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Rep. Cheney says she has always been 'pro-life,' ruling returns power to the statesRep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who has bucked her party by denouncing former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, indicated Friday that she supports the Supreme Court's ruling."I have always been strongly pro-life," she said in a tweet. "Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court returns power to the states and the people of the states to address the issue of abortion under state law."Biden says no violence, urges people to 'keep all protests peaceful'President Joe Biden on Friday urged people to "keep all protests peaceful" in the wake of SCOTUS overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. "I call on everyone, no matter how deeply they care about this decision, to keep all protests peaceful," he said during a White House speech, reiterating: "Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable." Hundreds of demonstrators have already gathered outside the Supreme Court following the historic decision with some pro-choice demonstrators chanting: "We won’t go back! We won’t go back! My body, my choice!"The scene outside the court has continued to grow but has remained relatively peaceful. "Threats and intimidation are not speech," Biden said during his speech. "We must stand against violence in any form regardless of your rationale." 'People will die because of this decision,' Ocasio-Cortez saysAntonio Planas12m ago / 5:07 PM UTCRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Friday the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will make abortions more dangerous and result in deaths.“Overturning Roe and outlawing abortions will never make them go away. It only makes them more dangerous, especially for the poor + marginalized," she tweeted. "People will die because of this decision. And we will never stop until abortion rights are restored in the United States of America.”Anti-abortion Democratic Rep. Cuellar says Roe decision leaves issues up to the statesTexas Rep. Henry Cuellar, the lone anti-abortion Democrat in the House, said Friday his position has not changed."We'll let the states make this decision now," he said. Asked by NBC News about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reaction to the Supreme Court's decision, which she said was "cruel," Cuellar said, "Everybody has their opinion, including the speaker."Cuellar said that while he was in the minority in his caucus, he is not in his district.WHO’s Tedros disappointed by Roe v. Wade decisionReuters20m ago / 4:59 PM UTCThe head of the World Health Organization said on Friday he was very disappointed by the overturning of Roe v Wade.“I am very disappointed, because women’s rights must be protected. And I would have expected America to protect such rights,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told Reuters on the sidelines of a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda.Sanders says it is time to end the Senate filibusterTat Bellamy-Walker22m ago / 4:57 PM UTCSen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called on Democrats to end the filibuster in the Senate and solidify protections for abortion rights. "Overturning Roe v. Wade and denying women the right to control their own bodies is an outrage and in defiance of what the American people want," Sen. Sanders wrote in a tweet Friday. "Democrats must now end the filibuster in the Senate, codify Roe v. Wade, and once again make abortion legal and safe." Biden says Roe is 'on the ballot' in NovemberIn remarks from the White House on Friday, President Joe Biden said that "voters need to make their voices heard" at the ballot box in November's midterm elections because he is unable to restore abortion protections and Congress lacks the votes to take that action. "We need to restore the protections of Roe as law of the land. We need to elect officials who will do that. This fall, Roe is on the ballot," Biden said. Until November, Biden said he will do everything in his power to protect a woman's right to choose in states where they will face the consequences of the court's decision. He said, for example, that his administration will protect women's access to medications that allow them to self-manage an abortion at home. He acknowledged that a number of Republican-controlled states have already banned or restricted access to these medications. Biden expressed anger at the Supreme Court's ruling, saying that "the court has done what it has never done before — expressly take away a constitutional right." "This decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is — far removed they are from the majority of this country," he said. "You can act. You can have the final word."He blamed his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, for the reversal of Roe because of his nomination of three justices at the "core of today's decision." Plaintiff in same-sex marriage Supreme Court case says decision is moving country 'backward'Christopher Cicchiello25m ago / 4:54 PM UTCJim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges that established the right to same-sex marriages across the nation, called today's verdict "a sad day for women's rights.""This Supreme Court continues to erode the rights of citizens at an alarming rate," Obergefell said in a tweet. "Women deserve responsive leaders who support reproductive justice. Leaders who respect their fundamental right to have control over their own bodies."In a separate statement reacting to Justice Clarence Thomas’ call to reconsider the holding in Obergefell v. Hodges in his concurring opinion, Obergefell said that "the millions of loving couples who have the right to marriage equality to form their own families do not need Clarence Thomas imposing his individual twisted morality upon them."U.S. Capitol public tours halted after Roe decision Public tours of the U.S. Capitol were abruptly halted Friday after the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, allowing Capitol Police to shift some of their resources to the court complex, a source familiar with the decision said.Capitol Police were also concerned about members of the public lining up at the entrance of the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC), which is close to where thousands of protesters were assembling in front of the court building."It's because of the CVC entrance's proximity to activity at SCOTUS and the general need to shift U.S. Capitol Police manpower to respond to SCOTUS activity," the source said.So far, the protests have been peaceful.Scotland's leader calls out Roe decisionScotland's leader on Friday warned that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would "embolden anti-abortion and anti-women forces" beyond the United States."One of the darkest days for women’s rights in my lifetime," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in a tweet. "Obviously the immediate consequences will be suffered by women in the US — but this will embolden anti-abortion & anti-women forces in other countries too. Solidarity doesn’t feel enough right now — but it is necessary."McCarthy praises court's decisionHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy praised the decision of the court during a Friday press conference. "By a vote of 6-3, the court affirmed that the power to protect unborn life is returned to the people by their elected representatives," he said. "This great nation can now live up to its core principle that all people are created equal — not born equal, created equal."He added that the decision would "save the lives of millions of children" and "give families hope."Sharpton says court's decision brings us 'back to the dark ages' Tat Bellamy-Walker33m ago / 4:46 PM UTCThe Rev. Al Sharpton, the head of the National Action Network and an MSNBC host, said Friday that Black women and poor women will be disproportionately affected by the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. British doctors union calls Roe decision 'deeply worrying'A senior official at the British Medical Association, the United Kingdom's doctors union, on Friday said the Supreme Court's decision overturning abortion rights could have an impact beyond the United States. “The news that restrictions to abortions could be made law in some U.S. states ... is deeply worrying for the future of women’s reproductive health," Zoe Greaves, chair of the group's medical ethics committee, said in a written statement. "The BMA, along with multiple other health organizations, is concerned that this will remove women’s access to essential medical care, a fundamental human right as stated by the U.N., both in the U.S. and potentially more widely," she said. The organization added in a statement that it would be weighing the decision's implications to determine how best to support the American Medical Association in its opposition to the "criminalization of reproductive health."First lady Jill Biden was with DeSantis when Roe decision came downJosh Lederman39m ago / 4:40 PM UTCFirst lady Jill Biden was with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis when she learned of the Supreme Court ruling, a White House official told NBC News.The first lady was preparing to go onstage at the memorial for the one year anniversary of the Champlain Tower collapse in Surfside, Florida, along with DeSantis and his wife in a holding room. Moments before the first lady walked on stage, the news alerts popped up on everyone’s phones.In April, DeSantis signed a Florida law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.Democratic governors in the West pledge to stand up for abortion rightsDemocratic governors in California, Oregon and Washington said Friday they will continue to "protect" patients seeking reproductive care, including those from other states seeking abortions.California's Gavin Newsom, Oregon's Kate Brown and Washington's Jay Inslee made the announcement in a video message released after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, presenting themselves as a counterweight to "red states and Republican-stacked courts.""California, Oregon and Washington are building the West Coast offense to protect patients' access to reproductive care," Newsom said.Inslee said: "We're going to work with our legislators, with our providers, with our patient advocates."Brown said: "We will not stand on the sidelines."'With sorrow...we dissent': Court's liberal wing says majority decided women not deserving of equal protectionIn a blistering dissent to the court's decision reversing abortion rights, the justices on the bench’s liberal wing slammed the majority opinion as one that would curtail women's rights.“It says that from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A State can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs,” Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote in the lengthy dissent."With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent," they added.Read the full story here.Planned Parenthood Wisconsin temporarily suspends abortion servicesAntonio Planas43m ago / 4:35 PM UTCPlanned Parenthood Wisconsin announced Friday it was “temporarily suspending” abortion services in response to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.In a video statement on the organization’s website, the group's president, Tanya Atkinson, lamented the Supreme Court’s decision because it has taken away a constitutional right from women and instead placed health care decisions in the hands of politicians.“Because Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban remains in effect, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin is temporarily suspending abortion services,” she said. “Please know that we are looking at all legal options available. This news is so incredibly devastating. The decision of whether or not to become a parent can be one of the most life-changing decisions a person can make,” she said. “You should be able to make the very personal, very needed health care decisions.”Atkinson added that although abortion services are not available in Wisconsin, the organization is still there for people who need abortions and will counsel them on finding options where abortions are safe and legal. The group, she said, will also be available for “after-care” services. Other services provided by the organization are also available at its centers or through telehealth, she said.“Planned Parenthood Wisconsin stands for health care, and we will not give up, not now, not ever,” she said.Anger and joy outside Supreme CourtTears flowed and voices bellowed outside the Supreme Court early Friday, as activists on both sides of the abortion issue gathered to bear witness to the end of the Roe era. "It's really a visceral issue," said Mai El-Sadany, a human rights lawyer who opposes Friday's decision. "The people who showed up here are really angry and they didn’t want to be alone." Paige Nelson, 20, cried tears of joy on the street in front of the Supreme Court, where the grounds long used for demonstrations have been closed off for weeks as a security precaution."I’m just so happy that no matter who you are and whatever extra chromosomes or whatever disability you might have, you get the chance to live this amazing life, and I will continue advocating until abortion is completely gone," said Nelson, a Washington state resident who is participating in a summer program with the conservative Concerned Women of America.Canadian PM Justin Trudeau calls Roe decision 'horrific'Reuters49m ago / 4:30 PM UTCCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday called the Supreme Court decision "horrific."“The news coming out of the United States is horrific. My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion,” Trudeau said on Twitter.“No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body,” he said.GOP Sen. Mitt Romney says he supports Roe's reversalSen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, praised the Supreme Court's ruling Friday in a brief statement. "The sanctity of human life is a foundational American principle, and the lives of our children—both born and unborn—deserve our protection," Romney said. "I support the Court’s decision, which means that laws regarding abortion will now rightfully be returned to the people and their elected representatives," he added.AG Merrick Garland says states cannot ban access to medications for abortionsAttorney General Merrick Garland vowed to protect access to Mifepristone, which is used along with another medication to end early pregnancies.“In particular, the FDA has approved the use of the medication Mifepristone. States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy," he wrote in a statement.The Food and Drug Administration approved in 2016 the use of the medications in terminating abortions.The "Department will continue to protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services in states where those services remain legal," his statement added. "This law prohibits anyone from obstructing access to reproductive health services through violence, threats of violence, or property damage."Decision a 'dark moment,' British rights group says The Supreme Court’s decision is a “dark moment for the struggle for women’s liberation and the fight to control our own bodies,” the chair of a British rights group said Friday. ‘This is a hugely significant set back for abortion rights. Not just in the U.S. but it will embolden anti-abortion activists here and in Poland, Malta and other places where the struggle for access is already desperate,” Kerry Abel of Abortion Rights said in a statement. “Any chink in the legislative armour that undermines the right to privacy, makes access more difficult or puts abortion funding out of reach will impact poorer and marginalised women and pregnantpeople and will encourage yet more anti-abortion legislation and action,” she said. “This is a dark moment for the struggle for women’s liberation and the fight to control our own bodies,” she added.Rep. Jamie Raskin knocks Thomas, says they are not 'like real judges at this point'Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., knocked Justice Clarence Thomas, saying he is trying to "demolish the constitutional right to privacy" while blasting the high court's justices as an "instrument of the right-wing Republican agenda." "Roe versus Wade was built on Griswold versus Connecticut, which asserted a constitutional right to privacy for women and men to obtain contraception and birth control," Raskin said Friday. "They might like to pretend as if this is some kind of singular strike against just women's right to abortion, but it has implications for contraception. It has implications for the right of gay people to get married under the Obergefell decision. It has implications for the right of people not to be sterilized by the government against their will."Raskin added that the justices are "not like real judges at this point." "I mean, they’ve got the power of it, but they basically have turned themselves into partisans," he said.Sen. Susan Collins calls ruling 'not conservative' Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh who were part of Friday's majority opinion, said in a statement that the ruling was an "ill-considered action" and "not conservative." "The Supreme Court has abandoned a fifty-year precedent at a time that the country is desperate for stability. This ill-considered action will further divide the country at a moment when, more than ever in modern times, we need the Court to show both consistency and restraint," Collins said. "Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative. It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to political chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government."Collins said that the ruling was "inconsistent" with what Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their congressional testimony and in meetings with her where, she said, "they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon."Collins said she is working on a bill with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would codify Roe, Casey, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, and Griswold v. Connecticut."Our legislation would enshrine important abortion protections into law without undercutting statutes that have been in place for decades and without eliminating basic conscience protections that are relied upon by health care providers who have religious objections to performing abortions," she said.U.K.'s Boris Johnson calls Roe decision 'a big step backward'British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would have a "massive" impact around the world. “This is not our court, it’s another jurisdiction, but it clearly has massive impacts on people’s thinking around the world," he said during a press conference in Kigali, Rwanda. "It’s a very important decision." "I think it’s a big step backwards," Johnson, who leads the Conservative Party, added. "I’ve always believed in a woman’s right to choose and I stick to that view and that is why the U.K. has the laws that it does.”Missouri governor signs state proclamation banning most abortionsChristopher Cicchiello1h ago / 4:19 PM UTCMissouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a proclamation Friday to activate its trigger law, banning most abortions.“Nothing in the text, history, or tradition of the United States Constitution gave un-elected federal judges authority to regulate abortion. We are happy that the U.S. Supreme Court has corrected this error and returned power to the people and the states to make these decisions,” Parson, a Republican, said in a news release.This law makes it illegal for doctors to perform abortions and also makes anyone who knowingly induces an abortion guilty of a class B felony. Doctors can have their licenses revoked for their involvement. However, a woman who has an abortion will not be prosecuted "for a conspiracy to violate the provisions" of this act. No mention of an exception for a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest was provided in the act.Upon Parson’s signature, the act takes effect immediately.Texas GOP AG Ken Paxton says abortions are 'now illegal in Texas'Texas' GOP attorney general, Ken Paxton, announced Friday that abortion is now illegal in Texas as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. "SCOTUS just overruled Roe & Casey, ending one of the most morally & legally corrupt eras in US history. Praise the Lord. Abortion is now illegal in Texas," he said in a tweet. Texas had on the books a trigger law, which immediately banned abortion once Roe came down.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed into law one of the country's most restrictive abortion bans last year, which took effect in September. It had banned abortions as early as six weeks, which effectively banned all abortions because most women don't know they're pregnant that early in the process. Whole Women's Health, an organization that has operated four clinics providing reproductive health services in Texas and other states, said it has stopped providing abortion procedures as a result of Friday's ruling, according to the Texas Tribune. In guidance posted on the organization's website Friday, it said that its clinics "are still operating in Baltimore, MD; Bloomington, MN; Alexandria, VA; and Charlottesville, VA." It also said that it offers medication abortion pills by mail to patients in Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Virginia.It also said Whole Women's Health "is exploring plans to expand both our in-clinic and mail services into additional states where abortion is legally protected."Democratic lawmakers march to Supreme Court in support of abortion rightsAt least 150 Democratic lawmakers marched to the Supreme Court on Friday to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., told NBC News the decision marked "a sad day for American jurisprudence.""Never did I envision that this court would reverse 40 or 50 years of precedence, but they did it," he said. "And they did it in utter disregard for the 60% of the American people who support Roe and did not want it overturned."Conservative Hispanic group lauds court decisionBienvenido, a conservative Hispanic group, said the court's decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision was "correct as both a legal and a moral matter.""Today we join millions of Americans — including the majority of Hispanics who value human life — in celebrating the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling overturning 'Roe' and 'Casey,'" a statement from the group said. "It was always a lie that the Constitution guaranteed the right to kill unborn children and this Court has just exposed this lie for the shameful farce that it always has been," the statement continued. "As we commemorate this historic decision, let us remember these children who were denied the right to live, pray for forgiveness, and give thanks to God." According to Pew Research Center, 60% of Hispanics in 2022 said abortion should be legal. Transgender Law Center denounces Supreme Court decision as "despicable" Tat Bellamy-Walker1h ago / 3:51 PM UTCThe Transgender Law Center, one of the nation's largest transgender rights groups, slammed the court's decision, calling it "despicable" and a "politically-motivated" attack.In a statement, the organization stressed that the majority opinion will have an outsize impact on historically marginalized groups, including Black women, disabled people, migrant women, poor people and individuals living in rural communities.“Today we loudly affirm and pledge our solidarity with all people working for Reproductive Justice in this country,” the group's executive director, Kris Hayashi, said. “Whether it is a right to an abortion, the right to affirming medical care, or the right to learn about your own history in schools, our collective rights to self-determination and bodily autonomy are inexorably entwined.”'God made the decision': Trump praises the ruling overturning RoeFormer President Donald Trump praised the Supreme Court's ruling in a statement to Fox News on Friday, saying that it's "following the Constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago."Trump was asked if he played a role in the decision because he nominated three of the conservative justices who overturned Roe v. Wade — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett."God made the decision," Trump told Fox. Asked to address any of his supporters who support abortion rights, Trump said, "I think, in the end, this is something that will work out for everybody ... This brings everything back to the states where it has always belonged."Trump had previously supported abortion rights years ago, telling NBC News' "Meet the Press" in 1999 that he was "very pro-choice" at the time.Susan B. Anthony List celebrates overturning of Roe v. WadeThe anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List celebrated news Friday of the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, calling it a "historic victory for human rights." Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the group, said in a video message outside the Supreme Court that it was a moment of "great gratitude and resolve." "This Court has just overturned the wrongly decided Roe versus Wade decision. Let those words sink in," she said. "Roe versus Wade is overturned after 50 years of lobbying, building centers of hope to serve pregnant women, on our knees praying, off our knees marching and ensuring the powerful pro-life voice could be heard in our elections. We have arrived at this day, a culminating day of so much and the first day of a bright pro-life future for our nation."She said the decision allows the "will of the people to make its way into the law through our elected officials" and declared that "our best days are ahead."Attorney General Merrick Garland vows to 'use every tool' to protect abortion rightsAttorney General Merrick Garland, who as Barack Obama's 2016 Supreme Court nominee was denied a confirmation vote by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, vowed to put the full weight of the Department of Justice behind protecting abortion rights."The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Court’s decision," he said. "This decision deals a devastating blow to reproductive freedom in the United States. It will have an immediate and irreversible impact on the lives of people across the country. And it will be greatly disproportionate in its effect — with the greatest burdens felt by people of color and those of limited financial means."“The Justice Department will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom. And we will not waver from this Department’s founding responsibility to protect the civil rights of all Americans," he added.Mayor Eric Adams says people around the country 'welcome' to access abortion care in New York City New York City Mayor Eric Adams lashed out at the Supreme Court on Friday, saying that "politics came before people at the highest court in the land." "What the court has done today ignores the opinions of the majority of Americans, as it helps states control women’s bodies, their choices, and their freedoms," the Democrat said in a statement, adding that the decision puts lives at risk."There is nothing to call this Supreme Court opinion but an affront to basic human rights and one that aims to shackle women and others in reproductive bondage."Adams sought to reassure New Yorkers, saying that they can still access safe, legal abortions in the city. He also said that people around the country seeking the procedure are "welcome here" to access those services.Massachusetts Gov. Baker signs executive order protecting abortion providersAntonio Planas2h ago / 3:39 PM UTCIn response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who is not running for re-election, signed an executive order Friday protecting health care providers performing abortions from losing their licenses or receiving other discipline based on potential charges from out of state, he said in a statement.“Under the executive order, the Commonwealth will not cooperate with extradition requests from other states pursuing criminal charges against individuals who received, assisted with, or performed reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts,” the statement said.The order, he said, also prohibits any “Executive Department agencies” from assisting another state’s investigation into a person or entity for receiving or delivering reproductive health care services that are legal in Massachusetts.“This executive order will further preserve that right and protect reproductive health care providers who serve out of state residents. In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v Wade, it is especially important to ensure that Massachusetts providers can continue to provide reproductive health care services without concern that the laws of other states may be used to interfere with those services or sanction them for providing services that are lawful in the Commonwealth,” Baker said.Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said: “We are proud of the Commonwealth’s history of ensuring access to reproductive health care, and will continue to do so, despite today’s ruling from the Supreme Court.”Michigan Gov. Whitmer says ruling means her state's 1931 law banning abortion takes effect Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Friday it was a "sad day for America" and that her state's "antiquated" 1931 law banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest will take effect. The law also criminalizes doctors and nurses who provide reproductive care, she said. "For now, a Michigan court has put a temporary hold on the law, but that decision is not final and has already been challenged. The 1931 law would punish women and strip away their right to make decisions about their own bodies," Whitmer said. "I want every Michigander to know that I am more determined than ever to protect access to safe, legal abortion."She said she filed a lawsuit in April to urge her state's Supreme Court to determine whether the Michigan Constitution protects the right to an abortion. "We need to clarify that under Michigan law, access to abortion is not only legal, but constitutionally protected," she said. Barack Obama calls Roe v. Wade reversal an attack on millionsTat Bellamy-Walker2h ago / 3:33 PM UTCFormer President Barack Obama said the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade targets the freedom of millions of Americans in the U.S. "Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans," he wrote in a tweet. He noted that states across the country have already passed bills restricting abortion rights, and pointed people who want to fight against these restrictions toward Planned Parenthood and the United State of Women.In a statement, former first lady Michelle Obama said she was "heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies."Recent NBC News poll showed a majority of people in U.S. didn't want Roe v. Wade overturnedA majority of people in the U.S. — 63 percent — said in a recent NBC News poll in May that they didn't believe Roe v. Wade should be overturned, compared to 30% of people who wanted the abortion rights ruling to be reversed.Additionally, a combined 60% of Americans across the country said abortion should be either always legal (37%) or legal most of the time (23%) — the highest share believing it should be legal on this question, which dates back to 2003. By party, 84 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Independents want abortion to be legal, versus just 33 percent of Republicans. The poll was conducted after the draft opinion of Alito's Roe opinion leaked.NAACP calls decision 'egregious assault on basic human rights'NAACP General Counsel Janette McCarthy Wallace said in a statement Friday the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade as "marks a significant regression of our country.""As a legal professional, I am horrified by this decision. As a Black woman, I am outraged to my core," Wallace said. "There is no denying the fact that this | SCOTUS |
The White House said President Joe Biden does not agree with fellow Democrats’ calls for the U.S. Supreme Court to be expanded in the wake of recent rulings on guns and abortion that he has called disappointing and troubling.“That is something that the president does not agree with,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Saturday when asked about Biden’s stance on adding justices. “That is not something that he wants to do.”Several Democrats have called for additional seats to be added to the nine-member court, which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority. These lawmakers include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.President Joe Biden, seen Friday after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, does not agree with adding more justices to the court, the White House said.via Associated Press“This court has lost legitimacy, they have burned whatever legitimacy they may have still had,” Warren, who has previously called for adding at least four more justices, said in an interview Sunday with ABC News’ “This Week.” “I believe we need to get some confidence back in our court, and that means we need more justices on the United State Supreme Court.”The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York state law, enacted in 1913, that limited carrying concealed handguns outside the home. The following day, it reversed its 1973 ruling that women have a constitutional right to abortion.“This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,” Biden said of the gun rights decision.On abortion, he said the court’s ruling puts the country on an “extreme and dangerous path.” Warren, in an op-ed published Saturday with Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), called on Biden to declare a public health emergency in the wake of the court’s abortion ruling. Warren and Smith said such a declaration would “protect abortion access for all Americans, unlocking critical resources and authority that states and the federal government can use to meet the surge in demand for reproductive health services.”U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, seen at a rally to protest the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe vs. Wade in Boston on Friday, supports expanding the number of justices to 13. JOSEPH PREZIOSO via Getty ImagesJean-Pierre said the White House is concerned about additional limitations being imposed on women’s access to contraception and other reproductive healthcare following the court’s ruling. Though she didn’t immediately have a strategy to share, she said Biden is “going to continue to look at solutions” and determine legally “what else we can do.”Democrats early last year unveiled a bill that would expand the number of Supreme Court seats to 13, but that measure has stalled in Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said then that she had “no plans to bring it to the floor” but that a future consideration is “not out of the question.”“It has been done before in the history of our country a long time ago,” Pelosi said of prior changes to the number of justices, “and the growth of our country, the size of our country, the growth of our challenges in terms of the economy, etc, might necessitate such a thing, but in answer to your question, I have no plans to bring it to the floor.” Polls have shown that the majority of Americans support federal protections of abortion rights. One recent poll by CBS News/YouGov found that 59% of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Of those polled, 67% of the women disapprove. More on the Supreme Court abortion ruling: Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, dismantling decades-old precedent Roe overturned: The fight begins Abortion is now illegal in these states Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “We have to fill the streets” Clarence Thomas: Cases protecting gay marriage and contraception should be next Republicans make it clear they want to ban abortion nationwide Here’s how the world is reacting to the end of Roe Pro-abortion rights protesters attacked and threatened Donations, chants and calls for change: Celebrities react to end of Roe SCOTUS decision threatens right to interracial marriage, experts warn | SCOTUS |
Afghan refugees queue outside a distribution and donation center at Liberty Village on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, U.S., December 2, 2021. REUTERS/Barbara Davidson/PoolRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is stopping - with a few exceptions - the temporary relocation of Afghans to the United States and focusing on reuniting immediate family members with pathways to permanent residence, according to a senior administration official.The policy revision follows criticism by some lawmakers, refugee organizations and veterans groups that the administration failed to properly plan the evacuation of Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution when it pulled the last U.S. troops out of Afghanistan a year ago.The administration says the evacuation – marred by chaos at Kabul airport and a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghans – was a success, with nearly 90,000 Afghans resettled in the United States in one of the largest operations of its kind.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe revised policy, dubbed Enduring Welcome, begins on Oct. 1.Under the changes, the official said, the United State will stop – with a few exceptions – admitting Afghans on humanitarian parole, a special program that grants temporary entry but no pathway to lawful permanent residence.At a press briefing on Thursday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre restated the administration's commitment to Afghan allies and detailed changes made to its relocation assistance policy."We are adopting a new model where Afghans arrivals will travel directly to the communities where they will be moving with the help of refugee resettlement organizations without a safe haven stopover in the United States," Jean-Pierre said.The revised policy, the official said, will focus on relocating to the United States immediate family members of U.S. citizens, green card holders and Afghans with Special Immigration Visas (SIVs) granted to those at risk of Taliban retaliation because they worked for the U.S. government.Family members admitted from those categories will have "long-term, durable status," according to Jean-Pierre."Afghans who are looking to resettle in the United States will remain with an immigration status that provides a path to long-term permanent residence rather than a temporary status, which is what’s provided through humanitarian parole," she said.The revised policy follows months of talks between the administration and the AfghanEvac coalition of groups that help evacuate and resettle Afghans in the United States.“It’s a massive deal for us,” said Shawn VanDiver, the coalition head, adding that the government still needs to improve processing SIV applications and increase relocation flights.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jonathan Landay; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | US Federal Policies |
Nuclear reactors have a well-earned reputation for being massive construction projects that frequently run into cost overruns. Plus, once they are eventually constructed, monitoring and maintaining them takes a staff of dozens of trained experts.But Yasir Arafat believes nuclear power doesn't have to be this way.Arafat is the technical lead of the microreactor project at one of the United States government's preeminent nuclear research labs, Idaho National Lab, and in his role there, Arafat is leading the effort to build a tiny, relatively inexpensive nuclear reactor. It's more of a nuclear battery, he says.Arafat grew up in Bangladesh before coming to college in the United States, and he's motivated by a deep sense of urgency to help the world decarbonize. The effects of global warming are not discussed as some distant future scenario in Bangladesh — climate change is already a part of current daily life. Nuclear energy does not generate any greenhouse gas emissions, and Arafat hopes to contribute to the solution by building a microreactor prototype that can help the development of the industry.The prototype will be called the MARVEL reactor, an acronym for the name of the project Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation, and the goal is to have the first one operating by December 2023, making it the first advanced microreactor in the United States, Arafat told CNBC. (These photos show a prototype of the MARVEL reactor which runs with electric heat, not nuclear heat, for the sake of preliminary research.)Yasir Arafat, the technical lead for the Marvel microreactor project, shows CNBC the prototype.Photo courtesy Magdalena Petrova, CNBCThe Idaho National lab started designing and modeling the MARVEL reactor project in June 2020 under Arafat's leadership. If completed, the MARVEL microreactor "will be the first of its kind that will be able to demonstrate how we can really miniaturize a nuclear system into something that is portable and transportable, and also able to deliver heat and electricity to the end customer," Arafat told CNBC in a video interview in Idaho in May.Already there are a slew of private companies — including Oklo, Westinghouse (where Arafat worked for a decade) and General Atomics — developing microreactors, and their goal is the same as the government's: To develop an emissions-free, reliable energy source.A single microreactor could power a community from 1,000 to 10,000 people, whether that's a hospital or remote military base. The current electricity grid in the United States is based on a system of generating electricity at a centralized location and distributing it to the end users. But microreactors are a component in a future vision for the electricity grid that is less centralized more resilient against natural disasters.Beyond being potential clean-energy options for remote locations or small communities, microreactors could be a key part of a future clean energy grid that includes renewable solar and wind energy and battery storage, Arafat said. Nuclear is a baseload energy source, meaning it can provide energy when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining, serving as a backstop for the intermittency of renewables.A prototype for the Marvel reactor at the Idaho National Lab.Photo courtesy Magdalena Petrova, CNBCSmaller = cheaperSmall modular nuclear reactors are orders of magnitude less complicated to construct and build than conventional light water reactors. Microreactors take that even further."The entire hardware can be built in a factory, like the way we make automobiles or cars," Arafat told CNBC, allowing for the production of hundreds of microreactors a year. From the factory, a microreactor can be transported to a customer location, fueled up and started. The goal is to be able to deploy a microreactor in less than a week, "so it's more like a nuclear battery than a large scale power plant," he said."If we become really good at manufacturing these systems and take advantage of factory fabrication, we can make them cheap enough for every campus across the nation," Arafat told CNBC.Microreactors use a different kind of fuel enriched to just below the 20% limit set by nuclear non-proliferation requirements. This fuel, called HALEU, or high-assay low-enriched uranium, allows for the reactor to be smaller."We can actually build a much more efficient core that is significantly more compact and smaller. So we would actually require a much smaller amount of fuel to design a reactor rather than a much larger core. That's the biggest advantage of going higher enrichment," Arafat said.The small size and factory fabrication means that micronuclear reactors will be much cheaper to construct than conventional light water reactors, which chronically run overschedule and overbudget. The third and fourth reactors being constructed at the Vogtle plant in Georgia have become infamous examples of such overages.Yasir Arafat, the technical lead of the Marvel reactor microreactor project, speaking with CNBC at the Idaho National Lab.Photo courtesy Magdalena Petrova, CNBCThat's not to say the first microreactors off the factory line will be as cheap or fast as the technology will become. But they will likely be deployed at locations where there aren't cheap and reliable clean energy alternatives, like remote communities in Alaska."Currently, the only technology that works there are diesel generators and they have to fly in the diesel fuel in those locations. That's how remote they are. If we can replace those diesel generators with a micro reactor like this, it can certainly be significantly more economical than what they're currently paying today," Arafat told CNBC.Also, because microreactors will be located near where energy will be used, the cost of transmission will be virtually nil, Arafat said.Microreactors also require fewer personnel and less maintenance work than traditional reactors, in part because their fuel needs to be replaced only five to ten years, versus less than two years for a light water reactor, Arafat says.Then, there's the safety piece. The microreactor operates passively, meaning engineered systems are not required to, for example, cool the reactor off."So everything from heat generation, heat transport, heat removal to heat rejection, all of those coolant loops are done passively without any engineered systems," Arafat told CNBC.Also the side of the reactor is boron carbide, which is the same material used in armored vehicles."So if there's a manmade or an extreme weather conditions that can come through, there's going to be little or no effect to the actual operation or safety of these systems," Arafat said.The prototype of the Marvel reactor at the Idaho National Lab.Photo courtesy Magdalena Petrova, CNBCA critical piece of a larger puzzle, but no panaceaWhile Steve Nesbit, President of the industry trade group, American Nuclear Society, supports the idea of micronuclear reactors and the MARVEL project specifically, he cautions that they're not going to be a panacea for decarbonization.That's largely because a conventional light water reactors generate hundreds of megawatts of energy and a microreactor will generate between one and five megawatts of energy, according to Arafat."I do think they have a future but there are limits to the ability to address our clean energy needs with them," Nesbit told CNBC. "Microreactors are ideally suited for remote situations with microgrids, but not so much as a means of gigawatt scale generation of clean electricity for the conventional grid."The same view is shared by nuclear innovation expert and professor Alex Gilbert."They are distributed energy resources, meant to serve off-grid customers, small towns, and industrial operations," Gilbert told CNBC. "Alaska is likely to be an early initial market, as well as other parts of the Arctic like Canada, Russia, and Scandinavia. They can play keystone roles in microgrids, complementing distributed solar and batteries."But many of the key issues that face the development of microreactors are the same that face the development of large scale nuclear in the US: "We have an atrophied supply chain, costs will be high and unpredictable to start, and the regulatory system is poorly suited to handle them," Gilbert said.That said, addressing these issues for the deployment of microreactors can help to pave the way for those same issues "for large-scale roll out of larger advanced reactors," Gilbert said.Arafat knows that the MARVEL project has a larger purpose: Flexing the muscles of nuclear innovation in the U.S. for the first time in decades. "So the art, science, and the technology of going through the development of new reactors is also sort of a new realm for us in many ways," Arafat told CNBC.— CNBC's Magdalena Petrova contributed to this report. | US Federal Policies |
U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is leaving the Biden administration, according to people familiar with the matter.
He has been offered the job as executive director of the NHL Players’ Association, which represents professional hockey players in Canada and the US. Walsh is the first member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to step down.
The news was first reported by Daily Faceoff.
His exit will cost Biden not only a major ally to organized labor, but one of his top campaigners. In 2022 alone, Walsh traveled to 39 states to meet with workers and talk about the Biden administration’s agenda.
The departure also leaves the agency without a permanent confirmed chief amid a contentious contract fight at West Coast ports that threatens to clog up US supply chains.
The agency’s day-to-day policy work is expected to continue uninterrupted as Walsh vacates his office at the Frances Perkins Building. Deputy Secretary Julie Su is expected to become acting head of the agency, as set out under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and is likely already familiar with most of the staff within the Office of the Secretary.
It’s unclear who would be an obvious replacement for Walsh.
Biden could face pushback if Su were to lead DOL for too long, as many business lobbyists have raised concern that she could take the department in a more liberal direction based off of her work as California labor secretary.
During his nearly two-year tenure as head of the US Labor Department, Walsh drew both scrutiny and praise for his outspoken support of labor unions, notably joining striking Kelloggs workers on the picket line in Pennsylvania in 2021. Walsh was also a key player in negotiations between unions and freight companies that sought to avoid a rail strike that would have disrupted the national supply chain.
This isn’t Walsh’s first foray into sports politics. Last year he offered to help end the lockout between Major League Baseball and its players’ union.
Known for the ability to bring both labor and management to the table in his previous role as mayor of Boston, Walsh continued that approach in his leadership at the DOL, often drawing plaudits from management-side groups for his openness.
Walsh was confirmed as the head of the DOL in March 2021, and led the agency as it attempted to require Covid-19 vaccines at workplaces and update rules on whether workers should be considered independent contractors or employees under federal wage law.
Walsh also oversaw the creation of the office of unemployment insurance modernization at the DOL, which sought to address the failing technology that led to millions of dollars lost to fraud and massive delays during the pandemic.
The former head of the Boston Building and Construction Trades Council also co-led a White House taskforce on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, which outlined steps the federal government could take to encourage collective bargaining within the federal workforce and in federal contracts. | US Federal Policies |
It is long past time to break Tuberville’s hold on military promotions
President Joe Biden announced yesterday that he was nominating Air Force Chief of Staff C.Q. Brown to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Earlier this week, Biden announced that he had nominated U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh to the head of both Cyber Command (he is currently the command’s deputy commander) as well as chief of the National Security Agency. The appointment also grants Haugh a fourth star, to full general. Except that neither appointment may come anytime soon.
The president’s nomination adds a 185th and 186th names to the list of promotions that have stalled due to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) blanket “hold” on all of them. The tradition of senatorial courtesy provides that any member of that body can put a “hold” on confirmation of any executive branch nominee for any reason, or for no reason at all. Far too often, individual nominees have suffered through a lengthy, frustrating, sometimes seemingly endless confirmation process through no fault of their own. They are simply “collateral damage”; individual senators hold them hostage in order to force the administration to adopt a policy or program of their liking.
Senators rarely put holds on military promotions, which are routine, dealt with in packages, and invariably command the body’s unanimous consent. The Senate only addresses individual promotions when there are specific concerns about a particular nominee.
Sen. Tuberville has stretched the practice of a “hold” beyond recognition by issuing a blanket hold on all military promotions. As Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pointed out in a May 5 letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who chairs the personnel subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, “the Department of Defense has 64 three- and four-star nominations pending for positions due to rotate within the next 120 days. These include the Chief of Staff of the Army; the Chief of Naval operations; the Commandant and Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps; the Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of United State Cyber Command [General Haugh]; and the Commander of United States Northern Command.”
Austin added that “several one- and two-star nominations are now on indefinite hold for general officers and flag officers slated to take command or support critical positions across the Joint Force.” In addition, Austin stated, within the next nine months there would be 80 more top-level military rotations across DoD. Finally, and for good measure, Austin pointed out that the delays affect the training and equipping of the Joint Force, the security of military communications and data, and military readiness, among other aspects of a military that must confront threats from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and terrorists worldwide.
Seven of his predecessors have backed Secretary Austin’s remonstrations. In their own bipartisan letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Secretaries Bill Perry, Bill Cohen, Bob Gates, Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, Jim Mattis and Mark Esper, representing every administration from Clinton through Trump, reiterated the danger to national security generally, and readiness specifically, that Tuberville’s ongoing hold posed for the U.S. Their note also pointed out “the real-world impacts” on the families of these officers. They could not move and resettle their families; their children could not enroll in new schools; spouses could not begin new jobs. As they bluntly put it, “we can think of few things as irresponsible and uncaring as harming the families of those who serve our nation in uniform.”
Tuberville recently wrote that he is angry that the Defense Department “seems determined to turn the Pentagon into a five-sided faculty lounge whose purpose is left-wing social engineering.” Specifically, he argues that the DoD should not pay for service members’ travel if they are seeking abortions; he calls it a violation of the Hyde Amendment that bans government spending on abortions. Furthermore, he asserts that the Senate could vote on each individual promotion, “in a military of 2 million and boasting 650 general officers, slowing down the process doesn’t put our national security at risk.”
In fact, were the Senate to vote on each individual promotion, it would have little time for any other business for the remainder of the fiscal year and perhaps beyond. In other words, there would be no time to vote on raising the debt ceiling, or authorizations and appropriations, executive and judicial confirmations, or any other congressional business. In effect, Tuberville not only is undermining the military promotion system, he wants to bring the business of government to a crashing halt.
Tuberville has little support among his Senate colleagues. Sen. McConnell has made it clear that he does not support the hold. But thus far, the Senate has done nothing to break it, for fear that it would jeopardize a hallowed individual senatorial prerogative. However, that prerogative was not meant to be abused. In the current circumstance, with America facing a growing Chinese threat and Russian aggression in Europe, the majority and minority leaders should call for action to terminate Tuberville’s hold. The Alabama senator’s extraordinary challenge to the military demands nothing less than an extraordinary Senate response to sustain the nation’s security in these most difficult of times.
Dov S. Zakheim is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and vice chairman of the board for the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He was undersecretary of Defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer for the Department of Defense from 2001 to 2004 and a deputy undersecretary of Defense from 1985 to 1987.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | US Congress |
Published June 14, 2022 2:31PM Updated 7:03PM article Durham Police arrested 46 fraternity members at the University of New Hampshire on hazing charges. (Photo courtesy of Durham, New Hampshire Police) DURHAM, New Hampshire - Police have issued arrest warrants charging 46 fraternity members from the University of New Hampshire for an alleged hazing incident that occurred at an event in April. Fraternity members arrested in the alleged hazing incident Durham Police shared with FOX Television Stations the fraternity members who have been arrested Tuesday. Brendan Akpan, 21, Springfield, New HampshireNikolaos Beka, 19, Shrewsbury, MassachusettsNikolas Boruvka, 20, Westwood, MassachusettsJoseph Cleary, 20, Plymouth, New HampshireJason Crocker, 19, Malden, MassachusettsAnthony Gionta,19, Baldwin Place, New YorkTucker Guard, 20, Marion, MassachusettsCharlie Kavanagh, 19, Sudbury, MassachusettsThomas Langlois, 20, Windham, New HampshireNore Mendes, 19, Weymouth, MassachusettsChristopher Pacios, 19, Northborough, MassachusettsSamuel Patterson, 20, Avon, ConnecticutTyler Prout, 19, Grafton, MassachusettsMatthew Ray, 18, Sudbury, MassachusettsSimon Roy, 20, Portsmouth, Rhode IslandKevin Russell, 19, Ashland, MassachusettsMatthew Smeltzer, 20, Harwich, MassachusettsJoshua Tobin, 18, Bedford, New HampshireAustin Wackrow, 19, Woburn, Massachusetts Fraternity members at University of New Hampshire arrested Samuel Patterson (Photo courtesy Durham, New Hampshire Police) Police also announced the arrests of the following fraternity members on June 10: Seth Burdick, 19, South Hampton, New HampshireBenjamin Chase, 18, Hampton, New HampshireRobert Doherty, 19, Wolfeboro, New HampshireDaniel Fachiol, 21, Hampden, MaineCharles Farrah, 20, Grafton, MassachusettsRobert Hardy, 21, Atkinson, New HampshireOliver Jacques, 19, Auburn, MaineGabriel Kwan, 21, Winchester, MassachusettsMason Steele, 19, Williston, VermontColby Travis, 19, Pelham, New Hampshire What happened in the alleged incident? WMUR-TV first reported last week that 10 members of the fraternity were arrested on June 10. The media outlet also reported that the frat members who were arrested were released and are scheduled to appear in court on July 13. The Durham Police Department said in a June 10 release that University of New Hampshire representatives informed them about a "possible student hazing incident" at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity. On April 13, an event took place at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon and involved new fraternity members. Following an investigation, authorities shared there was "probable cause" that hazing happened. Last week, police issued arrest warrants for the SAE New Hampshire Beta chapter on June 7, charging them and the entire chapter with student hazing, authorities said. Statements from the university, fraternity and county attorney's office On Tuesday, University of New Hampshire spokesperson Erika Mantz provided a statement to FOX Television Stations in response to the allegations sharing that the school notified authorities about the incident and said the fraternity has been suspended. "We were made aware of the incident by the fraternity’s national headquarters and immediately notified the Durham Police Department. We have cooperated with police throughout the investigation and the fraternity was interim suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation. We take any allegation of hazing very seriously, and now that the police investigation is complete, we will be initiating a formal conduct process." Emily C. Garod, the deputy county attorney for the Strafford County Attorney’s Office which is leading the prosecution on this case provided a statement Tuesday to FOX Television Stations. "New Hampshire law permits us to charge both the actor and subject of hazing, as well as any person present for hazing and fails to report it. The 46 individuals charged are associated with the fraternity SAE and fall within those three categories. Student hazing is a class b misdemeanor – the lowest level crime in NH punishable but up to a $1,200.00. There is no potential jail time associated with this sort of offense. Student Hazing is the only charges we expect to be forthcoming from this incident." David Pascarella, a spokesperson for the national Sigma Alpha Epsilon organization, provided a written statement to FOX Television Stations Tuesday condemning the acts of hazing. "The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Service Center was made aware of an incident in April involving members of our chapter at the University of New Hampshire. Upon learning of the alleged incident, SAE immediately issued a Cease and Desist of the chapter, began our own investigation, and informed The University of New Hampshire's administration. SAE's investigation was paused upon being notified about the opening of a police investigation. We are fully cooperating with the local authorities' investigation and have urged all of our members to do the same." "Sigma Alpha Epsilon denounces all acts of hazing and misconduct that do not represent the Fraternity's values defined by our creed, The True Gentleman." The 46 fraternity members could possibly get fined up to $1,200, and the SAE Beta chapter could face a fine of up to $20,000, according to police. This story was reported from Washington, D.C. | US Crime, Violence, Terrorism & cybercrime |
A demonstrator holds photos of transgender people killed in 2022 at the annual Pride Parade on June 12, 2022, in Los Angeles. Photo: David McNew/Getty ImagesThis Pride month, the violent consequences of the Republicans’ all-out assault on the lives of LGBTQ+ people, and particularly transgender people, has been laid frighteningly bare. From government officials to paranoid media commentators to far-right militias, attacks on the rights and freedoms of adults and children are taking place nationwide and striking at all aspects of public life.
This weekend, as kids danced and adults socialized and enjoyed drag performances and picnics at a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, over 30 masked, uniformed white nationalists from around the country crammed in the back of a U-Haul. They brought shields, metal poles, and a smoke grenade — preparations for attacking the Pride in the Park festivities. Thanks to a tipoff from a concerned citizen who noticed the small army of “Patriot Front” members, local police intercepted the truck and arrested 31 men for conspiracy to riot.
In San Lorenzo, California, on Saturday, a group of men believed to be Proud Boys disrupted a drag queen storytelling hour, screaming anti-trans, anti-gay slurs in what is being investigated as a hate crime.
Earlier this month, self-described “Christian fascists” attempted to force their way into an LGBTQ+ bar in Dallas, Texas, which was hosting a family-friendly drag queen brunch for Pride. The fascists threatened attendees, chanting that the adults were “groomers” — a dangerous, dated trope once again gaining furious traction in right-wing media.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed in Texas against Gov. Greg Abbott’s most vicious anti-trans order to date revealed that a teenage trans boy attempted suicide earlier this year, on the same day the governor ordered that parents of trans kids be investigated as potential child abusers. The 16-year-old was referred to a psychiatric facility, where hospital staff learned that he had been prescribed gender-affirming hormones; they reported the family for potential “child abuse” — as required by the very rule over which the boy attempted to take his own life. (It should not need repeating at this point that every major medical association has recognized the medical necessity of gender-affirming care for trans adults and children.)Participants in LGBTQ+ liberation struggles have long stressed that the all-out legislative and rhetorical assault on trans people would inevitably lead to violent attacks, suicide, and subhuman treatment. This is not a concern for the future: It is happening now.
It is no accident that anti-LGBTQ+ laws have taken priority alongside the decimation of reproductive rights and the enforcement of racist national myths in schools. The Christian fascist insurgency informing all these moves, constituted by state and vigilante forces, is unabashed in its authoritarian aim to codify white, patriarchal standing.For more than a year, Republican-led state legislatures have made the eradication of trans children and adults from public life a top priority. They proposed and swiftly passed a mountain of legislation to remove health care, harass trans-affirming families, and physically assault gender-nonconforming children who want to play sports with their peers.
The goal is eliminationist in scope. As one of the Christian fascist protesters was reportedly overheard telling the Pride brunch attendees in Dallas, “It’s going to be so fun when we take away all of your rights.”
LGBTQ+ people, their families, and their advocates are fighting back. The Texas lawsuit that revealed the trans teenager’s suicide attempt was able to obtain a temporary restraining order from a judge this week. The ruling blocked child protective services from investigating PFLAG families who allow their trans children to receive gender-affirming health care. The mother of the teen boy who attempted suicide is among the plaintiffs.
Temporary legal victories, though, can only be welcomed as short-term reprieves. They are likely to face appeals to higher courts, those bastions of the far right.
Moreover, the staggering speed of the anti-trans legislative push is its own daunting challenge. In recent years, over 100 bills have been introduced across the country targeting trans people, mostly children. Even when the bills fail, state executives and prosecutors have taken action to enforce a violently anti-trans legal status quo, as was the case with Abbott’s order in Texas. It’s especially important to note that, while the police may have intercepted the Patriot Front attack in Idaho, law enforcement has a more established record of aiding, or at least overlooking, the far right. Indeed, cops have their own rich legacy harassing trans individuals, particularly trans women of color. Neither the police nor the courts will serve as a source of protection for LGBTQ+ communities.
As a lawyer on the front lines against the anti-trans onslaught in the courts, Chase Strangio of the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a powerful essay this month, “Our ability to meaningfully build resistance movements in the coming years demands that we better understand the limits of law as an instrument of justice.” He added, “Ultimately, we cannot trust the Supreme Court, or any court, to honor the capaciousness and complexity of our bodies and lives.”
It should be enough that trans children’s lives are at risk for liberals and leftists, in general, to take up this fight. We should not need a “First they came for” narrative to activate widespread resistance, yet it should be clear by now that there are connections to struggles like the fight for reproductive rights. Legislative attacks on trans lives are also methods by state governments to expand the authoritarian ability to remove health care provisions, legitimize vigilante violence, and assert control over who does and does not have access to the public space.
All too many liberals and even some leftists have dismissed this anti-trans assault as a cynical culture-war distraction or, worse, have legitimated putrid “debates” over trans lives. They, too, bear responsibility for far-right, eugenicist violence that has been permitted to take hold.
There can be zero patience for contrarian media figures who give credence to far-right talking points. Consider the fight over the purported failure on the part of trans-supportive medical professionals, activists, and theorists that they cannot give a simple, one-line definition in answer to the question of “What is a woman?” As any first-year philosophy student can tell you, we also can’t give a one-line, all-encompassing definition in response to the same question about other basic nouns and concepts — What, after all, is a game? — and yet these terms are widely used completely and correctly. The only meaningful thing the kerfuffle over “What is a woman?” gives us is a demonstration of the anti-trans media’s intellectual impoverishment.
The goal, of course, cannot be to reveal the idiocy of reactionary commentators through debate. Too much is at stake. These figures have already made clear that they align themselves with fascists. Nor, as is abundantly clear, can we cling to liberal myths of progress and constitutionally protected rights to ensure the protection of trans individuals, and LGBTQ+ rights more broadly.
The necessary response to this fearsome moment of white backlash must, as the attorney Strangio argued, focus on “collective organizing, care and action.” He, more than most, can speak to the necessity and profound insufficiency of winning battles in court. Resource redistribution, on-the-ground defense of trans-inclusionary public spaces, and an insistence that trans children are not only to be tolerated but also celebrated: This is the shape resistance must take. | Civil Rights Activism |
An oil rig supervisor who earned more than $200,000 a year working for Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions Group is entitled to overtime pay, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a decision with costly implications for the oil and gas industry.
The court in a 6-3 decision authored by liberal Justice Elena Kagan decided that because the rig supervisor, Michael Hewitt, was paid a daily rate of $963 and not a salary, an overtime pay exemption in federal wage law for highly paid workers did not apply to him.
The justices affirmed a 2021 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals that Helix must face Hewitt’s 2017 lawsuit seeking overtime pay. That lawsuit now goes back to a federal judge in Houston.
A 1940 regulation holds that highly compensated workers – currently defined as those earning $107,000 a year or more – would not receive overtime pay if they have supervisory duties and are paid at least $455 per week in the form of a salary.
Kagan said the text of the regulation made clear that it did not apply to employees who are paid based on how many days they work and are not guaranteed minimum weekly wages.
Ed Sullivan, a lawyer for Hewitt, said that “my client and team are appreciative that the Supreme Court applied the plain text of the law to his case.”
Helix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Helix was backed in the case by oil and gas trade groups including the American Petroleum Institute, which said in briefs to the justices that supervisors in the industry are routinely paid daily rates and work long hours. A ruling favoring Hewitt would require companies to pay overtime premiums and invite a flood of lawsuits from highly paid workers, the groups added.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal members in the ruling.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a dissent joined by fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito, wrote that because Hewitt earned a set daily rate, he knew he would be paid at least that much for any week in which he worked. That coupled with his management duties made him exempt from overtime pay, Kavanaugh said.
Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch in a separate dissent said Helix’s appeal should have been dismissed for procedural reasons. | SCOTUS |
On Wednesday afternoon, President Biden will make his case for “Bidenomics.” A key piece of Biden's argument is that his policies fueled an economic recovery that outperformed the rest of the world.
