Health – Happiness – Page 127

Donald Trump’s death wish for Hunter Biden

Salon

Donald Trump’s death wish for Hunter Biden

Chauncey DeVega – July 20, 2023

Donald Trump; Hunter Biden Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images

Donald Trump continues to threaten death, murder, and other mayhem upon his “enemies” or any individual(s) or group(s) who dare to oppose him and the neofascist MAGA movement. Last week, in a post on his Truth Social disinformation platform, Trump wished death upon Hunter Biden because President Joe Biden’s son was able to enter a plea deal in response to minor federal tax crimes.

Weiss is a COWARD, a smaller version of Bill Barr, who never had the courage to do what everyone knows should have been done. He gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence. Because of the two Democrat Senators in Delaware, they got to choose and/or approve him. Maybe the judge presiding will have the courage and intellect to break up this cesspool of crime. The collusion and corruption is beyond description. TWO TIERS OF JUSTICE!

Trump’s death wish for Hunter Biden comes several weeks after Trump shared what he believed to be the address of former President Barack Obama’s home in Washington D.C. on his Truth Social platform. Trump’s intent was obvious: he wanted one of his cultists to assassinate or otherwise commit acts of serious violence against Barack Obama and likely his family. Trump would (almost) get his wish, when one of his followers, who was armed with several guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, apparently attempted to gain access to Obama. The man, named Taylor Taranto, bragged online about his plans to assassinate Obama. Taranto was also a participant in the Jan. 6 coup attempt and attack on the Capitol. Fortunately, the Secret Service stopped the would-be assassin before he could follow through on his nefarious plans.

The accused assassin was arraigned in a D.C. court where a judge showed him much more mercy and empathy than he likely deserves. However, Judge Zia Faruqui was correct when he said, with regret, that Taranto was following Trump’s “orders” when he allegedly targeted Obama.

As a practical matter, why would Donald Trump stop making violent threats?

As FBI agent Clarice Starling says of the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill in the film “The Silence of the Lambs”, “He’s got a real taste for it now, and he’s getting better at his work.”

Until very recently, Trump has never been held seriously responsible for his decades-long public crime spree that includes sexual assault as confirmed in the E. Jean Carrol civil case and a panoply of other antisocial and antihuman behavior. Trump attempted a coup on Jan. 6 that involved a lethal assault by his followers on the Capitol. He has repeatedly bragged about being able to kill someone in broad daylight and get away with it because of his popularity. At his rallies and other events Trump repeatedly encouraged his followers to engage in acts of violence against journalists, the news media, Black Lives Matters protesters, “Antifa” and others deemed to be “the enemy” because they are “not real Americans” like his MAGA followers.

Trump has publicly threatened, both explicitly and implicitly, the lives and safety of President Biden, Hillary Clinton, Special Counsel Jack Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and the prosecutors and law enforcement who are trying to hold him accountable for his crimes. Trump’s main 2024 presidential campaign message is a promise that if elected there will be a “final battle”, a reign of terror and revenge against the Democrats, liberals, progressives and any other Americans who oppose the neofascist MAGA movement.

Of course, Trump’s violent and other pathological behavior has not disqualified or otherwise seriously hurt his quest to be the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee. In fact, the party and its voters are ever more united behind Donald Trump where his criminality and other aberrant behavior has made him more popular and not less.

The mainstream American news media largely ignored Taranto’s attempt to assassinate Barack Obama. Predictably, the news media did much the same in response to Donald Trump’s wishing death upon Hunter Biden.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported on Trump and his cabal’s plans to eliminate any and all opposition to the regime through the normal process of institutional checks and balances by civil servants, the rule of law, and other democratic institutions if he takes back the White House in the 2024 Election. Trump would in essence become an American dictator. If such a nightmare scenario were to materialize, then a man who has a demonstrated and proven attraction to and capacity to engage in violence and destruction would have almost free rein to follow through on his most dark and evil impulses.

Trump cannot achieve his revolutionary goal of destroying America’s multiracial, pluralistic democracy – and the Constitutional order more broadly – by himself. He needs a political party, a movement and other allies and forces to achieve such an outcome. On this, historian Heather Cox Richardson warns in a recent issue of her newsletter how the Republican Party “appears to have fully embraced the antidemocratic ideology advanced by authoritarian leaders like Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán”:

They claim that the tenets of democracy—equality before the law, free speech, academic freedom, a market-based economy, immigration, and so on—weaken a nation by destroying a “traditional” society based in patriarchy and Christianity.
Instead of democracy, they have called for “illiberal” or “Christian” democracy, which uses the government to enforce their beliefs in a Christian, patriarchal order.

Trump leads a fascist-authoritarian-fake right-wing populist cult of personality. As such, Trump exerts a powerful if not inexorable amount of influence and control over his followers which translates into his violent impulses and behavior spreading across American society like a plague.

New research by The Lincoln Democracy Institute on political polarization and violence in the Age of Trump and beyond reinforces how severe America’s democracy crisis really is:

The survey found that extremism is born out of increasing polarization and the normalizing of extremist rhetoric. The right and left deal with their competing worldviews by directing their anger at the “other side”. Long-standing generational divides further feed into this: the baby boomers are more likely to be extremist and have ideological divides than any other generation. Other divides include generational experiences such as the end of the Cold War, relationships with technology, and the propensity to embrace cultural change.
This is all being fed by a new right wing media ecosystem that plays off the fears of its viewers and pushes them towards radicalization. Particularly troublesome is the new right extremist media that promotes election denialism and frequently pushes false narratives designed to anger their audience and the MAGA base.
“As the electorate is becoming more politically extremist, and some are radicalizing the threat of violence is growing exponentially,” said Trygve Olson, Survey author and Lincoln Democracy Institute Senior Advisor. “The lack of belief that a fair election is possible in 2024 is setting the stage for wholesale rejection of the results that could lead to violence during and after the election. This is a critical moment for democracy and it is imperative that the nation respond to the moment by supporting our democratic institutions and calling out bad actors.”

Donald Trump is 77 years old. He is not going to change. The greater concern in terms of American society and what happens in the years and decades to come – independent of Trump – is how the American people as a whole, the mainstream news media, and too many political elites have become so quickly used to and habituated to a former president, one of the most powerful people in the country, who routinely if not a daily basis threatens violence, death, mayhem and other harm upon his “enemies” in the rival political party and across society.

After the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II, social psychologists spent much time and energy trying to determine how an entire democratic and cosmopolitan society like Germany can quite literally go mad, intoxicated by violence and hatred in what would become a project of self-destruction.

One does not have to look to the past or abroad for answers: The Age of Trump and the rise of American neofascism is providing a direct and personal lesson in real-time for the American people in how such horrors unfold and become normalized.

In an attempt to find some clarity during these horrible years, I have repeatedly returned to Milton Mayer’s important book “They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45.” The following two passages have proven to be remarkably helpful:

“But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D….”
“In the body politic as in the body personal, nonresistance to the milder indulgences paves the way for nonresistance to the deadlier.”

