Photos show people mourning after airstrikes and shooting in Gaza overnight
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
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
EPA puts on leave 139 employees who spoke out against policies under Trump
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday put on administrative leave 139 employees who signed a 'declaration of dissent' with its policies, accusing them of 'unlawfully undermining' the Trump administration's agenda. In a letter made public Monday, the employees wrote that the agency is no longer living up to its mission to protect human health and the environment. The letter represented rare public criticism from agency employees who knew they could face blowback for speaking out against a weakening of funding and federal support for climate, environmental and health science. In a statement Thursday, the EPA said it has a 'zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting' the Trump administration's agenda. Employees were notified that they had been placed in a 'temporary, non-duty, paid status' for the next two weeks, pending an 'administrative investigation,' according to a copy of the email obtained by The Associated Press. 'It is important that you understand that this is not a disciplinary action,' the email read. More than 170 EPA employees put their names to the document, with about 100 more signing anonymously out of fear of retaliation, according to Jeremy Berg, a former editor-in-chief of Science magazine who is not an EPA employee but was among non-EPA scientists or academics to also sign. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health made a similar move in June, when nearly 100 employees signed a declaration that assailed Trump administration 'policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.' An additional 250 of their colleagues endorsed the declaration without using their names. But no one at NIH has been placed on administrative leave for signing the declaration and there has been no known retribution against them, Jenna Norton, a lead organizer of the statement, told AP on Thursday. Norton oversees health disparity research at the agency's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, in his confirmation hearings, had pledged openness to views that might conflict with his own, saying dissent is the 'essence of science.' Under Administrator Lee Zeldin, EPA has cut funding for environmental improvements in minority communities, vowed to roll back federal regulations that lower air pollution in national parks and tribal reservations, wants to undo a ban on a type of asbestos and proposed repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Zeldin began reorganizing the EPA's research and development office as part of his push to slash its budget and gut its study of climate change and environmental justice. And he's seeking to roll back pollution rules that an AP examination found were estimated to save 30,000 lives and $275 billion every year. The EPA responded to the employees' letter earlier this week by saying policy decisions 'are a result of a process where Administrator Zeldin is briefed on the latest research and science by EPA's career professionals, and the vast majority who are consummate professionals who take pride in the work this agency does day in and day out.' ___
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Joe Giordano, surgeon who helped save President Reagan's life after assassination attempt, has died
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Joseph Giordano, a surgeon who played a central role in saving President Ronald Reagan's life after an assassination attempt in 1981, has died. He was 84. He died on June 24 at a hospital in Washington, D.C. from an infection related to a lengthy illness, his family said. Giordano was in charge of The George Washington University Hospital's trauma teams that treated Reagan after the president had been shot and badly wounded on March 30, 1981. Over the course of several dramatic hours, doctors stabilized Reagan, retrieved a bullet an inch from his heart and stanched massive internal bleeding. 'Dr. Giordano and the doctors at GW, without them, Ronald Reagan would have died,' said Jerry Parr, the president's lead Secret Service agent at the time, in a 2010 interview for the book " Rawhide Down." Revamps GW emergency room Giordano, the grandson of Italian immigrants, was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1961 and six years later obtained a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he joined GW as a vascular surgeon. A few weeks before he started in 1976, GW's chief of surgery told Giordano that he would have another job — fixing and managing the emergency room. 