The White House points to GDP growth and inflation as evidence for that claim. The US has “the highest economic growth since the pandemic and currently has the lowest level of inflation,” senior advisors Anita Dunn and Mike Donilon noted in a memo this week.
That good news, they added, is “a direct result of Bidenomics.”
Those carefully chosen words do obscure some slightly less flattering numbers on inflation and a jobs record that equals but doesn't exceed that of fellow nations. And voters continue to rate him poorly on his handling of the economy.
But a Yahoo Finance review of the data found that perhaps Biden is entitled to some bragging. He is overseeing an economy that is notably outperforming or at least on par with comparable economies around the world on a variety of fronts, and he has dodged a recession so far.
The mixed but positive picture can be attributed (at least in part) to Biden’s own policies and a lesson he took from his time as vice president.
Many on the left have long argued that Washington’s response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis was too small and set the stage for a painfully slow recovery.
Economist David Wilcox notes that Biden and his team had that in mind as they crafted their strategy in 2021. They successfully pushed a series of bills through Congress that sent trillions of dollars to consumers and businesses, and have directly impacted the country’s economic trajectory.
“My view is the administration was not wrong to err on the side of going too big rather than too small,” said Wilcox.
The senior economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Bloomberg Economics added that Biden deserves some credit for the solid labor market and strong GDP growth, but “he gets a little blame for inflation initially having been worse here than on average in peer advanced economies.”
Here’s the data behind some of what Biden will tout on Wednesday and some other numbers he may be less inclined to highlight. He is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET in Chicago.
A mixed picture on inflation
Lingering inflation is proving to be an especially strong drag on Biden's political prospects as he struggles with low approval ratings on his handling of the economy.
The White House message on that front is to look at the current inflation rate and compare it with the rest of the world.
Over the last year, Americans have seen a 4.9% rise in consumer prices. It’s a level that remains significantly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target but is indeed outperforming the rate in Europe and elsewhere.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development tracks a wide array of countries and pegs the current worldwide Consumer Price Index at 7.3%.
But even data promoted by the White House itself shows both sides of the situation. In recent talking points distributed to allies, Biden administration officials charted how core inflation — which doesn’t take food and energy into account — has dropped in the US below that of several peer economies.
But their graphic also showed clearly that the US was a notable laggard on that same measure throughout 2021.
Clearer results on GDP growth
The case is somewhat more clear-cut when it comes to GDP growth.
Since the pandemic hit, the US economy has grown 5.4%, while growth in the rest of the G7 is only 1.3%, according to Haver Analytics.
US performance here has been a trend since the beginning of the pandemic — including during the final months of then-President Trump’s time in office.
The recent World Economic Outlook from the IMF underscored the continued rocky outlook for the global economy on both the inflation and GDP fronts. It projects global growth will be 2.8% for 2023, then rise to 3% next year.
Unemployment
A key Biden stat you can expect to hear a lot between now and election day 2024 is that 13 million jobs have been created since Biden took office. But the trends in the US labor market are broadly similar to tose around the rest of the globe.
The US unemployment rate is hovering at the same level as pre-pandemic lows—with other countries also returning to their 2019 levels.
Countries like Japan and Germany have lower unemployment rates today, but they also had lower rates before the pandemic. Likewise, countries like Italy had higher unemployment rates before the pandemic, and that remains true today.
The US labor market remans strong even despite an aggressive campaign of interest-rate hikes at the Federal Reserve that has yet to be felt in the unemployment rate.
A recent report from the Treasury Department argued that Biden’s policies are at least partly to thank for that upside surprise, saying "the actions taken by the Biden Administration meaningfully contributed to the pace of recovery and strength of the labor market."
The report also pointed to some of the limits of these international comparisons by documenting how other economies faced different economic challenges. Europe, for example, had much more direct direct exposure to the effects of the war in Ukraine in the energy sector and elsewhere.
The bottom line, Wilcox noted, is the Biden has overseen an US economy that has outperformed the world on significant measures, and on inflation “we've really turned the corner a little faster than most other countries.”
He said he didn’t foresee the rapid growth. "If you had asked me two years ago in the middle of 2021 would we be in this kind of shape, I wouldn't have given very high odds on that [and] I think an awful lot of pessimists have been proven wrong."
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
While presidents often get too much credit or blame for larger economic trends | US Federal Policies |
In an election night selfie video taken in her car, San Francisco public school math teacher Ainye Long joyfully announced to her more than 2,400 Instagram followers: “It’s still so early, but we are officially in second place!”
The news was “surreal,” even to Long, a political novice with no shortage of ambition. What’s she running for? The top leadership role in California education.
Ainye Long, a public school teacher in San Francisco and previous leader of a charter school system in Oakland, is a candidate for election for California Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Photo courtesy Ainye Long)
Her run for office was so grassroots that she said she spent just over $500 and campaigned by carpooling with a former sorority sister.
In a tumultuous time for the California public school system, largely incited by the COVID-19 pandemic, Long’s surprise showing has stirred up a once-sleepy re-election campaign for California’s superintendent of schools Tony Thurmond. As of Saturday, with the Secretary of State still tabulating votes, Long had dropped to fourth place but was only a tenth of a percentage point behind Lance Ray Christensen, the vice president of education policy and government relations at the California Policy Center, and George Yang, a Menlo Park software architect. The second-place finisher moves on to the general election to face off with Thurmond in November.
Years of tension over school board politics, controversial classroom lessons, teacher turnover, student well-being and school closures have led Golden State voters to spread more than 50% of the vote among six challengers to Thurmond.
Long, the only woman in the seven-person race, is department chair of mathematics at Willie Brown Middle School in San Francisco. The former director for the California Charter Schools Association and former regional superintendent at the nonprofit charter school system Amethod Public Schools in Oakland is a familiar face in Bay Area education circles. Her own education resumes shows she’s a graduate of UC Santa Cruz and Berkeley High school.
In an interview last week, Long said she isn’t surprised she’s now a serious contender for the runoff. “It’s not about me,” she said. “It’s about all these amazing people coming together.”
She credits her inspiration to run to one of her math students. “‘You are the reason I’m running,'” she told him one day in class. “Because he asks such great questions like ‘Why are we taking math so late in the day?'” Long said she noticed that students are more and more interested in how education policy works.
“In short, the pandemic has given us the opportunity to seize new opportunities and there’s never going to be an opportunity like it,” she said. “In the pandemic I was thinking about where we are. We’ve got to stop everything and reimagine what schooling is going to look like. And not floating from a disconnected view.”
As a Black educator, she contends her variety of experiences in the public school system has given her a unique understanding of California students’ needs, and the administrative systems and structures to get them met. And she said she wants to “transform schools and communities by leading anti-racist and abolitionist training for faculty, and designing engagement programs to empower students to continue meeting standards in changing times.”
“I’m a public school teacher. I’m the only candidate on the ballot who has literally the credentials alone” Long said. “I’m in the classroom. … Yet the person over public instruction doesn’t have to have experience in public instruction.”
Thurmond, the incumbent, is a long-time politician who has served as a state assemblyman, a West Contra Costa Unified School District school board member and Richmond city councilman. With $1.5 million in campaign contributions and endorsements from the powerful California Teachers’ Association and the Democratic Party, Thurmond will be a heavy favorite in November’s runoff.
But the election for California’s superintendent of public instruction is the only statewide office that doesn’t follow the top-two primary model, so Thurmond could have won back his job outright this month with more than 50% of the vote. Still, amid widespread dissatisfaction with schools during the pandemic, Thurmond said his receiving more than 45% of the vote is a “resounding victory.”
“I offer experience to voters,” Thurmond said in an interview Friday. “These have been tough times for California schools. The pandemic had exacerbated so many challenges. … I’m confident that the plan that I have for California schools is going to help them come back from this moment.”
If Long manages to come back and claim second place in the primary, she knows it will be difficult to unseat an incumbent backed by the establishment. She said she spent considerable time on her campaign just teaching people what it means to be the head of public instruction for the state. She hopes her support in the charter school community could make a difference.
“Everything is a matter of if we can mobilize people,” she said. “The teachers’ union and Democratic Party have endorsed the incumbent. That’s fine. I think we can decide who the best candidate is by actually (asking) informed voters.” | US Local Elections |
Former President Donald Trump greets Rudy Giuliani at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. (Photo by Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images)A “definitely intoxicated” Rudy Giuliani urged then-President Donald Trump to declare victory on election night over the near-universal objections of Trump’s campaign advisers, they testified on Monday morning.A number of Trump campaign leaders told the House Jan. 6 Select Committee that they strongly advised Trump to wait as votes continued to be counted on election night. But Trump ignored them and listened to the visibly drunk former New York City mayor, they said.“The mayor was definitely intoxicated, but I do not know his level of intoxication when he spoke with the president,” Jason Miller, a senior adviser on Trump’s reelection campaign, said during his videotaped deposition played by the committee.Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien said that Giuliani kept pushing to talk to the president. Giuliani was instead diverted to a conversation with Stepien Miller, White House Mark Meadows and deputy campaign manager Justin Clark. “Mayor Giuliani was saying we won it, they're stealing it from us, where’d all the votes come from, we need to go say that we won. And essentially, that anyone who didn't agree with that position was being weak,” Miller said.Stepien said he strongly urged Trump not to declare victory. But Giuliani eventually got to the president. And Trump overruled his advisers.“My recommendation was to say that votes were still being counted, it’s too early to tell,” he said. “The president disagreed with that. He thought I was wrong. He told me so.”Trump famously declared victory around 2:30 a.m. the morning after the election, while demanding that states stop counting the votes that had yet to be tallied—the beginning of a monthslong, increasingly desperate campaign to try to overturn his obvious election loss."We'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at four o’clock in the morning and add them to the list. We will win this—and as far as I’m concerned we already have," Trump said at the time.Things got increasingly bizarre from there.Trump got sick of hearing bad news from actually competent campaign advisers in the weeks after the election—and gravitated more and more to Giuliani, newly installed campaign attorney Sidney Powell, and their bonkers conspiracy theories over actual evidence from Trump’s advisers that he had likely lost.“He was growing increasingly unhappy with his team—me, less so because I was less involved at this point, but still growing really increasingly unhappy with Justin Clark,” Stepien said. “That kind of paved the way for Justin to be moved out and Mayor Giuliani to be moved in as the person put in charge of the legal side of the campaign.” That’s when Trump’s team began floating its craziest conspiracy theories, including the wild claim that Dominion Voting Machines had been manipulated by the Venezuelan communist government to rig the election against Biden.“What they were proposing I thought was nuts,” Trump White House Attorney Eric Herschmann said about Giulaini and Powell’s claims.Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, said at one point he told Trump to stop taking advice from Giuliani.Trump’s response, according to Kushner: “I have confidence in Rudy.”Get the latest from VICE News in your inbox. Sign up right here.By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. | US Federal Elections |
Parents are pushing back after a committee whose members sit on a Wisconsin school board did not move forward with approving a book about Japanese American incarceration during World War II for a sophomore English literature class.Muskego-Norway School Board members said including the book would require “balance” with perspective from the U.S. government, according to two parents in the district. They also said that minutes of a heated meeting with board members about the topic were not posted and that a video of another board meeting was reportedly edited.“She clarified and said that she felt that we needed the perspective of the American government and why Japanese internment happened. And so then again, we had raised voices at this point. I told her specifically, I said, ‘The other side is racism.’”
— Ann Zielke, parent, on her conversation with the board vice president.As of Thursday, almost 200 parents, alumni, community members and staffers of the Waukesha County district had signed a petition demanding the committee reconsider Julie Otsuka’s book — “When the Emperor Was Divine” — which was not moved forward during the early stages of the approval process June 13. Board members also reportedly said a book cannot be chosen for the sake of adding diversity to the curriculum, said the parents, who spoke with board members and attended the school board meeting this month. Ann Zielke, a parent in the district who kept a detailed log of her interactions with board members and shared them for this article, said discussions around the book began months ago, after the district’s curriculum planning committee approved the novel in April. The book was subsequently sent to a group of three board members who approve educational materials before they’re purchased by the school board known as the educational services committee. Rather than move forward with the book, the committee — which is made up of school board Vice President Terri Boyer, Treasurer Tracy Blair and member Laurie Kontney — requested more time for review, the parents said. Zielke said she reached out to two board members for a rationale and eventually had a conversation the next month with Boyer, who sits on the committee. She said that in the exchange, Boyer said adding the book — alongside the class’ existing inclusion of “Farewell to Manzanar,” a separate memoir about Japanese American incarceration during WWII — to the curriculum created an “unbalanced” account of history.. Zielke said she was told “we can’t just provide one side or the other side” before the parent pressed Boyer about the issue, demanding the board member clarify her definition of “other.” “What she said to me was that we actually need an ‘American’ perspective,’” said Zielke, who said she pointed out that those who were incarcerated were, in fact, Americans, before the conversation grew increasingly heated.“She clarified and said that she felt that we needed the perspective of the American government and why Japanese internment happened. And so then again, we had raised voices at this point. I told her specifically, I said, ‘The other side is racism.’” The cover of “When the Emperor Was Divine,” by Julie OtsukaBoyer said in an email that the book was not approved because of “concerns in our process, not the content of the book.” She wrote in a follow-up email that district policy states that the selection of instructional materials “shall not discriminate on the basis of any characteristics protected under State or Federal law” and that “concerns were raised about whether the policy was followed.” “To ensure the policy is followed, staff pulled the book from being recommended and will start the process over to ensure a fair and non-discriminatory process will be used to select a book for this class.” The historical novel, published in 2002, is loosely based on the lives of author Otsuka’s family. It follows the experiences of a Japanese American family from Berkeley, California, who leave their lives behind after the U.S. government forcibly imprisons them in a camp in Utah during World War II, when anyone of Japanese descent was deemed a national security threat after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Zielke said Boyer told her she received a tip that the book was chosen on the basis that it was written by a nonwhite author. When Zielke asked whether Asian students in the district deserve to see themselves in the curriculum, she said Boyer responded, “They can go to the library and check out any books they want.” School board President Christopher Buckmaster also brought up concerns about balance in a separate call with Zielke, she said. Asked to clarify what kind of balance Buckmaster sought, he recommended that the students read about the Rape of Nanjing, Zielke said. In the tragedy during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese military raped at least 20,000 women and girls and killed 150,000 male “war prisoners” and 50,000 male civilians in the Chinese city of Nanjing. Buckmaster did not respond to a request for comment. Brett Hyde, another board member, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he sensed board members felt that the perspective presented in Otsuka’s novel too closely mirrored that of “Farewell to Manzanar” and suggested material related to the bombing of Pearl Harbor to provide “some history as to why the citizens of Japanese descent were viewed as a threat and what was the reasoning to have them put into the internment camps.” Another board member, Kevin Zimmerman, said in an email that he did not believe anyone on the board had concerns about balance. Records of the June meetings that featured discussions and arguments around the book are not available. Minutes of an educational services meeting, which took place June 13, have not been shared to the school board website, where the records are generally posted. When a copy was requested, Boyer replied in an email that the minutes have not been approved. A board meeting took place later the same day. When Zielke submitted an open records request for the video, Assistant Superintendent Jeff Petersen replied in an email, seen by NBC News, that the part of the video that was removed was “unrelated to the official business of the meeting.” Exchanges between board members and parents over the book took place before the meeting actually started. Tensions grew, and both parents said they were not given a fair opportunity for a true discussion with the board. Zielke said that when an alumnus expressed the desire to speak before the meeting officially began, an argument ensued. The discussion is not featured in the latest version of the video, from which seven minutes was cut, Zielke said.The district’s YouTube channel livestreams its board meetings, but Zielke, who repeatedly checked the page herself, said the recording was uploaded and then deleted June 14. The video of the meeting reappeared later that day, with the seven minutes removed, she said. “In response to your records request, the District’s technology personnel made efforts to determine whether the deleted portion of the recording was recoverable, and they have concluded that it is not,” he wrote. “As a result, there are no records responsive to your request.”Neither Petersen nor Boyer responded to requests for comment on the altered video. Zielke and another parent in the district, Allison Hapeman, said that at the June 13 committee meeting at which it decided against moving forward with the book, the members provided no rationale. “The dozen parents and alumni and students who showed up to that meeting just started yelling questions, because they were ready to gavel it out with zero explanation,” Zielke said. Buckmaster confirmed that the book was brought to the committee but was never moved forward to the full board. But he wrote that “at no point was this book banned or denied by the committee of the board or the full board.”“Rather, district staff recommended that it be sent through the staff committee process again,” he wrote. However, Zielke said, board members were clear in both private and public conversations about their disapproval of the book and did not indicate the novel would be sent through the process for another review. In a June 10 email from Boyer to Zielke, seen by NBC News, the board vice president wrote that “not approving a piece of curriculum should not erase the other 99% we do approve.” “The board is now saying that the district staff recommended the book come back, but that was not made clear to anyone at that ESC meeting,” Zielke said. “I walked away knowing the committee didn’t approve something having to do with ‘diversity.’ … It feels like a backpedaling reason to explain this.” Hapeman confirmed that when it was pressed by parents, the board members brought up similar arguments that had previously been presented to Zielke. She said the committee took particular issue with how the book was chosen to bring a diverse perspective into the curriculum. The committee's comments “pointed to their understanding or their belief that the fact that this book came from a diverse perspective meant that the committee that chose it was discriminating against white people.” — Allison Hapeman, parent“At one point, Terri Boyer, in the meeting, did say, ‘How would you feel if they were only allowed to choose books by white people?’” Hapeman said. Hapeman said that while many parents tried to air their concerns, they were cut off. “They get to have final say in who they will listen to. We were at the meeting that we are supposed to be able to speak,” Hapeman said. “But we were gaveled out while we were still speaking.”Hapeman added that the committee’s comments in the meeting “pointed to their understanding or their belief that the fact that this book came from a diverse perspective meant that the committee that chose it was discriminating against white people.” “They didn’t use that language, but everything pointed to that,” she said. Zielke said she has yet to hear from any parents who object to the book, and Hapeman added that the parents who’ve shown up at meetings have only supported including it in the curriculum.“I’m looking for my children to get an education that prepares them to live in the wider world. … And that’s what I believe that public education needs to provide to all our students,” Hapeman said. “We’ll be in the district for many years to come here, and I want my kids to be prepared for the life that comes next. And if these are the kinds of decisions that are continuing to be made, by narrowing the perspectives that they’re taught, then they won’t be prepared.”The Muskego-Norway School District’s decision has drawn ire from the Japanese American community, as well. David Inoue, the executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, sent the school board a letter this month demanding that it reconsider the book’s use in the curriculum, particularly given the alleged arguments from board members. “In the case of the Japanese American incarceration, the United State government has formally apologized to the Japanese Americans who were incarcerated, admitting our actions as a nation were constitutionally and morally wrong,” he wrote. “The story of what happened to the Japanese American community is an American story, one that balances the challenges of injustice, but also the patriotic stories of service and resistance. If anything, these are stories that need to be told more in our schools.”“It is the absolute definition of racism to try and exclude something because it is a minority perspective.”— David Inoue, Japanese American citizens leagueInoue said the school board’s concerns that the book choice could have been discriminatory was “ridiculous.” “It is the absolute definition of racism to try and exclude something because it is a minority perspective,” Inoue said.Otsuka also expressed disappointment in the school district, saying that in the two decades since the book was published, the material has never been the source of debate in schools. She said it’s critical for schools to lift up the perspectives of marginalized communities, like Japanese Americans, whose stories have predominantly been framed through a white lens. Over the years, she said, she has heard from numerous high school readers about how her book served as their first introduction to the subject of the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.“For so long, history has been presented in a very one-sided way. It’s been written by mostly white men, and it historically has been about white men,” Otsuka said. “A revisitation of history. And just, you know, I think, from the perspective of people who might have been left out of the official account is long overdue.”Otsuka added that reading stories from a diversity of communities is a “radical act of empathy” that can only serve to benefit all students. “By reading, it collapses all distance between yourself and the other. You enter into their story,” she said. “It’s how we learn to be more compassionate human beings — by reading about people who are different from us.” | US Local Policies |
CNN — The Georgia prosecutor leading an investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to clear the way for the testimony of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. “The Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury seeks to question Senator Lindsey Graham regarding certain activities related to its ongoing investigation into possible criminal activity surrounding the 2020 general elections in Georgia,” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wrote in the new filing. She stressed that Graham’s efforts to postpone his testimony would be “unavoidably harmful to the administration of the grand jury investigation” and would “harm the public’s interest in the timely and effective resolution” of it. The filing came in response to the South Carolina senator’s emergency request last week asking the justices to halt the testimony while the legal challenges play out. Graham has argued that he should not have to abide by the subpoena because his testimony is foreclosed by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause, which shields lawmakers from certain law enforcement action for conduct connected to their legislative duties. If Graham prevails, critics fear that it will embolden other members of Congress to make similar claims in an attempt to shield speech that falls outside the protections of the Speech or Debate Clause. The clause reads that “for any Speech or Debate in either house” members of Congress “shall not be questioned in any other place.” Willis has indicated that she would like to question Graham on calls he made to election officials in Georgia after the 2020 election. Lawyers for the senator characterize the calls as “investigatory phone calls” carried out in furtherance of a legitimate legislative activity meant to inform him on his upcoming certification decision. On Monday, Justice Clarence Thomas, who supervises the lower courts involved in the case, temporarily blocked the testimony. Thomas’ move was an administrative stay that was most likely issued to give the Supreme Court justices more time to consider the dispute. Thomas’ order also signaled that he would ultimately vote in the case. His critics believe he should recuse himself from matters concerning the last election because of his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas’ political activities. In the new filing, Willis argued that individuals who were on the calls have publicly indicated their understanding that Graham was suggesting or implying in the calls that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger should throw out certain ballots or adopt procedures that would alter the results of the state’s election. Lower courts had said that, to the extent Graham was making the calls to the Georgia election officials as part of fact-finding for the congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s win, that could be out of bounds under the Constitution. But the 11th Circuit US Circuit Court of Appeals said that “communications and coordination with the Trump campaign regarding its post-election efforts in Georgia, public statements regarding the 2020 election, and efforts to ‘cajole’ or ‘exhort’ Georgia election officials” are not legislative activities protected by the Speech or Debate Clause. Willis is spearheading a special grand jury investigation into Trump-aligned efforts to manipulate the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. Her probe recently secured the grand jury testimony of former US Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, CNN reported last week. | SCOTUS |
Dean MacAdam for the Washington Examine “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” Gerald Ford delivered the famous line upon taking the oath of office after the resignation of President Richard Nixon. The “internal wounds of Watergate” were “more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars,” Ford said. Now was a time to heal. Whether or not the “nightmare” itself was over, the end of the Nixon presidency was only the beginning of the long-term effects of the scandal, which would change the institution of the presidency itself and intrude on nearly every successor. Fifty years later, the ghost of Watergate appears to be the White House’s one permanent resident. June 17 marks 50 years since the break-in at the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate complex. Although this operation by Nixon’s “Plumbers” was initially dismissed by spokesman Ron Ziegler as a “two-bit burglary,” it would eventually lead to the end of an administration. Five decades later, it is clear the consequences continue to be felt. The origin of the scandal itself is awash in irony. Nixon hated leaks, and like many presidents before and after, he took whatever steps he could to keep them under control. In fact, the very name of his operatives, “the Plumbers,” derived from Nixon’s desire that they plug leaks. Yet the revelations stemming from whatever minor leaks the Plumbers ever discovered paled before the full-on revelations of all of Nixon’s operations. The investigations into the break-in led to the discovery of the tapes of Nixon’s conversations. As the Princeton scholar Gary J. Bass observed, “Because of the tapes, the fiercely secretive Nixon has wound up running the most open White House in history.” This irony extended to other presidencies as well. Following Watergate, journalists and congressional investigators alike applied far more scrutiny to potential administration misdeeds, leaving all subsequent presidents vulnerable to falling victim to “-gates” of their own. The Presidential Records Act was passed in 1978, during one of the post-Watergate Congresses dominated by the so-called Watergate babies — young, reform-minded Democrats elected in the aftermath of Nixon’s resignation. This group included Max Baucus, Chris Dodd, Tom Harkin, Paul Simon, Paul Tsongas, and Patrick Leahy, who is still serving today as senator from Vermont. The PRA was a direct rebuke to the Nixon presidency and the Nixon defense during Watergate. Before the law, presidential records were the president’s private property. The PRA changed that and made all presidential records, for the Nixon administration and for all subsequent administrations, the property of the government. The first president to have to deal with a post-Watergate presidency was, of course, Ford, who took over for Nixon in August 1974. Watergate was at the heart of Ford’s best-remembered action as president. Within a few weeks of Nixon’s resignation, Ford decided to pardon Nixon. It was a controversial move, both inside and outside of the administration. Ford adviser and speechwriter Robert Hartmann knew the pardon would hurt Ford politically, and he strongly argued against it. When Hartmann learned that could not stop the pardon, he tried to delay it, asking Ford, “What’s the rush? Why must it be tomorrow? Why not Christmas Eve, or a year from now…?” Watergate’s implications for the presidency continued. Ford lost a close election to Jimmy Carter in 1976, in part because of the decision to pardon Nixon. The first movie Carter watched as president, two days after his inauguration, was All the President’s Men, the movie about Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s investigative efforts into Watergate. From a more substantive perspective, Watergate and the memories of the Nixon administration helped shape how Carter structured his presidency. Nixon’s chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, who served 18 months in prison, was an unpopular figure among Democrats. Carter was determined to show his administration to be different from Nixon’s, and one of the ways in which he planned to do so was by not having a chief of staff. The result was disastrous. From the outset, the Carter administration was disorganized and chaotic. Eventually, Carter backtracked and made political strategist Hamilton Jordan his chief of staff, but Jordan was a bad fit for the job. Carter finally gave the position to Jack Watson, his transition head who should have been the chief to begin with. But the shadow of Watergate had colored Carter’s thinking, and his bad initial choice contributed to a failed, one-term presidency. As Carter’s domestic policy adviser Stuart Eizenstat would later conclude, “Frankly, the president would have been far better off with a chief of staff from the start.” The first Republican president elected after Nixon was Ronald Reagan. Reagan was a fellow Californian who was supportive of Nixon during Watergate, to a point. On April 30, 1973, Reagan called Nixon, telling him, “For what it’s worth, I'm still beh-…” before stopping himself short and concluding, “You can count on us, we’re still behind you out here, and I want you to know you are in our prayers.” So, although Reagan recognized that he should not go too far in backing the embattled Nixon, he did not share Carter’s disdain for all things Nixon. Reagan also recognized that he became president in part because of Carter’s refusal to pick a chief of staff and countered by picking James Baker, who became perhaps the most effective chief in presidential history. Furthermore, every president since has had a chief of staff, making a Nixon-like chief of staff a permanent part of the establishment. Reagan also followed Nixon in that his administration got embroiled in a scandal, the biggest one since Watergate. Iran-Contra did not bring down Reagan, like Watergate did to Nixon, but it shook the administration. Even though Reagan survived it, Watergate’s specter haunted the administration throughout the scandal. Don Regan, the White House chief of staff during the scandal, revealed how much the Nixon experience was on the mind in the Reagan White House, recalling, “You never used the word impeachment: It was a no-no word. … You never used impeachment except to yourself, because that was something no one wanted to even think about.” Reagan’s successor, George Bush, also had personal memories of Nixon and Watergate. He was an up-and-comer favored by Nixon, who had appointed him to head the Republican National Committee. Watergate made it so that Bush was a party spokesman at a particularly difficult time. Bush survived this politically by sending a letter to Nixon on Aug. 7, 1974, one day before Nixon stepped down, saying, “It is my considered judgment you should resign.” In making the formal call for his patron to resign, Bush maintained his political viability despite his work in the Nixon administration during Watergate. Still, Bush told a friend that he considered those two years defending Nixon during the scandal to be “pure hell.” When Bill Clinton became president after Bush, he was the first post-Watergate president who did not feel a need to run away from Nixon. Clinton was inoculated in some part by his wife Hillary’s work on the House Judiciary Committee’s inquiry into Watergate, but also by the two decades that had gone by since Nixon’s resignation. Clinton also recognized that Nixon in exile was an untapped resource and gave Nixon what he most wanted — an opening to advise on foreign policy again after years of being in the wilderness. As Clinton said in a video tribute to Nixon after his death in April 1994, “I sought guidance in the example of President Nixon, who came to the presidency at a time in our history when Americans were tempted to say, ‘We’ve had enough of the world.’” Clinton became the first president subjected to impeachment proceedings since Nixon. Like Nixon, Clinton was in the most trouble for the cover-up — lying under oath — not for having an inappropriate relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Unlike Clinton, however, Nixon was never impeached because he resigned first, although he would almost certainly have been convicted in the Senate. Clinton, in contrast, was impeached by the House, but was not convicted in the Senate. With Nixon’s death, Clinton became the last president to interact with Nixon while in office, but Nixon and the Watergate scandal continued to resonate in the 21st century. George W. Bush as president tried to keep a tight hold on information, leading to Watergate alum John Dean preposterously calling Bush’s secrecy efforts “worse than Watergate.” Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both became embroiled in the Russia-gate scandal, with Republicans objecting to the Obama administration’s monitoring efforts during Trump’s 2016 campaign and Democrats accusing the Trump campaign and administration of having inappropriate ties to Russia. At one point, Trump even explicitly brought up Watergate, tweeting, “How low has President Obama gone to tapp [sic] my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate.” A post-presidency Nixon had also interacted with Trump. In 1987, Nixon sent Trump a note saying that Mrs. Nixon had seen him and thought he was “great” on The Phil Donahue Show. (This was a common Nixon tactic — he had on other occasions said a family member watched a show that he himself had watched, as he did not like to own up to watching TV.) Trump, of course, would be the next president to be impeached, twice, over his tit-for-tat call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and over his role in the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. He was not convicted by the Senate either time. As for Joe Biden, his Washington career goes back to the Watergate era. He was even referred to by Nixon on the White House tapes as “a damn good young candidate,” and a brief call from Nixon to Biden was recorded as well. As a young senator, Biden called for “restraint” in the Nixon impeachment proceedings and said, “I have a feeling that my children and my grandchildren will be looking back on what I said or did not say in April of 1974.” He probably had no idea that people would also be looking back on this in 2022, with him serving as president. These are just a few of the unanticipated events unleashed by Watergate. That scandal touches on so many aspects of the modern presidency, in terms of how presidents manage their administrations; in the fruitless but unending search for leaks; in the fact that every scandal now ends with a “-gate”; in the fear of impeachment, which Watergate revived as a political tool; and in presidents’ interest in their historical reputations. Watergate is long over, but it isn’t going anywhere. Tevi Troy is the director of the Presidential Leadership Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former White House aide. He is the author of four books on the presidency, including, most recently, Fight House: Rivalries in the White House From Truman to Trump. | US Political Corruption |
Fed’s Logan Says More Rate Hikes Needed To Slow Hot Inflation
Policymakers paused their tightening campaign last month following 10 consecutive hikes over 15 months.
(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said more interest-rate increases will likely be needed to spur meaningful disinflation and bring price-growth rates back to the central bank’s target.
“I remain very concerned about whether inflation will return to target in a sustainable and timely way,” Logan said Thursday in remarks prepared for delivery at the Central Bank Research Association’s annual meeting in New York. “I think more-restrictive monetary policy will be needed to achieve the Federal Open Market Committee’s goals of stable prices and maximum employment.”
Policymakers paused their tightening campaign last month following 10 consecutive hikes over 15 months, while at the same time indicating that more increases were likely before the end of the year. Logan, who has said she’s concerned about the persistence of inflation, joined her colleagues in voting for the action, but said Thursday it would have been “entirely appropriate” to raise rates.
“My hope was that the overall package of communications coming out of the June meeting would deliver a strong signal to financial markets and meaningfully tighten financial conditions,” Logan said, speaking publicly for the first time since the meeting.
She added that it was important for the Fed to follow through on its June signal. Forecasts Fed officials submitted at the last meeting showed they expect two more interest-rate increases this year, according to their median estimate. Markets have penciled in one for July but remain split over whether policymakers will deliver another.
The personal consumption expenditures index, less food and energy, rose at a 4.6% annual pace in May, a report showed last week, virtually unchanged since the beginning of the year.
Data released Thursday also highlighted the underlying strength of the US labor market. Private employers added an estimated 497,000 jobs in June following a revised 267,000 gain in May, the ADP Research Institute said. And a separate report showed continuing jobless claims — a proxy for the number of Americans receiving those benefits — fell to 1.7 million in the week ended June 24, a four-month low.
Read More: US Companies Add Nearly Half a Million Jobs, Most in Over a Year
The minutes of the June meeting, released Wednesday, showed a growing divide among officials, with some saying they would have preferred to raise rates again at that point amid a still-high inflation rate and a tight labor market. Others have said they want to see how their aggressive policy so far is affecting the economy.
“Some people say a lot of further cooling is in store from lagged consequences of the rate increases the FOMC has already made over the past year and a half,” Logan said Thursday. “I’m skeptical about the potential for large additional effects from this channel.”
Bank-Turmoil Effects
Logan noted that financial conditions began tightening even before the Fed started raising rates last year and that the last significant contraction was in September.
Stocks have rallied this year, even as the US central bank continued to tighten policy, with the S&P 500 Index gaining about 15%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, at 3.97%, is off highs of 4.24% reached in October.
Policymakers have also said they want to see how this spring’s banking-sector turmoil affects lending. Given how this has played out so far — banks haven’t pulled back credit in a major way — it likely won’t offset the need for a higher fed funds rate, Logan said.
Logan pointed to the way some foreign central banks have had to resume rate increases after a pause. The Bank of Canada delivered a surprise quarter-point hike in June after holding rates steady since January, citing persistent excess demand.
(Adds labor-market data in seventh paragraph.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
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This story is part of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money.As a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, Jordan Myers typically works 13 hours a day, six days per week. Most days, he walks around 14 miles.He delivers mail to up to 500 houses each day, he says, and because he has a walking route, he's outside all day, regardless of the weather. "No curbside pull up, drop off," the 29-year-old tells CNBC Make It. He walks "up steps, down steps, through bushes, across yards."It's strenuous work, but you won't ever hear him complain. In fact, many of his hours are by choice: During the business week, Myers works about five hours of overtime each day, and takes on even more on the weekends."Everything is mental," he says. "If you have the mindset and the drive to do something, I feel like you can really break through a lot of barriers."Everything is mental. If you have the mindset and the drive to do something, I feel like you can really break through a lot of barriers.Living in Memphis, Tennessee, Myers earns a base salary of around $41,000 per year. But with overtime, he's able to bring in far more: In 2020, Myers earned around $78,000, and in 2021, he is on track to make over $90,000. He also brings in around $4,500 per year from a rental property."I don't think of it as hard," he says. "I think about what I can do, what I'm trying to accomplish."As a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, Jordan Myers typically works 13 hours a day, six days per week. Most days, he walks around 14 miles.CNBC Make ItFor him, that means making good money. Though it's a lot of hours, Myers prides himself on his determination and perseverance.Myers has worked hard for most of his life, starting his first job at age 12. Growing up, his mom struggled financially, so Myers moved in with his dad and began to work for his dad's lawn service. "It sucked, truthfully, but it made me into who I am," he says.Myers's father never complained either, regardless of the circumstances. Myers remembers his father once getting shot and still returning to work 24 hours later."My dad is my biggest hero," Jordan Myers says.Courtesy of Jordan Myers"My dad is my biggest hero," Myers says. "When you realize how he's able to persevere ... There's no way I can say 'I'm tired' if he's not tired. We don't make excuses."Working at the USPSBefore USPS, Myers worked a number of jobs, including positions at the Apple store, Kroger, Dollar General and more, he says.In 2017, he got a full-time job at USPS after hearing good things from relatives who worked there too. "My grandfather worked for the post office for many years. He said that if I go there, I would be able to make a decent amount of money and get a lot of hours," Myers says.In 2017, Jordan Myers got a full-time job at the USPS.CNBC Make ItMyers typically chooses to work from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., sometimes 9 p.m. He usually works six days a week, but will sometimes work on Sundays as well. Though the long hours aren't mandated by the USPS, Myers enjoys the option to do so — and earn more overtime, he says."The biggest thing that people don't realize as a mail carrier is how much work you actually do," he says. "A lot of people say it's easy because you're just walking and they only see you maybe five minutes here and there, every other day."In 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, his schedule was especially hectic. It was "endless walking, around 20 miles a day," since there was much more mail and few carriers. At times, it was even scary, Myers says, remembering packages of medicine piling up and not enough employees to handle it all.Even now, things are still volatile. "A lot of people are quitting due to being burnt out," Myers says.Despite his long days, Myers says he is still able to spend quality time with his wife, Jalyn, and 1-year-old son, Jacob. He usually gets to spend a few hours with Jacob each night after work, but says "we really play the most on Sunday."Despite his long days, Jordan Myers says he is still able to spend quality time with his wife, Jalyn, and 1-year-old son, Jacob.CNBC Make ItMyers and his wife have found a balance that works for their family. "Family time is fairly decent and good," he says. "I'm just waiting for Jacob to get older so I can destroy him in video games."Myers doesn't let his demanding work schedule overtake family time. "Everybody thinks raising kids is tremendously hard. It's more mental than anything," he says.How he budgets his moneyHere are Myers's monthly expenses as of October 2021.Elham Ataeiazar | CNBC Make ItSavings: $2,900Rental property: $913 for the mortgage, homeowners insurance and other expenses.Housing: $809 for his own mortgage and homeowners insurance.Car payment: $534Memberships: $239 for Netflix, Spotify, Tesla internet and investment group dues.Food: $220 for takeout during work.Misc.: $60 for pet expenses.Phone: $62Insurance: $41 for health, dental and vision.Myers and Jalyn both contribute to household bills and expenses. Though Jalyn makes significantly less than Myers, she pays for child care, groceries, car insurance, Wi-Fi and utilities. Myers covers everything else.They think of each other as equal partners, regardless of income or expenses paid. "I do bring in more money, but we're equal because she does have to take care of [our] son more, and if she didn't, I wouldn't be able to work the hours I work, so I wouldn't make the money I make," Myers says.Jordan Myers and his 1-year-old son, Jacob.CNBC Make ItOne of Myers's top priorities is establishing ways to build wealth. Each month, he puts $500 into his savings account, $400 into his 401(k) and $2,000 into a taxable brokerage account through Fidelity. Currently, he has around $3,000 in savings and $34,000 in investments.He's also a member of an investment group led by real estate investor and YouTuber Graham Stephan, which has helped him learn about options trading and rental properties. Myers has earned up to $10,000 in a month trading options, despite its risky nature. However, he usually reinvests those earnings and doesn't recognize any gains.He has also dabbled in other investments like cryptocurrency. He mined Ethereum for a while, but has since stopped.Myers has one rental property, which he bought in 2019 for about $100,000. "I am actively cash flowing from this property," he says. He pockets about $378 per month from it after covering expenses.In 2021, Jordan Myers bought his dream car: A Tesla Model 3.CNBC Make ItIn 2021, Myers bought his dream car: A Tesla Model 3. With used cars selling for a premium due to chip shortages, Myers was able to sell his car for about $15,484 and trade it in for the Tesla, he says. The Tesla cost about $45,000, but with his trade-in allowance, he only owed around $30,000.Looking aheadIn five years, Myers hopes to be "halfway to being a millionaire, if not more," he says. In 10 years, "I think I'd be well over being a millionaire."Myers has no doubt that he'll be able to reach his goal. "I think I'm going to crush it, truthfully," he says.Myers is also saving for another rental property, which he hopes will pay for itself over time.Myers doesn't want to share his story to brag about his success. Rather, he wants to "help the people that are trying to learn and grow like me," he says."When you see me, it's like, 'Hey, that guy is also just working a normal job, day to day. He's really growing day by day, month by month, year by year.' I'm hoping I can show people that it's possible."What's your budget breakdown? Share your story with us for a chance to be featured in a future installment.Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletterDon't miss: This 27-year-old makes $100,000 a year and paid off her mom's $28,000 mortgage | US Federal Policies |
New York CNN — ExxonMobil has been ordered to reinstate two scientists who were fired after being suspected of leaking information to The Wall Street Journal, the US Labor Department said Friday. A federal whistleblower investigation found the oil and gas giant terminated the two computational scientists illegally in late 2020. The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration also ordered ExxonMobil to pay the two employees back more than $800,000 in back wages, interest and compensatory damages. An article in The Wall Street Journal last year claimed ExxonMobil might have inflated its production estimates and the value of oil and gas wells in the Texas Permian Basin, where much of US production is located. The story scrutinized the company’s assumption in its 2019 SEC filings that drilling speed would increase substantially in the next five years. Exxon denied the allegations at the time, maintaining that it was reaching its drilling targets. “The speed the employees claimed was impossible, was not only possible, but we achieved that speed three years ahead of the plan they questioned,” Exxon spokesman Casey Norton told The Wall Street Journal Friday. Exxon did not immediately respond to CNN Business’ request for comment. The two unidentified employees “raised concerns about the company’s use of these assumptions in late 2020,” according to the Labor Department’s release. Exxon claimed it fired one scientist for “mishandling proprietary company information,” the Labor Department said, and the other for “having a ‘negative attitude,’ looking for other jobs, and losing the confidence of company management.” Though neither employee was revealed as a source for the Journal’s story, OSHA learned that the company knew one of the scientists was a relative of a source quoted in the WSJ article and had access to the leaked information. “ExxonMobil’s actions are unacceptable. The integrity of the US financial system relies on companies to report their financial condition and assets accurately,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. | US Federal Policies |
A demonstrator holds photos of trans people killed in 2022 at the annual Pride Parade on June 12, 2022, in Los Angeles. Photo: David McNew/Getty ImagesThis Pride month, the violent consequences of the Republicans’ all-out assault on the lives of LGBTQ+ people, and particularly trans people, has been laid frighteningly bare. From government officials to paranoid media commentators to far-right militias, attacks on the rights and freedoms of adults and children are taking place nationwide and striking at all aspects of public life.
This weekend, as kids danced and adults socialized and enjoyed drag performances and picnics at a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, over 30 masked, uniformed white nationalists from around the country crammed in the back of a U-Haul. They brought shields, metal poles, and a smoke grenade — preparations for attacking the Pride in the Park festivities. Thanks to a tipoff from a concerned citizen who noticed the small army of “Patriot Front” members, local police intercepted the truck and arrested 31 men for conspiracy to riot.
In San Lorenzo, California, on Saturday, a group of men believed to be Proud Boys disrupted a drag queen storytelling hour, screaming anti-trans, anti-gay slurs in what is being investigated as a hate crime.
Earlier this month, self-described “Christian fascists” attempted to force their way into an LGBTQ+ bar in Dallas, Texas, which was hosting a family-friendly drag queen brunch for Pride. The fascists threatened attendees, chanting that the adults were “groomers” — a dangerous, dated trope once again gaining furious traction in right-wing media.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed in Texas against Gov. Greg Abbott’s most vicious anti-trans order to date revealed that a teenage trans boy attempted suicide earlier this year, on the same day the governor ordered that parents of trans kids be investigated as potential child abusers. The 16-year-old was referred to a psychiatric facility, where hospital staff learned that he had been prescribed gender-affirming hormones; they reported the family for potential “child abuse” — as required by the very rule over which the boy attempted to take his own life. (It should not need repeating at this point that every major medical association has recognized the medical necessity of gender-affirming care for trans adults and children.)Participants in LGBTQ+ liberation struggles have long stressed that the all-out legislative and rhetorical assault on trans people would inevitably lead to violent attacks, suicide, and subhuman treatment. This is not a concern for the future: It is happening now.
It is no accident that anti-LGBTQ+ laws have taken priority alongside the decimation of reproductive rights and the enforcement of racist national myths in schools. The Christian fascist insurgency informing all these moves, constituted by state and vigilante forces, is unabashed in its authoritarian aim to codify white, patriarchal standing.For more than a year, Republican-led state legislatures have made the eradication of trans children and adults from public life a top priority. They proposed and swiftly passed a mountain of legislation to remove health care, harass trans-affirming families, and physically assault gender-nonconforming children who want to play sports with their peers.
The goal is eliminationist in scope. As one of the Christian fascist protesters was reportedly overheard telling the Pride brunch attendees in Dallas, “It’s going to be so fun when we take away all of your rights.”
LGBTQ+ people, their families, and their advocates are fighting back. The Texas lawsuit that revealed the trans teenager’s suicide attempt was able to obtain a temporary restraining order from a judge this week. The ruling blocked child protective services from investigating PFLAG families who allow their trans children to receive gender-affirming health care. The mother of the teen boy who attempted suicide is among the plaintiffs.
Temporary legal victories, though, can only be welcomed as short-term reprieves. They are likely to face appeals to higher courts, those bastions of the far right.
Moreover, the staggering speed of the anti-trans legislative push is its own daunting challenge. In recent years, over 100 bills have been introduced across the country targeting trans people, mostly children. Even when the bills fail, state executives and prosecutors have taken action to enforce a violently anti-trans legal status quo, as was the case with Abbott’s order in Texas. It’s especially important to note that, while the police may have intercepted the Patriot Front attack in Idaho, law enforcement has a more established record of aiding, or at least overlooking, the far right. Indeed, cops have their own rich legacy harassing trans individuals, particularly trans women of color. Neither the police nor the courts will serve as a source of protection for LGBTQ+ communities.
As a lawyer on the front lines against the anti-trans onslaught in the courts, Chase Strangio of the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a powerful essay this month, “Our ability to meaningfully build resistance movements in the coming years demands that we better understand the limits of law as an instrument of justice.” He added, “Ultimately, we cannot trust the Supreme Court, or any court, to honor the capaciousness and complexity of our bodies and lives.”
It should be enough that trans children’s lives are at risk for liberals and leftists, in general, to take up this fight. We should not need a “First they came for” narrative to activate widespread resistance, yet it should be clear by now that there are connections to struggles like the fight for reproductive rights. Legislative attacks on trans lives are also methods by state governments to expand the authoritarian ability to remove health care provisions, legitimize vigilante violence, and assert control over who does and does not have access to the public space.
All too many liberals and even some leftists have dismissed this anti-trans assault as a cynical culture-war distraction or, worse, have legitimated putrid “debates” over trans lives. They, too, bear responsibility for far-right, eugenicist violence that has been permitted to take hold.
There can be zero patience for contrarian media figures who give credence to far-right talking points. Consider the fight over the purported failure on the part of trans-supportive medical professionals, activists, and theorists that they cannot give a simple, one-line definition in answer to the question of “What is a woman?” As any first-year philosophy student can tell you, we also can’t give a one-line, all-encompassing definition in response to the same question about other basic nouns and concepts — What, after all, is a game? — and yet these terms are widely used completely and correctly. The only meaningful thing the kerfuffle over “What is a woman?” gives us is a demonstration of the anti-trans media’s intellectual impoverishment.
The goal, of course, cannot be to reveal the idiocy of reactionary commentators through debate. Too much is at stake. These figures have already made clear that they align themselves with fascists. Nor, as is abundantly clear, can we cling to liberal myths of progress and constitutionally protected rights to ensure the protection of trans individuals, and LGBTQ+ rights more broadly.
