Politics and American Democracy

Oregon fire is the largest burning in the US. Thunderstorms and high winds are exacerbating it

Associated Press

Oregon fire is the largest burning in the US. Thunderstorms and high winds are exacerbating it

Rebecca Boone – July 24, 2024

In this image provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Durkee fire burns in the background as it nears Interstate 84 near Huntington, Ore., early Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (Oregon Department of Transportation via AP)

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Powerful winds and hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms rattled eastern Oregon and Idaho Wednesday afternoon, cutting power and stoking fires, including one in Oregon that is already the largest active blaze in the nation.

The Durkee Fire, burning near the Oregon-Idaho border about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Boise, Idaho, caused the closure of a stretch of Interstate 84 again Wednesday. Amid rapidly forming storms in the afternoon, the blaze crossed the interstate near the town of Huntington, home to about 500 people. It also merged with the Cow Valley Fire, another large blaze that had been burning nearby, Gov. Tina Kotek said.

“The wildfires in Eastern Oregon have scaled up quickly,” Kotek said in a news release Wednesday evening, calling it a dynamic situation. “We are facing strong erratic winds over the region that could impact all fires. Rain is not getting through. Some communities do not have power.”

She said she had deployed the National Guard to the region.

The nearly 420-square-mile (1,088-square-kilometer) blaze had prompted the evacuation of Huntington on Sunday, and on Wednesday city officials posted on Facebook that people remaining in town, especially those with “major health issues,” needed to leave their homes because of wildfire smoke and the lack of power. City officials also said Wednesday that gas service to residents had been shut off until the evacuation orders are lifted.

The fire approached Alison Oszman’s home in Rye Valley, a small ranching area north of Huntington, last week, but they were able to protect their property with the help of Bureau of Land Management firefighters and neighbors, using small tanker trucks and shovels. They used a small dozer to keep it away from the house, she said.

Since their property was burned and safe, her neighbor moved his horses and cattle over as the fire moved toward his ranch, she said. On Wednesday night, Oszman went to check his property and found that the fire came down a steep hillside and threatened his home.

“I went and parked our truck out in the field just in case those big trees by his house caught fire,” she said. “I was making sure sparks didn’t land in the dirt or the dry grass. But as the fire passed his house, it started raining.” The rain helped the firefighters get on top of the blaze.

“It was pretty scary but everything seemed to fall into place,” she said. “Everybody helped everybody. It was actually pretty amazing for how crummy it really was.”

The National Weather Service in Boise said the storms were capable of producing wind gusts up to 70 mph with blowing dust reducing visibility. A storm about 44 miles (71 kilometers) northwest of Huntington near Baker City on Wednesday afternoon had recorded a wind gust of 66 mph (106 kph), the weather service said.

Wind, lightning and heavy rain fell that could cause flash flooding and debris flows in recently burned areas, authorities said. Flash flood warnings were issued for Huntington and in a nearby burn scar area.

A flash flood warning was issued for the Cow Valley burn scar in Eastern Oregon at about 8 p.m. Wednesday and was expected to last until 10:30 p.m., said Les Colin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boise, Idaho. A strong thunderstorm moved into a burned area that is especially susceptible to flooding, he said. No homes are in the area but Interstate 84 runs close by.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office also mobilized nearly 500 firefighters to help protect communities that could be threatened by wildfires on Wednesday.

The major electricity utility in the region, Idaho Power, warned customers to prepare for possible outages, and by late Wednesday afternoon, nearly 7,000 customers were without electricity, the utility said. The utility also cut power to customers in the Boise foothills and other nearby areas, citing extreme weather and wildfire risk.

More than 60 significant fires are burning in Oregon and Washington alone, and Oregon has been plagued with hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms in recent days that have started new blazes in bone-dry vegetation.

A fire in southern California also was moving fast and threatening homes.

Evacuation orders were in effect Wednesday night in San Diego County after a wildfire began to spread fast near the San Diego and Riverside county line. Fire officials say the Grove Fire is spreading southeast through steep and challenging terrain. The fire grew to 1.3 square mile (3.4 square kilometers) within a few hours but was 5% contained just before 8 p.m., Cal Fire said on the social media platform X.

The smoke from the Durkee Fire in Oregon was choking the air in Boise and beyond. An air quality warning was in effect for the entire region on Wednesday.

Patrick Nauman, the owner of Weiser Classic Candy in the small town of Weiser, Idaho, near the Oregon border, said driving into town Wednesday morning was “like driving into a fog bank, because it’s so thick and low to the road.”

Nauman’s shop is on the main intersection in town and is typically a popular spot to stop for lunch or a sugar fix, but customer traffic has dropped by half in the past few days as thick smoke and triple-digit temperatures dogged the region.

“Yesterday you could smell it, taste it, it just kind of hung in the back of your throat,” Nauman said of the smoke.

Mike Cantin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boise, said cooler air moving into the region Wednesday evening could stoke the Durkee and other fires. A red flag warning was in effect, and the area has been suffering through a heat wave, including many days over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

“With these winds showing up today, every little spark could get out of hand very easily. It could be a really hazardous situation very fast,” Cantin said. “Don’t light anything on fire, and be very careful around grass.”

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Associated Press writer Lisa Baumann contributed from Bellingham, Washington and Martha Bellisle contributed from Seattle.

Monday was the hottest day ever on Earth. Here are the heat illness symptoms you should watch for.

