Target is raising its minimum wage to as much as $24 an hour
The retail giant currently pays a $15 per hour starting wage but said Monday that it would begin paying workers wages ranging from $15 to $24.
North & Central America
This archive covers progress stories from North and Central America, spanning the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the nations of Central America. Readers will find reporting on health, environment, community resilience, and policy advances across the region.
New fusion tech set to unlock near-limitless ultra-deep geothermal energy
MIT spin-off Quaise says it’s going to use hijacked fusion technology to drill the deepest holes in history, unlocking clean, supercritical geothermal energy that can re-power fossil-fueled power plants all over the world.
The second-largest U.S. electric company by market value plans to exit all coal by 2035
Duke Energy will shut down all 11 of its remaining coal-fired power plants by 2035, spanning the Carolinas, Indiana, and Florida. The second-largest U.S. electric utility also plans to more than double its solar and wind capacity to 24,000 megawatts by 2030, backed by a $130 billion clean energy investment over the next decade. Duke serves roughly 8 million customers across six states, so its choices ripple outward into grid infrastructure, household bills, and the air people breathe near aging plants. When a utility this large commits to exiting coal entirely, it signals that clean energy economics have tipped — and offers a template other slow-moving utilities around the world may soon follow.
U.S. Federal Reserve approves rules banning its officials from trading stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies
The rules “aim to support public confidence in the impartiality and integrity of the Committee’s work by guarding against even the appearance of any conflict of interest,” according to the Fed.
Mexico’s top court cancels mining concessions near Indigenous communities
A ruling by Mexico’s Supreme Court this month canceled two controversial mining concessions in Indigenous communities, which have been fighting to stop the projects for nearly two decades.
Judge restores protections for gray wolves across much of U.S.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had failed to show wolf populations could be sustained in the Midwest and portions of the West without protection under the Endangered Species Act.
California lifts renewable energy target to 73% by 2032
The California Public Utilities Commission raised renewable energy procurement targets, plans for a more aggressive decarbonization plan, and includes increased reliability provisions.
U.S. to install roughly 400,000 EV chargers along its highways
The U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation announced that they will dedicate $5 billion over the next five years to the project.
Western monarch butterflies make a spectacular comeback in California
The population of monarch butterflies overwintering in California has increased a hundredfold, according to an annual count: more than 247,000 butterflies were counted in 2021, up from 2,000 butterflies in 2020.
Sinaloa becomes the fifth state in Mexico to ban bullfighting
The Congress of Sinaloa has unanimously approved an initiative that bans bullfighting in the state, classifying it as animal cruelty.