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Southern states brace for 'whiplash' of extreme weather

Dangerous heat and crushing drought conditions in southern U.S. states are unlikely to subside anytime soon, federal experts say, with many currently blighted regions expected to face a “whiplash” in extreme weather over the coming months.

That means period of rain may bring little relief, as summer heat squashes crop yields and forces farmers to sell off cattle, while also boosting wildfires and creating life-threatening conditions for outdoor work.

The heat wave across the middle of the country “will split next week and then gradually fade,” Greg Carbin, head of Forecast Operations at the National Weather Service told The Hill.

But don’t expect that to last. Within a couple of weeks, conditions will return to what they are now, “and you bring the heat back in with a vengeance to parts of the central U.S.,” Carbin said.

That tendency of summer heat waves and droughts to return — rather than breaking apart in a new wave of good weather — is “one of the big challenges facing all of us in the weather and climate community,” Victor Murphy, who runs the Climate Services program at the National Weather Service told reporters on Thursday.

“You can see an amazing amount of weather whiplash — from one extreme to the other, then right back to the first extreme again,” Murphy said.

He was pointing at a drought map of Oklahoma, where a nearly two-month spell of no rain had appeared to break in a rainy May and June.

No such luck: the drought has come roaring back hard enough to slash state wheat yields by 44 percent, according to a study this month from Oklahoma State University.

The persistent high-summer heat waves is the result of the “layering” of unusual climate conditions atop normal summer heat waves, Carbin said. 

Those abnormal conditions — which helped drive the unseasonable spring heat waves across the country — included the persistent drought, which cause land and air to heat up more quickly.

It also included the atmospheric phenomena known as heat domes, in which a dense mass of warm air becomes trapped over a broad area — creating in effect an enormous greenhouse. 

Both of these phenomena create feedback loops that make heat waves and droughts more likely to return, as dry soil, warm air and summer temperatures bid each other up like contenders at an auction.

It is difficult to link any particular phenomenon to climate change. Summer heat waves are, in themselves, hardly unusual.

But fossil fuel emissions are helping “load the dice,” Carbin said.

Continuing combustion of coal, oil and gas is creating a world in which the current spate of anomalous, record-breaking temperatures are ever more likely, he said.

These conditions are already taking a toll across the Southern Plains.

In Texas, which is experiencing its hottest July on record, electricity demand has broken records 11 times since June as residents and businesses try to stay cool, Houston Public Media reported.

Ninety-four percent of the state is in drought, forcing some ranchers to rapidly sell off their herds. Cattle sales are at their highest level since the drought of 2008, agricultural economist Walter Kunisch of Hilltop Securities told The Hill.

In one troubling statistic, the number of breeding female cattle is at its lowest level since 2006 — a sign that operations across the South and West are “selling more animals than they’re breeding,” Kunsich added.

In Kansas, the drought has been lighter — only 23 percent is in extreme conditions  — although a heat snap killed at least 2000 cattle over two days in June, Hill partners KSNW reported.

One slight regional bright spot is New Mexico, where the summer monsoon season “came not a day too soon,” Murphy said.

The summer rains offered some relief to the state, which stands at the extreme eastern edge of the Western zone gripped by a 20-year mega drought. 

But the broader situation there remains grim. Destructive fires have already burned almost four times more land this year than the state average. 

And the crucial Elephant Butte reservoir — a water supply it shares with Texas — was at just 5.2 percent capacity as of Thursday.

With heat and lack of water have come a heightened risk of fire, Nick Nosler of the Interagency Fire Center at the Department of Interior told reporters.

The southern U.S. has experienced 1.1 million acres burned from wildfire this year — mostly in Oklahoma and Texas, he said. 

“We thought Oklahoma and maybe parts of Texas were out of the woods — and then over the last month they’re right back into it,” Nosler said.

That puts those states in the unaccustomed position of having to compete with Western states for money, firefighters and equipment.

“What’s happening in Oregon does impact what’s happening in South Texas,” Nosler said. “There’s only so many firefighting resources.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Jury convicts Bannon of contempt of Congress

A federal jury on Friday convicted Steve Bannon of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The 68-year-old political strategist, who served as former President Trump’s campaign CEO and White House adviser, faces a minimum sentence of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail.

