The Full Belmonte, 6/1/2022
“The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to block a Texas social media law that that would punish online platforms for removing political speech. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the law was a response to a movement by social media companies to ‘silence conservative viewpoints and ideas,’ but Big Tech interest groups say the law would protect harmful content like Russian propaganda or neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan screeds from removal.” Read more at NPR
“Conservatives' long campaign against social media platforms keeps hitting walls, Axios' Ashley Gold reports.
Why it matters: Republicans in Washington haven't been able to change the laws that govern the way platforms moderate users' content. Conservatives' alternative platforms have largely failed to gain traction. Yesterday, the Supreme Court dealt a new blow.
The court, by a 5-4 vote, stopped Texas from enforcing a law, passed last fall, intended to end online ‘censorship’ of political views.
The law would allow Texans and the attorney general to sue tech giants like Meta and YouTube if they remove certain kinds of content.
The court's order isn't a final ruling on the merits of Texas' law. But when the courts freeze a particular law or policy, it's often a sign that the measure faces an uphill climb on the merits.
The decision comes a week after a federal appeals court barred Florida from enforcing a similar law.
Zoom out: Conservative lawmakers and activists have argued for years that tech platforms are biased against them. Those complaints have gotten louder as social media services have adopted stricter policies on abusive speech, and misinformation about vaccines, elections and voting.
States across the U.S. have begun to enact laws telling tech platforms how to manage users' posts.
So far, no dice: Pressure from the right hasn't led to laws that pass legal muster. And conservatives' efforts to build rival platforms with different rules have largely fizzled.
What's next: States will likely keep passing new versions of these restrictions, prompting more court battles that conservatives could still win, especially with the Supreme Court's current makeup.
What we're watching: Conservatives stymied in court may find a different triumph in Elon Musk's planned purchase of Twitter.” Read more at Axios
“Supreme Court officials are escalating their search for the source of the leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, taking steps to require law clerks to provide cell phone records and sign affidavits, three sources with knowledge of the efforts have told CNN. The probe has intensified the already high tensions at the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority appears poised to roll back a half-century of abortion rights and privacy protections. Some clerks are apparently so alarmed by the sudden requests for private cell data, that they have begun exploring whether to hire outside counsel. The young lawyers selected to be law clerks each year are regarded as the elite of the elite. They are overwhelmingly graduates of Ivy League law schools and have had prior clerkships with prominent US appellate court judges.” Read more at CNN
“Robb Elementary School in Uvalde is facing an uncertain future. Some believe it should be demolished and completely rebuilt after the mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers. Others feel that leaving it in place can offer a space to heal. The debate unfortunately is not a unique one: Here's what other schools that have suffered mass shootings decided.” Read more at NPR
Graphic: MSNBC
“An outside door at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde didn't lock when it was closed by a teacher shortly before a gunman used it to get inside and kill 19 students and two teachers, AP reports.
Why it matters: Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline, adding to parents' agony.
State police initially said a teacher had propped the door open shortly before the gunman entered the school. A lawyer said the teacher propped open the door to carry food from a car to a classroom.
‘She came back out while on her phone,’ said Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. ‘She heard someone yell: 'He has a gun!' She saw him jump the fence ... so she ran back inside,’ removing the rock.
The Uvalde school district's police chief — who decided to wait for backup rather than confront the gunman immediately — has stopped cooperating with state investigators.” Read more at Axios
“The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to reverse its decision to strike down the CDC's mask mandate. The DOJ says it's determined that masks are still needed to protect public health. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled that the Centers for Disease Control was acting outside of its authority.” Read more at NPR
“Travel industry leaders are pressing the Biden administration to end its requirements that vaccinated international travelers take a Covid-19 test before flying to the US. Groups representing several major US air carriers -- including American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines -- said yesterday the requirement does not match the current threat from Covid-19. They also say the requirement is negatively impacting the US economy. Roger Dow of the US Travel Association said in a separate statement that while restrictions on many other businesses have been lifted, ‘the travel industry remains disproportionately harmed by this requirement.’ Others across the industry have criticized the policy as out of date for months.” Read more at CNN
“Efforts to update COVID vaccines can't seem to keep up with changes in the virus itself, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports.
Why it matters: New variants appear to be even more immune-resistant than the original Omicron strain — raising the possibility that even retooled vaccines could be outdated by the time they become available this fall.
