The Full Belmonte, 9/7/2023
Migrants try to cross the border between Piedras Negras, Mexico and Eagle Pass, Texas, last month.
Immigration
“A federal judge has ordered Texas to remove floating barriers aimed at deterring migrants in the Rio Grande and barred the state from placing additional buoys in the river. The buoys have been a hot-button immigration issue and have been criticized by Democrats and the Justice Department as an unlawful security initiative — one that Mexico's president called ‘inhumane.’ Meanwhile, new data shows at least 60,000 migrant children this year crossed the Darien Gap, a treacherous stretch of mountainous rainforest that connects South and Central America. It is a crucial 66-mile hike used by migrants hoping to reach the US and Canada, and widely known as one of the most perilous walks on Earth. Almost 250,000 people made the crossing in 2023, fueled by economic and humanitarian disasters.” [CNN]
This summer broke the world record for the highest temperature officially recorded
“Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization.” Read More. at AP News
The outlook for the US economy is getting stronger
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
From Vox
“As Americans continue to struggle with the cost of living, there may be some good news around the corner. Here’s what you need to know:
More signs are pointing to a possible “soft landing” — an economic scenario in which inflation goes down but the US avoids a recession. [Bloomberg]
Last week, an August jobs report showed slowing job and wage growth, which may not be the best sign for workers, but are data points suggesting that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to curb inflation could be working. [Vox]
Goldman Sachs has adjusted the odds of a recession, reducing them from 20 percent to 15 percent, citing declining inflation and a cooling labor market among the reasons. [Fortune]
‘The likelihood of recession has lessened, and the likelihood of soft landing has increased,’ according to Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board. [Vox]
“Federal prosecutors said they plan to charge Hunter Biden this month, after a plea deal fell apart in July.”
Read this story at Washington Post
“The Pentagon is calling out Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville. The Republican lawmaker has placed holds on key military nominees in protest of the Defense Department’s abortion policies. Military leaders are over it.” [PBS]
First televised hearing in Trump election subversion case in Georgia
“A judge has denied motions from two of former President Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants to be tried separately, during the first televised hearing in the Georgia election interference case.
Former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro had sought to sever their cases from the other co-defendants for speedier trials. Trump was not present at today’s hearing.
During the hearing, prosecutors estimated that the trial will likely take four months, and they plan to call more than 150 witnesses.
All the defendants have pleaded not guilty and waived their arraignments that were scheduled for today.
On another legal front, a U.S. district court judge has found Trump is liable for defamation in a second case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, and said an upcoming trial will focus solely on how much Trump owes her in damages.
In May, the jury in a separate civil trial found that Trump sexually abused Carroll in the 1990s, and then defamed her by saying she made up the claims. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages. Trump is appealing the verdict.
Also today, a watchdog group filed a lawsuit on behalf of six voters to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot in Colorado under the 14th Amendment, which states no person shall hold office if they ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion’ after having taken an oath to support the Constitution.” [NBC News]
President Biden blocked oil drilling in part of Alaska’s wildlands.
Caribou near a pipeline in Alaska in March.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
“Where? Over 10 million acres of Alaska’s North slope, covering nearly half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest expanse of public land.
What else to know: The administration is canceling leases for oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge awarded under the Trump administration.
But: The moves don’t target the Willow development, a large Alaskan drilling project approved by Biden in March.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Hurricane Lee
“Hurricane Lee brewing in the Atlantic is expected to rapidly intensify as it approaches the Caribbean in the coming days. Forecasts show it will likely become a major storm by early Friday and could reach near Category 5 strength. Currently a Category 1 storm, Lee is packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph as it churns around 1,000 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. There is increasing confidence that the center of the storm will pass to the north of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. However, swells generated by Lee are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions in the region. It's still too soon to know whether this system will directly impact the US mainland.” [CNN]
McConnell survival strategy
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell heads to the Republican Senate luncheon in the Capitol yesterday. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
“A defiant Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has no plans to retire before his Senate term is up in '26, or to step down early as leader.
