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Former Trump deputy AG: Special counsel ‘not an agent of the deep state’
A former Trump deputy attorney general defended special counsel Jack Smith after the former president revealed he was the target of the Jan. 6 federal investigation looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
NewsNation’s Dan Abrams asked Richard Donoghue, who served in Trump’s Justice Department from December 2020 to January 2021, what he thought of remarks made by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Tuesday accusing President Biden of weaponizing the government to go after his opponent.
“I think nothing could be further from the truth,” Donoghue said. “For some people, Donald Trump will always be a man who was targeted because he stands up to corrupt elites, and for others he will always be Benedict Donald, a leader who puts his own interests above the country’s.”
“I don’t think he’s political. He’s not left-wing, he is not an agent of the deep state,” he said said of Smith. “His politics would put him right of center, I believe, and look, he secured the first capital sentence in New York in more than 50 years. He’s not a bleeding heart liberal.”
Abrams asked Donoghue if he believed it was unfair for those to describe Smith as a “tool of the left wing.”
“Absolutely, I don’t believe that for a minute,” he said. “I’ve known Jack for decades. I’ve seen and worked many, many cases over the years up close. I’ve seen him work incredibly hard at doing that and what he’s always done is follow the facts and apply the law.”
Trump revealed Tuesday that he received a letter informing him that he is a target of Smith’s investigation looking into the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Legal experts say that means the former president will likely be indicted for a third time this year.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 federal counts of mishandling classified documents and attempting to keep them from the government in a separate case last month. And he has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a hush money case in New York City.
Donoghue was one of several former Trump Justice Department officials who testified before the House Jan. 6 select committee last year. He is also a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Both NewsNation and The Hill are owned and operated by Nexstar Media Group.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
A bipartisan pair of senators unveiled a bill Wednesday to ban stock ownership by lawmakers and administration officials. The Hill reports: The bill, introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), would establish firmer stock trading bans and disclosure requirements for lawmakers, senior executive branch officials and their spouses and dependents. The bill would ban congressional members, the president, vice president, senior executive branch members, and their spouses and dependents from holding or trading stocks, with no exception to blind trusts. Congressional members who violate this ban would be required to pay at least 10 percent of the banned investments.
The legislation also establishes harsh penalties for executive branch stock trading, requiring executive branch officials to give up profits from covered finance interests to the Department of Treasury, while also facing a fine from the Automatic Special Counsel. Congressional members, senior congressional staff and senior executive branch employees would also be required to report if they, a spouse or a dependent applies for or receives a "benefit of value" from the federal government, including loans, contracts, grants, agreements and payments. If they fail to file, they will face a $500 penalty.
The bill aims to increase transparency, requiring public databases of personal financial disclosures and financial transaction filings required by the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from using insider information when buying and selling stocks. The penalty for the failing to file STOCK Act transaction reports would also increase from $200 to $500.
The legislation also establishes harsh penalties for executive branch stock trading, requiring executive branch officials to give up profits from covered finance interests to the Department of Treasury, while also facing a fine from the Automatic Special Counsel. Congressional members, senior congressional staff and senior executive branch employees would also be required to report if they, a spouse or a dependent applies for or receives a "benefit of value" from the federal government, including loans, contracts, grants, agreements and payments. If they fail to file, they will face a $500 penalty.
The bill aims to increase transparency, requiring public databases of personal financial disclosures and financial transaction filings required by the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from using insider information when buying and selling stocks. The penalty for the failing to file STOCK Act transaction reports would also increase from $200 to $500. | Not_Explicit |
EXCLUSIVE: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy revealed Republicans' red line for possible impeachment proceedings against President Biden, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that his party would, for now, continue seeking information related to the Biden family finances unless that information began being withheld.
"What I've said is if they withhold information, the impeachment inquiry allows Congress to have the apex of power to get all the information they need. All this information people are finding out now is only because Republicans have investigated," McCarthy told Fox.
"The people of America have a right to know what went on. They have a president who lied to the American public and said they didn't get any money from China. We know that's true. We've had whistleblowers from the IRS come say the Biden family is treated differently and that other things were going on. And then you have a[n] informant with the FBI saying there was a bribe. We need to know the answer to this," he said.
McCarthy added that if "at any time" he felt they weren't going to be able to get the information they needed to progress through the investigation, then they "would have to rise to the level of impeachment inquiry."
"That's not happening today. But what I'm explaining to everybody that if we don't get the information, I will go to impeachment inquiry to make sure we get all the answers," he said.
When asked whether he thought a sitting U.S. president could be impeached based off actions that occurred before they took office, McCarthy dismissed dealing in hypotheticals.
"What we're looking right now is getting an answer to the questions and seeing, did [Attorney General Merrick] Garland lie to the American public or not? We know what has been said in these meetings, and we're going to get the answers," he said.
McCarthy predicted during a Monday appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" that House Republicans would soon have enough evidence gathered to mount an impeachment inquiry against Biden as the corruption scandal enveloping him and his son Hunter continues to grow.
During the interview, McCarthy said that 16 of the 17 payments the Bidens allegedly received from a Romanian national went to what he described as "Biden shell companies" while Biden was vice president. According to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., the elder Biden had been "lecturing Romania on anti-corruption policies" while instead being a "walking billboard for his… family to collect money."
"When President Biden was running for office, he told the American public that he's never talked about [Hunter's] business. He said his family has never received a dollar from China, which we now prove is not true," McCarthy said during the interview.
Biden has long denied discussion or involvement in Hunter's business deals, recently rebuffing a New York Post reporter who asked why he is reportedly referred to as the "big guy" in the FBI form – which is the same nickname purportedly used as a pseudonym in a message gleaned from previously released documentation connected to Hunter.
McCarthy's comments have riled up members of the House Freedom Caucus, who appeared eager Tuesday for him to make good on his veiled impeachment threats, with one saying the leader's words marked a "paradigm shift."
"When he does speak to … impeachment, it carries a tremendous amount of weight. And that's why I think the ground shifted on that a little bit when he opened up the door," Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said after the group's Tuesday press conference. "I don't think there's any question that him speaking to that has caused a paradigm shift."
Fox News' Charles Creitz and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |
Japan’s new restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductor production equipment went into effect on Sunday. Drawn up at the instigation of the United States and formally announced three months ago, they are couched in broad terms but are aimed primarily at China.
At this stage, it is difficult to predict their impact on Japanese equipment makers or Japan-China relations, but a group of Japanese politicians are already questioning the wisdom of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s seeming eagerness to side with the US in a trade war with China.
These politicians are followers of Ishibashi Tanzan, a journalist-turned-politician who advocated for an independent foreign policy and good relations with the People’s Republic of China in the years after World War II.
Individual export licenses are now required to export 23 specific types of semiconductor production equipment, including cleaning (three items), deposition (11 items), annealing (one item), lithography (four items), etching (three items) and inspection (one item).
Cleaning: Tokyo Electron, Screen Holdings
Deposition: Tokyo Electron, Kokusai
Annealing: Screen Holdings
Lithography: Nikon, Canon
Etching: Tokyo Electron, Hitachi
Inspection: Hitachi, Lasertec
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, nanoimprint lithography, photomasks, epitaxial wafers and high-speed valves are specifically mentioned, indicating that restrictions may also affect a few other companies such as Hoya, Toppan and Horiba.
This equipment now falls into the category of items that can be used for military purposes, the export of which is regulated under Japan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law.
In a broad sense, they do (through the use of semiconductors in weapons systems, computing and artificial intelligence), but so do other types of semiconductor production equipment that are not on the list.
The vagueness appears to be deliberate, giving the government a free hand to grant or deny export licenses while supporting the US.
In theory, equipment used at process nodes as large as 45 nanometers might be affected. In practice, the controls might be quite limited. Optimistic and pessimistic views of the restrictions compete, but their actual impact won’t be known until quarterly sales trends emerge and the companies involved provide commentary.
In a worst-case scenario, the impact could be quite severe, putting billions of dollars’ worth of sales at risk and inviting retaliation in the form of Chinese restrictions on exports of critical materials such as gallium nitride, germanium and rare-earth metals.
According to the International Trade Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan accounted for 30% of China’s imports of semiconductor production equipment in 2022. In the fiscal year ending March 2023, 23% of Tokyo Electron’s sales were made in China. Japan’s total trade with China in 2022 was 61% greater than its total trade with the US. There is a lot to lose.
This has not escaped the attention of the Ishibashi Tanzan Study Group, a cross-party association of Diet members founded to discuss policies that promote Japan’s interests as a trading nation and do not simply follow those of the US.
The group is led by Iwaya Takeshi, a former minister of defense from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Shinohara Takashi from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, and Furukawa Motohisa from the Democratic Party for the People.
Furukawa Yoshihisa, a former minister of justice from the LDP, serves as chief secretary. He was quoted by Toyo Keizai (The Oriental Economist) as saying, “Tanzan emphasized that ‘just following America is not good for either Japan or America. We will partner with America, but we will not subordinate ourselves to America.'”
Group’s inspiration
Ishibashi Tanzan was born in Tokyo in 1884. The son of a Buddhist priest named Sugita, he took his mother’s surname, Ishibashi, but later became a priest himself.
After graduating from Waseda University, where he studied philosophy, he went to work as a journalist, first for the Mainichi newspaper and then for the Toyo Keizai magazine, rising to the positions of chief editor and, in 1941, president of the company. Waseda is one of the top two private universities in Japan.
Ishibashi opposed Japanese militarism and colonialism and, after the war, the policies of the US occupation. He was appointed minister of finance by prime minister Yoshida Shigeru in May 1946. Elected to the Diet in April 1947, he was purged a month later for his independent views.
After returning to politics in 1951, he supported the revision of Article 9 of the Japanese constitution, which renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation, and the rebuilding of Japan’s armed forces.
Ishibashi was appointed minister of international trade and industry by prime minister Yukio Hatoyama in 1954 and succeeded him as prime minister in 1956. Forced to resign for health reasons after only two months in office, he remained in politics, visiting the People’s Republic of China in 1959 and opposing the revision of the US-Japan Security Treaty in 1960.
The revised Security Treaty formalized the right of the US to maintain military bases in Japan in return for a commitment by the US to defend Japan from attack. It remains the cornerstone of US-Japan relations today.
In China, Ishibashi met with premier Zhou Enlai. The joint communiqué they issued after the meeting stated:
“Both sides believed that the peoples of China and Japan should hold hands and contribute to peace in [the] Far East and the world.… Mr Ishibashi stated that the Chinese and Japanese peoples should make efforts, based on their actual situations, for exchanges and developments in the political, economic and cultural spheres.
“Premier Zhou concurred with his statement, and pointed out the development of political and economic relations between the two countries should be integrated rather than separated. Mr Ishibashi concurred with this.”
Ishibashi died in 1973, but his ideas lived on as an alternative to the US-centric policies of successive LDP governments. They are enjoying a resurgence now due to concerns about the reliability of the US generated by former president Donald Trump, and the rise of protectionism and escalation of tensions with China under President Joe Biden.
Even if there is no outward change in Kishida’s foreign policy, the Ishibashi Tanzan Study Group can be regarded as an exercise in contingency planning and a signal to China that Japan is not pursuing a single-minded policy – that is, risk hedging from the standpoint of a nation dependent on international trade as opposed to the “de-risking” now touted by the US, which interferes with that trade.
In an opinion piece carried by the Nikkei newspaper under a pseudonym this month, the author wrote that the link between the formation of economic blocs and war is one of the lessons of history and that if Japan is to live as a trading nation, it should not worry about choosing between the US and China but be more focused on taking the market.
A delegation from the study group is reportedly planning to visit China in August.
Follow this writer on Twitter @ScottFo83517667. | Not_Explicit |
Will climate change hit Mediterranean tourism?
Destructive fires, temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and tourists dodging possible catastrophe by staying home. Will climate change end up transforming tourism—not least in the Mediterranean?
State of play
Regions which welcome a sizeable share of holidaymakers are also those hardest hit by climate change. In Greece, thousands of tourists have been evacuated in recent days from the islands of Rhodes and Corfu which have been ravaged by fires touched off by suffocatingly hot weather.
Rhodes' international airport has morphed into an improvised campsite flooded by disorientated tourists.
Other countries around the Mediterranean have also been hit.
In Spain, the thermometer has shot 15 degrees above normal summer season levels. Italy has also labored under heatwaves with the island of Sardinia melting under 48 Celsius while, on Monday, Tunis endured 49C.
Tourism plays a key role in the region's economies—the sector accounts for nearly a quarter of GDP in Greece and 12 percent in Spain.
Economic consequences
The soaring temperatures could turn off visitors.
For Jean-François Rial, who heads French travel firm Voyageurs du Monde, "global warming is going to render some destinations less and less visitable. The whole of the Mediterranean is concerned and yet it is the main destination of European travelers."
In Spain, "we're starting to hear tourists ask themselves" if they should be looking to spend their summer break on the Mediterranean coast, said Joantxo Llantada, professor at Madrid's IE Business School.
According to a recent note from Moody's, "heatwaves may reduce Southern Europe's attractiveness as a tourist destination in the longer term or at the very least reduce demand in summer, which will have negative economic consequences given the importance of the sector."
No more sunworshipping?
Not so fast, suggests Hamit Kuk, who heads the association of Turkish travel operators.
"This issue is very important for the tourism industry—but it is not a problem if temperatures are very hot in Antalya because European tourists mostly prefer to see the sun," Kuk told AFP.
"We can look at the examples of Egypt and Dubai. In July-August there are temperatures of 45C and tourists still prefer to go there.
The president of Tunisia's hotel federation, Dora Miled, told AFP that to date "the heat has had no impact on tourism.
"If we have yet to return to 2019 activity levels ... that's above all mainly due to the high cost of air travel," said Miled.
Didier Arino, who heads the Protourisme travel consultancy in France, said, "When it comes to their holidays, people don't dream of a cool destination, they want good weather."
Even in Greece it is not certain that the fires will dissuade tourists from coming.
Kostas Chryssohoides, vice prefect of Dodecanese, an island group in the southeastern Aegean Sea that includes Rhodes, observed that "24,000 tourists arrived on Rhodes" between Sunday and Monday, fires notwithstanding. Only a handful canceled "as a precaution", he said.
Picking up the slack
Should it become next to impossible to visit a destination sweltering under abnormal temperatures holidaymakers could look further afield, suggests Jean-Francois Rial, who said "northern European destinations are on the rise."
He suggested that Britain and Ireland could both gain in tourist traction.
Alternatives
One thing sector professionals agree on is that tourism will change. They anticipate that total visitors to the Mediterranean could rise—but reserve in seasons outside summer, boosted by increasing demand from pensioners.
"For now we have no worries about domestic market demand, but if the global climate crisis continues to escalate, we will have to review the summer and winter seasons," said Kuk.
In Rial's view, "that could perhaps be a chance to reduce 'over-tourism'... losing some clients in summertime but gaining more in the other nine months of the year."
For Protourisme's Arino, climate change will force tourism to evolve.
"We must conceive our cities somewhat differently, our resorts, the range of activities on offer."
© 2023 AFP | Not_Explicit |
Bisexual men are more masculine-sounding than both straight and gay men, a new study has claimed.
Researchers from the University of Sydney asked 70 Australians to guess the sexuality and rank the 'femininity' of 60 men reciting lines of the national anthem.
While participants could distinguish between gay and straight men's voices with 62 per cent accuracy, they often struggled to identify bisexual men.
'Naïve listeners can distinguish the voices of gay and straight men at rates greater than chance rates, although this was not the case for bisexual men,' the authors wrote.
'Along with the finding that bisexual men were judged to be the most exclusively female attracted, they were also judged to be the most masculine.
'These findings provide further support that perceptions of male vocal masculinity and heterosexuality go hand-in-hand regardless of the speaker’s sexual orientation.'
Differences between the way in which straight and gay men speak have previously been identified in previous studies.
In Italy, Germany and the US, analysis shows that gay men typically speak in a higher pitch and often pronounce words more precisely than straight men.
This was often viewed as more 'feminine' because it deviates from the rigidly enforced 'masculine' norms of a deep, low pitch voice.
It's unclear what exactly causes this but many suggest that biological processes in the brain and even internalised stereotypes could be at play.
In the latest research, experts initially thought that bisexual men would fit somewhere in between these perceptions - being seen as 'more feminine' than straight men but 'less masculine' than gay men.
Although bisexual men created a 'unique impression' in the study, researchers say this was an impression that listeners did not associate with bisexuality.
Scientists believe this phenomenon may actually cause bisexual men to be more commonly misidentified as straight, contributing to 'bisexual erasure'.
First coined in 2000, this refers to a lack of acknowledgment that bisexuals exist despite clear scientific evidence they do.
Many believe this comes from a pervasive tendency to view sexual orientation on a very black and white basis in which people can be either gay or straight.
This norm renders any other sexuality, including bisexuality and pansexuality, as just a phase or illegitimate feelings.
'Erasure represents a pressing dilemma for bisexuals day-to-day, with bisexuals reporting less connection to other sexual minority people than their gay and lesbian peers, and also greater concealment of their sexual identity,' the researchers said.
'Future studies should strive to understand the complex relationship between sexual identity and speech patterns.' | Not_Explicit |
2023 Women's World Cup odds: Bettors cash in on New Zealand upsetting Norway
It didn’t take long for an upset to register in the Women’s World Cup odds market. In fact, it took only two matches to get a surprise result, coming on the 32-team tournament’s first day.
Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading for Caesars Sports, and BetMGM sports trader Seamus Magee, discuss how the Day 1 upset impacted World Cup betting.
Underdog day
Norway entered the Group A match as a -250 favorite (bet $10 to win $14 total) on BetMGM’s three-way moneyline, on which bettors can wager on either team to win in 90 minutes plus injury time or wager on the game ending in a draw. On the flip side, New Zealand was a sizable +650 underdog (bet $10 to win $75 total).
"It was quite a shock to start the tournament," Magee said. "It feels like upsets of this magnitude in the tournament are few and far between."
The first half brought no scoring, but it didn’t take long into the second half for the host Football Ferns — Team Norway’s nickname — to tally the match’s only goal. Hannah Wilkinson took a perfectly placed Jacqui Hand cross and buried the ball into the back of the net in the 48th minute.
New Zealand’s 1-0 lead held up the rest of the way, with Norway’s best chance — a Tuva Hansen shot in the 83rd minute — deflecting off the crossbar.
No place like home
Home-country fans reveled in the upset, as did any savvy bettors who took New Zealand. Caesars Sports apparently had quite a few customers banking on the big underdog.
When Caesars first posted moneyline odds, New Zealand was +950 to win the match, meaning a $100 bet would win $950. By the time the match began, Caesars customers had helped shorten New Zealand’s price to +650, with Norway a -250 favorite and draw +333.
"As is normal in a major soccer competition, the underdog winning the match is not a great outcome for sportsbooks," Pullen said. "People are enamored with the huge price on the underdog and love that return on investment. It was a small loss [for us] with the Ferns’ win over Norway. Nothing major, but a good win for the bettors indeed."
WynnBet trader Dominick DeBonis echoed Pullen's comments.
"We got whacked pretty good on the result, relative to the handle. That's to be expected on big ‘dogs who are playing a team that isn’t the U.S. Women's National Team," DeBonis said.
BetMGM beats the bettors
Likewise, BetMGM’s odds prior to kickoff had New Zealand a +650 underdog. But the result worked out much better behind the counter for BetMGM, with the large majority of tickets and dollars on favored Norway.
"New Zealand was a big winner for us in this match," Magee said. "Lots of money came in on Norway. New Zealand [winning] broke up a ton of parlays."
Indeed, throwing Norway into a parlay likely seemed reasonable for most bettors. In the 2019 World Cup, Norway reached the quarterfinals before losing to England. Prior to Thursday’s opening match, BetMGM had Norway as the +5000 12th choice in odds to win the World Cup, while New Zealand was a distant +200000 (200-1) to win the tournament.
Now, Norway will have to scramble just to advance from Group A, while New Zealand, for the moment, is favored to win the group. New Zealand is playing in its sixth Women’s World Cup, but Thursday’s upset marked the team’s first-ever World Cup victory.
"This is definitely a pleasant surprise for the book on this one," Magee said.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas
Play FOX Super 6 every week for your chance to win thousands of dollars every week. Just download the Super 6 app and make your picks today!
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Meet the 'badass' OG soccer moms who blazed a trail for USWNT
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World Cup Daily: Australia, New Zealand hoping for inspiring starts
New Zealand-Norway, Australia-Ireland predictions, picks by Chris 'The Bear' Fallica
Women's World Cup roundtable: Who is the USWNT's most important player?
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Women’s World Cup opener to proceed as scheduled after shooting in New Zealand
Women's World Cup power rankings: New Zealand moves up with statement win
USWNT embracing pressure of chase for historic three-peat | Not_Explicit |
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday cautioned that deliveries of the F-16s that Ukraine has long sought in its fight against Russia could take "months and months" once it's determined the fighter jets are appropriate, but America's support hasn't wavered.
In an interview on CNN, America's top diplomat defended U.S. assistance to Ukraine so far, insisting Kyiv had consistently been given the equipment it needs to try and repel Russia's invasion.
"At every step along the way, in fact, going back before the Russian aggression when we saw the storm rising ... we made sure, going back to Labor Day before the war, Christmas before the war, that they started to get in their hands the equipment they would need if the Russians went forward," Blinken told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. "Every step along the way ever since, we've worked to try to get them what they need, when they need it."
"But it's not just the equipment itself. It's the training, it's the maintenance, it's the ability to use it in combined arms operations. All of that takes time," Blinken said. "If a decision were made to actually move forward on the F-16s tomorrow, it would be months and months before they were actually operational."
The Biden administration previously resisted helping provide F-16s to Ukraine amid concerns of escalation, though supporters of supplying the jets have defended their value and argued that sending them wouldn't risk provoking broader Russian aggression.
In a sit-down interview earlier this month with ABC News' Martha Raddatz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that while he was grateful for international support, more munitions would improve the chance of his country's success.
"F-16 or any other equipment that we do need will give us an opportunity to move faster, to save more lives, to stand our ground for a longer time," Zelenskyy said then. "Well, some weapons have been provided, on the other hand, helps us save lives and we appreciate that. Of course, foot dragging will lead to more lives lost."
Appearing on ABC's "This Week" in July, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that sending F-16s was the goal -- as was making sure Ukrainian forces could utilize them.
"We're going to be working with some allies and partners to get the F-16 pilots the pilot training going very, very soon," Kirby said then. "And we're going to work to get those jets to Ukraine just as quickly as possible."
Earlier this summer, Ukraine began its latest counteroffensive to continue retaking land from Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion last year after taking over the Crimea Peninsula in 2014.
On CNN, Blinken recognized that Ukraine was clamoring for whatever equipment it could get its hands on but expressed faith in the U.S.-led coalition to keep arming Ukraine.
"If I were in the shoes of our Ukrainian friends and partners, I'd probably be saying exactly the same thing. And President Zelenskyy's been extraordinary as a leader and in trying to galvanize the international community, along with us, to provide them what they need," he said.
"Our military leaders are using their best expertise possible to help determine what it is that can be most effective for the Ukrainians. How quickly can it be deployed? How effectively can they use it? That will continue and the process on the F-16s is moving," Blinken said.
He acknowledged challenges in the ongoing counteroffensive but said Ukraine was resilient.
"[Russia's] objective was to erase Ukraine from the map, to eliminate its independence, its sovereignty, to subsume it into Russia. That failed a long time ago," Blinken said. "Now Ukraine is in a battle to get back more of the land that Russia seized from it. It's already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized. Now they're in a very hard fight to take back more. These are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough." | Not_Explicit |
The group stage at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is in full swing, which means it's time for FOX Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas to share his first batch of power rankings for the tournament.
Three favored powerhouse teams that had impressive debuts took the top three spots — but none are the two-time defending champion United States, which slipped to No. 4 despite a solid 3-0 victory over Vietnam to start its campaign.
"This is just a snapshot," Lalas said. "This is not that these are the best teams in the world forever, just as we stand right now. Just because you score goals doesn't mean that you're automatically at the top, even though we have some teams that scored a lot of goals."
That said, here are Lalas's top 10 teams in the World Cup so far, along with each's squads' opener result. | Not_Explicit |
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Gov. Kim Reynolds can proceed with an appeal on a temporary block on the state’s new, restrictive abortion law, the Iowa Supreme Court said Tuesday.
Reynolds announced her intentions to appeal last week and said it was “just a matter of time” before lawyers for the state filed the request, which they did Friday. The Iowa Supreme Court had to say whether the request could move forward.
The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the measure to ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy during a July 11 special session, and the law went into effect days later, immediately after Reynolds signed it. The ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic launched a legal challenge and Judge Joseph Seidlin on July 17 granted their request to pause the law as the courts assess its constitutionality.
Abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy while the new law is on hold.
Reynolds is asking the state Supreme Court to override the lower court’s ruling and allow the law to go back into effect.
The state Supreme Court can rule on the temporary injunction alone, or it can decide to fast-forward a decision on merits of the law itself. | Not_Explicit |
Children aged 10 and 11 will be able to use passport e-gates at the UK border from Monday, after the government announced a change to the rules.
Currently, only eligible children aged 12 and above can use the e-gates, which are at 15 air and rail ports.
The change comes after successful trials at Gatwick, Stansted and Heathrow, the government said.
It comes as families embarking on summer holiday getaways were hit by traffic jams and delays on Friday.
Passenger volumes are expected to return to 2019 levels this summer - with some ports exceeding those volumes, the government said. Border Force expects to see over 34 million air arrivals coming through UK passport control over the coming months, it added.
More than 400,000 children aged 10 and 11 are expected to use e-gates this year.
The gates are installed at 13 airports in the UK - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. They are also in use at the UK border controls at the Eurostar terminals in Brussels and Paris.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said the rollout "will make travelling easier for passengers and strengthens the security of the UK border."
"The UK processes more passengers through e-gates than any other country - and today's announcement ensures we remain at the forefront of technology," he added.
But the e-gate service has run into difficulties in the past, with airports across England and Scotland caught in lengthy queues when the gates stopped working at the end of May.
The disruption, which lasted for over a day, was caused by an IT issue, the Home Office told the BBC. It saw travellers waiting in long queues for hours.
On Friday, the Port of Dover said it had been a "popular day" with travellers heading to France. Earlier it had warned holidaymakers to expect delays to pass border controls, with processing times given of up to 90 minutes.
Families were also hit by traffic jams and delays at the Dartford Crossing.
National Highways closed part of the River Thames crossing because of a crash on Friday, causing long tailbacks.
The smash forced the closure of one of the crossing's two tunnels, which are used for northbound traffic, shortly before 07:00 BST.
The tunnel was later reopened but National Highways said the incident caused five miles of congestion.
An estimated 12.6 million car journeys will be made for a day trip or holiday between Friday and Monday as the majority of schools in England and Wales finish for the summer, the RAC said.
Earlier this week, the first passports were issued in King Charles's name.
Passports will now use the wording "His Majesty", with the era finally ending for passports using "Her Majesty", for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The updated passports are the latest stage in the gradual transition in reigns, with stamps and some coins now carrying the King's head. Banknotes will begin to change next year. | Not_Explicit |
Not once has Donald Trump veered from his core campaign theme.
Recall the first rally of his 2024 election campaign on 25 March in Waco, Texas – exactly 30 years after a deadly siege between law enforcement and the Branch Davidians resulted in the deaths of more than 80 members of that religious cult and four federal agents.
He opened with a choir of men imprisoned for their role in the January 6 insurrection singing “Justice for All”, intercut with the national anthem and with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with his hand on his heart. Behind, on big screens, was footage from the Capitol riot.
Trump then repeated his bogus claim that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged”. He praised the rioters of January 6.
He raged against the prosecutors overseeing multiple investigations into his conduct as “absolute human scum”. He told the crowd that “the thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced.”
He then declared:
“Our enemies are desperate to stop us and our opponents have done everything they can to crush our spirit and to break our will. But they failed. They’ve only made us stronger. And 2024 is the final battle, it’s going to be the big one. You put me back in the White House, their reign will be over and America will be a free nation once again.”
Since then, as indictments have piled up against him and his poll numbers among Republicans have risen, Trump’s “final battle” comes into ever sharper focus: it is a battle against the rule of law and democracy.
The mega indictment we have all been waiting for – the indictment against Trump for his attempted coup against the United States – will be announced very soon.
Trump is prepared to use it in his final battle.
Tuesday, on an Iowa radio show, he warned it would be “very dangerous” if Special Counsel Jack Smith put him in jail, since his supporters have “much more passion than they had in 2020”.
Unfortunately for the nation, the Republican party is uniting behind Trump’s side of this battle line.
If not defending the January 6 rioters outright, Republican lawmakers are attacking Special Counsel Jack Smith, the justice department, the Manhattan district attorney, and other current and prospective prosecutors seeking to hold Trump accountable.
A Trump indictment for attempting the overthrow of the constitutional order and the verdict of the electorate will guarantee that 2024 will be more of a referendum on Trump than a referendum on Biden, as was the 2020 election.
It will make it harder for Republican candidates across the nation to focus on their fake nemeses – “woke” teachers and corporations, trans youth, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants and “socialism” – and force them instead to defend Trump’s side in the final battle.
Trump and the Republicans will lose this battle. Even if they win Republican primaries, they will lose the general election.
Recall that last November, virtually every 2020-election-denying Republican who sought office in a truly contested election went down to defeat.
Those who care about democracy and the rule of law should welcome the battle, and not just because it will help Biden and the Democrats.
It will also help clarify what’s at stake for the nation in 2024 and beyond.
It will show how eager Trump and the Republican party are to abandon democracy and the rule of law in order to gain power. It will show that the vast majority of Americans reject their position.
Americans hold different views about many things, but most of us oppose authoritarianism. We reject fascism.
We value the constitution and the Bill of Rights. We are committed to democracy, even with its many flaws. We support the rule of law.
We want to live in a nation where no one is above the law. We want to be able to sleep at night without worrying that a president might unleash armed lackeys to drag us out of our homes because he considers us to be his enemy.
The pustule of Trump has been growing since 2016, and the authoritarian impulses underlying this infection have been allowed to fester for decades.
Folks, it is finally time to lance this boil. It is time to decidedly rescue democracy and the rule of law. It is time to defeat Trump and his enablers who are determined to defy the core values of America.
Let the battle begin.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com | Not_Explicit |
Republican Paul Melotik defeated Democrat Bob Tatterson in a special election Tuesday for a vacant Assembly seat representing Milwaukee's north suburbs, keeping the district in GOP hands.
Melotik's win keeps the Republican majority in the Assembly at 64-35. That is two seats short of a supermajority, which would be enough to override a governor's veto. But Republicans could have a supermajority if two or more Democrats are absent.
The seat was open after Republican Dan Knodl won a special election and is now serving in the state Senate. His win in that race this spring gave Republicans a 22-11 supermajority in the Senate, a power that allows them to remove state officials impeached in the Assembly.
Melotik co-owns and operated several businesses and served in Ozaukee County and Town of Grafton government, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Tatterson, a retired engineer and adviser to start-up businesses, conceded the race after results were tallied.
Before winning a seat in the Senate, Knodl defeated Tatterson in a reelection bid for his Assembly seat in November.
Melotik, who chairs the finance committee in Ozaukee County, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he is interested in a spot on the Legislature's budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, a sought-after position for state lawmakers. | Not_Explicit |
WASHINGTON – The two IRS whistleblowers who alleged the Justice Department meddled in an investigation into President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, were not convincing, Democrats told Fox News.
"I believe that they believe themselves. Whether they're right or wrong, really is in their mind and the determination of other people," Rep. Kweisi Mfume said. "I happen to believe that they're wasting time on this."
Rep. Daniel Goldman told Fox News, "They are good-faith actors who misconstrue the third-hand information that they received.
"I think they were frustrated that the case didn't move forward as they had hoped after all their hours," the New York Democrat continued. "They were frustrated that they were removed from the case after there were significant leaks to The Washington Post, and they're expressing their frustration in this way."
Hunter Biden's legal team alleged the whistleblowers leaked investigation information to The Washington Post, but the whistleblowers' lawyers have pushed back against that claim.
REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS SPLIT ON WHETHER IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE TRUSTWORTHY:
Joseph Ziegler, a 13-year special agent for the IRS whose identity was revealed Wednesday, and Greg Shapley, a former IRS investigation supervisor, claimed the Justice Department did not handle the investigation into Hunter Biden in an ordinary way.
The two were invited to testify at a hearing before leaders of the House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability and Ways and Means committees.
The whistleblowers claimed there was a pattern of "slow-walking investigative steps" into the president's son before the 2020 presidential election and efforts to tip off Hunter before investigative actions.
In one case, Shapely recalled that an assistant U.S. attorney told Hunter Biden's lawyers the IRS was readying to execute a search warrant on a storage unit used by the president's son.
The tip destroyed "our chance to get to evidence before being destroyed, manipulated or concealed," Shapely said.
House Republicans believed the whistleblowers.
"I think they're very credible," Republican Rep. Russell Fry told Fox News. "Their testimony has been corroborated by the FBI, who just was in here this week."
Ziegler, a Democrat, "doesn't fit the mold of a partisan hack" Fry said.
Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican, agreed.
"They're absolutely credible," Smith said. "Their facts are lining up. No one has countered anything that they have said."
Lawmakers noted the personal risks taken by the whistleblowers to come forward.
"They're showing tremendous courage to come forward," Republican Rep. Gary Palmer told Fox News. "And it shows something that I think has been sorely lacking in the Biden administration, and that is fidelity to uphold the laws of the United States."
Fry agreed. "They are putting their own careers and their families at risk by being here," he said.
To watch full interviews with lawmakers, click here.
Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |
The Defense Department has no plans to stop covering the travel costs of female troops who seek abortions across state lines, despite protests from a Republican senator who has blocked hundreds of military promotions over the issue, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said on Thursday.
“I see this, and I think the (defense secretary) does as well, as taking care of our soldiers, and it’s the right thing to do, and I don’t think we’re going to change it,” Wormuth told NBC News’ Courtney Kube at an event at the Aspen Security Forum.
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision removed the constitutional right to abortion last year, more than 40% of female service members stationed in the United States have no access, or severely restricted access, to abortion services, according to the Rand Corporation think tank.
Wormuth said the policy also was important to ensure that the Army can retain female troops who might leave the military if they cannot get access to abortion services. “I see this as a retention issue,” Wormuth said.
