Pelosi presses for votes Friday on Dems’ agenda as Biden calls key House members

Pelosi presses for votes Friday on Dems’ agenda as Biden calls key House members
Pelosi presses for votes Friday on Dems’ agenda as Biden calls key House members
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden was making last-minute calls to key House members as Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed for two critical votes Friday on the Democratic agenda: the president’s $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” social spending and climate policy package and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan.

But Democratic infighting continued as Democratic moderates demanded Pelosi wait for a cost estimate on the larger bill from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office before going forward.

That could take weeks.

Late Friday afternoon, Pelosi announced the House would vote Friday on the already Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure plan and then take a procedural vote on moving forward with the “Build Back Better” legislation — but not a final vote — a significant concession.

“We had hoped to be able to bring both bills to the floor today. Some members want more clarification or validation of numbers that have been put forth. It’s top line, that it is fully paid for. And we honor that request,” Pelosi said. “So today, we hope to pass the BIF and also the rule on Build Back Better with the idea that before Thanksgiving — it should take them another week or so — to get the numbers they are requesting.”

So, Democratic leaders imposed yet deadline after missing many others — to pass the “Build Back Better” legislation by the middle of the month, with Pelosi calling its hoped-for passage a “Thanksgiving gift for the American people.”

The speaker, renowned for her vote-counting prowess and who has famously said she doesn’t call a vote unless she know she has enough to win, was asked by a reporter, “Do you … have 218 votes to pass it?’ Pelosi answered, “We’ll see, won’t we?”

Even so, it wasn’t clear whether progressive Democrats would go along with Pelosi’s plan to vote Friday on the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

For months, they have threatened to vote against and defeat it — unless at the same time they got a vote on final passage of the larger social spending package.

Pelosi had addressed some of their concerns by adding back in four weeks of paid family and medical leave over the objections of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, whose vote is key to getting the measure passed in the Senate.

In a sign of the fast-changing developments, minutes after Pelosi announced there would be a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package Friday, progressives gathered behind closed doors.

In the middle of their meeting, President Biden called Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

She left in a hurry, racing to nearby elevators to take the call.

ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott reported she was told roughly 20 progressives were ready to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless there’s a vote on the larger social spending bill, too.

The roadblocks thrown up by House Democrats continued despite Biden urging then to act — with the party facing new pressure to deliver after disappointing election results on Tuesday.

“I’m asking every House Member, Member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on both these bills right now. Send the infrastructure bill to my desk. Send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate,” Biden send in his morning message to lawmakers. “Let’s, let’s build on incredible economic progress. Build on what we’ve already done, because this will be such a boost when it occurs. Let’s show the world that American democracy can deliver and propel our economy forward. Let’s get this done.”

He did not answer reporter questions, but promised to come back to answer them when the bills pass.

But hours after he spoke, when or if that would happen remained in doubt.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Four ways to combat climate change with a fork

Four ways to combat climate change with a fork
Four ways to combat climate change with a fork
Grandbrothers/iStock

(NEW YORK) — As leaders from nearly every country in the world converge upon Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference — the climate crisis is at center stage, as well as the way food is eaten and produced.

Some estimates show that a quarter of all planet-warming greenhouse gases come from food production, according to a 2018 study in the journal Science. Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are nearly twice those of plant-based foods, according to a 2021 study in the journal, Nature Food. Close to 60% of food emissions come from meat production alone, compared to 29% for plant-based foods, the study found.

While “meatless Monday” and meat substitutes like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat are gaining popularity, our choices when we do eat meat need to be strategic, according to Sujatha Bergen, the health campaigns director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.

“There are very easy ways to fight climate change with your fork,” said Bergen, who shared with “Good Morning America” four tips that you can do to help the planet with your food choices.

1. Eliminate 1 burger a week from your diet

“If all Americans were to cut just a burger a week out of their diet, that would save as much emissions as taking 10 million cars off the road every year. So we’re talking about a huge impact with just a very small change,” she said.

Though it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many burgers Americans consume in a week on average, a 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that Americans eat more chicken, red meat, eggs and grains than the recommended daily allowances.