Yahoo! Life

Monday was the hottest day ever on Earth. Here are the heat illness symptoms you should watch for.

What’s the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke?

Korin Miller, Freelance health reporter – July 24, 2024

Photo illustration of a sweating person drinking from a water bottle. — Your guide to staying cool, avoiding heat-related illness and more. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images)

Monday, July 22 broke the record for the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, and extreme heat also already claimed dozens of lives this summer.

It’s easy to forget about the risk of heat exhaustion or sunstroke when you’re enjoying a pool party or hanging out at the beach, but these serious conditions can and do happen. Ahead, three emergency room physicians answer questions about how to stay safe when it’s scorching out — from being able to identify symptoms to the most effective ways to keep cool.

Why should I care about heat illness now?

Summer is when temperatures are the highest in the U.S. As temperatures soared last year, so did ER visits for heat illness. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in April found that there were nearly 120,000 heat-related emergency room visits in 2023, and 90% of them happened between May and September.The most ER visits happened in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, with males and adults between the ages of 18 and 64 having the highest rates of ER visits for heat illness.

Heat is also the deadliest form of extreme weather, the National Weather Service warns. Hot weather kills 1,220 people annually, according to the CDC. And tolls are rising each year, amid climate change. Last year was the hottest in human history, and a record-breaking 2,303 people died from heat exposure, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates.

“With hotter summer months rapidly approaching, it’s important to plan ahead to protect yourself and others from heat illness,” Dr. Marc Taub, an emergency physician and medical director of emergency services at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. “It’s especially important to take precautions for those who are more vulnerable to the heat, such as children, older adults, pregnant persons, those who work outdoors, people without ready access to cool areas and fluids and people with underlying health conditions.”

Read more: Extreme heat can be dangerous for kids. Here’s how to keep them safe in high temperatures.

What exactly is heat illness?

Heat illness (also known as heat-related illness) is an umbrella term used to describe several conditions that can happen to your body when temperatures rise.

Heat illness generally refers to these conditions:

Heat cramps: These can be the first sign of heat illness, and usually involve painful muscle cramps that can happen in the legs and abdomen, per the National Weather Service (NWS).
Heat rash: This is skin irritation that can happen when you sweat a lot on hot, humid days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Heat exhaustion: Heat exhaustion is the body’s response to an excessive loss of water and salt that usually happens from sweating a lot, according to the CDC. It can cause heavy sweating, fatigue and dizziness, along with other symptoms.
Heat stroke: Also known as sunstroke, this is the most serious heat illness, the CDC says. It happens when the body can no longer control its temperature. The sweating mechanism fails, and the body is no longer able to cool down. Body temperature can also get to 106 degrees or higher within 10 to 15 minutes, according to the CDC. Heat stroke can lead to permanent disability or death.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of heat illness vary depending on the type you experience. Here’s a breakdown, according to the CDC:

Heat cramps

Muscle cramps in the abdomen, arms or legs
Pain in the abdomen, arms or legs
Spasms in the abdomen, arms or legs

Heat rash

Red clusters of pimples or small blisters
Pimples or blisters that show up on the neck, upper chest, groin, under the breasts and in elbow creases

Heat exhaustion

Headache
Nausea
Dizziness
Weakness
Irritability
Thirst
Heavy sweating
Elevated body temperature
Urinating less than usual

Heat stroke

Confusion, altered mental status, slurred speech
Loss of consciousness
Hot, dry skin or excessive sweating
Seizures
Very high body temperature

How dangerous is heat illness?

It depends on the type of heat illness you have. Heat rash and heat cramps are “generally uncomfortable if you are healthy,” Dr. Lewis Nelson, chair of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, tells Yahoo Life. However, they are not usually serious.

But anyone can experience heat exhaustion and heat stroke — the latter of which is life-threatening, he points out.

“With heat stroke, you can develop organ problems, kidney failure, heart problems and stroke-like symptoms,” Dr. Eric Adkins, emergency medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. “You can die from heat stroke.”

I am having symptoms. What should I do?

Doctors recommend getting out of the heat ASAP if you don’t feel well. “The most important intervention if you feel sick in the heat is to move to a cooler area,” Nelson says. “This may be as simple as moving out of the sun or going indoors.”

Using a fan can speed up the evaporation of sweat and help you cool down, but Nelson points out that it’s “not very efficient” at higher temperatures. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends that people don’t use fans when the heat index temperature, which is a combination of the temperature and humidity, is above 99 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Making sure you are adequately hydrated is critical and replacing the lost sweat with water, plus electrolytes will help avoid a fall in your blood sodium level,” Nelson says.

It’s also a good idea to take off extra clothes and put on wet towels, if you have them nearby, to help cool you down, Adkins says. Spraying water on your body can also help, according to Taub.

If someone is showing symptoms of heat stroke, call 911 immediately. The NWS also urges getting “immediate medical attention” if heat cramps last for more than an hour, the person vomits or if heat exhaustion symptoms get worse or last for more than an hour.

How can I stay informed about heat risks?

The CDC just launched a Heat & Health Tracker to make it easier to know what’s happening with heat in your area. The tracker offers local heat and health information, including rates of emergency room visits for heat illness where you live. The CDC also notes which medications might make you more vulnerable to the effects of heat, and how to store them safely when temperatures rise.

