Author: openjargon

• On the Fourth of July, 1990, my brother Robbie was trying to save a swimmer in distress.
• The water was dangerous, and he drowned. 
• Now, I dread the holiday every year. 

When friends invite me to a Fourth of July party, I decline. I hate this holiday. While the rest of America is celebrating, I'm reliving the day my brother drowned, the day my family went from eight kids to seven.

Being the last in a long line of Funk kids was my whole identity growing up. Four boys and four girls were born in the span of 12 years: Paul, Sue, Tom, Carol, Ellen, Robbie, Dave, and me, but our dad introduced me as his caboose.

My family met up for a reunion on July 4, 1990

It was 1990, the summer before my last year of college, when my oldest brother Paul rented a beach cottage on Lake Erie for a Fourth of July family reunion. My brother Dave and I drove up together on July 3. My sister Sue was already there with my two young nephews. Grocery bag after grocery bag was unloaded into the small cottage kitchen, and we had enough alcohol to host a fraternity party. After my brothers Tom and Robbie arrived, we all ran down to the beach.

The weather was perfect that afternoon. We jumped waves and body-surfed in the bath-warm lake. We drank beer on the hot sand, passing cheese puffs and Pringles, telling jokes, and gossiping. We stayed up late around a bonfire, Robbie dazzling our nephews with his dramatic stories about magic and monsters.

The morning of the Fourth was hot and windy. After breakfast, we basked on the beach, enthralled by baby turtles washing up on the sand. The water was rough and dark, the color of chocolate YooHoo. My parents were due to arrive midday.

Robbie heard someone yelling from the water

"Do you hear that?" Robbie said. "Somebody's yelling for help." He popped up, trying to locate the sound.

"They're out there!" Robbie shouted as he started running. Paul, Dave, and Tom jumped up and followed him.

"If you're going into that water, you better know what you're doing," a woman yelled to them. That's when Tom told Paul, "I'm not a good swimmer," and instead veered to the dock to watch.

The wind was churning up white peaks atop jagged waves. Robbie waded into the water first, then Paul, then Dave. I was standing in the shallow water, watching, expecting to see my brothers heroically carrying the distressed swimmers to safety. They were halfway there when Robbie went under.

The water was incredibly dangerous that day

From the dock Tom started yelling, pointing to the last place in the water where he saw him. Someone called 911. Volunteer firefighters appeared and formed a human chain with belts and ropes, but the undertow was too strong, and their chain broke. Another rescuer was sucked under by the violent current; the firefighters now had one of their own brothers to save.

Next, they tried a boat, but it immediately capsized. I watched as Paul was pulled in with a life preserver, Dave was clipped onto the firefighters' rope, and dragged in. But still, no Robbie.

People were frantically running, yelling, and pointing. Loud whistles, loud crashing waves. I couldn't understand what was said, I couldn't see what was happening between the undulating waves, and I couldn't stop looking for my brother, willing him to emerge.

My parents pulled up, unaware of our family's fate. One firefighter was also lost. One of the two people yelling from the water was saved by a local with a dinghy, but the other one drowned. We stood on that beach, telling our parents what happened as we continued scanning the water, still hoping to spot him.

It was getting dark, but I didn't want to pull my feet out of the wet sand that was now up to my ankles, didn't want to turn my back and leave Robbie alone in the dark water. Shaking and crying, we helped each other up the wooden steps to the cottage.

Thankful for the copious amount of alcohol, we prescribed ourselves shots of whiskey, hoping to knock ourselves out, to stop the spiraling thoughts, the reliving of the day. We lit sparklers and shared stories. I told them about the game Robbie and I made up called "dial-a-shot." He used to call me in my dorm and we would do a shot of vodka together over the phone before we went out. We held our glasses high and toasted him.

