The Full Belmonte, 4/7/2022
“ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court ruled Thursday to suspend the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused in the gruesome killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and for the case to be transferred to Saudi Arabia.
Kaghoggi, a United States resident who wrote critically about Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed on Oct. 2, 2018, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He had gone into the consulate for an appointment to collect documents required for him to marry his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. He never emerged from the building.
Turkish officials alleged that Khashoggi was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents sent to Istanbul. The group included a forensic doctor, intelligence and security officers and individuals who worked for the crown prince’s office. His remains have not been found.” Read more at AP News
A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, yesterday. Photo: Felipe Dana/AP
“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared on the Senate floor last night that the reported atrocities in Bucha amount to ‘genocide’ of the Ukrainian people, condemning Vladimir Putin as ‘pure evil.’
‘When we murder wantonly innocent civilians because of who they are, whether it be their religion, their race, their nationality — that is genocide. And Mr. Putin is guilty of it,’ Schumer said.
Why it matters: No Western government, including the Biden administration, has gone as far as Schumer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in characterizing the reported massacre of hundreds of civilians in the Kyiv suburb as genocide, Axios' Zachary Basu reports.
What to watch: The Senate last night unanimously passed ‘lend-lease’ legislation to allow President Biden to cut through red tape to expedite the supply of weapons to Ukraine, as the U.S. famously did for the Allies in World War II.” Read more at Axios
“Global leaders gathered at NATO headquarters in Brussels today to discuss additional sanctions against Russia and ways to support Ukraine. Despite Moscow now shifting its military focus to the east, NATO's chief said the war could last years as Russia still wants ‘the whole of Ukraine.’ On the ground, major fighting is underway in the east, with the regional military governor of the Luhansk region urging civilians to evacuate some towns. Hundreds of children have died in Russian air strikes since the start of the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, while also referencing the mass graves found in Bucha. Meanwhile, Polish President Andrzej Duda said it's ‘hard to deny’ that Russian forces are committing genocide in Ukraine following the horrific images that have emerged from cities like Bucha showing civilians brutally killed.” Read more at CNN
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
“The Senate is expected to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court today. All 50 Senate Democrats, including the two independents who caucus with them, and at least three Republicans are expected to vote to confirm her.” Read more at NPR
“Oil-industry executives testifying before Congress denied Democrats’ accusations of price-gouging consumers. They said factors beyond their control, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, supply shortfalls and restrictive U.S. policies, caused oil to rise to more than $100 a barrel and gasoline prices beyond $4 a gallon.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke while executing a no-knock warrant won’t face criminal charges. Prosecutors said there was insufficient admissible evidence to file charges against Mark Hanneman. They said that they couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Locke’s shooting violated Minnesota’s statute on use of deadly force. The 22-year-old Black man was killed on Feb. 2.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Google banned dozens of apps from its Google Play store because they contained hidden data-harvesting software. A Panamanian company that wrote the code is linked to a defense contractor that does work for U.S. national-security agencies. The code ran on millions of Android devices and has been found inside Muslim prayer apps that have been downloaded more than 10 million times, as well as a highway-speed-trap detection app, a QR-code reading app and others.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The House voted on Wednesday to hold two of Donald Trump’s top advisers – Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino – in criminal contempt of Congress for their months-long refusal to comply with subpoenas issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.
The approval of the contempt resolution, by a vote of 220 to 203, sets the two Trump aides on the path toward criminal prosecution by the justice department as the panel escalates its inquiry into whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.