Senate Republicans aren't slated to vote for leader until after the 2024 election. McConnell's Senate term ends in 2027 — when he'll be 84.
Why it matters: After two on-camera health scares in two months, McConnell is trying to defuse doubts by taking the very on-brand stance that there's nothing to see here, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke and Andrew Solender report.
Most Senate Republicans are backing him up.
McConnell, 81, said he's had no freeze-up incidents beyond the two caught on camera. He repeatedly declined to comment on his health beyond the doctor's note released this week.
Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol's attending physician, ruled out a stroke, seizure or movement disorder as possible causes of McConnell's freeze-ups — saying they're likely the result of dehydration and his recovery from a concussion this spring.
‘I think Dr. Monahan covered the subject fully,’ McConnell told reporters. ‘You've had a chance to read it ... I don't have anything to add to it. And I think it should answer any reasonable question.’
Reminding Republicans of the leader's fundraising muscle, a pair of McConnell-aligned groups reported a record August haul of a combined $49.36 million, Fox Business scooped.
Behind the scenes: McConnell called himself ‘a concussion survivor’ during the closed-door weekly Senate GOP lunch, "which for the very private McConnell is a significant admission," Punchbowl News reports.
"He was more transparent," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. ‘This is not his style. But I don't think keeping things close to the vest serves his interests, and it created a lot of speculation.’” [Axios]
Manhunt
“The manhunt continues for convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison eight days ago. Newly released surveillance video from the prison shows him ‘crab walking’ between two walls before climbing out of the camera's view. Authorities said the escape was not seen by a guard in a tower overlooking the group of prisoners playing basketball nor by whoever was monitoring the 160 cameras at the correctional facility in eastern Pennsylvania, about 30 miles from Philadelphia. The tower guard was placed on administrative leave and their actions are being investigated. The search area has also expanded, leaving several areas in eastern Pennsylvania on lockdown until the inmate is caught.” [CNN]
“YouTuber and family vlogger Ruby Franke has been charged with six counts of felony child abuse, according to court documents. Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, were arrested last week after Franke's 12-year-old son climbed out a window to ask his neighbor for food and water. Franke rose to fame with her YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” which documented her life as a mother of six children in Utah. It was taken down this year after growing criticism of her parenting techniques.” [NPR]
“U.S. public health officials are warning of the growing threat of fake prescription pills. The share of deaths involving these pills more than doubled between mid-2019 and 2021, according to the CDC. Commonly faked drugs include OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Xanax and Adderall — usually sold online and over social media.” [NPR]
Florida Expected to Approve Classical Exam as a Competitor to the SAT
The Classic Learning Test emphasizes the Western canon and Christian thought. It’s the latest move by Gov. Ron DeSantis to shake up the education establishment.
“The Classic Learning Test is the college admissions exam that most students have never heard of. An alternative to the SAT and ACT for only a small number of mostly religious colleges, the test is known for its emphasis on the Western canon, with a big dose of Christian thought.
But on Friday, Florida’s public university system, which includes the University of Florida and Florida State University, is expected to become the first state system to approve the Classic Learning Test, or CLT, for use in admissions.
‘We are always seeking ways to improve,’ said Ray Rodrigues, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, noting that the system, which serves a quarter million undergraduates, was the largest in the country to still require an entrance exam.
It’s the latest move by Gov. Ron DeSantis to shake up the education establishment, especially the College Board, the nonprofit behemoth that runs the SAT program.
Governor DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, has already rejected the College Board’s Advanced Placement course on African American studies, and sparred over content on gender and sexuality in A.P. Psychology.
Now, at a time when the College Board faces a dwindling number of students taking the SAT, Governor DeSantis is giving a big lift to an upstart competitor.
