Federal indictments against Trump are not a turning point.
By Neil Steinberg – June 11, 2023
Donald Trump addressed the North Carolina Republican state convention on Saturday, two days after becoming the first former U.S. president indicted on federal charges.
This Friday, June 16, marks many things. It’s Bloomsday, the day in 1904 when the entirety of James Joyce’s great novel, “Ulysses” takes place. It’s also my parents’ anniversary — 67 years and still going strong. (Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!) And my younger son’s birthday.
It’s also the date in 2015 when Donald John Trump descended that escalator in the vomit-colored lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, declared himself a candidate for president and promised to save this country from the twin perils of Mexican immigrants and Muslims.
Eight years. Three thousand days, most of which saw Donald Trump twirling like a demented ballerina in drippy orange makeup in the spotlight of American life. From that introductory moment — the first words out of his mouth a lie, natch, inflating the few dozen people present into “thousands” — to last week, when he was indicted by federal authorities on 37 counts related to seven charges under the Espionage Act.
What a strange, terrible time in American history. Sometimes I consider it punishment for, having missed the tumult of the 1960s, wishing I could have lived in a momentous era of American history when great issues were being resolved. I take it back.
No time for regret now. Not with Trump followers urging violence at the prospect of his being prosecuted for his crimes. Not when they question the value of law enforcement before they’ll ever question their Chosen One.
Trump certainly will never pause from lying. Why would he? The lies work. The federal case, outlining his betrayal of national interest and endangering our security by exposing America’s military secrets to her enemies, was instantly shrugged off. Republicans have honed a variety of survival skills — perpetual imaginary victimhood, look-a-squirrel whataboutism, but-the-trains-run-on-time tunnel vision — allowing them to instantly ignore anything Trump does, did, or ever could do.
If Republicans are in a trance, so are Democrats. Because we keep waiting for Republicans to wise up.
“It has become impossible to ignore Trump’s many transgressions over the years,” the Sun-Times said in an editorial Sunday. At the risk of contradicting the editorial board, that’s a complete inversion of the situation. It is not impossible to ignore Trump’s crimes. Rather, it is mandatory, among his followers. Ignoring Trump’s misdeeds is not a flaw, but a feature.
To toss out another date: Jan. 6, 2021. Trump goaded a mob to assault the Capitol trying to overturn a free and fair American election. If that didn’t shake his followers awake to the peril, what is going to now? This latest indictment?
If they can laugh off Jan. 6, what can’t be chuckled at? His being ordered to pay $5 million for slandering the woman who claimed Trump raped her boosted his poll numbers.
His millions of followers are never going to be disillusioned with Trump, just as 40% of Russians approve of Joseph Stalin, the millions starved or pact with Hitler notwithstanding. A hundred years from now, Trump will be a revered figure, like Jesus, and for the same reason: the need to worship something. Charges, investigations, convictions, are just the Romans lashing their savior as he drags his cross to Calvary.
Jan Plemmons, of Columbus, Ga., waits at a private airfield for former President Donald Trump’s arrival in Georgia on Saturday.
Wake up. Liberal do-gooders are constantly calling upon values that just aren’t there. Remember former Ald. Leon Despres (5th), nicknamed the “conscience” of the Chicago City Council? Paddy Bauler, his notoriously corrupt Council colleague, once said to him: “Leon, the trouble is you think the whole thing’s on the square.”
The trouble with Democrats is they think the whole thing’s on the square. Still. Despite everything that has happened over eight years. We’ve learned nothing, and must start learning, fast. Time to stop invoking decency that isn’t there. If we are to continue to be a nation of laws, votes and varied voices, we must see the Trump menace for what it is: the gravest threat our nation has faced. The peril isn’t weakening; it’s growing stronger.
Someday, should America survive the Trump onslaught and become great enough to view history clearly, perhaps June 16 can become kind of a semi-official Day of Infamy, like Dec. 7 and Sept. 11. A cautionary tale for future generations. Not that we are anywhere near that safe perch where we can look back on the nightmare. Rather, we are in the thick of it, with more, maybe worse shocks to the American spirit speeding toward us.
Stunning details in Trump indictment show the importance of getting case right
The laws governing the handling of secret documents are there for a reason: to keep the country safe. Former President Donald Trump has been charged with egregiously violating those laws, and a just resolution to this case is important for America’s future.
Chicago Suntime’s Editorial Board – June 9, 2023
People demonstrate in front of the White House after Special Counsel Jack Smith delivered remarks about the unsealed federal indictment against former President Donald Trump on Friday.
Critical times of reckoning define nations’ identities far into the future.
The United States is at such a crossroads, brought to this point by the egregious actions of former President Donald Trump. It has become impossible to ignore Trump’s many transgressions over the years but still assure America is seen, by both its residents and other nations, as a place where rule of law prevails — where no one, not even presidents or former presidents, is granted the royal privilege to do as they like, without regard to laws others must obey.
“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” as Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the investigation into Trump’s mishandling of secret documents, said in a brief statement Friday.
Hours earlier, a detailed 49-page indictment was unsealed by the Justice Department accusing Trump of 37 felony counts of withholding top secret and other documents, refusing to return them, hiding the documents and lying about it. The indictment says Trump and aide Walt Nauta moved boxes with documents before one of his attorneys could review them and then concealed that fact. Nauta is charged with six counts.
Among the devastating accusations: Upon leaving office, Trump allegedly took documents related to the military capabilities of the United States and other nations, information about America’s nuclear program and other important documents, then stored them at low-security, porous Mar-a-Lago, where all sorts of people wandered around, including possibly foreign intelligence individuals.
Shockingly, some boxes of documents sat at one point unsecured on a ballroom stage at Mar-a-Lago and in other unsecured locations, including a shower and Trump’s bedroom. According to the indictment, Trump, while at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, showed a military map of a country with an ongoing military operation to a political action committee member who didn’t have security clearance.
Trump took documents from seven different departments and intelligence agencies, among them the CIA, the NSA and the Department of Defense. The sensitivity of the documents Trump took is stunning.
