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Charted: America's ER waits Data: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Map: Jim Sergent/Axios Americans now spend an average of more than 2.5 hours in hospital emergency departments, Axios' Maya Goldman reports from new federal data. ⏲️ The average time spent in the emergency department was 162 minutes. D.C. had the highest average visit length — 303 minutes. North Dakota had the lowest, with 110 minutes. ‼️ An average of 2% of patients nationwide left the ER before being seen.

🗽 Stat du jour: NYC booms as tech hub Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios New York City is home to more tech workers than San Francisco for the first time in CBRE's annual industry report. New York is the top destination for people who received a tech-related bachelor's degree in 2023. 🍎 What's happening: The Big Apple's tech boom is driven in large part by finance's embrace of AI, CNBC reports. Worth noting: Though NYC leads SF in raw tech jobs, the Bay Area remains much more reliant on the industry overall. 10.7% of SF's workforce is in tech, compared to 4.2% of NYC's.

🇨🇦 Inflation fears point true north Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios The U.S.–Canada trade fight is shaping up to become an all-out trade war, threatening America's path to lower inflation, Axios' Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin write. What's going on: Neither side is backing down, with Canada expected to target politically sensitive U.S. sectors — like steel, dairy and agricultural equipment — with tariffs in the run-up to the midterms. Trade talks collapsed Friday night, triggering 50% U.S. tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, including wine, cement and dairy products. Canada's retaliation doesn't take effect until Sept. 8, leaving time for an off-ramp. But for now, neither side sounds interested in restarting talks. The big picture: Economists had growing confidence that the inflation hit from Trump's tariffs was largely in the past. The new Canada tariffs — and any further tit-for-tat actions — threaten to revive those pressures just as the Iran war's energy shock pushes prices higher.

🛂 Mass visa crackdown Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Anna Moneymaker and Win McNamee/Getty Images The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreign nationals who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the U.S., AP's Matthew Lee reports. Why it matters: If carried out, the move would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in American history — and would likely face legal challenges. The big picture: The move would target asylum seekers on B1 or B2 visas that the administration argues were used as a pretext to enter the country. B1 visas are generally issued for business trips, and B2 visas are generally issued for tourism, family visits or medical care. Current applicants for the visas are asked to affirm that they won't apply for asylum and prove that they intend to return to their home countries. What's next: The revocations won't necessarily result in immediate deportation, administration officials told AP. Most with pending asylum cases would be recategorized but would lose their status as business or tourism travelers. Keep reading.

🗳️ Mail-in maelstrom Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The Supreme Court cleared the way yesterday for President Trump to implement parts of an executive order restricting mail-in ballots. Why it matters: The decision could complicate the midterms, putting election officials on a tight deadline to comply with potential changes, Axios' Josephine Walker and Avery Lotz write. Catch up quick: Trump's order, issued in March, directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of citizens eligible to vote and, separately, the U.S. Postal Service to craft rules restricting ballots to those on state-submitted lists of eligible voters. A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general challenged it, arguing that states administer elections under the Constitution. 🏛️ SCOTUS didn't decide whether Trump's order was legal, instead finding that states lacked standing to challenge the executive order because it was an "internal directive" that didn't harm the states that sued. The ruling was 6-3, with the three liberal justices dissenting. What's next: The USPS is still blocked from implementing its rule changes for now due to a nationwide injunction in a separate case earlier this month. The ruling ... The potential impact.

Trump's D-Day becomes a waiting game Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Getty Images President Trump's "economic D-Day" for Iran came and went yesterday with little of the shock or awe it promised, amounting instead to yet another extended ultimatum, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: Operation Economic Outcast will unfold not like the Allied invasion of Normandy, but as a sweeping, slow-burn sanctions campaign that could eventually lock Iran's foreign enablers out of the U.S. financial system. Zoom in: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent kicked off the operation by blacklisting more than 60 Iran-linked targets and widening the reach of secondary sanctions. "Every country has a defined timeline to shut down activities we have identified," he said. Bessent declined to name specific countries or deadlines, saying the administration preferred "quiet diplomacy" before resorting to "the hammer of U.S. Treasury actions." "Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" he told reporters when pressed on the gradual rollout, saying countries deserve a chance to change their behavior. 🇨🇳 Between the lines: The real test will be China, which accounts for roughly 90% of Iran's exported oil and remains one of the regime's most important economic lifelines. If Trump follows through on his threats, secondary sanctions could force Chinese banks, refiners and shippers to choose between Iran and access to dollars, U.S. banks and markets. The intrigue: Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit the White House on Sept. 24, giving Trump another reason to think twice before risking a new confrontation with the world's second-largest economy.

> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq -0.8%) as the US warns of global sanctions against Iran (More) > FTC settles Zillow and Redfin antitrust case after alleging Zillow paid Redfin $100M to curb competition (More) | California cancels Paramount settlement talks over $111B Warner Bros. merger, alleging Paramount leaked discussions (More) > Taiwanese prosecutors charge nine people, including staffers from Nvidia and Super Micro, over alleged illegal export of AI servers to China (More)

> New smartphone app Mobilio helps people with blindness or low vision navigate faster and avoid obstacles; early testing suggests it can rival a human guide (More, w/video demo) > Language skills appear to stay resilient with age, new brain imaging study shows; the language network seems to remain nearly unchanged in older adults even as other cognitive systems decline (More) > A 20-minute workout may protect memory after a sleepless night as well as a 90-minute nap; new study suggests both preserve cognitive function through different brain pathways (More) | How much deep sleep should you get per night? (More)

From Trash to Treat Researchers have 3D-printed high-protein cookies from crop waste and recycled plastic (w/video). The cookies, dubbed µBites, are part of a NASA-funded project aimed at feeding astronauts on long-duration missions. The team used water, heat, pressure, and oxygen in a 32-step process to break down polyethylene terephthalate, the main component in single-use water bottles. The resulting carbon-rich liquid was combined with yeast engineered to consume it. As the yeast fed, it converted the carbon into proteins, fats, and other nutrients (how yeast works). Researchers combined these nutrients with sweetener, fiber, and starch to create a paste, which they then printed into cookies. Humans are awaiting institutional approval to try the cookies, but the prototypes reportedly smell good. Experts say the technology could also help divert plastic waste while meeting global food demand, which is projected to increase by up to 56% by 2050 with population growth. All the plastic water bottles purchased from 2009 to 2019 would tower over New York’s Manhattan Island (scroll for visuals).

Reno Fire Spreads A fast-spreading wildfire near Reno, Nevada, has injured at least seven people, destroyed more than 30 homes, and burned about 23 square miles of land as of this writing. Officials have called on roughly 63,000 people to evacuate their homes. The Hawk Fire began Saturday near Hawk Meadow Trail, northwest of the city (how do dispatchers name wildfires?). Officials said Sunday the fire was human-caused but did not share additional details. The fire quickly spread, aided by dry vegetation and fast winds, with gusts predicted to reach 25 miles per hour today. The winds can change direction quickly and carry fires to new locations, making the fires especially difficult to contain. Dry thunderstorms risk fueling the spread further. Unlike many other states, Nevada is at especially high risk for wildfires due not only to its dry climate but also to its prevalence of non-native, invasive grasses, including cheatgrass and medusahead (w/videos). Listen to a fire historian explain the phenomenon via "1440 Explores."

Tehran Trade Squeeze The Trump administration expanded secondary sanctions against Iran yesterday, threatening penalties against foreign countries and companies that do business with Tehran. The move could restrict their access to the US financial system. The Treasury also sanctioned nearly 60 people, entities, and vessels that it says are tied to Iran's nuclear and missile programs, oil trade, and cyber operations. The measures add pressure to an economy already strained by previous sanctions and a US naval blockade. The rial hit a record low yesterday, with $1 buying roughly 2.02 million rials, while the IMF projects Iran's economy will shrink more than 5% this year. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not specify which countries could face secondary sanctions, but China, Turkey, and the UAE are Iran's largest trading partners (see full list). China buys roughly 80% to 90% of Iran's oil exports. Iranian oil reaches China via intermediaries and ship-to-ship transfers that can obscure its origin. Independent refineries, known as "teapots," are among its major buyers.

I just heard that! Pretty sad, she was a really beautiful person! She will be missed by many!!

I posted many things about Dolly Parton in the obituaries section. It got me thinking. We are different than most people. To me the purpose of this life, is to serve God and go to heaven. By serving Him, I mean following His instruction book, living a life of love with the focus on God and His principles. Children have been important to me, even though I started later in life. Their salvation, and my teaching to them have been important. Evangelism has been a big part of my life. But most people don't feel the way I do.

I think this helps understand her life.

