What do older voters want in the next election? Care for caregivers | The Excerpt

On Saturday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN Health Reporter Karen Weintraub discusses the challenges caregivers face, and how they might be reflected at the ballot box. Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' case has been dismissed by a judge over 'suppressed' evidence. Paste BN Election Reporting Fellow Sam Woodward tells us about Paste BN's (virtual) backstage pass to the Republican National Convention. AT&T says nearly all of its cell customers' call and text records were exposed in a massive breach. 40% of cancers were found to be preventable with lifestyle changes, according to new research. The Euros and Copa America wrap up Sunday.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Saturday, July 13th, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, what older Americans and caregivers want as voters. Plus, a charge against Alec Baldwin in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has been dismissed. And we look at new research about preventable cancer.

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Older Americans are often caregivers and they vote. I spoke with Paste BN Health reporter, Karen Weintraub, to learn more about what older Americans want out of this election.

Karen, thanks for hopping on.

Karen Weintraub:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So Karen, what does polling and data tell us about older Americans and caregivers and what they really want out of this election?

Karen Weintraub:

Yeah. So a large number of people, especially people over 50, but also younger people, care for other people in their lives. So their parents, their children, their grandchildren. And they vote. People over 50 are much more likely to vote than younger people. They're more committed to voting. Something like 90% of people in these polls that AARP did in swing states said that they were going to vote, and that there was no doubt in their mind that they were going to vote. So, whereas other people vacillate a little bit or, "Yeah, maybe, I think." The over 50 are really committed to voting.

Taylor Wilson:

You spoke with several caregivers. Would just tell us a bit about Sandy Haas, her story as a caregiver and how she lands politically around some of these issues?

Karen Weintraub:

Sure. So she is more than a foot shorter than her husband, who was a police officer; big guy, used to being strong and tough. And now he's substantially disabled. He uses a wheelchair and needs help transferring from that wheelchair into his bed and needs help showering, needs help with the tasks of daily living, and because she's so much smaller than he is, she has a lot of trouble physically helping him do that. He's 73, she's 68. She has osteoporosis and a tremor in her hands.

And so, while she's helping him, if he falls on her, she's very likely to break a bone. And she's not so stable herself, and she doesn't really have any help. Their sons, one works nights, one lives 45 minutes away. She is a former nurse. She still teaches nursing, so she can afford a little bit of help. Somebody comes in once a week to help him shower. She wishes she could help him bathe more than once a week, but that's all she can afford right now.

Taylor Wilson:

And Karen, a researcher who helped conduct AARP polls about caregivers said there's a big hole that was left behind after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Can you help us understand what he means by that?

Karen Weintraub:

Yeah. So the ACA doesn't cover nursing home care and it doesn't always cover at-home care. Some states will allow family caregivers. If I took care of my aging parents, for instance, I could get paid as a caregiver, as their caregiver in some states but not others. And so I spoke to another woman who said she would happily stay home and care for her mother if she could get paid for that, but because, I believe she lives in Nevada, she has to pay somebody to come into the house because she can't get paid for that work. It's a scattershot across the country and there's really not much help for a lot of people.

Taylor Wilson:

How important is the issue of Social Security among older Americans this election? And also, what are some of the other issues caregivers are focused on?

Karen Weintraub:

A lot of people of all ages are very concerned about Social Security going away. Interestingly, it doesn't always match up with who they say they're supporting. So, the Democrats have been very clear that they're fully supportive of maintaining Social Security the way it is, even though it is financially a little bit unstable, whereas the Republicans and Trump have been less clear in their support of Social Security. Older people say absolutely got to keep Social Security, not up for discussion at all. A large, large percentage of people say that. And yet, also a large percentage of people, particularly in the 50 to 65 age range, support Trump. He's winning in that group at the moment in polling. So people aren't always consistent on that. The over 85s go for Biden, but younger people in the over 50 group tend to side with Trump at the moment.

Taylor Wilson:

And beyond Social Security, are there any other issues that caregivers are really honing in on in particular this election cycle?

Karen Weintraub:

Medicare, same thing. People want their Medicare to be there. Drug prices, it's a huge issue for a lot of people. Biden has worked to lower prices of some drugs, but there's still a huge cost for a lot of people. And medication, medical costs are still the leading cause of bankruptcy in America.

Taylor Wilson:

Karen Weintraub covers health for Paste BN. Thanks for the insight, Karen. Appreciate it.

Karen Weintraub:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

The involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has been dismissed on the grounds that prosecutors and law enforcement withheld evidence that might be favorable to the actor's defense. The conclusion of the case comes more than two years after Baldwin's prop gun discharged during a rehearsal for the movie Rust, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. A judge dismissed the charge yesterday afternoon with prejudice, meaning prosecutors cannot refile the same claim. Baldwin sobbed into his hands as the judge read out the order. Baldwin's lawyers alleged in their motion to dismiss the case that sheriffs and state prosecutors in New Mexico concealed from Baldwin evidence that could be linked to the source of the bullet that killed Hutchins. Prosecutors and sheriffs argued that evidence had no relevance or value to Baldwin's case.

