No vax, no mask, but still service
The N95 respirator is a "respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles." Credit: U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
A push to require doctors to treat unvaccinated patients fell short on the final day of the Florida Legislature's regular session but lawmakers did agree to pass a priority healthcare package for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The House on Friday voted unanimously for final approval of HB 1299.
The bill extends the legal definition of mRNA vaccines and continues a ban on businesses, government entities, and education institutions from denying entry or service based on vaccination status. Mask requirements are also banned under the law, which DeSantis persuaded the Legislature to approve in 2021.
But legislators stripped a mandate from the bill that physicians treat patients regardless of vaccination status after Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell, Democratic Sen. Lori Berman, and independent Sen. Jason Pizzo expressed discomfort with the requirement. Harrell, whose late husband was a physician, warned that the requirement would open doctors to increased liability.
Pizzo said the mandate would have contradicted a law that guarantees Florida physicians legal protections to not treat patients on the basis of their conscience.
HB 1299 also tweaks a 2024 law that banned the Board of Medicine from licensing by 'endorsement' physicians who have been reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, which includes information on medical malpractice settlements.
HB 1299 makes clear that the Board of Medicine (BOM) can approve licenses by endorsement based on data bank files as long as the reported incident didn't violate any state law or rule.
Licensure by endorsement is the route to practice in Florida for doctors initially licensed in other states.
The Board of Medicine opposed the changes in the 2024 law and even contemplated asking the governor to veto the bill. Sen. Jay Collins, sponsor of the Senate companion bill, said he worked with the board to iron out the language.
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Associated Press
10 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Unsubstantiated 'chemtrail' conspiracy theories lead to legislation proposed in US statehouses
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As Louisiana Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates stood before her colleagues in the state's Legislature she warned that the bill she was presenting might 'seem strange' or even crazy. Some lawmakers laughed with disbelief and others listened intently, as Coates described situations that are often noted in discussions of 'chemtrails' — a decades-old conspiracy theory that posits the white lines left behind by aircraft in the sky are releasing chemicals for any number of reasons, some of them nefarious. As she urged lawmakers to ban the unsubstantiated practice, she told skeptics to 'start looking up' at the sky. 'I'm really worried about what is going on above us and what is happening, and we as Louisiana citizens did not give anyone the right to do this above us,' the Republican said. Louisiana is the latest state taking inspiration from a wide-ranging conspiratorial narrative, mixing it with facts, to create legislation. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a similar measure into law last year and one in Florida has passed both the House and the Senate. More than a dozen other states, from New York to Arizona, have introduced their own legislation. Such bills being crafted is indicative of how misinformation is moving beyond the online world and into public policy. Elevating unsubstantiated theories or outright falsehoods into the legislative arena not only erodes democratic processes, according to experts, it provides credibility where there is none and takes away resources from actual issues that need to be addressed. 'Every bill like this is kind of symbolic, or is introduced to appease a very vocal group, but it can still cause real harm by signaling that these conspiracies deserve this level of legal attention,' said Donnell Probst, interim executive director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. Louisiana's bill, which is awaiting Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's signature, prohibits anyone from 'intentionally' injecting, releasing, applying or dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere with the purpose of affecting the 'temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight.' It also requires the Department of Environmental Quality to collect reports from anyone who believes they have observed such activities. While some lawmakers have targeted real weather modification techniques that are not widespread or still in their infancy, others have pointed to dubious evidence to support legislation. Discussion about weather control and banning 'chemtrails' has been hoisted into the spotlight by high-profile political officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Recently, Marla Maples, the ex-wife of President Donald Trump, spoke in support of Florida's legislation. She said she was motivated to 'start digging' after seeing a rise in Alzheimer's. Asked jokingly by a Democratic state senator if she knew anyone in the federal government who could help on the issue, Maples smiled and said, 'I sure do.' Chemtrails vs. contrails Chemtrail conspiracy theories, which have been widely debunked and include a myriad of claims, are not new. The publication of a 1996 Air Force report on the possible future benefits of weather modification is often cited as an early driver of the narrative. Some say that evidence of the claims is happening right before the publics' eyes, alleging that the white streaks stretching behind aircrafts reveal chemicals being spread in the air, for everything from climate manipulation to mind control. Ken Leppert, an associate professor of atmospheric science at the University of Louisiana Monroe, said the streaks are actually primarily composed of water and that there is 'no malicious intent behind' the thin clouds. He says the streaks are formed as exhaust is emitted from aircrafts, when the humidity is high and air temperature is low, and that ship engines produce the same phenomenon. A fact sheet about contrails, published by multiple government agencies including NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, explains that the streaks left behind by planes do not pose health risks to humans. However, the trails, which have been produced since the earliest days of jet aviation, do impact the cloudiness of Earth's atmosphere and can therefore affect atmospheric temperature and climate. Scientists have overwhelmingly agreed that data or evidence cited as proof of chemtrails 'could be explained through other factors, including well-understood physics and chemistry associated with aircraft contrails and atmospheric aerosols,' according to a 2016 survey published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. In the survey of 77 chemists and geochemists, 76 said they were not aware of evidence proving the existence of a secret large-scale atmospheric program. 'It's pure myth and conspiracy,' Leppert said. Cloud seeding While many of the arguments lawmakers have used to support the chemtrails narrative are not based in fact, others misrepresent actual scientific endeavors, such as cloud seeding; a process by which an artificial material — usually silver iodide — is used to induce precipitation or to clear fog. 