Congressman Jamie Raskin, a member of the select committee who introduced the contempt resolution to the House floor, said the select committee needed the House to advance the measure in order to reaffirm the consequences for defying the January 6 investigation.” Read more at The Guardian
“Texas will send busloads of undocumented immigrants to the steps of the US Capitol, Gov. Greg Abbott announced yesterday, in response to the Biden administration ending a pandemic-era health order that effectively blocked migrants from entering the US. Abbott signed the policy directive and said 900 charter buses have been assembled for the operation. The Republican governor, who is up for reelection this year, has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and the current administration's move to lift the order known as Title 42, which is set to end on May 23. That order, which was implemented at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic by former President Donald Trump, blocked undocumented immigrants from entering the US as a means to help prevent the spread of the virus. However, many immigrant advocates and public health experts believed the restrictions were driven by political motivations.” Read more at CNN
“FDA vaccine advisers say they’re working on a new plan and timeline for Covid-19 shots since it currently remains unclear how often booster doses might be needed in the future. Some companies, including Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, are developing variant-specific vaccines. But some future vaccines will be completely different formulations than what are administered now -- which are a composition based on the original version of the virus that emerged in late 2019. This comes as most Americans say the way they conduct their lives is still being affected to some extent by the pandemic, according to a new poll. Significant parts of the country also continue to favor some level of masking as a Covid mitigation measure. The poll shows a 59% majority say that ‘people should continue to wear masks in some public places’ to avoid another surge in cases.” Read more at CNN
“A sweeping US Postal Service reform bill that will overhaul the agency’s finances and allow it to modernize its service was signed into law yesterday by Biden. The new law will require retired postal employees to enroll in Medicare when eligible and repeals a previous mandate that forced it to cover health care costs up front and years in advance. Those two measures would save the USPS nearly $50 billion over the next decade, according to the House Oversight Committee. The legislation, which received overwhelming bipartisan support, also requires the Postal Service to create an online public dashboard with local and national delivery and performance data. The changes are designed to help make the agency more financially sustainable because unlike other government institutions, the US Postal Service relies on revenue it collects from deliveries, not taxpayer funding, to support itself.” Read more at CNN
“Americans are far more likely to say the climate crisis is a threat after facing recent extreme weather, according to a new Gallup poll. The data found 1 in 3 people say they have been affected by some kind of extreme weather in the past two years. Gallup also found 78% of respondents who have faced recent extreme weather believe the effects of climate change are already unfolding. Earlier this week, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned the world must make immediate transitions away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, like solar and wind, to limit the impact of the climate crisis — otherwise, the West is destined for more drought and heat, the oceans will continue to inundate coastal communities and extreme weather will become more deadly than it already is. The good news is the US recently hit a major renewable energy milestone: wind power was the second-highest source of electricity for the first time since the Energy Information Administration began gathering the data.” Read more at CNN
Several desks sit empty in a second-grade class in Stanton, Calif. Photo: Paul Bersebach/Orange County Register via Getty Images
“Student absenteeism has surged during the pandemic, creating another hurdle for teachers trying to get students caught up.
The big picture: Chronic absenteeism — categorized as students missing at least 10% of the academic year — can haunt students' academic outcomes for years, Axios' Erin Doherty reports.
In Los Angeles, 46% of students in Los Angeles Unified have been chronically absent this year or have missed at least 9% of the academic year, according to the L.A. Times.
In New York City, the rate of chronic absenteeism soared to 40% — up from 26% during the 2018-2019 school year, according to the New York Post.
In Ohio, the statewide chronic absenteeism rate rose to 24% in 2020-2021, the most recent school year for which there is data, up from 11% in 2019-2020.
Between the lines: Chronic absenteeism is disproportionately affecting vulnerable student groups.
In Los Angeles, the chronic absentee rate for Black students is nearly 57% and the rate for Latino students is 49%.” Read more at Axios
Attorney General Merrick Garland. Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo are among the Biden officials revealing COVID infections. Both attended the Gridiron Dinner, a white-tie media gala, on Saturday.
So did Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) — both now positive for COVID, The Washington Post reports.
The big picture: Dr. Anthony Fauci — who was at the dinner — warned today on Bloomberg TV that declining levels of immunity could be a concern during the next COVID wave, especially this fall.” Read more at Axios
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged two men they say were posing as federal agents, giving free apartments and other gifts to U.S. Secret Service agents, including one who worked on the first lady’s security detail.
The two men — Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36 — were taken into custody as more than a dozen FBI agents charged into a luxury apartment building in Southeast Washington on Wednesday evening.
Prosecutors allege Taherzadeh and Ali had falsely claimed to work for the Department of Homeland Security and work on a special task force investigating gang and violence connected to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. They allege the two posed as law enforcement officers to integrate with actual federal agents.
