The Full Belmonte, 8/15/2022
Federal judge rejects Sen. Lindsey Graham's bid to quash grand jury subpoena in Georgia case
“A federal judge in Georgia denied Sen. Lindsey Graham's bid to avoid testifying before a Atlanta-area grand jury investigating interference in the 2020 election, rejecting the Trump ally's claim that he was shielded from such scrutiny by legislative privilege.
U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had ‘shown extraordinary circumstances and a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony on issues relating to alleged attempts to influence or disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2020 elections.’
The South Carolina Republican had asserted that he was engaging in legitimate inquiries as a lawmaker under the Constitution's speech and debate clause when he contacted Georgia officials following the 2020 election.
‘The Court finds that there are considerable areas of potential grand jury inquiry falling outside the Speech or Debate Clause’s protections,’ May ruled. ‘Additionally, sovereign immunity fails to shield Senator Graham from testifying before the Special Purpose Grand Jury.’” Read more at USA Today
Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images
“U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan one year ago. It was a chaotic end to America's longest war — and a turning point in the Biden presidency. He was elected on a promise of competency. His ratings took a hit after the bungled exit and never recovered.
The Taliban preside over a divided country one year later. For the first time in decades, Afghans are living in relative peace. But the economy is in shambles, hunger is widespread due to sanctions on the Taliban, and girls are still out of school.” Read more at NPR
Life in Afghanistan one year after US withdrawal
“Since the chaotic U.S. exit from Afghanistan one year ago, life in the nation has been transformed for many into a daily struggle for survival – marked by unemployment, homelessness, hunger and fear. After the U.S. military exit, Afghanistan's economy and social safety net collapsed, pushing the country further into poverty after decades of continuous conflict. The Taliban's crackdown has been horrific for many Afghans, especially the middle class, minorities and women. Read more at USA Today
What it means today: Economic woes, starvation across Afghanistan and a political wound for President Joe Biden.
•Background: Here's a timeline of the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban's recapture of Afghanistan.
•A haunting legacy for Biden: Biden's approval rating fell below 50% for the first time following the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. His standing still hasn't recovered.
•Afghanistan's ex-president fled as the Taliban moved in. He said this was to prevent the humiliation of another Afghan president.
• The U.S. government evacuated more than 76,000 Afghans. Now, they are torn between their new lives and the haunting reality of home.
•Perspective: The people of Afghanistan want peace, not another oppressive totalitarian government. And their will for a better life is only growing.” Read more at USA Today
Taliban fighters fired into the air as they dispersed a rare rally by women as they chanted "Bread, work and freedom" and marched in front of the education ministry building, days ahead of the first anniversary of the hardline Islamists' return to power, on August 13, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan.Nava Jamshidi, Getty Images
“A year ago today, the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan. Since then, life for most of the country's 40 million residents has gotten worse:
1. The economy has imploded, Axios' Felix Salmon reports.
The Afghan government's 2022 budget is down over 60% from its 2020 level. Prior to 2021, the country was reliant on foreign aid for 75% of public spending.
Basic household goods inflation is at 52% year-on-year. Per capita income is down to about $375 per year, its lowest level in over a decade.
2. Humanitarian catastrophe:
Economic privation, a severe drought and other factors have left about 24 million Afghans — more than half the country's population — in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN.
Aid groups say their biggest challenge over the past year has not been security concerns, but a shortfall in funding compounded by the fact much of the world's attention turned to Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February.
3. Deteriorating human rights:
The Taliban promised they had changed, especially on human rights. A year later, the group's promises remain unfilled. Schools are still closed to most girls and young women after sixth grade.
Taliban officials have cracked down on the media. Human rights groups have documented arbitrary arrests and summary executions of dissidents.
4. Refugees in limbo:
Outside of Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghans have been evacuated and are piecing together new lives. But they face language barriers, a housing shortage, inflation and limited pathways to permanent status, Axios' Stef Kight reports.
More than 81,000 Afghans have been brought to the U.S. Thousands of other Afghans remain in limbo, including in Qatar and UAE.
What's next: Obaidullah Baheer, a lecturer at the American University in Kabul, says change will have to come from within Afghanistan: "When the lives of common Afghans change, the grounds for radicalism will change [and] the people's minds will change."
Hopelessness, he said, is ‘not a luxury we can afford.’” Read more at Axios
Lawyers appeal Brittney Griner's Russian prison sentence
“Lawyers for American basketball star Brittney Griner on Monday filed an appeal against her 9-year Russian prison sentence for drug possession, Russian news agencies reported. Lawyer Maria Blagovolina and co-counsel Alexander Boykov said after Griner's conviction that the sentence was excessive and that in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole. Read more
•Russia is ready for 'concrete steps' toward Brittney Griner prisoner exchange.” Read more at USA Today
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner holds images standing in a cage at a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.Pool photo by Evgenia Novozhenina
“First came Kristina Karamo, a community college instructor from Detroit who claimed without evidence that she witnessed fraud as a 2020 election observer — and who in April became her party’s pick for secretary of state, Michigan’s top election official, after repeatedly touting those claims.