The Trumpocene and what it birthed has done great harm to us as individuals, collectively, and as a society.

We the Americans are very sick right now and most don’t even realize it. This includes the many tens of millions of Americans in the MAGA movement, the Republican fascists, and the larger white right who are very sick but believe that they are in fact healthy. The human mind’s capacity for denial and delusion is that extreme.

Grocery prices are bringing many Florida residents to their wit’s end. What can we do?

Pensacola News Journal

Grocery prices are bringing many Florida residents to their wit’s end. What can we do?

Edward Bunch III, Pensacola News Journal – July 20, 2023

High food costs are stretching the budgets of consumers across Florida. In the face of inflation, housing issues and insurance crisis, many residents have enough on their plates before ringing up their usual groceries for more expensive receipts than they are accustomed to.

Residents of Pensacola are likely no stranger to the slow uptick on prices that inflation has created. Price fluctuation of gas, food and more commodities have been an issue so important that it’s become a mainstay in the policymaking platforms for local, state and national public official candidates. Across the state, Floridians are receiving the short end of the stick and scrambling to find solutions.

Wage problems and inflation: Pensacola’s wages lag behind national average as Florida becomes inflation hotspot

What is the inflation rate?

Inflation in the U.S. stood at 3% in June, its lowest point since early 2021 when the world was still reeling from the complications of the pandemic. Despite this, Florida’s inflation rate remains above its peers at 6.9% in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach areas. Data outside of these areas, including Pensacola, were not included in the report.

Data provided by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress indicates that Florida’s inflation rates surpassed the national average nearly two years ago in November 2021. The state has maintained its position relative to the rest of the country.

In May 2022, workers in the Pensacola area had an average hourly wage of $24.37 compared to the national average of $29.76, an 18% discrepancy.

How expensive are groceries in Florida?

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s 2020-21 consumer survey shows that the average Floridian spends nearly $7,000 on groceries, with meats, fruits and vegetables being the most expensive products bought from the store.

Floridians are also spending double the amount of money for groceries than they spend on food outside of their home. According to the same survey, food is the third-highest expense for Floridians behind costs for transportation and housing.

Despite food and groceries being the most crucial product for consumers everywhere, housing remains the biggest expense for Floridians and has likely become the highest priority.

Squatter’s rights? Many have vacated one Florida homeless camp, but may invoke squatter’s rights at another

How bad is the homeless problem in Florida?

Florida’s homeless population totaled at nearly 26,000 individuals last year, third-highest number in the nation according to the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Research conducted for the U.S. Census determined that Florida had surpassed Idaho in 2022 to become the fastest-growing state in the nation, a distinction Florida hasn’t earned since 1957. Despite Florida’s population increasing by 1.9%, the costs of living and inflation rates across the state could suggest that many newcomers may struggle with maintaining their standard of life soon after arrival.

Much of Florida’s housing inventory was scooped up following the implementation of low-interest rates which allowed many to purchase their first home or refinance their existing one. This drove up home prices, another factor in the current housing crisis.

Considering the issues brought about by the insurance industry’s recent decisions regarding policy holders and their ability to remain insured while living in Florida, the implications of dealing with inflation on multiple fronts has the potential to be debilitating for residents.

Will grocery prices go down this year?

According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have risen by four percent since May 2022. Despite the livelihood of families being a priority for Florida’s government officials, it is unclear whether there will be meaningful reductions in the price of groceries across the state.

A recent protest was planned by truckers with a distaste for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent immigration bill SB1718 that could have crippled the state’s food distribution network. Although the protest bore little fruit due to many of the truckers needing the hours, some are questioning what state officials plan to do to combat the issue without fanning the flames.

How can I get affordable groceries?

Here are some ways shoppers can save on groceries:

Join reward programs for perks like cashback or member-exclusive deals. Chains like Publix and Target have free-to-join programs which allow you to clip digital coupons and eventually personalizes them to your needs and usual items.
Speaking of coupons, utilizing both digital and physical coupons can save you extra as well. Buy one, get one offers can help stock up your shelves for an extended period of time.
Check often for sales, either seasonal or markup, that can offer similar buy one, get one deals.
If possible, purchasing a membership at stores like Sam’s Club or BJ’s can save time and money intended for your next groceries trip. Buying in bulk can feel expensive upfront, but families can save in the long run even with the membership costs. Sam’s Club has two membership levels with varying perks that costs either $50 or $110 annually. BJ’s also has two membership options that cost $55 and $110 respectively. Both stores offer a credit card alongside its higher-priced membership option that rewards you with two percent cashback from purchases at the store and more helpful perks.
Freezing food is an effective way to store food for longer periods of time. If a sale or bulk purchase is more than one can handle at the moment, saving it for later is better than letting it spoil.
Buy fruits and vegetables while they’re in season, making them more nutritious and cheaper overall.
Take advantage of cheaper generic items, they often have the same ingredients as their name brand counterparts.
Comparing prices across stores can save you money at your preferred grocer with a price-matching system.
Re-grow vegetables like celery, potatoes and green/white onion at home and slowly take them off your grocery list.
Don’t buy food items that were prepared previously before being packaged. Not only are they more expensive, sometimes they are prepared due to being close to unsafe for sale. Items like meat, vegetables and cheese are cheaper before being prepared into something else.
Make a budget that you can reference or stick to in order to shop smarter.
If you’re not much of a chef, many restaurants and fast-food chains have implemented rewards systems for purchases that may save consumers some money in the long run.

What are Florida’s public officials doing about inflation?

DeSantis signed the ‘Live Local Act’ earlier this year to incentivize new housing development and assist more Floridians with getting access to housing in their communities.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, lays blame for inflation at the feet of the president. “With the Biden administration overspending, the principal mandate for Republicans is to curb inflation,” Gaetz said in an interview with NewsNation.

Nearly two years after Texas’ six-week abortion ban, more infants are dying

CNN

Nearly two years after Texas’ six-week abortion ban, more infants are dying

Isabelle Chapman – July 20, 2023

Texas’ abortion restrictions – some of the strictest in the country – may be fueling a sudden spike in infant mortality as women are forced to carry nonviable pregnancies to term.

Some 2,200 infants died in Texas in 2022 – an increase of 227 deaths, or 11.5%, over the previous year, according to preliminary infant mortality data from the Texas Department of State Health Services that CNN obtained through a public records request. Infant deaths caused by severe genetic and birth defects rose by 21.6%. That spike reversed a nearly decade-long decline. Between 2014 and 2021, infant deaths had fallen by nearly 15%.

In 2021, Texas banned abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy. When the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights the following summer, a trigger law in the state banned all abortions other than those intended to protect the life of the mother.

The increase in deaths could partly be explained by the fact that more babies are being born in Texas. One recent report found that in the final nine months of 2022, the state saw nearly 10,000 more births than expected prior to its abortion ban – an estimated 3% increase.

