Walmart is recalling more than 9,500 cases of apple juice for elevated levels of inorganic arsenic, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA said the affected product could cause some health effects, but it’s unlikely to cause serious illness. Short-term exposure to inorganic arsenic can cause some symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, bruising and numbness or burning sensations in the hands and feet, according to the FDA. Arsenic is present in places where food can be grown, so the FDA monitors arsenic levels in case they are above the normal standard.
The recall is for the Great Value brand 8-ounce, six-pack apple juice, which is packaged in PET plastic bottles with UPC 0-78742-29655-5.
The affected packages of apple juice were sold in several states, including Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Tropical Storm Hone formed on Thursday, August 22, in the Central Pacific Ocean.
What You Need To Know
Tropical Storm Hone formed on Thursday, Aug. 22
The current track takes it just south of the Big Island late Saturday into Sunday
Five to ten inches of rain is possible over the Big Island
Tropical Storm Hone formed in the Central Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Aug. 22. It has winds of 65 mph and is located about 185 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. Tropical storm force winds extend 125 miles outward of the center.
It is tracking west at 15 mph and could pass just south of the Big Island Saturday evening into Sunday morning. Turn on notifications in the Spectrum News app to keep up with watches and warnings.
Impacts on the islands will depend on the track and intensity of the tropical activity near the islands. For now, it looks to bring windy and wet conditions, especially along the southern islands over the weekend.
Tropical Storm Warning
* A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Hawaii County. Tropical storm conditions are expected in this area as early as Saturday afternoon and will continue overnight into Sunday.
Will be strongest at the higher terrians, as they blow downslope, over headlands and through passes.
Rainfall
Some strengthening is likely as it approaches the islands. Rainfall totals will range from 5 to 10 inches, with locally higher amounts possible near the windward areas of the Big Island. 2 to 4 inches of rain is possible over windward sections of the smaller islands.
A Flood Watch is in effect for the Big Island through Monday evening.
Surf swells will reach the Islands over the weekend and are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.
To see current conditions and the latest forecast in your area, click here.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
A tropical storm is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain.The National Weather Service on Thursday evening issued a tropical storm watch for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Hone.The August storm has evoked memories of the powerful hurricane south of Hawaii that helped fuel a deadly wildfire that destroyed Maui’s Lahaina town last summer, but the weather service said that Hone was not creating the same conditions.Separately, to Hone’s east, Hurricane Gilma was moving west across the Pacific, but it was too early to tell whether it would affect the islands.Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian and is pronounced hoe-NEH, was expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 50 mph to Maui and the Big Island. Oahu and Kauai were forecast to get slightly weaker winds.The Big Island’s east coast and southeastern corner were expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain Saturday night through Sunday night. Maui could get 2 to 4 inches of rain.These predictions could change depending on the storm’s course. Early Friday, the storm was about 670 miles east-southeast of Hilo and about 880 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. It was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.The Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina fire was fueled by powerful winds whipped up by a combination of a hurricane passing some 500 miles to the south and a very strong high pressure system to the north of the islands. The weather service issued a red flag warning at the time, something it does when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to raise fire danger.Laura Farris, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu, said some drier air was expected to move in to the western end of the state this weekend, which presents some concerns about fire risk.“But it’s not even close to what we saw last year,” Farris said.The pressure system to the north is not as strong now as last year and the tropical system to the south is a storm not a hurricane, said Pao-Shin Chu, a University of Hawaii professor and the state’s climatologist.“We do see something similar but not as dramatic as the Lahaina case we saw last year,” Chu said.Hurricane Gilma was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane. It was slowly moving west. The National Hurricane Center said Gilma was expected to slowly weaken this weekend.The cause of Lahaina blaze, the deadliest in the United States in over a century, hasn’t been determined, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.To reduce the risk of wildfires, the state’s electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, have since started shutting off power during high winds and dry conditions.Last year, Maui County officials failed to activate outdoor sirens that would have warned Lahaina’s people of the approaching flames. They instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reached a much smaller audience.Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, who took over as the new administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 1, said in the event of a wildfire threat, his agency would send alerts over radio and television broadcasts, via cellphones and with the sirens.The sirens sound a steady tone and no message.“The outdoor warning siren is typically used when there is an imminent threat to public safety and the situation requires the public to seek more information,” Lonokailua-Hewett said in an emailed statement.
HONOLULU —
A tropical storm is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain.
The National Weather Service on Thursday evening issued a tropical storm watch for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Hone.
The August storm has evoked memories of the powerful hurricane south of Hawaii that helped fuel a deadly wildfire that destroyed Maui’s Lahaina town last summer, but the weather service said that Hone was not creating the same conditions.
Separately, to Hone’s east, Hurricane Gilma was moving west across the Pacific, but it was too early to tell whether it would affect the islands.
Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian and is pronounced hoe-NEH, was expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 50 mph to Maui and the Big Island. Oahu and Kauai were forecast to get slightly weaker winds.
The Big Island’s east coast and southeastern corner were expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain Saturday night through Sunday night. Maui could get 2 to 4 inches of rain.
These predictions could change depending on the storm’s course. Early Friday, the storm was about 670 miles east-southeast of Hilo and about 880 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. It was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
The Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina fire was fueled by powerful winds whipped up by a combination of a hurricane passing some 500 miles to the south and a very strong high pressure system to the north of the islands. The weather service issued a red flag warning at the time, something it does when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to raise fire danger.
Laura Farris, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu, said some drier air was expected to move in to the western end of the state this weekend, which presents some concerns about fire risk.
“But it’s not even close to what we saw last year,” Farris said.
The pressure system to the north is not as strong now as last year and the tropical system to the south is a storm not a hurricane, said Pao-Shin Chu, a University of Hawaii professor and the state’s climatologist.
“We do see something similar but not as dramatic as the Lahaina case we saw last year,” Chu said.
Hurricane Gilma was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane. It was slowly moving west. The National Hurricane Center said Gilma was expected to slowly weaken this weekend.
The cause of Lahaina blaze, the deadliest in the United States in over a century, hasn’t been determined, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.
To reduce the risk of wildfires, the state’s electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, have since started shutting off power during high winds and dry conditions.
Last year, Maui County officials failed to activate outdoor sirens that would have warned Lahaina’s people of the approaching flames. They instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reached a much smaller audience.
Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, who took over as the new administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 1, said in the event of a wildfire threat, his agency would send alerts over radio and television broadcasts, via cellphones and with the sirens.
The sirens sound a steady tone and no message.
“The outdoor warning siren is typically used when there is an imminent threat to public safety and the situation requires the public to seek more information,” Lonokailua-Hewett said in an emailed statement.
There were signs, funny costumes, and silly hats. There was a roll call vote that turned into a dance party. There were chants and cheers from “U-S-A” to “We’re Not Going Back,” and even “Lock Him Up.”
There was an oversized copy of Project 2025. There were accolades about records as a prosecutor, as a U.S. Senator and as vice president. There were speeches about freedom and democracy, about abortion and education and every issue in between. There were protests and demonstrations and arrests.
There were Obamas. There were Clintons. There was Joe Biden, passing the torch to his former running mate and vice president. There were would-be, passed-over running mates. There was a pep talk, as actual running mate Tim Walz channeled his high school football coaching days — complete with a fight song andcameo from his former players.
There were accolades and anecdotes from governors, senators, congressmen, activists, advocates, vice presidential hopefuls, former presidential candidates, and everything in between.
There were celebrities, from Lil Jon to Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling to Steph Curry (and his Olympic gold medal to boot) and even his coach in Golden State, Chicago Bulls legend Steve Kerr. There were musical performances, from Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” to John Legend and Sheila E. paying tribute to Prince with “Let’s Go Crazy,” a nod to Minnesota’s Walz.
And there were more than a few pointed comments about former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
But at the end of the final night of the Democratic National Convention, it came down to Vice President Kamala Harris, accepting the party’s nomination for president of the United States — becoming the first Black and South Asian woman to accept a major party’s nomination — and making the case for her vision of America’s future.
Harris, who before ascending to Capitol Hill then the vice presidency, was a career prosecutor. And, as a prosecutor, she said she “charged every case not in the name of the victim, but in the name of the people, for one reason: in our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us.”
“To be clear,” she said, “my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.”
“And so on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.”
‘From the courthouse to the White House’: Harris leans on experience as a prosecutor
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, but I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” Harris said of her march to the Democratic nomination, recounting the journey of her mother, Shymala, who immigrated to California from India with the “unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer.”
Harris said that her mother was intended to return home for a traditional arranged marriage — but then she met Donald Harris, a student who emigrated from Jamaica. “They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister Maya and me.”
She idolized her mother (“a five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent,” she said) who insisted that young Kamala never complain about injustice but “do something about it.”