Could foreign agents have accessed those documents? No one knows. If that did happen, no one knows how much damage has been done or how much the nation has been put at risk.
The laws governing the handling of secret documents are there for a reason. As Smith said, “Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”
The indictment also contains evidence that Trump knew he was violating the law. At one point, he said, “This is secret information. Look. Look at this.” He knew it was secret and yet invited a writer without security clearance to look at it anyway.
And tellingly, the indictment also points out six instances in which Trump noted the importance of protecting classified information — five times speaking publicly and once in a written statement.
Multiple investigations, lawsuit settlements
Trump has a long history of acting at though the law does not apply to him. In March, he was indicted on 34 counts in New York for allegedly falsifying business records, a felony, in connection with hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
He was impeached, but not convicted, for trying to get Ukraine to announce an investigation of Joe Biden.
He is under investigation in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn that state’s results in the 2020 presidential election. He is under investigation by Smith for allegedly inciting an attempted coup on Jan. 6., 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. He was impeached a second time for his conduct on Jan. 6.
Last year, two Trump Organization companies were found guilty on multiple counts of criminal tax fraud. In May, a New York jury found against Trump in a sexual abuse and defamation case filed by author, journalist and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. In 2018, his Trump University settled for $25 million claims by students who said they were defrauded.
The list goes on and on. Trump’s disregard for the law also can be seen in the number of his political allies and members of his administration who have been indicted. His was a reign of the swamp.
Even now, many Republicans and Trump supporters are trying to explain everything away, absurdly claiming the damning evidence is just a conspiracy to pursue Trump, despite his clearly reckless behavior. There’s also the scary prospect that some of his supporters might threaten those connected to the investigation, an ugly scenario that has happened before. Trump set the pattern on Friday by calling Smith a “deranged lunatic.”
But waving away the abuses alleged in the indictment sets an unacceptable precedent — in effect, green-lighting more legal abuses by future presidents. And imagine, in such scenarios, abuses that are perhaps even more flagrant, scandalous and dangerous than those in this indictment.
The United States is at a pivotal moment in its history. The world is watching. A just resolution of this case, based on the evidence and the law, is imperative.
It felt like I had indigestion. I was having a heart attack.
Ken Budd, Special To The Washington Post – June 11, 2023
Upper body pain is a common if lesser-known indicator of a heart attack. (Getty Images)
My symptoms started at least a day before I felt any chest pain. I’d become winded and sweaty after carrying some boxes up and down steps. That evening, I felt pain in my shoulder, neck and back that made it hard to sleep. Twice during the night I woke up sweating.
I assumed my ailments were remnants of a stomach bug – I’d thrown up twice two days before – but when pressure began building in my chest, I thought, Whoa, is this my heart? My dad had died of a sudden massive heart attack years before, so even though I didn’t feel terrible, I went to an emergency room. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said sheepishly to the triage nurse, feeling a bit like a hypochondriac.
Less than an hour later, I was rushed by helicopter to a hospital with a cardiac catheterization lab, where doctors can identify potential blockages and possibly reopen a clogged artery.
“Most people will say, ‘You know, a couple days ago, I wasn’t feeling good, I had indigestion’ – there’s usually something that’s not right,” said Alan Schneider, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist who works at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, where I was treated. “It doesn’t have to be crushing pain.”
Upper body pain is a common if lesser-known indicator of a heart attack. “Anything between the belly button and the forehead could be heart-related symptoms,” said cardiologist Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, immediate past president of the American Heart Association and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
Gen Xers like me – I’m 57 – may remember Fred Sanford’s recurring chest-clutching heart attack routines on “Sanford and Son,” but the pain isn’t always dramatic. In my case, I experienced a mild discomfort, like a weight was pressed against my ribs, or my chest was overinflated with air.
“The classic symptom is that elephant sitting on the middle of your chest – this heavy, crushing pressure, mid-chest,” Lloyd-Jones said. “Never ignore that. It’s the most common warning sign.”
Other possible warning signs include arm pain (typically on the left side), stomach pain and even pain in your gums or jaw. If discomfort is accompanied by other symptoms such as sweating, shortness of breath, or lightheadedness or feeling faint, consider calling 911. For women, the symptoms of heart attacks can be more diffuse or vague – sudden arm aches, neck or jaw ache, nausea or vomiting, dizziness or being unusually tired.
Also, heart attack symptoms can appear “hours, days, or weeks in advance,” as the Mayo Clinic explains on its website.
Lloyd-Jones’s advice: “If the symptoms seem more common with exertion and they’re better when you rest, that’s a red flag for any doctor to say, ‘Let’s get you in and see what’s going on.'”
One thing that’s not a predictable heart attack warning sign: elevated blood pressure. Mine was high – 156/84 before I went to the ER – but “some types of heart attacks can lead to very low blood pressure,” Lloyd-Jones said.
Other lessons from my experience include:
Act fast – really fast
My approach to health issues is usually, “Eh – I’m sure it’s nothing.” But once I realized that my symptoms matched many of the Mayo Clinic’s warning signs, I went to the ER.
Within an hour of my arrival, cardiologist Yuri Deychak had received an electrocardiogram (EKG) of my heart at his home, diagnosed a blockage in a coronary artery leading to the heart and activated the catheterization lab team at Suburban Hospital to unblock my artery.
“Time is muscle,” Deychak later told me, and it’s a common phrase among cardiologists. To prevent heart cells from dying, doctors need to quickly restore blood flow and oxygen levels. Their goal: to get a patient into a catheterization lab to insert a stent – a tiny expandable metal mesh coil that once in place will keep an artery open – within 90 minutes of experiencing symptoms.
Procrastination can be deadly, as one of my nurses learned. She shared the story of a friend, age 49, who showed signs of a heart attack. The friend called his primary care physician that evening but decided to see if his symptoms improved overnight. By morning he was dead.
