The Full Belmonte, 8/2/2022
Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri pictured in this still image from video aired by Al-Jazeera. Source: Al-Jazeera
“Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri died in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan on Sunday. He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11 and led the organization after bin Laden was killed in 2011.” Read more at NPR
“Biden said the strike, in downtown Kabul over the weekend, did not kill any civilians or members of al-Zawahri’s family.
Al-Zawahri, 71, led a life steeped in conspiracy and violence. He also played roles in the attack on the destroyer Cole in 2000 and the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa that killed hundreds of Americans.” Read more at New York Times
Photo: U.S. Army via Reuters
21 years: This U.S. government leaflet — from Nov. 20, 2001 — offers up to a $25 million reward "for information leading to the whereabouts or capture of these two men."
“A judge sentenced Guy Reffitt, a Texas man who brought a pistol and zip ties to the Capitol on Jan. 6, to more than seven years in prison.” Read more at New York Times
“To secure Senator Joe Manchin’s support for a climate bill, Democratic leaders and the White House pledged to finish a West Virginia gas pipeline.” Read more at New York Times
“A bipartisan group of senators released a bill to protect abortion rights, but it probably lacks enough votes to pass.” Read more at New York Times
Death toll climbs to 37 in Kentucky flooding as severe weather looms
“Another round of severe storms that could linger through the day Tuesday threatens to bring further rainfall, high winds and even flash flooding to Kentucky residents still trying to find their footing. At a news conference Monday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that five days after the flooding began, a minimum of ‘hundreds’ of people remain unaccounted for in the state. The death toll rose to 37 Monday evening and is still expected to rise as search efforts continue this week.” Here's what we know Read more at USA Today
A Perry County school bus, along with other debris, sits in a creek near Jackson, Kentucky, on July 31, 2022.SETH HERALD, AFP via Getty Images
“More than a dozen major news organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Public Safety to obtain public records relating to the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas. The coalition includes CNN, the Texas Tribune, and many of the state and the country's biggest news outlets. The news organizations have been fighting for weeks to obtain information on behalf of the public amid falsehoods and stonewalling from Texas officials in the aftermath of the mass shooting. Separately, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott met privately with families in Uvalde on Monday to discuss school safety. But some expressed skepticism regarding the governor's visit to the town, where questions and frustrations remain over the official response to the May 24 shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.” Read more at CNN
“Georgia’s Department of Revenue has announced its residents can claim embryos as dependents on their state taxes just weeks after an appeals court ruled to redefine ‘natural person’ to include the unborn. In a press release issued Monday, the department confirmed that in light of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, along with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upholding Georgia’s ‘heartbeat’ abortion law, ‘the department will recognize any unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat… as eligible for the Georgia individual income tax dependent exemption.’ Now, the department says, ‘on individual income tax returns filed for Tax Year 2022 where, at any time on or after July 20, 2022, and through December 31, 2022, a taxpayer has an unborn child (or children) with a detectable human heartbeat (which may occur as early as six weeks’ gestation), the taxpayer may claim a dependent personal exemption… in the amount of $3000 for each unborn child.’ The department states that ‘similar to any other deduction claimed on an income tax return,’ taxpayers must provide ‘relevant medical records or other supporting documentation… if requested by the department.’” [The Daily Beast]
Read it at Georgia Department of Revenue
Multiple States Will Vote On 2020 Election Lies
”Across the country Tuesday, Republican voters will have the chance to reject election denialism. But chances for Trumpian election lie devotees look pretty good.
The marquee nomination will likely come from ARIZONA, where State Rep. Mark Finchem (R), a longtime Oath Keepers member and Trump endorsee, is one of several election deniers running to manage Arizona’s elections. Fellow Trump endorsees and election deniers Kari Lake and Blake Masters are expected to win the nominations for governor and U.S. senator, respectively, as well.
In MINNESOTA, Mike Lindell’s attorney Doug Wardlow is running in the Republican attorney general primary, promising to imprison people for ‘attempting to rig our elections.’ KANSAS Secretary of State Scott Schwab (R) faces a challenge from Mike Brown, whose website features a campaign video with the title cards ‘mysterious voters,’ ‘irregularities,’ ‘red flags,’ and ‘the danger is real.’
