Spencer Christian, Meteorologist for ABC 7, joins Pat Thurston to help KGO 810 listeners prepare for the excessive heat wave that will hit the Bay Area this weekend.

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According to provisional data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy at birth dropped by nearly a year between 2020 and 2021 – and by more than two and a half years overall since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

US life expectancy lowest in decades after dropping nearly a full year in 2021 (msn.com)

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WESTERN HEAT DOME: DEALING WITH THE EXTREME HEAT

ALEX STONE, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT, LOS ANGELES @astoneabcnews

The Western U.S. is in the grips of an extended heat wave with temperatures today in many areas in the 110 degree range.  It will get even hotter through Sunday before slowly dropping again.  But temperatures are expected to stay above 100 degrees in many areas through next Wednesday.  Governor Gavin Newsom is addressing the state today on the response to what could end up being a heat emergency.  The state is warning energy conservation measures will probably be ordered to prevent blackouts.  Flex Alerts, as they are called, would call on Californians to turn up their thermostats and to not run appliances from 4 to 9pm to reduce demand on the electrical grid.  Cooling enters are opening and schools are getting creative to help students -- especially in older schools that don’t have air conditioning. 

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Pat welcomes Tom Chittum, VP of Analytics & Forensic Services at ShotSpotter who has nearly 27 years of experience in federal law enforcement. Prior to joining ShotSpotter, Tom was an Associate Deputy Director at Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Below are excerpts from his blog which can be found at Ways to Reduce Gun Violence in a Machine Gun Era - ShotSpotter

In 2019, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Homeland Security began recovering illegal machine gun conversion devices imported from China. Soon, they would also be printed on 3D printers.

Under the NFA, the devices themselves—small, innocuous-looking, inexpensive, easy-to-install switches—are illegal, even when not installed on a firearm. However, when installed, they convert a semi-automatic pistol into an illegal, fully automatic machine gun capable of firing dozens of rounds in just a few seconds.

The threat these illegal machine guns pose is real. They have been used to murder police and have also shown up in mass shootings.

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A" special master" is a court-appointed attorney who can step in to review documents when volumes of evidence are at play in a court case, a legal expert tells Fox News Digital. Former President Trump's legal team continues to press for a special master to review documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Trump FBI raid: What is a court-appointed special master? (msn.com)

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STUNNING ALLEGATIONS ROCK ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ELITE MILITARY UNITS

ANDY FIELD, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON  @andyfielddc

A New York Times report has found a dangerous, and sometimes deadly, training culture with some candidates using performance-enhancing drugs to get an edge. Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, or BUD/S for short, is notorious for having one of the highest rates of failure in the US military, a grueling mental and physical ordeal that only the most resilient enrollees can withstand -- only 15-30% of recruits who start the program will complete it.  The program has attracted controversy for recent deaths, and the discovery that recruits were using performance-enhancing drugs to face the challenges of SEAL training.  In February, one recruit died and another was hospitalized after Hell Week. US Navy Seaman Kyle Mullen died February 4, and his death was officially listed as bacterial pneumonia — he had been coughing up blood for days, the Times reported.  When the Navy gathered Seaman Mullen’s belongings, they discovered syringes and performance enhancing drugs in his car. The captain in charge of BUD/S immediately ordered an investigation, and soon about 40 candidates had either tested positive or had admitted using steroids or other drugs in violation of Navy regulations.

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Pat Thurston discusses the article, "American Real Estate was a money launderers dream".

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Zombie ice from Greenland will raise the sea level. UC Berkeley associate professor Kristina Hill joins Pat Thurston to explain.

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Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev dies at 91, Pat Thurston reflects on his life.

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