Trump-endorsed candidates do well in primaries - June 16, 2022

A heat wave spanning the Midwest and South pushed temperatures into the 90s in conditions that meteorologists warned could be dangerous or deadly for some people. Texas’s power demand hit a record high as residents blasted air conditioners, eliciting concern over the vulnerability of the state’s grid system. The soaring temperatures compound the severe weather hitting the U.S. – flooding in Yellowstone forced thousands to evacuate and more than 30 wildfires have recently burned one million acres across five states. More than half of Americans are dipping into their savings, borrowing money or going into debt in order to cover their expenses, new data revealed. Consumers are facing rising costs across all categories, from everyday goods to groceries and gas. Credit card debt is back to record levels, reversing the pandemic-era trend of boosting savings with help of federal stimulus checks. More consumers are also letting their credit card debt revolve and banks have reported credit card holders are taking more time to pay down debt. Republican candidates, specifically Trump-endorsed candidates and candidates who claim the 2020 election was fraudulent, did well in this week’s primary elections. Most notably, the result in Texas’s 34th special election flipped the seat from blue to red in a win for the GOP. Republican outside groups spent more than three times as much on the race in Texas than Democratic groups, frustrating Democratic candidates over what they deemed a lack of support from their party. Google came under fire for boasting it does not accept advertisements for firearms ahead of an analysis that found its ad systems served up more than 100 million ads from gun makers. Between March and June of this year, 15 of the largest firearms sellers in the U.S. used Google’s systems to place ads that generated over 120 million impressions. Gun presence in GOP ads and social media has also become more prevalent. The nation’s largest gun safety group recently launched an advertising campaign that targets Repub