Canadian Energy Company Wants to Dump Nuclear Waste Near Great Lake

Water safety is on the rocks: A Canadian energy company is flipping the bird to 200 concerned communities in both Canada and the US by refusing to abort plans to dump nuclear waste on the shores of the Lake Huron. The company says that the radioactive waste will be buried underneath the ground and encased in rock to prevent polluting the lake—sounds safe, right? We think not. The company claims that another site would be too expensive, take too long to develop, and wouldn't be any safer.

The only scenario in which putting nuclear waste near a river makes sense to us is if there's a possibility for gaining crime-fighting superpowers from drinking the water. But it's more than likely serious health hazards will occur. The Canadian government hasn't approved the plan yet, and local communities are taking action to make sure it waste dump doesn't get built next to the lake. Here's how you can help their cause.

Ireland's new leader is a big deal: Leo Varadkar is an Irish politician, the son an Indian Immigrant and happens to be gay. He's also the new Prime Minister of Ireland. The country hasn't always been a trailblazer for LGBTQ equality, in fact homosexuality wasn't decriminalized there until 1993. Fast forward to 2015, and Varadkar, who was Health Minister at the time, came out publicly the same year Ireland passed same-sex marriage by popular vote. Varadkar now joins a small but growing clique of LGBTQ world leaders, including Luxembourg's current Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

Chucking up the deuces: The US Ambassador to China, David Rank, is fed up with President Trump. Following Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, Rank stepped down from his position. After more than 30 years of public service, Rank wisely jumped ship while still close enough to the shore as the Trump administration barrels full steam ahead to god-knows-where. A representative from the State Department gave a very PC response about Rank's departure, citing it as a personal decision. It follows a trend of administration officials coming to the conclusion of, 'Fuck this shit, I'm going home.'

The plot seriously thickens: It's just been reported that Russian military intel orchestrated a cyberattack tampering with at least one US voting software supplier during the 2016 election. Someone inside the NSA slipped a top-secret document to the media, and while there are still uncertainties about what all this means it's clear that something shady went down last November.

The Justice Department has already charged the now former government contractor, 25-year-old Reality Winner, with leaking classified documents. The political brouhaha has unfolded just three days before accidental man of intrigue, former FBI Director James Comey, testifies on whether President Trump pressured him to end his investigation into Russian ties within the administration. Trump fired Comey last month, and anticipation is high to say the least for Thursday's testimony.

Manspreading the wage gap: A new report confirms that gender bias is alive and well and that young women graduating college are paid less than their male counterparts despite having the same level of education and work experience. The Economic Policy Institute found that in the past 17 years the wage gap narrowed for male and female high school grads but widened for college grads. The numbers are stark, at the start of their careers college-educated men between the ages of 21-24 are paid on average $20.87 whereas women of the same age and degree status get $17.88. That difference of $2.99 may not sound like a lot but at an hourly rate it really adds up. The report also found that employment statistics and pay were lower for people of color, particularly blacks and Hispanics.

The war on drugs is a war on all of us: A 56-year-old man from Texas has been sentenced to prison for more than two decades for selling weed. On June 2, David Lopez received 24 years after the courts convicted him of drug conspiracy and possession. The law seems to be making an example of Lopez as the Trump administration brings back harsh minimum drug sentencing laws. In contrast, former President Obama had put some reforms in place that eased the severity of minimum sentencing laws for nonviolent drug offenses. This new reign of terror led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the war on drugs is seen by many as unfairly targeting people of color and the poor.