The policy also ensures women in the military have access to in vitro fertilization, since it is not necessarily available in the areas where troops are posted, Wormuth said.
Wormuth said she had not seen data on how many female troops had traveled across state lines for abortion services or the amount of Defense Department funds spent on it so far.
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has held up the promotions of more than 250 military officers for months in order to force an end to the policy.
Tuberville says he wants a vote on a bill introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., that would codify the Pentagon abortion policy into law, and that he will end his blockade if it passes. In return, Tuberville says that he wants the Defense Department to agree to cancel the policy if the measure fails.
Defense Department officials held a closed-door briefing Wednesday with senators on the Armed Services Committee, including Tuberville, regarding the department’s abortion travel policy, NBC News has previously reported.
The issue has complicated the normally bipartisan politics that surround the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual defense policy bill. Republicans in the House have inserted an amendment into their version of the bill that would force the Pentagon to end the policy.
Wormuth, echoing comments by other Pentagon officials and senior officers, said the blockade is having ripple effects on troops and families that could jeopardize readiness and prompt some service members to quit.
“Basically what’s happening is our whole system is getting kind of constipated,” Wormuth said.
About a dozen three- and four-star generals have had to put off their retirements for two or three months, and the officers selected to replace them are not in their new positions, she said.
The biggest concern, she said, is that junior officers may conclude that it’s not worth remaining in the military given the uncertainty and delays affecting their families.
“I really worry that we’re going to have a brain and talent drain as a result of this really unprecedented step that Sen. Tuberville has chosen,” she said.
The blockade on promotions is just the latest example of the military being drawn into Washington’s polarized politics and turned into a “political football,” Wormuth said.
“I think our military is being dragged into the political space in ways that are very unproductive,” she said. “But I want to be clear that I do not see our officers becoming politicized, that is the last thing most officers that I’ve worked with want to happen.”
She said younger officers might think twice about pursuing high-ranking positions having seen the polarized atmosphere at congressional hearings where generals face partisan questioning.
“I do think they look at our general officers who testify in hearings and see the kinds of interactions that our general officers are having each and every week and they ask themselves, ‘Do I want to be on the receiving end of that type of interaction?’” | Not_Explicit |
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Biden administration’s controversial new asylum plan, which allowed immigration officials to deny asylum to most migrants if they arrived at the border without a scheduled appointment or seeking legal protection in another country before arriving in the U.S.
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar in the Northern District of California ruled against President Joe Biden’s ban but delayed the ruling from taking effect for 14 days — giving the administration time to appeal the decision.
“The Rule — which has been in effect for two months — cannot remain in place,” Tigar wrote, siding with immigration rights advocates who slammed the order as “unlawful and inhumane.”
The Justice Department said it plans to appeal the judge’s decision.
Biden’s asylum plan was seen by immigration advocates as a continuation of Trump-era policies that allowed the federal government to turn away asylum seekers under the premise of increased COVID-19 precautions.
Breaking News
The new rule had room for exceptions and didn’t apply to children traveling alone.
But the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups challenged the ban, saying it violated a law granting the right to asylum regardless of how a person enters the country and made “a mockery of our asylum system.”
The groups argued that the plan forced migrants to seek refuge in countries that can’t offer the same human rights protections as the U.S. They also said the mobile app the government wants migrants to use to schedule appointments — CBP One — was not a viable option.
Tigar agreed, writing that while asylum applicants wait for an adjudication, they “must remain in Mexico, where migrants are generally at heightened risk of violence by both state and non-state actors.”
Immigrant groups applauded the judge’s decision, calling the ruling a “victory.”
“The promise of America is to serve as a beacon of freedom and hope, and the administration can and should do better to fulfill this promise, rather than perpetuate cruel and ineffective policies that betray it,” Katrina Eiland, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement shared with Daily News.
With News Wire Services | Not_Explicit |
Fulton County prosecutors are asking the public to wait a little longer to review the final report issued by a special grand jury that investigated interference in Georgia’s 2020 election.
With just weeks until Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek indictments against former President Donald Trump and others, her office asked the Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday to block release of the report “at least until final charging decisions have been made.” In their report, the grand jurors recommended multiple people be criminally charged, several members previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Donald Wakeford, one of Willis’s deputies, wrote, “if a special purpose grand jury’s report, requested by and intended for a district attorney’s evaluation, became a presumptively public court record with immediate effect, a prosecutor’s use of a special purpose grand jury would risk revealing information which would otherwise remain protected until the termination of the case in any other criminal investigatory context.”
The filing came in response to an appeal filed by a coalition of media organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which argued that the report was a court record subject to disclosure and that the public interest demanded that the full document be released. The outlets asked the court to overturn a February decision from Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney in which he ruled that the rights of future defendants needed to be protected, even though grand jurors had requested that their recommendations be made public.
“There was very limited due process in this process for those who might now be named as indictment-worthy in the final report,” McBurney wrote.
The special grand jury met for nearly eight months between May 2022 and January 2023, hearing testimony from about 75 witnesses and collecting evidence for Willis. The investigative body did not have the power to issue indictments.
In February, McBurney released a redacted portion of the final report, which excluded the special grand jury’s list for who should be charged with various state crimes.
The redacted version of the report did include a few notable disclosures, including that jurors were in unanimous agreement that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in Georgia’s 2020 elections. It also stated that a majority of jurors had recommended that prosecutors pursue perjury charges against at least one witness they believe lied under oath in their testimony.
Willis has heavily implied she will indict Trump and others next month and urged law enforcement to prepare because her decision could “provoke a significant public reaction.” Two regular grand juries were seated earlier this month that are expected to consider any would-be charges.
Joining the AJC in the media coalition are: The Associated Press; Bloomberg; CMG Media Group and its station WSB-TV; CNN; Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal; The E.W. Scripps Co. on behalf of Scripps News; Gray Media Group and its station WANF; The New York Times; and Tegna and its station WXIA-TV. | Not_Explicit |
The White House has doubled down on the widely scrutinized "lie" that Florida's new history curriculum is attempting to re-write the history of slavery in the U.S. and how it's taught to students despite pushback from one of its Black creators.
During Monday's daily White House press briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre went off on the new curriculum, echoing Vice President Kamala Harris' heavily panned comments during a speech in Jacksonville, Florida last week claiming it was going to be used to teach students "that enslaved people benefited from slavery."
"Let's not forget what we have seen these past several months as we witness extreme officials in Florida and across the country lie about American history. The most recent example, shamefully, shamefully promoting a lie that enslaved people actually benefited from slavery," Jean-Pierre said during her opening remarks.
"It's inaccurate, insulting, it's hurtful, and prevents an honest account, an honest account of our nation's history," she added. "The Biden-Harris administration will continue to speak out against hateful attempts to rewrite our history and strongly oppose any actions that threaten to divide us and take our country backwards."
The new curriculum, which was partially developed by Black scholar Dr. William B. Allen, actually states, "Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit. This lead to countless critics accusing Harris of "brazenly lying," and "misleading" the American people following her speech.
"This is a brazen lie. It’s an astonishing lie. It’s an evil lie. It is so untrue — so deliberately and cynically misleading — that, in a sensible political culture, Harris would be obligated to issue an apology," one critic said.
Allen slammed Harris' criticism as "categorically false," telling ABC News in an interview that "it was never said [in the curriculum] that slavery was beneficial to Africans."
"The only criticism I’ve encountered so far [on the new curriculum] is a single one that was articulated by the vice president, and which was an error," he said.
Other critics of Harris called her claims "a brazen lie."
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ripped Harris ahead of her Friday speech, accusing her of being "obsessed" with Florida, and described the Biden administration of trying to indoctrinate students.
"Florida stands in their way, and we will continue to expose their agenda and their lies," DeSantis said in a statement on social media. | Not_Explicit |
The 2023 Women's World Cup is in full swing, and these daily files will give you the latest reporting from around the 2023 World Cup as well as betting lines, what-to-watch-for information and best reads. Check in with ESPN throughout the tournament as we bring you the latest from Australia and New Zealand.
The lead: Jamaica hold France but lose Shaw
Jamaica made history Sunday by picking up their first point in a Women's World Cup -- after three defeats in their 2019 debut -- as they put up a great fight against France to frustrate them 0-0 in Sydney.
However, the sending-off of captain and best player Khadija "Bunny" Shaw right at the end of the game for a harsh second yellow card will sour the celebrations a bit for the Reggae Girlz. The Manchester City striker, who led by example against Les Bleues by causing them all sort of problems in the first half, will miss the next game against Panama on Saturday, but will be back for the potentially decisive clash with Brazil on Aug. 2.
Shaw, like the rest of Lorne Donaldson's squad, put in a lot of intensity and physicality in the first half to disturb France's rhythm and forced them to make errors with sloppy passing. It was a spirited performance from Jamaica and they will draw a lot of confidence from the game as they bid to do better against Brazil than the 3-0 defeat they managed four years ago.
For new France head coach Hervé Renard, it was not the debut he wanted. For his second World Cup of the season (after managing Saudi Arabia at the men's one in Qatar), he got his tactics wrong with a wonky 4-4-2 to start the game and the choice of Amel Majri over Kenza Dali, who had been Les Bleues' best player in their friendly matches before the competition.
Dali made a huge difference when she came on after 66 minutes. France created enough chances to score, but Kadidiatou Diani hitting the bar and the post with the same header right at the end of the game perfectly summed up their frustrating evening. Now the game against Brazil on Saturday will be huge for Renard and his players.
News of the day
The New Zealand national women's soccer team is safe and accounted for after they had to be temporarily evacuated from their hotel Saturday night due to a fire. A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson confirmed to ESPN that at around 8 p.m. on Saturday, emergency crews, including eight trucks, were called to the Pullman Hotel due to a fire alarm being triggered, forcing guests to be evacuated. The fire has been extinguished, and control of the hotel returned to the hotel staff. New Zealand Police said that a 34-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the fire.
The Matildas returned to training following Thursday's 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their opening Women's World Cup match and, as expected, injured skipper Sam Kerr did not participate in the warmup. But she looked to be walking unencumbered and without strapping around her leg as she greeted fans at an official FIFA training session.
Rachel Daly admitted she was frustrated to start England's World Cup campaign on the bench, a 1-0 win over Haiti on Saturday in Brisbane, but says will continue pushing her case and is ready to step up if given the chance. When asked if she was frustrated to begin among the replacements, Daly said: "I think anyone would be. No one is happy to sit on the bench. If you are, then you are not in the right place, not in the right career. It's a tough place for Sarina [Wiegman] to be, to pick the team. I respect her decisions and I will support Alessia [Russo] all the way and obviously I know Beth [England] will do the same."
Today in USWNT camp
For U.S Women's National Team defender Naomi Girma, the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, her path to a soccer career, let alone the national team, has been anything but standard.
With a staff of around 10 dedicated just to prepping meals and feeding the players around the clock here, a motto inside the camp of viewing "food as fuel" has taken root.
"The meals provide all the fuel needed to all the players to perform at each practice, recovery after each practice, and sleep through the night," USWNT sports dietician Lindsay Langford told ESPN.
With a highly structured and regimented schedule during this camp, players look forward to meal times as a highlight for their days. Since arriving in New Zealand, several players have mentioned it as being a key time to socialize with teammates and relax -- each night, the players and staff even do a "cheers" together with a juice shot.
-- Caitlin Murray, in Auckland, New Zealand, reports on how important food is to the USWNT's preparations for their World Cup games.
Sights and sounds
Sam Marsden reacts to Sweden's 2-1 win over South Africa in the 2023 World Cup.
Sweden break South Africa's hearts with late win
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Sweden were made to toil in the Wellington wind and rain before breaking South African hearts in the final minute in the first World Cup match to feature goals for both teams.
South Africa sit 51 places behind Sweden, who are ranked third, in FIFA's world rankings but that difference was not on show here. While Sweden enjoyed most of the possession, the African champions were dangerous on the break.
The electric Thembi Kgatlana posed the biggest threat and it was her deflected shot which created a tap in for Hildah Magaia, who injured herself bundling the ball into the net in the 48th minute. It was only South Africa's second-ever goal at a World Cup, which was a good reason for the bench to charge into the corner of the pitch to celebrate.
However, they were not able to celebrate their first win at a finals -- or even a first point. Fridolina Rolfo pulled Sweden level in a slightly fortunate manner, turning home a cross with a touch she knew little about. And as the Sweden corner count racked up late on, reaching 13, the pressure eventually paid off when Amanda Ilestedt nodded home in the 90th minute. -- Sam Marsden.
Lawson: A game of football that matched the weather Sophie Lawson reports from Netherlands' 1-0 win over Portugal in a wet and windy Dunedin evening.
Netherlands do enough
DUNEDIN, New Zealand -- At the 2019 World Cup, Netherlands threatened to move through the gears yet never quite found top speed. They did, however, do enough in first gear to reach the final, but their team has drastically changed since then. As has the global landscape of women's football. Now, if you want to go far in a tournament, it's not enough merely threaten a bit without delivering on that threat.
Against Portugal, a team making their World Cup debut, the Dutch did enough and little more than that. The veterans in the team who had not just been there and done it, but had picked up silverware as well, mostly provided the brighter moments. But they would still need to go back to the playbook to break the deadlock.
Reminiscent of a goal scored against Portugal at the Euros last year, Stefanie van der Gragt nodded home in the first half to decide the tie. Portugal improved as the match went on but struggled to harness their attacking threats, barely able to get into the Dutch box or test goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar.
The match was a damp squib to match the dreary weather in Dunedin, with neither team looking overly prepared to deal with the world champions -- Sophie Lawson.
Will Germany prove to be contenders?
DUNEDIN, New Zealand -- Coming into this World Cup, Germany were once again rated among the favourites (next to the U.S., France, etc.) and although they have their flaws, they're still hopeful of lifting the trophy on Aug. 20 ... something they haven't managed since 2007.
It would be easy to dismiss the buzz around Germany by looking at their recent history, but there is something more to this team. A strong domestic league and firmly defined pathways for players to graduate through the youth ranks and move into the senior team provides the foundations for Germany's longevity.
Although nowhere near able to rival the U.S. for sheer depth of registered girls and women playing football, Germany nevertheless continues to bring through talented generation after talented generation, which is what keeps them in the conversation at youth tournaments (with the likes of Japan and Spain).
The story heading into this World Cup is a familiar one: after fizzling out in 2019 and falling just short at last summer's Euros, Germany looked unconvincing in warm-up games. There has been a lack of cohesion in the side and the attackers that coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has called upon often look rushed and struggle with the basics. However, there's an expectation that the pieces will magically fall into place once the ball gets rolling against Morocco in Melbourne. -- Sophie Lawson.
Morocco look to inspire
MELBOURNE/NAARM, Australia -- In an appealing piece of synchronicity, Morocco's first-ever appearance at the Women's World Cup comes against Germany on Monday evening, mirroring the debut of its men's side on football's biggest stage at Mexico 1970. Then, a squad featuring just 19 players and led by Yugoslavian coach Blagoje Vidinic, played their first men's World Cup game against West Germany, going down 2-1.
Now 53 years on, the Atlas Lionesses' status as the first-ever Arab nation to qualify for a WWC ensures their place in history regardless of what happens in the coming weeks, but their opening game against the two-time world champions has the potential to set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
Expecting Reynald Pedros' side to upset the Germans is an unrealistic proposition, but the likely absence of Marina Hegering and Lena Oberdorf as well as Germany's problems with defending transition in warm-up fixtures against Vietnam and Zambia could augur opportunities for the likes of Rosella Ayane, Fatima Tagnaout and Sakina Ouzraoui on the counter.
Keeping it tight against the Europeans would place Morocco in good stead heading into more manageable contests with South Korea and Colombia, where they can look to continue their nation's recent magical footballing run. -- Joey Lynch.
Match previews
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.
Odds: Italy -180, Draw +275, Argentina +490
On paper, you would be forgiven for thinking Italy ought to be the favorite. Italy, ranked 16 in the world, sits 12 spots higher than Argentina in FIFA's world rankings. Argentina has never advanced out of the group stage in a Women's World Cup while Italy reached the quarterfinals in the previous edition in 2019. And Oddsmakers have also picked Italy to win with their betting lines.
If form matters though, Argentina clearly has the edge. They've seemingly found their footing under manager German Portanova and they will be entering this tournament with plenty of confidence, going without a loss in six games in 2023. If Argentina has a vulnerability, it's their leaky defense but fortunately for them, Italy is a team that lacks firepower.
Midfielder Manuela Giugliano is a special player but Le Azzurre lack a clinical finisher ahead of her. After crashing out in the group stage of last summer's Euros, the Italians are still stumbling. Their losses to England (ranked No. 4) and Belgium (No. 19) earlier this year showed an Italy that is not ready to take on top teams. But a draw to 72nd-ranked Morocco earlier this month suggests Italy might not be ready for any of the other teams in their group, Argentina included. -- Caitlin Murray.
Group H: Germany vs Morocco, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, 6.30 p.m. local / 9.30 a.m. ET / 4.30 a.m. BST
Odds: Germany -5000, Draw +1300, Morocco +4000
Of the various storylines that have emerged across the first days of the World Cup, one that has caught the eye of German coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has been the challenge that football's old guard has faced in the first-ever 32-nation tournament.
Established powers such as Sweden, England, United States and host nation Australia have all been challenged by less-heralded opposition in their opening matches, while Norway fell to an upset against an emotionally-charged New Zealand.
Now, two-time champions Germany will face a Morocco that coach Reynald Pedros has declared is "ready to fight" in their debut tournament -- the Atlas Lionesses are the first-ever Arab nation to qualify for a WWC -- and Voss-Tecklenburg is appropriately wary.
"All the games are tight, women's football teams have come ever closer," she said on Sunday. "All the countries coming here are not only proud to be at the World Cup, but they absolutely have the quality to play here and to pose problems." -- Joey Lynch.
Pia Sundhage has a long story in football, with the Swedish veteran manager now hoping to lead Brazil to World Cup glory.
Odds: Brazil -10000, Draw +1900, Panama +8000
In a World Cup of few guarantees, one of the most reliable predictions is that we'll see a different Brazil line up in each of the three group-stage matches. Coach Pia Sundhage has garnered a reputation as someone who likes to chop and change her starting XI, but it'll be fascinating to see who gets the nod up front for the Selecao when they face Panama on Monday.
Debinha should start, but who will Sundhage pair with her? Will she go with the in-form Geyse, or go for someone a little different with Bia Zaneratto? Marta, 37, is unlikely to feature against Panama as she continues her comeback from a hamstring injury, but her presence will still be indispensable to this group as they start to prepare for life after the legend as she embarks in her final World Cup. This is also a group without Nycole, with the Benfica midfielder ruled out on the eve of the tournament due to an ankle injury and replaced in the squad by Angelina.
Panama are massive underdogs. Ranked No. 52 in the world, they were the last team to secure their spot in the tournament but will look to midfielder Marta Cox and Washington Spirit forward Riley Tanner for inspiration. -- Tom Hamilton.
Features of the day
England's Earps steps up as goal-scoring struggles continue
You can't buy the jersey of England goalkeeper Mary Earps but she stepped up when it mattered against Haiti as their goal-scoring issues continued.
Crystal Dunn playing with freedom and fury
Motherhood and finding her voice have helped the U.S. women's national team veteran liberate herself from the pressure to perform.
Why are so many Women's World Cup stars missing due to torn ACLs?
The list of absentees is depressingly long. Why is this long-term injury so much more prevalent in the women's game?
And finally ...
At the Sports Bra in Portland, the only thing playing is women's sports. It's a simple, yet seemingly unprecedented idea. Owner Jenny Nguyen believes the bar might have been the first of its kind when it opened in 2022. She envisioned a welcoming spot for people of all backgrounds, a haven for her group of queer and diverse friends who had always felt a bit like outsiders in traditional sports bars. Once the name -- The Sports Bra -- popped into her head, Nguyen said there was no turning back.
She still had no clue, however, whether the community would buy-in. Jamie Goldberg went to visit the bar to watch the USWNT's first match. | Not_Explicit |
The heatwaves battering Europe and the US in July would have been "virtually impossible" without human-induced climate change, a scientific study says.
Global warming from burning fossil fuels also made the heatwave affecting parts of China 50 times more likely.
Climate change meant the heatwave in southern Europe was 2.5C hotter, the study finds.
Almost all societies remain unprepared for deadly extreme heat, experts warn.
The study's authors say its findings highlight the importance of the world adapting to higher temperatures because they are no longer "rare".
"Heat is among the deadliest types of disaster," says Julie Arrighi from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and also one of the authors.
Countries must build heat-resistant homes, create "cool centres" for people to find shelter, and find ways to cool cities including planting more trees, she says.
In July, temperature records were broken in parts of China, the southern US and Spain. Millions of people spent days under red alerts for extreme heat.
Experts say extreme heat can be a very serious threat to life, especially among the elderly. According to one study, more than 61,000 people were estimated to have died from heat-related causes during last year's heatwaves in Europe.
"This study confirms what we knew before. It shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing," said Friederike Otto from Imperial College London.
Climate scientists say decades of humans pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are causing global temperatures to rise.
But not all extreme weather events can immediately be linked directly to climate change because natural weather patterns can also play a part.
Scientists in the UK, US and Netherlands in the World Weather Attribution group studied the recent heatwaves to identify the fingerprint of climate change.
Using computer models, they simulated a world without the effects of emissions pumped into the atmosphere to the real-world temperatures seen during the heatwaves.
The North American heatwave was 2°C (3.6°F) hotter and the heatwave in China was 1°C hotter because of climate change, the scientists concluded.
The world has warmed 1.1C compared to the pre-industrial period before humans began burning fossil fuels.
If temperature rise reaches 2C, which many experts warn is very likely as countries fail to reduce their emissions quickly enough, these events will occur every two to five years, the scientists say.
The study also considered the role of El Niño, a naturally occurring powerful climate fluctuation that began in June. It leads to higher global temperatures as warm waters rise to the surface in the tropical Pacific ocean and push heat into the air.
The study concluded that El Niño probably played a small part but that increased temperatures from burning fossil fuels was the main driver in the more intense heatwaves.
A run of climate records have fallen in recent weeks, including global average temperatures and sea surface temperatures particularly in the North Atlantic.
Experts say the speed and timing is "unprecedented" and warn that more records could tumble in the coming weeks and months.
Dangerous wildfires in Greece forced thousands of people to evacuate hotels at the weekend. Experts say that the hot and dry weather created favourable conditions for fire to spread more easily. | Not_Explicit |
Autoliv (ALV) underpins that shared goal. The Sweden-based safety products and systems supplier to many global automakers reported Friday that earnings per share more than doubled in the second quarter, after doubling in Q1. Autoliv stock soared.
Autoliv No. 1 Auto Safety Supplier
Autoliv, the world's biggest air bag and seat belt maker, says it benefits from higher vehicle safety standards and stricter regulations.
Other factors driving its markets include "the premium vehicle trend and the increasing focus on safety in emerging markets," the company said in its 2022 Annual Report.
In China, Autoliv customers include EV startups Nio, Li Auto (LI) and XPeng (XPEV). Its customers also include Ford and General Motors (GM) in the U.S., and Volkswagen (VWAGY) in Europe. Autoliv supplies the Nio ES6 SUV and Ford Lightning truck, for example, both premium, new electric vehicles.
The global shift to electric vehicles continues to gather pace. Autoliv also makes EV safety products, such as battery cutoff switches.
Autoliv Earnings
In Q2, Autoliv revenue jumped 27% to $2.635 billion, it said Friday. Earnings grew 115% per share to $1.93, crushing estimates for $1.41, FactSet shows. That marked accelerating growth from a 17% revenue gain and 100% earnings surge in the first quarter.
The company tied Q2 gains to new product launches, higher prices and cost-cutting measures. "We achieved the price compensations from customers we planned for," the earning release said.
Autoliv Stock, Ford, Nio
In stock market action Friday, Autoliv stock surged 11.1% to 103.58. Shares pegged a 52-week high of 102.30 intraday. The move scored a breakaway gap breakout above a buy point at 98. The breakaway gap rules put the buy point at 99.68.
Nio also rose Friday, but Ford stock fell.
Cost Inflation
On Friday, Autoliv reiterated full-year guidance after beating estimates.
In 2022, the auto safety products maker's earnings fell 12% amid the chip shortage and Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Analysts expect a 48% earnings rebound for full-year 2023, FactSet shows.
Lingering challenges include cost inflation tied to raw materials, labor and logistics.
Year to date, ALV stock is up 32.6%.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: | Not_Explicit |
Bright injured her knee in Chelsea’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg with Lyon in March, limiting her preparation time for the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
“I’m grateful that I’m able to play and super excited to be here,” she said Friday. “I was surrounded by the best people, so I was very confident in my recovery. I’ve been given absolutely everything that I needed to be in this position.”
Injuries have plagued the Lionesses, who won the European Championship last year, in their lead up to the Women’s World Cup. Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and Leah Wiliamson, who were all projected starters for the team, have been ruled out.
“Unfortunately, injuries are a part of football,” said Bright, who replaced Williamson as captain for the tournament. “We have to look forward and move forward. We have an amazing group of players and staff, and everyone has stepped up. We’re ready to go.”
While injuries have been a disruption to preparations, a dispute with the English Football Association regarding bonus payments and commercial arrangements has also hung over the squad.
This week, England's players released a collective statement saying negotiations had been paused in order to concentrate on the tournament. But they said they would still seek a resolution over an issue that was “key for the growth of women's football in England.”
“Obviously it’s not a situation everyone wants to be in, but I think as players we are not just programmed to play football,” said Bright. “Sometimes we have to have these conversations, but we have a very professional group and football is always at the front of everything.
"We’ve accepted everything is on hold with those discussions and we will address the situation at a later date. For now it is all about the tournament.”
Her comments were echoed by Wiegman, who guided England to victory at the Euros last year and is aiming to complete a trophy double at the World Cup.
“When on the pitch, we are on the pitch and everyone is aligned and everyone is focused on football,” she said. “I haven’t seen any other behavior.”
___
Taft Gantt is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
___
More AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup | Not_Explicit |
Margot Robbie meets a deaf fan and is so excited to speak with him in sign language
Here's another reason to love the 'Barbie' star.
It would be hard to choose anyone to be the "person of the moment" right now other than actress Margot Robbie. Her new film, “Barbie,” which she also produced, is currently at the top of the box office, well on its way to becoming the summer's biggest film.
The publicity and excitement surrounding the “Barbie” star has caused a video to resurface showing that the A-list actress has a sweet side and knows a bit of sign language.
In September of 2022, at the London premiere of “Amsterdam,” Robbie was interacting with fans when a deaf man handed her a piece of paper, which appeared to be a sign language cheat sheet. “For me?” the actress asked before exclaiming, “I know it!”
Then she frantically looked for a place to set down the cheat sheet and some pens to free up her hands so she could show off her finger alphabet skills.
In another angle of the same interaction, you can get a better glimpse of Robbie’s hand gestures and see how genuinely enthused she was to share this touching moment with the man. "Nice to meet you," she appears to say to him after rifling through the alphabet.
If you’re familiar with American Sign Language (ASL), you may have noticed that the signs Robbie and the fan use are a bit different. In the video, Robbie uses Auslan or Australian sign language, which is related to British Sign Language (BSL) and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). These three signed languages descended from the same parent language and are part of the BANZSL language family. | Not_Explicit |
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BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping told former top U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger on Thursday that relations between the two countries are at a crossroads and both sides need to “make new decisions” that could result in stable ties and “joint success and prosperity.”
The 100-year-old Kissinger is revered in China for having engineered the opening of relations between the ruling Communist Party and Washington under former President Richard Nixon during the Cold War in the early 1970s.
Xi, who is head of state, party general secretary and commander of the world’s largest standing military, met with Kissinger in the relatively informal setting of Beijing’s park-like Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, with Chinese senior diplomat Wang Yi also in attendance.
READ MORE: Blinken heads to Tonga, New Zealand, Australia as U.S. aims to counter China’s influence in the region
“China and the United States are once again at the crossroads of where to go, and the two sides need to make new decisions,” Xi said, according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“Looking into the future, China and the United States can achieve joint success and prosperity,” Xi said.
Kissinger’s visit coincided with one by Biden’s top climate envoy, John Kerry, the third senior Biden administration official in recent weeks to travel to China for meetings following Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The flurry of diplomacy aims to restore dialogue suspended by Beijing, mainly over U.S. support for the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan that China claims as its own territory.
Referring to Kissinger’s role in initiating China-U.S. relations while serving as national security adviser during the Nixon administration, Wang said he had played an “irreplaceable role in enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries.”
“The U.S. policy toward China requires the diplomatic wisdom like that of Kissinger and political courage like Nixon’s,” Wang said, according to the Foreign Ministry. Kissinger also served as secretary of state under Nixon.
The ministry said the two sides also discussed the war in Ukraine, in which China has largely sided with Moscow, as well as artificial intelligence and other economic issues. Wang told Kissinger that it was “impossible” to transform, encircle or contain China, which Chinese leaders say the U.S. is trying to do in disputes over trade, technology, Taiwan and China’s human rights record.
On Tuesday, Kissinger held talks with Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who is barred from visiting the U.S. over arms sales he oversaw with Russia.
China’s Defense Ministry quoted Li as praising the role Kissinger played in opening up China-U.S. relations in the early 1970s, but said bilateral ties had hit a low point because of “some people on the American side who are not willing to meet China halfway.”
WATCH: Henry Kissinger reflects on leadership, global crises and the state of U.S. politics
U.S. leaders say they have no such intentions and only seek frank dialogue and fair competition.
China broke off many contacts with the Biden administration last August, including over climate issues, to show its anger with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. China claims the island as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, threatening to draw the U.S. into a major conflict in a region crucial to the global economy.
Contacts have only slowly been restored and China continues to refuse to restart dialogue between the People’s Liberation Army, the party’s military branch, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Even before Pelosi’s visit, the U.S. says China declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from the Department of Defense for top-level dialogues since 2021.
The wave of U.S. diplomacy has yet to be reciprocated by China, which has its own list of concessions it wants from Washington. U.S. officials, including Kerry, have said they will not offer Beijing any such deals.
Kissinger did not meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who has been out of public sight for more than three weeks. Despite speculation about political rivalries and personal scandals, the ministry has provided no information about his status in keeping with the party’s standard approach to personnel matters in a highly opaque political system in which the media and free speech are severely restricted.
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A longtime friend and ally of Hunter Biden and the Biden family served as a prosecutor in the Delaware U.S. Attorney's office when that office led the federal investigation into Hunter Biden and has visited the White House at least five times during the Biden administration, a Fox News Digital investigation has found.
Alexander Snyder Mackler, a former legal counsel to Joe Biden when he was vice president and a prior campaign manager in 2010, served as an assistant United States attorney in the Delaware U.S. Attorney's office under David Weiss from August 2016 to May 2019. During that time, Weiss was leading the federal investigation into Hunter Biden for tax fraud and illegal foreign business dealings.
According to emails from Hunter’s abandoned laptop, which were reviewed and verified by Fox News Digital, Mackler and Hunter Biden remained in close contact, with Mackler once signing off an email saying, "Love you brother."
It's unclear what, if any, role Mackler played in the probe. Even if Mackler played no role in the Hunter Biden investigation, his professional closeness with Weiss' team is sure to lead to conflict of interest questions from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Fox News Digital has reached out to Weiss and Mackler for comment.
Hunter Biden had been under federal investigation since 2018. That investigation into his "tax affairs" began amid the discovery of suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."
Mackler, who also worked for Joe Biden in 2008 as his press secretary during his time in the U.S. Senate, previously told The Washington Times he did not know about the case when he was a federal prosecutor and only learned about it with the rest of the world through Hunter Biden’s press statement Dec. 9, 2020, which came a month after his father's presidential win.
Last month, Biden agreed to a deal with the Justice Department to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax and entered a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Mackler has been the Deputy Attorney General of Delaware since May 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile.
According to visitor logs reviewed by Fox News Digital, he visited the White House five times last year, including a one-on-one meeting with President Biden.
On March 28, 2022, Mackler met with White House counsel Steve Ricchetti for a one-on-one meeting. On April 11, he met with President Biden in a one-on-one meeting. On Aug. 28, he met with Biden's 2024 campaign manager, Julie Rodriguez, who was also serving as Biden's senior adviser, for a one-on-one meeting. And on Sept. 21, he met one on one with Claudia Marconi, senior adviser for congressional engagement. Mackler also attended a White House event in December.
Fox News Digital reviewed emails and text messages that reveal Mackler has maintained relatively frequent contact with the younger Biden for many years.
In a text message dated March 10, 2019, well after the federal investigation was underway, Mackler texted Hunter Biden, saying he was "in the car for a long drive" and "just wanted to say hi."
On Oct. 16, 2018, Mackler emailed Biden "wondering how life is on [his] end" before signing off, "Love you brother."
Two years earlier, in August 2016, when he first started working under Weiss, Mackler emailed Hunter Biden and Eric Schwerin, president of Hunter Biden’s now-dissolved Rosemont Seneca Partners, boasting about his "first day at the new job," according to an Aug. 22, 2016, email.
One week later, Mackler gave his two cents on a drafted statement regarding the launch of the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware, writing to Hunter Biden and others, "Looks good to me."
Mackler also frequently vented to Hunter Biden and Schwerin following Hillary Clinton’s upset defeat to former President Donald Trump later that November.
"I'm trying very hard to take solace in the fact that more people in this country feel like us than like Trump's people," Mackler said.
"It's hard," he wrote to Hunter Biden and Schwerin Nov. 9, 2016, one day after the election.
The next day, he wrote to Hunter Biden and Schwerin, "I truly hope he picks all these clowns," referring to Trump’s potential cabinet picks at the time, including former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
A few days later, he blasted the Democrats backing Hillary Clinton at the time as "pompous … a--holes."
Six months later, Mackler was still perceivably upset about the election after Schwerin shared a story about David Axelrod, who had criticized Clinton for blaming her loss on virtually everything but her own campaign.
"I'm old enough to remember when he took a whole afternoon of JRB's [Joseph Robinette Biden] time in the West Wing, arguing that he needed to get out of HRC's [Hillary Rodham Clinton] way because she was the better candidate and would win," Mackler fumed.
Weiss has repeatedly denied claims by two IRS whistleblowers who alleged officials at the Justice Department, FBI and IRS interfered with Weiss’ five-year investigation into President Biden’s son.
