The Full Belmonte, 4/23/2024
First witness takes stand in Trump trial after opening statements
“Prosecutors called their first witness in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial today, after both sides gave their opening statements.
David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, took the stand as the first person ever to testify at a criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump’s, began testifying about the National Enquirer's use of ‘checkbook journalism’ to pay for scoops, but he was only on the stand for a few minutes before court adjourned for the day so an alternate juror could make an emergency dental appointment.
The prosecution argued in its opening statement that Pecker was part of a ‘criminal conspiracy,’ alongside Trump and his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to ‘catch and kill’ negative stories about Trump leading up to the 2016 election.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up what the prosecution called a ‘porn star payoff’ — a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
In the defense’s opening statement, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche said the former president is not guilty because no crime was committed.
‘I have a spoiler alert: there’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy,’ Blanche said.” [NBC News]
Trump trial takeaways
Screenshot: CNN
“Prosecutors in former President Trump's hush-money trial in New York used their opening argument today to lay out a bold — and potentially risky — thesis, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.
To the prosecution, Trump's alleged scheme to pay hush money to cover up negative stories during his 2016 campaign was ‘election fraud, pure and simple.’
To the defense, the 34 charges Trump faces for falsifying business records ‘are really just 34 pieces of paper’ — a simple dispute over ‘bookkeeping.’
Why it matters: Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg wants his case — considered the weakest of the four indictments Trump faces — to be viewed beyond the context of a sordid, years-old sex scandal.
Unlike in his cases in Georgia and D.C., Trump hasn't been charged with crimes related to election interference in New York.
Between the lines: Assistant D.A. Matthew Colangelo argued that former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker — who briefly testified today and will return tomorrow — was acting as the ‘eyes and ears’ of Trump's 2016 campaign, Axios' Sophia Cai reports from the Manhattan courthouse.” [Axios]
Supreme Court hears case challenging Oregon city’s homeless crackdown
“The conservative majority on the Supreme Court appeared skeptical today about a challenge to an Oregon city’s municipal ordinances that punish homeless people for camping on public property.
Grants Pass, a city we visited last month, has barred sleeping or camping on publicly owned property, including sidewalks, streets, bridges and city parks. The punishment can include fines up to several hundred dollars and being barred from the property.
Opponents of these ordinances say the city has criminalized homelessness, and argue it should be prohibited under the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.
But several conservatives on the count expressed doubts over whether this is a constitutional matter, and suggested that state and local lawmakers, and not the courts, should be in charge of policies for the homeless.” [NBC News]
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments on sleeping outdoors
“The Supreme Court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on Monday as it considered whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking. It’s the most significant case before the high court in decades on the issue, and comes as record numbers of people are without a permanent place to live in the United States. Read more.
Key points:
Homelessness in the United States grew a dramatic 12% last year to its highest reported level, as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more people. More than 650,000 people are estimated to be homeless, the most since the country began conducting a yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. Nearly half of them sleep outside.
The question is an urgent one in Western states like California, which is home to one-third of the country’s homeless population. Advocacy groups have argued that allowing cities to punish people who need a place to sleep will criminalize homelessness and ultimately make the crisis worse as the cost of housing increases.
The justices appeared to be leaning toward a narrow ruling in the case. Sleeping is a biological necessity, and people may be forced to do it outside if they can’t get housing or there’s no space in shelters, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said. ‘Where do we put them if every city, every village, every town lacks compassion and passes a law identical to this? Where are they supposed to sleep?’ she asked. Solving homelessness is a complicated issue, argued Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The court is expected to decide the case by the end of June.” [AP News]
Supreme Court will take up the legal fight over ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers
“The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up a Biden administration appeal over the regulation of difficult-to-trace ghost guns that had been struck down by lower courts.” Read More at AP News
Dozens of protesters arrested at Yale, Columbia holds class remotely
“Police arrested 47 student protesters who had set up an encampment on Yale University’s campus in support of the Palestinian cause, school officials said.
The demonstrators have been camping for the past three days, urging Yale to divest from military weapons manufacturers.
