'We're going to have to get used to this': Pacific Northwest scorched in dangerous, record-breaking heatwave - USA TODAY
'We're going to have to get used to this': Pacific Northwest scorched in dangerous, record-breaking heatwave - USA TODAY |
- 'We're going to have to get used to this': Pacific Northwest scorched in dangerous, record-breaking heatwave - USA TODAY
- Olivia Rodrigo is breaking the mold for Disney stars. Here's why it's revolutionary. - USA TODAY
- Nightengale's Notebook: Ex-MLB slugger says sticky substances have more 'direct effect' than steroids did - USA TODAY
- UK health minister resigns after breaching coronavirus rules - USA TODAY
- After weeks of standstill, senators say they've reached agreement on $1.2T infrastructure 'framework' - USA TODAY
| Posted: 27 Jun 2021 06:43 PM PDT CLOSE  Excessive heat is only expected to increase in the coming days for the region, and a slew of records could fall. Accuweather Records set and broken in one city. A more-than-century old record broken in another. The entirety of the Northwest is baking under triple-digit heat this weekend, and Sunday was no relief from the heat for most of the region. Records in many cities were broken both Saturday and Sunday and were set to be broken again on Monday. On Saturday, Portland had the hottest day ever recorded in the city, reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, just over the previous record for Oregon's largest city of 107, a mark hit in 1965 and 1981. Sunday, the city broke its record again, recording 110 degrees. Just south of the Oregon city,Salem shattered its all-time heat record Sunday, reaching a sweltering 112 degrees. The previous record of 108 degrees was set in 1981, 1941 and 1927, according to David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland. And Seattle hit 102 degrees Saturday, the hottest June day and second hottest day on record since 1945, according to the weather service. And Sunday, the city also hit 101 degrees, the two hottest consecutive days since records were started in 1894. Other cities in Washington state had already broken records by the early morning, with Bellingham blowing past a record set in 2011 and Hoquiam already reaching 100. Portland Sunday was forecast to be even hotter than the day before -- the NWS forecasts a high of 112 degrees. Heat wave in the Western US:What's behind the 'dangerous' triple-digit temperatures? Northwest faces 'dangerous heatwave' in areawhere air conditioning usually isn't needed But the worst is yet to come: Monday "will be the hottest day for the big cities of Seattle and Portland with all-time record highs likely in both cities," said the weather service. Salem is expected to reach 106 or 107 degrees and Portland at 112, although Eugene could see temperatures drop to 98 degrees. Seattle is expected to hit 100 to 115 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Most of both states are under excessive heat warnings until late Monday. Between 2004 and 2018, an average of about 700 people died from heat-related causes each year in the U.S. "Heat exhaustion happens when your body isn't able to regulate its own temperature, and it begins to rise," Dr. Caroline King-Widdall said in a statement from Kaiser Permanente Northwest. "This can happen when you're working out rigorously or when you're doing yard work outside on a hot day." "Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors," the weather service said in an advisory. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances." The extended "heat dome" over the Pacific Northwest was a taste of the future as climate change reshapes weather patterns worldwide, said Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington who studies global warming and its effects on public health. "We know from evidence around the world that climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves. We're going to have to get used to this going forward," she said. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee lifted COVID-19 capacity restrictions on publicly owned or operated and non-profit cooling centers in light of the heat. Capacity is currently limited to 50% until the state fully reopens Wednesday. In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown suspended capacity limits for movie theaters and shopping malls — places with air-conditioning — as well as swimming pools ahead of a statewide reopening. More on climate change: California deserts have lost nearly 40% of plants to hotter and drier weather, satellite data shows The heatwave in the Northwest comes on the heels of another heatwave in June in the West. Excessive heat warnings are currently in effect additionally southward into northern California, western Nevada and portions of Southern California, respectively. Contributing: Zach Urness, Salem Statesman Journal; Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick Register-Guard; Associated Press Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2021/06/27/pacific-northwest-heatwave-temperatures-record-dangerous-levels/5365866001/  |
| Posted: 27 Jun 2021 07:00 AM PDT Olivia Rodrigo may be leading the pack of a new generation of young stars. The singer-songwriter made waves in pop culture after releasing her chart-topping debut album "Sour." But her blossoming music career runs parallel to her obligation to Disney, as she stars as Nina "Nini" Salazar-Roberts in Disney+'s "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series." "Sour" isn't your typical album coming from a Disney actress/singer. It's raw, vulnerable and includes a few f-bombs – a stark difference from the pre-teen music of "High School Musical." "I guess I've really always thought of myself as a singer/songwriter who found acting, rather than a child star who decided to give singing a shot," Rodrigo tells USA TODAY. Child stars of the past made sharp distinctions after their kid-friendly careers in order to establish themselves as adult music artists. In 2021, Rodrigo has made it possible for both sides of her career to exist simultaneously. 