But multiple obstetrician-gynecologists who focus on high-risk pregnancies told CNN that Texas’ strict abortion laws likely contributed to the uptick in infant deaths.

“We all knew the infant mortality rate would go up, because many of these terminations were for pregnancies that don’t turn into healthy normal kids,” said Dr. Erika Werner, the chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts Medical Center. “It’s exactly what we all were concerned about.”

The issue of forcing women to carry out terminal and often high-risk pregnancies is at the core of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, with several women – who suffered difficult pregnancies or infant deaths shortly after giving birth – testifying in Travis County court this week.

One witness became so emotional while testifying Wednesday that she began to vomit on the stand.

After the court called a recess she explained that the reaction is a response to the emotional trauma she endured: “I vomit when there’s certain parts that happen that kind of just makes my body remember.”

Another sobbed as she described feeling afraid to visit a Texas doctor after receiving an abortion out of state. A third spoke tearfully about waiting for her baby’s heart to stop beating so her doctors could provide an abortion she desperately needed.

Prior to the recent abortion restrictions, Texas banned the procedure after 20 weeks. This law gave parents more time to learn crucial information about a fetus’s brain formation and organ development, which doctors begin to test for at around 15 weeks.

Samantha Casiano, a plaintiff in the suit filed against Texas, wished she’d had more time to make the decision.

“If I was able to get the abortion with that time, I think it would have meant a lot to me because my daughter wouldn’t have suffered,” Casiano told CNN after testifying Wednesday.

‘You have no options’

Anti-abortion demonstrators gather in the rotunda at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, in March of 2021. - Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP — Anti-abortion demonstrators gather in the rotunda at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, in March of 2021. – Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP

When Casiano was 20 weeks pregnant, a routine scan came back with devastating news: Her baby would be stillborn or die shortly after birth.

The fetus had anencephaly, a rare birth defect that keeps the brain and skull from developing during pregnancy. Babies with this condition are often stillborn, though they sometimes live a few hours or days. Many women around the country who face the prospect choose abortion, two obstetrician-gynecologists told CNN.

But Casiano lived in Texas, where state legislators had recently banned most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. She couldn’t afford to travel out of the state for the procedure.

“You have no options. You will have to go through with your pregnancy,” Casiano’s doctor told her, she claimed in the lawsuit.

In March, Casiano gave birth to her daughter Halo. After gasping for air for four hours, the baby died, Casiano said during her testimony on Wednesday.

“All she could do was fight to try to get air. I had to watch my daughter go from being pink to red to purple. From being warm to cold,” said Casiano. “I just kept telling myself and my baby that I’m so sorry that this had to happen to you.”

Casiano and 14 others – including two doctors – are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. They allege the abortion ban has denied them or their patients access to necessary obstetrical care. The plaintiffs are asking the courts to clarify when doctors can make medical exceptions to the state’s ban.

Casiano and two other plaintiffs testified Wednesday about hoping to deliver healthy babies but instead learning their lives or pregnancies were in danger.

Plaintiffs Anna Zargarian, Lauren Miller, Lauren Hall, and Amanda Zurawski at the Texas State Capitol after filing a lawsuit on behalf of Texans harmed by the state's abortion ban on March 7 in Austin, Texas. - Rick Kern/Getty Images/FILE — Plaintiffs Anna Zargarian, Lauren Miller, Lauren Hall, and Amanda Zurawski at the Texas State Capitol after filing a lawsuit on behalf of Texans harmed by the state’s abortion ban on March 7 in Austin, Texas. – Rick Kern/Getty Images/FILE

“This was just supposed to be a scan day,” Casiano told the court. “It escalated to me finding out my daughter was going to die.”

Lawyers representing the state argued Wednesday that the plaintiffs’ doctors were to blame, saying they misinterpreted the law and failed to provide adequate care for such high-risk pregnancies.

“Plaintiffs will not and cannot provide any evidence of any medical provider in the state of Texas being prosecuted or otherwise penalized for performance of an abortion using the emergency medical exemption,” a lawyer said during the state’s opening statement.

Kylie Beaton, another plaintiff, also had to watch her baby die. Beaton, who didn’t testify this week, learned during a 20-week scan that something was wrong with her baby’s brain, according to the suit.

The doctor diagnosed the fetus with alobar holoprosencephaly, a condition where the two hemispheres of the brain don’t properly divide. Babies with this condition are often stillborn or die soon after birth.

Beaton’s doctor told her he couldn’t provide an abortion unless she was severely ill, or the fetus’s heart stopped. Beaton and her husband sought to obtain an abortion out of state. However, the fetus’s head was enlarged due to its condition, and the only clinic that would perform an abortion charged up to $15,000. Beaton and her husband couldn’t afford it.

Instead, Beaton gave birth to a son she named Grant. The baby cried constantly, wouldn’t eat, and couldn’t be held upright for fear it would put too much pressure on his head, according to the suit. Four days later, Grant died.

Maternal mortality

Amanda Zurawski of Austin, Texas, center, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. - Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP — Amanda Zurawski of Austin, Texas, center, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. – Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP

Experts say that abortion bans in states like Texas lead to increased risk for both babies and mothers.

Maternal mortality has long been a top concern for doctors and health-rights activists. Even before the Supreme Court decision, the United States had the highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy nations, one study found.

Amanda Zurawski, the lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, testified Wednesday that her water broke 18 weeks into her pregnancy, putting her at high risk for a life-threatening infection. Zurawski’s baby likely wouldn’t survive.

But the fetus still had a heartbeat, and so doctors said they were unable to terminate the pregnancy. She received an emergency abortion only after her condition worsened and she went into septic shock.

Zurawski described during Wednesday’s hearing how her family visited the hospital, fearing it would be the last time they would see her. Zurawski has argued that had she been able to obtain an abortion, her life wouldn’t have been in jeopardy in the same way.

“I blame the people who support these bans,” Zurawski said.

Zurawski previously said the language in Texas’ abortion laws is “incredibly vague, and it leaves doctors grappling with what they can and cannot do, what health care they can and cannot provide.”

Pregnancy is dangerous, and forcing a woman to carry a non-viable pregnancy to term is unnecessarily risky when it’s clear the baby will not survive, argued Dr. Mae-Lan Winchester, an Ohio maternal-fetal medicine specialist.

“Pregnancy is one of the most dangerous things a person will ever go through,” Winchester said. “Putting yourself through that risk without any benefit of taking a baby home at the end, it’s … risking maternal morbidity and mortality for nothing.”

CNN’s Casey Tolan and Daniel A. Medina contributed to this report.

