The Full Belmonte, 5/4/2024
“College and university administrators around the US called the police on protestors this week, looking to tear down encampments and, in the case of Columbia University, end a building takeover. It was the culmination of a wave of student demonstrations against the war in Gaza and US aid to Israel. Some 2,000 people were arrested at schools from New York to Los Angeles, with police often engaging in massive shows of force that included using ‘flash-bang’ devices to disperse protestors. It’s a complicated moment for President Joe Biden. Despite his modulation in recent months as the Palestinian death toll climbed, Biden’s steadfast support for Israel may damage his standing with younger voters. At the same time, Biden felt it necessary to make a statement about dissent and lawful behavior. ‘There’s the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos,’ he said at Thursday. It’s a fine line: how to balance free speech while making sure everyone feels safe, especially given concerns raised by some Jewish students who say they’ve been harassed and threatened.
Police faceoff with antiwar protestors on the campus of UCLA after destroying part of an encampment barricade there. Photographer: Etienne Laurent/AFP
“In the Middle East, yet another potential deal—a temporary ceasefire for the exchange of hostages held by Hamas—is on the table, with the militant group saying it’s reviewing it in a ‘positive spirit.’ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region pursuing a Saudi-backed peace plan. The proposal, however, seeks a return to a two-state solution, a concept long favored by many global parties as the only way to end decades of bloodshed, but strongly opposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In fact, he’s promising an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah despite US opposition and the potential ceasefire. Marc Champion argues in Bloomberg Opinion that Netanyahu should reconsider, in part because the remaining options amount to a ‘forever war’ in which ‘Israel walks alone in a dangerous region.’
In the US, Gen Z is looking at a future in which jobs, homes and long-term wealth are much harder to come by than was the case for their parents. ‘The Generation Z cohort that’s graduating college today keeps hearing how low unemployment is and how hot the stock market has been running, but they’re getting no part of it,’ Jonathan Levin writes in Bloomberg Opinion. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likely knows all about it, but he’s sticking to a cautious approach with the economy. The Fed indicated this week that it will continue to hold interest rates at a multi-decade high to further quash inflation. But to Wall Street’s delight, the central bank played down the risk of more hikes. Still, the robust US labor market, which has helped underpin consumer spending, showed signs of cooling in April as unemployment ticked up to a still-low 3.9%. Overall, the world’s economic outlook is looking up as growth proves more resilient and prices in many countries are set to cool faster than previously expected. And for Japan’s battered yen, the US jobs report took some pressure off in a week in which Japanese officials are thought to have conducted two currency interventions.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is heading to the European Union for the first time in five years—with a clear message and agenda: Beijing can offer the bloc more economic opportunity and better relations than the US wants to admit. Xi’s five-day trip will take him to France, Serbia and Hungary as those nations seek new investment from China. But the sojourn comes as the EU forges a more unified voice with Washington in opposing China’s capacity for cheap exports, and over perceived national security risks. Xi’s visit follows US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip to China last month, where she warned that China’s overcapacity was a problem for the world—a message echoed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Cannabis should be reclassified as a less risky drug, the US Justice Department recommended, a move that would align federal law with a growing number of states that have legalized it to varying degrees. The announcement gave a boost to pot stocks, which had been lagging but rebounded as hopes grew that federal law would be loosened. The change—which would remove pot from the list of controlled substances—is far from certain, though: powerful forces in Congress remain opposed to legislation that would make it easier for cannabis companies to bank and do business.
A cannabis store in New York City Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
As global warming continues to accelerate and the energy transition falls behind, cities are scrambling to find ways to help bridge the gap. Heat generated from sewage is now being used in some communities to help warm homes and buildings. Then there’s the huge environmental footprint of livestock. A shift is underway in school cafeterias, hospitals and on university campuses from San Diego to Oslo as diners are directed to plant-based options—not by removing animal products entirely but by nudging people to make different choices.” [Bloomberg]
Trump on Trial
Hope Hicks on Capitol Hill in 2019. Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times
“Hope Hicks, a former aide to Donald Trump, testified for several hours in his Manhattan criminal trial. She seemed nervous and at one point broke down in tears.