"I defend artists for wanting to figure out what they can do, and maybe what they've always wanted to do," former Disney songwriter and producer Robbie Nevil says. "It's up to them, it's their album now." More: Olivia Rodrigo on her new 'High School Musical' song and her image: 'I'm just living my life'  Miley Cyrus transformed into an average teen who also lived a double life as a rockstar in Disney's "Hannah Montana." The show first aired in 2006 when Cyrus was 13 and ran until 2011, right as Cyrus was breaking into adulthood. Before finishing with Disney, Cyrus released her third studio album "Can't Be Tamed," an effort to begin the separation from Hannah Montana. Cyrus, 28, has talked about how the Disney character negatively affected her sense of self. 'No one cares about you': Miley Cyrus says playing Hannah Montana created an 'identity crisis' Nevil, who co-wrote the "Hannah Montana" theme song "The Best of Both Worlds," says it's obvious musicians want to break out to find more value in their careers. "I totally defend the artists for wanting to come into themselves because when they were doing the shows, that's not them, those songs were (probably) written for them," Nevil says. 
Cyrus physically transformed after the show ended, trading her long brunette hair for a platinum blonde pixie cut in 2012. The next year when she released her "Bangerz" album, twerking onstage, singing about sex and talking about drug use helped fully cement her new post-Disney persona. More: Miley Cyrus admits she 'fell off' sobriety during pandemic, but is now 'two weeks sober' Cyrus wasn't alone in feeling the pressure of her squeaky clean Disney image. Before branching out into more adult acting roles and music, The Jonas Brothers wore purity rings during their tenure; Selena Gomez made family-friendly songs for "Wizards of Waverly Place" and "Princess Protection Program"; and Demi Lovato toured with other Disney acts after their breakout role as Mitchie Torres in the "Camp Rock" franchise – all while under Disney's watch. 
To Nevil, Rodrigo's approach to work under Disney while creating music with adult themes at the same time is a novelty. "I don't know whether that could've happened (back) then." Nevil says. "This is the first I've seen it." Morals clauses can be found in the contracts of child stars to lay out restrictions of what talent can and cannot do in their personal lives, according to entertainment lawyer Jake Levy. These clauses, Levy says, may have prevented early 2000s stars from experiencing more artistic freedom outside of Disney. 2000s rewind: TikTok is just one big revival of 2000s pop culture trends. Here's what's back in style "Studios always prefer their stars conduct themselves in a family friendly manner," Levy says. "Companies like Disney are no exception." Surviving Disney: Alyson Stoner recalls 'harrowing' childhood career: 'I narrowly survived' Levy says morals clauses have changed over the years because they subjectively rely on what society sees as the norm, and social media has helped shift those societal standards. "Social media has also increased the value of 'authenticity' versus packaging," media psychologist Pamela Rutledge says. "The visibility of celebrity has likely made up and coming stars retain ownership of some aspect of their life and image." Music ownership: Taylor Swift speaks out after Scooter Braun reportedly sells her masters for millions Rutledge says social media has "given performers new ways of achieving success." Rodrigo's first single "Drivers License" became a TikTok hit, influencing more than 1.7 million creators to use the song for their own videos. "Disney can only benefit from the visibility and interest Rodrigo has been getting," Rutledge says. Pop drama: What we know about Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and the 'Drivers License' drama Lovato, who started off as a child star on "Barney and Friends" and starred inleading roles in Disney's "Camp Rock" and "Sonny with a Chance," has been vocal about how young stardom affected their ability to know their true selves. 