It’s not just the candidates: In MICHIGAN – where several election deniers are running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination – secretary of state Jocelyn Benson (D) says her office has made preparations for ‘any attempts to block the certification of our elections.’ I interviewed one new county canvassing board member in the state last year. He told me, first, that he thought there was a good chance ‘things were not legal” in 2020, and second, that he hadn’t actually read most of the affidavits he’d cited to make that point, because ‘that’s a real time-consuming thing there.’”
Abortion Rights Are On The Ballot Tuesday
KANSAS residents will decide Tuesday whether to affirmatively empower the legislature to outlaw abortion in the state, or to maintain the status quo, which would uphold the state constitution’s protections for abortion access through 22 weeks of pregnancy.
There’s lots of pro-choice energy in the state – those who are urging a ‘NO’ vote on the proposed constitutional amendment – particularly after the elimination of Roe v. Wade’s protections. But it’s an uphill battle: As we’ve previously reported, new voter suppression laws made it more complicated for voting rights groups to register voters.
Anti-choice groups are working the refs, too: A prominent group of right-wing activists recently pressured Sedgwick County’s election commissioner to remove drop boxes from a Democratic-leaning district in the county. That effort has not been successful – a judge recently dismissed an anti-drop box lawsuit after 15 minutes of deliberation – but it shows the lengths to which the anti-choice side will go, especially in potential new lawsuits or appeals should pro-choice voters come out on top Tuesday.
Around The States
Republicans in GEORGIA are taking advantage of a new law empowering citizens to challenge each others' voter eligibility, putting thousands of Georgians at risk of disenfranchisement.
The Otero County, NEW MEXICO commission – which includes Jan. 6 defendant Couy Griffin – voted recently to discontinue the use of voting machines. But, as it turns out, that’s not really up to them.
Four WISCONSIN voters with physical disabilities are suing to ensure they can still vote after the state's Supreme Court ruled against unmanned ballot drop boxes, and also against a third party – such as a partner or roommate – returning a voter's absentee ballot to election clerks for them.
Also in Wisconsin, a Dane County committee report urged more security measures to protect election workers.
The Senate Rules Committee has scheduled a Wednesday hearing to discuss the bipartisan legislative package aimed at reforming the Electoral Count Act, the 135-year-old law Donald Trump tried to exploit in order to steal a second term.
The U.S. Postal Service is creating an election mail division.” - Matt Shuham. Read more at Talking Points Memo
Signs for and against a Kansas constitutional amendment on abortion are seen yesterday in Lenexa, Kan. Photo: Kyle Rivas/Getty Images
“Former President Trump's last-minute endorsement of ‘Eric’ ahead of today's Missouri Senate primary — in a field that includes both the state's attorney general, Eric Schmitt, and disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens — highlights how disruptive a force Trump remains in the GOP.
Schmitt and Greitens each claimed Trump's backing, and said they were honored, Axios' Josh Kraushaar and Andrew Solender report.
The big picture: A possible far-right Trump sweep in Arizona ... a Midwestern referendum on members of the Squad ... and a Kansas ballot question on abortion are among the big decisions facing voters today.
Primaries are being held in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Washington state.
Kansas today becomes the first state to vote on abortion since Roe's demise. (Go deeper).” Read more at Axios
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expected to visit Taiwan, according to media reports
IMAGE SOURCE, EPA
Image caption, These is no confirmation yet that Mrs Pelosi - seen here in Malaysia with her counterpart Azhar Azizan Harun - will visit Taiwan
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for the second leg of an Asian tour that has been overshadowed by an expected stop in Taiwan, which would escalate tensions with Beijing. China views Taiwan as part of its territory, though Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign country. Here's what we know so far.
