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In a remarkable rebuke of Republican leadership, the House passed legislation Thursday that would extend expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act as 17 renegade GOP lawmakers joined every Democrat in support.The tally, 230-196, signified growing political concern over Americans’ health care costs. Forcing the issue to a vote came about after a handful of Republicans signed on to a so-called “discharge petition” to unlock debate, bypassing objections from House Speaker Mike Johnson. The bill now goes to the Senate, where pressure is building for a bipartisan compromise.Together, the rare political coalitions are rushing to resolve the standoff over the enhanced tax credits that were put in place during the COVID-19 crisis but expired late last year after no agreement was reached during the government shutdown.“The affordability crisis is not a ‘hoax,’ it is very real despite what Donald Trump has had to say,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, invoking the president’s remarks.“Democrats made clear before the government was shut down that we were in this affordability fight until we win this affordability fight,” he said. “Today we have an opportunity to take a meaningful step forward.”Ahead of voting, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill, which would provide a three-year extension of the subsidy, would increase the nation’s deficit by about $80.6 billion over the decade. At the same time, it would increase the number of people with health insurance by 100,000 this year, 3 million in 2027, 4 million in 2028 and 1.1 million in 2029, the CBO said. Growing support for extending ACA subsidies Johnson, R-La., worked for months to prevent this situation. His office argued Thursday that the federal health care funding from the COVID-19 era is rife with fraud and urged a no vote.On the floor, Republicans also argued that the lawmakers should be focused on lowering health insurance costs for the broader population, not just those enrolled in ACA plans.“Only 7% of the population relies on Obamacare marketplace plans. This chamber should be about helping 100% of Americans,” said Rep. Jason Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.While the momentum from the vote shows the growing support for the tax breaks that have helped some 22 million Americans have access to health insurance, the Senate would be under no requirement to take up the House bill and has already rejected it once before.Instead, a small group of senators from both parties has been working on an alternative plan that could find support in both chambers and become law. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that for any plan to find support in his chamber, it will need to have income limits to ensure that the financial aid is focused on those who most need the help. He and other Republicans also want to ensure that beneficiaries would have to at least pay a nominal amount for their coverage.Finally, Thune said there would need to be some expansion of health savings accounts, which allow people to save money and withdraw it tax-free as long as the money is spent on qualified medical expenses.GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, a leader in the group of about a dozen senators, said they hope to deliver a framework next week. He and others met with House colleagues on options.Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who is part of the negotiations, said there is agreement on addressing fraud in health care.“We recognize that we have millions of people in this country who are going to lose are losing, have lost their health insurance because they can’t afford the premiums,” Shaheen said. “And so we’re trying to see if we can’t get to some agreement that’s going to help, and the sooner we can do that, the better.”Trump has pushed Republicans to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can bypass the federal government and handle insurance on their own. Democrats largely reject this idea as insufficient for covering the high costs of health care. Republicans go around their leaders The action by Republicans to force a vote has been an affront to Johnson and his leadership team, who essentially lost control of what comes to the House floor as the Republican lawmakers joined Democrats for the workaround.After last year’s government shutdown failed to resolve the issue, Johnson had discussed allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on another health care bill that would temporarily extend the subsidies while also adding changes.But after days of discussions, Johnson and the GOP leadership sided with the more conservative wing, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up ACA, which they consider a failed government program. He offered a modest proposal of health care reforms that was approved, but has stalled.It was then that rank-and-file lawmakers took matters into their own hands, as many of their constituents faced soaring health insurance premiums beginning this month.Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, all from Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler of New York, signed the Democrats’ petition, pushing it to the magic number of 218 needed to force a House vote. All four represent key swing districts whose races will help determine which party takes charge of the House next year.Jeffries said in a celebratory press conference afterward that Thune should bring the Democratic bill to the Senate floor for an immediate vote. Trump encourages GOP to take on health care issue What started as a long shot effort by Democrats to offer a discharge petition has become a political vindication of the Democrats’ government shutdown strategy as they fought to preserve the health care funds.Democrats are making clear that the higher health insurance costs many Americans are facing will be a political centerpiece of their efforts to retake the majority in the House and Senate in the fall elections.Trump, during a lengthy speech this week to House GOP lawmakers, encouraged his party to take control of the health care debate an issue that has stymied Republicans since he tried, and failed, to repeal Obamacare during his first term. Associated Press writers Matt Brown and Steven Sloan contributed to this report. Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking, Associated Press