Preliminary data suggests the most recent Omicron subvariants are significantly different from the original version that began spreading late last year.
A preprint study released last week found that BA.4 and BA.5, which originated in South Africa, are substantially more resistant to antibodies — and thus more likely to lead to breakthrough infections.
What's next: Clinical trials are underway to study tweaked versions of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The FDA says it will decide this summer whether to recommend these updated versions.” Read more at Axios
“Michael Sussman, a Democratic-linked lawyer, was found not guilty of lying to the F.B.I.” Read more at New York Times
Korean band BTS appears at the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing of the White House in Washington, DC, May 31, 2022, as they visit to discuss Asian inclusion and representation, and addressing anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination.SAUL LOEB, AFP via Getty Images
“The K-pop group BTS met with Biden to discuss hate crimes against Asians.” Read more at New York Times
“Canada moves to ban handgun sales
“On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation banning the sale, import, and transfer of handguns.” [Vox] Read more at Toronto Star / Stephanie Levitz
“The bill also includes a ‘red flag’ law requiring people who are a danger to themselves or others to hand over their guns. The government would be able to revoke licenses of people who commit domestic violence or criminal harassment.” [Vox] Read more at Associated Press / Rob Gillies
“Unlike in the US, gun ownership is not considered a constitutional right in Canada.” [Vox] Read more at The Hill / Zach Schonfeld
“In 2020, Canada banned 1,500 assault weapons after the country’s deadliest mass shooting left 22 dead. A buyback program for those firearms will begin this year.” [Vox] Read more at New York Times / Ian Austen and Vjosa Isai
“With President Biden facing near-record low approval ratings five months before the critical congressional contests, the White House has unveiled a monthlong focus on the economy. A recent CNN poll found that 59% of Americans disapprove of Biden, while 41% approve. As a result, the administration has sought to renew its attention on the economy amid widespread inflation worries. In fact, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an exclusive interview yesterday on CNN that she was incorrect to believe last year that inflation was not a long-term threat. The White House is also blanketing TV airwaves with top economic officials in a concerted push to share Biden's message. Administration officials had been booked for 20 television appearances yesterday alone, according to the White House. Plus, Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech on the new monthly jobs report on Friday.” Read more at CNN
“Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a deal to remove tariffs on nearly all bilateral trade.” Read more at New York Times
“Russian mercenaries helped carry out a massacre in Mali, executing hundreds of civilians, witnesses said.” Read more at New York Times
“A bonanza in Axios AM's eternal quest for good news to leaven your life:
Those who drank coffee — even with sugar — were less likely to die than non-coffee drinkers in the following seven years, Axios' Tina Reed writes from a study published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Why it matters: Previous studies have observed coffee is associated with a lower risk of death but didn't distinguish between unsweetened java and coffee consumed with sugar.
The researchers from Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, used behavioral data from more than 171,000 people enrolled in a U.K. study to understand coffee consumption patterns.
During a seven-year follow-up period, they found that participants who drank any amount of unsweetened coffee were 16% to 21% less likely to die than participants who did not drink coffee.
Participants who drank 1.5 to 3.5 daily cups of coffee sweetened with sugar were 29% to 31% less likely to die than participants who didn't.
Our thought bubble: One guaranteed constant in health research — coffee studies. One week it's good for you. The next? It's bad. (Reminds me of red wine.)
Between the lines: Christina Wee, who was the editor of the paper and wrote a corresponding editorial, said: ‘We can't infer cause and effect.’
But she said the authors did a good job controlling for other factors, like the coffee drinker's physical activity.
Reality check: They're talking about moderate amounts of coffee — between 1½ and 3½ cups a day.
This is based on 10-year-old data from the U.K., where the average coffee drinker was using a teaspoon of sugar — not downing caramel macchiatos.” Read more at Axios
“The city of Sievierodonetsk in Ukraine’s east has largely fallen under Russian control, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, following a concentrated Russian effort in recent days.
The city’s destruction and likely occupation means that only Sievierodonetsk’s twin city, Lysychansk, stands in the way of Russia claiming control over the entire Luhansk region—an area it had recognized as a republic at the outset of the war.
