Hot and unprepared
The 'rare' and 'extremely dangerous' heat wave gripping large swaths of the country offers a reminder of the dangers of climate change as the world fails to curb atmospheric pollution.
Tens of millions of people across the Midwest and East Coast are experiencing scorching heat today — reaching triple digits in some cities — that could continue through Wednesday. Public health experts are warning people to stay cool and hydrated as temperatures are expected to remain high overnight, offering the body little respite.
The heat dome, caused by high pressure in the upper atmosphere that traps heat and humidity, arrives as the Trump administration escalates its assault on regulations designed to combat climate change and protect people from high temperatures.
The administration has proposed axing a popular program that helps low-income families heat and cool their homes. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides support to some 6 million Americans and has bipartisan support in Congress, has increasingly become a source of money to subsidize air conditioning costs as summer heat becomes more dangerous. (The White House has called the program 'unnecessary.')
The administration is also weighing the elimination of a proposed rule that would require companies to provide rest and water to outdoor workers in extreme heat. The rule's opponents include the oil and gas industry, among the nation's leading workplaces for heat-related deaths and injuries.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and other countries are failing to cut their climate pollution sharply enough to meet the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global warming 'well below' 2 degrees Celsius. A new analysis from the independent science project Climate Action Tracker found that none of the 40 countries tracked has strengthened its 2030 targets enough to comply with the 2015 climate deal.
In Europe, scientists are warning that the continent is wholly unprepared to handle the rapid increase in illnesses and deaths driven by extreme heat, floods and wildfires. Hotter temperatures are also driving the alarming spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya that were once confined to tropical regions.
And in the U.S., Trump's efforts to eradicate federal climate initiatives include gutting research programs and firing experts — potentially impairing people's ability to understand how such warming affects the planet.
It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.
Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Dasha Burns speaks with one of Trump's top energy advisers, Jarrod Agen, about the administration's rejection of the GOP's long-held 'all of the above' energy mantra and exclusive embrace of fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Power Centers
Oil prices yo-yo amid U.S.-Iran tête-à-têteOil prices fell sharply Monday afternoon following an Iranian counterattack against U.S. military bases in Qatar and Iraq, an apparently symbolic move that spared shipments of Middle Eastern crude, writes Ben Lefebvre.
Prices tumbled below $70 a barrel, down more than $5 from the day before when the U.S. military action against Iran's nuclear facilities drove prices higher.
As prices ping-pong, Trump — who campaigned on driving down energy costs — has tried to stave off panic by publicly urging his administration to increase domestic oil production, writes Robin Bravender.
The president took to Truth Social to demand that the Energy Department 'DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!!' despite oil extraction falling outside that agency's jurisdiction. In a separate post, he directed 'EVERYONE' to 'KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING!'
Trump's public pronouncements mark attempts to calm consumers and influence prices, but the reality is presidents are limited in their ability to sway global oil markets.
GOP moves could undercut the fossil fuel industryRepublican lawmakers are cracking down on federal aid that the fossil fuel industry lobbied hard for in an effort to stay globally competitive, writes Brian Dabbs.
On the chopping block are funds to cut methane emissions and a clean hydrogen tax break, the loss of which some energy experts say could jeopardize the future for U.S. oil and gas and give an edge to China and Europe.
In Other News
Fusion race: No one has made fusion power viable yet. Why are major tech companies investing billions?
Side effects may include: Climate change is boosting the risk of sleep apnea.
Subscriber Zone
A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.
EPA's proposed repeal of Biden-era power plant rules solidifies the Trump administration's plan to discard the social cost of carbon.
Trump is slashing and burning the bulk of the Biden administration's energy and climate legacy, but there's one policy he appears to be embracing: an African cross-continental rail project that would access mineral-rich countries and counter China.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) plans to question a senior Justice Department official at his Wednesday hearing for an appointment to the federal bench about his involvement in the freeze and termination of $20 billion of EPA climate grants.