Harris said that when she learned that her high school best friend Wanda was being sexually abused by her stepfather, she did something. She said she insisted Wanda stay at the Harris family home, and she did.
Harris told the audience that fighting for the American people, “from the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work.”
“I will tell you, these fights were not easy, and neither were the elections that put me in those offices,” Harris said. “We were underestimated at practically every turn, but we never gave up, because the future is always worth fighting for.”
‘Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done’: Harris calls for an end to the war in Gaza
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
After vowing to keep the country’s military strong and pledging to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and defend the people of Ukraine, Harris turned to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, an issue that has been somewhat of a third-rail within Democratic politics — as evidenced by the protests in Chicago over the course of the DNC’s four days.
Harris said that she and President Joe Biden are working “around the clock” to get a deal done to end the fighting in Gaza.
“Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done,” she said, before vowing steadfast support for Israel.
“And let me be clear — I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.”
She then immediately turned to the situation in Gaza.
“At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the last 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again, the scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
That last line garnered one of the largest cheers of the night.
“And know this, I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists,” she vowed. “I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump — who are rooting for Trump. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors, they know he won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.”
“Because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where America belongs,” she concluded.
On immigration, Harris says U.S. ‘can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border’
AP Photo
Harris said her goal was to have the U.S. “live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system” by implementing a “earned pathway to citizenship” while simultaneously securing the border.
She pointed to the failed bipartisan border deal negotiated earlier this year with some of the most right-wing Republicans in the Senate as evidence of her intentions. That deal would have included tougher asylum standards and hiring more border agents, immigration judges and asylum officers.
Former President Trump opposed it, and other Republicans, like House Speaker Mike Johnson, joined him in that effort.
“I refuse to play politics with our security, and here is my pledge to you as president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law,” Harris said, noting “after decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border.”
Harris has endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, seeking pathways to citizenship for immigrants in the U.S. without legal status, with a faster track for young immigrants living in the country illegally who arrived as children.
As he watched the speech, Trump responded on social media, calling the border bill “one of the worst ever written” and claimed that Harris “wants to spend all of our money on Illegal Immigrants,” calling her a “RADICAL MARXIST.”
On abortion rights, Harris blames Trump for overturning Roe
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Harris said Americans cannot be prosperous unless they can make their own decisions about their own lives — including women’s control over their own bodies.
“Too many women are not able to make those decisions,” Harris said, more than two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion.
Harris, who has championed the Biden administration’s abortion rights efforts, said she had met with women across the country who shared stories of miscarrying in parking lots and losing their ability to have children because doctors are too afraid to treat pregnant women.
“Couples just trying to grow their family, cut off in the middle of IVF treatments, children who have survived sexual assault, potentially being forced to carry a pregnancy to term,” she said.
She contended that Trump will continue to erode women’s rights by limiting access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress. She said he also plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator that would force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortion.
“Simply put, they are out of their minds,” she charged.
‘Let us write the next great chapter’: Harris urges Americans to move forward with optimism
Balloons are released after Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Mike Segar/Pool via AP)
Shyamala Harris had another lesson for her daughters: “‘Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.’ America, let’s show each other, and the world who we are.”
This is the moment, Harris said, to demonstrate the hope, the privilege, the pride of being an American.
“Everywhere I go, in everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America.”
She continued the narrative, pushed throughout the convention, that a Trump presidency was about negativity and moving backward.
“We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world,” she said. “And on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment.”
“Let’s get out there, let’s vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”
A new drug shows promising signs of reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Tirzepatide, better known by the brand names Zepbound and Mounjaro, reduced diabetes risk by 94% in adults who are overweight, obese or who have pre-diabetes, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company said Tuesday.
What You Need To Know
Tirzepatide, better known by the brand names Zepbound and Mounjaro, reduced diabetes risk by 94% in adults who are overweight, obese or who have pre-diabetes, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company said Tuesday
A three year-study of patients who took the injectable medication once a week found patients who took a 15-milligram dose also lost an average of 22.9% of their body weight throughout the treatment period
Obesity is a chronic disease that puts nearly 900 million adults worldwide at an increased risk of other complications such as type 2 diabetes
A type of GLP-1 Agonist, tirzepatide is one of a growing class of drugs that improve blood sugar control and help reduce weight
A three year-study of patients who took the injectable medication once a week found patients who took a 15-milligram dose also lost an average of 22.9% of their body weight throughout the treatment period.
“Obesity is a chronic disease that puts nearly 900 million adults worldwide at an increased risk of other complications such as type 2 diabetes,” Lilly Senior Vice President of Product Development Jeff Emmick said in a statement.
Tirzepatide works by regulating appetites and caloric intake. It also stimulates the secretion of insulin. A type of GLP-1 Agonist, tirzepatide is one of a growing class of drugs that improve blood sugar control and help reduce weight.
Drugs including Trulicity, Ozempic and Rybelsus used to treat type 2 diabetes may also lead to weight loss.
For its study, Lilly evaluated 1,032 adults with prediabetes or who were obese or overweight for 176 weeks of treatment.
During a 17-week follow-up period after treatment, patients who stopped using tirzepatide began to regain weight and had a slight increase in their progression to type 2 diabetes, the study found.
Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre that made household names of Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others, has died. He was 88.
What You Need To Know
NBC’s “Today” show said Donahue died Sunday after a long illness
Dubbed “the king of daytime talk,” Donahue was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show, typically during a full hour with a single guest
The format set “The Phil Donahue Show” apart from other interview shows of the 1960s and made it a trendsetter in daytime television
Donahue also co-directed the 2006 documentary “Body of War,” which was nominated for an Oscar
NBC’s “Today” show said Donahue died Sunday after a long illness.
Dubbed “the king of daytime talk,” Donahue was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show, typically during a full hour with a single guest.
“Just one guest per show? No band?” he remembered being routinely asked in his 1979 memoir, “Donahue, my own story.”
The format set “The Phil Donahue Show” apart from other interview shows of the 1960s and made it a trendsetter in daytime television, where it was particularly popular with female audiences.
Later renamed “Donahue,” the program launched in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967. Donahue’s willingness to explore the hot-button social issues of the day emerged immediately, when he featured atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair as his first guest. He would later air shows on feminism, homosexuality, consumer protection and civil rights, among hundreds of other topics.
The show was syndicated in 1970 and ran on national television for the next 26 years, racking up 20 Emmy Awards for the show and for Donahue as host, as well as a Peabody for Donahue in 1980. It included radio-style call-ins, which Donahue greeted with his signature, “Is the caller there?”
The show’s last episode aired in 1996 in New York, where Donahue was living with his wife, actress Marlo Thomas, at the time of his death. The two had been married since 1980. Donahue had five children, four sons and a daughter, from a previous marriage.
Donahue returned briefly to television in 2002, hosting another “Donahue” show on MSNBC. The station canceled it after six months, citing low ratings.
He was born Phillip John Donahue on Dec. 21, 1935, part of a middle-class Irish Catholic family in Cleveland. They moved to Centerville, Ohio, when Donahue was a child, where he lived across the street from Erma Bombeck, the future humorist and syndicated columnist.
Donahue was in the first graduating class of St. Edward High School, a Catholic all-boys preparatory school in Lakewood, in 1953 and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in business administration in 1957. He later rebelled against, and left, the church, though he poignantly recalled in his book that “a little piece” of his faith would always be with him.
After a series of early jobs in radio and TV, Donahue was invited to move an earlier radio talk show to Dayton’s WLWD television station in 1967. It moved in 1974 to Chicago, where it stayed for years, then ended its run in New York.
The show featured discussions with spiritual leaders, doctors, homemakers, activists and entertainers or politicians who might be passing through town. He said striking upon the show’s winning formula was a happy accident.
“It may have been a full three years before any of us began to understand that our program was something special,” Donahue wrote. “The show’s style had developed not by genius but by necessity. The familiar talk-show heads were not available to us in Dayton, Ohio. …The result was improvisation.”
That lent a freedom to the show that persisted as it grew to No. 1 status in its class.
With an amiable style and a head of salt-and-pepper hair, Donahue boxed with Muhammed Ali. He played football with Alice Cooper. His guests gave cooking lessons, taught break dancing and, more controversially, described “mansharing,” being a mistress, lesbian motherhood or — with the help of gathered video that got shows banned in certain cities — how natural childbirth, abortion or reverse vasectomies worked.
A stop on “Donahue” became a must for important politicians, activists, athletes, business leaders and entertainers, from Hubert Humphrey to Ronald Reagan, Gloria Steinem to Anita Bryant, Lee Iacocca to Ray Kroc, John Wayne to Farrah Fawcett.
Outside of his famous talk show, Donahue pursued several other projects.
He partnered with Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner for a groundbreaking television discussion series during the Cold War in the 1980s. The U.S.-Soviet Bridge featured simultaneous broadcasts from the United States and the Soviet Union, where studio audiences could ask questions of one another. Donahue and Posner also co-hosted a weekly issues roundtable, Posner/Donahue, on CNBC in the 1990s.
