overcrowding

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Japan Offering Families Hefty Sum to Leave Tokyo

New incentive is announced

(Newser) - Japan wants to push some of its population out of Tokyo and into other parts of the country, and it's using money as a carrot. The Guardian reports the government is making a dramatic increase to its relocation fee, which had been 300,000 yen (about $2,250) per...

Mom on Brink of Eviction Raised $200K. Now, a Twist
Mom on Brink of Eviction
Raised $200K. Now, a Twist
in case you missed it

Mom on Brink of Eviction Raised $200K. Now, a Twist

Dasha Kelly admits she's not biological mom of 3 girls shown with her

(Newser) - A Nevada mom with three young girls touched people around the nation after CNN profiled her plight about being on the verge of eviction—so much so that a GoFundMe she set up raised nearly $200,000 as of Wednesday. There's now been somewhat of a twist in Dasha...

Another SE Asian Nation May Be Moving Its Capital

Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is considering such a switch to provide relief to overcrowded Bangkok

(Newser) - Bangkok is beset by a slew of issues tied to overcrowding, including pollution, traffic congestion, and even sea level rise. That's led Thailand's prime minister to consider a drastic solution: moving the capital elsewhere. The two options that seem the most feasible in Prayut Chan-o-cha's mind, per...

A Puppy Was Set to Be Euthanized. Then, a Very Surprised Vet

The drugs didn't work on this pit bull mix, apparently

(Newser) - A happy ending in the form of a forever home has come for a puppy in Iowa, after an animal shelter tried to put him down and failed. Kylie Jo Mitchell, a worker at the no-kill shelter where Rudolph—a pit bull mix estimated to be about 8 months old—...

If You Fly United, There's Now a New Way to Board

United will cut 5 boarding lines to 2, redistribute boarding groups to ease gate congestion

(Newser) - The "angst" travelers feel at overcrowded gates may soon be eased at United Airlines terminals, an exec for the airline says. That's because United just began a new initiative designed to relieve that particular "passenger pain point," as CNBC puts it, by changing up its departure...

Zion National Park May Need to Require Reservations

'We have to do something,' says rep for crowded Utah park

(Newser) - It would be a first for a US national park: requiring reservations to explore it. But it's an option that Utah's Zion National Park is considering to manage an overwhelming surge of visitors, the AP reports. Zion, which welcomed 4.3 million people last year, is weighing online...

This Number Could Spell Trouble on Everest: 371

Nepal hasn't issued this many climbing permits to foreigners since 1953

(Newser) - There are typically just a handful of days each climbing season in which the weather allows climbers to safely ascend Everest, the head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association tells the Washington Post . Which is why pro mountaineers and local officials are worried about the 800 or so climbers expected to...

Feds Want to Destroy 45K Wild Horses

Holding pens are overcrowded; critics say Bureau of Land Management is mismanaging

(Newser) - There are 45,000 horses no one wants, and the US government is suggesting destroying them all, the Verge reports. In what an exec for the Humane Society calls "a complete abdication of responsibility for their care," the Bureau of Land Management's National Wild Horse and Burro...

Tourists Love Beach So Much Thailand Has to Close It

Koh Tachai island's beaches have suffered from overcrowding

(Newser) - An island that Time reports was voted Thailand's most beautiful last year is being closed due to the hordes of tourists that flock to it. Koh Tachai island's beaches closed Monday for the monsoon season per usual, but it will be indefinitely closed beginning Oct. 15—the day...

'Human Gridlock' Plagues Ceremony

Inauguration spectators wait for hours to get in and out of Mall area

(Newser) - The record-breaking crowd—an estimated 1.8 million people—at today’s inaugural events is overwhelming Washington’s streets and mass-transit systems, creating long waits for spectators trying to exit the Mall area, the Post reports. Hours after the swearing-in, some were still waiting to enter Metro stations. “It’...

Journos, Citizens Get Inaugural Warning

'Crush-level' crowds expected for historic event

(Newser) - Despite an ailing industry, journalists have requested a record number inaugural press credentials, and many will be denied, Politico reports. “We’re going to have to be very stingy this year,” said one press gallery director. As for the millions expected to turn out for Inauguration Day, stay...

Inauguration Will Overwhelm DC Transport

Even if only 1M show, expect 'a lot of walking, a lot of waiting'

(Newser) - If you’re one of the 2 million to 4 million expected to converge on Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration, be warned: Neither public transportation nor local roads will be able to handle the influx, the Washington Post reports. With road restrictions and packed subways, “it’s going...

Iraq's Upper Class Flees
Iraq's Upper Class Flees

Iraq's Upper Class Flees

2M Iraqi refugees flood surrounding region

(Newser) - More than 2 million Iraqis have left home, mostly crossing the borders into neighboring Jordan and Syria. And the upper class has been the first to go—robbing the country of the doctors, engineers and government officials necessary to rebuild it. With one of ten Iraqis living abroad, the war...

State 'Exports' Ease Prison Overcrowding —At a Cost

Inmates shipped to long-distance exile

(Newser) - States struggling with prison overcrowding are exporting inmates across borders to serve terms in far-flung private institutions, the New York Times reports. Thousands of prisoners from Hawaii are held in Arizona, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Kentucky. California plans to send 8,000 prisoners out of state. Critics say the policy disrupts...

Send Cons Home to Do Time, Says Paris Sheriff

Give 2,000 inmates the Hilton treatment, Lee Baca urges

(Newser) - The sheriff who put Paris Hilton on mansion arrest is now championing a bill that would curb the overcrowding in California jails by sending thousands of other Los Angeles County inmates home to carry out their sentences. Some 2,000 low-level offenders would be tracked via ankle monitoring devices under...

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