Next was Doug Mastriano, the firebrand state lawmaker from Pennsylvania who urged his colleagues to throw out Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. In May, Mastriano secured the GOP nomination for governor, a position with the power to certify the state’s slate of presidential electors.
Finally, this month, Arizona Republicans nominated Kari Lake for governor and Mark Finchem for secretary of state. Both are outspoken election deniers who have pledged that they would not have certified Biden’s victory in their state.
The winners fit a pattern: Across the battleground states that decided the 2020 vote, candidates who deny the legitimacy of that election have claimed nearly two-thirds of GOP nominations for state and federal offices with authority over elections, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Had those candidates held power in 2020, they would have had the electoral clout to try something that the current officeholders refused: overturning the vote and denying Biden the presidency.” Read more at Washington Post
Shaded counties are those that will, on average, have half a day or more at or above a 125F° heat index in 2053. Data: First Street Foundation. Map: Axios Visuals“After the U.S. has baked in record heat waves this year, it seems even hotter weather is set to consume huge tracts of the country in coming decades. More than 100 million Americans will live in an ‘extreme heat belt’ by 2053, according to climate-risk nonprofit First Street Foundation. At least one day every year, areas in the belt will endure temperatures over 125 F, which is considered to be in the National Weather Service’s extreme danger level of its heat index. The huge area set to be affected runs all the way from Texas all the way up to Wisconsin, consuming the Southeast of the country too. While the regions in the belt aren’t normally considered the hottest parts of the U.S., there are ‘no coastal influences to mitigate extreme temperatures,’ the researchers’ report explains, adding that many communities hit ‘are not acclimated to warmer weather relative to their normal climate.’ The most extreme heat increase is predicted to come in the Miami-Dade County area of Florida, where the hottest days (currently reaching around 103 F) will jump in frequency from seven days a year to 34 by 2053.” [Daily Beast]
Read it at Bloomberg News
Cars drive through flooded streets in Enterprise, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley last week.
“A flood watch is currently in place for millions of people across the southwestern US after a weekend of rain and thunderstorms drenched the region. In Las Vegas, at least two people have died in flooding since last week in what has become the wettest monsoon season in a decade. In Texas, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring a disturbance that will bring thunderstorms and up to 6 inches of rain over the next few days, leading to potential flash flooding. While the rain has brought relief to some drought-stricken areas, experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme flooding and catastrophic disasters. Separately, a new study indicates a disastrous megaflood is coming to California in the next four decades -- and experts say it would be unlike anything anyone alive today has ever experienced.” Read more at CNN
“Vanessa Bryant civil trial against Los Angeles County resumes
The fourth day of Vanessa Bryant's civil trial against Los Angeles County continues Monday. On Friday, jurors heard testimony from three witnesses, including Douglas Johnson, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy who took close-up photos of dead bodies from the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others. Bryant’s legal team believes Johnson started the spread of the gruesome photos among sheriff’s personnel after taking them for dubious reasons. The trial could continue for over two more weeks. Read more
•Earlier in the trial: Lakers GM Rob Pelinka fights through tears at Vanessa Bryant's trial over Kobe crash photos.
•Vanessa Bryant left court during testimony about the crash photos shared at a bar after Kobe's death.” Read more at USA Today
Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Kobe Bryant, leaves a federal courthouse in Los Angeles last week.Jae C. Hong, AP
Residents fled Russian-held territory yesterday near Europe’s biggest nuclear plant.David Guttenfelder for The New York Times
“Explosions around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine have forced civilians from the area. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the attacks.”
“Iran has ‘categorically’ denied any link with Salman Rushdie's attacker - instead blaming the writer himself.
Mr Rushdie, 75, was left severely injured after being stabbed on stage at an event in New York state. He is now able to breathe unaided.
He has faced years of death threats for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused Iran's state media of gloating about the attack, calling its behaviour ‘despicable’.
Iranian media have extensively commented on the attack, calling it ‘divine retribution’.
Iran's state broadcaster daily Jaam-e Jam highlighted the news that Rushdie might lose an eye following the attack, saying ‘an eye of the Satan has been blinded’.” Read more at BBC
Rushdie and the Global Free Speech Fight
Salman Rushdie is ‘on the road to recovery,’ his agent Andrew Wylie said on Sunday, days after he was the victim of a brutal assault.
