The Full Belmonte, 2/1/2023
President Joe Biden and GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet over increasing the country's debt ceiling.
National debt
“A critical White House meeting is set for today between President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over increasing the nation's debt ceiling. McCarthy and his House GOP allies want steep cuts to domestic programs and a trim to defense spending -- all while steering clear of making cuts to two programs to avoid voter blowback: Medicare and Social Security. Meanwhile, White House officials insist that they will not negotiate with House Republicans on the need for Congress to raise the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit and avoid the first-ever debt default, potentially by this summer. Many Republicans who are eager to use their leverage have privately floated a range of ideas in exchange for an increase in the debt limit. Democrats view such cuts as draconian, while some Republicans say they hardly go far enough.” [CNN]
Santos steps down from House panels amid ethics issues
By KEVIN FREKING
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. George Santos of New York told GOP colleagues Tuesday he is temporarily stepping down from his two congressional committees, a move that comes amid a host of ethics issues and a day after he met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Santos has faced numerous calls for his resignation and is facing multiple investigations by prosecutors over his personal and campaign finances and lies about his resume and family background.
Santos was assigned to two fairly low-profile panels, the House Committee on Small Business and to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Still, his arrival has left GOP leadership frequently anwering questions about the congressman rather than on their priorities for the coming months.
In a prepared statement, Santos said he wanted to focus on serving his constituents ‘without distraction.’
‘I want to personally thank Speaker McCarthy for meeting with me to discuss the matter and allowing me to take time to properly clear my name before returning to my committees,’ Santos said. ‘To my constituents, I remain committed to serving the district, and delivering results for both New York’s Third Congressional District and for the American people.’
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said the decision was well-received from the GOP conference, saying ‘I think it was the appropriate thing to do and I was proud of him for getting up and doing this.’
McCarthy met with Santos on Monday night, but did not disclose their conversation.
‘You’ll see,’ McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol.
The questions surrounding Santos go beyond his misrepresentations to voters, but also whether his congressional campaign followed the law in its reporting to the Federal Election Commission. There have been lingering questions about irregularities in his campaign committee’s financial reports and the source of Santos’ wealth.
If Santos’ campaign is found to have knowingly and willfully made any ‘materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation’ on its paperwork, it could potentially face criminal charges, the FEC said in a letter to the campaign last week.
Republicans described the decision by Santos to temporarily step down from the two House panels as voluntary. Rep. Roger Williams, the chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, said he was surprised.
‘The bottom line is that he’s chosen to be off committees until his situation gets handled at a level that he’s comfortable with,’ Williams said.
Democrats have been highly critical of Santos as well as McCarthy for his efforts to oust three Democratic lawmakers from committee assignments while at the same time appointing Santos, who has lied so thoroughly to his constituents about his background.
‘The hypocrisy just grabs you by the throat,’ said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. ‘This is a Republican speaker who is seating a human fraud, George Santos, on committees, a serial fabricator about every part of his existence.’
McCarthy blocked Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., from being re-appointed to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, though they will be able to serve on other committees. He’s also committed to removing Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from serving on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, though such a move would come to the full House for a vote, where undoubtedly Democrats would renew questions about the propriety of allowing Santos to sit on committees as their members are being removed.
McCarthy has little margin for error if he chooses to pursue her expulsion for remarks McCarthy has described as antisemitic regarding Israel. Shortly after Omar arrived in Congress in 2019, the House approved a resolution condemning antisemitism and other forms of bigotry — without mentioning her by name — after she made remarks that critics said accused Israel supporters of having dual allegiances.
At least two Republicans have said they won’t vote for Omar’s removal from the foreign affairs panel. They said Democrats were in the wrong for removing Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., from their committees two years ago. And Republicans were making a similar mistake when it came to Omar.
‘Two wrongs do not make a right,’ said Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., adding, ‘Speaker McCarthy needs to stop ‘bread and circuses’ in Congress and start governing for a change.’
‘It’s just wrong,’ said Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo. ‘Let’s stop ruining this place. Let’s make it better.’” AP News
Manslaughter charge for Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ set shooting
By MORGAN LEE
“SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons specialist have been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set, according to court documents filed by prosecutors Tuesday.
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies filed the charging documents naming Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who supervised weapons on the set of the Western ‘Rust.’
Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.
