"Partisan Mischief": North Carolina Dems Vote To Block Third-Party Candidates From Ballots

 by Jonathan Turley,

Months ago, I wrote a column about how Democrats have continued to try to block voters from being able to vote for candidates while claiming the mantle of the defenders of Democracy. This effort not only included Democratic Secretaries of State attempting to remove former president Donald Trump from the ballots, but efforts in the primary from the ballot. Many of these Democrats now calling for a “blitz primary” previously said nothing as voters were barred from having a choice in the primary.

Now, in North Carolina, Democrats are seeking to bar third-party candidates from the general election . . . all in the name of perfecting democracy.

The Democratically controlled North Carolina’s Board of Elections voted against giving ballot access to new parties supporting presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West. 

All three Democrats (Alan Hirsch, Jefferson Carmon, and Siobhan Millen) voted to prevent voters from being able to vote for Kennedy and West, though the decision will have to be reconsidered. Yet, even if reversed, they are preserving uncertainty as to whether they will be viable candidates in the minds of voters.

The excuses for this action are superficial and manufactured.

Chairman Alan Hirsch insisted that their organizations were “problematic” in how they gathered signatures and how Republicans may be supporting their efforts to allegedly “take away votes from Joe Biden.”

They also said that they were concerned that the third-party candidates were using the new party rules to gain an easier path to ballots. That is a bizarre objection. They are opting for the best approach under the existing rules. It seems openly partisan for these three Democrats to suddenly raise concerns over the existing rules when it could harm Joe Biden or the Democratic Party.

Yet, Democratic commissioner Siobhan Millen worked hard to rationalize what is a raw political muscle play to prevent voters from having a choice:

“If this board keeps rubber-stamping thinly veiled so-called parties, national operatives are going to continue to come in and keep manipulating our system. Allowing unaffiliated candidates to follow the more lenient new-party rules is allowing a blind eye to partisan mischief, potentially.”

If Millen wants to see partisan mischief, she does not have to look far. She and her colleagues are engaging in precisely such mischief to deny voters choices this election to try to bolster the chances of Biden in a swing state.

Democrats continue to claim to defend Democracy while resisting democratic choice and abusing the legal process. This glaring disconnect was evident when President Joe Biden spoke on the top of the Point-du-Hoc in Normandy on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Biden again used the event to suggest that democracy was in danger in the United States with the upcoming election.

Yet, Biden has overseen widespread government censorship with federal agencies targeting those with opposing views on everything from elections and climate change to COVID-19 and transgender policies.

As Democratic secretaries of state sought to bar Trump from ballots, Biden refused to oppose the efforts. When liberal law professors and members demanded to pack the Supreme Court to guarantee a liberal majority, Biden refused to denounce it during the last campaign.

This is why some in the country may view Biden and the Democrats as existential threats not just to Democracy, but to themselves. They see a party that is engaged in efforts to cleanse ballots (of Republicans), censor dissenting voices and prosecute political opponents.

The effort in North Carolina continues this hypocritical and cynical narrative. These three Democratic board members just voted to prevent their fellow citizens from being able to cast votes for third-party candidates who are attracting increasing support among disgruntled voters.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/partisan-mischief-north-carolina-democrats-vote-block-third-party-candidates-ballots

'Study finds Pfizer's RSV vaccine not tied to higher risk of pre-term births'

  Pfizer's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for pregnant women was not tied to a higher risk of pre-term or early births, according to a study published on Monday that analyzed real-world use of the shots.

The vaccine Abrysvo was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year for women in their second or third trimesters of pregnancy to prevent infections tied to RSV in babies in the first six months after birth.

However, some experts had raised concerns over a higher number of pre-term births among participants taking the Pfizer shot compared to those who received a placebo in the company's clinical trial.

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York conducted the retrospective study in women who were 24 to 36 weeks into pregnancy, and found no significant statistical difference between the vaccinated women's pre-term birth rate of 5.9% compared with unvaccinated women's 6.7%.

Health regulators however recommended a narrower gestational window, said Annette Regan, from the University of San Francisco's School of Nursing and Health Professions, in an editorial accompanying the study.

"Despite the need for further research and surveillance, results from this study should offer initial reassurance to regulators, policymakers, health care professionals, and pregnant patients," Regan wrote in the article published in JAMA.

In most of the continental U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend the vaccine for women who are 32 to 36 weeks pregnant between September and January.

The study analyzed electronic health records of women across two New York City hospitals who gave birth between September last year to late January.

RSV leads to the hospitalization of about 58,000 to 80,000 children younger than 5 years annually.

Pfizer's vaccine is the only maternal RSV shot approved in the US. The vaccine, along with rivals by GSK and Moderna, is also approved for older adults.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/study-finds-pfizers-rsv-vaccine-151158116.html

'NASA astronauts voice confidence that Boeing Starliner will bring them home'

 The first two astronauts to fly Boeing's Starliner capsule said from the International Space Station on Wednesday they were confident in the spacecraft's ability to return them home whenever the company and NASA fix an array of thruster issues that have kept them in space far longer than expected.

