skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Proposed Mine Near Superior Draws AZ Tribal, Environmental Pushback

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 15, 2023   

Members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe are planning a march and other events this week to oppose what they're calling a destructive mining project slated for Oak Flat near the town of Superior, in south central Arizona.

Resolution Copper is a joint venture by Rio Tinto and BHP. Both corporations say the mine will bring thousands of jobs to the area.

But Vanessa Nosie, a member of the Apache Stronghold, said Oak Flat is ancestral and sacred land. She said she believes the project would destroy the land and their way of life.

Nosie said as a mother of four girls, she feels it's her job to protect them and their culture.

"If Oak Flat is gone, I can't pass that on," said Nosie. "And who we are spiritually, we'd be gone forever. It is the same tactic that the United States government has always used on Indian people."

The protest events begin this Thursday.

The ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears an appeal next month that seeks to prohibit the transfer of sacred tribal lands, with Oak Flat at the center of the controversy.

The land transfer to Resolution Copper was part of the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. Apache Stronghold has argued that it violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

As a fifth-generation miner, Henry C. Muñoz Sr. said the mining technique known as 'block caving' would have serious environmental impacts to the area.

Muñoz said he isn't opposed to mining. But as chair of the Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition of Superior, he said this type of mining puts drinking water preservation at risk and the town's livelihood on the line.

"You are going to end up with a two-mile (wide) crater, 1,000 feet deep," said Muñoz. "The BLM report and the FEIS both say that the contamination of the area's water supply is going to be affected. That will not only destroy your aquifers, but it will also contaminate it."

Muñoz said he would like to see more copper recyclable initiatives considered, and claims there is no shortage of copper.

In an effort to be more "green," he said he doesn't understand why companies aren't tapping into current copper reserves, like the one at the closed San Manuel mine north of Tucson.




get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021