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Exposure to ‘forever chemicals’ costs Americans billions: study

Daily exposure to cancer-linked “forever chemicals” is expected to cost Americans billions of dollars over the current population’s lifetime, a new study has found.

The associated increase in medical bills and decrease in worker productivity could generate economic losses between $5.52 billion and $62.6 billion, according to the study, published in the journal Exposure and Health on Tuesday. 

Forever chemicals, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are linked to a variety of illnesses, such as thyroid disease, testicular cancer and kidney cancer.

“Our findings add to the substantial and still-mounting body of evidence suggesting that exposure to PFAS is harming our health and undermining the economy,” study co-author Linda Kahn, an assistant professor of pediatrics and population health at NYU Langone Health, said in a statement.

Known for their propensity to linger in the human body and in the environment, forever chemicals are most notorious for their presence in industrial discharge and firefighting foam. There are thousands of types of PFAS, many of which are also key ingredients in common household items.

To draw their conclusions, Kahn and her colleagues first determined approximately how many Americans were likely exposed to two types of the chemicals — PFOA and PFOS — in 2018. They did so by using blood samples from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey — a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) program that assesses the nutritional status of American children and adults.

The researchers then analyzed data from dozens of previous studies that explored relationships between specific diseases and exposure to PFAS. From there, they narrowed down their focus to five conditions: low birth weight, childhood obesity, kidney and testicular cancers and hypothyroidism.

Scientists have already demonstrated a “probable link” between PFAS and diagnosed high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension — the result of a 2012 settlement in West Virginia.

But in the past decade, researchers have conducted a plethora of studies probing possible links to other illnesses, including the three other conditions named by the NYU researchers.

Once the authors narrowed their search down to these five impacts, they said they used models from previous studies to quantify the national economic cost of medical bills and lost worker productivity associated with those conditions.

Their investigation revealed that childhood obesity was the largest contributor to the overall economic toll of PFAS exposure, costing about $2.65 billion.

Hypothyroidism in women, a condition in which the thyroid fails to release sufficient hormones into the bloodstream, cost about $1.26 billion, according to the study.

When expanding the scope of their estimates to include eight other conditions that only have preliminary links to PFAS exposure — such as endometriosis, obesity in adults and pneumonia in children — the researchers estimated that the financial burden could soar as high as $62.6 billion.

“Our results strongly support the recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to lower the safe allowable level of these substances in water,” senior author Leonardo Trasande, a professor of children’s environmental health at NYU Langone Health, said in a statement.

Trasande was referring to a recent decision from the agency to tighten its health advisory levels — which are non-enforceable guidelines, rather than standards — for safe concentrations of PFAS in drinking water.

“Based on our estimates, the cost of eradicating contamination and replacing this class of chemical with safer alternatives is ultimately justified when considering the tremendous economic and medical risks of allowing them to persist in the environment,” he added.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump: LIV gold tournament a ‘great thing’ for Saudi Arabia

Former President Trump said LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed league that is holding an event at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club this week, is a “great thing” for Saudi Arabia. 

Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that the tournament has been worth “billions of dollars” in publicity for Saudi Arabia. 

“I think LIV has been a great thing for Saudi Arabia, for the image of Saudi Arabia,” he said. “I think it’s going to be an incredible investment from that standpoint, and that’s more valuable than lots of other things because you can’t buy that — even with billions of dollars.” 

Critics of the oil-rich autocracy have called the LIV league a blatant effort at “sports washing” as the regime led by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salmon seeks to gloss over human rights abuses and the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The families of 9/11 victims have criticized Trump’s decision to host the event at his golf club, noting that he had previously blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks. Most of the terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, were Saudi, but the government has denied involvement in the attacks. 

Trump told the Journal that he understands the 9/11 families’ feelings, but does not know much about their stance. He added that the controversy surrounding Khashoggi’s death has “totally died down.” 

LIV Golf has caused controversy as it has lured several prominent PGA Tour players like Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka with its guaranteed payout regardless of performance in the tournament.

Last week, Trump urged other PGA players to join the LIV tour, predicting that the two leagues would eventually merge and PGA holdouts would lose out due to their loyalty.

“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

In his interview with the Journal, Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia’s investments in American companies and other sports like soccer and said that Saudi Arabia deserves the publicity it is receiving because what it is doing is “very exciting.” 

Months after leaving the White House, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a Saudi fund for his own private equity firm, the New York Times reported.

