The Full Belmonte, 7/18/2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
U.S. NEWS
House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial
“When House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was asked about climate change and forest fires, he was ready with a response: Plant a trillion trees. The answer reflects a shift in Republican thinking. The party is no longer denying that global warming exists yet is searching for a response to sweltering summers and weather disasters that doesn’t involve abandoning support for American-produced energy from burning oil, coal and gas. Read more.
Why this matters:
Scientists overwhelmingly agree that heat-trapping gases released from the use of fossil fuels are pushing up global temperatures and upending weather patterns across the globe. But the solution touted by Democrats and advocates — government action to force emissions reductions — remains a non-starter with most Republicans.
A 2019 study suggested that planting trees to suck up heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could be one of the most effective ways to fight climate change. Major conservation groups, and former President Donald Trump, have embraced the idea. But the tree-planting push has drawn intense pushback from environmental scientists who call it a distraction from emissions cutting.” [AP News}
Biden and Sanders meet union organizers amid labor turmoil
“With labor turmoil roiling industries from coast to coast, President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday met with organizers representing workplaces that have not traditionally been represented by unions, such as Starbucks coffee shops and video game companies. Read more.
Recent developments:
Entertainment unions representing actors and writers have shut down film and television production over concerns about the adoption of AI tools and how revenue is shared in an industry increasingly geared toward streaming content.
UPS may get hit with its first major labor action in 25 years as drivers threaten to walk off the job amid struggles to reach a new contract. The deadline for negotiations is July 31, and key disagreements, particularly regarding wage increases for part-time workers, have yet to be resolved.
Threats of a strike are heating up even before officials from the United Auto Workers begins negotiations with automakers. The union has set its sights on wages, pensions, health care, and a more consequential goal: a foothold in plants that will manufacture electric vehicle batteries in upcoming years.” [AP News]
WORLD NEWS
A wave of political turbulence is rolling through Central America
“Central America is experiencing a wave of unrest that is remarkable even for a region with a history riddled with turbulence. We have look at some of the events roiling in the region. Read more.
Recent developments:
Guatemala is locked in the most troubled presidential election in the country’s recent history after corruption and election meddling was thrust into the international spotlight.
El Salvador has been radically transformed in the past few years with the entrance of populist millennial President Nayib Bukele. He’s entered an all-out war with Salvadorian gangs, suspended constitutional rights and he faces allegations of human rights abuses. Honduras’ first female president, Xiomara Castro, has sought to mimic El Salvador’s crackdown on gangs, responding fiercely to a grisly massacre in a women’s prison in June.
In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega is in a full-blown crackdown on dissent,having forced hundreds of opposition figures into exile, stripping them of citizenship, seizing their properties and declaring them ‘traitors of the homeland.’” [AP News]
Manchin stokes '24 buzz
Manchin speaks yesterday at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Photo: Reuters
“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said in New Hampshire last evening that he hasn't decided whether to run for president as an independent in 2024 — but that if he does, ‘I'm gonna win.’
Why it matters: Some top Democrats fear that if Manchin entered the race, he'd draw enough votes from President Biden to hand the contest to the GOP nominee — perhaps former President Trump.
Manchin, 75, was asked about that risk during a town hall hosted by the centrist group No Labels, which has signaled it might back a third-party candidate, Axios' Erin Doherty reports.
‘I've never been in any race I've ever spoiled,’ said Manchin, who is up for reelection next year but hasn't said whether he'll run for Senate. ‘If I get in a race, I'm gonna win. With that being said, I haven’t made a decision.’
Manchin, who has relished the speculation for months, told CNN last night that Biden has ‘been pushed too far left.’
‘He knows that,’ Manchin said. ‘And we're still friends. We can talk.’
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, called Manchin ‘America’s biggest political tease.’
Between the lines: Manchin is ‘striking at the heart of a Biden reelection message that casts today’s GOP as radically different from Democrats and even from its traditional self,’ the Washington Post notes.
