Key Facts

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Our constituents are breathing the consequences of this failure right now, and they deserve better than to be told, again, that it will be handled,” the Michigan lawmakers said in their letter.

HOW TO STAY SAFE FROM WILDFIRE SMOKE

Those in states with extreme air quality warnings are being cautioned to limit outdoor activity and, in states with very unhealthy and hazardous warnings, to stay inside altogether with windows closed. Doctors advise anyone with heart or lung disease to stay indoors, and other groups to take precautions. For people who work outside, health officials have recommended wearing an N95 mask, which can filter at least 95% of airborne particles.

WHY IS WIldFIRE SMOKE SO DANGEROUS?

Smoke from wildfires is made of water vapor, pollutants and particulate matter, which can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, trigger systemic inflammation, exacerbate conditions like asthma and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Smoke also contains a mix of harmful gases, most notably carbon monoxide. Wildfire smoke has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular health problems, with children and teenagers, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with pre-existing heart or lung conditions at a particular risk.

SHOULD PEOPLE IN WILDFIRE SMOKE STATES WEAR A MASK?

When the Air Quality Index rises to unhealthy levels, masks are recommended for people who must spend time outside. Respirator masks worn correctly may provide some protection against fine particles in the smoke, but they do not help with hazardous gases. Staying inside is considered the safest option, but those who must go outside can mitigate some risk by wearing a mask. N95 or P100 respirators are considered the most effective.

Key background

Scientists say climate change is creating hotter, drier conditions and longer fire seasons, increasing the likelihood of large, intense wildfires across North America. NASA says human-caused warming is driving more frequent and severe wildfire conditions in many regions, and that extreme wildfire activity has more than doubled worldwide over the past two decades. Research shows fire seasons in some areas are now more than a month longer than they were 35 years ago, and those larger fires also produce more smoke, allowing hazardous air pollution to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles and affect millions of people far from the flames.

BIG NUMBER

$394 billion to $893 billion. That’s the annual cost of wildfires in the United States each year, according to the Joint Economic Committee, including direct and indirect deaths and injuries, health impacts from wildfire smoke, income loss, watershed pollution and other factors.

further reading

ForbesEntire States Under Air Quality Alerts As Wildfire Smoke Spreads—Here’s Where It Could Go NextBy Mary Whitfill RoeloffsForbesGlobal Air Quality Declines As Wildfires Surge Across ContinentsBy Jamie Hailstone

After Medicaid officials improperly shared data about millions of people in January with immigration officials, ICE then shared that data with the data analytics firm Palantir, according to new court filings. Palantir operates an app called ELITE that is used by ICE agents to show the addresses of noncitizens who may be subject to deportation.

That revelation was made public in a motion filed Thursday by more than 20 Democratic attorneys general who sued the Trump administration last year over its data-sharing agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and ICE.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in California ruled in December that health officials could share with ICE certain details from Medicaid data about immigrants without lawful status from the states that had sued, such as home addresses, dates of birth and immigration status.

Chhabria, who was appointed by former President Obama, then temporarily paused data sharing between CMS and ICE for immigration enforcement purposes in late May after federal officials admitted CMS had shared data with ICE in January that went beyond what the court order allowed. One dataset of refugees in Minnesota included U.S. citizens, and another that was transferred on Jan. 7 contained data of millions of people, including those in the country legally.

ICE was supposed to delete the improperly shared data. Chhabria set a hearing for August to further clarify his order and clear up ambiguity regarding which categories of noncitizens’ data could be lawfully shared with ICE.

But in recent days, federal officials have admitted to additional instances of improper data sharing.

In a court filing last week, the Justice Department said that CMS again inadvertently reshared with ICE the dataset with millions of names that CMS had first improperly shared with ICE in January. The government said the error occurred during an effort to share data from states not involved in the lawsuit.