Tag Archives : Build House

Hungary’s Orbán tells CPAC: 'We must coordinate a movement of our troops' to fight liberal order

Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s controversial prime minister and an ally of former President Trump, issued a call for conservatives in Europe and the United States to unite in the fight against the liberal global order, in remarks delivered to the Conservative Political Action Committee in Texas on Thursday.

Orbán, who has exercised authoritarian rule over Hungary and employed rhetoric evoking Nazi propaganda, criticized the Biden administration as displaying weak leadership on the global stage and putting Brussels, the seat of the European Union, under “ideological pressure.” 

“We must take back the institutions in Washington and in Brussels,” Orbán said. 

The Hungarian leader’s remarks were largely met with cheers from the audience, which also issued loud boos when Orbán brought up billionaire-philanthropist and Democratic donor George Soros.

Soros, who is Jewish and Hungarian-American, is a high-profile target of the conservative right, with some criticism tying in antisemitic conspiracy theories. 

Orbán called Soros his “opponent” and attacked him as having an “army at his service,” citing civil society and largely independent institutions like non-governmental organizations, universities and the civil service.

Some Republicans in the U.S. view Orbán’s tenure as laying the groundwork for the far-right conservative movement internationally. His appearance in Texas followed his delivering a keynote address at a CPAC conference in Budapest in May, the first-ever European conference for the organization. 

The Hungarian leader said he had come to Texas to tell the audience “how you should fight. My answer is play by your own rules.”

“We must coordinate a movement of our troops because we face the same challenge,” he continued, calling the 2022 midterm elections and 2024 presidential and congressional elections part of “the fight for civilization.” 

Orbán emphasized Hungary’s hard-line policies criminalizing illegal migration and restricting marriage and adoption for same-sex couples. 

“To sum up, the mother is a woman. The father is a man, and leave our kids alone, full stop, end of discussion.” 

Orbán also reiterated a call for the U.S. to negotiate with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. 

“We in the neighborhood of Ukraine, are desperately in need of strong leaders who are capable of negotiating a peace deal… We need a strong America and a strong leader.”

The Biden administration has limited communication with Moscow and said it is only interested in talking with the Kremlin if they determine the Russians are serious about diplomacy. 

Orbán secured a fourth-term as Hungary’s prime minister in April and, while the election was considered fair, according to international monitors, it was criticized as marred by an uneven playing field that favored Orbán’s Fidesz party. 

The Hungarian leader is widely viewed as an autocratic leader that is eroding his country’s democratic institutions and promoting an isolationist, racist and discriminatory ideology.

Freedom House, which monitors the state of civil freedoms and democracy worldwide, rated Hungary as “partly free” in its 2022 Freedom in the World report, saying Orbán’s and his Fidesz party have passed laws restricting operations of opposition groups and free media, instituted ant-migrant and anti-LGBTQ policies and asserted government control over independent institutions, including the judiciary. 

Orban is widely seen as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite saying that he is in “full solidarity” with Ukraine. 

In a speech in Romania last month, Orban spoke out against European Union sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and said that Washington should negotiate with Moscow over Kyiv’s fate. 

His speech was criticized a “Nazi diatribe” by his long-time advisor Zsuzsa Hegedus, who resigned in over remarks in which he doubled down on wanting an “unmixed Hungarian race.” 

Orban is also a close ally of Trump, who he met earlier in the week at the former president’s golf club in New Jersey.

In January, Trump issued an endorsement for Orbán’s reelection, an unusual gesture that broke with diplomatic norms, for potentially giving the impression of the U.S. interfering in a foreign country’s democratic process.

Source: TEST FEED1

FDA considering dividing Jynneos doses into fifths to increase vaccine supply

The Biden administration is considering splitting doses of the smallpox vaccine, which are being used to prevent monkeypox amid the current outbreak, into five smaller doses, the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Thursday.

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said during a briefing that his agency was looking into possible solutions to increase the number of available doses of the Jyenneos vaccine. One of these proposed solutions is dividing the current doses into fifths.

“We’re considering an approach for the current doses of Jynneos that would allow health care providers to use an existing one dose vial of the vaccine to administer a total of up to five separate doses,” Califf said. “This approach which we’re referring to as dose-sparing, would change the method of administration for Jynneos which currently administered subcutaneously.”