Jeremy Tate, the founder of Classic Learning Initiatives, the company that developed the test, insisted that the CLT is apolitical. It’s an effort, he said, to avoid educational fads and expose students to rich intellectual material.
The company, however, describes the CLT as part of ‘the larger educational freedom movement of our time’ — language that echoes that of conservative supporters of private-school vouchers and tax credits for home-schoolers. The ‘end goal,’ the company says, is ‘promoting a classical curriculum.’
After a century of dominance by the College Board and the nonprofit ACT — which administers the test of the same name — the emergence of an alternative is ‘healthy and overdue,’ said Frederick Hess, director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank. ‘It’s all for the best if this becomes a more vibrant marketplace.’
There has been pushback. The College Board and ACT say that there is little research that shows that the CLT can accurately assess college readiness. Some classics scholars say that the CLT’s vision of classical education is too narrow; others say it’s too expansive.
While there is no single definition of classical education, the CLT celebrates canonical works from Western civilization, with an emphasis on Greek, Roman and early Christian thought. Memorization, logic and debate are considered important skills.
Test Your Knowledge
Take a mini quiz from a sample CLT exam, with one reading passage and 10 questions.
The test has three sections: verbal reasoning, grammar and writing, and quantitative reasoning (math). Its English sections, like the SAT and ACT, ask students to read dense passages, demonstrate their comprehension via multiple-choice questions and spot grammatical errors.
But in sample materials, there is more religious thought, with passages from Thomas Aquinas; Jonathan Edwards, the Great Awakening preacher; and Teresa of Ávila, a 16th-century saint.
The CLT’s ‘author bank’ — the range of writing that could be on an exam — includes the Mesopotamian poem ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh,’ as well as Toni Morrison, Mary Wollstonecraft, Charles Darwin, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells and Mohandas K. Gandhi. It heavily features Judeo-Christian religious thinkers, such as Saint Augustine, Maimonides and Martin Luther.
Mr. Tate, a former history teacher who founded the Classic Learning Test in 2015, said his company had made an effort to diversify the material by including more passages from African and South American writers. That echoes changes made by the ACT and SAT over time, but has prompted accusations of “wokeness” from the right.
Neither the SAT nor ACT publish their author banks, which is standard practice in the testing industry. Sample exams show that both tests sometimes include classic philosophical texts, but generally not religious ones. And in comparing sample exams, the SAT and ACT tend to include more contemporary memoir and fiction, while also depicting a more diverse range of modern-day people.
Priscilla Rodriguez, a senior vice president at the College Board, said there was no blanket SAT ban on religious writing, and noted that some SAT exams had featured writings from the American founders that referenced faith.
ACT, the nonprofit, said in a written statement: “We do not, and have never, narrowly focused on any one particular intellectual tradition. ACT’s primary concern has always been reflecting the material currently in use in American schools.”
Sam Davis, 20, said some of his classmates at James Madison University in Virginia would find the CLT’s reading material “bewildering,” given their experiences reading more contemporary, secular texts.
But Mr. Davis said that as a high school student, he had found the CLT to be a better reflection of his values and education at the Veritas School, a Christian academy in Richmond, Va.
‘The CLT feels like it was written by humans,’ he said. ‘You have a test out there that offers teachers and students an excuse and an opportunity to study something that feels richer and fuller.’
