“President Joe Biden will sign an executive order targeting half of all vehicles sold in U.S. to be zero-emissions by 2030.” Read more at USA Today
“Efforts to get more Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 are growing more urgent as an expert warns that if vaccination rates don't increase, the dangerous Delta variant could continue to evolve. ‘The next variant is just around the corner, if we do not all get vaccinated,’ Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus testing czar under President Trump, told CNN. A surge in the Delta variant combined with low vaccination rates has sent the US backward in the pandemic, and messages from President Biden’s health officials have sometimes been muddled or contradictory. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' battle with Biden is complicating matters in a state that has seen coronavirus-related hospitalizations rise 13% from their previous peak in July 2020. Globally, the picture is bleak too. The Delta variant is ravaging the world and pushing Southeast Asian nations to the breaking point.” Read more at CNN
“'Not likely to pass constitutional muster': A group of real estate entities are seeking to block enforcement of the Biden administration's new eviction moratorium, reigniting a battle that appears destined to end up back before the Supreme Court.” Read more at USA Today
“The W.H.O. called for a moratorium on booster shots to help all countries vaccinate at least 10 percent of their populations.” Read more at New York Times
“As Louisiana leads the U.S. in new cases, the crisis is driving more people in the state to get vaccinated.” Read more at New York Times
“The Delta variant and the uncertainty over schools are keeping some parents from applying for jobs.” Read more at New York Times
“China is grappling with its worst outbreak in a year. Israel reintroduced some restrictions.” Read more at New York Times
“'I'm standing for the people of Florida':Gov. Ron DeSantis openly defied President Joe Biden on Wednesday, saying he would "stand in the way" of any federal COVID-19 restrictions that would take away Floridians' rights to choose.” Read more at USA Today
“President Emmanuel Macron is expected to get a green light from France’s constitutional court on his new Covid-19 strategy that requires proof of vaccination or a negative test for access to activities including restaurants and cinemas.” Read more at Bloomberg
“A federal judge in Colorado has sanctioned two lawyers who filed a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election late last year, finding that the case was ‘frivolous,’ ‘not warranted by existing law,’ and filed ‘in bad faith.’
In a scathing 68-page opinion, Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter found that the lawyers made little effort to corroborate information they had included in the suit, which argued there had been a vast national conspiracy to steal the election from former president Donald Trump.
He particularly called out the duo, Gary Fielder and Ernest John Walker, for quoting Trump in their legal filing, which cited a presidential tweet that claimed without evidence that voting machines manufactured by the company Dominion Voting Systems had ‘deleted 2.7 million Trump votes nationwide.’ Neureiter called that allegation ‘highly disputed and inflammatory’ and said the lawyers made no efforts to verify it.
The two lawyers filed the case as a class action on behalf of 160 million American voters, alleging a complicated plot engineered by Dominion, Facebook, its founder Mark Zuckerberg, his wife Priscilla Chan, and elected officials in four states. They had sought $160 billion in damages.
The case was dismissed in April, but Neureiter ruled that the attorneys had violated their ethical obligations by lodging it in the first place and by peppering their motions with wild allegations that they had made little effort to substantiate. Legal rules prohibit attorneys from clogging the court systems with frivolous motions or from filing information that is not true.” Read more at Boston Globe
“60 — Former President Barack Obama's age as of his birthday yesterday. Obama was set to invite hundreds of people to his $12 million Martha's Vineyard home, but decided to curtail the party after receiving criticism from conservatives for holding such a large event amid a rise in Covid-19 cases nationwide. The Obamas cited the spread of the Delta variant as the reason for scaling back the celebration.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Shifting funds | Two U.S. senators are proposing that states use some unspent pandemic relief funds on infrastructure projects, which would free up billions of federal dollars. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, and Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, are presenting their plan as an amendment to the $550 billion package backed by President Joe Biden that’s heading toward a Senate vote in the next few days.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Attorneys for former president Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted a Justice Department ruling that directed the Treasury Department to turn over his tax returns to Congress, formally asking a court to block their release and arguing that records of former presidents as well as presidents should be similarly protected from subpoenas by lawmakers.
Trump’s lawyers called last week’s decision by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel the latest effort at partisan retaliation against him by Democrats, and denied that the House Ways and Means Committee sought six years of his tax returns out of a legitimate interest in closing tax loopholes exploited by wealthy Americans.
The July 30 OLC legal analysis overturned an April 2019 memorandum by the same office under Trump’s administration.
The earlier ruling assessed that the request by the committee chairman, Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), was not legitimate legislative work but rather an attempt ‘to expose the private tax information of one individual — President Trump — for political gain,’ Trump attorneys Patrick Strawbridge, William S. Consovoy and Cameron T. Norris wrote.” Read more at Washington Post
“Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) asked a federal judge to grant him immunity from a lawsuit accusing him of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol that resulted in five deaths and hundreds of people being injured.