The House Oversight Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee are conducting a joint investigation into the federal probe into Hunter Biden and whether prosecutorial decisions were influenced by politics.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in June that Weiss, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in November 2017, "was given complete authority" in the prosecutorial decisions concerning Hunter Biden.
In June, House Republicans demanded testimony from Weiss and more than a dozen federal officials, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, who allegedly blocked lines of questioning in the investigation related to President Biden.
A source close to the Delaware Biden probe told the Daily Mail this month that Mackler worked with Wolf on at least one Delaware federal case and that the two were friends.
"The source said there were concerns about Wolf's ties to the ex-Biden advisor while she was investigating Hunter and that their collegiate relationship was even allegedly referred to the 'Designated Agency Ethics Officer' for Weiss's office," the Daily Mail reported July 14. | Not_Explicit |
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Defenders of former President Donald Trump have responded to news of his indictment by the US Department of Justice with deflection: Why is Trump being charged but not President Joe Biden’s son Hunter?
“The two standards of justice under Biden’s DOJ is appalling. When will Hunter Biden be charged?” tweeted Rep. Steve Daines of Montana, who has already endorsed Trump’s 2024 campaign and who is in charge of coordinating Republicans’ strategy for keeping control of the House of Representatives.
The facts, however, are much less clear.
Fueling Republicans’ frustration this week is a standoff on Capitol Hill over a document detailing an interview conducted years ago based on a tip given to the DOJ by former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani, you might recall, had been tasked with digging up dirt on the Bidens. House Republicans are convinced the interview with the confidential informant, based on Giuliani’s allegations, implicates both the president and his son.
There’s an awkward circularity in there. Republicans are alleging the FBI under the Biden administration tried to cover up an investigation of a tip given to the FBI by Giuliani during the Trump administration, and which even Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, treated with extreme care.
Here’s what to know:
What do Republicans allege?
That the FBI has been hiding evidence of a bribery allegation that could involve the president and his son receiving $5 million from someone with ties to Ukraine.
Republicans say the evidence comes from an internal law enforcement document, known as an FD-1023, which details an interview conducted with a confidential informant.
It is the one and only allegation that the president has been involved in something illegal. However, it is based on a tip the FBI has not been able to verify.
What’s their basis for this allegation?
Someone Republicans view as a whistleblower told lawmakers on Capitol Hill in May about the form detailing the interview and has alleged the FBI tried to bury it.
Why didn’t the FBI want to hand over the document?
It contains what the FBI calls “unverified” information.
Essentially, anything could lead to an FD-1023 form, which does nothing more than acknowledge an interview took place.
While Republicans are assuming there is a coverup, it does make some sense that if the FBI had gotten a wild claim that it could in no way substantiate, it would not want to give oxygen to that information.
After all, much of Republicans’ gripe with the Russia investigation is that it stemmed from allegations about Trump that could not be verified. For more on that, read about the recently released report from special counsel John Durham, a Trump-administration appointee.
Will lawmakers get to see the document?
Yes. After House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress, the FBI agreed to let all lawmakers on the committee view the FD-1023 form.
Comer and the ranking Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin, had already been given access.
After being given that access, Raskin said this whole affair is “part of the effort to smear President Biden and help Mr. Trump’s reelection campaign.”
What are Republicans saying after seeing the document?
After viewing the document, lawmakers confirmed the allegations have to do with Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, and the document details conversations over a few years about the allegations and payments made.
Members who viewed the document said the alleged payments to the Bidens are intentionally difficult to be traced.
“If the information contained in this document is true, then there will be absolutely bank records to back it up. And that should be the next phase of the Oversight Committee is to go find and extract those bank records, go back and look at the suspicious activity reports,” said Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
Republicans have an ongoing investigation into the finances of Hunter Biden and other Biden relatives. Read more about that.
How long has the FBI had this document?
For years. In fact, it dates back to the Trump administration.
CNN’s Evan Perez has reported that the document has origins in a tranche of documents that Giuliani provided to the Justice Department in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
What has the FBI been doing with the information from the informant?
Barr, when he was Trump’s attorney general, directed then-Pittsburgh US Attorney Scott Brady to oversee the FBI investigation of the Giuliani claims.
According to Perez’s reporting, Barr was worried the unsubstantiated claim could taint the work being done by the US attorney in Delaware who is overseeing a longtime and ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden on numerous fronts.
Brady’s team interviewed the confidential informant on June 30, 2020, which generated the FD-1023. Barr recently told The Federalist the information was ultimately forwarded to the US attorney in Delaware.
Republicans have questioned whether the US attorney there followed up on the allegations made in the interview.
Will Hunter Biden be charged with a crime?
It is definitely possible. Investigations into his business dealings with foreign clients, his failure to pay taxes on time and his purchase of a gun when he was addicted to drugs have all been ongoing. His attorneys met with officials in the Justice Department’s tax division in Washington, DC, in April.
From CNN’s report at the time: According to sources familiar with the investigation, prosecutors are still weighing whether to bring two misdemeanor charges for failure to file taxes, one count of felony tax evasion related to the overreporting of expenses, and a false statement charge regarding a gun purchase.
About Hunter Biden
He has been a top target for Republican investigations for years on multiple fronts. His lifestyle as a drug addict trading on his father’s name to do business overseas is not a good reflection on his father. The money he and other Bidens made from foreign companies is just as uncomfortable for the president.
There are other Hunter Biden-related threads. He has been ordered to appear next month in an Arkansas courtroom to explain why he should not be held in contempt for stonewalling attempts to obtain his financial data. He denies wrongdoing. The court proceedings are underway because his attorneys say he can no longer afford to pay $20,000 in monthly child support.
But there’s a false equivalence between comparing his affairs, which still ultimately rely on unverified claims forwarded to the FBI by Giuliani, and Trump’s treatment of classified data, which the Department of Justice apparently feels confident it can prosecute.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misidentified the whistleblower who made Republican lawmakers aware of the FD-1023 form. | Not_Explicit |
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel’s president speaks to Congress on Wednesday in an appearance aimed at demonstrating what he calls the “unbreakable bond” between Israel and the United States, despite U.S. concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul and settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
Herzog’s address is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET. Watch the event live in the player above.
Isaac Herzog becomes the second Israeli president, after his father, Chaim Herzog, to address Congress. His speech will mark modern Israel’s celebration of its 75th year.
But the visit by Israel’s figurehead president also is exposing the difficulties that Democrats face in balancing longstanding U.S. support for ally Israel with disapproval of some actions by Netanyahu’s government, a coalition of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties.
The House on Tuesday passed a Republican-led resolution reaffirming its support for Israel with strong bipartisan approval — an implicit rebuke of a leading Democrat who over the weekend called the country a “racist state” but later apologized.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, passed with more than 400 lawmakers backing the measure. It did not mention Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., by name but was clearly a response to her recent remarks about Israel. The measure was drafted soon after she criticized Israel and its treatment of Palestinians at a conference on Saturday.
Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, walked back the comments the next day, insisting her comments were aimed at Netanyahu and not at Israel.
“I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,” Jayapal said in a statement. “I do, however, believe that Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government.”
The GOP-led effort highlighted the divide among House Democrats over Israel, with younger progressives adopting a more critical stance toward the longtime U.S. ally than party leaders.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian-American in Congress, is boycotting Herzog’s speech Wednesday and criticized the resolution as normalizing violence against those living in the occupied West Bank, given the Netanyahu government’s approval of expanded Jewish settlements there.
“We’re here again reaffirming Congress’ support for apartheid,” Tlaib said during floor debate Tuesday on the Republican measure. “Policing the words of women of color who dare to speak up about truths, about oppression.”
Over at the White House on Tuesday, Herzog sought to assure Biden that Israel remains committed to democracy amid deepening U.S. concerns over Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul his country’s judicial system.
READ MORE: Israeli protesters block highways and military headquarters in response to judicial overhaul plan
Netanyahu and his allies say the overhaul is needed to rein in the powers of unelected judges. Opponents say the plan will destroy Israel’s fragile system of checks and balances and move the country toward authoritarian rule.
Herzog has appealed for a compromise that has thus far proven elusive. Many American Jewish groups and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the plan.
Herzog’s visit comes weeks after Israeli forces carried out one of their most intensive operations in the occupied West Bank in two decades, with a two-day air and ground offensive in Jenin, a militant stronghold. Senior members of Netanyahu’s government have been pushing for increased construction and other measures to cement Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank in response to a more than yearlong wave of violence with the Palestinians.
U.S. officials have broadly supported Israel’s right to defend itself from militant attacks but have also urged restraint to minimize harm to civilians and have lobbied against additional settlements that would further diminish the chances of securing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
With differences in plain view, Biden sought to stress the importance of the U.S.-Israeli relationship in his brief remarks before reporters Tuesday.
“This is a friendship I believe is just simply unbreakable,” Biden said. “As I confirmed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, America’s commitment to Israel is firm and it is ironclad.”
Ahead of Herzog’s visit, Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone and invited him to meet in the U.S. this fall, although the president expressed reservations about several of the Netanyahu hard-right coalition’s policies.
Herzog said the Biden-Netanyahu conversation sent an important message to the region.
“I was pleased to hear about your conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu in which you focused on our ironclad military and security cooperation because there are some enemies of ours that sometimes mistake the fact that we may have some differences as impacting our unbreakable bond,” Herzog said.
The Biden administration declined to say whether Biden would host Netanyahu at the White House — as the Israeli leader has hoped — or in New York on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly.
White House visits are typically standard protocol for Israeli prime ministers, and the delay in Netanyahu receiving one has become an issue in Israel, with opponents citing it as a reflection of deteriorating relations with the U.S.
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Las calabacitas son un ingrediente que nunca debe de faltar en las recetas de la comida mexicana. Y cómo no, si es que las calabacitas son un vegetal muy mexicano; originaria de la Milpa, muy saludable, con precios accesibles y muy versátiles, que se pueden preparar de muchas formas: desde calabacitas a la mexicana, hasta horneadas y rellenas.
En particular, esta receta de calabacitas a la mexicana es un platillo ganador: ligero, muy saludable y las podemos preparar con ingredientes que normalmente tenemos en nuestras casa (se trata de la clásica mezcla de ‘a la mexicana’ con jitomate, cebolla y una pizca de chile que no puede faltar en nuestras despensas).
Es una receta económica de preparar, pero la mejor parte del asunto es que es ligera, baja en grasas y muy rápida. Básicamente, esta receta reúne todo lo que buscamos en un platillo: es saludable, es rica y es fácil de preparar. ¿Necesitábamos algo más? No dejes de probar estas calabacitas a la mexicana, idénticas a las que preparaba mi mamá en casa.
Cómo hacer Calabacitas a la Mexicana, receta de las mamás mexicanas
Foto: Guajillo sutdio
Ingredientes:
3 calabacitas, picadas
2 jitomates, picados
1/4 de cebolla blanca, finamente picada
1 diente de ajo, picado
1 chile jalapeño o serrano (opcional)
1 taza de granos de elote amarillo
Mantequilla o aceite al gusto
1 cucharadita de orégano seco
Sal y pimienta al gusto
Procedimiento:
En una sartén mediana, derrite la mantequilla o calienta el aceite. Sofríe la cebolla y el ajo durante unos 3 minutos o hasta que cambien de color.
Agrega el chile en rodajas (opcional) y el jitomate. Cocina por otros 4 minutos o hasta que el jitomate se suavice y desintegre ligeramente.
Añade las calabacitas y los granos de elote. Sazona con sal, pimienta y una pizca de orégano.
Tapa la sartén y cocina a fuego bajo por unos 8 minutos más. Si prefieres que queden más caldosas, puedes agregar media taza de agua, caldo de pollo o caldillo de jitomate.
Opcionalmente, al final, puedes agregar un poco de queso fresco o queso oaxaca deshebrado y tapar nuevamente para que gratinen bien. También puedes añadir un poco de crema agria si lo deseas.
Sirve las calabacitas a la mexicana como plato principal o acompáñalas con tortillas de maíz para una deliciosa cena. ¡Disfruta!
Esta es una receta muy versátil y deliciosa, perfecta para adaptarse a tus gustos y preferencias culinarias. Si deseas volverla más sustanciosa y enriquecer su sabor, puedes experimentar añadiéndole algunos ingredientes:
Calabacitas a la Mexicana con Carne de Puerco: Añade trozos de carne de puerco previamente cocida a la receta tradicional de calabacitas a la mexicana para una opción más sustanciosa y llena de sabor.
Calabacitas a la Mexicana con Tocino: Agrega tocino cortado en trozos pequeños junto con la cebolla y el ajo para un toque ahumado y delicioso en cada bocado.
Calabacitas a la Mexicana con Pollo: Incorpora trozos de pollo cocido a la mezcla para una versión con proteína adicional y un sabor suave y reconfortante.
Calabacitas a la Mexicana con Crema: Añade un toque cremoso a la receta original al verter crema en la sartén junto con los ingredientes, para obtener una textura más rica y suave.
Calabacitas a la Mexicana con Queso Panela: Agrega cubos de queso panela a las calabacitas una vez que estén cocidas para una opción vegetariana con un toque de cremosidad y proteína.
Experimenta con estas variaciones y disfruta de diferentes sabores y combinaciones en tu platillo de calabacitas a la mexicana. ¡Seguro encontrarás una opción que se adapte a tus gustos. Las posibilidades son infinitas y te aseguro que cada versión será igual de deliciosa y reconfortante!
Si te gustó esta receta, no olvides suscribirte a nuestro canal de YouTube. Cada semana tenemos una receta nueva para ti. | Not_Explicit |
Vedanta Q1 Results Review - Revenue Inline; Marginal Miss On Ebitda: Motilal Oswal
Vedanta’s net debt stood at ~Rs 592 billion and net debt/Ebitda stood at 1.88 times in Q1 FY24.
BQ Prime’s special research section collates quality and in-depth equity and economy research reports from across India’s top brokerages, asset managers and research agencies. These reports offer BQ Prime’s subscribers an opportunity to expand their understanding of companies, sectors and the economy.
Motilal Oswal Report
Vedanta Ltd.’s consolidated net sales stood at Rs 337 billion (down 12% YoY), in line with our estimate of Rs 334 billion. Revenue was adversely impacted by the reduction in commodity prices and lower volumes, which was partially offset by higher premiums and favorable exchange rate movement.
Vedanta’s consolidated Ebitda stood at Rs 64 billion (down 37% YoY), 6% miss to our estimate of Rs 68 billion. The aluminum vertical was down 19% YoY to Rs 18 billion; Hindustan Zinc Ltd. was down 35% QoQ to Rs 33 billion and the oil and gas vertical was down 45% YoY to Rs 11 billion. All the verticals (except copper) were profitable during the quarter.
Vedanta’s adjusted profit after tax stood at Rs 9 billion (down 81% YoY) against our estimate of Rs 16 billion. The miss was led by higher finance cost, lower other income, and higher normalised effective tax rate.
London Metal Exchange prices across the non-ferrous portfolio were down QoQ. Zinc/Lead/ Copper/Aluminum prices were down 19%/1%/5%/6% on a QoQ basis, whereas silver was up 7% QoQ.
Vedanta’s net debt stood at ~Rs 592 billion and net debt/Ebitda stood at 1.88 times in Q1 FY24 as against 1.28 times as on March 2023.
Vedanta paid out Rs 18.5 as the first interim dividend for FY24.
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This report is authored by an external party. BQ Prime does not vouch for the accuracy of its contents nor is responsible for them in any way. The contents of this section do not constitute investment advice. For that you must always consult an expert based on your individual needs. The views expressed in the report are that of the author entity and do not represent the views of BQ Prime.
Users have no license to copy, modify, or distribute the content without permission of the Original Owner. | Not_Explicit |
MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) - Russia warned that from Thursday any ships traveling to Ukraine's Black Sea ports will be seen as possibly carrying military cargoes after Ukraine said it was setting up a temporary shipping route to try and continue its grain exports.
The moves by both countries on Wednesday came just days after Russia quit a deal - brokered by the United Nations and Turkey - that allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain for the past year, and revoked its guarantees of safe navigation.
Ukraine has made clear that it wants to try and continue its Black Sea grain shipments and told the U.N. shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), that it had "decided to establish on a temporary basis a recommended maritime route."
But Russia's Defence Ministry then said it would deem all ships travelling to Ukraine to be potentially carrying military cargo and "the flag countries of such ships will be considered parties to the Ukrainian conflict".
In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, it said the move would start at midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT Wednesday).
The Defence Ministry did not say what actions it might take.
Russia was also declaring southeastern and northwestern parts of the Black Sea's international waters to be temporarily unsafe for navigation, the ministry said, without giving details about the parts of the sea which would be affected.
Ukraine accused Russia on Wednesday of damaging grain export infrastructure in "hellish" overnight strikes focused on two of its Black Sea ports.
In a televised meeting with senior officials on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Western countries he said "completely distorted" the expired grain deal, but that Russia would "immediately" return to the agreement if all its conditions for doing so were met.
WARY INSURERS
Insurers were already reviewing their appetite for covering ships into Ukraine.
A cargo insurance facility providing cover for Ukraine grain shipments traveling under the Black Sea deal has been suspended, the policy's broker told Reuters on Tuesday. The marine cargo and war facility provided cover of up to $50 million per cargo.
Norwegian shipping insurance group DNK, which provides war risk policies, told Reuters on Wednesday it was currently unable to provide cover for Ukraine.
The U.N. said on Tuesday there are a "number of ideas being floated" to help get Ukrainian and Russian grain and fertilizer to global markets after Moscow quit the Black Sea deal.
The Black Sea pact was brokered to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are among the world's top grain exporters.
Russia's withdrawal on Monday also ended a pact between the United Nations and Moscow in which U.N. officials agreed to help Russian food and fertilizer exports reach world markets.
Moscow has suggested that if demands to improve exports of its own grain and fertilizer were met, it would consider resurrecting the Black Sea agreement. It quit because it said those demands had not been met and it complained not enough Ukrainian grain was reaching poor countries under the deal.
But the U.N. argued the arrangement has benefited those states by helping lower food prices more than 20% globally. Ukraine has also been a key supplier of grain for the U.N. World Food Programme's efforts to fight hunger.
(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Michelle Nichols; editing by Jonathan Oatis) | Not_Explicit |
TSMC Cuts 2023 Outlook Ahead Of Delay To Marquee US Project
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. cut its annual outlook for revenue and postponed the start of production at its signature Arizona project to 2025, twin setbacks for a chipmaking linchpin struggling with geopolitical tensions and a deep market slump.
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. cut its annual outlook for revenue and postponed the start of production at its signature Arizona project to 2025, twin setbacks for a chipmaking linchpin struggling with geopolitical tensions and a deep market slump.
TSMC’s surprise cut in 2023 revenue projections sent a warning to investors that the global electronics slump may persist for some time despite a boom in AI development. And the delay in the US — a consequence of both a lack of skilled American workers and ballooning costs — underscores the difficulties in making chips there despite Washington’s insistence to reduce a global reliance on Asian facilities.
The main chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp. projected a 10% fall in sales this year, versus previous guidance for a single-digit decline. Executives also warned investors to temper their expectations for a boom in chips for training AI models, saying it was uncertain whether the surge in demand in the wake of ChatGPT was long-term or sustainable. Shares in chip firms including ASML Holding NV, one of TSMC’s primary gear suppliers, slid in Europe.
“The short-term frenzy about AI demand definitely cannot be extrapolated for the long term,” Chairman Mark Liu told analysts on a conference call. “Neither can we predict for next year how the sudden demand will continue or flatten out.”
Read more: TSMC Delays Arizona Chip Output to 2025 on Worker Shortages
TSMC delivered the outlook after posting its first quarterly profit decline in four years, underscoring the extent of a global slide in smartphone and PC demand. It reported a 23% slide in net income to NT$181.8 billion ($5.85 billion). Executives said capital intensity — a measure of the pace at which TSMC buys or invests in capital equipment — to slow in coming years.
Executives on Thursday said they were also pushing back the anticipated start of output from its new Arizona plant to 2025. President Joe Biden’s administration has made development of domestic chip production a top strategic priority, backed by subsidies in the Chips and Science Act that may top $50 billion. As the US clashes with China, American politicians have been concerned about the vulnerability of Taiwan, which Beijing has claimed as its own territory.
To mitigate concerns from customers over geopolitical uncertainties in the Taiwan Strait, TSMC has been diversifying its manufacturing footprint. It is investing $40 billion to create two fabs in Arizona and constructing a $8.6 billion facility in Japan with financial support from the government. The company remains in discussions with Tokyo over subsidies for a second facility, which might be located alongside its current plant in Kumamoto.
The hiccups in Arizona however call into question whether TSMC can make chips abroad as efficiently as back home.
“We are working on improving this by sending skilled technical workers from Taiwan to the US,” Liu said.
Investors are still betting on TSMC becoming a heavyweight in the global race to develop next-generation AI.
Top customer Nvidia’s chips are essential to ChatGPT, autonomous driving and a new generation of AI products. The US firm’s valuation briefly surpassed $1 trillion this year thanks to Wall Street’s obsession with generative AI, propping up the fortunes of TSMC and other electronics firms that supply the infrastructure needed to train AI models.
“Although its lower revenue guidance and its Arizona fab push-out were some of the negatives, we think earnings have generally bottomed as the firm looks ready to ramp up 3nm node lines aggressively,” said Amir Anvarzadeh at Asymmetric Advisors. “Given that TSMC is the only viable producer of AI chips as well as having the right packaging technology, we see huge upside in both revenues and earnings, especially from next term.”
More immediately, the iPhone chipmaker is struggling to sustain margins and growth in its smartphone and consumer-oriented business, which has shrunk alongside a global post-Covid economic downturn.
Signs are mixed as to when that slump might end. TSMC projected sales of $16.7 billion to $17.5 billion this quarter, weaker versus expectations. Executives said the Chinese post-Covid economic recovery has been slower and soften than anticipated. And the company reaffirmed that 2023 capital expenditure should come in toward the lower end of a previously forecast range of $32 billion to $36 billion.
Samsung Electronics Co. this month reported its worst decline in quarterly revenue since at least 2009. Global smartphone shipments plunged 11% in the April to June period, the sixth successive quarterly decline, research firm Canalys estimates.
But backlogs of unsold phones are shrinking. And this week, ASML revealed orders rose in the second quarter after demand for its chip-making machines picked up.
“The smartphone market is sending early signals of recovery,” said Le Xuan Chiew, an analyst at Canalys. “Smartphone inventory has begun to clear up as smartphone vendors prioritized cutting inventory of old models to make room for new launches.”
Click here for a rundown of TSMC’s numbers.
--With assistance from Cindy Wang, Gao Yuan, Betty Hou and Olivia Tam.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | Not_Explicit |
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama lawmakers say they're trying to satisfy a landmark Supreme Court order to draw a new district giving a voice to Black voters, but with hours to go before a court-ordered deadline Friday, experts say Republican proposals fall far short of what the law requires.
The Republican-controlled state House and Senate will meet Friday and could advance separate plans increasing the share of Black voters in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. Legislative leaders say they intend to meet the deadline, meaning the two chambers must compromise on one plan.
Both plans preserve the current Black majority of the 7th District. But neither plan comes close to creating a second Black majority district in a state that is 27% Black.
A three-judge panel ruled in 2022 that the current legislative map likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act and said any map should include two districts where “Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it.” This June, the Supreme Court upheld that decision.
“I think this is another good example, maybe the latest and perhaps the most brazen, of a legislature that didn’t want to take the hint,” said Kareem Crayton, senior director for voting and representation at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice.
“They have pretended as though the court didn’t say what it said,” Crayton said.
The Brennan Center filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs before the Supreme Court.
An analysis by The Associated Press, using redistricting software, shows the 2nd District proposed by state senators, with a Black voting-age population of 38%, has been routinely and easily won by Republicans in recent elections. The House proposal, with a Black voting-age population of 42%, is closely split between Democrats and Republicans, but could still shut out Black voter preferences.
The plaintiffs who won the Supreme Court case have vowed to fight either proposal if enacted. They say it's crucial that Blacks have more representation in Alabama and other states if their votes are to be meaningful.
The debate in Alabama could be mirrored in fights in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas and other states.
Republican leaders on Thursday emphasized that they are trying to draw districts that are compact in size and keep together communities of interest. One issue has been whether to carve up the Mobile and Dothan areas to add their Black voters to a second Black-dominated district, as those who sued Alabama proposed.
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, a Jasper Republican, said the Senate plan focuses more on keeping communities together and keeping districts as compact as possible, and less on Black voting-age population.
“How do we keep those communities together, how do they wind up being recognized as communities of interest? That’s a big decision," Reed said.
Reed said the House's map, with 42% Black voters in a second district, is probably as high as lawmakers are willing to go.
But those who study redistricting say that’s simply not enough, considering how sharply Alabama voters divide along racial lines.
“I would think at 38 or 42 that the court isn’t going to sign off,” said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political scientist who wrote a book about redistricting. He predicted the three-judge panel will end up drawing its own map.
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, a Greensboro Democrat, said the Senate's 2nd District "just doesn't work as an opportunity district that I believe that the court had in mind in terms of the numbers.”
Republican lawmakers hope to showcase the issues of compactness and unified communities in court. They're hoping a second round of litigation, or even another trip to the Supreme Court, will let them avoid creating giving a second of Alabama’s seven congressional districts to a Democrat.
Bullock and Crayton were skeptical that the high court would immediately backtrack on its ruling and said federal courts discount compactness and preserving communities in redistricting.
“It can’t take a front seat to matters that are entrenched in federal law," Crayton said, calling those arguments “silly.”
Bullock said appeal might not make it back to the Supreme Court in time for the 2024 election, and it could be that Republicans anticipate losing the case but won't vote for a plan that sacrifices a sitting Republican congressman.
“Another interpretation would be they couldn’t bring themselves to do in one of their friends," Bullock said. “Let somebody else take the blame. Let the courts take the blame.”
___
Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | Not_Explicit |
Bipartisan senators unveiling measure to ban stock ownership by lawmakers, administration officials
A bipartisan pair of senators unveiled a bill Wednesday to ban stock ownership by lawmakers and administration officials, in what they are calling the “most substantial bipartisan effort to ban stock trading.”
The bill, introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Josh Hawley, (R-M.O. would establish firmer stock trading bans and disclosure requirements for lawmakers, senior executive branch officials and their spouses and dependents.
The Bank Stock Trading for Government Officials Act is the latest bipartisan effort to enact a stock trading ban for members of Congress, an issue that has been pushed for in the past few cycles of Congress.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the legislation introduced by Gillibrand and Hawley.
“It is critical that the American people know that their elected leaders are putting the public first – not looking for ways to line their own pockets,” said Gillibrand in a statement.
The bill would ban Congressional members, the president, vice president, senior executive branch members, and their spouses and dependents from holding or trading stocks, with no exception to blind trusts. Congressional members who violate this ban would be required to pay at least 10 percent of the banned investments.
“Politicians and civil servants shouldn’t spend their time day-trading and trying to make a profit at the expense of the American public, but that’s exactly what so many are doing,” Hawley said.
The legislation also establishes harsh penalties for executive branch stock trading, requiring executive branch officials to give up profits from covered finance interests to the Department of Treasury, while also facing a fine from the Automatic Special Counsel.
Congressional members, senior Congressional staff, and senior executive branch employees would also be required to report if they, a spouse or a dependent applies for or receives a “benefit of value” from the federal government, including loans, contracts, grants, agreements, and payments. If they fail to file, they will face a $500 penalty.
The bill aims to increase transparency, requiring public databases of personal financial disclosures and financial transaction filings required by the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from using insider information when buying and selling stocks. The penalty for the failing to file STOCK Act transaction reports would also increase from $200 to $500.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
PVR-INOX - A Dominant Force In The Cinema Space: Motilal Oswal
Growing scale of OTT platforms could dilute footfalls.
BQ Prime’s special research section collates quality and in-depth equity and economy research reports from across India’s top brokerages, asset managers and research agencies. These reports offer BQ Prime’s subscribers an opportunity to expand their understanding of companies, sectors and the economy.
Motilal Oswal Report
The merged entity PVR-INOX Ltd., with a revenue scale of Rs 82.3 billion as of FY25E and expected Ebitda margins of 18.6%, is currently trading at 10 times FY25E enterprise value/Ebitda, which is lower than its historical average.
However, weak occupancy poses risk to earnings. Moreover, the lack of visibility in occupancy improvement, increasing threat from the digital (over-the top) segment and the lower return on capital employed profile may keep valuations inexpensive.
We believe key factors that could drive profitability include:
a strong release pipeline from June 2023 onward; and
recent initiatives like increasing average ticket prices and optimising revenue through spends per head and ad revenues.
We value the merged entity at 10 times FY25E enterprise value/Ebitda to arrive at a target price of Rs 1,495. Maintain 'Neutral'.
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This report is authored by an external party. BQ Prime does not vouch for the accuracy of its contents nor is responsible for them in any way. The contents of this section do not constitute investment advice. For that you must always consult an expert based on your individual needs. The views expressed in the report are that of the author entity and do not represent the views of BQ Prime.
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The unpleasant realities behind the self-praise at the NATO summit
Despite the flood of positive and negative commentary on NATO’s recent Vilnius summit, a careful perusal of what actually happened there cannot but raise concern.
On the positive side, the obstacles to Swedish membership fell away and virtually everyone reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and pledged material contributions to it and NATO. But on the negative side, NATO conceded it is divided over Ukrainian membership, there is little sign that the alliance, rather than its individual members, will be able to produce or willing to give Ukraine the weapons it needs to win, which it has persistently requested for months.
Moreover, NATO once again attached conditions to Ukrainian membership even though nobody knows or can define what those conditions are. Even though Ukraine is defending not only itself, but also European security, at an immense cost, not only is the door to NATO still closed but nobody knows what the key to unlocking it is, where it is, or if it will fit when found.
Worse yet, NATO revealed here that it has no strategy for ending this war or for what comes after it. This can be gleaned simply by closely examining statements and actions by leading members of the Biden administration.
First, despite months of supposedly close and rigorous interaction with our European allies, Washington apparently failed to take full account of the fact that the majority of our European allies supported a timetable for Ukrainian membership in NATO.
Nevertheless, as any fundraiser knows, pledges are meaningless unless acted upon. And in NATO’s case, and as many other instances in world affairs tell us, actual commitments are generally not forthcoming. Furthermore, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is now expressing confidence that Ukraine will join NATO after the war. If the administration is confident now, why weren’t they before and during the Vilnius summit?
Second, the stated reason for postponing membership is that doing so would place NATO at war with Russia. While this concern to avoid war with Russia is understandable, this contention overlooks the fact that Moscow would be vastly outmatched in a war with NATO and likely wants to avoid one. Therefore, Ukrainian membership would not only negate Moscow’s reason for going to war, but it also constitutes a huge threat to Putin that he can reduce or avoid only by getting out of Ukraine. Beyond that, Ukrainian membership in NATO would also send an electric shock through the already fragmenting high command, government and society.
Finally, membership, in and of itself does not commit the rest of NATO to send troops, something Ukraine has not asked for, even as it upsets all of Russia’s strategy.
The failure of the U.S. and other governments to think these questions through highlights the fact that neither the administration nor NATO has proclaimed any definitive strategy, leading many observers to wonder if there is one. Thus, there is fear that the administration does not want a full Ukrainian victory or a decisive Russian defeat. Possibly, the administration believes it still needs to have a dialogue with Moscow over arms control and that additional support for Kyiv’s victory precludes that option from being realized.
Compounding this absence of a U.S. or NATO strategy is the fact that someone must make the case to the American people as to why it is in our interest to either resist Russia or go to war with it to defend Ukraine if it joins NATO. On the contrary, the president has made the opposite case, stressing that despite a proxy-war-type situation in Ukraine, his core concern is avoiding a direct clash with Russia. Yet, here too, he has publicly contradicted himself in ways that can only add to the concern that the airline pilot has no flight plan.
On the one hand, he has invoked a credible Russian nuclear threat of “armageddon.” Yet now, he says Putin cannot win the war and there’s “no real prospect” of him launching nuclear weapons. If that is the case, then what holds NATO back from granting Ukraine the membership and weapons it knows would help them defeat and deter Russia? Given Secretary Austin’s expressed confidence about membership following the war, what conditions must Kyiv fulfill and what is the NATO or U.S. strategy for this war? The electorate, Congress and our allies, if not Ukraine, have a vital interest in knowing the answer.
The failure to address these questions in Vilinus reveals that the self-satisfaction evinced by NATO during and after the summit is unjustified. The failure to grapple with these issues and offer Ukraine a clear path to NATO or commit to a decisive defeat of Russia will only encourage Putin in his delusions that Russia can somehow prevail and outlast the allied coalition.
It should, thus, be made clear that Ukraine will get the weapons it needs for victory and NATO membership, which alone, will ensure its security. After all, to paraphrase British Adm. Horatio Nelson during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Ukraine is saving itself by her exertions and Europe by her example.
Stephen Blank, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is a former professor of Russian national security studies and national security affairs at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College and a former MacArthur fellow at the U.S. Army War College. Blank is an independent consultant focused on the geopolitics and geostrategy of the former Soviet Union, Russia and Eurasia.
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Rat complaints to New York City’s 311 line are down 20% over the last month and a half, Mayor Adams and his cadre of anti-rat crusaders revealed Tuesday.
The reduction in calls to the helpline is being measured by comparing rat complaints from this May to mid-July with calls within the same timeframe last year.
Adams, Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Citywide Rodent Mitigation Director Kathleen Corradi, who’s also known as the rat czar, also announced Tuesday that calls on rat sightings to 311 from the city’s four so-called rat mitigation zones dipped by more than 45% on average within the same timeframe.
Adams loves to tell reporters — and anyone else within earshot — how much he hates rats. Tuesday was no different.
“It’s still early, but these numbers show what we’re doing is working and that we are moving in the right direction,” the mayor said in a written statement Tuesday. “Every food scrap that we keep out of the trash and every black bag that we keep off the street is a meal that we’re taking out of a hungry rodent’s stomach.”
Inside NYC Politics
Since becoming mayor last year, Adams has unveiled several policies aimed at fighting rats. In October, he and Tisch rolled out a new set of garbage collection rules aimed at curbing the rodent population’s food options. And in May and June, he announced that all food-related establishments and many chain businesses would be required to put their trash in secure containers under new rules.
But Adams has weathered his own personal travails to when it comes to the cheese-eaters. In December, he was ticketed for a rat infestation at his Brooklyn townhouse, and in January, he was slapped with fines again.