2. Eat along the spectrum

Conventionally raised beef is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases by far, with lamb, shrimp, pork and farmed fish rounding out the top five highest emitters of greenhouse gasses, according to Bergen. “Beef and lamb are on one end of the spectrum and things like beans and vegetables are on the other end. So the more you can shift your diet along the spectrum, the better,” Bergen adds.

3. Use meat as a condiment

Another way to reduce your meat consumption is to use it as a condiment. Bergen says to think about this in terms of a pizza.“You’re going to sprinkle it with maybe a little bit of meat to add some flavor, but it’s not necessarily the primary feature of your dish.” The same goes for stir fry, for example. There are lots of options to implement this change.

4. Turn food waste into fertilizer by composting

Thirty precent of food is wasted. Experts say you should buy loose produce in just the quantity you need. You can freeze vegetables and meat scraps for soups and compost whenever possible to prevent greenhouse gases like methane from being produced. “So it’s a fun, kind of garden-friendly way to fight climate change,” Bergen said.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bond raised for mom of 8-year-old boy left dead in Houston apartment

Bond raised for mom of 8-year-old boy left dead in Houston apartment
Bond raised for mom of 8-year-old boy left dead in Houston apartment
Harris County Sheriff’s Office

(HOUSTON) — A bond was raised Friday for the mother of an 8-year-old boy whose remains were left in his Houston home, along with three malnourished siblings.

Gloria Williams, 35, was arrested last week and charged with injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence, according to the sheriff’s office. Her bond was set at $1,550,000 for the two charges.

Williams’ boyfriend, 31-year-old Brian Coulter, has been charged with capital murder in the 8-year-old’s death, prosecutors said.

The skeletal remains of Williams’ 8-year-old son were discovered on Oct. 24 along with three malnourished brothers, ages 7, 9 and 15, when the eldest boy called authorities.

The teen reported that the body of his 8-year-old brother — who died from “multiple blunt-force injuries” around November 2020, authorities said — was kept in the room next to his, the sheriff’s office said.

The teen told police his parents hadn’t been in the apartment for several months, authorities said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez described the home as “unspeakable living conditions,” with soiled carpets, roaches and flies. The apartment wasn’t furnished, prosecutors said.

Williams’ attorney, Neal Davis III, said Friday that he needs “to find out more information” about his client’s “mindset.” When asked if he thinks Williams understands the severity of the charges she’s facing, he replied, “I don’t think she does fully, no.”

Davis added, “I don’t want her to be painted in the same light as the co-defendant.”

The children were taken to a hospital and the Texas Department of Family and Protective services received emergency custody of them, Gonzalez said.

Authorities said last week that one of the boys had a jaw injury, allegedly caused by Coulter several weeks ago, and will need surgery.

Coulter and Williams have not entered pleas.

ABC News’ Izzy Alverez and Zach Ferber contributed to this report.

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What to know about the new OSHA vaccine mandate, and how it will impact you

What to know about the new OSHA vaccine mandate, and how it will impact you
What to know about the new OSHA vaccine mandate, and how it will impact you
Bill Oxford/iStock

(NEW YORK) — Some 100 million American workers are expected to be impacted by the Biden administration’s new workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate come January, under a sweeping new plan that labels coronavirus as an occupational hazard in the workplace.

Here is what to know about the new regulations, enforced by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and how it might impact you.

Will the vaccine mandate apply to me?

Most likely, as it’s estimated that the regulation will cover the majority of the nation’s workforce. There are four types of workers who fall under some kind of mandate: federal workers, federal contractors, health care workers and anyone employed by a company with 100 or more employees.

Federal workers are required to get the shot by Nov. 22. Everyone else in the private sector has until Jan. 4.

Some workers also have the option to test weekly for the virus instead, but this only applies to people in the private sector who don’t work with the federal government or in health care facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you work at a large company that is included under the federal rule, it will be up to your employer to decide if you will be given the option to test weekly and wear a mask instead.

Firms that don’t comply could be fined $14,000 per infraction, and health care facilities like nursing homes and hospitals could lose access to Medicare and Medicaid dollars.

What if I work remotely?