The necessary response to this fearsome moment of white backlash must, as the attorney Strangio argued, focus on “collective organizing, care and action.” He, more than most, can speak to the necessity and profound insufficiency of winning battles in court. Resource redistribution, on-the-ground defense of trans-inclusionary public spaces, and an insistence that trans children are not only to be tolerated but also celebrated: This is the shape resistance must take. | Civil Rights Activism |
Stefani Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images CNN — Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Friday once again denied a request to challenge President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, but her brief order will not change the status quo. As things stand, there are several pending lawsuits in play, and the Biden administration already is temporarily blocked from canceling student debt. Experts believe that one challenge – brought by six states – will likely eventually make it to the high court because it has the fewest procedural hurdles. That case is currently before the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which has issued an administrative stay of the program while it considers the states’ request for a preliminary injunction. People may still apply for loan forgiveness at the moment, however. The Pacific Legal Foundation had asked Barrett to block the student loan plan. | SCOTUS |
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Biden's plan cancels up to $10,000 (£8,514) in federal student loans for Americans who earn less than $125,000 each yearThe US government has stopped taking applications for President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan after a judge ruled it was illegal.District Judge Mark Pittman wrote on Thursday that the plan was unlawful because it overstepped the power of Congress.The judge's ruling blocked debt relief for 26 million Americans who have applied to the programme - 16 million of whom have already been approved. The White House has filed an appeal.First introduced in August, Mr Biden's plan pledged to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loans for Americans who earned less than $125,000 each year. A notice posted on the government's website said court orders had blocked the scheme and applications were no longer being accepted.`"At this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those [court] orders. If you've already applied, we'll hold your application," the notice said.The judge in Texas, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, argued the Biden administration side-stepped Congress by green-lighting a $400bn (£340.4bn) programme through a presidential executive order without approval from lawmakers.He also said the plan would forgive $20,000 of debt for students on Pell Grants, which applies to those in greatest financial need.The plan has been met by several legal challenges, including a lawsuit by Arizona's attorney general who argued it would harm the state and its economy. Media caption, US midterms: Can student debt forgiveness make a difference?In Texas, two students who are not eligible for debt relief also filed a lawsuit against the plan, claiming it left out many borrowers who were not given a chance to voice their concerns before the programme came into effect.Judge Pittman agreed with them in his ruling, writing that the Biden administration did not consult lawmakers before passing the plan."In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone," Judge Pittman wrote. "Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government."White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that opponents of the student debt relief plan were "backed by extreme Republican special interests".She added that the US Department of Education would keep the information of applicants on file so their debt can be forgiven quickly "once we prevail in court".In his ruling, Judge Pittman said the court is not commenting on whether the plan is "good public policy" - but rather if it is legal. "The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country," he said. "But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved."Will student loan relief applications be reopened?It depends on what happens during the appeals process.The appeal from the White House will be heard by a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which is dominated by conservative judges who have obstructed previous Biden administration policies.It could take weeks, and potentially months, for a final ruling to be issued. All applications from borrowers will be put on hold until then.If the government loses its appeal, the legal challenges could ultimately end up in front of the Supreme Court. There are further complications, too, because of other legal challenges to the scheme, such as one brought by six states seeking to block the policy. That is currently being considered by an appeals court.But with student loan payments set to resume in January - following a stay during the Covid-19 pandemic - the government finds itself unable to offer the relief it has promised. | US Federal Policies |
The Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in an opinion handed down Friday, confirming the outcome of a leaked draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization showing the high court was poised to strike down the decades-old legal precedent.While all six justices appointed by Republican presidents voted in favor of striking down Roe, Chief Justice John Roberts, the court's swing vote, concurred in judgment with Justice Samuel Alito's opinion. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan dissented.The Friday ruling resulted in protests and reaction from across the political spectrum, with the Right cheering the decision as those on the Left took to the streets to show their disapproval. Activists supporting and opposing the ruling surrounded the court to make their views heard.Follow the latest reaction and updates here. 3:59 PM Jun 24, 2022 DC leaders lament Supreme Court decision as 'particular threat' to city Washington, D.C., leaders responded to the news of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday, urging Congress to act swiftly to codify abortion rights and strengthen the district's autonomy. "We need to work together because certainly, this ruling is a threat to women and men and families across the country. But I think it shows a particular threat to our city," said D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman. "And I really think we need to strategize and work together to strengthen Home Rule to make sure that we preserve the rights that we have to make the best decisions for residents of our city."Although abortion is legal at all stages in D.C., the district's laws can be changed at any time by Congress because the city does not have statehood. This has prompted anxiety among D.C. lawmakers ahead of the midterm elections, as the Republican Party seeks to gain control of Congress. "We are a pro-choice city. Nothing has changed in Washington D.C. Abortion remains legal," said Mayor Muriel Bowser. "Women and girls we know are worried. We are worried because we know we are vulnerable as a jurisdiction because of our lack of statehood. But we will keep fighting." 3:44 PM Jun 24, 2022 Overturning Roe is a 'healthcare crisis,' Harris says The Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and overrule the right to get an abortion nationwide amounts to a "healthcare crisis," Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday. "For nearly 50 years, we have talked about what Roe v. Wade protects. Today, as of right now, as of this minute, we can only talk about what Roe v. Wade protected. Past tense," Harris said. "This is a healthcare crisis because millions of women in America will go to bed tonight without access to the healthcare and reproductive care they had this morning. Without access to the same healthcare or reproductive healthcare that their mothers and grandmothers had for 50 years." The decision amounts to the government stripping rights away from women and removing the privilege of privacy, the vice president said. Harris was on a flight to Illinois when she got the news that the Supreme Court announced its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and began reading through the opinion, according to a White House official. 3:36 PM Jun 24, 2022 Arkansas signs trigger law making abortion illegal statewide Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge certified the state's trigger law banning abortion, making the procedure illegal immediately. The newly certified abortion law bans the procedure in almost all cases with the only exception being if the “life of a pregnant woman [is] in a medical emergency." People who perform or attempt to perform an abortion could be charged with 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000. Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters on Friday he does not currently plan to ask the legislature to consider adding exceptions for rape or incest. 3:03 PM Jun 24, 2022 Pro-abortion rights groups plan protest outside Justice Thomas’s house Several groups of pro-abortion rights activists are planning to protest outside the home of Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday evening, just hours after the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.The protest outside Thomas’s home is the first of several demonstrations planned by the hodge podge of groups, which includes Ruth Sent Us, Our Rights DC, and Shut Down DC. Demonstrations will continue throughout the weekend at each of the justices’ homes who voted to overturn Roe, which legalized abortions nationwide.“Enraged? Devastated? Pissed the f*** off?” said Our Rights DC in a tweet. “So are we.” 2:57 PM Jun 24, 2022 Sec. Becerra says ruling is 'unconscionable' Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said that the Supreme Court's decision on abortion was "unconscionable.""Abortion is a basic and essential part of health care— patients must have the right to make decisions about their health care and autonomy over their own bodies," Becerra said. Today’s decision is unconscionable. Abortion is a basic and essential part of health care. @HHSGov will double down and use every lever we have to protect access to abortion care.To everyone in this fight: we are with you. pic.twitter.com/EJpuy9rDvk— Secretary Xavier Becerra (@SecBecerra) June 24, 2022 Becerra added that the Department of Health and Human Services remains committed to "ensure every American has access to health care and the ability to make decisions about health care." 2:45 PM Jun 24, 2022 'It just stuns me': Biden calls for Dobbs decision to be on November ballot President Joe Biden called on Congress to codify Roe v. Wade into law, an admission of his limits as president.“The only way we can secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore Roe v. Wade as federal law,” he said. “No executive action from the president can do that.”Biden promised to protect the ability to travel to seek an abortion, calling this “a bedrock right,” and to do “everything in [his] power to fight” such restrictions.The decision, he said, is “a sad day for the court and the country.”“It just stuns me,” Biden said.Democrats have issued a torrent of statements condemning the ruling Friday and are expected to lean heavily on the decision as they seek to motivate voters ahead of the November elections.Biden did not respond to questions about the ruling and the future of the Supreme Court, which some Democrats have called for abolishing or expanding.Read more here. 2:35 PM Jun 24, 2022 Roe v. Wade overturned: Separating fact from fiction The Supreme Court struck down the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed a right to abortion nationwide on Friday, sending decisions for regulating abortions down to the state level.The following is a breakdown of what the monumental decision means and addresses some misconceptions.Abortion is not federally illegal.The Constitution no longer guarantees the right to an abortion, but that does not mean access to the procedure has been removed. Most blue states, such as California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, have solidified the right to abortion in state law, meaning accessibility there will not change. However, the move to overturn the 1973 decision gives the right to police abortions back to states, many of which have already banned it or are expected to soon.Abortion is now illegal in over a dozen states.Thirteen states — Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming — have "trigger laws" in place, which effectively ban abortions almost immediately after the decision from the high court. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Friday that the ban has been enacted in his state.Read more here. 2:34 PM Jun 24, 2022 Maxine Waters says to 'hell with the Supreme Court' Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) showed up alongside protesters outside of the Supreme Court on Friday to say to "hell with the Supreme Court" after its decision on abortion.Maxine Waters and Al Green among members of Congress who've shown up outside the Supreme Court to denounce the end of Roe. "Women are going to control their bodies, no matter how they try and stop us," Waters says. "The hell with the Supreme Court, we will defy them." pic.twitter.com/SCkicoQj68— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) June 24, 2022 "You ain't seen nothing yet," Waters said just feet away from court. "Women are going to control their bodies no matter how they try and stop us. The hell with the Supreme Court. We will defy them. Women will be in control of their bodies. And if they think black women are intimidated or afraid, they got another thought coming." 2:27 PM Jun 24, 2022 Youngkin to push for 15-week abortion ban in Virginia Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will seek to ban abortions statewide after 15 weeks of pregnancy, reversing current state law that allows the procedure up until the third trimester.The Republican governor has requested four Virginia lawmakers, who each hold anti-abortion views, to draft legislation that would ban abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest, or harm to the mother’s life, Youngkin said on Friday, just minutes after the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.Although Youngkin wants a 15-week ban, he conceded that compromises may be needed to pass legislation. Concessions may include extending the ban until 20 weeks, which Youngkin noted is a widely agreed-upon timeframe among Congress and other lawmakers for when a fetus begins to feel pain. 2:26 PM Jun 24, 2022 South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem provides resources for mothers South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) John Raoux/AP South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announced a new website on Friday in wake of the Supreme Court's ruling to connect mothers to resources for before and after birth. "In South Dakota, we value life. But being pro-life doesn't just mean caring about the unborn. It also means getting moms the help they need to be successful," said Noem. "We're launching Life.SD.gov to give women the resources they need to navigate pregnancy pregnancy, birth, parenting, and adoption, if they choose."The website will provide materials to connect mothers with financial assistance. 2:20 PM Jun 24, 2022 Collins says ruling is 'inconsistent' with what Gorsuch, Kavanaugh told her Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on 'Policy Response to Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Elections' on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said Friday's ruling was "inconsistent" with what conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch told her during confirmation proceedings in 2017 and 2018. "This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon,” Collins said in a statement. "The Supreme Court has abandoned a fifty-year precedent at a time that the country is desperate for stability,” Collins added. “This ill-considered action will further divide the country at a moment when, more than ever in modern times, we need the Court to show both consistency and restraint.”Collins voted to confirm both justices appointed by then-President Donald Trump, saying she did not believe they would overturn Roe v. Wade. 2:11 PM Jun 24, 2022 Austin reaffirms commitment to 'health and well-being' of servicemembers Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reaffirmed his commitment to taking care of the "health and well-being" of servicemembers after Friday's ruling. "Nothing is more important to me or to this Department than the health and well-being of our Service members, the civilian workforce and DOD families," Austin said in a statement. "I am committed to taking care of our people and ensuring the readiness and resilience of our Force. The Department is examining this decision closely and evaluating our policies to ensure we continue to provide seamless access to reproductive health care as permitted by federal law.” 2:06 PM Jun 24, 2022 Court protesters chant expletives towards justices, call for abortion on demand Some protesters upset about the Supreme Court's ruling on Friday took to chanting expletives aimed at the justices that sided with the majority opinion. "F**k you Gorsuch, F**k you Kavanaugh, F**k you Barrett, F**k you SCOTUS, F**k Alito," a group gathered outside of the Supreme Court chanted.Others opposed to the ruling called for "abortion on demand." 1:58 PM Jun 24, 2022 Draft leak versus actual Dobbs opinion shows Supreme Court didn't buckle under pressure The leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that foreshadowed the overturning of abortion rights last month resembles Friday's final decision, signaling that the justices did not buckle under weeks of public pressure.Despite a national outcry of protests, marches, and an alleged attempted assassination against Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization very closely resembled the draft opinion leaked by Politico on May 2."It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives. ... That is what the Constitution and the rule of law demand," Alito wrote in the draft and the final decision on Friday.The draft opinion signaled Friday's likely outcome that Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Kavanaugh, appointees of former President Donald Trump, would join Justices Clarence Thomas and Alito to upend 50 years of precedent regarding abortion access and allow states to create laws banning or severely limiting abortion.Read more here. 1:56 PM Jun 24, 2022 Abortion opponents' numbers dwindle as activists against ruling continue to chant Activists supporting the Supreme Court's ruling increasingly began leaving the area surrounding the building even as activists favoring widespread access to abortion continued to chant.Nicky Sundt, a self-described independent "climate change expert," said while "reproductive rights is critically important in its own right," the ruling is "part of a larger erosion of rights for marginalized communities: women, people of color, queer people."Sundt, who identified as "trans," had "no doubt, given the precedent ... that we're going to see some of the same rationale used to roll back other rights," likely an allusion to Justice Clarence Thomas's concurring judgment advocating for using the same logic cited in Friday's ruling to reconsider other cases decided using the same logic that found constitutional rights to contraceptives and same-sex marriage. Susan Prolman, a self-described "citizen of the world," decried "a minority" for having "overtaken the judicial branch, particularly the Supreme Court" and making decisions that "do not represent the will of the majority.""We are at a terrifying time in American history," Prolman said, calling the ruling a "war on women." Cami Mondeaux/Washington Examiner Billie Chapman, a social worker from Wyoming, called the ruling "horrifying.""Now it's like 60 years of progress has been hacked by a decision of people who don't have vaginas," Chapman said, calling on states to "step up and protect abortion rights and women's rights."Of the six justices who ruled in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade, five are men. The court's three women split, with Republican-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett voting with the majority and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, both appointed by former President Barack Obama, dissenting. 1:52 PM Jun 24, 2022 Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin turns away patients in waiting room, suspends abortion services Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said it had to turn away patients as Friday's ruling came down, setting the stage for the state's 173-year-old abortion ban to again become law. "When the ruling came down, we had to go out to those individuals who were in our waiting room and say, 'We're so sorry, that decision that you made for yourself, for your family, for your future, is no longer your decision to make here in Wisconsin,'" President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Tanya Atkinson said. Atkinson said some had driven for "hours" to access the services, which are temporarily suspended at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Per a state law passed in 1849 that went back into effect today, Wisconsin providers are banned from performing abortions except when saving the life of the mother.Atkinson said that though the clinic is legally unable to provide abortion, it can help with financial assistance in traveling to "a state where abortion remains safe and legal.""Planned Parenthood can also be there for people who need an abortion. They can help people navigate to a state where abortion remains safe and legal for people's health care decisions are respected. And they can be there for people who return home and need aftercare," Atkinson. "Planned Parenthood Wisconsin can also provide financial assistance to anyone who needs to access a safe and legal abortion." 1:31 PM Jun 24, 2022 Trump: 'I delivered everything I promised' Abortion-rights protesters regroup and protest following Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, federally protected right to abortion, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, June 24, 2022. The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years, a decision by its conservative majority to overturn the court's landmark abortion cases. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP Former President Donald Trump seemed to take credit for Friday's Supreme Court ruling, in which half of the justices in the majority were his appointees. "I delivered everything I promised," he said."Today's decision, which is the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation, along with the other decisions that have been announced recently, were only made possible because I delivered everything I promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court," Trump said in a statement. "It was my great honor to do so!"Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his time in office: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. All three sided with the 6-3 majority opinion on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. 1:09 PM Jun 24, 2022 DC attorney general's office: We'll do 'everything in our power' to defend abortion access The attorney general of Washington, D.C., is vowing to defend access to abortions within the district."My office will do everything in our power to fiercely defend and strengthen the right to abortion in the District so that everyone can create their family how and when they choose," Attorney General Karl Racine said.Racine noted abortion access is "intertwined" with the district's "fight for autonomy and statehood" given that it is subject to oversight from the federal government."We know our strong abortion laws could change if the federal government seeks to take away this right," he warned, alluding to the oversight a GOP-controlled Congress could have over left-leaning Washington if the party takes control after the midterm elections. My office will do everything in our power to fiercely defend and strengthen the right to abortion in the District so that everyone can create their family how and when they choose. pic.twitter.com/FNVGiXZ0BE— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) June 24, 2022 1:04 PM Jun 24, 2022 Biden decries 'sad day' for the country and calls on protesters to keep it 'peaceful' President Joe Biden said it was a "sad day" for the country following the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade during remarks at the White House. "Now with Roe gone, let's be very clear: The health and life of women of this nation are now at risk," Biden said. Biden encouraged all those participating in protests outside the Supreme Court and around the country to keep it "peaceful.""I call on everyone, no matter how deeply they care about this decision, to keep all protests peaceful. Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable. Threats and intimidation are not speech. We must stand against violence in any form," Biden said. 1:00 PM Jun 24, 2022 Pediatrician: Ruling a 'win-win for both sides' A pediatrician who is "a little surprised" the decision came "this soon" applauded the justices for granting "a win-win for both sides.""As a pediatrician, I definitely understand the importance of it. We support [and] protect the unborn, but I also support the mom, and so I am a sort of - it's a win-win for both sides to me because at the end of the day, it kind of eliminates unnecessary abortions, but at the same time I'm hoping that we will continue to remember that we at all costs protect our moms," Delia Morgan from New Orleans told the Washington Examiner.Morgan said she was in Washington on vacation when she heard the news about the Supreme Court ruling. 12:57 PM Jun 24, 2022 Manchin ‘deeply disappointed' by Supreme Court Dobbs decision striking down Roe Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Friday he is “deeply disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization striking down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and that he would support legislation codifying the standard previously set by Roe.The ruling struck down the court’s prior rulings in both Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which legalized abortion nationwide, and concerned a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks.Manchin, who considers himself personally anti-abortion but backed the legal standard set by Roe, did not support a sweeping abortion rights bill in the Senate earlier this year on the grounds that it went beyond Roe. The bill failed when it did not garner enough support to clear the Senate's 60-vote filibuster. Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have vocally opposed removing the filibuster.In his statement, Manchin said, “I am deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.”Read more here. 12:54 PM Jun 24, 2022 Governors of California, Washington, and Oregon announce 'West Coast offense' California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced their states will provide reproductive access to women across the country in what they call the "West Coast offense" in response to Friday's ruling. SCOTUS has stripped away liberties & let other states replace them with mandated birth.This is not the America we know.California has banded together with WA and OR to form the West Coast offense & protect reproductive freedom in our states.ABORTION STAYS LEGAL IN CA. pic.twitter.com/fqWSmD2Yf7— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) June 24, 2022 "Today with the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe vs. Wade more than half the states in the United States ban abortion outright or severely restrict access to abortion services. That's why California, Oregon and Washington are building the West Coast offense to protect patients access to reproductive care," the three said in a video message."We will continue to protect patients from any state who come to our states for abortion care," they said. "We're going to protect patient privacy."Inslee said that the three West Coast states will be working to expand abortion services and help those in need. 12:35 PM Jun 24, 2022 Idaho Gov. Brad Little says 'pro-life' bill will take effect later this summer (AP Photo) Jacquelyn Martin/AP Idaho Gov. Brad Little said Friday's ruling was the "culmination of pro-life efforts to defend the defenseless," adding the state's "pro-life" bill will go into effect later this summer. "We fully acknowledge this monumental moment in our country's history means we must confront what know will be growing needs for women and families in the months and years ahead. We absolutely must come together like never before to support women and teens facing unexpected or unwanted pregnancies," Little added. Idaho passed its trigger law, which will make abortions a felony, in 2020. The law stipulates few exceptions for rape, incest, and saving lives. A victim of rape or incest will be required to provide a police report to the physician preforming the abortion. The law is set to go into effect in 30 days. 12:22 PM Jun 24, 2022 'Not your body, not your choice' or 'hell no, we don't need Roe?': Activists clash on steps of Supreme Court Activists from opposing sides chanted at one another in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.Advocates for widespread access to abortion lead chants of "Not your body, not your choice," with some hoisting signs reading, "Overturn Roe? Hell no!"Opponents of the procedure chanted, "Hell no, we don't need Roe!" 12:21 PM Jun 24, 2022 Trump: Supreme Court ruling 'will work out for everybody.' Former President Donald Trump said the Supreme Court's ruling "will work out for everybody." "This is following the Constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago," Trump told Fox News. "This brings everything back to the states where it has always belonged."Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his time in office: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. All three sided with the majority opinion on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. 12:09 PM Jun 24, 2022 Mississippi's last abortion clinic advertises it is still open to the public Volunteers outside of Mississippi's only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women's Health Organization, which was named in Friday's ruling, are holding up signs near the street to let patients know they are still open for business in light of the Supreme Court's decision. Volunteers at Mississippi's only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women's Health Organization, are holding up signs letting patients know the clinic is STILL open and still taking patients.Anti-abortion preachers are trying to turn them away, screaming, "ROE IS OVERTURNED." #Dobbs pic.twitter.com/hymYg9jIlS— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) June 24, 2022 "This clinic is open," one sign reads. Abortion opponents outside the clinic are yelling in the direction of the volunteers, "Roe is overturned." 12:03 PM Jun 24, 2022 Activist at the Supreme Court decries ruling 'illegitimate' One activist outside the Supreme Court on Friday decried the decision as "illegitimate," arguing people should take to the streets to voice their concerns. "This decision is illegitimate. If you care about women, about girls, about LGBT people, if you care about justice, if you care about the future, you need to get in the streets," Sam Goldman, a resident of Philadelphia, told the Washington Examiner. "We must not let this stand." 11:54 AM Jun 24, 2022 David Cicilline slams 'devastating' and 'radical' decision Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), who traveled to the Supreme Court following the ruling, blasted the "devastating" and "radical" decision."They have reversed 50 years of precedent in which it has been well established that a woman retains the right to make decisions about her own healthcare," he told the Washington Examiner. The Rhode Island Democrat warned the court's "willingness" to "advance their own policy views" is "very dangerous.""I think this is part of a longer-term project of the Republican Party to pack the court with extreme-right justices to advance a set of policy agendas which they have been unable to achieve through the political process ... [because] they're deeply unpopular," he added. 11:54 AM Jun 24, 2022 Arizona signals 15-week abortion ban will go into effect in around 90 days Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich signaled that a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks in Arizona similar to Mississippi's law will go into effect in "approximately" 90 days. "The Arizona Legislature passed an identical law to the one upheld in Dobbs, which will take effect in approximately 90 days. Additionally, General Brnovich will continue to defend Arizona’s law that protects against discriminatory abortions on the basis of race, sex, or genetic abnormality in Brnovich v. Isaacson," a statement read. SB 1164, signed by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in March, makes it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after 15 weeks but prohibits the prosecution of abortion recipients. Doctors could face felony charges and lose their medical licenses.There is an exception for cases when the mother is at risk of death or serious permanent injury but not for instances of rape or incest. 11:41 AM Jun 24, 2022 Thomas says Supreme Court should reconsider protecting contraception and same-sex marriage Pro-abortion rights protesters use signs and other items in opposition to the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Friday in Washington. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner) Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a solo concurring opinion in Friday's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade arguing the court should reconsider rulings that protect same-sex marriage and contraception.The Republican-appointed justice wrote other cases that fall under previous due process precedents."For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell," Thomas wrote, referencing the high court rulings granting legal protections to contraception, same-sex sexual activity, and same-sex marriage, respectively. 11:39 AM Jun 24, 2022 Biden set to speak at 12:30 President Joe Biden will deliver remarks following the Supreme Court's ruling on Friday at 12:30 p.m. 11:36 AM Jun 24, 2022 Fall campaign landscape upended by Supreme Court abortion ruling reversing Roe Pro-abortion rights protesters use signs and other items in opposition to the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Friday in Washington. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner) The Supreme Court's decision overturning the half-century-old ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortions nationwide has the potential to scramble in dramatic ways a 2022 campaign landscape that has favored Republicans.A majority of justices, each appointed by Republican presidents, joined the opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ruling Mississippi can maintain its law banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. The decision gives states the power to determine limits on when a woman can terminate a pregnancy.The ruling comes just over four months before Election Day, on Nov. 8. House Republicans are within striking distance of winning a majority, needing to net five seats in the 435-member chamber. The race for a Senate majority is touch-and-go. Democrats are trying to expand on the razor-thin majority they hold in the 50-50 chamber due to Vice President Kamala Harris's tiebreaking vote, while Republicans have pickup opportunities in several states in their bid for control. Thirty-six governor's offices are on the ballot in November, too.Read more here. 11:34 AM Jun 24, 2022 Youngkin: Supreme Court has 'rightfully returned power to the people' Law enforcement officers are seen Friday as supporters and opponents of abortion rights gather near the Supreme Court in Washington. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner) Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin lauded the Supreme Court's ruling for "rightfully" returning power to the people, affirming that he is "a pro-life Governor." "I'm proud to be a Pro-life Governor and plan to take every action I can to protect life," Youngkin said. "The truth is, Virginians want fewer abortions, not more abortions. We can build a bipartisan consensus on protecting the life of unborn children." 11:34 AM Jun 24, 2022 Eric Adams shares resources for abortion seekers in New York City Mayor Eric Adams is welcoming abortion seekers to New York City, sharing resources following the Supreme Court's decision striking down Roe v. Wade."To all New Yorkers: you still have access safe, legal abortions here in New York City. To those seeking abortions around the country: you are welcome here," he tweeted alongside a link that can help locate providers and explain what to expect when getting the procedure. To all New Yorkers: you still have access safe, legal abortions here in New York City.To those seeking abortions around the country: you are welcome here. Find more information on providers, support, and additional resources available: https://t.co | SCOTUS |
Children also deserve protectionRe: “Armed man targeted justice — Suspect angered by leaked opinion arrested near Kavanaugh home,” Thursday news story.This article is simple proof the GOP has no understanding of the conditions American citizens are living in. To quote Sen. John Cornyn: “The arrest of this individual proves these threats to the Justices’ lives are horrifyingly real, and it’s unconscionable for House Democrats to leave their families without police protection for even one more day.”Should he not be saying: ”Every day they don’t act, the threat to innocent children and all American citizens grows, and the potential for tragedy becomes more likely and House Republicans achieve a new apex of political dysfunction.”Cornyn infers that a GOP-appointed justice is more valuable than all the innocent children and citizens who have been slaughtered because Congress is unable to enact sensible gun safety measures.It is time for extreme partisanship to end in this country. We need a unified government to protect all lives, not just those of a select few.Michael Janicek, Dallas/The CedarsWhat short-term rentals are notRe: “Dallas shouldn’t ban short-term rentals — It’s the City Council’s job to come up with reasonable rules for single-family neighborhoods,” June 1 Editorial.I disagree with the notion that Dallas should not ban short-term rentals in single-family zoned neighborhoods. Single-family homes are owned or leased by long-term residents who take pride in their neighborhoods. The owners of these properties care about preserving a pleasant environment in which to live and raise their families.Short-term renters don’t give a squirt about the upkeep in the area because they’ll be gone in a few days. And the owners of short-term rental houses seem to have little motivation to keep up the property. I also challenge the editorial’s statement that short-term rentals (in single-family areas) are an integral part of the economics of our major cities. They will become integral only if the voting citizens tolerate this bad idea.Daryl Davis, DallasBetween a woman and doctorRe: “Philosophy, not religion, at heart of abortion debate — Let’s deal earnestly with these difficult questions, not self-righteously,” by Angela Knobel, June 6 Opinion.In my opinion, it’s fairly obvious Knobel has an agenda, first in asserting the abortion issue is about philosophy (not religion), and second, in the questions she chooses to ask and how she frames them. The fact that she teaches at a Catholic University where over 70% of students are Catholic simply confirms that observation and explains her sole focus on the fetus. Nothing is wrong with that, and I applaud her attempt to frame the issue as one of philosophy.But what about the life of the pregnant woman, without whom the fetus wouldn’t even exist? It seems simplistic to try to analyze this philosophical issue without acknowledging and dealing with her issues, whatever they may be (loss of life, serious injury, rape, incest, extreme poverty, etc.).And what about the unwanted kids? How will society deal with millions more of them? Not very well, if recent reports about the foster care system in Texas are any indication. All of these additional factors can lead to very unjust situations for both the pregnant woman and the unwanted kids.I find it absolutely silly to focus solely on the fetus, which might or might not achieve “personhood.” If this is really an unsettled question of philosophy, why not leave this difficult decision to the pregnant woman and her doctor?Arnold Grothues, ArlingtonShe allowed me to liveThe best that I can determine from genealogy sites and state records, my birth mother was single and had other children. She could have aborted my birth but chose to allow me to live. She gave me away within one week of my birth and my new parents were ecstatic. I am eternally grateful as I was allowed to live, graduate from college, serve in the Air Force, contribute to the military contractors for 45 years and volunteer thousands of hours at the city, county, state, national and international levels.In addition to my time, I provided financial support to many organizations. Even though I am retired, I continue to volunteer.I am sure that there are hundreds of folks such as myself who participate in life somewhat silent on the matter of abortion. We do matter and hopefully we have touched someone, served our nation with pride and provided servant leadership. From my perspective, there would be hidden but measurable loss had I been aborted. There are numerous methods to control conception since Roe vs. Wade, so maybe it is time to allow those who are conceived to live their lives.Art Trepanier, Sulphur SpringsIt’s time to step upWe are in a crisis moment for abortion access. Nearly half of all women of reproductive age could lose access to safe, legal abortion in the U.S. after the likely ban of abortion if Roe vs. Wade is overturned. Texas S.B. 8 gave us a preview of what a post-Roe world could look like — a bizarro world where women have little control over whether they bear children.Abortion is a basic human right.It is time to support abortion access in all communities and to support policies that increase access to abortion, rather than destroying people’s most basic rights state by state.Everyone who shares these opinions must vote. It’s time to fight by supporting leaders who protect our rights. If you ever had a notion to get out and work for pro-choice candidates, now is the time.Julia Austin, AustinWe welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. | SCOTUS |
The billionaire family behind Purdue Pharma, the maker of the powerful and highly addictive prescription painkiller OxyContin, can be protected from lawsuits related to their company’s role in the opioids crisis, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The second US circuit court of appeals in New York determined the company can shield its owners from legal claims in exchange for a $6bn contribution to the company’s broader bankruptcy settlement, in a ruling that also cleared the way for Purdue to settle lawsuits tied to America’s devastating opioid epidemic.
The company has tried to use its bankruptcy to resolve thousands of lawsuits, many filed by state and local governments, alleging that OxyContin helped kickstart a crisis that caused more than 500,000 US overdose deaths over two decades. Purdue has pleaded guilty to charges related to its opioid marketing, while its owners, the wealthy Sackler family, have expressed regret but denied wrongdoing.
The ruling issued on Tuesday found that the legal claims against Purdue were inextricably linked to claims against its owners and allowing lawsuits to continue targeting them would undermine Purdue’s efforts to reach a bankruptcy settlement.
The Sacklers must give up ownership of Purdue, which would become a new company known as Knoa, under the ruling, and would commit to developing and distributing overdose reversal and addiction treatment medicines for no profit.
Family members would also contribute up to $6bn in cash over time, or around half of what the court found to be their collective fortune, much of it held offshore. At least $750m of that money will go to individual victims of the opioid crisis and their survivors. Payments are expected to range from about $3,500 to $48,000.
“It’s a great day for victims, some of who desperately need the money and have been waiting for this day for a long time,” said Ed Neiger, a lawyer representing individual victims.
Cheryl Juaire, a Massachusetts woman who lost two sons to overdoses, said she does not know what size payment to expect. “My children are gone and there’s nothing I can do to bring them back,” she said, but she said the funds would help her sons’ children. “They’ll have braces, they’ll have glasses, they’ll have things they need that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Sackler family members and Purdue praised the decision.
“The Sackler families believe the long-awaited implementation of this resolution is critical to providing substantial resources for people and communities in need,” family members said in a statement Tuesday.
The family has already fulfilled a non-financial term of the deal that required them last year to listen to the stories of some of the people harmed by their company’s drug.
Purdue issued its own statement, calling the ruling “a victory for Purdue’s creditors, including the states, local governments, and victims who overwhelmingly support the plan of reorganization.”
In addition to the Sackler payment, Purdue will pay $1.4bn in opioid settlements, contribute “substantial” additional insurance recoveries, and restructure itself.
Some activists have opposed the settlement and called for Sackler family members to be prosecuted for crimes. The settlement wouldn’t block criminal charges against the family, but there is no indication that will happen.
Although Sackler family members still technically own Purdue, they stopped receiving money from the company years ago.
Several other drugmakers, distribution companies and pharmacies also have been sued by state and local governments for their roles in the opioids crisis. While a handful of cases have gone to trial, many are being settled.
The total value of proposed and finalized settlements in recent years is more than $50bn. Earlier this month, Walgreens agreed to a $230m settlement with San Francisco for its role in the city’s unprecedented opioid crisis.
Most of the money from the settlements is required to be used to fight the opioid crisis. Just one other major opioid lawsuit settlement included payments for victims. | US Circuit and Appeals Courts |
“Today, I’m honored to sign into law something that is long overdue — the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, here in Washington, D.C.,” Biden said.June 13, 2022, 8:39 PM UTCPresident Joe Biden signed a law Monday that lays the foundation for a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.“Today, I’m honored to sign into law something that is long overdue — the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, here in Washington, D.C.,” Biden said.The law creates the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act, which will research and submit a plan that would establish a museum dedicated to the community in Washington, D.C. “This is a story about heroes who shaped our nation for the better,” Vice President Kamala Harris said during the press conference. “From the South Asian Americans who transformed farming up and down the pacific coast to the Japanese Americans who defended our freedom during WWII to the Chinese American garment workers who marched through the streets of New York City 40 years ago to win better pay and benefits for all workers."She said the museum would also include some of the darkest moments of American history, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of Japanese Americans, the murder of Vincent Chin, discrimination against South Asian Americans after 9/11 and the increased violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic.Biden acknowledged the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings and the 80th anniversary of the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. He told the story of his friend, Daniel Inouye, a late senator from Hawaii and war veteran. Inouye, who was Japanese American, had to fight to enlist in the military, Biden said. He served in the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII.“It’s clear that the battle for the soul of America continues. That’s why a museum like this is going to matter so much. Museums of this magnitude and consequence are going to inspire and educate,” he said. “More than anything else, it’s going to help people see themselves in the story of America, a story that makes us better Americans.”The commission will be made up of eight people with backgrounds in museum planning or Asian Pacific American history and culture. They would help develop plans to fundraise and acquire general information before submitting a plan to Congress to move forward with the museum.The legislation, which was co-sponsored by 120 Democrats and Republicans, passed the House unanimously in April, allowing for the museum’s establishment.Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., the House legislation’s sponsor, thanked the president for signing the bill. | US Federal Policies |
3 min agoCNN Projection: Rep. Russell Fry will win GOP primary in South Carolina's 7th Congressional DistrictSouth Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry addresses a crowd in Florence, South Carolina, in March. (Meg Kinnard/AP/File)South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry will win the GOP nomination in the 7th Congressional District, CNN projects.Fry was running against five-term Rep. Tom Rice, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Fry, who was endorsed by Trump, said voters would “impeach” Rice at the “ballot box.”Fry also appeared at a Trump rally in the state in March, arguing that Rice "broke our trust" with his impeachment vote.Following that vote, the South Carolina Republican Party voted to formally censure Rice. The lawmaker said in a statement last year that it was the President's response to the riot that led him to cross the aisle.2 min agoWhat it's like at Rep. Nancy Mace's election night party in South CarolinaFrom CNN's Jeff Zeleny in Mt. Pleasant, South CarolinaUS Rep. Nancy Mace, center, greets supporters at her election night party in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)The band is still playing and the pizza has just arrived at Rep. Nancy Mace’s election night party at the Patriot Point Links in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, as supporters sip drinks to stay cool on a hot and humid night. The votes are still being counted in her Republican primary fight with Katie Arrington.Mace has held a steady lead throughout the evening, with vote totals occasionally called out from the stage, but all eyes are on Beaufort County on the far southern edge of the district. It’s a conservative stretch of the state, where Arrington is hoping to gain ground on her rival.Mace seized an early advantage in Charleston County, the population center of the district, while Arrington is holding out hope that her endorsement from Donald Trump will pay dividends and close the gap.This Republican primary contest is yet another race on the stop of Trump’s so-called revenge tour. The former President has never forgiven Mace for voting to certify the 2020 election on her third day in Congress.It’s been a vicious race, with Arrington branding Mace as the “Liz Cheney of the South,” and Mace hurling frequent attacks at Arrington. Mace hopes the bitter Republican campaign – fueled by Trump’s involvement – will end tonight, if she stays above the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff.1 hr 11 min agoPolls are closing across NevadaFrom CNN's Ethan Cohen and Melissa Holzberg DePaloIt's 10 p.m. ET, and polls are closing across Nevada.Nevada is holding several competitive Republican primaries as the party picks nominees for critical Senate, governor and secretary of state races.Here are some of the key races voters are weighing in on:Senate: Cortez Masto is one of the most endangered Senate Democrats running this year, looking to carry a state President Biden won by less than 3 points in 2020. The top contender in the GOP field is former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the party's 2018 nominee for governor. Laxalt is backed by a long list of conservative leaders, including former President Donald Trump. He is facing a challenge from Army veteran Sam Brown.Governor: Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo won Trump’s endorsement in April, but he will still have to fend off a crowded field including former Sen. Dean Heller and attorney and former boxer, Joey Gilbert. Gilbert, who won the party’s endorsement, was seen on the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, though he said he never went inside.Secretary of State: Cisco Aguilar, a Las Vegas attorney who worked for late US Sen. Harry Reid, is already the choice of Democrats. Among the Republican contenders is Jim Marchant, a former state assemblyman and unsuccessful candidate for the US House of Representatives. He has said he would not have certified Biden's win — although Trump lost the state by more than 33,000 votes. Other candidates on the Republican ticket include Kristopher Dahir, a Sparks city council member; Jesse Haw, a former state lawmaker and real estate developer; former Las Vegas TV anchor Gerard Ramalho and former District Court Judge Richard Scotti.1 hr 17 min agoCNN Projection: Incumbent Sen. John Hoeven will win the GOP primary in North DakotaUS Sen. John Hoeven speaks on Capitol Hill in May. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP)Incumbent Sen. John Hoeven will win the GOP Senate primary in North Dakota, CNN projects.Hoeven has served as senator since 2011. On the Democratic side, CNN projects Katrina Christiansen will win the Senate primary and fill face Hoeven in November.1 hr 29 min agoCNN Projection: Joe Cunningham will win the Democratic primary for South Carolina governor Joe Cunningham addresses delegates at South Carolina's Democratic Party convention on Saturday. (Meg Kinnard/AP)Joe Cunningham will win the Democratic gubernatorial primary in South Carolina, CNN projects. Cunningham is a former House representative for the state's 1st District, who lost his seat to Republican Rep. Nancy Mace in 2020. Cunningham will face incumbent GOP Gov. Henry McMaster in November. 1 hr 22 min agoCNN Projection: Incumbent Rep. Jim Clyburn will win the Democratic primary in South Carolina's 6th DistrictUS Rep. James Clyburn attends a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Incumbent Rep. James Clyburn will win the South Carolina Democratic primary in South Carolina’s 6th District, CNN projects. He currently serves as the House majority whip. Clyburn, who is seeking his 16th term, is among the most influential figures in Democratic politics. His endorsement of Joe Biden ahead of South Carolina’s 2020 primary effectively cemented Biden's victory there — and propelled Biden to wins across the map in the following day and weeks, eventually leading to him clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.Since then, Clyburn has embraced his role as a Democratic kingmaker of sorts. He backed Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown in a hard-fought special election against Bernie Sanders-aligned former state Sen. Nina Turner for a House seat in the Cleveland area. Later, he angered some progressives by supporting Rep. Henry Cuellar, the last anti-abortion Democrat in the House, in a Texas runoff against progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros. Clyburn, 81, is part of a trio of top House Democratic leaders who are all older than 80 but have hung onto power without serious challenge in recent years.Duke Buckner will win the GOP primary for the 6th District, CNN projects, and will face off against Clyburn in November. 1 hr 58 min agoCNN Projection: Armstrong and Haugen will face off in November for North Dakota's only House seat US Rep. Kelly Armstrong, left, and Democratic challenger Mark Haugen (US House Office of Photography, Mark Haugen for Congress)Incumbent GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Democrat Mark Haugen will win their respective primaries for North Dakota's at-large House seat, CNN projects. Both ran uncontested in their primaries and will face off against each other in November. 2 hr 10 min agoPolls are closing across North DakotaFrom CNN's Ethan Cohen and Melissa Holzberg DePaloIt's 9 p.m. ET, and polls are closing across North Dakota. The state is split between Central and Mountain Time. And some polls started closing in parts of the state at 8 p.m. ET.Voters are casting their ballots in races for secretary of state and US Senate.GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Democrat Mark Haugen are uncontested in their primaries for the state’s at-large House seat. 2 hr 46 min agoSouth Carolina rep running for reelection offers a brief blessing at his campaign party as votes roll inFrom CNN's Michael WarrenUS Rep. Tom Rice, center, arrives at his campaign party in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Michael Warren/CNN)The party has just begun at Brother’s Grill in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where GOP Rep. Tom Rice’s campaign is awaiting the results of Tuesday’s primary election. Rice is running for a sixth term in the House but is facing a difficult challenge following his vote in Jan. 2021 to impeach Donald Trump. His main challenger is Russell Fry, whom Trump endorsed.The small restaurant in a strip mall is apparently one of Rice’s favorite restaurants. A few minutes after 7:30 p.m. ET, Rice walked in, flanked by two sheriff’s deputies and wearing a blue blazer and jeans, to cheers from the crowd of about 40. Rice offered a brief blessing in front of a buffet spread of food.“God, thank you for giving us life. Thank you for blessing us every single day,” he said. “Help us to pause for a moment and take joy in those blessings. God, give us a purpose. Show us where you want to put us. Use us as a tool to life all your people. Bless this food, bless this gathering here tonight, put us where you want us, God, bring us success.” | US Federal Elections |
- Concerns about a commercial real estate crash have followed the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and regional banking crisis.
- Some bank real-estate loans may be threatened by persistence of work-from-home.
- Almost a quarter of office-building loans need to be refinanced in the next year at higher rates and lower quality properties where vacancy rates are high are at the greatest risk.
- But industrial, retail and hotels are solid.
Only two months ago, SL Green & Co. chief executive Marc Holliday was sounding happy. The head of New York's biggest commercial landlord firm told Wall Street analysts that traffic to the company's buildings was picking up, and more than 1 million square feet of space was either recently leased or in negotiations. The company's debt was down, it had finished the structure for its 1 Madison Avenue tower in Manhattan, and local officials had just completed an extension of commuter rail service from Long Island to Green's flagship tower near Grand Central Station.
"We are full guns blazing," Holliday said on the quarterly earnings call, with workers headed back to offices after a pandemic that rocked developers as more people worked from home, raising the question of how much office space companies really need any more. "We can hopefully …continue on a path to what we think will be a pivot year for us in 2023."
Then Silicon Valley Bank failed, and Wall Street panicked.
Shares of developers, and the banks that lend to them, dropped sharply, and bank shares have stayed low. Analysts raised concerns that developers might default on a big chunk of $3.1 trillion of U.S. commercial real estate loans Goldman Sachs says are outstanding. Almost a quarter of mortgages on office buildings must be refinanced in 2023, according to Mortgage Bankers' Association data, with higher interest rates than the 3 percent paper that stuffs banks' portfolios now. Other analysts wondered how landlords could find new tenants as old leases expire this year, with office vacancy rates at record highs.
How much an office crash could hurt the economy
There are reasons to think the road ahead will be rocky for the real estate industry and banks that depend on it. And the stakes, according to Goldman, are high, especially if there is a recession: a credit squeeze equal to as much as half a percentage point of growth in the overall economy. But credit in commercial real estate has performed well until now, and it's far from clear that U.S. credit issues spreading outward from real estate is likely.
"There's a lot of headaches about calamity in commercial real estate," said Kevin Fagan, director of commercial real estate analysis at Moody's Analytics. "There likely will be issues but it's more of a typical down cycle."
The vacancy rate for office buildings rose to a record high 18.2% by late 2022, according to brokerage giant Cushman & Wakefield, topping 20 percent in key markets like Manhattan, Silicon Valley and even Atlanta.
But this year's refinancing cliff is the real rub, says Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR, a closely-held Manhattan development firm. Loans that come due will have to be financed at higher interest rates, which will mean higher payments even as vacancy rates rise or remain high. Higher vacancies mean some buildings are worth less, so banks are less willing to touch them without tougher terms. That's especially true for older, so-called Class B buildings that are losing out to newer buildings as tenants renew leases, he said. And the shortage of recent sales makes it hard for banks to decide how much more cash collateral to demand.
"No one knows what is a fair price," Rechler said. "Buyers and sellers have different views."
What the Fed has said about commercial real estate
Federal Reserve officials up to and including Chair Jerome Powell have stressed that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were outliers whose failures had nothing to do with real estate – Silicon Valley Bank had barely 1 percent of assets in commercial real estate. Other banks' exposure to the sector is well under control.
"We're well aware of the concentrations people have in commercial real estate," Powell said at a March22 press conference. "I really don't think it's comparable to this. The banking system is strong, it is sound, it is resilient, it's well capitalized."
The commercial real estate market is a bigger issue than a few banks which mismanaged risk in bond portfolios, and the deterioration in conditions for Class B office space will have wide-reaching economic impacts, including the tax base of municipalities across the country where empty offices remain a significant source of concern.
But there are reasons to believe lending issues in commercial real estate will be contained, Fagan said.
The first is that the office sector is only one part of commercial real estate, albeit a large one, and the others are in unusually good shape.
Vacancy rates in warehouse and industrial space nationally are low, according to Cushman and Wakefield. The national retail vacancy rates, despite the migration of shoppers to online shopping, is only 5.7%. And hotels are garnering record revenue per available room as both occupancy and prices surged post-Covid, according to research firm STR. Banks' commercial real estate lending also includes apartment complexes, with rental vacancies rates at 5.8 percent in Federal Reserve data.
"Market conditions are fine today, but what develops over the next two to three years could be pretty challenging for some properties," said Ken Leon, who follows REITs for CFRA Research.
Still, most debt coming due in the next two years looks like it can be refinanced, Fagan said.
That's one of the reasons Rechler has been drawing attention to the issues. It shouldn't sneak up on the market or economy, and it should be manageable with the loans spread out across their own maturity ladder.
About three-fourths of commercial real estate debt generates enough income to pass banks' recent refinancing standards without major changes, Fagan said. Banks have been extending credit using a rule of thumb that a property's operating income will be at least 8% of the loan every year, though other experts claim a 10% test is being applied to some newer loans.
To date, banks have had virtually no losses on commercial real estate, and companies are showing little need to default either on loans to banks or rent payments to office building owners. Even as companies lay off workers, the concentration of job losses among big tech employers, in Manhattan, at least, means that tenants have no trouble paying their rent, S.L. Green said.
Bank commercial mortgage books
At PNC, the $36 billion in commercial mortgages on the books of the bank is a small fraction of its $557 billion in total assets, including $321.9 billion in loans. Only about $9 billion of loans are secured by office buildings. At Fifth Third, commercial real estate represents $10.3 billion of $207.5 billion in assets, including $119.3 billion in loans.
And those loans are being paid as agreed. Only 0.6% of PNC's loans are past due, with delinquencies lower among commercial loans. The proportion of delinquent loans fell by almost a third during 2022, the bank said in federal filings. At Fifth Third, only $10 million of commercial real estate loans were delinquent at year-end.
Or take Wells Fargo, the nation's largest commercial real estate lender, where credit metrics are excellent. Last year, Wells Fargo's chargeoffs for commercial loans were .01 of 1 percent of the bank's portfolio, according to the bank's annual report. Writeoffs on consumer loans were 39 times higher. The bank's internal assessment of each commercial mortgage's loan's quality improved in 2022, with the amount of debt classified as "criticized,'' or with a higher-than-average risk of default even if borrowers haven't missed payments, dropping by $1.8 billion to $11.3 billion
"Delinquencies are still lower than pre-pandemic," said Alexander Yokum, banking analyst at CFRA Research. "Any credit metric is still stronger than pre-pandemic."
Wall Street is worried
The riposte from Wall Street is that the good news on loan performance can't last – especially if there is a broader recession.
In a March 24 report, JPMorganChase bank analyst Kabir Caprihan warned that 21% of office loans are destined to go bad, with lenders losing an average of 41% of the loan principal on the failures. That produces potential writedowns of 8.6%, Caprihan said, with banks losing $38 billion on office mortgages. But it is far from certain that so many projects would fail, or why value declines would be so steep.
RXR's Rechler says that market softness is showing in refinancings already, in ways banks' public reports don't yet reveal. The real damage is showing up less in late loans than in the declining value of bonds backed by commercial mortgages, he said.
One sign of the tightening: RXR itself, which is financially strong, has advanced $1 billion to other developers whose banks are making them post more collateral as part of refinancing applications. Rechler dismissed rating agencies' relatively sanguine view of commercial mortgage backed securities, arguing that markets for new CMBS issues have locked up in recent weeks and ratings agencies missed early signs of housing-market problems before 2008's financial crisis.
The commercial mortgage-backed bond market is relatively small, so its short-term issues are not major drivers of the economy. Issuance of new bonds is down sharply – but that began last year, when fourth-quarter deal volume fell 88 percent, without causing a recession.
"The statistics don't reflect where it's going to come out as regulators take a harder look," Rechler said. "You're going to have to rebalance loans on even good properties."
Wells Fargo has tightened standards, saying it is demanding that payments on refinanced loans take up a smaller percentage of a building's projected rent and that only "limited" exceptions will be made to the bank's credit standards on new loans.
Without a deep recession, though, it's not clear how banks' and insurance companies' relatively diversified loan portfolios get into serious trouble.
The primary way real estate could cause problems for the economy is if an extended decline in the value of commercial mortgages made deposits flow out of banks, forcing them to crimp lending not just to developers but to all customers. In extreme cases, that could threaten the banks themselves. But if developers continue to pay their loans on time and manage refinancing risk, MBS owners and banks will simply get paid as loans mature.
Markets are split on whether any version of this will happen. The S&P United State REIT Index, which dropped almost 11% in the two weeks after Silicon Valley Bank failed, has recovered most of its losses, down 2% over the past month and remains barely positive for the year. But the KBW Regional Banking Index is down 14% in the last month, even though deposit loss has slowed to a trickle.
The solution will lie in a combination of factors. The amount of loans that come up for refinancing drops sharply after this year, and new construction is already slowing as it does in most real estate downturns, and loan to value ratios in the industry are lower than in 2006 or 2007, before the last recession.
"We feel like there's going to be pain in the next year," Fagan said. "2025 is where we see our pivot toward a [recovery] for office." | US Federal Policies |
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Sean Hannity showcased the various occasions Biden announced he had plans to put an end to the oil and gas industry on "Hannity."SEAN HANNITY: WE ARE SUFFERING THROUGH YET ANOTHER ANTI-TRUMP SMEARSEAN HANNITY: In fact, gas prices now have hit new record highs for 17 consecutive days, no end in sight. The national average for a gallon of gas is now well over $5 a gallon, $5.10. By the way, diesel, that costs even more. Now, despite what Biden and his administration would have you believe, there's no mystery surrounding why we have spiking gas prices. Let's begin with a very important reminder. When someone tells you you know something, especially on the campaign trail, believe them. Two years ago on the campaign trail, Joe Biden, well, when he wasn't hiding in his bunker, told us that he was a climate warrior. He said he was a card-carrying member of the climate alarmists cult. He vowed to destroy the oil and gas industry and even threatened to throw oil executives in jail. He openly dreamed of a Green New Deal and promised to move away from fossil fuels altogether, even if that meant sacrificing high-paying career jobs in the energy sector in the process. And even if it caused Americans, you, the American people, deep financial pain, which we are now all experiencing. And then there was this exchange between Biden and then President Trump during a debate. Is everybody remembering now? Because President Trump was right in that moment, Joe Biden said exactly what he was going to do. And it wasn't the first time. Over and over again on the campaign trail when he'd leave his basement. Biden promised to transition away from fossil fuels regardless of what the consequences would be. US President Joe Biden speaks at a Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) Now you're wondering why you're paying on average, $5.10 for a gallon of gasoline. Well, when you artificially reduce the world supply of the lifeblood of our economy, oil and gas, and at a time when demand is actually growing, well, prices go up. That's simple economics 101. You don't need a Harvard business degree to figure it out. At the time, President Trump predicted exactly what would happen. And what is exactly happening right now. Oh, but of course, the feigned outrage over those mean tweets. I'll take the mean tweets and $2 a gallon gasoline any day. Now, of course, after the election, Biden did exactly what he promised to do. He killed off the Keystone XL pipeline. Well, he did give a waiver to the Nord Stream two pipeline for Vladimir Putin. I guess probably payback for all the business that Hunter and Russia did together. Now, he also banned drilling in Anwar. He paused all new oil and gas permits on federal lands. He restricted fracking. He slowed down production with a slew of. Burdensome regulations. And while he curbed domestic production, he's now more than happy to beg other countries for oil, including some of America's worst enemies.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPWATCH FULL VIDEO HERE: This article was written by Fox News staff. | US Federal Policies |
A California animal shelter announced that it would refuse to grant adoptions to people who feel the "
2nd amendment gives them the right to buy assault weapons
." "If your beliefs are not in line with ours, we will not adopt a pet to you," the Shelter Hope Pet Shop said in a statement posted to its website in May. "Our community of Thousand Oaks became part of all the other cities in America, now scarred with the reputation of a mass killing. The shooter that killed 12 innocent humans at The Borderline Bar, came to our shop for community service hours. We believe he had scouted many locations and we were one of them. We changed our policy about volunteering after that incident, but now we feel confident to go even further than that." WATCH: TRANSGENDER WOMAN PUNCHES AND KNOCKS DOWN LARGER 'TRANSPHOBIC' MAN The Borderline Bar & Grill shooting occurred in 2018, according to a report. All those who wish to adopt from the shelter will be required to submit to a pre-screening process and hourlong interview to determine their sentiments on gun control. "If you lie about being a NRA supporter, make no mistake, we will sue you for fraud. If you believe that it is our responsibility to protect ourselves in public places and arm ourselves with a gun — do not come to us to adopt a dog. We have a choice of who we work with," the statement read. The United States supports guns and not communities, according to the shelter, and prospective pet owners must be willing to put their community first. "If we ask you 'do you care about children being gunned down in our schools?' If you hesitate, because your core belief is that you believe teachers need to carry firearms, then you will not get approved to adopt from us," the statement read. "If you foster for us and believe in guns, please bring our dogs and/or cats back, or we will arrange to have them picked up." Additional requirements for adoption include being at least 25 years old, having a current driver's license, and submitting to a physical home inspection, according to the shelter. The National Rifle Association called the anti-gun requirement ludicrous, according to a report. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER "Having this asinine political litmus test comes at the expense of needy and homeless dogs and cats," NRA spokeswoman Amy Hunter said. | US Local Policies |
Hours before Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas cast a definitional vote in the case that decided the 2000 president election in favor of Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush, a New York Times report revealed that the justice’s wife was “working at a conservative research group gathering résumés for appointments in a possible Bush administration.”
Ginni Thomas’s work for the Heritage Foundation, which was expected to have a major say in staffing up a possible Bush administration, left little doubt about her interest in the outcome of the case. “In e-mail distributed on Capitol Hill earlier this month, Mrs. Thomas solicited résumés ‘for transition purposes’ from the government oversight committees of Congress,” reported the Times. US Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Gilbert Stroud Merritt Jr. raised the issue, arguing that it would be a serious conflict of interest for Thomas to be involved in deciding the case. ”The spouse has obviously got a substantial interest that could be affected by the outcome,” Merritt, a former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit who had known Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore, a fellow Tennessean, for a number of years.
If Thomas did not recuse himself from deliberations regarding the case, Merritt said, “I think he’d be subject to some kind of investigation in the Senate.” The issue wasn’t what Ginni Thomas was doing. She was an active partisan. The issue was what Justice Thomas might do, because he should have been avoiding even the hint of bias in so monumental a case. But Thomas refused to recuse himself.
In a ruling released on December 12, 2000, the justice joined the 5-4 majority that ended a recount of votes in the contested state of Florida and effectively handed the election to Bush, making the candidate whom Ginni Thomas would continue to assist the president-elect. In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens observed: “Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation’s confidence in the judges as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.” The Oregon Democratic Party announced an “organized effort to advocate impeachment” of Thomas and the other justices—including Justice Antonin Scalia, who had conflicts of his own—for shutting down the recount and more generally engaging in “egregiously bad behavior, high crimes and misdemeanors.” Party officials reported that they were overwhelmed with support for the proposal.
