Nights in Wisconsin cities have become hotter. The cost is beyond just loss of sleep.

From JSOnline:

Madeline Heim

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

No one ever thought of Wisconsin as being in the tropics, but a new report says our cities are experiencing more uncomfortably hot "tropical nights," raising the risk of a cascade of consequences from a loss of sleep.

Climate Central, a nonprofit organization that reports on climate science, found that countries around the world are seeing a growing number of nights during which the temperature does not fall below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. That's above what medical experts say is the optimal range of temperatures for getting a good night's sleep.

The stakes are high — prolonged sleeplessness can cause brain fog, worsen anxiety and depression, and even increase risk of heart attack and stroke. Experts say this is one more example of the effects of human-caused climate change, and that vulnerable populations will feel them disproportionately.

"Those of us who have the means, we can cool our nighttime environment," said Dr. Lisa Cottrell, a clinical health psychologist in Milwaukee who specializes in sleep issues. Cottrell is a member of Healthy Climate Wisconsin, a group of health professionals advocating for climate action. "Those of us who don't have the means to do that, there isn't anything they can do."

The Climate Central analysis compared real-life nighttime temperatures over the last decade to a model estimating the nighttime temperatures that would have occurred absent the effects of climate change. The difference between those two numbers is what they deemed the number of additional hot nights due to climate change.

In Wisconsin:

• Appleton experienced an average of 16 more uncomfortably hot nights per year in the last decade.
• Madison, Kenosha and La Crosse experienced an average of 14 more hot nights.
• Green Bay experienced an average of 12 more hot nights.
• Milwaukee, Eau Claire and Racine experienced an average of 11 more hot nights.

Extreme heat interrupts the body's sleep cues

Intuitively, it's easy to picture why a hot night could become a sleepless one. It's hard to get comfortable enough to doze off. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a "comfortably cool" room temperature of about 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit to produce good sleep.

Extreme heat interrupts the body's sleep cues

Intuitively, it's easy to picture why a hot night could become a sleepless one. It's hard to get comfortable enough to doze off. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a "comfortably cool" room temperature of about 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit to produce good sleep.

That's on top of things like heat stroke, heat exhaustion and injury to the kidneys from dehydration that happen during heatwaves.

More:Latest National Climate Assessment paints sweeping picture of climate threats to the Midwest

Mentally, "it's the basic stuff" that a lack of sleep impairs, Cottrell said — short-term memory, problem-solving ability, emotional regulation and other mental functions. People's ability to handle daily stressors declines, she said, and those who have anxiety and depression are likely to see their symptoms worsen.

Hot, sleepless nights aren't experienced equally

Historically cooler states like Wisconsin are already uniquely vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat, Getzin said, because our bodies aren't accustomed to higher temperatures and many of our buildings don't have air conditioning.

She pointed to a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research that suggests that without adaptation measures to account for a hotter world, the Midwest and Great Plains are projected to see the largest impacts to mortality due to their current lack of preparedness for extreme heat

Like many cities, Milwaukee experiences a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect, where an abundance of manmade surfaces like parking lots, sidewalks and streets absorb and hold onto heat. That can produce temperatures several degrees hotter than the temperature forecast in certain parts of the city during heat waves, another Climate Central analysis found last year. Punishing heat also tends to affect communities of color more due to historic redlining policies that pushed those residents into more industrial areas with less tree canopy cover.

Without addressing the root causes of climate change by limiting the burning of fossil fuels and switching to cleaner forms of energy, Cottrell said, "it is the most vulnerable people who are going to suffer" from hot, sleepless nights.

Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2024/06/28/climate-change-is-bringing-more-uncomfortably-hot-nights-to-wisconsin/74175138007/

'Good luck America': Biden debate performance leaves voters in liberal Madison lamenting choice

From JSOnline:

Laura SchulteTristan Hernandez

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Even in Wisconsin's liberal bastion, the capital city of Madison, President Joe Biden's debate performance with former President Donald Trump left voters at a watch party lamenting their choice in the election.