According to Califf, this proposed change would involve injecting the reduced Jynneos doses in between layers of skin, creating a “pocket” for the vaccine.

“There’s some advantages to intradermal administration, including an improved immune response to the vaccine,” Califf said. “It’s important to note that overall safety and efficacy profile will not be sacrificed with this approach.”

An FDA spokesperson told The Hill this change in the monkeypox vaccination strategy was being considered because it had become “clear to all of us that we would not meet current demand with the current supply.”

“As we often do at FDA, we began exploring other scientifically feasible options. The identification of a clinical study that demonstrates that this approach could work has been particularly useful in informing how this might work without sacrificing the safety and efficacy of the vaccine,” said the spokesperson.

If pursued, this new strategy would still involve two doses administered about 28 days apart.

James Krellenstein, co-founder of the LGBTQ+ healthcare advocacy group PrEP4All, noted on Twitter that the FDA’s decision appeared to based on a 2015 study that looked into the immune response derived from a one-fifth dose of Jynneos administered intradermally compared to a full dose administered subcutaneously, which is when the shot is injected into the layer of fat beneath the skin.

The study, funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, found that an “equivalent immune response” between the two different forms of Jynneos administration.

Krellenstein wrote he was glad to see this decision being considered, saying his organization had suggested this strategy to federal officials multiple times.

Source: TEST FEED1

Pentagon delays missile test due to China tensions over Taiwan

The Pentagon for a second time will hold off on a planned intercontinental ballistic missile test launch amid increased tensions with China over Taiwan, the White House confirmed Thursday. 

“A long-planned Minuteman III ICBM test, scheduled for this week, has been rescheduled for the near future,” John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told reporters at the White House daily briefing.  

“As China engages in destabilizing military exercises around Taiwan, the United State is demonstrating instead the behavior of a responsible nuclear power by reducing the risks of miscalculation and misperception.”  

The decision comes as China earlier on Thursday fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait and deployed planes and warships in the area. The activity is part of Chinese wargames to last through Sunday in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island earlier this week.  

The trip sparked Beijing’s rage, as it views the independent island as its territory under its “One China” policy.  

The U.S., meanwhile, accepts the One China policy but has pursued strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan, committing to aiding the island in defending itself against Beijing. 

This is the second delay for the Minuteman III test. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in early March ordered a planned test to be pushed back to cool tensions with Russia over its attack on Ukraine. 

Minuteman III ICBMs, located in underground silos in five Western states, are tested several times a year and can be ready to launch in minutes should the president order it.   

Prior to the latest delay, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Air Force was planning to fire an unarmed missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., to land in the waters around the Marshall Islands, a former U.S. territory.  

Kirby later said the test was not canceled and could take place in “a couple of weeks” as “it’s not being postponed for an exorbitant amount of time.” He added it only was delayed “in light and in context of the tensions that we’re seeing right now, and they’re pretty escalated, . . . [the] temperature’s pretty high.” 

Following news of the delayed test, House Armed Services Committee ranking member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) was quick to criticize the Biden administration’s decision. In a statement, Rogers said the postponement “hurts our readiness and will only invite further aggression by our adversaries.” 

Kirby, however, several times stressed that the postponement will “not in any way” impact U.S. nuclear modernization or readiness. 

Source: TEST FEED1

How hand gestures help fight Zoom fatigue

Using hand signals during calls can increase a team’s ability to communicate more effectively in an environment where it is difficult to pick up on social cues, a new study suggests.  

University College London researchers, prompted by COVID-19 transition to remote work for many, found that participants whose group practiced using specific hand gestures interacted better with each other and learned more. 

“Gestures are a very human way to communicate that predates the spoken word yet have become far less used by people in video communication,” University College London researcher Paul Hills said in a news release. “Now, our study indicates how hand signals aid communication in a digital world and have psychological benefits.”    

For the study published in PLOS One researchers conducted a randomized control trial with more than 100 students, training one group to use specific hand gestures to signal emotions, like empathy, and another for when they wanted to take a turn speaking. 

Another experiment tested the effect the use of emojis might have during video conferencing. But researchers found using them made users’ experience worse in some cases. 

“Because you can’t make eye contact or pick up on subtle nods, gestures and murmurs of agreement or dissent in video conferences, it can be hard to know if people are engaged with what you’re saying,” University College London professor Daniel Richardson said in a media release.   