'It's maybe really weak control of the weather, but it's not like we're going to move this cloud here, move this hurricane here, or anything like that,' Leppert said. Parker Cardwell, an employee of a California-based cloud seeding company called Rainmaker, testified before lawmakers in Louisiana and asked that an amendment be made to the legislation to avoid impacts to the industry. The practice is an imprecise undertaking with mixed results that isn't widely used, especially in Louisiana, which has significant natural rainfall. According to Louisiana's Department of Agriculture and Forestry, a cloud seeding permit or license has never been issued in the state. Geoengineering While presenting Louisiana's bill last week, Coates said her research found charts and graphics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on spraying the air with heavy metals to reflect sunlight back into space to cool the Earth. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with support from NOAA, to develop an initial governance framework and research plan related to solar radiation modification, or SRM. A resulting report, which Coates holds up in the House session, focuses on possible future actions and does not reflect decisions that had already been made. SRM 'refers to deliberate, large-scale actions intended to decrease global average surface temperatures by increasing the reflection of sunlight away from the Earth,' according to NOAA. It is a type of geoengineering. Research into the viability of many methods and potential unintended consequences is ongoing, but none have actually been deployed. Taking focus In recent years, misinformation and conspiratorial narratives have become more common during the debates and committee testimonies that are a part of Louisiana's lawmaking process. And while legislators say Louisiana's new bill doesn't really have teeth, opponents say it still takes away time and focus from important work and more pressing topics. State Rep. Denise Marcelle, a Democrat who opposed Louisiana's bill, pointed to other issues ailing the state, which has some of the highest incarceration, poverty, crime, and maternal mortality rates. 'I just feel like we owe the people of Louisiana much more than to be talking about things that I don't see and that aren't real,' she said. ___ Associated Press writers Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, and Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this story.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tensions rise in Los Angeles as police declare ‘unlawful' assembly
Tensions mounted in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon as police clashed with protesters on a freeway and declared another protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center 'unlawful.' Dozens of protesters were arrested throughout the day. About 300 National Guard members were deployed in the city, after President Trump made the extraordinary decision to send members of the military to counter what he called 'insurrectionist mobs.' The protesters, responding to the Trump administration's immigration raids in the city, blocked the 101 freeway starting at about 3:30 p.m. in Los Angeles. Police officers, firing tear gas canisters and other projectiles into the crowds, managed to clear the highway by 5 p.m. Hundreds of people continued to line the surrounding streets. Shortly after 3 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced that a separate pocket of protesters outside the city's prison in Alameda was illegal and that arrests were underway. 'An UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared for the area of Alameda between 2nd St and Aliso St. A DISPERSAL ORDER has been issued. Arrests are being made,' the LAPD wrote on the social platform X. CNN reported that police officers were seen striking and pushing protesters and deploying flash-bangs and tear gas into the crowd. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who slammed Trump's decision to send the National Guard into the city, issued a warning to protesters who did not remain peaceful. 'We will always protect the constitutional right for Angelenos to peacefully protest. However, violence, destruction and vandalism will not be tolerated in our City and those responsible will be held fully accountable,' she wrote on X. She later said the chaos on Sunday was 'provoked by the administration.' Dan Bongino, the deputy FBI director, also issued a warning as tensions mounted through the afternoon. 'If you choose violence tonight, this message is for you. We will be investigating and pursuing all available leads for assault on a federal officer, in addition to the many arrests already made,' he wrote on X. All 23 Democratic governors issued a statement Sunday afternoon slamming Trump's decision to federalize California's National Guard, using a law that hasn't been used in decades, arguing it was both unnecessary and escalatory. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) office sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday asking him to rescind the order deploying armed forces into the city. Trump spoke briefly to reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Camp David on Sunday afternoon. He said he would meet military leaders at the presidential retreat but did not say what they were meeting about. Asked by reporters whether he would invoke the Insurrection Act, which expands the president's powers during a national security crisis, Trump suggested the protests were not yet an 'insurrection.' However, soon after that, he described the protesters as an 'insurrectionist mob' in a post on Truth Social. 'I am directing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, in coordination with all other relevant Departments and Agencies, to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots,' Trump wrote. 'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Calls on Qatar to Fund Kennedy Center's MAGA Makeover
President Donald Trump is aiming to give the Kennedy Center a MAGA makeover, and he has reportedly called on the country that gifted him his 'palace in the sky' to do it. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Republican president's dramatic takeover of the longtime performing arts institution has led to plummeting ticket sales. Last month, Trump set the tone of his hostile takeover by dissing the institution's history of programming and its physical space during a dinner with the center's board members. 'The building is falling apart,' Trump said as his dinner guests let out uneasy laughter. 'I don't want to scare people. It's in fine shape, but it's falling apart.' To fix this, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has put out calls to the Middle East to bankroll a renovation or two—which could include rehabbing its VIP suites and even building a marina next to the venue so the nautical elite can pull up and enjoy the center's programming from the water. Reportedly on the call list was Qatar, which gifted Trump his $400 million 'palace in sky' Boeing jet, which he plans to use as his Air Force One until he pockets the aircraft for personal use at the end of his presidential term. 'The back of the house and the front of the house have been left in an embarrassing state. I am proud to be a small part of a team where the boss eschews partisan politics in favor of putting American culture, heritage, and excellence first,' Richard Grenell said in a statement. He was named executive director of the Kennedy Center in February. Les Misérables, the president's favorite musical, will open the center's programming this week, and some of MAGA's most faithful followers have shilled out $2 million to join the president at the performance.