“Keep track of daily weather forecasts and local heat alerts,” Taub says. “Good sources of information on current and forecasted weather include local news channels and weather websites.” He also suggests checking out Heat.gov for up-to-date information and forecasts.

My car is always sizzling in the summer. How can I keep myself cool?

Car temperatures can skyrocket, and research has found that interior temperatures can hit 116 degrees and seats can get up to 123 degrees.

“Getting into a hot car for a brief period of time is generally safe, but opening the windows or turning on the air conditioning should help moderate the temperature,” Nelson says. “The inside of a car, especially in the sun, can reach unsafe temperatures if not cooled, so do not keep children or pets in closed cars, even if out of the sun.”

Adkins recommends parking in the shade when you can. A sun shade in your car can help to deflect heat away from the interior as well, Taub says. If your car doesn’t have air conditioning and it’s extremely hot outside, Adkins suggests taking public transportation if it’s available.

What are the most effective ways to stay cool?

If you feel yourself getting hot, there are a few things you can do to cool off in the moment.

Drinking plenty of water is an obvious choice, but Adkins also recommends keeping an eye on the color of your urine. “If it looks more pale yellow, you’re hydrated,” he says. “If it’s dark yellow, orange or brown, that’s a primary sign of dehydration.”

Using fans, including portable fans, when the heat index is below 99 degrees can be helpful, along with misting yourself with cool water, Nelson says. Putting cool, wet cloths on your wrists, neck and ankles can help keep your temperature down, too, Adkins says.

Is there anything else I can do?

Doctors say there are a few other moves you can make to keep yourself cool on hot days. A big one is avoiding being outside on the hottest times of the day — typically between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. — if you’re able, Adkins says.

Nelson also suggests carrying around a bottle of water with you to make sure you’re staying well hydrated. Carrying a portable fan in your bag and using it when you need to cool off can also be helpful, according to Adkins.

If you want to really plan ahead, Adkins recommends planting trees on your property to create shade for the future.

Overall, doctors stress the importance of being aware of the heat in your area and taking steps to keep yourself cool. “Exposure to excess heat can be serious — and it’s important to take it seriously,” Adkins says.

This article was originally published on May 22, 2024 and has been updated.

Trump Tries to Flip the Script on Democracy After Biden’s Withdrawal Democracy After Biden’s Withdrawal

The New York Times

Trump Tries to Flip the Script on Democracy After Biden’s Withdrawal

Nick Corasaniti and Jim Rutenberg – July 23, 2024

Supporters of former President Donald Trump outside the Senate chamber during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)

Ever since rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Democratic Party has sought to claim the mantle of democracy, painting Donald Trump and his allies as extremists willing to deny the will of voters to cling to power.

Now, after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and Democrats swiftly aligned behind Vice President Kamala Harris as a replacement, Republicans are trying to flip the argument.

In a series of statements and social media posts, Republicans have argued that Democrats, by pressuring Biden to quit, have “disenfranchised” the 14 million people who voted for him in the party primaries.

The accusation isn’t based on any party rule or supposed legal violation. Instead, it is the Republicans’ latest attempt to muddy the waters on an issue that helped Democrats win key races two years ago. Since Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in 2020, which led to the Jan. 6 riot and criminal charges against the former president, Democrats have cast Republicans as a threat to democratic norms.

They have used images from the Jan. 6 riot in attack ads and mobilized Democratic voters against Republican-backed legislation restricting voting. The issue was especially potent for Democratic governors and secretaries of state in critical swing states, who won every election for statewide office except for governor in Nevada and Georgia in 2022.

On Monday, Trump tried a new tactic to neutralize that threat, zeroing in on the “stolen” nomination claim. “They stole the race from Biden after he won it in the primaries — A First!” Trump posted on his social media site. “These people are the real THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”

The two most senior Republican congressional leaders — House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — echoed the claim.

“Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy,’ has proven exactly the opposite,” Johnson said. McConnell, the Republican minority leader in the Senate, said Democrats were “trying to upend the expressed will” of primary voters.

There is nothing in Biden’s withdrawal or his endorsement of Harris that appears to violate any party or election rules. Under party rules, when a candidate withdraws after the primary elections but before officially securing the nomination, delegates are free to vote for another candidate of their choosing. Republican Party rules outline a similar process.

Democrats and voting rights experts dismissed the criticism as a specious, and argued that Republicans lacked credibility on the subject.

On Monday, Alex Floyd, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, said it was Trump who was trafficking in “anti-democratic rhetoric as part of his campaign,” adding that the former president “himself inspired a violent insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.”

He said that Democrats were “committed to an open process” to select Biden’s successor on the ticket. That process includes a vote by the party’s nearly 4,000 delegates. Other Democrats noted that the 14 million people who voted for Biden certainly did so knowing he was on a ticket with Harris, the current front-runner.

Civil rights groups and democracy activists did not appear to share the Trump campaign’s concerns about Democratic disenfranchisement. Polling from this summer showed a majority of Democrats wanted Biden to step aside.

“I don’t think this is anti-democratic in the slightest,” said David Becker, director for the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization. Becker noted that Trump sought to throw out millions of votes in the states where he contested his defeat, as part of his attempt to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election.

It’s unclear whether Republicans’ attacks about the “stolen” Democratic primary will land with swing voters. But Trump has been trying to reframe the political debate over democracy for years, with some signs of success. He has cast the Jan. 6 rioters as patriots and accused Democratic prosecutors of using indictments to interfere with the election.

