The Full Belmonte, 8/8/2023
Drivers were stuck after utility poles crashed onto and around their vehicles in Westminster, Maryland, on Monday.
Storms
“A powerful storm system whipping the East Coast has killed two people and left nearly 400,000 homes and businesses without power as of early today. Images show the destruction caused by fierce winds that collapsed buildings, toppled power lines, and scattered debris across several states. More than 9,000 flights were impacted by the storms Monday after the FAA reported it was slowing air traffic headed toward New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, area airports. Although that round of severe weather tapered off, new threats are developing in the Plains and the Southeast, with more than 5 million people facing at least a slight risk for damaging winds and heavy rainfall today, according to the Storm Prediction Center.” [CNN]
Ukraine
“Ukrainian officials say they foiled an alleged assassination plot against President Volodymyr Zelensky as the Ukrainian leader remains a key target for Russia. An alleged Russian informant has been detained after she had been ‘gathering intelligence’ about Zelensky's planned visit to Ukraine's Mykolaiv region at the end of July in order to plan a Russian airstrike to kill the president, the Ukrainian Security Service said Monday. According to the investigation, the unnamed woman was a resident of the region and a former saleswoman in a military store. Meanwhile, emergency workers are responding to the site of a Russian airstrike that hit a residential building in the eastern city of Pokrovsk today which killed at least seven people and injured dozens of others.” [CNN]
Atlanta girds for Trump indictment
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“Orange barricades and metal fences are set up outside the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta in preparation for a possible fourth indictment of former President Trump.
Pryor Street (above) in front of the courthouse was closed to traffic at 5 a.m. yesterday and is expected to remain blocked through at least Aug. 18, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek a grand-jury indictment in coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Trump and allies to overturn the 2020 election results.
Willis has developed a sprawling racketeering indictment that includes influencing witnesses and computer trespass, The Guardian's Hugo Lowell reports.i” [Axios]
Proposed constitutional change before Ohio voters could determine abortion rights in the state
A proposed change could determine abortion rights in the state.
“Ohio concludes a hastily called and highly charged special election Tuesday, a contest that could determine the fate of abortion rights in the state and fuel political playbooks nationally heading into 2024.
If passed in Tuesday's special election, Issue 1 would require 60% of the vote to enact new constitutional amendments, instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one. That would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the fall proposal to succeed, based on polling figures.
•Abortion rights are at the center of the fight: Backers of Issue 1 are working ahead of a November ballot that calls for enshrining access to reproductive care in the state's constitution.
•Out-of-state money has poured into both sides of the contest, even as both supporters and opponents say one of their main goals is to keep special interests from having more influence over state policy than average Ohioans.
•Voters in several states, including Kansas, have affirmed abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, though usually with less than 60% of the vote.” [USA Today]
Biden's student debt forgiveness for defrauded borrowers blocked
“A federal court on Monday blocked new Biden administration rules aimed at forgiving the debt of student borrowers who attended colleges that misled them or closed suddenly. The move by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, by a panel comprised of Republican presidential appointees, was in response to a request from Career Colleges and Schools of Texas for a nationwide injunction on the new version of so-called borrower defense rules. The Biden administration's version of the rules eases and clarifies the process for securing that relief, including by allowing borrowers to submit claims if they believe they were misled by their institution.” Read more at USA Today
Presidential race
“Former Vice President Mike Pence has reached the donor threshold to qualify for the first Republican presidential debate later this month in Milwaukee. This could set up a potential face-off with his former boss Donald Trump, should the former president commit to participating. Trump, the current front-runner who was federally indicted in the special counsel's 2020 election interference probe last week, has yet to announce whether he will debate on August 23. As CNN has reported, seven other candidates have met the polling threshold and met the fundraising requirements for the August debate. They are all attempting to make a dent in Trump's lead as he contends with mounting legal troubles and a fourth potential indictment.”
Judge tosses Trump’s defamation suit against writer who won sexual abuse lawsuit against him
BY JENNIFER PELTZ
“NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge tossed out former President Donald Trump’s countersuit against the writer who won a sex abuse lawsuit against him, ruling Monday that Trump can’t claim she defamed him by continuing to say she was not only sexually abused but raped.
The ruling shuts down, at least for now, Trump’s effort to turn the legal tables on E. Jean Carroll, who won a $5 million judgment against him in May and is pursuing her own defamation suit against him. Trump attorney Alina Habba said his lawyers would appeal ‘the flawed decision’ to dismiss his counterclaim.