If you work remote full-time, your company isn’t required to mandate a vaccine or weekly testing. But you will fall under a mandate if you go into the office or workplace even some of the time.

Keep in mind, your employer might require vaccination anyway as a term of employment. Some businesses, including some hospitals, have already done so.

Private businesses also can decide against giving the option of testing as allowed under the federal regulation.

What if I work at a franchise outpost of a larger company?

You wouldn’t fall under the mandate if the number of employees at your site is under 100 workers, and so long as the franchise location where you work is independently owned and operated.

Corporate employees at a company’s headquarters and employees at other franchise sites would be counted separately.

For example, if you work at an independently owned local gym that only has 50 employees, you would not be included in the mandate — even if that gym is part of a larger, nationwide chain.

Won’t this hurt the trucking industry ahead of the holidays?

Probably not, because the rule exempts people who work by themselves. Truck drivers who drive alone in their cabs wouldn’t be at risk of exposure.

The Truckload Carriers Association, which issued a statement insisting the rule would “undoubtedly ensure the trucking industry loses a substantial number of drivers,” did not immediately respond to ABC News’ inquiries about why they believe their members would be impacted.

It’s possible the rollout of the new regulations could cause some hiccups in the mounting supply chain issues the nation is seeing, but economists have expressed hope that these troubles will be temporary and lessen as the pandemic wanes. Vaccinations, meanwhile, have been effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths, which in turn helps the overall job market and economy.

What about the impact on other businesses like retail?

As for other industries, the regulation’s impact remains to be seen. Because the rule for the private sector won’t take effect until Jan. 4, the Biden administration says it’s unlikely to cause problems ahead of the holiday season.​

Still, businesses will have to prepare to implement a vaccine verification program during the busy shopping season.

It’s also possible a few workers with hardline views on the vaccine will try to opt out of the job market to wait out the regulation. As a temporary emergency standard, it’s expected to expire eventually although the government hasn’t said yet when that might happen.

Some business officials have argued that broader vaccine mandates might actually help by “leveling the playing field.” If every company is required to mandate vaccinations, it makes it harder for workers to jump jobs to avoid getting the shot. Supporters of the regulation also argue that while a vocal minority of workers will protest, the vast majority of Americans will wind up complying.

While once a touchy subject in the private sector, recent data has actually indicated that a majority of companies plan on having COVID-19 vaccine mandates for their workforce, separate from the federal regulation.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Alleged kidnapper of 4-year-old girl sent to maximum security prison

Alleged kidnapper of 4-year-old girl sent to maximum security prison
Alleged kidnapper of 4-year-old girl sent to maximum security prison
Tamati Smith/Getty Images

(PERTH, Australia) — Terence Darrell Kelly was charged Thursday afternoon with one count of forcibly taking a child under 16 for allegedly abducting 4-year-old Cleo Smith from a campsite on Oct. 16.

Kelly has been held by authorities in Perth, Australia, since Friday, according to the Western Australian Police Force. Prior to being charged, police reported he had twice been taken to the hospital for self-inflicted injuries, and that he needed to be held under maximum security.

“A person in that situation would not remain in Carnarvon anyway, so the normal process will take place. We’ll put extra security measures for obvious reasons,” Western Australia Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said at a news conference in Perth.

Kelly was taken into custody on Wednesday morning after a tip led police to a suburban home in Carnarvon, Australia, where Cleo was found unharmed.

Cleo had been missing for 18 days after she was abducted from her tent while camping with her family in a remote part of western Australia. The search for her had gained national attention.

Cleo’s family released a statement Friday morning thanking everyone who helped recover their daughter.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the rescue of our daughter Cleo Smith. In particular, we would like to thank Western Australia Police, all those involved in the initial search, the Carnarvon community, local businesses and of course our family and friends,” the statement said. “We are humbled by the love and support that we have received from not only our local community but the whole of Western Australia and across the country.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Search continues for missing 14-year-old in New Jersey

Search continues for missing 14-year-old in New Jersey
Search continues for missing 14-year-old in New Jersey
ABC News

(EAST ORANGE, N.J.) — 14-year-old Jashyah Moore has been missing since Oct. 14. Her family is pleading with her community for answers that would help bring her daughter home.