The singer said they felt constricted by the expectations set in their early career. While Lovato showed off the sparkling Disney image in public, they said they struggled with addiction and self harm behind the scenes. More: Demi Lovato says they feel 'more transparent' without 'hyper-feminine' image "Now that I'm living my truth, my art has just become that much greater because my art is a reflection of who I am," Lovato, who has since opened up about their sobriety and recently came out as nonbinary, said on an episode of their podcast "4D with Demi Lovato." "So now that I'm able to be more transparent in the world about who I am, they can see my art better and they can hear it better." Child and adolescent psychologist David Schwarz says successful adolescent development relies on aspects such as self-identity and autonomy. Olivia Rodrigo's debut album 'Sour' is pop savagery wrapped in innocence and we're obsessed 
"Being on the Disney Channel and having everybody turning and looking at you, talking about you: How would that impact how you see yourself?" Schwarz asks. Schwarz says he doesn't think it's as important for teenaged stars to know exactly who they are because the point of adolescence is to partake in self exploration but the issue celebrity stars face can come when they are restricted from exploring. Rutledge says Rodrigo's ability and autonomy to live a life outside of her TV roles may not protect her from the psychological challenges of fame, but it could help strengthen her confidence in who she is naturally. "The key to managing the (developmental) transition successfully appears to be a strong internal sense of self," Rutledge says. "It increases the opportunities for them to have a stronger foundation and alleviate some of the need to reject an imposed image." A strong sense of self seems to be driving Rodrigo's autonomous success: "At the core of it I really just try to make music that resonates with me and that's all I can do," she says. "How people perceive me is really none of my business." Contributing: Kelly Lawler, Anika Reed Published Updated  |
| Posted: 27 Jun 2021 04:59 AM PDT SAN DIEGO — Former slugger David Segui can't help but laugh at the irony. He remembers the public's outrage learning about the rampant use of steroids in baseball during his career, but now that Major League Baseball is cracking down on pitchers for using illegal foreign substances, the league is being chastised. "I think pitches using the illegal substances have more of a direct effect on our performance than the steroids,'' Segui told USA TODAY Sports. "Everybody and their brother were using steroids, but not everyone was breaking the home-run record.'' There may have been only one Barry Bonds, but with the way pitchers have been dominating and obliterating strikeout records, everyone suddenly had become Nolan Ryan. "It was a joke the way the pitchers were cheating,'' San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham says. "Guys were coming back to the dugout all of the time saying, 'That's the best slider I've ever seen.' I mean, before the crowds came back, you could actually hear the Spider Tack [traction] off guys' fingers. I could tell you who was cheating on every team I faced. "I don't think people really understand the benefits of it, but we as baseball players do. If your ball is moving more and it's sharper, that makes it harder to square up. We were playing whiffle ball out there.'' 