As I waited for the effects to kick in, my mind dove into my childhood. I remembered when Robbie taught me how to play poker. I remembered when he slipped headphones on my ears and pressed play so I could hear a new punk band he bought on cassette. I saw him holding a sci-fi paperback, smoking cigarettes and weed. In our conservative Irish Catholic family, we were both non-conforming weirdos.

We waited for three days, floating in suspended disbelief, while they dragged the lake. His body was recovered by a scuba diver 200 yards in front of the cottage.

I still dread the Fourth of July

After the funeral, I had to return to school, but how could I go back to my regular life after I saw my brother die? School didn't feel important anymore. Stressing about grades seemed ridiculous. In our small town, everyone knew our big family. I thought leaving would feel like I was leaving Robbie behind, forgetting about him to focus on myself.

School ended up being a reprieve because there, no one knew my family was one less. I could decide who I wanted to share the tragedy with, I could process it on my own. I didn't have to witness my parents suffering.

The night before my graduation, Paul and I went out drinking and dancing and toasted Robbie again — he would have laughed at me for being so hungover when I walked across the stage for my diploma.

Robbie would be 60 now. I still cover my eyes during movie drowning scenes. I panic when my son goes swimming in the river. As the Fourth of July approaches again, I fear the dreaded question, "Do you want to watch the fireworks?"

Absolutely not.

The Supreme Court immunity ruling puts Trump in a favorable position ahead of the election in November.

• Democratic members of Congress are beginning to call on Biden to drop out of the race.
• The first two to do so — Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Raúl Grijalva — represent solidly blue seats.
• Two other lawmakers are flatly predicting that Biden will lose to Trump.

President Joe Biden is facing calls to drop out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance last week.

The first Democratic member of Congress to do so was Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who praised Biden's record of accomplishments but said an "authoritarian takeover" would come if former President Donald Trump won.

"Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now," Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.

On Wednesday, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an "opportunity to look elsewhere."

"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," said Grijalva.

Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.

Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump.

Golden went as far as to say that he is "OK" with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a "unique threat to our democracy."

Democratic politicians who don't hold elected office have also called on Biden to step aside.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, one of Biden's competitors in 2020, said that Biden needed to "allow a stronger Democratic candidate to prevent a disastrous second Trump term.

Another 2020 Biden competitor, former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, published an op-ed on Tuesday calling for Biden to be replaced with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace Biden if he stepped aside.

• Brian Paquette, the head of culinary at Chili's, shared his tips for making the perfect burger.
• He said a great burger starts with the right kind of beef and a "really clean, really hot" grill.
• He also shared how to replicate popular Chili's burgers at home.

Fourth of July weekend means cooking out, and the process of making the best burger for your guests starts in the grocery store.

That's according to Brian Paquette, the head of culinary at Chili's, who spoke with Business Insider about how to make a restaurant-quality burger at home, from the meat he buys to his best grilling hacks and go-to toppings.

Before becoming Chili's head chef, Paquette ran his own catering company for five years. His day-to-day work involves brainstorming new menu ideas and conducting quantitative and qualitative testing to get dishes on the menu.

One of Paquette's recent initiatives has been revitalizing the chain's burger offerings. The chain just dropped its first new burger in three years, the Big Smasher, a process that involved multiple rounds of taste-testing and getting customer feedback.

After grilling up some burgers alongside Paquette in the company's test kitchen in April, we asked him his biggest tips for making the perfect burger at home, his grilling hacks, and how to pay homage to some fan-favorite Chili's burger recipes at home.

Here are nine tips for making the perfect burger at home, according to Chili's head chef.

Opting for ground sirloin or ground chuck will make a burger that’s "juicy and flavorful."

Paquette said the first step in making the perfect burger at home is choosing the right kind of meat, which often involves asking a butcher to grind up your preferred cut.

"A great burger starts with using high-quality beef," Paquette said, "so you should go for ground sirloin or ground chuck, to make sure you've got a burger that's juicy and flavorful."

Paquette also shared his preferred fat ratio when choosing burger patties.