Why Pelosi's expected visit matters:
•China's repeated warnings: On Monday, Chinese official Zhao Lijian said the military will ‘not sit idly by’ if Pelosi visits Taiwan, according to Reuters.•More context: While there have been no official announcements, local media in Taiwan reported that Pelosi will arrive in the capital Taipei on Tuesday night, becoming the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to visit the self-ruled island in more than 25 years.•America's ambiguous policy: The U.S. has long embraced a murky middle ground that seeks to support Taiwan without infuriating Beijing. President Joe Biden said the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s defense militarily if China invaded to take over the island.” Read more at USA Today
Workers build a security zone outside a local hotel in Taipei on August 2, 2022, where US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might be staying.SAM YEH, AFP via Getty Images
“Scientists say the name monkeypox is ‘discriminatory and stigmatizing. The World Health Organization agrees. But no progress has been made on finding a new name, and some say the name doesn't need changing.” Read more at NPR
“Savings target | Liz Truss said she’d slash ‘waste’ in the UK’s civil service and align the pay of public-sector workers to local living costs to save $13.5 billion if she becomes prime minister. The pledges aim to shore up her support on the right of the ruling Conservative Party as members receive ballot papers in her contest with Rishi Sunak to succeed Boris Johnson.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Reversing course | President Nicolas Maduro plans to sell slices of government stakes in state-owned companies through the stock exchange in a bid to resuscitate Venezuela’s economy. The move to allow more free-market enterprise, while modest in scope, marks a sharp turnaround from his socialist policies.” Read more at Bloomberg
Vladimir Putin, left, and Xi Jinping in Beijing in February.Pool photo by Alexei Druzhinin
A new axis?
“Vladimir Putin has traveled outside the boundaries of the former Soviet Union only twice this year. Once was to visit China in February, and once was to visit Iran last month, my colleague David Sanger points out.
Those two countries obviously have something in common. Like Russia, both China and Iran view the U.S. as an adversary. If the world is breaking into two competing blocs — democracy versus autocracy, as President Biden has put it — Russia, China, and Iran make up the core of the anti-U.S. bloc. And they recently seem to be increasing their cooperation.
Their closer ties raise an alarming prospect: What if all three countries decide to confront the U.S. simultaneously sometime soon in an effort to overwhelm the American ability to respond?
Russia has already invaded Ukraine and has the ability to expand its attack to new parts of the country. Iran has so far refused to re-enter the nuclear pact that Donald Trump canceled and could at some point take steps to build a nuclear weapon. China has become more aggressive toward Taiwan, and U.S. officials have grown concerned about the possibility of an invasion in coming years.
‘I’m not predicting it,’ David told me, referring to the prospect of simultaneous acts of aggression from China, Iran and Russia. ‘But there is reason to think it’s plausible, and our system can barely manage one big conflict at a time.’
Anna Rose Layden for The New York Times
Tensions in Taiwan
The focus this week has turned to Taiwan. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, may soon stop there, as part of her current tour of Asia, which would make her the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island in years. Newt Gingrich visited in 1997 when he was speaker, and Alex Azar, Trump’s secretary of health and human services, went in 2020.
Chinese officials have reacted angrily to Pelosi’s planned visit, which underscores China’s new aggression toward Taiwan. Xi Jinping, China’s president, seemed to be referring to her last week when he told Biden that the U.S. should not “play with fire.” Some U.S. intelligence officials believe that China may send fighter jets to escort Pelosi’s plane as it approaches Taiwan or take steps in coming weeks to damage Taiwan’s economy.
Biden administration officials yesterday tried to warn China from taking aggressive action. ‘Our actions are not threatening and they break no new ground,’ John Kirby, a spokesman, said at the White House yesterday. ‘Nothing about this potential visit — potential visit — which oh, by the way, has precedent, would change the status quo.’
There are no easy choices for the U.S. in this situation.
If Pelosi had canceled the visit, she would have been overruling the wishes of Taiwan’s leaders. A visit, said my colleague Amy Qin, who is based in Taiwan, ‘boosts Taiwan’s legitimacy on the international stage.’
As Edward Wong, a Times correspondent who covers diplomacy from Washington, said, ‘Supporters of the trip argue that it’s the U.S. sending a message to Beijing that Taiwan is important enough to us that we are going to engage at senior levels.’ He described the trip as a version of ‘diplomatic deterrence,’ trying to remind China of the potential consequences if it did invade Taiwan.
A cancellation, by contrast, would have risked sending the message that China can dictate American relations with Taiwan. It would have the potential to repeat the mistakes that the U.S. made with Putin over the past 20 years, when it repeatedly tried to appease him.