Biden's voice was hoarse and raspy from the start Thursday night. He stumbled over words and had to correct himself with numbers. He was sometimes hard to follow. On one occasion, the president appeared to lose his train of thought, concluding − confusingly − with the line, "we finally beat Medicare."

Noah Anders, 24, grimaced when asked what he thought about the debate. 

"It was a painful experience to sit through. Neither candidate inspires our country,” Anders said. The Madison resident soon to start law school at the University of Wisconsin said the debate left him with concerns about Biden’s cognitive abilities but that he also questions Trump’s mental abilities.

"To be president you deal with a lot of tough issues, and I don't know if they have the ability to navigate the nuance and hardships of the job," he said. "Good luck, America."

Timothy Sanders, 48, said despite the president’s shaky performance he is still optimistic about Biden, but he acknowledged the president didn't sound as crisp at a time that optics could be important to the election..

"I'm not concerned at all about his age. If you had a grandpa who took you fishing and had a stutter, you would still trust him," he said. "You wouldn't put him in a debate on live television if you could avoid that because that's entertainment. That's not fair."

Sanders vowed to campaign for Biden, because he doesn't want to see Trump elected again. 

"I think we're in a very dangerous place," he said. 

The comments came at what should have been a friendly space for the Democratic president. The debate was hosted at The Barrymore Theater by Madison-based The Devil's Advocate Radio and The Progressive magazine, a political publication based in the same city. Several hundred attendees wore Biden Harris t-shirts and enthusiastically purchased popcorn and beer.

Then the televised debate started.

"I resent having to choose one of them" said Jesse Clingan, 42, a construction worker from Milwaukee. 

"It's kind of picking the worst of two evils, Clingan said. "But at the end of the day, I’d rather have (Biden) on his worst day than Trump at all."

Heidi Robertson, 48, a job coach in Madison, said that she noticed Biden was a bit "fumbly" and that it felt "cringey," but what he was saying was good. 

"He's going too fast. He needs to slow down with his talking to get all his thoughts out," she said. 

The debate could compound a big problem in Biden's campaign in the vital swing state of Wisconsin: flagging enthusiasm for his campaign among Democrats.

A Marquette University Law School poll issued Wednesday, a day before the debate, underscored the issue.

The poll showed Trump and Biden deadlocked in Wisconsin both with registered voters and likely voters, but the underlying numbers presented a warning sign for Biden, according to poll director Charles Franklin. Trump is scheduled to officially receive the Republican nomination at the party's national convention in less than three weeks in Milwaukee.

Voter enthusiasm is overwhelmingly on Trump's side and that could be decisive in November, Franklin said.

"Here's a path for Joe Biden to lose this election pretty badly, is that he's failed to inspire his supporters," Franklin said Wednesday at an event on Marquette's campus. "They're unenthusiastic about him and his campaign, and they're much less likely to vote than those who are very enthusiastic, who overwhelmingly are for Trump."

Wednesday's poll shows voters who think of themselves as very enthusiastic to vote are siding with Trump over Biden 61% to 39%, and voters who describe themselves as having lower levels of enthusiasm lean toward Biden by significant margins, Franklin said.

"This raises a big question about turnout and what matters here, because Biden has real strength among the voters who are not engaged," he said. "Trump has real strength among the people who are really excited to participate. And so how does this balance out?"

At a watch party at Carthage College in Kenosha, voters felt dissatisfied with both Biden and Trump’s performance in the debate. The watch party was hosted by Braver Angels, a group that hopes to bridge the U.S. partisan divide, and attendees agreed that both candidates did poorly Thursday night.

“The contest of ego — it got really old really quick,” said Rebecca Cataldi, 43, of Arlington, Va. “It would have been nice if they had been willing to put that aside and been willing to talk about what we need.”

Cataldi said that it felt like the country was being “bullied” into choosing either Biden or Trump and she wasn’t happy to have to vote for either

Aletheia Underhile, a student at Dakota Wesleyan University in South Dakota, said she liked the questions the moderators posed during the debate, but that her biggest gripe was that they allowed the candidates to go off-topic with their answers. 