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The worlds oceans once again hit a record high temperature in 2025, storing more heat than during any previous year since modern recording began. That heat is so extreme that its calculated in zettajoules, a measurement equal to one sextillion joules. In 2025 alone, ocean heat increased 23 zettajoulesor 23,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules of energy. That figure is daunting to understand. For comparison, the Hiroshima atomic bomb Little Boy exploded with an energy of about 63,000,000,000,000 joules. That means in 2025, the amount of heat the oceans absorbed is equivalent to more than 365 million atomic bombsor, as thermal sciences professor John Abraham says, like 12 Hiroshima bombs being detonated each second, for every minute, hour, and day for the entire year. Put another way, 23 zettajoules is about the same as 37 years of global primary energy consumption (based on 2023 figures). Its more than 200 times the entire global use of electricity. ‘Global warming is really ocean warming’ The figure on ocean warming comes from a new analysis published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, conducted by more than 50 scientists from 31 global research institutions. Ocean heat is important to pay attention to because its a barometer for climate change. The ocean acts as a heat sink for our emissions. When humans emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, those gases trap heat on our planet. But the ocean actually absorbs the majority of that heatmore than 90%. Since the vast majority of global warming heat ends up in the oceans, I like to say global warming really is ocean warming, says Abraham, who helped conduct the analysis. Rising ocean heat also drives climate impacts, like rising sea levels. Warmer oceans also strengthen heatwaves and worsen extreme weather like hurricanes. Rising ocean temperatures also hurt marine life, leading to coral bleaching and disrupting food webs. As humans emit more carbon dioxide, that CO2 also dissolves into the ocean, making it more acidic. A decades-long trend The ocean has been warming more strongly since the 1990s. When it comes to sea surface temperatureswhich specifically affect weather patterns around the world, like heavier rains and stronger tropical cyclones2025 was the third warmest year on record. Ocean temperatures have set a new record for each of the past nine years, notes Michael Mann, director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media, and another author of the analysis. “It is indicative of the steady heating of our planet,” he says, “which will increase until fossil fuel burning and human-generated carbon emissions cease.” The analysis of these rising ocean temperatures comes shortly after the Trump administration pulled the United States out of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a landmark climate treaty. Trump cutting ties with the worlds oldest climate treaty is another despicable effort to let corporate fossil fuel interests run our government, Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. Its foolish and downright deadly for Trump to turn his back on the climate devastation ripping across the U.S. and the world. The Trump administration has also recently cut hundreds of millions of dollars from climate energy research, including for the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Renewable Energy Laboratorywhich Trump actually renamed, in December, to the National Lab of the Rockies. These cuts will make the U.S. even more vulnerable to climate impacts, experts say. Research is important to help us plan for the new climate, Abraham says. This research saves us money in the long term and also helps us prepare for extreme weather like hurricanes, droughts, and floods.”
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For decades, design followed a singular truth. Whether it was the insistence that form follows function or the later pivot toward form follows emotion, the industry tended to adhere to a simple formula for design thinking: Find your North Star and follow. But that formula does not fit todays reality. Form follows X is no longer a clean equation, because X isnt a single variable. Its a constellation that refuses to be reduced to one guiding idea. Modern design across brands, products, and experiences must use a multidimensional approach, speaking to function, feeling, context, narrative, culture, and experience, all at once. HUMAN EXPERIENCE DESIGN Some of todays biggest brands are already accomplishing this balancing act. Rivian offers a clear example of a brand showing up consistently across form, function, and feeling. At its core, Rivian builds electric vehicles, but the brands shift from product to experience is evident far beyond the car itself. From the thoughtful utility of the vehicles, designed for both rugged performance and everyday life, to its immersive retail spaces (think playground, not showroom), and community activations, Rivian operates at the intersection of engineering, lifestyle, and narrative. The result is a brand where technology, adventure, sustainability, and culture weave together to form a truly unique and modern design. Meanwhile, Netflix released the final episode of Stranger Things in theaters over the holidays, inviting people off their laptops and into the real world to watch the wildly popular show surrounded by super fans. This, combined with its multi-award winning shows in the West End and on Broadway, not to mention the newly launched Netflix House, is a great example of multidimensional thinking. For these brands, the new formula is clear: Consumers want experiences that operate on multiple dimensions at once. MULTIDIMENSIONAL DESIGN ARCHITECTURE To build for this new landscape, designers must move beyond linear thinking into a multidimensional approach, resting on three core pillars: 1. Anchored in narrative As in-person and digital environments continue to merge, narrative consistency becomes the glue holding an experience together. The brand story must show up authentically, whether someone is scrolling an app, walking through a flagship store, or entering a fully immersive activation. Nike does this beautifully. From its Run Club to House of Innovation stores to SNKRS drops, every dimension reflects the same core story: aspiration, movement, self-betterment. Each touchpoint has its own texture, but the spirit remains intact. 2. Breaks skill silos Multidimensional experiences emerge only when traditional design silos are intentionally broken. Architects, filmmakers, digital designers, spatial designers, game creatorseach carries a different perspective, discipline, constraint, and freedom. Its only when these ways of thinking converge that the richest experiences emerge. Disney Imagineering stands as perhaps the most iconic example of this intentional barrier breaking, bringing engineers, artists, storytellers, and technologists together to create environments where narrative, architecture, and emotion coexist seamlessly. 3. AI as the new experience engine AI is accelerating this shift, giving designers tools to create experiences as adaptive as the people who move through them. Picture entering a space that gently responds to your state of mindlighting softens when youre overwhelmed, or the physical environment adjusts like a host who senses what you need before you do. Multidimensional design thinking is building worlds that feel both impossible and inevitable. Both Spotifys AI DJ and DeepMinds Genie 3 hint at whats coming: hyper-personalized experiences that meet every individual in real time. Its the next frontier of design (and of hospitality). FROM NORTH STAR TO CONSTELLATION Multidimensional design recognizes that humans arent one-note, so our products, environments, and stories shouldnt be either. The designers who thrive will be those who can move fluidly between dimensions, choreographing function, emotion, story, and technology into something deeply human. Brands like Netflix and Rivian are just early examples of whats possible when we embrace every dimension of lived experience. Andrew Zimmerman is CEO of Journey.
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