The jury took less than three hours to reach a verdict on the two misdemeanor counts. They began deliberating on Friday after hearing testimony from just two witnesses over the course of a week.

Bannon’s lawyers chose not to present their own case, offering no defense witnesses. Evan Corcoran, one of Bannon’s attorneys, said in his closing argument Friday that there was plenty of reasonable doubt concerning his client’s guilt.

“We didn’t feel the need to put on a defense,” Corcoran told the jury.

Prosecutors had argued the case presented a straightforward question of whether Bannon met the legal obligations laid out for him in the subpoena last year.

“This case is not complicated but it is important,” Molly Gaston, an assistant U.S. Attorney, said in her closing argument Friday. “When it came down to it, he did not want to recognize Congress’s authority or play by the government’s rules.”

Bannon was indicted in November of last year after the House voted to hold him in contempt for failing to show up for a deposition and turn over documents as demanded by the Jan. 6 select committee’s subpoena.

The subpoena, issued on Sept. 23, 2021, ordered Bannon to turn over a wide range of documents by Oct. 7 of that year and appear before the committee for a deposition on Oct. 14.

An attorney for Bannon, Robert Costello, said in letters to the committee that his client would not comply because Trump had asserted executive privilege and because of an ongoing civil case at the time between the former president and the select committee.

While Corcoran had told the jury Friday that the defense felt no need to present a case, Bannon’s lawyers expressed frustration throughout the trial that they had been “handcuffed” from presenting certain arguments.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols had ruled Bannon would not be allowed to argue at trial that he was relying on the advice of his lawyers in not complying with the subpoena, or that any assertion of executive privilege excused him from meeting the committee’s demands.

On Thursday, David Schoen, another member of Bannon’s defense team, told the court his client would have testified in his own defense if Nichols had not prohibited them from mounting those arguments.

“He’s wanted to testify publicly in this case under oath to tell the court, the jury and the public exactly what the true facts of the case are,” Schoen said. “However, on the advice of counsel … he has decided not to testify, because he understands that he would be barred from telling the true facts explaining why he did what he did, and why he did not do what he did not do in relation to the committee’s subpoena. He wanted to testify under oath to explain that at all times, he believed he was doing what the law required him to do, based on his lawyer’s advice.”

Bannon is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 21.

Source: TEST FEED1

Rebuilding US industry requires more than just computer chips

It’s only taken a year and a half, but Congress is finally on the brink of passing a “China bill.” At this point, however, the final legislation will simply be aimed at building up America’s domestic computer chip industry. That means, much of the original intent – of crafting a bill to tackle China’s massive subsidies, intellectual property theft and market barriers – will be left to a future Congress. But the “Chips Act” that Congress is finalizing offers a helpful template for solving America’s wider challenge — winning the global competition for good jobs and crucial industries.

Computer chips matter heavily, of course. They’re one of the most significant dual-use commodities in the global economy. Not only do most consumer goods – including everything from refrigerators to automobiles – require computer chips. But America’s military hardware is also incredibly dependent on high-tech semiconductors as well. In fact, the shortage of computer chips that emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be one of the key drivers of current inflation, with consumers waiting months for everything from cars to kitchen appliances.

The United States urgently needs a robust, domestic semiconductor industry. Ramping up American-made computer chip production would certainly ease current supply chain shocks across a number of industries. And it would address a significant national security concern, since the U.S. remains beholden to overseas chip makers.

Helpfully, what Congress has done is set aside $54 billion in investment assistance for U.S. semiconductor companies, plus a tax credit worth roughly $24 billion. These are good incentives to help manufacturers locate production in the United States. Intel Corp. has already expressed its intention to build a new $20 billion factory in Ohio.

What’s dumbfounding, however, is that in the wake of current inflation driven by supply chain shortages, Congress took so long to allocate funding for domestic chip-making. In contrast, lawmakers quickly appropriated a similar level of funding for Ukraine aid.

Since much of America’s current inflation is being driven by ongoing shortages of consumer goods, the obvious response should be to start bringing these industries back to U.S. shores. Thankfully, Congress now has a blueprint for exactly this kind of effort, since the chips act is intended to resuscitate a critical industry. Lawmakers should extend the same approach to rebuilding America’s domestic manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE), medicines, industrial minerals, metalworking and automation systems.