Call 911, not Uber (or a friend)
I made a mistake: I asked a friend to drive me to the ER. That’s smarter than driving yourself, experts say, but I should have called 911. If my heart had stopped during the drive, EMTs could have treated me immediately. They have a defibrillator to restart a heart, an EKG machine to test your heart rhythm, lifesaving medications, and they know which hospitals have the right facilities to treat a heart problem. My friend took me to the nearest hospital, but it didn’t have a catheterization lab, which is why I ended up having to be flown by helicopter to one that did. A cath lab is mandatory for unblocking an artery
The New Jersey-based Atlantic Health System found that heart attack patients who called 911 received treatment 30 minutes faster on average than those who drove themselves. Yet many patients, like me, don’t make that call. My symptoms seemed mild, so 911 felt extreme and an ambulance can be costly depending on circumstances.
Some heart attack sufferers choose ride services like Uber or Lyft. A 2017 study found that ambulance usage rates had dropped by 7 percent in cities where Uber operates. But taking an Uber for a heart attack is no safer than riding with a friend, since your driver’s sedan probably won’t have an EKG machine or defibrillator.
Deychak said he remembers a patient who arrived at the hospital via Uber, then suddenly experienced ventricular fibrillation (a heart arrhythmia that is the most frequent cause of sudden cardiac death). If the driver had arrived even five minutes later, she may have died.
“You want EMTs monitoring you all the way,” Lloyd-Jones said. “If something happens, they can respond instantaneously.”
Embrace gratitude
Having a heart attack is stressful. In the ER at the first hospital, I could hear the alarm in a nurse’s voice after she read my EKG report. I could see the helicopter crew’s concerned faces as they wheeled me to the helipad. In the cath lab, staff darted around the room, shaving parts of me that shouldn’t be shaved, inserting a catheter in an artery and injecting a dye to detect blockages on a screen. (“It’s going to feel hot,” a technician said, and yes, the dye blazed in my arm and my chest.)
And yet to my surprise, the overwhelming emotion I felt was not fear but gratitude. Amid the life-or-death bustle, I felt grateful for the people I love, and the people who love me, and for the team that was treating me. Those peaceful feelings may have reduced the strain on my heart.
For patients who are understandably scared and upset, “one of the treatments we often give in the emergency room is anti-anxiety medicine,” Lloyd-Jones said. “If we can keep the heart rate low, and keep blood pressure moderate, the heart works less hard, and fewer heart muscle cells will die.”
I soon had another reason for gratitude. Once the team had snaked the catheter through my arm to my heart, they expected to find major blockage. But my arteries looked clean. So what happened?
Doctors suspect that a piece of plaque – fatty buildups on artery walls caused by cholesterol and other substances – had ruptured and clotted an artery, and the clotted plaque passed through on its own. I was incredibly lucky. What if the clot had been larger and hadn’t moved through? Sometimes even slight heart attacks can make patients’ heart rhythm “go haywire,” Deychak said.
Instead, less than 36 hours after the heart attack, I was pacing with my IV pole in my hospital room, ready to be released. Scans showed no damage to my heart muscle. I was lucky.
Now that I’ve had one heart attack, I’m a likely candidate for another, Lloyd-Jones said. It’s clear that plaque can form in my arteries. I largely feel okay – the worst part was two weeks of wrist and arm soreness from the catheter. In the weeks following the heart attack, my EKG readings were irregular, and I experienced occasional heart palpitations, sometimes as often as three to five times a day. But nearly five months after my visit to the cath lab, everything is happily back to normal.
I also have an excellent long-term prognosis, Schneider said. I’ve finished cardiac rehab (picture a gym where everyone wears heart monitors and submits to blood-pressure checks), which helped me lose seven pounds and lower my blood pressure. I’m also taking some new heart meds, including a platelet inhibitor and a daily aspirin, to reduce my risks (I was already taking a statin and beta blocker). Even before the heart attack, I was more likely to eat a salad than a burger, but my doctor suggested that I lower my daily sodium consumption, which has meant some sacrifices – including a favorite: pizza.
But from where I stand now, it’s worth it to prevent a return visit to the ER.
“This was a shot across the bow,” Schneider said. “You could have dropped dead, but instead, here you are, alive.”
Senate GOP leaders break with House on Trump indictment
Alexander Bolton – June 11, 2023
Editor’s note: This report has been updated to clarify that the indictment accuses former President Trump of showing a classified document about attacking Iran to a writer without security clearance.
Senate Republican leaders, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), are staying quiet about former President Trump’s indictment on 37 criminal charges, letting him twist in the wind and breaking with House Republican leaders who have rushed to Trump’s defense.
McConnell, who is careful not to comment on Trump or even repeat his name in public, has said to his GOP colleagues that he wants his party to turn the page on the former president, whom he sees as a flawed general election candidate and a drag on Senate Republican candidates.
The Senate GOP leader’s top deputies — Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) — have also indicated they don’t want Trump to win the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
They along with McConnell are letting Trump’s legal troubles play out without coming to the former president’s defense, in contrast to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who both issued statements Thursday criticizing the Justice Department before the indictment was unsealed to the public.
“They want him to go away so they wouldn’t be very upset if this is the thing that finally takes him out,” said a former Senate Republican aide about the Senate Republican leaders’ silence on Trump’s indictment.
Republican senators were more outspoken in defending Trump after liberal Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg unveiled an indictment in early April charging Trump with 34 felony counts related to business records fraud.
Even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declined to express confidence in Bragg when asked about him in late March.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, whom Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped in November to investigate Trump, has more credibility among Republicans.
“Jack Smith is very credible,” said the former Senate GOP aide.
“There is the reflection that he may have actually found finally the silver bullet” to end Trump’s political career, the former aide said, noting that Smith has a tape of Trump acknowledging that he had retained classified documents after leaving office that he didn’t declassify while president.
A Senate Republican aide said the indictment is “pretty damning.”
“The documents that he did have and who he was showing them to and where he was storing them is all pretty damning,” the aide said. “I don’t know if it will make a difference in the political landscape but it certainly seems pretty bad.”
The indictment accuses Trump of showing a classified document laying out the military strategy for an attack against Iran to a writer who didn’t have security clearance.
The former president also showed a sensitive military map to a staffer for his political action committee.
Photos included in the indictment showed that Trump haphazardly stashed boxes of sensitive materials around his residence at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, including in a ballroom, a bathroom, a shower, office space and his bedroom.