"I'd stick to beef with an 80/20 lean-to-fat ratio," he said. "That will give you a nice juicy burger, and when you're grilling it, you'll see some of that juice drop through and vaporize, giving you more of that grill flavor," he continued.

Fresh meat is almost always better than frozen.

"We make and hand-smash all our burgers in-restaurant at Chili's and that's always my recommendation for people making burgers at home," Paquette said.

"That said, if you are buying a pre-made burger from the grocery store, I'd head to the meat case and buy the fresh pre-made patties there," he continued. "You'll get more flavor than you would from a frozen patty."

Make sure your grill is really clean and really hot before you put the burger patties down.

"The grill not being hot enough or the charcoal not being ready is one of the biggest mistakes I see people making," Paquette told BI. "That temperature is so key to getting everything else right."

"If you're cooking for a big group, you are going to want to clean up the grill and get that temperature up to high to make sure you're consistently delivering great-tasting burgers," he said.

Season one side of your patty before grilling it, and then season the other side once the burger is on the grill.

Before you put the meat on the grill, season the side of the burger that is going face down, he said. Once it's on the grill, season the top of the burger, too.

"People often don't season their burgers enough, either. You want to make sure it has good flavor, which comes from both the fat and the seasoning," he said.

"Some of it will inevitably melt off on the grill, so use an ample amount," Paquette added, saying that Chili's cooks use four "shakes" of seasoning on each side of the burger.

Once the burger is on the grill, turn the temperature down to medium.

"This is going to give you those signature char marks," Paquette told BI.

Paquette also recommended only flipping the burger once "to keep the burger tender and juicy" and using a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.

"That's the only way to truly know your burger is cooked through and will help make sure you aren't overcooking and ending up with a hockey puck instead of a great burger," he said.

Don't overcook your burger just because you're afraid of it being undercooked.

Paquette said that each side of the burger should take about three minutes, but you can also use a meat thermometer to ensure the perfect medium cook.

"Make sure your burger is at a safe internal temperature of 157 degrees," Paquette said. "People tend to keep cooking to ensure it's safe, but they overcook it and it loses flavor."

For smash burgers, make the patties about an inch wider than the bun you plan to put them on.

"The burger will shrink a little and that's how you make sure you have those nice, charred bits hanging right at the end of your burger," Paquette said.

He added that if you're using a traditional grill with grates, never smash your burger with a spatula or other tool once it's on the grill, or else you'll lose all the juices. Instead, flatten it before you put it onto the grill.

"If you want to make a smash burger on your griddle, smash the burger as soon as you put it down to lock in those flavors, like we do every time at Chili's," he said.

When it comes to toppings, Paquette said he likes to keep things classic.

For burger toppings, he usually opts for tomato, lettuce, red onion, ketchup, and pickle. He added that choosing a great bun is key to ensuring your burger stays together and has solid flavor.

"At Chili's, we use a brioche-style bun, and I'd use a similar soft bun, like a brioche or potato roll, at home," he said. "Don't overlook toasting your bun, as well. You can add a little butter and put it on the griddle to take your burger to the next level."

However, you can also add more exciting toppings like jalapeños or Thousand Island dressing.

When we asked Paquette to name his favorite burger from Chili's, he picked the chain's new Big Smasher. To recreate it at home, you need American cheese, diced red onion, shredded lettuce, pickles, and Thousand Island dressing, he said.

After trying and ranking all of Chili's burgers recently, we also asked how to recreate our personal favorite, the Alex's Santa Fe burger, which comes with avocado, pepper jack cheese, red onion, jalapeños, tomato, pickles, cilantro, and the chain's spicy Santa Fe sauce.

"The key to recreating that flavor profile at home is roasted jalapeños," Paquette said. "While you're grilling your burgers, grill a jalapeño or two and use those to top your burger. You can also mix them with some ranch to create a sauce that's similar, but not exact, to our Santa Fe sauce."