Two months later, he paid off a $300 ticket for failing to adequately address the infestation.
But the 20% reduction in complaints citywide appears to indicate a broader victory against his four-legged foes of choice.
Adams and his municipal rat killers also plan to step up their efforts next month.
Currently, there are four rat mitigation zones citywide: on the Bronx’s Grand Concourse, in Harlem, in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick, and in the East Village and Chinatown.
Adams also announced on Tuesday that in August the city will host its “first Anti-Rat Community Day of Action” in the Harlem zone “to share best practices and take action on street tree care.” | Not_Explicit |
Mellman: America’s racial relapse continues from coast to coast
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, pundits and prognosticators seemed certain America was in store for a racial reckoning, that the next wave of civil rights legislation would be passed and that white Americans’ thinking would be transformed.
Of course, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed the then-Democratic-controlled House twice, only to die an ignominious death in the Senate both times.
The bill did not defund the police, though some advocates tainted it with that damaging slogan.
But disparate headlines this weekend, far afield from policing, demonstrate just how short a distance we’ve traveled toward that hoped-for reckoning.
Alabama, whose population is 26 percent Black, appeared twice in the news.
Channeling their former governor, George Wallace, who shouted, “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” and took his oath of office on the very spot where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy, Alabama’s state legislature openly defied a Supreme Court decision requiring them to give more congressional representation to African Americans.
Wallace literally blocked the door when John F. Kennedy’s deputy attorney general came to desegregate the state’s schools, but even Wallace relented in the face of a Supreme Court decision.
Not so for Alabama’s Legislature, which defied the nation’s highest court in a blatant effort to minimize the political representation of Black Alabamians.
The town of Newbern, Ala., also made headlines.
Although 85 percent of its residents are Black, the town elected its first Black mayor in 165 years. In response, some white leaders changed the locks on city hall and hid away basic information, including the town’s finances, effectively preventing the mayor from taking office.
It’s unimaginable that such things happen in America, but whites in Newbern are just echoing the racism they are hearing from the state’s legislature.
Sadly, this-week-in-racism extends far beyond Alabama.
In a story some details of which remain unclear, even to those intimately involved in creating them, the president of Texas A&M, the state’s second largest university, announced her departure over a botched hiring effort.
For our purposes, the key point is that an offer to helm the university’s journalism program, extended to a Black Ph.D. who was an alumna, a professor at the University of Texas and had been an editor at The New York Times, was in effect rescinded because she had written about race and had, well, worked at the New York Times.
By the way, Blacks comprise more than 13 percent of Texas’s population, but less than 3 percent of A&M’s students and faculty.
An original offer of tenure with the position was apparently withdrawn, and an A&M dean explained the change to the prospective hire saying, “You’re a Black woman who was at The New York Times and, to these folks, that’s like working for Pravda.”
Imagine how Texas would react if companies like the New York Times, Disney and Google announced they wouldn’t hire white A&M graduates.
All three of these headlines come from former slave states. Political cultures, even racist ones, die hard.
However, the fourth story in this set comes from where you might least expect it, supposedly progressive media and tech companies.
The Wall Street Journal reported that “companies including Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery have said that high profile diversity, equity and inclusion officers will be leaving their jobs. Thousands of diversity-focused workers have been laid off since last year and some companies are reducing racial-justice commitments.”
In line with this broader pattern, the Journal quoted the leader of an executive search firm who maintained that demand for diversity executives is the lowest he’s seen in 30 years.
I won’t even mention Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s slavery-helped-the-enslaved curriculum.
Instead of benefiting from a racial reckoning, recent news seems to suggest America has suffered a racial relapse.
Things everyone seemed to know should not be said or done are said and done daily. Academia and business have decided to pay less attention to it.
When will the reckoning arrive?
Mellman is president of The Mellman Group and has helped elect 30 U.S. senators, 12 governors and dozens of House members. Mellman served as pollster to Senate Democratic leaders for over 20 years, as president of the American Association of Political Consultants, a member of the Association’s Hall of Fame, and is president of Democratic Majority for Israel.
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GST Of 28% Will Write-Off $2.5 Billion Investment In Online Gaming: Investors To PM
Investors said the GST Council's decision has caused shock and dismay and will substantially and meaningfully erode investor confidence in the backing of this or any other sunrise sector in the Indian tech ecosystem.
The Goods and Services Tax Council's decision to levy a 28% tax on real money online gaming industry will lead to an impairment of $2.5 billion of investment made in the segment, a group of 30 Indian and foreign Investors said in a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a letter dated July 21, leading Investors Including Peak XV Capital, Tiger Global, DST Global, Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited, Alpha Wave Global, Chrys Capital, Lumikai etc have sought the Prime Minister's intervention in the decision of GST Council which is expected to hit prospective investment to the tune of $4 billion in the next 3-4 years.
"The current GST proposal will set up the most onerous tax regime for the gaming sector globally, which will lead to a potential write-off of the $2.5 billion capital invested in this sector," the letter said.
Investors said the GST Council's decision has caused shock and dismay and will substantially and meaningfully erode investor confidence in the backing of this or any other sunrise sector in the Indian tech ecosystem.
"This will also adversely impact prospective investments to the tune of at least $4 billion in the next 3-4 years and hence the growth of the gaming sector in India," the letter said.
Investors said if “full value of bets” is understood in a manner where GST is levied on every contest played every time with fully taxed winnings, the GST burden will increase by 1,100%.
Further, on account of taxation of redeployed player winnings, the same money will get taxed repeatedly resulting in a scenario where over 50-70% of every rupee will go towards GST, thereby making the online real money skill gaming business model unviable the letter said.
Investors said that levying of 28% GST on the Gross Gaming Revenue or Platform fees will lead to a 55% increase in GST quantum which would make it feasible for Indian online gaming operators to survive and be a key contributor to the Indian economy.
"However, in light of the decision by the GST Council, we humbly request your kind and urgent attention to this matter," the letter said. | Not_Explicit |
Jason DeRose/NPR
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Rev. Glen Haworth has been pastor of The Fount Church in Fountain Valley, Calif. for 9 years. His congregation voted unanimously to leave the United Methodist Church, primarily due to LGBTQ issues.
Jason DeRose/NPR
Rev. Glen Haworth has been pastor of The Fount Church in Fountain Valley, Calif. for 9 years. His congregation voted unanimously to leave the United Methodist Church, primarily due to LGBTQ issues.
Jason DeRose/NPR
A blue and white banner hangs behind the altar table at The Fount Church in Fountain Valley, Calif.
"Come thou fount of every blessing," reads Glen Haworth as he gestures toward the front of the sanctuary. "That's where we get our name."
He wants to make clear what the banner means.
"The fount is Jesus of course. Not us," he says. "So when we say we're the church, we're referring to our Lord and not ourselves."
The United Methodist congregation was founded in 1964, during boom times in Southern California.
Haworth, a lifelong United Methodist who's been a pastor his entire professional life, came to The Fount nine years ago. He says that when he arrived, the 50 member congregation was already unhappy with the direction of the denomination.
More recently, the congregation voted unanimously to leave the United Methodist Church because of what Haworth describes as a drift from traditional biblical teachings on morality.
"Most recent and probably most prominent is the differences of opinion we have with regard to homosexuality, marriage in general, the sexual ethic," he says. "And we believe, as do many Christians, that the Bible is very specific in that teaching."
And he believes that teaching is accurately reflected in the United Methodist Church's official rule book, called the Book of Discipline. It states, "Homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching."
The problem, as Haworth sees it, is that church leaders openly defy this official teaching and other rules that flow from it such as bans on ordaining LGBTQ clergy and blessing of same-sex marriages.
Some church leaders defy church rules
In 2019, the United Methodist General Conference voted to uphold those bans. But, a number of bishops and other church leaders – mostly in the U.S. – said that would openly not enforce these policies as a matter of justice for LGBTQ people.
Around the world, there are more than 12 million United Methodists, with about half of them living in the United States. In this country, the larger and often more conservative congregations tend to be in the South and Midwest.
A recent accounting by the United Methodist News Service shows that about 20% of United Methodist congregations – more than 6,000 – have left the denomination in recent years.
But disaffiliating isn't necessarily easy. The denomination allows congregations to leave if they pay two years of church dues plus fund pension obligations. Local geographic regions can also set additional requirements. And that's the rub for The Fount.
The California Pacific Annual Conference, the local division of the United Methodist Church, also requires congregations choosing to leave to pay 50 cents on the dollar to keep their property. The Conference says it needs that money to fund new United Methodist ministries in the area.
Jason DeRose/NPR
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The Fount Church in Fountain Valley, Calif. was founded in 1964, when property values in Orange County were considerably lower than they are today.
Jason DeRose/NPR
The Fount Church in Fountain Valley, Calif. was founded in 1964, when property values in Orange County were considerably lower than they are today.
Jason DeRose/NPR
The Fount's multi-acre campus in Orange County was recently assessed at more than $6 million.
"In 1964, this property didn't cost $6 million," Haworth says, "and to pay $3 million now to the annual conference with 50 members is impossible."
He views the situation as patently unfair, especially since conservatives like himself actually won the vote over LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings back in 2019. Haworth says he'll try to negotiate a lower price. But if that fails, The Fount's only options may be walking away with no building at all or going to civil court to try and keep it.
Big tents are getting smaller for many religious groups
The United Methodist Church has long wanted to hold together both conservative and progressive readings of the Bible and interpretations of Christian doctrine. But the many congregations disaffiliating reveal the limits of that desire.
"The sorrow for me is that at the root of Methodism has always been this concept of the big tent," says Sandra Olewine, a Methodist minister and the local superintendent who oversees the geographic area in which The Fount is located.
She says that capacious tent has been a stabilizing factor for the church and serves as a witness to the larger society, polarized over so many issues. "There has always been a sense of grace about differences in our theological perspectives," she says, "with commitment to trying to continue to love our neighbors."
That love-beyond-difference, Olewine says, bears fruit in the way very different congregations find common ground, do ministry together and serve their communities.
But LGBTQ issues have become a shibboleth in the United Methodist Church, as they have been for many other mainline Protestant denominations in recent decades. Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches have all taken a decidedly more progressive stands on human sexuality. And each of those denominations has lost membership.
Yet these divisions aren't new and aren't exclusively related to the LGBTQ issues, says Grant Hagiya, president of Claremont School of Theology, the Methodist seminary based in Southern California.
"It hasn't been healthy for the denomination to be at odds with each other over this issue," he says.
The retired bishop says he understands The Fount's dissatisfaction, as well as that of the other congregations wanting to leave. But Hagiya says what's really at stake here is justice for LGBTQ people.
And he believes thinking about the church's rules in that context is something even a medieval theologian could support.
"Aquinas would say that if a law is unjust, it's not a law. Our laws are human made and they can be wrong, immoral," Hagiya says.
While Thomas Aquinas certainly wasn't referring specifically to bans on LGBTQ clergy or same-sex marriage, Hagiya says the idea of the just versus the unjust law is applicable here. That's why he and others believe it's theologically acceptable to not enforce the rules in the Book of Discipline.
Some choose to stay, hoping for broader change
Given that traditionalists won the vote in 2019, one might expect those departing the denomination to be people such as Kimberly Scott, a queer Black woman and lifelong United Methodist. But rather, she was recently installed as pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in South Los Angeles.
"Where people see schism happening in the Methodist church," Scott says, "I see walls tumbling down – walls of oppression, walls of hatred, walls of intolerance tumbling down."
She's a second-career minister, who left her longtime job as a school guidance counselor and P.E. teacher to follow her call to the pulpit a decade ago.
Jason DeRose/NPR
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Rev. Kimberly Scott is the newly-installed pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in South Los Angeles. She decided to stay in the church, believing a change for greater LGBTQ acceptance is coming.
Jason DeRose/NPR
Rev. Kimberly Scott is the newly-installed pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in South Los Angeles. She decided to stay in the church, believing a change for greater LGBTQ acceptance is coming.
Jason DeRose/NPR
Scott says she has seen enormous change in her lifetime. In fact, she's not the first LGBTQ person to be the pastor of this 250-member, predominantly Black congregation. A gay male predecessor of hers now serves as a bishop in the United Methodist Church.
Scott is grateful for the bishops and other church leaders who are willing to break the rules so she can live out her vocation. She says that those rules continue to exist at all is heartbreaking. Yet, she's decided to stay in the church and be a living protest against injustice.
"My family came from Methodists in the South," she says. "So we were Methodist when members were OK with slavery. Right? And my family never left. And so I was like, I can't leave over this. If my grandparents stayed, then I can stay to see this to the end."
That end, Scott believes, will eventually be an official change to the rules against LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings when representatives from around the world gather for the United Methodist Church's General Conference next year.
She says a smaller church not divided by issues of sexuality could use its energy fighting the sins of misogyny and systemic racism. The goal, she says, it to make disciples for Christ.
While Scott is disappointed that her denomination isn't able to remain quite as big a tent as it once was, she's hopeful that something new is happening in the church, given the departures of those who are more conservative on LGBTQ issues. And she says she holds no ill-will toward those who want to leave.
"Their faith is their faith. The only thing I say to them is this: Please don't destroy the church as you're going," Scott says. "Go in peace." | Not_Explicit |
A third Democratic candidate has entered the race for Delaware’s sole House seat, setting the stage for what is likely to be a competitive primary election to replace Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
Eugene Young, widely viewed as a rising star in Delaware politics, launched his House bid on Monday after months of hinting at a congressional run. He joins two other candidates who have already announced their campaigns, including state Sen. Sarah McBride and state Treasurer Colleen Davis.
“We need to build a bridge to bring people and resources together. Neighbors who aren't afraid to stand up and fight for each other,” Young wrote in a statement. “And that’s why I’m running.”
Rochester announced in late June she would not seek reelection in the House, instead vying to replace Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), who is retiring from the seat he’s held since 2001. Rochester’s absence opens the state’s at-large House seat for the first time since she was elected in 2016, becoming the first woman and first black House member to represent Delaware.
Young first hinted earlier this summer that he would be interested in running for Congress. If elected, he would become the first black man to represent Delaware in Congress.
Young has been viewed as a rising star in the Diamond State, particularly after being nominated to Gov. John Carney’s Cabinet as the director of the state Housing Authority earlier this year. In that position, Young says he’s been able to increase the state’s investment in affordable housing from $10 million to $122 million.
“I am making good on my promise to keep fighting for us,” he said. “Our fight starts here with each and every one of you.” | Not_Explicit |
Frustrated lawmakers demand answers on UFOs
Senior lawmakers are increasingly demanding that military and other government officials provide them with information about intelligence on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs).
The demands reflect frustrations on the part of some lawmakers that they are being kept in the dark about what’s known about UFOs and UAPs.
The lawmakers do not necessarily believe the government is hiding signs of extraterrestrial life from the public and congressional oversight. But they are frustrated they are not learning more about unknown objects flying in restricted U.S. air space.
“My primary interest in this topic is if there are … object[s] operating over restricted air space, it’s not ours and we don’t know whose it is, that’s a problem that we need to get to the bottom of,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“If there’s an explanation for it that’s being kept from Congress, then we need to force the issue. We’re not getting answers,” Rubio told The Hill.
The Senate has adopted an amendment to an annual defense bill that would require the federal government to collect and disclose all records related to UFOs and UAPs unless a special review board determines they must be kept classified.
The amendment was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, and is backed by Rubio and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the Armed Services subcommittee on emerging threats, as well as Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), a former Marine intelligence officer, and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
Rubio, the top-ranking Republican on the intelligence committee, has more access to classified information than the vast majority of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He said he suspects there are records related to unidentified aerial phenomena that are being kept secret from congressional oversight.
“Right now, what I know is reliable people tell us that and we’ve seen objects operating over restricted military and national security airspace. They claim it’s not ours. They claim they don’t know whose it is. That’s like the definition of a national security threat,” he said.
“Either there’s an answer that exists and is not being provided, or there is no answer. Beyond that, I don’t want to speculate anything,” he added.
Rubio said he was familiar with the claims of David Grusch, a career intelligence officer who worked for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He claims the federal government has retrieved “non-human origin technical vehicles” that have landed or crashed on Earth.
“We have a number of people including that gentleman who have come forward both publicly and privately to make claims,” Rubio said.
“One of two things are true. Either A, they’re telling the truth or some version of the truth or B, we have a bunch of people with high clearances and really important jobs in our government are nuts. Both are a problem. And I’m not accusing these people of being nuts. That said, that’s something we’ll look at and continue to look at seriously,” he said.
Interest in the subject is also reflected by this week’s House Oversight Committee hearing Thursday on UAPs and UFOs.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who is chairing the hearing, says lawmakers will hear testimony from Grusch, as well as former Navy Cmdr. David Fravor and former Navy pilot Ryan Graves.
Burchett claimed on a podcast this month that the federal government has known about UFOs for decades and “they can fly underwater and don’t show a heat trail,” appearing to defy the laws of physics.
Congressional sources familiar with efforts to gain more information from the Defense Department and intelligence agencies say UAPs and UFOs are being detected more frequently because of improvements in military sensor technology.
The Department of Defense released three Navy videos in 2020 that show objects flying in extraordinary ways and capturing confused and awe-struck comments of Naval aviators who witnessed the phenomena.
Grusch, who describes himself as a whistleblower, says senior intelligence officers have told him they participated in a secret UAP task force, though he says he has not personally witnessed nonhuman intelligence. He says he was retaliated against when he tried to gain more information about the program.
Rubio said “we don’t know” if such a program exists and what evidence it might have collected.
“Without speculating or adding to intrigue about this whole topic, there’s no doubt that in this field, generally, there’s more than what we know,” he said. “We’re trying to get to a process where at least some people in Congress do know.”
Asked why he suspects there’s more for Congress to know about UAPs, Rubio said “there’s pieces of puzzles that don’t fit.”
“Most certainly there are elements of things, whether historic or current, that potentially Congress has not been kept fully informed of — and that would be a problem,” he said. “There’s really no function of the executive that shouldn’t require congressional oversight at some level.”
The language in the Senate defense bill would require the National Archives and Records Administration to create a collection of records related to UAPs across government agencies that would be declassified for public use.
“UAPs generate a lot of curiosity for many Americans, and with that curiosity sometimes comes misinformation,” Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
Most lawmakers are extremely reluctant to say they suspect aliens from other solar systems are visiting Earth because there isn’t any undisputable evidence of such visits in the public domain.
Also, the nearest star to planet Earth is 40,000 billion kilometers away, making it seem impossible that any alien craft could travel the distance necessary to span solar systems. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is so far away that it would take the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which travels at 17.3 km per second, 73,000 years to reach it, according to NASA.
It’s also hard to fathom that a foreign adversary such as China possesses such advanced technology that it can fly aerial vehicles in ways that appear to defy the laws of physics, as U.S. military personnel have observed of UFOs or UAPs.
Rounds said he has seen “no evidence personally” that extraterrestrial craft are visiting the planet but said, “I know that there’s a lot of people that have questions about it.”
“It’s just like with JFK and the [1963] assassination. We set up separate archive for that or central collection place for all that data, which I think gave the American people a sense of security that there was a location where it was being held. This is following that same approach,” he said.
The White House announced late last month that the National Archives had concluded its review of documents related to the assassination of former President Kennedy and that 99 percent of the relevant records had been made publicly available.
Asked about whether he personally believes military personnel and sensors are encountering extraterrestrial visitors, Rounds said: “I don’t think you can discount the possibility just simply because of the size of the universe.”
“I don’t think anybody should say that they know for certain either way,” he said. “If we simply refuse to acknowledge there’s even a remote possibility, then we’re probably not being honest.”
“Some of the items we simply can’t explain,” he said of the Naval videos of UAPs.
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A yellow rain warning has been issued for Sunday across most of northern England and Wales, with travel disruption possible and major outdoor events affected.
The Met Office said the region would widely see 20-30mm of rain, while places over higher ground could see up to 50-70mm as wet weather persists across the entire weekend.
It follows heavy and persistent rainfall on Saturday throughout the country, with Wales, south-west and north-west England all seeing substantial downpours.
Both The Open Championship and The Ashes, taking place in Merseyside and Manchester respectively, were plagued by showers throughout the day that affected play.
Here is your Sunday morning forecast 👇
Sunny spells and showers for some 🌦️Rain, heavy at times across northern England and Wales 🌧️ pic.twitter.com/rrU31Xoky5
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 22, 2023
The UK’s poor weather is due to the position of the jet stream, which is also pushing high pressure to the south where parts of Europe have a heatwave.
Jonathan Vautrey, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “The band of rain that we’ve currently got from Northern Ireland down to Wales and parts of central and southern England, such as Oxfordshire and Hampshire, will continue to push its way northwards overnight.
“By tomorrow morning, it’s going to stall across the central swathe of the UK in Northern Ireland, northern England and parts of north Wales.
“It primarily sits there for a fair amount of Sunday, particularly in England and Wales, which is why the Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning for that area.
“We have had a relatively wet Saturday, so topping up with the rainfall expected quite persistently throughout Sunday does have the potential to cause some travel disruption and issues with any outdoor events taking place through there.”
Elsewhere, parts of south-west, central and south-eastern England will see a slightly better day with a few brighter spells trying to emerge but still a scattering of showers around, with one or two possibly on the heavier side.
The best of the sunny spells will continue to be across Scotland, with temperatures rising above 22C on Saturday, the forecaster added.
Temperatures in southern England will be about average for the time of year, but northern England will be feeling “particularly cool” with the rain and cloud meaning it will be “three degrees or so below the average”. | Not_Explicit |
Michael Gove has warned against "treating the cause of the environment as a religious crusade" and called for a relaxation of some net zero measures.
The housing secretary told The Sunday Telegraph he wants to "relax" the deadline for landlords in the private rented sector to make energy improvements to their properties.
He said the proposal to ban landlords from renting out their homes unless they pay to increase the energy performance certificate rating of their properties should be pushed back past 2028.
The upgrade required to increase a property's energy performance could include fitting a heat pump, providing insulation or installing solar panels, which the newspaper suggested could cost thousands of pounds.
Mr Gove said: "My own strong view is that we're asking too much too quickly... I think we should relax the pace."
Mr Gove, who was environment secretary when the 2050 net zero pledge was made under Theresa May's premiership, warned about "treating the cause of the environment as a religious crusade" as he called for "thoughtful environmentalism".
He also said he did not know whether the car-ban deadline was "perfectly calibrated" but said it was "achievable".
It comes as both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have been urged not to drop their parties' green policies after London mayor Sadiq Khan's expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has been blamed for Labour failing to take Boris Johnson's old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
After Uxbridge became the Tories' sole victory in a set of three by-elections on Thursday the prime minister has come under renewed pressure to dilute pledges designed to help the UK meet its pledge of having a net zero carbon economy by 2050.
Meanwhile Labour leader Sir Keir has vowed to stick with his green pledges, but said his party would need to reflect and "learn the lesson" over how they are implemented.
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Mr Khan's team have defended his ULEZ plan, saying only one out of 10 cars driving in outer London would face the charge, with a £110m scrappage scheme available to help lower earners upgrade their vehicles. | Not_Explicit |
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tightened restrictions on firearms access by decree Friday.
Lula's decree reduces the number of guns civilians can possess for personal safety from four to two, and reduces the allowed ammunition for each gun from 200 rounds to 50.
It asks civilians for documentation to prove their need for guns and bars them from owning 9 mm pistols, restricting them to members of the police and military.
'We will continue to fight for fewer weapons,' says Lula
"It's one thing for the regular citizen to have a gun at home for his protection, as a guarantee, because some people think this is safety. Let them have it," Lula said Friday.
"But we cannot allow gun arsenals to be in people's hands," Lula said. "We will continue to fight for fewer weapons in our country. Only the police and the army must be well-armed," he added.
The right to bear arms is not a constitutional guarantee in Brazil as it is in the United States, though Bolsonaro, a far right politician, greatly loosed restrictions during his time in office between 2019 and 2022.
Tens of thousands applied for gun permits during Bolsonaro years
The number of gun permits issued during Bolsonaro's presidency sharply increased to 2.9 million in a country of 214 million, according to Instituto Sou da Paz, a non-profit that monitors public security.
The high numbers of new guns did not lead to a feared rise in violent crime, as the country has one of the world's highest homicide rates.
The number of homicides during Bolsonaro's last year in office, in 2022, was at about 47,500 and roughly even with the 2019 rate, a report released by the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP) on Thursday said.
Lula's government is encouraging citizens to sell firearms not allowed under new rules before the end of the year. If people don't, their guns will be confiscated by police.
rm/wd (AP, AFP) | Not_Explicit |
Football Australia announced Kerr's injury moments after submitting their official teamsheet for the opening game of their tournament against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday, saying Kerr suffered a calf injury during the team's final training session. She will be unavailable for the Ireland clash, as well as their second Group B match against Nigeria on July 27.
"Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training," Kerr wrote on Instagram before the Ireland match.
"I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from us doing what we came here to achieve.
"Of course, I would have loved to have been out there tonight but I can't wait to be a part of this amazing journey which starts now." | Not_Explicit |
The police investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP has expanded to look at “potential embezzlement”, the Chief Constable of Police Scotland has suggested.
All three have been questioned by officers investigating the party’s funding and finances, before being released without charge pending further inquiries.
Ms Sturgeon has insisted she is “innocent of any wrongdoing” and has “committed no offence”, describing her arrest as “both a shock and deeply distressing”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Today programme on Wednesday, Sir Iain was asked why the investigation – which was formally launched two years ago – was taking so long.
In his reply, he suggested that it had become increasingly complex as officers examined not just the SNP’s finances but other connected matters.
“Investigations into the finances of an organisation, the finances of an individual, are often complex,” he said.
“Investigations around fraud or investigations around potential embezzlement or investigations around the misuse of funds take time.
“You need to go and obtain information from banks and other financial institutions. We can’t just do that automatically.
“We need to go and seek judicial warrants for that. There needs to be a process around that.
“So the time that’s been taken, in my judgement, is absolutely necessary.
“There’s been a prudent, thorough and proportionate investigation carried out. I have been aware of this investigation since the outset.
“It has got a dedicated team of specialists who are involved in it and they are working very closely with our prosecutors, the Crown Office in Scotland, in terms of the steps that are taken.
“What I would say is that had we not carried out this investigation in the manner we have, I would rightly have been accused of a significant dereliction and neglect of duty.
“That’s not the case. We’ve done the right thing. The rule of law and the interests of justice must prevail.”
Asked whether the investigation had expanded from the original allegation – that funds raised to support efforts to secure a second independence referendum had been spent on other things instead – Sir Iain confirmed that this was the case.
“It’s moved beyond what some of the initial reports were, and that’s not uncommon in investigations such as this,” he said.
The Chief Constable also defended the police’s controversial decision to erect a forensic tent in front of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell’s house in Glasgow.
“It absolutely was [proportionate] given the circumstances of that search,” he said. “The tent was there, as were all the other measures, to protect the interests of justice and to protect the individuals involved. So it was a proportionate and necessary step.”
Asked when the investigation was expected to conclude, he said: “I can’t put any absolute timeframe on it, but matters will progress in a proportionate and timeous manner.”
The SNP was approached for comment. | Not_Explicit |
Welsh independence poll boost with surge amongst young people
The latest polling figures for Welsh independence has shown a majority of young people in favour of leaving the Union.
The poll by Redfield and Wilton Strategies revealed that the majority of 18 to 24-year-olds (53%) said they would vote for independence. With don’t knows removed, this stands at 55%.
The majority of 25 to 34-year-olds (52%) also said they would vote ‘yes’ to self-determination.
🚨BREAKING 🚨
55% of 18-24yr olds would vote ‘Yes’ to a Welsh independence referendum tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/lYEpOP6F6l
— YesCymru 🏴 (@YesCymru) July 19, 2023
In an overall vote the results were 58% for No, 32% for Yes – up to two percentage points from last month – with 10% saying Don’t Know.
However, with Don’t Knows removed, 36% of people would vote Yes if there were to be a referendum tomorrow on the question “Should Wales be an independent country?”.
The majorities of those aged 35 to 44 (55%), 45 to 54 (66%), 55 to 64 (55%), and 65+ (70%) would vote No in a referendum.
🚨BREAKING🚨 pic.twitter.com/6K1De3KAq6
— YesCymru 🏴 (@YesCymru) July 19, 2023
On the question of whether an independence referendum should take place—and if so, when – 39% would oppose a referendum on Welsh independence being held in the next year, while 33% – up three percentage points – would support one being held in this timeframe.
There was a split on whether a referendum should be held if the UK Government does not agree to it. A total of 35% said a poll should only be held if Westminster gives the green light, but 34% disagreed with this condition.
🚨BREAKING 🚨
52% of 25-34yr olds would vote ‘Yes’ to a Welsh independence referendum tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/ouuykN3WPd
— YesCymru 🏴 (@YesCymru) July 19, 2023
YesCymru has said support for independence is now consistently at 1 in 3, without “a proper national conversation having occurred”.
CEO Gwern Gwynfil said: “Recent polls show a consistent and deepening move towards independence for Wales.
“In June and July we’ve seen a majority of 18-34 year olds in favour of independence. They are the future. Time for the older generation to also be ambitious, brave and confident. Time to look to a brighter, better, bolder future as an independent nation.”
Meanwhile, approval ratings in Wales for both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer were down.
The Prime Minister has an approval rating of -26% (down 9%) while the Labour leader has fallen into minus figures, with his rating now at -5% (down 4%).
The poll was conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies between July 14 and 18.
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The Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state’s public schools, sparking criticism from education and civil rights advocates who said students should be allowed to learn the “full truth” of American history.
The curriculum was approved at the board’s meeting Wednesday in Orlando.
It is the latest development in the state’s ongoing debate over African American history, including the education department’s rejection of a preliminary pilot version of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course for high school students, which it claimed lacked educational value.
The new standards come after the state passed new legislation under Gov. Ron DeSantis that bars instruction in schools that suggests anyone is privileged or oppressed based on their race or skin color. DeSantis has used his fight against “wokeness” to boost his national profile amid a national discussion of how racism and history should be taught in schools.
The new standards require instruction for middle school students to include “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” a document listing the standards and posted in the Florida Department of Education website said.
When high school students learn about events such as the 1920 Ocoee massacre, the new rules require that instruction include “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” The massacre is considered the deadliest Election Day violence in US history and, according to several histories of the incident, it started when Moses Norman, a prominent Black landowner in the Ocoee, Florida, community, attempted to cast his ballot and was turned away by White poll workers.
“Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement condemning the new standards. “It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history.”
“We are proud of the rigorous process that the Department took to develop these standards,” Alex Lanfranconi, director of communications for the Florida Department of Education, said in a statement, noting the standards were created by a group of 13 educators and academics.
“It’s sad to see critics attempt to discredit what any unbiased observer would conclude to be in-depth and comprehensive African American History standards. They incorporate all components of African American History: the good, the bad and the ugly. These standards will further cement Florida as a national leader in education, as we continue to provide true and accurate instruction in African American History,” Lanfranconi said.
The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, called the new standards a disservice to students and “a big step backward for a state that has required teaching African American history since 1994.”
“How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don’t have a full, honest picture of where we’ve come from? Florida’s students deserve a world-class education that equips them to be successful adults who can help heal our nation’s divisions rather than deepen them,” Andrew Spar, the association’s president, said in a statement. “Gov. DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another, and in the process he’s cheating our kids. They deserve the full truth of American history, the good and the bad,” Spar added. | Not_Explicit |
Democratic memo takes aim at GOP-released FBI form with Biden-Burisma allegations
Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are poking holes in GOP arguments that President Biden is corrupt, claims that are founded on unverified allegations from an FBI form released in controversial fashion last week.
The uncorroborated allegations of Biden corruption and bribery are related to his son Hunter’s business relationship with Ukrainian energy company Burisma and were part of an FBI form released by by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) last week.
The form documents information that a confidential human source relayed to an FBI agent, but does not assess that information.
While the GOP sees the document as key to its investigation of the Biden family’s business dealings, Democrats view the release as a stunning move that jeopardizes the FBI’s ability to work with confidential sources while offering no proof of any wrongdoing.
The FBI last week admonished Comer and Grassley for releasing the form.
“Chairman Comer’s and Senator Grassley’s decision to publicly release the form is in brazen disregard of the safety of FBI human sources and the integrity of its investigations,” House Oversight Committee Democratic staff wrote to Democratic lawmakers in a memo obtained by The Hill.
“Contrary to Republican messaging, the form provides no new or additional support for their corruption allegations against the President or Hunter Biden. Instead, its release merely seeks to breathe new life into years-old conspiracy theories, initially peddled by Rudy Giuliani, that have been thoroughly debunked.”
The tipster, dubbed CHS as short for confidential human source, relayed conversations he had with Mykola Zlochevsky, the CEO of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Zlochevsky thought that having Hunter Biden on the board could help insulate the company from its problems with being investigated by Ukrainian authorities.
The crux of the unproven bribery allegation has been pushed by allies of former President Trump for years: that then-Vice President Biden threatened to withhold funding to Ukraine unless Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin was removed in order to help Burisma, which was paying his son.
But Democrats point to numerous facts and comments — including from the FBI source, from congressional Republicans and from a man who was involved in pushing these theories — that severely undercut that theory.
Some reports say that the investigation into Burisma was, in fact, dormant by the time Biden called for Shokin’s ouster. Shokin was also criticized for failure to prosecute corruption, and his ouster was supported by numerous U.S. officials as well as other European allies far beyond Biden.
The Democratic memo also quoted numerous Republicans — including Grassley — casting doubt on the veracity of the claims in the memo.
“Last month, Senator Johnson, who led Senate Republicans’ 2020 investigation into the allegations involving Burisma, conceded the issues with the Form FD-1023: ‘That’s what this person says, but again, take that with a grain of salt. This could be coming from a very corrupt oligarch who could be making this stuff up,’” the Democratic memo said, citing a June podcast.
“Senator Grassley also tacitly questioned the truthfulness of the allegations in the Form FD-1023 when he admitted he was ‘not interested’ in whether the accusations in the form ‘are accurate or not,’” the memo continued, pointing to a Fox News interview in June.
Grassley has argued that his interest in the FBI form rests more with whether the FBI and Department of Justice adequately investigated the tip rather than in the bribery allegations themselves.
“What did the Justice Department and FBI do with the detailed information in the document? And why have they tried to conceal it from Congress and the American people for so long?” Grassley said in a statement alongside the memo’s release last week.
But Democrats push back on that reasoning.
