The Full Belmonte, 7/25/2022
Exhibit from Thursday's prime-time hearing. Photo: House Select Committee via AP
“At a time when the House Jan. 6 committee had planned to be locked down writing a final report for release in the fall, more people are talking and the committee is pursuing new leads.
Vice Chair Liz Cheney told Jake Tapper on CNN's ‘State of the Union’ that the committee might subpoena Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, who corresponded with Trump officials about overturning the 2020 election.
‘The committee is engaged with her counsel,’ Cheney said. ‘We certainly hope that she will agree to come in voluntarily. But the committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena if she does not.’
‘We anticipate talking to additional members of the president's Cabinet,’ Cheney added. ‘We anticipate talking to additional members of his campaign. Certainly, we're very focused as well on the Secret Service.’
Committee member Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told Jonathan Karl on ABC's ‘This Week’: ‘I certainly think there's evidence of crimes. And I think it goes all the way up to Donald Trump.’
Reality check: Experts say DOJ faces high hurdles to bringing Jan. 6 charges against Trump or his allies. Inciting a riot is a possible charge, but the First Amendment could protect Trump. —USA Today” Read more at Axios
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 14, 2022. About 2 in 3 Americans say they favor term limits or a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices, according to a new poll that finds a sharp increase in the percentage of Americans saying they have “hardly any” confidence in the court. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — About 2 in 3 Americans say they favor term limits or a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices, according to a new poll that finds a sharp increase in the percentage of Americans saying they have ‘hardly any’ confidence in the court.
The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 67% of Americans support a proposal to set a specific number of years that justices serve instead of life terms, including 82% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans. Views are similar about a requirement that justices retire by a specific age.
The poll was conducted just weeks after the high court issued high-profile rulings including stripping away women’s constitutional protections for abortion and expanding gun rights. The poll also shows more Americans disapprove than approve of the court’s abortion decision, with just over half saying the decision made them ‘angry’ or ‘sad.’” Read more at AP News
Voters in the Kansas primary election, where early voting is under way, will decide whether to amend the state’s constitution to say it doesn’t protect abortion. PHOTO: JOE BARRETT/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“OLATHE, Kan.—A statewide referendum on the future of abortion in Kansas is shaping up as the first major political test on the issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
On Aug. 2, Kansas voters will decide whether to amend the state’s constitution to explicitly say that it doesn’t protect abortion. The referendum, planned for months, comes after the high court’s June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ended the federal constitutional right to the procedure.
A normally sleepy August primary is now the subject of an intense get-out-the-vote effort, with groups on both sides spending millions sending out glossy mailers and organizing volunteers to knock on doors. Television ads paid for by abortion opponents show crying babies and urge Kansans to protect their state from becoming a haven for out-of-state women seeking to end their pregnancies. Highways are lined with electronic billboards sponsored by abortion-rights supporters featuring an image of Rosie the Riveter and urging voters to trust women.
‘It’s like if you were having a bonfire in your backyard and then poured a bunch of lighter fluid on it,’ said Fred Sherman, election commissioner for Johnson County, the state’s largest by population, just south of Kansas City. His office is predicting a 67% turnout locally, compared with around 20% to 30% in typical primaries from recent years.
The Kansas referendum is being closely watched by national groups on both sides ahead of other abortion-related ballot referendums in the fall.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Elon Musk, on left, and Sergey Brin. ANGELA WEISS/AFP/GETTY; IMAGE PRESS AGENCY/NURPHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK
Elon Musk’s Friendship With Sergey Brin Ruptured by Alleged Affair
Tesla chief’s liaison with Google co-founder’s wife led to couple’s divorce filing
“Elon Musk engaged in a brief affair last fall with the wife of Sergey Brin, prompting the Google co-founder to file for divorce earlier this year and ending the tech billionaires’ long friendship, according to people familiar with the matter.
