Targeted supplements can support healthy aging in some older adults, but unnecessary or excessive use may do more harm than good

Nutrition experts emphasize food quality and protein intake first

By Miguel G. Borda, Universidad de Navarra, and George E. Barreto, University of Limerick

Give me some of this (but not him)

The use of dietary supplements has risen rapidly in recent years. Vitamins, minerals, and other nutrition products are commonly promoted as easy ways to increase energy, strengthen the immune system, support brain function, and even extend lifespan. For many people, taking supplements seems like a smart step toward maintaining good health.

However, that assumption is not always accurate. People who already get enough nutrients from their diet often see little to no clear benefit from many supplements. In some cases, supplements are simply an added cost with limited value. They can also carry risks. Large amounts of certain vitamins and minerals may cause toxicity, interact with medications, or lead to other unwanted health effects.

For older adults, however, the picture is more complicated. The most useful question is not simply whether supplements are “good” or “bad,” but whether someone is actually deficient, what might be causing that deficiency, and whether a supplement is the safest way to address it.

It’s not just high gas prices – inflation is now spreading through the US economy

Trump's war-driven energy cost hikes affect the whole economy

D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University and Brandy Hadley, Appalachian State University

Americans don’t need a press release to know that inflation is rising. Gasoline is above $4 per gallon amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the release of key price data on May 28, 2026, underscores why policymakers are worried these pressures could spread into the broader economy.

The report offered a mixed but still uncomfortable picture. The month-to-month rise was softer than expected, but the change year over year still points to concern: a 3.8% jump from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2021, and a less volatile index that excludes food and energy up 3.3%.

This increase suggests inflation isn’t limited to gasoline. Housing, utilities and recreational spending are also keeping underlying inflation elevated, even as other data shows a slowing economy and weaker income growth.

As finance and applied investments professors who study how businesses make decisions amid uncertainty, we have been watching this tension build. In our 2026 economic outlook, we warned that recession fears could persist alongside rising prices. Fresh inflation data now suggests the challenge may be deeper and longer lasting than many expected.

Are all prices rising?

The fresh inflation data comes from the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, or headline PCE, which is maintained and released by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. Headline PCE had already been getting hotter, rising to 3.5% year on year in March 2026, up from 2.8% in February. But an even more important metric for the Federal Reserve is core PCE, which excludes the more volatile categories of food and energy. Core PCE matters because it gives policymakers a clearer read on underlying inflation pressures and is generally considered a better predictor of where inflation is headed, the Fed’s chief concern. That has been rising this year as well.

The key question isn’t simply whether gas prices are rising, but whether those higher energy costs are spreading into the rest of the economy.

Two perspectives on the Rhode Island budget

These two articles describe how the RI House version of next year's state budget improves on the version submitted by Governor Dan McKee.  In the first article, Rob Smith describes how the new budget affects the environment. In the second, Steve Ahlquist describes how the new budget effects people.

House Reworks McKee’s Budget to Save Renewable Energy Programs, Make Green Bond Greener

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

Rhode Island’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs will live to fight another day, House lawmakers announced Friday.

The programs were on the chopping block, when Gov. Dan McKee announced, as part of his fiscal 2027 budget proposal, rollbacks to energy efficiency investments and caps to the state’s net metering solar program.

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House leadership unveiled their own version of the budget late last week, with many of the changes and adjustments to those programs stripped out. The only significant cut is lowering the cap on net metering projects from 275 megawatts (MW) to 175 MW by 2031; a small change given solar companies are nowhere near close to planning projects that exceed 100 MW.

Still included in the budget is the governor’s proposal for an alternative compounding tariff. Net metering project developers can opt in for the tariff that will compound at 2.75% annually for 25 years starting in 2028.

The state’s Renewable Energy Standard (RES) remains intact, including its original timeline of reaching 100% of retail electricity sold sourced from renewable energy by 2033. The governor had proposed pushing back the final deadline by 17 years to 2050, a move that threatened to upend years of careful climate planning by state agencies.