One photo showed documents scattered across the floor of a storage room.
Nevertheless, House Republican leaders are speaking out forcefully against the indictment.
“This is going to disrupt the nation because it goes to the core of equal justice for all, which is not being seen today. And we’re not going to stand for it,” McCarthy told Fox News in an interview Friday.
Scalise tweeted Thursday evening “this sham indictment is the continuation of the endless political persecution of Donald Trump.”
Former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), a one-time advisor to McConnell’s leadership team and whose home state will host the second contest of next year’s Republican presidential primary, said the Department of Justice’s indictment may prove too much for Trump to overcome.
“At some point there’s a straw that breaks the camel’s back and there’s a whole lot of straws on the back of Donald Trump right now,” he said.
Gregg called the legal problems facing Trump clearly “outside the norm for a major leader of our nation.”
A New York jury last month found Trump liable for sexual abuse and awarded his accuser, the writer E. Jean Carroll, a $5 million judgment.
“Most Republicans want somebody else, even Trump people want somebody else, because they want to win and they recognize Trump is incapable of winning a general election at this point,” Gregg said.
He said Senate Republican leaders should call on the GOP to move past the former president.
“I would be advising them to say, ‘Listen, we have to move on as a party. Let Donald Trump work through his legal issues, which are considerable, but we as a party need to move on and let’s find ourselves a candidate for president who can win,’” he said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Friday evening said the charges brought by the Department of Justice are “quite serious and cannot be casually dismissed.”
She said in a statement that “mishandling classified documents is a federal crime because it can expose national secrets, as well as the sources and methods they were obtained through.”
Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump on the impeachment charge of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol joined fellow Republican Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in being the only two Republican senators to criticize Trump shortly after the indictment became public.
Romney, who voted twice to convict Trump on impeachment charges in 2020 and 2021, defended the Justice Department from criticisms voiced by other Republicans that it is acting unfairly.
“By all appearances, the Justice Department and special counsel have exercised due care, affording Mr. Trump the time and opportunity to avoid charges that would not generally have been afforded to others,” Romney said in a statement.
“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so,” he said.
Senate conservatives have come to Trump’s defense, notably Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah).
“The Biden administration’s actions can only be compared to the type of oppressive tactics routinely seen in nations such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, which are absolutely alien and unacceptable in America,” Lee said in a statement. “It is an affront to our country’s glorious 246-year legacy of independence from tyranny, for the incumbent president of the United States to leverage the machinery of justice against a political rival.”
Cruz on his podcast “The Verdict” called the indictment “an assault on democracy,” “garbage” and “a political attack from a thoroughly corrupted and weaponized Department of Justice.”
Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the third-ranking member of the Senate GOP leadership, who voted against the debt deal and is seen within the Senate GOP conference as someone who has tried to ally himself with its most conservative members, also criticized the indictment.
“This indictment certainly looks like an unequal application of justice,” he said in a statement, pointing out that “large amounts of classified materials were found in President Biden’s garage in Delaware” yet “no indictment.”
Yet many other Republican senators, particularly those more closely allied with McConnell, are staying conspicuously quiet about Trump’s legal travails.
One GOP senator who requested anonymity defended the Justice Department’s prosecution against accusations that it was necessarily motivated by politics because Garland is a Biden appointee.
“Where do you draw the line?” the senator said. “Everybody owes their job to someone.
“We have to trust our institutions and there’s not a lot of trust right now,” the senator added.
Tanker fire causes part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia to collapse; complete rebuild expected to take ‘months’: Updates
Francisco Guzman, Grace Hauck and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY –
June 11, 2023
A tanker truck fire shut down I-95 in both directions after an elevated portion of the heavily traveled interstate collapsed in Philadelphia on Sunday morning, state officials said, raising concerns about possible travel headaches throughout the Northeast.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the fire closed all lanes between Exit 25 and Exit 32, which includes Allegheny Avenue, Castor Avenue, Academy Road, and Linden Avenue.
Philadelphia Fire Department Captain Derek Bowmer said emergency crews responded shortly before 6:30 a.m. local time after receiving a report of a vehicle being on fire on the interstate. Authorities later identified the vehicle as a gasoline tanker truck that may have been carrying hundreds of gallons of gasoline.
The fire took about an hour to get under control. City and state officials are “responding to address impacts to residents in the area and travelers affected by the road closure,” the state fire department said in a statement to USA TODAY.
In a Sunday night update, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at least one vehicle was still trapped under the collapsed roadway but there were no immediate reports of injuries. “We’re still working to identify any individual or individuals who may have been caught in the fire and the collapse,” he said.
Interstate 95 is the main north-south highway on the East Coast and stretches from Florida through Maine to Canada.
“Travelers should expect delays and plan alternative travel routes, especially while planning for their weekday commute,” the City of Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management said.
Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg said he was monitoring the fire and collapse and was in touch with the governor and Federal Highway Administration to offer “help with recovery and reconstruction.” And the National Transportation Safety Board said it was working with the Pennsylvania State Police to conduct a safety investigation.
President Joe Biden was also briefed on the collapse and officials offered assistance to local and state authorities, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
How did the section of I-95 in Philadelphia collapse?
Transportation Department spokesperson Brad Rudolph said some kind of crash occurred on a ramp under northbound I-95 causing the northbound section above the fire to quickly collapse.
Bowmer said runoff from the fire or compromised gas lines caused explosions underground. Because of heat from the fire, Bowmer said the northbound lanes were gone and the southbound lanes were “compromised.”
“Today’s going to be a long day. And obviously, with 95 northbound gone and southbound questionable, it’s going to be even longer than that,” said Dominick Mireles, director of the Philadelphia OEM.
According to Rudolph, the collapsed section of I-95 was part of a $212 million reconstruction project that was completed four years ago. The highway segment is closed indefinitely but Rudolph said officials would consider “a fill-in situation or a temporary structure.”
Witness describes a ‘pretty remarkable’ collapse
Mark Fusetti was driving south toward the city’s airport when he saw black smoke rising above the highway. The retired Philadelphia police sergeant said the road beneath the fire began to “dip,” creating a depression. Traffic soon came to a halt before the northbound lanes of the highway gave way.
