‘Eye-opening, to say the least’: Lack of House continuity plan vexes Modernization panel

WASHINGTON — The second apparent attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life in as many months has brought renewed focus on the threat of political violence and its potential impact on American institutions. And again, Rep. Derek Kilmer is sounding the alarm: The House is not prepared.

“In this role, I often ask my constituents, ‘What keeps you up at night?’” the Washington Democrat said Wednesday at a hearing of the House Administration Modernization Subcommittee. “One that certainly keeps me up at night is political violence and Congress’ vulnerability to it.”

Kilmer, who is not seeking reelection, is referring specifically to a mass casualty event that could render the House nonfunctional.

While the Senate allows vacancies to be filled by appointment on an interim basis, the Constitution requires open House seats to be filled via special election, which can take months. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a law was enacted requiring states to hold special elections within 49 days of a mass casualty event that leaves more than 100 House vacancies.

—CQ-Roll Call

Chicago school board votes unanimously to pass 5-year strategic plan aiming to create more ‘equitable’ district

CHICAGO — The Chicago Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to pass a new, five-year strategic plan to address what the district calls “long-standing issues of equity” and “opportunity gaps” in the city’s public schools.

The 47-page document outlines the district’s priorities and investments through 2029. It includes Mayor Brandon’s Johnson’s — and the district’s — promise to put more resources into neighborhood schools and “underinvested” communities, particularly on the South and West sides.

It does not mention plans to shutter any of the district’s selective enrollment, magnet or charter schools to which students must apply and gain admittance through a competitive process.

The fate of the district’s selective enrollment schools has been murky since the school board announced its intention last year to focus on neighborhood schools as it developed the five-year plan.

—Chicago Tribune

Wildfire smoke increases risk of mental illness in children, new study finds

DENVER — Each day a child breathes wildfire smoke thick with ash and fine soot that child’s likelihood of experiencing anxiety and depression and other mental health problems increases, according to new scientific research on air pollution and childhood development.

The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, looked at the impact of wildfire smoke when it hangs in the air for days and how it impacts the mental health of youth in late childhood and early adolescent development stages. What the researchers found was the risk went up the longer a child was exposed to the fine particulate matter found in wildfire smoke.

And as climate change makes wildfires more extreme and more frequent, that is not good for the nation’s young people, said Harry Smolker, a research scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Institute of Cognitive Science and one of the authors of the report.

“The Clean Air Act reduced average levels of air pollution, but due to climate change we see larger and more frequent wildfires. These are the biggest sources of these extreme fine particulate matter exposure days. As we see a hotter drier world and wildfires become stronger, this issue is only going to become more prevalent,” Smolker said.

—The Denver Post

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo denies supplying exploding pagers in Lebanon

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Taiwanese company denied responsibility for the making and distribution of a batch of exploding pagers branded with its name that killed at least nine people and wounded thousands more in Lebanon Tuesday.

According to media reports citing Lebanese and American officials, Hezbollah ordered more than 3,000 electronic pagers from Gold Apollo, a manufacturer of wireless communication devices based in New Taipei City. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for tampering with the pagers and causing them to explode.

The company's founder Hsu Ching-Kuang told reporters Wednesday that the pagers were made by BAC Consulting, a Budapest-based company that licenses Gold Apollo's logo and branding. The company said it had no involvement in the design or manufacturing of the product.

Hsu said during a press conference that irregularities in BAC's wire transfers to Gold Apollo had raised concerns. He provided no further details and defended the decision to license to BAC.

—Los Angeles Times