House lawmakers are including the governor’s bid to expand the eligible pool of renewable resources. For the first time next year, if the budget passes as is, both hydropower and nuclear power will be added to the list of renewable energy resources that comply with the RES.

The Public Utilities Commission will also study the RES and any impacts associated with changes to it, and report back to the General Assembly by next year.

“In putting together this budget we were really focused on the future,” House Speaker Christopher Blazejewski said during Friday’s press briefing. “About children and families, not just what Rhode Island looks like today but going forward.”

Coming into 2026 it looked like a bloodbath for the state’s climate priorities, between the governor’s proposed cuts and a structural deficit in the state budget of around $100 million. Rhode Island has also experienced its fourth straight winter of high energy rates for gas and electric, and a governor keen to lower utility bills by any means necessary.

But environmental advocates notched another win this year, defending much of the progress on climate and environment regulations made in the past five years. Preserving energy efficiency and renewable energy was a key legislative goal of the Environment Council of Rhode Island, a coalition of the state’s chief environmental nonprofits and advocates.

So was making the Green Bond greener. This election cycle’s Green Bond will total $55 million, and look markedly different than what McKee originally proposed in January. Gone is the $10 million set aside for energy efficiency programs; instead lawmakers increased bond funding for facilities improvements within the Department of Environmental Management and the Resilient Rhody program, and added $3 million for farmland preservation and $3 million for open space acquisition programs.

“Our caucus spoke over and over again about making the Green Bond greener,” Blazejewski said. “And we did just that.”

Two key changes for public transit in Rhode Island also came with the House’s reworked budget. Lawmakers added another $5 million, on top of the governor’s proposal, to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to close its budget shortfall. The allocation will not be enough to reverse the service cuts implemented by the agency last year, however.

The director of the Department of Transportation will no longer chair the RIPTA board under the House version of the budget. A longtime ask of transit advocates, who strongly opposed the law that empowered the RIDOT director when it passed the Legislature a few years ago, House leadership said they viewed the RIPTA board chairmanship as “a conflict of interest.”

One last thing of note: House lawmakers are looking to jump start an energy benchmarking plan for state and municipal buildings. Under the program written into Article 11 of the budget, all state department and agencies will have to start tracking and reporting their energy usage for buildings greater than 25,000 square feet in size.

The program would be run by the Office of Energy Resources and begin March 31, 2029. Municipal buildings can voluntarily follow the state’s program, with OER providing “technical and financial assistance.”

The House Finance committee voted the budget onto the House floor, where it is expected to receive a full vote Friday, June 5.

Though imperfect, the Rhode Island General Assembly takes a tentative step toward a budget that prioritizes people

Steve Ahlquist

The Rhode Island House of Representatives will be taking up the finalized, balanced $15.2 billion FY2027 Budget (H7127A) later this week, after the House Finance Committee voted 11-2 on Friday to send it to the House floor for consideration.

“In putting together this budget, we were focused on the future, on children and families, on how Rhode Island looks, not just today, but going forward,” said Speaker Christopher Blazejewski. “We are aware of the challenges in our state and the changes in the federal government, and for some particular issues at the state level, we’ve tried to address them.”

Here’s a breakdown:

Health Care

• Medicaid rates will be improved by funding a full Office of Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) rate review. Implementing the $115 million in increased support over one year will better position the state financially in future years.
• We put significant investment in raising Medicaid rates,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “In particular, we did the full Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) rate review. There was a half-year in the governor’s proposed budget; we did the full OHIC rate review as part of this budget.”
• The committee recommended an additional $15 million over what the governor proposed for uncompensated care to the state’s hospitals. The budget contains the proposal to provide $20 million in support for Rhode Islanders to access affordable health insurance through Health Source RI.
• “We invested significant money, an additional $26 million, to support uncompensated care in support of the hospitals,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “This is something that we’ve seen in light of changes made to Medicaid at the federal level. To keep our hospitals functioning and provide the services our Rhode Island residents need, we need to continue supporting them.”
• The committee allocated $1.6 million for the Newport Hospital Birthing Center to support continued operations.
• “We’ve included the government’s proposed $1.6 million of general revenue. We have also, through uncompensated care, improved the financial standing of Brown Health, to which the Newport Birthing Center is connected. We’ve also added… language that we think will make it harder to close the Newport Birthing Center, based on all the testimony we received about how important that facility is to people down there.
• As part of a continuing effort to address the state primary care provider shortage, the committee approved $5 million for startup costs for the proposed new medical school of the University Rhode Island.
• “We worked closely with the Senate in putting together a proposal that we think will be helpful,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “We will work to create the process of creating a medical school at URI. That is an investment of $5 million this year, plus $7 or $8 million in future years to eventually establish a medical school at URI, which we think will help alleviate some of the primary care challenges we face in accessing healthcare.”

Education

• The committee added more than $24 million to the governor’s proposal to fund direct state education aid fully.
• “That was done in several ways, first of all, by increasing the student success rate to 43%,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “That will help the most vulnerable students have the resources their cities and towns need to support education.”
• The City of Central Falls will also regain immediate control of its school district.
• “It is important to our smallest city, so we are returning the schools to Central Falls,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “Providence had their schools returned this year, and the Central Fall delegation and Mayor Rivera expressed an interest in getting their schools back, and we’re acting to support that.”
• “Question one will be a higher education bond that’ll be $275 million, including $165 million for the health building at URI,” said Speaker Blazejewski.
• The bond aims to improve higher education facilities and strengthen workforce preparedness. It includes $50 million for renovations to the Adams Library at Rhode Island College to accommodate a student success and career readiness center, and $60 million for a career and technical Workforce Innovation Center at the Warwick campus of the Community College of Rhode Island.
• Rhode Island College’s Hope Scholarship will also be extended an additional three years.
• “We have also included the governor’s enhanced proposal on special education,” said Speaker Blazejewski.

Taxes

• The committee included a proposal to institute a high-earner’s tax of 1% a year over three years for tax filers earning more than $1 million a year. The marginal tax rate takes effect gradually over three years as measures passed last year as part of President Trump’s H.R. 1 affect the state more acutely. This will also allow the state to collect information on its impacts.
• “We have done a millionaire’s tax at 1% per year over three years,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “It’s a three-year phase in. In year one, 2027, it will go up 1%. In year two, 2028, it’ll go up another 1%. Finally, in year three, 2029, it’ll go up another 1%. We did this for a lot of reasons. If you look at the impacts of H.R.1 on our budget, the out years are concerning, and we want to be sure that revenue comes online at the same time we see decreases in federal support. It’s always a balance to find the right mix for tax proposals, but we think this is a prudent way to increase revenue over time, phasing it in so it has less of a shock, more time to be absorbed, and comes online exactly when we lose federal revenue.”
• To support families, the committee included a new refundable child tax credit of $330 per child. This proposal will help families when combined with the current dependent exemption, which remains unchanged. Childcare eligibility will also be increased to 285% of the federal poverty level.
• “I want to thank the governor for including a proposal on the child tax credit. And I want to thank the Senate President, Senate staff, and the Senate Finance Committee for working to make some changes to that tax credit that we believe will cost a little more but provide even greater benefits to families in Rhode Island,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “We kept the tax credit as it exists and created a new tax credit- this was a proposal the Senate worked on - this new tax credit is fully refundable. The total cost in a full year is $46 million. For almost everyone, this is a benefit over the proposal in the governor’s budget. For some, it’s about breakeven, but especially for middle-income households, it is an improvement over the governor’s proposal.
• The committee also expanded eligibility for the Social Security income tax exemption by removing the age threshold, which is the same as the first year of the governor’s proposal.
• “We included the first year of the social security tax reduction that was in the current budget,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “I think it’s about $3.5 million. This component eliminates the minimum age requirement to qualify for a Social Security tax reduction. That was age 60. If you’re under 60 and you otherwise qualify, you will now get the same reduction as everyone else. Hopefully, we have a better budget next year, or at least, given some of the ways we structured things, we’re in a better position to take another look, and maybe we go further on the social security tax reduction.”