On March 5, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) sued Brooks, former president Donald Trump and several others after they gave speeches at a Jan. 6 rally in which they falsely claimed the 2020 election results were fraudulent and encouraged rallygoers to march on the Capitol, where Congress was holding an accounting of the electoral college votes that would make Joe Biden president.
During his speech at the rally, Brooks told the crowd to ‘start taking down names and kicking ass.’
Brooks previously asked the Justice Department to determine that he was covered by the Westfall Act, legislation that protects federal employees from being sued for doing their jobs.” Read more at Washington Post
“The number of Americans who renounced their citizenship in favor of a foreign country hit an all-time high in 2020: 6,707, a 237% increase over 2019, Axios' Jennifer A. Kingson reports.
While the numbers are down this year, that could be because many U.S. embassies and consulates remain closed for COVID. Taking this grave step requires taking an oath in front of a State Department officer.
Why it matters: The people who flee tend to be the ultra-wealthy, seeking to reduce their taxes. New tax and estate measures proposed by President Biden could, if implemented, accelerate this trend.
Context:
Only the U.S. and Eritrea tax people based on citizenship rather than residency. For most countries, if you are a citizen but don’t reside there, you aren’t taxed in that country.
What's happening: The IRS publishes a quarterly list of the names of people who have renounced their citizenship or given up their green cards, but it only includes people with global assets over $2 million.
The numbers started swelling in 2010, when Congress passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, which increased reporting requirements and penalties for expats.
The Wall Street Journal discovered that the lists aren't up to date: A lot of people who were reported to have renounced citizenship in 2020 actually did so years earlier.
David Lesperance, an international tax lawyer based in Poland who specializes in helping people renounce U.S. citizenship, says: ‘There are probably 20,000 or 30,000 people who want to do this, but they can’t get the appointment.’
‘It's a year and a half to get an appointment at a Canadian embassy ... Bern [Switzerland] alone has a backlog of over 300 cases.’
What we're watching: Biden's proposal to raise the top capital gains rate to 43.4% prompted a lot of calls to Lesperance from people wanting to find out which foreign countries might grant them citizenship.” Read more at Axios
“Nasty memes, misinformation, politics drive waning days in battle to confirm Biden's pick for ATF:David Chipman, President Joe Biden's pick to lead ATF, hangs by a thread after a barrage of lobbying and misinformation from gun rights advocates.” Read more at USA Today
“Mexico has filed a lawsuit against 11 gun manufacturers over firearms that flow from the United States across the border and into criminal hands in Mexico, court documents obtained by CNN show. The suit was filed in federal court in Boston and aims ‘to put an end to the massive damage that the Defendants cause by actively facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels and other criminals in Mexico.’ Mexico alleges the defendants design, market, distribute and sell guns in ways that routinely arm drug cartels in Mexico. ‘Defendants design these guns to be easily modified to fire automatically and to be readily transferable on the criminal market in Mexico,’ the suit read. Smith & Wesson, Colt and Glock are among named defendants. The companies did not respond immediately to CNN's request for comment.” Read more at CNN
“At least 10 people were killed and 20 more were injured when an overloaded van crashed Wednesday in Encino, Texas, a town about 100 miles south of Corpus Christi, authorities said. Brooks County Sheriff Urbino Martinez said the van, designed to hold 15 passengers, was top-heavy and tipped over when the driver lost control on a curve. The van held 29 suspected undocumented migrants, he said. Additional details about the crash are expected to come Thursday or in the coming days. The identities of the 30 in the van were being withheld until relatives can be notified, an official with the Texas Department of Public Safety said. No information about the van, including where it was registered or who owned it, was immediately released. A surge in migrants crossing the border illegally has brought about an uptick in the number of crashes involving vehicles jammed with migrants who pay large amounts to be smuggled into the country.” Read more at USA Today
“Microsoft founder Bill Gates says he regrets the time he spent with Jeffrey Epstein. ‘It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there,’ Gates said. Epstein, the wealthy financial manager who was accused of child sex trafficking, was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019. Speaking yesterday with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Gates said he only met with Epstein in the hopes of raising more money to deal with global health issues. ‘I had several dinners with him, you know, hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health through contacts that he had might emerge,’ Gates said. ‘When it looked like that wasn't a real thing, that relationship ended.’” Read more at CNN
“The state department has said it is looking into the apparent disappearance of a nearly $6,000 bottle of whisky given more than two years ago to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by the government of Japan.