The Journal reported that Trump National Doral Miami will host another LIV event later this year.

Source: TEST FEED1

As the potency of weed has increased, so too have addictions

New research published in The Lancet details an association between high cannabis potency – or concentration of THC– and an increased risk of psychosis and cannabis use disorder (CUD). 

“THC concentrations in cannabis have increased globally in recent decades,” authors wrote. “In the USA and Europe, the concentration of THC has more than doubled over the past 10 years, and new legal markets have facilitated the rapid development of cannabis products with higher potencies than earlier products, such as concentrated extracts.” 

THC is the psychoactive component in cannabis and its effects are dose-dependent. In the past, researchers have proposed a standardized unit of 5 mg of THC for all cannabis products. Low-potency was classified as between 5 mg and 10 mg of THC per product in the current review. 

Around three in 10 marijuana users in the United States currently have marijuana use disorder, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.

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

As of May, a total of 19 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized marijuana, while a bill aimed at decriminalizing the substance at the federal level was passed by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives in April.

Increasing state tax revenue and expunging prior criminal convictions are just a couple of the arguments proponents make in favor of decriminalization or legalization.

But several regulation concerns have been raised around these efforts, including by some who advocate for mental health warnings on product labels due to the potential risk of developing psychiatric disorders.

“Policy makers should carefully consider cannabis potency when regulating cannabis in legal markets, such as through limits or taxes based on THC concentration,” researchers wrote. 

To carry out their research, investigators assessed 20 studies comparing outcomes of high-potency cannabis users and low-potency users. Eight of the included studies focused on psychosis; eight on anxiety; seven on depression; and the remainder on CUD, they wrote. 

A total of 119,581 participants were included in the review. One study revealed those who used high potency cannabis daily were five times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder compared with never-users. 

The same study found “daily use of lower potency cannabis was not associated with risk of psychotic disorder compared with people who never used cannabis.” 

The research marks the first review of its kind to take a wide look at addiction and mental health risks associated with highly potent cannabis use. 

“The findings support recommendations to discourage the use of higher potency cannabis products for low risk use. This recommendation should be incorporated into education tools and in the management of cannabis use in clinical settings,” authors concluded. 

Source: TEST FEED1

NYC monkeypox infections surpass 1,000

Over 1,000 cases of monkeypox were reported in New York City with cases still rising as the city continues to manage the outbreak.

The New York City Health Department said as of Monday, 1,040 people have been infected with monkeypox, with more cases likely not diagnosed. The department noted that cases are still rising.

The city has ramped up testing since the outbreak as the department urges anyone with possible symptoms see a health care provider for testing. Residents without a healthcare provider can also call 311.

While health experts are recommending the two-dose vaccine to protect against the virus, appointments in New York City are filled as the vaccine supply is low.

The grim milestone comes only days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.

“We’re grateful for the World Health Organization’s recognition that monkeypox is a global emergency. In New York City, the outbreak has been a local emergency for weeks and we are putting every resource we have to stopping the spread,” NYC Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan tweeted Monday. “This outbreak must be met with urgency, action and resources, nationally and globally. This declaration reflects the seriousness of the moment.”

While the city health department asserted that “anyone can get and spread monkeypox,” it noted that infections have primarily spread among “social networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.”

The virus can cause symptoms like lesions, a rash and swelling of lymph nodes.

Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed more than 3,800 cases, and over 18,000 globally. Cases in the U.S. were first detected in May and have spread rapidly ever since.

Source: TEST FEED1

Jill Biden press secretary leaving White House for private sector

First lady Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa is departing the White House for a job in the private sector, he confirmed in an email to The Hill on Tuesday.  

LaRosa, who has served as Jill Biden’s spokesman since the 2020 presidential campaign, said he would be joining the public affairs firm Hamilton Place Strategies. His last day is Friday.  

In a lengthy statement announcing his departure, LaRosa thanked the first lady and called his service in the White House “the proudest and most rewarding experience” of his life.  

“I am forever grateful to her for taking a chance on me nearly three years ago, bringing me on this journey with her around the country, and the privilege of being a small part of the history that she and President Biden made,” LaRosa said. 

“From long drives in minivans, jumping on and off planes, and ‘No Malarkey’ busses on the campaign to traveling to 10 countries, nearly 40 states, and over 75 cities in the first year and a half of the Biden-Harris Administration, I am now moving on to a new adventure,” he added.