Donahue also co-directed the 2006 documentary “Body of War,” which was nominated for an Oscar.
Thousands of gallons of jet fuel contaminated the Navy’s drinking water system for Pearl Harbor. Families dealing with health issues sued, alleging they were harmed by negligence at Red Hill.
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This is an updated version of a story first published on April 28, 2024. The original video can be viewed here.
The U.S. military takes pride in protecting its own. That’s why military families we met in Hawaii told us they feel so betrayed.
Two years ago, there was a fuel spill close to the drinking water system at the Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii. As we first reported in April, Navy leadership assured thousands of military families that the tap water was safe.
But nearly two weeks after the spill, parents learned the truth: the water they drank or used to bathe their kids contained jet fuel.
Tonight – you’ll hear from some of the families who say the jet fuel tainted water made them sick. But first – we’ll go to where the water crisis at Pearl Harbor began.
From the air, the historic naval base is easy to spot. Eight miles from Honolulu… sparkling blue waters host battle gray ships…and memorials to those killed by Japan’s surprise attack in 1941.
What you can’t see is the once secret storage site that provided fuel for the Pacific fleet and its planes for 80 years.
Sharyn Alfonsi: It doesn’t look like much from the outside.
Vice Admiral John Wade: Wait ’till you get inside.
Vice Admiral John Wade led us through the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility…seven miles of tunnels cut through volcanic rock – built to hold 250 million gallons of fuel.
Vice Admiral John Wade
60 Minutes
Vice Admiral John Wade: So this is one of the tanks.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Oh my gosh.
That black hole is a steel lined fuel tank so deep it’s hard to see the bottom 20 stories below.
Vice Admiral John Wade: To just show you how enormous this is, this tank holds 12.5 million gallons. And to give you kind of a reference point, the Statue of Liberty, not the base, but the statue itself, can fit in here with enough room.
And this is just one of the 20 tanks hidden here.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, construction was already underway to protect the Navy’s fuel reserves from an aerial attack.
Vice Admiral John Wade: The decision was made to embark on a herculean task to build a bulk storage fuel facility inside a mountain in secrecy.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And how long did that take to do?
Vice Admiral John Wade: It was a little less than three years. At its peak, there were about 4,000 men working here.
But this testament to American resolve became a monumental liability after this…
That’s jet fuel spraying from a cracked pipe. The video was recorded by a worker inside Red Hill on November 20th of 2021.
The fuel…20,000 gallons of it – was trapped in a plastic pipe. The weight caused the pipe to sag…this trolley hit it…
And jet fuel spewed for 21 hours….close to the well that supplied drinking water for 93,000 people on and around the base at Pearl Harbor.
Sharyn Alfonsi:According to Navy investigators, the workers who responded didn’t have the right tools to contain the spill. They also assumed there was no danger to the drinking water. They were wrong. At least 5,000 gallons of jet fuel drained into the tunnel floor and into the navy water system.
The next day the Navy issued a press release about the incident and told the 8,400 families living in military housing “…the water remains safe to drink.” Even though the Navy had not tested the water yet. A week later residents began to notice a problem.
Sharyn Alfonsi: When did you get this sense that there was something wrong with the water?
Brittany Traeger: My husband came into the kitchen and washed his hands and said, “Gosh, the water smells like I just did an oil change like, the water smells weird.”
Brittany Traeger
60 Minutes
Brittany Traeger lived on base…about two and half miles from Red Hill …with her daughter and husband, who is a Navy chief petty officer. Traeger says she began to feel sick a week after the spill.
Brittany Traeger: I had a cough. My tonsils were very swollen. I remember a very distinct moment where I was walking to the car and I had vertigo so bad that I had to hold onto the car.
Sharyn Alfonsi: The smell was that overwhelming?
Brittany Traeger: Uh-huh.
In an email to residents nine days after the spill, the commanding officer of the base reassured residents “…there are no immediate indications that the water is not safe. My staff and I are drinking the water…”
Sharyn Alfonsi: Did you stop using water? Did you stop taking baths?
Brittany Traeger: So, I did, my daughter did…
Sharyn Alfonsi: Just because you had a bad feeling, not ’cause anybody told you to.
Brittany Traeger: Correct. They gave us an email address that we could send an email to if we wanted to have our water tested. So, I emailed those people who then emailed me a phone number that I should call. And I called that phone number for days and it was just busy. They were overwhelmed and inundated with reports.
Ten days after the spill, there were more than 200 reports from six neighborhoods across the base of strong fuel odor coming from kitchen and bathroom faucets. But the Navy said its initial tests did not detect fuel.
Brittany Traeger: It defied logic, you know? Even though there was a leak and even though our water smelled like jet fuel and even though there was sheen on it, they continued to say, ” The tests are coming back negative.”
After 12 days…and four statements assuring residents the water was not contaminated with fuel…the Navy reversed course…on Dec. 2, 2021 it announced more comprehensive tests conducted by the Navy had detected jet fuel in the water.
Three weeks after the spill, tests from Hawaii’s Department of Health revealed jet fuel levels 350-times higher than what the state considers safe.
Richelle Dietz lives on base with her husband, a Navy chief petty officer….and their two children.
Richelle Dietz: Jet fuel’s not something that you would even think could happen to be in your water.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How were people reacting to the news?
Richelle Dietz: I was so sick to my stomach from that news that I actually threw up when I heard.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Because why?
Richelle Dietz: Because my kids had just been poisoned.
Richelle Dietz
60 Minutes
Within a month the Navy set up medical tents for residents. Some complained of stomach problems, severe fatigue and coughing. The military moved more than 4,000 families to hotels.
Small studies of military personnel suggest jet fuel exposure can lead to neurological and breathing problems.
But the long-term impact of ingesting jet fuel is unknown because it’sso unlikely to ever happen.
Richelle Dietz told us days after the spill her daughter’s tonsils became inflamed, and her son started suffering from chronic headaches.
Sharyn Alfonsi: I can hear people saying, “Tonsils, headaches. Kids get that stuff. How do you know it’s related?”
Richelle Dietz: Um, because they never had it before November of 2021. It wasn’t– an issue.
It’s unclear how many got sick. But of 2,000 people who responded to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – more than 850 sought medical care. The water system was flushed over three months…and bottled water brought in.
Brittany Traeger said her 4 year old now suffers respiratory problems which require hour-long treatments…at least two times a day that includes a nebulizer and this vibrating vest to clear her lungs.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Tell me about your daughter’s health.
Brittany Traeger: Thirteen days after the contamination, after our water smelled like jet fuel, my daughter woke up in a hotel with a cough…and it pretty much never went away.
Three months passed before Pearl Harbor’s drinking water was deemed safe again. The Navy’s own investigations into the spill…described quote “cascading failures” and revealed poor training, supervision, and ineffective leadership at red hill that fell “…unacceptably short of navy standards…”
The primary water supply for the city of Honolulu is 100 feet below the Navy complex.
In March of 2022, the secretary of defense ordered Red Hill permanently closed.
Vice Admiral John Wade was brought in to get the 104 million gallons of fuel out of the tanks and move it safely to sites around the Pacific.
Vice Admiral John Wade: We’ve gotta defuel. That’s the imminent threat. There’s ongoing and will be continued long-term environmental remediation to restore the aquifer, the land and surrounding area. And then there’s also a medical component for those that have been impacted.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You view now this thing that was a lifeline for the fleet is a threat.
Vice Admiral John Wade: That’s right. That’s right.
In six months, Wade’s team in Hawaii successfully removed almost all of the fuel. But it took two years before the Navy issued disciplinary letters to 14 officers involved in the spill response…including, five admirals.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Was anyone fired because of this?
Meredith Berger, an assistant secretary of the Navy
60 Minutes
Meredith Berger: At the time that the accountability came through, uh– we had officers that had already retired. And so uh — they had already separated from service.
Meredith Berger is an assistant secretary of the Navy. We met her at the Pentagon in November. She told us the Navy has been accountable.
Sharyn Alfonsi: We’re talking about 20,000 gallons of– fuel leak, 90,000 people had their water contaminated. It looks like people retired, or were reassigned, and no one was fired. How is that accountability?
Meredith Berger: It’s accountability within the system that we have established. And we have heard that this was too long, um and that maybe it didn’t go far enough.
Two thousand military families agree the Navy didn’t go far enough and are suing the government. The Traegers and Dietzs have joined the lawsuit alleging they were harmed by negligence at Red Hill.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Are you angry that it happened? Or are you angry at what happened after?
Richelle Dietz: It’s a little bit of anger, but it’s also this feeling of betrayal.
Sharyn Alfonsi: What do you mean, betrayal?