A recent Washington Post poll found that voters in six battleground states were more likely to trust Trump than Biden to handle threats to democracy. The survey found 61% of voters in those states listed “threats to democracy” as extremely important to their vote. The only issue rating higher was the economy.

“I am the only one saving democracy for the people in our country,” Trump said as he accepted his party’s nomination last week.

Trump and his allies also sought to use the attempt on Trump’s life at his July 13 rally in Pennsylvania to portray him as a “defender” of democracy.

They have painted the shooting as an anti-democratic attempt to remove Trump from the race. (Virtually nothing is known about the motives of his shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.)

In making the argument that Biden’s exit from the race disenfranchised millions of primary voters, Trump and his party picked up a theme the president’s campaign had also emphasized. When Biden was resisting calls to drop out, he and his surrogates often pointed to those votes to defend his decision to stay in the race.

“We had a Democratic nominating process where the voters spoke clearly,” Biden had told MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. “I won 14 million of those votes.”

The Republican attempts to seize on that argument as their own, democracy activists say, is part of a broader, yearslong effort to erode trust in the electoral process.

“I see this all as just a continued effort to try to cast doubt on our elections, to try to undermine pro-democracy candidates,” said Joanna Lydgate, CEO of the States United Democracy Center.

Hillary Clinton: How Kamala Harris Can Win and Make History

The New York Times – Guest Opinion

Hillary Clinton: How Kamala Harris Can Win and Make History

By Hillary Rodham Clinton – July 23, 2024

Mrs. Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president in 2016.

Kamala Harris, seen outside the White House.

Credit…Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

History has its eye on us. President Biden’s decision to end his campaign was as pure an act of patriotism as I have seen in my lifetime. It should also be a call to action to the rest of us to continue his fight for the soul of our nation. The next 15 weeks will be like nothing this country has ever experienced politically, but have no doubt: This is a race Democrats can and must win.

Mr. Biden has done a hard and rare thing. Serving as president was a lifelong dream. And when he finally got there, he was exceptionally good at it. To give that up, to accept that finishing the job meant passing the baton, took real moral clarity. The country mattered more. As one who shared that dream and has had to make peace with letting it go, I know this wasn’t easy. But it was the right thing to do.

Elections are about the future. That’s why I am excited about Vice President Kamala Harris. She represents a fresh start for American politics. She can offer a hopeful, unifying vision. She is talented, experienced and ready to be president. And I know she can defeat Donald Trump.

There is now an even sharper, clearer choice in this election. On one side is a convicted criminal who cares only about himself and is trying to turn back the clock on our rights and our country. On the other is a savvy former prosecutor and successful vice president who embodies our faith that America’s best days are still ahead. It’s old grievances versus new solutions.

Ms. Harris’s record and character will be distorted and disparaged by a flood of disinformation and the kind of ugly prejudice we’re already hearing from MAGA mouthpieces. She and the campaign will have to cut through the noise, and all of us as voters must be thoughtful about what we read, believe and share.

I know a thing or two about how hard it can be for strong women candidates to fight through the sexism and double standards of American politics. I’ve been called a witch, a “nasty woman” and much worse. I was even burned in effigy. As a candidate, I sometimes shied away from talking about making history. I wasn’t sure voters were ready for that. And I wasn’t running to break a barrier; I was running because I thought I was the most qualified to do the job. While it still pains me that I couldn’t break that highest, hardest glass ceiling, I’m proud that my two presidential campaigns made it seem normal to have a woman at the top of the ticket.

Ms. Harris will face unique additional challenges as the first Black and South Asian woman to be at the top of a major party’s ticket. That’s real, but we shouldn’t be afraid. It is a trap to believe that progress is impossible. After all, I won the national popular vote by nearly three million in 2016, and it’s not so long ago that Americans overwhelmingly elected our first Black president. As we saw in the 2022 midterms, abortion bans and attacks on democracy are galvanizing women voters like never before. With Ms. Harris at the top of the ticket leading the way, this movement may become an unstoppable wave.

Time is short to organize the campaign on her behalf, but the Labour Party in Britain and a broad left-wing coalition in France recently won big victories with even less time. Ms. Harris will have to reach out to voters who have been skeptical of Democrats and mobilize young voters who need convincing. But she can run on a strong record and ambitious plans to further reduce costs for families, enact common-sense gun safety laws and restore and protect our rights and freedoms.

She has a great story to tell about the accomplishments of this administration. Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris led America’s comeback after Mr. Trump bungled the pandemic and left our economy in free fall. Under their leadership, the United States has created more than 15 million jobs, and unemployment is near a 50-year low.

When inflation spiked around the globe, many economists said the only way to tame it would be a painful recession with major job losses. But Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris kept Americans working as inflation fell back toward normal levels and real incomes for working people rose.

When many thought bipartisanship was dead, Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass major legislation on infrastructure and clean energy, microchips and national security. From drug prices to student debt, they’ve delivered results that have made our country stronger and people’s lives better.

Ms. Harris is chronically underestimated, as are so many women in politics, but she is well prepared for this moment. As a prosecutor and attorney general in California, she took on drug traffickers, polluters and predatory lenders. As a U.S. senator, she rigorously questioned squirming Trump administration officials and nominees and was inspiring to watch. As vice president, Ms. Harris has sat with the president in the Situation Room, helping make the hardest decisions a leader can make. And when the extremist Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she became the administration’s most passionate and effective advocate for restoring women’s reproductive rights.

