Walmart raises minimum wage by 17%
Starting in early March, store employees will make between $14 and $19 an hour. About 340,000 store employees will get a raise because of the move.
North & Central America
Biden restores protections to Alaska’s Tongass National Forest
Spanning nearly 17 million acres – an area larger than the state of West Virginia – the Tongass stores 44% of all the carbon dioxide contained in national forests across the country.
Moderna’s mRNA RSV vaccine delivers impressive Phase 3 trial results
For decades researchers have been trying to develop a vaccine for the deadly respiratory disease. It looks like 2023 will be the landmark year where not only one, but possibly three different vaccines are approved.
Crystalyne Curley becomes first female speaker of the Navajo Nation Council
Council Delegate Crystalyne Curley, 37, who represents Tachíí/Blue Gap, Many Farms, Nazlini, Tsélání/Cottonwood, Low Mountain, has become the first woman to head the Navajo Nation Council.
Canada to ban cosmetic testing on animals
The ban will cover a range of products, including make-up, perfume, body lotion, hair-styling products, shaving foam and nail polish. It would extend to cosmetics that contain animal-tested ingredients.
Pfizer to sell all its drugs in 45 low-income countries at non-profit price
In an expansion of the company’s “An Accord for a Healthier World” program, which is aimed at increasing access to innovative treatments in some of the world’s poorest countries, Pfizer said it will now offer a total of 500 products.
Five U.S. states are repaving roads with unrecyclable plastic waste
Pilot programs are ongoing in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and Hawai’i are already seeing promising results.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs extends protections to LGBTQ+ state employees and contractors
The executive order goes beyond existing laws banning employment discrimination to include factors such as sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, culture, creed, social origin, and political affiliation.
The U.S. FDA will now allow abortion pills to be sold at normal pharmacies
Although patients will still need prescriptions to get the pills, this change will drastically widen their access.
Google India to mentor 1 million Indian women entrepreneurs
Speaking at the launch of the US Initiative on Global Women’s Economic Independence, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that they are working to expand that number.