Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Worth a Click: 13 Stories You Should Read Today

By DNAinfo Staff | December 6, 2016 3:55pm 

 Beyonce picked up nine Grammy nominations for Lemonade.
Beyonce picked up nine Grammy nominations for Lemonade.
View Full Caption
Patrick McMullan

Dakota Access Oil Pipeline On Hold Indefinitely

After a long and violent standoff between law enforcement and protesters at the Standing Rock encampment in North Dakota, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the permits for the construction of a crude-oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, according to New York Magazine. The decision was issued on Sunday to the joy of the Sioux and activists joining them in the fight. The pipeline isn’t permanently blocked, but its planned route has been rejected. [New York Magazine]

Brooklyn Venues Plan Fundraisers for Oakland Fire

The fire that tore through a warehouse art space in Oakland over the weekend, killing at least 36, hit at the heart of a tight-knit community of artists and musicians who say that high rents have driven them into unsafe, cobbled together spaces like the warehouse that burned down. That’s true of Brooklyn too, so the fire hit close to home even thousands of miles away. Several DIY spaces, including House of Yes, are holding fundraisers to help the victims and their families. [Brokelyn]

New York’s Youngest Elected Official on Tackling Poverty Under a Trump Election

New York’s youngest elected official, 28-year-old Councilman Ritchie Torres, spoke with the New Yorker about protecting public and affordable housing under a Donald Trump administration. Torres, who grew up in the Throgs Neck Houses in The Bronx across from Trump’s golf course, said he worries his constituents will be among those who suffer the most if the new administration cuts funding to programs that support welfare payments, rental subsidies and childcare vouchers. [New Yorker]

Member of Texas Electoral College Won’t Vote for Trump and Asks Others to Do the Same

One of the 538 members of the electoral college from Texas says he won’t vote for Trump on Dec. 19 and encourages other members of the college to do the same, in a New York Times editorial. Christopher Suprun, a paramedic and firefighter, writes the reason for his choice doesn’t have to do with policy disagreements, but because Trump lacks an understanding of the constitution and uses incendiary rhetoric that stokes rage. Suprun ends his piece with calling on other members of the electoral college to vote their conscious and unify behind another member of the republican party, like Gov. John Kasich.

“I swore an oath to defend my country and Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. On Dec. 19, I will do it again,” Suprun writes. [New York Times]

The Aftermath of An Accidental Shooting

In any given week in the U.S., two children die from from accidental shootings, according to this Washington Post piece, which looks at the fallout from one such tragedy: how a family copes after their 3-year-old child accidentally shoots and kills his older sister with a a gun that was left out in their home. [Washington Post]

The Scourge of Racial Bias in New York State’s Prisons

The New York Times analyzed disciplinary records from the state’s prison system, which revealed deep racial bias, often stemming from “a fundamental upstate-downstate culture clash that plays out daily on the cellblocks." [New York Times]

Life for Those Excluded from the Affordable Care Act

With uncertainty over the fate of the Affordable Care Act — or Obamacare — in the run up to Trump's upcoming inauguration, the New York Times examines the law's "coverage gap" for the approximately 9 percent of people  who are still uninsured. These are “agricultural workers, primarily, or service-industry employees, but some hold jobs in education, health and social services, professional administration or manufacturing.” [New York Times]

Woman’s Merciless Anti-Trump Twitter Rant Goes Viral

After Trump called the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live" —  which mocked his use of Twitter — “totally biased” and “unwatchable,” civil rights activist Danielle Muscato couldn’t resist tweeting back. In a string of more than 30 posts that went viral Muscato attacked the president-elect for tweeting about things that are not important. “You are the president-elect. Pick your f---ing battles man. You are embarrassing yourself,” she wrote in one of her tweets that got retweeted 24,000 times. [NBC]

Detransitioning: A Story about Discovery

Though the vast majority of those who transition genders are happy with the decision, a small percentage experience “transition regret” and reconsider the choice. In this The Outline piece, a few individuals belonging to that small percentage share their stories. [The Outline]

Here’s Who Got Nominated for the 2017 Grammys

The 2017 Grammy nominations are out, and Billboard has put together a complete list of all the nominees. Beyonce leads the way with nine, including for Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, while Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West are close behind her with eight nominations apiece. The awards ceremony will take place on Feb. 12. [Billboard]

The Women ‘Computers’ Who Revolutionized Astronomy

It’s a little known, but important piece of history: at the turn of the 20th century, female assistants at Harvard’s Observatory began mapping the stars, and helped paved the way for the future of women in science. [The Atlantic

Domino’s Nixes Its Reindeer Delivery Service in Japan

Domino’s in Japan pulled the reins on its plans to use reindeer for delivering pizza this Christmas, saying in a statement that it was “difficult to control” the animals. The reindeer were supposed to pull a sleigh filled with food, but the task proved a bit difficult with video showing employees chasing down the hoofed delivery workers. Instead, the company decorated its scooters as the Christmas mascots. [Mashable]

This column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Irene Plagianos, Shaye Weaver, Alexandra Leon, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Noah Hurowitz, Gwynne Hogan, Eddie Small, Dartunorro Clark, Camille Bautista, Jeanmarie Evelly, Allegra Hobbs and Carolina Pichardo.