Tourists Find Ways Around National Parks Shutdown
If you wanted to check a Grand Canyon hike off your bucket list this week, you're out of luck because of the federal government shutdown. The same goes with Yosemite, Carlsbad Caverns, Big Bend and other national parks across the country.
"I'm retired. I don't know whether I'd be able to back get out here again. There are so many places in the country I'd like to see. The Grand Canyon is like a marvel. The idea of missing it is very upsetting," said Muriel Gaw from New York.
Many people who traveled thousands of miles to hike, camp or paddle in a national park aren't letting the shutdown spoil their vacation. They're finding ways around the park closures.
Furloughed Employees Deliver Furlough Notice To Ted Cruz
With no end in sight to the federal government shutdown, a group of out-of-work federal employees in San Antonio is delivering its own furlough notice to Texas Senator Ted Cruz. They say his high-profile filibuster-style talk on Sept. 24 lit the fuse that started the ongoing government shutdown.
Language Barriers Cause Challenge For Health Care Outreach
The Affordable Care Act's new insurance marketplaces are now open for business. But millions of eligible shoppers don't speak much English, so signing up comes with extra challenges. And Census figures show that non-English speakers are far more likely to be uninsured than the general population.
"Those individuals that speak different languages need to have the same opportunities as those who speak English really well," said Iyan John of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum.
Schools Try To Keep Students Focused On Academics
This week Fronteras Desk partner New Mexico In Depth is exploring how the removal of parents and siblings through deportations can impact the mental health of young people. In part one, Sarah Gustavus takes us to a special charter school that deals with this on a daily basis.
Most students at the South Valley Academy just outside Albuquerque come from immigrant families. The focus of this charter school is college preparation in a mostly low-income area. But life outside the classroom can get in the way and the staff is ready for that.
Families Arm Kids With Emergency Plans
Deportations can be examined in numbers. One number: An estimated 200,000 people deported between 2010 and 2012 say they have U.S. citizen children. It's the lasting impact that these deportations have on family members, especially children, who remain in the U.S. that is more challenging to quantify.
In our Fronteras Desk partner New Mexico In Depth's second story on this issue, we meet a teen named Jackie who is dealing with life after her brother's deportation.
"Who am I going to go talk to when I'm sad?" she asked. "Who am I going to go to when I'm scared?"
