at the White House as an aide for the Obama administration. The book comes out Tuesday. "I wanted my story to be authentic from my perspective and told in a way that makes you feel like you really get to know me," Penn said in an interview with People magazine. The 44-year-old Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and Designated Survivor actor also told People that he's been dating his partner, Josh, for 11 years and that they're engaged. "I discovered my own sexuality relatively late in life compared to many other people," Penn said. "There's no timeline on this stuff. People figure their s--- out at different times in their lives, so I'm glad I did when I did." Kal Penn is right — there's no timeline on this stuff. Go at your own pace, Alexa BuzzFeed, Inc.
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