Indeed, look at how pitchers' spin rate has dramatically decreased since June 3, when MLB informed the owners that they were going to begin the crackdown. Spin rates, when controlled for velocity, are at their lowest levels since 2015, according to Statcast. "We're already seeing certain guys' spin rates down by 500 rpm,'' Pham said. "Their horizontal and vertical movement are less by inches. It's so [messed up]. Guys made careers out of it. "These front offices should be mad signing guys to that kind of money, expect a certain thing, and now find out it wasn't real.'' Indeed, just like the steroid era. GMs would be furious signing or trading for a player who was using performance-enhancing drugs, only for the players to suddenly play the game clean, either because they were forced to stop with the drug testing or suddenly found morals. Look at the difference now since June 3. You think it's a coincidence teams are now averaging 4.59 runs a game, up from 4.36, or that batting averages are up (.244 from .236), OPS is rising .730 from .707) and strikeouts are down (23.3% from 24.2%). And how about that silly argument by pitchers saying they need substances besides rosin to control their fastballs so they don't hit batters? Well, guess what? Hitters are being hit fewer times now with pitchers being clean, with the percentage of hit batsmen dropping from 1.16 to 1.13 per game. "That was such a cop-out,'' said Chicago Cubs All-Star Kris Bryant. "I love that things are kind of going the other way.'' 
Really, the cheating should have been cleaned up years ago, but everyone refused to enforce it. MLB warned pitchers two years ago to stop using illegal substances. The pitchers were told this spring that baseballs would be routinely confiscated and spin rates closely monitored. It made no difference, and the cheating only magnified, with one starter telling USA TODAY Sports that his own agent was lobbying his clients to use illegal foreign substances. "Unfortunately, the enhanced monitoring we implemented at the start of the season has had no impact on the behavior of many pitchers,'' MLB said in a memo sent to every club. "The information we collected over the first two months of the season shows that the use of foreign substances by pitchers is more prevalent than we anticipated.'' Simply, it was so out of control, MLB had no choice but to stop it now. If MLB waited until the offseason, it would have been too late. "From a competitive standpoint, man, it was frustrating,'' Pham said. "I play the game clean, I've never taken anything. I never tried to cheat the game. But most of the pitchers I was facing were cheating. We needed the commissioner to step up. I'll be curious to see how many guys get busted. They're going to get embarrassed. I wish MLB hardened it and took away their pay too. "I know the pitchers aren't happy about it, but if every batter had a corked bat, these pitchers would be outraged as well.'' It was like back in the heart of the steroid era when MLB told its players to stop using, and came to an agreement that if at least 5% of the players tested positive for steroids in the spring of 2003, there would be testing the following year. The players, after being given advance notice they would be tested that spring, and knowing they could start juicing without repercussions once they submitted their urine test, still couldn't help themselves. They soared past the threshold, and MLB's random performance-enhancing drug testing program began. "Guys weren't even hiding it back then,'' said Segui, who acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. "Come on, nobody could figure out when we came back jacked, with 3% body fat, and 20 pounds heavier. Really, you're telling me you couldn't tell the difference? "It's the same thing with these pitchers, they weren't hiding what they were doing, either. The spin rates were out of control, and no one cared until it started to affect the game.'' There's no reason to blame your star pitchers who no longer are striking out 12 batters a game with a sub 2.00 ERA. Not everyone can be Jacob deGrom. But you can't blame them for trying, right? "Why wouldn't you?'' Segui says. "That's an athlete's mindset. If the speed limit is 40, and they're not enforcing it, you think people are still going to drive 40? "I'm not trying to justify it. We knew we were breaking the rules [using steroids]. But if I'm losing every race because I'm not breaking the speed limit, and the guy breaking the rules gets the trophy every time, either you start breaking the speed limit to win the race or get out of racing.'' If you're watching Gerrit Cole get $340 million in free agency, and Trevor Bauer getting more than $30 million a year, after their spin rates soared dramatically, what are you going to do? "People forget that becomes the measuring stick in which you're measured,'' Segui said. "If you're failing miserably in the eyes of analytics, you're not going to be around very long. "So, then you have a choice to make. Nobody forces you to make the decision to use Spider Tack or whatever they were using. But if you don't, you're going to get left behind. "People say, 'How about morality?' "Come on, when has morality ever been part of professional sports?'' Ugly in the desert
The most frequently asked question among baseball executives these days is, "Why hasn't [Arizona Diamondbacks manager] Torey Lovullo been fired?'' The team is pitiful. They entered Sunday having lost 43 of their last 50 games, including a Major League record 24-game road losing streak. They are on pace to become only the third team in history to lose at least 117 games. They already are the first team to have a 13-game losing streak and a 17-game losing streak that began this close together since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, according to Jayson Stark of the Athletic. The D-backs, embarrassed by their play and on the verge of dumping players beginning with infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Chicago White Sox, privately provide three reasons for Lovullo staying on the job.
