Activision Blizzard workers vote in video game industry’s first union
A group of quality-assurance testers in Activision Blizzard’s Raven Software division, which developed the popular Call of Duty Game, voted 19-3 in favor of unionizing.
United States
Marijuana legalization linked to fall in alcohol, tobacco, and pain medication consumption in new study
“Implementation of legalized non-medical cannabis coincided with decreases in alcohol and cigarette use and pain reliever misuse,” the University of Washington researchers reported.
Hawaii startup just launched world’s first ocean-assisted carbon removal plant
Each Heimdal can pull 1,000 tons of carbon out of the ocean per year at just a fraction of the cost of air-capture methods.
Starbucks will now pay for employees who need to travel for abortions
Starbucks says it will pay travel expenses for U.S. employees to access abortion or gender-confirmation procedures if those services aren’t available within 100 miles of a worker’s home.
North Texas city to become first in the U.S. to offer free healthcare
Ferris, Texas, about 20 miles south of Dallas, will use money from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide free physical and mental healthcare to all residents.
Stanford’s first new school in decades is dedicated to the climate crisis
For the first time in 70 years, Stanford University is opening a new school—The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, a school dedicated solely to studying the climate crisis.
Austin becomes the first Texas city to experiment with ‘guaranteed income’
Under a yearlong, $1 million pilot program, the city will send monthly checks of $1,000 to 85 needy households at risk of losing their homes.
Levi Strauss & Co. to reimburse abortion travel for employees
The apparel company best known for its jeans is the latest U.S. company to offer the benefit as various states clamp down on access to abortions.
Connecticut expands abortion rights to balance new wave of restrictions
Advanced practice registered nurses, nurse-midwives, and physician assistants will now be permitted to conduct medication and aspiration abortions in Connecticut.
New plastic-eating enzyme could eliminate billions of tons of landfill waste
An enzyme created by engineers and scientists at the University of Texas breaks down plastics that typically take centuries to degrade in a matter of days.