As the war grinds on, the United States is expected to provide Ukraine’s forces with additional firepower. The White House is set to announce a new arms package today which will include the deployment of new longer-range High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, a truck-launched system capable of striking targets within a 50-mile range.
The decision is a compromise, with Ukraine pushing for equipment that would lengthen its reach. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would not send rocket systems that could strike inside Russia, an announcement Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev welcomed as ‘rational.’
Biden made his Ukraine goals even more explicit in a New York Timesop-ed published on Tuesday evening, in which he said his administration was ‘not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders.’
He also provided clarifications on previous remarks, saying he did not seek to oust Putin from power, would not prolong the war ‘just to inflict pain on Russia,’ and would not send U.S. troops into battle ‘so long as the United States or our allies are not attacked.’
Ukraine’s food blockade. Behind the front lines, Ukraine is looking for ways to start exporting agricultural products. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said work was underway on an ‘international UN-led operation with navies of partners’ to secure its food exports.
As FP reported in May, a continued blockade of Ukraine’s ports threatens not just the millions of tons of grain currently being held up, but the future of the next harvest, which despite the war is expected to come in at 70-80 percent of normal levels.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country controls entry and exit from the Black Sea, placed ‘particular importance’ on establishing a safe trade route during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.
While Ukraine’s exports are still under discussion, Russia has already restarted cargo shipping from the captured port city of Mariupol, as a ship laden with 2,500 tons of metal headed for the Russian port of Rostov on Tuesday. The Ukrainian government has described the shipment as a form of looting.
The EU oil embargo. Meanwhile, after weeks of negotiations, European leaders have agreed to a sixth package of Russia sanctions, which include an immediate ban on seaborne oil imports. The agreement did not come without some compromises, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban negotiating a carve out for oil exported via pipeline to get the deal done.
But for Zelensky it hasn’t come soon enough. ‘When over 50 days have passed between the fifth and sixth sanction packages, the situation is not acceptable for us,’ Zelensky said on Tuesday.
The impact of the ban has also been questioned by market analysts, with the high price of oil likely to provide a cushion for Russia—even if it has to sell at a discount to Asian customers.
Another more powerful measure appears to be on the horizon, however. According to the Financial Times, Britain and the European Union are planning an insurance ban on ships transporting Russian oil “shutting Moscow out of the vital Lloyd’s of London insurance market and sharply curbing its ability to export crude.” The specificsof the plan are not yet clear but experts argue it is one of the strongest economic weapons available to the U.K. government and the EU.
A launch truck fires the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during training at the Yakima Training Center, Wash., in 2011. Photo: Tony Overman/The Olympian via AP
“President Biden is prolific: Trying to reset the narrative about his presidency, he had an economy op-ed in The Wall Street Journal yesterday — and has a national security op-ed (‘What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine’) in today's New York Times.
‘I've decided,’ Biden writes, ‘that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.’
The key words are the last two: ‘in Ukraine.’
The White House had intense internal discussions about this. The U.S. isn't providing arms that would let Ukraine hit targets in Russia.” Read more at Axios
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“A meteor streaks above sandstone formations in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, on Monday as Earth passes through the debris trails of a broken comet, producing a tau Herculids meteor shower.” Read more at Axios
“Michelle Wie West, a onetime prodigy, will step away from professional golf.” Read more at New York Times
“Lives Lived: Walter Abish, a Vienna-born American writer, traced the interplay of modern Germany and its Nazi past in provocative, linguistically playful experimental fiction. He died at 90.” Read more at New York Times
Working on a dance routine for the Savannah Bananas.Shawn Brackbill for The New York Times
The most watchable team in baseball
“The Savannah Bananas, a collegiate summer-league baseball team in Georgia, have sold out every home game since 2016. They also have more TikTok followers than the Yankees and Mets combined. The dancing umpires might have something to do with that.
Bananas games are a bit like a circus, Margaret Fuhrer writes in The Times. Players will sometimes wear stilts. The first-base coach is a charismatic hip-hop dancer who has never played baseball. A cast of 120 entertainers — including a pep band and a ‘dad bod cheerleading squad’ — adds to the spectacle.
‘We want people who used to say, ‘I don’t like baseball,’ to say, ‘I have to see the Bananas,’ said Jesse Cole, the team’s owner, who also serves as the on-field host sporting a yellow tuxedo.” Read more at New York Times