Tony Bennett dies at 96: Singer Tony Bennett has died at age 96. Bennett was suffering from Alzheimer’s. During his career, he won 20 Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards. His theme song was “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” although he was born in Astoria, Queens, and lived in Manhattan. Bennett’s last concert was a joint appearance at Radio City Music Hall with songstress Lady Gaga.
Harris visits Florida: During her trip to Florida today, Vice President Harris was expected to lash out at moves made by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Education and various school boards that have banned books from school libraries and made changes to the American history being taught in order to downplay segregation and discrimination. In a change made Wednesday, Florida’s Department of Education mandated that Florida middle school children be taught that slaves benefitted from slavery and developed certain skills and that slavery wasn’t all bad.
NFL approves team sale: The National Football League owners have approved Washington Commanders’ owner Dan Snyder selling the team to a group of 20 investors headed by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion. Harris owns stakes in other sports teams. His group includes NBA Hall of Fame Member Magic Johnson and billionaire Mitchell Rales. Harris has agreed to pay the NFL a fine of $60 million to settle complaints that he was involved in fiscal improprieties and alleged sexual harassment.
Biden courts union workers: During his visit to a shipyard in Philadelphia yesterday, President Biden told union workers that American union workers are the best in the world and will play major roles in filling new jobs that will be created as the country shifts to clean energy. The shipyard that Biden visited had laid off all of its workers during the Trump Administration, but now employs 1,500 workers. They’re building a ship that will be used to help set up wind farms to generate electricity.
Study warns of heat effects: A study by Virginia Commonwealth University and the Center for American Progress finds that extreme heat will generate about $1 billion in health care costs every summer including tens of thousands of additional emergency room visits. The report suggests that the people most affected will be those in low-income communities, communities of color and urban neighborhoods that have limited greenery and concentrations of buildings, roads and other infrastructure,
Ukraine begins using cluster bombs: The White House confirms that Ukraine has started to use cluster bombs that the U.S. has supplied. A spokesman said the cluster bombs, which are loaded with numerous smaller bombs that spread out over a wide area, have been effective against Russian forces. About 100 countries ban cluster bombs because they can be a hazard to civilians, especially when some of the smaller bombs fail to detonate immediately.
Cover photo by Marcen27 / Flickr Creative Commons