But no consequential congressional action was taken to hold Justice Thomas, or any of his colleagues, to account. Nor was there a crackdown 20 years later, after Justice Thomas cast another conflicted vote in a case involving Ginni Thomas’s role in another contentious presidential election.
When the full details of Ginni Thomas’s communications with Donald Trump’s White House in the weeks following the 2020 election were revealed in March of 2022, I wrote a piece noting that
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s actions have invited an impeachment inquiry into what he knew about efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and how he acted upon that knowledge. Thomas has always been a controversial justice. During his more than 30 years on the high court, he has regularly faced criticism for abusing his position. Up to this point, the court’s longest-serving justice has avoided accountability. But Thomas’s scandalous approach to his responsibilities has caught up with him. E-mails reveal that his wife, Ginni Thomas, participated in efforts to overturn the 2020 president election in the weeks leading up to the January 6, 2021, insurrection. That insurrection is the subject of a congressional inquiry that former president Donald Trump has tried at thwart at every turn. In January, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to block the release of presidential records to the House committee leading that investigation.
There was only one dissenter: Clarence Thomas.
MoveOn and We Demand Justice launched a petition drive calling for Thomas’s impeachment and, in July 2022, when petitions bearing 1.2 million signatures were presented in Washington, US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) declared:
Let me be clear, Clarence Thomas is a corrupt jurist and should have no place on our highest court. Clarence Thomas, for the past three decades, worked in tandem with his wife from the bench, to decide cases that were in lockstep with his wife’s political pursuits. There is no way Clarence Thomas can be seen as a neutral jurist and should not decide cases while his wife actively worked to overturn the election. Our failure to hold him accountable will further delegitimize the court and will embolden other justices to act in lockstep with his actions. Clarence Thomas is too compromised to sit on the court, and that’s why I was the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment.
But on Capitol Hill, the impeachment call failed to gain traction.
Last week, Justice Thomas was again facing public scrutiny, following ProPublica’s report that the jurist had for years enjoyed luxury vacations that were paid for by billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow—who, presumably, had an interest in the results of both the 2000 and 2020 presidential elections, along with a host of other issues facing the court. Democratic senators are calling for the Supreme Court to investigate Justice Thomas for failing to disclose multiple trips funded by the real estate mogul. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have announced that they will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics. MoveOn has renewed its argument that Justice Thomas “must resign—or Congress must immediately investigate and impeach.” And US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is calling for an “investigation in the form of impeachment.”
Impeachment is an even more uphill climb in the current Congress, where the House is controlled by Republicans who are generally supportive of Justice Thomas, than it was in the last Congress, where Democrats controlled the House. But Ocasio-Cortez is making the case for an impeachment push by Democrats. “We have a system of checks and balances,” she warned last week. “That includes checking egregious judicial overreach and abuse of power. Without a check, democratically-elected lawmaking will be increasingly disposed of and replaced by a partisan judiciary.” At the very least, the filing of an impeachment resolution would put additional pressure on the Supreme Court to develop stricter ethics standards. But Ocasio-Cortez points to a bigger issue.
“I believe that we should pursue the course,” she said of impeaching Thomas. “And if it is Republicans that decide to protect those who are breaking the law, then they are the ones who then are responsible for that decision. But we should not be complicit in that.” | SCOTUS |
Al Drago/Getty Images CNN — The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow its controversial student loan debt relief program to go into effect while legal challenges play out across the country. The program promises to deliver up to $20,000 of debt relief for millions of borrowers, but has been on hold after lower courts blocked it nationwide. About 26 million people had already applied to the program by the time a federal judge froze it on November 10, prompting the government to stop taking applications. No debt has been canceled thus far. An “erroneous injunction” from a federal appeals court, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the Supreme Court, “leaves millions of economically vulnerable borrowers in limbo, uncertain about the size of their debt and unable to make financial decisions with an accurate understanding of their future repayment obligations.” Government lawyers say that President Joe Biden acted in order to address the financial harms of the pandemic and “smooth the transition to repayment” in order to provide targeted debt relief to certain federal student-loan borrowers affected by the pandemic. Payments on federal student loans are scheduled to restart in January after a years-long pandemic pause. The program is designed to aid borrowers who are at highest risk of delinquency or default. Once debt cancellation begins, the plan will offer up to $10,000 in student loan debt relief to eligible borrowers making less than $125,000 ($250,000 per household.) In addition, borrowers who received a Pell Grant can receive up to $20,000 in relief. The authority exists under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, or the HEROES Act, the administration says. It argues the law exempts the government from otherwise applicable procedural requirements, including notice-and-comment rulemaking. “Because borrowers who default on their student loans face severe financial consequences – including wage garnishment, long-term credit damage, and ineligibility for federal benefits – Congress specifically authorized the Secretary to waive or modify any applicable statutory or regulatory provision as he deems necessary to ensure that borrowers affected by a national emergency are not worse off in relation to their student loans,” Prelogar wrote in Friday’s filing. The dispute at hand is brought by a group of states, led by Nebraska, who argue that the student loan debt relief plan violates the separations of power and the Administrative Procedure Act, a federal law that governs the process by which federal agencies issue regulations. A district court held that the states didn’t have the legal right or “standing” to prevail, but the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, issuing a nationwide injunction blocking the program. It relied on the “irreversible impact” the debt forgiveness action would have and the fact that the collection of student loan payments, as well as accrual of interest on student loans would otherwise be suspended while the legal challenges play out. A separate challenge is also percolating in federal courts brought by two individual borrowers – Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor – who are not qualified for full debt relief forgiveness and who say they were denied an opportunity to comment on the secretary of Education’s decision to provide targeted student loan debt relief to some. This story has been updated with additional details. | SCOTUS |
The abortion pill mifepristone will remain available, with limitations, in the United States while anti-abortion groups pursue a legal challenge seeking to ban it, a federal appeals court ruled late Wednesday night.
The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold part of last Friday's order by US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, that had suspended the US Food and Drug Administration approval for the drug while the groups' lawsuit is pending.
However, the appeals court declined to block portions of Kacsmaryk's order, effectively reinstating restrictions on the pill's distribution that had been lifted since 2016. | US Circuit and Appeals Courts |
Sanders says it is time to end the Senate filibusterTat Bellamy-Walker2m ago / 4:57 PM UTCSen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called on Democrats to end the filibuster in the Senate and solidify protections for abortion rights. "Overturning Roe v. Wade and denying women the right to control their own bodies is an outrage and in defiance of what the American people want," Sen. Sanders wrote in a tweet Friday. "Democrats must now end the filibuster in the Senate, codify Roe v. Wade, and once again make abortion legal and safe." Biden says Roe is 'on the ballot' this NovemberIn remarks from the White House Friday, President Joe Biden said that "voters need to make their voices heard" at the ballot box in November's midterm elections because he is unable to restore abortion protections and Congress lacks votes to take that action. "We need to restore the protections of Roe as law of the land. We need to elect officials who will do that. This fall, Roe is on the ballot," Biden said. Until November, Biden said he will do everything in his power to protect a woman's right to choose in states where they will face the consequences of the court's decision. He said, for example, that his administration to protect a woman's access to medications that allow them to self-manage an abortion at home. He acknowledged that a number of Republican-controlled states have already banned or restricted access to these medications. Biden expressed anger at the Supreme Court's ruling, saying that "the court has done what it has never done before — expressly take away a constitutional right." "This decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is — far removed they are from the majority of this country," he said. "You can act. You can have the final word."He blamed his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, for the reversal of Roe because of his nomination of three justices at the "core of today's decision." Plaintiff in same-sex marriage Supreme Court case says decision is moving country 'backward'Christopher Cicchiello5m ago / 4:54 PM UTCJim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges that established the right to same-sex marriages across the nation, called today's verdict "a sad day for women's rights.""This Supreme Court continues to erode the rights of citizens at an alarming rate," Obergefell said in a tweet. "Women deserve responsive leaders who support reproductive justice. Leaders who respect their fundamental right to have control over their own bodies."In a separate statement reacting to Justice Clarence Thomas’ call to reconsider the holding in Obergefell v. Hodges in his concurring opinion, Obergefell said that "the millions of loving couples who have the right to marriage equality to form their own families do not need Clarence Thomas imposing his individual twisted morality upon them."U.S. Capitol public tours halted after Roe decision Public tours of the U.S. Capitol were abruptly halted Friday after the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, allowing Capitol Police to shift some of their resources to the court complex, a source familiar with the decision said.Capitol Police were also concerned about members of the public lining up at the entrance of the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC), which is close to where thousands of protesters were assembling in front of the court building."It's because of the CVC entrance's proximity to activity at SCOTUS and the general need to shift U.S. Capitol Police manpower to respond to SCOTUS activity," the source said.So far, the protests have been peaceful.Scotland's leader calls out Roe decisionScotland's leader on Friday warned that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would "embolden anti-abortion and anti-women forces" beyond the United States."One of the darkest days for women’s rights in my lifetime," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in a tweet. "Obviously the immediate consequences will be suffered by women in the US — but this will embolden anti-abortion & anti-women forces in other countries too. Solidarity doesn’t feel enough right now — but it is necessary."McCarthy praises court's decisionHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy praised the decision of the court during a Friday press conference. "By a vote of 6-3, the court affirmed that the power to protect unborn life is returned to the people by their elected representatives," he said. "This great nation can now live up to its core principle that all people are created equal — not born equal, created equal."He added that the decision would "save the lives of millions of children" and "give families hope."Sharpton says court's decision brings us 'back to the dark ages' Tat Bellamy-Walker12m ago / 4:46 PM UTCThe Rev. Al Sharpton, the head of the National Action Network and an MSNBC host, said Friday that Black women and poor women will be disproportionately affected by the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. British doctors union calls Roe decision 'deeply worrying'A senior official at the British Medical Association, the United Kingdom's doctors union, on Friday said the Supreme Court's decision overturning abortion rights could have an impact beyond the United States. “The news that restrictions to abortions could be made law in some U.S. states ... is deeply worrying for the future of women’s reproductive health," Zoe Greaves, chair of the group's medical ethics committee, said in a written statement. "The BMA, along with multiple other health organizations, is concerned that this will remove women’s access to essential medical care, a fundamental human right as stated by the U.N., both in the U.S. and potentially more widely," she said. The organization added in a statement that it would be weighing the decision's implications to determine how best to support the American Medical Association in its opposition to the "criminalization of reproductive health."First lady Jill Biden was with DeSantis when Roe decision came downJosh Lederman19m ago / 4:40 PM UTCFirst lady Jill Biden was with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis when she learned of the Supreme Court ruling, a White House official told NBC News.The first lady was preparing to go onstage at the memorial for the one year anniversary of the Champlain Tower collapse in Surfside, Florida, along with DeSantis and his wife in a holding room. Moments before the first lady walked on stage, the news alerts popped up on everyone’s phones.In April, DeSantis signed a Florida law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.Democratic governors in the West pledge to stand up for abortion rightsDemocratic governors in California, Oregon and Washington said Friday they will continue to "protect" patients seeking reproductive care, including those from other states seeking abortions.California's Gavin Newsom, Oregon's Kate Brown and Washington's Jay Inslee made the announcement in a video message released after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, presenting themselves as a counterweight to "red states and Republican-stacked courts.""California, Oregon and Washington are building the West Coast offense to protect patients' access to reproductive care," Newsom said.Inslee said: "We're going to work with our legislators, with our providers, with our patient advocates."Brown said: "We will not stand on the sidelines."'With sorrow...we dissent': Court's liberal wing says majority decided women not deserving of equal protectionIn a blistering dissent to the court's decision reversing abortion rights, the justices on the bench’s liberal wing slammed the majority opinion as one that would curtail women's rights.“It says that from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A State can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs,” Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote in the lengthy dissent."With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent," they added.Read the full story here.Planned Parenthood Wisconsin temporarily suspends abortion servicesAntonio Planas23m ago / 4:35 PM UTCPlanned Parenthood Wisconsin announced Friday it was “temporarily suspending” abortion services in response to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.In a video statement on the organization’s website, the group's president, Tanya Atkinson, lamented the Supreme Court’s decision because it has taken away a constitutional right from women and instead placed health care decisions in the hands of politicians.“Because Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban remains in effect, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin is temporarily suspending abortion services,” she said. “Please know that we are looking at all legal options available. This news is so incredibly devastating. The decision of whether or not to become a parent can be one of the most life-changing decisions a person can make,” she said. “You should be able to make the very personal, very needed health care decisions.”Atkinson added that although abortion services are not available in Wisconsin, the organization is still there for people who need abortions and will counsel them on finding options where abortions are safe and legal. The group, she said, will also be available for “after-care” services. Other services provided by the organization are also available at its centers or through telehealth, she said.“Planned Parenthood Wisconsin stands for health care, and we will not give up, not now, not ever,” she said.Anger and joy outside Supreme CourtTears flowed and voices bellowed outside the Supreme Court early Friday, as activists on both sides of the abortion issue gathered to bear witness to the end of the Roe era. "It's really a visceral issue," said Mai El-Sadany, a human rights lawyer who opposes Friday's decision. "The people who showed up here are really angry and they didn’t want to be alone." Paige Nelson, 20, cried tears of joy on the street in front of the Supreme Court, where the grounds long used for demonstrations have been closed off for weeks as a security precaution."I’m just so happy that no matter who you are and whatever extra chromosomes or whatever disability you might have, you get the chance to live this amazing life, and I will continue advocating until abortion is completely gone," said Nelson, a Washington state resident who is participating in a summer program with the conservative Concerned Women of America.Canadian PM Justin Trudeau calls Roe decision 'horrific'Reuters29m ago / 4:30 PM UTCCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday called the Supreme Court decision "horrific."“The news coming out of the United States is horrific. My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion,” Trudeau said on Twitter.“No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body,” he said.GOP Sen. Mitt Romney says he supports Roe's reversalSen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, praised the Supreme Court's ruling Friday in a brief statement. "The sanctity of human life is a foundational American principle, and the lives of our children—both born and unborn—deserve our protection," Romney said. "I support the Court’s decision, which means that laws regarding abortion will now rightfully be returned to the people and their elected representatives," he added.AG Merrick Garland says states cannot ban access to medications for abortionsAttorney General Merrick Garland vowed to protect access to Mifepristone, which is used along with another medication to end early pregnancies.“In particular, the FDA has approved the use of the medication Mifepristone. States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy," he wrote in a statement.The Food and Drug Administration approved in 2016 the use of the medications in terminating abortions.The "Department will continue to protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services in states where those services remain legal," his statement added. "This law prohibits anyone from obstructing access to reproductive health services through violence, threats of violence, or property damage."Decision a 'dark moment,' British rights group says The Supreme Court’s decision is a “dark moment for the struggle for women’s liberation and the fight to control our own bodies,” the chair of a British rights group said Friday. ‘This is a hugely significant set back for abortion rights. Not just in the U.S. but it will embolden anti-abortion activists here and in Poland, Malta and other places where the struggle for access is already desperate,” Kerry Abel of Abortion Rights said in a statement. “Any chink in the legislative armour that undermines the right to privacy, makes access more difficult or puts abortion funding out of reach will impact poorer and marginalised women and pregnantpeople and will encourage yet more anti-abortion legislation and action,” she said. “This is a dark moment for the struggle for women’s liberation and the fight to control our own bodies,” she added.Rep. Jamie Raskin knocks Thomas, says they are not 'like real judges at this point'Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., knocked Justice Clarence Thomas, saying he is trying to "demolish the constitutional right to privacy" while blasting the high court's justices as an "instrument of the right-wing Republican agenda." "Roe versus Wade was built on Griswold versus Connecticut, which asserted a constitutional right to privacy for women and men to obtain contraception and birth control," Raskin said Friday. "They might like to pretend as if this is some kind of singular strike against just women's right to abortion, but it has implications for contraception. It has implications for the right of gay people to get married under the Obergefell decision. It has implications for the right of people not to be sterilized by the government against their will."Raskin added that the justices are "not like real judges at this point." "I mean, they’ve got the power of it, but they basically have turned themselves into partisans," he said.Sen. Susan Collins calls ruling 'not conservative' Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh who were part of Friday's majority opinion, said in a statement that the ruling was an "ill-considered action" and "not conservative." "The Supreme Court has abandoned a fifty-year precedent at a time that the country is desperate for stability. This ill-considered action will further divide the country at a moment when, more than ever in modern times, we need the Court to show both consistency and restraint," Collins said. "Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative. It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to political chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government."Collins said that the ruling was "inconsistent" with what Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their congressional testimony and in meetings with her where, she said, "they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon."Collins said she is working on a bill with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would codify Roe, Casey, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, and Griswold v. Connecticut."Our legislation would enshrine important abortion protections into law without undercutting statutes that have been in place for decades and without eliminating basic conscience protections that are relied upon by health care providers who have religious objections to performing abortions," she said.U.K.'s Boris Johnson calls Roe decision 'a big step backward'British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would have a "massive" impact around the world. “This is not our court, it’s another jurisdiction, but it clearly has massive impacts on people’s thinking around the world," he said during a press conference in Kigali, Rwanda. "It’s a very important decision." "I think it’s a big step backwards," Johnson, who leads the Conservative Party, added. "I’ve always believed in a woman’s right to choose and I stick to that view and that is why the U.K. has the laws that it does.”Missouri governor signs state proclamation banning most abortionsChristopher Cicchiello40m ago / 4:19 PM UTCMissouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a proclamation Friday to activate its trigger law, banning most abortions.“Nothing in the text, history, or tradition of the United States Constitution gave un-elected federal judges authority to regulate abortion. We are happy that the U.S. Supreme Court has corrected this error and returned power to the people and the states to make these decisions,” Parson, a Republican, said in a news release.This law makes it illegal for doctors to perform abortions and also makes anyone who knowingly induces an abortion guilty of a class B felony. Doctors can have their licenses revoked for their involvement. However, a woman who has an abortion will not be prosecuted "for a conspiracy to violate the provisions" of this act. No mention of an exception for a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest was provided in the act.Upon Parson’s signature, the act takes effect immediately.Texas GOP AG Ken Paxton says abortions are 'now illegal in Texas'Texas' GOP attorney general, Ken Paxton, announced Friday that abortion is now illegal in Texas as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. "SCOTUS just overruled Roe & Casey, ending one of the most morally & legally corrupt eras in US history. Praise the Lord. Abortion is now illegal in Texas," he said in a tweet. Texas had on the books a trigger law, which immediately banned abortion once Roe came down.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed into law one of the country's most restrictive abortion bans last year, which took effect in September. It had banned abortions as early as six weeks, which effectively banned all abortions because most women don't know they're pregnant that early in the process. Whole Women's Health, an organization that has operated four clinics providing reproductive health services in Texas and other states, said it has stopped providing abortion procedures as a result of Friday's ruling, according to the Texas Tribune. In guidance posted on the organization's website Friday, it said that its clinics "are still operating in Baltimore, MD; Bloomington, MN; Alexandria, VA; and Charlottesville, VA." It also said that it offers medication abortion pills by mail to patients in Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Virginia.It also said Whole Women's Health "is exploring plans to expand both our in-clinic and mail services into additional states where abortion is legally protected."Democratic lawmakers march to Supreme Court in support of abortion rightsAt least 150 Democratic lawmakers marched to the Supreme Court on Friday to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., told NBC News the decision marked "a sad day for American jurisprudence.""Never did I envision that this court would reverse 40 or 50 years of precedence, but they did it," he said. "And they did it in utter disregard for the 60% of the American people who support Roe and did not want it overturned."Conservative Hispanic group lauds court decisionBienvenido, a conservative Hispanic group, said the court's decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision was "correct as both a legal and a moral matter.""Today we join millions of Americans — including the majority of Hispanics who value human life — in celebrating the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling overturning 'Roe' and 'Casey,'" a statement from the group said. "It was always a lie that the Constitution guaranteed the right to kill unborn children and this Court has just exposed this lie for the shameful farce that it always has been," the statement continued. "As we commemorate this historic decision, let us remember these children who were denied the right to live, pray for forgiveness, and give thanks to God." According to Pew Research Center, 60% of Hispanics in 2022 said abortion should be legal. Transgender Law Center denounces Supreme Court decision as "despicable" Tat Bellamy-Walker1h ago / 3:51 PM UTCThe Transgender Law Center, one of the nation's largest transgender rights groups, slammed the court's decision, calling it "despicable" and a "politically-motivated" attack.In a statement, the organization stressed that the majority opinion will have an outsize impact on historically marginalized groups, including Black women, disabled people, migrant women, poor people and individuals living in rural communities.“Today we loudly affirm and pledge our solidarity with all people working for Reproductive Justice in this country,” the group's executive director, Kris Hayashi, said. “Whether it is a right to an abortion, the right to affirming medical care, or the right to learn about your own history in schools, our collective rights to self-determination and bodily autonomy are inexorably entwined.”'God made the decision': Trump praises the ruling overturning RoeFormer President Donald Trump praised the Supreme Court's ruling in a statement to Fox News on Friday, saying that it's "following the Constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago."Trump was asked if he played a role in the decision because he nominated three of the conservative justices who overturned Roe v. Wade — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett."God made the decision," Trump told Fox. Asked to address any of his supporters who support abortion rights, Trump said, "I think, in the end, this is something that will work out for everybody ... This brings everything back to the states where it has always belonged."Trump had previously supported abortion rights years ago, telling NBC News' "Meet the Press" in 1999 that he was "very pro-choice" at the time.Susan B. Anthony List celebrates overturning of Roe v. WadeThe anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List celebrated news Friday of the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, calling it a "historic victory for human rights." Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the group, said in a video message outside the Supreme Court that it was a moment of "great gratitude and resolve." "This Court has just overturned the wrongly decided Roe versus Wade decision. Let those words sink in," she said. "Roe versus Wade is overturned after 50 years of lobbying, building centers of hope to serve pregnant women, on our knees praying, off our knees marching and ensuring the powerful pro-life voice could be heard in our elections. We have arrived at this day, a culminating day of so much and the first day of a bright pro-life future for our nation."She said the decision allows the "will of the people to make its way into the law through our elected officials" and declared that "our best days are ahead."Attorney General Merrick Garland vows to 'use every tool' to protect abortion rightsAttorney General Merrick Garland, who as Barack Obama's 2016 Supreme Court nominee was denied a confirmation vote by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, vowed to put the full weight of the Department of Justice behind protecting abortion rights."The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Court’s decision," he said. "This decision deals a devastating blow to reproductive freedom in the United States. It will have an immediate and irreversible impact on the lives of people across the country. And it will be greatly disproportionate in its effect — with the greatest burdens felt by people of color and those of limited financial means."“The Justice Department will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom. And we will not waver from this Department’s founding responsibility to protect the civil rights of all Americans," he added.Mayor Eric Adams says people around the country 'welcome' to access abortion care in New York City New York City Mayor Eric Adams lashed out at the Supreme Court on Friday, saying that "politics came before people at the highest court in the land." "What the court has done today ignores the opinions of the majority of Americans, as it helps states control women’s bodies, their choices, and their freedoms," the Democrat said in a statement, adding that the decision puts lives at risk."There is nothing to call this Supreme Court opinion but an affront to basic human rights and one that aims to shackle women and others in reproductive bondage."Adams sought to reassure New Yorkers, saying that they can still access safe, legal abortions in the city. He also said that people around the country seeking the procedure are "welcome here" to access those services.Massachusetts Gov. Baker signs executive order protecting abortion providersAntonio Planas1h ago / 3:39 PM UTCIn response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who is not running for re-election, signed an executive order Friday protecting health care providers performing abortions from losing their licenses or receiving other discipline based on potential charges from out of state, he said in a statement.“Under the executive order, the Commonwealth will not cooperate with extradition requests from other states pursuing criminal charges against individuals who received, assisted with, or performed reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts,” the statement said.The order, he said, also prohibits any “Executive Department agencies” from assisting another state’s investigation into a person or entity for receiving or delivering reproductive health care services that are legal in Massachusetts.“This executive order will further preserve that right and protect reproductive health care providers who serve out of state residents. In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v Wade, it is especially important to ensure that Massachusetts providers can continue to provide reproductive health care services without concern that the laws of other states may be used to interfere with those services or sanction them for providing services that are lawful in the Commonwealth,” Baker said.Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said: “We are proud of the Commonwealth’s history of ensuring access to reproductive health care, and will continue to do so, despite today’s ruling from the Supreme Court.”Michigan Gov. Whitmer says ruling means her state's 1931 law banning abortion takes effect Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Friday it was a "sad day for America" and that her state's "antiquated" 1931 law banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest will take effect. The law also criminalizes doctors and nurses who provide reproductive care, she said. "For now, a Michigan court has put a temporary hold on the law, but that decision is not final and has already been challenged. The 1931 law would punish women and strip away their right to make decisions about their own bodies," Whitmer said. "I want every Michigander to know that I am more determined than ever to protect access to safe, legal abortion."She said she filed a lawsuit in April to urge her state's Supreme Court to determine whether the Michigan Constitution protects the right to an abortion. "We need to clarify that under Michigan law, access to abortion is not only legal, but constitutionally protected," she said. Barack Obama calls Roe v. Wade reversal an attack on millionsTat Bellamy-Walker1h ago / 3:33 PM UTCFormer President Barack Obama said the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade targets the freedom of millions of Americans in the U.S. "Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans," he wrote in a tweet. He noted that states across the country have already passed bills restricting abortion rights, and pointed people who want to fight against these restrictions toward Planned Parenthood and the United State of Women.In a statement, former first lady Michelle Obama said she was "heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies."Recent NBC News poll showed a majority of people in U.S. didn't want Roe v. Wade overturnedA majority of people in the U.S. — 63 percent — said in a recent NBC News poll in May that they didn't believe Roe v. Wade should be overturned, compared to 30% of people who wanted the abortion rights ruling to be reversed.Additionally, a combined 60% of Americans across the country said abortion should be either always legal (37%) or legal most of the time (23%) — the highest share believing it should be legal on this question, which dates back to 2003. By party, 84 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Independents want abortion to be legal, versus just 33 percent of Republicans. The poll was conducted after the draft opinion of Alito's Roe opinion leaked.NAACP calls decision 'egregious assault on basic human rights'NAACP General Counsel Janette McCarthy Wallace said in a statement Friday the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade as "marks a significant regression of our country.""As a legal professional, I am horrified by this decision. As a Black woman, I am outraged to my core," Wallace said. "There is no denying the fact that this is a direct attack on all women, and Black women stand to be disproportionately impacted by the court's egregious assault on basic human rights. We must all stand up to have our voices heard in order to protect our nation from the further degradation of civil rights protections we have worked so hard to secure."Separately, Portia White, the NAACP vice president of policy and legislative affairs, said: "This Supreme Court is turning back the clock to a dangerous era where basic constitutional rights only exist for a select few. They've stripped away our right to vote, and now women have lost their right to their own body. What’s next?"White added: "We cannot allow our future to rest in the hands of those determined to crush every bit of it. We need to fight back."Biden to address Supreme Court ruling in remarks at 12:30 p.m. ETPresident Joe Biden will address the Supreme Court's ruling in remarks at approximately 12:30 p.m. ET, according to the White House.The guidance said that Biden will deliver his response in the Cross Hall.Durbin announces Judiciary hearing to explore "grim reality of a post-Roe America"Christopher Cicchiello2h ago / 3:20 PM UTCSenate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next month to "explore the grim reality of a post-Roe America."Durbin, who chairs the committee, made the announcement in a series of tweets in which he vowed to keep "fighting to enshrine into law a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices.” "The Court’s decision to erase the right to an abortion will not only lead to the denial of critical health care services, but also criminal consequences for women & health care providers in states eager to embrace draconian restrictions," Durbin wrote. "We cannot let our children inherit a nation that is less free and more dangerous than the one their parents grew up in."He also urged voters to elect "pro-choice Democrats who will write abortion protections into law" in the midterm elections.LGBTQ rights could be at risk post-Roe, advocates warned before rulingJulie Moreau2h ago / 3:18 PM UTCThe leaked initial draft of the Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade had advocates worried about what the precedent’s reversal could mean for the LGBTQ community’s recently gained rights. Cathryn Oakley, an attorney with the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ rights group, stressed that the high court’s decision would have a direct impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. “The LGBTQ community relies on reproductive health care. LGBTQ people seek and receive abortions, they seek and receive and use contraception,” she said. The willingness of the court to overturn precedent could, some advocates fear, signal that other federally protected rights of minorities may be in jeopardy, such as same-sex marriage, which became the law of | US Federal Policies |
US Labor Market Sends Mixed Signals, Giving Fed Reason To Pause
The U.S. labor market sent conflicting signals in May as payrolls surged along with joblessness.
(Bloomberg) -- The US labor market sent conflicting signals in May as payrolls surged along with joblessness, giving Federal Reserve officials more reason to pause interest-rate hikes.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 339,000 last month after an upwardly revised 294,000 advance in April, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed Friday. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, while wage growth slowed.
Follow the reaction in real time here on Bloomberg’s TOPLive blog
Here are some of the top-line figures in the report:
The advance was broad-based, reflecting gains professional and business services, government and health care.
Markets reacted to the advance in payrolls, with Treasury yields jumping after the report. Traders upped their bets of the Fed hiking rates by the end of July. Bets on a June hike also rose, though investors still leaned toward expecting a pause.
For the Fed, however, policymakers will also be looking at the surge in the unemployment rate, which was the biggest one-month increase since April 2020. There were 440,000 more people out of a job in May, also the largest monthly rise since the onset of the pandemic.
Even though labor demand has remained resilient, it’s unclear how long that will last. With a credit crunch threatening to halt the expansion and more companies planning to let workers go, hiring and pay gains may slow substantially in the coming months.
The mixed nature of the report may validate Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s approach to pausing interest-rate hikes to assess the impact of five-percentage points of hiking so far. Other officials have also voiced support for holding rates steady at this month’s meeting, while leaving the door open to resume tightening in July, as price pressures remain robust and the threat of a US debt default has been avoided.
The jobs report is one of the last major releases policymakers will see before they convene on June 13 for a two-day meeting. That morning, they’ll also see the consumer price index for May.
Two Surveys
The jobs report is made up of two surveys: one of households, where the unemployment rate comes from, and the other of businesses, which generates the payrolls and wage figures.
Details of the household survey showed people entering the labor force had a tough time finding a job. There was also an increase in previously employed persons who found themselves unemployed.
The business survey, however, painted a picture of strength. Payrolls beat estimates for a 14th straight month, and wages among workers who aren’t in management roles — the vast majority of the labor force — rose 0.5%, the most in six months.
The establishment survey is larger than its household counterpart and thus has typically a smaller margin of error on month-to-month changes in employment.
What Bloomberg Economics Says...
“A surprisingly robust pace of payroll gains for May – stronger than the highest estimate in Bloomberg’s survey of economists – underscores the difficulty of getting a clean read on the labor market. In our view, the labor market is softer than the headline figure suggests, with household employment actually contracting in May.”
— Anna Wong, Stuart Paul and Eliza Winger, economists
To read the full note, click here
The labor force participation rate — the share of the population that is working or looking for work — was unchanged at 62.6%. For those aged 25-54, it rose to the highest level since 2007, led entirely by women.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in May after a downwardly revised 0.4% a month earlier. From a year ago, they were up 4.3%, matching the smallest increase since mid-2021.
In a concerning sign about demand, the average workweek edged down to 34.3 hours, the lowest since April 2020. Employers tend to cut hours before staff when the economy starts to weaken.
--With assistance from Kristy Scheuble and Liz Capo McCormick.
(Adds participation details, hours worked)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | US Federal Policies |
Today, three conservative-leaning judges with the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments to decide if an injunction should be lifted that restricts the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms and requesting content takedowns.
The appeal followed a July 4 order from a district court, which found that the Biden administration had coerced platforms into censoring Louisiana and Missouri officials, whose posts were deemed as spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
Arguing for the Biden administration was attorney Daniel Bentele Hahs Tenny, who requested that either the injunction be reversed or a stay of the injunction should be extended by 10 days "in case the solicitor general wishes to pursue Supreme Court review."
Missouri solicitor general Joshua Divine and attorney Dean John Sauer were on the other side of the argument. Both Divine and Sauer urged the court to uphold the injunction, claiming that states and individual plaintiffs suing had legal standing to seek the injunction.
Tenny began by claiming that the injunction was improper, partly because plaintiffs didn't identify specific conduct by the Biden administration that requires an injunction. He also argued that with COVID-19 no longer considered a state of emergency and platforms like Twitter no longer policing COVID-19 misinformation, it's unclear what the ongoing threat would be to plaintiffs seemingly at lesser risk of content removal.
"You have to find for each claim as to each defendant, each thing you're trying to enjoin that is going to harm these individual plaintiffs," Tenny said.
Because the plaintiffs did not do that, Tenny argued that the injunction should be reversed.
"What the district court should have been doing is looking for specific things that the government was doing, targeting specific actions by social media companies, causing irreparable injury to these plaintiffs, and if it found any, it could enjoin those, but it didn't find any," Tenny said. "That's the problem."
Seemingly in Tenny's view, states have to show ongoing injury to justify the injunction. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, however, claimed that the plaintiffs have recently been subjected to COVID-19 takedowns. That included Sauer, who claimed that a YouTube video featuring him giving a talk about this case was removed, even though the government's and some platforms' COVID-19 policies have softened.
What constitutes a threat?
Another argument that Tenny made focused on whether the government, by requesting takedowns, was actually coercing platforms. Tenny claimed that while messages between the Biden administration and social media companies could sometimes be "testy"—apparently "f-bombs" were dropped—there is "no indication on the record" of what the implied threat would've been to social media companies if they didn't comply with takedown requests.
Later, Sauer disputed Tenny's position, arguing that plenty of evidence "absolutely" supported the district court's finding that the Biden administration had coerced social media platforms into censoring content.
Perhaps most significantly, Sauer said that it was clear that platforms felt coerced because there was evidence that platforms didn't want to comply with requests but later bowed to pressure from officials. Sauer cited one example. He said that three days after a Meta platform refused a request, "you have the White House press secretary at the podium, threatening" platforms "with a robust antitrust program"—which "Mark Zuckerberg has publicly stated is an existential threat" to his company—and "in the very next sentence," the press secretary says, "take down the misinformation."
Judges asked both sides to help them understand when such statements can be considered public policy announcements that are an ordinary part of the press secretary's duties and when they should be considered threats.
Sauer agreed with the district court that it was necessary to view the sequence of events as a timeline. Between public and private messages requesting that platforms take action, Sauer said that the evidence seemed clear that the government was pressuring social media companies to submit to takedown requests or risk undesirable policy changes—such as strengthening antitrust enforcement or amendments chipping away at Section 230 protections.
Tenny argued that "it's extraordinary to say, if the president's view is that certain conduct of disseminating information is harming the public safety of the United States of America, the press secretary cannot express them."
"If it's backed by a threat that says, 'If you don't do what we want, then this will happen to you,' that's different," Tenny said. "But that's not what happened in this case."
Tenny also cited a statistic saying that platforms only complied with 50 percent of the FBI's takedown requests.
"The idea that the social media companies felt like they had to bend to the FBI's will, when half the time they didn't, I mean, this just doesn't support any of these theories," Tenny said.
Judges will soon decide if the injunction should be reversed or upheld.
The Biden administration has claimed that the government's free speech rights will be unconstitutionally restricted if the injunction remains. It's also warned that officials cannot stop misinformation in case of another emergency. | US Circuit and Appeals Courts |
A US appeals court on Thursday declared unconstitutional a federal law making it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to own firearms.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the fifth US circuit court of appeals is the latest victory for gun rights advocates since a US supreme court ruling last June granting a broad right for people to carry firearms outside the home.
That ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen, announced a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation”, and not simply advance an important government interest.
In Thursday’s decision, circuit judge Cory Wilson said banning people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms “embodies salutary policy goals meant to protect vulnerable people in our society”.
But the judge, appointed by Donald Trump, said the Bruen ruling made such a consideration irrelevant, and that from a historical perspective the ban was “an outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted”.
The court threw out the guilty plea and six-year prison sentence for Zackey Rahimi, who admitted to possessing guns found in his Kennedale, Texas, home after prosecutors said he participated in five shootings in December 2020 and January 2021.
Rahimi had been under a restraining order since February 2020, following his alleged assault of a former girlfriend.
A federal public defender representing Rahimi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, in a written statement, disagreed with the fifth circuit’s ruling and said the Biden administration would appeal.
“Whether analyzed through the lens of supreme court precedent, or of the text, history and tradition of the second amendment, that statute is constitutional,” Garland said. “Accordingly, the department will seek further review of the fifth circuit’s contrary decision.”
The fifth circuit is based in New Orleans, and its decision applies in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
It had upheld the federal law last 8 June, just over two weeks before the Bruen decision, but withdrew its opinion and ordered additional briefing. | US Circuit and Appeals Courts |
Biden says no violence, urges people to 'keep all protests peaceful'President Joe Biden on Friday urged people to "keep all protests peaceful" in the wake of SCOTUS overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. "I call on everyone, no matter how deeply they care about this decision, to keep all protests peaceful," he said during a White House speech, reiterating: "Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable." Hundreds of demonstrators have already gathered outside the Supreme Court following the historic decision with some pro-choice demonstrators chanting: "We won’t go back! We won’t go back! My body, my choice!"The scene outside the court has continued to grow but has remained relatively peaceful. "Threats and intimidation are not speech," Biden said during his speech. "We must stand against violence in any form regardless of your rationale." 'People will die because of this decision,' Ocasio-Cortez saysAntonio Planas6m ago / 5:07 PM UTCRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Friday the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will make abortions more dangerous and result in deaths.“Overturning Roe and outlawing abortions will never make them go away. It only makes them more dangerous, especially for the poor + marginalized," she tweeted. "People will die because of this decision. And we will never stop until abortion rights are restored in the United States of America.”Anti-abortion Democratic Rep. Cuellar says Roe decision leaves issues up to the statesTexas Rep. Henry Cuellar, the lone anti-abortion Democrat in the House, said Friday his position has not changed."We'll let the states make this decision now," he said. Asked by NBC News about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reaction to the Supreme Court's decision, which she said was "cruel," Cuellar said, "Everybody has their opinion, including the speaker."Cuellar said that while he was in the minority in his caucus, he is not in his district.WHO’s Tedros disappointed by Roe v. Wade decisionReuters14m ago / 4:59 PM UTCThe head of the World Health Organization said on Friday he was very disappointed by the overturning of Roe v Wade.“I am very disappointed, because women’s rights must be protected. And I would have expected America to protect such rights,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told Reuters on the sidelines of a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda.Sanders says it is time to end the Senate filibusterTat Bellamy-Walker16m ago / 4:57 PM UTCSen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called on Democrats to end the filibuster in the Senate and solidify protections for abortion rights. "Overturning Roe v. Wade and denying women the right to control their own bodies is an outrage and in defiance of what the American people want," Sen. Sanders wrote in a tweet Friday. "Democrats must now end the filibuster in the Senate, codify Roe v. Wade, and once again make abortion legal and safe." Biden says Roe is 'on the ballot' in NovemberIn remarks from the White House on Friday, President Joe Biden said that "voters need to make their voices heard" at the ballot box in November's midterm elections because he is unable to restore abortion protections and Congress lacks the votes to take that action. "We need to restore the protections of Roe as law of the land. We need to elect officials who will do that. This fall, Roe is on the ballot," Biden said. Until November, Biden said he will do everything in his power to protect a woman's right to choose in states where they will face the consequences of the court's decision. He said, for example, that his administration will protect women's access to medications that allow them to self-manage an abortion at home. He acknowledged that a number of Republican-controlled states have already banned or restricted access to these medications. Biden expressed anger at the Supreme Court's ruling, saying that "the court has done what it has never done before — expressly take away a constitutional right." "This decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is — far removed they are from the majority of this country," he said. "You can act. You can have the final word."He blamed his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, for the reversal of Roe because of his nomination of three justices at the "core of today's decision." Plaintiff in same-sex marriage Supreme Court case says decision is moving country 'backward'Christopher Cicchiello19m ago / 4:54 PM UTCJim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges that established the right to same-sex marriages across the nation, called today's verdict "a sad day for women's rights.""This Supreme Court continues to erode the rights of citizens at an alarming rate," Obergefell said in a tweet. "Women deserve responsive leaders who support reproductive justice. Leaders who respect their fundamental right to have control over their own bodies."In a separate statement reacting to Justice Clarence Thomas’ call to reconsider the holding in Obergefell v. Hodges in his concurring opinion, Obergefell said that "the millions of loving couples who have the right to marriage equality to form their own families do not need Clarence Thomas imposing his individual twisted morality upon them."U.S. Capitol public tours halted after Roe decision Public tours of the U.S. Capitol were abruptly halted Friday after the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, allowing Capitol Police to shift some of their resources to the court complex, a source familiar with the decision said.Capitol Police were also concerned about members of the public lining up at the entrance of the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC), which is close to where thousands of protesters were assembling in front of the court building."It's because of the CVC entrance's proximity to activity at SCOTUS and the general need to shift U.S. Capitol Police manpower to respond to SCOTUS activity," the source said.So far, the protests have been peaceful.Scotland's leader calls out Roe decisionScotland's leader on Friday warned that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would "embolden anti-abortion and anti-women forces" beyond the United States."One of the darkest days for women’s rights in my lifetime," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in a tweet. "Obviously the immediate consequences will be suffered by women in the US — but this will embolden anti-abortion & anti-women forces in other countries too. Solidarity doesn’t feel enough right now — but it is necessary."McCarthy praises court's decisionHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy praised the decision of the court during a Friday press conference. "By a vote of 6-3, the court affirmed that the power to protect unborn life is returned to the people by their elected representatives," he said. "This great nation can now live up to its core principle that all people are created equal — not born equal, created equal."He added that the decision would "save the lives of millions of children" and "give families hope."Sharpton says court's decision brings us 'back to the dark ages' Tat Bellamy-Walker27m ago / 4:46 PM UTCThe Rev. Al Sharpton, the head of the National Action Network and an MSNBC host, said Friday that Black women and poor women will be disproportionately affected by the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. British doctors union calls Roe decision 'deeply worrying'A senior official at the British Medical Association, the United Kingdom's doctors union, on Friday said the Supreme Court's decision overturning abortion rights could have an impact beyond the United States. “The news that restrictions to abortions could be made law in some U.S. states ... is deeply worrying for the future of women’s reproductive health," Zoe Greaves, chair of the group's medical ethics committee, said in a written statement. "The BMA, along with multiple other health organizations, is concerned that this will remove women’s access to essential medical care, a fundamental human right as stated by the U.N., both in the U.S. and potentially more widely," she said. The organization added in a statement that it would be weighing the decision's implications to determine how best to support the American Medical Association in its opposition to the "criminalization of reproductive health."First lady Jill Biden was with DeSantis when Roe decision came downJosh Lederman33m ago / 4:40 PM UTCFirst lady Jill Biden was with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis when she learned of the Supreme Court ruling, a White House official told NBC News.The first lady was preparing to go onstage at the memorial for the one year anniversary of the Champlain Tower collapse in Surfside, Florida, along with DeSantis and his wife in a holding room. Moments before the first lady walked on stage, the news alerts popped up on everyone’s phones.In April, DeSantis signed a Florida law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.Democratic governors in the West pledge to stand up for abortion rightsDemocratic governors in California, Oregon and Washington said Friday they will continue to "protect" patients seeking reproductive care, including those from other states seeking abortions.California's Gavin Newsom, Oregon's Kate Brown and Washington's Jay Inslee made the announcement in a video message released after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, presenting themselves as a counterweight to "red states and Republican-stacked courts.""California, Oregon and Washington are building the West Coast offense to protect patients' access to reproductive care," Newsom said.Inslee said: "We're going to work with our legislators, with our providers, with our patient advocates."Brown said: "We will not stand on the sidelines."'With sorrow...we dissent': Court's liberal wing says majority decided women not deserving of equal protectionIn a blistering dissent to the court's decision reversing abortion rights, the justices on the bench’s liberal wing slammed the majority opinion as one that would curtail women's rights.“It says that from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A State can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs,” Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote in the lengthy dissent."With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent," they added.Read the full story here.Planned Parenthood Wisconsin temporarily suspends abortion servicesAntonio Planas38m ago / 4:35 PM UTCPlanned Parenthood Wisconsin announced Friday it was “temporarily suspending” abortion services in response to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.In a video statement on the organization’s website, the group's president, Tanya Atkinson, lamented the Supreme Court’s decision because it has taken away a constitutional right from women and instead placed health care decisions in the hands of politicians.“Because Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban remains in effect, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin is temporarily suspending abortion services,” she said. “Please know that we are looking at all legal options available. This news is so incredibly devastating. The decision of whether or not to become a parent can be one of the most life-changing decisions a person can make,” she said. “You should be able to make the very personal, very needed health care decisions.”Atkinson added that although abortion services are not available in Wisconsin, the organization is still there for people who need abortions and will counsel them on finding options where abortions are safe and legal. The group, she said, will also be available for “after-care” services. Other services provided by the organization are also available at its centers or through telehealth, she said.“Planned Parenthood Wisconsin stands for health care, and we will not give up, not now, not ever,” she said.Anger and joy outside Supreme CourtTears flowed and voices bellowed outside the Supreme Court early Friday, as activists on both sides of the abortion issue gathered to bear witness to the end of the Roe era. "It's really a visceral issue," said Mai El-Sadany, a human rights lawyer who opposes Friday's decision. "The people who showed up here are really angry and they didn’t want to be alone." Paige Nelson, 20, cried tears of joy on the street in front of the Supreme Court, where the grounds long used for demonstrations have been closed off for weeks as a security precaution."I’m just so happy that no matter who you are and whatever extra chromosomes or whatever disability you might have, you get the chance to live this amazing life, and I will continue advocating until abortion is completely gone," said Nelson, a Washington state resident who is participating in a summer program with the conservative Concerned Women of America.Canadian PM Justin Trudeau calls Roe decision 'horrific'Reuters43m ago / 4:30 PM UTCCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday called the Supreme Court decision "horrific."“The news coming out of the United States is horrific. My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion,” Trudeau said on Twitter.“No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body,” he said.GOP Sen. Mitt Romney says he supports Roe's reversalSen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, praised the Supreme Court's ruling Friday in a brief statement. "The sanctity of human life is a foundational American principle, and the lives of our children—both born and unborn—deserve our protection," Romney said. "I support the Court’s decision, which means that laws regarding abortion will now rightfully be returned to the people and their elected representatives," he added.AG Merrick Garland says states cannot ban access to medications for abortionsAttorney General Merrick Garland vowed to protect access to Mifepristone, which is used along with another medication to end early pregnancies.“In particular, the FDA has approved the use of the medication Mifepristone. States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy," he wrote in a statement.The Food and Drug Administration approved in 2016 the use of the medications in terminating abortions.The "Department will continue to protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services in states where those services remain legal," his statement added. "This law prohibits anyone from obstructing access to reproductive health services through violence, threats of violence, or property damage."Decision a 'dark moment,' British rights group says The Supreme Court’s decision is a “dark moment for the struggle for women’s liberation and the fight to control our own bodies,” the chair of a British rights group said Friday. ‘This is a hugely significant set back for abortion rights. Not just in the U.S. but it will embolden anti-abortion activists here and in Poland, Malta and other places where the struggle for access is already desperate,” Kerry Abel of Abortion Rights said in a statement. “Any chink in the legislative armour that undermines the right to privacy, makes access more difficult or puts abortion funding out of reach will impact poorer and marginalised women and pregnantpeople and will encourage yet more anti-abortion legislation and action,” she said. “This is a dark moment for the struggle for women’s liberation and the fight to control our own bodies,” she added.Rep. Jamie Raskin knocks Thomas, says they are not 'like real judges at this point'Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., knocked Justice Clarence Thomas, saying he is trying to "demolish the constitutional right to privacy" while blasting the high court's justices as an "instrument of the right-wing Republican agenda." "Roe versus Wade was built on Griswold versus Connecticut, which asserted a constitutional right to privacy for women and men to obtain contraception and birth control," Raskin said Friday. "They might like to pretend as if this is some kind of singular strike against just women's right to abortion, but it has implications for contraception. It has implications for the right of gay people to get married under the Obergefell decision. It has implications for the right of people not to be sterilized by the government against their will."Raskin added that the justices are "not like real judges at this point." "I mean, they’ve got the power of it, but they basically have turned themselves into partisans," he said.Sen. Susan Collins calls ruling 'not conservative' Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh who were part of Friday's majority opinion, said in a statement that the ruling was an "ill-considered action" and "not conservative." "The Supreme Court has abandoned a fifty-year precedent at a time that the country is desperate for stability. This ill-considered action will further divide the country at a moment when, more than ever in modern times, we need the Court to show both consistency and restraint," Collins said. "Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative. It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to political chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government."Collins said that the ruling was "inconsistent" with what Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their congressional testimony and in meetings with her where, she said, "they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon."Collins said she is working on a bill with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would codify Roe, Casey, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, and Griswold v. Connecticut."Our legislation would enshrine important abortion protections into law without undercutting statutes that have been in place for decades and without eliminating basic conscience protections that are relied upon by health care providers who have religious objections to performing abortions," she said.U.K.'s Boris Johnson calls Roe decision 'a big step backward'British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would have a "massive" impact around the world. “This is not our court, it’s another jurisdiction, but it clearly has massive impacts on people’s thinking around the world," he said during a press conference in Kigali, Rwanda. "It’s a very important decision." "I think it’s a big step backwards," Johnson, who leads the Conservative Party, added. "I’ve always believed in a woman’s right to choose and I stick to that view and that is why the U.K. has the laws that it does.”Missouri governor signs state proclamation banning most abortionsChristopher Cicchiello54m ago / 4:19 PM UTCMissouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a proclamation Friday to activate its trigger law, banning most abortions.“Nothing in the text, history, or tradition of the United States Constitution gave un-elected federal judges authority to regulate abortion. We are happy that the U.S. Supreme Court has corrected this error and returned power to the people and the states to make these decisions,” Parson, a Republican, said in a news release.This law makes it illegal for doctors to perform abortions and also makes anyone who knowingly induces an abortion guilty of a class B felony. Doctors can have their licenses revoked for their involvement. However, a woman who has an abortion will not be prosecuted "for a conspiracy to violate the provisions" of this act. No mention of an exception for a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest was provided in the act.Upon Parson’s signature, the act takes effect immediately.Texas GOP AG Ken Paxton says abortions are 'now illegal in Texas'Texas' GOP attorney general, Ken Paxton, announced Friday that abortion is now illegal in Texas as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. "SCOTUS just overruled Roe & Casey, ending one of the most morally & legally corrupt eras in US history. Praise the Lord. Abortion is now illegal in Texas," he said in a tweet. Texas had on the books a trigger law, which immediately banned abortion once Roe came down.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed into law one of the country's most restrictive abortion bans last year, which took effect in September. It had banned abortions as early as six weeks, which effectively banned all abortions because most women don't know they're pregnant that early in the process. Whole Women's Health, an organization that has operated four clinics providing reproductive health services in Texas and other states, said it has stopped providing abortion procedures as a result of Friday's ruling, according to the Texas Tribune. In guidance posted on the organization's website Friday, it said that its clinics "are still operating in Baltimore, MD; Bloomington, MN; Alexandria, VA; and Charlottesville, VA." It also said that it offers medication abortion pills by mail to patients in Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Virginia.It also said Whole Women's Health "is exploring plans to expand both our in-clinic and mail services into additional states where abortion is legally protected."Democratic lawmakers march to Supreme Court in support of abortion rightsAt least 150 Democratic lawmakers marched to the Supreme Court on Friday to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., told NBC News the decision marked "a sad day for American jurisprudence.""Never did I envision that this court would reverse 40 or 50 years of precedence, but they did it," he said. "And they did it in utter disregard for the 60% of the American people who support Roe and did not want it overturned."Conservative Hispanic group lauds court decisionBienvenido, a conservative Hispanic group, said the court's decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision was "correct as both a legal and a moral matter.""Today we join millions of Americans — including the majority of Hispanics who value human life — in celebrating the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling overturning 'Roe' and 'Casey,'" a statement from the group said. "It was always a lie that the Constitution guaranteed the right to kill unborn children and this Court has just exposed this lie for the shameful farce that it always has been," the statement continued. "As we commemorate this historic decision, let us remember these children who were denied the right to live, pray for forgiveness, and give thanks to God." According to Pew Research Center, 60% of Hispanics in 2022 said abortion should be legal. Transgender Law Center denounces Supreme Court decision as "despicable" Tat Bellamy-Walker1h ago / 3:51 PM UTCThe Transgender Law Center, one of the nation's largest transgender rights groups, slammed the court's decision, calling it "despicable" and a "politically-motivated" attack.In a statement, the organization stressed that the majority opinion will have an outsize impact on historically marginalized groups, including Black women, disabled people, migrant women, poor people and individuals living in rural communities.“Today we loudly affirm and pledge our solidarity with all people working for Reproductive Justice in this country,” the group's executive director, Kris Hayashi, said. “Whether it is a right to an abortion, the right to affirming medical care, or the right to learn about your own history in schools, our collective rights to self-determination and bodily autonomy are inexorably entwined.”'God made the decision': Trump praises the ruling overturning RoeFormer President Donald Trump praised the Supreme Court's ruling in a statement to Fox News on Friday, saying that it's "following the Constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago."Trump was asked if he played a role in the decision because he nominated three of the conservative justices who overturned Roe v. Wade — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett."God made the decision," Trump told Fox. Asked to address any of his supporters who support abortion rights, Trump said, "I think, in the end, this is something that will work out for everybody ... This brings everything back to the states where it has always belonged."Trump had previously supported abortion rights years ago, telling NBC News' "Meet the Press" in 1999 that he was "very pro-choice" at the time.Susan B. Anthony List celebrates overturning of Roe v. WadeThe anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List celebrated news Friday of the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, calling it a "historic victory for human rights." Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the group, said in a video message outside the Supreme Court that it was a moment of "great gratitude and resolve." "This Court has just overturned the wrongly decided Roe versus Wade decision. Let those words sink in," she said. "Roe versus Wade is overturned after 50 years of lobbying, building centers of hope to serve pregnant women, on our knees praying, off our knees marching and ensuring the powerful pro-life voice could be heard in our elections. We have arrived at this day, a culminating day of so much and the first day of a bright pro-life future for our nation."She said the decision allows the "will of the people to make its way into the law through our elected officials" and declared that "our best days are ahead."Attorney General Merrick Garland vows to 'use every tool' to protect abortion rightsAttorney General Merrick Garland, who as Barack Obama's 2016 Supreme Court nominee was denied a confirmation vote by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, vowed to put the full weight of the Department of Justice behind protecting abortion rights."The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Court’s decision," he said. "This decision deals a devastating blow to reproductive freedom in the United States. It will have an immediate and irreversible impact on the lives of people across the country. And it will be greatly disproportionate in its effect — with the greatest burdens felt by people of color and those of limited financial means."“The Justice Department will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom. And we will not waver from this Department’s founding responsibility to protect the civil rights of all Americans," he added.Mayor Eric Adams says people around the country 'welcome' to access abortion care in New York City New York City Mayor Eric Adams lashed out at the Supreme Court on Friday, saying that "politics came before people at the highest court in the land." "What the court has done today ignores the opinions of the majority of Americans, as it helps states control women’s bodies, their choices, and their freedoms," the Democrat said in a statement, adding that the decision puts lives at risk."There is nothing to call this Supreme Court opinion but an affront to basic human rights and one that aims to shackle women and others in reproductive bondage."Adams sought to reassure New Yorkers, saying that they can still access safe, legal abortions in the city. He also said that people around the country seeking the procedure are "welcome here" to access those services.Massachusetts Gov. Baker signs executive order protecting abortion providersAntonio Planas2h ago / 3:39 PM UTCIn response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who is not running for re-election, signed an executive order Friday protecting health care providers performing abortions from losing their licenses or receiving other discipline based on potential charges from out of state, he said in a statement.“Under the executive order, the Commonwealth will not cooperate with extradition requests from other states pursuing criminal charges against individuals who received, assisted with, or performed reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts,” the statement said.The order, he said, also prohibits any “Executive Department agencies” from assisting another state’s investigation into a person or entity for receiving or delivering reproductive health care services that are legal in Massachusetts.“This executive order will further preserve that right and protect reproductive health care providers who serve out of state residents. In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v Wade, it is especially important to ensure that Massachusetts providers can continue to provide reproductive health care services without concern that the laws of other states may be used to interfere with those services or sanction them for providing services that are lawful in the Commonwealth,” Baker said.Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said: “We are proud of the Commonwealth’s history of ensuring access to reproductive health care, and will continue to do so, despite today’s ruling from the Supreme Court.”Michigan Gov. Whitmer says ruling means her state's 1931 law banning abortion takes effect Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Friday it was a "sad day for America" and that her state's "antiquated" 1931 law banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest will take effect. The law also criminalizes doctors and nurses who provide reproductive care, she said. "For now, a Michigan court has put a temporary hold on the law, but that decision is not final and has already been challenged. The 1931 law would punish women and strip away their right to make decisions about their own bodies," Whitmer said. "I want every Michigander to know that I am more determined than ever to protect access to safe, legal abortion."She said she filed a lawsuit in April to urge her state's Supreme Court to determine whether the Michigan Constitution protects the right to an abortion. "We need to clarify that under Michigan law, access to abortion is not only legal, but constitutionally protected," she said. Barack Obama calls Roe v. Wade reversal an attack on millionsTat Bellamy-Walker2h ago / 3:33 PM UTCFormer President Barack Obama said the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade targets the freedom of millions of Americans in the U.S. "Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans," he wrote in a tweet. He noted that states across the country have already passed bills restricting abortion rights, and pointed people who want to fight against these restrictions toward Planned Parenthood and the United State of Women.In a statement, former first lady Michelle Obama said she was "heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies."Recent NBC News poll showed a majority of people in U.S. didn't want Roe v. Wade overturnedA majority of people in the U.S. — 63 percent — said in a recent NBC News poll in May that they didn't believe Roe v. Wade should be overturned, compared to 30% of people who wanted the abortion rights ruling to be reversed.Additionally, a combined 60% of Americans across the country said abortion should be either always legal (37%) or legal most of the time (23%) — the highest share believing it should be legal on this question, which dates back to 2003. By party, 84 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Independents want abortion to be legal, versus just 33 percent of Republicans. The poll was conducted after the draft opinion of Alito's Roe opinion leaked.NAACP calls decision 'egregious assault on basic human rights'NAACP General Counsel Janette McCarthy Wallace said in a statement Friday the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade as "marks a significant regression of our country.""As a legal professional, I am horrified by this decision. As a Black woman, I am outraged to my core," Wallace said. "There is no denying the fact that this is a direct attack on all women, and Black women stand to be disproportionately impacted by the court's egregious assault on basic human rights. We must all stand up to have our voices heard in order to protect our nation from the further degradation of civil rights protections we have worked so hard to secure."Separately, Portia White, the NAACP vice president of policy and legislative affairs, said: "This Supreme Court is turning back the clock to a dangerous era where basic constitut | SCOTUS |
GUATEMALA CITY, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Tuesday met with the Organization of American States chief Luis Almagro and expressed his commitment to ensuring peaceful elections in the country, he said in a post on messaging platform X on Tuesday.
