Daily Skimm: There’s a historic deal to help Western states stay afloat.

Water Works

The Story

There’s a historic deal to help Western states stay afloat. 

Give me the current update.

Yesterday, the Interior Dept announced that California, Nevada, and Arizona reached an agreement to cut their water use from the Colorado River. The river runs through seven states and is home to two main reservoirs (Lake Mead and Lake Powell). About 40 million people and at least 30 tribal nations rely on the Colorado River for drinking water and electricity. For more than a year, officials and states have been trying to figure out how to cut back on the river's water use. That's because a 23-year-long drought, overuse, and climate change forced the Colorado River’s levels to reportedly drop by one-third — potentially spelling catastrophe for the region. Now, after months of negotiations, there’s an agreement between states and the Biden admin.

Water the details?

California, Nevada, and Arizona have promised to reduce their combined water use by about 13% by the end of 2026 — an unprecedented number. As a reward, the Biden admin said it would grant the three states a total of $1.2 billion in federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. That money would compensate impacted farmers and tribes and fund water conservation programs. California — which uses the largest share of the Colorado River — will be taking the biggest hit. The deal also leaves room for the federal government to make more cuts, if levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell drop even further. The plan is set to be finalized after the Interior Dept carries out an environmental review. After that, states will have to figure out what to do about water usage for 2027 and beyond.

theSkimm

Western states have experienced more frequent and longer droughts as global warming rages on. Now, it seems states have reached a temporary solution at the 11th hour.

What's taking a byte...

The EU. Yesterday, the European Union fined Meta a record $1.3 billion for violating its privacy laws. Regulators said Meta breached its data protection rules by transferring user data (names, emails, and messages) from Europe to the US. The fine comes almost a year after European officials hit Amazon with an $887 million penalty for the same thing. Now, officials are giving Meta five months to put all future data transfers on pause and six months to delete the info that's already been sent across the Atlantic. Meta called the decision “unjustified” and said there would be “no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe.” The tech giant also said it plans to appeal the EU’s decision. Meanwhile, the Biden admin's been working on a data-sharing deal with the EU to help ease privacy concerns over personal data.

What’s getting called out…

La Liga. Today, Spanish police arrested four people for reportedly hanging an effigy of Vinícius Júnior — a Brazilian forward for Real Madrid — off a bridge in January.  Authorities said that three of the people arrested are active members of "a radical group of fans," from Madrid that were deemed "high risk" to prevent violence at soccer matches. The arrests come after Spanish authorities started looking into another incident after Real Madrid filed a hate crime complaint against fans yelling racist chants at Vinícius Júnior over the weekend. The president of the soccer federation said there is a “serious problem” and that racism “stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country.” This isn’t the first time players of color have faced racism on the field in Europe.

What researchers are looking into…

Chronic pain. Yesterday, a new study revealed that, for the first time, scientists have recorded brain signals of chronic pain in patients. About one in five Americans live with chronic pain — a consistent or recurrent pain that goes on for more than three months. There is no cure, and the medical condition can lead to a dependency on prescription medication and opioid addiction. For this study, researchers implanted electrodes inside people’s brains to record brain activity for up to six months. They found that chronic pain is located in the same area of the brain where emotion regulation, self-evaluation, and decision-making take place. Now, scientists hope the findings can help update a system that currently relies on self-reported pain measures — like pointing on a scale from one to ten.

While Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is throwing his hat in the ring...

Lauren Sánchez is rocking a different kind of ring.

Who’s going courtside…

Carmelo Anthony.

What's got thrifters and everyone else talking...

A rescued blue couch.