The Full Belmonte, 9/4/2023
A sea of mud, overflowing Porta-potties and a rain delay
A satellite overview of Burning Man festival in Black Rock, Nev. (©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)
“The culmination of the nine-day Burning Man festival in Nevada is expected to take place Monday evening after two days of rain left the sprawling festival awash in mud and delayed thousands of attendees' departures.
The burning of a towering sculpture called The Man was supposed to be Sunday evening but was postponed until Monday, officials said. In place of the usual raucous parties, around 72,000 people spent Sunday striking muddy camps instead.
•It began raining Friday, turning the normally rock-hard Nevada desert floor into a muddy mess almost impossible to walk or drive on.
•Some online statements that participants were barred from leaving were untrue, organizers said.
•But the event's thousands of porta-potties quickly became disgusting, muddy and almost-overflowing messes as conditions kept the event's residents from driving home – and service trucks from accessing the site.” [USA Today]
A person talks on a cell phone at Burning Man.
Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY
Ben Joos of Nevada and Dub Kitty of Idaho try to figure out which way to walk in the mud at the Burning Man festival yesterday after a night of dancing with friends. Photo: Trevor Hughes/USA Today via Reuters
Why Wisconsin Republicans are talking about impeaching a new state Supreme Court justice
“Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled legislature is considering impeaching a newly-elected liberal state Supreme Court justice even before she has heard a case. Read more.
Why this matters:
Justice Janet Protasiewicz won the election in April to a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court beginning Aug. 1. Her victory gave liberals a 4-3 majority, ending a 15-year run with conservatives in control.
The unprecedented attempt to impeach and remove Protasiewicz from office comes as the court is being asked to throw out legislative electoral maps drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2011 that cemented the party’s majorities in the Assembly and Senate.
Republican lawmakers, notably Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, allege Protasiewicz has prejudged redistricting cases pending before the Supreme Court because of comments she made during her campaign. Protasiewicz frequently spoke about redistricting, calling the current Republican-friendly maps ‘unfair’ and ‘rigged.’ They also argue her acceptance of nearly $10 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party disqualifies her.” [AP News]
Student loan repayments surge ahead of official restart
“Student loan payments jumped ahead of pre-pandemic levels in the weeks ahead of payments becoming due again in October after a pause during COVID, according to Goldman Sachs economists. Payments rose to about a $150 billion annualized rate, or about twice the pre-pandemic rate, they said, based on weekly payments to the federal Education Department. How people handle student loans, which total $1.7 trillion spread across more than 40 million Americans, could be a barometer for which way the economy could be headed.” Read more at USA Today
Maui victims struggle one month after deadly fires
“Despite President Joe Biden's recent pledge of $95 million to help rebuild Maui's infrastructure, and celebrities, – including Dwayne Johnson, Oprah Winfrey and Jason Mamoa – launching a "People’s Fund of Maui" and contributing an initial $10 million for residents in need, Maui residents still feel uneasy. Many are worried about being abandoned as the island this week marks one month since the deadliest wildfires in more than a century in the United States. The fires killed at least 115 people, destroyed more than 2,200 structures and caused an estimated tens of billions of dollars in damage. An investigation is underway to determine what initially sparked the wildfires.” Read more at USA Today
Are mask mandates back?
“A late-summer uptick in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths has some schools, hospitals and other businesses scrambling to keep illness from spreading. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an 18.8% increase in hospitalizations due to COVID between Aug. 13 and Aug. 19, marking the sixth straight week of increased hospitalizations. Experts say currently circulating variants don't necessarily cause more severe acute infection than previous variants, but there is still a risk of long-term effects from COVID. A new vaccine booster targeting the variants is expected to be available mid-September.” Read more at USA Today
WSJ poll: Trump pulls away
Mug-shot cookies were hot sellers this week at I Canita Cake bakery in Roswell, Ga., in northern Fulton County. Photo: John Bazemore/AP
“Polling on '24 GOP has been so consistent that rarely does a given poll stand out. But a Wall Street Journal poll out today has this striking finding:
Former President Trump ‘has expanded his dominating lead for the Republican presidential nomination ... [W]hat was once a two-man race for the nomination has collapsed into a lopsided contest in which Trump, for now, has no formidable challenger.’
Why it matters: ‘GOP primary voters overwhelmingly see his four criminal prosecutions as lacking merit and about half say the indictments fuel their support for him,’ The Journal reports.
By the numbers: Trump now leads Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 46 points among GOP voters in the poll, which began the day after the first debate (600 Republican primary voters polled Aug. 24-30, with a margin of error of ±4 points).
Trump polled at 59%, with DeSantis lagging at 13%.