"Another easy hack would be to pick up some fresh-made guacamole from the deli counter at the grocery store to top your burger, or you can use fresh sliced avocado on top," he continued.

• In May, a huge chunk of space debris crash landed in the mountains of North Carolina.
• After reviewing the incident, NASA confirmed that it came from a SpaceX Dragon Capsule.
• This, and other accidents, highlight how difficult it will be to reduce the risk of falling debris reaching Earth.

NASA has confirmed that a hunk of space junk as big as a car hood found in North Carolina belonged to a SpaceX Dragon Capsule, according to an agency statement shared on X.

The Dragon Capsule is a reusable spacecraft that carries astronauts and cargo to-and-from the International Space Station. But a part of it, called the trunk, isn't reusable and is discarded just before the capsule returns to Earth.

That trunk is what ended up crash-landing on a trail at a mountaintop resort just outside Asheville in May. "It was just wild. It was crazy-looking," groundskeeper Justin Clontz who stumbled on the large debris, told Space.com.

No one was injured from the impact. But the space junk shouldn't have been there in the first place. NASA said in its statement that evaluations of Dragon's initial design showed that it should fully break up in Earth's atmosphere. That's not what happens every time though.

A similar chunk of Dragon trunk was found in Franklin, North Carolina in June. And another landed in a farmer's field in Saskatchewan, Canada in April.

It's not just SpaceX junk falling to Earth. A two-pound piece of debris slightly smaller than a soda can fell from the International Space Station in March, crashing through a family's roof in Florida. The family is now suing NASA over the incident.

These series of recent accidents underscore how difficult it can be to predict and model when space debris will, and will not, burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Improving these models is more important than ever.

Humans are launching more into space than ever before

Space junk has been falling out of the sky since the 1960s, but humans are launching more stuff into space than ever before. According to the site "Our World in Data", in 2023, a record-breaking 2,664 objects, including satellites, spacecraft, landers, and more, were sent to, or beyond, Earth's orbit.

"Once those things die, then they're just abandoned. It's just like orbiting trash. And then it's up to mother nature to figure out how the thing re-enters," Moriba Jah, associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin, told BI.

Jah is referring to uncontrolled re-entries. It's when space debris free-falls toward Earth with no one controlling its course.

Modeling uncontrolled re-entires involves a lot of uncertainty and is, therefore, more complex than modeling controlled re-entries, which usually involve rockets that guide the debris' trajectory, ensuring it lands in a safe area, like the ocean.

"For uncontrolled stuff, all bets are off, because you don't necessarily know what the orientation of the object is as it hits the atmosphere, or how it's tumbling," Jah said.

Uncontrolled re-entry typically happens to smaller chunks of space debris that are expected to break up in the atmosphere before ever reaching the ground — like the Dragon Capsule's trunk.

Even though this space debris is relatively small compared to, say, car-sized satellites, it's not harmless. They're moving at thousands of miles per hour before impact.

If the piece of debris that crash landed outside Asheville, North Carolina in May had landed on a person, it would have certainly killed them, Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and leading space debris expert, told BI.

While the chances of space debris hitting a person are astronomically low, a 2022 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, estimated there's about a 10% chance one or more people will be struck within a 10-year period.

How to reduce the risk of falling space debris

NASA wrote in its statement that it'll use the debris recovered from the mountaintop resort in North Carolina to improve debris modeling.

Another option that NASA should consider, McDowell said, was to reduce the number of uncontrolled re-entries and use controlled de-orbit even for small space objects.

"Then you know exactly when and where it's gonna come down," McDowell said.

Right now, controlled re-entries are relatively uncommon. Roughly 200 to 400 objects big enough to be tracked re-enter Earth's atmosphere each year, and only a handful of them are controlled re-entries, according to The Aerospace Corporation.

Making controlled re-entry the status quo would require new laws, and federal funding to help NASA and companies like SpaceX clean up their junk, Jah said.