That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
With 15 months of sobriety, aspiring S.F. firefighter was building a new life — until a fatal relapse
For 15 months, Kyle Emerson dedicated every day to creating the life he wanted. The 29-year-old worked two jobs, participated in daily cold plunges and CrossFit, went to school to become an emergency medical responder and routinely attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. It was a major feat for the Petaluma man, who had struggled with addiction for half his life before reaching a point in early 2024 where he considered driving out to the ocean and overdosing on fentanyl. Day by day, Kyle strung together his longest consecutive stretch without using drugs while working toward becoming a San Francisco firefighter. He hoped to help others suffering with addiction. 'Instead of being afraid all the time of losing him, I had a little over a year to just be so proud of him and enjoy watching him succeed,' said his mom, Tracy Emerson. But just days after completing his EMT training program, Kyle failed to show up for work at the Petaluma eatery Lunchette, where many community members knew and loved him. And within a matter of hours, officials confirmed the outcome that Tracy had long feared. Kyle was found dead in the bathroom of a hotel in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, with a pipe and lighter in his hands, according to his mother. An official cause of death is not yet available, but Kyle's mom believes he fatally overdosed after booking a two-night hotel stay and going to the city to purchase drugs. Kyle's main drug of choice was crack cocaine, but he had also overdosed on the powerful opioid fentanyl several times in the past, Tracy said. Kyle's death — among the latest in an ongoing overdose crisis that claimed 637 lives in San Francisco last year — devastated his family and friends and left many questioning why someone who had such a strong support system around him and was on his way to achieving his dreams would return to using dangerous drugs. It also occurred amid a sustained debate about how best to address San Francisco's open-air drug markets and whether the city's policies toward drug consumption are too lenient. An estimated 1 in 10 Americans, or more than 22 million adults in the U.S., have recovered from an addiction, according to the Massachusetts-based organization Recovery Research Institute. But reaching long-term addiction recovery is notoriously difficult and it's not unusual for someone to relapse — even after achieving major accomplishments, said Keith Humphreys, an addiction researcher and professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. 'Addiction really is a chronic disease,' Humphreys said. 'A person's brain adapts to the repeated administration of these drugs, and when someone stops using, the amount of effort they have to expend not to think about or use that drug is much greater. Their ability to enjoy other kinds of rewards that are not associated with drugs are also weaker.' The tragedy with fentanyl, he added, is that a person could die after returning to use one time. About three weeks before Kyle's death, his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, Jonathan Parkhurst, said Kyle stopped calling and checking in. Based on Parkhurst's own experience, he grew concerned. 'There's a phrase we use in AA: 'Don't let the life AA gives you get in the way of your AA life,'' Parkhurst said. 'I think that's what happened to Kyle. He got his EMT license, got everything that he wanted, and he still relapsed.' Parkhurst, who has been in recovery for more than 20 years, was a former drug user on the streets of San Francisco. He said a handful of times he quit using drugs and got a job, only to relapse and wind up on the streets or in jail again. When Parkhurst heard about Kyle's death, he was heartbroken. 'I saw a lot of myself in him,' Parkhurst said. 'I'm sure he thought he could use that day and come home and he'd deal with the consequences later. But that's not the case. These drugs are deadly.' Addiction ran in Kyle's family. Tracy is in recovery from alcoholism and Kyle's father has long struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Kyle became dependent on marijuana in high school, and in the years that followed, he experimented with a variety of other drugs, including ecstasy, heroin, crack and fentanyl. Tracy said her son's struggles with addiction took a turn for the worse about eight years ago, when a man who she sponsored through Alcoholics Anonymous took Kyle to downtown San Francisco and showed him how to buy drugs on the streets. As Tracy has worked to process her grief over the past month and a half, she said she's grown angry with San Francisco and the way it has handled its drug and homelessness crises. 'Just knowing that someone like Kyle could get on a bus and go get any drugs that they want is terrifying,' she said. 'I just don't feel like there are enough penalties for drug dealers. I feel like they should face attempted homicide or something.' A few prosecutors in California have begun to charge fentanyl dealers with homicides. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has warned that her office would pursue homicide charges against dealers whose sales result in a death, but to date no such charges have been filed. Still, since Jenkins took office in 2022, felony drug convictions have dramatically increased. Jenkins said in a statement that she remains committed to 'doing everything possible to hold drug dealers accountable, including filing murder charges… if presented with a provable case.' At a memorial for Kyle last weekend, community members from across Petaluma came out to pay their respects. Most remembered Kyle not for the way he died but for the bright smile he offered to customers at Lunchette and the Griffo Distillery, the other place he worked. They recalled the compassion and empathy he showed friends and strangers alike. 'I don't want to reduce all this work he'd done and the person that he was to the word 'overdose,'' said Kat Prescott, the manager at Griffo. 'He was so much more than that.' Holding back tears as she spoke in front of the group, Tracy implored everyone in attendance to have less judgement against people experiencing addiction and to 'turn their grief into purpose.' 'Unfortunately most of us will never know of our impact until our life review on the other side,' Tracy said. 'But I want to encourage everyone to pick up where Kyle left off and to share our goodness, our compassion, our love, our hearts with one another in whatever capacity we are able.'