"I have a real good feeling in my heart that this spacecraft will bring us home, no problem," NASA astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams said during the test crew's first news conference since docking to the ISS more than a month ago.

Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore, both veteran NASA astronauts and former U.S. Navy test pilots, were launched aboard Starliner from Florida on June 5 and docked the next day at the ISS, where they were initially scheduled to spend roughly eight days.

A series of issues with Starliner's propulsion system has extended their mission indefinitely. Five of Starliner's 28 maneuvering thrusters went dead during its 24-hour trek to the station, a propellant valve failed to properly close and there have been five leaks of helium, which is used to pressurize the thrusters.

"We're absolutely confident," Wilmore told reporters. "That mantra you've heard, failure is not an option."

"And that's why we're staying, because we're going to test it. That's what we do," Wilmore said, acknowledging that an ongoing investigation by the U.S. space agency and Boeing involving thruster tests on Earth is key for their return.

The current test mission is Boeing's final step before the spacecraft can clinch NASA certification for routine astronaut flights and become the second U.S. orbital capsule alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which has dominated the nascent human spaceflight market amid Starliner's development delays.

NASA officials and Boeing engineers have focused on the faulty thrusters and aim to conduct weeks of further testing before allowing Starliner to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth. That testing includes firing identical thrusters at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to get insight into what might be plaguing the thrusters in space.

"Once that testing is done, then we'll look at the plan for landing," NASA's commercial crew chief Steve Stich told reporters last month. "We're not going to target a specific date until we get that testing completed."

The testing could last "a couple weeks" or more, followed by a NASA review of the resulting data, Stich said. Starliner is approved to stay docked to the ISS for 45 days, or up to 90 days using various backup systems and depending on the health of its lithium ion batteries, which have caused concerns in the past.

Though NASA and Boeing have said Starliner is capable of returning the astronauts to Earth in the event of an emergency on the ISS, the capsule is not approved to fly home under normal, non-emergency circumstances until its thruster issues are resolved or at least better understood.

NASA and Boeing officials have emphasized that the two astronauts are not stranded in space.

A Russian satellite last month broke apart into some 180 pieces of debris near the space station's orbit and forced astronauts into their various docked spacecraft, including Wilmore and Williams getting into Starliner, to prepare for a potential escape. Boeing cited the event as an example of Starliner's readiness to return home if absolutely necessary.

"Starliner stood ready to undock and return Wilmore and Williams to Earth if needed," the company said in a statement last month.

The debris risks waned and astronauts emerged from their capsules an hour later.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nasa-astronauts-voice-confidence-boeing-160554001.html

Most patients stop using Wegovy, Ozempic for weight loss within two years

 Only one in four U.S. patients prescribed Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss were still taking the popular medications two years later, according to an analysis of U.S. pharmacy claims provided to Reuters that also showed a steady decline in use over time.

The analysis does not include details about why patients quit. But it does offer a longer view on the real-world experiences of patients taking the drugs than previous research that studied use over a year or less.

Evidence that many people may stop using the weight-loss therapies not long after starting is influencing a debate over their cost to patients, employers and government health plans.

Wegovy and similar medicines, which belong to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, can cost more than $1,000 per month, and may require extended use to yield meaningful benefits.

Their U.S. prices have drawn fire recently from President Joe Biden and other public officials, who said such drugs could cost the country $411 billion per year if only half of adults with obesity used them. That is $5 billion more than Americans spent on all prescription drugs in 2022.

"GLP-1s for all isn't cost effective," said Dr. Rekha Kumar, an obesity specialist at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center and chief medical officer at Found, an online weight-loss program. "People want to provide obesity care to their employees, but they want to do it in a way that doesn’t bankrupt them."

Prime Therapeutics and Magellan Rx Management, a pharmacy benefits manager, reviewed pharmacy and medical claims data for 3,364 people with commercial health plans that cover GLP-1 drugs. They had all received new prescriptions between January and December 2021, and had a diagnosis of obesity or a body mass index of 30 or higher.

The PBM excluded patients using the drugs for type 2 diabetes, for which these medicines were originally developed. The mean age of patients included in the analysis was 46.5 and 81% were female.

Last year, Prime published data that found 32% of patients were still taking a GLP-1 medicine for weight loss 12 months after their initial prescription. The new data shows that overall, for all the drugs included in the study, only about 15% were still on their medication after two years.

For Wegovy, 24.1% of patients persisted with therapy over two years without a gap of 60 days or more, down from 36% who had stayed on the drug for a full year. With Ozempic, which has the same active ingredient as Wegovy - semaglutide - 22.2% of patients kept filling their prescriptions at two years, down from 47.1% who had used it for one year.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-most-patients-stop-using-100318205.html

Carbon-heavy but cheaper coal to replace gas in European power mix this winter

 A rise in European wholesale gas prices over the past several months could encourage more utilities to switch to coal for electricity generation this coming winter, even as countries try to push the carbon-intense fuel out of the power mix.