“It was crazy timing,” Fusetti said. “For it to buckle and collapse that quickly, it’s pretty remarkable.”
Detour routes recommended
For people traveling on I-95 southbound, officials recommended using Route 63 West (Woodhaven Road), U.S. 1 South, 76 East to 676 East. For people traveling I-95 northbound, officials recommended I-676 West, I-76 West, U.S. 1 North to Route 63 East (Woodhaven Road).
Philadelphia residents should use regional public transits services, such as rapid transit, commuter rail or light rail, the city’s Office of Emergency Management said.
Fire contents did not appear to spread into environment
Concerns about the environmental effects of runoff into the nearby Delaware River were raised after a sheen was seen in the river near the collapse site. The Coast Guard contained the material by deploying a boom.
While the tanker truck had a capacity of 8,500 gallons, Ensign Joshua Ledoux said contents from the fire did not appear to be spreading into the environment and “it seems like things are under control.”
The Philadelphia Water Department said the incident had no impact on drinking water quality but will continue to monitor and work with other agencies in their emergency response.
Mireles said heavy construction equipment would be needed to remove the thousands of tons of debris at the site of the fire.
Residents in some areas should expect delays in trash and recycling collections, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management said.
“The Streets Department is assessing which areas will be impacted as sanitation trucks will have to be diverted to alternative travel routes,” the office said.
Heat from fire can quickly weaken bridge structures, expert says
Tanker truck fires carry a large amount of hydrocarbon fuel and can generate a “fast, intense release of heat,” said Dr. Thomas Gernay, an assistant professor of civil engineering at Johns Hopkins University who studies ways to protect structures from fires.
“These fires can exceed temperatures of 1500 F in just a few minutes,” Gernay said in an email to USA TODAY.
Heat from a fire underneath a bridge, which is generally not designed for fire exposure, can quickly weaken structural members, according to Gernay. The materials, such as steel and concrete, of structural members lose load-carry capacity as temperatures increase.
Gernay also said structural members will expand when heated and contract when cooled down, further damaging the structure.
“The parts of the structure that did not collapse can be permanently damaged by the material degradation and the movements induced by the heat exposure,” Gernay said in an email.
Incident resembles other bridge fire failures
While bridge fire failures are rare, according to Gernay, past incidents have been similar and involved a portion of a busy highway collapsing.
In 2007, the MacArthur Maze connecting ramp in Oakland, California, collapsed after a tank truck carrying 8,600 gallons of unleaded gasoline overturned. And more recently in 2017, an elevated portion of Interstate 85 collapsed in a fire and shut down the heavily traveled route.
Gernay said in both cases, contractors had to work ahead of schedule due to the “economic impact of traffic interruption.” The timeline of reconstruction of the two cases occurred over several weeks.
Shapiro said Sunday night he planned to issue a disaster declaration Monday to speed up federal funds. He said he had spoken with Buttigieg and was assured that there would be “absolutely no delay” in getting federal funds to safely reconstruct what he called a “critical roadway.”
But Shapiro also said the complete rebuild of I-95 would take “some number of months.”
Zelenskiy says counteroffensive actions “taking place” in Ukraine
Tom Balmforth – June 10, 2023
Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy speaks during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau in Kyiv
KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged on Saturday that his military was engaged in “counter-offensive and defensive operations” a day after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said Kyiv’s long-vaunted drive to retake territory was well under way.
But the Ukrainian leader disclosed no details, telling reporters to pass on to Putin that his generals were optimistic.
Sporting his trademark khaki fatigues, Zelenskiy shrugged at a press conference when asked about Putin’s comments on Friday that Kyiv had begun its counter-offensive but made no progress.
“Counter-offensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine, but I will not say in detail what stage they are at,” Zelenskiy said, listing Ukraine’s top military brass by name.
“They (the generals) are all in a positive mood. Pass that on to Putin,” he said with a smile, standing alongside visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
He said Putin’s comments on the counter-offensive were “interesting…It is important that Russia always feels this: That they do not have long left, in my opinion.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry on Saturday said Ukrainian forces had in the past 24 hours made “unsuccessful” attempts to attack in the southern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions — two areas subject to heavy fighting.
The ministry also mentioned Bakhmut, the eastern town Moscow says it captured last month after 10 months of fierce battles.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the situation on the battlefield.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy again provided few details while urging troops to keep fighting.
“Thank you to all those who holds their positions and those who advance,” he said, citing the eastern and southern fronts, where fighting is heaviest.
Ukraine’s general staff said its forces had repelled enemy attacks around Bakhmut and the long besieged town of Maryinka. Russian forces, it said, “continue to suffer heavy losses which they are trying to conceal”.
General Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of ground forces who is in operational control of the counteroffensive, posted a picture on social media of an explosion that he said was a group of Russian soldiers being destroyed near Bakhmut.
Ukrainian military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi reported new gains near Bakhmut.
“We’re trying…to conduct strikes on the enemy, we are counter-attacking. We’ve managed to advance up to 1,400 metres (0.87 mile) on various sections of the front,” Cherevatyi said.
Ukraine has said for months it plans a major counter-offensive. But it had denied the main operation has begun.
With scant independent reporting from the front lines, it has been difficult to assess the state of the fighting.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said Ukraine had conducted “significant” operations in several eastern and southern parts in the last 48 hours, with Russian defences breached in places.
SOME PROGRESS: BRITISH MINISTRY
“In some areas, Ukrainian forces have likely made good progress and penetrated the first line of Russian defences. In others, Ukrainian progress has been slower,” it said, also characterising the Russian military’s performance as mixed.
“Some (Russian) units are likely conducting credible manoeuvre defence operations while others have pulled back in some disorder, amid increased reports of Russian casualties as they withdraw through their own minefields.”
Ukraine’s counter-offensive is expected to use thousands of troops that have been trained and equipped by the West, but Russia has built huge fortifications in occupied territory to prepare, while Kyiv also lacks air supremacy.