Almagro is set to stay in the Central American country until August 4.
Guatemala is scheduled to hold a presidential runoff election on Aug. 20, with anti-graft candidate Bernardo Arevalo facing off against former first lady Sandra Torres.
The government guaranteed to OAS authorities it has the appropriate budget and can provide the infrastructure and security needed for electoral authorities to carry out the vote, according to a government statement on the meeting.
The electoral process has raised international concerns over alleged government interference after a move from local authorities to suspend Arevalo's party, which was reversed by the country's top court last month.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Latin America Politics |
Renewed push for daylight saving in Queensland: Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner again calls for trial of the measure
There is a renewed push for Queensland to come into line with the rest of the eastern states with a trial of daylight saving.
The debate over daylight saving in Queensland has been reignited by Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner who has again called for a trial of the measure.
Mr Schrinner used a speech this week to argue it was time for the Sunshine State to revisit daylight saving more than three decades after Queensland's last trial.
The idea was one of many floated by Mr Schrinner on Thursday alongside an overhaul of Brisbane's nightlife, expanded trading hours and development changes as the city gears up to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"We need a new trial of daylight saving for Queensland," he said in an address to the Queensland Media Club.
"It's a thing that can be done really cheaply, virtually no cost and it could be done quickly. Why not have a trial next year?"
Mr Schrinner in October last year also launched a push for daylight saving, saying millions of Queenslanders have not formally been asked for their opinion on the issue.
"Our last daylight saving referendum was 30 years ago and no Queenslander under the age of 48 has ever had a say on this issue," Mr Schrinner said, the Courier Mail reported.
"Each year the State Government comes up with a new excuse about why they don't want to give people a say – what will be this year?
"If they really want to fast-track our state's recovery, a simple way would be to stop wasting the $4 billion a year it costs Queensland because our clocks are out of sync with the rest of Australia's eastern seaboard."
He also called for the measure in February 2022 but Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath swiftly rejected the proposal by saying: "We have listened to the people Queensland who have previously said they do not want daylight savings".
Since daylight savings was last trialled in Queensland, Brisbane has a vastly better outdoor lifestyle, so why not play to our strengths and give people another hour of daylight?— Adrian Schrinner (@bne_lordmayor) October 2, 2022
Let's bring on another trial and give Queenslanders another chance to have their say!
Queensland is one of three jurisdictions in Australia that do not have daylight saving alongside Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Sunshine State last voted on the measure in 1992 following a three-year trial, with 54.5 per cent of Queenslanders voting against daylight saving.
A referendum bill proposing daylight saving in south-east Queensland was also introduced into state parliament in 2010 but was not supported by the then government or opposition.
Without daylight saving, Queenslanders can experience sunrises before 5am in summer.
"Who is spending money at the moment at 4.45am, not many people," Mr Schrinner said in October last year.
"If you shifted that opportunity to the evening, you will get massive lifestyle and economic benefits." | Australia Politics |
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner Group, a private mercenary force, is leading his battled-hardened fighters toward Moscow while Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses his one-time ally, who has played a major role in the Ukraine invasion, of an “armed uprising.”
As the fast-moving events continue to unfold, Reuters reports that the Russian military had fired on Wagner vehicles from the air on Saturday but was “seemingly incapable of slowing their lightning advance” toward the Russian capital.
The New York Times verified a video posted on social media showing military vehicles “believed to be loyal to Wagner” barreling down a highway in the Lipetsk province, about 250 miles south of Moscow. The governor of the province confirmed late Saturday morning that Wagner had entered the region.
The Wagner Group’s apparent mutiny represents a major domestic crisis and is arguably the most serious threat to Putin’s rule in his near-quarter century in power.
On Saturday morning, Prigozhin claimed that Wagner paramilitary forces had taken control of Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city of about a million people 680 miles south of Moscow, near Ukraine's border. He announced that his group had taken control of the Russian Armed Forces headquarters in the city, an important command and logistical hub for the Russian war effort.
“We are all ready to die,” Prigozhin said in an audio message on Saturday claiming Wagner’s force stood at 25,000 troops with another 25,000 ready to join, according to Bloomberg.
The rebellion came after Prigozhin accused the Russian military on Friday of killing “an enormous amount” of his soldiers in an airstrike, an allegation the Russian Defence Ministry denies. Prigozhin posted a video from a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel that claimed to show the wreckage of a missile strike on a Wagner camp and pinned responsibility on the Defence Ministry. On Friday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based, nonpartisan think tank, reported that the video “may have been manufactured for informational purposes.” It has not been independently verified.
Prigozhin also accused Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering the hiding of the bodies of 2,000 Wagner soldiers in a southern Russian morgue.
Over the last several months, Prigozhin has escalated his criticisms of the top Russian military brass, accusing them of keeping ammunition and other equipment from his group as well as hiding the scale of overall Russian military losses, but has avoided directly criticizing Putin.
That all changed on Friday evening, when Prighozin directly rebuked Putin’s core justifications for the Ukraine invasion. “The war wasn't needed to return Russian citizens to our bosom, nor to demilitarize or denazify Ukraine,” Prigozhin said in a video clip.
In an emergency address on Saturday, Putin vowed “decisive actions” to crush the rebellion. “Any internal mutiny is a deadly threat to our state … and our actions to defend the fatherland from such a threat will be brutal,” he said. Putin said the armed mutiny amounted to treason.
Responding on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, Prighozin called Putin’s comments “deeply mistaken.” “We are patriots of our Motherland, we fought and are fighting,” he said. On Friday, Prigozhin said his actions were “not a military coup” but “a march for justice.”
A senior U.S. military official told NBC News that Prigozhin’s actions do not amount to a coup attempt, but rather are intended to force the removal of Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, whom Prigozhin has long criticized. The ISW, which echoed the official’s assessment of Prigozhin’s intentions, said that the armed rebellion “is unlikely to succeed.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the turmoil in Russia on social media. “Russia's weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness,” he tweeted. “And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain, and problems it will have for itself later.”
President Joe Biden said he'd discussed the unfolding situation with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. | Europe Politics |
Gas market volatility kills off $590m gas terminal
A significant project that could have supplied more than twice NSW’s annual gas consumption has been killed off over economic concerns, AAP reports.
A major gas import terminal project at the Port of Newcastle said to one day supply up to 80% of NSW’s gas needs is no more.
Energy Projects and Infrastructure Korea (EPIK) has declared the $589m project “economically unfeasible” and ceased development activities in September.
After an inquiry from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for its gas inquiry, EPIK said the “volatility of the international LNG market and high LNG benchmark pricing” had “placed a downward pressure on the economics of the project”.
It previously described the Newcastle terminal its flagship project. The terminal had been declared critical state significant infrastructure in August 2019 by then-planning minister Rob Stokes, and was expected to add 110 petajoules to NSW’s domestic market.
John Barilaro said in 2019 as acting premier:
The terminal could be operational by 2022-23 and provide supply for gas-fired power stations, helping to manage energy security during the period in which the Liddell power station is scheduled to close.
But EPIK never made it over the second planning hurdle - the filing of an environmental impact statement.
The ACCC warned the risk posed by conditions in the international LNG markets was not unique to EPIK. It said in its January report:
Rather, all the proposed LNG import terminals are exposed to this risk. It is possible therefore that other proposals could be abandoned, or delayed until conditions improve.
State and territory leaders are starting to arrive at the National Cabinet meeting. Here’s what Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said about how he believes one option is allowing pharmacists to provide more basic care, despite the push back from the Australian Medical Association.
Some of this is not about money, it’s about better connecting systems, better connecting services, and making sure that we’ve got the right people with the best skills, and we make the best use of those skills. For instance, expanding the scope of practice, allowing community pharmacists to do more, to treat more patients and provide them with more care is one example.
Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, we’re all leading the way on that. And we think that, despite some opposition from some vested interests, it’s very important that we make the best use of the best skills.
Andrews also spoke about the need to recruit more overseas GPs and funding arrangements:
We need to work as a country rather than individual states and territories to recruit more overseas-trained GPs to come and work in our primary care system, and, yes, there will be more money needed, but the most important thing here is that good ideas, common-sense reform drives this first and foremost, and then we can fund it appropriately after that.
In terms of 50-50 funding for hospitals, we remain committed to that, but that’s not up for negotiation now. The federal government is exclusively responsible for Medicare, and unless and until we fix Medicare and get it back to what it used to be … then we will always have more pressure than we otherwise would have on our hospital system.
Jones says further crypto regulation necessary to protect consumers
The federal government is looking at new steps to regulate cryptocurrency, with the release of a paper aiming to help the government decide which crypto assets are financial products and therefore require financial regulation.
The assistant treasurer and financial services minister, Stephen Jones, told ABC News Breakfast that crypto needs further regulation to protect consumers, to protect financial systems and to avoid criminal activity in the space.
We want to ensure that Australians investing in, or using, cryptocurrency can do so safely.
We want to ensure that the system is stable and that any problems in the cryptocurrency area doesn’t flow over into other areas of our financial markets.
And, thirdly, we want to ensure that cryptocurrency is not an easy avenue for international criminals to use to hide their nefarious activities. So, protecting consumers, protecting our financial system, and cracking down on criminals.
Joyce defends turnbacks as proof of high safety standards at Qantas
The CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce, has told the Today Show that the national carrier’s recent turnbacks reflect the company’s safety culture.
It’s not the airlines that do the turn backs that you should be worried about. It’s the airlines that keep on going to the destination and don’t make that turn back.
This is what happens with aviation across the world. And it’s an important part of the safety management system. I would rather there be not, but again I encourage our pilots to do this. I applaud them when they do it.
It shows that Qantas and the aviation industry in Australia is one of the safest in the world because this happens.
Read more about this issue from our transport reporter, Elias Visontay:
Leeser says government wants to seelocal and regional bodies ahead of referendum
RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas tries to call Leeser up on what more he needs to know when he was so heavily involved in the co-design process under the former Morrison government.
Karvelas:
You co chaired the Joint Select Committee with Senator Patrick Dodson. In that joint committee, you listened to many hours of evidence and read the submissions and you recommended a pathway forward. The voice co-design process was one of your recommendations. And of course, the referendum Council led to the Uluru statement from the Heart. It was all appointed under Malcolm Turnbull’s government. What more could you possibly seek to try and understand Julian Leeser, when you were actually a co author of the process we’re currently in?
Leeser:
That Joint Select Committee that Pat Dodson and I chaired recommended a process of care design that happened and reported in the in the middle of 2021. And they had some recommendations for a local, regional and national voice. In government, the Morison government adopted the proposals for the local and regional voice. We lost the election, Anthony Albanese became prime minister, and instead of adopting the local and regional voice, he said we would have a referendum on this and adopt a voice to Parliament.
But he’s never spelled out the detail of what that will look like. He’s never responded to the work of the Calma Langton report. And this is a point we’ve made many times. The reason we’re making this point and I say this is a supporter, as somebody who wants this to succeed, is because the idea of having a few words in the Constitution and providing the detail later is losing supporters. And the idea that if you go to a referendum campaign, people will stop asking questions about what what this body will look like, I just think is wrong.
The last two years we’ve had a process of consultation, it’s the Calma Langton report, they they basically went around had 9,500 people that made submissions to the Calma Langton inquiry, and they put forward a proposal for the design of a national body. They also said that the national body should be drawn from the local and regional bodies. We accept the recommendations of the Calma Langton report for in relation to the local and regional bodieswhich was the first step and had we won government we will be rolling out those local bodies now. The government’s got the information it needs. It is it is time for them to make some choices about that information.
Karvelas:
Because they’re being advised by the people this would affect the Aboriginal people this would affect that they don’t want to just go down the road of that they want to do another consultation with Aboriginal people in the parliament after a yes vote. Is that a deal breaker for you?
Leeser will not say whether this is a deal breaker for him:
As a supporter of the of the voice, who wants this to succeed, I think the best way to ensure that more Australians vote for this than not, is to provide the detail.
The shadow attorney general and shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Julian Leeser, spoke to ABC Radio this morning following his attending the Indigenous voice to parliament working group meeting yesterday along with opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Leeser said Dutton’s request for more information was a “generous offer” and called on the government to answer those questions.
We noted that this had been a very strange and unusual process that the government had adopted here. In most previous referenda, there’s been a committee that deals with deals with these issues that’s public, there’s been more things like the Constitutional Convention. We didn’t call for either of those things. We just noted that those things hadn’t been present here.
We also contrasted the processes that had occurred under Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten, and Scott Morrison, where basically, there had been box step processes across the parliament working together. And that just hasn’t happened at the moment.
And that’s despite the fact that Peter Dutton since he’s been leader has said you have an open mind and has been asking for detail. So we accepted the Prime Minister’s invitation. We’ve made him a generous offer as well to answer our questions and the Prime Minister says this is about courtesy and good manners. We want to see him accept our offer and and answer the reasonable questions of Australians that Peter Dutton has put forward.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese will meet with state and territory leaders to consider a plan to solve challenges within Australia’s healthcare system.
Premiers and chief ministers will meet Albanese in Canberra today for the first national cabinet meeting of the year, after he hosted dinner at the Lodge on Thursday night.
At the top of the agenda will be the findings of a review by the Medicare taskforce on measures to improve healthcare affordability and accessibility, support Australians with chronic health conditions and take pressure off hospitals.
Leaders will also be updated on Closing the Gap measures, energy priorities, national firearms reform, local government and housing.
Health minister Mark Butler said the Medicare advisory group had recommended measures to improve access to health care and deliver better patient support.
Australians deserve access to a primary care system for the 21st century.
A system that reflects the disease profile of an older population, including a population that has more complex chronic disease.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners called on leaders to put patients first in Medicare reforms. The college’s president Nicole Higgins said improving costs and access to medicines must be on the table, as well as reforming anti-competitive pharmacy laws.
The Medicare task force review is about improving access to care for patients and we need to consider everything as part of this.
Australia’s pharmacy ownership laws are anti-competitive and this inflates the cost to consumers, makes it harder for people to access medicines and reduces choice.
Natasha May on deck with you. The prime minister Anthony Albanese will meet with state and territory leaders at the first national cabinet meeting of the year where healthcare will be at the top of the agenda.
The federal leader will share the findings of the review by the Medicare taskforce on measures to improve healthcare affordability and accessibility, and take pressure off hospitals.
Many, including the NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet have been calling for a blended care model. Perrottet told reporters yesterday:
The first thing is we need to better integrate the primary care, GP network with the public health system … right across the country.
Whether it’s pharmacy reform, telehealth, extra bulk-billing rates and GPs, these are the types of measures that will make a real difference and that’s what I’ll be discussing with the premiers, chief ministers and the prime minister.
Key robodebt defender set to face royal commission
A Social Services department official who others claim insisted the robodebt scheme was legal will front the royal commission on Friday, AAP reports.
Former deputy secretary Nathan Williamson will give evidence a week after former payment integrity worker Allyson Essex claimed he told her it was “really clear” the scheme was lawful despite external legal advice suggesting the opposite was true.
“I told (Williamson) about the … advice and said we have got advice that says it’s not legal,” Essex told the commission last week.
“His response to me was ‘it’s legal, it’s really clear that it’s legal. By all means, if we have a robust advice, let’s evaluate the situation. But it’s legal’.”
The Centrelink debt recovery scheme operated between 2015 and 2019 but continued well after significant concerns were raised about its legality.
It recovered more than $750m from more than 380,000 people and several people took their own lives while being pursued for false debts.
A partner at a leading auditing firm will also face the royal commission on Friday.
Shane West from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will give evidence about an external review former minister Alan Tudge commissioned the firm to perform in 2017.
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of everything newsworthy in Australia today. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you some of the headlines before my colleague Natasha May takes the helm.
It’s been another busy night with Penny Wong and Richard Marles discussing the Aukus defence pact with their UK counterparts. James Cleverley, the British foreign secretary, also responded to Wong’s criticism of what she said was Britain’s failure to recognise its colonial sins by pointing out the diversity of his government. Back home, Malcolm Turnbull says the government must answer questions about whether it will have control over the planned new nuclear submarines or whether the agreement with the UK and US compromises Australian sovereign capability, as claimed by others including Paul Keating.
Anthony Albanese has revealed in an exclusive interview with Guardian Australia that he will proceed with the referendum to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament even if he suspects the proposal will fail because of a lack of political consensus. The PM said delaying or abandoning the referendum would be like “worrying about winning a grand final, so therefore you don’t run on the field and forfeit. That is essentially what it is. It would be forfeiting the opportunity for recognition in the form in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people are asking for.”
Tax breaks for superannuation will cost the federal budget $52.5bn this financial year, according to analysis by the Australia Institute out today, which argues that since super tax concessions cost almost as much as the $55.3bn spent on the pension, Australia has “two classes of state-funded retirees”.
Looking ahead, the Robodebt royal commission continues today, where a former senior social services department official, who others claim insisted the robodebt scheme was legal, is due to give evidence. | Australia Politics |
KYIV, Ukraine — The head of the Russian private army Wagner claimed Saturday that his forces have taken control of the city of Bakhmut after the longest and most grinding battle of the Russia-Ukraine war, but Ukrainian defense officials denied it.
In a video posted on Telegram, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said the city came under complete Russian control at about midday Saturday. He spoke flanked by about half a dozen fighters, with ruined buildings in the background and explosions heard in the distance.
However, after the video appeared, Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said heavy fighting was continuing.
“The situation is critical,” she said. “As of now, our defenders, control certain industrial and infrastructure facilities in this area.”
Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, told The Associated Press that Prigozhin’s claim “is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut.” In a statement on Facebook, the Ukrainian General Staff said “heavy battles for the city of Bakhmut do not stop.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said “this is not the first time Prigozhin has said ‘we seized everything and are dominating’.” He also suggested that the Wagner chief’s statement was aimed at drawing attention away from Zelenskyy’s recent highly visible trips overseas, including to the Group of Seven summit in Japan on Saturday.
Fighting has raged in and around Bakhmut for more than eight months.
If Russian forces have taken control of Bakhmut, they will still face the massive task of seizing the remaining part of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control, including several heavily fortified areas.
It is not clear which side has paid a higher price in the battle for Bakhmut. Both Russia and Ukraine have endured losses believed to be in the thousands, though neither has disclosed casualty numbers.
Zelenskyy underlined the importance of defending Bakhmut in an interview with The Associated Press in March, saying its fall could allow Russia to rally international support for a deal that might require Kyiv to make unacceptable compromises.
Analysts have said Bakhmut’s fall would be a blow to Ukraine and give some tactical advantages to Russia but wouldn’t prove decisive to the outcome of the war.
Russian forces still face the enormous task of seizing the rest of the Donetsk region under Ukrainian control, including several heavily fortified areas. The provinces of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk make up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland where a separatist uprising began in 2014 and which Moscow illegally annexed in September.
Bakhmut, located about 34 miles north of the Russian-held regional capital of Donetsk, had a prewar population of 80,000 and was an important industrial center, surrounded by salt and gypsum mines.
The city, which was named Artyomovsk after a Bolshevik revolutionary when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, also was known for its sparkling wine production in underground caves. Its broad tree-lined avenues, lush parks and stately downtown with imposing late 19th century mansions — all now reduced to a smoldering wasteland — made it a popular tourist destination.
When a separatist rebellion engulfed eastern Ukraine in 2014 weeks after Moscow’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, the rebels quickly won control of the city, only to lose it a few months later.
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After Russia switched its focus to the Donbas following a botched attempt to seize Kyiv early in the February 2022 invasion, Moscow’s troops tried to take Bakhmut in August but were pushed back.
The fighting there abated in autumn as Russia was confronted with Ukrainian counteroffensives in the east and the south, but it resumed at full pace late last year. In January, Russia captured the salt-mining town of Soledar, just north of Bakhmut, and closed in on the city’s suburbs.
Intense Russian shelling targeted the city and nearby villages as Moscow waged a three-sided assault to try to finish off the resistance in what Ukrainians called “fortress Bakhmut.”
Mercenaries from Wagner spearheaded the Russian offensive. Prigozhin tried to use the battle for the city to expand his clout amid the tensions with the top Russian military leaders whom he harshly criticized.
“We fought not only with the Ukrainian armed forces in Bakhmut. We fought the Russian bureaucracy, which threw sand in the wheels,” Prigozhin said in the video on Saturday.
The relentless Russian artillery bombardment left few buildings intact amid ferocious house-to-house battles. Wagner fighters “marched on the bodies of their own soldiers” according to Ukrainian officials. Both sides have spent ammunition at a rate unseen in any armed conflict for decades, firing thousands of rounds a day.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that seizing the city would allow Russia to press its offensive farther into the Donetsk region, one of the four Ukrainian provinces that Moscow illegally annexed in September. | Europe Politics |
EURACTIV.com with AFP Est. 3min 15-08-2023 Content-Type: News Service News Service Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to journalistic standards. People attend a peaceful protest march in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14 August 2023. The protest was organized after Nermin Sulejmanovic, from the Bosnian town of Gradacac, killed his wife and two other people and wounded three people, on 11 August 2023. Sulejmanovic committed suicide after the massacre. What the protestors want to point out is the problem of violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the failures of state institutions that react slowly to prevent such and similar events. [EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR] EURACTIV is part of the Trust Project >>> Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Thousands of people marched in Sarajevo and other Bosnian cities Monday (14 August), days after a woman was murdered by her partner who livestreamed her killing on social media before killing two men and himself. The murders, and the 35-year-old suspect’s Instagram posting of her killing, have shocked the Balkan country. “We demand that femicide be made a specific criminal act,” Sarajevo mayor Benjamina Karic told the crowd. Speaking on behalf of the demonstrators, she called for more severe punishment for the crimes of femicide, domestic violence and for the construction of more safehouses for women victims of violence. She also encouraged victims to report their attackers. “This is the last moment to adopt adequate measures. All those who hold positions of responsibility and who tolerate this situation become accomplices in perpetrating violence,” Karic said. Protesters held up placards emblazoned with messages such as “Stop femicide”, “Say no to violence” and “Silence is complicity”. Protesters also took to the streets of the northeastern town of Gradacac after attending the funeral of the victim, as well as in the southern city of Mostar and the central town of Zenica, media reported. On Friday, Nermin Sulejmanovic, 35, a professional bodybuilder and fitness instructor in Gradacac, killed his partner Nizama Hecimovic, 37, with a gun, after beating her, broadcasting the crime on Instagram. Before that, he forced her and their nine-month-old child to leave the home of Hecimovic’s cousin to where she had fled a few days earlier after being assaulted. According to local media, the broadcast of his murder was watched live by several thousand people, some of whom were even believed to have encouraged the attacker. After killing his partner, Sulejmanovic killed two other people, a man and his son, whom he knew, and wounded three others, a woman and two men, including a police officer. According to local NGOs, some 20 women have been killed in Bosnia in the past two years by their spouses. In the country of 3.5 million people, 48% of women were victims of some form of violence by a man after the age of 15, according to an OSCE study carried out in 2018. Read more with EURACTIV Finns Party mastermind defends long-term goal to leave the EUFinland should aim to leave the EU in the long term, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine means European unity should be the priority for now, the far-right Finns Party's Jussi Halla-aho said ahead of a party congress on 12 August. Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Topics Bosnia and Herzegovina domestic violence femicide Non-discrimination Politics | Europe Politics |
New US intelligence assessments suggest that is “unlikely” al Qaeda will revive in Afghanistan and Pakistan and that counterterrorism operations by the Taliban in Afghanistan have degraded the Islamic State’s presence there, two senior US officials said on Friday.
The assessments described by the officials in a briefing to reporters paints an optimistic picture of the overall terrorist presence in Afghanistan, suggesting it has been waning despite the US military’s withdrawal from the country in 2021.
Since the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan – and as the US has shifted intelligence resources away from counterterrorism priorities to focus on China and Russia – the Biden administration has been at pains to emphasize that it retains “over the horizon” capabilities to track terrorism threats emanating from South Asia.
Still, some US officials have privately raised concerns that as the US has transitioned intelligence assets away from the Middle East and South Asia, the Biden administration may struggle to track the threat posed by ISIS, which continues to operate in ungovernable areas in Syria and elsewhere.
ISIS-Khorasan, the Afghanistan affiliate of ISIS, has continued to attack high-profile targets inside Afghanistan. ISIS-K attacks have killed and wounded dozens of civilians since the Taliban took over in 2021, part of an attempt to undermine the Taliban’s rule and erode public confidence in its assurances of security.
ISIS-K carried out the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 US servicemembers in 2021 – the last to die in America’s longest war. Between late 2022 and early 2023, the group attacked the Pakistani and Russian embassies, hit a hotel where Chinese business representatives were staying and carried out an explosion at an air force compound, CNN has reported.
“ISIS-K is a threat that we are certainly concerned about, from an external operations perspective,” one of the officials said. “But it’s a fundamentally different kind of threat than what we saw from al Qaeda on 9/11.”
The officials added that intelligence shows ISIS-K has been under increasing pressure from the Taliban and many of its key leaders have fled the country in recent months, the officials said.
“ISIS Khorasan members involved in media, facilitation and recruitment in support of external operations are increasingly moving to neighboring countries to evade the Taliban [counterterrorism] campaign,” the official said.
The officials said that the threat from al Qaeda, meanwhile, is at its lowest point in decades.
“Al Qaeda is at its historical nadir in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and its revival is unlikely,” one of the senior officials told reporters in a briefing, adding that the group’s “ability to threaten the United States from Afghanistan or Pakistan is probably at its lowest point” in decades.
That is at least partly because al Qaeda has lost one of its primary targets: US troops, the official said. The US withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in August 2021, leaving al Qaeda without a “proving ground” to train fighters and operatives.
After a US drone strike killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in August 2022, the group was left without “leadership talent” and “strategic guidance,” the official added. The Taliban claimed at the time that they did not know Zawahiri was residing in the Afghan capital of Kabul when the US targeted him.
Notably, the US assessments downplaying a terrorist resurgence appear to contrast with a report released in June by the United Nations’ Sanctions Monitoring Team, which assessed that al Qaeda “is in a reorganization phase,” and had been establishing new training facilities in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nuristan provinces.
The report also said that ISIS-K “continues to pose a significant threat within Afghanistan, and Member States are concerned about its potential to develop external operations capability and to project a threat into the region and beyond.”
Asked about the contrast between the US and UN assessments, one of the senior officials said the UN report was “wildly out of whack” with intelligence collected by the US and its partners.
“We have tried to engage with those who produced the report to understand where it comes from better and ideally, educate them back,” the official said. “The bottom line is, that report is an outlier within the UN system.”
CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed reporting. | Asia Politics |
New NEP Will Provide Better Education Facilities To Younger Generation: Union MoS Yadav
NEP 2020 stresses on vocational courses from standard six, while at the graduation level it provides flexibility in taking up other courses, besides giving more stress on research works, she said.
Union Minister of State for Education, Annpurna Devi Yadav said the Centre is ready to address any concern regarding the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
The Centre is for teaching children in their mother tongue so that they are able to comprehend better the subjects taught to them, she said at a press conference here on Wednesday during her two-day maiden visit to Nagaland.
NEP 2020 stresses on vocational courses from standard six, while at the graduation level it provides flexibility in taking up other courses, besides giving more stress on research works, she said.
Referring to the north east region, Yadav asserted that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is keen about the overall progress of the region and to ensure development in all sectors.
The prime minister has been extending various programmes and special packages for the region, unlike the Congress government in the past which used to forget the region after the elections, she claimed.
Special care is being taken for the uplift of women and preservation of the tradition and culture of the people of the region, she said.
Yadav expressed happiness over the adoption of central government developmental schemes by the BJP-NDPP coalition government in the state for the welfare of the people.
The union minister during her two-day visit from Tuesday went to the newly created district of Tseminyu and reviewed the centrally sponsored schemes being implemented there. She also visited a school and a primary health centre at Chunlikha and interacted with the district administrative officers, civil societies, student body, village council chairmen’s forum. Matters pertaining to the shortage of manpower in the school education department and establishment of Jawahar Navodalaya Vidyalaya was discussed.
She also called on the Governor La Ganesan in the Raj Bhavan before leaving for the national capital on Thursday. | India Politics |
The Kremlin has launched a “counter-terrorist operation” in Russia’s Belgorod region after a pro-Ukrainian group claimed to have stormed and “completely liberated” the border town of Kozinka.
Eight people have been injured and several buildings have been destroyed in the clashes, according to local Russian governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who said the situation on the ground was “extremely tense” as authorities continue to hunt for the alleged saboteurs.
On Monday, the Liberty of Russia Legion claimed responsibility for the incident on Telegram, adding that its forward units had even pushed farther east into the town of Graivoron.
The Kremlin claimed the saboteurs entered Russian territory through its borders with Ukraine, which has denied any involvement in the incident.
“We are Russians, like you,” the group said in a video. “We are people like you. We want our children to grow up in peace. It is time to put an end to the dictatorship of the Kremlin.”
Ukraine’s military confirmed the incursion into Belgorod. Defense Ministry spokesman Andrii Yusov said that the Russian partisans had acted to help establish a “security zone in the border regions of Russia bordering Ukraine.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the situation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed.
“Work is underway to squeeze them out of Russian territory and destroy this sabotage group,” Peskov said, adding that he believed that the operation was intended as a distraction for Ukraine’s alleged loss of Bakhmut, a city with Russia claimed to control over the weekend after months of heavy fighting.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the government wasn’t behind the attack, but was keeping abreast of developments.
"Ukraine is watching the events in the Belgorod region of Russia with interest and is studying the situation, but is not directly related to it,” Podolyak said. “Underground guerrilla groups are composed of Russian citizens.”
The attack is not the first time Russia’s war in Ukraine has appeared to trickle into Russia proper. Explosions rang out at Russia’s Engels air base and Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region in December. The series of incidents raised alarm among some Russian officials that Ukrainians were growing more emboldened to go on the offense inside Russian territory.
Ukraine’s chief military intelligence official, Kyrylo Budanov warned at the time that Russia could expect “deeper and deeper” strikes inside Russia.
But the latest attack could signal growing dissent among Russians who are willing to take action against Putin’s flailing war effort. Aleksey Baranovsky, a representative of the Kyiv-based Russian Armed Opposition Political Centre, told CNN the plan is to “liberate our motherland from the tyranny of Putin.”
Three people were wounded by shrapnel following the shelling, the head of the region, Gladkov, said. A man and woman with wounds went to the hospital, he said earlier. The deputy head of the Grayvoron administration and two employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations were injured, according to a Baza Telegram post.
The attack also reportedly hit a kindergarten, an administrative building, and some houses, according to Meduza.
The government, for now, is establishing special measures and temporary restrictions in order to determine responsibility for the attacks, including monitoring telephone conversations, mail searches, and verification of documents proving people’s identities, Gladkov announced Monday.
The restrictions include a “temporary resettlement of individuals residing within certain territories,” the restriction of movement on roads, and searches. The new measures also include a restriction or ban on the sale of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and alcohol, according to the post. | Europe Politics |
Six former prime ministers have issued a strong statement declaring support for both the Jewish and Palestinian communities in Australia and warning against allowing the Middle Eastern conflict to stoke division here.
The signatories are four former Liberal PMs – John Howard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison – and two former Labor PMs, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.
The only other living former PM, Paul Keating, declined to sign. He has not publicly given his reasons.
The statement condemns the Hamas attack of October 7 on Israeli citizens, calls for the unconditional release of the hostages held by Hamas, and urges “sustained humanitarian access” for aid to reach innocent Palestinians.
It also urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties and reaffirms “the Australian government’s enduring support for a two-state solution” to achieve a lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.
Stressing the importance of local cohesion, the statement says:
Our multicultural nation’s success is founded on the Australian values we all share and the respect we show for our fellow Australians’ diversity of cultures and faiths.
Whatever is happening elsewhere in the world, there is no place in our country for racial or religious hatred.
And there is no more tenaciously evil race hatred than antisemitsm.
Our Australian Jewish community, directly affected by the terrible crimes of Hamas, not only has to endure the loss and suffering of their families in Israel, but now sees these events being used by some to spread ancient hatreds which have inflicted so much suffering on the Jewish people for thousands of years.
Nothing happening overseas justifies hate speech in Australia, the statement says.
We believe we speak for the vast majority of Australians, of all faiths and of none, when we say we stand in solidarity with Jewish Australians at this time.
Likewise, we stand too with the Australian Palestinian community whose families are dying and suffering in this terrible conflict. They too deserve our love and support.
The former PMs say Australia’s success “depends on us not allowing conflict overseas to turn Australians against each other”.
They condemn “the cruel and murderous attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7”.
“It was the single largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust and its grotesque cruelty and violence was comparable to that of ISIS,” the statement says.
It says Hamas had “sought to provoke Israel into a reaction that would kill countless innocent civilians in Gaza. The Hamas terrorists have no more interest in the safety of Palestinians than they do of Israelis.
They want Israel to invade and bomb Gaza. They want to be able to point to thousands of Palestinian casualties from Israeli military action.
Their mission is to promote hatred – hatred of Israelis, hatred of Jews, hatred of Palestinians, hatred of Muslims.
The statement calls for people in Australia to treat each other with love and respect and "support those who are grieving and distressed”.
The former PMs say they don’t presume to give Isreal strategic advice. “But the legitimate objectve of defeating Hamas must be accompanied by support and protection for the civilian population of Gaza.
"Israel promises it will do all it can to avoid civilian casualties, we urge it to do so with all of its humanity and skill,” the statement says.
“We are horrified by the thousands of deaths and injuries inflicted on innocent Palestinian civilians, including many, many Palestinian children.”
Keating said in a statement that Mark Leibler, a prominent Australian Jewish leader and businessman, had contacted him last week proposing the joint statement.
“I told Leibler in a written message that I would not be agreeing to join other former prime ministers in authorising the statement.” Keating had no further comment to make on his position. | Australia Politics |
US officials expect the current phase of Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza targeting the southern end of the strip to last several weeks before Israel transitions, possibly by January, to a lower-intensity, hyper-localized strategy that narrowly targets specific Hamas militants and leaders, multiple senior administration officials tell CNN.
But as the war enters this new ground phase in the south, the White House is deeply concerned about how Israel’s operations will unfold over the next several weeks, a senior US administration official said. The US has warned Israel firmly in “hard” and “direct” conversations, they said, that the Israeli Defense Forces cannot replicate the kind of devastating tactics it used in the north and must do more to limit civilian casualties.
The US has conveyed to Israel that as global opinion has increasingly turned against its ground campaign, which has killed thousands of civilians, the amount of time Israel has to continue the operation in its current form and still maintain meaningful international support is quickly waning.
In perhaps the most direct public warning to date, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admonished Israel that it can “only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians.” Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum over the weekend, Austin said US support for Israel is “not negotiable,” but he said Israel risks replacing a “tactical victory with a strategic defeat” if it did not do more to prevent civilian deaths.
Almost 16,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its campaign in October, following Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel believes it has killed “several thousand” Hamas militants, an Israeli official said.
Though senior Biden administration officials have publicly called on Israel to do more to minimize civilian deaths, they have been careful to avoid directly admonishing any of Israel’s tactics, believing officials believe it is more effective to quietly counsel Israel behind the scenes rather than loudly shame them.
The senior administration official told CNN that they did not feel comfortable using the word “receptive” to capture Israel’s response so far to the administration’s military advice – contrary to some public statements from senior-most members of the administration.
Both in public and in private, Israeli officials maintain that part of their end goal is to weaken Hamas to such an extent that the group can never repeat the attack that it unleashed on Israel on October 7. That goal, one senior US official told CNN, is unlikely to be achieved by the end of the calendar year, and Israel is expected to continue pursuing that objective in the next phase of the conflict that US officials see as a “longer-term campaign.”
An Israeli official agreed that a transition is likely to come in the next few weeks, saying: “We are in a high-intensity operation in the coming weeks, then probably moving to a low-intensity mode.”
CNN asked the National Security Council and Israeli government for comment.
Israel can’t maintain high-intensity operations indefinitely
Current US assessments also show that Israel simply cannot maintain its level of high-intensity operations indefinitely, especially the mobilized reservists, a source familiar with the intelligence said. Israel has also needed to respond to near-daily attacks by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on its northern border — another reason Israeli forces will likely need to transition to more targeted raids once they have cleared as many Hamas militants based in Gaza as they can, the source said.
US officials are hopeful that Israel will move to a more targeted strategy by January, which will resemble how the US transitioned away from high-intensity combat in Iraq and Afghanistan to a more narrow campaign against terrorist leaders, senior US officials told CNN. Israeli officials have indicated that that is their intention, one of the officials said.
Senior US officials have been careful not to publicly criticize Israel and are increasingly insisting that their strategy of counseling Israel to target Gaza more deliberately and surgically has delivered some results.
After Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel to take concrete steps to protect civilians during a visit to the region last week, the IDF unveiled an online map of Gaza divided into tiny parcels as an apparent effort to allow Israel to warn residents of a specific area to evacuate because of military operations. But the map requires electricity and internet connectivity to access, both of which have been cut off in Gaza multiple times.
Pointing to that development, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that Israel has “actually taken the quite unusual step for a modern military and identified precisely the area that they intend to have ground maneuvers, and they have asked the people in that area to move out.”
Still, he declined several times to offer an assessment of whether Israel’s tactics have been more proportional since a truce with Hamas broke down last week and the fighting resumed, telling reporters on Monday that it is “too soon” to pass judgment.
Officials have also insisted that the Israel Defense Forces’ initial incursion into northern Gaza would have been far wider in scope had it not been for the US’ warnings. Israel’s original plan after the Hamas terror attack involved an immediate large-scale land, air and sea operation involving hundreds of thousands of Israeli troops and a desire to “level” the entirety of the Gaza Strip, people familiar with their planning said.
US officials have also argued in recent weeks that Israel has heeded the lessons senior American military advisers have shared with their Israeli counterparts about how to conduct urban warfare.
“I do believe that they have listened,” Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Sunday when asked whether Israel is listening to the US. Two days earlier, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby had told reporters: “We believe that the approach that we’re taking thus far has produced effective results.” | Middle East Politics |
Militants open fire at a bus in northern Pakistan, killing 9, including 2 soldiers
Local police say that militants have opened fire at a bus in northern Pakistan, killing nine people including two soldiers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Militants opened fire at a bus in northern Pakistan, killing nine people including two soldiers, local police said.
The shooting occurred on Saturday night in the Chilas area of the northern Gilgit Baltistan region, police officer Azmat Shah said.
The bus was carrying passengers from Gilgit to Rawalpindi. The driver lost control of the bus when it was hit by the gunfire and crashed into a truck. The truck caught fire, killing the drivers of both vehicles.
At least 26 people were injured in the incident and transferred to local hospitals.
The home minister of Gilgit Baltistan, Shams Lone, told journalists the incident was an “act of terrorism" and said that two soldiers from Pakistan's army were among those killed.
A local Islamic cleric, Mufti Sher Zaman, was also injured, he said.
After the incident, the location was cordoned off and police helped move traffic through the area in convoys, said senior police official Sardar Shehryar.
The chief minister of Gilgit Baltistan, Gulbar Khan, said a special investigation team was formed to investigate the incident. Law enforcement agencies were ordered to identify and arrest the culprits, he said.
Muhammad Khorasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, denied in a statement any link with the shooting, saying it was not carried out by their group. | Asia Politics |
When the United States pulled out its forces from Afghanistan in 2021, it left behind around $7 billion worth of military equipment and weapons, including firearms, communications gear, and even armored vehicles.
The Taliban seized the arms following the fall of the Western-backed Afghan government during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal, giving the hard-line Islamist group a vast war chest.
Since the Taliban takeover, some of the American military gear and weapons have turned up in neighboring Pakistan, where they have been used by armed groups, according to experts and security officials.
Observers say the influx of U.S. weapons has boosted the military capabilities of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group and ethnic Baluch separatist groups that are waging insurgencies against the government in Pakistan, which has witnessed a surge in violence over the past two years.
"These weapons have added to the lethality of such groups," said Asfandyar Mir, a senior analyst at the United States Institute of Peace, adding that a "robust and in many ways growing black market" for U.S. weapons is thriving in Pakistan.
Experts say armed groups have obtained advanced U.S. weapons and equipment like M16 machine guns and M4 assault rifles, night-vision goggles, and military communication gear.
A 'Terrifying' Impact
Abdul Sayed, a Sweden-based researcher who tracks the TTP, said the group's access to sophisticated combat weapons has had a "terrifying" impact, especially on the lesser-equipped police force, in Pakistan.
A police officer in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has borne the brunt of the TTP attacks, told RFE/RL that they were sitting ducks for militants.
"The fact is that they can see us in the dark while we can't. That gives the terrorists an enormous advantage," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Moazzam Jah Ansari, a former police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told journalists in November that militants "picked up sophisticated weapons left behind by the Americans and waged war against [the province's] police."
The TTP's attacks in Pakistan have surged since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. The two militant groups are ideological and organizational allies.
According to the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), a think tank in Islamabad, the number of terrorist attacks in the country increased by 27 percent last year compared to 2021. At least 419 people were killed, while 734 were injured in 262 terrorist attacks last year.
There are few signs that the number of attacks will drop. On January 15, senior police officer Sardar Hussain Khan and two policemen were killed in the northwestern city of Peshawar with a sniper gun, which was fitted with a thermal scope, according to the authorities.
The TTP has released numerous videos of sniper attacks on security check posts along Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan over the last two years.
'No Realistic Way To Retrieve' Weapons
In March last year, the Pentagon reported to Congress that nearly $7.2 billion worth of aircraft, guns, vehicles, ammunition, and specialized equipment like night vision goggles and biometric devices were left behind in Afghanistan.
A Taliban official told Al Jazeera that the group seized more than 300,000 light arms, 26,000 heavy weapons, and around 61,000 military vehicles.
The Pentagon told U.S. government watchdog SIGAR that there is "currently is no realistic way to retrieve the materiel that remains in Afghanistan, given that the United States does not recognize the Taliban as a government."
The Pentagon did not respond to RFE/RL's requests for comments.
The Taliban has rejected claims that it has supplied TTP fighters with U.S. weapons and equipment. The group has also downplayed suggestions that it has sold off arms on the black market.
"If some weapons are being smuggled, they are far fewer and not of much concern," Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.
Mujahid claimed that some former members of Afghanistan's security forces sold their weapons after the fall of the internationally recognized government in Kabul.
'Extremely Vulnerable'
Pakistani gun owners say the black market has been flooded by U.S. weapons since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
"It's like the 1980s, but, this time, many Western weapons are now available," said Gohar Bacha, a gun owner from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
During that time, Western nations sent millions of dollars worth of arms to the Pakistan-based Afghan mujahedin, the U.S.-backed Islamist groups who were fighting Soviet forces that had invaded Afghanistan in 1979. The mujahedin were armed with mostly Chinese and captured Soviet weapons.
Bacha said the new U.S. weapons available on the black market "are of excellent quality and very lethal." He said a U.S.-made M4 assault rifle in good condition can be purchased for around $1,400. U.S. military communication gear such as Harris Engineering Falcon Three Radios, meanwhile, can be bought for around $3,500.
Militants are not the only ones buying Western weapons on the Pakistani black market.
A civilian government bureaucrat in the southwestern province of Baluchistan told RFE/RL that he recently purchased an Austrian-made Glock handgun for $1500.
Pakistan's gun laws allow civilians with a license to own firearms.
"I felt extremely vulnerable, so I wanted to carry a reliable weapon," said the bureaucrat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, revealing that he had received threatening phone calls from armed groups.
"Security and governance are rapidly declining, so people are forced to fend for themselves," he said. | Asia Politics |
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation on Wednesday has elicited a series of theories about how the high-riding, poll-topping first minister was brought before Bute House to announce her abdication.
An exhaustive post-mortem is well underway, with supporters and political foes alike proffering their assessment of the rights and wrongs of Sturgeon’s political dynasty. The prevailing reading is that Sturgeon’s gambit to treat the next general election as a “de facto” referendum was a step too far for some in the SNP. Sturgeon’s response to her supreme court snubbing last November was to double down on the rhetoric and whip up the grassroots — it was arguably an unsustainable strategy for a party which has no guaranteed means of delivery.
MPs and MSPs in marginal seats, too, argued that running the next general election on a one-line manifesto, at a time of international war and a cost of living crisis, profoundly misread the political scene. They worried for Scotland’s independence cause and, perhaps more pertinently, their own political careers.
Then there was the furore of Sturgeon’s gender self-identification policy. In December, the first minister thought she had achieved some legislative finality on the issue, with her Gender Recognition Reform Bill passing Holyrood by 86 votes to 39. But the cries of “shame!” from the public gallery, which prompted the sitting to be briefly suspended, hung in the air ominously. The politically fraught row over a transgender prisoner which followed saw the doom loop over the gender self-ID debate spiral further. Buffeted by a series of separate crises, there is little surprise Sturgeon was running out of gas.
However, there is another character in the chronicles of Sturgeon’s decline and fall, one not known for his ruthlessness, but whose presence in Scotland’s self-ID drama is undeniable. That man is UK prime minister and Section 35 triggerer-in-chief, Rishi Sunak.
As prime minister, Sunak was the final authority on the decision to trigger Section 35, blocking the GRR Bill on the grounds that it impinged on the operation of the UK-wide Equality Act. The move — the first in devolutionary history — meant that Holyrood’s presiding officer was prohibited from submitting the bill for Royal Assent.