“Under U.S. Attorney Brady, the DOJ and FBI thoroughly investigated the allegations as part of an eight-month formal assessment, which included interviewing Mr. Giuliani and the CHS, and reviewing suspicious activity reports (SARs) from banks,” the memo said. “The FBI also confirmed to Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Raskin during the June 5, 2023, briefing that Mr. Brady’s assessment was closed in August 2020 because his team found insufficient evidence to warrant escalating the probe from an assessment to a preliminary or full investigation.”
The memo also notes that the FBI source could verify the veracity of Zlochevsky’s claims, explaining that “it is extremely common for businessmen in post-Soviet countries to brag or show off” and to make “bribe” payments to government officials.
Democrats focus heavily on a recent letter to Comer from Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian who was later convicted of making illegal campaign contributions to Trump, and whom Guiliani relied on to dig up dirt about the Bidens in Ukraine ahead of the 2020 election. Parnas urged Comer to abandon efforts to uncover wrongdoing by the Biden family in Ukraine.
“Never, during any of my communications with Ukrainian officials or connections to Burisma, did any of them confirm or provide concrete facts linking the Bidens to illegal activities. In fact, they asked me multiple times why our team was so concerned with this idea,” Parnas wrote in the letter to Comer last week. “The truth is that everyone [involved in this effort to discredit the Bidens] knew that these allegations against the Bidens were false. There has never been any actual evidence, only conspiracy theories spread by people who knew exactly what they were doing.”
The memo also points to information collected during the first impeachment effort, including a conversation purported to be with Zlochevsky that contradicts the FD-1023 claims of communications with President Biden.
“No one from Burisma ever had any contacts with VP Biden or people working for him during Hunter Biden’s engagement,” Zlochevsky says in the exchange, which appears to be with Vitaly Pruss, whom the letter describes as “another long-time associate of Mr. [Rudy] Giuliani, who was a close friend of Mr. Zlochevsky.”
Democrats also take the Republicans to task for sharing information the FBI expressly asked them not to release publicly.
Raskin (D-Md.) says the publicly released form does not include all the same redactions as the version first shared with lawmakers, disclosing names of individuals in Ukraine as well as some specific locations referenced during the conversation.
“Chairman Comer and Senator Grassley chose to expose those additional details despite repeated cautioning from the FBI about the critical need to protect the safety of its human sources and its ability to conduct investigations effectively,” Raskin wrote.
Indeed, a June 9 letter obtained by The Hill shows the FBI warned Comer about GOP members’ handling of the record just the day after offering a briefing to the full committee.
“The Committee and its Members were specifically told that ‘wider distribution could pose a risk of physical harm to FBI sources or others.’ The full text of this admonishment is included below for your reference. We are concerned that Members disregarded the Committee’s agreement that information from the document should not be further disclosed. Several Committee Members publicized specific details regarding their recollection of confidential source reporting purportedly referenced in the document,” the bureau wrote in the letter.
Despite the Democratic pushback, Republicans signal that the FBI form will fuel its investigations; Comer said in a statement last week that the form backs up his committee’s investigation of the Biden family’s business dealings.
“That sounds an awful lot like how the Bidens conduct business: using multiple bank accounts to hide the source and total amount of the money,” Comer said.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
The millions of dollars President Biden's State Department has put toward "pet project" is coming under a microscope as delays plague areas of the department.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday demanding answers regarding large amounts of money the department has dropped into the likes of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and environmental funding abroad as his constituents face "unprecedented delays" in passport processing times.
"Ridiculous expenditures by the Biden State Department on pet projects of little or no value to the American taxpayer underscores how misplaced Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, and this entire Administration's priorities are," Schmitt said in a statement.
"I intend to get to the bottom of this irresponsible spending, and stop this administration from wasting American's time, money, and degrading trust in our government institutions," Schmitt added.
Within the letter, Schmitt noted that instead of hiring additional employees to help with backlogged passport applications, the department chose to "spend tens of millions of dollars on useless pet projects with little to no benefit to American citizens."
Schmitt, in particular, listed a handful of department expenditures that includes $120,000 for "Gastrodiplomacy." $1,565,000 for foreign sports or Esports-Adjacent Projects, $400,000 on Chinese efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and $30,699,850 for DEI or environmental funding abroad.
"Due to the Department of State's commitment to these pet projects rather than improving the processing times for Americans' passport applications, my Office has received an abundance of requests for help with processing their applications," Schmitt wrote.
"Since I took office in January, my team has received over 500 requests regarding delays with receiving their passports. That is unconscionable, and the State Department should be doing everything in its power to speed up processing times in order for American citizens to get the service they deserve," he added.
Schmitt concluded by asking a series of questions, including what efforts the State Department is taking to hire for passport processing, if there is currently a shortage of individuals to process passport applications and what specific initiatives receive appropriation from the $30 million toward DEI initiatives and international environmental funding.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady contributed to this report. | Not_Explicit |
Un nuevo paro de subtes está programado para el próximo miércoles 26 de julio. La medida, que afectará el servicio de este transporte público y del Premetro durante tres horas, fue anunciada el sábado pasado por la Asociación Gremial de Trabajadores del Subte y Premetro (AGTSyP). Desde el gremio reclaman un día más de franco en la semana para reducir, de ese modo, la exposición al asbesto presente en distintas formaciones.
Según el cronograma informado, la medida de fuera comenzará con la apertura de molinetes en determinadas estaciones de las diferentes líneas del subte y continuará con la interrupción total del servicio por tres horas.
Cómo se desarrollará el paro de subtes del miércoles 26 de julio
Según se informó en un comunicado, las medidas de protesta consistirán en aperturas de molinete de 12 a 13 horas en las siguientes estaciones cabeceras:
San Pedrito, de la línea A
Rosas, de la línea B
Constitución, de la línea C
Congreso de Tucumán, de la línea D
Facultad de Derecho, de la línea H
Virreyes, de la línea E
Luego, de 13 a 16 horas, se llevará a cabo la interrupción total de todas las líneas de Subte y Premetro, por lo que en esa franja horaria no circulará ninguna formación en todo el territorio de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.
Cuál es el principal reclamo que impulsa el paro de subtes
Además, los trabajadores agregaron que “en el transcurso de los últimos cinco años” hicieron “todo lo humanamente posible” para que el gobierno de la Ciudad y la empresa Emova solucionaran la “crisis sanitaria provocada por la presencia del asbesto”. El comunicado lleva la firma del secretario general de la asociación, Roberto Pianelli y del secretario adjunto Néstor Segovia.
”Hemos hecho todo lo humanamente posible para que solucionaran la crisis sanitaria provocada por la presencia de asbesto cancerígeno y para que dejen de poner en riesgo la vida de millones de usuarios y trabajadores del subte, sin obtener aún respuesta, al contrario, han cerrado todos los canales de diálogo”, afirmaron desde la agrupación.
Por esto, desde AGTSyP indicaron que se ven “obligados” a realizar medidas que afectan al servicio y alertaron que, de no tener avances en relación a las exigencias de desasbestización y la reducción de la jornada laboral, “profundizarán las medidas en los próximos días”.
El reclamo apunta a la empresa concesionaria del servicio (Emova) y al Gobierno de la Ciudad. “Denunciamos que siguen negándose a dar respuestas a la crisis sanitaria provocada por este mineral dañino, prohibido desde 2003 y que, sin embargo, no han retirado del ámbito del subterráneo de Buenos Aires”, manifestaron. Desde la organización llamaron al público a “exigir junto a los trabajadores una solución inmediata” a “un verdadero ataque a la salud pública”.
Cuándo es el paro de subtes
La medida de fuerza será entre las 13 y las 16 de este miércoles 26 de julio.
A qué líneas afecta el paro de subtes
El paro de subtes de este miércoles 26 de julio afecta todas las líneas de subte y el Premetro. | Not_Explicit |
GOP seeks to step in to Hunter Biden’s court case ahead of plea hearing
A House committee chair and a conservative think tank attempted to get involved in Hunter Biden’s federal criminal case just ahead of his plea hearing on Wednesday, raising concerns that the prosecution showed preferential treatment to President Biden’s son.
Hunter Biden will make his first court appearance in Wilmington, Del., at 10 a.m. ET in front of U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee who is poised to decide whether to accept the plea agreement reached with the Justice Department.
The president’s son has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay taxes and avoid prosecution for possessing a gun while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
Republicans have levied accusations that it was a “sweetheart deal.” Adding to the pushback, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and the Heritage Foundation in unusual moves on Tuesday filed separate motions to submit amicus briefs in the Justice Department’s case.
Smith’s brief cites recent testimony from two IRS whistleblowers — IRS special agent Joseph Ziegler and his supervisor, Gary Shapley — who testified before Congress privately and publicly alleging that prosecutors slow-walked the case and showed preferential treatment to Hunter Biden.
“Given the abruptness of the announcement of the Plea Agreement shortly after Whistleblowers’ testimony before Congress, and in light of the seriousness of the Whistleblower’ allegations, it is critical that the Court consider the Whistleblower Materials before determining whether to accept the Plea Agreement,” Smith wrote in the brief.
The brief led to a bizarre series of events.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys accused Smith of including in the document confidential tax information and other details that should not have been posted on the public court docket, including his social security number. In response, an employee at Latham & Watkins — a law firm representing the president’s son, apparently called the court’s clerk office to have the personal information redacted, court documents indicate.
But in an order issued later in the day, Noreika said the Latham employee had only gotten it removed after misrepresenting herself to be associated with the law firm representing the Republican committee chair.
“It appears that the caller misrepresented her identity and who she worked for in an attempt to improperly convince the Clerk’s Office to remove the amicus materials from the docket,” Noreika wrote, ordering Biden’s attorneys to submit in writing why they shouldn’t be sanctioned.
In court filings on Tuesday night, Biden’s attorneys called the debacle an “unintentional miscommunication.” They said the call was placed by an experienced administrative staff member at the firm, who is not a practicing attorney, and that they introduced themselves when making the call.
“We have no idea how the misunderstanding occurred, but our understanding is there was no misrepresentation,” wrote Matthew Salerno, an attorney part of Biden’s legal team.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie ripped Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday over his defense of his state adapting a curriculum that teaches students that slaves developed skills that could be used for their "personal benefit."
DeSantis, who is also running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, is facing criticism over the Florida Department of Education's (DOE) new standards for the upcoming school year regarding the instruction of African American history in public schools. The new standards state that middle schoolers will be instructed about "how slaves developed skills which, in some infsistances, could be applied for their personal benefit," according to a document from the DOE's website. The state board of education approved the new standards on Wednesday.
Debate over the new standards in Florida schools comes amid a broader debate about how students should learn about identities such as race, sexual orientation and gender identity. DeSantis, an opponent of "woke education," has signed into law requirements about how race can be taught in schools. Proponents of this sort of legislation say educators should be obligated to present all sides of historical and political debates when teaching these sorts of topics. Critics, however, have accused conservatives' efforts to restrict discussion of racism as an attempt to whitewash the history of slavery and racial discrimination in the United States.
The Florida governor defended the standards during a press conference last week, saying, "I didn't do it, and I wasn't involved in it."
"I think what they're doing, is I think that they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith, into doing things later in life," DeSantis added. "But the reality is all of that is rooted in whatever is factual."
Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey who has been increasingly critical of the GOP's direction, criticized DeSantis's defense of the curriculum during an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday morning.
"First of all, 'I didn't do it' and 'I'm not involved in it' are not the words of leadership," he said. "Governor DeSantis started this fire, with the bill that he signed. And now he doesn't want to take responsibility for whatever is done in the aftermath of it. And from listening and watching his comments, he's also uncomfortable."
Newsweek reached out to the DeSantis campaign for comment via email.
Meanwhile, others have also criticized DeSantis over the curriculum, including another Republican presidential candidate. Former Representative Will Hurd, a moderate who represented Texas' 23rd Congressional District from 2015 to 2021, rebuked the policy in a Friday tweet.
"Unfortunately, it has to be said – slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills. It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms," Hurd tweeted.
Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, accused DeSantis of being "pro-slavery" over the educational policy.
"Please keep this simple: If you require schools to teach the 'personal benefits' of slavery you are pro-slavery. Ron DeSantis is pro-slavery," the Democratic lawmaker tweeted on Saturday. | Not_Explicit |
VICTORIA, British Columbia — The Canadian government has increased the number of strategic tanker transport aircraft it is ordering from Airbus as it shores up its contribution to the defense of North America.
Last year, Canadian officials said they were committing to the purchase of four new A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports for its fleet, and negotiations were underway with Airbus. Meanwhile, the country acquired two used A330s from International Airfinance Corp., a global aircraft leasing company.
But on July 25, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the government is buying three more used A330s from International Airfinance, and that it selected Airbus Defence and Space to convert the now-five used aircraft into strategic tankers.
Canada’s contract with Airbus, which covers delivery of the four new A330s and conversion of the five used aircraft, is worth about CA$3.6 billion (U.S. $2.7 billion). The used aircraft are currently configured for long-haul commercial use.
Anand noted that the initiative will allow the Royal Canadian Air Force to enhance its sovereignty operations, including in the Arctic. It will also strengthen Canada’s air-to-air refueling support for North American Aerospace Defense Command operations and NATO, she added.
“The additional air-to-air refueling initiative is an integral part of Canada’s investments in NORAD modernization,” Defence Department spokesman Dan LeBouthillier said.
Last year, the Canadian military found the Airbus A330 was the only aircraft that met its requirements. As a result, the nation issued a formal request for proposal for the planes to Airbus on May 13, 2022, and negotiations began.
The aircraft will be able to refuel current Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter jets as well as the F-35 aircraft on order, Le Bouthillier said. The tankers will also be able to refuel various U.S. military aircraft.
The new planes are expected by 2027.
Canada is also buying a new simulator as part of the same program, but the government did not release further details.
“The A330 MRTT perfectly matches Canada’s needs to protect its sovereignty as well as to enhance operations both in the North American Aerospace Defence Command as well as in NATO,” Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said in a July 25 statement.
The new fleet will replace the existing CC-150 Polaris aircraft, which have been in operation since 1992.
David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News. | Not_Explicit |
Pragmatic Europe rolls out the red carpet for Latin America’s despots
Given the strong political and commercial influence of China in Latin America and in the context of the invasion of Ukraine, Europe has announced a “new beginning” in its relationship with the region — even with the dictatorships of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held the third EU-CELAC Summit in Brussels this week after an eight-year hiatus. This time, the focus was on Latin America and its supply chains, trade, investment, climate change and renewable energy. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a $50 billion investment plan for Latin America and the Caribbean through the Global Gateway program. The initiative sounds like a retread of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
But most importantly, the meeting completely avoided the human rights violations and the 1,400 political prisoners currently being held in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
The three longstanding dictatorships were further legitimized by this meeting. They forced their own nations’ democratic crises off the radar. The participating countries prioritized the trade agenda and even allowed the dictatorships to veto participation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite the overwhelming overall support for Ukraine at the summit.
Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela has committed a record 8,900 crimes against humanity. It holds 300 known political prisoners. It has produced 7.2 million refugees, and thousands more have disappeared. Despite this, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez arrived in Brussels with a smile and a special travel permit exempting her from the sanctions issued by the EU in 2018.
Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, a cold war dinosaur, has also restored his relationship with Europe. Nicaragua sent a delegation to the summit, received the approval of its ambassador, and removed the regime’s 355 murders from the agenda. To Ortega’s discomfort, more than 160 exiled Nicaraguans and twenty international organizations asked the EU-CELAC to create a Group of Friends of Nicaragua. It was an uphill but commendable effort.
As for Cuba, the 64-year-old communist dictatorship currently holding more than 1,000 political prisoners also attended the EU-CELAC meeting. Nobody questions the regime’s crimes against humanity. Miguel Díaz Canel, Raúl Castro’s puppet, wants more euros and less democracy.
According to reports by Human Rights Watch the Cuban authorities have refused to allow EU and member state diplomats, international media or human rights organizations to monitor the trials of those detained over the protests of July 11, 2021. Family members and detainees report various due process violations, while artists, intellectuals and others with alternative ideas are subjected to alarming levels of surveillance and restrictions on their freedom of movement.
The EU-CELAC Summit issued a final declaration in which condemned the alleged U.S. blockade of Cuba and questioned its inclusion on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Not a single word about political prisoners, the death penalty or religious freedom in Havana.
The declaration also expressed concern about the situation in Haiti and called for renewing the fruitless talks between the Venezuelan regime and the opposition. The EU-CELAC did not condemn the ban against Maria Corina Machado and a dozen opposition leaders who were illegally disqualified by the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro from running in the 2024 elections.
Eight years after the last EU-CELAC Summit, the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, there are more dictatorships and fewer democracies in Latin America. The political and commercial influence of the Chinese and Russian tyrannies in the Americas has increased significantly.
The Russian invasion in Ukraine has apparently created a desperate and disproportionate interest in rebuilding the relationship with Latin America, even if it means sacrificing human rights on the altar of pragmatism. Europe has been forced to reset its foreign policy, and it has yielded too much.
The dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are already salivating over the $50 billion investment announced by the EU. The tyrants have won impunity, legitimacy, and a juicy slice of the financial pie.
Will this fresh start in the EU foreign policy toward Latin America bring new times of prosperity and democracy come? Or will new dictatorships emerge?
You already know the answer.
Arturo McFields Yescas is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States and former member of the Peace Corps of Norway.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
- Summary
- Russian defence minister, China Politburo member visit
- First such foreign delegations since COVID pandemic began
- Visits may signal resumption of shuttle diplomacy
- Korean War holiday commemorates 'defeat' of 'U.S. imperialists'
- Events to include parade, possibly with nuclear missiles
SEOUL, July 26 (Reuters) - After years of pandemic isolation, North Korea has invited its friends back this week, hosting senior Chinese and Russian delegations for 70th anniversary commemorations of the Korean War and the struggle against the United States and its allies.
The visiting dignitaries, which include Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong, are expected to be presented with one of North Korea's signature events: a massive military parade showcasing its latest weaponry.
Analysts say the spectacle will likely include the North's nuclear-tipped missiles banned by the United Nations Security Council, where Russia and China are permanent members.
The visits are the first known foreign delegations to visit North Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and come as Pyongyang has looked to deepen its ties with Beijing and Moscow, finding common ground in their rivalries with Washington and the West.
Thursday's holiday, in which North Korea celebrates what it sees as a victory over U.S.-led allied forces in the 1950-1953 Korean War, provides a chance for Pyongyang to highlight the Cold War days when North Korean troops fought with Chinese and Russian support.
North Korea is still technically at war with the U.S.-led alliance after fighting ended in an armistice, rather than a formal peace treaty.
"North Korea inviting delegations from both countries seems to be a case of history rhyming, whereby Pyongyang is gearing up to stand up against the West, but perceives the need to maintain relatively balanced ties with both China and Russia," said Anthony Rinna, a specialist in Korea-Russia relations at Sino-NK, a website that analyses the region.
Only time will tell if the visits signal a broader easing in North Korea's bans on international travel, which could in theory provide an opening for U.S. officials to negotiate the release of U.S. soldier Travis King, who crossed into North Korea last week, Rinna said.
However, it seems unlikely that Pyongyang will seek to engage with Washington any time soon, and may consider itself to be in a full-scale New Cold War with the United States, he added.
MILITARY DISPLAYS
Images from Russia's defence ministry and North Korean media showed Shoigu being greeted by North Korean defence minister Kang Sun Nam and Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora at the airport, and rows of North Korean and Russia troops.
The United States has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia during the war in Ukraine, including an arms delivery of infantry rockets and missiles to the Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenary group in November 2022.
Pyongyang and Moscow have denied those claims, but Kim has vowed to bolster strategic cooperation between the nations.
The military parade in Pyongyang is likely to include as many as 15,000 personnel, and possibly feature new designs of nuclear-capable weapons, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Commercial satellite imagery over recent weeks have shown participants practicing, including in downtown Kim Il Sung Square where the event will take place, with large formations showing the number "70" and other slogans, said Dave Schmerler, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).
At a training ground outside Pyongyang, military units appeared to be practicing marching around the square track with vehicles behind them, Schmerler added, citing imagery provided to Reuters by U.S.-based firm Umbra, which used radar imaging satellites to peer through cloud cover.
'SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY'
Leader Kim Jong Un kicked off commemorations this week with visits to a cemetery for Chinese soldiers who fought in the war, known as the Fatherland Liberation War, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. The only defence treaty China and North Korea have is with each other.
Kim also visited the Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs Cemetery on Monday, KCNA reported, as he praised the soldiers for "inflicting defeat" on U.S. imperialism.
Amid international sanctions over North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes - which both Moscow and Beijing voted to impose - China has become by far North Korea's largest trading partner. China's exports to its secretive neighbour in June were eight times higher than a year before.
Beijing asserted on Monday that it "strictly" implements U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
Russia and China have rebuffed recent attempts by the United States and some European countries to impose new sanctions on North Korea.
They have instead pushed for existing measures to be eased for humanitarian purposes and to entice Pyongyang back to denuclearisation talks, which broke down in 2019.
Yang said the delegations could signal that long-stalled diplomatic visits could resume.
"If North Korea also sends a high-level delegation to China for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, it means the resumption of high-level 'shuttle diplomacy' between North Korea and China since the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
- Minimum Service Levels balance the ability of workers to strike with the rights of the public, who expect essential services they pay for to be there when they need them.
- Government will now launch a public consultation on the reasonable steps unions should take to ensure their members comply with a work notice given by an employer.
The Strikes (Minimum Service Level) Act has today [Thursday 20 July] received Royal Assent in Parliament, ensuring workers maintain the ability to strike whilst giving the public access to the essential services they need.
Government will now proceed with plans to implement minimum service levels for passenger rail services, ambulance services and fire and rescue services.
Minimum service levels will ensure a minimum service operates in specified services during periods of strike action.
This will help protect the safety of the general public and ensure essential services are there when they need them – whether getting the train to work or being able to call an ambulance in times of emergency.
This will follow public consultations on the most appropriate approach for delivering Minimum Service Levels in passenger rail and blue light services. The Government is currently analysing responses and will respond in due course.
A public consultation will also be launched this Summer on the reasonable steps unions must take to comply with a work notice issued by employers under minimum service levels legislation.
This Government firmly believes that the ability to strike is an important part of industrial relations in the UK, rightly protected by law, and understands that an element of disruption is inherent to any strike. But the public expects government to act when their essential services are put at risk.
Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said:
This legislation is an appropriate balance between the ability to strike, and protecting lives and livelihoods.
The UK remains a world leader for workers’ rights and these new laws will not prevent a union from organising industrial action.
Industrial action has had a strong impact on access to emergency services and the UK economy, resulting in over 600,000 rescheduled medical appointments since December 2022 and at least £1.2 billion lost in the period June 2022-23 according to analysis by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR).
Following public consultation and approval by both Houses of Parliament, the Government will be able to set minimum service levels within key sectors, including emergency services, border security, education, passenger rail and the nuclear sector.
Rail Minister Huw Merriman said:
The ability of workers to take strike action is an integral part of industrial relations, however, this should not be at the expense of members of the public.
The passing of this Bill will help give passengers certainty that they will be able to make important journeys on a strike day.
When minimum service levels are in force for a specified service, if the relevant trade union gives notice of strike action, employers can issue a work notice ahead of the strike, to specify the workforce required to maintain necessary and safe levels of service. They must consult with the relevant unions on the number of persons and the work to be specified in the work notice and take their views into account before issuing the work notice. | Not_Explicit |
“Thank goodness for the Americans.” The sigh of relief from Juliana Delaney, the boss of Continuum Attractions, came last week just a few breaths after she warned that Britons were cutting back.
Continuum, which runs tourist attractions from the shores to the seafront at Portsmouth, said Americans were bucking a trend of squeezed incomes and less spending.
Delaney’s comments were telling. The world’s biggest economy has pulled ahead of the UK and the rest of Europe on an array of economic measures since the financial crisis of 2008.
What began as a small disparity has become a chasm that has left Britain facing questions about whether it has the work ethic to close the gap.
Trailing not leading
Jeremy Hunt wanted to start the New Year talking about growth. “Declinism about Britain is just wrong,” the Chancellor told an audience of tech bosses and journalists in January.
A few moments later he was celebrating the UK being the “middle of the pack” of the G7 growth league table. Output per hour worked is higher than pre-pandemic, he boasted. At 1.6pc above pre-covid levels, economist Sam Bowman says it’s hardly something to celebrate. “We aren’t leading the world. We’re trying to catch up”.
Leading author and economist Daron Acemoglu, whose book ‘Why Nations Fail’ made waves a decade ago, says the consequences of being “okay with mediocrity” and dire productivity are huge.
Getting more from less has always been the key to rising living standards. The ability to increase the amount of output per hour worked tells us how much the economy can grow without generating too much inflation.
When productivity grows, so do company profits and staff wages. This leads to stronger growth, a bigger economy, rising tax revenues and smaller borrowing bills.
“The UK’s productivity problem is a disaster,” says Acemoglu. “This is an amazing economy that should be growing much faster, and not doing anything about it is the biggest risk.”
But Bowman’s concern is that the UK has now fallen so far behind the frontier in terms of economic development that worrying about technological progress “doesn’t make much sense”. At worst, he adds, it’s “a serious distraction”.
And the economic outlook is far from rosy. Living standards are on course for their biggest two-year fall since records began. The tax burden is also on course to hit a post-war high. The UK’s long-term growth potential is diminishing. Economists are warning of another decade of lost pay growth, while the Bank of England is set to inflict more pain on borrowers with further interest rate rises.
Ben Ansell, a political scientist at Oxford University, says all of this matters at the polls.
Take Selby and Ainsty, located 90 minutes away by car from Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency in North Yorkshire. Many factors turned the former mining constituency red in last week’s by-election, including the economic backdrop, says Ansell.
Selby is in the top 40 constituencies in England and Wales for the number of mortgage-holders, with 35.9pc of households still paying theirs off, according to latest census data.
That puts rising interest rates at the forefront of many constituents’ minds, along with the rising cost of living and fuel prices (this is an area of high car ownership and where the proportion of people aged between 30 and 64 is above the national average).
The UK-wide shift to Labour among homeowners has been huge, particularly among those with big mortgages, says Ansell. Back in 2019, the Tories had a comfortable lead over Labour among anyone who owned a home.
Today, that’s all been erased. Labour has a 15 point lead over the Tories among people who have less than 50pc left on their mortgage. Among those who own less than half, the lead is 43 percentage points, he says, citing recent polling.
“Big, big gaps are opening up by age,” he adds. “It’s younger working people who have veered further away from the Conservative Party. And that’s a problem because traditionally the Conservative Party always does well with these groups – these were the Yuppies in the 1980s. So when Conservatives have been worrying about losing millennial homeowners, they’re right. And it’s that group of people who are most affected by interest rates.”
As politicians begin their pre-election strategies, economists worry that the gap between the UK and US continues to widen.
The differences on paper are already stark. Bowman highlights that in the decade before the pandemic, productivity growth of 8pc was twice as fast in the US as the UK. America’s economy has also grown much faster overall.
In 2021, an American worker was 26pc more productive than their British counterpart, producing $74.80 (£58.30) per hour worker versus $59.20 per hour for a British worker.
A more productive workforce means better pay, with the average American worker paid $77,500 in 2022, compared with $54,000 in the UK, according to one OECD measure that adjusts for buying power in each country.
For some professions the differential is stark. A nurse in America can expect a pay packet of $85,000, compared to the $48,500 for a nurse working in the UK. During the pandemic, stark shortages and a more mobile US workforce meant many commanded much higher salaries.
“In other words, Americans can stop working each year in September and they’d still be richer than Britons working for the whole year,” says Bowman.
These differences add up. A study published this month by the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) think tank highlights that the difference between 2pc and 3pc annual economic growth is not one per cent, it’s fifty.
“While it’s common to compare levels of growth between countries in a single year, the reality is that it is the long-term trend that matters,” the paper says. “An economy that grows at 3pc per year will double in 24 years but an economy that grows at 1pc will double only in 48 years. For a long time now, the average growth rate in mature and developed European economies has been closer to 1pc than 3pc.”
Oscar Guinea, senior economist at ECIPE, says this divergence in economic fortunes between the UK and US has created a growing prosperity gap. ECIPE says if European countries were US states, many of them would be at the bottom of the league table in terms of GDP per person – including the UK. Every country in Europe is poorer per head than every state except Idaho and Mississippi. The UK languishes near the bottom between France and the Gem State.
It wasn’t always this way. Back in 2000, GDP per capita was higher than 14 US states and similar to that of Ohio or South Carolina. Two decades later and the UK has dropped 11 positions to have a GDP per capita that is closer to Arkansas.
If these trends continue, by 2035 the gap between output per person in the US and EU will be as large as that between Japan and Ecuador today.
Guinea says the gap between the US and UK will be more like the one between Spain and Gaza.
Made in America
There’s no free lunch. And in the world’s largest economy, there aren’t many long ones either.
Americans spend 20pc more of their time working than their British counterparts, working an average of 1,811 hours per year, compared with 1,532 hours, according to the OECD. The UK is often singled out as having one of the most flexible job markets in Europe. But America’s “at will” system of employment makes two weeks’ notice a courtesy, rather than a requirement.
Paid leave is also not a legal requirement, though many companies offer 10 days as standard. Ansell, who spent a decade working in the US, says he’s still internalised the idea that taking too much time off is a bad thing.
“I think the longest holiday I’ve had since 2000 is about eight days. The idea of taking two whole weeks off is still a bit strange for me.”
When Covid hit, America preferred firings to furlough, albeit with government stimulus cheques helping to soften the blow of unemployment. More than 20 million people lost their jobs in April 2020 alone, pushing the unemployment rate to 14.7pc – the highest since the Great Depression. But it also shifted workers to more productive areas of the economy on their return. By contrast, UK policymakers largely pressed the pause button, funding wage bills for staff in existing jobs.
The pandemic had a huge impact on both the US and UK workforces, but while America saw a bigger increase in unemployment, many Britons gave up looking for work altogether.
Inactivity grew twice as much in the UK than in the US between the end of 2019 and the start of 2023, especially among older workers aged between 50 and 64 years-old, according to the International Monetary Fund. “High inactivity due to illness has been a distinctive feature of the UK, despite a relatively low inactivity rate in level terms,” it said. “If inactivity becomes structural, it could reduce labour supply and affect medium-term growth. In such a scenario, even if productivity grew twice as fast as in the pre-pandemic decade, medium term potential output will mechanically be lower than otherwise.”
A new report by the Institute of Employment Studies that will be published this week goes further, blaming the UK’s job centres for failing people who want to work. The share of jobseekers who contacted Jobcentre Plus to look for employment in 2020 is the lowest in Europe. The IES says its use has “dropped precipitously” in the last two decades as its focus has narrowed to people claiming certain types of benefits. People also feel discouraged by the “any job” mindset, which fuels turnover and disempowers jobseekers.
As a result, jobseekers in other European countries are three times as likely to use employment services and four times as much in Germany. The IES think tank notes that this avoidance of job centres cannot be explained by higher use of private recruitment services in the UK. On average, 24pc of British jobseekers in both the EU and the UK say they have used private recruiters.
It adds that there is “little or no support available for people in low-paid work who may want help to increase their hours or progress, nor for (potential) second earners in households where a partner is working”. There is also very little help for the self-employed or those who became economically inactive during the pandemic.
The Government’s own tax and spending watchdog warned this month that changes to the benefits system mean people are more likely to seek benefits where they don’t have to look for work.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that “tightening conditionality in other parts of the system can lead to rising claims for unconditional incapacity benefits”, including a surge in mental health-related claims.
Getting rid of face-to-face benefit assessments during the pandemic has not helped. “Various Covid easements” sent the approval rate for incapacity benefits in the early part of the pandemic to “close to 100pc”, up from 55pc in 2016-17. The OBR notes that if incapacity benefit claims had remained at 2016-17 levels “there would have been 670,000 fewer approved claimants”.
Tom Pursglove, minister for disabled people, health and work, says changes will take time. “I do know that there is a structural problem with our benefits system, where we’ve got considerable numbers of disabled people and people with health conditions who would like to try to work,” he says. “They regularly say to me, we would like to try. In fact, we may have even spotted an opportunity. But the structural problem we have in the benefit system is someone may try that role but it doesn’t work out, and then they lose their benefit entitlement and have to be reassessed in order to access support again. The jeopardy of all that gets in the way.”
The Government has set in train plans to change the focus of handouts to focus on the things people can do, rather than what they can’t. However, the Department for Work and Pensions admits that no changes will be seen before the end of the decade. “We need to fundamentally rework the benefit system to get rid of that structural problem which we’ve committed to, but there needs to be that intensive employment support too,” says Mr Pursglove.
Health and wealth
One area where the US isn’t as attractive as the UK is healthcare. Life expectancy in the US is lower, even though health spending is much higher. One reason is because healthcare is much more expensive, and while US employers often cover the cost of insurance, it isn’t universal. While 90pc of people in America have some form of healthcare insurance, the NHS means the share in the UK is 100pc. ECIPE recognises some of these differences in its analysis. “It is the case that the EU distributes its resources more equally than the US and has more generous welfare policies,” it says. “In the EU, the richest 10pc hold 36pc of pre-tax national income and the bottom half hold 19pc. In the US, these numbers were 45pc for the richest 10pc and 13pc for the poorest half.”
But, the US has “become more European” in recent years, closing the gap on social spending with the EU from six to four percentage points over the past two decades.
Oscar Guinea at ECIPE says this is a message for people who argue that America is a richer but more ruthless place to live.
“This is a ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ type of moment where the differences are too large to ignore. They can’t just be dismissed by people who say ‘this is because the Americans work longer’ or ‘This is because Americans are willing to accept more inequality’ or ‘because the Americans spend less on social security and social spending’. They’re all true, but they haven’t been getting worse over time. Inequality has been stable, the difference in working hours is stable. The US is actually spending more on social security. But this growth gap is there for everyone to see.”
Guinea urges policymakers to look at regulation, which is far more heavy-handed in Brussels than Washington DC. He says the bloc also needs to be more ambitious. He uses the example of the Lisbon Strategy announced at the start of the millennium with much fanfare. Its aim was for the EU to become the “most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”. Yet little has been done since.
Bowman says policymakers must get back to basics because even worthy goals like net zero have become a distraction, he adds. Policymakers must spend less time being devoted to tackling issues such as obesity, gender and racial pay gaps and more on growing the overall pie that will enable more spending to achieve these goals.