Bring manufacturing back to America’s safe heartland: Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina as scorching heat and floods sock other parts of US

Associated Press

Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina as scorching heat and floods sock other parts of US

Ben Finley and Hannah Schoenbaum – July 19, 2023

Debris is scattered around the Pfizer facility on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Rocky Mount, N.C., after damage from severe weather. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)

Pessoas em situação de rua tentam se refrescar com água gelada diante do Centro Justa, um centro de convivência para pessoas sem teto acima de 55 anos de idade, sexta-feira, 14 de julho de 2023, no centro de Phoenix, EUA. (Foto AP/Matt York)

The Pfizer plant is damaged after severe weather passed the area on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 in Rocky Mount, N.C. (WTVD via AP)

A truck is overturned and the Pfizer plant is damaged after severe weather passed the area on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 in Rocky Mount, N.C. (WTVD via AP)

A patron tries to cool off at the Justa Center as temperatures are expected to hit 116-degrees Fahrenheit, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Phoenix. Tuesday marks a new record for the most consecutive days in a row over 110-degrees. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Heat waves rise off the pavement as vehicles drive along a downtown street as temperatures are expected to hit 115-degrees Fahrenheit, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Phoenix. Tuesday marks a new record for the most consecutive days in a row over 110-degrees. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A person tries to cool off in the shade as temperatures are expected to hit 116-degrees Fahrenheit, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Phoenix. The extreme heat scorching Phoenix set a record Tuesday, the 19th consecutive day temperatures hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A parking lot is flooded after heavy rain passed the area on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 in Paducah, Ky. The National Weather Service issued flash flood watches and warnings, estimating that as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain could fall in the area where Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri meet at the convergence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. (Courtesy of Marilyn Gabel via AP)

Workers cross roadway impacted by recent storms and flooding, Monday, July 17, 2023, in Belvidere, N.J. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Homes are damaged after severe weather passed the area on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 in Rocky Mount, N.C. (WTVD via AP)

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, right, listens to Perry Hollyer, owner of the Inn by the River, describe flood waters, which destroyed his family's hotel, along the banks of the Lamoille River, Monday, July 17, 2023, in Hardwick, Vt. Last week's storms dumped up to two months' worth of rain in a couple of days in parts of Vermont and New York. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A senior swimmer clears his nose as he cools off in hot weather, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Utility wires cover a school bus after severe weather passed the area on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 in Rocky Mount, N.C. (WTVD via AP)

JP Lantin, owner of Total Refrigeration, works on a commerical air conditioning roof unit as temperatures are expected to hit 117-degrees, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A patron tries to cool off at the Justa Center as temperatures are expected to hit 116-degrees Fahrenheit, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Phoenix. The extreme heat scorching Phoenix set a record Tuesday, the 19th consecutive day temperatures hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

JP Lantin, left, owner of Total Refrigeration, talks to a home owner on the repairs needed on her air conditioning unit as temperatures are expected to hit 117-degrees, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

JP Lantin, left, owner of Total Refrigeration, and service tech Michael Villa, pick up their gear after replacing a fan motor on an air conditioning unit at a home as temperatures are expected to hit 117-degrees, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Michael Villa, a service tech at Total Refrigeration, works on a commercial air conditioning roof unit as temperatures are expected to hit 117-degrees, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

After finishing up an air conditioning repair call, Michael Villa, a service tech with Total Refrigeration, takes a drink of water as temperatures are expected to hit 117-degrees Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A billboard sign displays an unofficial temperature of 115-degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

JP Lantin, right, owner of Total Refrigeration, and service tech Michael Villa, work on replacing a fan motor on an air conditioning unit as temperatures are expected to hit 117-degrees Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A hiker passes a sign warning hikers of extreme heat at the start of the Golden Canyon trail on July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. A 71-year-old Los Angeles-area man died at the trailhead on Tuesday, July 18, as temperatures reached 121 degrees (49 Celsius) or higher and rangers suspect heat was a factor, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Tourists hike the Golden Canyon trail on July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. A 71-year-old Los Angeles-area man died at the trailhead on Tuesday, July 18, as temperatures reached 121 degrees (49 Celsius) or higher and rangers suspect heat was a factor, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A sign stands warning hikers of extreme heat at the start of the Golden Canyon trail on July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. A 71-year-old Los Angeles-area man died at the trailhead on Tuesday, July 18, as temperatures reached 121 degrees (49 Celsius) or higher and rangers suspect heat was a factor, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat.

Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.

Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.

“I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind,” Stone said.

The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medications used in U.S. hospitals, Pfizer said on its website. Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, said the damage “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds.”

The National Weather Service said in a tweet that the damage was consistent with an EF3 tornado with wind speeds up to 150 mph (240 kph).

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, where part of Rocky Mount is located, said on Facebook that they had reports of three people injured in the tornado, and that two of them had life-threatening injuries.

A preliminary report from neighboring Nash County said 13 people were injured and 89 structures were damaged, WRAL-TV reported.

Three homes owned by Brian Varnell and his family members in the nearby Dortches area were damaged. He told the news outlet he is thankful they are all alive. His sister and her children hid in their home’s laundry room.

“They got where they needed to be within the house and it all worked out for the best,” Varnell said near a home that was missing exterior walls and a large chunk of the roof.

Elsewhere in the U.S., an onslaught of searing temperatures and rising floodwaters continued, with Phoenix breaking an all-time temperature record and rescuers pulling people from rain-swamped homes and vehicles in Kentucky.

Forecasters said little relief appears in sight from the heat and storms. For example, Miami has endured a heat index of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) or more for weeks, with temperatures expected to rise this weekend.

In Kentucky, meteorologists warned of a “life-threatening situation” in the communities of Mayfield and Wingo, which were inundated by flash flooding this week from thunderstorms. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency there Wednesday as more storms threatened.

Forecasters expect up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain could yet fall on parts of Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri near where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers converge.

The storm system is forecast to move Thursday and Friday over New England, where the ground remains saturated after recent floods. In Connecticut, a mother and her 5-year-old daughter died after being swept down a swollen river Tuesday. In southeastern Pennsylvania, a search continued for two children caught in flash flooding Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Phoenix broke an all-time record Wednesday morning for a warm low temperature of 97 F (36.1 C), raising the threat of heat-related illness for residents unable to cool off adequately overnight. The previous record was 96 F (35.6 C) in 2003, the weather service reported.

Lindsay LaMont, who works at the Sweet Republic ice cream shop Phoenix, said business had been slow during the day with people sheltering inside to escape the heat. “But I’m definitely seeing a lot more people come in the evening to get their ice cream when things start cooling off,” LaMont said.

Heat-related deaths continue to rise in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located. Public health officials Wednesday reported that six more heat-associated fatalities were confirmed last week, bringing the year’s total so far to 18. All six deaths didn’t necessarily occur last week as some may have happened weeks earlier but were confirmed as heat-related only after a thorough investigation.

By this time last year, there had been 29 confirmed heat-associated deaths in the county and another 193 under investigation.

Phoenix, a desert city of more than 1.6 million people, had set a separate record Tuesday among U.S. cities by marking 19 straight days of temperatures of 110 F (43.3 C) or more. It topped 110 again Wednesday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsh said Phoenix’s 119 F (48.3 C) high Wednesday tied the fourth highest temperature recorded in the city ever. The highest temperature of all time was 122 F (50 C), set in 1990.

Across the country, Miami marked its 16th straight day of heat indexes in excess of 105 F (40.6 C). The previous record was five days in June 2019.

