It Feels Like Groundhog Day!
Dear Reader,
I’m sure the past few weeks must be bewildering for some, rage-inducing for others, but entirely unsurprising for most of us. As always, we are here to respond to your needs and bring you clarity.
Allow me to take you behind the scenes of just how the past few days have looked like for our reporting team:
🛢️📊 I’ve spent much of this week downloading data from the Environmental Protection Agency relevant to our ongoing investigation into the crude oil export industry in South Texas. The EPA’s EJ Screen tool was taken offline on Thursday, while the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database is still available as of Saturday morning. (This is when I also found out that NASA has been purging articles of straight white men, including one done by my former MIT classmate Hannah Richter)
A screenshot of the EPA’s EJ Screen tool showing toxic releases to air by national percentile in the Texas Coastal Bend I am also answering a detailed questionnaire and responding to comments on an annotated manuscript of the South Texas story prepared by media attorneys.
🔥🛰️ Our Managing Editor Rhysea Agrawal accompanied freelancer Draco Guan to the Lario Park Staging Area in the San Gabriel Valley on Tuesday. The area is currently used by the EPA to collect, sort, and transport household hazardous materials after the Los Angeles Fires. With a rapidly growing Asian and a legacy Hispanic population nearby, they are digging deep into the environmental justice implications of this siting decision.
Now, Rhysea is attending the inaugural Open Source Journalism Conference at the University of Southern California. She is learning how to use digital information — satellite imagery, photos and videos uploaded to social media, flight tracking data, audio recordings, crypto transactions, you name it — to conduct investigations into the wealthy and powerful. These skills are particularly vital as the federal government is no longer a reliable data source.🚇🎞️ Our Engagement Editor Aouri Pi, working out from the Pacific Northwest this weekend, is making a reel looking at what has changed at the three-month milestone of our MARTA reporting — done using open-source journalism! You should follow us on Bluesky and Instagram if you haven’t.)
⚒️🇿🇲 Our Editor-at-Large KC Cheng, just arrived at Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. Joining her is Mozambican freelancer Tavares Cebola; they will be on a train to Zambia to report on the copper mining industry there.
Originally, KC planned to take a detour into the Democratic Republic of Congo, but this has been postponed after a “Do Not Travel” warning from the local U.S. embassy. This is the reality of reporting in conflict zones!
There’s a lot going on in the world, but we are determined to get to the bottom of the truth — because you deserve to know. Thank you for supporting news that matters.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Ip
Publisher and Editor
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THINGS YOU SHOULD READ
✨ NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS
Thank you to our six new donors and sustainers who joined this month!
🖥️ We are upgrading our site for the first time since our newsroom was founded! Stay tuned for a fresh look later in the year.
🍑 A SOUTHERN FLAIR
WALHALLA, S.C. — Across the South, Rural Health Care Has Become ‘Trendy.’ Medicaid Expansion Has Not. (Lauren Sasser, KFF Health News)
“If rural health was profitable, […] we wouldn’t have a rural health problem.”
— Ron Gimbel, director of Clemson Rural HealthSULPHUR, Louisiana – This Storm-Battered Town Voted for Trump. He Has Vowed to Overturn the Law That Could Fix Its Homes. (Sharon Lerner, ProPublica)
Now, Robertson said, all she can do is pray that Republicans will see that the investment is in everyone’s best interest, including their own.
As her small staff gathered for a weekly meeting in December, she bowed her head. “Dear Lord,” she said, “if it’s your will, may we get this damn grant, please.”LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana – Revealed: how a US public university courted the gas industry despite climate impacts (Sara Sneath and Natalie McLendon)
Internal emails obtained through public records requests show [former McNeese State University President Daryl] Burckel sent a verbatim letter of support ghostwritten by Tellurian to the federal regulator overseeing the construction of LNG export terminals. “University presidents are very busy managing many responsibilities,” current McNeese president Wade Rousse said in a written statement, “Requesting a sample letter for a project you already support illustrates that point.”
🗺️ WHAT ELSE WE'RE READING
Shein and Temu depend on a 100-year-old tariff loophole that Trump wants to close (Mia Sato, The Verge)
Under the de minimis rule, packages that are valued under $800 can enter the US duty free, and recipients in the US can get up to $800 worth of stuff per day without paying import taxes.
The Biden administration previously proposed tightening the de minimis loophole. Trump’s executive order, as written, effectively kills it — making low-value shipments subject to existing tariffs plus the additional 10 percent tax.
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino tech workers demand protections in AI bill after Rest of World report (Michael Beltran, Rest of World)
“We aren’t against AI. We want technology in the Philippines to evolve. But in doing so, workers need to be protected.”
— Lean Porquia, convenor of Filipino digital worker coalition
Chemical Companies Ask Trump’s EPA To Hide Potential Disasters (Katya Schwenk, The Lever)
… many facilities that process reactive chemicals are not covered by the EPA regulations, like a chemical plant that spewed a toxic plume of chlorine gas in Conyers, Georgia, in September [2024], forcing residents to evacuate. That’s thanks to the chemical industry, which has fought for loopholes in the regulations.
(SOME OF) THE XYLOM’S RECENT STORIES
🐟 Indian Women Dry Fish With the Power of the Sun, in the Palms of Their Hands
Dried fish is a cultural staple in South India, but the marinating process can be physically demanding, as women crouch under extreme heat for hours at a time. Enter solar dryers, which improve safety, hygiene, and wages: writes Laasya Shekhar.
🎨 Perspective: Confessions of a Science Communicator
We love comics and so does Julia Shangguan, a Ph.D. student in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Chicago! For The Xylom, she shares a visual journey of how she embraced the intersection of science and art:
📸 Here Are Some of the Most Memorable Photos We Took in 2024
In 2024, The Xylom stepped foot in 15 countries and regions to report on the intersection of science and society with a distinctly Asian American sensibility. We believe these images help us get the story right, and draw you closer to your global neighbors.