The Full Belmonte, 8/29/2023
A lawyer for former President Donald Trump, John Lauro (front in blue tie), arrived for a pretrial hearing in Washington Monday.
PHOTO: KEVIN WURM/REUTERS
Donald Trump’s federal trial on election interference is set to start March 4.
“That is one day before the Super Tuesday primaries in 14 states, heightening the conflicts between the GOP front-runner’s legal and campaign schedules. The former president can’t appeal the date, but can try to delay it through pretrial motions, which his lawyers have signaled they intend to do. Regardless of the trial’s start date and the presidential election coming in more than a year, U.S. allies and adversaries around the world are already contemplating—and even planning for—a Trump White House 2.0.” [Wall Street Journal]
Idalia is now a hurricane moving toward Florida with powerful winds and life-threatening storm surge
“Idalia has strengthened into a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and stronger gusts and is expected to intensify considerably to powerful Category 3 strength before making landfall Wednesday in Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane Idalia's projected path.
Idalia is expected to rapidly intensify in the extremely warm Gulf of Mexico. Here's what that means
Evacuations have begun and the National Guard is on call as the storm could deliver a devastating blow to parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast, with life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds. It is expected to make landfall well north of Tampa, in Florida’s Big Bend region – but a small shift in the track could put the vulnerable population center more at risk.” [CNN]
Tampa residents load sandbags yesterday. Photo: Chris O'Meara/AP
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, speaks at a prayer vigil for the victims of a mass shooting a day earlier, in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
U.S. NEWS
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis faces Black leaders’ anger after racist killings in Jacksonville
“Ron DeSantis scoffed when the leading civil rights group, the NAACP, issued a travel advisory this spring warning Black people to use ‘extreme care’ if traveling to Florida. Just three months later, DeSantis must face the aftermath of a racist attack that left three African Americans dead. Read more.
Why this matters:
The NAACP argued that the state’s loose gun laws and the Republican governor’s ‘anti-woke’ campaign to deny the existence of systemic racism created a culture of ‘open hostility towards African Americans and people of color.’
Rev. Jeffrey Rumlin, pastor of The Dayspring Church in Jacksonville, has criticized DeSantis for not explicitly describing the killer as a racist. Ever-defiant, DeSantis’ team rejected suggestions that he did not adequately condemn the weekend shooting and has more broadly ignored the concerns of the state’s African American community.
The tragedy cast a shadow across the Republican presidential campaign this week as candidates faced uncomfortable questions about the GOP’s increasing appeal among white supremacists. Virtually all of the candidates have embraced a similar message aimed at appealing to the GOP’s white conservative base by downplaying the existence of racism in America.” [AP News]
Trump onetime chief of staff Meadows says actions laid out in Georgia indictment were part of his job
“Mark Meadows testified in court Monday that actions detailed in a sweeping indictment that accuses him of participating in an illegal conspiracy to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss were part of his job as White House chief of staff. Read more.
Why this matters:
The extraordinary testimony from a former top presidential aide came in the first courtroom skirmish in a case that Meadows wants moved from a state court to federal court. At least four other people charged in the indictment are seeking to move their cases to federal court, and there is speculation that Trump will try to do the same.
Meadows is charged with participating in schemes to keep Trump in power, including a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. On the line, Trump suggested Raffensperger could help ‘find 11,780 votes’ needed for him to win Georgia. Meadows said he didn’t believe he did anything ‘outside my scope as chief of staff.’
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleges that Trump, Meadows and 17 others participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to try to keep the Republican president in power illegally. Willis’ team argued that Meadows’ actions were political and not performed as part of his official duties.” [AP News]
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty member is killed in campus shooting, and a suspect is in custody, school says
UNC yesterday. Photo: Hannah Schoenbaum/AP
“A suspect is in custody after a shooting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday afternoon left a faculty member dead and prompted students and others to shelter in place for hours as police looked for the gunman, school officials said.
Shots were reported fired at 1:02 p.m. ET at the school’s Caudill Laboratories, and a suspect was taken into custody shortly after 2:30 p.m., Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said at a Monday evening news conference.
The names of the faculty member and the suspect were not immediately released. It was too early to know a motive for the shooting, UNC Police Chief Brian James said.