Prosecutors have said that Baldwin’s involvement as a producer and as the person who fired the gun weighed in the decision to file charges.
The filing Tuesday comes nearly two weeks after prosecutor Carmack-Altwies first announced that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed would be prosecuted for what authorities have described as a pattern of criminal disregard for safety. In recent weeks, she outlined two sets of involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the shooting.
The manslaughter charge against Baldwin includes alternative standards and sanctions. One would apply a charge of manslaughter for reckless disregard of safety ‘without due caution and circumspection.’
A probable cause statement outlining evidence against Baldwin alleges many instances of ‘extremely reckless acts’ or reckless failures to take precautions in the days and minutes leading up to the deadly shooting.
Investigators say that Baldwin drew a revolver from a holster, pointed it at Hutchins and fired the weapon when a plastic or replica gun should have been used by industry standards.
It says photos and videos of the rehearsal, including moments before the deadly shooting, showed Baldwin with his finger inside the trigger guard and on the trigger while ‘manipulating’ the pistol’s hammer, and that an FBI analysis shows the pistol could not be fired without pulling the trigger.
Investigators say Baldwin failed to appear for mandatory firearms training prior to filming, and that he didn’t fully complete on-set training while distracted by phone calls to family. They also cite several breaches of required safety-checks and protocols as the gun was loaded and provided to Baldwin.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed maintain their innocence and have vowed to fight the charges….” Read more at AP News
DeSantis wants to dismantle diversity programs at Fla. colleges, target tenure
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday called for diversity programs to be dismantled on the state’s college campuses and suggested that tenured professors should be subject to employment review at any time, as he laid out a multipronged agenda on higher education.
At a news conference, DeSantis said his plan is a countermeasure to what he described as the ‘dominant view’ that higher education is designed to ‘impose ideological conformity’ and to ‘provoke political activism.’
The governor’s proposals feed into a larger culture war he is waging across Florida, where DeSantis has signed a law limiting what professors can teach about race and blocked high schools from offering a new advanced placement course on African American history. He recently appointed six trustees at New College of Florida, a small state institution where, DeSantis suggested, enrollment has suffered because of liberal programs.
Under DeSantis’s plan, which he will ask the legislature to take up in March, the state would defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which are common in higher education and often described by the acronym DEI. Proponents of DEI say the programs provide critical training to combat implicit bias against specific groups, and support for students and employees of different beliefs, races, genders and sexual orientations.
The governor said he wants to see DEI ‘wither on the vine.’ ‘These bureaucracies are hostile to academic freedom,’ he said during Tuesday’s news conference, which was held in Bradenton at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.
DeSantis recently signed a law that would require tenured faculty to undergo a review every five years. But there may be a need to ‘more aggressively’ examine faculty performance, DeSantis said, touting a plan for college governing boards to review tenured faculty members ‘at any time.’
In the same vein, DeSantis proposed giving college presidents more authority in hiring decisions, over which he said faculty committees have too much influence.
The proposals are sure to invite pushback from faculty, who view the protections of tenure as fundamental to a professor’s ability to pursue ideas that may be unpopular or controversial.
Danaya Wright, a law professor at the University of Florida, said DeSantis’s proposals could have deleterious consequences. Strong tenure protections are vital to recruiting faculty, she said, and there’s a good reason professors have a say in hiring decisions.
‘It’s one of the fundamental aspects of the academic mission that those who are experts in the field are deciding who has expertise and whose qualifications meet the standard we expect,’ said Wright, chair-elect of the university’s faculty senate. Sidelining faculty in these decisions, she said, would ‘destroy the academic integrity of the institution.’
DeSantis’s efforts to root out what he sees as liberalism in higher education have already met resistance. In November, a federal judge ordered a temporary injunction against portions of a law commonly called the ‘Stop Woke Act.’ The law, which prohibits certain classroom discussions of sex and race, is ‘positively dystopian,’ said Judge Mark E. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
DeSantis was joined at his news conference Tuesday by Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the State University System of Florida and a former Republican state senator. As a lawmaker, Rodrigues sponsored legislation requiring universities to survey students about the level of ‘intellectual diversity’ on their campuses.
Also in attendance was Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who is among six people the governor recently appointed to the board of New College of Florida, a public liberal arts college in Sarasota. The board is slated to meet later in the day on campus, where students have planned protests against an expected conservative overhaul of the curriculum and culture.