Rushdie rose to global fame in 1989 after his novel, The Satanic Verses, earned him a death sentence via a fatwa from Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (who reportedly never read the book). Rushdie was due to speak at an auditorium in western New York when he was stabbed repeatedly by his assailant, Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from New Jersey.
Attacks on those connected to Rushdie’s 1988 work have spanned the globe. Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of the book was stabbed to death in 1991 in Tokyo in a case that remains unsolved. In 1993, Aziz Nesin, who translated an excerpt into Turkish, fled a hotel set alight by an enraged mob; 37 others died in the fire. Later that year in Oslo, Rushdie’s Norwegian publisher was shot on his doorstep only to make a full recovery and then reprint the book.
The attempt on Rushdie’s life is a reminder not only of the enduring power of Khomeini’s fatwa but also the endangered status of free speech.
Suzanne Nossel, the CEO of free speech advocacy organization PEN America (and a frequent FP contributor), has written, the attack comes ‘at a time of intensifying and protean attacks on free expression worldwide.’
While high-profile attacks remain rare, simply locking up vocal dissidents is not: PEN’s Freedom To Write Index, which tracks the imprisonment of writers, academics, and public intellectuals has seen a significant increase in recent years with Myanmar, China, and Saudi Arabia topping the list of the worst offenders in 2021.
The stakes are similar in the world of journalism where the number of members of the press in prison reached a record high last year, according to figures compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists. China and Myanmar again top the list, with Egypt, Vietnam, and Belarus rounding out the top five.
Although 55 journalists were killed in 2021, the lowest number in a decade, that is unlikely to signal a trend—45 journalists have already been killed this year according to CPJ, with a third of those deaths happening in Ukraine.
Far from ushering in a new era of free speech, large tech platforms are increasingly siding with repressive regimes as they seek market access in authoritarian states.
The world reacts. In India, Rushdie’s birthplace and the country where the book was first banned, the government has yet to comment on the attack. Pakistan, where riots are thought to have influenced Khomeini’s fatwa, has also stayed silent.
Iran’s government has opted for victim-blaming instead: A spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry said that ‘Salman Rushdie and his supporters are to blame for what happened to him … Freedom of speech does not justify Salman Rushdie’s insults upon religion and offense of its sanctities.’ For their part, Iran’s hardline media outlets have celebrated the attack, eliciting quick condemnation from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Western leaders have been universally supportive of Rushdie. U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his solidarity with Rushdie and offered prayers for his recovery, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson offeredsimilar words. French President Emmanuel Macron joined the chorus, commending Rushdie’s battle against the forces of obscurantism: ‘His fight is our fight; it is universal. Now more than ever, we stand by his side.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Today is India's Independence Day, and many Indians around the world are celebrating 75 years since the end of nearly 200 years of British colonial rule on August 15, 1947. Since gaining independence, India has built one of the world's fastest-growing economies, is home to some of the world's richest people, and according to the United Nations, its population will soon surpass China's as the world's largest. But despite the nation's surging wealth, challenges remain as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to ‘break the vicious circle of poverty.’ Nevertheless, India's growing wealth is feeding its ambitions in various industries such as sports and space. And Bollywood, India's glittering multibillion-dollar film industry, continues to pull in fans worldwide, catapulting local names into global superstars.” Read more at CNN
Freya the walrus put down after Norway officials warned of people getting too close
“Norway's popular attraction, Freya the walrus, was euthanized for safety reasons early Sunday, authorities in Norway said.
The decision comes after the country's Directorate of Fisheries warned Freya could be put down on Thursday because people were getting too close to the animal and throwing objects at it.
‘Through on-site observations the past week it was made clear that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus,’ it said. ‘Therefore, the Directorate has concluded, the possibility for potential harm to people was high and animal welfare was not being maintained.’
