3301 News Items Found
Center for Energy Studies | Latin America Initiative
May 11, 2017
How Did Venezuela Go From So Rich To So Poor?
Francisco J. Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy, discusses the roots of Venezuela’s current financial crises, explaining how changes late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made to the national oil company, PDVSA, affected the country’s oil production output and long-term profitability. Listen to his full remarks on BBC World’s The Inquiry podcast: http://bbc.in/2pogoQo.
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May 10, 2017
On Mexico, Trump's Bark Has Been Worse Than His Bite
During his campaign, President Donald Trump made numerous pledges related to the United States' relationship with Mexico: to build a border wall between the two nations, to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for said wall and to withdraw from NAFTA, among others. While his rhetoric on the campaign trail engendered fears of how his agenda might adversely affect Mexico, once in office Trump has seemingly backed away from his most controversial promises. “I think what has happened is that Mr. Trump is now faced with the reality of having to respond to very complex public policy issues and widening resistance to his designs in the United States,” Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Mexico Center, said in an interview with the LA Times.
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May 9, 2017
Understanding Texas’ new “sanctuary cities” law
Despite a new Texas law targeting “sanctuary cities” by punishing local law enforcement agencies that refuse to comply with immigration enforcement detainer requests, political science fellow Mark P. Jones says it is unlikely that there will be an uptick in police officers checking the immigration status of individuals they encounter while on duty.
May 8, 2017
Free-standing E.R.s Need More Cost Transparency
Free-standing emergency rooms (ERs) can offer greater convenience and shorter wait times than those situated within hospitals. However, they are also easily confused with urgent care clinics, which primarily treat minor injuries and ailments not serious enough to warrant emergency services. A study by Vivian Ho, director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, found that patients with the same diagnosis can incur bills up to 10 times higher at a free-standing ER than at an urgent care facility. “There needs to be more transparency in terms of the cost," Ho said in an interview with the Washington Post.
May 5, 2017
Radio jingle encourages TX legislators to decriminalize marijuana use
A jingle airing in radio markets in North is encouraging Texas legislators to support House Bill 81, which would reduce penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, the Dallas Morning News reports. Drug Policy Program director William Martin, who previously testified in favor of the bill during a March 13 hearing before Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, comments on the impact of marijuana convictions for low-level users.