DeSantis said the meeting should be ‘very, very interesting.’
Rufo has called for an end to DEI programs, arguing that they stifle free speech and force people to adopt liberal positions on matters of race and gender. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Rufo has played a lead role in galvanizing public opposition to critical race theory, an academic framework that argues racism is systemic and embedded in laws and policies.
In December, DeSantis’s administration asked public colleges to report on all spending related to DEI and critical race theory. The state’s 12 public universities reported a combined $34.5 million in spending on such programs. None of the universities spent more than 1 percent of their budgets on such activities, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The reported expenses included money for diversity officers, courses related to race and gender, and recruitment and retention programs focused on diversity goals.” [Washington Post]
Tyre Nichols funeral today
A portrait of Tyre Nichols is displayed at a memorial service for him on Jan. 17 in Memphis. Photo: Adrian Sainz/AP
“Tyre Nichols will be laid to rest in Memphis today, three weeks after he died from a brutal beating by police.
Today will focus on Nichols as a human — a 29-year-old skateboarder and amateur photographer who made boxes at FedEx, made friends during morning visits to Starbucks, and greeted his mother and stepfather when he returned home with a sunny: ‘Hello, parents!’” [Axios] (AP)
A smaller rate hike is expected at the Fed meeting, but many may still struggle
“The Fed is predicted to boost interest rates for an eighth consecutive time on Wednesday, but only by a quarter point, down from the half-point hike in December and the four consecutive three-quarter percentage-point increases before that. The slower pace is intended to give the economy a chance to digest the Fed's earlier string of aggressive hikes. But consumers, having already felt the impact of those rate hikes, are already reeling. Even though economists are split on whether the Fed will pause its rate hikes after this week, the central bank's projections released in December show there's more to come.” Read more at USA Today
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference. No matter which way the Fed goes with rate hikes, consumers aren't likely to get much relief as they're already suffering from the nonstop barrage of rate hikes this past year.
Alex Wong, Getty Images
DACA
“Nine states asked a federal judge in Texas on Tuesday to block the DACA program, which provides protections to nearly 600,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children, a group often described as ‘Dreamers.’ The Republican-led states specifically called on a judge to block a rule released last year by the Biden administration to ‘preserve and fortify’ the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) program. In the Tuesday filing, the states called the program ‘unlawful and unconstitutional’ and urged the court to ‘vacate it in its entirety.’ The case now sits before Judge Andrew Hanen, of the Southern District of Texas, who ruled in 2021 that DACA was unlawful and blocked the government from approving new applications for the program.” [CNN]
Ukraine
“The US will not provide fighter jets to Ukraine amid renewed calls from Kyiv, Biden reiterated on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sought fighter jets to help sustain his war effort, arguing that they are urgently needed to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks. Biden, however, has consistently said the planes aren't on the table. Germany has also declined to send the jets. US and NATO allies are instead prioritizing aid in other areas. Last week, US officials announced they are finalizing plans to send 30 American tanks to Ukraine. The German government similarly said it will send tanks to Ukraine, following weeks of diplomatic pressure to make the move. Pentagon and White House officials have expressed confidence that sending tanks to Ukraine will not risk greater escalation with Russia.” [CNN]
“Report finds corruption largely unimproved. A new report from Transparency International found that 95 percent of countries have made little to no progress in tackling corruption since 2017. The report also found that more corrupt countries are less able to protect their people. ‘Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict—and endanger people everywhere,’ Transparency International’s chair, Delia Ferreira Rubio, said.
Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand ranked highest, which is to say they were seen as the least corrupt countries. Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria were at the bottom of the rankings.” [Foreign Policy]
“New Zealand prepares for ‘unprecedented’ rain and floods. Following an already deadly flood in Auckland, New Zealand authorities warned that worse could still be to come. They were particularly concerned about areas north of Auckland. Last Friday was the city’s wettest day on record. Extreme weather is a byproduct of climate change, and, indeed, in a post thanking those who assisted with flood relief efforts, James Shaw, the country’s climate change minister, wrote, ‘This is climate change.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Fresh wave of French strikes. For a second time this month, massive strikes against proposed changes to the country’s pension plan shook France, disrupting schools and transit networks. Sixty percent of teachers in Paris walked out, and over 100 schools were expected to close. The strikes mostly impacted the capital, but there were 248 protests planned across the country. French President Emmanuel Macron has not yet backed down from the plan, though, and is still expected to gradually raise the age at which a person can draw a state pension from 62 to 64.
