Since the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants last month, terminating employment authorization for beneficiaries, South Florida has been bracing for impact. The sudden loss of TPS for so many Haitian employees who reside in the region has hit its economy hard.

What’s happening in Florida?
As a result of the end of TPS for Haitian immigrants, “some home-care agencies have shut down,” said The Wall Street Journal. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities in South Florida are “scrambling to fill vacant positions,” and restaurants are “scaling back operating hours.”

Few industries have been left untouched. Hotels, retailers, airport contractors and small businesses are also struggling with staffing shortages. Of the “roughly 350,000 Haitian TPS holders” in the U.S., almost half live in the state, said the Journal. And about 93,000 of them are part of the state’s workforce, according to the immigrant-rights groups FWD.us, Haitian Bridge Alliance and UndocuBlack Network.

Critics of TPS argue that people with the status “make up a fraction of the overall labor force — a loss the economy can absorb” — and that any difficulties in replacing them could have the “benefit of raising wages.” Their departure creates “real opportunities for less-educated, American-born workers,” said Steven Camarota, the director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, to the Journal.

Who’s feeling the impact?
Employers and deportees aren’t the only ones feeling the impact. Businesses are “terminating employees with lots of experience,” said Wendi Walsh, the secretary-treasurer of the South Florida hospitality workers’ union Unite Here Local 355, to the Miami Herald. That will “put pressure on the workers left behind.” 

The local economy will “miss the workers’ income too,” said the Herald. Haitians on TPS in South Florida provide “$1.5 billion in annual economic contributions, $174 million in annual federal and payroll taxes, and $176 million in annual state and local taxes,” according to Phillip Connor, a research fellow at Princeton University’s Center for Migration and Development, per the outlet.

In South Florida and elsewhere across the nation, many “de-documented” immigrants are “taking refuge in a growing underground economy,” said the Sun Sentinel. Others rely on friends and family to go grocery shopping, “fearing they will be arrested by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

Some of the world’s most important rivers are drying up. The Colorado River supplies water and electricity to millions of people in the southwest U.S. but is afflicted by a decadeslong drought, while blistering European heat is taking a toll on the Danube and other key waterways on the continent. Adjusting to these environmental changes will be an upstream battle for governments and communities.

Colorado: ‘legal and political battles’
Record-low water levels at reservoirs fed by the Colorado River have put the region in “uncharted territory,” said Jack Schmidt, of Utah State University, to CNN. Lakes Mead and Powell have been “shrinking for 20 years” because of the toll that climate change and overuse have taken on the river, which supplies water to 40 million people and hydropower electricity to 500,000 households. 

Big cities like Phoenix and Tucson have “taken steps to prepare” for the crisis, said Schmidt. But procuring alternative water supplies “might be less feasible” for Indigenous tribes and small towns along the river.

Dividing the remaining water will require “legal and political battles,” said the Arizona Daily Star. Farms and businesses along the Colorado say reducing water use is “more urgent than ever,” but the possible loss of Hoover Dam-produced power supplies could massively raise electricity costs. One hope: The “biggest El Niño season on record” might replenish the river.

The crisis adds urgency to a federal proposal to require Arizona, California and Nevada to significantly reduce the amount of water they take from the Colorado, said The Associated Press. That would result in “a lot of potential devastating impacts” to farms and other river users, said Arizona water official Tom Buschatzke to the AP. Nevada this week sued to block the plan, said The Hill.

Europe: altering the ‘old map of power’
The Danube recently measured “just 9 inches deep” in Budapest, said The New York Times. Italy’s Po River and the Rhine in Switzerland are also in peril. That has nearly halted the “transport of chemicals, oil products and other goods” in Europe. The major rivers have served as “crucibles of the continent’s industrial power,” but the evaporation of those rivers could “alter the old map of Europe’s power and wealth.”

A young competitor sits alongside her sheep in a judging ring at the Melplash Agricultural Society Show in Dorset, England. The exhibition celebrates “rural life and farming heritage,” said Bridport News, teaching visitors about food production and farming practices while they watch farm animals compete.
Finnbarr Webster / Getty Images

The Maldives has become synonymous with luxury travel. Its hard-to-reach location and proliferation of private island resorts mean the price point is out of reach for most. But many less-expensive destinations exist for equally picturesque getaways.

Rangiroa, French Polynesia
Popular Bora Bora tends to “mirror the Maldives in price,” said Lauren Dana Ellman at Travel and Leisure. But Rangiroa is more of a hidden gem with “many of the same elements,” said Jim Augerinos, the founder of travel company Perfect Honeymoons, to the outlet. Travelers can expect the usual “overwater bungalows, electric-blue lagoons, white-sand beaches and that isolated island feeling” at a “noticeably lower price point.”

Sumba, Indonesia
This almost “untouched” Indonesian island an “hour’s flight” from Bali has “only a tiny fraction of the tourists” on the bigger island, said Robert Jackman at The Telegraph. Complete with “gold sand” beaches, it is the perfect destination for those looking for their “own private paradise” away from any bustle and “definitely worth the longer journey.”

Zanzibar, Tanzania
If you are after a destination with “escapist appeal” but don’t want to lose out on “cultural edge,” Zanzibar (pictured above) is the place for you, said Ellman. Its rich Swahili history is a huge draw, along with the Unesco-listed Stone Town and local spice farms. It also delivers “brilliant blue water” and “sugar-sand beaches.” A holiday here comes at a “far lower price point” but still offers “polished luxury.”