The big issue is still China, though. At present, Beijing controls 70 percent of the world’s lithium supplies, for example, and almost all of the world’s graphite. Similarly, thousands of prescription drugs that Americans use each day are made with ingredients produced only in China.

America’s dependence on China reaches across a wide swath of industries. And it’s no accident that China has gained such a stranglehold position. Beijing continually funds its state-owned factories with billions of dollars in direct subsidies. That allows Chinese producers to “dump” product in the world market at artificially low prices — a tactic that has successfully put many U.S. manufacturers out of business.

With the chips act finalized, Congress should now draft comparable legislation to revitalize other key U.S. industries — and once again make the United States a competitive place to produce not just semiconductors but pharmaceuticals, electronics, metals and medical equipment.

Achieving this requires a new mindset, however — a recognition that almost every other country is gaming the global system. China is the most egregious, with its vast subsidies and market barriers. But manufacturers throughout Asia also enjoy the benefits of currency misalignment, low-wage labor and governmental funding. 

To counter this, Washington must get equally tough, and provide incentives and tax assistance to domestic producers willing to locate new production at home. The Chips Act is a start. But whether it’s tax breaks or tariffs, Congress must consider this a justified response to other countries already cheating in the global market.

An over-reliance on China has robbed the United States of millions of good-paying middle-class jobs. And shortages of imports are now driving inflation. It’s time to correct both problems — and start rebuilding domestic industry. That’s the wisest course to prevent future price shocks while bringing back high-wage jobs.

Michael Stumo is CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Follow him on Twitter @michael_stumo.

Source: TEST FEED1

US must designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism

The fields of Bucha — sites of mass graves where hundreds of women and children were murdered by Russian soldiers who tied their hands behind their backs and killed them — will be impossible to forget. Two weeks ago, we visited them, after speaking at length with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, hearing his plea for more help in arms, humanitarian assistance and economic sanctions. It was a moving, powerful set of experiences — voices and faces attesting to the courage, strength, and grief of the brave and determined Ukrainian people.   

Wednesday, now returned to the wood paneled rooms of Congress, we sat next to one another to listen to President Zelensky’s partner, First Lady Olena Zelenska, deliver the same message to a much larger audience. She addressed Congress not as the wife of a politician, but as a parent. She shared the personal, devastating impact the Russian invasion has had on the people of Ukraine. 

That is why we have introduced a Senate resolution directing the secretary of State to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Since beginning its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russian attacks have struck hospitals, theaters, apartment blocks, hotels, and shopping malls — purposefully, systematically killing thousands of innocent civilians.  

Russia’s campaign of ruthless aggression is meant to brutalize the people of Ukraine. It is meant to harm civilians. It is meant to cause fear. It is terrorism.  

We have called for strong sanctions, economic embargoes, and lethal military aid. With this assistance, Ukrainians heroically forced the Russians back from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Chernobyl. And with continued support, Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south will be successful. All indications show that HIMARS, heavy artillery, and air defense systems are having an exceptional effect and have allowed Ukrainian forces to make significant gains in the Kherson region — an area critical to Ukraine’s economic survival. 

Designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism would greatly enhance these military efforts. This designation would bar more imports into Russia and punish governments that continue to trade with Russia. The designation would also change the calculus for businesses that continue to operate in Russia, making it much more risky and costly to remain in the country. 

Designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism triggers an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Russia might be forced to face justice in U.S. courts for its support of terrorism — and perhaps just as importantly, not just compensatory damages but punitive ones. In similar cases, these awards are often in the billions of dollars.  

Finding assets to satisfy those judgments is often difficult — or even impossible — since these countries rarely have assets in western nations. Russia, however, is different. Russia claims that over $300 billion of its central bank assets are frozen by Western governments. The United States alone holds approximately $100 billion in Russian central bank assets that could be attached to satisfy a judgment.  

This resolution was approved unanimously by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We are eager to see it passed by the full Senate.  

While in Kyiv, we presented a framed copy to President Zelensky. His gratitude was palpable, expressed emotionally and repeatedly.  