Around the basepaths– Please, enough with the silly narrative that St. Louis Cardinals All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado may opt out of his contract. He loves St. Louis and is staying put. He told friends he wasn't even going to opt out of his contract if he stayed with the Colorado Rockies, and it certainly isn't an option now. Arenado still is owed $179 million by the Cardinals through 2027, with deferred payments that will pay him $3 million a year until he's the age of 50. You really think anyone in their right mind would leave that and test free agency? Not happening. – There have been nearly 400 different pitchers who checked by Major League Baseball since the enhanced enforcement began. Only two, notably Nationals ace Max Scherzer, complained. "Honestly, I didn't mind it,'' Mets Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom said. "It was quick and it went pretty easy.'' Said Red Sox manager Alex Cora: "The way deGrom did it, he's the best pitcher on the planet, and he took no exception. So everybody should follow suit.'' – It can be a bit confusing in the household of Tampa Bay rookie Wander Franco, who arrived for his major-league debut this week in style, behind the wheel of a $330,000 Rolls Royce. You see, his dad's name is also Wander Franco. His oldest brother's name, the one who once played with the Kansas City Royals, is Wander Javier Franco. And his other brother, who played with the Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants, is Wander Alexander Franco. Oh, and Franco's 2-year-old son's name? Yep, Wander Samuel Franco, Jr. – The playoff races, as it turns out, promise to be much more intriguing this year without the expanded postseason. If the same postseason rules applied like a year ago, the Giants, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Brewers, Mets and perhaps a sub-.500 team would make the National League field. In the American League, the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox, Cleveland, Astros, Athletics and the Blue Jays or Mariners would be in. Now, we've got the runner-up in the NL Central fighting with the No. 3 team in the NL West for the final wild-card spot. And in the AL, you're going to have at least seven powerful teams vying for only five spots: the Astros, Athletics, White Sox, Cleveland, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees. It could make the July 30 trade deadline a doozy. – Two of the greatest moves in baseball last year were by the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants for simply tendering $18.9 million qualifying offers to starters Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman. And perhaps they were the luckiest, too, with Stroman and Gausman being the only two players who accepted the offers. Gausman has been the best pitcher in the National League not named deGrom with his 8-1 record and 1.49 ERA. And Stroman has been a godsend for the Mets' rotation with his 6-5 record and 2.35 ERA. – Padres manager Jayce Tingler on third baseman Manny Machado's defensive brilliance: "That's a bad man. I mean, just an absolute bad man. What he's able to do defensively, and on the bases, and his baseball IQ. These plays he's making … it's unbelievable." – The pitching crackdown certainly has had a major impact on the Yankees' offense. They ranked 13th in the American League, averaged 3.77 runs a game before June 3. They rank eighth in the league in runs per game, 4.69, since June 3, with 29 homers in their last 15 games entering Saturday. Then again, it's affected their pitchers, too, particularly closer Aroldis Chapman, whose spin rates have dropped dramatically. Before June 3: Chapman was yielding a .088 batting average, .213 on-base percentage and .176 slugging percentage. After June 3: .417/.481/.750. – While everyone else's offense may stink, check out the Houston Astros. They outscored the opposition 93-24 during their 11-game winning streak. Their .277 team average is 16 points higher than any team. They have struck out the fewest times. They've scored 35 more runs than any team. And they have have four players with an OPS above .900. "Right now, they're as good as it gets,'' Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "I played against the Big Red Machine. We're not quite the Big Red Machine, but maybe we're the Orange Wagon or something.'' – Is there a pitcher who has been more affected by MLB's crackdown than Red Sox starter Garrett Richards? His spin rate on his curveball has dropped 534 rpm, and his fastball and sliders have each dropped by more than 200 rpm. The result: In his last three starts, Richards is yielding a 9.82 ERA, lasting just 11 innings. "It's changed pretty much everything for me,'' he said. "This just got brought on us real quick so I've only had about a week to work on it. So some guys are figuring it out sooner than others but for me, it's taken a little bit more time so I'm just trying to figure it out." – The craziest part of