Underhile, who is 20, said the 2024 is “discouraging” for the first presidential contest she can vote in, and wants to learn more about the third party candidates before she makes her final decision.

“My perspective is essentially picking Biden or Trump is me deciding which is the lesser of two evils, and I'm not willing to choose any evil, even if it is the lesser of two evils,” she said after the debate.

Journal Sentinel reporter Molly Beck and USA TODAY reporters Joey Garrison and Josh Meyers contributed.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/27/biden-debate-performance-leaves-voters-in-liberal-madison-uninspired/74195801007/

Much more in-depth coverage of the debate: Presidential debate replay: Democrats sweat after Joe Biden freezes during pivotal debate

Personally, I think that both candidates are shit.  Oh woe is us.

Wisconsin Elections Commission rejects recall election against Speaker Robin Vos

From The Journal Times.com:

• MITCHELL SCHMIDT

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, one of the state Legislature’s most powerful Republicans, will not face a recall election this fall, the Wisconsin Elections Commission decided Thursday.

In a 4-2 vote, the bipartisan commission determined that close to 200 signatures submitted by the group seeking to force a recall election against Vos, R-Rochester, were collected after the deadline set in state law and should be deemed invalid.

The decision prompted the Racine Recall Committee, led by Republicans frustrated with Vos for not pursuing impeachment of the agency’s nonpartisan administrator Meagan Wolfe, to call for “the immediate dismantling” of the commission.

Democratic commissioner Carrie Riepl joined her Republican colleagues Don Millis, Bob Spindell and Marge Bostelmann in the decision, which brought the total number of valid signatures down to 6,678, below the 6,850 needed in Vos’ old 63rd Assembly District to force a recall.

Organizers behind the recall effort had 60 days, or until May 26, to collect signatures. However, that period ended the Sunday before Memorial Day, meaning the holiday weekend pushed the date that petitions had to be turned in to the following Tuesday, May 28.

The four commissioners determined that roughly 188 signatures collected on May 27-28 can not be counted, with Democratic commissioners Ann Jacobs and Mark Thomsen opposed.

Thomsen argued the motion to reject the signatures — made by Millis, Vos’ appointee to the agency — was based on a technicality and essentially gives “the most powerful person in the Assembly a free pass.”

“If we just do that, this whole state is going to think this whole thing is just rigged to keep power, and we can’t do that,” Thomsen said before the vote.

Millis said recall organizers were notified that signatures collected after the 60-day window would not be counted.

“I disagree with the idea that we’re giving Rep. Vos a pass,” Millis said. “I don’t think we’re denying anyone’s right to recall. It certainly is a close call in terms of the number of signatures.”

Recall organizers said in a statement after the vote the commission “has demonstrated that it is set up to protect those in power rather than to fairly administer elections and uphold election laws.”

The four commissioners determined that roughly 188 signatures collected on May 27-28 can not be counted, with Democratic commissioners Ann Jacobs and Mark Thomsen opposed.

Thomsen argued the motion to reject the signatures — made by Millis, Vos’ appointee to the agency — was based on a technicality and essentially gives “the most powerful person in the Assembly a free pass.”

“If we just do that, this whole state is going to think this whole thing is just rigged to keep power, and we can’t do that,” Thomsen said before the vote.

Millis said recall organizers were notified that signatures collected after the 60-day window would not be counted.

“I disagree with the idea that we’re giving Rep. Vos a pass,” Millis said. “I don’t think we’re denying anyone’s right to recall. It certainly is a close call in terms of the number of signatures.”

Recall organizers said in a statement after the vote the commission “has demonstrated that it is set up to protect those in power rather than to fairly administer elections and uphold election laws.”

The group in March submitted more than 9,000 signatures seeking to recall Vos, but the elections commission denied the request after determining only 5,905 signatures were valid.

Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson earlier this year said her office had fielded numerous calls about possible identity theft from electors who said their names had fraudulently been added to the first recall petition effort.

The recall drive was launched by Republicans frustrated that Vos refused former President Donald Trump’s request to overturn Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election. Overturning the election is not something the speaker is empowered to do under state law and the state Constitution.

Vos further angered the group by not pursuing impeachment of the election commission’s nonpartisan administrator Meagan Wolfe, as some Republicans have demanded.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/government-politics/wisconsin-elections-commission-recall-robin-vos-speaker-election/article_052e6ece-34ba-11ef-ac7a-8fec021112d5.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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New Marquette poll puts Biden and Trump in a dead heat but with ominous signs for Biden

From JSOnline:

Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are in a dead heat with just about four months until Election Day, when Wisconsin voters could again be a tipping point for the nation.

According to the latest Marquette University Law School poll, the incumbent Democratic president is tied with his Republican predecessor among registered Wisconsin voters in the battleground state where statewide races are often decided by just a few thousand votes. Among likely voters, Biden leads Trump 51% to 49%.

Voter enthusiasm, however, is overwhelmingly on Trump's side and that could be decisive in November, according to Marquette University Law School poll director Charles Franklin.

"Here's a path for Joe Biden to lose this election pretty badly, is that he's failed to inspire his supporters," Franklin said Wednesday at an event on Marquette's campus. "They're unenthusiastic about him and his campaign, and they're much less likely to vote than those who are very enthusiastic, who overwhelmingly are for Trump."

Wednesday's poll shows voters who think of themselves as very enthusiastic to vote are siding with Trump over Biden 61% to 39%, and voters who describe themselves as having lower levels of enthusiasm lean toward Biden by significant margins, Franklin said.

"This raises a big question about turnout and what matters here, because Biden has real strength among the voters who are not engaged," he said. "Trump has real strength among the people who are really excited to participate. And so how does this balance out?"

Franklin said Democrats' tendency to vote at higher rates if they have enthusiasm also could keep the race a guessing game.

"Democrats have an advantage now that their voters who are higher turnout voters. That is true, but enthusiasm plays a role in this as well, and that's where Democrats are really suffering right now. So I don't know how this is going to turn out," he said.

More:Biden's Wisconsin campaign plans 'massive mobilization effort' centered around CNN debate

When factoring in third-party candidates, Trump leads Biden by two percentage points (43% to 40%) in Wednesday's poll.

The poll surveyed 871 registered voters in Wisconsin between June 12 and June 20. In that sample, 784 are considered likely voters. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.

In April, Marquette pollsters found Biden and Trump effectively tied with an edge to Trump, separated by just 2 percentage points — within the margin of error.

Among both registered voters and likely voters surveyed in April, 51% supported Trump while 49% supported Biden. That includes undecided voters (8% of those polled) who were then asked, if they had to choose right now, who they would support. Undecided voters tended to break toward Biden, Franklin said in April.

Pollsters also surveyed Wisconsin voters on Trump's recent criminal conviction, with 50% of registered voters supporting the prosecution of Trump over allegations he paid a porn star to keep quiet about a sexual encounter ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign. A New York jury found him guilty on 34 felony counts in the matter

Forty-two percent of Wisconsin voters said they should not have been prosecuted while 8% said they didn't know enough to have an opinion.

On whether Biden's son Hunter Biden should have been prosecuted for felony gun charges, 76% of voters agreed it was the right call. Eleven percent said he should not have been brought to trial while 13% said they didn't know.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/26/biden-trump-locked-in-a-dead-heat-in-wisconsin-marquette-poll-says/74195188007/

Biden, Trump neck-and-neck; Baldwin has slight lead over Hovde, according to latest Wisconsin poll

From The Journal Times.com:

• MITCHELL SCHMIDT

All signs point to another nail-biter general election in Wisconsin this fall, with the battleground state’s presidential and U.S. Senate races appearing neck and neck, a Marquette Law School Poll released Wednesday shows.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump remain dead even, with both candidates receiving support from 50% of registered voters — largely mirroring results from Marquette’s previous polling.

