September 11, 2017

Miss America Contestants Take on Trump Over Paris Climate Accord, Charlottesville

“There is evidence that climate change is existing and we need to be at that table.”

On Sunday, Cara Mund, a 23-year-old graduate from Brown University, was crowned the newest Miss America, making her the first contestant from North Dakota to win the title. But it’s her critical response to a question regarding the president and climate change that appears to be eclipsing her historic win.

“I do believe it’s a bad decision,” Mund said when asked about Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate treaty. “Once we reject that, we take ourselves out of the negotiation table and that’s something that we really need to keep in mind. There is evidence that climate change is existing.”

“So whether you believe it or not, we need to be at that table and I just think it’s a bad decision on behalf of the United States.”

While Miss Texas Margana Wood did not win the Miss America crown, she sparked loud applause with one answer criticizing the president’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. 

“I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious that it was a terrorist attack,” she said. “I think that President Donald Trump should’ve made a statement earlier addressing the fact, and in making sure all Americans feel safe in this country. That is the number one issue right now.” 

As of Monday morning, Trump has yet to attack either contestant on social media.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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