the Cubs' combined no-hitter this week against the Dodgers? The only three people in the stadium who didn't know the Cubs had a no-hitter working, as it turns out, were the Cubs' three relievers who came into the game after Zach Davies. "The whole bullpen had no idea, like completely oblivious," said Cubs reliever Andrew Chafin, who pitched the eighth inning. "We couldn't see the scoreboard with the line or whatever at the bottom." – Former Boston Red Sox great Dustin Pedroia, after the Red Sox ceremony honoring him Friday night and electing him into their Hall of Fame: "I'm now at peace.'' – MLB informed teams that they plan to have the winter meetings once again this year, this time in Orlando, Fla. The winter meetings were postponed last year because of the pandemic. – Los Angeles Dodgers esteemed broadcaster Charley Steiner on the haves and have-nots in baseball: "It's the ghost of Red Klotz,'' Steiner said, "with the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals.'' There already are four teams that are at least 18 ½ games out of first place without even being at the halfway mark of the season: Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies. CC Sabathia weighs in on MLB's "sticky" situation CC Sabathia on how Major League Baseball needs to change SportsPulse, USA TODAY – Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is one of the most talented players in baseball, but that talent has been wasted with his array of injuries, costing him 279 games since 2017. He has now missed games because of a groin strain, migraines, fractured toe, strained wrist, wrist contusion, concussion, dislocated shoulder, labrum surgery, sprained foot, hip strain and now a fractured hand that will sideline him at least a month. "This isn't fair,'' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli says. "That's how I feel about the whole thing." – Orioles slugger Trey Mancini will participate in the home-run derby, 15 months after having Stage 3 cancerous tumor removed from his colon. – Keep an eye on Padres starter Blake Snell, who is starting to feel comfortable in San Diego, and vows to have a monster second half. – There still is not a single TV broadcasting team traveling this year, and several broadcasters predict that they'll never be on the road again. They're not sure they are even welcome any longer on team planes, with their seats now being occupied by extra coaches and team's analytic departments, and no one wants to pick up the extra expense. – Shohei Ohtani, who has 24 homers this year, has hit only one of his homers while pitching in the same game, but he could still catch Babe Ruth. Ruth had four homers as a pitcher in 1915. In Ruth's last appearance as a pitcher on Oct. 1, 1933, he pitched a complete game and homers in the Yankees' 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The record for homers by a pitcher is Wes Ferrell, who had nine homers in 1931 for Cleveland. – Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber, who was non-tendered by the Cubs last winter, is playing with a chip on his shoulder to prove them wrong, and everyone else for not showing more interest. He just hit 13 home runs in the past 14 games for the Nationals, giving him 22 for the season, after hitting only 11 homers in 59 games last season with the Cubs. The only hitter with a greater two-week streak was Barry Bonds in 2001 when he hit 14 homers in 14 games, to go along with his insane 1.926 OPS. – The Dodgers have played only 11 games all season with Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy in the same lineup. – Kudos to Atlanta starter Ian Anderson, who became the first native New Yorker to defeat the Mets and Yankees in New York during the same season. Anderson is from Clifton Park, N.Y., about 25 minutes north of Albany. "Pretty cool,'' he said. – Congratulations to Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson, who reached his 10 years of major-league service this past week. Not bad for a 50th-round draft pick in 2006, the 1,475th player chosen in the draft. "I'm definitely going to enjoy the milestone for me, getting 10 years," Dyson said. "Not many big leaguers get 10 years in this game. For me being a 50th-round draft pick, and to get 10 years, is a blessing." – The Yankees are the first team to have a no-hitter and turn three triple plays in the same season since 1886 Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers. – It was strange and uncomfortable for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to listen to Tigers' fans booing and taunting Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa this weekend for his role in the infamous cheating scandal. Hinch, of course, was the manager of that Astros team who was caught cheating in 2017 when they won the World Series. "I understand the league in general, not just Tigers fans, has an opinion,'' Hinch says. "But I also was in the same dugout with those guys not too long ago. So yeah, it's uncomfortable.'' – The Dodgers are expected to finalize plans to visit the White House on their upcoming trip to Washington D.C. "I'm personally excited if the opportunity presents itself,'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says. "I think our coaches and players are as well. I hope the Vice President, Kamala (Harris), is there. I'd love to meet her as well as the president. It's an honor. "Most champions get that opportunity, so it's something I've always dreamed about."  |