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Watch live: Matters of Life and Breath: Championing COPD Care
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects 25 million people in the U.S. and is the fifth leading cause of death from disease — on track to be the third by 2035 if nothing changes. Gaps in treatment, policy inaction, and access barriers give way to high rates of ER visits, hospital admissions, readmissions, and worse. With 150,000 deaths each year and direct-medical costs reaching $31 billion annually, COPD remains an urgent but underprioritized health crisis. Will the new administration breathe new life into COPD care? How should gaps in treatment be addressed? How can public and private partnerships improve patient outcomes? What does a comprehensive COPD policy framework look like, and when can we expect it? And how can patients with COPD prioritize their own health in the meantime? Join The Hill as we convene leaders in the administration, Congress, and COPD advocacy to answer these questions and more. The event is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. EDT Watch the live video above.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Millions of Americans Told To Stay Indoors in 29 States
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Heat-related warnings were in effect across 29 U.S. states on Tuesday as a heat wave continues to grip large parts of the country, affecting tens of millions of Americans from the Midwest to the Eastern Seaboard. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued alerts urging people to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, and seek air-conditioned shelter as heat indices soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in numerous regions. Why It Matters The NWS warns that "heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events," and recommends drinking plenty of fluids, staying out of the sun, and checking on relatives and neighbors. What To Know States under extreme heat warnings or heat advisories included wide swaths of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and South. Areas such as the New York City metropolitan region, the greater Washington, D.C. area, eastern Pennsylvania, and parts of North Carolina and Michigan, faced "dangerously hot conditions" with heat index values in the triple digits. A man drinks water as he crosses a street during a heat wave in New York City, on June 22, 2025. A man drinks water as he crosses a street during a heat wave in New York City, on June 22, 2025. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images The heat index—also called apparent temperature—reflects how hot it actually feels to the human body when humidity is factored in with the air temperature, the NWS says. "Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors," the alerts advised. States under extreme heat warning, which the NWS issues for periods of "very hot temperatures, even by local standards," included: Connecticut Delaware Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont Virginia West Virginia Additional heat advisories, which signal less dangerous but still potentially harmful conditions, were also in effect across: Alabama Arkansas Georgia Illinois Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas What People Are Saying The National Weather Service said on X on Friday: "Though record high temperatures are expected in the coming days, the duration of the heat as demonstrated by the numerous record warm morning lows will make this period especially oppressive. Couple this with the fact that this is the first major heat wave of the year – when our bodies aren't acclimated to the heat yet – will make for an especially dangerous period for many." NWS New York said on X, Monday: "New record temperatures set thus far today: "Bridgeport, CT: 93 (previously 91 in 2010) "Islip, NY: 93 (previously 91 in 1999) "Central Park, NY: 96 (ties 96 last set in 1888) "Newark, NJ: 101 (previously 99 in 2024)." What Happens Next At the time of writing, the latest extreme heat warnings were set to remain in place until Wednesday. The NWS issues regular forecast updates on its website and social media channels.