Richelle Dietz: So my husband has been in for almost 18 years. We have moved our family cross country, cross oceans. We gave so much of our life to the Navy for them to ignore warnings and then we were directly and blatantly lied to about it.
Navy leadership has apologized for the spill but has not said that the contaminated water is the cause of the ongoing illnesses.
The Navy did set up a clinic on base to collect data and treat anyone who believes they have health issues related to the tainted water.
Sharyn Alfonsi: What happens in five or 10 or 15 years? Will those services still be available to these families?
Meredith Berger: So that’s– that is part of why, um, we are making sure that we’re collecting that information to inform future actions and what the requirements are for those types of uh, needs and care.
Sharyn Alfonsi: That doesn’t sound like a guarantee of care in the future.
Meredith Berger: And I wanna be careful, ’cause I don’t do the health care part of things. And so I– I don’t wanna speak outside of, um, of– of where I have any authority or decision.
So we followed up with the Defense Department…which told us it’s reviewing the question of long term health care for military families…including more than 3,100 children.
Two years after the spill, some residents have reported water with a smell or sheen. The Navy is conducting daily tests at Pearl Harbor and says it is confident there is no fuel in the tap water.
Richelle Dietz is still using bottled water. She and Brittany Traeger along with the other military families are awaiting a judge’s decision in their lawsuit.
Sharyn Alfonsi: What is the remedy that you want?
Brittany Traeger: In our family it’s restoring my faith in our nation.
Sharyn Alfonsi: That’s a big thing to say.
Brittany Traeger: There’s a body of government that failed. They contaminated our water, they lied to us, they did not protect us, and they did not intervene. And accountability looks like a lifelong care plan for me, my family, and the people affected. And that will restore my faith in my nation.
Produced by Guy Campanile. Associate producer, Lucy Hatcher. Broadcast associate, Erin DuCharme. Edited by Michael Mongulla.
This month’s full moon will peak on Monday just before 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will be the first of the supermoons this year.
What You Need To Know
August’s full moon is known as the Sturgeon Moon thanks to abundant lake sturgeon that was caught in the Great Lakes in late summer
This is the start of a string of supermoons that will commence in November
The moon will look “super-sized”
Nicknamed the Sturgeon Moon, it will appear larger and brighter than the other full moons seen thus far this year.
What’s a supermoon?
“A supermoon is when Earth’s lunar sister’s orbit is at its closest to the planet and when it is full,” explains Spectrum News’ space expert Anthony Leone.
Adding, “We don’t always get them because the moon’s orbit is more of an oval. So, when the moon is at its closest orbit to Earth, called a perigee, we get a supermoon.”
He says during this time the moon will appear brighter and look “super-sized.”
This moon is also considered a “Blue Moon,” which has nothing to do with the color. According to NASA, the third full moon that occurs in a season that has four full moons denotes the third one as a seasonal Blue Moon. A monthly Blue Moon would be the second full moon that occurs during the month.
Alternative names
According to the farmer’s almanac, names of moons corresponded with entire lunar months and were derived from Native American, Colonial American and European sources.
The full moon was dubbed the sturgeon moon thanks to the abundant native freshwater fish caught during late summer in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. These prehistoric-looking fish provided an important staple for Native Americans in that region.
There are nearly 30 species of sturgeon worldwide, including the lake sturgeon found in the Great Lakes. The sizes of these fish have evolved from the size of a bass to the size of a car. Unfortunately, due to overfishing in the 19th century, pollution and habitat damage, the lake sturgeon is rare.
Alternative moon names include Flying Up Moon, a Cree term for when young birds leave the nest. Corn Moon, Harvest Moon, Ricing Moon and Black Cherries Moon all refer to a time of maturing crops.
More supermoons?
If you can’t witness this month’s supermoon, Leone says there will be plenty more opportunities. “We will get a celestial treat this year. We will get four supermoons in a row, from August through November.”
He mentions that September’s supermoon will be extra special. “It will also fall on a partial lunar eclipse. This will give the moon a bit of a reddish color to it and that’s because of the way Earth’s atmosphere refracts light.”
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July, the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading and setting up the Federal Reserve for an interest rate cut in September.
What You Need To Know
Year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July, the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading and setting up the Federal Reserve for an interest rate cut in September
Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose just 0.2% from June to July after dropping slightly the previous month for the first time in four years
Measured from a year earlier, prices rose 2.9%, down from 3% in June
It is the mildest year-over-year inflation figure since March 2021
Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose just 0.2% from June to July after dropping slightly the previous month for the first time in four years. Measured from a year earlier, prices rose 2.9%, down from 3% in June. It is the mildest year-over-year inflation figure since March 2021.
The government said nearly all the increase last month reflected higher rental prices and housing costs, a trend that, according to real-time data, is easing.
For months, cooling inflation has provided gradual relief to America’s consumers, who were stung by the price surges that erupted three years ago, particularly for food, gas, rent and other necessities. Inflation peaked two years ago at 9.1%, the highest level in four decades.
Inflation has taken a central role in the presidential election, with former President Donald Trump blaming the Biden administration’s energy policies for the price increases. Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday said she would soon unveil new proposals to “bring down costs and also strengthen the economy overall.”
Biden hailed the “real progress” shown in Wednesday’s report, but acknowledged that more needs to be done in order to lower costs for Americans.
“Inflation has fallen below 3% and core inflation has fallen to the lowest level since April 2021,” Biden said in a statement. “We have more work to do to lower costs for hardworking Americans, but we are making real progress, with wages rising faster than prices for 17 months in a row.”
“Prices are still too high,” the president continued. “Large corporations are sitting on record profits and not doing enough to lower prices. That’s why we are taking on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug prices. We’re cutting red tape to build more homes while taking on corporate landlords that unfairly increase rent. And we’re taking on price gouging and junk fees to lower everyday costs from groceries to air travel.”
“Congressional Republicans would raise prices for middle class families while cutting taxes for billionaires and big corporations,” he concluded. “While they try to take us back, we will fight for the future.”
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices climbed 0.2% from June to July, after a 0.1% increase the previous month. Compared to a year ago, core inflation rose 3.2%, down from 3.3% in June, the lowest since April 2021. Core prices are closely watched by economists because it typically provides a better read of where inflation is headed.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said he is seeking additional evidence of slowing inflation before the Fed begins cutting its key interest rate. Economists widely expect the Fed’s first rate cut to occur in mid-September.
When the central bank lowers its benchmark rate, over time it tends to reduce the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses. Mortgage rates have already declined in anticipation of the Fed’s first rate reduction.
At a news conference last month, Powell said that cooler inflation data this spring had strengthened the Fed’s confidence that price increases are falling back to a 2% annual pace. Another inflation report will be issued next month before the Fed’s Sept. 17-18 meeting, with economists expecting that report to also show that price increases remained mostly tame.
Inflation has eased substantially in the past two years as global supply chains have been repaired, a spate of apartment construction in many large cities has cooled rental costs and higher interest rates have slowed auto sales, forcing dealers to offer better deals to potential car buyers.
Consumers, particularly lower-income ones, are also becoming more price-sensitive, forgoing high-priced items or shifting to cheaper alternatives. This has forced many companies to rein in price hikes or even offer lower prices.
Prices are still rising sharply for some services, including auto insurance and health care. Auto insurance costs have shot up as the value of new and used vehicles has soared compared with three years ago. Economists, though, expect those costs to eventually grow more slowly.
As inflation continues to decline, the Fed is paying increasingly close attention to the job market. The central bank’s goals, as defined by Congress, are to keep prices stable and support maximum employment.
This month, the government reported that hiring slowed much more than expected in July and that the unemployment rate rose for a fourth straight month, though to a still-low 4.3%. The figures roiled financial markets and led many economists to boost their forecasts for interest rate cuts this year. Most analysts now expect at least three quarter-point rate cuts at the Fed’s September, November and December meetings. The Fed’s benchmark rate is at a 23-year high of 5.3%.
Still, the rise in the unemployment rate has reflected mainly an influx of job-seekers, especially new immigrants, who haven’t immediately found work and so have been classified as unemployed. That is a much more positive reason for a higher unemployment rate than if it came from a jump in layoffs. Measures of job cuts remain low.
On Thursday, the government will release its latest data on retail sales, which are expected to show that consumers increased their spending modestly in July. As long as shoppers are willing to spend, businesses are likely to hold onto their workers and may even add staff.
KANAIO, Hawaii (AP) — Fear. Anxiety. Anger. Depression. Overwhelmed.
Janice Dapitan began her second counseling session by writing those words on a whiteboard, reflecting what she felt in that moment. The day fire destroyed her hometown of Lahaina — and the struggles that have followed for nearly a year — still haunted her.