Sunak’s decision inflamed tensions in the SNP, angering pro-self-ID insiders who thought the Holyrood vote would consign infighting in the past. Indeed, Sunak’s intervention was a signal that the debate was stepping up a gear at a serious moment of political vulnerability for Sturgeon.
It presented the first minister with a challenge: would she now take the case to the Supreme Court, potentially leading to another embarrassing loss, while further distracting from the SNP’s independence push?
The answer was prevarication — in any case, it wasn’t long before Scottish politics was consumed by an equally fractious debate over a transgender prisoner.
Sunak’s allies will say there was no luck to his Section 35 decision: he simply made the right decision, choosing to amp up the pressure on Sturgeon at the perfect moment. The first minister was no match for Westminster’s reserved powers.
Of course, one can debate to what degree Nicola Sturgeon’s handling of the self-ID debate contributed to her resignation. The debate over a “de facto” referendum may have ultimately proved more poisonous than the gender skirmish.
Moreover, rather than benefit the Scottish Conservatives’ political prospects, the debate may have bolstered Scottish Labour’s pitch north of the border. In the end, Sturgeon’s downfall may lead to a rise in Anas Sarwar’s fortunes, not Douglas Ross’.
But Sunak will be flaunting the scalp of the Union’s most formidable foe. Certainly, when it came to Section 35, Sunak chose neither dither nor delay. The blow itself may not have been fatal, but the fact that the prime minister has outlasted at least one political opponent will be cause for much cork-popping in No 10. | United Kingdom Politics |
In a display of NATO’s commitment to safeguarding its skies, Italian Air Force Task Force Air-32nd Wing’s F-35s took flight from Malbork Air Base in Poland.
On September 21, 2023, the aircraft executed their first alert scramble under NATO’s enhanced air policing directives, responding to a situation that unfolded over the Baltic Sea.
As per NATO’s efforts to maintain the safety and security of European airspace, radars detected unidentified Russian aircraft flying close to NATO borders, prompting a response.
The NATO air policing mission: A snapshot
NATO, responsible for securing airspace with approximately 35,000 daily air movements, employs an air policing mission to ensure safety and security. This mission operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year under the eye of Allied Air Command.
Tristan Sauer, aerospace, defence, and security analyst at GlobalData provided commentary on Italy’s Task Force Air-32nd Wing’s role in NATO’s enhanced air policing.
“The 32nd is currently equipped with the latest 5th generation F-35 Lighting II fighters and was the first European air unit to field the aircraft in 2016, making them the optimal choice for conducting joint air policing missions and providing deterrence along the most tense axis of NATO’s border with Russia due to their training and joint operation experience.”
Baltic air policing: sharing responsibility
NATO’s commitment extends to member nations without sufficient air capabilities. In the Baltic region, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia receive support from other NATO members on a rotational basis, guaranteeing consistent security. This arrangement demonstrates NATO’s solidarity, resolve, and collective defence posture.
Despite deep economic ties between the two countries, Italy has been vocal about sanctions against Russia. It has contributed to Baltic air policing operations set up by NATO in response to rising regional tensions, according to GlobalData’s “Italy Defense Market 2023-2028” report.
Russian air activity and the geopolitical context
NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission often involves visually identifying Russian Federation Air Force aircraft. The geographical proximity of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad leads to regular flights near NATO airspace without proper communication or flight plans.
The Russian defence doctrine explicitly identifies a grave threat from military alliance organisations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The induction of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia within the alliance brought NATO within striking distance of its national borders, thereby depriving Russia of any buffer zone in case of a confrontation, according to GlobalData’s “Russian Defense Market 2022-2027” report.
Ballistic missile defence: protecting NATO territory
In addition to air policing, NATO has established a Ballistic Missile Defense system to protect populations, territories, and forces against potential missile threats outside the Euro-Atlantic area.
This integrated system involves sensor networks and interceptor missiles, enabling responses to incoming threats and safeguarding NATO nations in the event of a ballistic missile attack.
NATO’s dedication to air and missile defence shows its commitment to collective security, adapting to evolving challenges in the global geopolitical landscape. | Europe Politics |
The nationalist candidate who came third in the first round of the Turkish presidential elections has formally endorsed Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the runoff vote to be held on 28 May.
Sinan Oğan, 55, emerged as a potential kingmaker after neither Erdoğan nor his main challenger, the opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, secured the necessary majority in the first round on 14 May.
“I declare that we will support Mr Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the candidate of the People’s Alliance, in the second round of the elections,” Oğan said, referring to the Erdoğan-led alliance that includes nationalist and Islamist parties.
“We believe that our decision will be the right decision for our country and nation.”
Erdoğan received 49.5% of the votes in the first round – just short of the majority needed for an outright victory – compared with Kılıçdaroğlu’s 44.9%.
Erdoğan’s ruling AK party and its nationalist and Islamist allies also retained a majority in the 600-seat parliament. That increases Erdoğan’s chances of re-election because voters are likely to vote for him to avoid a splintered government, analysts say.
Oğan cited Erdoğan’s parliamentary majority as a reason for his decision.
“It is important that newly elected president is under the same [leadership] as the parliament,” Oğan said. “[Kılıçdaroğlu’s] alliance on the other hand could not display sufficient success against the People’s Alliance which has been in power for 20 years, and could not establish a perspective that could convince us about the future.”
His endorsement of Erdoğan on Monday followed a surprise meeting between them in Istanbul on Friday. Oğan insisted on Monday that he did not engage in any horse trading.
Oğan had attracted votes from people who disapproved of Erdoğan’s policies but did not want to support Kılıçdaroğlu, who leads Turkey’s centre-left, pro-secular main opposition party.
Analysts said that despite Oğan’s endorsement, it was not certain all of his supporters would go to Erdoğan. Some were likely to shift to Kılıçdaroğlu while others might choose not to vote in the runoff.
Umit Ozdag, the leader of the anti-migrant Victory party that had backed Oğan, appeared to dissociate himself from the decision to endorse Erdoğan.
“Mr Sinan Oğan’s statement is his own political choice. This statement does not represent [the views of] the Victory party and does not bind the party.” Ozdag said he would make a statement on Tuesday.
Oğan listed the conditions to earn his endorsement while speaking to Turkish media last week. Among them were taking a tough stance against the Kurdistan Workers’ party, or PKK, and a timeline for the expulsion of millions of refugees, including nearly 3.7 million Syrians.
Erdoğan told CNN International in an interview that he would not bend to such demands. “I’m not a person who likes to negotiate in such a manner. It will be the people who are the kingmakers.”
In an apparent attempt to sway nationalist voters, Kılıçdaroğlu hardened his tone last week, vowing to send back refugees and ruling out any peace negotiations with the PKK if elected. | Middle East Politics |
Ukraine aims a major drone attack at Crimea
Russian officials say Ukraine has launched one of its biggest drone attacks on the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula since the full-scale war began
KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine launched one of the biggest drone attacks on the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula since the full-scale war that started with Russia's invasion 21 months ago, Russian officials said Friday. They did not mention any casualties or damage.
At the same time, Ukrainian officials reported that the Kremlin’s forces escalated their weekslong and costly attempt to storm Avdiivka, a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine.
The stepped-up efforts came as both sides are keen to show they are not deadlocked as the fighting approaches 2024. Neither side has gained much ground despite a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began in June, and analysts predict the war will be a long one.
With winter weather setting in, bringing snow and freezing temperatures to the battlefield, Ukraine and Russia are looking to take ground that could provide platforms for future advances.
The Moscow-appointed governor for the Russian-occupied part of southern Ukraine's Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Crimea early Friday. He claimed that dozens of drones were shot down over the province and the northern part of Crimea.
Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world considered illegal, and has used it as a staging and supply point during the war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 13 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and three more over southern Russia’s Volgograd region.
Ukrainian officials did not comment on the Russian reports.
It was not possible to independently verify either side's battlefield claims.
Russia has been trying to capture Avdiivka since Oct. 10, using heavy bombardments and reportedly taking heavy losses. The city is wrecked, and the battle has become reminiscent of the fight over the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut, which was largely destroyed during nine months of fighting before Russian troops eventually captured it.
Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk, a city in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy. Avdiivka’s location grants Ukrainian forces artillery advantages over the city and could serve as a springboard for them to liberate Donetsk.
After intense artillery and aerial bombardments, Russian troops attacked the heavily fortified city from an additional direction and spread along the line of contact whereas before they attacked in columns, Vitalii Barabash, the head of Avdiivka’s military administration, said Friday.
The city is enduring up to 40 bombardments daily, he said.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | Europe Politics |
North Korea has notified Japan it plans a fresh attempt to launch a satellite into space at some point between Thursday and 1 December, prompting immediate condemnation from Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida.
Japan’s coast guard said on Tuesday it had been informed that the trajectory of the rocket would take it in the direction of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. If carried out, it would probably mark a third attempt by the nuclear-armed state this year to put a spy satellite into orbit.
The launch would be the first since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare trip abroad in September and toured Russia’s most modern space launch centre, where President Vladimir Putin promised to help Pyongyang build satellites.
In response to Tuesday’s announcement, Kishida said his country’s defence systems, including the Aegis destroyers and PAC-3 air defence missiles, stood ready in case any “unexpected situation” arose.
“Even if the purpose is to launch a satellite, using ballistic missile technology is a violation of a series of UN security council resolutions,” Kishida told reporters. “It is also a matter that greatly affects national security.“
Japan will work with the US, South Korea and others to “strongly urge” North Korea not to go ahead with the launch, Kishida said.
North Korea had attempted to launch what it called spy satellites twice earlier this year but failed, and South Korean officials have said in recent days that it appeared set to try again soon.
The secretive country has notified Japan, as the coordinating authority for the International Maritime Organization for those waters, of its plans all three times.
North Korea’s notice also follows its denouncement on Monday of the potential US sale of hundreds of missiles to Japan and South Korea, calling it a dangerous act that raises tension in the region and brings a new arms race.
In that statement, carried by the KCNA state news agency, the North’s defence ministry said Pyongyang would step up measures to establish deterrence and respond to instability in the region, which it said was caused by the US and its allies.
South Korea’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
Pyongyang has been seeking to place a military spy satellite into orbit, saying it plans a fleet of satellites to monitor moves by US and South Korean troops.
North Korea has made multiple attempts to launch what it called “observation” satellites, of which two appeared to have successfully reached orbit including one in 2016, but South Korean officials questioned whether it is transmitting any signals.
The North considers its space and military rocket programmes a sovereign right, and analysts say spy satellites are crucial to improving the effectiveness of its weapons.
The launch, if carried out, would probably come just before South Korea’s own plan to launch its first reconnaissance satellite with aid from the US on 30 November by a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket from the US military’s Vandenberg base. | Asia Politics |
Ukrainian officials claimed on Wednesday that they have made another milestone in Kyiv's, with Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar saying troops have retaken a village from the Russians in the eastern Donetsk region.
The village of Urozhaine is near Staromaiorske, a hamlet that Ukraine also claimed to have recaptured recently. The claims could not be independently verified.
Ukraine appears to be trying to drive a wedge between Russian forces in the south, but it is up against strong defensive lines and is advancing without air support.
Also Wednesday, the Russian military said it shot down three drones over the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow and blamed the attack on Ukraine. No damage or casualties were reported. Russian drones pounded grain storage facilities and ports along the Danube River that Ukraine has increasingly relied on as an alternative transport route to Europe, after Moscow broke off a key wartime shipping agreement using the Black Sea.
At the same time, a loaded container ship stranded at the Black Sea port of Odesa since Russia's full-scale invasion more than 17 months ago set sail along a temporary corridor established by Ukraine for merchant shipping.
Ukraine's economy, crunched by the war, is heavily dependent on farming. Its agricultural exports, like those of Russia, are also crucial for world supplies of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food that developing nations rely on.
A month ago,by the U.N. and Turkey to ensure safe Ukraine grain exports through the Black Sea. Since then, Kyiv has sought to reroute transport through the Danube and road and rail links into Europe. But transport costs that way are much higher, some European countries have balked at the consequences for local grain prices, and the Danube ports can't handle the same volume as seaports.
Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said the primary targets of Russia's overnight drone bombardment were port terminals and grain silos, including at the ports in the Danube delta. Air defenses managed to intercept 13 drones over Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, according to the Ukraine Air Force's morning update.
It was the latest attack amid weeks of aerial strikes as Russia has targeted the Danube delta ports, which are only about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Romanian border. The Danube is Europe's second-longest river and a key transport route.
Meanwhile, the container ship departing Odesa was the first vessel to set sail since July 16, according to Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister. It had been stuck in Odesa since February 2022.
The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte was traveling down a temporary corridor that Ukraine asked the International Maritime Organization to ratify. The United States has warned that the Russian military is preparing for possible attacks on civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea.
Sea mines also make the voyage risky, and ship insurance costs are likely to be high for operators. Ukraine told the IMO it would would "provide guarantees of compensation for damage."
Analysts sayshipping has in general remained steady since the end of the grain deal, despite higher insurance rates, but shipments out of Ukraine have dropped off.
Last Sunday, a Russian warship fired warning shots at a Palau-flagged cargo ship in the southern Black Sea. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, the Sukru Okan was heading northwards to the Ukrainian Danube River port of Izmail.
Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press confirmed that the Joseph Schulte was steaming south.
The Joseph Schulte is carrying more than 30,000 tons of cargo, with 2,114 containers, including food products, according to Kubrakov.
He said the corridor will be primarily used to evacuate ships stuck in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi since the outbreak of war.
for more features. | Europe Politics |
Thirty-nine Palestinian teenagers and women were freed from Israeli prisons on Saturday after the ceasefire deal looked in peril.
They were released as part of an agreement which has seen 26 Israeli hostages taken on 7 October returned.
It takes the total number of Palestinians released since the start of the temporary ceasefire to 78.
One of those released, Mohammad dar-Darwish, 17, said he was "dizzy with happiness" to return home.
The exchange was delayed after Hamas accused Israel of changing the agreed list of prisoners it would release.
Hamas also said not enough aid shipments guaranteed access to Gaza as part of the deal had made it through. But the handover proceeded after last-minute mediation involving Qatar and Egypt.
Israel denied breaking the terms of the agreement, which enters its third day on Sunday.
A crowd of people - including some waving the green flag of Hamas - greeted a coach carrying released Palestinians as it made its way through the West Bank, where detainees are being returned to initially, on Saturday night.
Six of them were women, while all the others were under the age of 18.
Among them was Mohammad dar-Darwish, who was held in an Israeli jail for seven months accused of throwing a petrol bomb at soldiers. He denies the charge.
He said he was "dizzy with happiness" when he returned home and found his father and brother in the crowd waiting to greet the detainees.
Speaking to the BBC, he claimed Palestinian prisoners were mistreated after the 7 October attack. Israel's prison service says it treats prisoners lawfully.
Israel has compiled a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners, mainly teenage boys, who are eligible for release under the deal struck with Hamas.
Most are in prison awaiting trial, with less than a quarter of those on the list having been convicted.
Among the adult women released was Israa Jaabis, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2015 when her car burst into flames 1.5km (0.9 miles) from a checkpoint in the West Bank.
Israel said it was an attempted car bombing and she was convicted, but Jaabis - now 38 - denied the charge, and her family has previously claimed the fire started because of an engine fault.
She suffered serious facial burns after the car's engine caught fire, but had requests for surgery turned down by Israel's prison authorities.
After being released eight years into her sentence, Jaabis was pictured hugging her son Mua'tassim, 15, who was eight years old at the time of his mother's arrest.
A second group of Israeli hostages - all women and children - were released from Gaza on Saturday evening.
More detainees and hostages are set to be released on Sunday as part of the agreement. | Middle East Politics |
Rajya Sabha Chairman Hoists National Flag At New Parliament Building
Flanked by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, he hoisted the flag atop the 'Gaja Dwar' of the new Parliament building.
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday hoisted the national flag at the new Parliament building here.
Flanked by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, he hoisted the flag atop the 'Gaja Dwar' of the new Parliament building.
The hoisting ceremony takes place a day before the five-day Parliament session begins Monday which may see parliamentary proceedings shift from the old to the adjacent new building.
Earlier, Dhankhar and Birla were separately accorded a guard of honour by the CRPF's Parliament Duty Group.
"It is a historic moment, Bharat is witnessing epochal change. The world is in total recognition of might, power and contribution of Bharat," Dhankhar told reporters after the ceremony.
Union ministers, including Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi and Arjun Ram Meghwal, attended the ceremony where leaders from other political parties were also present.
Dhankhar and Birla interacted with the guests after the event as a CRPF band played in the background.
Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had said on Saturday that he would not be able to attend the flag hoisting function and expressed disappointment over getting the invite 'quite late'.
He wrote to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, saying that he received the invite for the function only in the late evening of September 15.
The Congress Working Committee is meeting in Hyderabad. | India Politics |
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday that its second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed but vowed to make a third attempt in October.
The announcement followed a statement by South Korea’s military that North Korea had launched a long-range rocket.
The North’s space agency said it used the new-type carrier rocket Chollima-1 to put the reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1 into orbit. It said the flights of the first and second stages of the rocket were normal, but the launch eventually failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The space agency said it would make a third launch attempt in October after studying what went wrong with Thursday’s launch. The agency added that “the cause of the relevant accident is not a big issue in terms of the reliability of cascade engines and the system.”
Earlier Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected the rocket flying above international waters off the Korean Peninsula’s west coast after its liftoff at the North’s northwestern Tongchang-ri area at 3:50 a.m. The site is where North Korea’s main space launch center is located. The North made a failed launch of a spy satellite there in late May.
South Korea’s military said it had bolstered its surveillance posture and was in close coordination with the United States.
On May 31, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea had since vowed to make a second attempt.
WATCH: U.S., Japan and South Korea agree to expand security ties amid China, North Korea tensions
After the first launch attempt, North Korea made an unusually quick admission of failure, saying its newly developed Chollima-1 rocket lost thrust between launch stages and crashed into the sea. The North’s ruling party leadership described the failed launch as a serious setback in the country’s efforts to bolster its military capabilities amid tensions with rivals.
South Korea’s military recovered some of the debris after the failed launch and said in early July that the North Korean satellite wasn’t advanced enough to conduct military reconnaissance.
South Korea, the U.S. and others have still condemned the May launch for raising tensions and violating U.N. Security Council resolutions that banned the country from using ballistic missile technology.
Thursday’s launch came three days after the U.S. and South Korean militaries kicked off annual military drills that North Korea calls an invasion rehearsal.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the 11-day U.S.-South Korean exercises are increasing the danger of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula. It said the current situation is compelling North Korea to take “offensive, overwhelming” steps, but didn’t elaborate.
South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers last week it spotted signs that North Korean is preparing for the test-flights of intercontinental ballistic missiles and other provocative weapons. On Monday, KCNA said Kim had observed the test firings of strategic cruise missiles.
Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-fired around 100 missiles in a torrid run of military demonstrations. Along with the North’s testing activity, the combined military U.S.-South Korea military exercises have intensified recently in a tit-for-tat cycle.
North Korea says its weapons testing is part of efforts to bolster its nuclear deterrent to counter increasing U.S.-led military threats. But many experts say North Korea aims to modernize its weapons arsenal to boost its leverage to wrest greater concessions from the U.S.
A spy satellite is among an array of high-tech weapons systems Kim has publicly vowed to acquire.
After repeated failures, North Korea successfully put its first satellite into orbit in 2012, and the second one in 2016. North Korea said both are Earth observation satellites launched under its peaceful space development program, but many foreign experts believed they were developed to spy on its rivals.
Observers say there has been no evidence that both satellites have ever transmitted imagery back to North Korea. But those satellite launches were still believed to have improved North Korea’s long-range missile technology.
Since 2017, North Korea has performed a slew of intercontinental ballistic missile tests, demonstrating its potential ability to send missiles anywhere in the continental U.S. But experts say North Korea still has some technological hurdles to clear before obtaining functioning nuclear missiles, such as manufacturing warheads small enough to be topped on missiles and ensuring those warheads would withstand the severe conditions of atmospheric reentry.
The U.N. Security Council imposed economic sanctions on North Korea over its satellite launches in previous years, seeing them as covers for long-range ballistic missile tests. But the U.N. council failed to adopt further sanctions over the North’s recent series of missile launches because permanent veto-wielding members Russia and China oppose them, underscoring a divide that has deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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NEW DELHI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - India's government has agreed to withdraw its soldiers from the Maldives, the Indian Ocean archipelago's President Mohamed Muizzu said on Sunday.
Muizzu won the presidential election in September, having campaigned to alter the Maldives's "India first" policy and promising the removal of a small Indian military presence of some 75 personnel.
"In the discussions we had, the Indian government has agreed to remove Indian soldiers," Muizzu told reporters. "We also agreed to set up a high level committee to solve issues related to development projects."
Muizzu made the remarks following engagements on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit with Indian officials.
India provides certain military equipment to the Maldives, assists in disaster response and has been helping build a naval dockyard there.
A senior Indian government official in New Delhi told Reuters discussions took place between India and the Maldives on the matter, and both sides recognised the importance of the assistance India provides.
The Maldives "acknowledged the utility of these (Indian) platforms ... Discussions on how to keep them operational are ongoing. The core group that both sides have agreed to set up will look at details of how to take this forward," said the official, without commenting directly on Muizzu's remarks.
India's ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
India and China have been vying for influence in the region, with the coalition that supports Muizzu considered to have a leaning more towards China.
Most of the Indian military personnel were in the Maldives to operate and manage two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft given to the Maldives by India.
At his inauguration last month, Muizzu said he would ensure that his country has no foreign military presence.
He had made the request of Indian troop withdrawal to Kiren Rijiju, India's minister for earth sciences, who represented India at the president's inauguration.
Reporting by Mohamed Junayd in Male and Krishn Kaushik in New Delhi; Writing by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Sharon Singleton
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | India Politics |
- Summary
- Some Kenyan MPs push for Uganda-style anti-gay law
- Similar moves afoot in Tanzania and South Sudan
- Bill would end Kenya's status as regional LGBT haven
- At Nairobi's Pride event, fear and tight security
NAIROBI, June 22 (Reuters) - Mohamed Ali doesn't believe gay Africans exist. He says homosexuality is a Western invention imposed on the continent. Openly gay Africans are liars seeking visas to the West or money from rights groups, he adds.
Ali is a member of Kenya's parliament. He is desperate to follow neighbour Uganda by unleashing a sweeping legislative crackdown on LGBTQ people. Even if he happened to be sick in intensive care, he would ask to be dragged to parliament to approve it.
"I will ask them to take me to vote for that, to kick them out, kick LGBT people out of Kenya completely," he said.
Weeks after Uganda enacted one of the most draconian anti-LGBT laws on Earth, Kenya could be poised to follow suit with a similarly formulated bill that punishes gay sex with prison or even death in some cases, according to a draft of the law and two lawmakers backing it in parliament.
Similar moves are also afoot in Tanzania and South Sudan, parliamentarians in those nations told Reuters, revealing for the first time a broad anti-LGBT legislative drive across East Africa. Some regional lawmakers frame the issue as an almost existential battle to save African values and sovereignty, which they say have been battered by Western pressure to capitulate on gay rights.
The draft of Kenya's Family Protection Bill, seen by Reuters, mirrors many aspects of the Ugandan law, which was signed by President Yoweri Museveni at the end of May to the dismay of the LGBT community, human rights campaigners and Western capitals.
Gay sex is punishable by at least 10 years in jail under the proposed Kenyan law, while "aggravated homosexuality", which includes gay sex with a minor or disabled person or when a terminal disease is passed on, brings the death penalty.
"It is a hateful piece of legislation that will truly make the lives of queer Kenyans unbearable if passed," said Annette Atieno of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission campaign group.
Spokespeople for the Kenyan presidency and government didn't respond to requests for comment about the proposed bill.
In South Sudan, parliamentary spokesperson John Agany told Reuters that an anti-LGBT law with the same content as the Ugandan legislation was being drafted and would be put to a vote "very soon". He didn't elaborate on the bill, and the Juba government didn't respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Tanzanian lawmaker Jacqueline Ngonyani said she planned to introduce a private motion in parliament later this year to clamp down on gay activity in an attempt to "control the ongoing moral decay".
"If these (gay) people increase, this will be the end of generation," she added. "This is the same as drugs do to our youth."
Asked whether she had specific punishments in mind, Ngonyani said she would not share anything until she was advised by legal experts.
Tanzania's minister of constitutional and legal affairs, Damas Ndumbaro, said there was little room to tighten existing colonial-era laws against homosexuality, though.
"Do they want 100 years in prison while we already have a life sentence?" he told Reuters. "Let us review why the problem is persisting," he said, referring to gay activity. "The government is still collecting opinions on how to solve the problem."
'PROMOTING' HOMOSEXUALITY: 5 YEARS
The Kenyan anti-gay bill is being vetted by a parliamentary committee, which can then refer it to the full chamber for a vote. Officials have given no indication of the possible timeline.
The LGBT community fears the worst, three rights groups told Reuters.
In a debate in parliament initiated by Ali in March about whether to ban speech or publications that promote same-sex relations, more than 20 lawmakers spoke out against LGBT rights and none in support. Several called for legislation to strengthen penalties for same-sex acts, including the deputy majority leader, who said gay sex could be punished by hanging.
President William Ruto, an evangelical Christian, has criticized a February supreme court decision allowing an LGBT rights group to register as a non-governmental organization. "We cannot travel the road of women marrying their fellow women and men marrying their fellow men," he said at the time.
The proposed Kenyan law reflects a significant degree of agreement and coordination on anti-gay policies between lawmakers across the region, according to the draft of the bill as well as Reuters interviews with the Kenyan MPs and activists.
Several new crimes appear in both Uganda's law and the proposed Kenyan one, including the aggravated homosexuality offence, "promoting" homosexuality and allowing gay sex on your property, which affects landlords. The latter two carry prison terms of at least 10 and five years respectively, the draft shows.
The Kenyan bill's author, lawmaker Peter Kaluma, said the push to pass similar legislation to Uganda's was in part motivated by solidarity with its smaller neighbour, which has faced Western criticism over its law and seen the United States impose visa restrictions on some officials.
"Across the continent we want to have these laws," Kaluma added. "If they were to sanction Uganda, let them sanction the entirety of Africa."
He said the proposed law was influenced by discussions at a conference organized by Ugandan lawmakers in March in the city of Entebbe where he said parliamentarians from several African nations discussed strengthening anti-LGBT laws.
The conference, about African family values and sovereignty, was attended by around 80 lawmakers from 14 countries, according to a communique issued afterwards. Uganda was best represented, contributing over half of the delegates, followed by South Sudan.
The delegates called for action on issues ranging from the sexual exploitation of children to pornography. They urged nations to ban "transgender medical interventions" and make foreign donors pledge that none of their funding would go to "abortion, comprehensive sexuality education and/or the LGBTQ agenda".
The U.S. State Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the conference or the East African legislative moves.
FEAR REIGNS AT NAIROBI PRIDE
The Kenyan bill would toughen up a colonial-era statute under which gay sex was already illegal, though the older, less detailed law was rarely enforced.
The proposed law would signal the death knell for Kenya's status as a place of relative refuge for gay people in East Africa as the only country in the region to host refugees fleeing persecution because they are LGBT.
The draft bill stipulates that no one should be granted asylum on grounds of persecution linked to sexual orientation.
Anticipation of the new legislation, and the anti-gay rhetoric in politics and the media from public figures such as Ali and Kaluma that has accompanied it, is already casting a chill over the LGBT community, according to organizers of the Pride event in Nairobi this month.
Stella Kachina, one of the organizers, said that unlike in previous years the location was not disclosed in advance out of fear that anti-gay activists would target the event. Instead, participants were picked up and brought to the venue.
Attendee Marylize Biubwa said the current climate was frightening for gay people. "Kenya as a country doesn't feel like home anymore," she said.
Both advocates and opponents of the Family Protection Bill say it has a good chance of becoming law, boosted by the enactment of the Ugandan law and well-organized and financed anti-LGBT political campaigners.
Lorna Dias, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya, also cited last year's election of Ruto.
"The mere fact that we have a religious-leaning president who has openly declared his stand ... people have been emboldened by his religious proclamations," Dias said.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Africa politics |
A former State Department employee in recent weeks was recorded harassing a halal food vendor in Manhattan, calling the man a "terrorist," The New York Times reports. Stuart Seldowitz, who held positions in both Democratic and Republican administrations including deputy director of the State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, was seen in several videos posted to X/Twitter, taking pictures of the vendor and pelting him with Islamophobic comments. After a brief, tense exchange about children being killed, Seldowitz tells the man, "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It wasn’t enough.” The recordings of the encounters went viral online as tensions have intensified between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups across the country since the beginning of Israel's war on Hamas.
The video clips show Seldowitz returning to the same vendor over several days — once at night and twice during the day — and refusing to leave each time. In one clip, he's heard saying, “It’s a free country — it’s not like Egypt" and calling the vendor "ignorant" for not speaking English before continuing to make inflammatory comments about the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad. While the Times was unable to reach the vendor for comment, Seldowitz told the outlet that the back-and-forths started after he asked the vendor if he was Egyptian. As the conversation continued, Seldowitz said the man expressed support for Hamas. No such claims, however, are shown in any of the public videos. Seldowitz also expressed regret for the remarks he made toward the vendor, said he returned to the location to ask if the man was "still a supporter of Hamas” and insisted he is not Islamophobic. "This is disgusting, hateful, and New York won’t tolerate it," New York Attorney General Letitia James tweeted of Seldowitz's conduct. "We won’t stand for Islamophobia or any kind of hate in our state." | Middle East Politics |
Russia has conceded for the first time that some Ukrainian forces have crossed onto the Dnipro River's eastern bank, but has said they face “hell fire” and that the average life expectancy of a Ukrainian soldier there is around two days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had secured a foothold on the east bank of the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region, the first official acknowledgement of its kind. And on Wednesday the country's military said troops are trying to push back Russian forces along the river, calling for operational “silence” along what it described as a “fairly fluid” front line.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the part of Kherson region which Moscow controls, acknowledged in a statement that Ukrainian forces had managed to cross the river which was seen by Russia as a difficult barrier for Kyiv’s soldiers to surmount.
But citing what he said was first-hand information from Russia’s ‘Dnepr’ military grouping, he said Russian forces had pinned the Ukrainians down and were raining “Hell fire” on them and predicted they would be wiped out.
NBC News could not independently verify his assertions.
“Our additional forces have now been brought in. The enemy is trapped in (the settlement of) Krynki and a fiery hell has been arranged for him: bombs, rockets, heavy flamethrower systems, artillery shells, and drones,” said Saldo.
“They (the Ukrainians) are sitting in basements and run from one basement to another at night. In the last two or three days alone, total enemy losses have totaled about a hundred fighters.”
Ukrainian officials offered a different picture.
“Along the front line, which runs along the Dnipro... The pushback from our side is taking place on a line from 3 to 8 km (2-5 miles) along the entire bank from the water’s edge,” Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for the southern military command, said.
“For now, we will ask for informational silence ... which would allow us to report later on great successes,” she said in televised comments.
A day earlier Andriy Yermak said Ukrainian forces had managed to cross the river and dig in “against all odds” and that his country’s counteroffensive aimed at clawing back territory from Russia — which has so far failed to make a major breakthrough — was “developing.”
Russia has largely held Kyiv’s counteroffensive at bay in the southeast, but an advance in occupied Kherson region could spread their defenses thinner and ratchet up pressure.
Yermak made his remarks during a trip to the United States, a key ally of Kyiv that has provided vital military assistance since the February 2022 invasion, although questions now swirl over the sustainability of such aid.
While cautious not to compromise any of its operations, Kyiv has been eager to tout its battlefield successes after the much-vaunted counteroffensive, now more than five months old, has retaken a only series of villages and no big settlements.
Russian troops seized Kherson region in the early days of their invasion, but retreated a year ago from the city of Kherson and other positions on the western side of the river.
This week, in a highly unusual incident, two Russian state news agencies published alerts saying Moscow was moving troops to “more favourable positions” east of the river, language it has used in the past to describe retreats.
The agencies quickly withdrew the news report, which Russia’s defense ministry said was false. | Europe Politics |
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a cease-fire ticked down last week and Israel prepared to resume its round-the-clock airstrikes, Sen. Bernie Sanders and a robust group of Democratic senators had a message for their president: They were done "asking nicely" for Israel to do more to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.
Lawmakers warned President Joe Biden's national security team that planned U.S. aid to Israel must be met with assurances of concrete steps from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government.
"The truth is that if asking nicely worked, we wouldn't be in the position we are today," Sanders said in a floor speech. It was time for the United States to use its "substantial leverage" with its ally, the Vermont senator said.
"And we all know what that leverage is," he said, adding, "the blank-check approach must end."
With Biden's request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs hanging in the balance, the senators' tougher line on Israel has gotten the White House's attention, and that of Israel.
Lawmakers of both major political parties for decades have embraced the U.S. role as Israel's top protector, and it's all but inconceivable that they would vote down the wartime aid. The Democratic lawmakers are adamant that's not their intent, as strong supporters of Israel's right of self-defense against Hamas. But just the fact that Democratic lawmakers are making that link signals the fractures in Congress amid the daily scenes of suffering among besieged Palestinian civilians.
Sanders and the Democratic senators involved say they are firm in their stand that Israel's military must adopt substantive measures to lessen civilian deaths in Gaza as part of receiving the supplemental's $14.3 billion in U.S. aid for Israel's war.
The warning from friendly Democrats is a complication for the White House as it faces what had already been a challenging task of getting the supplemental aid bill through Congress. Some Republicans are balking at the part of the bill that provides funding for Ukraine's war against Russia, and the funding for Israel was supposed to be the easy part.
The demand is a warning of more trouble ahead for an Israeli government that's often at odds with the U.S. in its treatment of Palestinians.
"There's a big difference between asking and getting a commitment" from Netanyahu's government on a plan to reduce civilian casualties and improve living conditions in Gaza, Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen told The Associated Press. Van Hollen has been one of the key senators huddling with administration officials on the demands.
"So our goal is to achieve results," Van Hollen said. "And not just set expectations."
Following the senators' warning, the Biden administration has upped its own demands to Israel since late last week, insisting publicly for the first time that Israeli leaders not just hear out U.S. demands to ease civilian suffering in Gaza, but agree to them.
Over the weekend, as an end to the cease-fire brought the return of Israeli bombardment and Hamas rocket strikes, the Israeli military said it had begun using one measure directed by the Biden administration: an online map of Gaza neighborhoods to tell civilians which crowded streets, neighborhoods and communities to evacuate before an Israeli attack.
Heavy bombardment followed the evacuation orders, and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said they were running out of places to go in the sealed-off territory. Many of its 2.3 million people are crammed into the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war, which was sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 15,500 Palestinians have been killed, with 70% of them women and children.
On social media, Sanders repeated his call for an end to blank checks for Israel as Israeli forces returned to heavy bombing after the cease-fire.
While Secretary of State Antony Blinken said more measures were coming besides the online map, it wasn't clear if any would lessen civilian deaths or satisfy administration and lawmaker demands.
Israel is the top recipient of U.S. military aid over time.
Trying to attach strings to U.S. aid to Israel isn't unheard of, for Congress or for U.S. presidents. Ronald Reagan, for instance, repeatedly suspended or threatened suspensions of fighter jet deliveries to Israel over its military incursions in the region in the 1980s. This time, though, is notable since it is being discussed in a Democratic-controlled Senate.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan and other White House officials huddled with the Senate Democrats over the warning. Israeli diplomats and military officials also rushed to stem such a move, hosting lawmakers for repeated viewings of video of Hamas atrocities on Oct. 7 to make the case for the U.S. military aid.
Netanyahu's coalition has weathered calls in the past from advocacy groups and individual lawmakers. Objections concerned Palestinian civilian deaths in past Israeli wars against Hamas.
Biden from the start adopted what came to be called his "bear-hug" approach to the Israeli leader — embracing him publicly, and saving any U.S. appeals for changed behavior for private discussions. But when Biden told reporters on Nov. 24 he thought conditioning military aid to Israel was a "worthwhile thought," it helped the proposal gain traction among administration-friendly Democratic senators.
Sanders and the Democrats haven't specified what form the conditions could take, as talks continue. Several Democratic senators contend no additional law is necessary. They say existing U.S. law already mandates that countries receiving U.S. military aid heed human rights concerns.
Some Senate Democrats express dislike of the use of the term conditions and depict their action as more of a determination to influence an outcome.
No matter what, "we're going to do a robust aid package for Israel," said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat. "But it's got to be consistent with humanitarian aid, and also efforts to reduce the suffering of Gazans who aren't part of Hamas." | Middle East Politics |
The Prime Minister denied that the £2billion for more than 100 projects across the country was 'pork barrel politics' - as furious Tories branded it a 'f**k up of epic proportions'Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt hold up a Levelling Up plaque on a visit to Accrington, as local MP Sara Britcliffe ducksRishi Sunak is facing a backlash after pumping money into the south of England and his own seat in the latest injection of levelling-up funds. The Prime Minister denied that the £2.1billion for more than 100 projects across the country was 'pork barrel politics' - and insisted the North was receiving more funding per head. But furious Tories branded it a "f**k up of epic proportions" and raised concerns that wealthy areas were getting levelling up cash designed to help left behind areas. Analysis shows that seats in the South and London fared better than Yorkshire and the North East - stoking anger from jittery Conservative MPs worried the PM is abandoning the Red Wall. London received £151million compared with just £120million for Yorkshire and £108million for the North East. Projects in the West Midlands received £155million, while the South West was handed £186million. The South East is the second biggest winner with £210million, while the North West comes out on top with £354million. Only half of the 80 successful bids in England are in the 100 most deprived areas of the country, with wealthy areas such as Rutland, North Somerset and Malvern Hills, Worcestershire receiving cash. A local couple walk past visit Accrington Market Hall following a visit by the Prime Minister and Chancellor (
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Getty Images) Sign up to the Northern Agenda newsletter here: http://www.thenorthernagenda.co.uk/ The Prime Minister's own leafy Richmond constituency in Yorkshire is receiving £19 million, with money going to Catterick Garrison to regenerate the town centre. Some £7million was doled out to tackle health inequalities in Camden, in Keir Starmer's London seat. Tory constituencies also did better than Labour ones. Of 74 areas matched to a constituency by the Northern Agenda, 50 are currently held by Conservative MPs, 23 by Labour, and one by an Independent. A whopping £1.02 billion is going to projects in constituencies held by Conservative MPs. MPs laughed and jeered at Tory minister Lucy Frazer as she insisted that the second round of the levelling up fund would direct funding "where it is needed most". Shadow Minister Alex Norris told the Commons: "Levelling up is a failure, the Government are going backwards on their flagship missions. They can't even appoint levelling up directors and today we see this reach its maximum. "A rock-bottom allocation for Yorkshire and the Humber, nothing for the cities of Birmingham, Nottingham and Stoke, nothing for Stonehouse in Plymouth, a community in the bottom 0.2% for economic activity. "But money for the Prime Minister's constituency, money for areas in the top quartile economically. What on earth were the objective criteria used to make these decisions?" He said local government budgets had been slashed by £15billion in the last decade in cash terms while today's announcement hands back £2.1billion. "They have nicked a tenner from our wallets and they expect us to be grateful for getting two quid back," he said. Earlier, Labour's Lisa Nandy accused ministers of presiding over a "Hunger Games-style contest where communities are pitted against one another". Several Conservatives complained that projects in their areas did not receive cash, including Stroud MP Siobhan Baillie and Keighley MP Robbie Moore. Tory MPs also privately vented their fury at how the cash had been distributed with complaints it had gone to well off areas, including Mr Sunak’s constituency. One told the Mirror: “It has been a f**k up of epic proportions. “Labour’s attacks that Rishi wanted to take money away from deprived urban areas has come true.” Another Tory told the Times: “People are apoplectic. There are some really wealthy areas on the list. It looks awful. It’s gone down terribly among red wall MPs.” One MP added: “It feels we’ve given up on the Red Wall. It seems bizarre that Richmondshire is getting levelling up funding.” Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson said: "I am incredibly disappointed that our two Levelling Up bids were not successful. "Both would have made a huge difference to two of our most deprived areas. If levelling up is to mean anything beyond a slogan, it must be targeted at areas that need it most." It costs local councils an estimated £20-30,000 to compile a bid for central government funding and takes up staff time and "in some cases officers lose hundreds of days preparing the required documentation”, according to the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives. Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of LGIU, said it was a "crazy way to fund local government" which has seen its funding slashed over the past decade. He said: "With competitive bids and the Government picking winners - there will always be losers. Well-resourced authorities with bidding expertise will be able to submit 'better' bids so the whole approach widens the gaps and inhibits a strategic approach to development. "Meanwhile, other councils are putting huge resource and capacity into writing bids which they don't win. So money is diverted from other useful and necessary things for no reason." Director of the IPPR think-tank Zoe Billingham said levelling up was on "life support", adding: "Today's announcements by the Prime Minister don't change the prognosis. "Of course money across the country including the North is welcome to help try and lift this agenda but fundamentally what we're seeing is still very piecemeal, still competitive between places, tightly centrally controlled and not at scale. I'm afraid my diagnosis is not good today." Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief executive Henri Murison said: “The North is getting roughly a third of the total amount for England, marginally below our first phase proportion. “This is a long way off the radical economic transformation we were promised and will not make a material difference to closing the North-South divide in productivity.” The first batch of grants from the Levelling-Up Fund saw £1.7bn unlocked for 105 projects in 2021. Rishi Sunak speaks during a Q&A session in Morecambe (
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PA) But Labour said only a fraction of the cash had been received Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove claimed on Times Radio it was "simply untrue that the levelling-up fund is concentrated disproportionately on London and the South East. "If you look at the amount of money we're spending in the North West, it's twice as much per capita." Asked if it was "pork barrel politics", the Prime Minister told reporters in Accrington: "The region that has done the best in the amount of funding per person is the North. "That's why we're here talking to you in Accrington market, these are the places that are benefiting from the funding. "We're delivering on what we said, we're investing in local communities, this is levelling up in action." He argued that the North West and the North East were receiving the most levelling up funding on a per capita basis. Mr Sunak said: "If you look at it that way, so you say 'how many pounds of investment per person in a region?', what you find is that the North West is the top region. "The amount of money per person living there, who came top? The North West. Who came second? The North East. "Actually, if you look down the other end of the table, you find places like London and the South East. "The difference is huge. The funding that you're all getting per person out of this levelling up fund is twice, per capita, what London and the South East is getting." The £2.1 billion allocated to projects comes from the overall £4.8 billion levelling up fund announced in 2020. Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More | United Kingdom Politics |
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KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel pounded targets in the crowded southern half of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and ordered more neighborhoods designated for attack to evacuate, driving up the death toll even as the United States and others urged it to do more to protect Gaza civilians a day after a truce collapsed.
At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed Friday morning following the weeklong truce with the territory’s ruling militant group Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Several homes were hit across Gaza on Saturday, with multiple casualties reported in a strike that flattened a multi-story building on the outskirts of Gaza City.
Separately, the ministry announced that the overall death toll in Gaza since the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 15,200, a sharp jump from the previous count of more than 13,300 on Nov. 20. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it said 70 percent of the dead were women and children. It also said more than 40,000 people had been wounded since the war began.
The appeal from the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to do more to protect civilians came after an air and ground offensive in the first weeks of the war devastated large areas of northern Gaza. Some 2 million Palestinians, almost the entire population of Gaza, are now crammed into the territory’s southern half.
Israel’s military said Saturday that it had hit more than 400 Hamas targets across Gaza over the past day, using airstrikes and shelling from tanks and navy gunships. It included more than 50 strikes in the city of Khan Younis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza.
READ MORE: Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza after truce ends, sirens warning of Hamas rockets heard
At least nine people, including three children, were killed in a strike on a house in Deir al-Balah city in the south, according to the hospital where the bodies were taken. The hospital also received seven bodies of others killed in overnight airstrikes, including two children.
In northern Gaza, an airstrike flattened a residential building hosting displaced families in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya on the outskirts of Gaza City. The strike left dozens dead or wounded, said residents Hamza Obeid and Amal Radwan.
“There was a loud bang, then the building turned into a pile of rubble,” Obeid said. AP video showed smoke rising from a fire as men, some in sandals, picked their way over the debris. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesperson, confirmed that the Israeli military was operating in Jabaliya.
Meanwhile, Palestinian militant groups in Gaza said they fired a barrage of rockets on southern Israel. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Lerner said Hamas had launched more than 250 rockets at Israel since the cease-fire ended.
In the clearest sign yet that a return to negotiations for further truces was unlikely, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed negotiators to return to Israel.
With the resumption of fighting, the Israeli military published an online map carving up the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered parcels and asked residents to familiarize themselves with the number of their location ahead of evacuation warnings.
On Saturday, the military listed more than two dozen parcel numbers in areas around Gaza City in the north and east of Khan Younis. Separately, it dropped leaflets with evacuation orders over towns east of Khan Younis.
One Khan Younis resident said a neighbor received a call from the Israeli army warning that houses in the area would be hit and everyone should leave. “We told them, ‘We have nothing here, why do you want to strike it?’” said the resident, Hikmat al-Qidra. Al-Qidra said the house was destroyed.
The maps and leaflets generated panic and confusion, especially in the crowded south. Unable to go to northern Gaza or neighboring Egypt, their only escape is to move around within the 220-square-kilometer (85-square-mile) area.
“There is no place to go,” said Emad Hajar, who fled with his wife and three children from the north a month ago to Khan Younis. “They expelled us from the north, and now they are pushing us to leave the south.”
Amal Radwan, who sheltered in the Jabaliya refugee camp, said she wasn’t aware of such a map, adding that she and many others were not able to leave because of the relentless bombardment.
Mark Regev, a senior advisor to Netanyahu, said Israel was making “maximum effort to safeguard Gazan civilians” and the military has used leafleting, phone calls, and radio and TV broadcasts to urge Gazans to move from specific areas. “We’ve not asked the whole population of the south to relocate,” he said.
Regev added that Israel is considering a future security buffer zone that would not allow Gazans direct access to the border fence on foot, adding that Israel does not plan to annex any territory from Gaza.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods. It claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Israel says 77 of its soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive in northern Gaza.
Also Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received the first convoy of aid trucks through the Rafah crossing since fighting resumed. Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, said a convoy of 100 trucks entered Gaza, including three carrying 150,000 liters (nearly 40,000 gallons) of fuel.
“Current conditions do not allow for a meaningful humanitarian response, and I fear will spell disaster for the civilian population,” Pascal Hundt, in charge of operations in Gaza for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Dubai on Saturday for the COP28 climate conference, said in a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that “under no circumstances” would the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza or redrawing of its borders, according to a U.S. summary.
READ MORE: Israel-Hamas war casts long shadow over COP28 climate talks
Harris was expected to outline proposals with regional leaders to “put Palestinian voices at the center” of planning the next steps for Gaza after the conflict, according to the White House. President Joe Biden’s administration has emphasized the need for an eventual two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state coexisting.
The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel, and around 240 people were taken captive.
The renewed hostilities have heightened concerns for 136 hostages who, according to the Israeli military, are still held by Hamas and other militants after 105 were freed during the truce. A 70-year-old woman held by Hamas was declared dead on Saturday, according to her kibbutz, bringing the total number of known dead hostages to eight.
During the truce, Israel freed 240 Palestinians from its prisons. Most of those released by both sides were women and children.
The truce’s end also saw new activity along Israel’s northern border. Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said its fighters attacked at least five Israeli posts along the border, and Israeli forces struck several areas on the Lebanese side. There were no reports of casualties.
Mroue reported from Beirut and Anna reported from New York. Associated Press writer Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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Dec 01 | Middle East Politics |
The BBC should consider further training for staff on how to cover the Israel-Hamas conflict, Penny Mordaunt has suggested.
The leader of the House of Commons, 50, made the comments after a Conservative colleague claimed that “anti-Israel bile and bias is there for all to see” at the BBC.
Discussing the issue at business questions on Thursday, Ms Mordaunt said: “While again they are operationally independent, I hope they will reflect on what has happened over the last few weeks and look at what they can do, whether it is training and what is happening with their editorial teams…to ensure the British public can rely on the fact that they are getting impartial, good advice.”
Her comments come amid criticism of the corporation after The Telegraph revealed that multiple presenters on a BBC radio station have been accused of posting “toxic” and “anti-Israel” content on social media about the ongoing war.
Speaking about the BBC’s coverage of the conflict to Sir Michael Ellis, former attorney general, Ms Mordaunt said: “I think that we all want our national broadcaster to be the best in the world and we want its editorial standards, its policies and those who work for it to be the best in the world.”
War must be ‘presented with highest journalistic standards’
She added that the British people should be getting coverage on the war that “is presented with the highest journalistic standards”.
“The BBC is usually very good at these sorts of things but I think there are questions that I certainly, as a licence fee-payer, would want to be answered in this respect.”
Sir Michael, MP for Northampton North, earlier asked: “Can we have a debate about impartiality at the BBC?
“Surely we cannot have a situation, as described in today’s Daily Telegraph, where BBC presenters use their on-air status to espouse fake news about Israel and make scurrilous suggestions about the Prime Minister’s motivations.
“Today The Telegraph has published a well-researched piece of journalism, having trawled through social media of some BBC journalists and personnel, and the anti-Israel bile and bias is there for all to see.
“What are we going to do about the BBC?”
‘Genuine crisis’ for BBC
It follows evidence that The Telegraph has seen that those working on the BBC’s Asian Network have shared disputed claims to thousands of followers.
One presenter shared an image with the slogan “From the river to the sea”, which has previously been described by Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, as a “staple of anti-Semitic discourse”.
The newspaper analysed a cache of screenshots, shared by a concerned listener, collated since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct 7 that show Asian Network presenters accusing Israel of committing genocide, sharing conspiracy theory videos and encouraging followers to attend pro-Palestinian marches.
Danny Cohen, previously the Director of BBC Television from 2013 to 2015, said yesterday that the “scale of the BBC’s failings on the Israel-Hamas war now constitutes a genuine crisis for our national broadcaster”.
Mr Cohen, who has previously called for an independent review into the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, accused the broadcaster of “a profound system failure” after it was revealed that bosses were alerted to concerns about the social media accounts about three weeks after Hamas’s attacks on Israel.
He said that this “means that senior management is either complicit in anti-Israel bias at the BBC or has lost control of their own staff and the content they produce”.
It comes as the corporation faces mounting pressure about its reporting of the conflict and amid questions on the use of social media by BBC employees.
Under BBC guidelines, staff in “senior leader” positions, as well as those in news, current affairs and factual journalism, have to abide by its strictest rules on impartiality. | Middle East Politics |
Crash, bang, wallop! An adrenalin hit of headlines. A massive bust-up. A big surprise. And a clash in the courts.
Westminster's gorged itself this week on some of its favourite pastimes: obsessing over who is slithering up or down in the game of political snakes and ladders; pondering the edges of our stretchy, unwritten constitution as the courts and government do battle; and, of course, frantically trying to predict what is next.
Fully paid-up political nerds, myself included, have been glued to the spectacle of the last seven days.
Bitter sackings, vitriolic public letters, the prime minister vowing to take on the courts, even talk of letters calling for his resignation going in. ("You'd just look like idiots," one senior MP tells me he told his more excitable colleagues.)
But for the ultimate boss, the voter, all the drama might have fallen on confused, or even deaf, ears.
The signals from government been mixed, to put it diplomatically. In all the soap opera, has the prime minister been moving to the left or to the right?
Getting rid of Suella Braverman at the start of the week, gave the impression No 10 wanted to take a softer tack.
But when the Supreme Court ruled against the government's plan to send migrants to Rwanda, up popped Rishi Sunak with seemingly tough language, claiming he won't let "foreign courts", stand in his way.
In fact, the ruling was based on both international and UK law, so the notion the problem has been created just by meddling courts in a faraway land is misleading. Whatever your view of the plans, the court referred to British laws that say refugees must not be put at a real risk of harm.
And the PM promised "emergency" new laws - political speak for plans that need to sound bold and important.
Yes, that's the party that sees itself as the bastion of law and order, saying when it doesn't like the long-predicted verdict of our highest court, it will just change the rules instead, with the prime minister vowing to do "whatever it takes" to make it happen.
Whatever it takes?
That's not entirely true, because No 10 does not seem willing to follow the much more drastic steps sketched out, entirely predictably, by the departing home secretary to get planes in the sky.