“I cannot imagine what she might be going through just being away from us this long, being away from her family who loves her very much,” her mother, Jamie Moore, said through tears at a press conference Friday morning. “If anybody knows anything, please, please come forward.”

She was last seen around 10 a.m. at Poppie’s Deli Store in East Orange, New Jersey, after her mother asked her to go to the store for groceries. According to police, surveillance footage shows Jashyah entering the store with an older male who paid for her items. The footage does not appear to show them leaving the store together, police say.

When she returned home to her mother, Moore said Jashyah had lost the card the family uses for groceries, and Moore told her daughter to go retrace her steps to find it.

Moore says that was the last time she has seen her daughter since.

Jashyah is 5-foot 5-inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing khaki pants, a black jacket, and black boots, according to an East Orange City Hall press release.

“Jashyah is a smart girl and I can’t reiterate that enough,” Moore said. “She would not stay out. She would not go out, go off with anyone. She’s a homebody. She plays video games. She like to cook, she likes to play with her brothers, like, her best friend.”

East Orange Police, the FBI, and the New Jersey State Police are working in collaboration to help find Jashyah. They say if anyone sees her or knows of her whereabouts, to call the East Orange Police at 973.266.5041.

“Jashyah, if you are out there, we are all looking for you,” said Chief Phyllis Bindi. “We know that you are loved by this community and your family.”

ABC News’ Kasim Kabbara contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A 23-year-old Chicago man mysteriously vanished after a night out. Now his friends are mobilizing to find him

A 23-year-old Chicago man mysteriously vanished after a night out. Now his friends are mobilizing to find him
A 23-year-old Chicago man mysteriously vanished after a night out. Now his friends are mobilizing to find him
Bascaran Family via Chicago Police Department

(CHICAGO) — After a night out in Chicago on the night before Halloween, 23-year-old Iñaki Bascaran told his roommate he was heading home. But he never made it — and now his friends are mobilizing to find him.

Bascaran, a Glenview, Illinois, native, attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and moved this year to Chicago, where he works in marketing, said his friend, Kayli Fradin. She described him as “the life of the party” who “is always trying to make people laugh.”

On Oct. 30, Bascaran went to a bar with friends in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Fradin told ABC News. Bascaran then called an Uber to go to another bar, Celeste, in the River North neighborhood. He left Celeste alone at 11:39 p.m.

Bascaran then called Fradin’s boyfriend, who is Bascaran’s roommate, on FaceTime at 12:04 a.m. to say he was going to start walking home.

“But he was also intoxicated enough at that point that he thought he was in Lincoln Park and we know now that he wasn’t,” Fradin said. “He didn’t even really realize what part of town he was in.”

About 45 minutes later, when Bascaran didn’t arrive home, Fradin said she and her boyfriend tried to track his phone location, but his phone was dead.

Around noon the next day, Bascaran’s phone was still dead, and his bed was made. Fradin said she called the police immediately.

She said police recommended a list of hospitals for her to call — but none of the hospitals had seen him.

Fradin then said she broke the news to Bascaran’s parents, calling it a “heartbreaking call.”

Chicago police confirm Bascaran has been reported missing and ask anyone with information to contact the department at 312-744-8266. They released this missing persons flyer and said no further information was available.

Inaki Bascaran Missing Person bulletin by ABC News

With no leads, Fradin turned to social media, creating a website and Instagram page to spread the news.

“Iñaki has so many friends from so many areas in his life,” she said, from his soccer league to high school to college to abroad, that “we just knew that we would get a really big group of people to care.”

On Monday, about 200 friends, family and strangers, armed with flashlights and neon vests, conducted a search, “starting at Celeste and routing people different directions that Iñaki might have done,” Fradin said.

“It’s amazing how quickly everyone has been able to mobilize,” she said.

The family hired private detective Sara Serritella to help.

“You cannot have enough resources” in a missing persons case, she told ABC News.

They followed Bascaran’s digital footprint, including surveillance videos from that night, but “the answers are not in the phones and the cameras,” Serritella said.

It’s shocking “to think that you can just disappear and go missing in spite of technology and cameras,” she said.