Meantime Columbia University has moved classes online today ahead of the first night of Passover, citing safety concerns. The move comes days after more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on campus.
On Sunday, a rabbi associated with Columbia sent a message to Jewish students urging them to leave campus, saying the university and city police ‘cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety.’” [NBC News]
Senate expected to pass bill to potentially ban TikTok nationwide
“The Senate is expected to pass a $95 million package approved by the House over the weekend that could potentially ban TikTok over national security concerns about China.
The measure, which President Joe Biden has said he will sign, would bar the popular video-sharing platform across the nation, if its Beijing-based parent company doesn’t sell it within nine months.
TikTok has denied the Chinese government controls the app, and has pushed back against suggestions China can use it to spy on Americans.
The bill to ban TikTok was part of a package that includes foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel. It passed the House overwhelmingly over the weekend, but it may cost Speaker Mike Johnson his job. The Senate could vote as early as Tuesday.” [NBC News]
Health care privacy
“The Biden administration has issued a new rule to protect patients' privacy regarding their medical information. The rule specifically prohibits the disclosure of a patient's health records, even when they travel to another state for an abortion, IVF, birth control or other types of reproductive health care. "No one should have to live in fear that their conversations with their doctor or that their medical claims data might be used to target or track them for seeking lawful reproductive health care," Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the Office for Civil Rights, said in a news conference. The new rule comes at a time when 14 states have total abortion bans.” [CNN]
Biden marks Earth Day by going after GOP, announcing $7 billion in federal solar power grants
“President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change.” Read More at AP News
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has vowed to force out House Speaker Mike Johnson one way or another. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
“AIN’T EASY BEING GREENE — Turns out it wasn’t a momentary lapse of judgment: DONALD TRUMP yesterday evening defended Speaker MIKE JOHNSON for the second time in as many weeks amid a swirl of speculation about his future atop the House GOP.
After spending the day holed up in a Manhattan courtroom (more on that in a second), the former president told Real America’s Voice radio host John Fredericks that Johnson is ‘trying very hard’ and ‘a very good person.’
‘Well, look, we have a majority of one, OK?’ Trump said, extending Johnson some grace and echoing the speaker’s own explanation for working with Democrats on a host of issues. ‘It’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do.’
Trump even praised Johnson for turning some foreign aid to Ukraine into a loan (a maneuver we previewed as a Trump sop weeks ago) and for standing ‘very strong with me’ on urging NATO countries to up their defense spending commitments. More from Meridith McGraw
The remarks come just a day after Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) vowed on Fox News to force out Johnson one way or another. And it came just hours after MAGA chieftain STEVE BANNON claimed that Trump was in fact ‘furious about what happened’ with Johnson’s support of foreign-aid spending and that he had been manipulated by ‘cuck political operatives’ into backing the rookie speaker.
What does it all mean for Greene? Under her theory of the case, conservative lawmakers are home in their districts right now getting an earful from their constituents about Johnson’s betrayal of the MAGA cause, bucking them up to join Greene in a motion to vacate when they return to Washington next week.
But after first hearing Trump say, ‘I stand with the speaker,’ and now, ‘I think he’s trying very hard,’ it’s going to be awfully hard to deny that Trump is being crystal clear in signaling what he wants — or rather, doesn’t want: a messy election-year coup that throws the House into chaos and again reminds voters what MAGA governance can look like.” [POLITICO]
”Biden Weighs Giving Legal Status to Immigrant Spouses of U.S. Citizens - Biden administration officials are considering green cards and deportation relief for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally and are married to U.S. citizens.” [Wall Street Journal]
Work starts on bullet train rail line from Sin City to the City of Angels
FILE - A Brightline train is shown at a station in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 11, 2018. A fast-tracked plan to build a high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area is set to mark the start of construction. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
This Jan. 25, 2012, photo shows the site of a proposed station for the high-speed rail line to Las Vegas at the end of the Dale Evans Parkway exit from Interstate 15, on the far outskirts of the Mojave Desert city of Victorville, Calif. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
FILE - This photo Jan. 25, 2012, photo shows the site of a proposed station for a high-speed rail line to Las Vegas, foreground, with Interstate 15 in the background, on the far outskirts of Victorville, Calif., the Mojave Desert city on the route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
FILE - This photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, shows the site of a proposed station for a high-speed rail line to Las Vegas, background, at the end of the Dale Evans Parkway exit from Interstate 15, on the far outskirts of the Mojave Desert city of Victorville, Calif. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
“LAS VEGAS (AP) — A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction, officials said Monday, amid predictions that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028.
