The Full Belmonte, 8/11/2023
Supreme Court Pauses Opioid Settlement With Sacklers Pending Review
A federal appeals court had signed off on the agreement, which would shield members of the wealthy Sackler family from opioid-related lawsuits in exchange for billions to resolve thousands of claims.
By Abbie VanSickle and Jan Hoffman
Abbie VanSickle reported from Washington, and Jan Hoffman from New York.
Aug. 10, 2023
“The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily blocked a bankruptcy deal for Purdue Pharma that would have shielded members of the billionaire Sackler family, which once controlled the company, from additional civil lawsuits over the opioid epidemic and that capped the Sacklers’ personal liability at $6 billion.
The order is likely to delay any payments to the thousands of plaintiffs who have sued the Sacklers and Purdue, the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, which is widely blamed for igniting the opioid crisis. Under the deal, the Sacklers had agreed to pay billions to plaintiffs in exchange for full immunity from all civil legal disputes.
The order was in response to a Justice Department objection to the plan, which the government said allowed members of the Sackler family to take advantage of legal protections meant for debtors in ‘financial distress,’ not for billionaires.
The justices said they would hear arguments in December to decide whether the agreement is authorized by the U.S. bankruptcy code. The case could have far-reaching implications for similar lawsuits….” Read more at New York Times
Special counsel seeks January 2 date for Trump’s elections trial
“The special counsel’s office has asked a federal judge to set a Jan. 2, 2024 date for former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges that he illegally conspired to overturn his loss in the 2024 election.
Jack Smith’s office estimated the trial would last four to six weeks, a new court filing shows. Trump attorneys, who have signaled they want to slow the proceedings down, will likely challenge the proposed date.
In Florida today, Trump’s two co-defendants in his other federal case, involving his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, appeared at a hearing.
Walt Nauta, Trump’s personal valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, were charged in a superseding indictment last month that accused them of conspiring with the former president to delete surveillance video at his Florida estate.
Nauta pleaded not guilty to the new charges. De Oliveira had his arraignment delayed again, because he did not secure a local Florida attorney in time.
Trump did not appear at today’s hearing. The judge accepted a not guilty plea he entered in a court filing last week.” [NBC News]
Data: Labor Department. Chart: Axios Visuals
“The Consumer Price Index rose 3.2% in the 12 months through July. It's the latest data release that confirms Americans are getting relief from sticky inflation. Keep reading.” [Axios]
”Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he is "thinking seriously" about dropping his affiliation with the Democratic Party and becoming an independent. Keep reading.” [Axios]
What Hawaii lost
Steff Baku-Kirkman after hearing that her home was destroyed. Photo: Marco Garcia/Reuters
“Look beyond Maui's reputation as a vacationer's paradise to see the devastating toll of Hawaii's wildfires:
At least 36 people have died and dozens more are wounded, with officials warning the number could rise.
Thousands of residents of Lahaina — the historic town that once served as Hawaii's royal capital — are now homeless, CNN reports. More than 2,100 people sought refuge at four emergency shelters in Maui.
Search and rescue teams are making their way through the area hoping to find more survivors, the communication director for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said.
Between the lines: Lahaina officials fear that some of its most culturally significant buildings and treasured history were decimated.
A 150-year-old banyan tree, believed to be the largest in the U.S., was charred, officials said.
The town's oldest building, the Baldwin Home, appears to be gone, a local foundation told the New York Times.
The historic Waiola Church crumbled to the ground. Its lay minister told USA Today they would still hold its next service — even if it requires pop-up tents.
Satellite images show Lahaina in September 2022 (left) and August 2023. Photo: Planet Labs PBC
Zoom in: The Maui wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. since California's Camp Fire in 2018, Axios' Ivana Saric and Shauneen Miranda write.
Extreme winds from Hurricane Dora and drought conditions across Hawaii exacerbated the spread of the wildfires.” [Axios]
Iran releases U.S. prisoners to house arrest
Evin prison in Tehran. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
“Iran has released five Americans from prison and placed them under house arrest, Axios' Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath and Jacob Knutson write.
Why it matters: It's the first step in an "exchange for several jailed Iranians and eventual access to about $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue," the New York Times reports.
Iranian state media for months has reported that a U.S.-Iran prisoner swap was possible.” [Axios]
Saving Face
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (left), chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), interacts with ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray during the bloc’s extraordinary session in Abuja, Nigeria, on Aug. 10.Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images
“The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Thursday that it had ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to Niger to restore constitutional order. What that force will entail, though, is still unclear. No timeline or other specifics were given. The announcement came after the bloc convened an emergency meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss the crisis in Niger and its previous threat of militarily intervening if the coup’s leaders did not reinstate Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum by last Sunday.
Sending troops into a member nation would be an significant move for the bloc, one that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who chairs ECOWAS and supports intervention, has called a last resort. Niger’s junta has warned that it will kill Bazoum if any attempt is made to restore him to power via military intervention. But drastic action is looking more and more likely, especially after United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family, who are being held in the presidential palace with limited food and no electricity.