‘In Manchin’s telling, the two parties are all too similar.’
No Labels co-founder Nancy Jacobson has called the group's efforts to secure ballot access for a third-party candidate ‘Insurance Policy 2024.’” [Axios]
“Trump world: Today’s courtroom pretrial conference to discuss procedures for handling classified information five weeks after Trump’s federal indictment will represent the first back-and-forth in the case handled by District Judge Aileen Cannon. It could offer clues about how she weighs a schedule for Trump’s trial as he campaigns for president. Trump is pushing for after next year’s election; the Justice Department proposed Dec. 11 (The Associated Press). … The Georgia Supreme Court Monday declined to take up an effort from Trump to quash an investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state (The Hill) ... The former president and his allies are forging a 2025 plan to expand presidential power and to limit the independence of federal agencies if he’s elected (The New York Times). … Trump blamed former Cabinet members during a Fox News broadcast Sunday with Maria Bartiromo for his failure as president to drain ‘the swamp,’ one of his election pledges. Over the weekend, he called former Attorney General William Barr ‘weak and pathetic.’ He described fired former Defense Secretary Mark Esper as ‘incompetent.’ Both men publicly split with Trump during his presidency with criticism about his decision making.” [The Hill]
Israeli president at the White House, Netanyahu gets invitation
“One day before Israeli President Isaac Herzog's White House visit Tuesday, President Joe Biden invited the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. later this year in a move to address the troubled friendship between the longtime allies.
Tensions between Biden and Netanyahu have hit a critical point, driven in part by the months-long crisis in Israel over justice measures that will weaken the country's Supreme Court.
•Netanyahu's judicial overhaul agenda has fueled months of demonstrations. A massive protest erupted in Tel Aviv over the weekend after the Knesset cleared a key hurdle last week to write the reforms into law.
•The prime minister's office said Netanyahu spoke to Biden about the legislation he hopes to pass next week and his intention to gain public support for the overhaul by the summer recess.
•But Tuesday began with fresh protests from Israelis who blocked highways and gathered outside Tel Aviv’s stock exchange and military headquarters in the latest ‘day of disruption.’” Read more at USA Today
Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, July 18, 2023.
Oded Balilty, AP
Georgia court rejects Trump request to bar state from prosecuting him
“Georgia’s Supreme Court has rejected a request from former President Donald Trump to prevent officials from prosecuting him over his efforts to overturn his loss in the state's 2020 presidential election tally. The court unanimously refused a push from Trump’s attorneys filed last week that argued a special grand jury report should be discarded and that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be halted from seeking charges. The state Supreme Court in its ruling this week said Trump’s filing didn’t have ‘the facts or the law necessary to mandate Willis’s disqualification by this Court at this time on this record.’” Read more at USA Today
Immigration
“Amid soaring temperatures, some Texas troopers at the US-Mexico border were told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande River and were ordered not to give them water, according to a new report. Emails shared with CNN detail the account of a trooper-medic at the border who called out the ‘in humane [sic]’ treatment against migrants. The trooper said they ‘were given orders to push the people back into the water to go to Mexico’ and were also ordered not to give them water — even though it appeared many were suffering heat exhaustion. The trooper also called for changes to the latest Operation Lone Star policies brought in by Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, which deployed thousands of personnel to the border. In response, Gov. Abbott released a statement that read in part: ‘President Biden has unleashed a chaos on the border that's unsustainable, and we have a constitutional duty to respond to this unprecedented crisis.’” [CNN]
Actors strike
“Actors and writers remain on the picket lines this week after SAG-AFTRA, a union representing about 160,000 Hollywood actors, officially went on strike Friday. There is still no agreement in sight after union members failed to reach a deal with Hollywood's biggest studios last week. It marks the first time in more than 60 years that Hollywood actors and writers are on strike simultaneously, bringing most film and TV productions to a halt. Among other demands, actors on strike are calling for increased pay and a rethinking of residuals. This type of compensation is paid out to actors whenever TV shows or movies they've appeared in are replayed. But on streaming services, it isn't always clear how often content is replayed, leaving actors making significantly less than they would have on network TV.” [CNN]