‘People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades,’ U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement released to coincide with a ceremony at the future site of a terminal to be built just south of the Las Vegas Strip.
Buttigieg predicted the project will bring ‘thousands of union jobs, new connections to better economic opportunity, less congestion on the roads, and less pollution in the air.’
Brightline West, whose sister company already operates a fast train between Miami and Orlando in Florida, aims to lay 218 miles (351 kilometers) of new track between Las Vegas and another new facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Almost the full distance is to be built in the median of Interstate 15, with a station stop in San Bernardino County’s Victorville area.
Brightline Holdings founder and Chairperson Wes Edens dubbed the moment ‘the foundation for a new industry.’
‘This is a historic project and a proud moment,’ Edens said in the statement. ‘Today is long overdue.’
Brightline aims to link other U.S. cities that are too near to each other for air travel to make sense and too far for people to drive the distance.
Company CEO Mike Reininger has said the goal is to have trains operating in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
Brightline received $6.5 billion in backing from the Biden administration, including a $3 billion grant from federal infrastructure funds and approval to sell another $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company won federal authorization in 2020 to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.
The project is touted as the first true high-speed passenger rail line in the nation, designed to reach speeds of 186 mph (300 kph), comparable to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains.
The route between Vegas and LA is largely open space, with no convenient alternate to I-15. Brightline’s Southern California terminal will be at a commuter rail connection to downtown Los Angeles.
The project outline says electric-powered trains will cut the four-hour trip across the Mojave Desert to a little more than two hours. Forecasts are for 11 million one-way passengers per year, or some 30,000 per day, with fares well below airline travel costs. The trains will offer rest rooms, Wi-Fi, food and beverage sales and the option to check luggage.
Las Vegas is a popular driving destination for Southern Californians. Officials hope the train line will relieve congestion on I-15, where drivers often sit in miles of crawling traffic while returning home from a Las Vegas weekend.
The Las Vegas area, now approaching 3 million residents, draws more than 40 million visitors per year. Passenger traffic at the city’s Harry Reid International Airport set a record of 57.6 million people in 2023. An average of more than 44,000 automobiles per day crossed the California-Nevada state line on I-15 in 2023, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data.
Florida-based Brightline Holdings launched the Miami-to-Orlando line in 2018 with trains reaching speeds up to 125 mph (200 kph). It expanded service to Orlando International Airport last September. It offers 16 round-trips per day, with one-way tickets for the 235-mile (378-kilometer) distance costing about $80.
Other fast trains in the U.S. include Amtrak’s Acela, which can top 150 mph (241 kph) while sharing tracks with freight and commuter service between Boston and Washington, D.C.
Passenger trains to Las Vegas ended in 1997, when Amtrak quit service it called the Desert Wind. The idea of a bullet train to Los Angeles dates to at least 2005 under various names including DesertXpress.
Brightline West acquired rights to the project in 2019, pieced together right-of-way and environmental approvals, and reached labor agreements.
Ideas for connecting other U.S. cities with high-speed passenger trains have been floated in recent years, including Dallas to Houston; Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina; and Chicago to St. Louis. Most have faced delays.
In California, voters in 2008 approved a proposed 500-mile (805-kilometer) rail line linking Los Angeles and San Francisco, but the plan has been beset by rising costs and routing disputes. A 2022 business plan by the California High-Speed Rail Authority projected the cost had more than tripled to $105 billion.” [AP News]
The U.N. found its Palestinian refugee agency suffers from political bias.
