“New Yorkers have proved they want climate justice, and any official who ignores us has no business being in public office.”

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. (Flickr/New York State Assembly Majority)

It is no secret that, on the federal level, 2025 has been a disastrous year for climate legislation. President Donald Trump’s re-entrance into the White House came with the demolition of key climate legislation, the promise of new fossil fuel infrastructure, and a practically complete destruction of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

But state legislation is just as essential in combating the climate crisis as federal legislation, and in the wake of a terrifying and incompetent administration in Washington, New Yorkers from across the state have united to demand that our leaders rise to the occasion and continue pushing climate justice forward.

However, last month marked a tragic end to a legislative session ruled by climate inaction, incompetence, and cowardice, orchestrated primarily by New York State Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie. 

The Package Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, a bill that would tax companies for excess packaging and require them to reduce their overall packaging by 30 percent over the next 12 years, received unprecedented public support this year, being the most lobbied piece of legislation in March and April.

However, in an obscene act of pandering to giant corporations such as Coca Cola, which publicly opposed the bill, Mr. Heastie refused to even bring it to a vote. The Assembly receives hundreds of bills each session and so, out of necessity, only brings to a vote the ones that seem like they will pass. However, the huge show of support for the Package Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which had 80 co-sponders, more than half of the entire Assembly (and assuming they all vote yes, enough to pass the bill) should qualify it for a vote.

In response to the outrage that followed, Mr. Heastie declared that, “Contrary to popular belief, I am the most accurate counter of votes.” The speaker has a history of opposition against climate legislation, having in the past prevented other popular bills such as the New York HEAT Act from being passed. 

For decades New Yorkers from all across the state have demanded our government take immediate and swift action to combat the climate crisis. We have demanded it through enormous marches, thousands of people strong, through forming hundreds of activist groups and coalitions, and through lobbying non-stop in Albany. The apathy and, in some cases, outright condescension that our state’s leaders have given in response is nothing short of outrageous. 

We must never forget that, above all else, politicians are public servants. It is their job to enact the will of their citizens. New Yorkers have proved they want climate justice, and any official who ignores us has no business being in public office.

Asher Cohen is a recent high school graduate and a member of 350 Brooklyn, a local environmental organization.

The post Opinion: Albany’s Climate Inaction appeared first on City Limits.

Swollen legs led to President Donald Trump being diagnosed with what’s called chronic venous insufficiency. It’s a fairly common condition among older adults but requires a thorough checkup to rule out more serious causes of swelling in the legs. Here are some things to know.

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What is chronic venous insufficiency?

Chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, happens when veins in the legs can’t properly carry blood back to the heart. That can lead to blood pooling in the lower legs. In addition to swelling, usually around the feet and ankles, symptoms can include legs that are achy, heavy feeling or tingly, and varicose veins. Severe cases could trigger leg sores known as ulcers.

What causes chronic venous insufficiency?

Overcoming gravity to pump blood from the feet all the way up to the heart is a challenge, especially when someone is standing or sitting for long periods. So legs veins are lined with one-way valves that keep blood from sliding backward on that journey. Anything that damages those valves can lead to chronic venous insufficiency. Risk factors can include blood clots, vein inflammation known as phlebitis or being overweight.

How is chronic venous insufficiency diagnosed and treated?

Doctors must rule out serious causes of leg swelling, such as heart problems, kidney disease or blood clots. Ultrasound exams of the leg veins can help confirm chronic venous insufficiency. According to the Cleveland Clinic, treatment can include wearing compression stockings, elevating the legs and achieving a healthy weight. Also exercise, especially walking, is recommended — because strong leg muscles can squeeze veins in a way that helps them pump blood. Medications and medical procedures are available for more advanced cases.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured Alcatraz Island in California on Thursday to advance a proposal to reopen the former federal prison.

Bondi and Burgum left the island after discussing the facilities with park police and directing staff to collaborate on planning to rehabilitate and reopen the facility without making public remarks. But in an exclusive Fox News interview Burgum posted on social media, he said “Alcatraz is the brand known around the world for being effective at housing people that are in incarceration.”

“This is something that we’re here to take a look at,” Burgum continued. “It’s a federal property, its original use was a prison, and so part of this would be to test the feasibility about returning it back to its original use.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi, center left, arrives at Fort Baker after visiting Alcatraz Island, Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Sausalito, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

In May, President Trump proposed converting Alcatraz — now one of San Francisco’s most visited tourist attractions — back into a high-security federal prison for violent offenders. Alcatraz island is currently part of a national park under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. If reopened as a prison, the facility itself would be operated by the Bureau of Prisons, which is under the Department of Justice.

The tour drew immediate condemnation from Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker who represents San Francisco, who revealed it in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

“With stiff competition, the planned announcement to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary is the Trump Administration’s stupidest initiative yet,” Pelosi said in a statement.

Burgum also posted on social media about the trip that he: “Spent the day on Alcatraz Island… to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals.”

Bondi posted on social media as well: “A great morning at Alcatraz… Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again.”

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Trump is checked for lower leg swelling, diagnosed with a common condition in older adults

But reopening the island would be a major undertaking. It remains unclear how the federal government would reclaim the island, which has operated as a park and museum since the early 1970s. The National Park Service currently maintains the site, which draws more than a million visitors each year. Removing the island’s national park status would require a vote of Congress.

Even if the plan passes the numerous bureaucratic hurdles and regulations before it, construction on the rocky island could be prohibitively expensive.

Pelosi framed the visit as a “diversionary tactic” to draw attention away from his recently passed tax and domestic policy bill that would expand tax cuts while also adding more than $3 trillion to the national debt.