Judge temporarily blocks Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' law
“Abortion is again legal in Iowa for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy after a Polk County judge temporarily blocked a law amid pending legal challenges. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the ‘fetal heartbeat’ law Friday afternoon, effectively banning nearly all abortions after doctors detect cardiac activity in the embryo. Abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa sued last week, alleging that the law violates Iowans' inalienable rights and their rights to due process and equal protection under the Iowa Constitution. Now one of the questions in the current case is whether abortion merits additional protections under the Iowa Constitution. Read more at USA Today
FDA approves new RSV drug
“The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug aimed at protecting infants and toddlers from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The new drug called Beyfortus is the first of its kind likely to be widely available to everyone up to 24 months of age beyond a small population of immunocompromised children. The new drug prevents RSV lower respiratory tract disease in infants and children entering or during their first RSV season and is the second monoclonal antibody on the market. In the U.S., about 58,000 children younger than 5 are hospitalized for RSV each year and several hundred die.” Read more at USA Today
CSU, nation's largest university system, mishandled claims
“A constellation of failures at California State University contributed to the widespread mishandling of sexual misconduct claims and an erosion of trust among students, faculty and staff at the nation’s largest four-year public university system, according to a written report released Monday by the law firm Cozen O’Connor. The report caps a yearlong, systemwide assessment of the university’s Title IX practices, as well as its handling of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. It was commissioned by the school’s Board of Trustees in March 2022 in response to an exclusive USA TODAY investigation which revealed how then-CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro ignored sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints against a senior administrator.” Read more at USA Today
Biden's FAA pick
Mike Whitaker, chief commercial officer of Supernal, at the Air-One vertiport in Coventry, England, last year. Photo: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“President Biden is preparing to name Mike Whitaker — a former top FAA official under President Obama who's now trying to develop ‘flying taxis’ — to lead the FAA as soon as this week, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.
Why it matters: Whitaker, if confirmed by the Senate, would inherit an agency facing perils ranging from responding to extreme weather that's roiling airlines, to a shortage of air-traffic controllers.
The FAA, which has 45,000 employees, has been without a permanent leader since early 2022.
Whitaker, a former airline executive who learned to fly while he was deputy FAA administrator under Obama, is the chief commercial officer of Supernal, a Hyundai subsidiary developing a flying taxi.
Our thought bubble, from Axios transportation correspondent Joann Muller: An administrator with a focus on next-generation aviation, like flying taxis and drones, will be important as the skies get more crowded.
But for now, the priority has to be improving the flow of existing air traffic.”
Share this story. [Axios]
No safe port in climate storm
National Park Service rangers pose with an unofficial heat reading at Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley, Calif., on Sunday. Photo: Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images
“Fatal flooding in the Northeast. Blistering heat waves in the South and Southwest. Wildfire smoke pouring in from Canada.
Why it matters: This summer's extreme weather shows that no corner of the U.S. is immune to the effects of a rapidly warming planet, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Andrew Freedman report.
Case in point: The recent catastrophic flooding in Vermont — a state that often ranks high on lists of so-called ‘climate havens.’
Nine inches of rain fell in parts of the Green Mountain State in just a couple of days.
Between the lines: As the climate warms, the air can hold more moisture.
Recent analyses show that federal flood maps dramatically underestimate the risk.
Reality check: Huge numbers of Americans are flocking to the country's fastest-warming cities, including Phoenix.” [Axios]
Hot job: 3 cities have "chief heat officer"
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“When Miami-Dade County, Phoenix and L.A. appointed chief heat officers in 2021 and 2022, it was expected that other major U.S. cities would quickly follow — but none have, Axios' Jennifer A. Kingson reports.
Why it matters: Cities are getting caught flat-footed — without a heat plan, or with responses siloed in different departments.