The fire killed her uncle. It burned the homes of seven family members. Her daughter narrowly escaped the blaze with her two children, but lost her house and moved to Las Vegas. The house Dapitan shares with her husband, Kalani, survived, but now it overlooks the burn zone. The view is a painful, constant reminder that the life they’d known is gone.
“There are so many triggers,” she said on a blustery July day. Her long black braids fell over a tank top with the word “Lahaina” printed in gold. “We can be okay today, and tomorrow it could be different. Everything is uncertain. Every day is a different challenge. We want to stay joyful, but it’s a process.”
Janice Dapitan, left, cries during an interview with husband Kalani, right, following an equine therapy session at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
One year after the Maui fires, thousands of residents share Dapitan’s struggle. They grieve the losses of loved ones and generational homes. They are haunted by their traumatic escapes and even by the guilt of surviving. They’ve endured months of instability — switching hotel rooms, schools and jobs. An estimated 1,500 families have left Maui, forced to start over thousands of miles from home.
But lately, Dapitan has enjoyed some relief, thanks to an equine-assisted therapy program at the Spirit Horse Ranch in Maui’s rural upcountry, an hour’s drive from Lahaina.
“The connection with the horses is different than connecting with machines or humans,” said Dapitan. “It’s almost like instant healing.”
After large-scale disasters, restoring a community’s mental wellness is as important as rebuilding infrastructure, experts say. And just as constructing an entire town can take years, so can healing its residents.
“We can be so focused on the bricks-and-mortar rebuild — because that’s challenging enough as it is — that we don’t create space for that healing,” said Jolie Wills, a cognitive scientist who led the mental health response for the Red Cross after the 2010 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.
While some survivors need professional support to overcome their trauma, a lot of recovery can happen outside of a clinic’s walls. Maui residents have leaned on programs that help them reconnect — to themselves, their community, land and culture.
Horses to process trauma
After writing down her words, Dapitan sat on a folding chair inside a horse corral. A few feet away, Maverick, a 22-year-old Tennessee Walker rolled in the dirt.
Janice Dapitan brushes a horse named Maverick during a philanthropy-supported equine therapy program at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
The program’s founder, Paige DePonte, sat in front of her and began a technique called brainspotting. She moved a small wand in front of Dapitan’s eyes to stimulate certain eye movements believed to help the brain process trauma. Later, Dapitan approached Maverick. She brushed his dark mane. After leading him once around the corral, she stopped, rested her arms over his back, and began to cry.
“He just lets you lean on him,” she said. “I can feel myself healing because somebody is at least letting me lean on them.”
For her husband Kalani, the ranch’s quiet isolation, tucked on a hillside overlooking Maui’s south coast, gives him space to process what has happened. “Before we even met the horses, I was in tears,” he said. “The peacefulness really breaks your walls down.”
Kalani Dapitan talks to a horse named Missy during a philanthropy-supported equine therapy session at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Equine-assisted therapy participants don’t typically ride horses, but the animals’ presence alone can soothe people as they face their trauma. They might brush, walk and even talk to the animals, or the horses might just be nearby as facilitators take them through other methods of counseling or psychotherapy.
“Horses are incredible healers,” said DePonte, who started the program on her family’s cattle ranch in 2021 after observing the transformational effect the animals had on her own trauma recovery. “They are in a place of coherence all the time, not thinking about tomorrow, not thinking about yesterday.”
The program, now supported by grants from the Hawaii Community Foundation, Maui United Way, and other private donors, has provided more than 1,300 sessions for impacted residents.
Dapitan had already begun therapy before the fire to recover from a previous trauma, but she said time at the ranch feels different. “I think I got the most out of the horses in two days versus the year that I’ve been having regular counseling.”
Healing through connection
Holistic programs like these have helped meet the overwhelming need for support services after the Aug. 8, 2023 fire that killed at least 102 people and displaced 12,000.
On top of the harrowing experiences of losing homes and loved ones, survivors are stressed and exhausted from the volatility of daily life — moving hotel rooms, changing schools, losing income.
“It’s been a pretty significant impact on people’s mental health,” said Tia Hartsock, director of Hawaii’s office of wellness and resilience. “Navigating bureaucratic systems while in a traumatic response has been very challenging.”
Kalani Dapitan reaches to pet a horse named Missy during an equine therapy session at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
In a Hawaii Department of Health survey of affected families two months after the fire, almost three-quarters of respondents said at least one person in their household had felt nervous, anxious or depressed in the preceding two weeks. At the six-month anniversary, more than half of survivors and one-third of all Maui residents surveyed by the University of Hawaii reported feeling depressive symptoms.
That’s expected after a disaster of such scale, said Wills, calling it “very normal reactions to a very abnormal situation.”
Providers, nonprofits, philanthropic groups and the government collaborated to reduce barriers to mental health treatment, like paying for people’s therapy sessions and staffing shelters and FEMA events with mental health practitioners.
But they knew residents also needed other options. “Clinical support wasn’t necessarily going to be right for everyone,” said Justina Acevedo-Cross, senior program manager at the Hawaii Community Foundation.
Numerous public and private funders are supporting programs that re-engage residents with land and people, which Hartsock calls “unbelievably helpful in the healing.”
Several are rooted in Native Hawaiian healing practices. Cultural practitioners with the organization Hui Ho’omalu offer lomilomi, or Hawaiian massage. Those sessions typically lead into kukakuka, or deep conversation, with Native Hawaiians trained in mental health support.
Impacted families also maintain taro patches, restore native plants and take cultural classes on protected land stewarded by the organization Ka’ehu. Aviva Libitsky and her son Nakana, 7, volunteer there at least once a week, scooping invasive snails out of kalo pools and cleaning litter from the shoreline.
Libitsky felt anxious for months after fleeing the Lahaina fire and losing the home she’d lived in since 2010. Working on the land calms her. “It helps you channel that frenetic energy and put it toward something useful.”
The Spirit Horse Ranch founder Paige DePonte walks with Maverick, one of the horses at her equine-assisted trauma-informed care facility, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
She and Nakana recently learned how to weave bracelets from the leaves of hala trees at one of Ka’ehu’s cultural workshops. They’ve gone to Spirit Horse Ranch, too. “We just focus on new opportunities, creating new memories.”
A new wave of need
As Maui enters its second year of recovery, providers are preparing for a new wave of people to seek help.
The last families are moving out of hotels and into the interim housing meant to carry them over until Lahaina rebuilds. That sudden stillness can trigger bigger emotions, said Acevedo-Cross. “They’re able to feel a bit more.”
Many who weren’t directly affected by the fires are now experiencing its impacts, as rents skyrocket, tourism jobs disappear, and friends and family move away.
For some, healing won’t come until Lahaina is rebuilt and the community can return home.
Janice Dapitan, right, wipes away tears during a session, part of a philanthropy-supported equine therapy program, with Paige DePonte as a horse named Maverick stands nearby at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
“We don’t have a hometown anymore,” said Kalani Dapitan. He misses his friends and family, and most of all his daughter. He worries constantly about what will happen to Lahaina, especially as a Native Hawaiian. “We’re unsure of our future, how our cultural aspect is going to pan out.”
With so much still uncertain, time at Spirit Horse Ranch helps the Dapitans stay present.
At the end of her session, Janice returned to the whiteboard to write the words that summed up her feelings. “Relaxed,” she wrote, and looked up. “That’s all.”
_____________
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
One of the best meteor showers of the year peaks late this weekend into early next week.
What You Need To Know
The Perseid meteor shower has up to 100 meteors per hour
The best time for viewing will fall between midnight and dawn
This meteor shower comes from the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle
The Perseid meteor shower peaks Sunday night into Monday, but you can catch them the rest of this weekend and even into early next week. While you can spot meteors zooming across the sky after dark, your best opportunity will be after midnight.
As the night goes on, the constellation Perseus–where the meteorsappear to originate–will rise higher in the northeast sky. However, you can look anywhere overhead, not just in that direction.
The good news is that the moon won’t be full yet, meaning the light won’t wash out the meteors.
In ideal conditions, this show produces 50 to 100 meteors per hour, or about one or two every minute. Go find a dark place away from city lights and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 15 minutes.
The Perseids produce long, bright trails, making it one of the more visual annual showers.
You might be inclined to photograph these spectacles of light. Like in May, when the northern lights were visible, the best way to capture space phenomena is using a DSLR camera on timer and low exposure.
If opting for your smartphone, it’s best to put it on a tripod or stable platform. Go to settings and use long exposure or night mode.
In this long exposure photo, a streak appears in the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower in 2016. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
We see the Perseids in the late summer as the Earth passes through the dust and debris that Comet Swift-Tuttle leaves behind. The “shooting stars” actually come from grains that are about the size of Grape Nuts, according to Sky & Telescope, that burn in the atmosphere as they zip by at over 130,000 miles per hour.