‘We really want to know the ‘why’ in this case and what led to it,’ James said.
The gun used in the shooting has not been found, the chief added.
‘This loss is devastating and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community. We will work to rebuild that sense of trust and safety within our community,’ Guskiewicz said.
The school had issued an alert to students telling them to shelter in place at about 1 p.m., later adding a suspect was at large. The university then issued an “all clear” late in the afternoon.
Classes and campus activities were canceled Monday and Tuesday, officials said.
During the alert period, university police advised students to go inside immediately, close windows and doors and to wait until further notice, according to an email. A witness on campus told CNN they were locked down in their building and saw armed officers searching campus.
Video from CNN affiliate WRAL in Chapel Hill showed a large number of police vehicles at the campus with their emergency lights flashing. At times, people walked out of nearby buildings in a single-file line with their arms in the air.
A WRAL reporter also recorded video of campus police surrounding a person in handcuffs who appeared to be dressed in a dark shirt and jeans and wearing glasses at the time the school was under lockdown.
This is the second week of the fall semester at the school. The university has a student body population of about 32,000, along with more than 4,000 faculty and 9,000 staff members.” [CNN]
Voting rights for former felons could be on the line in Kentucky
“Much like the last two gubernatorial elections in Kentucky, whoever wins the race this year could determine whether tens of thousands of Kentuckians who have completed a felony sentence will have the right to vote over the next four years. Kentucky is one of only three states where people convicted of a felony can only have their voting rights restored by actions of the governor, though two blanket executive orders – one of which was rescinded – affected the right to vote for a significant portion of the commonwealth's population over the past decade. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear now finds himself in a competitive reelection race against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, raising questions about whether his voting rights order could survive a potential Cameron administration.” [CNN]
Kentucky attorney general and Republican nominee for governor Daniel Cameron speaks at the Graves County Republican Party Breakfast at WK&T Technology Park in Mayfield, Kentucky, on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.
Ryan C. Hermens, AP
To Decouple or Not to Decouple
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks during a meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Aug. 28.AP Photo/Andy Wong/Pool
“Engagement is the word of the day for U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who kicked off a three-day summit in China on Monday. She is the latest in a string of top Biden administration officials who have traveled to Beijing in recent months to try to reduce tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao spent more than four hours discussing tangible solutions to boost commercial communication and collaboration in what Raimondo called ‘one of the most significant’ economic partnerships in the world.
‘Both of our countries, in fact the entire world, need us to manage that relationship responsibly,’ Raimondo told a small group of reporters, including Foreign Policy, ahead of her visit. ‘There’s a benefit to communicating to reduce tensions. That does not mean compromise; that means communicate.’
Raimondo’s visit marks the first time a U.S. commerce secretary has traveled to China in seven years. Her message presents a stark shift from other political leaders in the United States, including some U.S. lawmakers and 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls, who have urged a more hawkish and confrontational approach to China. U.S. conservatives have criticized the commerce chief specifically for discussing export controls on Chinese advanced semiconductor manufacturing, warning that Beijing should not be allowed to weigh in on U.S. export policy. Raimondo has countered that under no circumstances will discussions this week center on export controls intended to slow Chinese military advancement that could threaten U.S. national security.
Among Raimondo’s top priorities was to convince a skeptical Chinese government that the United States is focused on ‘de-risking’ the two economies but not fully ‘decoupling’ them after Washington imposed new economic and export control measures on China aimed at protecting industries and supply chains it deems critical to its national security. ‘Just because we’re investing in America does not mean at all that we want to decouple from China’s economy,’ Raimondo said.
The United States and China share more than $700 billion in annual trade; however, escalating tensions in recent years have made it increasingly difficult for U.S. companies to operate in China. The latest threat to good-faith collaboration occurred in May, when Beijing’s Cyberspace Administration banned corporations from buying advanced semiconductor chips from U.S.-based Micron Technology, a major semiconductor manufacturer.
