Good morning, Her Campus! With a break-neck news cycle, there is no possible way for you to stay on top of every story that comes across your feeds—we’re all only human, after all.
But, life comes at you fast. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this quick and dirty guide to stories you might’ve been sleeping on (like, literally. It’s early.)
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Resigns
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens announced in a press conference on Tuesday that he will be resigning effective June 1, ABC News reports. His resignation comes after politicians in the state called on him to resign last month due to sexual misconduct allegations.
According to ABC News, a special investigative committee had already released two damaging reports regarding the allegations surrounding Greitens. The first report details claims made by a woman that Greitens was having an affair with; the woman claims he threatened and mistreated her. The second report centers on allegations that Greitens wrongfully obtained a charity donor list to fundraise for political matters.
“I am not perfect, but I have not broken any laws or offense worthy of this treatment,” Greitens said at the press conference.
Greitens also said that the past months had been difficult for his family.
“It’s clear for the forces that oppose us, there’s no end in sight,” he said. “I cannot allow those forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty to the people that I love.”
“The time has come to tend to those who have been wounded,” he proceeded to say. “Let’s walk off the battlefield with our head held high.”
Greitens ended the press conference by adding that he will “always be a fighter for the people of Missouri.”
Puerto Rico Death Toll From Maria May Be Significantly Higher Than Predicted
The death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria is most likely a lot higher than was previously predicted. According to a Harvard study published on Tuesday, that number is likely a lot closer to 5,000.
The study surveyed 3,299 randomly chosen households in Puerto Rico and found that between Sept. 20 to Dec. 31, 2017, at least 4,645 people died due to complications from Hurricane Maria, The Huffington Post reports. The government’s count was only 64.
Dr. Satchit Balsari, one of the researchers, said it was important to have an accurate count because it provides closure to families.
“It’s important to acknowledge what happened and why they lost their family members,” Balsari told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday.
The aftermath of the storm was worse than its landfall. According to HuffPost, there was a significant increase in deaths after the storm made landfall, most likely due to an interruption in medical care, with a third of the households surveyed reporting having no medical facilities and/or doctors available nearby.
“I think people gravitate towards how many people were killed immediately from drowning or falling debris,” Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University in New York, said. “But the reality is, the much, much bigger problem is the long-term inability to get to medical care or the inability to get the medical devices or medication that people need to survive — so, people who are dependent on electrical-powered medical devices like ventilators or who need their medication every single day so their diabetes or high blood pressure doesn’t get out of control.”
The average household also went two months without power, and access to drinking water and plumbing was compromised by a lack of electricity, causing concerns over bacterial disease outbreaks, HuffPost reports.
The study also found that the elderly were the ones most likely to be left behind, with younger individuals vacating their homes.
“It was very obvious from what we saw on the ground that the people who were being left behind were mainly the elderly,” Alice Thomas, a climate displacement program manager for Refugees International, said. “We visited a number of households in different parts of the island, both remote and close to San Juan, where it was essentially older people living in a house that didn’t have electricity [or] potable water.”
But many Puerto Ricans are still without power and do not have access to healthcare, which is extremely troubling considering the 2018 hurricane season begins on Friday.
“This is not the end of the story,” Redlener said. “I think there’s every reason to worry that the numbers will climb significantly higher because there are still people without access to the health care they need.”
You Can Now Call 911 From the Uber App
After it was reported that more than 120 Uber and Lyft drivers have been accused of sexual assault, safety has become a number one priority for ridesharing apps. The companies have taken action to ensure the safety of those that use their services, and now Uber is introducing a feature in its app that will allow you to dial 911, Hello Giggles reports.
The feature rolled out Tuesday, May 29th, and is available to all app users in the United States. According to Hello Giggles, to use this feature, tap the safety icon and select “911 Assistance.”
The app will show you the make, model and license plate number of the car you are riding in so that information can be shared with dispatchers.
According to USA Today, there will be six test cities where users’ information is automatically shared with the police: Denver, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Chattanooga and Tri-Cities, Tennessee; Naples, Florida; and Louisville, Kentucky.
Uber has enacted other changes to ensure its customers safety, including better vetting drivers and repealing a rule that required victims to settle sexual assault cases outside of court, Hello Giggles reports.
It’s good to see Uber taking safety seriously, because all riders should be able to get to their destination safely.
What to look out for…
Weezer graced us with an awesome cover of “Africa” by Toto, and I definitely have it set on a loop now.