'The handling of trauma patients down there is a real mess,' his boss said. Giordano quickly discovered that assessment was correct. Inexperienced doctors were leading inefficient medical teams. Care was haphazard. Giordano watched as at least one patient died because treatment was rendered too slowly. Seeking out experts, he spent a month working at what would become the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland. The teams at Shock Trauma operated with speed and precision. They were methodical. He brought the approach to GW. Soon, the hospital's trauma center was regarded as among the best in the country. 'We had everything going like clockwork,' said Dr. David Gens, who helped treat Reagan and went on to a long career in trauma surgery. 'Joe had us properly trained. We had the right protocols. Everyone had a job. Organization and time are essential. So that when something happened, when the president came in, we were well organized. Thanks in part to Joe's foresight, we saved the president's life.' 'STAT to the ER' It was a typical March Monday for Giordano when a would-be assassin, John Hinckley, Jr., opened fire on Reagan as the president left a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Parr, the Secret Service agent, shoved Reagan into a limousine, and it hurtled from the scene. On the ride back to the White House, Parr realized Reagan had been hurt, perhaps from being flung into the armored Lincoln. Not knowing the extent of the injuries — doctors would soon discover he had been shot — Parr directed the limousine to the hospital. At GW Giordano was treating a patient when the intercom began blaring: 'Dr. Giordano, STAT to the ER. Dr. Giordano, STAT to the ER.' Though he had turned over responsibility for running the emergency room to another doctor, Giordano was still in charge of the trauma teams. He knew something must be terribly wrong for him to be summoned that way. In the ER, he found a man he recognized as the president on gurney. Nurses had already cut off Reagan's clothes and inserted IV lines. Strangely, the first thing that Giordano noticed about the president was his dark hair. It seemed so natural. 'I wondered," Giordano recalled in a 2010 interview, 'if he dyed it.' 'How are you doing, Mr. President?' he asked. 'I'm having trouble breathing,' Reagan replied. Bleeding won't stop Gens, a chief surgical resident, provided Giordano a quick summary of the situation: The president had been shot in the left side, his chest was filling with blood and they were about to insert a chest tube to drain the chest cavity. Giordano did not hesitate. 'You better let me do this one.' He typically would have let a resident handle such a procedure, but he felt it would be irresponsible to put such pressure on young doctors. He made an incision eight inches below Reagan's left armpit and inserted the tube. It relieved pressure on Reagan's lung and allowed him to breathe more easily. But the bleeding did not stop. Doctors decided they had to operate. Giordano and Gens performed a peritoneal lavage — known as a 'belly tap' — and ensured that Reagan's abdomen was clear of blood. They then turned over the patient to a chest surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Aaron, who halted the bleeding and retrieved the bullet. Reagan spent 11 days at GW and fully recovered from his wounds. Three others were injured in the shooting: White House Press Secretary Jim Brady; Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy; and Thomas Delahanty, a police officer. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was confined at a psychiatric hospital until a federal judge in 2022 ordered his unconditional release. 'Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans' Giordano would go on to become GW's chairman of surgery, a post he held for 18 years before retiring in 2010. That same year, he joined the board at Partner for Surgery, a nonprofit group that arranges surgery for people living in rural Guatemala. Tapping his contacts in the medical community, Giordano recruited doctors and nurses to travel to the Central American country to provide the badly needed medical services, said Frank Peterson, the group's founder. Giordano also led several medical teams on such missions. 'The one word I would use to describe him is humanitarian,' Peterson said. 'He had the skills and capabilities that made a world of difference to people who were in need.' Though Giordano played a decisive role in saving Reagan's life, the physician may best be remembered for a line he delivered in the operating room. Just before he was administered anesthesia, Reagan dramatically got up on an elbow, took off his oxygen mask and said, 'I hope you are all Republicans.'