To improve ties, Raimondo and Wang announced the establishment of two working groups on Monday to enhance bilateral information exchanges. One of the working groups will focus solely on commercial issues. It will meet twice a year starting in 2024 and consist of business representatives alongside government officials. The other bloc will discuss export controls. Raimondo and Wang also agreed to meet annually going forward.” [Foreign Policy]
“Kyiv’s territorial gains. Ukrainian troops liberated the southeastern village of Robotyne on Monday as part of Kyiv’s larger counteroffensive push against Russian forces. The settlement is six miles south of the front-line town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region, and it contains a strategic road and railway hub, both of which had previously been under Russian control. Fighting in the area has stretched for weeks as dense minefields hindered Ukrainian gains.
By capturing Robotyne, Ukraine said it had broken through Moscow’s most difficult line of defense in the south and can now begin its advance into Russian-occupied Ukraine more quickly. One of the counteroffensive’s primary goals is to reach the Sea of Azov and thereby drive a wedge into the Kremlin’s control of southern Ukraine. Seizing Robotyne will push Ukrainian troops closer to the city of Melitopol in a major gain toward achieving that priority.” [Foreign Policy]
Ukrainian soldiers prepare a 120 mm mortar for firing last week near Bakhmut on the eastern front. Photographer: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu
“For much of his presidency, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has enjoyed strong support among Mexicans while turning conventional political wisdom on its head.
As his Morena party prepares to select a candidate to fight next year’s election, the question is whether his quixotic impact on Mexico will be a lasting one.
At a time of climate crisis, AMLO, as the president is known, dispensed with his habitual frugality to pump money into the national oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos. With the exception of the US, he mostly shunned overseas trips. His protectionist slant was at odds with a globalized world.
Yet as he enters the final leg of his single, six-year term, AMLO finds the world has shifted his way. Governments’ post-pandemic focus is on self-reliance, while Mexico is benefiting from a near-shoring boom as the US relocates supply chains away from China. Russia’s war on Ukraine has sent energy prices surging.
As Carolina Millan and Maya Averbuch write, the sense of outside validation bucks the many criticisms levelled at him, from a failure to staunch Mexico’s violent crime to a perceived disregard for the environment and policies that alienated investors.
AMLO enjoys a near-60% approval rating, thanks largely to his central plank of fighting corruption and helping the poor laced with attacks on the powerful “oligarchy.”
But now a challenger has emerged who is deploying the same populist tactics against him.
Xochitl Galvez, a woman of Indigenous descent who grew up in an impoverished community selling tamales, is vying to lead the opposition into the election. While polls suggest she won’t win, she might take enough votes to make governing difficult for the next president.
The irony is that the rise of a candidate like Galvez wouldn’t be possible without the precedent AMLO set.
His legacy may yet depend on her.” — Alan Crawford [Bloomberg]
AMLO addresses a rally in Zócalo square in Mexico City. Photographer: Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg
“The suspension of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s party by a Guatemalan government agency adds uncertainty to a process marred by legal disputes and accusations of foul play. If the ruling stands, it would potentially undermine his ability to govern since his Semilla party legislators might have to sit as independents and be ineligible for some legislative committees.” [Bloomberg]
Arévalo and his running mate Karin Herrera. Photographer: Luis Echeverria/Bloomberg
“A stalled peace process in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is threatening to disrupt elections in December. While the resource-rich African nation is under international pressure to hold the vote, M23 rebels, which Congo says are backed by Rwanda, are refusing to allow officials to enter territory they control to register voters and are demanding talks with the government that President Felix Tshisekedi has refused.” [Bloomberg]
“Then President Muhammadu Buhari opened an $823 million rail line linking the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to the airport — the first of its kind in West Africa — to great fanfare in July 2018. It was closed just two years later, ostensibly to slow the spread of Covid-19, and hasn’t opened since. As William Clowes writes, today cavernous stations fully equipped with escalators, ticket offices, cameras and scanners stand empty, and the faux leather couches in the VIP area are covered in bird and bat droppings.” [Bloomberg]
Tracks lay unused at the abandoned Idu Station in Abuja, Nigeria. Photographer: William Clowes
“‘Gigantic fraud.’ Incumbent Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa secured a second term on Sunday in an election that analysts warned was skewed in his ruling Zanu-PF party’s favor. Mnangagwa won 52.6 percent of the vote versus opposition leader Nelson Chamisa’s 44 percent. The election was marred by allegations of voter harassment, polling station delays, and bans on opposition rallies. Chamisa has since called the election a ‘gigantic fraud’ and urged the international community to assist him in his fight to contest the results.” [Foreign Policy]
Spanish soccer federation ask Rubiales to resign over his kiss of player
“Spanish Football Federation leaders asked President Luis Rubiales to resign over his behavior at the Women’s World Cup, including kissing a player on the lips after Spain won the championship match. Read more.