Government reform

• The budget includes Speaker Blazejewski’s proposal to create an independent Office of the Inspector General to investigate the state and quasi-public agencies, as well as municipal programs that use state funds, to prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.
• “The proposal of an Inspector General’s office is in the budget. We see this as necessary for a variety of reasons,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “The relationship with the federal government is changing. They are looking for any reason to cut or hold back resources that may be coming our way, and we need to make sure our programs are working. Also, in light of some high-profile state failures like the Washington Bridge, the Amtrak overpass, and the ERS payroll system, there have been major issues that have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. So we proposed establishing an Inspector General’s office to focus on that issue. I want to give credit to Chairman Shanley, Representative Lima, and Representative Nardone. I know that recently Republicans have worked on this issue, and I appreciate them continuing the conversation. It’s a bill I started working on in 2015, but they’ve really been driving the conversation lately, so I want to give them credit for their work on it.”
• The budget will require an audit of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (DOT) ’s efficiency and performance.
• “We intend to include an audit of DOT and their maintenance work. We have had too many high-profile failures, and we need to audit their maintenance program,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “Regarding government reform, we have removed the DOT director as the chair of RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority). Our DOT director will still be on the RIPTA board; we think it’s a conflict of interest. We need RIPTA to have its own chair, so they’ll elect a new chair who is not the DOT director.
• Statement from RIPTA Chief Executive Officer Christopher Durand Regarding State Budget

“On behalf of the over 800 employees who provide service to hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders every day, we express our gratitude to Governor McKee, Speaker Blazejewski, Senate President Lawson, and all members of the General Assembly for ensuring RIPTA’s FY 2027 budget gap is addressed.

“RIPTA has long fought for adequate and sustainable funding to maintain and improve service. We know that when transit service meets the needs of Rhode Islanders in getting them to work, school, and medical appointments, they utilize RIPTA. Our partnerships with Miriam Hospital, Electric Boat, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Amazon, and other employers support the state’s economy and help ensure prosperity for Rhode Island families. Our innovative services, such as Flex On Demand, will help increase ridership at a lower cost.

“When Rhode Island invests in public transit, it is investing in the success of students, residents, and businesses. We will continue to do everything in our power to improve service for our riders. We welcome a continued discussion with our elected leaders as we work together to move transit forward.”

Housing

• The committee included a $120 million housing and community development bond question on November’s ballot to support affordable housing construction and redevelopment and homeownership programs.

Transportation and public transit

• The proposal addresses the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s deficit by addressing the operating budget shortfall and providing additional funds for buses and bus shelter improvements.
• “The governor’s proposal, as to the two-cent gas tax, was not included in this proposal,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “What we did was restructure things to give RIPTA more funding than the governor’s proposal. It was done in a way that ultimately resulted in RIPTA receiving more resources than it otherwise would have under the governor’s proposal.”
• Steve Ahlquist: You mentioned that RIPTA has additional funding. Are they fully funded?

Speaker Blazejewski: They’re funded above the governor’s proposal. They’re better off than they were under the governor’s proposal. We have invested in RIPTA as a priority… I don’t know what the term “fully funded” means to you, but we hope to get there.

Steve Ahlquist: It means routes that have been cut are being fully restored.

Speaker Blazejewski: I don’t know if they can restore all of them. I don’t have those specific answers, Steve. My apologies.

• The budget also prohibits the director of the Department of Transportation from serving as the chair of its board of directors, as is currently the case, to address potential conflicts, since RIPTA and RIDOT often compete for funding from the same sources.
• “Regarding government reform, we have removed the DOT director as the chair of RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority),” said Speaker Blazejewski. “Our DOT director will still be on the RIPTA board; we just think it’s a conflict of interest. We need RIPTA to have its own chair, so they’ll elect a new chair who is not the DOT director.”

