Some 163 million people in the U.S. live in areas that experienced dangerous heat on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service — sending “heat risk” forecasts in major cities (including New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Atlanta) into the most extreme risk category through Saturday. Part of the reason is the planet is warming dangerously, but Trump calls climate change a “hoax” and is encouraging more use of fossil fuels. Especially endangered are workers toiling under the hot sun, or in stifling warehouses, or in delivery trucks with no AC.Yet Trump’s pick to run the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, David Keeling, is weakening the agency’s own heat standards by removing specific inspection goals. OSHA’s Heat National Emphasis Program expired on April 8. Its proposed heat standard has been stalled.For many workers, heat standards are literally a matter of life and death. Every year, workers collapse, suffer permanent injuries, and die while doing their jobs in extreme heat. Years ago, when I ran the Labor Department, we had the toughest Occupational Health and Safety Administration in history, run by a truly committed worker advocate named Joe Dear. We made workplaces safer — reducing worker deaths and injuries.Since its inception in 1971, OSHA has reduced workplace-related fatalities by almost 63 percent. It has slashed the rate of serious workplace injuries and illnesses by 75 percent. But OSHA under Keeling is retreating from worker safety. Before Trump picked him to head OSHA, Keeling was Amazon’s top safety executive. During Keeling’s tenure at Amazon, a Senate report found that Amazon warehouses were twice as dangerous as those of its competitors.This year, we’ve already seen reports of Amazon workers dying on the job on a near monthly basis, including incidents in Oregon and North Carolina. Why would we trust Amazon’s safety head with the country’s workers?Before he was at Amazon, Keeling was in charge of safety at UPS. How did he do there? OSHA repeatedly cited UPS for exposing drivers to excessive heat. Federal investigators found at least 100 drivers were hospitalized for heat-related injuries between 2015 and 2018. UPS delivery trucks had no air conditioning until 2024, when it was won in a landmark collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters.Now Keeling is head of OSHA, and OSHA is weakening its heat protection standards. Workers are already paying the price. Reports of worker deaths during extreme heat continue to emerge across the country. Heat exposure can trigger heat stroke, organ failure, and chronic kidney disease. These are among the most predictable workplace hazards, which means they can often be prevented with strong safety standards and rigorous enforcement.But instead of strengthening those protections, OSHA under Keeling has weakened them. At a time when record-breaking temperatures are becoming more frequent, retreating from enforcement sends a dangerous message that worker fatalities are a cost of doing business.When he was in charge of safety at Amazon, Amazon became notorious for dangerous warehouse conditions. When in charge of safety at UPS, UPS resisted providing air conditioning for delivery vehicles. Now, when the agency responsible for protecting millions of workers should be leading the fight against preventable heat deaths — it’s backing away from its most basic responsibility to protect people over profits.Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.
MAGA loyalists were melting down Thursday after President Donald Trump's Social Security Administration announced a new design for babies born this year.The limited edition "Freedom 250" logo-themed cards will be issued for babies born between now and the end of the year, The Washington Post reported."Freedom 250 is the public-private initiative the Trump administration launched last year to organize events — often aligned with the administration — for the nation’s semiquincentennial. It is different from America250, a nonprofit established by Congress in 2016 to organize such celebrations," according to The Post.But MAGA fans, still apparently upset over the Supreme Court's ruling this week to uphold birthright citizenship, were outraged online. Some right-wing commentators claimed the cards would be used for "anchor babies" and shared their anger over the high court's decision. "Notice how they don’t say American Children? Oh yea that’s because 5 people destroyed what it meant to be an American the week of our independence. Being an American is nothing sacred anymore the Supreme Court just cemented that," user Cori, who frequently shares MAGA-aligned content, wrote on X."Doesn’t feel the same knowing they’ll also be going to anchor babies," user Alexandra, whose profile states "all I want for Christmas is mass deportations," wrote on X."It boils my blood that some baby tourist is going to have one of these while they live in China or somes---," Renlos Malik, a user who frequently shares MAGA-related material, wrote on X."Anchor babies too... or nah?" Tim Young, Heritage Foundation media fellow with more than 1.1 million followers, wrote on X."I wonder, how many illegal birth tourism anchor babies will enjoy this very special honor?!!!!" Luce Wood, author and self-described "proud conservative" with more than 18,000 followers, wrote on X.
A 52-year-old man reportedly died in New York City on Thursday after setting himself on fire near the United Nations‘s headquarters. A protester with a Tibetan flag carried out the self-immolation, according to the New York Post. He was reportedly protesting China‘s occupation of Tibet. Papers that said “China Out of Tibet” were found at […]
Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author. How America Created a Parallel Court System Where Due Process Vanishes, Children Become Commodities, and Judges […]