Her donation funded the critical early stages of development of the Moderna vaccine.[270] In March 2021, Parton was vaccinated against COVID-19 at Vanderbilt University. She labeled social media accounts of the occasion "Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine."[271] Parton strongly encouraged everyone to get vaccinated when eligible and performed a song celebrating her vaccination, set to the tune of her song "Jolene".[272][273][274]

She was the 4th of 12 children. Yet she had no children of her own. Parton was diagnosed with endometriosis and had a partial hysterectomy in her 30s, which affected her ability to have children, however she was married at 20, so we may never know what happened there. Seems sad, she was married to the same man for her whole life, a rare thing for an American celebrity, yet had no children. She was raised in the Church of God, but did not seem to have any affiliation as an adult.

American popular singer, and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, known to the world as a beloved singer, songwriter, philanthropist, actress, playwright, and author died peacefully today in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80. Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942 – 2025). It is a shock to me. 80 does not seem that old. But she was not an Adventist. Adventist's do live longer.

People who donate blood in Sweden are sent a text message each time their blood saves a life. James

Is Social Security running out? The SSA projects Social Security trust fund reserves may be depleted by 2034, with Old-Age and Survivors Insurance running out as early as late 2032. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-does-the-us-spend-on-social-security-is-it-sustainable/? How many civilian jobs are in the US federal government? There are about 2.69 million civilian jobs in the federal government as of June 2026. Federal jobs include all jobs ranging from janitors to air traffic controllers to nurses to postal workers and more. (Enlisted service people are considered government employees but aren’t included in this figure because they’re not civilians.) Out of the 159 million nonfarm jobs in the US, 1.7% are in the federal government, the nation’s largest employer. Another way to look at it: The federal government is responsible for 1 in every 60 jobs. https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-civilian-jobs-are-in-the-us-federal-government/country/united-states/? One last fact In 2024, Hawaii had the lowest rate of gun-related deaths nationwide: 3.7 deaths per 100,000 people. Mississippi had the highest rate: 28 per 100,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that complex factors, including poverty, racial or ethnic inequities, and other socioeconomic conditions, influence differences in gun-related death rates between states.

Insufficient Data View in browser One of the few issues that unites voters and politicians of both parties right now is data centers. Three-quarters of Americans would oppose a data center being built near where they live, according to a new poll released last week by Heatmap Pro and Embold Research. The two leading lights of the left, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, have sponsored a bill in Congress to create a temporary moratorium on new centers. They have an unlikely ally in archconservative Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, who said yesterday on ABC’s This Week that data-center companies “basically dug their own grave” and “got the backlash they deserve.” Standing against this consensus is Donald Trump. The president remains a big booster of data centers. “Communities that don’t take a data center—they’re making a mistake,” he said Thursday during an interview with his on-again, off-again lackey Michael Cohen. “Data centers throw off tremendous amounts of jobs and money.” This was no one-off. Trump had made several similar comments recently. “If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center, I would absolutely want it, because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous,” Trump said last week—although he allowed that the sector could use “a little public-relations help.” This puts Trump, the most successful demagogue in American political history, in the unusual position of misreading, and opposing, a populist groundswell. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump took many stands that were unpopular among establishment politicians. Some of these positions put him at odds not only with Democrats but also with most Republican elected officials. Trump broke with Republicans in claiming that he would protect social-welfare programs such as Medicare and Social Security, and he broke a bipartisan consensus by attacking free-trade agreements and promising protectionism. On these matters (as well as on his willingness to encourage and participate in gutter racism), Trump demonstrated that a big constituency existed for views that other politicians had deemed electoral liabilities. Data centers’ political arc has been different. Initially, many officials seemed to back the centers, following exactly Trump’s logic: They offered jobs and tax benefits. But as public opinion turned—driven by a mix of backlash to AI in general, environmental concerns, worries about energy prices, and old-fashioned NIMBYism—politicians changed their view as well. Why has Trump missed the shift? Presumably one reason is that he is surrounded by advisers and tech executives such as David Sacks and Larry Ellison, who are major boosters of and players in the industry. Tech companies invested heavily in Trump at the start of his second administration, lavishing him with gifts, including a gold-plated bauble and donations to projects such as his inauguration and his ballroom, and Trump has reciprocated by taking policy stances that benefit them. Trump may also be personally profiting from the AI boom; his financial disclosures show he’s become more of a tech investor. Trump has always tended to adopt the latest thing he’s heard, no matter what it is. He has been willing to alienate corporate interests in the past—when he saw some political upside. But he is not hearing from voters who might alert him to how unpopular data centers are. Trump’s rallies and speeches once created a feedback loop in which he conveyed his message to voters and—crucially—they conveyed their thoughts to him. Now, as his energy sinks, his travel schedule gets lighter, and security makes events more challenging, Trump is getting out less. Though his stump speeches dragged on for hours, Trump was carefully attuned to audience attention and what did and didn’t work. “You know, if it gets a little boring, if I see people starting to sort of, maybe thinking about leaving, I can sort of tell the audience, I just say, ‘We will build the wall!’ and they go nuts,” he told The New York Times in 2016. I think often about a speech Trump delivered in July 2022. It was billed as the launch of a new policy agenda, but as he read it, both Trump and his audience seemed bored. Then he ad-libbed a riff about trans athletes and the crowd came alive. Trump picked up on the shift and emphasized it; trans issues would become a central talking point for his 2024 campaign. The president has always been susceptible to fake news and bad at filtering information, but rallies provided a gut check about his base, if not about the broader national reality. Now Trump isn’t even receiving that kind of information. One of his major conduits for information is Natalie Harp, a sycophantic aide who isn’t interested in exposing Trump to criticism. He could read public-opinion data, but as his own approval sinks, he has taken to saying (and may well believe) that polls are fake. As his world shrinks, Trump’s populist touch has faded. Despite being elected twice on an antiwar platform, he’s launched attacks on Venezuela and Iran. As the Iran war has gotten bogged down, he’s been incapable of reading the public mood. He has dismissed voter frustration over rising fuel costs, saying “I don’t even think about” gas; he previously called affordability a “hoax.” In response to reports that American sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln were struggling with a long deployment, Trump said they hadn’t been deployed “nearly long enough.” And the collapse of trade talks with Canada on Friday threaten Republican prospects in border states including Michigan and Ohio. Each of these cases represents a growing gap between Trump and his base, but none is as ironic as Trump’s stance on data centers. The AI facilities store terabytes of data, but the president can’t get access to the information about them that he needs. Related: The bubble-wrapped president Trump’s 2024 soft launch (From 2022)