What's happening: It can be hard to fund the position.
Many cities, including New York and Boston, manage heat response with emergency services departments, or offices of resilience or sustainability.” [Axios]
Share this story ... Go deeper: Read about Phoenix's CHO
Detroit rises 10 years after collapse
Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photos: Bloomberg, Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
“Detroit hit rock bottom 10 years ago today — on July 18, 2013 — as the largest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy, writes Joe Guillen of Axios Detroit.
Why it matters: The crisis forced Detroit to confront decades of decline that left it awash in debt and unable to provide basic services.
The Motor City has made a remarkable comeback, with major economic development projects, blight removal and neighborhood investment.
Mayor Mike Duggan has led a renaissance that includes balanced budgets, big outside investments and millions of dollars socked away.
Flashback: With debts climbing over $18 billion, Detroit could no longer pay its bills.
Police response times approached an hour. Abandoned buildings blanketed neighborhoods. Tax rates were maxed out, leaving officials without options.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes implored Detroiters to remember the collapse when he approved the city's exit strategy in 2014:
‘Your enduring and collective memory of what happened here, and your memory of your anger about it, will be exactly what will prevent this from ever happening again.’
Reality check: Detroit's population cratered from a postwar height of 1.85 million to 685,000 just before bankruptcy. Now, it's 620,000.
Many longtime residents still cope with poverty, crime and blight.” [Axios]
Unidentified floating object
“The Australian Space Agency is trying to find the origin of this giant metal dome — the size of a small car — found by locals on a beach 155 miles from Perth in Western Australia.
‘The object could be from a foreign space launch vehicle and we are liaising with global counterparts,’ the agency said.
An aviation expert told the BBC it might be a fuel tank from a rocket.
Authorities warn people to stay away.” [Axios]
Shipping Hazards
The damaged Crimean Bridge is seen on July 17.Crimea24TV/AFP via Getty Images
“Russian President Vladimir Putin left the Black Sea Grain Initiative on Monday in a blow to global food security concerns amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. The agreement, which was brokered last July by the United Nations and Turkey, was established to help alleviate global food supply concerns by ensuring both Russia and Ukraine could safely ship grain through the Black Sea; more than a quarter of the world’s wheat comes from these two nations. The deal was set to expire on Monday, but top negotiators expected the Kremlin to follow precedent and extend the contract another 60 days. Instead, Moscow said it would only consider rejoining the deal if ‘concrete results’ to better protect Russian goods were enacted.
The Kremlin’s dramatic about-face came mere hours after a strike on the Crimean Bridge killed two Russian civilians. Moscow pointed fingers at Ukrainian domestic security services, with allegations that Ukrainian sea drones destroyed the key road. The bridge is a vital thoroughfare between Russia and Crimea, and its destruction will not only impact Moscow’s ability to send troops into southern Ukraine but also reveal Russia’s vulnerability to Ukrainian seaborne weapons. Ukraine has refused to comment on its alleged responsibility for the strike, but Russian officials are calling it a terrorist attack.
Russia denied that the bridge strike impacted its decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and argued that the agreement has failed to free up Russian food and fertilizer supplies. Yet the timing is suggestive. ‘Russia’s claim that it’s suffering under this initiative is just absurd,’ Caitlin Welsh, the director of global food security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told FP’s Christina Lu. ‘It’s continuing to play victim in a crisis of its own creation.’
With the deal kaput, the Black Sea’s northwestern region will be declared a temporary danger to shipping by the Kremlin. Insurers are already discussing removing contracts that cover ships willing to sail to Ukraine, and food inflation rates are expected to rise. ‘Rations are being cut to children every day now across the world,’ Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters. ‘It is utterly dramatic, and this [deal] was one of the few glimmers of hope in this age of biblical starvation.’