But Serritella said she’s “following hundreds of leads that have come in” through social media and email.

She said they’re using drones, man power, digital forensics and “everything possible to try to get him home.”

On Wednesday, the family held a vigil, where there was an “outpouring of support,” Fradin said, including hundreds who watched live on Instagram.

Fradin said this tough week has been filled with both sadness and hope.

“There’s been times where we’ve been sobbing together and times where we’ve been laughing together, telling our favorite stories and memories with him. … And how excited we are to make fun of him for putting us through all of this once he comes home,” she said.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

State Department offering up to $10 million reward for information on leaders of DarkSide ransomware group

State Department offering up to  million reward for information on leaders of DarkSide ransomware group
State Department offering up to  million reward for information on leaders of DarkSide ransomware group
Kiyoshi Tanno/iStock

(WASHINGTON) — The State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that could lead to the identification or location of those in leadership positions within the DarkSide ransomware group.

Authorities also announced that they’re offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of anyone conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in a DarkSide variant ransomware incident.

DarkSide was responsible for the high-profile cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline Company earlier this year, which resulted a multi-day shutdown of a conduit that carries approximately 45% of the fuel used on the East Coast.

“In offering this reward, the United States demonstrates its commitment to protecting ransomware victims around the world from exploitation by cyber criminals,” Ned Price, a State Department spokesperson, said in a statement Thursday.

Federal authorities have previously said they believe DarkSide operates out of Eastern Europe.

The Colonial Pipeline incident was seen as a display of how much power cyber criminals have seized in recent years, as they took aim at critical infrastructure. The company’s CEO admitted shortly after the incident that he had authorized a payment of some $4.3 million to DarkSide only hours after learning of the attacks, due to the uncertainty surrounding how long it would take to get the critical pipeline back online.

The Department of Justice later said it seized back approximately $2.3 million in Bitcoin from the alleged cyber criminals.

The saga came amid a spate of ransomware attacks, leveled at American firms big and small, leading the Biden administration to renew its commitment to developing more resilient cybersecurity infrastructure and seeking to improve government responses to such attacks.

The reward is being offered through the State Department’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, which has dished out more than $135 million in rewards to date and brought more than 75 transnational criminals and major narcotics traffickers to justice, according to Price’s statement.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Blinken details new efforts to investigate ‘Havana syndrome’

Blinken details new efforts to investigate ‘Havana syndrome’
Blinken details new efforts to investigate ‘Havana syndrome’
Hector Vivas/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday detailed new efforts to investigate “Havana syndrome,” the mysterious health affliction affecting dozens of U.S. personnel first identified in Cuba and now including several countries.

In his most extensive remarks yet on the issue, Blinken said the incidents have inflicted “profound” physical and physiological harm on those impacted.

“All of us in the U.S. government, and especially with the State Department, are intently focused on getting to the bottom of what and who is causing these incidents, caring for those who have been affected and protecting our people,” Blinken said.

Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, cognitive difficulties, tinnitus, vertigo and trouble with seeing, hearing or balancing. Many officials have suffered symptoms years after reporting an incident, while some have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.

Blinken has tapped two career diplomats to oversee the agency’s response to “Havana syndrome.”

For almost five years now, the issue — which the Biden administration has labeled “anomalous health incidents” — has vexed U.S. officials, who don’t know who or what is behind it.

In an effort to learn more, Blinken confirmed Friday that the State Department has deployed new technology to U.S. missions around the world to help understand the cause.

“The details I can provide on this are limited as well, but I can say that new technology is helping us more quickly and thoroughly evaluate a variety of potential causes of these incidents, and we’ve distributed across posts so that we can respond rapidly to new reports,” he said.

He encouraged employees with any knowledge of an incident to come forward.

“There is absolutely no stigma in reporting these incidents. And there will of course be no negative consequences of any kind,” Blinken said. “On the contrary, reporting means that we can get people the help they need. And by reporting, you can help keep others safe, and help us get to the bottom of who and what is responsible.”

American diplomats, spies, and other officials have reported symptoms in nearly a dozen counties, starting in Cuba and expanding to China, Russia, Uzbekistan, and more. Most recently, cases were reported among staff and families at the U.S. embassy in Colombia, weeks before Blinken arrived for a visit.