LaRosa’s exit was first reported by CNN on Tuesday. He first started working for Jill Biden in 2019 and joined the White House immediately following the presidential transition.  

It was not immediately clear who would replace LaRosa in the East Wing. 

His exit follows a handful of other departures of White House communications officials from the West Wing, including White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.  

It’s not unusual for White House officials to depart after a year of service, but the churn has raised questions about who will fill the vacancies at a critical point about three months from the November midterm elections. Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director, has been rumored as a possible replacement for Bedingfield.  

Jill Biden has been an active first lady, embarking on a handful of foreign trips including a surprise stop in Ukraine to meet with Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska. Biden, who is a community college teacher, also recently launched a summer school tour alongside Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.  

The first lady weathered controversy in recent weeks after she faced blowback for likening the diversity of the Latino community to “breakfast tacos.” Her office apologized after the speech was met with some angry statements.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Cruz endorses Cheney's primary challenger

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) waded into Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) primary, telling Fox News Digital he was endorsing her challenger, Harriet Hageman (R).

“Harriet will be a rock-ribbed conservative congresswoman who will always defend the Constitution,” Cruz told the news outlet. 

“She knows the importance of standing up for individual constitutional rights and fighting back against the federal government, which wants to seize more land and prevent people from being able to provide for their families.”

Hageman said she was appreciative of Cruz’s endorsement, further telling Fox News Digital, “In many ways, Texas and Wyoming face the same struggles against the relentless onslaught of the federal government, and it will be nice to know that I have another ally in the other chamber when I get to Congress.”

Cruz is the latest major Republican to back Cheney’s challenger ahead of the state’s Aug. 16 primary.

Cheney drew the ire of former President Trump for voting to impeach him following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and for her membership on a House panel investigating the attack.

Trump endorsed Hageman last September. A new poll released earlier this month showed Cheney trailing the Wyoming attorney by double digits. 

A Casper Star-Tribune poll showed Hageman receiving 52 percent support among registered Wyoming voters who are likely to cast a vote on Aug. 16 compared to Cheney, who received 30 percent. 

The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for Cruz and Hageman’s campaign for comment. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Ukraine’s lessons for Taiwan grow more ominous

The longer the Biden administration continues delaying and stinting its support for Ukraine without enabling Kyiv to halt and reverse Russia’s invasion, the more precarious both Ukraine’s and Taiwan’s positions become. 

This is not to disparage the substantial volume of U.S. and NATO weaponry that has flowed into Ukraine from a standing start, and for which Ukrainians have expressed gratitude. Rather, it is to note that the aid has been too little in quantity and quality and too late to avoid a catastrophic cost in human lives, destruction of cities, forced relocation to Russia of tens of thousands of Ukrainians, desperate emigration to other countries of millions more, and the crippling of Ukraine’s economy. It is a grotesque scenario out of World War II, yet the West is becoming desensitized to the horrific costs of Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion and war crimes.

To Western officials, the glass on aid to Ukraine may be half full. But to many Ukrainians, while loath to appear unappreciative, it is half empty, enabling Ukraine only to slow the Russian advance and hold most of its territory together but not to stop the carnage and decisively defeat and eject the invaders.

The long-delayed delivery of HIMARS long-range artillery has shown in the battle for Donbas how sophisticated Western weapons can offset Russia’s advantage in force numbers and firepower. Yet, after months of withholding them, the Biden administration has delivered only a dozen of the systems so far, and Ukraine can use scores more that currently languish in U.S. and allied depots.

Similarly, Washington has refused to establish a no-fly zone because of President Biden’s apparent conviction that Vladimir Putin is less worried about escalation, potentially to World War III, than he is and would defy the ban by shooting down American planes. Even less understandable is Biden’s blocking the transfer of fighter aircraft from NATO allies and denying Ukraine the ability to enforce its own no-fly zone. 

On the maritime front, Washington has allowed Moscow to appropriate the Black Sea as a Russian lake from which it can bomb Ukraine’s cities, close its ports, and block the export of life-saving Ukrainian wheat from desperate African and Mideastern populations.

All this constrained assistance, even beyond the aversion to getting directly involved, conveys a sense of Western timidity against robustly helping Ukraine to defend itself. Those strategic failures of the Biden administration and NATO bode ill for a U.S. and Western response to the growing likelihood of China’s aggression against Taiwan. They make Biden’s thrice-declared intention to defend Taiwan ring hollow. 

