Pressure Building To Cut Us Deficit (the Christian Science Monitor)

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Prosecutors in Arizona could reasonably press homicide charges against Big Oil for deaths caused by a July 2023 heatwave, lawyers wrote in a new prosecution memorandum. “[T]he case for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for climate-related deaths is strong enough to merit the initiation of investigations by state and local prosecutors,” the document says. The memo, published by the consumer advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen on Wednesday, concludes that the state could pursue reckless manslaughter or second-degree murder claims for the extreme weather event that killed hundreds of residents and which climate scientists found would have been “virtually impossible” but for the climate crisis, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. Victims of the heatwave were diverse, the memo’s authors write. “Some were homeless, like the man who died after breaking both legs jumping over a fence in a desperate attempt to find shade outside an elementary school; others were well off, like the woman who died in her $1 million home in Scottsdale,” the memo says, adding that while some victims were older and had pre-existing health conditions, the authors write, others were young and healthy. The research comes as Arizona and many other US states have broiled under extreme temperatures this month. “As Americans reeled from another lethal heatwave last week, it’s important to remember that these climate disasters didn’t come out of nowhere,” said Aaron Regunberg, senior policy counsel with Public Citizen’s climate program and co-author of the report.

After former President Donald Trump was criminally convicted last month, a historic first for a U. S. President, the guilty verdict was expected to be a topic neither Trump—who has campaigned on the claim that he was politically targeted—nor President Joe Biden could stay away from. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] But instead of dominating discussion, Trump’s conviction only came up for the first time more than 45 minutes into the over 90-minute debate moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash—and it was only mentioned during one less than five-minute segment. Read More: These Are the Biggest Moments in the First Presidential Debate “The only person in this stage [who] is a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now,” Biden said during a back and forth about the Jan.

On Thursday night, independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. stood alone on a stage in a small studio in Los Angeles answering the questions posed to his rivals at the first presidential debate 2,000 miles away in Atlanta. A livestream behind the scenes showed dozens of people hooting, clapping, and chanting “Bobby!” from plastic chairs in a dark studio as Kennedy stood behind a lit-up blue podium with a screen behind him reading “The Real Debate.” He faced Jon Stossel, a libertarian media personality, who served as a moderator of sorts as he frequently cut Kennedy off to return to CNN.

Former President Donald Trump defended the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. He called the Charlottesville white supremacist rally a “made up story.” He boasted that “We had H20” during his administration. He tried to assure American voters that he did not have sex with a porn star. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Under normal circumstances, Trump’s words would mark defining moments in the first 2024 presidential debate.

It's love for Claudia until she has to deal with the nation's problems as leaders usually do.

As soon as Fox News started to trumpet the idea that Joe Biden would be on drugs at the debate, everyone should have known what was coming. The narrative is set now: Trump was strong; Biden is weak. Biden's voice was raspy; Trump's was strong. Trump spoke with confidence; Biden was tentative. Everything that came out of Trump's mouth was a lie.