January 1, Number of voter fraud cases in Arizona undercut Trump’s claims

Greetings Middle Americans,

Arizona election officials have identified 182 cases of potential voter fraud out of 3.4 million ballots cast during last year’s presidential election, undercutting former President Donald Trump’s claims of a stolen election as his allies continue a contested ballot review in the state’s most populous county. According to the Associated Press, only four of the 182 cases have led to charges, including those identified in a separate state investigation. AP acknowledges that more cases could emerge, but the data demonstrates the implausibility of Trump’s claims that voter fraud cost him electoral victory in the state.

Child tax credits have started hitting bank accounts, affecting more than 35 million families nationwide. The monthly payments amount to $300 for each child 5 and younger, and $250 for those between 5 and 17. “This would be the largest ever one-year decrease in child poverty in the history of the United States of America,” President Biden said.”Millions of children and their families, starting today, their lives are about to change for the better. And our country would be better off for it as well.” The Agriculture Department has estimated that a typical family spends $233,610 to raise a child.

In Texas, abortion providers filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s six-week abortion ban, Senate Bill 8 (SB8). “The Texas legislature’s well-documented hostility to the rights of pregnant people has gone to a new extreme,” the lawsuit reads, filed by Whole Woman’s Health and Planned Parenthood, and others. “Senate Bill 8 flagrantly violates the constitutional rights of Texans seeking abortion and upends the rule of law in service of an anti-abortion agenda.” SB8 bans the procedure once embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is typically around six weeks — before most women know they are pregnant.

There were 188,000 migrant arrests at the southern border during the month of June, in an apparent surge. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the number was 33,049 in June of 2020. Last month’s figures bring the total of the fiscal year to over 1 million encounters. “We are in the hottest part of the summer, and we are seeing a high number of distress calls to CBP from migrants abandoned in treacherous terrain by smugglers with no regard for human life,” CBP acting Commissioner Troy Miller said.

The White House is cracking down on Covid-19 disinformation found on social media platforms. They specifically singled out 12 individuals deemed the “disinformation dozen” with being responsible for the bulk of the misinformation. “There’s about 12 people who are producing 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of them, according to a report published by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Kennedy was booted off of Instagram earlier this year but is still currently on Facebook where he has amassed over 300,000 followers. CNN reported that meetings between the Biden administration and Facebook have grown “tense.”

Alcohol use was linked to over 740,000 cancer cases last year, according to a new study published in Lancet Oncology. Newly diagnosed cases of esophageal, mouth, larynx, colon, rectum, liver, and breast cancers can be attributed to drinking alcohol. Men accounted for 75% of alcohol-related cancers. “Our study highlights the contribution of even relatively low levels of alcohol to the risk of new cancer cases,” said Harriet Rumgay, researcher at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization. Heavy drinking, or drinking at least two and as many as more than six drinks a day, posed the greatest risk of future cancer. Even moderate drinking, two or fewer drinks a day, accounted for an estimated 14% of alcohol-related cancers.

Be well,

Fraser Dixon

Sources

• AP: Few Arizona voter fraud cases undercut Trump’s claims
• Child tax credit starts hitting US families’ bank accounts
• Planned Parenthood files lawsuit against Texas’s extreme abortion ban
• Migrant arrests at southern border rose yet again in June to 188,000, topping 1M this fiscal year
• White House turns up heat on Big Tech’s Covid ‘disinformation dozen’
• Alcohol Use Linked To Over 740,000 Cancer Cases Last Year, New Study Says