While many European countries, such as France, Britain and Italy, have already either phased out coal completely or have limited scope for large-scale gas-to-coal switching, it remains a key part of the power mix in Europe's number one energy consumer Germany, and much of eastern Europe.

A gas-to-coal shift would reverse a trend which began earlier this year when European gas prices fell to near a three-year low in February, incentivizing a switch in other direction. Gas prices have risen nearly 40% since their Feb. 23 low.

Plants fired by coal, which emits more than double the carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt hour (MWh) of power produced than gas, also have to take into account the greater cost of EU carbon permits to offset their emissions.

But the price of permits also remains well below last year's record high of more than 100 euros ($108), currently at around 68 euros per metric ton.

According to LSEG, a carbon price below 80 euros per metric ton would be needed for high efficiency coal plants to replace gas plants with 50% efficiency as of the first quarter of next year.

"We can expect many low- and medium-efficiency gas plants to be replaced by high and medium efficiency coal plants this winter, starting from November," said Petter Norby, power analyst at LSEG.

Coal and carbon prices have experienced relatively strong losses this year due to weak Asian demand, cautious market sentiment and high stockpiles, said Andy Sommer, Swiss utility Axpo's head of fundamental analysis, modelling and meteorology.

By contrast, "gas markets experienced a continued uptrend due to tight LNG supply and maintenance in Norway and the UK, leading to lower-than-average stock builds," he said.

Looking ahead into July, his outlook suggested continued volatility with a focus on weather patterns.

Tight global LNG supply and multiple offline facilities in the U.S. have contributed to the increase in European gas prices over the last month, and could continue to be bullish factors, Rystad analyst Fabian Ronningen said.

There is also some volatility caused by the potential for an early Russian pipeline cut and ongoing Norwegian gas maintenance outages during summer, he added.

Germany's electricity industry is still very dependent on coal imports, with importers lobby VDKI pegging current annual import levels at 33 million metric tons, of which 18 million are for power generation.

The import levels are down some 26.3% from 2022 when gas supplies were cut from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, while coal for power levels are seen down near 40%, VDKI data showed.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/carbon-heavy-cheaper-coal-replace-153718575.html

Gen Z consumers rely on parents amid inflation squeeze

 Gen Z adults in the U.S. face increasing financial challenges because of inflation and rising living costs, with 46% relying on financial assistance from their parents and families, according to a report by Bank of America published on Wednesday.

Half of the 1,091 people aged 18 to 27 surveyed by the bank were not on track to buy a home in the next five years. Respondents were polled in April and May, with the survey weighted to meet national population benchmarks, including gender and race.

The survey showed 46% of young people were unprepared to save for retirement and 40% were not ready to start investing in the next five years.

"When I talk to young people, especially Gen Z, I tell them to set a budget and stick with it," said Holly O'Neill, Bank of America's president of retail banking.

Of those polled, 67% are making lifestyle changes to offset growing living expenses. The shifts include budgeting, cutting back on restaurant meals, staying home instead of attending events, and shopping at cheaper grocery stores.

Emergency savings were another pain point, with 57% of Gen Z respondents lacking enough money to cover three months of expenses.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gen-z-consumers-us-rely-131140068.html

Trump foreign policy adviser meets with European officials attending NATO summit

 Several high-ranking European officials have met with a top foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump during the ongoing NATO summit in Washington this week, as America's allies gird for the possible reelection of the former president.

Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who served as the chief of staff to Trump's National Security Council, told Reuters he has met several European officials in recent days, including foreign ministers. He did not disclose the identities of those foreign officials nor what was discussed during those talks.

Kellogg, who is in regular contact with Trump, has emphasized that he does not speak for the former president nor his campaign.

Still, European officials are hungry for any information they can glean about Trump's foreign policy in the event he beats Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election. In recent months, foreign diplomats have regularly met with officials from Trump's 2017-2021 administration.

Among the main concerns in European capitals is how Trump will handle the war in Ukraine and America's relationship with NATO. The former president and his allies have expressed skepticism about sending more aid to Ukraine, and Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO countries for spending too little on defense.

A disastrous debate performance last month by Biden appears to have boosted Trump's odds. The former president is leading Biden by 2.1 percentage points nationally, according to a polling average maintained by website FiveThirtyEight, while Biden had a slight lead ahead of the debate.

While Kellogg did not disclose whom he met with, he posted an image on X on Monday of what he described as an "informal discussion" with Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.

In June, Reuters reported that Kellogg and another Trump adviser had presented the former president with a plan to end the Ukraine war in part by conditioning any future aid to Kyiv on Ukraine's leaders agreeing to sit down for peace talks with Moscow.

Three other former Trump foreign policy officials told Reuters they had been approached by European delegations about meeting during the NATO summit, though those meetings did not take place, mainly for logistical reasons. Those officials requested anonymity to discuss private discussions.

Separately, North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski met with Richard Grenell, a former acting director of National Intelligence under Trump, according to a picture Mickoski posted on Facebook on Monday.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-foreign-policy-adviser-meets-232244784.html