The Full Belmonte, 8/23/2024
Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in Texas
“Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on Padre Island in Texas today with sustained winds of 50 mph, after forming in the Gulf of Mexico overnight, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm is lashing south Texas this afternoon, with up to 6 inches of rain expected through early Wednesday, along with flash and urban flooding, and possible tornadoes, forecasters said.
Harold is the fourth named storm to form in the Atlantic in less than 48 hours, following Emily, Franklin and Gert.
The system is hitting the U.S. just a day after the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary brought record-breaking rain, floods and mudslides to Southern California.
New video aboard an Alaska Airlines flight shows sparks flying when the plane made a rough landing in Southern California Sunday night, as Hilary lashed the region.
In the wake of Hilary, a power outage at a Los Angeles hospital overnight forced an evacuation, officials said.
Hilary is the latest in a series of disasters to strike the U.S. this month, including the catastrophic wildfires in Maui and the deadly wildfires currently burning in Washington state.” [NBC News]
First Trump co-defendants surrender in Georgia election case
“The first two of Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants charged in the Georgia election interference case turned themselves in today to Fulton County authorities, according to jail records, ahead of Trump’s expected surrender Thursday.
John Eastman, the former Trump attorney who wrote a memo with a six-step plan to overturn the election using what prosecutors have called fake electors, was booked in the Fulton County Jail. Eastman’s bond was set at $100,000.
In a statement, Eastman said the indictment ‘targets attorneys for zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients,’ and vowed to ‘vigorously contest’ each of the nine counts against him.
Also surrendering today, Scott Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman charged in connection with an election data breach in Coffee County. Hall’s bond was set at $10,000.
Trump has confirmed on his social media site that he will surrender in Fulton County Thursday. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The former president, and current frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2024, has said he will not attend the first Republican debate in Milwaukee Wednesday night.
With Trump absent, eight candidates will be on stage, with Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy standing in the center, organizers said.” [NBC News]
Prosecutors say witness in Trump’s classified documents case retracted false testimony
BY ERIC TUCKER
“WASHINGTON (AP) — A witness in the criminal case against Donald Trump over the hoarding of classified documents retracted ‘prior false testimony’ after switching lawyers last month and provided new information that implicated the former president, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
The statements from the witness, a Trump staffer identified in court papers as the director of information technology at Mar-a-Lago, was presented to prosecutors weeks before special counsel Jack Smith secured an updated indictment accusing Trump and two others in a plot to delete surveillance video at the Florida property….” Read more at AP News
Tulsa Superintendent to Step Down, in a Showdown With State Officials
Deborah A. Gist hopes to stop a state takeover of the district, which is majority Black and Hispanic. Ryan Walters, the state superintendent, is a fiery conservative.
Aug. 22, 2023
“The superintendent of Tulsa, Okla., announced on Tuesday that she planned to step down, in an 11th-hour attempt to stop the state from taking over the largest school district in Oklahoma.
The superintendent, Deborah A. Gist, and the school system in Tulsa, one of Oklahoma’s rare Democratic footholds, had become targets of Ryan Walters, the state’s divisive schools chief who is known for his conservative politics and provocative statements.
Mr. Walters, a Republican who took office in January, has raised a litany of complaints against the Tulsa schools, including low test scores and financial mismanagement, and has battled over cultural and religious issues.
Questioning Dr. Gist’s leadership, he threatened to take over the school district, which could include appointing a new superintendent, and even said that he had not ruled out revoking accreditation entirely — which would force schools to close. Tulsa public schools serve nearly 34,000 students, with a student population that is 80 percent economically disadvantaged and majority Hispanic and Black….” Read more at New York Times
Child killed, 23 others hurt in school bus crash in Ohio
“One child is dead and more than 20 others are injured after a school bus crash in Ohio’s Clark County on the district’s first day of school, state police said.
The school bus collided with a minivan and rolled over this morning, authorities said at a news conference.
Fifty-two students and a driver were aboard the bus, officials said. One student was ejected and killed, and 23 others were injured, police said.
The school district said the accident was along an elementary school route.” [NBC News]
Gunman identified in deadly shooting over Pride flag
“Police in Southern California have identified the gunman whom they say killed a 66-year-old business owner and mother of nine after making ‘disparaging remarks’ about a Pride flag she had displayed at her store.