The nuggets of Grape Nuts cereal are a good approximation of the cometary dust grains that create meteor showers. (Courtesy of Sky & Telescope)
Hopefully clouds don’t get in your way! Check your local forecast here. But if clear skies aren’t in the cards Saturday night, don’t worry. That’s when they should be most active, but the Perseids don’t suddenly start and stop; you can try looking any time around the peak.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrived at a New York court Monday to fight a lawsuit alleging he falsely claimed to live in New York as he sought to get on the ballot in the state.
Kennedy appeared and sat at his attorneys’ table during legal arguments Monday morning, ahead of a civil trial expected to start later in the day in the state capital of Albany. Under state election law, a judge is set to decide the case without a jury.
The lawsuit alleges that Kennedy’s nominating petition falsely said his residence was in New York’s northern suburbs while he actually has lived in Los Angeles since 2014, when he married “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines.
The suit seeks to invalidate his petition. The case was brought by Clear Choice PAC, a super PAC led by supporters of Democratic President Joe Biden.
Kennedy has the potential to do better than any independent presidential candidate in decades, having gained traction with a famous name and a loyal base. Strategists from both major parties worry that he could win enough votes to tip the election.
His campaign has said he has enough signatures to qualify in 42 states, so far. His ballot drive has faced challenges and lawsuits in various states, including North Carolina and New Jersey.
Kennedy’s New York ballot petition lists his residence as a home that a friend owns in Katonah, a tony suburb about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of midtown Manhattan. But the lawsuit claims that the candidate “has no meaningful or continuous connections to the property” and has spent “vanishingly little time, if any.”
He doesn’t have a written lease, and neighbors haven’t seen him around, says the lawsuit, filed in June.
“Moreover, the evidence will show that Kennedy’s wife and children live in California, along with his three dogs, two ravens, an emu and his personal belongings,” the lawsuit adds.
Kennedy’s lawyers maintain that the 70-year-old candidate — who led a New York-based environmental group for decades and whose namesake father was a New York senator — has lived in the state since he was 10.
“While Mr. Kennedy may have purchased a home in California and temporarily moved his family there while his wife pursues her acting career, Mr. Kennedy is and always has been a New Yorker,” his lawyers wrote in a court filing.
In legal arguments ahead of the trial, Kennedy attorney F. Michael Ostrander said his client has a “continuing connection” to the Katonah area.
According to the court filing, Kennedy visits the Katonah house as often as possible while campaigning, pays New York state income taxes and pays rent to the owner of the house in Katonah. There he gets mail, is registered to vote, is licensed to practice law, keeps clothes and family photos, has a car registered and has it as his address on his driver’s license and various others.
“He even keeps his beloved falcons in New York state,” attorney William Savino said in a press release Monday. He said Kennedy intends to move back to New York as soon as his wife retires from acting.
The court date comes the day after a video posted on social media showed Kennedy explaining a New York episode in his life: how a decade ago he retrieved a bear that was killed by a motorist and left it in New York’s Central Park with a bicycle on top.
Delivering remarks in the White House State Dining room on Thursday just hours after news of a massive prisoner swap involving the U.S. and Russia broke, President Joe Biden declared the efforts to bring home three Americans and one green card holder a “feat of diplomacy and friendship.”
“And now, their brutal ordeal is over,” Biden said on Thursday, flanked on either side by family members of the Amerians being released, “and they’re free.”
What You Need To Know
Delivering remarks in the White House, President Joe Biden declared the efforts to bring home three Americans and one American Green Card holder a “feat of diplomacy and friendship”
Biden started his remarks by mentioning the three Americans and one green card holder being released by name, a list that includes Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza
He noted that he and the family members joining him on Thursday had just spoken with the now-freed prisoners by phone in the Oval Office
Biden emphasized how the swap is an example of the importance of America’s relationship with other countries overseas in what appeared to be a criticism of some Republicans and his predecessor and the 2024 Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who have taken on a more isolationist foreign policy view
Trump, for his part, posted to his Truth Social account questioning the parameters of the deal, alleging that “we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” and also did not share a positive sentiment for the release of hostages
The president started his remarks by individually naming and describing the Americans and green card holder being released, a list that includes Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, and journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, noting that “All four have been imprisoned unjustly in Russia.”
“This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here and it’s a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country who have been praying for this day for a long time,” Biden said.
He went on to say that he and the family members joining him on Thursday had just spoken with the now-freed prisoners by phone in the Oval Office, adding they are out of Russia and were flown to Turkey, where the transfer took place.
“Welcome almost home,” Biden recalled telling the freed Americans when asked by a reporter at the end of his remarks on Thursday what he said to them over the phone.
After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. pic.twitter.com/1rYNBTt9tJ
In all, the exchange, the largest between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War, involved seven nations and set 24 people free. As part of the deal, 16 people being held in Russia – which includes the three Americans, one American green card holder, five German citizens and seven Russians deemed political prisoners by the U.S. – were released in exchange for eight people held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Poland.
Biden lauded the role of Turkey – which National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said earlier provided “critical logistical support” – as well as Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Poland in Thursday’s swap.
“They all stepped up, and they stood with us,” Biden said on Thursday. “They stood with us, and they made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home.”
Multiple times throughout his remarks, the president emphasized the importance of America’s allies overseas, citing Thursday’s prisoner exchange as a prime example and appearing to implicitly take a jab at Republicans and his predecessor running for reelection, former President Donald Trump, some of whom have taken a more isolationist view of the United States’ place on the world stage.
“So, for anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do, they matter,” Biden said.
At the end of his remarks, a reporter asked the president about Trump’s claims that he could secure the release of Americans being held without giving anything in return, to which Biden quipped: “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”
Trump, for his part, posted to his Truth Social account questioning the parameters of the deal, alleging that “we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps.” The former president also did not share a positive sentiment for the release of hostages.
Today, I stood beside the families of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir in the Oval Office as they spoke to their loved ones for the first time since they regained freedom.
Biden on Thursday added that it “says a lot about us” that the deal included freeing Russian political prisoners.
“They stood up for democracy and human rights, their own leaders threw them in prison,” Biden said. “The United States helped secure their release as well.”
“We are in the United States – we stand for freedom, for liberty, for justice — not only for our own people but for others as well,” he continued.
Sullivan on Thursday told reporters at the White House press briefing that the massive deal was “vintage Joe Biden” and that the president was “personally engaged in diplomacy.”
“I would say that if you had not had Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office, I don’t think this would have happened,” he said.
Sullivan added that Biden was working on the deal the day he dropped his bid for a second term in the White House and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, which followed a painful few weeks for the president in which some in his party were calling on him to step out of the race.
Biden has made bringing home wrongfully detained Americans around the world a major priority, even citing it a goal for his last six months in office during his Oval Office address to explain his decision to drop out last week.
The president successfully secured the return of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner in separate swaps with Russia during his presidency. In all, Biden on Thursday said he has brought home 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained abroad.
The vice president, who is now the likely 2024 Democratic nominee for president, addressed the swap while on the tarmac in Houston before boarding her plane to return to Washington. The vice president said the Americans who were imprisoned and their families showed “incredible courage,” calling the trials that kept them behind bars a “sham.”
“As we celebrate today’s news, we must also keep front of mind that there are other Americans that are unjustly being held in places around the world,” Harris said. “And we will never stop fighting for their release.”
“That is my solemn commitment to my fellow Americans,” she later said.
Sullivan on Thursday referred to Harris as a “core member of the team that helped make this happen,” noting that she took part in meetings on the topic in the Oval Office and spoke about it with the German chancellor at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.
During her brief remarks on Thursday, Harris said she spoke with the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died in Russian custody earlier this year. The U.S., Sullivan told reporters on Thursday, was originally working on a potential deal that would have included Navalny before he died.
“In fact, on the very day that he died, I saw Evan’s parents, and I told them that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news and that we were going to work day and night to get to this day,” Sullivan said.
The president ended his remarks by noting that Friday was the 13th birthday of the daughter of Kurmasheva, a journalist and one of the Americans being released. Biden put his arm around the daughter and had the room sing “Happy Birthday” to her before remarking that she can now spend her birthday with her mother.
Biden and Harris are set to greet the Americans on Thursday night when they land in the U.S.
Spectrum News’ Justin Tasolides contributed to this report.
The U.S. and Russia completed a massive prisoner swap with Russia that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan, Turkish officials said Thursday.
The exchange of more than two dozen took place in Turkey.
What You Need To Know
The U.S. and Russia completed a massive prisoner swap with Russia that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan, Turkish officials said Thursday
The exchange of more than two dozen took place in Turkey; all told, according to the Turkish government, the swap involved 26 people between seven countries
Gershkovich was detained in Russia in March 2023 while on assignment in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges, which the U.S. and his employer vehemently denied; he was sentenced last month to 16 years in a maximum-security prison
Whelan was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges, which the U.S. similarly denied, and was also sentenced to 16 years in prison
All told, according to the Turkish government, the swap involved 26 people between seven countries. Ten, including two children, were sent to Russia, with 13 going to Germany and three to the U.S.
