Over a quarter of Americans - 26% - believe guns are the biggest threat to public health, according to a study by Axios and the Ipsos American Health Index. Fear over access to firearms is increasing, with that number rising 10 points since February. Calls for tighter gun control have grown louder with more than 200 mass shootings occurring in the US in the first six months of this year, leading to more than 16,000 firearm deaths. US lawmakers have called for gun control legislation, but not much has changed, with access to guns actually becoming easier in some places.
A judge has continued to temporarily block the release of additional video footage and records in the investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, however, he did note that he wanted to make public as much information as he legally could. The court is due to make decisions in mid-June regarding evidence that should be released to defense attorneys and the public. Prosecutors stated in court last week that they did not object to the release of most police personnel records ranging back prior to Nichols' assault, but are arguing against Garrity statements, which consist of interviews given to the Memphis Police Department by the five police officers accused of second-degree murder, for fear of compromising their case. Three days after an altercation during a traffic stop, Nichols died on 10 January, with five officers accused of second-degree murder and who have since been terminated, having pleaded not guilty. Nichols was beaten by the officers who were members of the Scorpion crime suppression unit.
Legislation has been introduced in a number of US states targeting transgender people, with many looking to restrict gender-affirming care for minors and enforcing bathroom use based on sex assigned at birth. Advocates have warned of the further marginalisation of this community and the potential threats to their health. The issue is seen as a Republican priority and a key driver of debate in the 2024 US elections, with the party looking to gain votes from the far right by portraying Democrats as out of touch with the wider population. Numbers of Republican legislation on the issue have increased significantly over the last two years.
How tornadoes, crypto and mudslides pushed up the debt default deadline
CNN
23-05-19 21:06
The US government is moving closer to the day it is unable to pay its bills unless Congress passes legislation to raise the debt ceiling, according to Janet Yellen, the secretary of the Treasury. Tax payments have fallen short of forecasts, primarily due to lower capital gains taxes from assets such as cryptocurrencies, and deferred tax payments in counties in several states because of tornadoes, winter storms and mudslides, claimed Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Conditions such as extreme weather are difficult to predict, Zandi admitted. Previously, the Congressional Budget Office stated the so-called default date would come between July and September.
Arizona voters rejected a referendum to build a $2.3bn mixed-use development that included a new arena for National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the Arizona Coyotes, nixing the chance to recapture the team that spent last season playing at the 5,000-seat Gila River Arena far to the west. However, the vote marked an exception: the Athletics are demanding a similar ransom from Las Vegas and/or the adjacent state of Nevada. This included two sites for a $1.5bn stadium on the Strip and a demand for $500m from the public, although the proposed price has now fallen to $395m. Unfortunately for voters, stadium-seekers have been transitioning to mixed-use development, as exemplified by the Atlanta Braves' battery of restaurants, shops, hotels, flats and offices next to the team's new suburban stadium largely funded with public money.
Do No Harm, a nonprofit organisation that seeks to oppose diversity initiatives in medicine, has become a leading force in the US in seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender teenagers, according to an investigation by the Associated Press. The group, founded by Dr Stanley Goldfarb, a retired kidney specialist and former associate dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school, has produced model legislation that has been used in at least three states. An AP analysis of statehouse bills revealed that identical or near-identical passages to Do No Harm's legislation could be found in Montana, Arkansas and Iowa. A number of Republican opponents of gender-affirming care have cited the testimony of Chloe Cole, a transgender teenager who has spoken to lawmakers about reversing her gender transition. The investigation also found that Do No Harm has lobbied several US state legislatures. The group won the $250,000 Gregor Peterson Prize last year, whose previous recipients include the Centre for American Liberty, led by former Trump campaign adviser Harmeet Dhillon.
SpaceX is set for its second charter flight, organised by Houston-based Axiom Space, to the International Space Station, which will include Saudi Arabia’s first astronaut in decades, stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, and Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni. The other passengers include Peggy Whitson, who holds the US record for most accumulated time in space at 665 days, and John Shoffner, a businessman, racecar buff and owner of his own racing team. SpaceX will target a lift-off late on Sunday afternoon.