Travis Ikeguchi, 27, fatally shot Laura Ann Carleton after “yelling many homophobic slurs” about the store's Pride flag Friday, San Bernardino County authorities said Monday.
The shooter fled the store on foot and was later killed in a shootout with deputies, according to the sheriff’s department.
A sheriff's spokesperson told NBC News that the shooting is being investigated as a potential hate crime.” [NBC News]
NFL star’s father killed in home explosion in North Carolina
“The father of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley was killed when a Charlotte home owned by Farley exploded overnight, according to authorities in North Carolina.
Robert M. Farley, 61, was killed and another person was injured in the blast, Iredell County emergency officials told the Nashville Tennessean.
Caleb Farley was not at the home when it exploded, a Titans spokesperson told The Tennessean. He was seen at the property speaking with police this morning.
Aerial photos from Queen City News show the massive 6,391-square-foot home completely leveled.” [NBC News]
Eight rescued after cable car becomes stranded at nearly 1,000 feet
“All eight passengers who were stranded on a cable car dangling 900 feet over a ravine in Pakistan have now been rescued, authorities said.
Video posted to social media appears to show the moment one of the students was pulled out of the cable car by a helicopter and hoisted to safety.
Seven students and one teacher were traveling to a school in a remote mountainous area in Battagram, when one of the cable car’s lines snapped halfway across the ravine, authorities said.” [NBC News]
Ukraine’s Forces and Firepower Are Misallocated, U.S. Officials Say
American strategists say Ukraine’s troops are too spread out and need to concentrate along the counteroffensive’s main front in the south.
By Eric Schmitt, Julian E. Barnes, Helene Cooper and Thomas Gibbons-Neff
Eric Schmitt, Julian E. Barnes and Helene Cooper reported from Washington, and Thomas Gibbons-Neff from Kyiv, Ukraine.
“Ukraine’s grinding counteroffensive is struggling to break through entrenched Russian defenses in large part because it has too many troops, including some of its best combat units, in the wrong places, American and other Western officials say.
The main goal of the counteroffensive is to cut off Russian supply lines in southern Ukraine by severing the so-called land bridge between Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula. But instead of focusing on that, Ukrainian commanders have divided troops and firepower roughly equally between the east and the south, the U.S. officials said.
As a result, more Ukrainian forces are near Bakhmut and other cities in the east than are near Melitopol and Berdiansk in the south, both far more strategically significant fronts, officials say.
American planners have advised Ukraine to concentrate on the front driving toward Melitopol, Kyiv’s top priority, and on punching through Russian minefields and other defenses, even if the Ukrainians lose more soldiers and equipment in the process….” [New York Times]
Building BRICS
From left to right, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and New Development Bank chair Dilma Rousseff attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on Aug. 22.Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images
“Leaders and senior officials from five of the world’s top emerging economies convened in Johannesburg on Tuesday to kick off the three-day BRICS summit. The bloc—whose members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—represents 40 percent of the world’s population and a quarter of its GDP.
Two key issues will frame much of the bloc’s discussions: expansion and economic growth. The five attendees are expected to discuss criteria needed to admit new countries into the bloc. Argentina, Belarus, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia have all expressed interest in joining. BRICS hopes that by enlarging the group, it can create a counterweight to Western economic and geopolitical dominance, something that has become increasingly important to BRICS members as China’s rivalry with the United States intensifies and Russia’s war against Ukraine drags on.
But not everyone is on board with opening BRICS’s doors. Although Russia wants new allies to support its war effort, India and Brazil both fear that rushing into expansion could dilute the bloc’s influence globally. Meanwhile, South Africa—the smallest economy of the group—wants to pivot expansion efforts toward other African nations. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invited more than 30 African leaders to participate in BRICS meetings this week.
BRICS leaders also hope to create a framework at this week’s summit that will encourage the use of countries’ own local currencies for direct trade. By shifting away from the U.S. dollar, BRICS aims to decrease dollar diplomacy and the strength that Western institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, have on foreign affairs. At this time, though, South African officials said the creation of a common BRICS currency is not on the table.
