Independent voters have been skeptical of Trump’s election claims

WASHINGTON — Independent voters’ skepticism of Donald Trump’s baseless claims about the 2020 presidential race and his contention that American elections are not secure are contributing to a broader trend of the key voting bloc abandoning the president ahead of November’s midterms.

Multiple polls conducted in recent weeks show independents continue to be frustrated by Trump’s job performance and skeptical of his “rigged” 2020 election claims.

The day he took his second oath of office, YouGov’s weekly tracker put his favorable rating at 40.7% among independents, with an unfavorable level of 56.3%. As of the most recent incarnation of the poll, released July 13, the voting bloc had a 28.7% favorable rating and a 69.3% unfavorable level.

More than half (59%) of independents said they were either “very confident” or “somewhat confident” that the congressional elections in four months will be fair, according to a survey conducted last month by YouGov and The Economist.

—CQ-Roll Call

More intense fires, unpredictable wind patterns likely to keep putting Illinois in the path of wildfire smoke

CHICAGO — As more than 900 wildfires continue to burn across Canada, predicting when air quality conditions will fully return to normal in Illinois and the rest of the Midwest can be tricky.

“Some of these fires in the boreal forest, they don’t end until the rain hits,” said Craig Clements, director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center out of San Jose, California. Clements said that could be October or November, or as early as next week.

More than 7 million acres in Canada have burned since the start of the year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, an organization owned by wildfire management agencies. The group’s website says more than 40 started Sunday alone, and many in western Ontario are classified as “out of control.”

These fires and at least 19 in Minnesota have sent large concentrations of the pollutant PM2.5 to Illinois. Cook County quadrupled its previous PM2.5 record on Thursday.

—Chicago Tribune

Michigan's cyclosporiasis cases rise above 6,500

DETROIT — The number of cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan since June 22 rose to 6,571 as of Tuesday morning, a 6.9% increase over Monday's case count of 6,148.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 423 additional cases of cyclosporiasis on Tuesday.

The new cases come as the Food and Drug Administration continues to investigate an outbreak of the parasitic illness in five states, including Michigan. The illness usually causes frequent, watery and explosive diarrhea.

The FDA said in an X post Monday that its traceback investigation and outbreak data "continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce" from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico.

—The Detroit News

Israel withdraws troops from Lebanon towns in test of truce

Israeli troops have withdrawn from parts of southern Lebanon under a U.S.-mediated ceasefire agreement, which aims to keep Iran-backed Hezbollah away from the Israeli border and end nearly five months of conflict.

The move comes after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun traveled to Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. It was the first between leaders of the two countries in almost 20 years, with both seeking to rein in Hezbollah and establish peace after two rounds of intense fighting between the militant group and Israel.

The U.S. on Monday announced the activation of so-called pilot zones in southern Lebanon, which are designed to enable the Lebanese army to replace Israeli troops in occupied areas.

The idea is that Lebanon will establish military authority over Hezbollah, meaning Israel will no longer see the need to station troops across the border.

—Bloomberg News