“There have been attempts to use more technology to improve video conferencing, such as emojis and response buttons, but we found strong evidence that encouraging people to use more natural hand gestures had a much better effect on their experience.” 

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. 

Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 7.1 percent of the American workforce worked from home in June due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Source: TEST FEED1

The urgent need to update the Electoral Count Act

“I was slipping in people’s blood.” That was the testimony of Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who defended the U.S. Capitol against a harrowing attack on our country on Jan. 6, 2021. In what she described as a “war scene,” Edwards sustained multiple injuries after being tear gassed, pepper sprayed and knocked unconscious. She endured this in defense of our democracy, on the day that Congress gathered to finalize the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Now, it’s time for members of Congress to do their part — to “support and defend” our system of constitutional democracy, as their oaths of office demand. The recent hearings on the Jan. 6 attack make clear that our nation faces a truly unprecedented and ongoing threat of election sabotage. The question is whether members of Congress are willing to act with the sense of urgency that this moment requires — whether they have truly taken to heart the words of retired Judge J. Michael Luttig, that “our democracy today is on a knife’s edge.”

Thankfully, a current effort in Congress is underway to update the Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887 — a confusing, antiquated law that provides the legal framework for how presidential votes are cast and confirmed. The vagaries of the 135-year-old law, which hasn’t been meaningfully updated since it was enacted, emboldened fringe members of then-President Trump’s circle to think that they could overturn the election on Jan. 6th. Just last month, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), along with 14 cosponsors, introduced the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022. The bipartisan bill would update the Electoral Count Act and bring it into the 21st century.

Addressing the issues with the ECA is the most practical way to help prevent a repeat of Jan. 6^th — and to help prevent a full-blown crisis in the next presidential election. Some key changes in the Senate’s bill include:

• Prohibiting state legislatures from overruling their own voters
• Resolving disputes about electors and electoral votes before they reach Congress
• Strictly limiting opportunities for members of Congress to second guess electors and electoral votes
• Clarifying the vice president’s ministerial role in the counting of electoral votes

The senators who came together to draft and introduce this important legislation should be recognized for their commitment to modernizing the ECA.

The big outstanding question now that the legislation has been introduced is whether the U.S. Senate and ultimately the U.S. House of Representatives will be able to move fast enough to get the bill across the finish line and prevent the next potential crisis.

Manchin has already acknowledged publicly — if the bill doesn’t pass both houses of Congress by the end of the year, “we’re in trouble.” And once the 2024 presidential campaign begins — likely in early 2023 — the legislative environment will be significantly less conducive to updating the ECA. 

It’s time for senators to acknowledge reality: The next presidential election could be one of the most contentious ever, and they must move on this bill as soon as possible. 

If political courage or motivation is needed, we should look to the example set by all of those who defended democracy on and after Jan. 6. The public servants who were willing to resign rather than taking action that would undermine democracy or the rule of law. The election officials and poll workers who stood strong in the face of intimidation and threats of violence. And the Capitol police officers — many of whom were injured, and several of whom lost their lives — protecting the very members of Congress who must now consider updates to the ECA.

The heroism and sacrifices of these individuals are a testament to what people can do when they understand the gravity of their work, and they commit themselves to it. It is the senators’ turn to commit themselves to their work — and to do it with both the thoroughness and speed that it requires to protect the will of the people.

Patrick Gaspard is president and CEO of the Center for American Progress. 

Trevor Potter is the president of the Campaign Legal Center and a Republican former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

Source: TEST FEED1

Georgia prosecutor knocks Lindsey Graham’s subpoena challenge

A Georgia prosecutor on Thursday hit back at Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for challenging a subpoena to testify before the special grand jury investigating former President Trump’s election meddling attempts in the state. 

In a Thursday court filing, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) said Graham’s challenge is “built on the shifting sands of erroneous legal arguments, inapplicable legal principles, and citations to caselaw that fail to support any legal point being made.” 

Graham renewed his efforts to resists the subpoena earlier this week, asking the Georgia federal district court to expedite hearing his challenge. 

His legal team argued in a court filing that the subpoena would set a precedent allowing “other county officials in locales across the country to impose similar burdens on federal officials, of whatever party, to the detriment of our federal government and the federalism that protects it from state and local interference.”

The Georgia special grand jury’s criminal probe is looking into Trump’s efforts to sway state officials and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. 