Their falling out is one of a string of personal issues Mr. Musk has faced even as he juggles business challenges, including manufacturing disruptions at Tesla Inc. TSLA 0.20%▲ and a court fight over his desire to withdraw his $44 billion bid for Twitter Inc.
Mr. Musk is the richest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of $240 billion, and Mr. Brin ranks eighth world-wide, with $95 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Messrs. Brin and Musk, among the nation’s most famous entrepreneurs, were longtime friends. Mr. Musk has said that for years he regularly crashed at Mr. Brin’s house in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Brin provided Mr. Musk with about $500,000 for Tesla during the 2008 financial crisis, when the company was struggling to increase production. In 2015, Mr. Musk gave Mr. Brin one of Tesla’s first all-electric sport-utility vehicles.
In recent months, there has been growing tension between the two men and their teams, according to the people familiar with the matter. Mr. Brin has ordered his financial advisers to sell his personal investments in Mr. Musk’s companies, some of those people said. It couldn’t be learned how large those investments are, or whether there have been any sales.
Sergey Brin and his wife, Nicole Shanahan, in 2019.PHOTO: TAYLOR HILL/GETTY IMAGES
Mr. Brin filed for divorce from Nicole Shanahan in January of this year, citing ‘irreconcilable differences,’ according to records filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The divorce filing was made several weeks after Mr. Brin learned of the brief affair, those people said.
At the time of the alleged liaison in early December, Mr. Brin and his wife were separated but still living together, according to a person close to Ms. Shanahan. In the divorce filing, Mr. Brin cited Dec. 15, 2021, as the date of the couple’s separation.
A lawyer for Mr. Brin declined to comment. Mr. Musk didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Ms. Shanahan, who runs a foundation focused on reproductive justice, also didn’t respond to requests for comment.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
This is Jerseydale, Calif., in Mariposa County, an hour from Yosemite, yesterday. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
“A combination of heat, low humidity and parched vegetation is bedeviling firefighters "battling an inferno in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Yosemite that has forced thousands to flee their homes," the L.A. Times reports.
Why it matters: The Oak Fire, California's biggest of the year, isn't as destructive as the August Complex fire in 2020 or the Dixie Fire in 2021 — the worst and second worst in state history. But experts fear Oak is the start of a particularly brutal wildfire season.
More photos.” Read more at Axios
A firefighting aircraft drops retardant ahead of the Oak Fire on July 24, 2022 near Jerseydale, California. The fast moving Oak Fire burning outside of Yosemite National Park has forced evacuations, charred over 14,000 acres and has destroyed several homes since starting on Friday afternoon. The fire is zero percent contained.Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
“Josh Hawley, the Missouri senator shown running from the mob he incited on January 6, is ‘a laughingstock’ who should be afraid of what the Capitol attack committee might disclose next, a leading newspaper in his home state said.
Hawley was widely criticised for raising a fist to protesters outside Congress on 6 January 2021, then after the mob sent by Donald Trump failed to stop certification of Joe Biden’s election win, voting to object to results anyway.
The senator cast that vote, American voters now know, after running when rioters broke into Congress.
In an editorial, the Kansas City Star noted that Hawley will soon publish a book entitled Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs, but said people watching the hearing ‘didn’t see much virile bravado as he ran from the mob’.” Read more at The Guardian
“BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s government confirmed Monday it had carried out its first executions in nearly 50 years, hanging a former lawmaker, a democracy activist and two other political prisoners who had been accused of a targeted killing after the country’s military takeover last year.
The executions, first announced in the state-run Mirror Daily newspaper, were carried out despite worldwide pleas for clemency for the four men, including from United Nations experts and Cambodia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The four were executed “in accordance with legal procedures” for directing and organizing ‘violent and inhuman accomplice acts of terrorist killings,’ the newspaper reported. It did not say when they were hanged.