Between the lines: Trump's lead nearly doubled since a Journal poll in April, when he led the field with 48% to 24% for DeSantis, a 24-point gap.
‘DeSantis's position has collapsed since April,’ The Journal concludes.
In today's poll, the other debaters were in single digits: Nikki Haley(8%), Vivek Ramaswamy (5%), Chris Christie (3%), Mike Pence and Tim Scott (2% each), Asa Hutchinson and Doug Burgum (1% each).
Only 4% of GOP primary voters were undecided.
The big picture: The Journal results are no outlier. The FiveThirtyEight average has Trump at 50% — 35 points ahead of DeSantis, at 15%.
Reality check: These are national polls. The nomination contest, of course, is state by state. So if a candidate shows big movement in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada, that will matter.” [Axios]
Voting rights expand
Data: Voting Rights Lab; Map: Axios Visuals
“This year, more states improved access to voting than limited it, Axios' Eugene Scott writes from new Voting Rights Lab data.
29 states + D.C. have enacted 70 laws expanding voting rights this year.
16 states enacted 29 laws to restrict voting.
Why it matters: Republicans are trying to undo some pandemic-era measures that improved access to voting. But voting rights advocates have struck back with some big wins ahead of the 2024 election.
Zoom in: Several of the most significant changes are in swing states.
Michigan, where Democrats control state government, passed the nation's biggest package of bills to increase access to voting. New laws ensure that student IDs are acceptable identification at the polls, expand early voting and improve tracking procedures for mail-in ballots.
Nevada, where Democrats control the legislature but the governor is a Republican, improved voting access for Indigenous people and felons — and approved harsher penalties for tampering with voting equipment.” [Axios]
Ocean's surprising comeback
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
“The ocean is responding to mounting human threats in surprising ways, Axios' Alison Snyder and Andrew Freedman write.
Why it matters: ‘This is an existential question about human survival on the planet,’ says Ben Halpern, a marine ecologist at U.C. Santa Barbara. ‘Our relationship with the ocean is fragile.’
The big picture: Overfishing, pollution, record-shattering global sea surface temperatures and increasingly common marine heat waves are putting huge pressure on the world's largest ecosystem.
That can wreck coastal fisheries, hitting national economies.
Reality check: A new study of more than 200 marine heat waves, occurring in the oceans around North America and Europe between 1993 and 2019, found they often didn't have a significant effect on the abundance and diversity of bottom-dwelling fish communities.” [Axios]
War in Ukraine
Ukraine’s outgoing defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov. Ints Kalnins/Reuters
“Volodymyr Zelensky said he would replace his defense minister. The ministry has faced scandals over weapons contracts.” [New York Times]
“Zelensky’s nominee for the role is from an ethnic group that Russia is accused of persecuting.” [New York Times]
“Vladimir Putin is expected to meet with Turkey’s leader to discuss reviving a grain deal, as Russia continues to attack Ukrainian grain facilities.” [New York Times]
“Gang rapes of two preteen girls shocked Italy, and fueled debate over violence and sexism.” [New York Times]
“President Xi Jinping is set to snub the Group of 20 summit in India this weekend for the first time since coming to power. While the Chinese president’s reason for skipping is unknown, one thing is clear: The G-20 looks more divided than ever.
China alone is feuding with multiple members, including Japan over the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant and the US over everything from Beijing’s access to core future technologies and the status of Taiwan.
China and India, the summit host, are also once again at odds over a territorial dispute along their shared border, after Beijing published a map laying claim to land both sides deem their own.
While China regularly spars with those countries, Xi’s approach now appears different than at the last G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, some 10 months ago. Back then, he said it was the job of a global statesman to ‘get along with other countries.’
And it’s not just China: It’s unclear if the compromise reached at the Bali meeting over the language to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine will hold this year. That could mean the group doesn’t put out a joint communique for the first time since its founding in 1999.
After presiding over an expansion of the BRICS group of emerging economies in Johannesburg last month, Xi now looks to prefer attending gatherings where he’s going to get along with the other invitees — and not be asked awkward questions about his faltering economy or human rights record. The same may be true for Putin, who also isn’t attending.