The south is seen as a key strategic priority for a Ukrainian push that could aim to recapture Europe’s biggest nuclear plant and cut the Russian land bridge to the occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, dividing Russian forces.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleksiy Hetman told NV Radio the events of recent days were only initial steps.
“What is happening now could be called ‘reconnaissance in battle’ – the first stage of the offensive,” Hetman said. “It was impossible to make progress in depth. The goal was to check the enemy’s defences. Let’s wait a few days and see.”
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Felix Hoske; Editing by Alex Richardson, Andrew Cawthorne, Mike Harrison, Ron Popeski and Cynthia Osterman)
In Bones of Crows, Grace Dove found healing among the heaviness
Prince George, B.C., actor says she got into the craft to share hard stories
CBC News – June 10, 2023
Starring as Aline Spears, Grace Dove in Bones of Crows plays a Cree woman who navigates her trauma from the residential school system. (TIFF)
After a decade in the acting industry, Grace Dove knows why she chose this field.
“I really believe I became an actor and a storyteller to share hard stories,” she told CBC’s Eli Glasner.
Dove stars as Aline Spears in Bones of Crows, a film written and directed by Marie Clements.
The film follows a Cree woman’s journey from her childhood to old age as she navigates trauma from her time in the residential school system. WATCH | Grace Dove talks about handling difficult subject matter:
Bones of Crows star Grace Dove says she became an actor ‘to share hard stories’
Dove says both heaviness and healing were involved in making the upcoming film and mini-series that deals with intergenerational trauma and residential schools.
As with any role, there’s research involved.
“I have to do the homework. I have to study about World War II. I have to study about code talking,” Dove said. “I have to study about even being a Cree Indigenous person. I’m Secwépemc, so that brings so much to learn about.”
And an actor, she says there’s something from within that she must also bring to the role.
“I have to bring a piece of me,” she said. “Especially when it comes to Indigenous representation, when it comes to Indigenous films, this is my story. This is my family story. So there is so much heaviness to it.”
“But also it’s so healing, and I think that every role I do, it really brings out what I need to almost let go.”
Dove says she gave a piece of herself to her character, Aline Spears, in the film. (CBC)
She says Bones of Crows is another way to address a subject where some may want to look away.
“I think there’s a time and place for films about love, a rom-com. And we will see that,” she said. “I hope for more of that, that we have more light Indigenous cinema, but … we can’t do that yet until the truth is out there.”
Expanded series
Bones of Crows will also be a five-part limited series on CBC and APTN beginning Sept. 20. The story will expand on the feature film, with a broader focus on Spears’ relatives over the span of 100 years.
“I think the most important message that I took away is, what happens to you and how you deal with those adversities is going to last for, we say seven generations,” Dove said.
“It really shows the impact generation by generation and I think that’s what the series is really going to delve into.”
Dove grew up in Prince George, B.C. She says Bones of Crows can help educate young people and anyone else about the traumas that Indigenous people still face today. (Matt Sayles/ABC)
The breadth of the project meant a large cast, many of whom came to the production with lengthy resumes.
“We’ve had so many Indigenous creatives fighting for us to be here, for me to be here, and so it’s just constantly passing the torch and getting better every time,” she said.
Dove had a breakthrough role in the 2015 film The Revenant, playing the wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Hugh Glass. DiCaprio is starring in the upcoming Killers of The Flower Moon, from director Martin Scorcese, which centres around the Osage Nation in Oklahoma.
She says she was in the running to be cast in that film and met Scorcese.
“I think it would be weird if me and Leo got married again, especially, you know when it happens eventually in real life as well,” she joked.
Lessons for the audience
There’s a practical lesson Dove wants viewers to take from Bones of Crows.
“I hope that audiences can walk away and think about their actions, and think about the way that they treat people. Because the way that you treat someone today might affect their family for generations,” she said.
“It just comes back to human kindness, and seeing people for real people.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joseph Pugh is a writer with the Entertainment department at CBC News. Prior to joining CBC he worked with the news department at CHLY, Nanaimo’s Community radio station, and taught math at Toronto’s Urban International School. He can be reached at joseph.pugh@cbc.ca
Putin asserts Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun, while drones strike within Russia
Jamey Keaten and Joanna Kozlowska – June 9, 2023
Broken windows and traces of fire are seen after a drone fell at a residential building in Voronezh, Russia, Friday, June 9, 2023. A Russian regional governor says three people were lightly wounded after a drone crashed into a residential building in central Voronezh, a city in southwestern Russia near the border with Ukraine. (Ara Kilanyants/Kommersant Publishing House via AP)People with pets are evacuated on a boat from a flooded neighbourhood in Kherson, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. Floodwaters from a collapsed dam kept rising in southern Ukraine on Thursday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that brought a dramatic new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month. (AP Photo/Libkos)Emergency workers evacuate an elderly resident from a flooded neighbourhood in Kherson, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. Floodwaters from a collapsed dam kept rising in southern Ukraine on Thursday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that brought a dramatic new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month. (AP Photo/Libkos)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted Friday that Ukrainian troops have started a long-expected counteroffensive and were suffering “significant” losses. His comments came just hours after a string of drone strikes inside Russian territory.
It was Putin’s latest effort to shape the gut-wrenching narrative of the invasion he ordered more than 15 months ago, sparking widespread international condemnation and reviving Cold War-style tensions.
The conflict entered a complex new phase this week with the rupture of a Dnieper River dam that sent floodwaters gushing through a large swath of the front in southern Ukraine. Tens of thousands of civilians already facing the misery of regular shelling fled for higher ground on both sides of the swollen and sprawling waterway.
Kyiv has played down talk of a counteroffensive, reasoning that the less said about its military moves the better. Speaking after he visited flood zones on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was in touch with Ukrainian forces “in all the hottest areas” and praised an unspecified ”result” from their efforts.
Putin said Russian forces have the upper hand.
“We can clearly say the offensive has started, as indicated by the Ukrainian army’s use of strategic reserves,” Putin told reporters in Sochi, where he was meeting with heads of other states in the Eurasian Economic Union. “But the Ukrainian troops haven’t achieved their stated tasks in a single area of fighting.”