I look forward to hearing her prosecute a compelling case against Mr. Trump, who failed as a president the first time and is running on a dangerous agenda. A second Trump term would be much worse than the first. Mr. Trump’s plans are more extreme, he is more unhinged, and the guardrails that constrained some of his worst instincts are gone.

Ms. Harris can explain to the American people that inflation would surge again under Mr. Trump, thanks to his proposed across-the-board tariffs, sweeping tax cuts for the rich and mass deportations. The policies outlined by Mr. Trump’s allies in Project 2025, from further restricting abortion rights to dismantling the Department of Education, are a recipe for a weaker, poorer, more divided America.

The vice president’s law enforcement experience gives her the credibility to rebut Mr. Trump’s lies about crime and immigration. The facts are on her side: After spiking under Mr. Trump, the murder rate is plummeting under the Biden-Harris administration. Illegal border crossings are also dropping fast and are now the lowest they’ve been since 2020, thanks in part to Mr. Biden’s recent executive order. We’d be making even more progress if Mr. Trump hadn’t killed a bipartisan immigration compromise in Congress this year for his own selfish political purposes.

As a friend and supporter of Mr. Biden, I find this a bittersweet moment. He is a wise and decent man who served our country well. We have lost our standard-bearer, and we will miss his steady leadership, deep empathy and fighting spirit. Yet we have gained much as well: a new champion, an invigorated campaign and a renewed sense of purpose.

The time for hand-wringing is over. Now it’s time to organize, mobilize and win.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president in 2016 and is a former U.S. secretary of state and senator from New York.

With Biden out, Michelle Obama would be Donald Trump’s worst self-inflicted nightmare | Opinion

Miami Herald – Opinion

With Biden out, Michelle Obama would be Donald Trump’s worst self-inflicted nightmare | Opinion

Dion Lefler – July 21, 2024

If there’s one thing you can generally count on with Republicans, it’s political efficiency.

This time, they may have been too efficient.

The news that Joe Biden is dropping his campaign to be reelected president is about the worst thing that could have happened for Donald Trump.

Let’s face it, this race has always been a contest between age-related forgetfulness and age-related anger and aggression.

Now, instead of running against a man who appears too old to keep his thoughts together, Trump will have to face off against a younger and more vital opponent — at exactly the time the American people have said in a loud, clear voice that they’re tired of the same old men and the same old rhetoric.

Trump, and his party, brought this on themselves. They turned their remarkably efficient attack machine on too early.

The debate last month pretty conclusively showed that Biden isn’t up to what Americans expect from their president anymore.

It’s not his fault. Biden has been a man of great accomplishments in the Senate, as vice president, and as president over a long and productive career.

But age catches up to everyone.

From The Opinion Team

President Joe Biden withdrew Sunday from the 2024 presidential race. Read more on this developing news event, from our Opinion team:

→Biden’s withdrawal solves one of Dems’ many problems. But it creates one, too

→With Biden stepping down as nominee, Democrats make history book for the wrong reasons

→Once again, Joe Biden is giving America its best chance to defeat Donald Trump

Four years ago, Biden was the bulwark against the continuation of Trumpism. That’s what Democrats want and what the country needs again in 2024.

The way for Republicans to ensure their victory would have been to go along with the Democrat-created illusion of “Joe’s fine,” until after the Democrats held their convention and it was too late to turn back and pick someone else.

In the first debate, Trump should have tried to channel Ronald Reagan, politely smiling and answering the questions that were put to him. He should have waited for the second debate to pounce on Biden’s infirmity.

It’s the difference between tactics and strategy.

Now, no matter whom the Democrats choose to run against Trump, he’ll have a much harder case to make for himself.

He’s going to have to defend a Republican Party that, as we saw at their convention, basically supports restoration of the Soviet Union and seems terrified of fruit-pickers and hotel maids at the border.

To keep his vital right-wing evangelical base, Trump’s going to have to embrace their demands to ban abortion by any means necessary, which Americans in states blue and red (even Kansas) have voted repeatedly not to do. Against a more agile opponent, he won’t get away with claiming Democrats support abortion up to the moment of birth, or after, as he did against Biden in their debate.

And to keep his billionaire mega-donors, he’ll have to defend the Heritage Foundation’s God-awful Project 2025, a blueprint for dismantling just about everything in the United States that makes it a decent place to live.

So now, let’s see if the Democrats can be more strategic than Republicans (which, admittedly, they seldom are).

While they have several candidates who could potentially beat Trump, the Democrats have only one sure thing: Michelle Obama.

Polls show that other possible contenders, including Vice President Kamala Harris — who Biden endorsed shortly after announcing that he was stepping down — run slightly behind Trump. They’d start out playing catch-up.

In those same polls, Michelle Obama crushes Trump by 11 points.

Since her husband left the White House, she’s been the good soldier, supporting others for the top job while always saying she’s not interested in it herself.

But she’s also said she’s “terrified” at the potential outcome of the November election. While she might not actively campaign for the nomination, I’d think she’d find it pretty hard to turn it down if delegates at the Democratic National Convention were to draft her next month.

Dawn Staley, women’s basketball legend, head coach at the University of South Carolina and a four-time Olympic gold medalist (three as a player, one as coach), called the right play in a recent appeal to former president Barack Obama on X:

“Now please let us borrow @MichelleObama for just 4 short years! First Gentleman is a good look for you.”