The government has said that the change is necessary to deal with a funding deficit, and French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne described it as ‘non-negotiable.’ France spends almost 14 percent of its GDP on state pensions, and raising the retirement age to 64 would keep France below the European norm. But living costs are rising, and, even if workers do not object to a change in pension plans in theory, they strongly object to this one.” [Foreign Policy]
Ukraine mourns American Daniel Swift, killed in combat
“Ukrainian soldiers held a memorial ceremony Tuesday for American Daniel Swift in Lviv, Ukraine. Swift was a former member of the Navy SEALs who has been listed in official records as having deserted since March 2019. The Navy did not provide further information about his U.S. military record, but said, ‘We cannot speculate as to why the former Sailor was in Ukraine.’ Swift was killed last week fighting against the Russian army. At least five other Americans are known to have died fighting in Ukraine, according to State Department statements and reports from individual families.” [USA Today] Read more updates from the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
Ukrainians soldiers participate in the farewell ceremony for US citizen Daniel W. Swift in Lviv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
Mateusz Nowak, AP
Missing radioactive capsule found in Australia
Image caption, A serial number allowed authorities to verify the capsule
By Peter Hoskins and James FitzGerald
BBC News
“Authorities in Western Australia say they have found a tiny radioactive capsule which went missing last month.
Emergency services had ‘literally found the needle in the haystack’, they said.
A huge search was triggered when the object was lost while being transported along a 1,400km (870 mile) route across the state.
Authorities released a close-up picture of the pea-sized capsule - which could cause serious harm if handled - on the ground among tiny pebbles.
A serial number enabled them to verify they had found the right capsule, which is 6mm (0.24 inches) in diameter and 8mm long.
It contains a small quantity of Caesium-137, which could cause skin damage, burns or radiation sickness.
Mining giant Rio Tinto apologised for losing the device, which is used as a density gauge in the mining industry.
A 20m ‘hot zone’ has now been established around the capsule and it will be placed into a lead container.
It will be stored at a secure location in the town of Newman overnight before being transported to a secure facility in the city of Perth on Thursday.
Announcing their find, the state emergency services paid tribute to ‘inter-agency teamwork in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds’.
The capsule was found when a vehicle equipped with specialist equipment, which was travelling at 70 km/h (43 mph), detected radiation, officials said.
Portable detection equipment was then used to locate the capsule, which was found about 2m (7ft) from the side of the road.
Image caption, The pea-sized device became the object of a huge search along the 1,400km (870 mile) route
The device is part of a density gauge, which was being used at Rio Tinto's Gudai-Darri mine in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia….” Read more at AP News
Scoop: Biden's EV surprise
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
“President Biden's plan to jump-start demand for electric vehicles has been so successful that it could cost tens of billions of dollars more than projected.
Why it matters: This is what Biden and congressional Democrats wanted — to seed a domestic EV supply chain, and reduce America's dependence on China. But it looks like it'll be a lot more expensive than advertised, Joann Muller writes for Axios What's Next.
What's happening: The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, is loaded with goodies for consumers and carmakers to spur EV sales.
Among them are new tax credits as an incentive to scale up domestic battery manufacturing.
It worked: Auto companies announced more than $73 billion in planned U.S. battery plants in 2022 alone, according to Atlas Public Policy.
Now, the value of those tax credits may wind up being four times higher than Congress' budget experts anticipated.
By the numbers: When the bill was being debated last summer, the Congressional Budget Office projected the tax credits would add up to about $30.6 billion over 10 years (including credits for solar and wind manufacturing).
The surge of new battery plants across the country means that tab will almost certainly be higher.
One estimate, prepared by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence for Axios, pegs the cost of the battery rebates at $136 billion over 10 years.
Tesla announced plans that will drive the number even higher.
Between the lines: That adds up to big money for automakers.
Tesla alone expects to earn up to $1 billion in battery tax credits this year.
On a recent earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the value of such credits could become ‘very significant’ and potentially ‘gigantic’ in future years.
The big picture: Other companies also stand to reap huge credits as they ramp up domestic battery production.