History teaches us that bullies will attack until they are met with military, economic, and diplomatic force. Our sanctions regime and export embargoes are strong but they can be stronger. Our investment in lethal aid is great but it must be accompanied by diplomatic action.  

Wednesday, members of Congress took to their feet to deliver the First Lady of Ukraine a standing ovation. The image of U.S. lawmakers applauding a Ukrainian leader is powerful symbolism. Approving our resolution and designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism is powerful action.   

Source: TEST FEED1

Jay Carney leaving Amazon to join Airbnb

Jay Carney, a former White House press secretary under then-President Obama, is leaving his role as head of Amazon’s global affairs for a top policy job at Airbnb.

Airbnb announced Friday that Carney will start there in September, reporting to co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, and will be based in Washington, D.C.

Carney, who has been the senior vice president of global corporate affairs at Amazon since 2015, previously was Obama’s spokesman from 2011 to 2014. Before that, he was communications director for then-Vice President Biden.

“Jay has worked at the highest levels of both government and technology, serving as a strategic counselor to the president and at one of the largest tech companies in the world,” Chesky said in a statement on the hire. “When you combine that with the two decades he spent on the ground as a journalist, he brings a deep understanding of the needs of multiple stakeholders. Jay is also a passionate advocate for community engagement, and is committed to ensuring that Airbnb is a force for good. He’s the perfect person to lead policy and communications at Airbnb.”

Carney spent two decades at Time magazine before entering government with the Obama administration. He cited the “potential for travel to promote economic and social good,” as motivating his shift to his new role with Airbnb.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Airbnb to help guide its work to connect communities and people through travel, drive economic participation and help us discover that while our differences are real, they are overwhelmed by our similarities,” he said.

Source: TEST FEED1

Calls increased by 45 percent after suicide hotline number switch

Calls to the national suicide hotline increased by 45 percent during the week after it switched to 988 from a longer number.

The hotline received approximately 30,000 more calls, texts and chats the week it transitioned to 988 than it had the week before, the line’s Director of Marketing and Communications Hannah Collins told The Hill.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline moved to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline last Saturday.

From July 14 through Wednesday, called “transition week” by the 988 Lifeline, the hotline received over 96,000 communications, including calls and texts.

That number surged from the 66,000 the line had received the week before.

The 96,000 figure is also a 66% increase from the same week in July last year.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline attributed the increase in calls and other communications to the shorter, more memorable number for the hotline.

“We are grateful that transitioning to 988 brought awareness of this resource and more people sought support through the 988 Lifeline and help was available,” said Collins.

Collins said that the hotline will continue working with the Department of Health and Human Services and its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration “to ensure the 988 Lifeline provides the best live-saving support possible.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Disney swaps 'fairy godmother' role at parks for gender-neutral 'apprentice'

Employees at Disney’s famed Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique will get a more gender-neutral title.  

Boutique cast members, who help children dress up as their favorite Disney characters, will now be called “Fairy God Mother’s Apprentices” instead of “Fairy God Mother’s in Training” to allow workers who do not identify as women to be a part of the magic.  

“Disney will continue their efforts at being more inclusive with all guests & cast members by renaming the Boutique cast members to ‘Fairy God Mother’s Apprentices’ rather than ‘Fairy Godmothers in training’,” Streaming the Magic said in a statement.  

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

“This way cast members that might not identify as female can still be part of the process to dress up & style the children without having to refer to themselves as a female Disney character.” 

Changing America has reached out to The Walt Disney Corporation for comment. 

After closing due to pandemic, The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique will reopen at Magic Kingdom Park on Aug. 25, according to the shop’s website.  

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Biden condemns attack on GOP Rep. Zeldin at campaign event

President Biden on Friday condemned an attack on GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin (N.Y.) during an event for Zeldin’s gubernatorial campaign the night before, when a man carrying a sharp object confronted Zeldin on stage.

“I condemn the attack on Congressman Zeldin in the strongest terms,” Biden said in a statement. “As I’ve said before, violence has absolutely no place in our society or our politics. I am especially grateful for the courage of those who immediately intervened, and that he is unharmed and was able to continue his speech.