But it’s unclear how many reported incidents are confirmed to be episodes of what many victims insist are attacks.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have been accused by victims and other officials of not doing enough to provide medical care to affected personnel or not sharing enough information about reported incidents as they happen.

Blinken acknowledged the administration could do better and committed to more transparency. He met a group of affected personnel in Bogotá last month, telling them “their case is an absolute priority for him,” a senior State Department official told ABC News.

President Joe Biden signed the HAVANA Act last month, which authorizes the CIA director and the secretary of state to provide affected employees with financial support for brain injuries under detailed criteria. It also requires both agencies to report to Congress on how those payments are being made and whether additional action is needed to aid victims.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Famine-stricken Madagascar donations pour in from ‘World News Tonight’ viewers

Famine-stricken Madagascar donations pour in from ‘World News Tonight’ viewers
Famine-stricken Madagascar donations pour in from ‘World News Tonight’ viewers
ABC News

(NEW YORK) —  Donations have poured in from thousands of “World News Tonight” viewers in the wake of our report on Southern Madagascar, a country on the verge of the world’s first climate change-induced near-famine in modern history.

Unlike other countries, where extreme hunger and near-famine conditions are caused by war, conflict, or isolated weather events, southern Madagascar is facing these conditions because of a years-long drought caused by climate change.

The conditions there make the land here too arid to farm and leading to crop failure. The severe lack of rain has led to depleted food sources and dried-up rivers. Climate change has also led to sandstorms affecting these lands, covering formerly arable land and rendering it infertile.

“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and his team traveled to Madagascar to report on the worsening situation, as aid organizations and the Malagasy government rush to fill in the gaps of food and water in this region.

Since our report aired Monday, the World Food Programme said they received support from more than 22,000 donors, raising $2.7 million, which will go towards helping the people of southern Madagascar.

Arduino Mangoni, the deputy country director of the World Food Programme in Madagascar, told ABC News he had “never seen people, especially children, in this situation that we’re seeing here.”

“As they cannot plant, it’s affecting their food security,” Patrick Vercammen, the World Food Programme’s emergency coordinator here, told Muir during a visit to Akanka Fokotany, an affected village. “Having sandstorms in this kind of landscape is not something usual and having the effects of sandstorms shows that nature is changing, the environment is changing, and the climate change is affecting this area more than the rest of Madagascar.”

The situation has led to widespread malnutrition affecting more than 1 million people, and pockets of what the United Nations classifies “catastrophic” food insecurity signaling deepening hunger.

Madagascar has produced 0.01 percent of the world’s annual carbon emissions in the last eight decades, but it is suffering some of the worst effects.

“It is not fair…these people have not contributed to climate change because they do not have electricity, they do not have cars etc., and they’re paying probably the highest price in terms of the consequences of climate change,” Mangoni said.

The children are the most affected, with at least half a million kids under the age of five expected to be acutely malnourished, according to the World Food Programme and UNICEF.

In fact, the agencies say about 110,000 children are already in severe condition, suffering irreversible damage to their growth.

As the country enters the lean season – that dangerous time during which people wait for the next successful harvest — the need to provide food to those at risk of starvation has become more urgent. Aid workers warning that, without action, they could run out of food resources by the end of the year.

The World Food Programme is working together with the Malagasy government to alleviate some of the most acute needs in this region; prevent and treat children experiencing malnutrition; and build infrastructure and knowledge to make the population of southern Madagascar more resilient in the face of drought. They’re supporting more than 700,000 people in dire need, and the need is expected to grow.

Click here for more information about the U.N. World Food Programme’s lifesaving support in Madagascar.

Click here to help families in Madagascar.

The World Food Program says:

  • $7 provides a month of school meals for a child in need
  • $15 provides a month’s worth of lifesaving nutrition to small-scale farmers
  • $25 provides 50 mothers with nutritious meals
  • $50 provides a child with a year of school meals
  • $75 feeds a family of 5 for one month, providing staples like rice, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, flour, beans, and lentils
  • $1,000 can feed a family of 5 for one year.

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