“A report on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, known as Unrwa, described antisemitic content in some textbooks and a host of social-media posts by employees that were biased. The probe was launched after the U.S. and most of Unrwa’s top donors suspended funding to the agency in January in response to accusations that at least a dozen of its employees in Gaza took part in the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The investigation released Monday didn’t address those accusations, which are being examined in a separate probe. Meanwhile, Israel’s spy chief resigned over the Oct. 7 attack as the military moved closer to invading Rafah, the Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians are taking shelter. Separately, the Israeli military said it recently sent several battalions to parts of the West Bank to restore order amid an intense bout of violence between settlers and Palestinians. The U.S. is considering sanctions on an ultraorthodox Israeli military unit accused of offenses against West Bank Palestinians before the war began.” [Wall Street Journal]
UK passes law to send asylum seekers to Rwanda
Dozens of people were seen trying to cross the Channel the morning after the bill was passed. Credit: Getty Images
“After months of wrangling, the British Parliament has passed a controversial bill, paving the way for asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda. It’s a flagship immigration policy for the Conservative government of Rishi Sunak, who said it would make clear ‘if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay’. About 52,000 asylum seekers could be sent to the East African country. Yvette Cooper, who oversees interior policies for the Labour opposition, called the plan an ‘extortionately expensive gimmick’. And charities describe it as a ‘breach of international law’. In a statement, Mr Sunak said: ‘We introduced the Rwanda bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings.’ On Tuesday morning, after the passing of the bill, my colleagues witnessed about 30 migrants boarding a small boat on a beach in northern France. Five other people, including a child, died as they attempted to cross the Channel.
The latest: Two top UN officials are calling on the UK to reverse its plan, saying the policy will have a harmful impact on refugee protection. Find more reaction on our live page.
In Rwanda: Barbara Plett Usher reports from the empty Hope Hostel in Kigali, which has been ready to receive Britain's unwanted migrants for more than two years. She also notes some unease around the scheme among the population.
Italy's policy: In January, Albania's constitutional court approved an agreement to process asylum seekers who have tried to reach Italy in centres in northern Albania.” [BBC]
“The world’s military spending last year reached $2.4 trillion, a 35-year high. The United States spent more than one-third of the total.” [New York Times]
Haiti’s health system is nearing collapse
“Haiti’s health system has long been fragile, but it’s now nearing total collapse after gangs launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 29 targeting critical infrastructure in the capital and beyond. The violence has forced medical institutions from Haiti’s largest public hospital to dialysis centers to close. Read more.
Why this matters:
Life-saving medications and equipment are dwindling. Gangs have blocked roads, forced the closure of the main international airport and paralyzed operations at the country’s largest seaport, where containers filled with key supplies remain stuck.” [AP News]
“As the US-China rivalry heats up, President Xi Jinping is putting information front and center of his biggest military shakeup in nearly a decade.
The reorganization comes ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s three-day visit to China as leaders of the world’s two largest economies try to keep talking despite intensifying rhetoric. Today’s condemnation of American complaints about China’s industrial overcapacity suggests some difficult conversations ahead.
That followed US President Joe Biden blasting Beijing as ‘xenophobic’ and vowing to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum exports while on the campaign trail, and moves by Congress to ban TikTok. Blinken is expected to criticize Chinese companies’ support for Russia’s war machine.
WATCH: John Liu reports on China’s military reorganization. Source: Bloomberg
Beijing’s military is an opaque institution, and little is known about the new Information Support Force beyond that it will deal with issues including cyber, political and electronic warfare.
But the change has raised questions over the efficacy of Xi’s push to modernize the military and his country’s readiness for a conflict. An anti-corruption purge last year swept the armed forces, adding to the turmoil.
Whatever the thinking, China appears to be intensifying its efforts to improve the military’s handling of information at a time of heightened competition with the West.
Both sides of late have traded spy-versus-spy accusations: Beijing has publicized its capture of various agents allegedly working for American and British intelligence, while the UK and Germany announced arrests of suspects believed to be in the employ of Chinese state security.
