5 parts of the economy most at risk from coronavirus

The Hill logoThe growing threat of a coronavirus pandemic is raising fears about the toll it could take on the U.S. economy.

Public health officials say the risk of contracting coronavirus in the U.S. remains low, but economists expect the international scramble to contain the spreading illness to weaken global growth.

An outbreak within the U.S. could also seriously dampen American economic activity and consumer confidence, according to economists, posing threats to a record stretch of prosperity. Continue reading.

Trump’s campaign rallies are officially a threat to public health

The following article by Caroline Orr was posted on the ShareBlue website March 16, 2018:

A new study shows that violence spikes when Trump comes to town.

Then-candidate Donald Trump appears at a campaign rally in Charlotte in October 2016. (European Pressphoto Agency/ERIK S. LESSER)

Trump’s violent rhetoric on the campaign trail breeds real-life violence, leading to a spike in assaults wherever Trump makes an appearance.

That’s the conclusion of a new study, which found that cities experienced an increase in assaults on days when they hosted a Trump campaign rally. There was no corresponding link between the incidence of violence and rallies for Hillary Clinton.

“It appeared to be a phenomenon that’s unique to Donald Trump’s rally,” said Christopher Morrison, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the study.

The study, published in the journal Epidemiology, looked at data on assaults surrounding 31 rallies in 22 cities for Trump, and 38 rallies in 21 cities for Clinton. Continue reading “Trump’s campaign rallies are officially a threat to public health”

The Trump Administration’s Two-Pronged Assault on Public Health

The following article by Myriam Alexander-Kearns was posted on the Center for American Progress website February 7, 2017:

AP/Charles Rex Arbogast
Carter Howard watches a cartoon during his asthma treatment in Northbrook, Illinois, on October 15, 2013.

The 115th Congress and the Trump administration have already set their sights on gutting the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other cornerstone protections that ensure that our air is safe to breathe and our water safe to drink. They have promised to get rid of pollution limits for power plants instead of shifting to clean energy and nullify pollution limits for oil and gas drilling—as they also promise to drill anywhere and everywhere. These actions alone would greatly endanger public health and environmental quality. If that was not enough, however, congressional Republicans and the administration are also set on eliminating health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. This extreme rollback of federal regulations and services would allow more pollution, affect public health, and, at the same time, remove health care options for treatment when people get sick. Continue reading “The Trump Administration’s Two-Pronged Assault on Public Health”