Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire
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| Did Larry Ellison (above left) play a Klingon in the original Star Trek? |
Trump Supreme Court hands German chemical company a huge win
License to kill
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A Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday limits Americans’ ability to sue pesticide makers over alleged health harms from their products.
The 7-2 decision overturned a 2023 Missouri circuit court ruling that required agrochemical company Monsanto to pay John Durnell of St. Louis $1.25 million in compensatory damages for failing to warn customers of the cancer-causing potential of its popular weedkiller, Roundup.
Durnell said he used the glyphosate-based herbicide for twenty years before developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Glyphosate-based weedkillers make up the bulk of all agricultural pesticide use in the U.S., with farmers and ranchers spraying over 250 million pounds of the chemical across farmland each year. An extensive body of research suggests improper glyphosate use could be linked to endocrine disruption, metabolic disorders, neurological effects and several cancers. Even after application, the chemical may leach into waterways or drift over residential areas.
And it’s not just glyphosate. Nearly all conventional weedkillers, derived from fossil fuels and petroleum byproducts, are believed to present multiple health hazards.
The highly anticipated ruling not only overturns the lower court’s decision, it also sets a legal precedent that all but seals the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits being fought in courtrooms across the country.
The decision also represents a huge victory and financial windfall for Monsanto and its parent chemical company, Bayer, which has spent billions of dollars fighting legal claims linking Roundup to cancer since acquiring Monsanto in 2018.
In a majority opinion delivered by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court wrote that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) prohibits states from imposing labeling requirements “in addition to or different from” the labels required by the Environmental Protection Agency.
President Lawson, Rep. Cotter bill to establish limits on grocery self-checkouts signed
Thank you, Megan!
The legislation (2026-S 2342B, 2026-H 7290A) requires grocery stores with self-checkouts
to have a minimum of one staffed checkout for every three self-checkouts
operating, with at least one of the self-checkout stations meeting the
accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It also requires that grocery store employees be relieved of
all other duties, including operating a manual checkout station, while
monitoring self-checkout stations.
President Lawson and Representative Cotter said they
introduced the bill out of concern for those who work as cashiers, and for
customers who struggle with frustrating self-checkout experiences, particularly
elderly customers.
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Discarding George Washington's example for MAGA policy comes with consequences
Flu virus doesn't care about religion or politics
As of June 23, 2026, at least 222 recruits on the base have fallen ill and four have reportedly been hospitalized.
In his April 21 announcement making the flu vaccine optional, Hegseth cited medical autonomy and religious freedom, describing the vaccination requirement as “overly broad and not rational,” telling troops that “your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable.”
The flu shot requirement that Hegseth ended had been in place since 1945, with one brief pause in 1949. It was part of a tradition of military vaccine mandates nearly as old as the United States itself.
As an epidemiologist who studies vaccine-preventable diseases, I found the end of the flu mandate striking less for its immediate impact than for what it signals. For most of American history, military commanders took for granted that infectious disease could cost them a war, which is why vaccination was considered a matter of military readiness rather than personal choice.
The Lackland outbreak is evidence that the underlying epidemiology has not changed – only the political climate surrounding public health.
A tradition that started with George Washington
The first American military vaccine mandate predates the Constitution. In the winter of 1777, Gen. George Washington ordered the mass inoculation of the Continental Army against smallpox.
His decision wasn’t ideological – it was strategic. The year before, a smallpox outbreak had torn through American troops outside Quebec, contributing to the collapse of the northern campaign. John Adams famously wrote to his wife, Abigail, that smallpox was killing 10 soldiers for every one felled in battle.
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
New Trump plan would put healthcare decisions in the hands of Trump political appointees
Politics Should Never Decide Who Gets Care
Teri Mills and Donna A. Gaffney for Common Dreams
At first glance, this proposal may sound administrative or
technical. In reality, it would fundamentally alter how federally funded
healthcare, nursing education, behavioral health programs, and scientific
research are approved, monitored, and terminated. Under rule §200.340, any grant can be ended at any point if it no
longer aligns with the priorities of the administration. That is not
oversight. It is political control.
For nurses, the consequences would not be abstract. They
would be immediate, personal, and dangerous for the patients we care for.
Trump social media posts tell us a lot about what's going on in his head...
Like this:
When he really should be posting this:
Or this:
McKee issues drought watch, urges Rhode Islanders to conserve water
Guess he'll need to cancel more anti-climate change programs
By Nolan Page, Rhode Island Current
At the advice of the state’s Drought Steering Committee, McKee upgraded last month’s initial drought advisory to the second of four monitoring stages because of continuing low levels of precipitation, groundwater and stream flow. The committee will meet again in mid-July to reassess drought conditions. Should they remain of concern, two more progressive declarations would follow: a warning, then an emergency.