Ford expects more than $7 billion in tax breaks from 2023 to 2026, with CEO Jim Farley recently predicting a ‘large step-up in annual credits’ starting in 2027.
GM chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said the automaker will earn about $300 million in EV incentives this year, with the credits eventually being worth $3,500 to $5,500 per vehicle.
White House assistant press secretary Michael Kikukawa tells Axios: ‘President Biden is delivering on his commitment to put America in the driver's seat for the clean energy economy ... We have already seen hundreds of billions of dollars in new private-sector investments across clean energy industries including batteries, electric vehicles, and solar panels.’
‘No one should be surprised that the historic Inflation Reduction Act will lead to an explosion in new EV plants that will showcase how American workers are the finest in the world.’ [Axios]
Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images
“Black History Month begins today, and this year the theme is ‘Black Resistance.’ Brush up on your knowledge of the history of the celebration, which started out in 1926 as Negro History Week and expanded to Black History Month in the 1970s.” [NPR]
Bring back dodo? Ambitious plan draws investors, critics
By CHRISTINA LARSON
FILE - A rare fragment of a Dodo femur bone is displayed for photographs next to an image of a member of the extinct bird species at Christie's auction house's premises in London, March 27, 2013. Colossal Biosciences has raised an additional $150 million from investors to develop genetic technologies that the company claims will help to bring back some extinct species, including the dodo and the woolly mammoth. Other scientists are skeptical that such feats are really possible, or even advisable for conservation. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — The dodo bird isn’t coming back anytime soon. Nor is the woolly mammoth. But a company working on technologies to bring back extinct species has attracted more investors, while other scientists are skeptical such feats are possible or a good idea.
Colossal Biosciences first announced its ambitious plan to revive the woolly mammoth two years ago, and on Tuesday said it wanted to bring back the dodo bird, too.
‘The dodo is a symbol of man-made extinction,’ said Ben Lamm, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Colossal. The company has formed a division to focus on bird-related genetic technologies.
The last dodo, a flightless bird about the size of a turkey, was killed in 1681 on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
The Dallas company, which launched in 2021, also announced Tuesday it had raised an additional $150 million in funding. To date, it has raised $225 million from wide-ranging investors that include United States Innovative Technology Fund, Breyer Capital and In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital firm which invests in technology….” Read more at AP News
Justice Department seeks Tesla automated driving documents
By TOM KRISHER and MICHELLE CHAPMAN
FILE - Elon Musk departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Tesla has received requests from the Justice Department for documents related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features, according to a regulatory filing. (AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy, File)
“The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and ‘Full Self-Driving’ features, according to a regulatory filing.
‘To our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred,’ Tesla said in the filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle maker cautioned that if the government decides to pursue an enforcement action, it could possibly have a material adverse impact on its business.
Messages were left Tuesday seeking comment from the Justice Department and from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department.
Tesla Inc. is already facing multiple investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for problems with its two driver-assist systems, Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving.”
Despite their names, Tesla still says on its website that the cars can’t drive themselves. Teslas using “Full Self-Driving” can navigate roads in many cases, but experts say the system can make mistakes, which even CEO Elon Musk acknowledges. ‘We’re not saying it’s quite ready to have no one behind the wheel,’ CEO Musk said in October.
Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said the Justice Department could be looking at safety issues with the systems, or it could be investigating Tesla claims that the cars can drive themselves when they can’t.
‘When you get the car, it really can’t do everything that’s been promised,’ Brooks said. ‘Tesla is putting a vehicle out on the road that is unable to perform to the capabilities claimed. Yet we have drivers relying on those promises and essentially not paying attention to the drive because they think it is more capable than it is.’
The systems have been under investigation by NHTSA since June of 2016 when a driver using Autopilot was killed after his Tesla went under a tractor-trailer crossing its path in Florida. A separate probe into Teslas that were using Autopilot when they crashed into emergency vehicles started in August 2021. At least 14 Teslas that have crashed into emergency vehicles while using the Autopilot system.
Including the Florida crash, NHTSA has sent investigators to 35 Tesla crashes in which automated systems are suspected of being used. Nineteen people have died in those crashes, including two motorcyclists….” Read more at AP News
“Lives Lived: Harold Brown was one of the last surviving Black pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen and faced a lynch mob of villagers in Austria after his plane was downed in 1945. He died at 98.” [New York Times]