Willis has subpoenaed Trump associates and allies including Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and conservative lawyers John Eastman, Jenna Ellis and Cleta Mitchell.

Willis subpoenaed Graham about his communications with state elections officials following the 2020 election.

Graham’s activities during that time “certainly appear interconnected with former President Trump’s similar efforts to pressure Georgia election officials into ‘finding 11,780 votes’ and to spread Georgia election fraud disinformation,” Willis wrote in Thursday’s filing. 

“Rather than fantasizing about roads to quashal, [Graham] would be better served by consideration of Thomas Jefferson’s maxim that ‘legislators ought not to stand above the law they create but ought generally to be bound by it as are ordinary persons.’” 

Axios first reported on the new filing.

Source: TEST FEED1

Legionnaires' disease outbreak leads to one death, 11 hospitalizations in Northern California

An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Napa County, Calif., over the past month resulted in the death of one person and the hospitalization of 11 others, health officials said.

Napa County Public Health said officials identified high levels of Legionella bacteria, which causes the disease, in a cooling tower at Embassy Suites by Hilton Napa Valley, but officials did not identify any of the patients as having stayed at or visited the hotel. All of the known patients are county residents.

“Our joint investigation team continues to work with Embassy Suites staff to remediate the source of exposure,” Napa County Health Officer Karen Relucio said in a statement.

“Finding Legionella in one water sample is an important piece of the puzzle, but we must continue to investigate other cooling towers and water sources in the outbreak area, as it is common to find more than one source,” she said.

Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of pneumonia with symptoms including fever, cough and headaches, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Legionella bacteria are found naturally in freshwater and can grow in a building water system and spread in droplets small enough for people to breathe in.

Infected people do not generally spread the disease to other people, but the CDC says it is possible in rare circumstances.

The CDC and the county health department say those most at risk include current or former smokers, people over the age of 50, those with chronic lung disease and people with compromised immune systems. 

Health officials said the patient who died was over the age of 50 and had risk factors for severe disease. Three of the other 11 patients remain hospitalized.

“Although Legionnaires’ disease is a rare infection, this is a reminder that the bacteria that cause it are common in nature and can be found in man-made water systems,” said Relucio. “This means it’s very important for owners and managers of water systems that can create aerosols to take steps to prevent Legionella from growing and spreading in water systems.”

An Embassy Suites by Hilton Napa Valley spokesperson said the hotel is cooperating fully with health officials in their investigation of the outbreak, and the hotel has begun remediation after contacting its water treatment provider.

“The safety and well-being of our guests and team members are of paramount importance, and Embassy Suites by Hilton Napa Valley continues to make every effort to ensure all practices and standards are in line with strict safety and security regulations,” the spokesperson said.

“We are aware of public reports by Napa County Public Health of a Legionnaires’ outbreak in the area and preliminary findings in our cooling tower,” they continued. “We are waiting for a full report with test results from the health department, however, remain diligent in our commitment to providing a safe, hospitable environment for all.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Giffords says she's 'not bitter about what could have been' 11 years after shooting

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) said that she would rather she’d rather channel the pain she experienced after a near-fatal gunshot wound to the head into purpose than think of her assailant.

“I get asked a lot if I’m bitter about what could have been,” she told Esquire in an interview.

“I can honestly say that I’m not,” she continued. “This acceptance has taken me a while to come by, and I won’t pretend it’s been easy, but that’s been one of the keys to my recovery.”

A gunman opened fire during a constituent meeting Giffords held in Tucson at a supermarket in 2011. The shooting left Giffords critically injured and killed six others. The incident lead her to resign from Congress and co-found a gun violence advocacy organization called Giffords.

“Freedom is being able to exist in public spaces without having to worry whether someone next to you has a gun,” she told Esquire.

A documentary released in theaters last month, titled “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” follows the Arizona Democrat’s recovery, including a raw look at the days and months immediately following the shooting.

Giffords told Esquire she still does speech-therapy homework every day.

“If I think about the enormity of the task I have before me — healing my brain from a gunshot wound! — it can feel overwhelming,” she said. “So instead, I focus on completing the exercise in front of me, knowing that if I do that hundreds of times, in time that homework will retrain and rewire my brain to make it easier for me to access words that the aphasia has placed out of reach.”

She told the magazine she doesn’t have a memory of the shooting beyond where she parked her car that day and the gloves she wore. Her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), had to explain what happened more than a month later.