Until now, the response to US bashing has been muted, highlighting concerns over China’s delicate economy and its recognition that tough talk during a US election campaign is normal. Visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and now Blinken suggest Washington, too, wants to keep guardrails on things.
Yet, coupled with Xi’s sweeping military reorganization, signs are that the fight for global influence may well be stepping up a gear.”— Rebecca Choong Wilkins [Bloomberg]
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing in 2018. Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
“Israel is returning its focus to eliminating what it says is the last remaining stronghold of Hamas in Gaza as tensions with Iran ease, reviving international concerns about the fate of about 1 million civilians sheltering in the south of the strip. Meanwhile, Israel has yet to provide evidence that workers for the United Nations relief agency in Gaza have ties to terrorist groups, according to the results of an external probe.” [Bloomberg]
“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is pushing the US to deliver at least one more Patriot anti-missile system to Ukraine to help close the air-defense gap as Russia escalates a barrage of attacks, sources say. The UK announced it’ll send more Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles as part of its single biggest military aid package to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began.” [Bloomberg]
“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been predicting his Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition can sweep three out of every four parliament seats as he criss-crosses the country to charm voters. Analysts and election strategists from his party say the task isn’t entirely impossible, but will likely be difficult.” [Bloomberg]
Modi at a rally in Uttar Pradesh in March. Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg
“Newfound unity within Venezuela’s opposition is testing President Nicolás Maduro’s willingness to regain international legitimacy by taking his chances in an open presidential election. The government must decide whether to allow the opposition to continue with little-known former ambassador Edmundo González, who was unanimously chosen on Friday to represent the group in the vote.” [Bloomberg]
“Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador downplayed a weekend incident where his party’s candidate was stopped on a highway by masked men, and blamed media and civil organizations for exaggerating violence during the electoral period.” [Bloomberg]
“Chile recorded a 6% reduction in homicides in 2023 following a surge the previous year, giving President Gabriel Boric’s administration much-needed respite in its struggle against crime.” [Bloomberg]
“Hong Kong’s leader said the finance hub won’t pass a fake-news law so long as media outlets exercise self-discipline, indicating the government has paused plans floated three years ago.” [Bloomberg]
“The Hungarian government signaled backing for a sponsorship deal between Russia’s Gazprom and the country’s top soccer team, an agreement that would spotlight Budapest’s efforts to maintain ties with Moscow.” [Bloomberg]
“LGBTQ rights 'milestone': Dominica's High Court has overturned a ban on consensual same-sex relations in the Caribbean island nation.” [BBC]
“Social media feud: Australia's PM Anthony Albanese has called Elon Musk an ‘arrogant billionaire’ over X's reluctance to remove footage of a church stabbing.” [BBC]
Alleged Human Rights Abuses
Israeli soldiers with an ultra-Orthodox Jewish battalion called Netzah Yehuda take part in their annual unit training in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, near the Syrian border, on May 19, 2014. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
“Top Israeli officials were caught off guard by reports that Washington is considering cutting off U.S. aid to an Israeli battalion accused of committing human rights abuses in the West Bank before the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. If that occurred, it would mark the first time that Washington has announced such measures against an Israeli military unit.
The unit in question is the Israel Defense Forces’ Netzah Yehuda battalion, which was established in 1999 for ultra-Orthodox and religious nationalist soldiers. In one of Netzah Yehuda’s most public human rights controversies, U.S. officials called for an investigation into the unit’s role in the death of Omar Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian American man, in 2022.
The potential move comes in response to a ProPublica article published last week that revealed that an internal U.S. State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken cut off U.S. aid to multiple Israeli military and police units due to credible allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses, but Blinken had taken no action. The panel, called the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum, is tasked with ensuring that U.S. aid to Israel complies with the so-called Leahy Laws, which require the United States to cut off aid to any foreign military or police units that are credibly accused of gross human rights violations.