Environment

• The committee did not include the governor’s proposal to roll back energy efficiency programs or other measures that support the state’s efforts to reduce reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels. The state’s 2033 goal of fully utilizing renewable energy for electricity generation remains intact by expanding the state’s renewable energy standard to include nuclear and hydropower generation, which will bring down rates for consumers.
• “I want to thank the governor for starting the conversation on energy affordability issues in his budget,” said Majority Leader Katherine Kazarian. “He started this conversation, and the General Assembly took his ideas and ran with them. In this budget, we’ve included two major parts from his budget. First is addressing the immediate cost savings for the ratepayer by expanding the renewable energy standard to include hydro and nuclear energy. Ratepayers will see immediate savings by adding that to the definition. Second is the long-term savings for ratepayers by continuing to invest in renewable energy projects here in Rhode Island and supporting those programs.”
• “Because nuclear energy is not virtually pollution-free, inexhaustible, safe, nor efficient, nuclear power can not be considered truly clean, renewable energy. Nuclear energy carries many risks to human and environmental health by way of the pollution it generates, despite the fact that the pollutants resulting from nuclear energy are not of the planet-warming variety. Nuclear energy is not the best use of our resources when we have better, cleaner options available.” [See: Is Nuclear Energy Renewable? by Johanna Neumann and Caitlin Soch at EnvironmentAmerica]
• The proposed green bond has become greener by increasing the total bond amount to $55 million and adding funds for open space and increased support for climate resiliency measures.
• “Our caucus spoke over and over about making the green bond greener, and we’ve done that by moving things around to increase the resiliency,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “We took out an energy efficiency piece that received negative testimony and used those resources to go towards resiliency, and also open space, pharma acquisition land, and some facility improvements in the state. Additionally, we’ve included the creation of the state archives and state history center, as well as a preservation grant program, as an additional question.”

EPI Executive Director Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies’ statement on the Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budget from the Rhode Island House of Representatives:

“The Economic Progress Institute (EPI) applauds Speaker Blazejewski, Majority Leader Kazarian, House leadership, legislative champions, coalition partners, and advocates across Rhode Island for advancing a Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal that makes meaningful investments in Rhode Islanders while taking an historic step toward a fairer tax system.

“The proposed budget includes one of the most significant tax fairness victories in Rhode Island in decades: a surtax on taxable income above $1 million. At a time when working families continue to struggle with the rising cost of housing, child care, healthcare, and other necessities, House leadership has recognized that those who have benefited the most from Rhode Island’s economy can afford to contribute a little more to support the state’s future and make us a more competitive state. This proposal represents a major milestone in the long-standing effort to build a tax system that is more equitable, sustainable, and better able to meet the needs of Rhode Islanders.

“Just as importantly, House leadership rejected numerous proposals that would have dramatically reduced state revenues, including:

• The weakening or repeal of the estate tax;
• The repeal of the corporate minimum tax;
• The cutting of personal income tax rates;
• The creation of a 30-year tax credit incentive for the construction of data centers; and,
• An increase in the income threshold for exemption from taxation of social security income.

“Taken together, these proposals amounted to nearly half a billion dollars in annual revenue loss and would likely have resulted in severe cuts to many critical programs and services. We also applaud the inclusion, at a very modest cost, of the Governor’s proposal to remove the age restriction that has prevented low-income Rhode Islanders below full retirement age from using the tax exemption for Social Security income.