Taherzadeh is accused of providing Secret Service officers and agents with rent-free apartments — including a penthouse worth over $40,000 a year — along with iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, flat screen television, a generator, gun case and other policing tools, according to court documents.” Read more at AP News
“Missile lag | The first U.S. hypersonic weapon will be delayed for as long as a year, even as lawmakers say the Pentagon is lagging behind in a new technology that Russia has already used in Ukraine and China has demonstrated in a space launch. A U.S.-built missile failed three consecutive booster-motor tests last year, pushing back a goal to declare “early operational capability” by Sept. 30, the Air Force said.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Microplastics have been found in human blood, excrement and in the depths of the ocean. Now for the first time, researchers have found the presence of the tiny plastic debris in human lungs.” Read more at NPR
“Two members of an anti-abortion group say they took 115 fetuses from a medical waste company employee and buried 110 of them. Washington D.C. police are investigating the case after five fetuses were found at a member's apartment.” Read more at NPR
“The Palm Springs City Council has approved funding for two local organizations to fund a universal basic income program for trans residents. The community faces unique financial, physical and mental hardships and recently, conservative legislatures across the U.S. have implemented laws against them.” Read more at NPR
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“A fox in D.C. responsible for biting people near the Capitol has been euthanized. The fox tested positive for rabies.” Read more at NPR
“Put down the oysters and check this list. Raw oysters harvested in Canada and distributed to 13 states are responsible for a multistate norovirus outbreak.” Read more at NPR
“Jacob Greer faked his own death to avoid child pornography charges. He lived life as a survivalist in Iowa before being caught nearly six years later.” Read more at NPR
“The International Energy Agency's 31 member nations plan to release 120 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves in an attempt to stabilize gas prices.” Read more at NPR
“A dad who lived in his daughters' dorm room has been convicted of charges that he exploited her schoolmates, using threats and violence to enrich himself with millions of dollars.” Read more at USA Today
“Texas rejected about one in eight mail-in ballots in its March primary, the first election held since the state’s Republicans signed a massive overhaul of voting laws.” Read more at Bloomberg
“A bicyclist killed by a New Jersey Transit train was well-known writer and media analyst Eric Boehlert.” Read more at USA Today
Writer and media analyst Eric BoehlertPhoto courtesy of the Boehlert family; USA TODAY graphic
“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell travel to Ukraine today alongside Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, the highest profile delegation to visit the war-torn country since Russia’s invasion.
Their visit comes as Europe weighs further sanctions on Russia following reports of atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in the town of Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
After focusing on Russian banks, oligarchs, and others close to the Kremlin’s inner circle, EU leaders are now considering even more drastic options: Banning Russian imports of coal, oil, and gas.
The economic pain of such a move would not just be felt in Russia—which gains as much as $1 billion per day from Europe’s energy purchases—but across Europe and the wider world, with an energy crunch spurring higher prices, a return to rationing, and a possible recession.
How much pain a European embargo (or a Russian cutoff) would cause on the continent is unclear, and depends on what kinds of energy Europe decides to block.
As Martin Wolf writes in the Financial Times, economists differ on the potential impact of a gas embargo, with the GDP of Germany, which imported 58 percent of its gas from Russia in 2020, expected to decline by as little as 0.2 percent or as much as 6 percent.
That uncertainty partially explains why European leaders have so far opted for the safest option: Banning Russian coal. Although coal is not a major part of Europe’s energy mix, the move would deprive Russia of roughly $4.3 billion in annual revenues. It’s also less likely to upset supplies, as the United States, Colombia, and South Africa could make up for the shortfall, according to a German industry group representing companies that rely on coal imports.
There’s also a strategic element, as Henning Gloystein of the Eurasia Group explained to NPR, with leaders worrying that going too big too soon may exhaust their options: ‘The big gun in Europe would be gas. And that is … sort of the last bullet they want to have in their sanction gun to be able to fire at Russia if things get really seriously worse from here.’
But that doesn’t mean Europe isn’t preparing for a future without Russian gas. It plans to dramatically increase imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from other suppliers, like the United States and Australia, to make up for the shortfall. The volume of new imports needed is roughly equal to the entire annual demand of South Korea. It’s an apt comparison, seeing as European importers would also need to outbid their Asian counterparts, contributing to higher prices overall and possible supply shortages in the countries that lose out on imports.
As Bloomberg reports, the race for gas could price India, Bangladesh, and Thailand out of the market, a phenomenon already taking place in Pakistan.
Nikos Tsafos, writing in Euractiv, argues for Europe to approach its gas search carefully: By helping the countries it outbids to develop renewable energy capacities, intervening in the global gas market, and by increasing production on its own territory.
If Europe ever does move on from Russian gas, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania could be the trendsetters. On April 2, the head of Latvia’s natural gas storage operator Conexus Baltic Grid announced that Russian gas is ‘no longer flowing’ to those three countries. Instead, the Baltic states will rely on reserves, a tactic that depends on a warm year ahead to prove successful.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“UNGA votes. Today the U.N. General Assembly will vote on whether to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council. The U.S.-backed measure would need the support of a two-thirds majority to pass.