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The Republican National Convention kicks off on Monday in Milwaukee, and we have you covered at Paste BN with a text thread called Your Vote, offering a virtual backstage pass. I spoke with Paste BN Election Reporting Fellow, Sam Woodward, to learn more.

Sam, thanks for hopping on The Excerpt today.

Sam Woodward:

Happy to be here, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So Sam, let's just start here. Tell us about this SMS campaign called Your Vote.

Sam Woodward:

Your Vote is Paste BN's texting thread on all things elections where subscribers get news and insights from our team of journalists sent directly to your messaging apps.

Taylor Wilson:

And why did you all decide to go this route for this year's convention?

Sam Woodward:

We understand that it's really easy to feel overwhelmed or even numb to news, especially during an election cycle. So we wanted to hold a space where our readers could interact with us, cut through the noise of partisan ads and see what it's like to be in the room where the news is being made. Conventions are a really unique aspect of the American Party system, and they also take a while. So for a week's worth of news, we wanted to make it accessible to our audience and give you a backstage pass to everything you might miss at home.

Taylor Wilson:

And so, how can people sign up?

Sam Woodward:

If you have time to doom scroll on your phone, you definitely have time to sign up. All you have to do is text us at (301) 888-6791 and you'll be prompted to confirm your subscription.

Taylor Wilson:

So Sam, people can send questions in and you yourself will respond with direct answers. I'm excited for this. How exactly will this work, and what sorts of messages can folks expect?

Sam Woodward:

Yeah, that's right. I'll be on the other side of your screen, reading all of your questions. It kind of works the same way it would if you were texting your resident politically-savvy friend. You send a message to our number and I can either answer directly to you, or if it's a question I think others would be interested in hearing the answer, I can send a text message to everyone. And don't worry, it's not a nationwide group chat, so only I can see your response.

Taylor Wilson:

So as you said, Sam, this is kind of a peek behind the curtain. You'll be there on location. What aspect of the convention are you most looking forward to or interested in covering this coming week?

Sam Woodward:

This is my first convention, so I'd be lying if I said everything wasn't exciting to me. But something I'm really excited to do is talk with the actual delegates who will be casting their votes. For the most part, they're real Republican voters, not party insiders or politicians. So I'm really interested in hearing their perspective on not only the convention, but also the state of politics as a whole.

Taylor Wilson:

So exciting. So, can we expect a similar thing, this kind of SMS campaign next month when the Democrats meet?

Sam Woodward:

Absolutely. Your vote will be guiding subscribers through the rest of the election season, including the Democratic National Convention in August.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Sam Woodward is an election reporting fellow with Paste BN. Exciting stuff. Thank you, Sam.

Sam Woodward:

Thanks, Taylor.

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Taylor Wilson:

AT&T said yesterday that the call and text message records of nearly all of its cellular customers were exposed in a massive breach. The telecommunications giant said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it learned in April that customer data was illegally downloaded from their workspace on a third party cloud platform. According to the company, the compromised data included files containing AT&T records of calls and texts of nearly all of its cellular customers, customers of mobile virtual network operators using AT&T's wireless network, as well as AT&T landline customers who interacted with those cellular numbers between May 1st, 2022 and October 31st, 2022.

The company said data does not contain the content of calls or texts, personal information like Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information. The company, though, says that while the compromised data also does not include customer names, there are often ways using publicly available online tools to find the name associated with a specific phone number.

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There's new evidence of the health benefits of avoiding smoking, excessive drinking, and being dangerously overweight. They're the leading preventable causes of cancer in adults, a new study found. An American Cancer Society study published this week estimates 40% of new cancer cases and 44% of cancer deaths in people 30 and over could be avoided if people cut out high-risk behaviors like smoking and drinking. Experts say the study brings fresh evidence for public health leaders to encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyles to reduce the risk of cancer, and ample evidence that people should take action to prevent it. The causes of cancer the study said were preventable included cigarette smoking as the top risk factor, followed by excess body weight and alcohol consumption. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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It's a huge weekend of soccer as the Euros and Copa America wrap up tomorrow with their respective finals. First up, Spain will take on England at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. The English are looking for their first European title ever, while Spain last won it in 2012. And stateside, the Copa America final will take place tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern in Miami as Argentina take on Colombia. Argentina are defending Copa America, and World Cup champions, while Colombia are looking for their first title since 2001. You can follow along with Paste BN Sports.

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And New York will be experiencing its final Manhattan Henge of the year this weekend. The phenomenon occurs when the setting sun aligns exactly with the Manhattan street grid, creating a unique glow of light. There was a full event yesterday evening and another partial Manhattan Henge will be visible tonight just after 8:00 PM Eastern. You can see pictures on usatoday.com.

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We followed the spread of misinformation on our podcast for years. What if there's a way to build up immunity against it? My co-host, Dana Taylor, spoke with Sander van der Linden about pre-bunking rather than debunking and how it's more effective for combating disinformation. You can hear this conversation right here on this feed tomorrow after 5:00 AM Eastern Time.

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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, back Monday with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.