Biden leads Trump 51% to 49% among likely voters, well within the poll’s 4.6% margin of error. All told, the latest survey underscores that voters’ opinions are largely unchanged from April, when Marquette’s poll found 51% of respondents — including both registered and likely voters — backed the Republican Trump, while 49% supported the Democrat Biden.

And in a race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate next year, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, has maintained her narrow lead in the race, receiving support from 52% of both registered and likely voters, compared with 47% for Republican businessman Eric Hovde, also of Madison.

The latest poll reflects little change from April, when Baldwin held a narrow lead over Hovde among registered voters, with 52% compared with Hovde’s 47%. That poll found the race to be evenly split among likely voters, with both candidates receiving 50%.

Wednesday’s poll comes one day before Biden and Trump are set to square off in their first debate of the election cycle in Atlanta.

Hovde and Baldwin, meanwhile, have agreed to debate in Madison on Oct. 18.

Wednesday’s poll, conducted by phone and online June 12-20, surveyed 871 registered voters.

Trump’s conviction

Wednesday’s poll is the first after a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts for falsifying business records to cover up payments to a porn star.

Seventy-six percent of respondents said they read or heard a lot about Trump’s trial, while 21% said they had read or heard a little. Another 3% said they were not at all familiar with the former president’s conviction.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said they believe Trump is guilty, while 36% said the jury made a mistake and the former president is not guilty.

“Trump supporters, not surprisingly, are very unwilling to say that he’s guilty — and have various arguments for why he’s not,” poll director Charles Franklin said.

In addition, 42% of respondents said Trump should not have been prosecuted at all, while 50% said prosecution was the right judgment call. Another 8% said they didn’t know.

Asked about whether Biden’s son Hunter Biden should have been prosecuted for felony gun charges, 76% of respondents said prosecution was the correct decision, while 11% said he should not have been brought to trial. Thirteen percent of respondents said they didn’t know.

Voter enthusiasm

As previous surveys have shown, Wednesday’s poll continues to underscore an overall lack of enthusiasm among Wisconsin voters heading toward November, particularly Democratic voters.

Forty-six percent of respondents said they are very enthusiastic to vote in November, compared with 21% who say they are somewhat enthusiastic. Those not very enthusiastic to vote made up 19% of respondents, while 14% said they are not at all enthusiastic.

Among those who say they are very enthusiastic to vote, 61% support Trump, compared with 39% for Biden. Respondents who are somewhat, not very and not at all enthusiastic to vote this November lean in Biden’s favor.

“This race is a big question about turnout and what matters here, because Biden has real strength among the voters who are not that engaged,” Franklin said. “Trump has real strength among the people who are really excited to participate, so how does this balance out?”

Of voters who say they are very enthusiastic to vote, 98% say they are absolutely certain to cast a ballot this fall. Among somewhat enthusiastic respondents, 87% say they are certain to vote, while that certainty drops to 73% for those not too enthusiastic and 67% for those not at all enthusiastic to vote.

“Here’s a path to Joe Biden to lose this election pretty badly, in that he’s failed to inspire his supporters, they’re unenthusiastic about him and his campaign, and they’re much less likely to vote than those who are very enthusiastic — who overwhelmingly are for Trump,” Franklin said.

The lack of enthusiasm among many voters has been largely consistent in previous polls dating back to October 2023. In Marquette’s June 2020 poll, 59% of respondents said they were very enthusiastic to vote, while just 7% said they were not at all enthusiastic.

Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by 20,682 votes in 2020, while Trump won the state in 2016 by securing 22,748 more votes than Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Franklin said Democrats do hold an advantage in that their voters traditionally turn out better than Republicans, but he added “enthusiasm plays a role in this as well.”

“That’s where Democrats are really suffering right now,” Franklin continued. “So, I don’t know how this is going to turn out.”

