Latest news with #Vermont
New York Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump's Crucial Decision on Iran
To the Editor: Re 'Iranians Strike Israeli Hospital As U.S. Buys Time' (front page, June 20): President Trump is confronting a daunting test of judgment and resolve in what could well be the signature policy decision of his presidency and beyond — whether to join Israel and halt Iran's nuclear program by force. Good-faith diplomacy followed by American military involvement only if necessary seems at this juncture to be an effective strategy and could also stand the best chance to gain crucial domestic and international support. Whatever route President Trump pursues, he needs to make his case directly to Congress and the American people, many of whom have deep and legitimate concerns about how he defines his presidency. His transactional governing style, the dubious qualifications of some of his advisers and his record of missed deadlines for policy initiatives — all have raised questions about his strategic decision-making ability. Mr. Trump has not been tested as a potential wartime president. Hopefully, despite real and perceived shortcomings, he is now positioning to act with both resolve and caution, serving the best interests of the American people at large and the goal of Mideast stability, while surpassing expectations. Roger HirschbergSouth Burlington, Vt. To the Editor: Re 'Trump Seeks Surrender by Iran as He Considers Attack on Nuclear Site,' by David E. Sanger and Jonathan Swan (news analysis, front page, June 18): President Trump, who is considering an attack on Iran's nuclear site, Fordo, owes it to the American public and the principles of representative democracy to bring this issue to Congress for a vote. A military strike on a sovereign nation's nuclear facilities in the absence of a declaration of war is an action that could have major economic and geopolitical repercussions for the U.S. and its citizenry. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
National Post
a day ago
- Politics
- National Post
Burlington Vermont is renaming a street in Canada's honour (for a while)
Article content The City of Burlington, Vt., has announced it will rename one of its central avenues from Church Street to Canada Street, from now until Labour Day (or Labor Day as it's known there). Article content The name change was presented by a group of city councillors at their June 16 meeting, led by Councillor Becca Brown McKnight, who wore a maple leaf shirt and handed out Canadian flags to the other councillors. Article content Article content Article content 'We have been fed up with Donald Trump's damaging and insulting rhetoric towards Canada,' Brown McKnight told CTV News this week. 'Renaming a street is something quick and easy for us to do, but also sends a message that we are in this fight with you.' Article content Article content Church Street, named after the First Unitarian Universalist Church that sits at its north end, is a pedestrian-only retail hub of downtown Burlington and home to its popular Church Street Marketplace. Article content Vermont's most populous city at 45,000, Burlington is less than 100 kms from the Quebec border by car, and is in one of two states where French is the second most common language spoken after English, the other being Louisiana. So it has also offered Rue de Canada as the French-language name for the street. Back in 2011, Burlington's city council also voted to add French to its local signage, though the move was a recommendation rather than a law. Article content The new resolution passed unanimously, although one councillor expressed frustration with 'performative' actions and said she hopes there will be further actions taken to support tourism and local businesses. Burlington city council says that more than 15 per cent of its summer tourism dollars typically come from Canadian visitors. However, visits by Canadians to the U.S. have fallen off since Donald Trump's tariff threats and talk of annexation. Article content Article content In the 1960s, the city joined with Burlington, Ont., to found the Burlington International Games, which eventually expanded to include Burlington, Iowa, and some non-Burlington cities, before ceasing in 2010 due to limited participation.