In a notice filed in the federal register, the department said it could find no trace of the bottle’s whereabouts and that there is an ‘ongoing inquiry’ into what happened to the booze. The department reported the investigation in its annual accounting of gifts given to senior US officials by foreign governments and leaders.
The department’s office of protocol is required to record gifts given to US officials and keep track of their disposition. Recipients have the option of turning gifts of a certain value over to the National Archives or another government entity or purchasing them for personal use by reimbursing the treasury department for their value.
The Japanese whisky was valued at $5,800 and was presented to Pompeo in June 2019, presumably when he visited the country that month for a Group of 20 summit that was also attended by Donald Trump. But unlike other gifts, the department said there was no record of what had become of the bottle.” Read more at The Guardian
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York in May.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“Andrew Cuomo’s political future
The pressure on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign is building.
President Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and every member of New York’s Democratic congressional delegation have said the governor should step down, after an investigation by the state attorney general concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed almost a dozen women.
Three prosecutors, in Manhattan, Nassau County and Westchester County, also announced that they had opened separate criminal investigations into his conduct.
Jay Jacobs, the head of the state Democratic Party — and once one of Cuomo’s closest allies — said yesterday that Cuomo’s removal from office was ‘inevitable.’ And a poll from Marist College found that 59 percent of New Yorkers think Cuomo should resign or be impeached.
But Cuomo, who denies that his conduct was inappropriate, has resisted the calls to leave office.
The power of partisanship
Early in the pandemic, Cuomo’s public appearances turned him into one of the Democratic Party’s most celebrated national figures. His approval ratings fell this year following the revelation that his administration had undercounted nursing home Covid deaths and after the harassment allegations that led to the attorney general’s investigation. But more New Yorkers still thought Cuomo should keep his job than resign, polls showed.
Yesterday’s Marist poll suggests that may be changing. Cuomo has never been more vulnerable in his decades in public office, said our colleague Katie Glueck, who covers New York politics. But he may also have reasons to think he can hold on, given the unpredictable nature of the moment.
‘It is too early to gauge how the report is resonating with the public, and Cuomo is plainly betting that the good will he generated during the early days of the pandemic will help him survive now,’ Katie said.
Some Democrats accused of misconduct in the #MeToo era have resigned under pressure from other members of their party. They include Al Franken, the former Minnesota senator, and Eric Schneiderman, New York’s former attorney general.
In Cuomo’s case, sustained opposition from top Democrats could erode his support even further. ‘The partisan cues from President Biden on down are that Cuomo should step aside,’ Katie said.
But partisanship also colors how voters view scandals, sometimes helping politicians keep supporters in their corner. Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia in 2019 bucked fellow elected Democrats’ calls for him to resign after a blackface scandal, and his approval ratings in the state have since rebounded.
And if Cuomo does choose to stay in office and seek re-election to a fourth term next year, it could fall to voters — and any potential Democratic primary challengers — to decide whether his governorship should end.
The impeachment investigation
The decision to serve out the rest of his term may not be up to Cuomo. The State Assembly, which Democrats control, said this week that it would speed up a wide-ranging impeachment investigation into the harassment allegations and the nursing home deaths.
The investigation began in March, after multiple women publicly accused Cuomo. Some elected Democrats said they could no longer back him, but he retained enough support that the Assembly seemed unlikely to vote on impeachment anytime soon.
‘The Assembly’s decision to open a broad investigation, instead of moving to immediately impeach him, basically bought Cuomo some time to hold on to power,’ Luis Ferré-Sadurní, who covers Albany for The Times, told us.
After the release of the attorney general’s findings this week, though, many lawmakers and others who stood by Cuomo in March retracted their support. The Assembly’s decision to speed up its investigation could lead to impeachment articles as soon as September.
‘Cuomo has virtually no vocal allies these days. His inner circle has shrunk considerably. Top labor leaders have abandoned him,’ Katie told us. ‘After years of dominating New York politics, he finds himself almost totally alone.’
Impeachment in New York is similar to the process for impeaching U.S. presidents. The Assembly votes on impeachment with a simple majority, and the Senate holds a trial and votes on removal, with a two-thirds majority threshold.
There are some differences, though: If Cuomo were impeached, he would have to give up the powers of his office during the trial. The Senate vote would also include the seven judges on the state’s highest court.