The 1,300-pound female walrus became an icon – capturing hearts (and making some mariner enemies) for sunbathing and chowing down on nearby boats, at times sinking them.” Read more at USA Today
U.K. Is First Country to Approve an Omicron Vaccine Booster
“The U.K. has approved a COVID-19 vaccine booster that specifically targets both the original virus strain and Omicron subvariants that continue to drive most infections. The updated Moderna vaccine will likely be available in the next few weeks, after a study found the booster gave patients better protection from the virus. ‘The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives,’ said June Raine, the chief executive of the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. ‘What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armory to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve.’ The booster will be distributed starting in the fall to those 50 and older and those who are at higher risk of serious infection.” [Daily Beast] Read it at BBC
Sen. Ed Markey leads US delegation to Taiwan, China announces more military drills
“Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met Monday with a delegation of U.S. Congress members, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory. China announced more military drills around Taiwan as the visit occurred, less than two weeks after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan prompted days of threatening military exercises by China. Read more
•China's previous two weeks of threatening exercises prompted Taiwan to put its military on alert. But the drills were largely with defiance and apathy among the public.” Read more at USA Today
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from left, U.S. Democratic Rep. Alan Lowenthal of California, Democratic Rep. John Garamendi, Donald Yu-Tien Hsu of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Democratic Rep. Don Beyer from Virginia and Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, pose for a photo after arriving on Aug. 14, 2022, a U.S. government plane at Songshan airport in Taipei, Taiwan.AP
“An Iranian official has denied that his country bears any responsibility for the brutal assault on Salman Rushdie in New York last week—despite its former supreme leader ordering his execution and putting a bounty on his head. At a press briefing Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, said that Rushide and his supporters were culpable for that attack, and that freedom of speech didn’t justify Rushdie’s supposed slights on Islam in his work. ‘We categorically deny’ any link to the suspect, Hadi Matar, detained immediately after the assault, Kanaani said, adding that ‘no one has the right to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran.’ His denial comes after Vice reported Sunday that Matar had contacted Iran’s Revolutionary Guard before the assassination attempt, though there was no evidence that Iran was involved in organizing the attack. In 1989, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini called for Rushdie’s execution over the content of his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, which Khomeini alleged was blasphemous. According to Rushdie’s agent, the novelist is now beginning his ‘long’ road to recovery after suffering stab wounds to his neck, stomach, eye, chest, and thigh in the attack.” [Daily Beast]
Read it at Reuters
“Afghanistan isn't the only significant anniversary the U.S. is observing this week: It's been 10 years since American journalist Austin Tice disappeared in Syria. His mother says he's being held with a "government-related entity" after being kidnapped in a suburb of Damascus.” Read more at NPR
“Ever get ringing in your ears? About 750 million people have this perplexing condition, a study says. In most cases, the condition known as tinnitus is a reaction in the brain to damage in the ear or auditory system. However, the American Tinnitus Association says, tinnitus can also be a symptom of roughly 200 health problems, including hearing loss, obstructions in the middle ear, and head and neck trauma.” Read more at USA Today
Matt Marton, USA Today
The WNBA regular-season came to a close Sunday, locking in the playoff picture. The Las Vegas Aces clinched the No. 1 seed with a win against the Seattle Storm, relegating the defending champion Sky to No. 2.
Here are the full first-round matchups, and we have the full first-round schedule as well.” Read more at The Athletic
Anne Heche dies at 53
“Anne Heche, an actor whose steady film and television career spanned three decades after her breakthrough role in the soap opera ‘Another World,’ has died. She was 53. Heche's death comes nine days after she was pulled from a burning car and hospitalized in critical condition following a fiery crash in Los Angeles. Heche suffered a ‘severe anoxic brain injury’ as a result of the accident and fell into a coma, according to a statement provided to USA TODAY. Read more at USA Today
Click here to see more photos from the life of Anne Heche.
In this file photo taken on April 4, 2019 US actor Anne Heche attends "The Best of Enemies" premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York CityANGELA WEISS, AFP via Getty Images
“Lives Lived: Years after Zofia Posmysz survived concentration camps, she thought she heard the voice of her former guard in Paris — a moment that inspired her best-known work, ‘The Passenger in Cabin 45.’ She died at 98.” Read more at New York Times
Jan Longone, whose extensive collection of cookbooks and culinary ephemera became the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the University of Michigan.Credit...Doug Coombe
“Jan Longone, a curious, cordial and diligent food scholar who started a mail-order cookbook business from her Michigan basement that led to friendships with towering culinary figures like Julia Child and grew into one of the nation’s great cookbook collections, died on Aug. 3 in Ann Arbor, Mich. She was 89.” Read more at New York Times
“MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The 10-foot par putt in regulation was so crucial and the moment so important that Will Zalatoris doesn’t remember screaming out when he made it, ‘What are they gonna say now?’
It took three playoff holes to get the answer Sunday in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and it was more along the lines of what they won’t say.
Zalatoris is no longer the best on the PGA Tour without a victory.
Already a force in the majors, Zalatoris got that first win out of the way with clutch putts and smart decisions to beat Sepp Straka and capture the first FedEx Cup playoffs event.
‘It’s hard to say, ‘About time,’ when it’s your second year on tour, but it’s about time,” Zalatoris said. “Considering all those close finishes, it means a lot.’
He could have been referring to his runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama in the Masters last year, playoff losses at Torrey Pines and at Southern Hills in the PGA Championship, and most recently the putt that burned the edge of the cup that kept him from a U.S. Open playoff.” Read more at AP News