McKee said residents are “strongly encouraged” to take conservation measures as water demand peaks during the summer, according to the press release. Recommendations included fixing leaky plumbing, hand watering plants and being conscientious about the water used during showers and laundry.
Rob Megnia, a meteorologist and hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts, said the warning doesn’t necessarily signal the worst drought conditions Rhode Island has seen since 2002.
“We’ve had worse ones than we’ve had now,” Megnia said, who recalled memorable drought conditions in 2020 and 2022. “Since the 2022 one, it hasn’t been as significant.”
The most recent statewide drought declaration available on the Drought Steering Committee’s website came as an advisory in 2007. EDITOR'S NOTE: I found nothing on that website link.
Be careful, Charlestown: heat wave!
Most likely accompanied by bad air, fire risk
By Will Collette
For several days, the National Weather Service has been warning of a heat dome effect that will cover much of the northeastern US over the Fourth of July weekend.
It's coming, starting tomorrow, and according to this morning's extended forecast, it will extend through and beyond the 4th without a break at least until Monday. Heat index numbers will likely be alarming.
Usually, with heat like this, our air quality drops due to auto-driven ground level ozone as well as particulate pollution. This morning's forecast shows that air quality tomorrow and Wednesday will be, at best, "moderate," though that could change to "unhealthy."
With little rain in the forecast, expect an elevated wildfire risk. According to Gov. McKee, Rhode Island is in a state of drought. Add campfire, outdoor cookouts and illegal fireworks.
Thank you in advance to our local fire fighters for protecting us.
Show them some respect and consideration by NOT using illegal fireworks and being extra careful if you are cooking outside.
Besides bad air, be careful of heat stroke and exhaustion. Stay hydrated.
The UV index will probably be very high, too.
Enjoy the 4th! Just be careful out there.
Will Trump succeed at blocking you from voting by mail?
The Executive Order to Restrict Vote by Mail: Trump is still trying to suppress your vote
Data on who votes by mail suggests that many Americans like
it and have confidence in it. For instance, States United reports that
40% of voters who are 65 and over vote by mail. And in 2024, 905,343 members of
the military and Americans living abroad voted by mail.
Trump has defended casting his own ballots by mail, saying he
did it “because I’m president” and “I had a lot of different things” to do. But
when others do it, there is cheating. In essence, the attacks on voting by mail
have become a convenient, if false, vehicle for keeping the voter fraud
narrative Trump loves to push on the front burner.
Trump has been trying to end Americans’ ability to vote by
mail. His most recent effort, after several failed ones, started with a new
executive order he signed on March 31 of this year: “ENSURING
CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION AND INTEGRITY IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.” It’s a plot
to transfer control over who gets to vote from the states, who have that
authority under the Constitution, to the federal government, which does not.
It would have been unimaginable for the Carter, Clinton,
Obama or Biden administrations to restrict voting like this. Even for the
Reagan or Bush administrations. The federal government is going to prevent
states from using the U.S. Mail to send out ballots, unless the states let the
federal government decide who is eligible to vote—under rules set by each
state. It’s rank voter suppression, removing decision making authority from the
states and vesting it in the Trump administration, which has repeatedly demonstrated
its interest in winning, even if that means keeping Democrats from voting or
refusing to count their votes when they do.
Monday, June 29, 2026
Climate Action Rhode Island to General Assembly blasts McKee's veto of Building Benchmarking bill
McKee shows "troubling pattern" of attacking programs to combat the effects of climate change
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[From a Climate Action Rhode Island press release]
The legislation passed the House by a vote of 48-15 and the
Senate by a vote of 33-5. It would require large buildings over 25,000 square
feet to report their energy use through automated data-collection software
provided by the state in conjunction with Rhode
Island Energy.
For years, CARI, legislative leaders, environmental
advocates, labor organizations, and business stakeholders have worked to
advance policies that will reduce carbon emissions while creating good-paying
jobs and lowering energy costs. The Building Benchmarking Act represented a
major step in that effort.
CARI is especially grateful to Senator Meghan Kallman (Democrat, District 15, Pawtucket, Providence) and Representative Rebecca Kislak (Democrat, District 4, Providence), who worked tirelessly over multiple legislative sessions to advance this legislation. Their leadership, persistence, and unwavering commitment to addressing climate change helped move this important policy across the finish line in the General Assembly.
As 2026 Election season gets serious, Charlestown Dems announce July events
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