“This budget also makes important investments in children, families, and healthcare that help many more Rhode Islanders meet their basic needs and thrive. They include:

• Establishing a permanent refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) of $330 per child that would phase out at $88,500 for single-filers and $110,640 for joint-filers. The CTC will not replace the dependent exemption so that Rhode Island families can benefit from both tax credits;
• Strengthening Rhode Island Works cash assistance by allowing more child support payments to go to children, an increase from $50 to $100 for one child or $200 for two or more children;
• Strengthening the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) by increasing eligibility from 261 to 285 percent of the federal poverty level, and increasing the infant reimbursement rates for center-based child care providers by five percent;
• Extending the successful Child Care Assistance for Child Care Educators pilot program by two years;
• Bolstering healthcare by implementing the full Medicaid reimbursement rate increase recommended by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner;
• Helping to stabilize the healthcare system by allocating $26 million to hospitals for uncompensated care, as people lose health insurance due to H.R.,– $15 million more than the governor proposed;
• Providing $20 million to help Rhode Islanders purchase health insurance through HealthSourceRI by partially replacing federal Affordable Care Act subsidies that Congress allowed to expire;
• Allocating $1.6 million for the Newport Hospital Birthing Center to support continued operations;
• Allocating $377,000 from general revenue to secure the Maternal Infant & Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) matching federal funds, for a total of $10.9 million to sustain and strengthen family home visiting programs and other services;
• Sustaining the funding for the Pediatric Psychiatric Resource Network (PediPRN) and Moms Psychiatric Resource Networks (MomsPRN);
• Fully funding the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) by allocating additional funding from the Highway Maintenance Fund and adding $15 million for bus and bus shelter improvements; and,
• Decoupling Rhode Island state income taxation from the acceleration of R&D depreciation to save the state $22.6 million next year, as proposed by the Governor, and from two additional H.R.1 provisions that help high-income tax filers without benefiting the state economy – one of these, the Qualified Small Business Stock exclusion, applies only to C-Corps and mostly benefits millionaires. This will save an additional $1 million next year and more over the following years.

“While EPI does celebrate the budget’s inclusion of a millionaires surtax as a bold and valuable move, we have some concern that this proposal does not go far enough (falling short of the top one percent proposal) or quickly enough - phased in instead of the three percent surtax in Fiscal Year 2027 - to prepare the state for the impending loss of federal revenue. While much work remains, particularly as Rhode Island prepares for the possibility of devastating federal cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other essential programs, this budget demonstrates what is possible when policymakers choose investment over austerity and opportunity over scarcity.

“It is the result of years of advocacy, research, organizing, coalition-building, and leadership by Rhode Islanders and legislative champions who refused to accept that economic hardship and growing inequality were inevitable. We are especially grateful to the many legislative champions who demonstrated the courage and leadership necessary to advance bold solutions in the face of significant opposition.”

SteveAhlquist.news is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Emphasis on nut

How badly did China kick Trump's ass

Here's how China saw it:

Chinese researchers pick up climate research the US has abandoned

Scientists Just Confirmed What’s Driving Sea Level Rise And It’s Alarming

By Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Causes of global mean sea level rise since 1960. Credit: Zheng et al., Science Advances (2026)

Sea level rise is one of the most visible consequences of human-driven climate change. As the planet warms, oceans absorb heat and expand, while melting glaciers and giant ice sheets add increasing amounts of water to the seas. Scientists say the process is persistent, difficult to reverse, and likely to continue for centuries.

A new international study has now provided the clearest explanation yet for what has been driving global sea level rise over the past 60 years. The research also resolves a long-standing discrepancy that had left scientists unable to fully account for all observed ocean rise.

Sea Level Rise Is Accelerating Worldwide

The study, published in Science Advances and led by researchers in China, found that global sea levels have risen by an average of 2.06 millimeters per year since 1960. More concerning, the pace has accelerated sharply in recent decades, climbing to 3.94 millimeters per year between 2005 and 2023.

Researchers determined that ocean warming is the single largest contributor, responsible for 43% of total sea level rise since 1960. When seawater heats up, it expands and occupies more space, causing ocean levels to increase even without adding extra water.

New Research Shows Vitamin B12 May Hold the Key to Healthy Aging

 Vitamin B12 may shape metabolism and aging more than previously understood.

