https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/07/29/dc-union-station-starbucks/

The closure of a Starbucks because of ‘challenging incidents’ is adding fuel to concerns about the conditions of Washington’s busiest transit hub



Starbucks is departing Union Station on Sunday while citing safety concerns at the iconic transit hub. Although crime has fallen in recent years, so too have passenger counts, occupied storefronts and foot traffic, creating a dreary backdrop at a once-vibrant gateway to the nation’s capital.

A Washington fixture for more than a century, Union Station is the region’s busiest commuter facility, the first stop for many visitors and a dining spot for tourists and local residents. But between its marble floors and 96-foot coffered ceilings is an outdated and deteriorating station showing signs of neglect.

Businesses are closing amid a pandemic that shifted commuter behaviors. As fewer travelers use the station, city officials and nonprofits have increasingly turned attention to those inside who are homeless or suffering from mental illness. Meanwhile, a rise in high-profile incidents in and around the hub has boosted a perception of insecurity.

While transit centers across the United States historically have served as shelters for the homeless, experts say there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that trend is increasing in the pandemic’s third year. Union Station is in line for a multibillion-dollar revamp over two decades, but first must overcome a growing sense of unease as businesses shutter and rail traffic struggles to reach pre-pandemic levels.

In announcing the closure of 16 stores earlier this month, Starbucks cited “a high volume of challenging incidents that make it unsafe to continue to operate,” although the company declined to elaborate on incidents specific to Union Station. A Starbucks spokeswoman said problems at the closing locations mirror challenges within their surrounding communities, including rising drug use, chronic homelessness and mental health issues.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/energy/exxonmobil-chevron-earnings/index.html

New York (CNN Business)ExxonMobil and Chevron both reported record massive profits thanks to record gasoline prices during the quarter.

Exxon's profit, excluding special items, came to $17.6 billion in the second quarter, nearly double what it made in its very profitable first quarter as oil and gas prices started to soar in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Second-quarter profit was up 273% from the same period a year ago.

Chevron earned $11.4 billion excluding special items, up 74% from the first quarter and 247% from a year ago.
Including one-time items, both earned hundreds of millions more: ExxonMobil's net income reached $17.9 billion, while Chevron brought in $11.6 billion.

ExxonMobil's net income came to $2,245.62 every second of every day of the 92-day long quarter. On that basis, Chevron earned $1,462.11 per second.

Since it takes about two minutes to pump 20 gallons of gas, that means between them the two oil giants earned more than $400,000 between them in the time it took you to fill you tank.

Unvaccinated Rockland County, N.Y. man diagnosed with polio

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/07/21/polio-rockland-county-unvaccinated/

The first U.S. case of polio in nearly a decade has been confirmed in an unvaccinated individual in Rockland County, N.Y., local and state health officials announced Thursday.

While the origins of the case are still being investigated, the 20-year-old man had traveled to Poland and Hungary earlier this year and was hospitalized in June, according to a public health official close to the investigation who was not authorized to speak on the record. He was initially diagnosed with a possible case of acute flaccid myelitis, caused by inflammation of the spinal cord that results in severe muscle weakness and paralysis. But subsequent testing detected a type of polio that indicates transmission from outside the United States, according to a joint alert Thursday from the New York State Health Department and Rockland County.

The patient has since been discharged and living at home with his wife and children. He is able to stand, but is having difficulty walking, the official said.

Rockland County and New York State health officials on Thursday alerted clinicians to be vigilant for additional cases.

Asked about the possibility of more polio cases emerging locally, Rockland County Health Commissioner Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said, “We only have the one case. Let’s hope that’s all we find.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/07/11/texas-record-heat-ercot-power-grid/

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas projects record-high demand as temperatures skyrocket



A serious summer heat wave is baking Texas with record temperatures and high humidity. Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings blanket much of the Lone Star State, with the National Weather Service calling the conditions “extreme” and “dangerously hot.”

On Sunday, more than a dozen record highs were set throughout the state as temperatures soared as high as 113 degrees. Houston shot up to 105 degrees, matching its highest temperature ever recorded in July.

Sunday was the state’s second-hottest day since at least 1950, according to Maxar, a weather consulting firm.

The record-challenging heat is forecast to persist through Tuesday, combining with a moist lower atmosphere to produce heat indexes above 110 degrees in the southeast part of the state.

The statewide scorcher is enough to induce record high demand and tax the state’s beleaguered power grid, prompting the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to issue a public appeal for conservation during the hottest times of day.

“With extreme hot weather driving record power demand across Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is issuing a Conservation Appeal, asking Texans and Texas businesses to voluntarily conserve electricity, Monday, July 11 between 2-8 p.m.,” the agency wrote on its website. “ERCOT also issued a Watch for a projected reserve capacity shortage from 2-8 p.m. At this time, no systemwide outages are expected.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/10/republicans-senate-midterms/

Four months from Election Day, Republicans are struggling in several of the marquee races in the fight for control of the upper chamber



At a recent Republican donor retreat in Chicago, Herschel Walker was asked a question about fiscal discipline and balancing the budget. The GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia answered with a long answer on Black Lives Matter and the police, failing to address the question, according to people with knowledge of the event.

The surprised reaction to Walker’s response was familiar to Republicans who have been tracking his struggling bid in one of the most competitive Senate contests in the nation. Since easily winning his primary, his polling edge against Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) has become a deficit amid erratic campaigning, verbal flubs and disclosures about three children he had not previously spoken about publicly.

The result has been a rescue mission, helmed in part by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has led to several veteran staff hires by Walker’s campaign, including Brett O’Donnell, the party’s most celebrated debate prep strategist. It is just one of the ways GOP leaders have found themselves dealing with cleanup efforts as they round the summer bend on what should be a banner Republican election season.

Not for decades has the midterm environment appeared as favorable to Republicans, with President Biden’s approval rating at 39 percent, according to a Washington Post polling average in June and the share of voters approving of the country’s direction dropping to 10 percent in a Monmouth poll late last month. But four months from Election Day, Republicans are struggling in several of the marquee Senate races because of candidate challenges and campaigns still recovering from brutal Republican primaries, putting control of the upper chamber of Congress in 2023 up for grabs.