Nobody knows better than Staley that when you’re down by a couple of points late in the fourth quarter, you want to get the ball in the hands of your best player to take the final shot.

The Democratic Party would do well to listen to her.

Dozens of Local Police Officers Were at Trump’s Rally. Very Few Were Watching a Critical Area.

The New York Times

Dozens of Local Police Officers Were at Trump’s Rally. Very Few Were Watching a Critical Area.

Campbell Robertson – July 21, 2024

Law enforcement officers survey a scene after former President Donald Trump’s campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

BUTLER, Pa. — A key question after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump a week ago is why the Secret Service excluded from its secured zone a nearby warehouse that the gunman used for his assault.

But another possible flaw in the Secret Service’s plans for the campaign rally at the farm show grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, is emerging. The protection agency expected the sizable contingent of officers from local law enforcement agencies to contain any threats outside the secured zone but assigned almost all those officers to work inside it, according to numerous interviews with local law enforcement and municipal officials.

None of the law enforcement agencies that assisted the Secret Service that day — the Pennsylvania State Police, the Butler Township Police Department, the Butler County Sheriff, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police or the multicounty tactical teams — say they were given responsibility for watching the zone outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter.

More specifically, the local law enforcement officials say that none of them were assigned to safeguard the complex of warehouses just north of the farm show grounds. The gunman was able to use the roof of the warehouse closest to the stage — about 450 feet from the podium — from which to shoot.

“I am going to defend those guys, because it wasn’t their job to secure the building,” said Richard Goldinger, the district attorney in Butler County, who oversees the multicounty tactical teams that were used at the rally July 13.

Rather, an overwhelming majority of the dozens of local and state officers called upon to aid the Secret Service were given other duties at or inside the secured perimeter — an area that was protected by a fence, metal detectors and the Secret Service itself.

With law enforcement focused elsewhere, a would-be assassin roamed freely outside the perimeter. The only officers who got close to him were ones who left their designated posts to do so.

Their job had been to direct traffic.

The assigned responsibilities of local law enforcement officers raise questions as to whether these resources were effectively deployed. The assignments also suggest there was a breakdown in the Secret Service’s communication with local law enforcement.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will almost certainly face sharp questions about why that rooftop was left unguarded during a hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on Monday. In an interview with ABC News this past week, Cheatle said local police — not the Secret Service — had been responsible for the area in which the warehouses were located.

“In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter,” Cheatle said. “And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building.”

Local agencies quickly issued statements disputing her account, saying that no officers were deployed in the building the gunman used. She has not spoken publicly since.

The gunman, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, shot at Trump, leaving his ear bloodied, and injured three rally attendees, one fatally. A Secret Service sniper then shot and killed Crooks.

Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesperson, said his agency took responsibility. He said the agency would cooperate with all relevant investigations and was committed to better understanding what happened before, during and after the shooting.

But Guglielmi could not answer detailed questions about who was assigned to guard the area that included the warehouses, owned by AGR International.

On July 3, the Trump campaign called the Butler Farm Show, an annual fair and livestock show, to ask if Trump could rent their fairgrounds July 13.

“It just seemed like an awful quick turnaround,” said Ken Laughlin, president of the farm show’s board.

Laughlin said the campaign did not ask questions about the venue, which includes a few barns and a fence around the outside to stop people from attending the show without buying tickets.

Laughlin said that three agents from the Secret Service came to visit the grounds five days later, on July 8.

Retired agents said that collaborating with local law enforcement on unfamiliar sites is essential to their work.

“We cannot do our job without the locals; we come from nowhere, and these are our partners,” said Beth Celestini, who worked on protective details assigned to President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama before retiring in 2021.

In the days that followed their first site visit, the Secret Service made its requests for local assistance. The law enforcement presence at the site on the day of the rally — federal, state and local — ending up totaling more than 100 officers, a Secret Service official said.

Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said he had about six deputies at the rally, whose primary jobs were to secure the perimeter and “make sure people didn’t jump the fence” into the event.

Keeping watch over the complex of warehouses, Slupe said, “wasn’t our role or responsibility.” Instead, his deputies were detailed to the metal detector areas and command communications posts.

Local agencies had a security briefing on July 8 with Secret Service agents to plan assignments, the sheriff said.

“If people could have prevented that roof issue,” he said, referring to the building from which the gunman had shot, “we’d have no issue, right?”

The State Police said in a statement that its 30 to 40 troopers were there “to assist with securing the inside perimeter.” The statement said the agency “was not responsible for securing the building or property at AGR International.”

Tactical law enforcement teams compiled from Butler County and neighboring counties provided two counter assault teams and a quick-response team. They were placed in the secured zone in case something went wrong.

Between the July 8 walk-through and another to finalize plans July 11, the Secret Service had another request. It asked for two police sniper teams to supplement the two sniper units that were to be deployed by the agency’s forces.

The emergency service units, another name for the county tactical teams, provided seven counter snipers. Four of the seven were given duties within the security perimeter, according to a local law enforcement official.

The three others took a position in a warehouse directly behind the one that Crooks ultimately used. Even those snipers were assigned to use their second-floor window view to survey the crowd inside the secured zone — not to watch over the warren of buildings where they were stationed, a law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the continuing investigation.