In a statement Thursday morning, Biden confirmed the release of Whelan and Gershkovich, as well as journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza.
“The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy,” Biden said. “All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia—including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.”
Biden thanked the allied nations involved in the release, naming Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, emphasizing the importance of those global partnerships. “This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer.”
“Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world,” Biden said. “And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.”
Biden pledged that he “will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family,” noting that his administration has secured the release of more than 70 Americans held abroad with such a designation, “many of whom were in captivity since before I took office.”
The swap serves as a major diplomatic victory for Biden’s administration, which has prioritized bringing home Americans who have been wrongfully detained. In 2022, the Biden administration secured the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was arrested at a Moscow airport and convicted of smuggling and posessing cannabis, in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Earlier this year, the administration secured the release of Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
In his Oval Office address last week explaining his decision to step aside from the Democratic ticket and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s election, Biden said that one of the top priorities for his remaining six months in office is to secure the release of Americans wrongfully held abroad.
“We’re also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world,” Biden said.
But it comes at a price: Russia has secured the freedom of its own nationals convicted of serious crimes in the West by trading them for journalists, dissidents and other Westerners convicted and sentenced in a highly politicized legal system on charges the U.S. considers bogus.
Russia has long been interested in getting back Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscow’s security services. Krasikov was released by Germany as part of the swap.
Gershkovich was detained in Russia in March 2023 while on assignment in Yekaterinburg, claiming without evidence that he was spying for the United States. Both Gershkovich and his employer vehemently denied the allegations, and the United States considered him wrongfully detained. He was sentenced last month to 16 years in a maximum-security prison.
“Evan is free and on his way home,” said Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker in a joint statement, adding: “We are overwhelmed with relief and elated for Evan and his family, as well as for the others who were released.”
“At the same time, we condemn in the strongest terms Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, which orchestrated Evan’s 491-day wrongful imprisonment based on sham accusations and a fake trial as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth,” they continued. “Unfortunately, many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world.”
“Evan and his family have displayed unrivaled courage, resilience and poise during this ordeal, which came to an end because of broad advocacy for his release around the world,” they added.
Whelan was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges, which the U.S. similarly denied, and was also sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan, who also holds British, Irish, and Canadian citizenships, was arrested in Russia while using his U.S. passport.
“Paul, after more than five years, we finally get to say, welcome home,” she said. “You lost your job, your home, and your dog, but we never lost our faith in you.”
In a statement posted online, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus acknowledged media reports Kurmasheva would be released as part of the deal.
Capus said the broadcaster welcomed ’’news of Alsu’s imminent release and are grateful to the American government and all who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia.”
Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected.
Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich that Washington regarded as a sham.
Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations.
Pennsylvania lawmakers celebrated the news while pushing for any swap to include Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania teacher detained in Russia since 2021 for posession of medical marijuana.
“Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressional members who represent Marc and his family, we have been pushing to bring Marc home as quickly as possible,” a joint statement from Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Reps. Mike Kelly, Chris Deluzio and Guy Reschenthaler. “As negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, we respectfully request that any potential prisoner swap include Marc Fogel.”
It’s summer, and you might spend your days at the pool, or hiking on the trails, but popular nighttime activities include catching those glowing beetles. Whether you refer to them as fireflies or lightning bugs, the glow of these insects becomes magical.
What You Need To Know
Lightning bugs and fireflies are the same beetle, just have different names depending on your location
The biggest threat to the beetles right now is habitat loss
Lightning bugs (fireflies) are flying, bioluminescent insects
The ideal weather for these beetles is warm and humid. Unlike most humans, they thrive under these conditions. That’s why summer is when they are present.
The insects contain an enzyme called luciferase, which produces light, yet very little heat. The glow we see, he adds, “is similar to the chemical reactions much like we see in glow sticks.”
Remi Lynn holds a lightning bug on a warm summer night. (Spectrum News/Stacy Lynn)
Is it a firefly or lightning bug?
One could guess how they got their name, but why do some refer to them as fireflies and others say they are lightning bugs? “Lightning bug and firefly are just different popular names for the same type of insect,” says Zarlenga. But the naming convention comes down to location.
About ten years ago, Joshua Katz, then a PhD candidate from the NC State Department of Statistics, mapped out results from a survey he created on the name of these insects. The results showed nearly 40% of participants used the terms firefly and lightning bug interchangeably, whereas around 30% only referred to them as lightning bugs and the other 30% only considered them fireflies.
Based on his map, areas to the west of the Rockies are more likely to call them fireflies, whereas the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and South are more inclined to refer to them as lightning bugs. New England, Florida and Texas use the terms interchangeably.
Small but mighty
You can find beetles in less developed areas, like forests or meadows or even your backyard, anywhere that contains wood or leaf litter. “The females lay their eggs late summer in wet soil, rotting wood and damp leaf litter,” explains Zarlenga.
The larvae, known as glowworms, live in this damp environment. The worms may be wingless, but he says these larvae are “voracious predators with jaws containing toxins to overpower snails, slugs and other prey.”
Once they reach the mature or adult stage, usually in late spring, they can fly. However, they only last for approximately two months. The light they emit is a means of communication, especially for mating.
When done mating, some females will flash their light for their next meal. They will attract additional males to consume.
Habitat loss
These beetles thrive in warm weather with minimal light pollution. What is threatening their population is habitat loss, says Zarlenga. “Such as paving over fields and forests where they live and the use of pesticides and herbicides, which hurt their numbers by killing them too.”
Excess light pollution isn’t good for lightning bugs either. “It confuses and disrupts their flashes used in communication and mating activities,” he adds.
He says to help the fireflies, “We urge people to limit or avoid the use of these chemicals in their yards, leave some leaf litter and portions of tall grass as habitat, and reduce the use of artificial light.”
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The popular deli meat company Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as an investigation into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday.
What You Need To Know
Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products as an investigation into a deadly listeria outbreak continues
The new recall includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 at the company’s Jarratt, Virginia plant
The new items include meat intended to be sliced at delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products
Two people have died and nearly three dozen have been sickened in 13 states
The new recall includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. It follows an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds of sliced deli poultry and meat. The new items include meat intended to be sliced at delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold in stores.
They include liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna and other products made at the firm’s Jarratt, Virginia, plant.
The recalls are tied to an ongoing outbreak of listeria poisoning that has killed two people and sickened nearly three dozen in 13 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly all of those who fell ill have been hospitalized. Illnesses were reported between late May and mid-July.
The problem was discovered when a liverwurst sample collected by health officials in Maryland tested positive for listeria. Further testing showed that the type of bacteria was the same strain causing illnesses in people.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility,” the company said on its website. It has also halted production of ready-to-eat foods at the plant.
The meat was distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, Agriculture Department officials said.
Consumers who have the recalled products in their homes should not eat them and should discard them or return them to stores for a refund, company officials said. Health officials said refrigerators should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized to prevent contamination of other foods.
An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC.
Listeria infections typically cause fever, muscle aches and tiredness and may cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms can occur quickly or to up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food. The infections are especially dangerous for people older than 65, those with weakened immune systems and during pregnacy.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday both released fresh TV advertisements as the competing campaigns look to find their footing in a dramatically changed — and bound to be contentious — presidential election in just 98 days.
The new ads from both sides focus on the vice president and come after President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his reelection bid and endorse Harris, setting off a race to shape the narrative around the new candidate likely to be the Democratic presidential nominee.
What You Need To Know
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump both released fresh TV advertisements on Tuesday
Harris’ ad accuses Trump of wanting to take the country backward, while the Republican hits the VP on immigration and the border
The Harris campaign ad is the first in a new $50 million battleground state paid media blitz ahead of the Democratic National Convention, set to kick off on Aug. 19
Trump’s team has spent $12 million to air ads through the beginning of August, according to AdImpact
Later Tuesday, Harris unveiled a new video ad taking Trump to task on immigration, accusing him of killing the bipartisan border bill crafted by the Senate
The ad from the Harris campaign, called “Fearless,” highlights the vice president’s history as a courtroom prosecutor and attorney general of California, noting she “put murderers and abusers behind bars” and took on big banks.
“Because Kamala Harris has always known who she represents,” the ad continues, before going on to accuse Trump of wanting to “take our country backward,” building on a theme Harris has sought to establish during her first week on the trail when she has often said the election is about a vision for the future versus the past.
“But we are not going back,” the ad concludes in Harris’ voice.
“Throughout her career as a courtroom prosecutor, Attorney General, United States Senator, and now as Vice President, Kamala Harris has always stood up to bullies, criminals and special interests on behalf of the American people – and she’s beaten them,” Harris’ campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. “She’s uniquely suited to take on Donald Trump, a convicted felon who has spent his entire life ripping off working people, tearing away our rights, and fighting for himself.”