“And it’s only looking to increase as we head into the later part of the week and the weekend,” said Cameron Pine, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The region has also seen 38 consecutive days with a heat index threshold of 100 F (37.8 C), and sea surface temperatures are reported to be several degrees warmer than normal.

“There really is no immediate relief in sight,” Pine said.

A 71-year-old Los Angeles-area man died at a trailhead in Death Valley National Park in eastern California on Tuesday afternoon as temperatures reached 121 F (49.4 C) or higher and rangers suspect heat was a factor, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday.

It is possibly the second heat-related fatality in Death Valley this summer. A 65-year-old man was found dead in a car on July 3.

Human-caused climate change and a newly formed El Nino are combining to shatter heat records worldwide, scientists say.

The entire globe has simmered to record heat both in June and July. Nearly every day this month, the global average temperature has been warmer than the unofficial hottest day recorded before 2023, according to University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.

Atmospheric scientists say the global warming responsible for unrelenting heat in the Southwest also is making extreme rainfall a more frequent reality.

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press reporters Anita Snow in Phoenix, Freida Frisaro in Miami, JoNel Aleccia in Temecula, California, and Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.

Precious: Biden uses clips of Marjorie Taylor Greene speech for new campaign ad

CNN

Biden uses clips of Marjorie Taylor Greene speech for new campaign ad

Shania Shelton – July 19, 2023

Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Tuesday posted a campaign ad promoting his legislative wins by using clips from a recent speech GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene gave at the Turning Point Action Conference where she compared Biden to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.

“Joe Biden had the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs, that is actually finishing what FDR started, that LBJ expanded on, and Joe Biden is attempting to complete,” Greene said in the video set to cheerful music.

The ad continues with another clip from the speech Greene gave over the weekend in which she explains the Biden administration’s investments. “Programs to address education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid labor unions, and he still is working on it,” Greene said.

In response to Greene’s speech, the White House tweeted on Monday: “Caught us. President Biden is working to make life easier for hardworking families.”

The congresswoman from Georgia – who was recently ejected from the House Freedom Caucus – tweeted on Tuesday, “This is really what Joe Biden approves,” in response to the campaign ad alongside a longer clip of her speech. In the new clip, she discusses economics in the country, explaining that “we are now $32 trillion in debt with record high homelessness, 40-year record inflation.”

The Biden administration has been promoting “Bidenomics” over the past few weeks – an economic theory which rejects the idea of “trickle-down” policies in favor of focusing on the middle class. It is expected to be a centerpiece of Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign.

The president first embraced the idea in June at a time when the administration was searching for a solution to Americans’ negative perception of the economy and a vehicle to take credit for an economy that is increasingly trending in the right direction.

In Florida, Swimmers Brave an Ocean That Feels Like Steamy Syrup

The New York Times

In Florida, Swimmers Brave an Ocean That Feels Like Steamy Syrup

Patricia Mazzei – July 19, 2023

The water temperature near Key Biscayne, a barrier island just east of Miami, had already passed 89 degrees Fahrenheit one morning this week. And though the ocean off South Florida was slightly cooler than the recent record highs that had stunned scientists and threatened marine life, it remained phenomenally hot.

But on this serene patch of the Atlantic Coast, it was still a summer day at the beach, when nothing satisfies quite like a dip — even when the ocean feels like a thick, simmering syrup. Almost gooey.

“I like it warm,” shrugged Niki Candela, 20, a Miami native, moments after a powerful siren warned of approaching lightning.

Few of the heat-dazed people on the largely empty beach paid it any mind. The shore, usually clogged this time of year with rotting clusters of seaweed, was pristine, no longer menaced by a huge sargassum blob that unexpectedly shrank last month in the Gulf of Mexico. The shallow water was a crystalline teal, rolling oh so gently, not a cresting wave in sight.

So the undeterred regulars, people who savor being hot and abhor the cold, came out to enjoy themselves.

“This is as close as America gets to paradise,” said Lauren Humphreys, 40, who is originally from England but splits her time between Miami and Los Angeles. There, she prefers hiking to swimming in the Pacific, which Tuesday reached about 72 degrees by the Santa Monica Pier.

Humphreys was making her second visit to Key Biscayne’s beaches that day, having come earlier to meditate. “There’s something quite special here,” she said. “It’s peaceful.”

Off the coast of neighboring Virginia Key, measurements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that the water temperature peaked at 90.5 degrees on Monday, and the air temperature at 87.6 degrees. On Saturday, the water temperature at that location reached 92.5 degrees, a record.

The water in South Florida is always warm this time of year, but unusually so this year, with six record-high temperatures measured off Virginia Key this month. The sea surface hit 98 degrees in some areas of Florida Bay last week; the average ocean temperature in Miami in July is around 86.

Miami’s unrelenting heat this summer has meant 16 consecutive days with a heat index at or above 105 degrees, a record, according to Brian McNoldy, a senior research scientist at the University of Miami. The National Weather Service forecast a heat index of 110 degrees Sunday, issuing its first-ever extreme heat advisory for Miami-Dade County.

At the beach the next day, the scorching sand was to be avoided at all costs. “Talk to me here, so I don’t burn my feet,” Eduardo Valades, 51, told a reporter, beckoning toward the lapping water.

The water was “really hot,” he said, “but only as soon as you go in. Once you walk 50 yards out, it feels cooler.”

“I love it,” his wife, Jennifer Valades, 50, said.

The couple moved three years ago to Key Biscayne, an affluent village of about 14,000, from California. “Here, you can literally swim for hours,” she said, though she conceded that the beach was more pleasant — “perfect,” in fact — during the mild South Florida winter, when the water temperature is more likely to be in the mid-70s. Coastal temperatures are also more moderate than those inland.

Valades said she had recently spotted six or seven manatees. Valades showed a cellphone video he recorded last month of a large shark feeding right at the shore.

“We see one every three or four days,” he said, appearing far from worried about the sightings.

This week, toweling off seemed unnecessary: No one felt cold leaving the water.

“It feels like a Jacuzzi!” Sasha Mishenina told her two friends following a brief dip. They had declined to join her.

Yet going for a quick swim still felt refreshing, with the occasional cool current swirling by and little fish darting by people’s feet.

“I’m so happy, because they said we were going to have the sargassum,” Adriana Campuzano said of predictions this year, as she was gathering her stuff to leave before the looming thunderstorm. “It’s clearer than it’s been in years. Maybe in a decade.”

Candela had come to the beach with three friends. The ocean felt fine, she said, though she added that sometimes with such hot water, “you think, ‘What if someone’s peeing here?’”

She and her friends laid out their towels on beach chairs under an umbrella, put music on and waded in.

“It actually feels pretty cold,” said Taylor Dutil, 20, a fellow Floridian.

“It’s a good change,” said Benny Perez, 22, who is from Chicago, where Lake Michigan was far cooler that day.

The siren blared three more times, signaling the end of the lightning threat. Not a raindrop had fallen. The four friends stayed in the water, chatting and laughing.

