Voters head to the polls in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin to vote in primaries today, with lots of important races at stake. To help you get up to speed on all the key contests, we've put together a thorough preview. We'll also be live-blogging the results starting at 8 PM ET tonight at Daily Kos Elections. See you there!
83 days left until the November midterm elections
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Today’s comic by Jen Sorensen is Summer refreshment gentrification:
• Heat: the next big inequality issue. The deadly global heatwave has made it impossible to ignore: in cities worldwide, we are now divided into the cool haves and the hot have-nots. And in the U.S., there’s a big racial component regarding who is a have-not:
The year 2018 is set to be among the hottest since records began, with unprecedented peak temperatures engulfing the planet, from 43C (109F) in Baku, Azerbaijan, to the low 30s across Scandinavia. In Kyoto, Japan, the mercury did not dip below 38C (100F) for a week. In the US, an unusually early and humid July heatwave saw 48.8C (120F) in Chino, inland of Los Angeles. Residents blasted their air conditioners so much they caused power shortages.
Urban areas are reaching these killer temperatures faster than those that are less populated. Cities absorb, create and radiate heat. Asphalt, brick, concrete and dark roofs act like sponges for heat during the day and emit warmth at night. Air conditioning is a lifesaver for those who can afford it, but it makes the streets even hotter for those who can’t.
• Oil owns gas stations. Who will own electric vehicle-charging stations? GTM Research shows that ownership of EV charging infrastructure is extremely fragmented now. It predicts that by 2020, there will be more than a million public charging points deployed globally, and 5 million residential chargers. By 2040, the researchers say, 250 million EVs will be on the world’s roads. Their report—EV Charging Infrastructure Landscape: Global Market Evolution, Major Stakeholders and Key Trends—indicates that the way things are going right now in this fragmented market, utilities may end up owning most charging states, followed in order by oil companies, independent operators, and governments, which were early movers in getting charging stations installed.
MIDDAY TWEET
• Man whose car hit cyclists and pedestrians outside Buckingham Palace has been arrested in what police are calling a terrorist incident.
• Foes challenge gov’t plan to build four-lane road tunnel next to Stonehenge: The idea was first put forth in 2014 to deal with heavy traffic nearby. But archaeologists and other members of the public oppose the idea. One of those opponents, Dan Hicks, a University of Oxford archaeologist: “If you can do it in Stonehenge, you can do it anywhere.” The circle of huge stones on the Salisbury Plain dates back to around 2500 BC, about the same time the Great Pyramid at Giza was completed in Egypt. Experts fear the tunnels would disturb archaeologically important surface areas, risk destruction of buried artifacts, lower the water table (which is preserving some ancient objects), and alter the landscape that scientists say is a crucial aspect of the original. David Jacques is an archaeologist leading work at a Mesolithic site near Stonehenge called Blick Mead. He said: “Stonehenge isn’t just about the stones; it’s about the whole landscape. We can’t mess around with that landscape; it won’t come back,” But some tunnel supporters say that by getting rid of the current highway, the tunnel will protect the site and reduce noise levels that now affect visitors’ experience there.
• As coal jobs dwindle, fewer utility customers drive electricity prices skyward, and Appalachia’s economy continues its slow collapse:
Surcharges that pay for retiring a coal plant are especially irritating, said state Rep. Angie Hatton, a lawyer and Democrat from Whitesburg.
"They are charging us for shutting down our coal-fired plants that were keeping us all employed," she said.
Hatton, who is the daughter of one coal miner and wife of another, also sees the value of solar power as an option for businesses and residents with high power bills. She helped defeat legislation in Kentucky his spring that would have devalued rooftop solar power. Utilities backed it, but it was rejected by lawmakers driven by constituents' rage about power bills.
• Jason Johnson went looking for Nazis this weekend in Charlottesville and D.C.:
When that pathetic group of malcontents actually showed up (along with their lone black friend), you could barely see them. My selfie-stick was way past Elasti-Girl length and I still couldn’t get any pictures of the Nazis. Why? Because there were hundreds and hundreds of more anti-racism marchers than pro-white nationalism protesters. So, I did Na-Zi anybody. (See what I did there?)
But that doesn’t mean I didn’t see anything.