There is limited data available about the Classic Learning Test. From 2016 to 2023, only about 21,000 high school juniors and seniors took the exam, according to a company report; in the high school class of 2022, 1.7 million took the SAT and 1.3 million took the ACT….” Read more at New York Times
Ukraine
After a missile strike in eastern Ukraine.Lynsey Addario for The New York Times
“The deadliest Russian missile attack in months killed at least 17 people and injured dozens at a market in the eastern town of Kostiantynivka on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the strike ‘utter inhumanity.’ Russian missile attacks regularly hit civilian areas but tolls this high are unusual. A strike on an apartment block in the central city of Uman killed 23 people, including children, in April, and a similar strike on Dnipro in the southeast killed 40 in January. The area that was hit Wednesday is close to the front lines around Bakhmut and frequently crowded with military personnel. Zelensky branded the Russian attack as ‘the brazenness of wickedness’ and ‘the audacity of evil.’” [CNN]
Overshadowed Visit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before a meeting in Kyiv on Sept. 6.Brendan Smialowski/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
“A devastating Russian missile attack on Ukraine overshadowed what was meant to be a hope-inspiring visit by the United States’ top diplomat. On Wednesday, Russian airstrikes killed at least 16 civilians, including one child, and injured 31 people at a market in the Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka—mere hours after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Kyiv.
Blinken’s trip was meant to signal continued U.S. support for Ukraine’s counteroffensive at a time when many Republicans on Capitol Hill are calling for Washington to limit its military assistance. Since the war began in February 2022, the U.S. government has provided more than $43 billion in military aid; Blinken is expected to announce an additional package of more than $1 billion this week. However, Wednesday’s strike—one of the deadliest since a Russian missile destroyed a residential building in April, killing at least 25 people—could damage public opinion of a war with no clear end in sight.
‘We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs … for the long term to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,’ Blinken said, speaking alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba before their meeting.
Blinken also plans to discuss alternative avenues for shipping Ukrainian grain. Russia’s suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July and continued bombing of Ukrainian ports has made the transport of vital food exports nearly impossible. Senior U.S. officials have suggested that Blinken may propose using overland routes or having container ships hug other nations’ coastlines to keep out of international waters.
Although this is Blinken’s fourth visit to Ukraine since its war began in February 2022, it is his first overnight stay in the capital since the war started. White House officials hoped that making Blinken’s trip a two-day venture would signal that Washington isn’t shying away from a fight. Instead, Wednesday’s missile strike reiterated that Russia isn’t bowing out either.
Alongside the deadly market attack, Russian forces killed one person on Wednesday at Ukraine’s Izmail port. Key infrastructure was damaged in the strike, including grain elevators and administrative buildings. And on Tuesday evening, debris from Russian cruise missiles hit a building in Kyiv, sparking a fire. No casualties were reported, but the attack was the first Russian assault on Ukraine’s capital since Aug. 30. ‘This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible,’ said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.” [Foreign Policy]
Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in federal health facilities.
A woman holds a banner reading in Spanish, "Legal, safe, and free abortion" in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
“What to know: Over 70% of women in Mexico will have access to legal abortion, including everyone who uses the federal health system, following yesterday’s ruling.
Historic change: The growing access to abortion comes as Mexico stands to elect its first female president next year. Two women won their primary elections yesterday.”
Read this story at Washington Post
“Court weighs Tinubu’s fate. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s electoral fate was put to the test on Wednesday, when a Nigerian appeals court convened to decide whether the African leader’s February election win was legitimate. The opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Tinubu of having Guinea citizenship and not obtaining the right academic credentials, both of which would disqualify him from seeking office. PDP members have also claimed the election’s outcome was fixed.