Putin invaded Georgia, annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, murdered Russian dissidents and intervened in the U.S. presidential election in 2016. Each time, the U.S. avoided major confrontation, partly out of a worry that it could spark a larger war. Putin, viewing the U.S. and Western Europe as weak, responded last year with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
If China believes the U.S. won’t ultimately come to Taiwan’s defense, the chances of an invasion may increase.
But the risks of a confrontational approach are also real. Pelosi’s visit, for example, may lead Chinese airplanes to near Taiwan in new ways. ‘If they enter into Taiwan’s territorial airspace, an incident could happen, whether Xi wants one or not,’ Bonnie Glaser, the director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S., told The Times.
Cao Qun, a researcher at a state-run Chinese think tank, recently wrote: ‘The chances of a clash between China and the United States in the Taiwan Strait are growing.’
A shared interest
Putin and Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s president, in Tehran in July.Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times
None of this means that a coordinated campaign of aggression from China, Russia and Iran will necessarily happen in coming months. For one thing, the three countries have their own tensions, as David Sanger also notes. China and Russia have been longtime rivals for influence in Asia, and both — like the U.S. — would prefer that Iran not become a nuclear power.
But the three countries also have one overarching shared goal: reducing the geopolitical influence of the U.S., Western Europe, Japan and their allies. Already, China, Russia and Iran have collaborated in recent months, especially in the purchase of Russian and Iranian energy.
All three stand to benefit when the U.S. has to cope with multiple international crises at the same time.” Read more at New York Times
“As U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner returns to a Russian court today, her fate hangs on shaky high-level diplomacy between Washington and Moscow. Griner was arrested on drug charges on Feb. 17, a week before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. Her trial began on July 1 and is expected to end this week; she has pleaded guilty to the charges, which could carry a 10-year prison sentence.
A lawyer for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout said Monday that he feels ‘confident’ that a proposed prisoner exchange swapping his client for Griner and another U.S. citizen serving a prison sentence in Russia for espionage, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. But any potential deal is far from done: CNN reports that Russia has asked that the swap include a second Russian, Vadim Krasikov, a former spy currently serving a sentence in Germany for a murder conviction.
Moscow’s request casts doubt on the discussions so far. U.S. officials have called it a ‘bad faith attempt’ to avoid a serious proposal from Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that the United States had made a ‘substantial offer’ to push Moscow to release Griner and Whelan, declining to provide details. A source told CNN that the United States was willing to involve Bout in an exchange.
Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last Thursday—the highest-level known contact between the two countries since Russia invaded Ukraine—with Lavrov urging his U.S. counterpart to return to ‘quiet diplomacy’ when it comes to prisoner swaps. However, Griner’s case has already attracted significant attention in the United States—and Whelan’s family has fought for his release for three years, dating back to the Trump administration.
There are indications that Bout—who is accused of selling weapons to combatants in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and was arrested in a drug sting in 2008—could be a crucial prize for Russian officials. That could be because he allegedly has links to Russia’s military intelligence agency (known as the GRU), as the Washington Post reports. But Russia still might not see Bout as worth a two-for-one deal. If not Krasikov, Moscow may seek another prisoner in an exchange.
More than anything, the uncertainty of the discussions between Washington and Moscow reflects the growing distrust between the two governments in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine—which makes Griner an unfortunate pawn in a delicate diplomatic game. The Biden administration remains quiet, but it remains her best hope as she faces a potential verdict.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Germany’s energy crunch. Russia’s latest cuts in natural gas supply to Germany are fueling a debate over the country’s plans to shut down its three last nuclear power plants. In June, FP’s Allison Meakem examined the deep political and historical roots of the controversy.
The German opposition Union bloc has intensified its demands to at least extend the plants’ lives through 2024 and avoid carbon emissions, but it faces disagreement from the Social Democrats and the Greens. Meanwhile, Germany has joined other European countries in restarting old coal plants to ditch Russian energy.
In FP, Noah Gordon argues that Europe already needs more aggressive state action to reach its climate goals.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“South Korea’s parliament is currently debating a bill that would shorten mandatory military service for K-pop stars, but Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup suggested on Monday that the globally renowned boy band BTS could keep performing no matter what—including if they complete the full two years of duty. “Even if they join the military, there would be a way to give them a chance to practice and perform together if there are scheduled concerts abroad,” Lee said.
