North Carolina
Youth Climate Stories – How climate change and Outer Banks development affect the Corolla horses
By Whitney Salazar-Gutierrez
As soon as after I was small, there was a pageant at my elementary college. My favourite half that I keep in mind was driving a pony. Ever since that day, I’ve been excited about horses.
I’ve one thing in widespread with Meg Puckett. She’s the herd supervisor of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.
“Very first time I ever actually noticed horses in my life was one of many wild horses in Corolla,” Puckett advised me. “It made such an impression on me that my dad and mom took me someplace to learn to experience a horse and I ended up with a horse of my very own.
“So I’ve had horses my complete life, and it’s all due to the Corolla horses.”
Corolla horses are wild horses that dwell on the Outer Banks, close to the city of Corolla. These wild horses are descendants of Spanish horses that arrived in America within the 1500s. A few of these horses got here from shipwrecks and a few had been left by the Spanish. Scientists have examined the horses and located that every of those horses’ DNA is 80 p.c Spanish.
Corolla horses wish to graze on grass and stroll the place they’ll. Their stomachs have loads of acid and so they need to eat loads of grass.
“Horses are, like, biologically made to graze just about 24/7,” Puckett mentioned. “That’s how their our bodies are made.”
She additionally mentioned that these horses are seasonal eaters, they eat no matter they’ll discover, summer time, fall, winter and spring.
However their diets, and the remainder of their lives, are being affected by local weather change. One of many points affecting the horses is water. Proper now, their water is fairly good, however Puckett mentioned that’s altering.
“There’s been a pair … horses which have died in the previous couple of years from waterborne diseases and that additionally goes again to the human influence too. As a result of the extra individuals you may have, the extra individuals you may have flushing bathrooms and the extra wastewater you may have taking place into septic methods, and that pollutes the water,” she mentioned.
Puckett additionally mentioned that the climate is getting hotter from local weather change. In order that’s additionally affecting the animals’ well being. Should you don’t have a great freeze yearly, dangerous stuff grows within the water and may have an effect on the horses.
“One instance is now we have a horse, he lives on the farm now as a result of he needed to be rescued,” Puckett mentioned. “He went to the veterinary hospital at North Carolina State, he was there for six weeks and he had a fungal an infection. It’s known as pythiosis. And we by no means used to see it up right here, it was form of widespread down in like extra tropical areas, locations like Florida and Texas, Louisiana, just like the Gulf Coast, by no means used to see it up right here.
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“One of many first mentions of horses is by Capt. Samuel Stephens, who claimed Roanoke Island for his livestock in 1663. Earlier than then, extra cows, sheep, horses, goats and pigs roamed the northern Outer Banks than individuals. Settlers used the islands to corral their inventory, making the most of the sound and sea’s pure boundaries and ample vegetation. From the 1660s to the Nineteen Thirties, the Outer Banks was cattle nation. In 1934, the N.C. Basic Meeting outlawed open grazing, and the style of the Wild West within the East pale. However the horses remained free and feral. As a result of it’s believed these horses had been as soon as domesticated, we name them feral, not wild.”
“Now all of us, not rapidly, however within the final couple years, we’ve had a pair circumstances of it.”
These horses are affected by human improvement within the Outer Banks in different methods, too. As a result of they have already got a restricted quantity of house in comparison with a number of years in the past. Every home is constructed with much less land for them.
“It’s not simply homes being constructed, it’s the variety of individuals,” Puckett mentioned. “We now have had file breaking visitation the final couple years. And due to that, issues that we by no means actually thought of earlier than, however like rubbish.”
These animals have been wild for years and it’s of their finest curiosity to remain wild, Puckett mentioned. Even simply giving them an apple might kill them as a result of they’ll choke on them.
Apart from, for those who feed them they could lose their capacity to seek out meals themselves.
“You realize, I all the time inform people who, , if a horse walks as much as you for an apple and also you give it an apple, you’re most likely the thirtieth individual that day that’s fed that horse an apple proper ?” she mentioned.
“Our actions, our single actions, may be life or demise, so I believe it’s necessary for individuals to do not forget that.”
If the animals are used to consuming apples and carrots and so they come as much as an individual with the hope of being fed and for those who don’t have an apple then they could grow to be aggressive. In order that’s why vacationers and locals shouldn’t feed these wild horses since you might kill them.
Corolla horses are an endangered species. Proper now, there are 100 horses however Puckett says that there ought to not less than be 110 horses to maintain the herd wholesome. They’re particular as a result of they’re the historical past of North Carolina, america, and even the world.
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By Jane Doe
North Carolina Well being Information
North Carolina Well being Information is an unbiased, non-partisan, not-for-profit, statewide information group devoted to overlaying all issues well being care in North Carolina. Go to NCHN at northcarolinahealthnews.org. (on the net, this may be hyperlinked)
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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has informed Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign that he does not want to be under consideration in her search for a vice presidential candidate, the governor said Monday night.
Cooper said in a statement explaining his decision that although he was taking himself out of consideration for the role, he’s still backing Harris’ candidacy.
“I strongly support Vice President Harris’ campaign for President,” Cooper said. “I know she’s going to win and I was honored to be considered for this role. This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket.”