The military government later issued a brief statement about the executions, while the prison where the men had been held and the prison department refused comment.” Read more at AP News
“The Sakurajima volcano, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, erupted Sunday evening, prompting evacuations in the country's southern island.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said Sakurajima erupted around 8:05 p.m. local time (7:05 a.m. EDT) on the island of Kyushu, hurling large rocks as far as 1½ miles south and sending up plumes of smoke and ash. Japan's NHK News released a video from the agency capturing the flames from the eruption.
The meteorological agency issued a Level 5 alert, the highest alert possible, to residential areas immediately near the volcano, such as parts of Kagoshima City, to evacuate. The city is home to about 600,000 people.
Evacuees were advised to be cautious of falling volcanic rocks and possible flow of lava, ash and searing gas within 2 miles of the crater.
No injuries, deaths or damage were immediately reported.” Read more at USA Today
Pope Francis is welcomed after arriving at Edmonton International Airport yesterday. Photo: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
“Pope Francis landed in Canada yesterday to kick off a weeklong trip that will center around his apology on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church for the abuse that indigenous children endured at mostly church-run residential schools, Reuters' Philip Pullella reports.
‘This is a trip of penance,’ the pope told reporters after his flight took off from Rome.
Context: Between 1881 and 1996, more than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and brought to residential schools.
Many children were starved, beaten and sexually abused in a system that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called ‘cultural genocide.’
While Canada's leaders have known about high numbers of children dying at the residential schools since 1907, the issue surged to the fore with the discovery of suspected unmarked graves around former residential-school sites last year.
Data: AP. Map: Thomas Oide/Axios
The papal plane touched down in Edmonton, in the western province of Alberta, where he will visit a former residential school and meet with indigenous peoples today. He'll also visit Quebec City and Iqaluit, the capital of the territory of Nunavut. He departs Friday.
After disembarking with the help of a lift, the pope, 85, boarded a white Fiat 500X, which dropped him at the hangar. He then proceeded by wheelchair.” Read more at Axios
Taiwan soldiers guide Taipei residents to a basement shelter today during an air-raid drill. Photo: Chiang Ying-ying/AP
“TAIPEI, Taiwan — Threats from China shouldn't stop Speaker Pelosi from visiting Taiwan, analysts on the self-governing island tell Axios China author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian.
Why it matters: Pelosi's planned trip to Taiwan has sparked heated rhetoric from Beijing and concerns among Biden administration officials that the dispute could spiral into a cross-strait crisis.
Catch up quick: China threatened ‘forceful measures’ if the visit occurs, and triggered White House alarm bells by privately suggesting a military response was possible, the Financial Times reported (subscription).
President Biden said the U.S. military thinks such a trip is ‘not a good idea right now.’
Pelosi, who has not confirmed the trip, said last week that she believes ‘it's important for us to show support for Taiwan.’ It would be the first visit by a House speaker to Taiwan since Newt Gingrich traveled there in 1997.
In Taiwan, analysts and policymakers welcomed news of Pelosi's possible trip.
‘It would be a very positive step forward in building up our relationships, not just with the Speaker but overall with Congress, and a symbol of how strong the US-Taiwan relationship is,’ said Vincent Chao, who previously served as director of the political division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington.” Read more at Axios
“Tunisia referendum. Tunisians have the chance today to vote on whether to change their country’s constitution to dramatically expand the powers of President Kais Saied, who took control of the country one year ago today. Voter turnout is expected to be low, and all major political parties have called for a “no” vote. Nonetheless, the measure is expected to pass.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Lavrov in Uganda. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov continues his tour of African nations today in Uganda where he is expected to meet with President Yoweri Museveni. Speaking in Egypt on Sunday, Lavrov appeared to backtrack on previous statements describing limited aims in Ukraine by saying that Russia aimed to ‘free’ the Ukrainian people ‘from the regime that is absolutely anti-people and anti-history.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Rigging claim | President Jair Bolsonaro kicked off his re-election campaign yesterday, after intensifying attempts to discredit Brazil’s voting system. Trailing Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in polls just over two months before voting starts amid frustration over the spiraling cost of living, the far-right leader has made baseless claims of voter fraud and pushed measures to cushion the blow of inflation running at nearly 12%.” Read more at Bloomberg
Bolsonaro speaks during the National Convention to formalize his candidacy for a second term in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. Photographer: Andre Borges/Bloomberg
“China’s most educated generation was supposed to blaze a trail toward a more innovative and technologically advanced economy. Instead, an estimated 15 million young people are jobless, and many are lowering their ambitions. Unemployment among 16- to 24-year-old urbanites is a record 19.3%, more than twice the rate in the US — with the government’s hardline coronavirus strategy and a regulatory crackdown on certain industries hitting the private sector.” Read more at Bloomberg
A job fair in Yichang, China, on July 8. Source: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
“Yesterday marked the 13th anniversary of a raise for the federal minimum wage, stuck at $7.25 per hour since 2009.