It's worth saying whatever Downing Street comes up with (and watch this space), the chances of keeping the right of the Tory party happy appear vanishingly small. Members of the public would be absolutely entitled this weekend to be scratching their heads and wondering if the controversial plan the prime minister has committed to time and again, the "stop the boats" slogan that screeches from government lecterns, is ever really going to happen.
Research carried out by the polling group, More in Common, helps explore the real world reaction. And a flavour of voters' views from focus groups about Mrs Braverman suggests there is real division - the most common words chosen to describe her include, "brave" and "outspoken", but "racist" features there too.
Then a former PM was brought back into the fold.
"Cameron??" to quote one of the messages that blew up on my phone when the news broke.
It was job done for No 10 if they wanted to create headlines out of their reshuffle that would distract from the Suella show.
There were MPs on his former wing of the much-changed Conservative Party who were delighted that someone with his experience is back in town. That was reflected by voters too, with comments in focus groups such as: "Old knowledge in a team is always good", while another said: "He's probably been brought back to give the party some sort of stability because at the moment it just seems to be a lot of just infighting."
The word voters chose more than any other to describe the now Lord Cameron was "experienced". Tick!
But words like "Brexit" and "past" and "idiot" feature pretty heavily too.
Here are the words voters used:
You wouldn't be alone if you felt a bit puzzled.
That's not just because you might have to squint to imagine how the leader of the failed Remain campaign can become the architect of UK foreign policy after Brexit. As one voter said: "I'm really angry about it if I'm honest. I think he really divided the country down to families being one side of the argument or the other."
But it also risks highlighting the government's dreadful polling position, as well as the experience gap between the current and former prime minister, as if the much younger Rishi Sunak has got in trouble, lost his bus fare and has had to phone his dad to come and pick him up.
One senior party figure asked: "Who is the prime minister here? Sunak is the prefect and Cameron's the headmaster."
That point is picked up by some voters, one remarking: "It kind of smacks of desperation a bit, because they've had to resort to that in order to get any kind of stability in the party."
There's another point of confusion. Rishi Sunak's last big swing was at the Conservative Party conference when he styled himself as the candidate of change, hammering the point by criticising what he called the 30-year consensus and the status quo.
This was no small move, but a considered big strategic decision to pitch the prime minister like this, when other tacks had failed.
Now, in blunt terms, how can you convincingly be the change guy, if you are bringing back the old guy?
Inevitably this changing tack has been noticed by the backbenches. One senior figure says: "We have all been trying to read the tea leaves, but not able to drink the tea" because "No 10 keeps changing its mind all the time."
Whether on small boats or David Cameron sauntering back into government, all the hullabaloo in Westminster this week hasn't been on the stresses and strains most relevant to most voters' lives.
Research shared with us this week from More in Common, consistent with polling for months and months, shows that making ends meet is by miles at the top of the list - 71% of those asked put it as their highest concern.
Worries about the NHS was the next priority, but some distance behind at 40%.
Only 17% named asylum seekers crossing the channel as their biggest worry, behind climate change at 23%.
It's foolish to read too much into any one snapshot, and one week of polling is, of course, just that. But as the prime minister wriggles uncomfortably over his chosen small boats priority, as the Tory party wrangles over the direction No 10 really wants to take, it is a reminder that neither of those issues are the public's most common concern.
One senior Tory MP admits: "Most people just want to be able to pay their bills and get a doctor's appointment."
On Wednesday, the Chancellor has a chance to help people do just that with the Autumn Statement.
- On this week's show are Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves
- Watch live on BBC One and iPlayer from 09:00 BST on Sunday
- Follow latest updates in text and video on the BBC News website from 08:00
The pressure is on Jeremy Hunt to act on those very real concerns. Number 10 was cock-a-hoop, at least for half an hour or so, when this week's inflation numbers showed price rises slowing down, mainly due to falling energy prices. But remember, slowing inflation doesn't remove high prices, it just means costs aren't going up so fast.
As that polling suggests, making ends meet is a challenge for millions of families.
From the splurge of early briefings it is not clear what Jeremy Hunt will actually propose to do to help. There's also the potential political contradiction of dangling a tax cut for a tiny number of families affected by inheritance tax, while taking much more from millions in income tax.
That is not because the Chancellor has actually put income tax up, but because more and more people are getting dragged into paying higher rates. (This has one of the least attractive names in Treasury jargon, fiscal drag, but is one of the most significant and little talked about changes to how the government makes its sums add up.)
It is also, at the risk of sounding prim, worth noting how unusual it is for the Treasury to be teasing quite so much around tax cuts just before a big statement like this.
One former Treasury minister told me it's "extraordinary" they have been so open. Is it - as they archly note - "just to chuck red meat to the Suella brigade" after a bumpy week?
The overall economic picture is not pretty. Growth has stalled. The government is spending an absolute fortune paying interest on its huge debts. Taxes and government spending are both at historic levels, a nightmare for Conservative purists who, after all, hope their party stands for leaner government and lower tax.
It is a challenge to those in the Conservative Party, and, of course, the opposition, who want more resources for public services. Overall the former Treasury minister notes brutally, "we are in a really bad spot - do I see a coherent strategy? No!"
The overwhelming concern for the chancellor and the prime minister to respond to is to help families and firms feel consistently better off. The drama that's consumed Westminster these last seven days isn't likely to make much difference to that.
Jeremy Hunt has a chance to change that on Wednesday. But it's just not clear that the neighbours in No 10 and 11 can make the sums, and the politics, add up.
Follow Laura on X | United Kingdom Politics |
NEW YORK -- Celebrations mingled with displays of resistance Sunday as LGBTQ+ pride parades filled streets in some of the country's largest cities in annual events that have become part party, part protest.
In New York, thousands marched down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue to Greenwich Village, cheering and waving rainbow flags to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall uprising, where a police raid on a gay bar triggered days of protests and launched a movement for LGBTQ+ rights.
While some people whooped it up in celebration, many were mindful of the growing conservative countermovement to limit rights, including by banning gender-affirming care for transgender children,
“I’m not trying not to be very heavily political, but when it does target my community, I get very, very annoyed and very hurt,” said Ve Cinder, a 22-year-old transgender woman who traveled from Pennsylvania to take part in the country's largest pride event.
“I’m just, like, scared for my future and for my trans siblings. I’m frightened of how this country has looked at human rights, basic human rights,” she said. “It's crazy.”
Parades in New York, Chicago and San Francisco are among events that roughly 400 Pride organizations across the U.S. are holding this year, with many focused specifically on the rights of transgender people.
Entertainers and activists, drag performers and transgender advocates are among the parade grand marshals embracing a unity message as new laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community take effect in several U.S. states.
“The platform will be elevated, and we’ll see communities across the country show their unity and solidarity through these events,” said Ron deHarte, co-president for the U.S. Association of Prides.
Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver and Seattle are scheduled to hold pride parades Sunday. At the parade in Toronto, Canada, more than 100 groups are expected to march. In New York City, seven-time Grammy winner Christina Aguilera will headline a post-march concert in Brooklyn.
Annual observations have spread to other cities and grown to welcome bisexual, transgender and queer people, as well as other groups.
About a decade ago, when her 13-year-old child first wanted to be called a boy, Roz Gould Keith sought help. She found little to assist her family in navigating the transition. They attended a Pride parade in the Detroit area, but saw little transgender representation.
This year, she is heartened by the increased visibility of transgender people at marches and celebrations across the country this month.
“Ten years ago, when my son asked to go to Motor City Pride, there was nothing for the trans community,” said Keith, founder and executive director of Stand with Trans, a group formed to support and empower young transgender people and their families.
This year, she said, the event was “jam-packed” with transgender people.
One of the grand marshals of New York City’s parade is nonbinary activist AC Dumlao, chief of staff for Athlete Ally, a group that advocates on behalf of LGBTQ+ athletes.
“Uplifting the trans community has always been at the core of our events and programming,” said Dan Dimant, a spokesperson for NYC Pride.
Many of this year’s parades called for LGBTQ+ communities to unite against dozens, if not hundreds, of legislative bills now under consideration in statehouses across the country.
Lawmakers in 20 states have moved to ban gender-affirming care for children, and at least seven more are considering doing the same, adding increased urgency for the transgender community, its advocates say.
“We are under threat," Pride event organizers in New York, San Francisco and San Diego said in a statement joined by about 50 other Pride organizations nationwide. “The diverse dangers we are facing as an LGBTQ community and Pride organizers, while differing in nature and intensity, share a common trait: they seek to undermine our love, our identity, our freedom, our safety, and our lives.”
Some parades, including the event in Chicago, planned beefed up security amid the upheaval.
The Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, a national LGBTQ+ organization, found 101 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in the first three weeks of this month, about twice as many as in the full month of June last year.
Sarah Moore, who analyzes extremism for the two civil rights groups, said many of the June incidents coincide with Pride events.
___
AP writers Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report. | Human Rights |
Ukrainian troops have recaptured Piatykhatky, a village in the west of the Zaporizhia region, amid fierce front line fighting, Kyiv’s second gain on that front since it launched its counter-offensive earlier this month.
Russian-installed official Vladimir Rogov said Ukraine had taken “operational control” of the settlement, and that Russian troops were trying to counter-attack with shelling.
“The enemy’s ‘wave-like’ offensives yielded results, despite enormous losses,” Rogov said on the Telegram messaging app.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the situation, and Al Jazeera could not independently confirm the battlefield reports. Ukraine said on June 12 it had taken control of Lobkove, a village next to Piatykhatky.
Zaporizhia is the location of some of the most intense fighting since the counteroffensive began, according to an assessment on Sunday by British intelligence. Battles were also raging around the city of Bakhmut and in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk, it said.
Ukraine is on the offensive in these areas and “made small advances”, it said. Russian forces are conducting “relatively effective defensive operations” in Ukraine’s south.
Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson from the regional government in southwestern Odesa province, said Ukrainian forces destroyed a “very significant” ammunition depot near the Russian-occupied port city of Henichesk in nearby Kherson province.
“Our armed forces dealt a good blow in the morning,” Bratchuk said in a video message posted to his Telegram channel.
Western analysts and military officials have cautioned that Ukraine’s counteroffensive to dislodge Russian forces from occupied areas along the 1,000km (620-mile) front line could last a long time.
Russia’s defence ministry made no mention of Piatykhatky in its daily update, in which it said its forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks in three sections of the front line. A separate statement from Russia’s Vostok group of forces said Ukraine had failed to take the settlement.
The Ukrainian military said on Sunday that over the previous 24 hours, Russia carried out 43 air strikes, four missile attacks, and 51 rocket launches.
According to its statement, Russia continues to concentrate its efforts on offensive operations in Ukraine’s industrial east, focusing attacks around Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka, and Lyman in Donetsk province, with 26 combat clashes taking place.
‘No chance,’ says Putin
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday praised Ukrainian forces for their “very effective” repelling of enemy assaults near Avdiivka.
He also described the southern front as “the most brutal” and expressed gratitude to troops fighting there.
Meanwhile, Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said that 32,000 men who joined up to fight with his mercenary group from jail had returned home after the end of their contracts in Ukraine.
Prigozhin toured Russian prisons to recruit fighters, promising pardons if they survived a half-year tour of front-line duty with Wagner. In an interview last month, Prigozhin said he recruited 50,000 convicts, about 10,000 of whom were killed in Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who rarely comments on the course of the war, made two unusually detailed interventions last week, in which he derided the Ukrainian push and said Kyiv’s forces had “no chance” despite being newly equipped with Western tanks.
His comments appeared intended to reassure Russians at a crucial juncture, nearly 16 months into the conflict, as Ukraine seeks to break months of virtual stalemate and take back the 18 percent of its territory that remains under Russian control.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Sunday that Russia has “so far declined our request to access the areas under its temporary military control” after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam on June 6 in the southern region of Kherson unleashed 18 cubic kilometres (4.3 cubic miles) of water that submerged villages and farmland.
“The UN will continue to engage to seek the necessary access. We urge the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law,” said Denise Brown, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, in a statement. “Aid cannot be denied to people who need it.”
Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately blowing up the dam, calling it a “war crime” and “brutal ecocide”. Moscow has denied causing the blast. Its soldiers were in control of the dam at the time. | Europe Politics |
Nearly 1,000 people in France were arrested and 80 police injured during a fourth night of unrest triggered by the fatal police shooting of a teenager, but officials claimed the situation was calmer than on the previous night.
Forty-five thousand police officers, including special forces, were deployed to respond to rioting across the country on Friday night, with the situation in two major cities – Marseille and Lyon – highlighted as particular chaotic, with buildings and vehicles torched and stores looted.
The ministry of the interior reported 994 were arrests made throughout France overnight, while 79 police and gendarmes were injured and 2,560 fires on public roads recorded. Despite this, the ministry said the protests were “of a lower intensity compared to the previous night”.
“It’s the republic that will win, not the rioters,” France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said as he met with police in the early hours of Saturday morning. He denounced the “unacceptable violence in Lyon and Marseille” where public demonstrations were banned and public transport halted.
More than 80 arrests were made in Marseille, according to the interior ministry, and “significant reinforcements” were sent after the mayor, Benoit Payan, called on the national government to immediately send additional troops.
“The scenes of pillaging and violence are unacceptable,” Payan tweeted late on Friday, after police clashed with protesters.
Local media reported that an Aldi was the target of a looting ram-raid, while authorities said they were investigating the cause of an apparent explosion in the city, which they did not believe caused any casualties.
Several rifles were looted from a gun store, but no ammunition was taken. One person was arrested with a rifle that was probably from the store, police said.
In Lyon and its surrounding suburbs, rioters set cars ablaze and aimed fireworks at police. Police deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter to quell the unrest in France’s third-largest city.
Local media reported a quieter night in Paris, where “a massive deployment of law enforcement forces deterred the slightest hint of confrontation or disruption”, the Le Monde newspaper said.
Despite this, there were still 120 arrests in the capital, with reports of burnt garbage and violent scuffles in the Les Halles district.
The unrest flared nationwide after Nahel M, a 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent, was shot by police on Tuesday during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb. His death, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints of police violence and racism.
The 38-year-old officer involved in the shooting, who has said he fired the shot because he feared he and his colleague or someone else could be hit by the car, has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in provisional detention.
Nahel is due to be buried in a ceremony on Saturday, according to the mayor of Nanterre, the Paris suburb where he lived and was killed. The family’s lawyers have asked journalists to stay away, saying it was “a day of reflection” for Nahel’s relatives.
Mayor Patrick Jarry said: “There’s a feeling of injustice in many residents’ minds, whether it’s about school achievement, getting a job, access to culture, housing and other life issues … I believe we are in that moment when we need to face the urgency [of the situation].”
Speaking in Mantes-la-Jolie, Darmanin highlighted the young age of many of those taking part in demonstrations.
“I do not confuse the few hundred, the few thousand delinquents, often very young unfortunately, with the vast majority of our compatriots who live in working-class neighbourhoods, who want to work and educate their children,” he said.
The French football team urged an end to the violence on Friday night.
“The time of violence must give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction,” the team said in a statement posted on social media by their captain, Kylian Mbappé.
The team said they were “shocked by the brutal death of young Nahel” but asked that violence give way to “other peaceful and constructive ways of expressing oneself”.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, left a European Union summit in Brussels early on Friday to attend a crisis meeting. He urged parents to keep their children at home and accused social media companies of playing a “considerable role”, saying violence was being organised online. He asked platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok to remove sensitive content.
Macron is under mounting pressure from rightwing parties to declare a state of emergency, which would give authorities extra powers to ban demonstrations and limit free movement.
Asked on Friday night whether the government could declare a state of emergency, Darmanin said: “We’re not ruling out any hypothesis and we’ll see after tonight what the president of the republic chooses.”
Darmanin said on Saturday he was cautious about such an order, which “has been called four times in 60 years”.
Analysts said the government was desperate to avoid a repeat of 2005, when a state of emergency was declared after the death of two boys of African origin in a police chase sparked three weeks of rioting.
Reuters contributed to this report | Europe Politics |
When Zahra thinks back to her life before the summer of 2021, it seems like another reality.
As a student in Afghanistan, she had “lots of friends.”
“We were happy together,” she recalled. “We were studying, sometimes we were gathering together … we were riding bikes.”
Zahra, 20, doesn’t ride bikes anymore. Or go to school, or walk outside without covering her face, or see friends who have fled the country. All she can do, she says, is sit at home and worry about a future that has unraveled before her eyes.
“When I stand in front of the mirror, when I look at myself, I just see a different Zahra from two years ago,” she said. “I feel sad for my past.”
Tuesday marks the two-year anniversary of Kabul falling to the Taliban, which seized control of Afghanistan amid the United States’ chaotic, controversial withdrawal from the country after nearly 20 years of fighting.
The Taliban, which is not recognized by most countries around the world, has declared Tuesday a national holiday. The day is “full of honor and pride for Afghans,” Taliban deputy spokesperson Bilal Karimi told CNN.
“Afghanistan was freed from occupation, Afghans were able to regain their country, freedom, government and will. The only way to solve the problem is understanding and dialogue, pressure and force are not logical,” he added.
But celebrating is the last thing many Afghan women like Zahra – who CNN is identifying by her first name only for safety reasons – want to do, as life under Taliban rule becomes increasingly repressive and brutal.
And, activists warn, things may only get worse as the world looks away, fatigued with Afghanistan’s decades-long wars and too preoccupied with their own domestic issues. All the while, dwindling foreign aid means millions of Afghans are battling drought, hunger, and illness in a crisis that United Nations’ human rights experts said this week is growing worse.
“There is no such thing as woman’s freedom anymore,” said Mahbouba Seraj, an Afghan women’s rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
“The women in Afghanistan are being slowly erased from society, from life, from everything – their opinions, their voices, what they think, where they are.”
Erased from public sphere
When the Taliban, a radical Islamist group that had previously ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, took power in 2021, it initially presented itself as a more moderate version of its former self, even promising that women would be allowed to continue their education up to university.
But it has since cracked down instead, closing secondary schools for girls; banning women from attending university and working at NGOs, including the United Nations; restricting their travel without a male chaperone; and banning them from public spaces such as parks and gyms.
Women can no longer work in most sectors – and were dealt yet another blow last month when the Taliban closed all beauty salons across the country. The industry had employed roughly 60,000 women, many of them the sole breadwinners for their household, spelling more trouble for families already struggling to get by.
For young women like Zahra, the abrupt upending of daily life feels particularly devastating as they come of age and develop dreams for their future. She enjoys art, and had wanted to be a designer or to start her own business – none of which feels possible in Afghanistan anymore.
“I’m 20 years old, and it is time for me to study, to get educated,” she said. “But I’m not allowed. I’m just in my house. I’m just worrying about my future, my sisters, and I’m worrying about the future of all women of Afghanistan.”
Unable to go outside much, she tries to occupy her time at home by painting, reading books, and taking whatever online classes are available. But it feels stifling, like being in prison, she says.
“I cannot concentrate because I see the situation, my sister is sitting at home, all the girls are sitting in their house. They cannot do anything.”
It also has taken a severe mental health toll, with widespread reports of depression and suicide, especially among teenage girls who’ve been prevented from pursuing an education, according to a UN report last month, compiled after a week-long visit to Afghanistan.
Almost 8% of people surveyed knew a girl or woman who had attempted suicide, the report said. Restrictions and economic hardship have also resulted in a rise in domestic violence and the forced marriage of girls, it said.
The Taliban has repeatedly claimed that women are allowed to work in certain sectors as long as it follows “Islamic values.”
Zabiullah Mujahid, another Taliban spokesperson, acknowledged there was still a “problem regarding the girls’ education,” claiming the group wanted to “pave the ground for Islamic rules and regulations” and establish a “safe environment for their education.”
He also claimed “women are actively working in health, education, police departments, passport offices, airports and so on.”
But nonprofit organizations and experts say that is far from the truth, and the gaping hole is particularly evident in the health care sector.
Under the Taliban’s rules, women can only receive health care from other women – but the ban on women’s higher education means all female medical students haven’t been able to finish their studies and graduate, creating a shortage of much-needed female doctors, midwives and nurses.
“(The Taliban) seem perfectly comfortable with the idea that women and girls are almost certainly already dying because of a lack of health care professionals, because of their policies,” warned Heather Barr, association director of the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch.
‘Screaming’ for the world’s attention
The international community has widely condemned the Taliban’s treatment of girls and women, with the UN’s human rights body urging the group this week to introduce reforms and respect women’s freedoms.
But these messages have done little to force change, and global attention has largely faded – leaving many Afghans feeling angry and abandoned by the world.
“The young people of Afghanistan are screaming their lungs out, trying to bring the world’s attention to themselves and to the situation of the war, of the woman in Afghanistan,” said Seraj, the women’s rights activist.
Zahra said she wondered why other countries seemed content to look away. “They are comfortable – their children, their daughters, their sisters are going to school,” she said. “But … there are girls and women in this corner of the world, they are just ignored by the world, and they cannot do anything.”
After the Taliban takeover, the US and its allies froze about $7 billion of the country’s foreign reserves and cut off international funding. The move crippled an economy already heavily dependent on aid, with millions of Afghans out of work, government employees going without pay, and the price of food and medicine skyrocketing.
Last year, the US set up an economic assistance fund of $3.5 billion with the frozen assets – but officials said they won’t release the money imminently to an institution in Afghanistan, instead going through an outside body, independent of the Taliban and the country’s central bank.
Humanitarian aid has dried up even more in recent months after the Taliban’s ban on women working at NGOs. Numerous organizations, including the UN, had to suspend critical programs or operations in the country.
All the while, activists fear the Taliban may be gradually normalized on the world stage – even if it isn’t widely recognized as a legitimate government and does not control Afghanistan’s UN seat.
“They’re posing in photographs with smiling diplomats, they’re getting on private jets to fly off to important high-level meetings where people roll out red carpets for them,” said Barr. “They’re being permitted to take control of embassies in a growing number of countries. So I think from their perspective, it’s going pretty well.”
The dire situation means more than 1.6 million Afghans have fled the country since 2021, according to the UN. Even those refugees face a future of uncertainty, many still waiting to be admitted to the US and other Western nations, while some have been waiting so long they were forcibly deported back to Afghanistan and had to go into hiding.
“The only reason why I’m in Afghanistan and I’m staying here is to be next to my sisters and try to help them,” said Seraj, the women’s rights activists. “I have not lost all hope. But with every step of the way and with every decision, I’m seeing it becoming more and more difficult.”
And for young Afghans hoping to preserve what’s left of their future, fleeing seems the only option left.
“Of course, everybody loves to be in your own country, because this is our hometown. But I think there is no choice to stay here,” said Zahra. “I have to decide about my future. So the best way is leaving the country.” | Middle East Politics |
Almost a quarter of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population have fled into Armenia since Azerbaijan launched an attack on the breakaway region last week, according to Armenia’s government.
Some 28,000 people – about 23% of the region’s population – scrambled to flee as soon as Azerbaijan lifted a 10-month blockade on the region’s only road to Armenia. That blockade had caused severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel. While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of Armenians, many residents feared reprisals.
The updated figures came as the death toll from an explosion at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh rose to 68, with a further 105 people missing and nearly 300 injured, the office of Karabakh’s ombudsman said.
The explosion took place as people lined up to fill their cars at a gas station outside Stepanakert, the region’s capital, late Monday. The cause of the blast remains unclear, but Nagorno-Karabakh presidential aide David Babayan said initial information suggested that it resulted from negligence, adding that sabotage was unlikely.
Armenian authorities also said that they brought 125 bodies over to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh for identification. The country’s Health Ministry clarified that all of those were killed in the fighting last week.
Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said on X, formerly Twitter, that hospitals in Azerbaijan were ready to treat victims, but did not say if any had been taken there.
Azerbaijan also said Tuesday that 30 metric tons of gasoline and 34 metric tons of diesel fuel were being sent into the region.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken urged Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, to refrain from further hostilities in the region, to provide assurances to its residents and to allow access to an international observer mission.
US national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US would provide additional assistance to help local communities “provide shelter and essential supplies – such as hygiene kits, blankets, and clothing – to address the needs of those affected or displaced by violence in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces in a 24-hour blitz last week, forcing the separatist authorities to agree to lay down weapons and start talks on Nagorno-Karabakh’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.
Fuel has been in short supply in Stepanakert for months, and the depot explosion further added to the shortages, compounding anxiety among many residents about whether they would be able to drive the 35 kilometres to the border.
On Tuesday, cars bearing large loads on their roofs crowded the streets of Stepanakert, and residents stood or lay along sidewalks next to heaps of luggage.
Nagorno-Karabakh authorities asked residents to hold off on leaving in order to keep the road clear for emergency services and said buses would be provided for those who want to leave.
“I think we’re going to see the vast majority of people in Karabakh leaving for Armenia,” said Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Europe thinktank. “They are being told to integrate into Azerbaijan, a country that they’ve never been part of, and most of them don’t even speak the language and are being told to dismantle their local institutions. That’s an offer that most people in Karabakh will not accept.”
Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous region within Azerbaijan under the Soviet Union. The region came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by the Armenian military, after a six-year separatist war that ended in 1994.
In another war in 2020, Azerbaijan took parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and completely reclaimed surrounding territory that it lost earlier. Under the armistice that ended the 2020 fighting, Russia deployed a peacekeeping force of about 2,000 to the region. Russia’s influence in the region has waned amid its war in Ukraine, emboldening Azerbaijan and its main ally, Turkey.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report | Europe Politics |
Survey shows almost half of Arab Israelis support IDF response to Hamas in Gaza
Tel Aviv University researcher says the Hamas attack and ensuing war 'generated an unprecedented change in the positions of Israel's Arab citizens'
An comprehensive study conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation (KAP) at Tel Aviv University (TAU) found that almost half of surveyed Arab Israelis support Israel's response to the October 7 attack led by Hamas.
In numbers, 47 percent feel that Israel's response to the Hamas attack was justified, while 44 percent do not. Furthermore, about half believe that the attack on October 7 did not contribute to a solution of the Palestinian problem, while the rest are evenly divided as 21 percent thinking that it did contribute and 19 percent indicating it had no impact.
The majority, 57 percent, believe that the Hamas operatives intentionally targeted women and children in the communities near the Gaza border. An even greater amount, 85 percent, approved of the initiatives by Arab citizens to help residents residents of the affected area.
While there was a large amount responding positively to the civic acts and identifying with other Israelis, 70 percent of the responded that the solidarity between Arabs and Jews in Israel has weakened following the events of October 7.
Still, 54 percent approve of the participation of Arab Israelis in the advocacy efforts to present Israel's position to the world, another indicator of identifying with the Israeli nation at large, and the civic roles carried out by its citizens.
In regards to their personal identity, the respondents were asked to choose the most important component, with a significant rise in those saying it was their Israeli citizenship at 33.2 percent, compared to a few months ago in May when it was 21 percent.
The Israeli citizenship came in a similar proportion to those who mentioned their Arab identity, at 32.1 percent. While 22.6% said it was their respective religious affiliation (Muslim, Christian or Druze). And only 8.2% mentioned Palestinian as the most important component of their identity.
These new numbers were in stark contrast to the numbers in May, when 16.5 percent indicated it was their Palestinian identity. As for Arab identity, it was 37.5 percent and religious affiliation was 15.6 percent.
“The war between Israel and Hamas, which began almost two months ago, has generated an unprecedented change in the positions of Israel's Arab citizens. First and foremost, many identify with the communities of Otef Aza [Gaza border communities[, and with Israel's efforts to present its positions to the world," the head of KAP at TAU, Dr. Arik Rudnitzky, said in a press statement.
"Identification with Israel is manifested in the fact that for the first time, and in contrast to all previous surveys, civic Israeli identity plays as strong a role as national Arab identity for Arab Israelis. The war has led to a head-on clash between the Israeli and Palestinian narratives in the international media and on social media," Dr. Rudnitzky added.
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"It is also worth noting that identification with the Israeli narrative with regard to the events of Oct. 7th is higher among the younger generation of Arab Israelis. This is a dramatic finding because relative to their elders, young people are more exposed not only to the Israeli and global media, but also to social media where the Israeli narrative is at a disadvantage," the researcher pointed out.
"At the same time, there is anxiety among Arab Israelis who fear harassment by Jewish Israelis because of the war. Clearly, the violent events of May 2021 resonate in the minds of many, Jews and Arabs alike, but it is important to understand that the war in October 2023 is an entirely different story from the events in May 2021. We should bear this in mind following the conclusion of the war. The country's Arab citizens are signaling to the Jewish population and the government that they are an integral part of the State of Israel," he concluded. | Middle East Politics |
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday called on India to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and said Canada would not release its evidence.
Trudeau said on Monday that Ottawa had credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June, prompting an angry reaction from New Delhi. Nijjar, 45, was a Canadian citizen.
Traditional Canadian allies have so far taken a relatively cautious approach to the matter. Analysts says this is partly because the United States and other major players see India as a counterweight to the growing influence of China.
“There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with ... and we’re not looking to provoke or cause problems,” Trudeau said in a press conference in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “But we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians.”
“That’s why we call upon the government of India to work with us to establish processes to discover and to uncover the truth of the matter.”
The Indian foreign ministry said Canada had not shared any specific information about the murder. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020.
“As a country with a strong and independent justice system, we allow those justice processes to unfold themselves with the utmost integrity,” Trudeau replied when asked when Canada would release the evidence it had.
India on Thursday suspended new visas for Canadians and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country. Trudeau did not respond when asked about these measures.
Speaking separately, an Indian trade official said there was no reason for Canadian pension funds to back out from investing in the country.
Reporting by Michelle Nichols; writing by David Ljunggren; editing by Paul Simao
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | India Politics |
North Korea Fails for Second Time to Put Spy Satellite in Orbit
North Korea said that its second attempt to put a spy satellite in orbit failed early Thursday morning.
(Bloomberg) -- North Korea failed for the second time in about three months to put a spy satellite into orbit when its rocket had troubles soon after launch, dealing a blow to Kim Jong Un who has said a reconnaissance probe is needed to keep an eye on US forces.
North Korea launched a rocket at 3:50 a.m. Thursday in a southward direction that failed a few minutes into flight, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Parts of the rocket appeared to crash down about 600 kilometers (375 miles) east of the Philippines, Japan’s top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said. Residents in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa were warned to take shelter, according to a tweet from the Japanese prime minister’s office, although the alert was later lifted.
Pyongyang’s state media put out a short dispatch saying “the flights of the first and second stages of the rocket were normal, but the launch failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight.”
The report from the official Korean Central News Agency also said the country’s space agency plans a third attempt for a satellite launch in October and will look into the reasons for the failure.
But two consecutive failures to put a satellite into orbit could indicate shortcomings with its space rocket that may take more time to fix.
The latest launch coincided with joint military drills by South Korea and the US that run through the end of this month and that prompted Pyongyang this week to issue a threat to retaliate against the exercises it sees as a prelude to invasion.
“In the short-term, Kim may view this second failure as an embarrassment, but in the long-term and in the bigger picture, his country is making steady progress with its nuclear and missile development technology,” said Soo Kim, a former Korea analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency who now works at US-based management consulting firm LMI.
Leader Kim Jong Un has said he wants to put a spy satellite into orbit to keep an eye on US forces deployed in the region. While officials in Seoul believe such a satellite would be rudimentary at best, it could help Pyongyang refine its targeting lists as it rolls out new missiles designed to deliver nuclear strikes in South Korea and Japan, which host the bulk of America’s military personnel in the region.
South Korea and Japan protested the latest launch and South Korea’s National Security Council convened in Seoul to discuss the matter. The two nations earlier this week called on North Korea to halt its plans for a launch, saying the move would violate United Nations resolutions.
South Korea’s National Security Council chastised Pyongyang for the move, saying in a statement that it “deplored the fact that it continues to blame others for its failing economy and ruined civilian life, pushing its people to starvation and death, while squandering its scarce resources on reckless provocations.”
North Korea tried to put a spy satellite into orbit on May 31 in its first space launch in about seven years, but that rocket failed when the second stage engine didn’t ignite, sending it plunging into the Yellow Sea.
South Korea sent out a salvage mission that retrieved the debris in international waters in the Yellow Sea at a depth of about 70 meters. It recovered large parts of the rocket as well as the satellite, giving it a rare direct look at Pyongyang’s capabilities even as it concluded that the technology had little military value.
The Japanese government had received prior notification from North Korea that it intended to launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and Aug. 31, officials said Tuesday. The Japanese Coast Guard was informed of three possible maritime danger zones pertaining to the launch — two west of the Korean Peninsula and the third east of the Philippines’ island of Luzon.
Read more: North Korea Eyes Satellite Launch as US-S.Korea Hold Drills
North Korea is barred by United Nations Security Council resolutions from conducting ballistic missile tests, but Pyongyang has long claimed it’s entitled to a civilian space program for satellite launches. The US and its partners have warned that technology derived from North Korea’s space program could be used to advance its ballistic missiles.
Pyongyang’s space program has diminished in importance over the years as the state greatly enhanced its ability to build intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads that could strike the US.
North Korea had already fired 24 ballistic missiles so far this year, which included four ICBMs. The country fired off more than 70 ballistic missiles last year, a record for the state.
--With assistance from Se Young Lee, Sangmi Cha and Takashi Hirokawa.
(Updates with details and adds chart.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | Asia Politics |
Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: Voting Date, Number Of Seats, Candidates, Results And More
Here's everything you need to know about the single-phased assembly elections in the state of Telangana.
Microphones fell silent and rallies ended as the longest campaigning period for the assembly elections among the five states going to polls came to a close in Telangana at 5 pm on Tuesday.
The BRS is trying to retain power for a third consecutive term, while the Congress has been fighting tooth and nail to wrest power from it. The BJP has left no stone unturned to get to power.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed several meetings during the campaign period, besides holding a roadshow in Hyderabad on Monday amid huge fanfare while KCR attended 96 poll rallies.
Other than PM Modi, several union ministers including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, and Congress leaders Mallikrajun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi canvassed for votes for their respective party candidates.
The BRS campaign centred around the previous Congress regime's failures and ongoing welfare measures for farmers and women. Rao also highlighted his struggle to achieve Telangana statehood.
Congress focussed mainly on the alleged corruption of the BRS government while highlighting its “six guarantees”.
The saffron party’s campaign stressed on the necessity of a “double engine government” and pointed to the “family rule' of KCR and alleged corruption.
Telangana Assembly Election 2023: Voting Date And Time
Voting will be held in Telangana from 7 AM to 6 PM on Thursday, November 30. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 3.
Total Number Of Assembly Seats In Telangana
There are 119 assembly seats in Telangana. BRS has fielded candidates in all constituencies. As per the seat-sharing agreement, BJP and Jana Sena are contesting in 111 and 8 seats respectively while Congress gave one seat to its ally CPI(M). Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has put up candidates in nine segments in the city.
Telangana Elections 2023: Total Candidates And Voters
As many as 2,290 contestants are in the fray for the upcoming elections, including BRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son K T Rama Rao, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Arvind and Soyam Bapu Rao.
KCR is contesting from two segments-Gajwel and Kamareddy- and so is Revanth Reddy from Kodangal and Kamareddy. The BJP fielded its MLA, Etala Rajender, from Gajwel, besides Huzurabad, where he is the incumbent legislator.
As many as 44 candidates from Gajwel and 39 from Kamareddy Assembly constituencies from where K Chandrasekhar Rao is contesting, are in the poll arena. The highest number of 48 candidates are from L B Nagar segment while Banswada and Narayanpet seats are witnessing the least number of 7 each.
There are 3.26 crore eligible voters in the state. The Serilingampally segment has the highest number of voters with over 7.32 lakh while Bhadrachalam registered the lowest with 1.49 lakh electors.
(With PTI inputs) | India Politics |
France deploys 45,000 police after riots over teen's death
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13:55, 01-Jul-2023
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A municipal employee walks past broken windows of The Coliseum of Roubaix Theatre in Roubaix, northern France, June 30, 2023. /CFP
A municipal employee walks past broken windows of The Coliseum of Roubaix Theatre in Roubaix, northern France, June 30, 2023. /CFP
France deployed 45,000 police officers and some armored vehicles on the streets on Saturday as riots rocked French cities after an officer shot dead a teenager in a working class suburb of Paris earlier this week.
Speaking from Mantes-la-Jolie early on Saturday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said there had been at least 471 arrests on Friday night and violence was of "much less intensity" than the previous night, when more than 900 people were arrested.
The fatal shooting of Nahel M, a 17-year-old teenager, by a police officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre on Tuesday has prompted protests throughout France.
The march in Nanterre, a town on the western outskirts of Paris, was proceeding peacefully at first, with Nahel's mother leading the crowd. But later, some protesters began throwing projectiles at police outside the main local administration building in Nanterre, and security forces then dispersed the protest by firing tear gas.
Vandalizing and looting were also reported in recent protests as police clashed with demonstrators.
France has imposed a nationwide 9:00 p.m. halt to bus and tram services in anticipation of a fourth consecutive night of protests.
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron left a European Union summit in Brussels early to attend a second cabinet crisis meeting in two days. He has asked social media to remove "the most sensitive" footage of rioting and to disclose the identities of users fomenting violence.
As riots rocked French cities, protests also erupted in Belgium's capital over the French teenager's killing, with demonstrators setting vehicles on fire before police intervened and detained over 100 of them, local media reported on Friday. | Europe Politics |
Narayana Murthy Wants Youth To Work 70 Hours A Week To Change Work Culture
Unless we improve our work productivity, we won't be able to compete with countries that have made tremendous progress, he said.
NR Narayana Murthy wants India’s youth to put in the work and hours to lift productivity levels from among the lowest in the world.
“Somehow, our youth have the habit of taking not-so-desirable habits from the West and then not helping the country,” the co-founder of Infosys Ltd. told TV Mohandas Pai, a former chief financial officer of the IT firm, in the first episode of ‘The Record’—a podcast by Pai’s venture capital fund, 3one4 Capital.
“India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government…unless we reduce the delays in bureaucratic decision-making, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress.”
“So, therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say, ‘This is my country. I want to work 70 hours a week’. This is exactly what the Germans and the Japanese did after the Second World War. They made sure every citizen worked extra hours for a certain number of years.”
India, along with China and Indonesia, is on course to have one of the largest working-age populations in the world by 2030, according to a McKinsey report titled ‘Driving Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in G20 Economies’, released in August. That will only happen if the country is able to lift its populace over a so-called ‘economic empowerment line’, the report said.
As of 2020, 77% of India’s population—or 1.07 billion people—lived under the parameter. India will need to spend $5.4 trillion, or 13% of its GDP, through 2030 to bridge the empowerment gap, McKinsey said.
But the government can only do so much to change the work culture. “Every government is as good as the culture of the people. And our culture has to change to that of highly determined, extremely disciplined, and extremely hardworking people,” Murthy said.
“And that transformation has to come from youngsters, because youngsters form a significant majority of our population at this point in time. They are the ones who can build our country…with gusto.” | India Politics |
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Deputy Secretary-General Amina MohammedA top UN official believes progress is being made towards reversing bans on women taking part in public life in Afghanistan. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has been in Kabul for a four-day visit to urge the Taliban to reconsider. Last month, the country's Islamist rulers banned all women from working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The move caused several aid agencies to suspended operations. Speaking to the BBC at the end of her trip, Ms Mohammed said most senior Taliban officials she met had been ready to engage over the rights of girls and women. However, she described the talks as tough and cautioned that it would be a very long journey before the leadership took the fundamental steps required for international recognition of their rule. "I think there are many voices we heard, which are progressive in the way that we would like to go," Ms Mohammed said. "But there are others that really are not.""I think the pressure we put in the support we give to those that are thinking more progressively is a good thing. So this visit, I think, gives them more voice and pressure to help the argument internally."Ms Mohammed also criticised the international community, including other Islamic states, for not doing enough to engage on the issue. Since seizing back control of the country last year, the Taliban has steadily restricted women's rights - despite promising its rule would be softer than the regime seen in the 1990s.As well as the ban on female university students - now being enforced by armed guards - secondary schools for girls remain closed in most provinces.Women have also been prevented from entering parks and gyms, among other public places.It justified the move to ban Afghan women from working for NGOs by claiming female staff had broken dress codes by not wearing hijabs.Ms Mohammed's comments come as Afghanistan suffers its harshest winter in many years.The Taliban leadership blames sanctions and the refusal of the international community to recognise their rule for the country's deepening crisis.Ms Mohammed said her message to Afghanistan's rulers was that they must first demonstrate their commitment to internationally recognised norms and that humanitarian aid cannot be provided if Afghan women are not allowed to help. "They're discriminating against women there. for want of a better word, they become invisible, they're waiting them out, and that can't happen," she said.But she said the Taliban's stance was that the UN and aid organisations were "politicising humanitarian aid"."They believe that... the law applies to anyone anywhere and their sovereign rights should be respected," she said.The Taliban health ministry has clarified that women can work in the health sector, where female doctors and nurses are essential, but Ms Mohammed said this was not enough."There are many other services that we didn't get to do with access to food and other livelihood items that that will allow us to see millions of women and their families survive a harsh winter, be part of growth and prosperity, peace," she said.This visit by the most senior woman at the UN also sends a message that women can and should play roles at all levels of society. | Global Organizations |
Editor’s Note: Peter Bergen is CNN’s national security analyst, a vice president at New America, a professor of practice at Arizona State University, and the host of the Audible podcast “In the Room with Peter Bergen,” also on Apple and Spotify. Laura Tillman is a producer of the podcast. The opinions expressed in this commentary are their own. View more opinion at CNN.
In May 2018, then-President Donald Trump canceled the agreement with Iran to restrain its nuclear weapons program, saying “the Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”
And oddly enough, Trump soon entered into negotiations for what would become, in reality, one of America’s most one-sided and self-defeating deals: the agreement with the Taliban to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan.
Retired US Gen. David Petraeus, who formerly commanded US troops in Afghanistan, told us in an interview for the Audible podcast, “In the Room with Peter Bergen,” that the deal with the Taliban “ranks with the worst diplomatic agreements in our history. We gave the Taliban what they wanted: We’re leaving. The only thing we got in return was a promise they wouldn’t attack us on the way out.”
President Joe Biden became the second successive president to botch Afghanistan policy when he went ahead and carried out the deal Trump’s team negotiated, leading to the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban marched into Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Since then, they have banned women from jobs and have not allowed girls over the age of 12 to return to school. Afghanistan is the only country in the world that has suspended girls from school and women from universities.
The Taliban have also provided safe haven to around 20 terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, according to a UN report that was released two months ago. As the US military rushed for the exits in the summer of 2021, 70,000 armored vehicles and more than 100 helicopters were left behind, an arsenal worth an estimated $8.5 billion, according to the UN.
Why did Trump and Biden make those mistakes?
Two years ago, the Trump team negotiated the complete US withdrawal from Afghanistan that gave the Taliban the total victory they could never win on the battlefield, while the Biden team went through with this deeply flawed plan.
That withdrawal ended in the hasty retreat of US forces and the chaotic scenes of thousands of desperate Afghans trying to get on flights out of Kabul Airport in August 2021. Televised scenes of the chaos at the airport make the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War look like a dignified exit.
Lisa Curtis was the top official working at the White House on Afghanistan during the Trump administration. In an interview for the Audible podcast, Curtis told us that the US officials who negotiated with the Taliban, beginning in early 2019, gave the Taliban pretty much everything they wanted and got very little in return. The Taliban committed to breaking with al-Qaeda and entering power-sharing talks with the elected Afghan government, but neither happened.
Curtis explained that Trump never really was concerned about the details of the negotiations with the Taliban, saying, “I don’t think he cared about a peace deal. He cared about getting US troops out.” The Taliban were no doubt also aware that Trump had long criticized US involvement in Afghanistan; for instance, Trump tweeted in 2013, “Let’s get out of Afghanistan. Our troops are being killed by the Afghanis we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA.”
Trump always prided himself on his purported “Art of the Deal,” but his administration’s negotiations with the Taliban were more like a clueless customer shopping for a car who tells the salesman, “I’ll pay the full sticker price,” as a way of beginning the negotiation.
Curtis says that at one point during the negotiations that she was part of in Doha, Qatar, Taliban officials didn’t seem to believe that the US was really leaving Afghanistan, so the top US negotiator, former Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, brought in American military officers to brief the Taliban about what a US withdrawal would look like.
The US officers used a whiteboard to show the Taliban the unclassified locations of American troop positions in Afghanistan. Curtis recalled that one of the Taliban officials joked, “Oh look, they’re bringing out the crown jewels before we’ve even gotten started.” Curtis said this approach told the Taliban that “the US was really desperate to withdraw.”
In response, Khalilzad emailed us to say, “The technical military channel was set up AFTER there was already an agreement in principle on the withdrawal … These technical meetings had the purpose of dealing with the logistics of both our soldiers and our materiel being withdrawn safely and related issues. Note: this was very successful, and we did not lose a single military member after the signing of the agreement at the hands of the Taliban.”
Curtis says the negotiations with the Taliban were also flawed because the US acceded to the Taliban’s demand that the elected Afghan government be excluded from all their negotiations with the US. Curtis says this gave the impression that the US was “shifting our support to the Taliban, and I think it demoralized the Afghan government, which also contributed to the quick fall of the Afghan government.”
Why did Biden bring “joy” to the Taliban?
Biden’s top military adviser, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, told Biden that unless the US kept a small military force in Afghanistan — at the time, around 2,500 troops — the Afghan military would collapse, which would pave the way for a Taliban victory.
Biden, who had long been a skeptic of the war in Afghanistan, ignored this sound advice and, on April 14, 2021, announced the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan.
The Taliban couldn’t believe their luck. When we spoke with the top Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, he told us, “When President Biden won the election, we suspected that he might insist on continuing the war. But when he announced that he was withdrawing his forces from Afghanistan, it was a source of joy.”
Compounding the problems of the withdrawal deal with the Taliban, there was acute tension between two key players: the lead American negotiator with the Taliban, Khalilzad, who is Afghan American, and Afghanistan’s then President Ashraf Ghani. The two men had known each other for decades; both had won scholarships to study in the US. Khalilzad received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, while Ghani’s doctorate was from Columbia University. But now that Khalilzad was leading the US-Taliban negotiations, from which Ghani and his government were excluded, their relationship hardened: They loathed each other.
Khalilzad wrote in his email to us that “discussions with President Ghani became difficult once he realized that a political settlement would require a new Afghan government and the end of his presidency. He had a very strong wish to remain in power. But both Trump and Biden were clear that this wish on his part, was not sufficient reason to put the lives of U.S. soldiers or the policy decision on withdrawal at risk. I had to convey this to him — but that was not personal.”
Matin Bek, who was Ghani’s chief of staff and is now a fellow at New America, and who was often in the room with Ghani and Khalilzad, told us that their tense relationship was “like a wrestling match.”
Bek says both Ghani and Khalilzad share in the blame for the Taliban victory: “They are responsible equally.” As the Taliban closed in on Kabul in mid-August 2021, Ghani, and his key advisers, including Bek, were in Ghani’s presidential palace. A backchannel between Afghan government officials and the Taliban had opened up. Bek was hopeful that a peaceful transfer of power would ensure some normal contact with the outside world, such as the continued presence of Western embassies in Kabul.
But then Bek discovered President Ghani had gotten on a helicopter and fled to neighboring Uzbekistan. Bek felt utterly betrayed, telling us, “He was the president of a country in war. In war, these things happen. You have to show leadership.”
Ghani doubtless recalled that the last time the Taliban had taken Kabul in 1996, they had executed a previous Afghan president. Still, many Afghans felt Ghani should not have abandoned his post.
Biden then shifted any blame from himself in a White House briefing. He had gone along with the flawed withdrawal plan that the Trump administration had negotiated, but instead he blamed the Afghans, claiming, “American troops cannot and should not be fighting and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.”
This observation irked General Petraeus, who said, “I was particularly hurt by statements ‘Well, the Afghans wouldn’t fight for their own county.’ Sixteen times as many Afghans died for their country as did US and coalition forces.”
Indeed, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project, more than 66,000 Afghan national military and police died fighting the Taliban, while around 4,000 American and allied forces were killed in the Afghanistan war.
What was lost?
In the two decades before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had made striking progress in reducing child mortality, providing jobs for women and schools for girls, nurturing scores of independent media outlets and holding regular, if flawed, presidential elections.
That is all long gone.
Why Biden went through with the withdrawal deal is still something of a puzzle, since there was no large constituency in the Democratic Party clamoring for an exit from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a small contingent of US forces — 2,500 troops — was keeping the elected government of Afghanistan from a Taliban takeover.
When those US troops were stationed in Afghanistan at the beginning of 2021, none of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals were in the hands of the Taliban, but by the time these troops were all withdrawn in the summer of 2021, the Taliban had seized all of those provincial capitals. It’s worth noting also that today, seven decades after the end of the Korean War, the US still stations around 10 times more troops in South Korea than the 2,500 it had kept in Afghanistan, which has helped keep the peace on the Korean peninsula.
Today, the Taliban are international pariahs that no country recognizes as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Adding to their estrangement from the rest of the world, 58 Taliban officials have been sanctioned by the UN. Of these, 35 hold cabinet-level positions in the de facto Afghan government.
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The one relationship that is doing quite well in Afghanistan is the Taliban’s alliance with al-Qaeda. According to the report by the UN released in June, an estimated 400 al-Qaeda fighters live in Afghanistan. Some members of the terrorist group have even received appointments in the Taliban administration as well as monthly “welfare payments” from the Taliban, according to the UN. Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, holds one of the most powerful posts in the Taliban’s de facto government and is a member of al Qaeda’s leadership council, according to the UN. Haqqani is also on the FBI’s most-wanted list and has a $5 million reward on his head.
Meanwhile, all you need to know about the Taliban’s mindset, more than two decades after the 9/11 attacks, can be learned by listening to their top spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, who told us in December that Osama bin Laden wasn’t responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Mujahid asserted, “We do not have evidence that he was directly involved in the attack.” Of course, this is utter nonsense.
Mujahid also claimed to us that the Taliban’s Ministry of Education is making plans to admit teenage girls to school. Two years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, there is no sign that the Taliban will allow girls over 12 to be educated.
Instead, the Taliban are running a profoundly incompetent theocratic state that is a magnet for many jihadist groups. And we all know how that can end. | Middle East Politics |
In a sunlit gallery high above Manhattan, artist Jenn Hassin is trying to repurpose the tattered threads of lives unraveled.
Hassin, a U.S. Air Force veteran, didn't create the art on the gallery's walls. Much of it comes from female Afghan military veterans who evacuated the country after the Taliban regained power more than two years ago. For the past year, Hassin has been hosting Afghan servicewomen at her studio near Austin, Texas, where she teaches them how to transform beloved items of clothing like hijabs, hats and even uniforms into colorful paper pulp that can be molded and shaped into anything they want.
One of those "escape artists," Mahnaz Akbari, told CBS News that the art came from her heart and helps her process the chaos of the fall of her country and the loss of her hard-fought military career.
"I really had a passion to join the military because I really love to be in uniform," Akbari said, noting that it was "so hard" to convince her family to let her join the military.
Even after the U.S. removed the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001, the country was still a hard place for women. Akbari and another soldier, Nazdana Hassani, said their uniforms shielded them, marking them as fierce and capable members of a female tactical platoon. Akbari said she even did more than 150 night raids with the military.
Pride in their service turned to anguish in 2021, when U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan and the country fell back under Taliban control. With help from the U.S. servicewomen who had trained them, Akbari and Hassani made it out of Kabul, traveling to the United States, though at the time they didn't know where they were going.
"When the aircraft landed, I asked one of the people there where we are. And she told me 'Welcome to the U.S.,'" Akbari recalled.
The women had to burn their uniforms before fleeing, leaving a part of themselves in the cinders.
"It's really weird to say, but these physical items, they hold so much weight that we don't even realize," said former U.S. Army Airborne officer Erringer Helbling, who co-founded Command Purpose to provide support for women leaving the military. "When I put on my uniform, the community saw me a certain way. And when you don't have that, and people look at you, it's just different. I lost my voice. I lost my community."
Helbling's Command Purpose joined forces with another non-profit, Sisters of Service, to create the Manhattan exhibit showcasing the Afghan soldiers' art.
"What's been really powerful about this project is allowing us to simply be women in whatever way that means to us," Helbling said.
The women making the art said that they have found many of their experiences to be similar.