Blinken said last week after the ProPublica report came out that he had ‘made determinations’ based on the panel’s recommendations and that the details of his decision would be made public in the coming days. He did not specify which Israeli military or police units were being evaluated, but U.S. sources told Axios that although several were investigated, only Netzah Yehuda would be cut off from U.S. aid, as the other units had remedied their behavior. Media and human rights organizations have documented alleged abuses including sexual assault, torture, and extrajudicial killings committed by Israeli security forces other than Netzah Yehuda, including Yamam, an elite Israeli border police unit that carries out counterterrorism operations.
The reports of the potential aid cutoff to Netzah Yehuda have alarmed and angered Israeli officials, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posting on X that doing so would be ‘the peak of absurdity and a moral low’ and vowing that the Israeli government will ‘act by all means’ against such a decision. Benny Gantz, a minister in the Israeli war cabinet, also urged Blinken to reconsider the decision in a conversation on Sunday, Gantz’s office said.
Yet even as the United States weighs pausing aid to the battalion, the Biden administration still appears set to funnel billions more in military assistance to Israel. Over the weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a foreign aid bill that would send Israel some $26.4 billion in aid, with some money allocated toward humanitarian aid for Gaza. The bill now advances to the Senate, where it is widely expected to pass.
Separately, on Monday, Israeli military intelligence chief Aharon Haliva announced that he would resign over his department’s failure to warn of the impending Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault. Haliva is the highest-ranking Israeli official to step down from his post since the attack. ‘The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with,’ Haliva wrote in his resignation letter. ‘I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever.’” [Foreign Policy]
The World This Week
“Monday, April 22: Russian President Vladimir Putin holds talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Monday, April 22, to April 24: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pays a three-day visit to Pakistan.
Wednesday, April 24, to April 26: Blinken visits China.
Friday, April 26: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for talks.” [Foreign Policy]
“Spying for China? German authorities have arrested three German citizens who are suspected of spying for China since at least June 2022, officials announced on Monday. The three individuals, whom authorities did not identify by their full names, are believed to have transferred sensitive naval data—and information on technology with military applications—to the Chinese government.
‘At the time of their arrest, the accused were in further negotiations about research projects that could be particularly useful for expanding China’s maritime combat power,’ German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement. The arrests come just days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrapped a three-day tour to China, during which he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.” [Foreign Policy]
“Ecuador’s harder line. In a referendum on Sunday, Ecuadoreans overwhelmingly voted to grant President Daniel Noboa greater powers to crack down on ongoing gang violence. Ecuador reported a record 8,000 homicides last year—making it the most violent country in South America—and Noboa has ordered the military to ‘neutralize’ the country’s gangs in what he declared to be an ‘internal armed conflict.’
The approved proposals would enable Noboa to enact harsher security measures, including establishing joint police-military patrols and introducing longer sentences for those convicted of drug trafficking and terrorism. ‘We have defended the country, now we have more tools to fight against crime and return peace to Ecuadorean families,’ Noboa posted on Instagram. Some human rights groups have previously criticized his approach, alleging that it has resulted in abuses.” [Foreign Policy]
“Breakdown in ties. The United States has agreed to withdraw more than 1,000 military personnel stationed in Niger, U.S. officials said on Saturday, raising questions about the future of the U.S. position in the region as a growing number of African nations draw closer to Russia. The announcement comes around a month after the ruling Nigerien junta said that it was ending the two countries’ military cooperation deal and ordered the departure of the U.S. troops.
U.S. policy toward Niger suffered from a ‘gap between rhetoric and reality,’ Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at Center for Strategic and International Studies, argued earlier this month in Foreign Policy. ‘In a region that now is defined as the epicenter of global terrorism, Washington is on the back foot, increasingly blind to the plans of jihadi groups and dangerously low on the goodwill required to maintain a foothold there, imperiling its vital strategic interests,’ he wrote.” [Foreign Policy]
“Emerson, a tubby elephant seal, has become something of a local celebrity at one beach in Victoria, British Columbia. But when wildlife officials tried to relocate him to another beach 125 miles away—out of concern for his and the public’s safety—they learned the hard way that it’s tough to keep stars away from their adoring fans. Emerson raced back to the beach, swimming some 20 miles per day, to keep the show going for his favorite followers.” [Foreign Policy]
Tesla's war footing
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“Elon Musk will address Tesla investors and analysts this evening, following a disastrous start to the year for the world's most valuable car company.