Third-party candidates

Another lingering question surrounding the upcoming presidential election is how many voters third-party candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein, Cornel West and Chase Oliver could pull from either major political party if they remain in the race this fall.

In a six-way matchup, Trump leads the field with 43% of support among registered voters, compared with 40% for Biden.

Kennedy, who was backed by 17% of respondents in Marquette’s January poll, received support from just 8% of those who responded to Wednesday’s poll. Stein, West and Oliver saw single-digit support among respondents in the June survey.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/wisconsin-marquette-law-school-poll-president-senate-tammy-baldwin-eric-hovde-donald-trump-joe-biden-election-2024/article_1a18f398-2fdc-5eb1-a05a-ae9b6d985b74.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

War Hero' Accused of Stolen Valor Bought Medals Online: Feds

US surgeon general declares gun violence a public health emergency

Story by AMANDA SEITZ, Associated Press

FILE - Surgeon General Vivek Murthy speaks during an Archewell Foundation panel discussion in New York City, Oct. 10, 2023. On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, Murthy, the nation's top doctor, declared gun violence a public health crisis, driven by a growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country. The advisory came as the U.S. grappled with another weekend marked by mass shootings that left dozens of people dead or wounded. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)© Provided by The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. surgeon general on Tuesday declared gun violence a public health crisis, driven by the fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country.

The advisory issued by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation's top doctor, came as the U.S. grappled with another summer weekend marked by mass shootings that left dozens of people dead or wounded.

“People want to be able to walk through their neighborhoods and be safe," Murthy told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “America should be a place where all of us can go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our house of worship, without having to worry that that's going to put our life at risk.”

To drive down gun deaths, Murthy calls on the U.S. to ban automatic rifles, introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns, regulate the industry, pass laws that would restrict their use in public spaces and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons.

None of those suggestions can be implemented nationwide without legislation passed by Congress, which typically recoils at gun control measures. Some state legislatures, however, have enacted or may consider some of the surgeon general's proposals.

Surgeon General Murthy said there is “broad agreement” that gun violence is a problem, citing a poll last year that found most Americans worry at least sometimes that a loved one might be injured by a firearm. More than 48,000 Americans died from gun injuries in 2022.

Doctors quickly praised Murthy's advisory. The American Academy of Family Physicians, for example, has considered gun violence a public health epidemic for over a decade.

“Family physicians have long understood, and have seen first hand, the devastating impact firearm violence has on our patients and the communities we serve,” the group's president, Steven Furr, said in a statement.

Murthy's advisory, however, promises to be controversial with the gun lobby and will certainly incense Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed his confirmation — twice — to the job over his statements on gun violence.

The National Rifle Association promptly rebuked Murthy's advisory.

“This is an extension of the Biden Administration's war on law-abiding gun owners,” Randy Kozuch, the organization's president, said in a statement on X.

It was the NRA, and Republicans who enjoy the powerful gun lobby's support, that almost derailed Murthy's confirmation as surgeon general a decade ago. Murthy became quieter on the issue of gun violence after his past statements almost cost him the job. He ended up promising the Senate that he did “not intend to use my office as surgeon general as a bully pulpit on gun control.”

Then-President Donald Trump dismissed Murthy in 2017, but President Joe Biden nominated him again to the position in 2021.

Murthy has published warnings about troubling health trends in American life, including loneliness and social media use. In an opinion piece in The New York Times this month, he said social media has contributed to a mental health crisis among the country's young people and asked Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms similar to those on cigarette boxes.

But he also has faced mounting pressure from some doctors and Democratic advocacy groups to speak out more. A group of four former surgeon generals asked the Biden administration to produce a report on the problem in 2022.

“It is now time for us to take this issue out of the realm of politics and put it in the realm of public health, the way we did with smoking more than a half century ago,” Murthy told the AP.

It was a 1964 report from the surgeon general that raised awareness about the dangers of smoking is largely credited with reducing tobacco use and precipitating regulations on the industry.