Compulsory military service for men between 18 and 28 is controversial in South Korea, and the uncertainty of the legislative debate has caused some BTS members stress, according to the band’s management. An exemption already allows K-pop stars to defer their service until the age of 30; the oldest member of the band turns 30 next year.” Read more at Foreign Policy
Tiger Woods looks on during the Open at St Andrews last month in Scotland. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/R&A/Getty Images
“Tiger Woods turned down an offer that Greg Norman says was in the region of $700m to $800m to take part in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series.
During an appearance on Fox News with Tucker Carlson that aired Monday night, Norman confirmed what he told the Washington Post in a story two months ago. Norman told the Post in June the offer was ‘mind-blowingly enormous; we’re talking about high nine digits.’
Woods has been opposed to LIV Golf since late last year, and he delivered his strongest comments at the British Open when he said players who took the money funded by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund had ‘turned their back’ on the PGA Tour that made them famous.
When an offer was made to Woods was not clear.” Read more at The Guardian
“Country star Naomi Judd, who died in May, reportedly left her estate and $25 million fortune to her husband—completely forgoing daughters Wynonna and Ashley, according to Page Six. Court documents obtained by the outlet showed that Naomi, 76, appointed her partner of 33 years, Larry Strickland, the executor of her will. The will makes no mention of either Wynonna, 58, or Ashley, 54. A source told Radar, the first to report the news of the freeze-out, that Wynonna was “upset” at the move, as she “believes she was a major force behind her mother’s success.” The 58-year-old was her mother’s singing partner for eight years, during which The Judds turned into what was hailed as one of country music’s greatest acts. In the wake of Naomi’s death by suicide, Wynonna has been open about struggling to come to terms with the loss.” [The Daily Beast]
Read it at RadarOnline
“It’s time to face the music, Peloton... again. After settling a massive copyright lawsuit two years ago, the bike manufacturer with a cult following has been hit with yet another legal headache. In a lawsuit filed in federal court last week, one of the original members of Cypress Hill, DJ Lawrence Muggerud, alleges that Peloton used multiple songs without paying for his share of the rights. The suit claims that Peloton’s use of the songs is ‘an outrageous, willful infringement because Peloton was sued by a group of music publishers in March of 2019 for doing the exact same thing.’ A group of music publishers sued Peloton in 2019 for allegedly using more than 1,000 songs without the proper sync licenses. Peloton has faced a number of other setbacks in the past few months, from stock volatility to production issues.” [The Daily Beast]
Read it at Billboard
FILE - PEN literary service award recipient Stephen King attends the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on May 22, 2018, in New York. King is expected to take the stand at a federal antitrust trial in Washington. King is scheduled to be a witness for the Justice Department as it attempts to block the proposed merger of two of the world's biggest publishers, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Justice Department bids to convince a federal judge that the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster would damage the careers of some of the most popular authors, it is leaning in part on the testimony of a writer who has thrived like few others: Stephen King.
The author of “Carrie,” “The Shining” and many other favorites, King has willingly — even eagerly — placed himself in opposition to Simon & Schuster, his longtime publisher. He was not chosen by the government just for his fame, but for his public criticism of the $2.2 billion deal announced in late 2021, joining two of the world’s biggest publishers into what rival CEO Michael Pietsch of Hachette Book Group has called a “gigantically prominent” entity.
“The more the publishers consolidate, the harder it is for indie publishers to survive,” King tweeted last year.
One of the few widely recognizable authors, known for his modest-sized glasses and gaunt features, King is expected to take the witness stand Tuesday, the second day of a federal antitrust trial anticipated last two to three weeks.” Read more at AP News
“The Space Force is doing away with fitness tests and opting to give its members wearable fitness devices that would monitor physical activity and health throughout the year.” Read more at NPR
“California's Redwood National Park wants you to stay away from Hyperion, the world's tallest living tree. Visitors risk a $5,000 fine and six months in jail.” Read more at NPR
Mason Poole/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images
“Beyoncé is the latest artist to remove an ableist slur from one of her songs. The word ‘spaz’ was used in one of the songs off her new album, Renaissance.” Read more at NPR
“Lives Lived: Mick Moloney was a recording artist, folklorist, concert presenter and professor who championed Irish culture and encouraged female instrumentalists in a male-dominated field. He died at 77.” Read more at New York Times