“Economic growth is being neglected,” he says. “I am very pro-decarbonisation and I acknowledge that this is a really important problem that we need to solve. But what I don’t know is that the way we’re trying to solve it is particularly mindful of its impact on economic growth. And I think that if we did acknowledge that there is a trade-off between the way we approach net zero and economic growth, we might approach it in a different way.”
He uses net-zero as an example where “every level of government has been tasked with having a plan for its own little area”. Even the Bank of England has its own 51-page climate transition plan where Governor Andrew Bailey will oversee the installation of heat pumps at Threadneedle Street.
But Bowman argues that these plans do not take into account even basic questions such as will net zero homes be nice places to live in. A recent viral photo showed how new safety and net-zero related rules on buildings governing ventilation, energy efficiency and heating have distorted the way windows are installed in houses because glass areas cannot exceed 25pc of the overall floor areas. The Government’s Committee on Climate Change recently recommended that roads which make emissions worse should be banned. Bowman says this is a disaster for growth.
“I find it a bit crazy that windows have to be a certain size basically to maximise net-zero benefits. The problem from a housing point of view is if you’re building houses that people don’t want to live in, then you limit the benefits of building them in the first place.”
Bowman and Ansell say improving mobility and housing provision is key. Ansell says: “Some of the productivity gap we have is linked to the fact that when there’s a booming area in the UK, it’s really hard to move to that area – unlike in the US. People can’t move to where the jobs are because there aren’t houses there.”
Guinea says all of these policy proposals suggest the answer to Europe’s woes remains higher growth. “One of the reasons why we compared Japan and Ecuador is because which country do you think is better prepared to fight climate change? Is it Japan or is it Ecuador? Economic prosperity matters if you want to face the challenges of climate change or an ageing society. It will also enable you to transition to an ageing society and devote more resources to public services.”
Of course, there are pros and cons of living on either side of the pond, as one person recently commented on the internet forum Reddit. “Over simplified, but: on a scale of 1-10, life in America is a one if you’re poor and a ten if you’re rich,” they observed. “In England it’s a four-to-six no matter what. I’ll take the security of that.”
But as we are learning, there is little security in mediocrity. | Not_Explicit |
WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address Congress on Wednesday, completing a visit aimed at reassuring the United States that Israel's democracy remains strong despite government attempts to overhaul the country's judicial system.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden met Herzog, whose position is largely ceremonial, and stressed their countries' close ties despite U.S. tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
"Israeli democracy is tough and resilient and we should definitely see the current debate in Israel with all facets as a tribute to the strength of Israeli democracy," Herzog told reporters at the White House grounds after meeting Biden.
Herzog follows his father, Chaim Herzog, who as president in 1987 was accorded the same rare honor of addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. House and Senate, one of the highest marks of esteem Washington affords foreign dignitaries.
The invitation was extended by the leaders of Congress last year to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel's founding.
The speech is not without controversy.
Ties have been strained over Israeli settlement expansion on the occupied West Bank and what Washington sees as dimming prospects for a two-state solution to relations with the Palestinians as well as a judicial overhaul.
The proposed overhaul, which has drawn street protests across Israel from critics who decry it as anti-democratic, included curbs on the Supreme Court's authority while granting the government decisive powers in appointing judges.
A handful of the most progressive Democrats in Congress said they would boycott Herzog's remarks.
Representative Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, said on Twitter she would not attend. "I urge all Members of Congress who stand for human rights for all to join me," she said, with a picture of herself holding a "Boycott Apartheid" sign on the Capitol steps.
Representatives Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also did not plan to attend.
Omar said on Twitter "there is no way in hell" she would be at the speech.
"Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address comes on behalf of the most right wing government in Israel’s history, at a time when the government is openly promising to 'crush' Palestinian hopes of statehood — essentially putting a nail in the coffin of peace and a two-state solution," Omar said.
It is not unusual for members of Congress to miss foreign leaders' addresses. Several skipped Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech to Congress in June, citing issues including rights concerns.
More than 50 Democrats stayed away from a 2015 speech to Congress by Netanyahu that was seen as an embrace of congressional Republicans and snub of then-Democratic President Barack Obama's Iran policy. Biden, who was vice president and thus president of the Senate, also did not attend.
Herzog will meet with Vice President Kamala Harris in the afternoon, when a White House official said they will announce a joint five-year, $70 million initiative to support climate-smart agriculture to improve the use of critical water resources in the Middle East and Africa.
Biden and Herzog last met at the White House in October. Netanyahu returned to office in December.
On Monday, Biden invited Netanyahu to the United States for an official visit later this year.
Proponents of the Israeli government's judicial overhaul say the country's Supreme Court has become too interventionist and that the change will facilitate effective governance.
Opponents say the change will weaken the Supreme Court, which in a country that has no constitution and a one-chamber parliament that is dominated by the government - has a critical role in protecting civil rights and liberties.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Not_Explicit |
MIAMI -- After two diagnosed concussions derailed an MVP-caliber season in 2022, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's priority entering this offseason was learning how to better protect himself.
So he made an interesting choice.
"I've been falling a lot this offseason," Tagovailoa said.
But it's by design. One day each week, Tagovailoa trains in jiu-jitsu. From learning how to fall to making contact less of a shock to his system, jiu-jitsu has become an important part of Tagovailoa's regimen as he looks to reduce the possibility of future head injuries.
"For guys at my position, we barely get hit throughout practices, throughout the offseason, even going into training camp," Tagovailoa said. "We don't even get touched until the season starts.
"So I mean, with jiu-jitsu, I've been thrown airborne, I've been put in many uncomfortable positions for me to learn how to fall and try to react throughout those positions that I'm getting thrown around in."
As the Dolphins surged to an 8-3 record last season, Tagovailoa was running one of the league's top offenses. But injuries, including the concussions and an apparent head injury in Week 3 that ultimately prompted the NFL to change its policy on evaluating concussions, caused him to miss the better part of six games, including the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. It inspired an unconventional approach to this offseason by a team that again has Super Bowl aspirations.
"It's really hard sometimes for me to even remember [who came up with the idea of jiu-jitsu]," Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. "I know [quarterbacks] coach [Darrell] Bevell was spitballing some problem-solving things that we could do. [Strength and conditioning coach] Dave Puloka and [head athletic trainer] Kyle Johnston were very involved in all this stuff."
Regardless of whose idea it was, Tagovailoa is following through. And it makes sense to at least one world-class fighter whose talents helped her become an MMA champion.
"When you're in a specific sport, you're using the same muscles over and over and over again," said Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo. "You're breaking those [muscles] down and wearing those down. So in the offseason, to train and use your brain in a different way, to use different muscles is I think super beneficial to athletes, and I think science shows that as well.
"MMA is a really tough one to pick ... but I love it. I love that they want to get in there, get beat up a little bit and learn how to fight, I think that's awesome. And I do think it's beneficial for football, for sure."
'Why haven't we detailed this before?'
Some fighters don't watch videos of themselves getting knocked out, but for Tagovailoa, it was important.
He rewatched the hits he took during the 2022 season, including the one in Week 4 that resulted in him being taken off the field via stretcher and having a brief stay in a Cincinnati hospital.
"It wasn't tough to watch," Tagovailoa said. "I want to get better at everything that I can do to help the team win games, and I know the biggest one is my health, staying out on the field. And so looking at the film, I was able to watch that with my jiu-jitsu coach, and we were able to kind of relive the scenario in how I got tackled, how I fell.
"And it wasn't just one particular game. It was multiple ways that I got taken down and how I could have prevented that."
The training included Tagovailoa being placed in recreated scenarios that mirrored situations he faced last season.
"It's a lot of strategic falling that is patterned after things that happened to our quarterbacks during the season," McDaniel said. "So kind of recreating those things, because the master of jiu-jitsu had to study some game tape to understand how he was falling, where the impact points were, and what we could do to help correct it."
Tagovailoa strengthened his neck and core muscles through his jiu-jitsu training, to a point where a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN he is "the strongest he's ever been."
Initially, Tagovailoa told USA Today he was training in judo, before McDaniel publicly corrected him a few weeks later. The two forms of martial arts are fairly similar -- they're "sisters," even, according to Harrison.
"They both have some of the same moves," she said. "In judo, you can choke, you can armbar; and in jiu-jitsu, you do chokes, armbars, heel hooks. You can also do takedowns in jiu-jitsu, but the focus is really different.
"Where in judo the focus is a lot on throws -- big, exciting throws. The focus in jiu-jitsu is more on submission."
Tagovailoa said his training has focused on grappling and dispersing energy while falling, while also remembering to tuck his chin on his way to the ground.
"It kind of looks like bullying," McDaniel said. "Like it's just a guy being attacked and going to the ground. And then how to transfer energy to disperse it and not have a central impact focus. It's something that makes you think, 'Hey, why haven't we detailed this before?'"
'Excited to see his progress'
With pads popping and fighters grunting, Harrison extended an invitation to Tagovailoa to train at her gym, American Top Team, in Coconut Creek, Florida. South Florida is a hotbed for mixed martial arts, and ATT has produced some of the top MMA fighters in the world.
"If he wants to come by American Top Team and get a lesson from a two-time Olympic champion, I'm more than willing to help him," Harrison said. "He's always welcome here.
"I'm excited to see his progress."
Tagovailoa should be in the area for a while. After the Dolphins picked up his fifth-year option in March, Tagovailoa is expected to remain in Miami for at least the next two seasons. Meanwhile, McDaniel is entering his second season in Miami, which means Tagovailoa will have the same playcaller in back-to-back years for the first time since Miami drafted him in 2020.
If he remains healthy, there's little reason to believe the Dolphins won't again possess one of the NFL's most potent offenses. But Tagovailoa wasn't the only Dolphins quarterback to sustain injuries last season. All three of their quarterbacks were injured at some point in 2022, so McDaniel said the team has incorporated jiu-jitsu training into its drill work with the quarterbacks, although he didn't go into specifics.
"As a quarterback, September starts and then you get tackled," McDaniel said. "And then you get tackled for six months, and then you don't again until September. So how can we help train quarterbacks to stay healthy? And that's something that that whole offseason training has really helped us try to take a good step in the right direction for how to best prepare players for an NFL season.
"By and large, you find out that core strength is very much important when you're talking about the transfer of energy of the human body going to the ground, and different things that you can do to minimize that are strategic, but then strengthening of the core so that when you're going to the ground, the top of your torso isn't just a leverage whipping device."
Tagovailoa has bulked up from 217 to 225 pounds this offseason while maintaining his mobility. The quarterback is focused on preparing for a pivotal season, after which he could sign a sizable contract extension.
"I've seen a guy that has followed through on his words as much as any young man I've come across in my career," McDaniel said. "You talk about going above and beyond." | Not_Explicit |
Georgia commit Dylan Raiola is changing high schools for senior season
Quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 college football prospect in the 247 Composite rankings for the class of 2024, is switching high schools.
Raiola, who recently committed to the University of Georgia after changing his initial commitment from Ohio State in December, is moving from Pinnacle High School in Arizona to Buford High School in Buford, Georgia, sources told ESPN.
At Buford, Raiola will have the privilege of teaming up with other exceptional athletes, including five-star prospects Khalil Bolden (ranked 15th overall) and Eddrick Houston (ranked 30th overall).
Raiola had previously transferred from Chandler High School in Arizona to Pinnacle following the previous season. This move triggered scrutiny from the Arizona Interscholastic Association due to their transfer policy, which could have resulted in a potential five-game suspension.
In this regard, Raiola's father, Dominic, a former NFL offensive lineman, shared with ESPN that the timing of the hardship case review by the AIA would not align with Pinnacle High School's first game scheduled for August 23.
"After meeting with the head coach at Pinnacle High School, he was very confident that Dylan would have to sit games and Dylan didn't want to sit games," Dominic Raiola told ESPN. "He wanted to play right away. And I think for our family, where we are, it just made total sense. Let's get him in a program because you can say he is moving to another high school, this, that, and the other. But I think people would rather see Dylan play than sit. And so we're excited about it."
In his junior year at Chandler High School, Raiola passed for 2,435 yards, 22 touchdowns, and only five interceptions.
-
Nick Saban in Joel Klatt interview series: 'We need to create some balance'
Prepping for the NFL: How ACC coaches compare at developing offensive stars
Elite 11 Finals takeaways: Alabama commit Julian Sayin steals the show
-
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders faces possible foot amputation
College football rankings: Our post-spring football top 25
Did Big Ten nail it? Big wins, potential pitfalls in new schedule format
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College football stars following in the footsteps of NFL dads
Ohio State's QB race: Spring game leads to more questions than answers
Ranking the 10 most successful seasons by first-year college football coaches
-
Nick Saban in Joel Klatt interview series: 'We need to create some balance'
Prepping for the NFL: How ACC coaches compare at developing offensive stars
Elite 11 Finals takeaways: Alabama commit Julian Sayin steals the show
-
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders faces possible foot amputation
College football rankings: Our post-spring football top 25
Did Big Ten nail it? Big wins, potential pitfalls in new schedule format
-
College football stars following in the footsteps of NFL dads
Ohio State's QB race: Spring game leads to more questions than answers
Ranking the 10 most successful seasons by first-year college football coaches | Not_Explicit |
Editor’s Note: This is issue 94 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from June 17-23, 2023. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission.
Ukrainian SOE Weekly is an independent weekly digest based on a compilation of the most important news related to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state-owned banks in Ukraine. This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union within the project “Supporting Ukraine in rebuilding and recovery” implemented by the KSE Institute. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the editorial team of the Ukrainian SOE Weekly and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
Corporate governance of SOEs
State Property Fund to liquidate over 1,200 loss-making SOEs. On June 16, the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) reported that it had analyzed 2,364 enterprises currently managed by the SPFU:
- 134 are strategic assets that will remain under the management of the SPFU;
- 288 are to be privatized and are looking for investors;
- 664 are in occupied territories; and
- 1,278 are slated for liquidation or bankruptcy.
The assets that remain under the SPFU’s management are strategic enterprises and enterprises important for social policy, such as the operating and profitable prosthetic and orthopaedic producers or defense companies, the SPFU added. The SPFU did not specify the names of companies.
By the end of 2023, the SPFU plans to take over the management of about 1,200 more SOEs.
According to the SPFU, the liquidation of non-performing assets would allow it to reduce the debt burden on the state budget, pay wage arrears to employees, create new businesses using the property of unprofitable enterprises, and develop the Ukrainian economy.
Liquidation of enterprises can take from four months to 1.5 years. The SPFU plans to liquidate 347 companies in 2023, 400 companies in 2024, and another 141 in 2025.
In SOE Weekly (Issue 90), we reported that since September 2022, the SPFU has replaced 89 CEOs and 53 supervisory board members at enterprises that it manages. The fund was awaiting appointment approvals at another 26 enterprises.
In Issue 83, we reported that the Verkhovna Rada approved a mechanism for liquidating more than 1,200 non-performing SOEs.
In Issue 79, we reported that the SPFU announced that it planned to replace chief executives at 65 SOEs. The decision was based on the analysis of those enterprises’ financial indicators.
In Issue 75, we reported that the SPFU announced that it began dismissing SOE managers found to be lacking integrity.
Ukroboronprom’s supervisory board approves its strategic development priorities until 2034. On June 21, Ukroboronprom reported that its supervisory board approved the strategy that sets priorities for Ukroboronprom itself and the companies that it oversees for 2023-2034.
SOEs, particularly those overseen by Ukroboronprom, were responsible for delivering 36% of the State Defense Order in 2020.
According to Ukroboronprom’s release, its primary objective is to ensure the sustainable development of production and technology infrastructure. This includes serial production and supply of products and services to meet the needs of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces.
The strategic priorities of Ukroboronprom and its enterprises include:
- preserving the existing scientific, technical, and production competence;
- developing new competence through technology transfers from leading Western companies; and
- supporting the entire life cycle of state-of-the-art weapons and military equipment models.
Ukroboronprom aims to ensure that weapons and military equipment used by the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine and NATO member states are interoperable and interchangeable. To achieve this, Ukroboronprom will cooperate with defence companies from the United States, as well as other NATO and EU member states.
Note that it is important for the SOEs’ strategy to be in line with the expectations set by the state as the owner. These expectations are typically outlined in the state ownership policy.
The concept of corporate governance reform of Ukroboronprom, including its ownership policy, was drafted by Andriy Boytsun, Oleksandr Lysenko, and Dmytro Yablonovskyi, members of the SOE Weekly team, as well as the international law firm Kinstellar, in early 2020.
However, no public information is available on whether any changes have been contemplated to that policy since the full-scale invasion of Russia. We are also unaware of how Ukroboronprom’s recently approved strategy reflects its ownership policy.
In SOE Weekly (Issue 59), we reported that in July 2021, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law 1630-IX (previously known as Draft Law No. 3822) which laid the groundwork for Ukroboronprom’s transformation.
On Dec. 9, 2021, the Cabinet of Ministers approved resolutions and ordinances to convert Ukroboronprom into a joint-stock company. The Cabinet also approved the conversion of Ukroboronprom’s 43 uncorporatized enterprises into joint-stock companies or limited liability companies fully controlled by the state.
As we reported in Issue 80, the Cabinet said in a press release that it approved the corporatization of Ukroboronprom on March 21.
In Issue 83, we reported that the corporatization had not yet begun: The government resolution to convert the State Concern Ukroboronprom into a joint-stock company called Ukrainian Defense Industry was not public yet.
On May 4, the Cabinet of Ministers published the resolution. (See Issue 87 for detail.)
However, the conversion of Ukroboronprom, as required by that resolution, remained blocked (see Issue 92).
Among other things, the corporatization of Ukroboronprom implies setting up a new supervisory board that will include independent members. This board will have yet to develop a strategic view for the newly corporatized company, including updating the current strategic priorities or developing new ones.
Energy
EBRD to provide 600 million euros to support Ukraine’s energy sector – funds would go to Ukrenergo, Naftogaz, and Ukrhydroenergo. On June 21, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would support the Ukrainian energy sector with a 600 million euro aid package in 2023.
According to Shmyhal, the relevant memorandums were signed on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. Each company would receive 200 million euro in the form of loans and grants from international partners.
The EBRD’s memorandum with Naftogaz envisages three main areas of cooperation: building strategic natural gas reserves, investments to decarbonise and reduce methane emissions, and investments to improve energy efficiency, the Prime Minister added.
According to Ukrhydroenergo, the EBRD will also support the restoration and modernisation of its hydroelectric power plants.
The EBRD stated that the financing package would be provided in response to the recent flooding in the Kherson region caused by the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam. State-owned Ukrhydroenergo holds the assets of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (Kakhovka HPP).
Fifty million euro would be liquidity financing to support the company’s resilience, while the remaining 150 million euro is earmarked for the restoration of two hydroelectric power plants near the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the EBRD explained.
As SOE Weekly wrote in Issue 91, Ukrhydroenergo reported that the Kakhovka HPP was destroyed beyond restoration after the Russians set off a massive explosion in the engine room.
The memorandum with Ukrenergo lays out the goal to ensure stable and uninterrupted transmission and dispatch of electricity, Shmyhal said. According to Ukrenergo’s CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, this is not the first investment in the stability of the Ukrainian energy sector by international partners.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrenergo has attracted financial support from the EBRD in the form of loans and grants worth more than 500 million euro. About 300 million euro of that amount strengthened the company’s liquidity and allowed it to make payments to market participants for 2022 and 2023, Kudrytskyi wrote.
Naftogaz sues Russia in US court, seeking $5 billion in compensation for Crimean assets. On June 23, Naftogaz reported that it filed a motion to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as it tries to claim an earlier $5 billion award by the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
The tribunal ordered Russia to pay $5 billion plus interest, in compensation for the damages and lost property in Crimea. Russia never paid it.
According to the Naftogaz statement, the company has the right to initiate enforcement under the 1958 New York Convention in countries hosting Russian assets.
Under U.S. laws, confirmation of the award is mandatory unless the court establishes the existence of causes to refuse or delay recognition or enforcement of the award set out in the New York Convention. Interest will continue to accrue until Russia pays in full, Naftogaz explained.
In SOE Weekly (Issue 83), we reported that The Hague’s Arbitral Tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration ordered Russia to pay $5 billion to cover Naftogaz Group’s losses in Crimea when Russia seized them in 2014.
Defense
Ukroboronprom reports successful use of a new drone. On June 20, Ukroboronprom reported about the successful use of a Ukraine-produced drone with a 1,000 km range.
According to Ukrainska Pravda’s (UP) sources, the drone was efficiently used on May 3. A Russian oil depot reportedly caught fire on the same day in the village of Volna in Krasnodar Krai in Russia, not far from the Crimean Bridge.
Confiscation of the aggressor state’s assets, nationalization, and asset seizure
The law on nationalization of Sense Bank comes into force; ABHH threatens litigation. On June 16, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law that allows the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to nationalize banks of sanctioned owners.
In particular, this applies to the last major Russia-linked bank in Ukraine, Sense Bank (which had operated under the name Alfa-Bank until Dec. 1). The bank’s ultimate beneficial owners are sanctioned Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, and Andrey Kosogov.
According to Ekonomichna Pravda (EP), the most likely dates for nationalization are June 23 or 30.
Meanwhile, ABH Holdings S.A. (ABHH), the nominal owner of Sense Bank’s shares, said that it was seriously concerned that the NBU would nationalize Sense Bank and only give a nominal amount to ABHH in compensation. ABHH said that it would complain to an international court in that case.
Earlier, the company appealed to the National Security and Defense Council, asking for permission for the bank’s shares to be sold to a European investor. ABHH claimed that the proceeds from the sale would not go to the sanctioned owners.
In SOE Weekly (Issue 91), we reported that the Verkhovna Rada adopted Draft Law No. 9107-1, which allows the NBU to nationalize Sense Bank.
HACC Appeals Chamber rules to nationalize Deripaska’s quarries; rejects the request to nationalize two quarries saying they are not Deripaska’s. On June 16, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) considered the challenges of companies owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska against the HACC’s Feb. 16 decision to confiscate his assets.
The HACC Appeals Chamber decided to uphold the decision of the HACC to impose sanctions and confiscate 100% of the corporate rights of the following companies: Aluminium Company of Ukraine LLC, Metallurg Service Centre LLC, Mykolaiv Alumina Plant LLC, Hlukhiv Quartzite Quarry LLC, and Zaporizhzhia Lumintorh LLC.
At the same time, the HACC Appeals Chamber denied the Ministry of Justice’s request to confiscate Khust Quarry PJSC and Zhezheliv Quarry PJSC, finding that the evidence of their connection to Deripaska was insufficient. The ruling cannot be appealed.
Ihor Mazepa, CEO of Concorde Capital, previously stated that Khust and Zhezheliv quarries belong to him, Vitaliy Antonov, Vasyl Danylyak, and a German national, Florian Guth. He claimed that none of the investors are related to the Russian oligarchy.
“We bought these assets from Strabag, an Austrian building materials manufacturer, where Deripaska had a 27% stake. That is, these assets have nothing to do with Strabag or its minority shareholder Deripaska,” Mazepa said.
Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko expressed disappointment with the decision, saying that it did “not fully comply with the one we sought and fought for,” but Deripaska’s primary assets would be recovered by the state.
In SOE Weekly (Issue 75), we reported that, on Feb. 16, the HACC satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice and ruled to transfer companies owned by Deripaska to Ukrainian state ownership.
In Issue 70, we reported that the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit with the HACC, seeking to seize assets belonging to Deripaska. | Not_Explicit |
A pair of tornadoes travelling side by side in Colorado made for “one of the most incredible tornado sights” AccuWeather storm chaser Tony Laubach has ever seen.
Video of the weather phenomenon that happened 100 miles east of Denver, Colo., Wednesday shows the sister twisters simultaneously sweeping over a field roughly two hours from where heavy hail injured dozens of Louis Tomlinson fans at the Red Rocks Amphitheater that same night.
The tornadoes, a large one and a smaller one, were nearly joined by a third twister that dissipated, according to AccuWeather.
“[It was] one of the most incredible tornado sights I have witnessed, especially in the state of Colorado,” Laubach reported.
He’s been “chasing weather” for more than two decades, according to his Twitter profile.
Laubach said the whirling winds didn’t appear to damage any structures, though winds produced by the thunderstorm that created the tornadoes knocked down power lines and flipped over an RV.
Such tornadoes are rarely seen in Colorado due to the state’s relatively dry temperatures, according to AccuWeather. The Coloradoan reports that Colorado averages fewer than 50 funnels annually. They’ve claimed five lives since 1950.
In comparison, Texas averages 133 tornadoes per year, according to USA Today, making it the nation’s most heavily hit state by far. In second place to the Lone State State, Kansas averages 85 annual twisters. Meanwhile, New York averages 10 tornadoes per year, according to Spectrum News. Only six were confirmed in 2022.
A powerful tornado ripped through Matador, Texas Wednesday night killing four people and leaving several more injured. Storms in west Texas are blamed for unleashing at least three twisters and tennis-ball sized hail. | Not_Explicit |
HONOLULU -- Authorities have arrested a man and woman they say supplied the fentanyl in a mass overdose that left two people dead in a room at an oceanfront Hawaii hotel.
Avery Garrard and Keina Drageset were taken into custody Friday and are charged with conspiring with each other and others to distribute fentanyl that resulted in death, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
Honolulu police and paramedics found five people who were either unresponsive or needed medical help at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort on June 4. One man was pronounced dead at the scene, and another later died at a hospital.
As of Tuesday, the Honolulu medical examiner's office hadn't determined a cause of death for either man.
The three who survived told Drug Enforcement Administration investigators they had believed the drugs, which were acquired by one of the dead men, were cocaine or MDMA.
“All three did not know the substance possibly contained fentanyl,” a DEA agent wrote in the complaint.
Two people named in the document as sources who have not yet been charged but are cooperating with law enforcement identified Garrard and Drageset as the suppliers of the fentanyl.
A search of the couple’s apartment last week in a Honolulu luxury building turned up approximately $100,000 in cash in a safe, along with drugs that tested positive for fentanyl, the complaint said. They were arrested later that day in a white Tesla.
Neal Kugiya, an attorney representing Garrard, declined to comment before an initial appearance for the pair scheduled for Tuesday.
Jacquelyn Esser, Drageset’s attorney, said she would respond to a request for comment after meeting with her client.
Fentanyl is an opioid many times more powerful than heroin and typically is prescribed to treat severe pain. It frequently appears as an illegal street drug mixed with other substances.
Experts say the growing prevalence of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply is a top driver of the increasing number of overdose deaths in the U.S. | Not_Explicit |
USFL South Division Championship live updates: Breakers vs. Stallions
The 2023 USFL postseason is in full swing, and we've got you covered with all of Sunday's must-see action on FOX!
All eyes are on the South Division, as the powerhouse Birmingham Stallions (8-2) host the tough New Orleans Breakers (7-3) at Protective Stadium (7 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) in the weekend's final game.
The Stallions clinched their spot in the South Division title game with the win over Memphis in Week 10, eliminating the Showboats in the process. The Breakers secured a playoff spot with their Week 10 win over Houston, which in turn eliminated the Gamblers.
Here are the top moments!
Fire fits
Is your popcorn ready? The Breakers had the dazzling drip on full display as they dropped in to Protective Stadium for the game.
Get. Ready.
The Stallions were pumped and ready for game action as they approached their biggest matchup of the season, and our cameras captured the pregame scene inside a huddle.
Stay tuned for updates!
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2023 USFL playoff predictions, expert picks by Chris 'The Bear' Fallica
2023 USFL Playoffs: Schedule, how to watch, dates, times, TV
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After USFL's Maulers, some of sports' biggest recent worst-to-first turnarounds
Breakers vs. Stallions: USFL's best battle for South Division Championship
2023 USFL Division Championship odds: Betting lines, spreads, results | Not_Explicit |
President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness program survived a procedural challenge on Wednesday as the House couldn’t find the votes to override his veto of a bill aimed at killing the program.
The House passed a resolution in May to end what Republicans say is an illegal attempt by Biden to forgive billions in student loans, effectively throwing that debt on the backs of taxpayers. After the Senate approved the same resolution, Biden vetoed it in June.
On Wednesday, the House tried to override that veto but failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed. The House voted 221-206 to override Biden, dozens of votes short of the target thanks to Democrats who all voted to protect Biden’s veto – except for two who voted with the GOP.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., argued on behalf of Democrats that 43 million Americans are eligible for "loan relief" under Biden’s plan, many of whom are low-income people who need such relief. But Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., argued that Americans know that the program unfairly shifts this debt to taxpayers.
"President Biden’s radical plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt via executive fiat is utter hogwash. The American people are not fooled by the deceptive, doctored-up talking points on student loans that the left has attempted to force-feed them over the past two years."
The House vote effectively kills the attempt by Republicans in Congress to terminate Biden’s controversial loan program. But the Supreme Court may yet rule against it in an upcoming case and could issue that ruling in a matter of days.
The resolution was written under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to kill recent executive branch decisions. The House passed the resolution, 218-203, in May, and that was followed by a 52-46 vote in the Senate – neither of those margins were enough to override Biden’s veto.
When Biden vetoed the resolution, he argued that the COVID-19 pandemic was a reason to provide up to $20,000 in student loan debt relief to millions of Americans.
"The pandemic was devastating for families across the nation," Biden said. "To give borrowers the essential relief they need as they recover from the economic strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Education created a program to provide up to $10,000 in debt relief – and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients – reaching more than 40 million hard-working Americans."
While the COVID emergency is over, Biden and other Democrats say that relief is still needed.
"It is a shame for working families across the country that lawmakers continue to pursue this unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief to millions of their own constituents, even as several of these same lawmakers have had tens of thousands of dollars of their own business loans forgiven by the Federal Government," Biden said in his veto message. | Not_Explicit |
Additionally, Matos’ 11 runs through his first 10 career games match Willie McCovey for the most in franchise history through a Giants’ first 10 games.
Matos had one run in San Francisco’s 7-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday at Oracle Park, which came off the rookie’s first major league home run. Furthermore, that long ball created history for Matos.
LUIS MATOS FIRST CAREER HOME RUN ‼️ pic.twitter.com/lMkjY7eSMP
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 24, 2023
The outfielder hit a two-run shot to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning, allowing Matos to become the youngest Giant (21 years, 147 days old) to hit a home run since Matt Williams (21 years, 142 days old) on April 10, 1987.
The youngest Giant to homer since 1987 👀 pic.twitter.com/0Iv4eJyMMP
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 24, 2023
“Everything,” Matos told reporters with laughter about the postgame celebrational shower. “It was the coldest shower I’ve ever got in my life.”
"It was the coldest shower I've ever got in my life."
Luis Matos on the postgame clubhouse celebrations 😂 pic.twitter.com/YYzskEz3MH
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 25, 2023
The Giants' budding young star likely isn’t done making history at the pace he’s currently playing this 2023 MLB season. San Francisco now sits 1 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West, thanks to the play of Matos and Co. | Not_Explicit |
The damaged portion of Philadelphia’s Interstate 95 will reopen six lanes of traffic at noon on Friday, according to a Thursday press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The announcement comes after construction crews have been working around the clock to repair the highway ahead of schedule.
During a Wednesday briefing, Governor Josh Shapiro and PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll stated the closed section would reopen sometime this weekend.
“Based on the tremendous progress these crews made over the weekend and the time it takes to complete the remaining steps, I can now say that we will have I-95 back open this weekend,” Shapiro said.
The updated press release claims that “temporary travel lanes ... three in each direction” will be opened Friday.
Meanwhile, work continues “to rebuild the outer sections of the permanent bridge. Throughout the day [Wednesday], crews placed the final outside and median barriers for the new roadway,” the release states.
The reconstruction has been in response to a June 11 incident, in which a raised section of the roadway collapsed after a tanker truck carrying gasoline crashed and went up in flames underneath.
Roughly 2,000 tons of lightweight glass nuggets were transported in for a speedy and innovative rebuild of the interstate that President Joe Biden called “critical to our economy and it’s critical to our quality of life.”
Upon touring the damage site with Gov. Shapiro, Biden stated, “There’s no more important project right now in the country as far as I’m concerned.” | Not_Explicit |
It seemed as if the age of cheap money would never end. The Bank of England’s base interest rate was cut to 0.5 per cent in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and it would remain below 1 per cent for the next 13 years. A succession of economic shocks – the 2016 Brexit vote, the Covid-19 pandemic – led Threadneedle Street to adopt ever-looser monetary policy.
But the return of “the beast of inflation” – the phrase used by the Bank’s former chief economist Andy Haldane in a prescient essay published in the New Statesman in 2021 – has forced a reckoning. As this issue went to press, the Bank of England was expected to raise its base rate to at least 4.75 per cent – a level not seen since October 2008, just after the crash. A typical two-year mortgage now has an interest rate of more than 6 per cent. As a consequence, 800,000 households due to remortgage will pay an average of £2,900 a year more.
The new era of monetary tightening will have dramatic economic and political consequences. In their quest to return inflation to 2 per cent, both the Bank of England and the government appear prepared to accept a potential recession. The former has announced an external review of its forecasting model after being humiliated by the inflation it promised would be temporary.
Questions should also be asked about the Bank’s decision to expand quantitative easing (QE) – digitally created money used to buy government bonds – by £450bn in 2020-21. This, as Mr Haldane foresaw, inevitably had inflationary consequences (he voted in June 2021 to reduce the eventual stock of QE by £50bn).
The Bank is racing to catch the beast of inflation but it is losing credibility by the day. As mortgage rates surge, there are calls for the state to intervene, as it did to cap energy bills last year. The Liberal Democrats, bidding for middle-class voters in the Conservative Blue Wall, have demanded a £3bn “mortgage protection fund” to protect families falling into arrears.
But such a policy would have predictably inflationary consequences. Rather than intervening yet again to subsidise the housing market, the state needs to end its addiction to doing so.
The pain faced by borrowers is a consequence of successive housing booms: while house prices are 65 times higher now than in 1970, average wages are only 35 times higher. Over the decade that followed the 2008 financial crisis, ultra-low interest rates sustained a form of zombie capitalism and created an illusion of prosperity. But this bargain is unravelling. The only long-term solution is for the UK to evolve an economic model no longer based on hyper-financialisation, one in which productive investment trumps rent extraction.
The Conservatives, the party that championed a “property-owning democracy”, now face a political crisis as well as an economic one. There are just three Tory seats – Chelsea and Fulham, Kensington and Cities of London and Westminster – where home ownership is below 50 per cent. The rise of new-build suburbs and a decade of cheap credit was an underrated factor in the Conservatives’ march across the Red Wall in 2019.