Kansas Republicans have managed to sink nearly as low as infamous and heartless duke

The Kansas City Star

Kansas Republicans have managed to sink nearly as low as infamous and heartless duke

Charles Hammer – July 19, 2023

I was impelled to write this column by a recent history book: “Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester,” by Nigel Pickford.

The war frigate Gloucester sank in 1682 during a storm off the British coast, imperiling not just its lowly crew but many nobles and — above all — James, Duke of York, who would soon be King of England. James escaped through the frigate’s big rear windows into his own lifeboat.

The tale reminded me of a column I wrote nearly five years ago. In it, I praised Kansas Republican leaders for being more generous to the poor than were the British grandees who starved millions in the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, forcing scurvy-ravaged millions more onto “ghost ships” sailing for America. Our Kansas Republicans are better people than Sir Charles Trevelyn, the British official who cheered the Potato Famine on.

“The judgement of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson,” Sir Charles wrote. “That calamity must not be too much mitigated. …The real evil with which we have to contend is not the physical evil of the Famine, but the moral evil of the selfish, perverse and turbulent character of the people.”

OK, but just how much better are today’s Republican leaders? In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, millionaire President Donald Trump tweeted moral criticism of the suffering Puerto Ricans.

“They want everything done for them,” he groused.

Former Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley once justified cutting estate taxes on the rich as a way to honor “the people that are investing, as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”

Every darn penny they have? Precisely because of Kansas Republicans, our poor folks have few pennies to blow on women and booze. We stand as a stingy island in the middle of four surrounding states — three of them Republican — that have raised the minimum wage above the lousy national $7.25 hourly.

Citizens of Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma dodged past their leaders with initiative petitions that permitted a vote on the issue. These same three — against the will of fulminating Republican politicians — also voted to expand Medicaid to help the poor.

But in miserly Republican Kansas, we don’t tolerate voter initiatives. Nor do we suffer throwing more money away on doctors for the poor. Kansas stands rock solid among America’s 10 states that refuse to expand Medicaid. It was killed once by the Kansas senate, a second time when vetoed by then Gov. Sam Brownback. An aide to Brownback, Melika Willoughby, explained:

“This isn’t just bad policy, this is morally reprehensible…”

Morals again. Morals are very important to Republicans.

Here’s one good thing about Kansas legislators: By stiffing our own poor folks, Republicans helped fund care for the needy in the 40 states that did expand Medicaid. Our Kansas legislators thus have nobly given away billions in free federal dollars to lavish on health care for the poor of other states.

Republicans demand poor folks work a job to get care under Medicaid. But if a single mother with two children earns $8,751 a year, we cut her off because she is too rich.

So how moral were those fancy rich Britons in 1682 as the frigate Gloucester battled the raging Atlantic ocean? As I said, the Duke of York escaped through the frigate’s rear windows into his own lifeboat, leading Sir John Berry later to write:

“His highness took as many persons of quality with him in the boat as she could carry.”

Persons of quality. Of course. Nearly all of the “quality” was saved. An estimated 130 to 250 others drowned.

“But here I cannot pass in silence,” one observer later wrote, “that those that could swim made up to the Boat where the Duke was, and grappled on the sides thereof, endeavoring to get into it, but their hands were ordered to be cut off…and thereby they were deprived not only of getting into the Boats that came from other Ships, but also of the ability of swimming.”

Surely, then, our Kansas Republican legislators must be better than that.

Or are they?

‘Life or death’: Arizona heat wave poses lethal threat to homeless

AFP

‘Life or death’: Arizona heat wave poses lethal threat to homeless

Romain Fonsegrives – July 19, 2023

Hundreds of homeless people live in 'The Zone,' an encampment in Phoenix, the capital of the southwestern US state of Arizona (Patrick T. Fallon) — Hundreds of homeless people live in ‘The Zone,’ an encampment in Phoenix, the capital of the southwestern US state of Arizona (Patrick T. Fallon)

On a sidewalk in Arizona’s capital Phoenix, where a record-setting heat wave has prompted warnings for people to limit their time outside, Dana Page struggles to stay hydrated in her tarpaulin shelter.

The 49-year-old, surrounded by bottles of water, knows full well the dangers heat poses to the homeless population.

Days earlier, she watched emergency responders perform CPR on a fellow resident of “The Zone,” an encampment where hundreds live in tents and makeshift shelters, near downtown.

“He died just inches away from water,” she told AFP.

Phoenix, like much of the US southwest, is surrounded by desert, and its 1.6 million residents are used to brutal summer temperatures.

But this year’s heat wave is unprecedented in its length: it has already helped the city break its previous record of 18 straight days at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), with similar highs forecast into next week.

Page, a native of Phoenix, said she has had heatstroke three times in the past five years, describing it as a “secret killer” that sneaks up if not monitoring one’s water intake.

– Jump in heat-related deaths –

The absence of typical monsoon rains has also compounded the problem: no respite from searing heat during the day allows temperatures to remain dangerously elevated overnight.

“If this continues, we will see more heat-related deaths,” said Amy Schwabenlender, head of the Human Services Campus, a large facility near “The Zone” where 16 associations cooperate to provide social services, medical treatment and a shelter for those in need.

“It is a life-and-death situation,” she warned.

With its population growth among the highest in the United States, coupled with a lack of affordable housing, Arizona has seen the number of homeless people go up 23 percent in recent years.

And as global warming fuels more frequent extreme weather events, homeless people are increasingly vulnerable to the elements.

Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and its suburbs, recorded a 25 percent increase last year in heat-related deaths, with 425 fatalities — many among the homeless population.

The National Weather Service warns that extreme heat is the top weather-related killer, and has recommended people in Phoenix “stay indoors and seek air-conditioned buildings” during the heat wave.

– ‘Enough resources to help everybody’ –

To deal with the emergency, the Human Services Campus is running at full speed. Its associations send out early morning patrols to distribute 2,000 bottles of water every day, as well as sunblock and hats.

Like some sixty other sites around the city, the facility also serves as a cooling center, where homeless people can find shade, misters and a vast air-conditioned cafeteria with film showings to pass the time.

Schwabenlender warns that scorching hot surfaces outside also pose a significant danger, especially for those with worn shoes or bare feet, as well as people who fall or lie on the ground.

“I saw a man who laid on something and all the side of his neck was burned,” she said.

Asphalt in the summer sun can climb to temperatures above 160F (71C).

A few days ago, former house painter Jose Itafranco collapsed on the sidewalk after consuming methamphetamine, but the 30-year-old said he was lucky to have his wife Alvira nearby to prop his body up.

“When you do meth… it really just makes you think that you’re tougher than you are… like you’re untouchable,” Itafranco told AFP.

“But what happens, really, is you get dehydrated.”

Schwabenlender argues the hundreds of heat-related deaths in Maricopa County could have been avoided with a more coordinated response, and calls for federal emergency action commensurate with other natural disasters.