| UK health minister resigns after breaching coronavirus rules - USA TODAY Posted: 26 Jun 2021 12:24 PM PDT
CLOSE Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, said he was "moved, beyond words" by the sacrifices the United Kingdom has seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. USA TODAY LONDON – U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has led the country's response to the coronavirus, resigned Saturday, a day after apologizing for breaching social distancing rules with an aide with whom he was allegedly having an affair. Hancock had been under growing pressure since the tabloid Sun newspaper published images showing him and senior aide Gina Coladangelo kissing in an office at the Department of Health. The Sun said the closed circuit television images were taken May 6 – 11 days before lockdown rules were eased to allow hugs and other physical contact with people outside one's own household. In a resignation letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Hancock said the government owed it "to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down." "And those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that's why I've got to resign," he wrote. Johnson said he was sorry to receive Hancock's resignation and that he "should leave office very proud of what you have achieved – not just in tackling the pandemic, but even before COVID-19 struck us." Johnson had earlier expressed confidence in Hancock despite widespread calls to fire him. Jonathan Ashworth, health spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, said "it is right that Matt Hancock has resigned. But why didn't Boris Johnson have the guts to sack him and why did he say the matter was closed?" Some lawmakers from the governing Conservatives had also called on Hancock to quit because he wasn't practicing what he has been preaching during the pandemic. "The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis," Hancock, who is married, said in his letter of resignation. "I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologize to my family and loved ones for putting them through this," he said. "I also need (to) be with my children at this time." More: Deleted gene sequences confirm coronavirus circulated before Wuhan seafood market Hancock, 42, is the latest in a string of British officials to be accused of breaching restrictions they imposed on the rest of the population to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The government is also facing questions about the circumstances in which Hancock hired Coladangelo, a university friend who was appointed to his department last year. She was initially employed as an unpaid adviser and this year became a non-executive director at the Department of Health, a role that pays about 15,000 pounds ($21,000) a year. Johnson's Conservative government has been branded a "chumocracy" by critics for hiring special advisers and contractors from outside the civil service without long-customary levels of scrutiny. Hancock's department has been accused of waiving procurement rules to award lucrative contracts for protective equipment and other medical essentials, often to personal contacts. Hancock has said he was driven by the need to secure essential supplies quickly at the height of the outbreak. More: What's bipartisanship and why does Joe Biden care so much about it? Hancock has faced weeks of pressure since the prime minister's former top aide, Dominic Cummings, accused him of botching the government's response to the pandemic. Cummings, now a bitter critic of the government he once served, told lawmakers last month that Hancock "should have been fired" for alleged lies and errors. He also published a WhatsApp message in which Johnson branded Hancock "totally (expletive) hopeless." Cummings himself was accused of breaking the rules and undermining the government's "stay home" message when he drove 250 miles across England to his parents' home during the spring 2020 lockdown. Johnson resisted pressure to fire him, but Cummings left his job in November amid a power struggle in the prime minister's office. Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/06/26/matt-hancock-uk-health-secretary-after-breaching-coronavirus-rules/5358920001/  |