The Secret Service’s counter snipers were placed on barn rooftops, directly behind Trump.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had 16 Homeland Security Investigations agents at the rally assisting the Secret Service, according to two U.S. officials. One of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the continuing investigation, said the ICE agents were deployed in various roles such as screening members of the news media as they entered the secured area and helping direct traffic.

A Pittsburgh police spokesperson said its team had officers on motorcycles to lead and follow Trump’s vehicle. “They were ABSOLUTELY NOT responsible for monitoring any buildings or anything else at the site,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Officers from the Butler Township Police Department also helped out. But they were not security, according to Butler Township Commissioner Edward Natali.

“There were seven officers all assigned to traffic detail. Period!! The BTPD was NOT responsible for securing AGR or any other location,” Natali said in a post on social media. “Anyone who says so, reports on it, implies it, etc… is uninformed, lying, or covering their own backsides.”

Once there was notification of a suspicious person in the crowd outside of the secured area at the rally, four Butler Township police officers left their traffic posts and went hunting for him, officials who briefed members of Congress said this past week.

Larry Hogan blasts Project 2025 as a ‘dangerous path’ for GOP

The Hill

Larry Hogan blasts Project 2025 as a ‘dangerous path’ for GOP

Lauren Irwin – July 20, 2024

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) criticized Project 2025 in a recent op-ed, calling the policy priorities outlined in the conservative agenda “absurd and dangerous.”

Hogan, in the piece published Friday by The Washington Post, argued that “traditional American Values” are under threat on both sides of the aisle.

“On the left, the refusal by some to clearly stand up to radicals such as antisemitic and pro-Hamas protesters, advocates of defunding the police, and the open-borders movement has done substantial damage,” Hogan wrote. “However, on the right, there is no clearer example of the threat to American values than Project 2025.”

The 900-age policy agenda, led by the conservative Heritage Foundation, is gaining traction as the unofficial presidential transition project. It is divided into sections based on five main topics — “Taking the Reins of Government,” “The Common Defense,” “The General Welfare,” “The Economy” and “Independent Regulatory Agencies.”

Project 2025 has gained support from more than 100 other right-wing organizations and conservatives who critics argue could staff a second Trump administration if he’s reelected in November.

Trump, however, has called attempts to link him to the document “pure disinformation” and claimed he has “nothing to do” with it.

Hogan said to call the ideas in the plan radical would be “a disservice,” even as Republicans downplay the influence of the plan.

“In truth, Project 2025 takes many of the principles that have made this nation great and shreds them,” he wrote in the opinion piece.

Hogan, who is running for the vacant Senate seat left by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), noted that one of the primary goals in the plan targets federal workers, and could affect more than 150,000 Maryland residents.

“The goal is to remove nonpartisan civil servants, most of whom patriotically do their jobs without fanfare or political agendas, and replace them with loyalists to the president,” Hogan said. “Republicans who believe this power grab will benefit them in the short term will ultimately regret empowering a Democratic president with this level of control.”

The former governor, whose father was an FBI agent, also highlighted an aspect of the plan that he said would weaken the Department of Justice’s independence from the president. Impartial justice should not be abandoned by choice and design, Hogan argued.

Of the “absurd and dangerous” policies in the plan, Hogan highlighted that the Education Department and the Federal Reserve could potentially be disbanded, as well as mass deportations.

“This radical approach is out of touch with the American people,” Hogan said. “Most Americans — regardless of party affiliation — have more in common than many realize.”

“They want common-sense solutions to address the cost of living, make our communities safer, and secure the border while fixing the broken immigration system,” he continued. “Instead of addressing these problems, Project 2025 opts for total war against the other side, making it impossible to find common ground.”

Biden hits Trump over RNC speech: ‘What the hell was he talking about?’

The Hill

Biden hits Trump over RNC speech: ‘What the hell was he talking about?’

Lauren Irwin – July 20, 2024

President Biden took to social media Friday evening to blast former President Trump over the speech he gave while accepting the GOP presidential nomination at the final night of the Republican National Convention (RNC).

“I’m stuck at home with COVID, so I had the distinct misfortune of watching Donald Trump’s speech to the RNC,” Biden posted on social media platform X. “What the hell was he talking about?”

The president announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and had plans to isolate in his Delaware home. Meanwhile, Trump closed out the RNC in Milwaukee after choosing Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) to be his running mate earlier in the week, and there was no shortage of glitz and glamor.

The former president made a rock-star entrance on stage Thursday to officially become the GOP nominee for president in November.

His speech, the first since a gunman attempted to assassinate him a week ago, lasted more than 90 minutes and was the longest acceptance speech by a major party candidate in RNC history.

Biden highlighted some moments in Trump’s speech during his rant, which stretched well past midnight.

“Let’s start with this. Donald said he ‘did a great job’ with COVID,” Biden said. “Folks, this is the same guy who told us to inject bleach while over a million Americans died.”

He also pointed to the former president’s comments about protecting Social Security and Medicare, calling it a “flat-out lie.”

“Trump proposed cutting Social Security and Medicare every year he was in office,” he said. “And he’ll do it again.”

His thread on X targeted his 2024 rival over his rhetoric on tax cuts, ending inflation, electric vehicle mandates and immigration. Biden also mocked the former president for his praise of the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lector, whom Trump has called a “wonderful man.”

“Donald, Hannibal Lecter is not real,” Biden wrote. “And he is a cannibal.”

Biden asked Trump to “look at the facts” when it came to domestic job growth.