By Laura Reiley, Cornell University

Vitamin B12 is typically associated with red blood cells and nerve health, but new research from Cornell University suggests its influence reaches much deeper into how the body produces energy and maintains muscle.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, reveals previously unrecognized ways that B12 supports cellular metabolism. It also identifies early warning signals in the body that may detect nutritional strain long before classic deficiency symptoms appear.

Trump Aide Claims Americans ‘Spending More Money on Everything’ Shows They’re ‘Optimistic’ About Economy

Multiple consumer surveys have shown that Americans have never been more pessimistic

Brad Reed for Common Dreams

For the second time in a month, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Tuesday claimed that Americans spending more money on gasoline and other goods is a sign of strength for the US economy—rather than evidence of the Trump administration’s inflationary policy decisions.

During an interview with Fox Business, Hassett tried to counter recent data showing US consumer sentiment hitting all-time lows during Donald Trump’s second term.

“The thing that I’ve seen when I look at credit card data,” Hassett said, “is that while people have been spending more money at gas stations, they’ve been spending more money on everything else, which means that they’re still very, very optimistic about the state of the economy, and they should be.”

In fact, multiple consumer surveys have shown that Americans have never been more pessimistic about the state of the economy.

Last week, the University of Michigan’s latest Surveys of Consumers showed consumer sentiment hitting the lowest level ever, driven primarily by concerns about the cost of living.

Gallup last week published new data showing that Americans’ economic confidence has fallen to its lowest level since October 2022, with just 16% of Americans rating the economy as excellent or good, and nearly half describing it as poor.

"Everything checked out PERFECTLY!"

His Physical and Mental Decline Are Linked

Robert Reich

I do not wish Trump ill. While he hasn’t shown a shred of compassion for anyone other than himself, this doesn’t justify our lacking compassion for him.

It’s also in the interest of America and the world that he be physically and mentally able to discharge the duties of his office.

So we have reason to be concerned about Trump’s visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center early Tuesday for what the White House called a “routine annual dental and medical assessment.”

Trump turns 80 next month. I feel entitled to comment on the practical meaning of this milestone because I’ll also turn 80 next month (he was born 10 days before me).

Let’s just say that reaching it doesn’t mean altogether good things, unless you consider the alternative.

Even in a healthy person, small things begin to break down as one approaches 80. Everything takes just a bit more time and effort. Joints ache. Energy isn’t quite as abundant.

The 80-year-old mind isn’t as quick. The frontal lobe’s capacity to remember names goes to shit. (Yesterday, I could barely remember the name of a garage mechanic whom I’ve known for nearly half a century.)

Taken separately, such minor frailties are typically no more than a personal frustration, but they begin to mount up. In a president of the United States, they can pose a major challenge to the nation and world.

Trump frequently proclaims he’s in excellent health. “Just finished my 6 month physical at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. Everything checked out PERFECTLY,” he wrote on Truth Social early yesterday afternoon. “Thank you to the great Doctors and Staff! Heading back to the White House.”

But even “PERFECTLY” is a relative concept for someone ending his seventh decade and beginning his eighth, who’s the oldest person to assume the presidency and the second-oldest to hold the office. (Joe Biden was 82 when he left in 2025.)

Presidents aren’t legally required to release their medical records, but, given the effluvium of lies in which Trump permanently floats, we’d be excused if we didn’t entirely trust this PERFECTLY report.

Plus, there are his bruised hands, swollen ankles, bouts of drowsiness, exceedingly long blinks during official meetings (some call them “naps”), and erratic — if not off-the-charts weird — behavior.

Add in the frequency of his health “checkups.”

"Too distracting"

Satire from the Onion

June 3 protest in Wyoming

Richmond Takes Action on Climate Resilience

Climate change-driven storms threaten more than the coast

By Jonmaesha Beltran / ecoRI News staff

As climate-fueled disasters rise, municipalities are no longer asking if a catastrophe will strike but whether their communities will be prepared when it does. 

In Richmond, where a little more than 8,000 people live, Town Councilor Daniel Madnick is working to close gaps that recent wildfires and brushfires across the state revealed in the town’s environmental planning. 