"War is so negative, but there's also this, like, extremely positive, beautiful thing about this sisterhood that I've found myself being part of," Hassin said.
The exhibit will continue through the end of the month. All of the artwork is available online.
for more features. | Middle East Politics |
'Sanatana dharma is like malaria and dengue..,' Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark sparks huge outcry3 min read 03 Sep 2023, 09:13 AM IST
Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin faces backlash for calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, leading to criticism from BJP leaders.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, who serves as a Tamil Nadu minister and is the son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, made a controversial statement on Saturday on ‘Santana Dharma’
Additionally, connecting the minister's comments to the third gathering of the Opposition alliance in Mumbai, Malviya suggested that the members of the coalition should provide clarification regarding whether this was the stance they collectively endorsed during the meeting.
The DMK, which is a part of the INDIA bloc, held discussions with fellow opposition leaders in Mumbai recently. The purpose of this meeting was to coordinate and refine their strategies for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which they will be competing against the BJP-led NDA.
Stalin made these comments during a writers' conference in Chennai, where he expressed the opinion that Sanatana Dharma should not just be opposed but completely eliminated. The Tamil Nadu minister contended that this concept is inherently regressive, as it perpetuates divisions among people based on caste and gender, and fundamentally contradicts the principles of equality and social justice.
"The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries and the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology," Mr Annamalai wrote on X.
As reported by ANI, addressing a conference in Chennai on Saturday, the minister for Sports and Youth Affairs in the Tamil Nadu government railed against Sanatan Dharma, saying, “Few things cannot be opposed, they should only be abolished. We can't oppose Dengue, mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana (Sanatan Dharma). Rather than merely opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated."
Taking a further swipe at Udhayanidhi, the BJP state chief posted, "Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism. The best you can do is to hold a Mic in an event like this & rant out your frustration!"
Additionally, connecting the minister's comments to the third gathering of the Opposition alliance in Mumbai, Malviya said that the members of the coalition should provide clarification regarding whether this was the stance they collectively endorsed during the meeting.
"(The) DMK is a prominent member of the Opposition block and a long-standing ally of the Congress. Is this what was agreed in the Mumbai meet?" the BJP leader asked.
Significantly, Congress is a partner of the DMK in the ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu. | India Politics |
Pill testing to be introduced in Qld: Yvette D'Ath announces 'harm minimisation' measure for nightlife spots, music festivals
One Australian state is set to introduce pill testing, with partygoers in nightlife spots and at music festivals able to have their drugs checked as part of a "harm minimisation" approach.
Queensland is set to become the first Australian state to introduce pill testing after the Palaszczuk Government signed off on the measure.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath announced the move on Saturday, paving the way for revellers to have drugs checked for potentially dangerous substances.
Partygoers will be able to have their pills tested at what the government calls fixed and mobile sites, which will be in nightlife precincts and at music festivals.
Protocols around the operation of pill testing services are still being developed by the government, as it also looks to find a provider to carry out a trial.
The government said the approach is backed by evidence-based research, with Ms D'Ath adding that introducing pill testing is all about harm minimisation.
"We don't want people ending up in our emergency departments or worse losing their life," she said.
"It is important to note that pill testing services do not promote that drugs are safe, however they are among a suite of options that can positively affect outcomes regarding illicit drug use.
"Pill testing services will inform people what chemical substances are in their drugs. We know people make better decisions when they are equipped with unbiased information.
"Drug testers can also influence a drug taker's behaviour, making them more likely to dispose of substances, decrease the amount they take, tell their peers and be more likely to seek help if they or others are experiencing adverse effects."
The government has noted the introduction of pill testing "does not take away from police powers related to offences of illicit drug possession, supply and trafficking".
JUST IN: The Palaszczuk Government is committed to keeping Queenslanders safe, and that includes in our nightlife precincts and music festivals.— Yvette D'Ath MP (@YvetteDAth) February 24, 2023
That's why we have announced that Pill Testing will be available in Queensland. pic.twitter.com/aky83ypdhO
Pill testing being given the green light comes just days after the Palaszczuk Government unveiled changes to the state's police drug diversion program.
Under a new tiered approach, those with their first minor drug possession offence will be given a police warning, a drug warning notice and support service referral.
For a second and third minor drug possession offence, an individual will be given the chance to take part in a mandatory drug diversion assessment program.
A fourth minor drug possession offence will result in a notice to appear in court.
However, the penalty for drug trafficking will go from 25 years to life imprisonment.
In July last year, Australia's first fixed-site pill and drug testing clinic launched in Canberra as part of a six-month trial announced by the ACT Government.
The clinic followed on from two recent trials run by Pill Testing Australia at the Groovin' The Moo musical festival in Canberra in 2018 and 2019.
The New South Wales government this month ruled out introducing pill testing in the state amid renewed calls for the measure following the death of a 26-year-old Sydney man from a suspected drug overdose after attending a music festival.
"Obviously the first thing I'd say is my thoughts go out to his family at a very difficult time. The first thing as well is, don't take drugs. To people across NSW; stay safe, and don't take drugs," Premier Dominic Perrottet said.
"We had an inquiry into ice which we adopted many recommendations in relation to those issues which we believe will make a real difference to families right across NSW.
"But my clear message to people right across NSW (is) stay safe and don't take drugs and you will be safe." | Australia Politics |
Spain's opposition right-wing Popular Party (PP) was set to win Sunday's snap general election, with over 97% of the votes counted, but would fall short of a parliamentary majority.
The PP and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez' Socialists (PSOE) had 32.9% and 31.8% shares of the vote respectively, the partial results showed.
Public broadcaster RTVE said this would give the PP, under leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, 136 seats in the 350-seat lower chamber, the Congress of Deputies, and the Socialists would win 122 seats.
Both parties would require support from junior parties to form a governing majority.
The far-right Vox, which offered to partner with the PP was projected to win 33 seats. But this support alone would not be enough for the right-wing bloc to win power.
But if that partnership is later confirmed, it would be the first time a far-right party had entered government in Spain since Francisco Franco's dictatorship ended in the 1970s.
The radical left-wing Sumar, which backed the Socialists was projected to win 31 seats, according to the partial results.
Near-final results are expected around midnight.
Other polls point to rightwing lead
Two polls published after voting ended on the mainland also suggested the PP was ahead but short of an outright parliamentary majority.
One survey by GAD3 for media group Mediaset showed the PP would win 150 seats and Vox 31, giving them a majority in the 350-seat lower chamber.
The leftist coalition, led by Sanchez's Socialists, would get a combined 149 seats, according to GAD3.
Another survey by Sigma Dos pollster for the state broadcaster RTVE also showed the combined rightwing parties winning at the top of the ranges provided with the narrowest majority (150 for PP and 27 for Vox).
Why did Spain hold a snap election?
Sanchez called the election early after the left took a drubbing in local elections in May
The vote has originally been scheduled for December. but his gamble to wrong-foot his opponents appears to have backfired if the surveys are correct.
The election took place just three weeks after Spain took over the rotating presidency of the European Union and is a fresh blow to the European left after similar moves in other EU countries — Sweden, Finland and Italy.
A record number, 2.47 million, of the 37.5 million registered voters cast an absentee ballot even before the polls opened.
The election also took place at the height of summer, when a significant number of voters may be away from their usual polling locations due to vacations and on the tail of a month of heat waves.
Officials, however, still expected a 70% turnout.
Vox poised to play kingmaker
Pre-election polls also suggested the PP would come in first, but was unlikely to secure an absolute majority and may have to depend on Vox's support to form a government.
In an interview published on Friday by El Mundo, Feijoo stated that a candidate should not disclose their alliances just two days before an election. He added a government with Vox "is not ideal."
However, PP and Vox have already teamed up to govern in dozens of regions and cities since local elections in May.
Support for the anti-Islam, anti-feminist party is on the wane. In the last election in November 2019, Vox won 52 seats. If Sunday evening's voter surveys are correct, it could receive as little as half that number in this election.
In turn, the Socialists would rely on the new movement called Sumar, which brought together 15 small leftist parties for the first time to try to form a government.
mm, lo/jcg (AP, AFP, EFE, Reuters) | Europe Politics |
Tunisia: Four dead, 51 missing after migrant ship sinks off coast
At least four migrants died and 51 were missing after a migrant ship sank off Tunisia's Kerkennah island, a judicial official said Sunday, adding that all the migrants onboard were from sub-Saharan Africa.
The Tunisian coast guard recovered 901 bodies of drowned migrants off its coast from 1 January to 20 July this year, the country's interior minister said in July, marking an unprecedented number of victims off the country's coasts.
The North Africa country is facing a record wave of migration this year and frequent catastrophes of boats of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa heading to Italian coasts sinking.
Tunisia replaced Libya as the region's main departure point for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East in hopes of a better life in Europe.
On 16 July, Tunisia and the European Union (EU) signed a "strategic partnership" deal that included combating human traffickers and tightening borders due to the sharp increase in boats leaving the North African nation for Europe.
The deal followed weeks of talks and Europe's pledge of major aid to Tunisia amounting to €1bn ($1.12bn) to help its battered economy, rescue state finances and deal with a migration crisis. Most funds are contingent on economic reforms.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Memorandum of Understanding neglected to incorporate guarantees to ensure Tunisian officials would prohibit infringements on the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, and that the EU's financial or material contributions would not benefit organisations implicated in human rights abuses.
"By funding security forces who commit abuses during migration control, the EU shares responsibility for the suffering of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Tunisia," Seibert said. | Africa politics |
Biden, in an opinion piece for the Washington Post, outlined his framework for what must be done in the wars in Ukraine and Israel. While discussing the solution for the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, he urged a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority controlling both Gaza and the West Bank.
"As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution," Biden wrote.
The president also called out Israeli settlers who have reportedly attacked Palestinians in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began, threatening visa bans against the "extremists attacking civilians."
"I have been emphatic with Israel’s leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those committing the violence must be held accountable. The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank," Biden wrote.
Biden also pushed back on calls for a ceasefire, arguing it would only harm innocent civilians in the long run.
"As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, a cease-fire is not peace. To Hamas’s members, every cease-fire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again. An outcome that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would once more perpetuate its hate and deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves," Biden wrote.
The president is facing increased pressure to call for a ceasefire from the left-wing flank of his party, as more members of Congress, including Jewish Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT), call for one.
In the opinion piece, Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel's right to defend itself and also said that "the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas." | Middle East Politics |
Seventeen freed Thai hostages are set to return home after being held in captivity by Hamas for nearly 50 days.
Their release is separate to an agreement that has so far seen Hamas free 70 Israeli women and children.
The extension of the truce has now renewed hope for the release of the remaining nine Thai hostages.
Nearly all of the abducted foreign workers were Thais. Israel employs some 30,000 of them as farm labour, making it one of the largest migrant groups.
Thirty-nine Thai nationals were among the 1,200 people Hamas killed in its attack on Israel on 7 October.
Six Thai hostages who were released in the last two days are still in Israel for a medical examination. But the others who were freed are being accompanied home by Thai foreign minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara. They are scheduled to arrive early Thursday evening in Bangkok, where some of their families are eagerly awaiting their return.
Chanapa and Sirirat Bupasiri left their village in the middle of the night so they could reach Bangkok in time for their brother Buddee Saengbun's arrival.
"We haven't had any sleep," Chanapa told the BBC, while she waited outside the Bangkok international airport. She said they realised Buddee was safe when they saw him on the news after he was released in the past week.
"We had no idea what had happened to my brother. We tried everything - Facebook groups, the department of employment, some families had heard about their loved ones but not us."
She smiled tearfully when asked what she would do when she finally met her brother again. "Hugs. Hugs and tears," she said. "One month and 18 days. We've been counting each day."
The workers will travel home after a brief press conference, where they will answer questions from the media. Most of them are from north-east Thailand, a poor, rice-growing region which sees much of its working-age population leave in search of better opportunities.
Elderly parents who can't make the journey to Bangkok, or families that cannot afford the long trip, are waiting back home.
"I'm overjoyed. I can't wait for her to come home," says Bunyarin Srichan, whose daughter Nattawaree "Yo" Mulka was the only female Thai hostage taken by Hamas.
She says they will celebrate with an indulgent meal - fried pork with garlic and "the best sticky rice we've got." She also plans to hold a small homecoming ceremony, widely believed by Thais as a way to bring back the soul that was spooked during a traumatic experience.
Yo's boyfriend, whom she met while working in Israel, was also abducted, and was freed with her.
Bunyarin, who has been caring for Yo's two children, said her daughter called or messaged thrice a day before she was kidnapped in the October 7 attack. And she sent her mother half her salary every month - 25,000 Thai baht or £550.
Many of the workers borrow money to go to Israel and send home savings to support their families and pay off debt. Natthaporn Onkaew, 27, who was released on Saturday, is his family's sole breadwinner.
He started working in Israel two years ago, and sent home about $800-$1,000 (£630-£800) every month.
"I'm very happy that my son is coming back," his father, Thawatchai Onkaew, told BBC Thai, adding that his son had been calling home every day from the hospital since he was freed.
The family is preparing his favourite dish - raw beef salad - to welcome him home, and are also throwing him a party.
Mr Thawatchai said his son does not plan go back to Israel for work because he is "still very scared".
Around 8,500 Thai nationals have been repatriated since the 7 October attack. But the BBC understands that some have since gone back to Israel, likely driven by debt and joblessness back home.
Many have also previously told BBC Thai about their harrowing work conditions in Israel, such as unsanitary living quarters while being overworked and underpaid.
More than 14,500 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel's retaliatory bombing since 7 October, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
But a negotiated pause in fighting, which has now lasted six days, has seen Hamas release 102 of the 240 hostages in exchange for 210 Palestinian prisoners, many of them woman and teens, held in Israeli jails.
The truce was scheduled to end on Thursday, but has now been extended by at least one day.
That has given Narissara Chanthasang fresh hope - her husband, Nattapong Pinta, is still a Hamas hostage.
"I felt like my heart was being squeezed when I learned that he hadn't been freed yet," she said. "I will definitely go to the airport [when he returns]. Nothing will stop me." | Asia Politics |
The Cypriot presidential elections appears headed to a run-off Sunday after projections following the polls closing indicated as much.
The country's former foreign minister, Nikos Christodoulidis, is set to win the first round, with state broadcaster RIK forecasting he will secure between 30.5% and 33.5% of the vote.
A candidate would need more than 50% of the vote to win outright.
Who will qualify to compete against Christodoulidis, however, was not immediately clear, with two of the three front runners close together in the first projections.
A run-off would take place in one week, on February 12.
Three frontrunners, two spots in the runoff
Although there are a record 14 candidates, there are only two women contesting the elections.
The forerunners in the elections are former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodouldes, right-leaning Democratic Rally (DISY) party leader Averof Neophytou, and career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, backed by the leftist Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL).
Christodoulides is regarded as the favorite, with exit polls reflecting as much.
Neophytou and Mavroyiannis were expected to secure between 26.5% and 29.5% of the vote, according to projections by state broadcaster Rik.
"All polls indicate that Christodoulides is going to the second round. I would be very much surprised if he didn't reach it," said Andreas Theophanous of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs. "And if he goes to the second round, he is predicted to win. Something radical has to happen to change this."
All three main contenders have been close associates of current President Nicos Anastasiades.
How does voting in Cyprus work?
Voting in the Cyprus presidential elections began on Sunday as the second term of incumbent conservative President Nicos Anastasiades comes to an end.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT/UTC) on Sunday with voting ending at 6 p.m.
Anastasiades cannot run for a third term.
Corruption, economy top poll issues
Cyprus was split as a result of a Greek military coup in 1974 and following Turkish military involvement.
The voting on Sunday is only being held in the Greek Cypriot part of the island, also the region where EU law and regulations apply.
The issue of the decades-old division seems to have lost its hold over the polls as the voters now seem to be more concerned about the economy and corruption, especially after the cash-for-passports scandal.
"Corruption is at the core of the discussion, the economy and daily life. The Cyprus problem is a secondary issue," Giorgos Kentas, associate professor of international politics and governance at the University of Nicosia, told the AFP news agency.
ss, ar/msh (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | Europe Politics |
There were notable gasps from the crowd and a scramble to grab cameras when the first J-20 jets roared across the sky.Four cutting-edge stealth fighter jets soared in perfect unison, the sound of the engines deafening.
It was a display designed to grab attention. These jets, previously shrouded in secrecy, have now been displayed for the Chinese public and the world to see.They were arguably the headliner at China's National Airshow hosted in Zhuhai in southern China this week.The event is a celebration of all things aviation, from the more basic to the battle ready.
As well as exhibitors from across the industry, there was a display from China's aerobatics team, demonstrations of high-tech drones and a flyby of the country's first homegrown passenger jet.It was a highly militarised event at a time when the world increasingly fears what this military could do.In the crowds was Yue Gang, a retired colonel who served for more than 20 years in the Chinese armed forces.He summarised the sentiment of many here - one of pride in how the military has developed and confidence in what it can achieve. Image: The Red Eagle Aerobatic Team performing in Zhuhai. Pic: FeatureChina via AP "China is showing the world it's a really powerful country," he said."It means we can not only defend our national territory but also defend our national interests outside our country, because China's national interests are expanding to the world outside."Many fear those "interests" include China potentially attempting to take control of Taiwan, the self-governing Island it sees as its own. Doing so is a longheld dream of President Xi.It is an issue at the forefront this week as Greg Hands, the UK trade minister, visits Taiwan, the first British minister to do so since the pandemic.While he emphasised the talks were about trade, any foreign visits that hint at Taiwanese autonomy are seen by China as highly provocative.It seems to have drawn a response. Image: A Chinese-built passenger jet was part of the show On Tuesday, China sent more fighter jets towards Taiwan than at any time since the summer: 31 crossed the "median line" - the unofficial maritime boarder.Tensions are the highest they have been for some time.The family of jets used in these flights was on display in Zhuhai. It is unusual to see them this close up. Being allowed to do so was perhaps a message in itself.Whether China would actually undertake such an invasion is uncertain but there were plenty of hints at this show about its preparedness - from the new amphibious vehicles to the simulation of how an invasion of an unnamed mountainous island could look.The message China wanted to land felt crystal clear: theirs is a military modernised and transformed, able to fight an international war if necessary. | Asia Politics |
The far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland has declared itself a “major all-German party” after winning its biggest ever vote share in a western German state.
The AfD, once seen as a party most relevant to post-communist eastern states, won 18.4% of the vote on Sunday in the powerhouse state of Hesse, around Frankfurt, and came second only to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In Bavaria it came third, behind the rightwing populist Freie Wähler (Free Voters) party.
Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the AfD, said the gains were a breakthrough moment, showing that “AfD is no longer an eastern phenomenon, but has become a major all-German party. So we have arrived.”
The three parties that make up the coalition government of the chancellor, Olaf Scholz – his Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP – received a drubbing in the two elections, with the FDP failing to get into parliament in Bavaria.
Political analysts and politicians themselves were quick to blame the actions of the central government for the poor showing, with dissatisfaction expressed over everything from its building heating reforms to the cost of living crisis and post-pandemic labour shortages.
The political future of Nancy Faeser, the interior minister who ran as the main candidate for the SPD in Hesse, was in doubt after the party’s dismal performance there, even as Scholz said he would stand behind her.
Around a quarter of all German voters live in Hesse and Bavaria.
In Bavaria, the Greens lost 3.2% of their previous vote share, the SPD 1.3% and the FDP 2.1%. In Hesse, the results were even worse, with the SPD losing 4.7%, the Greens 5%, and the FDP 2.5%.
In contrast, the AfD made a gain of 5.3% in Hesse, while in Bavaria it gained 4.4%, bringing it to 14.6%.
Manfred Güllner, the head of the Forsa polling institute, attributed the far right’s success to “the huge alienation between the governing parties in Berlin and the many normal working people”. The ruling administration ignored their concerns at their peril, he added.
In Bavaria, in particular, concerns over immigration played a considerable role in the way people voted, with 83% choosing parties promising a change in immigration and asylum policy. In polling, 21% of people in Bavaria said migration was the most important issue in deciding how they voted; and this was the case for 18% in Hesse.
Markus Söder, the head of the Christian Social Union, which has ruled in Bavaria for decades and secured the most votes, with 37% – albeit the party’s historically worst result – said voters had sent an “alarm signal” to Berlin. “The topic of migration is a purely federal issue, not a regional policy issue,” he said. He added the only way to halt the growth of the AfD was to “change Germany’s migration policy”.
Economic development, climate and energy were other dominating factors in the elections. A need to boost economic growth was most strongly expressed in Hesse, home to the financial centre of Frankfurt. | Europe Politics |
Biden Family To Host Intimate Dinner For Modi On June 21; Hot Ticket State Dinner On June 22
Modi has been invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for an official state visit.
The Biden family is planning to host an intimate dinner for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 21, a day before the much-in-demand State Dinner at the White House, a senior administration official has said.
Modi has been invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for an official state visit.
The historic visit, among other things, would include an impressive welcome ceremony on the South Lawns on June 22, which later in the night would also become the venue for the State Dinner that would be extraordinarily glittery with great entertainment, the official, familiar with the planning of the high-profile trip said.
“We will have a very substantial arrival ceremony on the White House lawn. The night before, I expect the Prime Minister and President Biden and the Biden family to have some moments of intimacy where they really have a chance to sit down together,” the official told PTI.
The venue of the intimate dinner has not been disclosed.
According to the White House schedule released last week, Biden is scheduled to travel to California from June 19 to 21. The Prime Minister is expected to arrive in Washington DC from New York on June 21 after attending the International Yoga Day celebrations at the United Nations headquarters.
The day of hectic activities on June 22 would conclude with a State Dinner, for which a tent is likely to be pitched on the South Lawns of the White House to accommodate the large number of guests who have been invited for it.
The guest list is normally released on the evening of the state dinner. The attendees are expected to be the stakeholders of this relationship from across the United States and also from India.
“I think the State Dinner will be really a celebration of the US-India relations with supporters and advocates coming from India, but also around the United States. We have a saying ...it's a very hot ticket. Hardly a day goes by when I haven't received requests from people to get the last tickets to the state dinner. I believe it will be a wonderful celebration,” said the official.
According to the official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, on June 23, there will be a lunch at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and the Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“There will be a number of events while the Prime Minister is here celebrating various elements in the relationship, technology, education, and training. Basically, the Prime Minister has asked for an extremely robust schedule, and that's what we've done. We have essentially given him almost a full slate of events that, in many respects, makes clear why we think the U.S.-India relationship is so important,” said the official.
Responding to a question, the senior administration official said the details of the dinner and other activities would be released by the White House in the coming days.
“But I will tell you, it's very special. It has been curated in a way to appeal to the prime minister. It will be a nice and appropriate gesture of a close partnership between the two leaders,” said the official.
While the number of guests invited for the State Dinner remains a closely guarded secret, the official confirmed that it is much larger than the 120 that can be accommodated in the State Dining Room of the White House, the traditional venue of the State Dinner.
“Yes (pitching the tent on the South Lawns of the White House). It will be extraordinarily glittery, wonderful, and with great entertainment. And I think it will be a wonderful celebration. We'll have many dimensions to it. And everyone is quite excited,” said the official.
Meanwhile, there is great enthusiasm among Indian-Americans about Modi's visit.
Hundreds of people from across the country are preparing to travel to Washington DC next week to participate in various events related to the visit.
This has resulted in a sudden jump in the prices of hotel rooms and flight tickets. While no one knows the exact number, several thousands of Indian-Americans are planning to be part of the historic welcome ceremony at the White House on the morning of June 22.
Several community organisations like the Federation of Indian Associations have organised special bus services that would bring community members from the New York and New Jersey areas.
Buses would leave several cities in New York and New Jersey early on June 22 so that they could be at the White House in time for the morning welcome ceremony.
On June 21, hundreds of Indian-Americans have planned to gather at Lafayette Square Park in front of the White House to welcome Modi with a cultural extravaganza that would be reflective of India's cultural diversity.
And on June 23, the community will organise a dinner reception for the Prime Minister at the Ronald Reagan Building.
In addition, a large number of Indian-Americans are planning to have a glimpse of their popular leaders when he arrives at the hotel in Washington DC and at the airport. | India Politics |
The South-East Asian bloc ASEAN will hold its first-ever joint military exercise in the South China Sea, the latest multilateral security drills at a time of rising tension and uncertainty in the region.
Key points:
- The exercise is due to be held in September and won't involve combat operations training
- ASEAN members Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have competing claims with Beijing
- China claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea via an expansive "nine-dash line", which has no legal basis
The decision was taken at a meeting of military commanders of the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia, which will host the exercise in the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost waters of the South China Sea.
Indonesia's military chief, Admiral Yudo Margono, told state-run news agency Antara the exercise would be in September and would not include any combat operations training.
The purpose, Admiral Margono said, was strengthening "ASEAN centrality".
ASEAN's unity has for years been tested by a rivalry between the United States and China that has ben played out in the South China Sea.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have competing claims with Beijing, which asserts sovereignty over vast stretches of ocean that include parts of Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Indonesia has started to move forward with its $US3 billion ($4.2 billion) offshore gas project near the Natuna Islands, which sit atop one of the largest gas fields in the world located in the waters between Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
China pushes sovereignty claims
Indonesian military spokesperson Julius Widjojono said the exercise was related to the "high risk of disaster in Asia, especially South-East Asia".
A conduit for about $5.23 trillion of annual ship-borne trade, the South China Sea has seen constant tension of late as China presses its claims with a huge deployment of coast guard and fishing boats as far as 1,500 kilometres off its coastline.
China claims sovereignty via an expansive "nine-dash line" based on its historic maps, which an international arbitration court in 2016 ruled had no legal basis.
ASEAN has been pushing for a long-awaited maritime code of conduct with China to be completed and several of its members have had run-ins with Beijing in recent months.
Vietnam criticised China's deployment of a research vessel near several gas blocs in its EEZ, while Beijing was accused of sending suspected maritime militia into waters where navies of India and ASEAN countries held an exercise.
The Philippines chided China's coast guard for "dangerous manoeuvres" and "aggressive tactics" and plans to hold joint patrols with the US, on top of an inaugural trilateral coast guard exercise they held with Japan this week.
China maintains its coast guard is performing regular operations in what is Chinese sovereign territory.
Reuters/ABC | Asia Politics |
UNITED NATIONS: The UN warned on Tuesday that it would pull out of Afghanistan in May if the Afghan Taliban do not allow its local women staff to return to work.
Also on Tuesday, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a study, which warned that restrictions on women’s rights will worsen economic catastrophe in Afghanistan.
The country’s de facto rulers indicated their inclination to ban Afghan women from working for the UN in December last year. On April 12, they issued a decree saying that Afghan women employed by the UN could no longer report for work. They have rejected UN appeals to review their position.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva last week issued a statement, declaring that the UN was launching an operational review to determine whether it can stay in the country despite the ban. The review period expires on May 5.
Says move would be ‘heartbreaking’ but unavoidable if Taliban ban on working women continues
A UN statement explained, “UN national personnel in Afghanistan — both women and men — have been instructed not to report to UN offices” during the review period. But it did make “limited and calibrated exceptions” for those involved in “critical tasks.”
Since their return to power in August 2021, Afghan Taliban have implemented a series of discriminatory measures that restricted Afghan women and girls from participating in most areas of public and daily life.
In one of its statements on the issue, the UN said the de facto Taliban authorities were forcing it “into … making an appalling choice between staying … in Afghanistan (or) standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold.”
“It should be clear that any negative consequences of this crisis for the Afghan people will be the responsibility of the de facto authorities,” the statement added.
In another statement on Tuesday, the UN said it was ready to take the “heartbreaking” decision to pull out of Afghanistan in May if Taliban do not allow Afghan women to work for the organisation.
The 3,300 Afghans employed by the UN — 2,700 men and 600 women — have stayed at home since April 12. However, at a recent briefing in New York, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the staff would continue to receive payments. The UN’s 600-strong international staff, including 200 women, is not affected by the Afghan Taliban’s edict.
A UNDP study, released on Tuesday, shows that without continuity for girls’ education and women’s ability to work, prospects for recovery of the Afghan economy would remain grim.
The study, “Afghanistan Socio-Economic Outlook 2023”, details how Afghanistan’s economic output collapsed by 20.7 per cent following the Taliban takeover in 2021. And despite tentative signs of recovery, such as a relatively stable exchange rate, an increase in exports, growing demand for labour, and muted inflation, GDP is estimated to have further declined by 3.6pc in 2022.
“A sustained inflow of foreign aid, to the tune of $3.7 billion in 2022, has helped avert the total collapse of Afghanistan,” said UNDP Resident Representative in Afghanistan Abdallah Al Dardari.
“Afghanistan is on the brink of economic collapse, exacerbated with the takeover in August 2021,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “Only the continued provision of international aid and basic services to millions of Afghans prevented a full collapse.”
The UN contributed $3.2bn of the overall $3.7bn in foreign aid to Afghanistan last year. UN assistance directly reached 26.1 million Afghans with some form of aid, while helping to stabilise the exchange rate, curb inflation and affect other economic indicators.
The new report projects that the 2023 GDP in Afghanistan could increase by 1.3pc if the level of foreign aid remains at $3.7bn.
However, prospects for economic recovery remain weak and insufficient over the long term, especially if foreign aid is withheld as a result of restrictive Taliban policies.
The UNDP paper analyses the potential impact of a hypothetical aid cut on Afghanistan’s economy and predicts that the decline that would send the country hurtling to the bottom of the global poverty scale.
Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2023 | Asia Politics |
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the rights of Lech Wałęsa, Poland’s former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, were violated as a result of the Polish government’s overhaul of the judiciary.
In their unanimous decision, the court’s judges also called on Poland to implement measures to address “systematic violations” caused by the those judicial reforms.
The case – titled Wałęsa v. Poland – dates back to a civil suit Wałęsa filed in his homeland over a decade ago against a former associate, Krzysztof Wyszkowski, who had publicly accused him of collaborating with the communist security services.
— ECHR CEDH (@ECHR_CEDH) November 23, 2023
Wałęsa partially won that case in 2011, but the decision was overturned nine years later thanks to a new process, known as extraordinary appeal, created by the Law and Justice (PiS) government in 2017.
That procedure allows the prosecutor general, Zbigniew Ziobro, who is also justice minister, to challenge final court rulings. Such appeals are heard by the Supreme Court’s chamber of extraordinary review and public affairs, which was itself also created as part of the PiS government’s judicial overhaul.
In a ruling issued today, the ECHR found, as it has in the past, that this chamber is “not an independent and impartial tribunal established by law” because its judges were appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) after it had also been overhauled by PiS in a manner that resulted in it being under political influence.
The @ECHR_CEDH has ruled that two Polish judges had their right to a fair hearing breached by a review body created during Poland's overhaul of the judiciary.
The justice minister called the verdict part of a "broader political action" against the countryhttps://t.co/4E4e3CVs5u
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 8, 2021
That meant that Wałęsa’s right to a fair hearing under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated, found the ECHR’s judges.
They also found that the extraordinary review process itself violates the principle of legal certainty guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights, noting that:
“Entrusting the prosecutor general – a member of the executive who wielded considerable authority over the courts and exerted a strong influence on the National Council of the Judiciary – with the unlimited power to contest virtually any final judicial decision ran counter to the principles of judicial independence and separation of powers, with a risk that extraordinary appeals could turn into a political tool used by the executive.”
The European judges added that “the state authority had abused the extraordinary appeal procedure to further its own political opinions and motives”, noting that “Wałęsa’s case could not be separated from the political context” of him being a prominent critic of the PiS government.
Finally, the ECHR found that Wałęsa’s right to respect for his private life had been violated. The European court ordered the Polish state to pay him €30,000 in damages.
Polish judicial reforms that introduced a tough new disciplinary system for judges violated European law, the EU Court of Justice has found.
The ruling ends a long-running case that has seen Poland fined over half a billion euros https://t.co/Sl9hZGwbAh
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 5, 2023
The ruling, however, also goes even further than this. Under what is known as a “pilot-judgement procedure” – which the ECHR uses when it deals with many cases deriving from the same underlying problem – it ordered Poland to take measures to address the issue.
“In order to put an end to the systemic violations…identified in this and previous cases, Poland must take appropriate legislative and other measures to comply with the requirements of an ‘independent and impartial tribunal established by law’ and with the principle of legal certainty,” wrote the court.
That aspect of the ruling has been hailed as groundbreaking by legal experts, including Marcin Szwed of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.
🔴Lech Wałęsa wygrywa w Europejskim Trybunale Praw Człowieka w Strasburgu.
🔴Ale co w tej sprawie najbardziej istotne – ETPCz uznał, że system sądownictwa w Polsce jest wadliwy, podstawowym problemem jest KRS, z której wywodzą się kolejne błędy i nakazał Polsce zmianę systemu.
— Maciej Sokołowski (@sokoIowski) November 23, 2023
The ruling is the latest of many by the ECHR that have found various aspects of the PiS government’s judicial reforms to have violated human rights and the rule of law.
However, as in previous cases, its verdict was immediately rejected and condemned by Polish government figures, who argue that European institutions show double standards due to bias against eastern member states and political opposition to Poland’s conservative government.
“The court in Strasbourg has demonstrated legal racism,” tweeted deputy justice minister Sebastian Kaleta, who argued that Poland’s KRS operates in a similar manner to the equivalent in Spain.
He also claimed that the ECHR had issued its ruling “outside the scope of its competences, so the judgement is only an expression of a discriminatory vision that is a non-binding opinion”.
Trybunał w Strasburgu wykazał się rasizmem prawniczym. KRS ukształtowany w Polsce jest podobnie jak w Hiszpanii, a upolitycznienie procesu nominacyjnego jest o wiele niższe niż w wielu krajach europejskich.
Jeśli wobec Polski stanowi to zarzut, to jak ocenić kraje takie jak… https://t.co/i71O2gFpmF
— Sebastian Kaleta (@sjkaleta) November 23, 2023
However, PiS lost its parliamentary majority at last month’s elections and is now set to be replaced by a new governing coalition of three opposition groups that have pledged to restore the rule of law, including re-establishing the independence of the KRS.
Ahead of today’s ECHR ruling, opposition senator Adam Bodnar – who has been tipped as a likely candidate to become the new justice minister – said that it “may be of fundamental importance and lead to systemic changes aimed at eliminating problems with the functioning of the institution of extraordinary complaint”.
“I believe that [the ruling] will provide another legal weapon to restore the rule of law in Poland,” added Bodnar.
The opposition groups likely to form the next government have signed a coalition agreement
They pledged to:
– restore rule of law
– annul the near-total abortion ban
– depoliticise public media
– prosecute anti-LGBT hate speech
– separate church and state https://t.co/lwQvGGok8s
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 10, 2023
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Bartosz Banka / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. | Europe Politics |
The BBC's Rushdi Abualouf, who has reported from Gaza for decades, left the territory with his family on 20 November for the sake of their safety. It was six weeks after the Hamas attacks on southern Israel that has led to weeks of Israeli bombardment within Gaza. He is now in Istanbul, Turkey. Speaking on the BBC's Newshour programme, he described how it felt to leave his home and observe Gaza from the outside.
My family and I grew up in Gaza, we were born in Gaza.
I really feel sad that I have had to leave in this way.
I have a memory from every corner of my house, and from every corner of my neighbourhood.
The rest of my wife's family - her father, mother and brother - are still there, while my father, brothers and sisters also remain in Gaza.
To be honest, it's more difficult for me to watch Gaza from the outside, because when I was there, inside the enclave, I was busy dealing with too many things and not thinking about the situation in the Strip.
Now, when you are out, you have more time to think. And it's very hard for me to imagine that I will no longer see my house or sleep in my bed, and I will no longer see my neighbours and my neighbourhood.
Since we left for Istanbul, we were told that our home was destroyed. I mean the whole building, the whole neighbourhood was destroyed.
Some of my BBC Arabic colleagues are still there. I met them all one night before I left because I wasn't sure about the timing, and there was a surprise call in the night telling me to leave.
I told them I would do everything I could to get them out.
"Be strong and work together, the BBC is very proud of you, the BBC will do everything possible to protect you and try to get you out," I told them.
I've called them every morning since I left Gaza. I'm always with them, always advising them, helping them solve every problem they are facing in their location or with their family, and hopefully they will be out soon.
My family had a chance to leave right at the beginning.
When Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October, my first call was to the BBC to tell them what happened.
The second was to my wife.
I said to her: "Please prepare your bag, you have to leave Gaza now." I was expecting a very big retaliation from Israel, and the Rafah crossing was still open for the first couple of days after the Hamas raids.
At the beginning, my wife did not realise how big the situation would be and how dangerous it was. I would have to stay to work, and because she didn't want us to be apart, she refused and said: "We will stay together, live together."
On the third day we lost this chance - the Rafah crossing was bombed and closed.
And then you have to deal with so many things.
You have to deal with your old father who lives far away from you. You have to learn to deal with your family and you have to deal with your job.
You have to report, and all the time in the back of your mind is your father, in the back of your mind is your wife, your kids, your place - whenever they drop a bomb, you think: is it close to your house?
After we were forced to leave Gaza City, we first arrived in Khan Younis and stayed with family for a couple of days.
Then there was a warning that the house would be bombed. So we had to leave and found ourselves with nowhere to go.
I decided to put up a tent near a workspace I'd set up in Nasr hospital in Khan Younis. My family stayed there for about a week.
I found a house near the hospital so that they could be close to me, so if something happened I could rush to them.
My flat in Gaza City was 170 sq m, but now everyone was squeezed into one small room. They were worried about me not being with them all the time, and also there was not enough food.
My wife was injured that day when she tried to come and see me. The kids were crying that they wanted to see their dad and they decided to go from the house to the hospital.
When they arrived, one of the buildings was hit - that day they almost died.
Now that we are out, I know that I will definitely go back.
I always say as a journalist that Gaza is the perfect place to be - because you will find a story on every corner.
But for me personally, my family has been suffering for a very long time.
I told my wife when we left Gaza, when we walked out of the gate: "I will not let you go back under any circumstances.
"So you have to start establishing your life somewhere else."
Now my kids are happy to be out, to go back to a normal life, though they still miss everything.
But I am a journalist, and as soon as the situation allows me to go back to Gaza I will, because I'm connected to this story and I think those 2.3 million people in the Strip deserve having somebody to tell their story. | Middle East Politics |
Swiss voters look likely to back a new law that seeks to accelerate the country’s shift from fossil fuels to renewable energies and reach zero emissions by 2050, according to a first projection by the gfs.bern research institute.
An early gfs.bern projection announced at 12.30pm on Sunday said 58% of people had voted in favour of the new climate and innovation law. Final results are expected later this afternoon.
Shrinking glaciers, less snow, heavy rains and drought – Switzerland is particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis. The average temperature has already risen by 2.5°C over the past 150 years, double the global average.
At the same time the small Alpine country imports almost 75% of its energy, mostly crude oil, gas and coal.
To ensure Switzerland meets its international climate commitments, while gradually reducing its dependency on fossil fuels from abroad in favour of Swiss-made renewables, parliament finally accepted a new climate and innovation lawExternal link in September 2022 after lengthy debate.
This indirect counterproposal to the so-called Glacier Initiative incorporates the main objective of the initiative – which its instigators have since withdrawn – namely for Switzerland to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
This new law “strengthens climate protection and reduces Switzerland’s dependency on oil and natural gas, without imposing any bans or new taxes”, says the government.
The text fixes intermediate CO2 reduction targets, also by sector, and promises subsidies – CHF3.2 billion ($3.2 billion) over ten years – for homeowners to replace electric, gas or oil heating systems with more climate-friendly systems like heat pumps. Businesses will also be incentivised to invest in green technologies.
Although parliament adopted the counterproposal last autumn, the right-wing Swiss People’s Party was unhappy with it and successfully launched a referendum that voters must decide upon on June 18.
How much will all this extra electricity cost?
The proposal is an “electricity guzzler” and harmful to the economy and the population, the People’s Party argues. It says the extreme law will effectively mean banning petrol, diesel, heating oil and gas, which represent 60% of energy consumed in Switzerland.
Adding thousands of wind turbines and millions of square metres of solar panels will also disfigure the Swiss landscape, opponents say. The transition will cause electricity demand to “explode”, and household bills will spiral – this amid an energy crisis where Switzerland is unable to generate enough homegrown power, they say.
The People’s Party affirms that Switzerland’s energy transition over the next 30 years to a world without fossil fuels could result in energy costs tripling to CHF9,600 per person annually. To support this claim, it cites an EPFL study published last year – but advances the study’s most expensive scenario where Switzerland produces 100% of its own energy, all of it green. The government is not considering this option which the federal authorities and experts say is unrealistic.
The party also cites a joint 2021 studyExternal link by the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It calculated that Switzerland would need to invest CHF387.2 billion, the equivalent of 2% of gross domestic product, over the next 30 years to meet its 2050 carbon-zero goal. This amounts to CHF1,400 per person per year, says the People’s Party.
But for Marco Chiesa, the president of the People’s Party, the main problem with the proposal is that Switzerland simply does not have enough electricity to do without fossil fuels.
“This is the case for all of Europe, except France, which decided on a nuclear strategy a long time ago. In Germany, they have reopened coal-fired power stations to avoid shortages,” he said. “Renewable energy must be stored and we don’t have the possibility to do it here. So if the law is accepted, the supply will be uncertain.”
Opposition driven by the right-wing People’s Party intensified in the weeks before the vote, with a nationwide poster and flyer campaign focused on Swiss energy security and the impact on people’s wallets.
Greater energy independence
The new law was supported in parliament by representatives of all the main parties except for the People’s Party. According to environmental groups and the committee behind the Glacier Initiative, the law will enable Switzerland to free itself from fossil fuels and attain greater energy independence. Investments in innovative technologies and processes will also help to create jobs, supporters say.
“None of us is in favour of disfiguring the country, but you must know what you want. We continue to import gas and oil, especially from authoritarian countries,” said parliamentarian Jacqueline de Quattro from the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party. “Producing renewable energy will allow us to overcome our dependence on foreign countries.”
Beyond financial support, the new law sets out intermediate CO2 emissions targets to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. By 2040, Switzerland must reduce emissions by 75% compared to 1990 levels. Indicative CO2 targets are also set for the construction, transport and industrial sectors. The remaining emissions will have to be offset.
The federal and cantonal authorities, for their part, must set an example and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. Specific objectives are also in place to ensure the Swiss financial sector contributes to the transition and for financial flows to become more climate-friendly.
Apart from political parties and the government, the proposal has the support of cantons, cities and municipalities. And unlike for the failed CO2 vote in 2021, this time most of the business community and lobby groups like the Swiss business federation (economiesuisse) and environmental groups seem to be behind the climate and innovation law.
In the run-up to the vote, the counterproposal enjoyed solid public support – 72% of people said they approved the new law in a poll published by the gfs.bern institute on May 12. This slipped to 63% a month later.
In compliance with the JTI standards | Europe Politics |
- Summary
- Russia says it fought off attack in southern Ukraine
- Mercenary leader says Russia lost ground near Bakhmut
- Ukraine avoids saying whether counter-offensive has begun
KYIV, June 5 (Reuters) - Moscow said on Monday it had thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive in the south of Ukraine's Donetsk region but Russia's main mercenary leader said Russian forces had lost ground around Bakhmut further north.
Asked whether the attacks represented the start of Ukraine's long-heralded counter-offensive against Russia's invasion, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's Security and Defence Council, told Reuters: "The war continues. Until complete victory."
Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine had attacked on Sunday morning with six mechanised and two tank battalions in southern Donetsk, where Moscow has long suspected Ukraine would seek to drive a wedge through Russian-controlled territory.
"On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction," the defence ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram at 1:30 a.m. Moscow time (2230 GMT).
"The enemy's goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front," it said. "The enemy did not achieve its tasks, it had no success."
Asked to comment, a Ukrainian military spokesperson said: "We do not have such information and we do not comment on any kind of fake."
Further north, near the long-contested city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces were reported to have been "moving forward" by the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
An armed forces video showed Russian positions under fire and Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Ukrainian forces had retaken part of the settlement of Berkhivka, north of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, calling it a "disgrace".
Prigozhin's private Wagner army captured Bakhmut last month after the longest battle of the war and handed its positions there to regular Russian troops.
The daily report from Ukraine's General Staff said only that there were 29 combat clashes in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications said Russia would seek to spread lies.
"To demoralize Ukrainians and mislead the community (including their own population), Russian propagandists will spread false information about the counter-offensive, its directions, and the losses of the Ukrainian army," it said.
Ukraine has in recent weeks sought to weaken Russian positions but its plans have been shrouded in secrecy as it prepares to take on the much larger military of Russia.
Moscow was last month struck by drones which Russia said was a Ukrainian terrorist attack while pro-Ukrainian forces have repeatedly crossed into Russia's Belgorod region in recent days. Russia said it had repelled a new attempt on Sunday. The pro-Ukrainian groups said they had captured some Russian soldiers.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov published a cryptic message on Twitter on Sunday, quoting Depeche Mode's track "Enjoy the Silence".
FIGHTING
Russia's defence ministry released video of what it said showed several Ukrainian armoured vehicles in a field blowing up after being hit. Reuters geo-located it to near Velyka Novosilka, a village west of Vuhledar in southern Donetsk region, but could not verify the date.
"There is a tough fight going on," wrote prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo, saying Ukrainian forces were attacking in the area.
The ministry said Russian forces killed 250 Ukrainian troops as well as destroying 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured combat vehicles. Reuters was not able to verify the figures. Both sides have exaggerated casualties suffered by the other.
Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who is in charge of Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine, was in the area at the time of the Ukrainian attack, the ministry said.
COUNTER-OFFENSIVE?
For months, Ukraine has been preparing for a counter-offensive against Russian forces which officials in Kyiv and CIA Director William Burns have said will pierce Russian President Vladimir Putin's hubris.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Saturday that he was ready to launch the counter-offensive but tempered a forecast of success with a warning that it could take some time and come at a heavy cost.
After seeking tens of billions of dollars of Western weapons to fight Russian forces, the success or failure of the counter-offensive is likely to influence the shape of future Western diplomatic and military support for Ukraine.
Russia has launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Ukraine since early May, chiefly on Kyiv, with Ukraine saying it was targeting military facilities but also hitting residential areas.
WAR IN UKRAINE
Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year in what the Kremlin expected to be swift operation but its forces suffered a series of defeats and had to move back and regroup in swathes of eastern Ukraine.
Russia now controls at least 18% of what is internationally recognised to be Ukrainian territory, and has claimed four regions of Ukraine as Russian territory.
For months, tens of thousands of Russian troops have been digging in along a front line which stretches for around 600 miles (1,000km), bracing for a Ukrainian attack which is expected to try to cut Russia's so-called land bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Ukraine vows to eject every last Russian soldier from its territory and casts the invasion as an imperial-style land grab by Russia.
Russia says the West is fighting a hybrid war against Russia to sow discord and ultimately carve up Russia's vast natural resources, allegations that Western leaders deny.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Europe Politics |
A Japanese court has ruled that not allowing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, a decision activists welcomed as a step towards marriage equality in the only Group of Seven nation with no legal protection for same-sex unions.
Key points:
- The court's ruling is the second to find a ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional
- The ruling is likely to add more pressure to change marriage laws in Japan
- Japan has come under increasing pressure from other G7 members but also from economic lobbies
The ruling by the Nagoya District Court was the second to find a ban against same-sex marriage unconstitutional, out of four cases over the past two years, and is likely to add to pressure to change the law in a country in which the constitution says marriage is between a man and a woman.
"This ruling has rescued us from the hurt of last year's ruling that said there was nothing wrong with the ban, and the hurt of what the government keeps saying," lead lawyer Yoko Mizutani told journalists and supporters outside the court.
She was referring to a ruling in Osaka last year that the ban was not out of line with the constitution.
A Tokyo court later upheld the ban on same-sex marriage but said a lack of legal protection for same-sex families violated their human rights.
Tuesday's ruling was greeted with cheers from the activists and supporters waving rainbow flags outside the court.
Though opinion polls show some 70 per cent of the public supports same-sex marriage, the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida opposes it.
In February, Mr Kishida sacked an aide who sparked outrage by saying people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was allowed, but the premier remains noncommittal about it and has said discussions must proceed "carefully".
Nevertheless, more than 300 Japanese municipalities covering some 65 per cent of the population allow same-sex couples to enter partnership agreements.
But the right is limited in scope. Partners cannot inherit each other's assets or have parental rights to each other's children. Hospital visits are not guaranteed.
Ms Mizutani said the court in its ruling had noted that such partnership agreements were not fully sufficient, which she took as an encouraging sign, adding that she felt the court recognised there was little difference between same-sex couples and other couples.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference that the government did not believe the civil code and marriage laws were unconstitutional.
"With regard to issues surrounding the introduction of same-sex marriage, we believe it is important to pay close attention to the opinions of all parts of the public," he said.
While in general the world's third-largest economy is considered relatively liberal, the LGBT community has been largely invisible because of conservative attitudes. Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriages in 2019.
A new law would have to be passed in Japan before same-sex marriages could actually take place.
The government pledged to pass a law promoting "understanding" of LGBT people before hosting the G7 summit this month, but opposition from conservatives delayed it so much a watered-down version was only submitted to parliament the day before the summit began.
The initial draft stipulated discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity should "not be tolerated" but was changed to "there should be no unfair discrimination", wording that critics say tacitly allows bigotry.
Japan has come under increasing pressure to change, both from other G7 members but also from economic lobbies, with businesses arguing that greater diversity is needed for international competitiveness.
Reuters | Asia Politics |
Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2023: Congress Releases Fourth And Fifth List Of Candidates
The ruling party in Rajasthan has named seven women in the latest lists. More than 30 fresh faces have also been fielded by it.
The Congress on Tuesday named 61 more candidates for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, including its national spokesperson Gourav Vallabh and Manvendra Singh, who switched over from the BJP a few years ago.
Vallabh has been fielded from Udaipur, while Manvendra Singh, the son of former Union minister Jaswant Singh, has been nominated from Siwana.
The 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will go to polls on November 25 and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3.
In the fourth and fifth lists of candidates released by the Congress on Tuesday, it has denied tickets to seven incumbent MLAs. The party has named 14 incumbent MLAs, including two Independent winners of the 2018 Assembly election and two more who won the polls on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) tickets and subsequently, joined the Congress.
Two BJP rebels -- Vikas Chaudhary and Surendra Goyal -- have been fielded by the party from Kishangarh and Jaitaran respectively.
The ruling party in Rajasthan has named seven women in the latest lists. More than 30 fresh faces have also been fielded by it.
The Congress has so far announced 156 candidates for the elections in the desert state, where the party seeks to buck the trend of incumbent governments being voted out.
The 14 incumbent MLAs fielded by the party are -- Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Amar Singh Jatav, Indira Meena, Prashant Bairwa, Padmaram Meghwal, Nagraj Meena, Rajendra Singh Bidhuri, Deepchand Kheria, Jogendra Singh Awana, Ameen Khan, Rooparam Meghwal, Saleh Mohammad, Mahadev Singh and Kanti Prasad Meena.
Congress Candidate List 2023: Rajasthan
At a meeting of the Congress's Central Election Committee (CEC) on Tuesday, the party discussed the names of the probable candidates for the Rajasthan elections.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of the state Sukhjinder Randhawa and the party's state unit chief, Govind Dotasra, attended the meeting.
AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and Rajasthan screening committee chief Gaurav Gogoi, besides the members of the CEC, also attended the meeting.
The Rajasthan Congress on Tuesday appointed seven in-charges and three coordinators for the promotion of its seven guarantees ahead of the upcoming state polls.
These in-charges and coordinators will take the Congress' guarantees to every household as part of the 'Congress Guarantee Yatra', Rajasthan party in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said in a post on X.
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Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi has been appointed as Udaipur in-charge, Sachin Pilot has been given the responsibility of Ajmer, Harish Chaudhary of Jodhpur, Govind Ram Meghwal of Bikaner, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh of Jaipur, Mohan Prakash of Bharatpur and Pramod Jain Bhaya of Anta.
The three coordinators are All India Congress Committee secretaries Qazi Nizamuddin, Virendra Singh Rathore and Amrita Dhawan.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced seven guarantees, including providing laptops to government college students, English medium education to every student and an annual honorarium of Rs 10,000 to the woman head of a family, if the Congress returns to power in Rajasthan.
(With PTI inputs) | India Politics |
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