Carroll’s lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, said she was pleased with the ruling and looking ahead to a trial scheduled in January in her defamation suit, which concerns a series of remarks that Trump has made in denying her sexual assault allegation….” Read more at AP News
Ex-Minneapolis officer unrepentant as he gets nearly 5 years in George Floyd killing
Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, has been sentenced to 4 years and 9 months. He spoke at length about growing in his Christian faith, but showed little remorse and denied any responsibility in Floyd’s death. (Aug. 7)
BY STEVE KARNOWSKI
“MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, did not show any repentance or admit any wrongdoing as he was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months.
Thao had previously testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020.
A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of ‘I can’t breathe.’ Floyd’s murder touched off protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning of police brutality and racism….” Read more at AP News
Strikes
“More than 11,000 Los Angeles city workers plan to strike today for the first time in more than 40 years. Shuttle drivers at Los Angeles International Airport, trash truck operators and port boat captains are among the workers planning to strike for 24 hours. According to the union that represents many of the city's public-sector staff, employees feel stretched thin amid hundreds of job vacancies in the city. Los Angeles is also the epicenter of the Hollywood actors' and writers' strikes that have brought most entertainment productions to a standstill, and the union representing 15,000 hotel workers that has staged rolling strikes in the city since the start of July.” [CNN]
CLIMATE
A house falls into the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 6, 2023. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire via AP)
Bursting ice dam in Alaska highlights risks of glacial flooding
“Destruction came to Alaska’s capital over the weekend as a glacial dam burst, swelling the levels of the Mendenhall River to an unprecedented degree. The bursting of such snow-and-ice dams is a phenomenon called a jökuhlaup, and while it’s relatively little-known in the U.S., researchers say such glacial floods could threaten about 15 million people around the world. Read more
Why this matters:
More than half of the people at risk from glacial outburst floods are in just four countries — India, Pakistan, Peru and China, according to a study published this year in Nature Communications.” [AP News]
POLITICS
Carcinogens found at Montana nuclear missile sites as reports of hundreds of cancers surface
“The Air Force said Monday it has detected unsafe levels of a likely carcinogen in samples taken at a Montana missile base where a striking number of men and women have reported cancer diagnoses. Read more
Why this matters:
Much of the infrastructure at the missile silos and control centers are decades old. Missileers have raised health concerns multiple times over the years about ventilation, water quality and potential toxins they cannot avoid as they spend up to 48 hours on duty underground.
After a military briefing was obtained by The Associated Press in January showing that at least nine current or former missileers at Malmstrom Air Force Base were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine launched a study to look at cancers among the entire missile community checking for the possibility of clusters of the disease.” [AP News]
“Narendra Modi has become a master at skirting blame anytime a crisis hits India. This week the opposition will try again to hold the prime minister to account — likely with the same result.
Modi, who’s already in campaign mode as he seeks to extend a decade in power next year, faces a confidence vote in parliament. The question isn’t whether he’ll win — that’s a given — but whether his opponents can make him squirm and gain ground in the polls.
The main topic will be the government’s handling of deadly ethnic violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, which is controlled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Conflict between Christian Kukis and the Hindu Meiteis has left more than 150 people dead and displaced 50,000 people since May.
Modi’s first public comment hinting at the conflict focused on the safety of women after a grotesque video surfaced of two women being paraded naked and allegedly raped in Manipur. He didn’t make any reference to ongoing ethnic violence.
The parliamentary vote may change that: Essentially, it’s a bid to force Modi to address a topic he’s spent months studiously avoiding. More broadly, the opposition wants to use this moment to shine a spotlight on Modi’s Hindu-focused nationalism, which has turned the South Asian nation into a more intolerant place for many minorities — primarily Muslims.
But they’re up against an adroit opponent. Even as he presses ahead with a daily stream of social media posts and high-profile visits, the prime minister has managed to create distance from the fallout of certain divisive policies.
Modi may find the issue comes back to haunt him next month when he plays host to Group of 20 leaders, including US President Joe Biden.
For Modi, who is adept at controlling the narrative within India, that outside pressure may make the violence impossible to ignore.” — Rebecca Choong Wilkins [Bloomberg]
Damage at Ambedkar Chowk in Sohna, where a mob attacked on Aug. 1. Photographer: Hindustan Times
“The musings of Chinese leader Xi Jinping on everything from the economy to space missions have long been required reading within the Communist Party and China’s government. But with Xi now months into a precedent-breaking third term — and with no limits on how many more he can serve — study sessions on his ideology have also become mandatory for staff at many state-owned and private-sector companies.