“I also want to thank the law enforcement officers who quickly took action and are investigating this attack that defies our fundamental democratic values,” Biden added.

The president tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and has been working remotely while in isolation.

Zeldin was holding a rally in Monroe County, near Rochester, N.Y., when a man who appeared to be holding a blade approached Zeldin on stage. Photos and videos show Zeldin was able to grab the man’s wrist before others jumped on stage to restrain him. The congressman was unharmed.

David Jakubonis was charged with attempted assault in the second degree, a felony. He was arraigned on Wednesday night and released on his own recognizance, according to the Monroe County sheriff’s office.

“After being charged with a felony for last night’s attack, the man who tried to stab me was instantly released back onto the street due to New York’s insane cashless bail law. We MUST repeal cashless bail in New York!” Zeldin tweeted on Friday.

Zeldin won the Republican primary last month and will take on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in November’s general election.

Political violence has been on the rise in the U.S. in recent years, culminating in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Source: TEST FEED1

Can at-home COVID tests detect BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants?

(WGN) – The BA.4 and BA.5 variants make up more than 90% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the highly contagious subvariants of omicron run rampant through the country, many people are turning to home tests to see if they’re infected.

Can you trust at-home COVID-19 tests to catch sneaky BA.4 and BA.5?

While the two new subvariants are better at evading prior immunity, they’re not any better at evading testing. At-home tests and lab tests are just as good at detecting BA.4 and BA.5 as past variants.

There’s another issue, however, that might be complicating things, explained Dr. Kevin Most, chief medical officer at Northwestern Medicine’s Central DuPage Hospital, in an interview with WGN.

“A lot of people aren’t getting tested,” Dr. Most said. “Individuals who are testing, you have to make sure you’re testing at the appropriate time. If you run out and test that first day, you might not test positive.”

If you think you have COVID-19, but are still testing negative, try another test 24 to 48 hours later. The CDC recommends testing five days after a close exposure.

If you continue to test negative despite having prolonged symptoms, it’s possible you could be sick with something else.

“We also have to understand — regular infections are back. So the regular, generic, good old sinus infections, and bronchitis and upper respiratory infections, are certainly back,” Dr. Most said. “If you have full-blown symptoms for three or four days, and you’re still testing negative, there’s not going to be a doctor that says, ‘Here, take Paxlovid.’ We’re going to be watching you for a bacterial sinus infection or something else.'”

Listen to the full interview with Dr. Most below:

When it comes to any variant of COVID-19, the accuracy of an at-home test depends on your ability to follow instructions, said Dr. Jaquelin Dudley at the University of Texas. Most of the tests come with very specific step-by-step instructions — and they should be followed closely. Self-testers should make sure to swab both nostrils for the appropriate amount of time and wait patiently to see results.

Source: TEST FEED1

Former DC officer assaulted by Jan. 6 mob: Josh Hawley 'ran like a b—-'

A former Washington, D.C., police officer who was assaulted during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former president Trump expressed outrage at newly-revealed video showing Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) running through the Capitol to get away from the mob during the siege.

“The first thoughts that popped into my mind was Josh Hawley is a bitch. And he ran like a bitch,” Micheal Fanone, who has since retired from law enforcement and is now a CNN contributor told Politico on Thursday night.

During a primetime hearing held by the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, the panel showed never-before-seen video of Hawley, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress, running from the mob just hours after he had been photographed outside the Capitol raising his fist in solidarity with the demonstrators who had gathered nearby before the breach began.

“The fist pump combined with what he did in the immediate aftermath just shows the true character or lack thereof,” Fanone said.

Asked about laughter that erupted in the hearing room Thursday night when the clip of Hawley running was shown, Fanone says he “sees the amusement in it.”

“And I’m not going to fault people finding it humorous but that pisses me off,” he said. “That guy’s a clown.”

Fanone suffered a heart attack during the riot and two men have been charged and pleaded guilty in connection with his assault that day.

Hawley was the first senator to announce that he would object to the certification of President Biden’s electoral college victory in 2020.

The senator’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday afternoon, but hours earlier he tweeted out a link to purchase a mug emblazoned with the photo of him raising his first at the protestors.

Hawley’s re-election campaign began selling the mugs in February.

Source: TEST FEED1