Why this matters:
The federation’s request for his resignation was widely seen as an attempt to silence some of Rubiales’ critics, including government ministers who have asked for his removal. That could sway public opinion in favor of letting Rubiales keep his job.
On a day that will go down as one of the ugliest in Spanish soccer, Rubiales said that Spain player Jenni Hermoso had consented to the ‘mutual’ kiss. Hermoso replied in two statements to say that was false and that she considered herself the victim of an abuse of power. The players have said they will not play more games as long as Rubiales is in charge.” [AP News]
American Airlines
“The Department of Transportation has issued its largest-ever fine to American Airlines for keeping passengers waiting on planes during lengthy tarmac delays. The $4.1 million fine was levied on the airline for delays that impacted over 5,800 passengers between 2018 and 2021. In the longest of the delays, passengers sat aboard a plane in Texas for just over six hours. According to federal rules, the maximum time that passengers can be held without the opportunity to get off prior to takeoff or after landing is three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights. American would pay more than $2 million of the fine to the government and has been credited for paying the other half in passenger compensation.” [CNN]
The era of the 9-to-5 workday may be over.
“How we know: In most of the country, only about half of office visits last for at least six hours, WiFi data shows. Before the pandemic, 84% of visits lasted that long — or longer.
What this means: A transformative shift is taking place. Employees may be returning to the office, but they’re taking advantage of an unspoken new flexibility.
Zooming out: Empty offices could spur an “urban doom loop,” economists fear. But some cities are getting creative.”
Read this story at Washington Post
ChatGPT plays doctor with 72% success
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
“ChatGPT was 72% accurate in clinical decision-making on medical cases drawn from textbooks, from diagnoses to care decisions, Axios' Ryan Heath writes from Mass General Brigham study.
Why it matters: AI could improve the efficiency and accuracy of diagnoses, as people live longer and care gets more costly.
The study is among the first to assess the capacity of large language models across the full scope of clinical care, rather than measuring a single task.
ChatGPT got the final diagnosis right 77% of the time.
In cases requiring "differential diagnosis" — an understanding of all the possible conditions a given set of symptoms might indicate — the bot's success rate dropped to 60%.
What's next: Marc Succi — the report's co-author, and executive director at Mass General Brigham's innovation incubator — told Axios that for AI models to be deployed in hospitals, success rates need to rise to 80-90%.” [Axios]
A deadly tick-borne epidemic is raging.
What to know: Rocky Mountain spotted fever is one of the most lethal infectious diseases in the Americas. It’s rare but has reemerged at epidemic levels in northern Mexico.
What’s driving this? High temperatures make ticks more aggressive toward humans. Scientists worry that the disease could spread as temperatures rise.
Read this story at Washington Post
“On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a darker aspect of that day is coming to light. The FBI wasn’t the only one spying on the marchers—police forces from as far away as Alabama were also conducting their own surveillance. Joshua Clark Davis delves into the little-known history.” [Slate]
Joe the Plumber, who questioned Obama’s tax proposals during the 2008 campaign, has died at 49
“TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, who was thrust into the political spotlight as “Joe the Plumber” after questioning Barack Obama about his economic proposals during the 2008 presidential campaign, and who later forayed into politics himself, has died, his son said Monday. He was 49.
His oldest son, Joey Wurzelbacher, said his father died Sunday in Wisconsin after a long illness. His family announced this year on an online fundraising site that he had pancreatic cancer….” Read more at AP News
”Lives Lived: Nicholas Hitchon’s life was chronicled in the “Seven Up!” series of British documentaries, beginning in 1964 when he was a boy in England and continuing for decades as he grew to become a professor at the University of Wisconsin. He died at 65.” [New York Times]