“It took me much longer to really reckon with the extent of my injuries,” Giffords said. “I cried a lot in those early days for the lives that were lost on January 8, 2011, and for what was taken from those of us who survived.”

Source: TEST FEED1

These Democrats are dodging questions about Biden 2024 run

President Biden has insisted he will run for reelection in 2024, but not every Democrat is clamoring to support a reelection campaign.

As Biden’s approval ratings have hovered consistently low — and with the president set to turn 80 in November — many in his party have questioned if he is the best choice to run. 

Big name Democratic politicians have not come out against Biden running for office again, but many have withheld public backing. 

Here are the Democrats who have been dodging questions about Biden’s 2024 run or not embracing the idea enthusiastically: 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)

Ocasio-Cortez declined back in June to say if she would be endorsing Biden in 2024. 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” the progressive lawmaker said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“But I think if the president has a vision, and that’s something certainly we’re all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes,” she added.

When pressed on the matter, Ocasio-Cortez said she is focusing on the 2022 midterm elections. 

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)

At the end of July, Manchin, one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, would not say if he would throw his support behind Biden in two years. 

“I’m not going, I’m not getting into 2022 or 2024,” Manchin said on ABC’s “This Week. “Whoever is my president, that’s my president. And Joe Biden is my president right now.”

Manchin’s swing vote in the 50-50 upper chamber has on several occasions made it difficult for Biden and the Democrats to get key parts of their agenda passed into law. 

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) 

Bush refused to answer a question on whether she would support Biden in the White House in 2024. 

“I don’t want to answer that question because we have not, that’s not, yeah, I don’t want to answer that question,” the first-term liberal said. “I mean, he’s the president, and he has the right to run for a second term, absolutely, but I don’t want to, I’d rather you not do that, ask that question.”

Bush declined to answer that question in July as rumors swirled of who might run against Biden in a primary. 

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) 

Craig as recently as this week would not clarify whether Biden would have her support for reelection. 

“I would say we need new leaders in Washington up and down the ballot in the Democratic Party,” Craig said in an interview.

She did not, however, go as far as a fellow Minnesota Democrat, Rep. Dean Phillips, who said he doesn’t support Biden running in 2024.

“I think the country would be well-served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats who step up,” Phillips said. 

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.)

Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, would not say during a Tuesday debate if he would be supporting Biden in 2024. 

“Too early to say. Doesn’t serve the purpose of the Democratic Party to deal with that until after the midterms,” Nadler stated. 

Nadler’s post-redistricting primary opponent, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, also refrained from endorsing Biden’s reelection during Tuesday’s debate.

Maloney has since walked back her comments and said she would be supporting the president in 2024. 

“Mr. President, I apologize. I want you to run. I happen to think you won’t be running, but when you run or if you run, I will be there 100 percent,” Maloney said Thursday while looking into the camera on CNN’s “New Day.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Congressional Democrats earning back voter trust: poll

Democrats in Congress are earning back voter trust ahead of this year’s midterms, new polling shows, following months of low approval ratings for the Biden administration. 

A Morning Consult-POLITICO poll released Wednesday found that congressional Democrats have been easing ahead of their across-the-aisle colleagues in average voter trust on key issues for the last few months. 

Trust in Democrats’ handling of immigration, gun policy, inflation and the economy have all gone up since mid-July, according to the poll.

Democrats still lag behind Republicans on the matter of inflation and economy, but trust in Democrats’ ability to grapple with the issues has gone up since a big drop as prices surged in mid-June. 

The economy continues to be a major topic for voters, with 55 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of Democrats saying issues like taxes and jobs are top-of-mind, according to the poll. 

The next-highest priority for Democrats, at 25 percent, was women’s issues, including birth control and abortion. 

The congressional majority won out over Republicans in voter trust on climate, health care, COVID-19 and voting rights. 

Following the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the poll notes, voter trust in Democrats’ handling of the gun issue saw a big uptick.

Eighty-three percent of Democrats trust their party leaders to handle gun policy, while just nine percent of Republicans trust Democrats to lead. On the other hand, 79 percent of Republicans trust their own party’s members of Congress on the issue. 

The poll, conducted July 28-31, surveyed 2,006 registered U.S. voters’ trust across 14 issues. The unweighted margin of error is 2 percentage points.

Source: TEST FEED1