Why it matters: The perfect storm includes slumping sales, plummeting stock price, thousands of job cuts, internal leaks and product recalls, Axios' Nathan Bomey and Zachary Basu report.
By the numbers: Tesla's stock is down 40% in 2024. The S&P 500 is up 5%.
Tesla is asking shareholders to reinstate Musk's $56 billion compensation plan, which a Delaware court recently invalidated.
Investors on today's call will want to know:
Is demand continuing to fall?
Is Musk committed to delivering a next-generation affordable car?
Is his roadmap to self-driving cars realistic?
Can the company sustain profitability after announcing more price cuts?
Reality check: Tesla has been in dire straits before, nearing bankruptcy multiple times during what Musk dubbed "production and logistics hell" from 2017 to 2019.” [Axios]
Baltimore ship called ‘clearly unseaworthy’
The wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is seen yesterday beyond the stern of the container ship Dali. Photo: Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via Getty Images
“The city of Baltimore said the cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge was ‘clearly unseaworthy’ when it left the Baltimore port last month, Axios' Sareen Habeshian writes from court documents filed yesterday.
Baltimore's mayor and city council accused both the owner of the container ship Dali, Grace Ocean Private, and its operator, Synergy Marine Group, of being ‘grossly and potentially criminally negligent.’”
Keep reading. [Axios]
Voyager 1 is 15 billion miles from home and broken
“For the first time since November, NASA engineers restored contact with Voyager 1, a spacecraft 15 billion miles from home. Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is now the farthest a human-made object has traveled from Earth. The glitch started when a computer problem aboard Voyager 1 corrupted the stream of science and engineering data the craft is sending to Earth, making it unreadable.” Read more at USA Today
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s conception traveling through interstellar space, which it entered in 2012.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
PEN America Cancels Literary Awards Ceremony Amid Gaza War Fallout
The event had been set for April 29, but weeks of escalating criticism of the organization’s response to the war had led nearly half of the prize nominees to withdraw.
PEN America’s literary awards, sometimes promoted as “the Oscars of books,” was set to take place at Town Hall in Manhattan.Credit...Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times
“The free expression group PEN America has canceled its 2024 literary awards ceremony following months of escalating protests over the organization’s response to the war in Gaza, which has been criticized as overly sympathetic to Israel and led nearly half of the prize nominees to withdraw.
The event was set to take place on April 29 at Town Hall in Manhattan. But in a news release on Monday, the group announced that although the prizes would still be conferred, the ceremony would not take place.
‘We greatly respect that writers have followed their consciences, whether they chose to remain as nominees in their respective categories or not,’ the group’s chief officer for literary programming, Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, said in the release.
‘We regret that this unprecedented situation has taken away the spotlight from the extraordinary work selected by esteemed, insightful and hard-working judges across all categories. As an organization dedicated to freedom of expression and writers, our commitment to recognizing and honoring outstanding authors and the literary community is steadfast.’….” Read more at New York Times
Centuries-old bottles of cherries were found at George Washington’s home
Archaeologist Tess Ostoyich carefully exposes two bottles in the mansion cellar at Mount Vernon. (Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association)
“The discovery: The bottles — recently unearthed at Mount Vernon, Va. — are about 250 years old, but still have some cherries and sticky residue inside.
They’re time capsules: It’s rare to find intact objects like this in archaeology. The cherries were probably picked around the time of the Revolutionary War and stored for the future.”
Read this story at Washington Post
“Lives Lived: Lori and George Schappell were conjoined twins fused at their foreheads. Despite their incredible physical closeness, they managed to lead separate lives — and they said they had neither wanted to be surgically separated nor wished to have been born separately. They died at 62.” [New York Times]
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