Even if the meetings in New Delhi are smoother without them, the world ultimately could be entering an even rockier period.” — Jenni Marsh [Bloomberg]
Xi and Putin at the Kremlin on March 21. Photographer: Pavel Byrkin/AFP/Getty Images
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will seek to persuade Putin today to revive a United Nations-backed Black Sea grain deal, but a barrage of Russian drone strikes on Ukrainian port facilities set a somber tone just before their meeting in the Russian resort town of Sochi.” [Bloomberg]
“Escalating violence in Arab Israeli cities is stoking broader tensions in the country. More than a dozen attacks this year targeting prominent Arab figures ahead of October local elections are part of a wave of murders perpetrated by members of their own community.” [Bloomberg]
Protesters in Tel Aviv on Aug. 26 carry mock coffins bearing slogans denouncing crime that disproportionately affects Arab communities. Photographer: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
“UK lawmakers return from their summer break today, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak engulfed in a crisis over crumbling school buildings and his Conservative Party lagging in opinion polls ahead of a national election expected next year. The government ordered more than 100 schools to close sites days before the start of the new academic year.” [Bloomberg]
“China’s fury over Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has dimmed prospects for improved ties when top officials of the two countries meet this week. Chinese Premier Li Qiang may use the meeting to berate Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in front of regional dignitaries.” [Bloomberg]
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition is fighting over plans to sell state-owned assets, including the world’s oldest bank, to bolster finances stung by a souring economic outlook.” [Bloomberg]
“Guatemala’s top electoral tribunal overturned the suspension of Bernardo Arevalo’s party, representing a victory for the incoming president’s Movimiento Semilla as he prepares to take office in 2024.” [Bloomberg]
“North Korea appears to have dispatched a bus across a bridge with China, satellite imagery showed, in what is likely the first such move since Pyongyang sealed its borders nearly four years ago at the start of the pandemic.” [Bloomberg]
Where parents bully the teachers
Kim Jin-seo said her job had caused her to have suicidal thoughts. Credit: BBC/Hosu Lee
“When a primary school teacher in South Korea took her own life, diary entries and text messages revealed she had been bombarded by complaints. It prompted thousands of teachers to strike, demanding protection from parents who report a telling off as "emotional abuse" or restraint as child abuse, says Seoul correspondent Jean Mackenzie.” [BBC]
The state of organized labor
David McNew/Getty Images
“A recent Gallup poll found that two-thirds of Americans approve of unions. That’s slightly down from last year, but still high — and continues a trend that stands in contrast to the last 60 years. Even so, only a record-low 10% of American workers belong to a union. And we’re not seeing much union representation on screen, either.
Gen Z is the most pro-union generation alive. One poll put its mean union approval at 64.3%, compared to 60.5% for millennials and 57.2% for baby boomers. Many younger workers are embracing unions and the potential protections they can bring to the workplace.
In fact, the U.S. experienced what some declared a “union boom” in 2022, with organizing efforts at companies from Amazon to Starbucks to Condé Nast. Graduate students, rideshare drivers and Medieval Times performers took up the fight, too. But that’s not the full story. The overall picture for unions remains bleak a year later, in large part due to labor law that’s tilted in favor of employers (and a Supreme Court ruling that dealt unions a blow).
Many unions — and the collective bargaining agreements they try to reach — have found themselves stalled by employers. And that’s where the picket lines come in. Right now Hollywood writers and actors are on strike, as are hotel workers in Los Angeles. And auto workers could be next.” [NPR]
What’s happening in Hollywood
Mandalit del Barco/NPR
“A rare dual strike by writers and actors has essentially brought Hollywood to a standstill. Future movies and TV shows are being delayed if not outright canceled, while the Emmy Awards have been postponed from September to January. The strikers have lost work, and very nearly their health insurance, too. And the economic impacts are being felt far beyond LA.
How we got here: The Writers Guild of America went on strike against major studios in May, and SAG-AFTRA performers followed suit in July. The main sticking points for both include residual payments, job protections and the use of artificial intelligence. Union negotiators have said the strike could continue into 2024.
What we've learned: The most recent dual strike, in 1960, shut down Hollywood for about six weeks and yielded health care, pensions and the residuals system. Experts told NPR they wouldn’t be surprised if the actors settle before the writers — but hope they stick together long enough to put adequate pressure on the studios and streamers.
In the meantime: Actors and writers are still picketing in studio lots in LA and New York. Here’s a look at some of our favorite signs.” [New York Times]
The last acceptable ‘ism’
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
“One in four American workers is 55 or older. But age discrimination persists in offices, keeping many of those people out of jobs, Axios' Erica Pandey writes.
Why it matters: Older workers face long periods of unemployment, stressful job hunts and mounting bills. Employers are missing out on an entire generation of life experience.
What's happening: Many older Americans left the workforce during the pandemic.
Now inflation is squeezing bank accounts, prompting many to un-retire.
The labor market, ‘though rosy overall, has deteriorated for older workers,’ says Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
Workers over the age of 50 are unemployed for three times as long as their younger counterparts, according to an AARP analysis of federal data.
The big picture: ‘Ageism is the last acceptable 'ism,’ says Carly Roszkowski, AARP's V.P. of financial resilience programming.