Conservative groups running for local office in the US are increasingly gaining majorities, leading to changes in how elections are run and votes are tallied. The groups have been motivated by the pandemic, false claims about the 2020 presidential election, disagreements over race and gender education, or desire to control what they see as unaccountable bureaucracies, with aims of taking control of school and library boards, city councils and county commissions. They are winning political office through primary elections, which tend to have lower turnout, and a growing number of Republican voters who still believe that the 2020 election was rigged. The consequences of the groups’ success are becoming apparent in counties like Sumner, Tennessee, where they can wield the budgetary power that could have implications for how elections are run and votes are counted. Signs of this potential control havs already been evidenced, with the local election commission seeking $300,000 in funding from the county to cover the cost of moving into a larger building. This request was denied by county commissioners who claimed that the move was never authorized, and they require space for other purposes. The election commission claims that moving is necessary as the new, larger voting machines they are using require the additional space. The disagreement led to the election commission filing a lawsuit alleging that the forced move will damage the integrity of elections before a vote has been cast. The article notes that the tensions in Sumner are similar to those happening in other parts of the US, where right-wing Republicans have been winning local offices.
Scott entering 2024 race with endorsement, and prayer, from Thune
Washington Post
23-05-22 00:35
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, hoping to challenge 2024 front-runner Donald Trump. He made his candidacy official at a rally in his home state on 7 June, and was led in prayer by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. Earlier this month, Scott gained support from South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds. Scott joins a list of candidates including Trump, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and radio host Larry Elder. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also strongly considering entering the race, particularly to challenge Trump.
Axiom Space's second private flight to the International Space Station (ISS) has launched a Saudi Arabian government-sponsored crew. The four astronauts, including the first Saudi woman to travel to space, stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, will spend just over a week conducting experiments and chatting to schoolchildren back on Earth. The company has plans to develop its own modules which will eventually form a standalone outpost for hire. Axiom's first commercial flight in 2020 saw three businessmen fly to the ISS. At least two private missions are planned annually by NASA and Russia's space agency begins space tourism soon.
Two Saudi individuals launched into space on the evening of Sunday 17 October 2021, for a ten-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) after blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center. Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, was joined on the journey by fellow Saudi Ali al-Qarni who described the flight as the opportunity to “fly among the stars”. The pair, who are the first Saudi astronauts in decades and were funded by the Saudi Arabian government, will spend over a week at the ISS, during which time they may conduct research and complete a few given projects. They will be greeted on arrival at the space station by an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates. The mission was organised by Houston-based Axiom Space, which carried out its first private flight to the space station last year by three businessmen, each of whom paid $55m to fly the round trip.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has warned about the rising use of xylazine, a powerful veterinary sedative, in illegal fentanyl supplies in America. A lab system run by the agency discovered xylazine in 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills it had seized in 2022. Xylazine is cheap and longer-lasting than fentanyl, making it an attractive additive for drug distributors. Illicit drug supplies in the US are increasingly being adulterated with multiple substances, which could hamper attempts to curb the nation’s opioid addiction crisis. Xylazine also complicates treatment for those struggling to overcome addiction.
The US is seeing nearly two mass shootings per day in 2023 with the current number of 227 well on course to be the worst for mass shootings in a decade, according to an analysis of Gun Violence Archive data. There has been a surge in gun buying, which means an increased potential for deadly violence, with the number of first-time gun owners more than doubling compared with 2019. Personal, social, and economic dislocation caused by the pandemic has also contributed. The US stands apart with easy access to so many firearms, which is the difference that makes the violence lethal.
Republican legislators in Wisconsin have proposed legislation that would make it a felony offence to possess dolls resembling children for sexual purposes, punishable by up to 3.5 years in prison. A first offence involving three or more dolls would be punishable by 6 years, while subsequent offences that involve dolls resembling specific children could carry a penalty of up to 25 years’ imprisonment. According to the Child Rescue Coalition, some dolls can be built to look like specific children. The dolls are legal in the US except in a number of states including Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, South Dakota and Tennessee.
More than two dozen people have been convicted of possessing "switches" which transform semi-automatic firearms into machine guns in Tennessee, according to U.S. attorney Kevin Ritz. The devices, which can be made on 3D printers and bought online, have exacerbated rising gun violence in the state, said Ritz. Seven of the 15 people convicted of firearms-related crime have already received sentences of up to eight-and-a-half years in prison, while nine others have been charged with offences related to switches.