But Labour must face its own reckoning. The end of cheap money has prompted the party to delay its pledge to spend £28bn a year on green investment, and to rule out universal childcare. Shadow cabinet ministers face an increasingly Hobbesian struggle as they bid for scarcer financial resources.
Yet Labour has choices available to it. The party has to date focused on uncontentious tax rises, such as abolishing the non-domiciled tax status and levying VAT on private-school fees. But it could raise far more by taxing wealth and unearned income such as capital gains.
The problem is not, as both Labour and Conservative politicians sometimes suggest, that “there is no money left”. Rather, it is concentrated at the top and increasingly absent at the bottom.
A world of higher interest rates will force politicians to confront choices they avoided during a decade of delusion. No government can credibly rely on growth or borrowing to fund its priorities. Who then will pay as the age of cheap money ends?
[See also: Austerity on trial]
This article appears in the 21 Jun 2023 issue of the New Statesman, The AI wars | Not_Explicit |
|Cinch Championships|
|Venue: Queen's Club, London Dates: 17-25 June|
|Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two, Red Button, the BBC Sport website and app, with live text commentary of selected matches online.|
British number one Cameron Norrie's run at Queen's ended with a disappointing 6-4 7-6 (7-1) quarter-final defeat by American Sebastian Korda.
World number 13 Norrie, the 2021 Queen's finalist, made too many errors in a subdued first-set performance.
Norrie, 27, improved in the second set but some poor shots and a double fault resulted in a one-sided tie-break.
World number 32 Korda will face top seed Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-4.
- Britons Hewett and Reid set up Queen's semi-final
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Norrie, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, was broken in the fifth game but had three break points of his own in the following game.
However, he was unable to take advantage as Korda's serve got him out of trouble.
Norrie needed back-to-back aces to hold his next service game, but could not make inroads on Korda's serve as he lost the opening set.
Norrie trailed early in the second set but hauled himself back to 3-3, the first time he was able to get near Korda's serve.
But Korda, the son of former Australian Open winner Petr and brother of major champion golfer Nelly, raced away with the tie-break to reach the last four on his Queen's debut.
Korda, 22, said: "It's massive. I'm playing really well on grass, I feel comfortable and I'm really enjoying myself here.
"Everything is clicking right now."
Meanwhile, Britain's Neal Skupski and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof lost 6-3 7-6 (7-4) in the semi-finals of the men's doubles to American Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic.
'It gave me fire in the belly to beat him'
Second seed Holger Rune of Denmark will face Alex de Minaur in the other singles semi-final after overcoming Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 7-5 in a match spiced up when the Italian smashed an overhead straight at him.
"He can do what he wants," said Rune. "I mean, it's not the best thing to do, for sure. But again, it is legal. He can hit the ball where he wants to.
"It just gave me fire in the belly to beat him even more. I'm super happy to manage to beat him in two sets. It feels good. I'm in the semi-final, he's not. So I'm happy."
Australian De Minaur, who beat Andy Murray in his opening match, defeated Adrian Mannarino of France 6-4 4-6 6-4.
Medvedev loses in Halle while Sinner suffers injury
Russian top seed Daniil Medvedev lost 7-5 7-6 (7-3) to Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut in the Halle Open quarter-finals.
Third seed Andrey Rublev came from behind to defeat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 3-6 6-3 6-4 and set up a meeting with Bautista Agut.
Germany's Alexander Zverev also progressed with a 7-5 6-3 win over Chile's Nicolas Jarry.
Zverev will play Kazakh Alexander Bublik in the last four after Bublik advanced when Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner withdrew with a right leg injury.
Bublik won the first set 7-5 and was up 2-0 in the second when Sinner pulled out.
Sinner, the world number nine, will hope to be fit for Wimbledon, which starts on 3 July.
World number 11 Karen Khachanov has withdrawn from Wimbledon because of a stress fracture in his back.
The 27-year-old revealed he suffered the injury at the French Open, where he reached the quarter-finals before losing to Novak Djokovic. | Not_Explicit |
Snoop Dogg takes a potshot at Biden with his new ‘Sleepy Joe OG’ cannabis strain
So you’ve got to expect that anytime you get your hands on a Snoop-endorsed strain of cannabis, you’re in for a wild ride.
If you smoke Snoop Dogg’s latest pack, though, you’ll do more than just fall asleep.
The rapper, who employs a full-time blunt roller, posted a photo of a bag of weed on his Instagram Sunday, proudly featuring a sketch of President Joe Biden above the words “Sleepy Joe OG.”
“You won’t even remember what country you are in!,” the packaging boasts, next to flags for Ukraine, China and Russia. “Where am I???” it reads under Biden’s image.
Rap legend Snoop Dogg knows the cost of living is rising, and he’s doing his part to keep his personal blunt roller happy.
As is tradition, commenters flooded the rap mogul’s comment section with laughing emojis.
“Do I hit it and get my vote back?” quipped rapper Nhale, son of the late West Coast legend Nate Dogg.
Of course, the “Sleepy Joe” moniker has dogged the president for years, beginning in 2020 when former President Donald Trump used it to slight his then-opponent. And Snoop has trolled Biden before, photoshopping the 79-year-old politician using a stairlift to board Air Force One after Biden stumbled and fell on the stairs in March.
‘It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career,’ Snoop Dogg said in a statement.
Snoop isn’t the biggest Trump fan, either. In 2017, he pulled a toy gun on a clown dressed as Trump in his BadBadNotGood-assisted music video for a remix of “Lavender.” (He did celebrate Trump for pardoning his friend and Death Row co-founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris in 2021.)
For Snoop, though, the roasts are nonpartisan; if you slip up, he’s likely to come and find you.
It's a date
Get our L.A. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. | Not_Explicit |
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged an additional $1.3 billion in assistance to help Ukraine rebuild following the Russian invasion.
Most of the funds will be directed to restoring the country’s battered energy grid and critical infrastructure ranging from ports to rail lines and border crossings.
The top US diplomat announced the new funds in London, where he is attending the Ukraine Recovery conference, hosted by the UK government. The meeting aims to unite allies behind an organized effort to help Kyiv sustain its economy as it presses forward with a counteroffensive to reclaim territory from Russian forces.
“Recovery is about more than just ensuring people have what they need to survive — food to eat, water to drink,” Blinken told the conference, which was also attended by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and featured a video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Recovery is about laying the foundation for Ukraine to thrive as a secure, independent country fully integrated with Europe, connected to markets around the world.”
The new financing brings the total of US funding for Ukraine to around $64 billion, according to a State Department statement.
The US money will add to a much bigger financial aid package from the European Commission, which has proposed $55 billion to help finance the Ukrainian government’s current expenditures and urgent reconstruction priorities.
Speaking at the conference, Blinken said the US is sending $520 million toward repairing and modernizing Ukraine’s energy grid, half of which has been destroyed — and $657 will go toward devastated critical infrastructure including rail lines, ports and border crossings. Another $100 million will help digitize Ukraine’s customs systems to “boost speed and cut corruption, Blinken said.
Read more:
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North Korea describes US Secretary Blinken’s China visit as ‘begging trip’North Korea on Wednesday criticized US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s recent visit to Beijing as a “begging trip” to ease tensions in what it ... World News
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State Secretary Blinken, Xi pledge to stabilize ties between both countriesThe United States and China have pledged to stabilize their badly deteriorated ties during a critical visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony ... World News
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State Secretary Blinken says China spy balloon incident ‘should be closed’US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the spy balloon incident with China “should be closed” in an interview with MSNBC posted online on ... World News | Not_Explicit |
The next version of the prompt-based AI image generator, Stable Diffusion, will produce more photorealistic images and be better at making hands. SDXL 0.9, a follow-up to Stable Diffusion XL, “produces massively improved image and composition detail over its predecessor” according to Stability AI. The announcement appeared in a since-deleted blog post and was reported by Bloomberg.
Stability AI describes the new model as providing “a leap in creative use cases for generative AI imagery.” Sample images included in the blog post revealed advancements when using the same prompts in Stable Diffusion XL beta and SDXL 0.9. The images generated with the newer model — including aliens, a wolf and a person holding a coffee cup — appear to show finer detail and more convincing hands. Hands were an easy “tell” to spot AI-generated art — at least until Midjourney v5, a rival platform that runs on Discord, launched in March.
“Despite its ability to be run on a standard home computer, SDXL 0.9 presents a leap in creative use cases for generative AI imagery,” Stability AI said. “The ability to generate hyper-realistic creations for films, television, music, and instructional videos, as well as offering advancements for design and industrial use, places SDXL at the forefront of real world applications for AI imagery.”
Stability AI writes that the new model’s “significant increase in parameter count (the sum of all the weights and biases in the neural network that the model is trained on)” allows for the improved results. Running SDXL 0.9 locally on a PC will require a minimum of 16GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 20 (or higher) graphics card with 8GB of VRAM. It supports Windows 11 / 10 and Linux.
According to the deleted blog post, the model will soon be available on Stability AI’s Clipdrop web tool and will be added to the startup’s DreamStudio app. The startup says the open-source version of SDXL 1.0 will arrive in mid-July. | Not_Explicit |
Sports collectibles like trading cards, autographs and other memorabilia have been big business for decades. With MMA, it’s no different.
From signed Bellator gloves and UFC posters to fight-worn gear and an abundance of pricey trading cards, just about any MMA collectible fans are looking for has popped up for sale at some point.
Here’s a look at not only some of the priciest MMA collectibles sold on eBay in the past week, but some of the most fun and interesting, as well.
Also see:
$8,500: Khabib autographed card, 1/1
$4,350: Tom Aspinall rookie card, 1/1
Auction listing: 2022 Panini Prizm UFC Tom Aspinall RC Black 1/1 #134
$3,250: 5 unopened packs of UFC Panini Kaboom
Auction listing: (5) 2022 UFC Panini Kaboom Packs
$400: Su Madaerji rookie card, 1/1
Auction listing: 2022 Select MUDAERJI SU Rookie UFC BLACK FLASH PRIZM #73 1/1
$1,325: Jon Jones autographed card
$2,750: Nate Diaz Panini Kaboom PSA 10
Auction listing: 2022 1ST Panini Instant UFC #7 Nate Diaz Kaboom! SSP PSA 10 GEM MINT
$2,600: Khamzat Chimaev card, PSA 10
Auction listing: 2021 Select UFC Khazmat Chimaev Gold Disco Prizm Psa10 Rookie
$299.99: Fedor signed/framed glove, display
$289.99: Royce Gracie/Ken Shamrock signed canvas
$110: Signed glove with Felice Herrig, Patrcio Freire, Carla Esparza, more
$450: Ronda Rousey Panini Kaboom card
Auction listing: 2023 WWE REVOLUTION Ronda Rousey KABOOM 🔥🔥🔥
$171.59: Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate signed glove
Auction listing: Miesha Tate Amanda Nunes Autograph Signed UFC Glove MMA JSA
$769: Ilia Topuria rookie card, PSA 10
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, that’s on you. | Not_Explicit |
The former head of the UK Armed Forces has warned all three services are "too small" and that the Royal Navy's Type 45 Destroyers are arguably Britain's only counter-missile systems that could defend against a multiple missile attack of the kind that Russia is deploying against Ukraine.
General Sir Nick Carter, speaking to a group of MPs examining the readiness of the UK's Armed Forces at the defence committee, warned Britain could struggle to win a lengthy state-on-state war.
He voiced repeated concerns about the size of Britain's Armed Forces, which according to Ministry of Defence (MOD) figures in January 2023, places the number at just over 143,560 regulars, saying: "I think all of our Armed Forces have become too small.
"I don't think we have resilience in them to be able to be confident that if a peer-on-peer war broke out we would have any capability left after the first couple of months of the engagement."
Gen Sir Nick warned that the UK has a particular vulnerability around air defence, explaining how a multiple missile attack such as the ones Russia has been using against Ukraine would pose a considerable challenge for Britain.
He said: "The extent to which we've got a counter-missile system is debatable and arguably, the Type 45 is the only capability in the country that can deal with that sort of problem.
"So, a counter-missile defence, a sort of Patriot-type system, being used now in Kyiv – it's that sort of capability."
The Patriot missile system is being used by Ukraine to counter the threat of Russian air strikes.
Three countries have sent the Patriot to Ukraine – the US, Netherlands and Germany. Created by the United States, the Patriot system is used to intercept and destroy incoming cruise missiles and aircraft.
Standing for the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target, the Patriot's batteries consist of eight launchers, each with the capacity to fire four missiles.
The Royal Navy has six Type 45 Destroyers, considered to be the backbone of Britain's naval fleet, which it says are among the most advanced warships ever built, equipped with the Sea Viper missile.
Also known as PAAMS (Principle Anti Air Missile System), once airborne, the Sea Viper system can guide 16 missiles to targets that are as far away as 70 miles (113km), engaging multiple targets simultaneously.
Gen Sir Nick also recalled his concerns about the impact of the nuclear deterrent on defence finances during his time as the head of the Armed Forces.
He said: "I always used to worry as the Chief of the Defence Staff that the nuclear programme was taking up so much of our resource that we were diminishing our conventional deterrence as a consequence.
"And what we absolutely see with Russia, if you look at their ability to be able to manage escalation up and down levels of effort, it's much better than what we in the West have got."
The committee has set out to determine the main gaps in Armed Forces readiness and whether Government plans are sufficient to address these shortfalls.
MPs are continuing to hear from a range of witnesses for their report. | Not_Explicit |
Meet the kids of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Doctor Who set pictures reunite the Doctor with an old friend. Plus, get a look at this week’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. To me, my Spoilers!
Mortal Kombat 2 producer Todd Garner shared a behind-the-scenes photo of the upcoming sequel’s cast on Twitter.
Relatedly, another Twitter post teasing the Saw X logo suggests the first teaser will release later this week.
The cast and crew of Dial of Destiny discuss the film’s action sequences in a new featurette.
Elsewhere, Seth Rogen introduces each member of his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles voice cast in a new Mutant Mayhem featurette.
The Asylum’s Transmorphers franchise returns with a Rise of the Beasts mockbuster available on VOD this Friday.
During a recent interview with Yahoo! (via Redanian Intelligence), The Witcher producer Tomek Baginski stated Liam Hemsworth’s introduction as the new Geralt of Rivia will be “very, very close to the meta ideas which are deeply embedded in the books, especially book five.”
We have a very, very good plan to introduce our new Geralt and our new vision for Geralt with Liam. Not going deeply into those ideas because this will be a huge spoiler, [but] it’s also very, very close to the meta ideas which are deeply embedded in the books, especially in book five. It’s very lore accurate. It’s very close to what was set out in the books and I think this change will be quite flawless. But at the same time it will be a new Geralt, it will be a new face for this character and I think it will also be very, very exciting to see.
Meanwhile, new behind-the-scenes photos see Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor riding an orange vespa with Bonnie Langford as the returning companion, Melanie Bush.
Jamie is “pulled back into the Revolutionary War” in the synopsis for “A Most Uncomfortable Woman,” the fourth episode of season seven.
On the way to Scotland, Jamie is pulled back into the Revolutionary War. William is sent on a covert mission. Roger and Brianna struggle to adapt to life in the 1980s.
Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk returns in photos from “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” this week’s episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Head over to Comic Book to see the rest.
Finally, Emma returns home in a clip from this week’s season finale of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. | Not_Explicit |
San Francisco’s fire chief is fed up with robotaxis that mess with her firetrucks. And L.A. is next
Robotaxis keep tangling with firefighters on the streets of San Francisco, and the fire chief is fed up.
“They’re not ready for prime time,” Chief Jeanine Nicholson said.
Nicholson is talking about the driverless taxis from Waymo and Cruise that are picking up passengers and dropping them off in designated sections of the city. Now those companies want to rapidly expand service throughout the entire city, in unlimited numbers, in any kind of weather, day or night. And state regulators appear ready to approve their request.
City leaders are worried — not only in San Francisco, but in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, too, where Waymo and another robotaxi company, Motional, say they’re ready to deploy their AI-operated robotaxi service as soon as state regulators flash the green light.
The robotaxi industry is being allowed to move too fast and break things, these officials say, putting more robotaxis on public streets even as they prove inept at dealing with firetrucks, ambulances and police cars. And, they say, California state agencies have set up the rules so cities have little say in autonomous vehicle regulation.
“I’m not against the technology. I understand it’s important and it’s the way the industry is going,” Nicholson said. “But we need to fix what’s not working right now, before they are unleashed on the rest of the city.”
San Francisco officials want to delay a vote on robotaxi expansion while issues with emergency vehicles are sorted out.
State regulators track robotaxi collisions, but they don’t track data on traffic flow issues, such as street blockages or interference with firetrucks.
But the Fire Department does. Since Jan. 1, the Fire Department has logged at least 39 robotaxi incident reports.
Although, as the driverless industry notes, robot cars don’t get tired, don’t drive drunk or high, and aren’t distracted by their iPhones, they do often stop dead in traffic for no apparent reason. Sometimes these robo-roadblocks are brief, but sometimes the road obstructions last long enough to require a robotaxi company employee to travel to the scene and move the car out of the way.
The Fire Department incidents include reports of robotaxis:
- Running through yellow emergency tape and ignoring warning signs to enter a street strewn with storm-damaged electrical wires, then driving past emergency vehicles with some of those wires snarled around rooftop lidar sensors.
- Twice blocking firehouse driveways, requiring another firehouse to dispatch an ambulance to a medical emergency.
- Sitting motionless on a one-way street and forcing a firetruck to back up and take another route to a blazing building.
- Pulling up behind a firetruck that was flashing its emergency lights and parking there, interfering with firefighters unloading ladders.
- Entering an active fire scene, then parking with one of its tires on top of a fire hose.
After a mass shooting June 9 that wounded nine people, a robotaxi blocked a lane in front of emergency responders in the city’s Mission District. Another lane was open, but in a news release, the Fire Department said on a narrower street, the blockage could have been “catastrophic.”
To deal with a troublesome robotaxi, firefighters attempt to communicate with a remote robotaxi operator, who sometimes can move the car out of the way.
If that proves impossible, the robotaxi company must dispatch a human to the scene. In one case, a firefighter had to smash through a window to coax a robotaxi to move out of the way.
‘Dealing with life and death’
The fire chief said each robotaxi company offers training to help deal with “bricked” vehicles.
“We have 160,000 calls a year. We don’t have the time to personally take care of a car that’s in the way when we’re on the way to an emergency,” she said.
Hannah Lindow, spokesperson for Cruise, said the company is “proud of our publicly reported safety record which includes driving millions of miles in an extremely complex urban environment. Interacting properly with emergency personnel is important to us, which is why we maintain an open line of communication with first responders to receive feedback and discuss specific incidents to improve our response.”
While regulators investigate a spate of Teslas steering themselves into parked vehicles, Tesla owners have been reporting faulty collision-avoidance systems.
Waymo issued a prepared statement: “Safety is at the heart of our mission and we have consistently shared more detail than any other [autonomous vehicle] company regarding our methodologies and insights into our performance. We believe this transparency benefits our riders — who are enjoying a safe, accessible, and delightful mobility option tens of thousands of times per week — and encourages a richer conversation about safety in the industry.”
Nicholson acknowledged that no one has yet been killed or injured due to robotaxi misbehavior. “But I don’t want something bad to happen because we can’t get to a scene. A fire can double in size in a minute. We are dealing with life and death, and I’m not being dramatic in saying that.”
The robotaxi industry in California comes under the jurisdiction of two state agencies — the Department of Motor Vehicles, which issues permits and is responsible for safety, and the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates commercial passenger service, including buses, taxis and limousines.
The utilities commission is set to vote on robotaxi expansion June 29. The resolutions it will vote on make clear that, under the agency’s own rules, issues such as traffic flow and interference with emergency workers can’t be used to deny expansion permits. The resolutions list four “goals” to be considered: inclusion of people with disabilities; improved transportation options for the disadvantaged; reduction of greenhouse gases; and passenger safety.
Critics note that although the commission concerns itself with the safety of robotaxi passengers, it defers other safety issues to the DMV. The DMV collects data on collisions and has the power to suspend permits, but so far has taken no action or made any statements about robotaxi interference with firefighters.
The DMV declined to make its director, Steve Gordon, available for an interview, but issued a statement suggesting that its 4-year-old rules might be open to amendment at some point: “The DMV developed its autonomous vehicle regulations using a public process whereby stakeholders (e.g., local, state, federal government agencies, academia, interest groups, industry representatives) provided input in the development. Comments provided during this process were considered and addressed as part of the rulemaking in the Final Statement of Reasons. The DMV implemented the first set of regulations in 2014, the second in 2018 and the third in 2019. Any future regulations will use a similar process where members of the public and other stakeholders will be invited to participate and provide comments.”
Why doesn’t the DMV have anything to say about its investigation of Tesla’s autonomous driving claims after a full year? The agency isn’t talking, and lawmakers are getting impatient.
Robotaxi regulation issues go beyond robotaxi expansion: The entire way in which California regulates autonomous technology is being questioned.
The DMV has come under fire in the state Assembly, which passed a bill in May that would take away some of the agency’s power to regulate driverless big-rig trucks. Several legislators said they voted in favor of it in part because they believe the DMV has done a poor job of regulating driverless cars.
Safety data censored
In 2021, the DMV joined with Waymo on a court-approved deal to allow driverless car companies to censor not only trade secrets but basic information on safety performance, including most details of collision reports as well as information on how the company handles driverless car emergencies.
The industry is tight with the information it releases to the public about its operations on public roads.
Waymo won’t say how many cars it runs in San Francisco. Cruise said it operates 150 to 300 cars but won’t be more precise. Neither company will say how large its fleet will grow, or how quickly. Neither Waymo nor Motional will say how many robotaxis they’re testing in Santa Monica and L.A.
City officials in San Francisco, a notoriously fractious bunch, are united in opposing the expansion plan, from Mayor London Breed on down, until traffic flow, emergency scene problems and better communications between the companies and the city are worked out.
“Usually the mayor is on the side of corporations and the supervisors are on the other side,” said Board of Supervisors member Aaron Peskin. “We’re saying, don’t give them everything they want until these things are proven. Don’t make us the guinea pigs.”
Waymo, Google’s robotaxi spinoff, has come to Los Angeles. What happens when autonomous vehicles invade the traffic capital of the country?
The fire chief wonders why the ability to deal with emergency scenes was not made a high priority.
“If they can do all this stuff with AI, I’m sure they can figure this stuff out,” Nicholson said.
The utilities commission has gathered expressions of support from dozens of groups that include business organizations, such as the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and advocates for the disabled, such as the American Council for the Blind. The former argue that robotaxi development is essential to keep California at the forefront of innovation, the latter make the case that easy and equitable transportation for all people is a social good that will benefit everyone. No one on any side of the debate has disagreed with either assertion.
But agencies including the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and the city of Santa Monica have filed comments with the commission arguing that robotaxi service should be rolled out incrementally as problems are identified and addressed. Both also called for far more data transparency on robotaxi safety issues.
The industry countered with filings opposing any kind of incremental rollout.
What’s the rush? Robotaxi companies have spent enormous sums developing expensive artificial intelligence technology and want a return on investment.
Cruise, owned by General Motors, has deep pockets. Waymo, owned by Google’s Alphabet, deeper still. But the pressure’s on. In October, Ford and Volkswagen shut down Argo, their robotaxi joint venture, after concluding they’d see better returns investing that money in electric cars and driver-assistance and safety systems.
The utilities commission’s robotaxi expansion measure is slated to be considered as part of a June 29 “consent agenda” package that will gather 50 orders and resolutions on a wide variety of issues, to be passed or rejected by a single vote by the agency’s five commissioners. One of those commissioners, lawyer John Reynolds, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. At the time, he served as general counsel for Cruise. | Not_Explicit |
Strike action by nurses at the Royal College of Nursing will not continue after the union's ballot of its members in England failed to achieve a mandate.
While the majority of members voted to continue to take industrial action, the numbers taking part in the vote were too low for it to count.
Just over 43% too part - below the 50% threshold required.
The RCN balloted its members after the previous six-month mandate for strike action had expired.
Its members were among a minority of health staff who rejected the government's pay deal of a 5% rise this and a lump sum of at least £1,655.
Members of Unison - the biggest NHS union - and those belonging to the bodies representing physios and midwives also backed the deal, which has now started to be paid.
It means only Unite in England has a mandate for strike action - and that is only for local strikes among some ambulance staff and support workers.
The Royal College of Radiographers is still balloting its members.
This pay deal and dispute is separate to the one involving members of the British Medical Association as doctors are on a different contract.
Junior doctors are due to take part in five-day strike next month, while the results of the strike ballot of consultants closed on Tuesday. An announcement on that is due soon.
Members of the RCN have taken part in eight days of strikes since the start of December.
They have involved around half of front-line services.
The RCN is continuing to take strike action in Wales where a different deal was rejected. The union is also seeking a new six-month mandate to continue the walkouts.
An offer by ministers in Scotland was accepted by RCN members earlier in the year. | Not_Explicit |
Story Highlights
- Church attendance down an average four points since before the pandemic
- Declines in attendance are seen among most key subgroups
- Churchgoers are mainly back in person, but 5% still attend virtually
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. church attendance has shown a small but noticeable decline compared with what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. In the four years before the pandemic, 2016 through 2019, an average of 34% of U.S. adults said they had attended church, synagogue, mosque or temple in the past seven days. From 2020 to the present, the average has been 30%, including a 31% reading in a May 1-24 survey.
The recent church attendance levels are about 10 percentage points lower than what Gallup measured in 2012 and most prior years.
The coronavirus pandemic caused millions of Americans to avoid public gatherings, and many houses of worship were closed to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Still, Americans were able to worship remotely through services broadcast over the internet, television or radio. Most of those who reported attending religious services in 2020 said they did so virtually. Even accounting for remote attendance, however, church attendance figures were lower than in prior years.
It is not clear if the pandemic is the cause of the reduced attendance or if the decline is a continuation of trends that were already in motion. However, the temporary closure of churches and ongoing COVID-19 avoidance activities did get many Americans out of the habit of attending religious services weekly.
Attendance rates since 2020 are lower among nearly every major subgroup. The main exceptions are groups that had low levels of church attendance before the pandemic, including adults with no religious affiliation and political liberals.
Church attendance is down four points among Protestants (from 44% to 40%) and seven points among Catholics (from 37% to 30%), the two largest faith groups in the U.S. Sample sizes for those in other religious groups are too small to provide reliable estimates for the period covered in this analysis.
Republicans, Democrats and independents show similar declines in church attendance since the pandemic began -- between three and five percentage points -- though Republicans (40%) remain much more likely than Democrats (25%) or independents (25%) to attend religious services.
Attendance Has Shifted From Virtual to In-Person
The first time Gallup asked about church attendance after the pandemic began, in April 2020, 31% of U.S. adults said they had attended religious services in the past seven days, with 27% doing so virtually and 4% in person. For much of 2020, far more attended virtually than in person, with overall attendance rates ranging from 25% to 31%.
In May 2021, after COVID-19 vaccines were widely available, overall church attendance was steady at 30%, with about twice as many attending in person as remotely.
Since then, the percentage attending in person has continued to grow, to 26% in the May 2023 survey. Now, just 5% say they attend virtually. Those numbers are essentially the reverse of what Gallup measured in the early months of the pandemic.
The current figures indicate that 84% of U.S. adults who recently attended religious services did so in person, while 16% did so remotely. The proportions of in-person and remote attendance are generally similar by subgroup.
Bottom Line
The pandemic had a profound effect on U.S. society, and it continues to have an impact in some ways. Americans have been less likely to attend religious services over the past three years, and at this point, it does not appear that church attendance will revert to pre-pandemic levels. These recent trends have added to the longer-term decline in religious participation that Gallup has documented over the past two decades.
To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter.
Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. | Not_Explicit |
Chris Paul and the Warriors were as close to a rivalry as we have seen in the Western Conference in a decade, and there were moments in their playoff showdowns where you thought there was zero chance they could ever be in the same room again, forget playing with each other.
Chris Paul’s fake laugh never gets old. pic.twitter.com/eMb4HHFuWZ
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) March 24, 2020
Yet here we are — Chris Paul is joining the Warriors .
Any time you get to play with a player who is one of the best of your generation it’s an honor. It’s a little weird because we’ve had so many battles in the past with Chris, and he’s led so many teams that nearly knocked us off or did knock us off all the way back in 2014. I think he’s just going to add such a calming presence and leadership component that we need.
Curry — who has North Carolina ties to Paul — echoed that idea.
If you asked us six months ago if this was something that could happen, the answer probably would’ve been no just based on where we were. Then you get to the summer and are trying to find ways to get better and put yourself in a position to chase another championship. Every team that CP has been on gets better. That’s the most consistent thing about him, and who he is and what he brings to the team. Everybody’s going to talk about the age. It’s on us to put that all together and figure out how all the pieces work.
Everyone with the Warriors is saying all the right things. And maybe they can figure out how to make it all work, these are veteran high IQ players who want to win and are willing to make the sacrifices to do it.
However, there are some monumental challenges for Paul to mesh into the Warriors' culture. Here are the two significant issues at the top of the list:
1) Chris Paul likes to play slow, the Warriors play uptempo and chaotic. CP3 is the NBA king of the walk-the-dog up the court, dribble out top to survey the defense, call up a player to set a pick and create a mismatch, and get the offense rolling. It's calculated and works, but it's deliberate and slow. The Warriors play with pace, space and controlled chaos that defenses scramble to adjust to. Paul talks about playing faster but it will be an adjustment for both sides. This ties into the next big question...
2) Who starts? Chris Paul has never come off the bench in his NBA career. Not one game. Ever. Well-connected Bay Area-based writer Marc Spears of ESPN’s Andscape said he doesn't expect that to change with his move to the Warriors. Starting Paul means center Kevon Looney would have to go to the bench, creating a small-ball starting five of CP3, Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green. Is that enough defense? Does that unsettle the team's rhythm, which historically has saved its small-ball lineups for clutch moments?
In a strictly basketball sense, one can argue Paul should accept the role as a sixth man and take charge of a second unit in need of direction — and he likely plays minutes with Curry and Thompson out — but that tends not to be how things work in the NBA. Asking a player of CP3s stature around the league to come off the bench means getting his sign-off on the idea, and that seems highly unlikely. At least to start the season. This isn't a Steve Kerr thing; when they traded for Chris Paul, the Warriors knew what this would mean for their rotations.
Adding Paul gives the Warriors another high-IQ star and someone with the competitive fire that can help them chase banner No. 5. Getting there will take some serious compromising.
At least Curry and Thompson seem up for the challenge. | Not_Explicit |
Some Russian internet providers made the Google News aggregator platform unavailable during a march by rebel Wagner mercenaries towards Moscow on June 24, the NetBlocks watchdog organization said on Twitter.
A NetBlocks analysis of visit metrics shows that at least five major Russian internet providers, including Rostelecom, U-LAN and Telpus, blocked the Google News service on June 23 and 24.
"Confirmed: Metrics show that the Google News aggregator platform has become unavailable for many users in Russia; the incident comes amid heightened tensions between the Wagner paramilitary group and Moscow," the message reads.
NetBlocks is an online open service that monitors cybersecurity and the digital governance of connectivity on the Internet.
Wagner mercenary company chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced his "march on Moscow" and an armed rebellion against Russian Ministry of Defence in the evening on June 23, allegedly following a Russian Air Force attack on Wagner troops and "civilians."
The conflict had run its course by the evening of June 24, when Prigozhin left Rostov-on-Don, where his fighters had seized all main city military objects. Upon his agreement with Putin, he ordered to stop his mercenaries march on Moscow and all units were ordered to return to combat positions.
The self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko mediated in the talks between Putin and Prigozhin, according to the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The Kremlin pledged to drop all charges against Prigozhin, whose whereabouts are now unknown.
He is thought to have left for Belarus, in line with the deal struck with the Kremlin. | Not_Explicit |
List of Democrats boycotting Modi’s address to Congress grows
The list of Democratic lawmakers boycotting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s joint address to Congress on Thursday is growing.
Progressive Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Summer Lee (D-Pa.) on Thursday said they wouldn’t attend the event. They join fellow progressive Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
“When it comes to standing up for human rights, actions speak louder than words,” Bush and Bowman said in a joint statement with Tlaib and Omar.
The statement blasted the decision to invite the Indian leader adding that “by bestowing Prime Minister Modi with the rare honor of a joint address, Congress undermines its ability to be a credible advocate for the rights of religious minorities and journalists around the world.”
The lawmakers added that they “stand in solidarity with the communities that have been harmed by Modi and his policies.”
“We must never sacrifice human rights at the altar of political expediency and we urge all Members of Congress who profess to stand for freedom and democracy to join us in boycotting this embarrassing spectacle.”
Lee, in a separate statement, said Modi’s government “has targeted journalists, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and jailed political opponents.”
“We are not true allies if we cannot push them to uphold basic human rights and religious freedoms,” she added.
The statements come just hours before the Indian prime minister was set to arrive at the Capitol.
Modi’s speech to the joint session of Congress comes hours after he met with President Biden and announced a slew of military, tech and health deals between the U.S. and India.
During the joint press conference at the White House, Modi brushed aside a question about human rights abuses and democratic backsliding in his country.
While Democrats in both the House and the Senate have urged Biden to address the issue of human rights in his meetings with Modi, the historic address is set to be a widely attended event.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Not_Explicit |
Teamsters strike with UPS could snarl commerce as labor flexes muscle
A strike authorized Friday by Teamsters working for shipping giant UPS is the latest flash point in a conflict between organized labor and global logistics companies that 40-year high inflation triggered.
The UPS Teamsters strike authorization is the latest sign of an emboldened U.S. labor coalition hoping to make gains following poor working conditions, low pay and the cost of living crisis set off by the pandemic.
It arrives on the heels of work stoppages on West Coast ports by longshoremen and port workers earlier this month, as well as a threatened strike last year by U.S. rail workers that prompted the White House to intervene despite the Biden administration’s strong ties to labor.
If the current Teamster negotiations break down, the authorization could lead to the largest U.S. strike in decades, involving some 340,000 warehousing, transportation and delivery workers bound by the largest single private sector bargaining agreement in the country.
“There are multiple scenarios for labor actions to be pretty heavy this year, and the Teamsters at UPS is certainly one of them,” Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) in Buffalo, N.Y., told The Hill.