Kyiv has not specified whether reservists have been mobilized to the front, but its Western allies have poured firepower, defensive systems, and other military assets and advice into Ukraine, raising the stakes for the expected counteroffensive.
“We are seeing that the Ukrainian regime’s troops are suffering significant losses,” Putin said, without providing details. “It’s known that the offensive side suffers losses of 3 to 1 — it’s sort of classic — but in this case, the losses significantly exceed that classic level.”
On Friday, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia was on the defensive in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia province, though the epicenter of fighting remained in the east, particularly in the Donetsk region. She described “heavy battles” in Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka.
Valerii Shershen, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s armed forces in Zaporizhzhia, told Radio Liberty that they were searching for weaknesses in Russia’s defense, which Moscow was trying to strengthen by deploying mines, constructing fortifications and regrouping.
Earlier, regional authorities in southwest Russia near the Ukrainian border reported the latest flurry of drone strikes. The strikes have exposed the vulnerabilities of Moscow’s air defense systems.
The regional governor of Voronezh, Alexander Gusev, said on the Telegram app that a drone crashed into a high-rise apartment building in the city of the same name, injuring three residents who were hit by shards of glass. Russian state media published photos of windows blown out and damage to the facade.
Gusev said the drone was targeting a nearby airbase but veered off course after its signal was jammed. The city lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, most of which is occupied by Russia.
Separately, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov of the neighboring Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine, said air defenses had shot down two unspecified targets overnight. An apartment building and private homes were damaged, he said, without saying by what. He also said a drone fell on the roof of an office building in the city of Belgorod. It failed to detonate but caught fire on impact, causing “insignificant damage,” he wrote.
The leader of a third region of Russia, Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit, said a drone crashed to the ground outside an oil depot and near water reservoirs in the local capital, causing no casualties or damage.
Ukrainian authorities have generally denied any role in attacks inside Russia. Such drone strikes — there was even one near the Kremlin — along with cross-border raids into southwestern Russia have brought the war home to Russians.
In Ukraine, the governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Friday that water levels had decreased by about 20 centimeters (8 inches) overnight on the western bank of the Dnieper, which was inundated starting Tuesday after the breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam upstream.
Officials on both sides indicated that about 20 people have died in the flooding. The United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, visited the flood-hit town of Bilozerka on Friday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“Ms. Brown said that although initial estimates indicate that 17,000 people are being impacted in the areas controlled by Ukraine alone, it is important to understand that the crisis has not stopped and continues to evolve rapidly,” Dujarric said.
Kyiv accused Russia of blowing up the dam and its hydropower plant, which Russian forces controlled, while Moscow said Ukraine bombarded it.
The Norwegian earthquake center NORSAR said Friday that a seismological station in neighboring Romania recorded tremors in the vicinity of the dam at 2:54 a.m. Tuesday, around the time Zelenskyy said the breach occurred.
“What we can see from our data is that there was an explosion in the area of the dam as the same time as the dam broke,” NORSAR head of research Volker Oye told The Associated Press.
The Norwegian center is part of a global monitoring system that helps verify compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Experts predicted the consequences of the dam’s collapse would last for months. Continued fighting in the region was bound to slow recovery efforts.
Viktor Vitovetskyi, a representative of Ukraine’s Emergency Service, said 46 municipalities in the Kherson region have flooded, 14 of them along the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the river.
Even as efforts were underway to rescue civilians and supply them with fresh water and other services, he said Russian shelling over the last day killed two civilians and injured 17 in the region.
Kozlowska reported from London. Jon Gambrell in Kyiv; Hanna Arhirova in Warsaw, Poland; Edit M. Lederer at the United Nations; and David Keyton in Stockholm, Sweden, contributed to this report.
Trump: I have been indicted in classified documents case
Possible charges could include a violation of the Espionage Act.
David Knowles, Senior Editor – June 8, 2023
Donald Trump at a campaign event in Waco, Texas, March 25. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Former President Donald Trump announced on Thursday evening that his attorneys had been informed that he had been indicted by the federal government for alleged crimes stemming from his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House in early 2021.
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote on his social media website, Truth Social, adding, “I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States.”
Reuters, ABC News and the Associated Press confirmed that Trump had been indicted on seven criminal counts in relation to his handling of the documents, his second indictment in as many months. The National Archives and the FBI sought to retrieve the classified documents before issuing a subpoena last spring for their return.
Possible Espionage Act charge
Among the charges that will be made public Tuesday, Trump will be accused of violating the Espionage Act, according to reporting from the New York Times. The act prohibits the unauthorized possession of national defense-related documents and makes special mention of those that are “willfully retained” despite government efforts to retain them. If convicted on that charge alone, Trump, 76, could face a sentence of 10 years behind bars.
Justice Department stays mum
Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Nathan Howard/AP)
The Justice Department did not issue a statement about the latest indictment or the specific charges it would contain, the AP reported. Two people familiar with the case but who are not authorized to speak publicly about it, confirmed to the outlet that prosecutors had contacted Trump’s lawyers on Thursday to inform them of the indictment.
President Biden at the White House on Thursday. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
While Trump sought to frame the indictments as politically motivated, President Biden was asked Thursday why Americans should have faith that the Justice Department was acting in accordance with the law.
“Because you’ll notice I have never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do, relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge. I’m honest,” Biden responded.
What Trump’s GOP rivals have said about another possible indictment
Prior to the indictment, some of Trump’s Republican rivals for the GOP presidential nomination weighed in on the possibility of a second round of criminal charges against the former president.
Trump’sformer vice president, Mike Pence, who announced his own presidential candidacy on Wednesday, said in an interview that he hoped that the DOJ would not indict Trump.
“I would hope the Department of Justice did not move forward. Not because I know the facts, but simply because I think after years where we’ve seen a politicization of the Justice Department is to undermine confidence in equal treatment of the law,” Pence said on the campaign trail in Iowa.
But Pence issued somewhat contradictory statements on a possible Trump indictment, stating that “no one’s above the law.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would wait to see what the charges against Trump consisted of, but made clear that Trump had himself to blame if he was charged for his mishandling of the documents.