The White House, for its part, outlined last week various federal initiatives related to “extreme heat fueled by the climate crisis,” including a forthcoming meeting with local officials to discuss preparedness, as well as the drafting of a “National Heat Strategy.”

“We have enough resources to help everybody, we just have to figure out how to put them all together,” Schwabenlender said.

Opinion: I’m a conservative who’s waiting for Republicans to come to their senses

CNN – Opinion

Opinion: I’m a conservative who’s waiting for Republicans to come to their senses

Yaffa Fredrick – July 19, 2023

Editor’s Note: Adam Kinzinger is a CNN senior political commentator and a former Republican congressman from Illinois. He served 10 years on the House foreign affairs committee. Kinzinger is also a lieutenant colonel and pilot in the Air National Guard. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion at CNN.

Traditionally committed to national security, global stability and law and order, my Republican Party — yes, I am still a Republican — is now weakening on all three fronts. In doing so, it is fulfilling the cliche that extremists on the right and left eventually come together, like a snake eating its tail.

Adam Kinzinger - CNN — Adam Kinzinger – CNN

That’s not only bad for America, but bad for the prospects of the GOP — particularly in light of the fact that the party’s leading 2024 presidential contender is currently under both federal and state indictment and facing further potential charges in Washington, DC, and Georgia (all of which he denies wrongdoing in).

The radical right has embraced positions on these bedrock Republican principles to try to lock in the support of the most fervent members of the base. But these stances will almost certainly doom them with the moderates and swing voters who turned out for President Joe Biden in 2020. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a better way to ensure that the GOP won’t win back the presidency.

Let’s start with the GOP’s decision to insert culture wars into a bill — the National Defense Authorization Act — that funds every function of the Defense Department, in a manner that all but guaranteed alienating a voting majority in America.

Among other maneuvers, the extreme conservatives in the House want to ban a Defense Department policy that covers travel costs for service members who must seek abortions out of state, extending an existing provision that provides funds to those who must get specialized care not available near their posts. The Pentagon put this extension in place when some states limited or banned abortion access after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

How do I know this amendment is politically toxic? First, over the last several years, there has been steady public support for abortion rights, which now includes more than one-third of all Republicans, according to Pew Research Center. Second, there’s the unseemly effort to stop funding for the military with an amendment that has nothing to do with defense. Granted, others try to attach similar off-topic amendments to bills. But they are not usually as likely to torpedo getting necessary funds to the Pentagon.

Thanks to overwhelming GOP support, the anti-abortion travel reimbursement amendment made it into the House bill. Republicans also added limits on transgender care and prohibitions on programs related to diversity. All three fit the extreme right movement’s so-called “anti-woke” agenda, which seeks to block the government from supporting various groups of Americans on the basis of race, sexual orientation and gender identity.

GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made anti-wokeness, opposition to abortion and criticism of rights for transgender people central to his appeal to primary voters, but there’s little evidence that his stand will win over people in a general election. And House members who cling to his message in an effort to win primary voters may very well suffer defeat in a general election.

Unfortunately, further extremist (and self-defeating) mischief is taking place in the Senate, where Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has put a hold on military nominations. Under the Senate’s arcane rules, Tuberville has been blocking consideration of some 265 military officers for several months. His reason? The Defense Department’s travel support for service members seeking out-of-state abortion services.

Tuberville’s grandstanding won’t persuade the Senate to change the Pentagon policy, but as an Air National Guard lieutenant colonel, I can tell you that blocking promotions is bad for the smooth operation of the chain of command at the heart of America’s national security structure. It’s also bad for morale. And it’s personally insulting to the men and women who are willing to sacrifice so much for this country.

But these culture war issues aren’t the only threat this crowd of extremists is posing to global stability. Last week, they tried unsuccessfully to tie up the defense bill by trying to scale back US aid to Ukraine by hundreds of millions of dollars.

As much of the world understands, Ukraine is in a fight for its life against a Russian military that invaded in February 2022. The Russian attack was unprovoked and pitted the much larger country, run by the autocratic leader Vladimir Putin, against a democracy that has thus far been able to defend itself, thanks in large part to US aid.

The defense of democracy has long been a conservative ideal, and that includes standing with our allies under attack. It’s hard to see the opposition to aid as anything other than the betrayal of an ally and friend.

Although the House ultimately voted down the amendment to limit aid to Ukraine, the fact that it was even introduced shows just how out of step much of the Republican Party is with the public on the issue of Ukraine. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from last month, 65% of Americans support the US arming Ukraine — including 81% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans and 57% of independents. In that same poll, large majorities of Americans said they would support a US presidential candidate who would continue to provide strong military aid to Ukraine.

And then there’s the hostility these GOP extremists are directing at law enforcement, traditionally a wellspring of Republican support. This newfound animosity was on full view last week when FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared before the House Judiciary Committee.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and several equally exercised Republicans members attacked a “weaponized” bureau for serving as an anti-conservative attack dog. Jordan and others have been using this word — “weaponization” — to argue, without solid evidence, that the federal government in general is pursuing an anti-conservative agenda. Echoing leftists who call for defunding the police, the House’s right-wing extremists want to slash the FBI’s budget.

The attacks on Wray revolved around hot-button campaign issues, including the investigations into former President Donald Trump’s handling of top-secret documents, the plea agreement in the case of Hunter Biden’s tax crimes and the FBI’s surveillance efforts. At one point, finger-pointing Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said the FBI “deserves better than you” to Wray.

Following Trump’s example, Wray’s congressional interrogators treated him with the disrespect you might expect from members of the radical left in the 1960s. I’m certain that as they mimicked the former president, they were attempting to court his voters; but I saw House members leading their party into a political wilderness where moderate voices may just join Democrats to end the GOP’s control of the House.

It is a display of sheer political malpractice for any Republican to suggest cutting FBI funding. While the left-wing’s call to “defund” the police has been much derided, a Gallup poll from last October found rising public support for the FBI. The agency is now seen favorably by 79% of Democrats — and 50% of Americans overall.

As appalling and politically misguided as the far-right’s behavior has been, most Republicans in both the House and Senate have not been inclined to oppose it directly. They obviously fear losing the support of Trump and his followers. But I think this choice is short-sighted and may ultimately backfire.

Despite his lead in the polls, Trump does not have a lock on the 2024 presidential nomination. He did not win the presidency the last time he ran, and it’s clear that he has been a drag on GOP senators and representatives who have campaigned in the years since.

On this evidence, I’d say that the extremists are hurting, not helping, the national Republican Party. At some point, more and more normal Republicans will see the damage they are doing. In the meantime, conservatives like me will wait for our party to come to its senses.

Seniors are migrating to states that face America’s most extreme heat

The Washington Post

Seniors are migrating to states that face America’s most extreme heat

Joshua Partlow, Greg Morton, Scott Dance, Brianna Sacks – July 19, 2023

SUN CITY, Ariz. – It was 6:15 p.m., 110 degrees, the speakers were playing “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner and the seniors of suburban Phoenix were blissfully arm-pumping their way around the walking pool.

