1 Michigan Floodwaters Becoming A Chemically Hazardous Mess
Thousands are displaced in Michigan as residents cope with the catastrophic dam breeches Tuesday. As if dealing with rising floodwaters wasn’t bad enough, now there’s something else to contend with. The Dow Chemical Company says the floodwaters have mixed with its containment ponds at its plant in Midland. It’s not clear exactly what chemicals were in the ponds, and so far any potential hazards are not known, but the company has activated its local emergency operations center and partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard to activate emergency plans. Meanwhile, at least 10-thousand people have been ordered to evacuate. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an emergency declaration in connection to the floods, which she says are being described as a "500-year event." Speaking of “events,” the executive order enacted on Monday by Governor Whitmer banning non-essential visits, including tours, at manufacturing plants...will not apply to President Trump's planned visit to Ford's Rawsonville manufacturing plant today, which has been making ventilators to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, Whitmer's communications director says while the President's visit is contrary to the executive order, "this is an opportunity to showcase how important Michigan is to the response to COVID-19 and rebuilding our nation's economy." Trump says he’ll consider wearing a face mask during his visit to the plant
2 Hundreds Of Doctors Ask Trump To End Lockdowns
For all the Americans begging for lockdowns to end – you’re not alone. Hundreds of doctors are asking President Trump to end coronavirus shutdowns, arguing that keeping everyone at home is having growing health consequences. How so? They argue that patients are missing routine checkups that could detect health problems like heart issues or cancer. To that end, more than 600 of them signed a letter to the President outlining their concerns, including the potential for millions of casualties from alcoholism, suicide, stroke, despair, drug addiction and unplanned pregnancies. The letter also points out the idea behind the lockdowns was to avoid overwhelming the healthcare system with COVID-19 patients, not reduce the number of people who ultimately get the illness. On a related note, the head of emergencies at the World Health Organization is concerned about the U.S. pulling funding from the agency. Dr. Michael Ryan says it would have a "major implication" for vulnerable populations receiving critical health services, especially now. This comes after President Trump threatened to permanently terminate funding from the U.S., the agency's biggest donor.
3 Poll: Half Of Americans Okay With Vote By Mail
It appears half of Americans are just fine avoiding the polls in upcoming elections. An NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist Poll shows 50-percent of voters would vote by mail if the option were available amid the coronavirus pandemic. The number of respondents who prefer to vote in person was 38-percent. Not surprisingly, there’s a party shift – as a majority of Democrats are in favor of mailing in their ballots, while GOP voters would rather head to their local polling place. Voting by mail has been a hot topic as of late with states looking for safe ways to conduct elections. Someone not a fan of the idea? President Trump. During a White House meeting, Trump explained how he thought the process was "very dangerous" and there's "tremendous fraud involved." Trump argues election officials have to prove who the voter is, adding there should be voter I.D.