Friday Politics Roundup | Trump indictments; UPS Teamsters deal; AAUP joins AFT; era of global boiling; electric car infrastructure; CBSD sweetheart deal; Pennridge secrets; Barbie; Sinéad O’Connor

New indictments against Trump announced. The ditch keeps getting deeper. 

UPS Teamsters announced a “historic” contract win a week before what could have been one of the largest strikes in American history. The details of the contract will be the proof to that claim. Since the announcement some UPS Teamsters are saying the unions 180,000 part-time workers may not get as good of a deal as suggested. 

In what could prove to be a sign that higher education faculty are willing to step up and fight to a greater degree, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) voted to affiliate with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The alliance will be the largest union of higher education faculty - about 300,000 strong. 

Following new scientific data from the World Meteorological Organization on this summer’s record heat, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, proclaimed that the era of global warming has ended and the “era of global boiling has arrived.” 

It’s been so hot in Arizona that the state’s famous Saguaro cacti are literally collapsing. 

Ocean temperatures of over 100 degrees in waters around Florida could be a global record. 

Something else that climate change is giving us to worry about. More Americans are developing a rare meat allergy - Alpha-gal syndrome - which is linked to bites from the lone star tick. New data from the CDC find a steep increase in cases of alpha-gal. Alpha-gale can give you  “stomach cramps, diarrhea, hives, and shortness of breath that could trigger fatal anaphylaxis,” according to the BBC. 

GM and other major automakers announce they will build 30,000 electric vehicle chargers to help build out the electric vehicle charging network. 

While Republican politicians and media personalities make is seem as though all parents are up in arms about their public schools, about 80% of parents responding to a new Gallup poll say they are somewhat or completely satisfied with their child’s school. That confirms what a string of other polls conducted during the pandemic have shown. There’s a gap between the political propaganda and real schools. 

And Mitch McConnell suffers a medical incident in the middle of a press conference. The party line is that “he’s fine” but no information about what actually happened has been released. 

Central Bucks school board votes to give their superintendent, Dr. Abram Lucabauh, an $86,000 raise and a new 5 year contract after he joined with the board's new right-wing board to enact book bans, anti-LGBTQ politics, and more. He will now be one of highest paid public school administrators in PA.

Pennridge School District board members are enraged over “secret” curriculum meetings between Vermillion Education’s Jordan Adams and select members of the board. Christening Batycki, a member of the curriculum committee, found out “by happenstance” that Jordan Blomgren and Megan Banis-Clemens were meeting secretly with Adams to discuss the direction of the curriculum. 

Barbie breaks box office records as the right-wing loses it’s collective mind (again). 

Sinéad O’Connor dies at age 56. Morrissey writes a passionate tribute to her and condemns the music industry for their treatment of her.