Canada set to announce retaliatory tariffs as Trump tells its leaders to ‘fall in line’ TORONTO (AP) — Canada will announce retaliatory tariffs against the United States on Tuesday after relations deteriorated sharply Monday, with President Donald Trump telling Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs and Prime Minister Mark Carney accusing Washington of trying to subordinate Canada. https://apnews.com/article/canada-trade-trump-ontario-53c4f83c8365c14b372b314396ae8179?

Armed men ambush patrol in South Sudan and kill 2 UN peacekeepers Two United Nations peacekeepers were killed on Monday when armed men ambushed a patrol traveling to a remote area of South Sudan, according to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Read More.

Congo's Ebola outbreak records one of its highest weekly death tolls yet More than 300 people died of Ebola in eastern Congo in the past week, one of the highest weekly tolls yet, government data showed Monday, as health workers struggle to catch up with an outbreak that is spreading at unprecedented speed. Read More.

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in South Carolina’s special U.S. Senate primary runoff South Carolina Republicans will return to the polls Tuesday for the fourth time since June to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on the fall general election ballot. Read More. AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Georgia’s special congressional runoff Residents of Georgia’s 13th Congressional District outside of Atlanta will get a new representative to Congress after a special election runoff Tuesday to replace the late Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died April 22. Read More. AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Oklahoma’s state primary runoff Oklahoma Republicans will return to the polls Tuesday to settle an expensive nomination fight for governor, while Democrats will pick a nominee for U.S. Senate. Voters will also decide two statewide ballot measures, including one that would add a voter identification requirement to the state constitution. Read More. MAGA Inc. spends $827,000 to back Darline Graham on final day of South Carolina GOP Senate runoff The final day of South Carolina's Republican U.S. Senate runoff campaign on Monday came with a major cash infusion for Sen. Darline Graham from MAGA Inc., the super PAC that supports President Donald Trump and aligned Republicans but has spent little thus far on the president's midterm candidate picks. Read More.

Iran warns of a harsh response as US announces new sanctions and other Middle East news Iran warned that new U.S. sanctions on Tehran announced Monday would not bring peace to the region. Meanwhile, Israeli and Syrian officials met less than a week after Israeli strikes in Syria. And Israel said it killed a Hamas commander in Gaza. Read More.