The Federal Government is responsible for approving space launches but doesn't hold launching entities like NASA or SpaceX responsible for disposing of objects safely. That needs to change, Jah added.

"Working in space always carries some uncertainty, but NASA works to ensure its operations are safe for the public, and it strives to continuously improve processes," NASA wrote in a statement to BI.

SpaceX did not respond to BI's request for comment.

• I'm a Costco employee who loves finding the best items at the store each month.
• This July, Costco is carrying a Kirkland Signature chipotle-chicken bowl with cilantro-lime rice.
• Keep cool with the Jisulife portable neck fan or Reese's frozen peanut-butter dessert cups.

Just because I've worked at Costco for nearly 20 years doesn't mean I don't like browsing the aisles like the many customers I help each day. The store, which is the leading retailer in customer satisfaction, always seems to be offering a variety of snacks, personal-care items, and home-design products I haven't seen before.

I love searching for the best products to bring home each month, and this July, there are tons of cool summertime items to choose from. Here are 10 items I recommend checking out at Costco this month.

Prices may vary by location.

The Custom Made Meals bacon-wrapped carnitas jalapeño poppers will have guests asking for more.

These bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers are the ultimate party appetizer. The poppers are stuffed with cream cheese and savory carnitas to create a delicious bite.

This cook-and-serve meal can be made in less than 30 minutes in the air fryer, grill, or oven. A two-pack of the carnitas jalapeño poppers is $16 at my store. 

The Simply Fresh caprese pasta-salad shaker makes a delicious, quick meal.

The Simply Fresh caprese pasta-salad shaker is a convenient on-the-go meal that feels gourmet. The pasta salad, which even comes with a fork, features arugula, rotini, tomatoes, and mozzarella.

The best part is that the meal is ready in just a few seconds. Just snap the lid on, pour the toppings and dressing in, and shake to combine the ingredients.

A package of two Simply Fresh salad shakers is $14 at my Costco.

The Jisulife portable neck fan can keep you cool on the go.

The Jisulife bladeless neck fan is handy during hot weather, no matter if you're home, outdoors, or at work. It features an ultra-light design, three speeds, and three to 16 hours of working time.

Each box contains two fans, so you can leave one at home and use the other on the go. My Costco sells the Jisulife bladeless neck fan for $50.

I love the La Vie Gourmand stuffed churro bites.

The La Vie Gourmand stuffed churro bites are the newest hot-selling item at my Costco.

This delightful twist on a regular churro is stuffed with chocolate-and-hazelnut and Bavarian-cream fillings. These heat-and-serve treats are also easy to make in the air fryer.

My location carries a box of two 16-ounce bags of churro bites for $14.

Bring the Hyperlite life vests to outdoor water activities this summer.

It's officially summer, which means more people are gathering at lakes and beaches — which is when the Hyperlite life vest could be useful.

This life vest, which comes in children's and adult sizes, is lightweight and US Coast Guard-approved. It's also available in various colors, so there's something for everyone.

The Hyperlite vests' prices vary according to size, but they range from $20 to $35 at my Costco.

The Kirkland Signature chipotle-chicken bowl with cilantro-lime rice is full of flavor.

If you love Chipotle, I recommend bringing home this new deli item to make your own bowls, burritos, or tacos. Each container comes with grilled seasoned chicken, cilantro-lime rice, salsa, shredded cheese, guacamole, and lime wedges.

This tray feeds three to four people, which is perfect for my family of four. It's a fast and easy dinner item that costs only $5 per pound, which comes out to about $20 per container. You can find this item in Costco's deli coolers.

The French Toast polo is great for back-to-school season.

If you're starting to shop for back-to-school supplies and clothing, you might want to grab a twin pack of collared polos. These polos, which come in colors like white, navy, and blue, are great for students who wear uniforms.