At the beginning of March, the assembly approved a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by a 141-5 vote, with 35 abstentions and followed up on March 24 with a 140-5 vote, with 48 abstentions, on a resolution blaming Russia for Ukraine’s humanitatian crisis. As FP’s Colum Lynch reports Russia has issued a veiled warning to other countries that anything other than a no vote today ‘will serve the goal of the United States and be considered accordingly by the Russian Federation.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Warning India | The U.S. has warned India it will face consequences if it forms a “more explicit strategic alignment” with Russia, according to Biden’s top economic adviser. India has rejected imposing sanctions on Moscow and sought to continue buying Russian oil. That’s complicating its relationship with Washington, where it’s seen as important to countering Chinese influence in Asia.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Pakistan’s decision. Pakistan’s top court could rule as soon as today on the legality of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to dissolve parliament after a party ally threw out a motion of no confidence that would have led to a vote on the Pakistani leader’s future. The court has a number of options: Ordering parliament to be restored, calling for fresh elections, or accepting Khan’s defense—which holds that the court cannot intervene in parliamentary matters.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“New sources | Prime Minister Boris Johnson ramped up plans to build new nuclear power stations as he seeks to shore up the U.K.’s energy supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The energy-security strategy targets a tripling of atomic power capacity by 2050, accelerates plans to install offshore wind farms this decade and raises goals for hydrogen, solar and oil and gas projects.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Israel’s shaky coalition. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett lost his 61-59 parliamentary majority on Wednesday after the departure of Idit Silman, a religious nationalist backbencher who ostensibly left due to disagreements about the enforcement of kosher food regulations in hospitals during Passover. Given Israel’s rules for ‘constructive no-confidence’ motions, the government can continue to function so long as there are not 61 votes for an alternative governing coalition and prime minister—a scenario that is highly unlikely.
Wary of the prospect of fresh elections, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he and Bennett ‘will work and try to preserve the government,’ which formed largely in opposition to previous Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Following Silman’s departure, Netanyahu has urged wavering members of Bennett’s coalition to ‘come home’ as he works to break the ideologically diverse coalition.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Sri Lanka’s crisis. Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando told Sri Lanka’s parliament that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ‘will not resign from his post under any circumstances,’ amid mass protests stemming from the country’s economic crisis. Rajapaksa has made some moves to placate protesters in recent days, such as lifting state of emergency measures and forming an advisory group of ‘economic and fiscal experts’ to assist in engaging with the International Monetary Fund.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Mali’s massacre. Malian military investigators will probe an alleged massacre in the village of Moura, Mali’s military prosecutor announced on Tuesday, following reports that at least 300 civilians were killed by local and foreign forces at the end of March. Mali’s military initially announced it had killed 203 militants in the village, only for the account to be contradicted by Human Rights Watch which called the events ‘the worst single atrocity reported in Mali’s decade-long armed conflict.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“New Zealand’s bomb disposal force was mobilized to a potato processing plant on Tuesday after a worker found a grenade among the thousands of tubers destined to become French fries. The worker initially mistook the device for a dirty potato, until realizing it was a grenade on further inspection (and consultation with a coworker who had ‘seen a lot of war movies’). New Zealand’s defense forces soon arrived at the factory, identifying the grenade as one of World War II vintage, and, importantly, no longer a threat.” Read more at Foreign Policy
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in 2019.Susan Walsh/Associated Press
“Their man in Moscow
Donald Trump turned Vladimir Putin into a popular figure among a significant segment of Republican voters. As a candidate, president and ex-president, Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, calling him “strong,” “savvy” and “genius.” Trump has also echoed Putin’s ideology, by harshly criticizing NATO.
Taking their cue from Trump, some Republican voters began to view Putin more favorably. A YouGov poll in January found that Republicans viewed Putin more favorably than they viewed President Biden, Kamala Harris or Nancy Pelosi.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the situation, damaging his popularity in the U.S., even among Republicans. If anything, many Republican voters saythey wish the Biden administration would take more aggressive action to help Ukraine, according to the Pew Research Center. Yet Trump’s effect on Putin’s popularity has not entirely disappeared: There is still a meaningful faction of Republican elites who feel an affinity for the Russian president.
Today’s newsletter looks at this faction. Representative Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican and frequent Trump critic, describes it as “the Putin wing of the G.O.P.” It both admires him as a strong leader and likes his right-wing nationalism, including his opposition to NATO, Western liberalism and L.G.B.T. rights.