Recent statements by his foreign policy and national security team downplaying the imminence of China’s action against Taiwan could be seen by Beijing as wishful thinking and the flagging of administration will.

Last month, Joint Chiefs Chair, Gen. Mark Milley, publicly disagreed with the warning of the former U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander, Adm. Phil Davidson, and current commander Adm. John Aquilino that China is preparing to take Taiwan within the next six years.

“It’s a capability, not an intent to attack or seize. My assessment is an operational assessment,” Milley said. “Do they have the intent to attack or seize in the near-term defined as the next year or two? My assessment of what I’ve seen right now is no, but that could always change. Intent is something that could change quickly.”

Milley’s rationale for a less urgent evaluation of the danger is that launching the kind of assault on Taiwan that Russia has inflicted on Ukraine would be a daunting task for China: “The difficulty of an invasion of Taiwan is still a major barrier for the [People’s Liberation Army]. I don’t see it happening right out of the blue. There’s no reason for it and the cost to China far exceeds the benefit. President Xi and his military would do the calculation and they know that an invasion — in order to seize an island that big, with that many people and the defensive capabilities the Taiwanese have — would be extraordinarily complicated and costly. At this point in time, next 12 to 24 months, I’m not seeing any indicator warnings yet.” 

CIA Director William Burns reached a similar conclusion based on Putin’s “strategic failure” to achieve a quick victory over Ukraine, which Burns said “unsettled” Xi Jinping’s thinking about Taiwan. But, he added, it did not affect “whether the Chinese leadership might choose some years down the road to use force to control Taiwan, but how and when they would do it.” 

Both assessments are based on the premise of a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “I suspect the lesson that the Chinese leadership and military are drawing is that you’ve got to amass overwhelming force if you’re going to contemplate that in the future,” Burns said.

But China, which favors the element of surprise in war and politics, may well decide to forego an all-out invasion of Taiwan within that time frame, opting instead to seize Quemoy and/or other Taiwanese islands as an interim measure. Together with, or separate from, such a move it could conduct massive missile strikes on selective strategic targets in Taiwan, possibly avoiding the civilian population at first.  

After all, Beijing gave this assurance in its Anti-Secession Law providing for the use of force against Taiwan: “The state shall exert its utmost to protect the lives, property and other legitimate rights and interests of Taiwan civilians and foreign nationals in Taiwan, and to minimize losses.”

An island seizure and selective missile attacks could be Phase 1 of an incremental, multi-stage effort to conquer Taiwan, none of which would be so dramatic as to necessarily precipitate a U.S. or Western response. It could be a launching point for further aggression, something like Russia’s relatively bloodless seizure of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea in 2014, which Putin evidently thought he would replicate in attacking Kyiv in February.  

If Biden follows the approach he led in 2014 as President Obama’s vice president and foreign policy guru, Washington will take no direct military action against Xi Jinping’s limited moves — just as it allowed Putin to swallow Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. Similarly, under that model, Biden will put shackles on any defensive weapons he provides the Taiwanese to ensure they don’t attack China, even the bases from which the aggression was launched.

Added to the U.S. shortcomings on Ukraine is Biden’s failure so far to guarantee security to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on her noble intention to visit Taiwan. Together, the shortcomings send a dispiriting message of hesitation and weakness that must surely worry the Taiwanese and other countries in the region and embolden Beijing.

Joseph Bosco served as China country director for the secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2006 and as Asia-Pacific director of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief from 2009 to 2010. He served in the Pentagon when Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia and was involved in Department of Defense discussions about the U.S. response. Follow him on Twitter @BoscoJosephA.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trevor Reed: White House should do more to free Griner, Whelan

A former Marine who was released from Russian custody in April after being held prisoner since 2019 said the U.S. government is not doing enough to free WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, two Americans being held prisoner in Russia. 

Trevor Reed told NBC News in an interview that will air on Tuesday that he is “extremely grateful” that the Biden administration worked to free him in a prisoner exchange, but said he believes the administration can quickly achieve the release of Griner and Whelan. 

He said he recognizes that the actions the White House is taking to free them is not public information, but the government could be moving much faster. 

“But, in my opinion, the White House has the ability to get them out extremely fast, and they clearly have chosen not to do that,” Reed said. “So no, in my opinion, they’re not doing enough.” 

Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 on espionage charges that he denies and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. Griner, who plays for a Russian professional basketball team during the WNBA’s offseason, was detained in February on drug charges, days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. 