Hicks said that Trump was a micromanager and that the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, in which Trump bragged about assaulting women, sent his 2016 campaign into a frenzy, a possible motive for silencing Stormy Daniels.
But Hicks also said that Trump was worried about his wife’s reaction to a story about one of his affairs, which may help his defense. Prosecutors have argued that the hush money was meant to help Trump win the election.” [New York Times]
“Activist Groups Trained Students for Months Before Campus Protests - The political tactics underlying some of the demonstrations were the result of months of training, planning and encouragement by longtime activists and left-wing groups.” [Wall Street Journal]
A Global Student Movement
Pro-Palestinian protesters erect a tent in front of the rectory building of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City on May 2 to protest Israel’s attacks on Gaza.Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images
“Pro-Palestinian student protests like those seen in the United States in recent weeks have begun popping up at universities around the globe, including in Australia, Canada, France, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Pro-Israel counterdemonstrations have also arisen in several places in response. Unlike in the United States, where more than 2,300 demonstrators have been arrested or detained across at least 49 campuses since April 18, international protests have largely faced minimal police interference.
Hundreds of people gathered at the University of Sydney in Australia on Friday to urge the school to sever academic ties with Israeli universities and divest from weapons manufacturers, a similar demand of many U.S. protesters. Vice Chancellor Mark Scott told local media on Thursday that the university’s encampment, which was set up last week, could stay on campus in part because it has not experienced the type of violence seen overseas and because ‘strongly held views and intense debates’ are ‘part of who we are.’ ‘Our instinct is never to pre-emptively shut down free speech and debate and the right to protest,’ he said.
(A report released Thursday by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a nongovernmental organization specializing in crisis mapping, found that despite ‘some notable violent clashes’—such as the one at the University of California, Los Angeles, where pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators fought—99 percent of the U.S. protests have remained peaceful.)
Across the Pacific, dozens of pro-Palestinian students camped out at Mexico’s largest university on Thursday to call on the Mexican government to sever diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel. If Mexico City were to do so, it would become the fourth Latin American nation to cut diplomatic relations with Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023. In Canada, Quebec Premier François Legault ordered students at McGill University on Thursday to dismantle their encampment after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said ‘Jewish students do not feel safe’ from the protests. Demonstrations have also been reported at schools in Beirut, London, Rome, and Tokyo.
Law enforcement has played an active role in quelling pro-Palestinian protests in France. Police entered Sciences Po university in Paris on Friday to remove students who had occupied campus buildings overnight; reports indicate that the French protests have remained peaceful, and eyewitnesses reported seeing no signs of violence as police took the students out of the Sciences Po buildings. The university closed its main site on Friday, and school director Jean Bassères rejected demands to review Sciences Po’s relationship with Israeli universities. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s office said on Thursday that student protesters had been ‘evacuated’ from 23 higher education institutions across the country.
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are looking to mitigate campus unrest via legislation. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act by a 320-to-91 vote on Wednesday as part of a bipartisan effort to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses. This would be the first definition of antisemitism enshrined in U.S. federal law, and it could allow the Education Department to withhold federal funds from schools that fail to restrict antisemitic statements.
But pushback from both sides of the aisle makes the act’s passage in the Senate uncertain. Some Republicans have argued that the bill would outlaw parts of the Bible by criminalizing the claim that ‘Jews killed Jesus.’ The Anti-Defamation League views that belief—which is held by some Christians, including some Republican lawmakers—to be an antisemitic trope that has for centuries been used to justify collective violence against Jews.
Democrats and First Amendment advocates, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, also condemned the bill, arguing that it could restrict political speech.” [Foreign Policy]
“Close quarters. Both Russian and U.S. troops are currently stationed at the same military air base in the West African country of Niger. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed late Thursday that Russian military personnel were deployed to Air Base 101 in central Niger despite U.S. troops also being stationed there. ‘The Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment,’ Austin said. It is unclear when the Russian staff arrived or how many are at Air Base 101.
The awkward arrangement is the result of a recent decision made by Niger’s junta, which took power in a military coup last July, to ask the United States to withdraw its roughly 1,000 military personnel from the country over disagreements on the nation’s future. Junta members initially proposed a three-year timeline to transition to civilian rule, but Washington has argued that is too long. In the meantime, Niger has instead turned to Russia to help combat Islamist insurgencies as Moscow takes a more prominent security role in the Sahel.