But optimism for the deal’s return persists. Last week, Turkey vowed to continue the grain deal with Ukraine by having the Turkish navy help ensure safe shipping corridors, the Azeri Times reported. How much Turkey can legitimately do is unclear, though, because ships will still require commercial insurers to protect them. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also said he believes Putin wishes to continue the deal, adding that the two leaders will discuss how to transport Russian goods when they meet in person next month. Meanwhile, European Union solidarity lanes will continue to export Ukrainian produce, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.” [Foreign Policy]
“The hottest June on record has been followed by an early July that now includes 10 of the hottest days in history, and there’s a four-in-five chance that this year will be the warmest to be recorded since measurements started in the 1800s, according to the research nonprofit Berkeley Earth. With heat waves suffocating the US, much of Europe and parts of Asia, the trend is clear: 22 of the last 23 years were the hottest ever, and climate scientists say the only way to stop it is to dramatically and immediately cut greenhouse gasses, mainly through ditching fossil fuels.” [Bloomberg]
Tourists try to keep cool yesterday at the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Photographer: Gaia Squarci/Bloomberg
“The fight over Latin America. More than 50 European, Latin American, and Caribbean leaders gathered in Brussels on Monday in the first cross-regional summit in eight years. The two-day meeting is centered on enhancing diplomatic relations to counter Russian and Chinese aggression, specifically by establishing trade deals for critical minerals such as lithium and copper. For Day One, the European Union pledged to invest $50.6 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its Global Gateway, the West’s infrastructure rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The EU also said it was nearing a finalized agreement with the Mercosur bloc to open new trading opportunities and tackle deforestation.
Last month, von der Leyen acknowledged that Europe has neglected the region in the past but promised to reengage, starting with this week’s summit. However, not every nation is thrilled to jump on the EU’s train. Numerous Latin American nations have repeatedly sided with or refused to criticize countries such as Russia and China due to strong trading or security ties with them. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signaled that he wants closer ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Honduras scrapped its recognition of Taiwan in March in favor of Chinese diplomatic relations, and Nicaragua voted to condemn a U.N. resolution in February criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” [Foreign Policy]
“Israel’s round-two vote. Israel’s Knesset held a second hearing on Monday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to end the country’s reasonableness standard as part of his controversial judicial reform proposal. Abolishing the standard would limit judicial oversight of government decisions. The country’s parliament must hold three hearings before a bill can become law. A final vote is scheduled for early next week.
Mass protests against Netanyahu’s judicial reform plan are expected on Tuesday as part of the nation’s larger ‘day of disruption.’ Netanyahu’s “effort to weaken Israel’s democracy, if not redefine the country’s character, and the public’s stunning resistance have taken Israel to a place it’s never been before,” Middle East experts Aaron David Miller and Daniel C. Kurtzer argued in Foreign Policy in March.” [Foreign Policy]
“A debilitating blow for Singapore. Back-to-back scandals have left Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in crisis. Already reeling from investigations into two cabinet ministers’ real estate finances in May, the PAP suffered another shock when Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin issued his surprise resignation on Monday for inappropriate behavior, including using ‘unparliamentary language’ and having an extramarital relationship with a fellow lawmaker, who also resigned.
‘It is painful to do this to our friends and comrades-in-arms, and it can also be politically embarrassing and costly,’ Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday. ‘But the PAP has to maintain party discipline and standard of conduct.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Around 20 cyclists lost control of their bikes on Sunday after a spectator of the Tour de France’s Stage 15 caused a pileup. According to U.S. cyclist Sepp Kuss, an individual trying to take a selfie in the road clipped his handlebars, causing several top competitors to crash, including 2019’s winner, Egan Bernal. The Tour’s best advice: ‘Please pay attention to the riders.’” [Foreign Policy]
Taylor SwiftJutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times
“Taylor on top, again: Taylor Swift’s new album, a rerecording of 2010’s “Speak Now,” has reached No. 1. Swift now has the most No. 1 albums of any female artist: 12, which is one more than Barbra Streisand. The only artists with more are Jay-Z (14) and the Beatles (19).” [New York Times]