The brand makes several youth sizes, and many Costco locations also carry uniform skirts, shorts, and pants in twin packs in-store or online. The French Toast polo twin pack costs $15 at my location.

Reese’s frozen peanut-butter dessert cups are refreshing and sweet.

Reese's frozen desserts — packed with peanut-butter flavor, like the brand's traditional candies — just hit the freezer department at my store. Each treat has a peanut-butter-swirled dessert base covered in a milk-chocolate-flavored coating.

A box containing 24 cups is $18 at my store, which means each portion is only $0.75. 

Clean tough messes with the Shark WandVac Power cord-free handheld vacuum.

The Shark WandVac Power is one of the most powerful handheld vacuums I've seen. The vacuum is cord-free and weighs less than two pounds.

It features a boost mode to maximize suction power for tough messes and comes with cleaning-tool attachments to get to hard-to-reach places. The Shark WandVac Power is $100 at my store.

Don't pass up the cinnamon-apple raisin bread from the bakery section.

The cinnamon-apple raisin bread is a new item in Costco's bakery department. This loaf has tons of flavor from dried apples, cinnamon, raisins, walnuts, and pecans.

Microwave the bread for about 15 seconds before taking a bite, and you will be hooked. The 32-ounce loaf can be found in the bakery for $8.

• Biden is vowing to stay in the race — but his political position seems untenable.
• His polling is slipping. House Democrats are squirming. There's open talk of swapping in VP Harris.
• Biden could stay in, but he may be irreparably weakened by now.

As of Wednesday, President Joe Biden is vowing to stay in the presidential race. But it's becoming difficult to see how he can do so without suffering a humiliating defeat in November.

In the immediate aftermath of his poor debate performance, it was easier to imagine him staying in place. Most of the calls for him to step aside were coming from liberal commentators and opinion writers, with lawmakers largely holding their tongues or dodging questions about what they had just seen.

But things began to change this week. Democratic politicians who don't hold elected office — including former Rep. Tim Ryan and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, both of whom ran against Biden in 2020 — called on Biden to step down. Two House Democrats have publicly joined them, while two others — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — declared that they believe Biden will lose in November.

Meanwhile, the White House — a relatively disciplined operation, especially compared to the chaos and backstabbing that defined the Trump administration — has become especially leaky, signaling internal discontent.

Just in the last few days, people within the White House have discussed Biden's irritably, his relatively light schedule, and the jarring appearance of Hunter Biden at some White House meetings.

A New York Times/Siena College on Wednesday poll found that former President Donald Trump gained three points among voters nationwide after the debate. A CNN poll on Tuesday showed Vice President Kamala Harris outpolling Biden, and there's been a groundswell in support for the vice president among Democrats on social media.

More broadly, elected Democrats have grown comfortable openly discussing the possibility of replacing Biden, even if they're not officially calling for it. Many are also expressing discontent with the way the Biden campaign has handled the whole effort, including its use of the term "bedwetters" for those who were calling for a change.

And on Wednesday, multiple media outlets reported that Biden himself is privately weighing whether to go on.

It's not out of the question that Biden would choose to stay, and that top party leaders would choose to bite their tongues and stand behind him. But all of these developments have done immense damage to Biden's candidacy, and are virtually impossible to reverse.

Biden's growing polling deficit seems unlikely to bounce back, barring something disastrous happening to Trump.

The number of lawmakers either calling for him to drop out or declaring that he won't win seems to grow by the day, and there are very few lawmakers who are vociferously defending him.

If Biden chooses to go on, he will likely be limping into the general election.

It's not inconceivable that at that point, Democratic senators and House members will seek to distance themselves from the president, pitching themselves as a check on an inevitable second Trump administration.

Dumping Biden brings its own risks — it's an unprecedented move, and any potential successor may have their own political weaknesses. Depending on what happens, Democrats could be looking at an open convention, a scenario that could bring chaos and infighting just months before the election.

But after the week that Biden's had, it's difficult to see him being reelected in November.