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Madnick proposed creating an environmental resiliency commission to prepare the town for threats, including drought, flooding, hurricanes and wildfires, while monitoring its hazard mitigation plan.

“We don’t have a board or commission that their sole focus is to make sure that we are prepared for any environmental issues that come,” he said during a May 19 town council meeting. 

The proposal is modeled after the Charlestown Climate Resilience Commission, which was established in 2021 and worked with state Rep. Megan Cotter, D-Exeter, Hopkinton, and Richmond, on forest management and fire prevention.

Cotter, who serves on the Northeastern Forest Fire Prevention Commission, urged the commission to reach out to Charlestown landowners with five acres or more to connect them with resources and federal funding available for private land management.

A Medical School at URI would be a boon for South County

Much to gain, little to lose 

By Sen. Alana M. DiMario 

As South County residents, we know that as difficult as the primary care provider shortage is for folks across Rhode Island, it is worse down here. 

Ask any group of people from North Kingstown to New Shoreham and you’ll hear the same stories: physicians retiring or leaving the state with no one to take their patients at their clinic, leaving their patients bouncing from provider to provider, driving up to Providence or beyond for routine care or just giving up and going without a primary care provider. 

There is no single solution to this problem. Last year the General Assembly began the process of increasing primary care reimbursement rates and reduced prior authorization requirements to make Rhode Island more attractive to primary care providers, but it’s not enough to just hold onto the providers we have: we need a supply of new primary care providers to make up the gap. 

That is why the Senate launched a commission last year to study the feasibility and impact of starting a primary-care-focused medical school at the University of Rhode Island. I served on the commission and I believe that its conclusion that “a state medical school would provide transformative long-term benefits for the state’s healthcare system, economy and communities” goes double for South County. 

A medical school at URI would be a sustainable pipeline of homegrown doctors in our backyard that we sorely need. 

Forecasters Predict Below-Average Hurricane Season, Advise Against Complacency

Hurricane season begins today

By Amy Green

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Forecasters are calling for below-average activity this hurricane season, which begins Monday, June 1.

The National Weather Service is predicting eight to 14 named storms, including three to six hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes of category 3, 4 or 5 strength, packing winds of 111 mph or greater. By comparison, a typical season is characterized by 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. The season ends Nov. 30.

“It just takes one,” said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service. “Now is the time to start thinking about your hurricane preparedness.”

The forecasters based their predictions on an expected El Niño that is likely to develop during the season. An El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that begins with unusually warm waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and can affect weather patterns worldwide. 

Rhode Island needs to pass bills to codify the Voting Right Act into RI law

We are at Code Red for Democracy

On May 21st, 2026, the Rhode Island Voting Rights Act Campaign (RI VRA) hosted a lobby day at the State House to promote the Rhode Island Voting Rights Act (H8334/S3143) and its ten amendments. As group leaders in the campaign, and after experiencing actions and lobbying by over 100 people for the passage of the bill, we invite you to join the urgent Code Red for Democracy call.

As community leaders, we are calling on the Rhode Island General Assembly to pass the RI VRA and all 10 amendments before the session ends in June. There is extreme urgency.

Voting rights are being attacked across the country, both at the state and federal levels. The recent United States Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutted the federal Voting Rights Act. Action needs to be taken now. Rhode Islanders cannot afford to have their voting rights put at risk. The way to do this is to pass the Rhode Island Voting Rights Act and its ten amendments before the session ends, and implement the bill immediately upon passage.

“Standing inside the Rhode Island State House alongside Common Cause, The Womxn Project, the RI Coalition of Black Women, The Women’s Fund, Clean Water Action, and members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta sororities, lobbying for the codification of the Voting Rights Act into Rhode Island law, was a surreal and sobering moment — because sixty-one years ago, my grandparents already fought and won this battle,” says Shahidah Ali, the Political Action Committee Chair of the RI Coalition of Black Women.

Yet here we are again.