The one-minute spot will run during the Olympics Games and other programming such as The Bachelorette, The Daily Show and Love & Hip Hop, according to Harris’ team. It’s the first ad in the Harris campaign’s new $50 million battleground state paid media blitz ahead of the Democratic National Convention, set to kick off on Aug. 19.
Trump’s team on Tuesday, on the other hand, released its first major TV ad targeting Harris just over a week since she became Democrats’ likely nominee.
The 30-second spot seeks to hit the vice president on immigration and the southern border, starting with a video of her dancing and referring to her as “America’s border czar,” a phrase Republicans have latched onto to criticize Harris and one Democrats have sought to aggressively push back against. Biden tasked Harris, his vice president, with leading the charge to tackle the root causes of migration.
The ad goes on to say that under the vice president, “over 10 million [are] illegally here” and “a quarter of a million Americans [are] dead from fentanyl.”
The spot then highlights an interview Harris did with NBC News’ Lester Holt three years ago in which the anchor pressed the vice president on criticism for not visiting the border.
“Kamala Harris. Failed. Weak. Dangerously liberal,” the ad concludes with the words appearing on the screen.
The ad is part of a $12 million reservation the Trump team has made through Aug. 12 across the six biggest swing states, according to AdImpact, a firm that tracks data on advertisements.
Both ads out on Tuesday build on storylies the campaigns have already sought to establish in just the first week since it appeared likely that it would be Trump and Harris facing off in November.
The vice president has pointed to her background as a prosecutor and contrasted it with Trump’s legal troubles, including the guilty verdict in his New York hush money trial in May. Trump has often pointed to the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the border as polls show the issue has surged in importance to voters.
Arrests for illegal border crossings hit all-time highs during Biden and Harris’ time in office. Encounters have significantly dropped in recent weeks after Biden took executive action to put restrictions on asylum.
Not to be outdone on the issue of immigration, later Tuesday, Harris unveiled a new video ad attacking Trump on the issue, accusing him of killing the bipartisan border bill crafted by the Senate earlier this year. The measure was crafted by Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, a Republican, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent, and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, but it was killed by Republicans after House Speaker Mike Johnson declared it “dead on arrival,” pressured by Trump who did not want to give Biden a win on the issue.
The video highights Harris’ support for increasing the number of border patrol agents, investing in new technology to detect fentanyl and providing funding to stop human traffickers — all provisions of the bill — while painting Trump as the person who convinced Republicans to block the bill.
It also highlights Trump’s felony conviction and criminal charges, with the narrator saying: “Kamala Harris prosecuted transnational gang members and got them sent to prison. Trump is trying to avoid being sentenced to prison.”
“There’s two choices in this election: The one who will fix our broken immigration system, and the one who’s trying to stop her,” the narrator continues.
“After killing the toughest border deal in decades, Donald Trump is running on his trademark lies because his own record and ‘plans’ are extreme and unpopular,” Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “As a former district attorney, attorney general, and now vice president, Kamala Harris has spent her career taking on and prosecuting violent criminals and making our communities safer. She’ll do the same as president.”
PARIS (AP) — A calf injury isn’t going to slow down Simone Biles.
What You Need To Know
Simone Biles will still compete in all four events of the Olympic team finals despite a calf injury
The American gymnastics star tweaked her left calf while warming up for floor exercise on Sunday
Jordan Chiles, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, will also compete in all four events
The Americans are heavily favored to win gold after finishing runner-up to Russia in Tokyo three years ago
The American gymnastics star is in the lineup for all four events during Tuesday night’s Olympic team finals.
Biles tweaked her left calf while warming up for floor exercise during qualifying on Sunday. She retreated briefly to have the calf taped but then returned and posted the top scores on floor and vault on her way to topping the all-around.
Last week, U.S. team leaders had considered holding Biles out of the uneven bars in team finals to give her a small break during the Games. Instead, Biles will be part of every event during the finals, when three gymnasts compete and all three scores count. Her husband, Jonathan Owens, is expected to be there.
The Americans are heavily favored to win gold after finishing runner-up to Russia in Tokyo three years ago.
Biles will go last for the U.S. on three events — vault, floor exercise and balance beam — and will be up second on uneven bars.
Jordan Chiles, who finished fourth in the all-around during qualifying behind Biles, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, will also compete on all four events.
Chiles, part of the silver medal-winning U.S. team three years ago, will lead off on vault, bars and balance beam and go second behind Lee on floor exercise.
Lee will be the third American on uneven bars, her signature event. She will be second on beam and first on floor exercise.
The only unexpected tweak to the lineup is on floor, where 2020 Olympic floor exercise champion Jade Carey will sit. Carey, who will vault, struggled on floor during qualifying and said afterward she is dealing with an illness.
Hezly Rivera, at 16 the youngest member of the five-woman team, is not scheduled to compete. Rivera was part of the lineup on bars and beam during qualifying, though her scores on each event were dropped from the team total.
President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled his long-awaited proposals to reform the Supreme Court, calling for a binding code of conduct and term limits for justices on the high bench.
What You Need To Know
President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled his long-awaited proposals to reform the Supreme Court, calling for a binding code of conduct and term limits for justices on the high bench
He also urged lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment that would limit presidential immunity following the high court’s ruling earlier this month shielding presidents from criminal prosecution for official acts
While unlikely to be passed into law, given Democrats’ narrow majority of the U.S. Senate and Republican control of the House of Representatives, it will no doubt serve to highlight the stakes of November’s election with 99 days to go until Election Day — and put the Supreme Court and its 6-3 conservative majority in the spotlight
Biden is expected to address his proposal in remarks in Austin later Monday from the LBJ Presidential Library
The Democratic president also urged lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment that would limit presidential immunity following the high court’s ruling earlier this month shielding presidents from criminal prosecution for official acts.
“This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States,” Biden wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. “Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one.”
“But the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do. The only limits will be those that are self-imposed by the person occupying the Oval Office,” he continued. “If a future president incites a violent mob to storm the Capitol and stop the peaceful transfer of power — like we saw on Jan. 6, 2021 — there may be no legal consequences. And that’s only the beginning.”
Biden, in his proposal, specifically calls for:
Term limits: Biden supports a Congress passing legislation allowing a president every two years to appoint a justice to serve an 18-year term in active service on the court
A binding code of conduct: The president urged Congress to enact a “binding, enforceable conduct and ethics rules” that mandate a justice disclose gifts, refrain from outward political activity and recuse themselves when they or a spouse have conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise
Immunity amendment: Biden called for lawmakers to pass the No One Is Above the Law Amendment, which would say that the U.S. Constitution does not shield a president ffrom immunity for criminal activity
“I served as a U.S. senator for 36 years, including as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today. I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers,” Biden wrote in his op-ed. “What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.”
While unlikely to be passed into law, given Democrats’ narrow majority of the U.S. Senate and Republican control of the House of Representatives, it will no doubt serve to highlight the stakes of November’s election with 99 days to go until Election Day — and put the Supreme Court and its 6-3 conservative majority in the spotlight.
Former President Donald Trump nominated three justices to the federal bench during his sole White House term, including Justice Neil Gorsuch, who filled a vacancy that opened up during the Obama administration that Senate Republicans refused to allow the Democratic president to fill, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who replaced liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just weeks before the 2020 presidential election.
The high court’s conservative majority issued opinions that greatly expanded gun rights, overturned major decisions on federal regulatory powers, and, arguably most notably, reversed the landmark ruling that guaranteed the nationwide right to an abortion in 2022.
Biden’s proposed changes also come amid outcry from Democrats and ethics watchdogs about scandals involving some of the court’s members. Justice Clarence Thomas faced scrutiny after failing to disclose luxury trips from a Republican megadonor, while fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito rebuffed calls to recuse himself from cases involving Trump and Jan. 6 defendants after it was revealed that flags associated with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election flew over his homes.
Biden is expected to expand on his proposal during remarks at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin later Monday. The plan comes a little more than a week after Biden announced he would not run for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Harris backed Biden’s call for reform, saying that they both “believe that the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court.”
“Yet today, there is a clear crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court as its fairness has been called into question after numerous ethics scandals and decision after decision overturning long-standing precedent,” Harris said.
“These popular reforms will help to restore confidence in the Court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law,” she added.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has accused Biden and Democrats of attempting to “Play the Ref” with such reforms.
“The Democrats are attempting to interfere in the Presidential Election, and destroy our Justice System, by attacking their Political Opponent, ME, and our Honorable Supreme Court,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier this month. “We have to fight for our Fair and Independent Courts, and protect our Country.”
Biden’s proposed reforms notably do not call for an expansion of the court, which some Democrats have called for in the wake of Trump’s reshaping of the bench, but the Democratic president has expressed skepticism about.