Russian authorities said they found vape cartridges in her luggage. Griner pleaded guilty and could face up to 10 years in prison. 

Reed said the choice by Biden to agree to a prisoner swap to secure his release was the “ethical decision.” But he said that Biden has the responsibility to continue “doing the right thing.” 

The White House has faced backlash for not pushing for Whelan and Griner’s releases in the past few months. 

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, said late last month that her release is at the “highest chain of command” but that she does not have any update on the status of negotiations. Cherelle Griner called on the public to put increased pressure on the White House to bring Brittney Griner home. 

Biden called Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister, earlier this month after Elizabeth tweeted that she was “crushed” that the president had not called her family following news that he had phoned Cherelle Griner. 

Biden pledged he was committed to freeing Whelan on the call.

Source: TEST FEED1

Jan. 6 panel member Raskin says Trump operates 'like best of crime bosses'

Rep. Jamie Raskin is likening former President Trump to one of New York’s notorious mafiosos, saying he “operates like the best of the crime bosses.”

The Maryland Democrat — a member of the House committee investigating last year’s Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol — told Stephen Colbert during a Monday appearance on CBS’s “The Late Show” that the 45^th president is “good at what he does.”

“He’s been a conman and an operator for a long time,” Raskin said of Trump.

“He always insulates himself with several layers of lawyers, and money, and flunkies between himself and that which he orders to be done,” Raskin, who led Trump’s second impeachment trial in the House last year, told Colbert.

“You can look at so many things: Trump University, and you can look at all the allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment. It’s amazing,” Raskin continued. “He’s like Houdini, the way he gets out of it.”

But Raskin said Trump has “met his match” in the chair of the Jan. 6 committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), its vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), and the panel itself.

Asked about frustration among some Democrats and GOP critics of Trump about the pace of indictments coming from the Justice Department related to the Jan. 6 riot, Raskin urged patience.

“I should start by saying [Attorney General] Merrick Garland is one of my constituents and I don’t browbeat my constituents,” Raskin said.

Noting the Justice Department has “brought more than 850 cases already,” Raskin said, “I know everybody is impatient because they want to see it go all the way to the top.”

“This is how organized crime investigations work,” Raskin said. “You start at the bottom with the little fish, and you keep flipping people until you get up to the top.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Navarro urges Trump to skip planned DC speech: I had to fight 'Brother Larry' Kudlow on daily basis

Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro urged former President Trump not to deliver his keynote speech at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), criticizing members of the think tank’s staff and alleging they were working on a “‘Trumpism without Trump’ coup.”

Trump is set to deliver remarks on Tuesday at an AFPI summit, returning to Washington, D.C. for the first time in a year and a half amid speculation he will run for president again in 2024.

But Navarro said Trump should put off the speech despite the need to create a stable of policy experts.

“Yes, it is important for President Trump to have a well-credentialed stable of policy experts capable of both building a 2024 platform and finding solid MAGA talent to populate a new Trump Administration. But the AFPI Trojan Horse—whose leadership is now bragging about how it will staff Trump’s ‘shadow cabinet’—is decidedly not that,” Navarro wrote in an op-ed on conservative website American Greatness. 

The former Trump White House adviser slammed members of AFPI’s think tank and leadership, including former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, former National Security Council Chief Fred Fleitz and former economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

“As I document in Taking Back Trump’s America, I had to fight Brother Larry on an almost daily basis, not just on trade policy but also in my efforts to advance Trump’s two most simple rules: buy American, hire American. And Kudlow worked hand-in-hand with several members of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), who now constitute the free trade core of AFPI’s economic experts,” he claimed in his op-ed.

Navarro also called those associated with AFPI “grifters”  and claimed that their “broader agenda” might be to “hijack the political attractiveness of Trumpism but replace Trump with an AFPI-anointed RINO.”

Marc Lotter, chief communications officer for AFPI, slammed Navarro in an email to The Hill and noted Navarro’s previous support for Hillary Clinton.

“It is unfortunate to see Mr. Navarro, a former Hillary Clinton supporter, turning into the DC swamp creature he once abhorred. AFPI is lead by nine former cabinet level officials and nearly 20 senior White House officials from Trump’s White House,” Lotter said.

“As it relates to the other comments, AFPI is currently hosting a two-day summit laying out a detailed policy agenda for the future. The fact President Trump is closing this event shows his support for AFPI’s work to continue the policies that put America First!” he added.

Source: TEST FEED1