“Quite honestly, I’m good up to 110 now, you do acclimate,” said Bob Hirst, who decamped from northern Virginia two years ago with his wife, Vicky, to this 55-and-over community.

Despite the blistering evening, Ira Schneider was happily submerged in the hot tub, which was a relief of sorts at around 100 degrees. He’d lived in Phoenix for 22 years. To get him to return to his native New York, he said, “you’d have to scrape me off a cactus.”

Phoenix saw a record-breaking 19th consecutive day above 110 degrees on Tuesday. The extraordinary run of punishing heat poses a particular risk to the elderly, who are more likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes and other health problems that make it harder to tolerate extreme heat. And while some retirees have the resources to cope with scorching temperatures, others remain much more vulnerable – even as demographic data shows that this group continues to gravitate to sunny and warm parts of the country that are in the crosshairs for extreme heat.

Phoenix first responders and medical personnel say they are worried about seniors who may be isolated and living without air-conditioning, or those who fall and can’t get up on days when the concrete and pavement can be so hot it’s deadly.

Many of the places that, in recent years, have become attractive destinations for seniors are among those most affected by the historic heat wave camped out over the southern United States, according to an analysis by The Washington Post of forecast data from the National Weather Service and migration data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Between 2008 and 2021, Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, has received more than 68,000 people age 65 or older – more elderly migrants than any county in the country, according to census data. For the past several weeks, Maricopa has also been one of the hottest counties in the United States. This weekend, its heat index – a measure of how hot it feels outside that includes temperature and humidity – averaged over 110 and is expected to climb as high as 117 this week.

Those trends converged in a particularly dangerous way on Sunday at an RV park for the elderly in Mesa, east of Phoenix. The power went out for dozens of homes at the Viewpoint RV and Golf Resort, according to residents, and stayed out for nearly 24 hours – a period when temperatures in the area reached 118 degrees.

Many who lost power moved to hotels or stayed with relatives as the temperatures inside their homes soared, residents said. Robert Steffen and his wife, Gretchen, took refuge at his son’s house in Chandler for the night. When they returned Monday morning, they said the temperature inside their home was in the mid-90s.

Some residents, including people in wheelchairs and with other health problems, spent the night in sweltering conditions, said Kathleen Noble, a homeowner in the community who is also a board member of the Arizona Association of Manufactured Home, RV & Park Model Owners.

“Park managers, especially for the elderly, need to have some kind of an emergency plan set up during these times of high heat,” she said.

The power came back on midday Monday, residents said. The park’s management office did not answer the phone and Equity LifeStyle Properties, which owns the RV park, did not respond to a request for comment.

The combination of rising electricity demand and surging heat could be disastrous. Recent research found that in a city such as Phoenix, blackouts during a heat wave could kill thousands of people.

Nationwide, extreme heat exposure among people age 69 and older could more than double by 2050, according to a study published in March. The research looked at the number of people who will experience heat waves as well as their frequency and intensity. It attributed the surge in exposure to a convergence of three factors: the population at large is aging; the population of older people is growing in the swath of southern states known as the Sun Belt; and average temperatures are increasing everywhere as Earth’s climate warms.

Those trends also mean many older people underestimate the threat of extreme heat, whether because they are new to a hotter region, or because heat is becoming more intense in parts of the country that have been traditionally cooler, said Deborah Carr, a sociology professor at Boston University and the study’s lead author.

Moreover, older people are more likely to have preexisting health conditions that make extreme heat harder to tolerate. Common medications for heart disease and high blood pressure are dehydrating and reduce the body’s ability to cool itself by sweating, something many people don’t take into account when considering their ability to withstand heat, Carr said.

“If someone has underlying conditions, it’s going to be worse,” she said.

Florida, another haven for snowbirds and seniors, is also broiling in the recent heat wave. Lee County, which includes Fort Myers, is home to more than 200,000 Americans 65 and older and is one of the most popular places for elderly migrants, recent census data shows. The heat index is expected to surpass 100 degrees this week in the county, driven in large part by extreme humidity.

Sitting barefoot in a chair with the front door of his motel room open on Saturday, Joseph Sull couldn’t ever remember being this hot. The 76-year-old has lived in southwest Florida for nearly 20 years, and is used to sweltering summers, but this year’s historic stretch of heavy humidity has been “brutal” and has prevented him from spending time outside, like he usually loves to do.

After Hurricane Ian totaled his mobile home last September, Sull has been living in a motel, along with a handful of other victims, most of whom are also elderly. For days on end, Sull has sat in his small, air-conditioned room, watching “nothing happening,” as he says.

This kind of oppressive heat has made his world much smaller, having made the few routines he has, like taking a walk, very uncomfortable to do.

“I can’t sit in here all day with the door closed. It drives me crazy,” he said. “I need the fresh air and want to look at something else besides these four walls. It’s hard.”

In Phoenix, doctors say they regularly see elderly patients who suffer from heat stroke and burns once temperatures surpass 100 degrees. Diabetic patients who suffer from neuropathy and can’t feel their feet sometimes walk out onto hot surfaces, suffering serious burns, they said. Nearly two-thirds of the 425 heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County last year were individuals age 50 or older.

Frank LoVecchio, an emergency medicine physician at Valleywise Health Medical Center in Phoenix, said he saw an elderly woman last week who had fallen from her wheelchair at her nursing home and couldn’t get off the hot patio.

“She was there for like five minutes maybe,” he said. “And she had third-degree burns.”

Phoenix firefighters who respond to heat distress cases say the elderly and the immunocompromised tend to be among the most vulnerable. They have responded to help elderly people whose homes get too hot because they won’t turn on air conditioning or don’t have any.

The health impacts of extreme heat are easier to discount than, say, the dangers of a tornado or hurricane because they aren’t as readily apparent, said Peter Howe, a professor at Utah State University. Authorities usually know soon after a storm how many injuries or deaths it caused, but it often takes much longer to determine the toll of a heat wave, he said.

“We can do retrospective studies several months to years later, but we don’t really have good real-time data,” Howe said.

Migration to the Sun Belt, which air conditioning helped enable over the past half century, is still increasing as people seek out milder winter weather, said Albert Saiz, director of MIT’s Urban Economics Lab. At the same time, high costs and housing scarcity are driving people away from the Northeast and other regions, he said.

“It’s both a pull and a push,” he said.

Scott Dudlicek, a claims manager for a technology company, left Chicago after 54 years and moved to Sun City outside Phoenix in the summer of 2019.

“I came down on a visit for a work conference and said, ‘I’m tired. I’m done with the snow and the cold,'” Dudlicek recalled. “It was 113 when we were down here. I loved it.”

When he returned to Chicago it was 90 percent humidity, he said, and he was soon drenched through his shirt.

He told his wife: “That’s it. We’re moving.”

“And we were down here a year later.”

Morton and Dance reported from Washington. Sacks reported from Iona, Fla. Caitlin O’Hara in Sun City contributed to this report.