THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION of 2024 may be between two unpopular choices (Shutterstock).

How about nobody for president?

Political polls– especially over a year before an election – are notoriously weak measurements of the actual outcome. 

However, new polling from the Associated Press– NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggests, if taken at face value, that a majority of Americans don’t want either of the front-runners: Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

Among those polled, 53 percent said they would not definitely support Trump if he were the GOP presidential nominee, with another 11 percent said they “probably would not support him.” That’s a total of 64 percent

Biden doesn’t do much better. Forty-three percent of voters say they definitely would not vote for him, with another 11 percent saying they probably won’t support him, making 54 percent against a second term for him.

Abortion drug wins legal round, but …

A KEY RULING on abortion pill (Shutterstock).

The abortion pill mifepristone should remain legal in the U.S., a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. But the  ruling attached some restrictions to access to the drug, according to The New York Times.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the FDA decision to approve the drug, but said that patients would have to make the request in person to a physician and could not receive it in the mail or order it online.

The federal Justice Department has said it will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Biden lauds Inflation Reduction Act

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN (White House).

Claiming credit for advances in fighting climate change and battling inflation, President Joe Biden called the Inflation Reduction Act he signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022 “transformative.”

The Act, he said from the White House, helped supercharge the economy and prompted clean energy use which – he said – would help bring down the cost of electricity, cut carbon pollution and provide good jobs in America for workers who will be building the rising number of electric cars and trucks.

It was on a strict party-line vote that the legislation passed Congress.

Weather:  The cool slide down

After a toasty Wednesday, our West Orange County should expect a cooling trend toward the weekend, with rain coming on Sunday and Monday.

The forecast for Thursday is for partly cloudy skies with a daytime high of 84 and an overnight low of 65. Friday should be similar at 85 (64). Mostly cloudy conditions will move in on Saturday with temperatures of 81 (70). Sunday will bring a 65 percent chance of rain with similar numbers (81/73). Monday is expected also to be rainy (66 percent) and cooler at 78 (68). After that, it’s mostly sunny days through Wednesday.