| Posted: 23 Jun 2021 05:38 PM PDT CLOSE The U.S. funds infrastructure differently than a lot of other countries, relying more on state and local spending. Here's why it's faring so poorly. USA TODAY WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of senators said they have reached an agreement in principle with the White House on a roughly $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, breaking a weeks-long logjam on a sweeping deal to modernize America's deteriorating transportation systems such as rail, bridges and waterways. The agreement was hammered out behind closed doors in the U.S. Capitol with top White House aides in negotiations that lasted into Wednesday evening. Some details, generally described as workable, still need to be ironed out, but comments from several senators and the White House indicate an agreement is at hand. "We've agreed on a framework and we're headed to the White House tomorrow," Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters while departing the Capitol after two meetings that lasted several hours. It's expected to win approval from lawmakers in both chambers eager not only to address the country's crumbling physical condition but also to show that both sides can still forge bipartisan consensus in a Congress that's become increasingly partisan. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., another of the negotiators, confirmed to reporters that the agreed-upon framework is about the same size as the $1.25 trillion package crafted by 21 centrist senators – 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats – who have been trying to reach a compromise since President Joe Biden first unveiled his American Jobs Plan in April. The relatively large size of the group suggests the deal can survive attempts from far-right and far-left senators to filibuster it. Included in the package is more than $550 billion in new money, Manchin said – less than the $1 trillion Biden had initially demanded but far more than initial proposals from GOP senators. White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the meetings Wednesday with senators as "productive," saying the group "made progress towards an outline of a potential agreement." She said Biden invited the group to come to the White House Thursday to continue talks. The sticking point has been how to pay for what would be – by far – the largest transportation infrastructure package ever approved by Congress. While Manchin noted there was a "long list" of ways to pay for it, most of those details have yet to be released and may still need to be worked out. Republicans had pushed to use unspent COVID-19 relief money while Democrats had floated other fees, including the possibility of raising the federal 18.4-cent per gallon gas tax by indexing it to inflation. More: $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal gaining steam on Capitol Hill Manchin told reporters that any increase in the gas tax was not part of this plan. "They made it very clear that the president was not going to be acceptable to that," he said. The White House has called indexing the gas tax to inflation – as pushed by some Republican senators in the group – a "non-starter," noting it would break Biden's pledge to not increase taxes on Americans earning less than $400,000. Biden also opposes proposals to repurpose already-approved COVID-19 relief funds to pay for infrastructure and surcharges for electric vehicles. "We are not for a Ford F-150 tax," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. "I'm not sure why others are." Even with the agreement in principle, Democrats are proceeding on a separate measure that includes elements of Biden's agenda not supported by Republicans. That not only would include elements of Biden's American Jobs Plan left out of the bipartisan deal but also bring in pillars of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan that includes "human infrastructure" such as free community college tuition, universal preschool and child care. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has begun meeting with Democrats to move that separate bill using "budget reconciliation," a parliamentary maneuver that would bypass the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster and pass the bill only with Democrats in the 50-50 Senate. More: Democrats prepared to move forward alone while moving ahead with 'two-track' infrastructure plan "The second track is something we must support, even if it doesn't get any Republican support," Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday. Some progressives have said they're willing to support a transportation-only bill on the condition that climate legislation is advanced as well. "We're saying that there absolutely has to be a guaranteed deal that climate is built into these infrastructure bills and that it matches the problem that has to be solved," said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal. "We can't have dessert before the main course." Contributing; Joey Garrison Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/23/senators-white-house-agrees-bipartisan-1-25-t-infrastructure-plan/5326786001/  |
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