The appeals court has the right to affirm Tinubu’s win, declare someone else the victor, scrap the vote results entirely, or call for new elections. Only one election in Nigeria’s modern history has not been challenged in court. If the judges annul this year’s election, then it will be the first time the African country has done so since becoming a democratic nation in 1999. No matter the decision, an appeal to Nigeria’s Supreme Court is likely.” [Foreign Policy]
“Hell and high water. Brazil is in mourning after at least 27 people were killed by torrential rains and high winds this week, marking the state of Rio Grande do Sul’s deadliest weather disaster in recorded history. Thousands of people were displaced by the cyclone, with some towns facing more than 85 percent of their land flooded. The cyclone also catalyzed a tornado and numerous landslides.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, mass flooding also inundated Southern Europe. At least seven people were killed by flash floods in northwest Turkey on Wednesday, with many more individuals injured or missing. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya pledged financial support to affected areas and reiterated that rescue operations are still underway. And in central Greece, at least two people were killed and four more are missing after intense flooding damaged power lines, collapsed a bridge, and triggered landslides. According to local officials, Greece has experienced the heaviest amount of rainfall this year in its recorded history.” [Foreign Policy]
“Taiwan’s last African ally. Taipei is trying to hold on to the last African nation in its corner. President Tsai Ing-wen flew to Eswatini on Tuesday for a three-day trip to strengthen bilateral relations and celebrate 55 years of Eswatini independence. Eswatini is the only African country to still formally recognize Taiwan. Chinese expansion into Africa through its Belt and Road Initiative has curtailed the continent’s support of Taiwan in favor of Beijing.
‘Not only will Taiwan’s footsteps to the world not stop, we will continue to move forward more firmly and self-confidently, so that the world can see Taiwan’s steady force for good,’ Tsai said before leaving for Eswatini. The island nation has been desperate to shore up its allies after losingHonduras’s support in March.” [Foreign Policy]
“Sometimes, it’s just better to go the long way. That’s what two construction workers in China realized on Wednesday after they were arrested for breaking through part of the nation’s Great Wall. The UNESCO World Heritage Site now sports a dirt path where centuries-old brick and stone once stood. Genghis Khan would be impressed.” [Foreign Policy]
“There have been no grand summits or Rose Garden handshakes. But a series of incremental diplomatic developments are quietly remaking the Middle East.
After a seven-year rift that helped stoke one of the region’s ugliest conflicts, Iran and Saudi Arabia exchanged ambassadors this week.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog confirmed Tehran has slowed its enrichment of near weapons-grade uranium. And US officials have been shuttling back and forth for back-channel talks that increasingly look like a nuclear deal by stealth — all while working to broker Saudi normalization with Israel.
For Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the logic is clear. The eight-year conflict with Iranian-backed rebels in neighboring Yemen was threatening oil facilities and distracting from his big plans to transform the economy.
For Iran, the prize is sanctions relief, even if unofficial. And for US President Joe Biden, getting more oil onto global markets is welcome, even if it’s from the Islamic Republic, and keeping gasoline prices in check.
Calming tensions in the Persian Gulf, the protagonists appear to have concluded, is better after all.
Fashioning a US-Israel-Saudi agreement could prove trickier.
After initial reticence, Biden decided the only way to keep Saudi Arabia in the US corner and limit Chinese influence is to offer it more security. He wants to present that expanded commitment as part of a grand bargain that would simultaneously see the linchpin Islamic power make peace with Israel, preferably before next year’s US election.
But good ties with China have paid off for Saudi Arabia. Beijing helped mediate the rapprochement with Iran, whereas a new Israel-US pact might resurrect old tensions. And Biden is unlikely to offer the NATO-style assurances Riyadh wants.