Murthy now hopes his advisory on guns will shift the conversation, too, on this issue. He has been encouraged by some developments in Congress, including the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022 that enhanced background checks for firearms.

A White House report obtained by The Associated Press says that more thorough background checks have stopped roughly 800 sales of firearms to people under age 21. Additionally, more than 500 people, including some linked to transnational cartels and organized crime rings, have been charged with gun trafficking and other crimes under the landmark gun safety legislation.

Children and younger Americans, in particular, are suffering from gun violence, Murthy notes in his advisory called “Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America.” Suicide by gun rates have increased by nearly 70% for those between the ages of 10 to 14. Children in the U.S. are far more likely to die from gun wounds than children in other countries, the research he gathered shows.

For pediatricians, talking with families about locking up their guns away from their children has become a routine part of well visits, said Benjamin Hoffman, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. When children can't get access to a gun, it prevents a large chunk of gun deaths and injuries — accidental shootings and suicides.

“Having access to a firearm for a child who is experiencing a behavioral health crisis is an absolute recipe for the most tragic things you can imagine,” Hoffman said.

Even when children are not direct victims of a gun shooting, they may suffer from mental health blowback of gun violence, the report says. About half of teens in the U.S. worry about a school shooting. And in areas that have been exposed to a fatal shooting at a school, youth antidepressant use jumps by more than 20%.

In addition to new regulations, Murthy calls for an increase in gun violence research and for the health system to promote and educate patients about gun safety and proper storage during checkups.

From: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/us-surgeon-general-declares-gun-violence-a-public-health-emergency/ar-BB1oQnoa?bncnt=BroadcastNews_TopStories&ocid=winp1taskbar&FORM=BNC001&cvid=42d722e29e3643afb6c85d5d1d479527&ei=11

Effort to recall Robin Vos has enough signatures, but questions remain about which district lines appl

From The Journal Times.com:

• MITCHELL SCHMIDT

Organizers of the second recall effort against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos have turned in enough valid signatures to force a recall, according to Wisconsin Elections Commission staff, but staff members stopped short of recommending that the agency order an election.

According to a more than 200-page staff report ahead of the commission's Thursday meeting, organizers submitted 6,866 valid signatures from Vos' old 63rd Assembly District, narrowly surpassing the 6,850 needed to trigger a recall election.

However, staff also note that questions still linger over which legislative maps should apply to any recall effort, which was launched by Republicans frustrated that Vos, Wisconsin's longest-serving Assembly speaker, refused former president Donald Trump's request to overturn Wisconsin's 2020 presidential election, something the speaker is not empowered to do under state law and the Constitution.

At issue is the Wisconsin Supreme Court's December 2023 ruling that the state's previous legislative maps are unconstitutional, a decision that effectively bars their use even though new maps signed into law earlier this year don't go into effect until November. New maps moved Vos into the state's new 33rd Assembly District.

The commission asked the state Supreme Court for clarification on what legislative boundaries should apply to any recall or special elections held before new maps go into effect, but the state's highest court denied to weigh in on the matter.

The six-member bipartisan commission has until Friday to determine whether Vos can be recalled in his 63rd Assembly District. The commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday.

"If the Commission finds petition sufficient, the Commission would be faced with determining within which district a recall election could be held," staff write in the report.

Staff note that, if a recall is ordered, the vote could be held on Tuesday, August 6, just one week before the August 13 primary.

Vos, R-Rochester, has challenged the recall effort, saying it fails because signatures were collected in the wrong Assembly District. Organizers have contested the recall petitions are valid.

The group in March submitted more than 9,000 signatures seeking to recall Vos, but the elections commission denied the request after determining only 5,905 signatures were valid.

Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson earlier this year said her office had fielded numerous calls about possible identity theft from electors who said their names had fraudulently been added to the first recall petition effort.

Vos did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesd

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/wisconsin-election-recall-racine-assembly-robin-vos-legislature-elections-commission-signature/article_385d1b77-b53c-5599-b4bf-65b59b63d5ca.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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