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Medicaid, food aid recipients worry about safety net cuts in bill sent to Trump
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Supporters of the sweeping tax and spending legislation that Congress has sent to President Donald Trump say the changes to Medicaid, food aid and other programs will encourage personal responsibility and halt those scamming the system. Critics of the bill, given final congressional approval Thursday, say the requirements will upend lives. Here's a look at what people are saying about the bill. Work requirements added for accessing more federal benefits To enroll and stay on Medicaid, many ages 19 through 64 would be required to work, go to school or perform at least 80 hours of community service a month. The Medicaid work requirement would apply to people in 40 states who are enrolled through expanded access that states agreed to put in place since 2014. Ten states, including Texas and Florida, did not expand the program. For the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which already requires adults ages 18 to 55 to work, working would become mandatory for many until they turn 65. For both benefits, there would be exceptions, including for parents who are caregivers to children under age 14. The requirements are sparking worry for some enrollees Theresa Gibbs, who lost her job as a school bus driver, is enrolled in both Medicaid and SNAP. She likely would be exempt from the work mandate because she has three children under age 14. But Gibbs said she is applying for jobs anyway. 'I don't think people should just live off the state if they're perfectly capable to work,' said Gibbs, 34, of Jefferson City, Missouri. Amanda Hinton, 39, of St. Martins, Missouri, receives Medicaid and SNAP benefits. She puts in enough hours at a part-time gas station job to likely meet the new requirements but is concerned should her fibromyalgia, which causes pain and fatigue, keep her from working for a time. 'I'm panicked. I mean I have some chronic health conditions that are not curable, and I rely on my medication to help me just get through the day," she said. "And without my Medicaid, I couldn't afford these.' Brittany Phillips, 32, of Greensboro, North Carolina, said being on Medicaid has helped her stay afloat both financially and health-wise while she works a temporary, remote medical services job paying about $600 weekly. 'I do believe that Medicaid should be available for everyone regardless of who they are -- regardless of capacity, faculty -- everyone should have Medicaid,' she said. It's not just the work requirement; it's also the paperwork The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 11.8 million fewer people could have health insurance by 2034 because of the changes, which also include booting off non-citizens who are not in the U.S. permanently and legally. And that doesn't include those who could lose coverage for other reasons. Advocates say that even people who are covered by exceptions to the work requirement could lose their Medicaid coverage. One major reason is a requirement that people's eligibility would be assessed at least every six months. 'Every additional paper someone has to submit separately from their application,' said Deborah Steinberg, a senior health policy analyst at the Legal Action Center, 'you lose people.' Julia Bennker, who runs an in-home daycare in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, relies on SNAP and Medicaid and has had paperwork issues under existing Medicaid requirements. She said that earlier this year, she didn't have health coverage for a month after she was told her forms were late — though she believes she submitted them on time. That meant going a month without therapy and needing to reschedule another appointment with a prescriber. Some of the conditions that would trigger exceptions — mental illness or substance use disorder — are not currently tallied in Medicaid computer systems. 'It's not like you wave a magic wand and everyone who should be exempt is exempt,' said Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. States will face pressure - and deadlines - to revamp their programs State health care and social services agencies will have to rework their computer systems to account for the various changes while also dealing with federal funding reductions. That's cause for concern for some health care advocates. The legislation requires all states to shoulder more of the administrative costs of SNAP starting in 2027 and, for the first time, could force some states to pay for a portion of food assistance benefits starting in 2028. States also must implement the Medicaid work requirement by 2027. 'It will be a very tight and difficult timeline for many of these states,' said Sophia Tripoli, senior health policy director at Families USA, a health care advocacy organization. 'There's a huge cost burden on states from the administrative side just to stand up these systems.' Julieanne Taylor, a lawyer at the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy in North Carolina, said her organization's clients already face delays in verifications for the food program. 'To add more to them, it's going to be a disaster,' she said. 'It's going to cause people to drop off because they're like, 'I don't want to have to do this every year or every six months.'' Rural hospitals could face financial struggles The bill could also put rural hospitals at financial risk, experts say, because it seeks to cap the taxes that states impose on hospitals and other health care providers in a way that boosts Medicaid funding. The nonprofit KFF, which studies health care issues, estimates that Medicaid spending in rural areas would decrease by $155 billion over the next decade under the bill. 'While there are already a number of small and rural hospitals that are vulnerable," said R. Kyle Kramer, CEO of Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, Connecticut, "it's going to lead to a lot of closures.' The bill includes a $50 billion fund to partially offset those reductions. Planned Parenthood would lose federal money Federal taxpayer money is already barred from paying for abortions in most cases. The bill would also ban federal funds going to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, for other purposes like family planning programs and cancer screenings. The group says that one-third of its roughly 600 clinics across the U.S. could face closure as a result of the legislation, and that states where abortion is legal would be hardest hit. At least one other group says it also stands to lose funding because of the provision. Maine Family Planning has 19 sites and subcontracts with other health care organizations, including Planned Parenthood, to provide services at other locations across the rural state. ___