“The problem with all of this is that it’s self-inflicted. In the end, I don’t know that the government even knew that Joe Biden had those documents or not,” Christie, a former U.S. attorney, told Fox News, drawing a distinction between a Justice Department investigation into classified documents found at Biden’s home. “They did know Donald Trump did and in fact asked voluntarily for them for over a year and a quarter and got them back in dribs and drabs.”
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson was more succinct, saying Trump should “step aside” if indicted in the documents case.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said the DOJ was guilty of weaponizing its investigation and that the “the determining factor for the 2024 election should be the voters,” ABC News reported.
Will the indictment hurt Trump?
Former President Donald Trump at ta campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, June 1. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)
While an April Yahoo News/YouGov poll taken after Trump’s first indictment in New York on charges stemming form his alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels show that Trump had solidified his support among Republican voters, it remains to be seen how a second indictment will play out with his party.
Trump wasted little time in using the news of his latest indictment to try to boost his standing.
“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” he wrote on Truth Social.
His campaign also jumped into action, seeking to fundraise off the latest news.
One Doctor Used an ‘Elimination Diet’ To Shed Stubborn Pounds and Boost Energy — Here’s How
Allison Nemetz – June 7, 2023
Do your best efforts to get healthier usually end with disappointment, low energy and weight gain? You’re not alone, says popular TikTok doctor Emi Hosoda, MD, who once experienced similar results. “I even went on a 1,200-calorie vegan diet and didn’t take off a single pound,” the Seattle-based internist recalls. At first, she blamed stress and aging. Then a colleague made an offhand comment: “You shouldn’t be so overweight. There must be something wrong with your gut.” Intrigued, Dr. Hosoda turned attention to her belly, eventually going back to school to learn more. She discovered that inflammation in the GI tract can cause hidden thyroid issues, and with the right tests, confirmed this was her problem. Fortunately, she notes that simple steps including adopting an elimination diet (cutting out thyroid-slowing foods) “were life-changing” for weight loss and vitality. Now, she’s sharing her tips and insights on the elimination diet along with her recommended meal plan for best results.
The Factors That Cause Thyroid Issues
You might be wondering what your GI tract has to do with your thyroid, a.k.a. the little gland in your neck that controls metabolism. Turns out, a key reason the thyroid slows down is that the body mistakenly attacks it — and Dr. Hosoda explains these autoimmune attacks “are very often triggered in our gut.”
Here’s the main way it happens: Little by little, things like stress hormones, antibiotics, and irritants in food damage the thin gut lining; if it gets bad enough, tiny tears form and microscopic food particles escape. While scientists don’t fully understand why, this can cause the immune system to malfunction and begin targeting healthy cells and tissue as they would a virus or toxin. And since the thyroid is delicate, Dr. Hosoda notes it’s prone to getting roughed up so much that it becomes sluggish and diseased.
So does your thyroid need help? Symptoms like fatigue, stubborn weight gain, brain fog, and frequent GI issues hint that the answer is yes. Be sure to talk to your doctor; you may need prescription meds to protect your well-being. But most experts agree that Dr. Hosoda’s basic style of eating can benefit virtually everyone. In fact, research shows it can help prevent future issues and even offer significant relief to folks already diagnosed with a slow thyroid.
To be fair, Dr. Hosoda says the perfect gut-soothing diet will be a little different for each of us. If you have access to a functional medicine expert, you can get high-tech tests and a personalized list of foods to avoid. Not an option? No problem! Making changes to your diet is a low-tech approach that gets pretty amazing results too.
The Best Eating Habits To Boost Thyroid Function
The gist of an elimination diet, or autoimmune protocol, is to give your body a break from foods that often cause inflammation and thyroid attacks, “like grains, dairy, sugar, artificial colors and flavors, and any highly processed food,” Dr. Hosoda says. At the same time, you’ll aim to get plenty of nutrients proven to help relieve inflammation and repair damage — especially antioxidants from produce (organic if possible, to avoid pesticide residue), amino acids from high-quality protein, and omega-3s from good fat.
As you narrow down what you eat and pay more attention to your body, you may notice a seemingly healthy food causes bloating or tummy trouble. Remove that item from your diet too. After you give your system time to rejuvenate, you can add things back one at a time and reincorporate any that don’t trigger reactions. “I used to have trouble with coconut, but now that my gut has healed, I can handle it again,” Dr. Hosoda shares. “The key is to find things that are damaging for you and replace them with things that are healing.”
Bonus: “As your gut heals, it becomes better able to absorb nutrients essential for making thyroid hormones, like magnesium and selenium,” Dr. Hosoda notes. A healthy gut also absorbs more minerals like chromium that are key to preventing inflammatory blood-sugar spikes.
For Dr. Hosoda, blood tests showed a significant drop in markers of autoimmune attacks. “I felt energized and better right away. And then the weight started coming off pretty quickly, about 2 to 4 pounds every week or so,” she adds. “If you take steps and don’t get better, a hidden infection or other issues can be at play. Don’t struggle alone. Keep looking until you find a doctor who helps you.”
Dr. Hosoda’s Elimination Diet Meal Plan for Thyroid Health
To try Dr. Hosoda’s way of eating, use a free app like MyFitnessPal to keep portions healthy and enjoy lots of nonstarchy veggies, protein, and good fats. Include a little low-sugar fruit and grain-free starch like sweet potato, beans, and quinoa into your daily diet. Choose organic or grass-fed ingredients if possible. Also, avoid sugar, dairy, grains, and processed food. Below, you can find three easy meal ideas if you’re following the elimination diet plan:
Breakfast: Halve and slightly hollow baked sweet potatoes. Brush with olive oil and then add raw eggs. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the eggs reach your preferred level of doneness, 10 to 15 minutes.
Lunch: Dress up a large bowl of spring greens with grilled chicken, fresh berries, nuts, spring onion, and a drizzle of olive oil vinaigrette.
Dinner: On a sheet pan, top salmon and veggies with olive oil and seasoning. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the fish flakes, 15 to 20 minutes.