China and Russia remain ‘good partners,’ Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart yesterday, days after a rare admonition for Moscow from Beijing over an incident involving the denial of entry for some Chinese citizens at a border checkpoint.” [Bloomberg]
“A jobs boom in Britain’s seaside towns is running out of steam as the cost-of-living crisis and cheap holidays in Europe dampen interest in the nation’s once grand resort destinations. It marks a big shift from the frantic bookings and packed beaches that those places enjoyed immediately after the pandemic, when people sought to take their holidays close to home.” [Bloomberg]
“Fewer than one-in-10 Britons think Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will meet his pledge to stop asylum seekers reaching the UK by small boat, according to a YouGov survey.” [Bloomberg]
China’s exports fell for a third straight month in July amid a slump in global demand, while imports plunged as domestic pressures also undermined the economy’s recovery. China’s rebound this year was expected to be buoyed by strong consumption, but momentum is waning as confidence and domestic demand remain weak, signaling challenges for the rest of the globe as well. [Bloomberg]
“A planned announcement on the expansion of the BRICS grouping at a summit in Johannesburg this month isn’t aimed at countering the West, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said. Heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will set out strict criteria for who will be allowed to join the bloc, according to Pandor.” [Bloomberg]
“Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva kicks off a two-day summit of Amazon nations today in a bid to forge consensus about how to save the world’s largest rainforest after deforesting increased under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. While major agreements are unlikely at the talks, Lula will attempt to unite rainforest nations ahead of this year’s COP28 climate talks in Dubai, where he plans to pressure rich countries over stalled pledges for environmental aid to the developing world.” [Bloomberg]
“Argentines head to the polls this weekend to vote in primaries that will play a key role in determining who wins the presidency later this year. With inflation running at 116%, life has become a daily struggle to keep up with galloping prices and the country feels like it’s careening out of control. And as this visual piece shows, things could get worse before they get better, regardless of who’s elected.” [Bloomberg]
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet approved a surprise tax on the “extra profits” of banks this year.” [Bloomberg]
“The Central African Republic voted to abolish term limits in a constitutional referendum, which may result in President Faustin-Archange Touadera seeking reelection in 2025. Touadera previously hired Russia’s Wagner Group, which maintains about 1,500 troops in the country.” [Bloomberg]
“Rebuilding in Slovenia from the damage caused by record floods is likely to cost ‘billions’ of euros, Prime Minister Robert Golob said.” [Bloomberg]
“The German government expects Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to give the go-ahead for the construction of a €10 billion ($11 billion) facility in Dresden today, sources say.” [Bloomberg]
“With temperatures at 42C (108F) this summer in Seville, an architectural experiment outside the Spanish city is exploring cooling solutions that don’t require burning more planet-warming fossil fuels. As Laura Millan reports, the public water company has built a grid of aqueducts and underground waterways inspired by 1,000-year-old Persian-era canals that can lower surrounding temperatures by as much as 10C using just air, water and solar power.” [Bloomberg]
The CartujaQanat project in Seville. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg
”A mint condition, first-generation iPod — originally purchased for $399 in 2001 — sold for $29,000 at an auction. It's an example of a new appetite for nostalgia that has fueled a collective bubble in goods from a bygone era — like Game Boys and vintage Polaroid cameras. Read on.” [Axios]
Zoom is making its employees return to the office.
What? The San Jose-based company’s technology helped enable remote work during the pandemic. Now, it will require its employees to be back in the office at least twice a week.
Why? Zoom said “a structured hybrid approach” would be most effective. The mandate applies to workers living within 50 miles of an office.
Read this story at Washington Post
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“Campbell Soup announced the purchase of Sovos Brands — including the iconic Rao's pasta sauces from the impossible-to-get-into restaurant in East Harlem — for $2.7 billion. Go deeper.” [Axios]
“KKR is buying legendary publisher Simon & Schuster from Paramount for $1.62 billion in an all-cash deal — putting one of the country's biggest book publishers under private-equity ownership. Jonathan Karp remains president and CEO. Go deeper.” [Axios]
USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll: Georgia No. 1
“The release of the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll brings the promise that football is just a few weeks away. Two-time defending national champion Georgia unsurprisingly will open the season at No. 1. The Bulldogs were picked first on 61 of the 66 coaches’ ballots. It is the second preseason No. 1 ranking for the Bulldogs since USA TODAY began administering the poll in 1991. Michigan will open the campaign at No. 2, its highest-ever preseason ranking in the coaches poll. The Wolverines didn’t receive any first-place nods but still finished a comfortable 21 poll points ahead of third-ranked Alabama.” Read more at USA Today
William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The French Connection,’ dead at 87
BY LINDSEY BAHR
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — William Friedkin, the generation-defining director who brought a visceral realism to 1970s hits “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” and was quickly anointed one of Hollywood’s top directors when he was only in his 30s, has died. He was 87.
Friedkin, who won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles, Marcia Franklin, his executive assistant for 24 years, told The Associated Press on behalf of his family and wife, former studio head Sherry Lansing.His son Cedric Friedkin told the AP he died after a long illness….” Read more at AP News