For the Saudis, the Palestinians, and even some in Israel’s far-right coalition, a grand bargain looks somewhat less appealing. But for once, almost everyone’s talking.” — Lin Noueihed [Bloomberg]
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, in Tehran on June 17. Photographer: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
“Weak governance and disclosure practices in China are putting off international money managers as dozens of debt-saddled property companies, including industry giant Country Garden, struggle to stave off default. That could lead to diminished access to financing and higher borrowing costs, further hamstringing China’s already sputtering economy.” [Bloomberg]
“The US and European Union are pursuing a deal that would impose new tariffs targeted at excess steel production from China, sources say. The details are still being discussed in the talks aimed at settling a dispute that started when former US President Donald Trump slapped levies on metals imports from Europe.” [Bloomberg]
“Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum was chosen by the country’s ruling Morena party as its presidential candidate to succeed Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and retain power in next year’s general elections. A close ally of the president, Sheinbaum came out on top of a nationwide poll of over 12,000 voters and is the early frontrunner before the vote in June.” [Bloomberg]
“Rich nations should soften demands on global warming action and help developing nations with financing and technology transfers, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an opinion piece in the New York Times. The Group of 20 summit, which Modi is hosting, will aim for a deal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 while offering support to technology that can sustain the use of fossil fuels.” [Bloomberg]
“Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit to strengthen cooperation and dialogue and not to stoke divisions and ‘new wars.’ His comments came a day after Chinese premier Li Qiang urged the bloc to oppose moves that could lead to a ‘new Cold War.’” [Bloomberg]
“Millions in assets seized from Russian oligarchs will help fund an additional $1 billion in security and humanitarian funds US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv.” [Bloomberg]
“China plans to send its second high-profile delegation to North Korea in less than two months, just before an expected trip by its leader, Kim Jong Un, to Russia that could touch on arms deals.” [Bloomberg]
“Gabon’s military government freed Ali Bongo from house arrest, a week after overthrowing him in a bloodless coup, and said the former president is free to seek medical treatment abroad.” [Bloomberg]
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is confronting drastically worsening budget figures, adding pressure to her options on how to bolster finances.” [Bloomberg]
Anti-abortion protesters in Fort Myers, Fla., last year.Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times
Persistent trend
“After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year, it looked like the number of abortions would soon plummet across the country. But new estimates suggest that has not happened. The number of legal abortions has held steady, if not increased, nationwide since 2020, our colleagues Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Allison McCann reported today.
How is that possible? New data from the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit specializing in reproductive health, implies that more people are traveling across state lines or using telemedicine to get abortions, including through the use of abortion pills. The increase in use of those options has offset the decrease in abortions resulting from new state bans, Amy and Allison found.
This map tells the story. As you can see, states bordering those with bans largely saw increases in the number of abortions in the first half of 2023 compared with the same period in 2020. In Illinois, for example, estimated abortions rose 69 percent.
Source: Guttmacher Institute | Data compares January through June of 2023 to a six-month period in 2020. | By The New York Times
If anything, Guttmacher’s data underestimates the number of abortions. It does not count abortions obtained outside the formal health care system, including those done with pills acquired through community support networks or websites based outside the U.S. And it does not include counts from states with bans, though there are few or no reported abortions there.
Altogether, the data suggests that there are the same number of abortions, or more, occurring in the U.S. now than there were before the Supreme Court’s ruling last year in the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
For abortion rights advocates, this is a mixed outcome. Not everyone can afford to travel across state lines or access telemedicine, so it’s likely that some people who want to get an abortion still cannot do so. And while the overall count is up, abortions were rising before the Supreme Court’s decision. ‘They may have continued to rise even more steeply than observed if it weren’t for the bans,’ Caitlin Myers, an economist at Middlebury College, told Amy and Allison.
Source: Guttmacher Institute | By The New York Times
What do the data say about the impact of the Dobbs decision? Guttmacher and Myers caution that it is too soon to draw definitive conclusions, noting the possibility of future restrictions. But the immediate impact on the overall number of abortions has been smaller than many abortion rights advocates feared. And for anti-abortion groups, the data could be an argument for further limits to access, including a nationwide ban.” [New York Times]
New Detroit model: Monthly fees
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
“It's no longer just silver or red, gas or electric. Now car buyers must also decide which connected services to add, Axios' Joann Muller writes from Detroit.
Why it matters: Automakers are embracing a new business model that requires paid subscriptions to unlock everything from entertainment options to enhanced navigation and hands-free driving.
What's happening: Ford recently announced new options for its top-rated BlueCruise hands-free highway driving technology. Buyers can activate BlueCruise for three years by rolling the $2,100 cost into the financing.
Or they can use BlueCruise free for 90 days, then activate it later for $800 a year or $75 a month. You can also subscribe just for a road trip.