“There are a lot of frustrations on the part of union workers where they’re feeling like they have not been receiving their fair share of the gains and profits made by different companies,” Wheaton said.
Workers want a larger share of company successes
“Teamsters are working in lockstep for a new five-year agreement that guarantees higher wages for all workers, more full-time jobs, [and] an end to forced overtime and harassment from management,” the union said in a Friday statement announcing their intention to strike if contract negotiations fail.
The Teamsters have said they are fighting for better working conditions and a larger share of soaring company profits.
A representative for the Teamsters, who requested to remain anonymous because of their participation in the ongoing bargaining process, told The Hill on Tuesday that negotiators have reached an agreement on 24 provisions in the national contract so far, but talks on the economics portion of the contract centered on wage levels and pay increases have yet to begin.
Union leaders want an end to what they call a “two-tiered” wage system that allows workers who have been with the company longer to make more money for doing the same job as those who have joined more recently.
This wage system was created during the last contract negotiation five years ago and involves a driver classification known as “22.4,” a job that was supposed to involve both outdoor and less strenuous indoor work. Union reps say that provision quickly turned into a traditional driving position, only for $5 less an hour.
Recently elected Teamsters president Sean O’Brien has been at the table across from UPS every day, establishing a new precedent for negotiations, the Teamsters representative said.
“[Our workers] are busting their butts, they are working hard. And so they deserve every bit of their share of how profitable this company has been,” the person said.
A backdrop of soaring profits
A quick look at UPS’s recent market cap shows just how remarkable those profits have become in the aftermath of the pandemic.
UPS’s trailing 12-month profits rose 30 percent between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2022, as measured by financial data company Macrotrends.
Since the last five-year contract negotiation between the Teamsters and UPS in 2018, company profits have risen to $11.5 billion.
The company felt a major windfall during the pandemic’s economic lockdowns, as people stayed inside and relied more on delivery services, with researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York noting “a significant growth in demand for online shopping.”
‘Greedflation’ pressures economy and revives labor
Even now, as the UPS profit surge has begun to subside, the company’s gains follow wider trends in the economy.
Dubbed “greedflation” by economists, many corporations have seen their profits soar as they’ve raised prices amid high inflation and regulators struggling to cool down the broader economy.
After hovering generally between $1.6 and $2 trillion annually in the decade before the pandemic, corporate profits shot up to more than $3 trillion in the second quarter of last year and have taken up a larger share of prices per unit of real value in the economy.
While profits are now falling back in the direction of pre-pandemic levels, a growing body of literature is blaming a tertiary wave of inflation on increased profits and the increased capacity of companies to charge more due to more tolerant consumer behavior.
“Profits across a broad range of industries have risen markedly. … This means that many firms have so far been able to increase their prices beyond the increase in nominal wages, and in many cases even beyond the increase in energy costs,” European Central Banker Isabel Schnabel noted in a speech last September.
“The rise in profits is strikingly different from previous crises that have all seen profits fall,” she said.
UPS sees labor contract negotiations as a ‘risk’
Asked about the company’s recent profit margins, a representative for UPS told The Hill that profitability at the company allows for increased capacity to hire more workers.
“A growing UPS is beneficial to Teamsters as much as it is to UPS,” Natasha Amadi, a public affairs representative for UPS, said. “We have proven that we are a growth engine for the Teamsters and we want to continue on being that.”
Earlier this month, UPS agreed to “equip all newly purchased U.S. small package delivery vehicles with air conditioning” in 2024.
The company also promised to install additional cab fans and heat shields in delivery trucks, after UPS came under fire for viral social media posts showing excessive temperatures putting drivers in uncomfortable and even dangerous working conditions.
In public filings, UPS lists the results of labor contract negotiations among the “risks” facing its business.
“We must attract, engage, develop and retain a large and diverse global workforce, while controlling labor costs,” the company said in its most recent annual Securities and Exchange Commission filing. “If we are unable to hire, properly train and retain qualified employees, we could experience higher labor costs, reduced revenues, [and] further increased workers’ compensation.”
An increasing number of high-profile labor activities
Across the American business landscape, strikes and work stoppages increased in 2022, with 26 new major strikes affecting more than 120,000 workers, according to Labor Department data.
Similar labor unrest has occurred in many countries, a natural consequence of inflation and a rising cost of living, labor experts say.
But as American approval ratings of labor unions have risen to the highest level since the 1960s and an increasing number of familiar brands, like Starbucks and Apple, are drawn into unionization and organizing campaigns, some experts see a new age of labor activation dawning.
“The United Auto Workers (UAW) have pretty much signaled an all-out war against the Detroit three: that’s Ford, GM and Stellantis, which used to be Chrysler,” Cornell ILR’s Wheaton said.
“If it was just one union rattling its saber and trying to make demands, that’s one thing. But if you’re having Starbucks, Amazon, Apple and all these major companies starting to unionize now, a lot of these pretty substantial bargaining demands become more realistic, especially with all these logistical dilemmas people are having,” he said.
Economists with the United Nations wrote last year that the interest rate tightening cycle that’s now near an end was actually geared more toward getting ahead of the sorts of labor market pressures that are now being realized in increased unionization and more aggressive contract disputes.
“Continued monetary tightening — through rising central bank rates and the normalization of their balance sheets — will have little direct impact on the supply sources of inflation and will instead work indirectly to re-anchor inflationary expectations by further reducing investment demand and pre-empting any incipient labour market pressures,” they wrote in 2022.
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In February 2010, Peter Turchin, a relatively obscure researcher at the University of Connecticut, wrote a letter to the distinguished journal Nature. He was responding to their “2020 visions” issue – an upbeat dawn-of-the-decade exercise that collected predictions of progress from across science and politics. Turchin assumed the role of Cassandra. “The next decade is likely to be a period of growing instability in the United States and western Europe,” he wrote, “which could undermine the sort of scientific progress you describe.” He pointed to waves of disruption that tend to recur every 50 years. “All these cycles look set to peak in the years around 2020.” There was still time to change course, though: with measures to improve wellbeing and reduce economic inequality, “records show that societies can avert disaster”.
Normally scientists enjoy being proved right, but for Turchin, the way the following decade panned out must have seemed a bit too on-the-nose. The response to the financial crisis wasn’t a New Deal-style rescue package as he’d recommended, but austerity and a widening of the gap between rich and poor. Frustration at the established order threw up Brexit in Britain and Trump in the US. Right on cue, 2020 delivered a pandemic, economic chaos and a president who refused to concede defeat at the polls. The following January saw the storming of the Capitol, and images of insurrection that seemed like a throwback to an earlier revolutionary era.
Now Turchin is having another go at explaining those cycles of disruption and what it might take to emerge unscathed (though he tells me that, unlike in 2010, it’s past time to avoid the consequences entirely: “We are in crisis – but it’s not too late to take a less bloody exit.”) His book’s title, End Times, doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, but it does provide a clear theory about how we got into this mess, and how to get out of it. There are some familiar concepts here – falling living standards leading to mass discontent – but others, “elite overproduction” in particular, are much less widely recognised, and genuinely eye-opening.
For a global prophet of doom, Turchin cuts a surprisingly ordinary figure. He speaks to me over Zoom from the sofa in his modest living room in Storrs, Connecticut, essentially a village with a huge university campus attached. “We have a house in the woods,” he tells me, and praises the area’s “low population density” in a way that makes me wonder if he’s prepping for the apocalypse. The reality is less alarming. “You know, my wife has a garden, it’s very comfortable.” A bit like a dacha, he observes – a reminder, alongside his strong accent, that he was born in the USSR – “a country that doesn’t exist any more”. He emigrated with his dissident parents in 1977, when he was 20.
That background makes him less sanguine than others might be about the prospect of societal upheaval – even state collapse. “I went back for the first time since leaving in 1992, and I experienced a failed state. Now, when I’d moved to the United States in 1977, the [country] was really at the brink of several trends beginning to point downwards,” he says, tracing the path of a rollercoaster with his right hand. “I saw the end of the Golden Age – from the common people’s point of view – and it has been downhill since then. So I’m really worried about ending up in another failed state.”
I point out that this will seem like hyperbole to lots of people. “I don’t say that it’s 100% certain,” he counters – and notably refuses to be drawn on whether Trump will be re-elected in 2024. “The road out of crisis opens up a whole set of possibilities, from pretty mild instability all the way to collapse. At this point, pretty much anything is possible.”
What were those downward-pointing trends in the 1970s, then? That decade, Turchin argues, was when the social contract established in the 1930s – Roosevelt’s New Deal – began to disintegrate. For 40 years, America had effectively replicated the Nordic model under which the interests of workers, owners and the state were kept in balance (he’s careful to point out that a significant portion of the population – mostly Black Americans – were always shut out of this cosy arrangement). After that, things began to shift in favour of owners. The power of unions was eroded, as were labour rights. Typical wages started to lag behind economic growth, or even decrease. Quality of life suffered, and with it life expectancy. “Diseases of despair” such as opioid or alcohol abuse grew. Turchin even links the rise of mass shootings to a generalised hopelessness he refers to as “popular immiseration”.
At the same time, the rich got richer – far richer. A system of taxation that weighed most heavily on the highest earners, including a top rate of 90%, was dismantled. The number of decamillionaires, or households worth over $10m, increased from 66,000 in 1983 to 693,000 in 2019, accounting for inflation. The economy chugged along nicely, but the share of it controlled by the wealthiest got larger at the expense of the average earner. Turchin calls this the “wealth pump”. Things are now set up, he argues, so that money gushes away from workers and towards the elite, like a blowout from an oil well.
This has an interesting effect: so-called “elite overproduction”, a phrase coined by Turchin’s colleague, the sociologist Jack Goldstone. “The social pyramid has grown top heavy,” he explains, with rich families and top universities churning out more wealthy graduates than the system can accommodate. To illustrate this, Turchin describes a game of musical chairs with a twist. There’s always been a limited number of powerful positions, be they senator, governor, supreme court justice or media mogul. In an era of elite overproduction, rather than chairs being taken away whenever the music stops, the number of competitors increases instead. Before you know it, there are far more people than can realistically attain high office. Fights break out. Norms (and chairs) are overturned as “elite aspirants” – those who have been brought up in the expectation of a say in how things are run – turn into counter-elites, prepared to smash the system to get their way. This isn’t just a US problem, by the way; Turchin says that Britain is on a similar trajectory. In fact, among OECD countries, it’s next in line. Germany is further behind, but also on the same “slippery slope”.
Turchin, who was a mathematical ecologist before turning to history in the mid-2000s, brings a numbers approach to his adopted subject. He was able to predict the turbulent 2020s by looking at economic and social indicators from 100 historical crises, gathered together in a database called CrisisDB. They range from medieval France to 19th-century Britain, and show that periods of instability are pretty consistently preceded by a decline in wages, the emergence of a wealth pump, and most combustibly, elite overproduction.
Why is the latter so important? Well, the masses may be miserable, but without someone who has the status and resources to organise them, they’ll simply languish. Their revolutionary potential is only realised once a “political entrepreneur” – usually a frustrated elite aspirant – gets involved. Robespierre, Lenin and Castro are all examples of highly privileged individuals who felt excluded from existing power structures and led popular movements to overthrow them. In 19th-century China, a young man from a well-to-do family failed the exams that would have enabled him to become a top flight imperial administrator four times. Hong Xiuquan went on to lead a rebellion in which at least 20 million died.
Things may not be quite as bad as that yet, but it’s not hard to identify modern-day figures who fit the elite aspirant mould. Donald Trump is the most obvious, a beneficiary of the wealth pump whose only route to power was as a political entrepreneur stoking grievance. Nigel Farage? “He’s a good example. He’s personally wealthy, a member of the economic elite. And he has been channelling discontent.” Sometimes counter-elites mount their takeover from the inside. With Brexit, “there was a traditional segment of the Conservative party, but then there was an insurgent part. And they were [also] using this discontent. What we see in history is that one segment of the elite channels popular discontent to advance their political careers. This happened in Republican Rome 2,000 years ago, and it happens now.”
Another distinctive feature of elite overproduction is the fierce ideological competition it generates. Turchin believes we’ve transitioned from the pre-crisis period, where political entrepreneurs largely attacked the established order, to a phase in which newly powerful factions are fighting among themselves. This, he argues, is one of the mechanisms behind “cancel culture”. “Such vicious ideological struggles are a common phase in any revolution,” he writes. There is a race to the extremes, with denunciations becoming more and more intense. “In the struggle between rival factions, the ones willing to escalate accusations win over the moderate ones.”
So how do we fix things? It strikes me that there are some pretty obvious political conclusions to be drawn from Turchin’s research, but he’s reluctant to be led too far down the road of punditry. “I don’t want to enter into the political infighting,” he says. “One thing that we know about historical exits from crisis is that at some point the elites and population have to pull together … the different factions have to be reconciled. That’s why I try to stay away from taking sides.”
He will, however, admit to “several recommendations”, saying that “some of them will please liberals, others will please conservatives”. Liberals, presumably, will be heartened by the idea that “we need to give workers more power”. In order to turn off the wealth pump you have to increase labour’s share of the pie at the expense of business. Partly by redistribution, but partly by beefing up workers’ ability to demand higher pay.
What kind of thing would please conservatives? Here he seems to hesitate slightly. “Let’s say … massive immigration does depress the wages of common workers. Actually, this is a paleo-left position. It’s just now the new left is focusing more on cultural issues, and they are all for immigration, but conservatives are now against immigration.” He elaborates, saying it’s an “iron law” of economics that if you increase the supply of something – in this case, labour – then its price will decline. “But,” he points out, “it won’t happen if workers have enough social power, if there are good labour organisations and, also, if the elites internalise the need for dividing fairly the fruits of economic growth. So if you have those institutions, then immigration is not a problem.”
And what about those surplus elites? Well, if you happen to be one, look away now. Halfway through End Times Turchin remarks, somewhat blithely: “In order for stability to return, elite overproduction somehow needs to be taken care of – historically and typically by eliminating the surplus elites through massacre, imprisonment, emigration, or forced or voluntary downward social mobility.” In fact, CrisisDB allows us to be even more precise: in 40% of crises, rulers were assassinated; 75% ended in revolutions or civil wars (or both), and in 20%, those civil wars dragged on for a century or longer. Sixty percent of the time the state in question disappeared, either through conquest or disintegration.
It would be nice to avoid a century-long civil war. Perhaps instead we can select “voluntary downward social mobility” from Turchin’s grisly menu. This would require elites to be persuaded to give up some of their wealth, or to decide to do so off their own backs. Patriotic Millionaires, a pressure group made up of rich people, including members of the Disney family, who “share a profound concern about the destabilising level of economic and political inequality in America” is probably unrepresentative of the class as a whole. More likely, things will have to get so bad that a new social contract becomes the only alternative to levels of discontent that would threaten private fortunes in any case. That’s what happened in the 1930s. It also happened in Britain in the 1830s, when the prospect of a revolution like the ones sweeping Europe was kept at bay by the Great Reform Act and the repeal of the corn laws (it also helped that frustrated elite aspirants could try their hand at running distant parts of the empire).
In any case, it seems we’ll know what the denouement is before too long. “The nice thing about CrisisDB is that we now have statistics on how long these periods last,” Turchin tells me. “Roughly speaking, it’s 10 to 20 years. Very few shorter, some much longer. But for those who think that we’re [already] out of it in the United States? That’s not very likely.” I nod, and make a mental note to speak to him again in 2033. | Not_Explicit |
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Miguel Rojas doubled and scored on Michael Busch's high-bouncing single in the eighth after Clayton Kershaw and Reid Detmers dueled through seven scoreless innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers opened the Freeway Series with a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.
Will Smith added an RBI single in the eighth for the Dodgers, who snapped their three-game skid with two fortunate breaks for a team that hasn't had many lately.
Four innings after the Angels' Brandon Drury was ruled out at the plate on a call overturned by video review, Busch's chopper off Chris Devenski (3-2) inexplicably leaped high over new Angels first baseman Kevin Padlo.
Kershaw (9-4) had another memorable night at Angel Stadium, where he has thrown 22 consecutive scoreless innings. The 35-year-old lefty yielded five hits, but escaped every jam and recorded five strikeouts.
The Dodgers' beleaguered bullpen then came through. Caleb Ferguson struck out Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the eighth, and Evan Phillips pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Hunter Renfroe had two doubles for the Angels, who lost for only the fourth time in 15 games and were shut out for only the second time all season. The Halos have lost seven straight to the Dodgers in this rivalry series.
Ohtani's 15-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-4 performance that included two flyouts that left his bat at 102 mph. Trout also went 0 for 4.
Fans of both teams sold out Angel Stadium to watch the latest meeting of the clubs separated by 30 miles on the I-5 freeway. The Angels had a better record than the Dodgers at the start of the Freeway Series for the first time since 2014, but the rivalry went right back to its recent form.
Detmers yielded two hits and struck out eight in his third straight outstanding start for the Angels. Among the many highlights, he fanned Mookie Betts three times for the Dodgers star’s first three-strikeout game since April 15.
Kershaw retired the Angels' first eight batters, but gave up back-to-back hits in the fourth. Drury singled and was initially ruled safe when he attempted to score from first on Renfroe's double with a headfirst slide, but the call was overturned by a lengthy review.
The Angels then got two more runners in scoring position in the seventh with leadoff hits by Drury and Renfroe, but Kershaw eventually escaped a bases-loaded jam on a grounder by Andrew Velazquez.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: Chris Taylor flew out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth after having a cortisone injection in his right knee last weekend and missing two games. ... Urías (hamstring) threw a three-inning simulated game. He will make a minor league rehab start this week, and if it goes well, he will return June 30 at Kansas City. Urías has been out since May 18. ... Slugger Max Muncy participated in Urías' simulated game and felt no discomfort in his injured hamstring. He is expected to return Friday at Dodger Stadium against Houston.
Angels: Gio Urshela is still in significant pain after fracturing his pelvis last week, manager Phil Nevin said. Urshela will see a second specialist Wednesday. ... Anthony Rendon went on the 10-day injured list Monday with a bruised left wrist that remained sore longer than he expected. The club initially thought its $245 million third baseman wouldn't need yet another stint on the IL. Rendon is eligible to return Monday.
UP NEXT
For the first time in his six major league seasons, Ohtani (6-2, 3.29 ERA) pitches against the Dodgers, who are likely to be one of his top suitors in free agency. Michael Grove (0-2, 8.10) is expected to fill the latest hole in the Dodgers' rotation.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | Not_Explicit |
Last year, it might have been Mitch Haninger, then the Mariners’ longest tenured player. Or later in the season, maybe Carlos Santana, who only spent a few months in Seattle after coming over at the deadline but who arrived with postseason experience and the personality to command a clubhouse while serving as a conduit from the coaches.
Both those guys are gone now, leaving behind a young team in Seattle with plenty of dynamic potential and players who could get there eventually, but no current clear leader in the locker room.
So when the Mariners lost a lackluster game to a short-handed Yankees club to fall to 35-37 and 10 back in the division, it wasn’t a player who finally decided enough was enough.
It was Mariners manager Scott Servais.
They eked out just three runs across the first two games of a series this week in the Bronx, indicative of an offense that was 29th out of 30 teams in batting average, 20th in runs scored, and seemingly never got a big hit at the right time.
So Servais called a team meeting to express his frustration with what he considered non competitive performances. The tone was stern. Some four-letter words were used.
“I think you've only got two or three bullets to fire throughout the course of the year,” Servais said the next afternoon about taking that kind of step to explicitly chastise his players. “I thought it was time to fire a bullet. I don't know. I don't know if it's going to resonate. You never know. We could go out tonight and do nothing again. But shame on me for not trying.”
That night, the Mariners scored 10 runs. A rookie starter, the team’s consistent strength last year and this one, no-hit the Yankees into the sixth inning. They won easily.
Seattle had magical 2022 behind Rodríguez
There’s a tendency in baseball to view the outcome of one-run games as kind of fluky. Sure, it’s the results that ultimately matter, but run differential is believed to be more reflective of true talent. Winning a bunch of games by just one run can seem like your team is a bad bounce or an untimely gust of wind away from having lost a bunch of games.
But winning close games is a hell of a lot more fun than losing them. And even if there isn’t science or stats to support this, having fun is helpful when it comes to surviving the six-month slog of slumps and streaks, bumps and bruises, mistakes and missed opportunities that constitutes even the best baseball seasons.
On June 20th last year, the Mariners were 29-39. Ten games under .500, 13 back of the division-leading Houston Astros, eight back of the newly-added third wild card spot. And playing in their 21st season since the team had last made the postseason. Then they won five in a row. A few weeks later, 14 in a row. There was a brawl in Anaheim that bonded the young club. The Mariners went 61-33 the rest of the season to end the drought and bring playoff baseball back to Seattle.
Ten of those wins were walk-offs (one, in particular, was even more memorable than most). Over the course of the whole season, the 2022 Mariners had nearly twice as many comeback wins as they did blown leads. They won 13 walk-offs and lost only three. They were .607 in one-run games. Instead of fluky, it felt charmed. They weren’t the best team in Major League Baseball, but they had something special brewing.
“Some things came together for us at the right time and that's what you need to get hot. Confidence grows with young players when you start winning games maybe you shouldn't win,” Servais said. “You win those close games, everybody feels like they had a hand in it. It helps.”
And every time they needed a big hit in a clutch situation, budding superstar Julio Rodríguez seemed to come through. He slugged .556 with runners on base, .518 in situations that Baseball Reference considers “late and close”. The 14-game win streak took the team right up to the All-Star break, which proved to be JRod’s ascension to the national stage. A month later, the team committed potentially record-setting money to Rodríguez and he committed to spend most if not all of his career in Seattle. In the span of less than a season, he had gone from slow start to the dynamic face of a franchise whose future looked bright in the glow of his megawatt smile. When the Mariners lost the Division Series to the eventual champion Astros in perhaps the hardest fought sweep of all time, the postgame clubhouse was bittersweet and full of optimism. A month after that, Rodríguez was named the American League Rookie of the Year. They were young and this was just the beginning.
Where did Seattle's close wins go?
On June 20, 2023, the Mariners opened a three-game series against the Yankees. They arrived in New York 35-35, nine games back of the division-leading Texas Rangers, three out of a wild card spot. The standings compared to last year should have given them hope that the deficit was surmountable. And yet, it was hard to shake the sense that, around the clubhouse, the season was already slipping into disappointment.
“I feel like we’re getting the hits, we’re getting the good pitching. But we're not, you know, getting the big ones,” said catcher Cal Raleigh, who had become a hero in his sophomore season.
It feels like they’re not getting clutch hits or winning those close games because they’re not. The Mariners’ winning percentage in one-run games this year is just .364, .400 in extra-inning games. They’ve already had as many walk-off losses as they did all last season, and have just two walk-off wins. And when they’ve needed him most, Rodríguez has come up short, slugging under .400 with runners on base and just .262 when the game is “late and close.”
On a macro level, Rodríguez has been a bit better than league average. But if you’re looking for statistical evidence of pressing at the plate, it might look like this: The league average for swinging at the first pitch of an at bat is 29.5%, Rodríguez has always been more aggressive than that, but this year he’s offering at 42.2% of first pitches.
“You don’t ever want to take players’ aggression away from them. That’s what makes him good,” Servais said. “Certainly, it’s what makes Julio special. But there are times seeing another pitch or two might be beneficial.”
He turned 22 in the offseason, and by the time he returned to Seattle a giant JRod mural had sprung up just outside the ballpark.
“It's hard, you know, the second year coming in and being the guy with so much hype,” Raleigh said of his superstar teammate. “So it's not easy for sure. Everybody knows who you are now.”
What Thursday night win in New York meant
I asked Servais if maybe what happened is this: Even the Mariners players who are only about as old as the drought itself felt like last year was the culmination of a long, slow climb. It ended just as things were getting good but with a clear sense that they would be back. They believed themselves to be better than a division series sweep and 2023 would be their chance to prove that. But, as is true for all teams, they showed up on Opening Day only to find themselves back at the bottom of the mountain — months away from where they feel like they left off — and without the sense that simply making the playoffs would be a heady accomplishment.
“It’s so true,” Servais said. “Everybody wants to just jump in; just get us back to that point. Whoa, you gotta earn it. You have to really earn it.”
Like Julio himself, the Mariners are finding that even the best rookie campaigns and magical seasons give way to a league that has adjusted around you — whether it’s in how you’re pitched at the plate or the expectations on a team.
“And you think okay, we went through those growing pains and maybe we don't have to go through again, and then quickly realize you do have to go through again, which isn't isn't fun,” Servais said. “But yeah, the expectations are just a little bit different. And you know, we haven't handled them that well.”
“Everything’s so magnified in the big leagues,” Raleigh said, “especially when there’s expectations and there does need to be a sense of urgency.”
The Mariners’ big win on Thursday night was offset in the standings by having dropped the first two in New York. And as clubhouse attendants packed bags with teal Ms on them for the flight to Baltimore, a new set of luggage was already waiting to be unloaded. On Friday, the Yankees welcome the Texas Rangers. A non-factor the last few seasons, suddenly it’s the ascendant Rangers leading an American League West division that has gotten a lot more crowded at the top.
Rodríguez was 1-for-5 in the victory, fine if not really a full breakout. But that doesn’t matter when you’re facing down a happy flight and leaving with a coveted souvenir. A clubbie brings Rodríguez an Aaron Judge jersey signed by the 2022 AL MVP himself with a note commending Julio on the start of his career and about how much is still to come. Rodríguez is giddy about it, he seems genuinely gobsmacked even though just last month he did the same, sending Judge one of his jerseys when the Yankees came to Seattle. Such is the paradox of JRod: He is already one of the most famous players in the game, this would be his first disappointing season if it goes that way.
But maybe it won’t. He considers whether Servais’ invective the night before was what motivated the team to double-digit runs and struggles to land on an answer.
“In a way, yes. But at the same time, I feel like this is a really good team,” Rodríguez says. “Literally, we know the team that we are, things are just not happening.”
I tell him the bit about being back at the bottom of the mountain, and wonder whether the momentum is gone. But he says he understands that nothing is guaranteed, they came back ready to put the work in again.
“Last year was last year. This year brings new challenges and things we will need to overcome as a team,” Rodríguez says. “And I feel like we still got time. I feel like we showed a really good sign today. And I know I know the team that we have, we can carry that on.” | Not_Explicit |
At least two of the fake Republican electors who were installed by former President Donald Trump to falsely declare him the winner of the 2020 election have testified before the federal grand jury investigating the former president's alleged attempt to overturn the last presidential election, according to CNN.
The exclusive report, which cites sources familiar with the situation, is the latest sign of activity with Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into Trump's actions leading up to the siege of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and could signal that decisions on charges are nearing.
It's also a sign that Smith "continues to move forward on all fronts" of his investigations against Trump, said former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner, as the Department of Justice also moves steadily along in its case against the former president regarding his handling of classified documents.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating multiple avenues in which Trump and his allies allegedly attempted to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden, including the elaborate scheme to subvert the Electoral College process at the hands of fake electors who were pledged to Trump in seven key swing states that the former president lost.
According to CNN, at least two of those electors in question agreed to testify to the grand jury in Trump's case on a limited immunity deal. The grand jury has also heard from "at least half a dozen witnesses" in the past two weeks, read the report, and at least one other witness spoke to investigators outside of the grand jury on the agreement that they would not be prosecuted.
Kirschner, who spoke about the update in Trump's January 6 case on his Justice Matters podcast Friday, said that Smith's agreement with the fake electors is a "tactical decision" that it is more imperative to "lock in their testimony that very likely will incriminate Donald Trump" than worry about "nobodies who committed crimes."
"What are the odds that Republican operatives and officials in all seven battleground states simultaneously and coincidentally came up with the fake elector scheme?" Kirschner posed.
"Come on, man. This was a Washington-conceived, Washington-implemented, Washington-controlled criminal operation from the top down."
"That's a tactical decision that I certainly entrust Jack Smith to make," the legal analyst continued, speaking about the limited immunity deals. "I'm sure he's making the right decisions, the best decisions based on the available evidence, and he has decided that it's better to grant some of these fake electors immunity and use their testimony against Trump and company than try to prosecute them all."
"[Smith]'s going to wring the truth out of them upfront, and he's going to use that truth to make sure he brings the best, most complete, most compelling case he can bring against Donald Trump and his legal team," Kirschner added.
Newsweek emailed Trump's campaign on Friday for comment on CNN's report.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung has dismissed Kirschner as "a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis" in previous comments to Newsweek, alleging that he "has been shunned by the legal community at large."
The fake elector issue has also been a major part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation of the former president's alleged attempts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. Willis' office previously reached an immunity deal with eight of the 16 fake Republican electors in her state in exchange for their grand jury testimonies, and is expected to wrap up decisions on charges by summer's end.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has maintained that the legal investigations against him are part of a "witch hunt" intended to upset his reelection campaign. | Not_Explicit |
IPFS is a decentralized network that makes it possible to efficiently distribute high volumes of data between peers while avoiding downtime associated with regular hosting outages.
The IPFS project describes the system as a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol designed to preserve and grow humanity’s knowledge by making the web upgradeable, resilient, and more open. Anyone who values these qualities is invited to come along for the ride using free, open source tools.
IPFS Gateways
For those who prefer not to install software but would still like to access content stored on IPFS, web gateways provide streamlined access to IPFS with zero fuss. IPFS gateways tend to be run by supporters and enthusiasts who charge nothing for their time and usually pay all of the bills.
Examples can be found here but in broad terms, public gateways aren’t particularly numerous. As reported in March, Cloudflare offers a free IPFS gateway yet despite having nothing to do with the content hosted in the network, still received over 1,000 copyright complaints in the first half of 2022.
Figures for the second half are yet to be published but if recent events are anything to go by, those numbers could be significantly higher in the next report.
Avalanche of Copyright Complaints
UK-based programmer James Stanley has a project page to make any geek smile. It begins with SCAMP, a homemade 16-bit CPU with a homemade programming language, before moving on to a robotic chessboard (accessible via API), and a footwear-based chess computer that allows Stanley to cheat at chess “hands-free and without any third-party assistance.”
Stanley is also the brains behind Hardbin.com, an encrypted pastebin-type service that utilizes IPFS. Unfortunately, Stanley took Hardbin down this week after being targeted by an anti-piracy entity demanding the removal of thousands of allegedly-infringing URLs.
“I received 3 DMCA takedown emails today, covering 7350 URLs on my hardbin.com IPFS gateway. The URLs were allegedly serving infringing copies of books,” his blog post reads.
Stanley posted the complaints to GitHub, with all three following a similar format; a demand for the immediate takedown of thousands of pieces of content that have nothing to do with the programmer, that he has no ability to take down, even if he wanted to.
Who’s Behind The Takedown Demands?
Each notice claims to have been sent by ‘Gareth Young – Internet Investigator’ but where Young works isn’t made clear. Instead, the notices carry the names and addresses of three publishing companies; Wolters Kluwer Health (New York), Knovel, a subsidiary of Elsevier, Inc. (New York), and IEEE (new Jersey).
Stanley’s research turned up a ‘Gareth Young’ who apparently worked for law firm Covington & Burling LLP. Young is also the author of a slideshow that describes methods and tactics for taking infringing content down and making people’s lives more difficult.
The page above contains numerous options, and just as Mr Young suggested, the 5th option did indeed prove effective.
“I have now taken hardbin.com down completely because dealing with this sort of thing makes it less fun to run and more like hard work,” Stanley says.
IPFS: Technical Resilience Against Censorship
That Stanley’s work on Hardbin can’t be enjoyed by him or anyone else shows that it’s still possible to have a chilling effect on IPFS, despite its technical resilience to censorship.
It’s also worth noting that the DMCA takedown notices were sent directly to abuse addresses at the programmer’s host, rather than to him directly. It’s the kind of tactic that’s easily justified when dealing with an uncooperative pirate site but entirely unhelpful when dealing with innocent parties.
And then there’s the interesting evidence uncovered by Stanley when cross-referencing the 7,350 URLs against his reverse proxy logs.
“I did some bash-fu to extract the IPFS hashes from the emails and grep for them in my nginx logs, and was surprised to find not a single match,” Stanley explains. “None of them have ever been accessed, and of the ones that I checked, none even worked.”
Other IPFS Users Targeted
Sean Lang has been keeping records on the DMCA notices he’s received related to his gateway since February 2022.
“I currently operate an IPFS gateway on ipfs.slang.cx. I don’t publish or pin any content there, it’s only a resolver for content that’s available on the rest of the IPFS network,” Lang writes on GitHub.
“I get a lot of DMCA requests from running this. Currently I’m blocking 12367 files. They’re almost all books, although I don’t have nearly enough time to go through them manually.”
Lang says that the takedown notices are usually sent by a guy called Gareth Young and have at least one familiar quality.
“The weird thing is, [the system used] doesn’t actually verify that a given file is available through my server before sending a DMCA request. I’ve looked through the traffic logs, and the vast majority of the files listed in these takedown requests have never been requested in the history of my gateway. I haven’t checked all of them, but I’ve checked a lot,” Lang says. | Not_Explicit |
DOVER, Del. -- Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware’ s lone representative in the U.S. House, announced Wednesday that she is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Tom Carper.
Blunt Rochester’s announcement came as no surprise, given that Carper said in announcing his retirement last month that he favored her as his replacement.
Blunt Rochester, who once interned for Carper when he was in the House and also served in Carper’s Cabinet when he was governor, was reelected to a fourth term in Congress last November. In a campaign video, Blunt Rochester said she now wants to continue representing Delaware in the U.S. Senate.
“It’s been the greatest honor of my life to represent Delaware, to protect our seniors, our environment, our small businesses and women’s reproductive rights,” she said. “But we’ve got so much more to do.”
Rochester is the only woman and only person of color to represent Delaware in Washington. She is the first person to announce a bid to succeed Carper in the Senate.
The last time Delaware voters sent a Republican to Washington was 2008. Delaware remains a deeply blue state, with roughly 358,000 registered Democrats almost equaling the combined total of some 209,000 registered Republicans and 173,000 unaffiliated voters.
Blunt Rochester is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
According to the Congressional Record, she has sponsored 89 bills and resolutions during her House tenure, many aimed at improving or expanding access to health care, especially for women and minorities. The only measure sponsored by Blunt Rochester to become law is a resolution naming a Wilmington post office in honor of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a 19th-century anti-slavery activist and publisher.
Before being elected to Congress, Blunt Rochester served as state personnel director in Delaware, as well as labor secretary. She also is a former Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League member. | Not_Explicit |