Unprepared for the heat

Accountability in the building collapse, eviction moratorium update, travel influencers in the pandemic

THE BIG STORY   A record-breaking heat wave sent people to the hospital in Washington and Oregon   The shocking heatwave that has overwhelmed the Pacific Northwest took a toll on people's bodies, sending more than 1,100 people to the hospital with heat-related illnesses in recent days.    The temperatures shattered all-time records day after day. On Monday, Portland's Airport officially hit 116 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking its record that was set… the previous day.   The number of hospital visits is high in part because this is a region of the US that isn't prepared for this kind of punishing heat. Take Seattle, where only 44% of homes have air conditioning because of the city's historically moderate temperatures, making it one of the least air-conditioned cities in the country, according to the Seattle Times.   Meanwhile, highways and streets have cracked and buckled from the heat, closing roads and impacting traffic. Even flights have been impacted. Restaurants have closed down. There has been a shortage of air conditioners and fans.    Scientists and health experts say: This is the result of climate change, and the future only holds more of the same. People resting at the Oregon Convention Center cooling station in Portland on June 28, 2021. Kathryn Elsesser / AFP via Getty Images STAYING ON TOP OF THIS   He saw his mother's condo crash down in the Surfside building collapse. Now he's demanding accountability.   Last week, the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida collapsed. 11 people have been confirmed dead and a massive search operation continues in the rubble. More than 150 people are missing in the building collapse.   Among the missing are 64-year-old Elena Blasser, and her mom, 88-year-old Elena Chavez. But Blasser's son Pablo Rodriguez is not holding out hope that they'll find the pair alive.    Instead, he's already demanding justice for the deaths of his mother and grandmother and calling for accountability, asking why the property was not properly maintained to the point that a building housing hundreds of people could collapse in the middle of the night without warning. Search and rescue teams look for possible survivors in the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 29 in Surfside, Florida. Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images SNAPSHOTS   The number of immigrants jailed by ICE has ballooned under Biden this year. The number of immigrants held in private prisons and local jails has risen from 14,000 early this year to nearly 27,000 in June as key White House officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have publicly discouraged people from trying to cross the border.   The Supreme Court will keep the federal eviction moratorium in place while legal fights go forward. The moratorium, which has protected renters during the coronavirus pandemic, is currently set to expire at the end of July.   The Doomsday-obsessed mom charged with killing her children is now accused of conspiring to kill her former husband as well. The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, is the latest in a series of killings believed to be perpetrated by Lori Vallow and her new husband, Chad Daybell, shortly before the couple fled to Hawaii. DREADING THE RETURN   These people of color are anxious about racist microaggressions when they return to the office   For many people, the pandemic has meant a reprieve from unwanted office interactions, a break from racist microaggressions that once marked work life. This has been a welcome change — many told us they were better able to focus on work, and their stress level went down.   But as the country reopens, we spoke to employees of color who say they are hesitant to return to work environments in which they were regularly excluded, ignored, misunderstood, or undermined by the colleagues around them before the pandemic.  GROUNDED FLIGHT These travel influencers pivoted during the pandemic   What do you do when your whole way of life is put on pause due to a global pandemic? For travel influencers, who make their living visiting places around the world and posting about them, the pandemic meant a hard pivot. One told us, "I watched my career shift from being the busiest I had ever been to obviously have everything come screeching to a halt." Here's how travel influencers managed through the pandemic. Take time to celebrate the ways you've learned to adjust, Elamin 📝  This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.     👉 Your support of BuzzFeed's journalism does not constitute a charitable donation, and your contribution is not eligible for a tax-deduction. This is part of an effort to explore a deeper relationship with our most active supporters. 🔔  Want to be notified as soon as news breaks? Download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android (available in Canadian, UK, Australian, and US app stores). 💌  Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to get BuzzFeed News in your inbox! Show privacy notice and cookie policy. BuzzFeed, Inc. 111 E. 18th St. New York, NY 10003 Unsubscribe