Why it matters: The longer it stays there, the less relevance it has, and the closer it comes to meaninglessness, Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon writes.
Measured in 2009 dollars, the minimum wage has fallen over the past 13 years to just $5.27 per hour.
Most states have a higher minimum wage. D.C.'s minimum wage is $16.10 as of July 1 — more than double the federal benchmark. It's now legal in only 20 states to pay an employee as little as $7.25 per hour.
The bottom line: The minimum wage is so low that precious few employers can find anybody willing to work for that figure.” Read more at Axios
“PARIS — Head down and legs churning, Jonas Vingegaard crossed the finish line of the penultimate stage of the Tour de France on Saturday and cupped his hand over his mouth, as if to stifle a gasp. He had done what he had come to do, and his astonishing accomplishment was sinking in.
In only his second Tour de France, and only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Vingegaard, a 25-year-old Danish rider, had sealed his victory in cycling’s most prestigious race.
His victory became official on Sunday, when the race concluded with its traditional celebratory ride into Paris. But the Tour had been effectively over for days, and when Vingegaard finished second in Saturday’s time trial to his Jumbo-Visma teammate, Wout van Aert of Belgium, his effort on the 25-mile course was enough to leave him with such a large lead in the overall standings — 3 minutes 34 seconds ahead of his closest pursuer — that the final stage brought almost no drama at all.” Read more at New York Times
“Joni Mitchell stole the show with a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival, her first public full-length performance since 2000, with a little help from Brandi Carlile.” Read more at NPR
“COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — David Ortiz promised to speak from the heart. As usual, Big Papi delivered.
His megawatt smile tinged with a tad of emotion, the former Boston Red Sox slugger was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday — after his daughter Alexandra sang the national anthiem — and was humbled by his surroundings.
‘I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to be here today and for giving me the joy of being able to travel this path, this path that has allowed me to be here today and hopefully inspire everyone to believe in yourself,’ Ortiz said.
Ortiz was greeted by a raucous crowd chanting ‘Papi! Papi!’ as many fans made the four-hour drive from the vicinity of Fenway Park to attend the festivities.” Read more at AP News
“Jordan Peele ’s UFO thriller “Nope” topped the North American charts in its first weekend in theaters with an estimated $44 million in ticket sales, Universal Pictures said Sunday. Though it doesn’t come close to the $71 million debut of “Us,” it is still significantly impressive for an original, R-rated film — and the biggest of the pandemic for an original screenplay.
“Nope,” which opened on 3,785 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, is the most expensive film Peele has made to date with a reported $68 million production budget, not accounting for marketing and promotion costs. “Us” cost around $20 million to produce, while “Get Out” was made for only $4.5 million. Both films ultimately made over $255 million worldwide.
Critics were largely positive about “ Nope,” which stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun and pays homage to UFO films like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Signs,” and is currently resting at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.” Read more at AP News
“Lives Lived: Bob Rafelson was an iconoclastic director who was a central figure of the New Hollywood movement. He died at 89.” Read more at New York Times