Medscape
a day ago
- Health
- Medscape
Senator, Medical Groups Request Inquiry Into ACIP Firings
Senator Bernie Sanders is calling for a congressional inquiry into the mass firing of all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The Independent from Vermont issued his demand in a letter to Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican colleague and chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), which confirmed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, as Health and Human Services secretary. 'Secretary Kennedy's reckless decision to fire these nonpartisan scientific experts and replace them with ideologues with limited expertise and a history of undermining vaccines will not only endanger the lives of Americans of all ages, it directly contradicts a commitment he made to you before he was confirmed that he would not make any significant changes to this important Committee,' wrote Sanders. Before voting to confirm Kennedy, Cassidy said in a Senate floor speech that the nominee had promised to work 'within the current vaccine safety and monitoring systems.' Cassidy added that Kennedy promised that if he was confirmed, the nominee said he would 'maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes.' As reported by Medscape Medical News , Kennedy fired the ACIP panel members on June 9, claiming that all had conflicts of interest. Even Cassidy expressed alarm after the firings, stating on X, 'now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.' But Cassidy claimed that he would keep talking to Kennedy 'to ensure this is not the case.' Sanders has requested an immediate investigation into the firings and asked the Senate Committee on HELP to 'conduct serious oversight into the actions Secretary Kennedy has taken to mislead the American people about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and erode public health.' The ACIP firings drew widespread condemnation from public health advocates and medical organizations. Many of those same organizations banded together to pass an emergency resolution at the American Medical Association's annual meeting in June that also backed a Senate investigation and called on Kennedy to reverse the firings. Kennedy also reportedly removed most of the ACIP staff, including Melinda Wharton, MD, MPH. Wharton joined the CDC in 1986 and became director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases in December 2013. She was replaced by the director of scheduling and advance in the CDC director's office, but there is still no acting CDC director. That new official now is under the direction of a political appointee, The Washington Post reported. Another CDC official, Fiona Havers, MD, who oversaw COVID data collection on the Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network team, also resigned in the wake of the firings, as reported by Medscape Medical News . Earlier in June, after Kennedy unilaterally changed the ACIP immunization schedule to remove guidance for COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women and move to shared decision-making for healthy children, a top CDC leader in the COVID field, Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, MD, resigned. Panagiotakopoulos had been at the agency for almost a decade. Speaking out publicly, the former ACIP panelists wrote in JAMA , 'We are deeply concerned that these destabilizing decisions, made without clear rationale, may roll back the achievements of US immunization policy, impact people's access to lifesaving vaccines, and ultimately put US families at risk of dangerous and preventable illnesses.'
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
‘Fed up with Trump rhetoric': U.S. city renames street to honour Canada
Burlington, Vermont city councillor Becca Brown McKnight says the city wanted to show support and stand beside Canada in spirit. A popular pedestrian-only street in downtown Burlington, Vt., will temporarily be known as 'Canada Street' this summer, in a symbolic move city councillors say is meant to show solidarity with Canada amid growing political and economic tensions. The Burlington City Council voted unanimously this week to rename Church Street, the downtown retail hub, to Canada Street, or Rue du Canada in French, until Labour Day. Councillors cited concerns about strained U.S.-Canada relations, declining tourism and frustrations with the U.S. government's stance toward its northern neighbour. 'We have been fed up with Donald Trump's damaging and insulting rhetoric towards Canada,' said Burlington Ward 6 Councillor Becca Brown McKnight, who led the initiative, in an interview with CTV News Channel Wednesday. 'Renaming a street is something quick and easy for us to do, but also sends a message that we are in this fight with you,' she said, adding they're committed to maintaining their long-standing historic relationship with Canadians. According to McKnight, Burlington typically sees more than 750,000 Canadian tourists each year — more than its own population — and cross-border visits have dropped between 30 to 40 per cent compared to last year. She says the street in question generates roughly 15 per cent of its annual retail revenue from Canadian visitors. 'Businesses are seeing a decline. We're hearing from our Canadian friends that they're afraid to cross the border. This is our way of saying: we see you, we're with you,' McKnight said. The city will spend about US$3,000 on signage and Canada-themed celebrations, but no permanent changes are planned. Meanwhile, some Canadian cities are weighing symbolic gestures of their own. Mississauga, Ont. removed all American flags from several public locations in March, ordering oversized Canadian flags to be installed on all flagpoles at City Hall. The city council in New Westminster, B.C. also voted to take down the American flag inside the Queen's Park Arena in May. In Ottawa, calls have resurfaced to rename Trump Avenue in the Central Park neighbourhood. The street was originally named in the 1990s after Donald Trump's real estate empire, long before his U.S. presidency.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Burlington, Vermont renames street to ‘Canada Street' to show solidarity
Watch Burlington, Vermont city councillor Becca Brown McKnight says the city wanted to show support and stand beside Canada in spirit.
