The national polls have tightened somewhat - Clinton's 10% advantage in the wake of the DNC convention has halved. That's not surprising as there was always going to be a short-term bounce and a 5% advantage is pretty handy.
Clinton, however, has expanded her lead in battleground states over that same period and that's far more important than the national vote. Next Monday is Labor Day in the US and is widely regarded as the point at which the vote becomes hard to shift.
I still think the Zika Virus will become a major issue. It seems to be an ideal topic to raise at the first debate at the end of September. You'd hope that the moderators won't allow Trump to get away with saying he'll kill all the mosquitos on day 1 in his presidency. No doubt Hillary won't let him off that easily.
The Zika story is like a sci-fi horror show. The bad news keeps on coming. Scientists now believe it stays in semen for 6 months. Infected mosquitos pass the virus on in the eggs they lay, so wiping out adults doesn't stop an epidemic. Testing on rats has shown that it can damage adult brains by attacking a type of brain cell which grows into neurons. If this occurs also in humans, it may damage memory and learning in a similar way to Alzheimer's. The link to Guillain-Barré Syndrome grows stronger. Damage to foetuses and babies leads to a much wider array of conditions than microcephaly, from destruction of brain matter to scarred retinas and optic nerves and restrictions in mobility. It also seems that it can cause disabilities in babies after apparently healthy births.
Scientists have now found the Zika Virus in 3 populations of mosquitos in Florida. As scientists believe that tests currently produce a significant percentage of false negatives, they believe the virus is widespread now.
Florida is a battleground State and the concern of Floridians can be deduced from the stridency of Marco Rubio on the issue. Ordinarily, Republicans aren't supportive of Federal intervention in health matters but Rubio has called on Congress to reconvene as a matter of urgency to throw money at this problem.
Hillary is well-placed to lead on this issue. Increasing the Federal health budget rather than throwing money at finding and deporting undocumented immigrants and pouring billions into a border wall is right up her alley. It also brings to the fore the good work that Planned Parenthood does for women given that Congressional Republicans hope to tie increased funding for the fight against Zika to sidelining Planned Parenthood. To date, Trump has been happy to say it's a State issue. Will continuing down that line cost him Florida?
Clinton, however, has expanded her lead in battleground states over that same period and that's far more important than the national vote. Next Monday is Labor Day in the US and is widely regarded as the point at which the vote becomes hard to shift.
I still think the Zika Virus will become a major issue. It seems to be an ideal topic to raise at the first debate at the end of September. You'd hope that the moderators won't allow Trump to get away with saying he'll kill all the mosquitos on day 1 in his presidency. No doubt Hillary won't let him off that easily.
The Zika story is like a sci-fi horror show. The bad news keeps on coming. Scientists now believe it stays in semen for 6 months. Infected mosquitos pass the virus on in the eggs they lay, so wiping out adults doesn't stop an epidemic. Testing on rats has shown that it can damage adult brains by attacking a type of brain cell which grows into neurons. If this occurs also in humans, it may damage memory and learning in a similar way to Alzheimer's. The link to Guillain-Barré Syndrome grows stronger. Damage to foetuses and babies leads to a much wider array of conditions than microcephaly, from destruction of brain matter to scarred retinas and optic nerves and restrictions in mobility. It also seems that it can cause disabilities in babies after apparently healthy births.
Scientists have now found the Zika Virus in 3 populations of mosquitos in Florida. As scientists believe that tests currently produce a significant percentage of false negatives, they believe the virus is widespread now.
Florida is a battleground State and the concern of Floridians can be deduced from the stridency of Marco Rubio on the issue. Ordinarily, Republicans aren't supportive of Federal intervention in health matters but Rubio has called on Congress to reconvene as a matter of urgency to throw money at this problem.
Hillary is well-placed to lead on this issue. Increasing the Federal health budget rather than throwing money at finding and deporting undocumented immigrants and pouring billions into a border wall is right up her alley. It also brings to the fore the good work that Planned Parenthood does for women given that Congressional Republicans hope to tie increased funding for the fight against Zika to sidelining Planned Parenthood. To date, Trump has been happy to say it's a State issue. Will continuing down that line cost him Florida?