https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/18/politics/epa-pesticide-ban-children-health/index.html Biden admin to ban pesticide tied to children's health problems, reversing Trump-era decision Washington (CNN)A widely used pesticide that could cause potential health issues in children will no longer be used on food in the US, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday, reversing a Trump-era decision not to ban the controversial chemical. "Today EPA is taking an overdue step to protect public health. Ending the use of chlorpyrifos on food will help to ensure children, farmworkers, and all people are protected from the potentially dangerous consequences of this pesticide," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. "After the delays and denials of the prior administration, EPA will follow the science and put health and safety first," he added. The statement said the agency would revoke all "tolerances" for chlorpyrifos, which is used on crops including soybeans, broccoli, cauliflower, and fruit and nut trees and also has "non-food uses." The chemical has "been associated with potential neurological effects in children," the statement said. Under then-President Donald Trump, the EPA announced in 2019 that it would not ban the pesticide after it concluded there is not sufficient evidence of the chemical's dangers to justify the ban requested by environmental groups and a group of states. The agency had banned chlorpyrifos for household uses in 2000 but allowed agricultural producers to continue using it. The product has been registered for use in the US since 1965 and has proved effective against mosquitoes, cockroaches and fire ants. The US joins several other countries and states that have restricted use of the pesticide, including Canada, New York, California and Hawaii, the EPA noted. In 2017, then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt denied a petition from 2007 that requested the agency ban the use of chlorpyrifos in the US. The petitioners, some scientists and environmental groups claimed chlorpyrifos can harm children's developing brains and nervous systems. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, exposure to chlorpyrifos can cause a range of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, seizures and paralysis.
Trump claims Covid was ‘over’ when he left office when there was actually more than 4,000 deaths on his last day https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ld-trump-covid-claims-president-b1905044.html
Trump shunned by major GOP donors because he's wasting their money on 'a campaign of divisiveness' https://www.rawstory.com/trump-shunned-by-donors/ Major GOP political donors who previously supported Donald Trump are shying away from the former president because they are "losing interest in this sh*tshow" and "have better things to do," according to a new report from CNBC. "Wealthy financiers such as Stephen Ross and Larry Ellison have instead opted to spend money on the GOP's efforts to take back Congress during next year's midterm elections, or have shown support for potential 2024 presidential candidates like Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina," according to the report, which also mentions support for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. CNBC spoke with two donor consultants who declined to be identified out of fear of retribution from Trump and his supporters. They suggested major donors are concerned about how Trump is spending the money he's raised through smaller contributions, and are tired of watching him blow funds on rallies where he makes false claims about election fraud. The report also notes that Trump's PACs have spent $8 million on legal fees and $200,000 on his own properties this year. "Big money, sophisticated people are just losing interest in this sh*t show," said an advisor to longtime Trump allies in Silicon Valley. A Republican strategist who represents Wall Street clients added: "Donors don't contribute out of the goodness of their heart. And right now they're being asked to donate to an organization that has no other purpose than pumping cash into someone who doesn't need it and isn't using it. They have better things to do." Although Trump still has major funders like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler, several individuals and entities who supported his re-election campaign have not made significant recent contributions to his PACs. They include billionaires Ross and John Paulson, who recently attended a fundraiser for DeSantis' gubernatorial campaign, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, who gave $5 million to a PAC supporting Scott. The Republican Jewish Coalition's PAC is hosting an upcoming fundraiser for Rubio. Meanwhile, one major Trump donor who's currently in legal trouble, investor Tom Barrack, has indicated he would not support Trump anyway. "Today it looks like it's a campaign of divisiveness, which I'm not interested in," Barrack said before he was arrested on charges of illegally lobbying Trump on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. Read more here.
The plutocracy knows it's more effective to gerrymander and take over local and state legislatures. Merely dividing the working class against itself leaves its desired outcome too much to chance.
Democrats are vicious gerrymanders The Incredible Illinois Gerrymander Democrats are even rigging state Supreme Court districts. Illinois Democrats hold a statehouse supermajority, every statewide office and a state Supreme Court majority. That sounds like a monopoly on power. But with voters starting to revolt against the state’s fiscal woes and political corruption, Democrats are now working to further entrench their power. Late last week Democrats jammed through new state legislative maps that combine 14 Republicans in the Illinois House into seven districts. That means seven GOP incumbents are guaranteed to lose in party primaries. Republicans will also lose their incumbent advantage in seven districts. No Democrats were combined in the same House districts. Illinois’s maps were already heavily gerrymandered to favor Democrats, who control 73 of the 118 seats in the House and 41 of 59 in the Senate. But Democrats are worried a GOP wave in the 2022 midterm elections could defeat Gov. J.B. Pritzker. They want to shore up their supermajority to ensure they can override a new Republican Governor.
And yet they are second-rate to republicans. Republicans, or their donors rather, have more money and hence more power.
You are about 5 years behind in your narratives. High Household income now votes Blue top 1% donate to all sides
That's by county not population, for one thing, and for another it does not reveal the spending of superpacs.
Joe, champion of free markets; long may he reign! WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced on Saturday that it had reached a deal to roll back tariffs on European steel and aluminum, an agreement that officials said would lower costs on goods like cars and washing machines, reduce carbon emissions, and help get supply chains moving again. The deal, which comes as President Biden and other world leaders meet at the Group of 20 summit in Rome, is aimed at easing trans-Atlantic trade tensions that had worsened under former President Donald J. Trump, whose administration initially imposed the tariffs. Mr. Biden has made clear he wants to repair relations with the European Union, but the agreement also appears carefully devised to avoid alienating U.S. labor unions and manufacturers that have supported Mr. Biden.