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s former central bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, met with coup leaders in Niamey to begin talks. But the junta appeared unwilling to budge without first receiving major concessions, including easing sanctions on the military regime to allow medicine and food to enter the country as well as forcing Nigeria to restore electricity to Niger.
But catering to junta demands and looking wishy-washy over its threat of military intervention is not a great look for the regional bloc. ECOWAS has long been considered ‘the strongest, the toughest, the most organized of all of these regional bodies’ in Africa, said Cameron Hudson, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Yet its history as a prevention-oriented body instead of a crisis-response one is affecting its ability to respond to the Niger situation. ECOWAS is ‘not NATO,’ Hudson said. ‘It’s not built on 80 years of experience in a host of countries that all have a similar level of the rule of law. ECOWAS is as strong or as weak as the person who is chairing ECOWAS.’
Meanwhile, Niger’s coup leaders announced their new cabinet on Monday. Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian economist, will lead the junta as prime minister. Twenty-one ministers will serve under him, including three military generals as the ministers of defense, interior, and sports. No Nigerien representative, nor the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea—who all sided with Niger’s junta—attended Thursday’s ECOWAS meeting.” [Foreign Policy]
“Lethal politics. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso declared a 60-day nationwide state of emergency on Thursday following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio the day before. Three days of national mourning will also be held to remember him. The 59-year-old journalist and veteran politician was shot while leaving a campaign event at a high school in Quito, the capital. Opinion polls had consistently ranked Villavicencio in fifth place.
Following Villavicencio’s death, two other candidates suspended their campaigns. Yet Lasso said on Thursday that general elections, scheduled for Aug. 20, will go forth as planned. Ecuador has experienced an alarming rise in gang violence and organized crime related to drug trafficking, with Villavicencio just the latest high-profile official to be killed in recent months. Villavicencio had vowed to crack down on drug gangs and government corruption if elected.” [Foreign Policy]
“Prisoner swap. The Biden administration has reached a deal with Iran for the release of five Americans imprisoned in that country after more than two years of intense negotiations. The Iranian American dual citizens had been detained in Evin Prison on unsubstantiated espionage charges but have now been moved to a hotel in Tehran, where they are expected to remain under house arrest for several weeks before being allowed to board a plane out of the country.
In exchange, the United States will free several jailed Iranians and unfreeze nearly $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue. These assets will be placed into an account with Qatar Central Bank, and the Qatari government will regulate the funds so Iran can only access its money to pay vendors for humanitarian supplies.” [Foreign Policy]
“Joint aid efforts. On Thursday, Tunisia and Libya announced that they will split responsibility for sheltering the hundreds of migrants stranded on their shared border. The decision comes less than 24 hours after at least 41 people were killed off the coast of Italy when their boat, which had set off from Tunisia, capsized. And it comes a month after at least 27 migrants died while abandoned at the border.
According to aid groups, around 300 individuals from sub-Saharan Africa remain trapped at the Tunisian-Libyan border in dangerous desert conditions. Under the agreement, Tunisia will oversee 126 people while Libya assists the remaining 150 or so migrants.” [Foreign Policy]
Malaysia makes owning an LGBTQ+ Swatch punishable by up to 3 years in jail
“KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government said Thursday that all Swatch products that contain lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer elements — including watches, wrappers and boxes — were banned, warning that anyone found with one could be jailed for up to three years.
The ban has been published in the Federal Gazette — which makes it official — as part of a printing law that includes distribution and possession, citing concerns that such products were detrimental to the nation’s morality.
Malaysia, which is predominantly Muslim, already criminalizes same-sex relationships, with punishments ranging from caning under Islamic laws to 20 years in prison for sodomy under colonial-era civil laws….” Read more at AP News
“Pacific disasters. Environmental catastrophes rocked the planet this week, causing mass evacuations and civilian casualties. At least 36 people were killed in Hawaii on Wednesday as fires decimated areas of Maui—including the historic district of Lahaina—marking one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history. More than 11,000 tourists have fled Maui, around 271 structures have been destroyed, and roughly 14,500 people remain without power.
On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, more than 14,000 South Koreans fled their homes amid intense flooding from tropical storm Khanun. South Korean authorities have closed schools and canceled hundreds of flights and train routes in response. The storm, which had been classified as a typhoon when it hit Japan earlier this week, is expected to strike Pyongyang on Friday—potentially impacting North Korea’s crops at a time when the country is already thought to be experiencing a severe food crisis.” [Foreign Policy]
“Artificial intelligence may not be ready for the kitchen quite yet, as one New Zealand supermarket chain discovered. In Pak ’n Save’s latest effort to spice up its app’s recipe options, AI produced some rather alarming suggestions. These included an aromatic water mix that creates chlorine gas, mosquito-repellent roast potatoes, poison bread sandwiches, and (my personal favorite) a bleach-infused rice surprise. Yum?” [Foreign Policy]