Given the importance of these economic conversations, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s abrupt decision to skip a BRICS business forum on Tuesday, when he was scheduled to give a speech, raised eyebrows among China watchers. The other four world leaders all gave speeches at the event—even Russian President Vladimir Putin, though his was delivered virtually, as he is not physically attending the summit due to the outstanding International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest. Why Xi chose to play hooky from the event and send his commerce minister in his place is unclear—after all, Xi had just attended a lunch with Ramaphosa shortly before the forum—but it was certainly an odd way to kick off the summit.” [Foreign Policy]
“Thailand’s past is back. After months of uncertainty and political haggling, Thailand’s parliament confirmed Pheu Thai party candidate Srettha Thavisin as the country’s next prime minister on Tuesday. Yet it is former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who has stolen the show. The 74-year-old founder of Pheu Thai returned to Bangkok on Tuesday after 15 years of self-imposed exile. Upon his arrival, he was immediately escorted to the nation’s Supreme Court to begin his eight-year prison sentence for abusing power while in office.
The belief is that Thaksin struck a deal with the ruling military regime and political elite to ensure his safe return and potentially shorten his time behind bars. However, Thaksin and the Pheu Thai party have rejected these claims. Meanwhile, Srettha now must form a governing coalition with parties that helped overthrow past Pheu Thai governments, including in the coup Thaksin faced in 2006.” [Foreign Policy]
“Into the water. Japanese officials announced on Tuesday that they will begin releasing more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the now-destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean starting Thursday. This first discharge will total 7,800 cubic meters (or more than 2 million gallons) and will take place over 17 days. The plan was determined safe by the International Atomic Energy Agency in July, though some energy experts have suggested that Tokyo pressured the agency to only publish positive reviews of the plan.
The Chinese government strongly opposes Tokyo’s decision, calling it ‘extremely selfish’ and vowing that Beijing ‘will take all necessary measures to protect the marine environment, food safety, and public health.’ Japanese public opinion is also divided over the plan. Japanese officials have been in talks with local fisheries that worried that news of the release would damage their businesses’ reputations. However, Japan announced on Monday that the government and fishing industry came to a ‘degree of understanding,’ spurring Tuesday’s statement.” [Foreign Policy]
“Look who’s back. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group, has released his first video address since his armed rebellion against the Kremlin on June 23. The 41-second clip released Monday was undated, but it appears to have been filmed in Africa, where Wagner forces maintain strongholds across the Sahel. Prigozhin’s exact whereabouts have been unknown since Russia’s failed coup.
In the video, which was published on several Wagner-affiliated Telegram accounts, Prigozhin reiterated the importance of his paramilitary group’s work on the African continent. ‘Wagner is conducting reconnaissance and search operations, making Russia even greater on every continent—and Africa even more free,’ he said. ‘Justice and happiness for the African nations.’ Prior to Monday’s video release, one of Prigozhin’s last major statements was a written one expressing support for the military coup in Niger, which occurred on July 26.” [Foreign Policy]
Next affirmative action fight
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
“The Supreme Court decision outlawing affirmative action in college admissions upended higher education.
Big business could be the next big legal target, Axios' Erica Pandey writes.
Why it matters: Corporate America has a diversity problem. Pushing companies to ignore race and background when recruiting could make things worse.
Some 89% of CEOs and CFOs leading the biggest companies in the U.S. are white, according to a paper in the Journal of Accountancy that examined 681 major firms.
What's happening: Edward Blum, the man who led the legal fight against affirmative action in higher education, is setting his sights on private companies, he told The Boston Globe in an interview.
Blum's latest target is Fearless Fund, which is focused on startups led by women of color, Axios' Dan Primack writes.
What we're watching: Lawyers are warning companies to review their DEI policies to protect against legal fights.
Quotas, like those designed to increase diversity on company boards, are the most likely to face lawsuits, The Globe reports.” [Axios]
School takeovers spread
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
“A takeover of the Houston Independent School District by the state of Texas is part of a national trend that is likely to accelerate, experts tell Axios' Russell Contreras.
Why it matters: The student population in the nation's public schools is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, but disparities have worsened.
Zoom in: A lack of progress after the pandemic is likely to generate more talk of state takeovers, Kenneth Wong, an education policy professor at Brown University, says.
Takeovers can involve aggressive oversight of a district after the removal of an elected school board or superintendent.
What we're watching: Distrust of takeovers could intensify as conservative-led states push to limit discussions about racism in schools.” [Axios]
“Drew Barrymore was rushed off a New York City stage after someone in the crowd caused a disturbance and interrupted her live interview with actor and singer, Reneé Rapp.” [NBC News]