Biden Proposes New Rule to Protect 36 Million Workers From Extreme Heat

As Hurricane Beryl advances, Susan Naishadham at the Associated Press reports on the Biden Administration’s five-step plan to address extreme weather across the U.S. One step is a new proposed rule that would require employers to identify heat hazards and develop an emergency plan and training for heat illnesses or face significant penalties under OSHA. Approximately 2,300 people died in the U.S. from heat-related issues in 2023. PRRI research finds that 35% of Americans agree that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in the biblical “end of times”.

July 1 Laws Taking Effect in States Across the Country

NPR highlights new state laws now in effect across the country. California 21+ establishments are now required to provide drug testing kits for free or minimal costs and Kansas abortion providers are supposed to begin asking individuals their reason for deciding to choose an abortion. In Georgia, those convicted of calling in false alarms to homes or businesses now face a felony criminal charge instead of a misdemeanor and Tennessee now bans unauthorized uses of performers’ voices to protect the music industry against AI. PRRI research finds that less than two in ten Americans say they have contacted an elected official (18%) or attended a community meeting such as a school board or city council meeting (15%) in the past 12 months.

A Global Snapshot of LGBTQ Rights and Setbacks, 55 Years After Stonewall

Cameron Pugh at The Christian Science Monitor examines the current global landscape of support for LGBTQ rights to mark the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Since 1980, 56 countries have seen an increase in LGBTQ+ acceptance, surpassing the declines observed in other countries during the same period according to a new UCLA School of Law report. However, as the report author and PRRI Public Fellow Andrew Flores, Ph.D., explains, “Social change and policy change around LGBTQI rights is not a one-way ratchet.” In Iraq, same-sex relations and gender transition surgery are now punishable with jail time and a Ugandan law imposes the death penalty in cases of “aggravated homosexuality,” as of last spring.

Video-Gaming Teenager To Become First Catholic Millennial Saint as Pope and Cardinals Approve Canonization

Christopher Lamb for CNN reports that the Catholic Church approved Carlo Acutis’ cause for canonization earlier this week. Acutis has had two miracles attributed to him, which are required to become a saint, and he is known for spreading awareness about Catholicism online and displaying the possibility of “holiness” in modernity. Many Catholics hope that Acutis can continue to be popularized in young Catholic circles as a way to connect the digital age with the church. The official canonization ceremony will most likely take place in 2025. PRRI research findsthat the median age of American white Catholics is 54, significantly higher than the average age of all Americans (47).