Employers admit they're looking for younger talent, per ZipRecruiter data: 47% say they're worried about older workers' tech skills. 25% say they'd pick a 30-year-old over a 60-year-old if equally qualified.
Zoom in: Older workers often have skills especially valuable to struggling industries.
Take accounting. Some 300,000 accountants have left the workforce in the last several years — chiefly due to retirements. So the pipeline of new accountants is dry. The talent is concentrated among older workers.
Stunning stat: The only segment of the workforce by age that is growing over the next decade is workers who are 75+, AARP says.” [Axios]
SPORTS NEWS
Coco GauffElsa/Getty Images
“Coco Gauff: She defeated Caroline Wozniacki on Sunday, advancing to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.” [New York Times]
Three American men have reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Who? Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. It’s the first time three American men have reached this stage of the tennis tournament since 2005.
On the women’s side: The top seed, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, was eliminated by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko yesterday. Ostapenko will play American Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.
The schedule: The men’s and women’s quarterfinals start tomorrow.
Read this story at Washington Post
“College football: Colorado upset the 17th-ranked T.C.U. over the weekend. Sports Illustrated has takeaways from the win.” [New York Times]
“N.F.L.: The Dallas Cowboys and offensive tackle Terence Steele have agreed to a five-year, nearly $87 million contract extension.” [New York Times]
College coaching's stagnant diversity
Data: NCAA. Chart: Rahul Mukherjee/Axios.
“The makeup of nonwhite head coaches in Division I college football has stayed at 13% since 2012, according to the NCAA.
Why it matters: The number of people of color in every other college football job has increased in the past decade, Axios' Rahul Mukherjee writes.
The share of student-athletes who are nonwhite has grown to 61% in 2022 from 53% a decade earlier, eclipsing representation in any coaching staff.
The latest: Deion Sanders, the flashy former football star, took over as Colorado's head coach. It was the first time a Power Five program hired a head coach directly from an HBCU.
Several Black coaches were hired at the end of last season, including Purdue's Ryan Walters, Western Michigan's Lance Taylor and Kent State's Kenni Burns.” [Axios]
Conservative chart-toppers
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
“Criticism from mainstream media and the left is fueling chart-topping populist songs.
Why it matters: Republicans are stealing some Democratic thunder by harnessing the power of pop culture, Axios' Stef Kight and Sara Fischer report.
Oliver Anthony's twangy, anti-government "Rich Men North of Richmond" is No. 1 for the second week in a row on the Billboard Hot 100— just after Jason Aldean's controversial "Try That in a Small Town" topped the charts.
Anthony said he found it "funny" that his song was the basis for the opening question during the first GOP presidential debate, saying he ‘wrote that song about those people’ and it has ‘nothing to do with Joe Biden.’
Aldean has more openly embraced politics in his music, and has been a guest at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago.
What's happening: Democrats' inability to resist ‘a lecture or a judgment’ just empowers the right, Kurt Bardella — a Democratic strategist and former GOP spokesperson who runs the popular country music newsletter Morning Hangover — told Axios.
‘They might as well take a big smoke signal and say: 'Yes, please do segment after segment on this,’ Bardella said.
Nearly all of the top stories about "Try That in a Small Town" for social media interaction revolved around the left's criticism, according to data from NewsWhip.
Between the lines: Country artists became more comfortable making their alliances known during the Trump era, Bardella said.
Country artists had steered clear of politics for years, learning a lesson from the widespread backlash faced by The Chicks in 2003 when they criticized then-President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq.
What we're watching: Aldean and Anthony are likely just the start of a new era. ‘This isn't a one-hit wonder,’ Bardella said. ‘There's starting to be a formula that's working — and the left plays into it every time.’” [Axios]
“The British Museum named an interim director while it confronts a crisis over thefts from its storerooms.” [New York Times]
“Lea Michele ended her yearlong run as the lead in the Broadway revival of ‘Funny Girl.’” [New York Times]
A long-lost shipwreck was found in Wisconsin waters.
This July photo shows the Trinidad’s wheel. (Tamara Thomsen/State Historical Society of Wisconsin/AP)
“The ship: It’s called the Trinidad. It was built in 1867 and sank in Lake Michigan in 1881. It was probably used for moving grain and coal between New York and the Midwest.
The discovery: The wreck was found in July using sonar technology, it was revealed last week. It’s remarkably intact, with some items such as plates and anchors well preserved.”
Read this story at Washington Post
”Lives Lived: Nathan Louis Jackson was an acclaimed playwright who grappled with issues like the death penalty and homophobia. He died at 44.” [New York Times]