If Cuomo does leave office, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, would replace him — becoming New York’s first female governor. ‘The attorney general’s investigation has documented repulsive and unlawful behavior,’ Hochul said on Tuesday. ‘No one is above the law.’” Read more at New York Times
“Legends may have left with a bang: Megan Rapinoe scored twice – including the rare olimpico – and Carli Lloyd set the U.S. women's record for most career Olympic goals as the U.S. women beat Australia 4-3 Thursday to win the bronze medal.” Read more at USA Today
“Overcoming another early deficit:The U.S. men's basketball team was down by as many as 15 points in the first half of their semifinal matchup against Australia Thursday before storming back with a 48-14 run between the second and third quarters to put the game away. After its 97-78 victory, Team USA will face the France-Slovenia winner for the gold medal.” Read more at USA Today
“Olympic shot put record broken three times in one day: Ryan Crouser looked impressive in winning the gold medal in the shot put Thursday. Crouser became the first U.S. male to win a track and field gold medal in Tokyo and is also the first American to win back-to-back Olympic golds in the event since Parry O'Brien did it in 1952 and 1956.” Legends may have left with a bang: Megan Rapinoe scored twice – including the rare olimpico – and Carli Lloyd set the U.S. women's record for most career Olympic goals as the U.S. women beat Australia 4-3 Thursday to win the bronze medal.” Read more at USA Today
“A 'clown show':Carl Lewis, the winner of nine gold medals in four Olympic Games, watched the U.S. men's 4x100-relay team melt down at the Tokyo Olympics and he simply could not contain his frustration.” Read more at USA Today
Angels' Shohei Ohtani sprints around third on his way home against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP
“Major League Baseball will open the 2022 season on March 31 — as long as there isn't a work stoppage — and will try to have every team play its first game on the same day for the first time since 1968, AP reports.” Read more at Axios
“Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett will reunite Thursday at New York's Radio City Music Hall for the second of two farewell concerts celebrating Bennett's 95th birthday. The longtime friends and collaborators are playing ‘One Last Time’ shows in the leadup to their second joint album, ‘Love for Sale,’ out Oct. 1. Bennett, who turned 95 on Tuesday, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016. But the music legend was as spry and charismatic as ever in a roughly half-hour solo set in Tuesday's sold-out show. ‘He's my friend. He's my musical companion. He's the greatest singer in the whole world,’ said Lady Gaga during her rendition of ‘New York, New York.’” Read more at USA Today
“Consuming alcohol increases the risk of getting more cancers than previously thought, according to a major study, which also found that drinking coffee protects against liver cancer.
Alcohol consumption is linked to several cancers including those of the head and neck – mouth, pharynx and larynx – oesophageal and bowel, along with the more widely known connection with breast and liver cancer, according to an international team led by Imperial College London.
The study also showed that drinking at least one cup of coffee daily is associated with a lower risk of developing liver cancer and basal cell carcinoma of the skin, with the effects observed for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
Eating dairy products and wholegrains reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, the researchers found.” Read more at The Guardian
“Lives Lived: Almost half a century ago, Gilbert V. Levin conducted an experiment to determine whether there might be life in the soil of Mars — a possibility that scientists are now considering. He died at 97.” Read more at New York Time
“Iran inaugurates a new president in Tehran today, a critical moment for the Islamic Republic as Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative former judicial chief, takes over from the more moderate Hassan Rouhani for a four-year term.
Raisi’s ascension was cemented in a rubber-stamp election in June that saw his rivals removed from the contest before voters went to the polls. Now in control of all the levers of Iran’s government, the country’s hardline grouping will have to govern without the convenient scapegoat Rouhani provided for many years.
A new team? Much is made of who wields true power in Iran, and although Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei holds ultimate sway, Raisi will have a chance to set the tone for dealings with the West with his choice of cabinet and negotiating team at the Vienna nuclear talks.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the eloquent, U.S.-educated Iranian foreign minister, is all but certain to leave his post. Potential replacements include Hossein Amirabdollahian, the current head of Raisi’s foreign-policy transition team, and Ali Bagheri Kani, another high-ranking foreign-policy official but one who does not speak English.
As Foreign Policy’s Michael Hirsh writes, Tehran is likely to become more belligerent with a new man in charge. ‘The 60-year-old Raisi is seen as the optimal enforcer who will seek to crush dissent at home with more aggression over the border,’ Hirsh writes.
Hands full. Aside from nuclear talks and potential rapprochement with adversaries in the region, Raisi is likely to have his hands full at home—with only a hardline minority to back him up. ‘Raisi’s support stems from the system’s core constituency, which in every election we have seen is not more than 25 to 30 percent of the Iranian population at best,’ Ali Vaez, an Iran expert at the International Crisis Group, told Foreign Policy. ‘So the majority of the population is either disillusioned with the system or, at this point, completely alienated, and we have huge parts of the society that almost have nothing to lose.’
The confluence of crises facing the country may make Rouhani happy to be heading out the door. ‘Iran has had economic troubles in the past, has had external tensions in the past, but this situation of economic issues, environmental degradation, the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest, and political disillusionment is truly unprecedented,’ Vaez said.” Read more at Foreign Policy
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