For now, this wing remains on the party’s fringe, with little ability to affect policy. Senator Lindsey Graham has called Putin’s defenders “outliers,” while Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House, has described Putin as an evil dictator who is murdering people.
But the G.O.P.’s Putin wing still has influence. It is affecting coverage by the most important news source for Republicans voters: Fox News. It seems to be shaping the behavior of another major corporation: Koch Industries. And Trump remains a leading contender to win the 2024 Republican nomination, which suggests the party’s Putin-friendly faction may not remain on the fringe.
In their own words
In the days leading up to the invasion, Trump praised Putin for recognizing Ukraine’s economic and strategic value to Russia. “He’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper,” Trump said. “We could use that on our southern border.”
In recent days, Trump has shifted to a more mixed message, both saying that Putin should negotiate a peace agreement and praising him as “driven.” Trump has also encouraged Putin to release negative information on Biden’s family.
Tucker Carlson, the host of one of cable television’s highest-rated shows, has suggested that American liberals represent a bigger threat than Putin. “It might be worth asking yourself, since it is getting pretty serious, what is this really about?” Carlson said in February. “Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist?”
Carlson has also promoted a false rumor, popular in Russia, accusing the U.S. of funding biological weapons labs in Ukraine. These comments are consistent with Carlson’s history of arguing that the U.S. should align itself with Russia over Ukraine. “I think we should probably take the side of Russia, if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine,” he said in 2019.
Koch Industries, the conglomerate whose controlling family is a major funder of Republican candidates and conservative causes, has said it would continue to operate in Russia even as many Western companies have left.
Political advocacy groups affiliated with Charles Koch have also questioned why the U.S. is levying harsh sanctions on Russia and have suggested that a Ukrainian victory is not in America’s interest, as Judd Legum of the Popular Information newsletter has reported. “The United States can and should do very little for Ukraine,” Will Ruger, the president of a Koch-funded group, has said. “Ukraine simply doesn’t matter to America’s security or our prosperity.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Georgia congresswoman, has criticized both Russia’s invasion and Ukraine’s government. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is corrupt, she claimed (without offering evidence), and is in power only because the Obama administration helped overthrow the previous regime (which is not true). She has argued that the U.S. should not send weapons to Ukraine.
Matt Rosendale, a Montana congressman, called Zelensky “a less-than-forthright president of the Ukraine.”
Former Trump administration officials have echoed their boss’s comments. “I have enormous respect for him,” Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, said of Putin. “He is very savvy, very shrewd.” Peter Navarro, who was a Trump economic adviser, said that Ukraine was “not really a country” because it used to be part of the Soviet Union. Douglas Macgregor, another administration official, said that Russian forces had been “too gentle” with Ukraine.
At least two Republican candidates have made similar comments. “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” J.D. Vance, who is running for Senate in Ohio, said. Joe Kent, who is trying to win a primary over a House Republican who voted to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 riot, called Putin’s demand to control part of eastern Ukraine “very reasonable.”
In some cases, Russian state television has shown its appreciation for these kind words toward Putin. It has aired clips of Carlson’s show, defended Trump from what it calls unfair attacks by the American media and suggested that Trump should become president again.
State of the War
A disabled Russian tank in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv.Ivor Prickett for The New York Times
Russia has withdrawn its forces from around Kyiv and Chernihiv in the north and has sent them to Belarus and Russia to prepare for the war’s next phase, according to the Pentagon.
The invasion has exhausted a large portion of Russia’s ground forces, and the Kremlin is scrambling to find enough combat-ready troops. Western officials say Russia is recruiting mercenaries and Syrian fighters.
These maps show where Russia is refocusing in eastern Ukraine.
Thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing the Luhansk and Donetsk regionsbefore fighting escalates there.” Read more at New York Times
“AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods’ 91st competitive round at the Masters will start like all the rest.
At around 10:34 a.m. on Thursday, the five-time champion will stick his tee into the ground at Tea Olive, the name of the first hole at Augusta National, take a couple of practice swings and continue a familiar walk that began over a quarter-century ago.
It’s what happens when Woods sticks his driver back into his bag that will determine whether his surgically rebuilt right leg — or the rest of the 46-year-old Hall of Famer for that matter — is ready for a test unlike any other he’s faced in his career.
The five-mile or so walk between the Georgia pines at Augusta National is 11,000-plus steps of up and down and up again. It requires hitting shots from uneven lies. Of digging into the pine straw when required. Of trying to peak over bunkers that can run so deep — as it does on the par-3 fourth hole — you need to jump if you’re going to see the flag.” Read more at AP News