“As I’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins,” he added.
The New York Times first reported that Cooper was withdrawing his name from consideration.
One source directly involved in Harris’ search for a running mate said Cooper took himself out of the mix because he wants to run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. The source said Cooper never indicated to the campaign that he wanted to be vice president and told Harris aides that he did not want to be considered.
NBC News previously reported that interviews with some Democratic insiders pointed to Cooper, along with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as top contenders to join Harris on the Democratic ticket.
Other governors, including Kentucky’s Andy Beshear and Minnesota’s Tim Walz, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are among those who have also been floated as potential running mates.
The Harris campaign previously said she plans to select a running mate by Aug. 7.
North Carolina
Feds approve Cooper plan to relieve up to $4B in NC medical debt, as Harris weighs in
A plan unveiled at the beginning of this month by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to leverage Medicaid funds to help North Carolinians struggling with medical debt has been approved by the federal government.
On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a plan that has the potential to relieve $4 billion in existing hospital medical debt for people in the state, according to a news release. In order for the plan to take effect, hospitals would need to sign on.
“Unlike most other debts, medical debt is not intentional because people don’t choose to get seriously ill or have an accident,” Cooper said, according to the news release.
“Medical debts are often beyond people’s ability to pay, ruining their credit, keeping them from getting credit cards, loans and jobs and sometimes driving them into bankruptcy. That’s why we’re working with hospitals and federal partners to help relieve the burden of medical debt for North Carolina families,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris — who appears set to become the Democratic presidential nominee for the November election, and has been considering Cooper as a possible running mate — has been “coordinating” with state officials on the medical debt plan, The Washington Post reported.
“No one should be denied access to economic opportunity simply because they experienced a medical emergency,” Harris said in a statement sent as part of a news release Monday.
“Yet today, more than 100 million Americans struggle with medical debt — making it more difficult for them to be approved for a car loan, a home loan, or a small-business loan, which makes it more difficult for them to just get by, much less get ahead.”
“I applaud North Carolina for setting an example that other states can follow by advancing a plan that has the potential to relieve $4 billion in medical debt for two million individuals and families. This critical step also strengthens financial assistance for emergency medical procedures moving forward,” Harris said.
Harris wrote that over $650 million in medical debt had been forgiven through the American Rescue Plan, which was passed under the Biden administration.
The News & Observer has contacted several hospitals and the North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals, regarding their stances on the plan.
UNC Health “continues to have discussions with state and federal officials,” UNC Health spokesperson Alan Wolf said in an email.
“We support efforts to reduce medical debt and we expect to receive more details on the approved plan soon,” he said.
Medical debt relief provided
According to Cooper’s news release, hospitals that opt in to the plan must implement the following to be eligible for enhanced payments offered under the plan:
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For those on Medicaid, relieve all unpaid medical debt dating back to Jan. 1, 2014.
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Relieve all unpaid medical debt that has become virtually impossible to collect dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, for people not enrolled in Medicaid whose income is at or below at least 350% of the federal poverty level (FPL) or whose total debt exceeds 5% of their annual income. A family of two at 350% of the FPL makes about $71,000 a year.
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Provide discounts on medical bills for people at or below 300% FPL.
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Automatically enroll people into financial assistance, known as charity care.
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Not sell medical debt of people making below 300% FPL to debt collectors.
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Not report debt covered by policies laid out in the plan to a credit reporting agency.
Patients of participating hospitals will not need to take any actions to benefit from medical debt relief, according to the news release.
Plan to leverage Medicaid funds
When the state expanded Medicaid in December, it implemented a mechanism that allowed hospitals to receive higher federal reimbursements in return for paying the state’s share of costs under the expansion bill.
The federal government covers 90% of Medicaid coverage costs for the expansion population, while the state covers 10%. This funding mechanism was called the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program.
The medical debt relief plan further leverages federal funds by providing higher HASP payments to hospitals that choose to implement the plan.
Hospitals often only collect a small fraction of the medical debt they are owed, Cooper said during a press conference announcing the plan on July 1.
However, large debts that remain on the books can prevent people from buying a home or getting a credit card and sometimes can lead people into homelessness and bankruptcy, he said.
North Carolina has one of the highest percentages — 13.4% — of adults with medical debt, according to KFF, a health policy organization. About 20 million people — or nearly 1 in 12 adults — owe a combined total of at least $220 billion in medical debt in the United States, KFF says.
NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — A North Carolina river is deemed ‘too dirty’ to swim in.
People are advised to refrain from swimming in the French Broad River near Asheville for 24 to 48 hours, or until the water is less muddy.
Samples showed high levels of bacteria, including e-coli from recirculating water. According to officials, it’s because of the recent heavy rains.
“What we recommend for folks to do is…find somewhere else to go swim,” Anna Alsobrook, the watershed science and policy manager at MountainTrue, said. “We’ve seen everything from ear infections to GI issues (to) sinus infections.”
Officials are also telling people to avoid ingesting any water until the quality level improves, which could be in a matter of days.
French Broad River flows from North Carolina into Tennessee.
SEE ALSO | NC farmer losing crop because of unsafe levels of chemicals in water
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