Context: Tesla just chopped $3,000 off the price of its ‘full self-driving’ beta software (which, despite its name, still requires you to ‘keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times’). It's now $12,000 up-front, or $199 a month.
Three years of GM's Super Cruise highway hands-free system costs $2,200 up-front on Chevrolet and GMC vehicles ($2,500 for Cadillacs). After that, it's $25 a month or $250 per year.
Mercedes' Me Connect $150 annual subscription bundle includes everything from live weather and traffic to software for finding and reserving a parking space.
The big picture: Automakers savor the prospect of collecting recurring revenue from car owners by transforming vehicles into connected tech platforms.
GM is targeting $20 billion to $25 billion a year in software and subscriptions revenue by the end of the decade — 10 times what it makes now from OnStar.
Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors the company is making ‘hundreds of millions" on software, with margins over 50% — and "we expect to 10x that in the coming years, just based on the growth we see.’” [Axios]
Google requires AI disclaimers in election ads
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
“In November, Google will start requiring election advertisers to add a ‘clear and conspicuous’ disclaimer when an ad contains synthetic or altered content, Ashley Gold writes for Axios Pro: Tech Policy.
The disclosures can say things like ‘this audio was computer-generated’ or ‘this video content was synthetically generated.’
Why it matters: Generative AI is expected to produce an explosion of deceptive content.
Between the lines: The requirement is for ads for candidates running for office, not campaign issues like climate change or abortion rights.” [Axios]
Apple dominates the high-end smartphone market in China.
PHOTO: CFOTO/ZUMA PRESS
China banned government officials from using iPhones and other foreign-branded devices for work or bringing them into the office.
“The policy widens previous rules and signals tighter enforcement ( read for free), people familiar with the matter said. This latest step in Beijing’s attempt to cut reliance on foreign technology and enhance cybersecurity could have a chilling effect for foreign brands in China, including Apple, which counts the country as one of its biggest markets. China’s State Council Information Office, the National Civil Service Administration and Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment. U.S. officials have similar bans against Chinese-owned TikTok and Huawei Technologies.” [Wall Street Journal]
“Ben Shelton beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe at the U.S. Open to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. He’ll face 23-time major champion Novak Djokovic on Friday to determine who advances to the final.” [NBC News]
The NFL regular season kicks off tonight in Kansas City.
“Game 1: The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs face the upstart Detroit Lions at 8:20 p.m. Eastern (NBC).
The rest of the schedule: Most of the Week 1 games are Sunday, highlighted by the Miami Dolphins visiting the L.A. Chargers. The N.Y. Jets host Buffalo on Monday.
What to watch this season: Can the Chiefs hold off Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and other AFC contenders? Will Arizona, Indianapolis and the L.A. Rams be historically bad?”
Read this story at Washington Post
The Rolling Stones announce release date for their new album and unveil lead single, ‘Angry’
The Rolling Stones are back, and they’ve brought a few famous friends. “Hackney Diamonds,” the band’s first album of new songs in 18 years, features guest appearances from the likes of Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Read More at AP News
Freddie Mercury’s piano sold at auction for nearly $2.2 million.
The Yamaha baby grand piano owned by Mercury. (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
“Its story: The Queen frontman, who died in 1991, used the Yamaha baby grand to compose some of the band’s most-loved songs, including “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
It’s a record: Yesterday’s sale was the most anyone has ever paid for a composer’s piano, Sotheby’s auction house said.”
Read this story at Washington Post
“Ancient swords: Israeli researchers discovered a cache of four Roman swords in a cave overlooking the Dead Sea. It’s thought the 1,900-year-old weapons - three in wooden scabbards - were hidden by Judean rebels. Read the remarkable tale of their discovery.” [BBC]
”Lives Lived: Ferid Murad’s research into nitric oxide’s effects on the body advanced the treatment of hypertension and erectile dysfunction, earning him a Nobel Prize. He died at 86.” [New York Times]