Alongside tensions in Africa, the U.S. State Department accused Russia on Wednesday of deploying chemical weapons in Ukraine, specifically the choking agent chloropicrin and tear gas. ‘The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,’ the department said in a statement. U.S. officials argued that this violates the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Russia is a signatory of. Moscow has denied the allegations.” [Foreign Policy]
“Torrential rain. Kenya launched emergency measures on Friday to combat ‘unprecedented’ deadly flooding across the country. These include evacuation orders for anyone living near the Nairobi River or 178 specified dams and reservoirs, the establishment of new temporary shelters, and providing additional resources for flood victims to buy food and medicine. Nairobi also suspended school openings, warning that the country may experience its first cyclone in the coming days.
More than 200 people have been killed and over 160,000 others have been displaced since heavy rain began in March. This crisis ‘is a direct consequence of our failure to protect our environment, resulting in the painful effects of climate change we are witnessing today,’ President William Ruto said on Friday.” [Foreign Policy]
“Voting in Panama. Panamanians are set to elect a new president on Sunday. Polls currently have former Security Minister José Raúl Mulino as the front-runner despite being the last candidate to join the ballot. In March, he replaced former President Ricardo Martinelli after the ex-leader received a 10-year prison sentence last July for money laundering—barring him from running. Panama’s top court approved Mulino’s bid for the presidency on Friday.
Jostling for second place are lawyer Rómulo Roux and former President Martín Torrijos. Roux has pledged to boost tourism and create 500,000 jobs. He previously oversaw the Panama Canal, one of the busiest waterways in the world. Torrijos, a son of former dictator Omar Torrijos, is also centering his campaign on expanding the Panama Canal, creating new jobs, and funding infrastructure projects.” [Foreign Policy]
Caitlin Clark makes WNBA debut: Recap, highlights as Wings edge Fever
The WNBA preseason opened Friday with two games. Caitlin Clark made her pro debut as the Indiana Fever took on Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings.
READ MORE at USA Today
GAME OF THE WEEK
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards. Abbie Parr/Associated Press
“Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets, N.B.A. playoffs: The Timberwolves, fresh off their first playoff series win in two decades, must now face last year’s champions. The Nuggets have the two-time M.V.P. Nikola Jokic, a 7-footer whose water polo-inspired passing makes him unlike anyone else in the game. But do they have an answer for Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves’ 22-year-old star, whose explosive athleticism (check out this dunk from the first round) has drawn comparisons to a young Michael Jordan?” 7 p.m. Eastern tonight on TNT [New York Times]
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Music
From left: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Cash App; Amy Sussman/Getty Images
“The beef between two rap superstars, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, continues to escalate. After Lamar released “Euphoria,” a blistering six-minute track attacking Drake, the two men released three more diss songs on Friday.
Dua Lipa released “Radical Optimism,” her latest album. ‘It’s an album of nonstop ear candy,’ the Times pop critic Jon Pareles writes.
The Eurovision Song Contest begins next week. Casual observers may tune in once a year for the final, but for superfans it’s a yearlong celebration of pop music.
Film and TV
“The Idea of You,” in which Anne Hathaway plays a 40-year-old mom in a relationship with a member of a boy band, is one of eight movies worth knowing about this week.
Watch the director David Leitch narrate a scene from “The Fall Guy,” a movie about a stuntman starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.
Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé’s 12-year-old daughter, will make her feature film debut in a prequel to Disney’s 2019 “The Lion King” remake.
Jerry Seinfeld, in his directorial debut, puts forward a satirical take on the origin of Pop-Tarts. Read about the real story and test your Pop-Tart knowledge with a quiz.
It’s May 4, known as “Star Wars Day.” Read about how fans digitally restored the original movies, and how the actor who played Jar Jar Binks overcame fan backlash.
Other Big Stories
Paul Auster, photographed in Brooklyn in 2009. Todd Heisler/The New York Times
The author Paul Auster died this week at 77. See a list of books that best represent his work.
At Venice Biennale, some artists, like the Brazilian Glicéria Tupinambá, are making the case for the restitution of looted artifacts.” [New York Times]