“Honestly, I thought the worst lie he told all night was when he said, ‘in conclusion’ and then kept going,” the incumbent said. “I’ve heard enough. And if you’re with me, pitch in to our campaign.”

Trump made it a point to only mention Biden once in his speech. The start of his remarks showed a difference side of the former president, but he quickly changed his tune back to a normal rally-like speech, criticizing Biden and the “crazy” former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

As Biden battles both COVID and a rising number of calls for him to step aside from members of his own party after a poor debate performance raised concerns about his mental fitness to serve another term in office, his campaign said Trump’s speech only made him “more determined than ever.”

Scientists sound the alarm after new research points to growing invisible threat putting coastal cities at risk: ‘We need very dramatic action’

The Cool Down

Scientists sound the alarm after new research points to growing invisible threat putting coastal cities at risk: ‘We need very dramatic action’

Susan Elizabeth Turek – July 19, 2024

A new study that accounts for seawater intrusion between ice sheets estimates that other projections about future sea level rise could be too modest.

What’s happening?

As detailed by the Guardian, researchers used computer models to analyze how ocean water intruding into ice sheet cavities impacted melting rates. They believe this could create a “tipping point” where the sheets lose ice much faster than expected.

“[Seawater intrusion] could basically be the missing piece,” study leader Dr. Alexander Bradley told the news outlet. “… And there’s a lot of evidence that when you do include it, the amount of sea level rise the models predict could be much, much higher.”

The Guardian also highlighted a previous study that suggested seawater intrusion could cause some Antarctic ice sheets to lose ice around two times more quickly. The latest findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Why is this concerning?

As it stands, models by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration project large swaths of the West and East Coasts will eventually succumb to the oceans, but the latest analysis suggests the tipping point could be closer than initially believed.

Almost 40% of the global population lives less than 65 miles from a coast, according to the UN Environment Programme. If sea levels continue to rise, those communities could be at a further increased risk of property and livelihood loss, as well as displacement.

Watch now: Alex Honnold shows off his new Rivian

Human activities have directly impacted our seas, with the burning of dirty fuels like gas, oil, and coal overwhelmingly driving the overheating of our planet.

According to NOAA, the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred in the past decade, with 2023 being the warmest ever recorded. These warmer temperatures are causing ice sheets to melt and ocean water to expand, thus contributing to rising sea levels.

The higher water levels also increase the risk of costly damage and deadly flooding during extreme weather events. Strong hurricanes, for example, have become more frequent as a result of our changing climate, with rapid intensification a growing phenomenon.

What can be done about rising sea levels?

Floating homes and land reclamation projects are among the initiatives providing hope that we can adapt to rising sea levels. However, Dr. Bradley also called for bold action to help preserve our coastal communities.

“With every tenth of a degree of ocean warming, we get closer and closer to passing this tipping point…” Dr. Bradley told the Guardian. “So we need very dramatic action to restrict the amount of warming that takes place and prevent this tipping point from being passed.”

The global community still has a ways to go to reduce its reliance on dirty fuels and meet its agreed-upon pollution-reduction goals, but there have been promising developments. For example, in 2023, clean energy accounted for a record 30% of electricity worldwide, with wind and solar installations leading the way, according to a report by Ember.

While the appointment of 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference president Mukhtar Babayev has been criticized because of his past ties to an oil company, there is also optimism that November’s COP29 event will lead to continued cooperation to protect our planet.

Supporting eco-friendly policymakers at home can support efforts at a systemic level. There are also simple ways to reduce the pollution you generate, like by unplugging energy vampires. Doing this can even save you around $165 on your electric bills every year.

Teamsters exec announces challenge to O’Brien after RNC speech

The Hill

Teamsters exec announces challenge to O’Brien after RNC speech

Lauren Irwin – July 19, 2024

International Brotherhood of Teamsters Vice President at large John Palmer announced he is mounting a challenge to current President Sean O’Brien after he gave a speech at the Republican National Convention.

In a letter, Palmer said he was officially announcing his candidacy for Teamsters national office in the 2026 election and invited all Teamsters to join him in forming an opposition slate to “send Sean O’Brien back to the truck.”

“This administration rode into power on a wave of excitement generated by our members’ desires and frustration. We were promised a more engaged leadership and a more militant union. What we have received so far is a PR blast furnace of misinformation and betrayal,” Palmer wrote in the letter, first reported by In These Times’ Kim Kelly.

Palmer also appeared to post the letter to a Teamsters Facebook group.

Of the many speeches given at the RNC this week, one of the first ones was delivered by O’Brien.

Palmer laid out several reasons why O’Brien has shown he is not fit for his leadership position, including fear of retaliation among members and failing to support members in contracts.

“This has all culminated in his presence at the anti-union, anti-worker Republican national convention, kissing the ring of a man that scabbed a picket line, failing to pay workers, discriminating against people of color as a landlord, falsely accusing five black men in New York of murder, orchestrating an insurrection against the United States, dodging the draft, and appointing Union busters from the Jones Day law firm to create the most anti-union Labor Board in history,” Palmer wrote.

Palmer argued that its “naïve to believe” that people who attended the RNC will support unions in “any way, shape, form, or manner.”

“We have successfully estranged ourselves from the rest of the labor movement through the actions of one man. Should we really go out and seek more enemies right now?” his letter said.

The Hill has reached out to Palmer for comment.