There’s another story that the Trump administration may also be trying to get away from: this week, Bondi has faced scrutiny over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Frustration has mounted amongst Trump supporters as well as critics over the administration’s failure to release documents tied to the investigation of Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking and later found dead in his jail cell in 2019.

Earlier this month, Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social that he had seen renderings of a new site.

“We’re going to look into renovating and rebuilding the famous ALCATRAZ Prison sitting high on the Bay, surrounded by sharks. What a symbol it is, and will be!”

In a statement posted to social media Thursday morning, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said that there was no “realistic plan for Alcatraz to host anyone other than visitors.”

“If the federal government has billions of dollars to spend in San Francisco, we could use that funding to keep our streets safe and clean and help our economy recover,” he continued.

Democratic Rep. Kevin Mullin, whose district includes California’s San Mateo County, said Trump’s “administration cares more about sensational headlines than fiscal responsibility.”

“Not only is this proposal infeasible and illegal, it would be extremely costly and irresponsible considering he just tacked on another $4 trillion to our nation’s debt,” Mullin said, adding that “the only person that needs to be locked up in Alcatraz is Trump.”

Local officials and historians have questioned the practical and symbolic implications of converting the island back into a penitentiary. Alcatraz housed some of America’s most notorious criminals during its 29 years of operation, including Al Capone.

“It’s nowhere near a functioning island by any means,” said San Francisco historian John Martini previously told The Mercury News.

The main prison has been deteriorating for years, save for some seismic upgrades that made it safe for visitors. Back in 1962, the Bureau of Prisons weighed making upgrades to the prison, but it would have cost $5 million — or $52 million today.

“The reason it is not a prison now is because of the daunting challenges from six decades ago,” Martini said. “The idea that we’re going to forget all that and pick up where we left off during the JFK administration — let’s just say there will be a lot of challenges.”

“Bring in the clowns” is a great motto for a circus but a bad one for a political party. I know because I was there when the Republican Party and conservative journalists started inviting in the Trumpy clowns in 2009 at the conservative Washington Times. We all know the result is they took over the Republican Party.

Now that the MAGA wing of the Republican Party is tearing itself apart over Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision not to release the Epstein sex trafficking files, Democrats are jumping into the debate with both feet, hoping to divide Republicans and put themselves on the right side of the conspiracy theorists who think there are earthshaking revelations hidden in the FBI archives.

So far:

— The Democratic National Committee launched a bot to spread the word. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff launched an attack from the campaign trail calling the Trump administration decision a “broken promise.”

— Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, posted, “Why are the Epstein files still hidden? Who are the rich & powerful being protected? On Tuesday, I’m introducing an amendment to force a vote demanding the FULL Epstein files be released to the public.”

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, wrote “Wow, who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?”

The Democrats are fueling the fires of conspiracy in an attempt to undermine the Trump administration’s decision to tell the apparent truth about the Epstein files. Now that the Trump administration is angering its wackiest fringe. Democrats are welcoming the red-nosed fools with open arms.

It is the same dangerous move that conservatives and Republicans made when they embraced Donald Trump’s false allegations that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and thus ineligible to be president.

At The Washington Times, where I was a senior editor in the opinion section, I watched as my news colleagues covered every factual development that raised any question about the issue, no matter how preposterous, quoting the most extreme Republican conspiracy theorists with a straight face. In the opinion section, we used any excuse to mention Kenya and Obama in the same sentence no matter how ridiculous while telling ourselves that by staying just barely on the side of factual accuracy, we were just having fun with the issue to torture our political opponents.

In the copy I was responsible for, mostly outside commentary, I never did it, but I didn’t make an issue of it when others played along. I probably wouldn’t have won a fight over it, but I didn’t try. I regret my role, no matter how minor, in fueling Trump’s early rise to Republican dominance. I didn’t invite the clowns, but I didn’t try to push them out either.

If Democrats keep going down this road, lending their credibility and amplification to wacko conspiracy theorists on the right, they’ll regret building the forces who are destroying our political culture.

This won’t be the last opportunity for Democrats and their progressive media allies to score political points by doing the wrong thing when hard realities force the Trump administration to abandon its endorsement of fringe thinking.

Trump and his administration have made common cause with the purveyors of a number of dubious conspiracy theories, including that Ukraine invited the war with Russia, that the 2020 election was stolen and that vaccines cause disease. As the Trump administration unfolds, reality is going to force Trump to begin to reckon with the facts, and in some cases he might choose to tell the truth, as Bondi did on Epstein.

It is already happening with Ukraine, as Trump is allowing more American weapons to get to Ukraine’s defenders. It might not be too long before Russia’s behavior forces Trump to abandon his embrace of Russia’s Vladimir Putin altogether.

Just this past weekend, Trump tried to use the administration’s investigation of the 2020 election as a shield against its Epstein detractors, saying that uncovering 2020 wrongdoing was a much bigger deal than sex trafficking. Since there was no such corruption, the Trump Justice Department is going to have a hard time coming up with indictments to make their case. Eventually, the true believers will notice.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is going to have to make his case that vaccines are a health threat and take action to end their use. Reality is likely to intervene, forcing the Trump administration to back off that stance.

Democrats should cheer Trump administration steps to move closer to reality and tell Americans the truth, not embrace the clowns to score political points. Given how conservatives and Republicans have acted in the past, I don’t have high hopes that the left will do any better.

David Mastio writes for The Kansas City Star. A former deputy editorial page editor for the liberal USA TODAY and the conservative Washington Times, he has worked in opinion journalism as a commentary editor, editorial writer and columnist for 30 years. He was also a speechwriter for the George W. Bush administration.