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An expert explains why these shooting stars appear each August and how to see them.
A meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid Meteor Shower in August 2021 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. The Perseids happen each August when the Earth encounters the debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. (Bill Ingalls/AP)
Go outside tonight and look up. Chances are, you’ll see a bunch of shooting stars! But what are shooting stars, actually? And why are they easier to see on some nights than others?
Most meteors disintegrate before they reach Earth, but sometimes a piece of rock is big and strong enough to crash where we can find it. These are called meteorites. Even though they’re from space, we can actually pick them up and study them, says Nugent. Once they cool off, of course!
Each August, the Earth travels through the path of debris left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle, and this creates a meteor shower known as the Perseids (pronounced per-SEE-ids). While shooting stars can be seen any night of the year, looking for them during the Perseid Meteor Shower means a lot more meteors per hour than normal.
If you like looking for shooting stars, maybe one day you can name a piece of space rock, too! | 2022-08-09T13:19:08Z | www.washingtonpost.com | What is the Perseid meteor shower? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/kidspost/2022/08/09/perseids-meteor-shower-watch/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/kidspost/2022/08/09/perseids-meteor-shower-watch/ |
Is a major Alaska oil project a 'carbon bomb' or a nothingburger?
Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202! Today in weird and relatable news, climate change is prematurely aging lizards. 🦎 But first:
Inside the debate over the climate impact of ConocoPhillips's Willow project
Is a massive oil project on Alaska's North Slope an environmentally responsible proposal or a ticking time bomb for the planet?
According to a new analysis released Tuesday by the Center for American Progress, a preeminent liberal think tank, ConocoPhillips's Willow project would produce up to 287 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years. That's equivalent to the annual emissions of 76 coal-fired power plants — a third of all coal plants in the United States.
But according to ConocoPhillips, CAP's analysis is misleading and inaccurate. In reality, the company argues, the Willow project would have a modest environmental footprint in comparison to the nation's coal plants. And it would provide desperately needed energy and jobs for the region and the country.
The debate has enormous implications for President Biden's ambitious climate agenda, which calls for cutting U.S. emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030. It comes as the administration weighs whether to approve the multibillion-dollar effort to expand oil infrastructure on the nation's single largest block of public land.
Here's a look at both sides of the ongoing debate over the project — and why it matters for Biden and the planet:
ConocoPhillips's proposal for Willow includes hundreds of miles of roads and pipelines, airstrips, a gravel mine and a major new processing facility — all in the middle of pristine Arctic tundra and wetland.
The dispute over the project's emissions spans several months:
In March, CAP published a report titled “The Biden administration’s easiest climate win is waiting in the Arctic.” The report asserted that if the Interior Department approves Willow, it would negate the emissions avoided by meeting Biden's near-term goals for deploying more renewable energy on public lands and waters.
In April, ConocoPhillips drafted a six-page rebuttal of the report that was shared with The Washington Post. The oil giant argued that CAP had made “statements and assertions that are factually inaccurate, logically flawed, and segregated from appropriate context for comparison and understanding.”
In July, the Interior Department released a new environmental assessment of Willow but declined to reveal whether it was leaning toward approving the controversial project.
And today, CAP released the new analysis — based on Interior's environmental assessment — concluding that Willow could generate up to 287 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over 30 years. ConocoPhillips also disputes this analysis.
Now that we've laid out the context, let's review the heart of the debate. While the disagreement is complicated, it largely centers on a hypothetical situation in which the Willow project were not developed.
ConocoPhillips argues that in this scenario, greenhouse gases would continue to be emitted because the market would substitute other energy supplies to meet demand. Therefore, the oil giant says, Willow would only result in a net increase of roughly 35 million metric tons over 30 years — just 0.15 percent of the annual carbon output of U.S. coal plants.
CAP argues that it's irrelevant to speculate about what might happen if Willow were not developed. Instead, the center says, Interior has a duty to consider what might happen if the project moves forward. And Interior's own analysis shows that Willow could pump up to 287 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — equivalent to operating 76 coal plants for a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
In an email, ConocoPhillips spokesman Dennis Nuss said that CAP “continues to misconstrue emissions numbers and timelines to create misleading comparisons to what remains an environmentally and socially responsible project.”
Nuss added that “when complete, Willow will promote U.S. energy security, provide employment in the state of Alaska, and generate public revenue directed to North Slope communities for healthcare, roads, schools and other essential services.”
Jenny Rowland-Shea, CAP's director of public lands and the author of the new analysis, countered that Willow would be a “carbon bomb” at a time when “scientists and others are saying the U.S. urgently needs to move off fossil fuels” to meet global climate targets.
“We really, really can't afford to have this project happen,” she said.
Despite rising heat, industries push against safeguards for workers
As extreme heat becomes more common due to climate change, industry groups are fighting to prevent new regulations aimed at protecting employees from heat-related illness, Anna Phillips reports for The Washington Post.
Although more progressive places along the West Coast have adopted workplace rules to address heat exposure, many other states’ attempts to require safeguards have been either blocked or weakened by major companies, according to public records and those involved in efforts to write new rules.
The new standards could require companies to give workers water, shade and rest breaks, or set statewide maximum heat temperatures for workplaces. But companies argue that the regulations would expose them to lawsuits, cost a lot of money, represent a regulatory overreach and increase the burden on businesses to enforce the rule.
Some advocates are concerned that if the federal government establishes a heat rule or some other workplace protection related to climate change — which the Biden administration says it plans to do — it would face legal pushback from industry groups arguing that the hazard presented by the heat is not unique to the workplace, but rather is a universal risk.
Meanwhile, if the planet remains on its current track of warming by 2 degrees Celsius, the number of unsafe work days is expected to nearly double. Already, heat exposure kills an average of 40 workers annually and injures more than 3,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The government says these figures are “likely vast underestimates” because of underreporting.
President Biden on Monday surveyed the damage from devastating storms last month that caused the worst flooding in Kentucky's history and killed at least 37 people, pledging to expand federal support until residents are back on their feet, Seung Min Kim, Chris Megerian and Bruce Schreiner report for the Associated Press.
Biden stressed that politics have no place in federal disaster response, despite his frequent clashes with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who led all 50 Senate Republicans in opposing Democrats' climate and tax package.
“We battle all the times on issues,” Biden said, but in helping Kentuckians rebuild, “we’re all one team.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One that the floods in Kentucky are “yet another reminder of the intensifying and accelerating impacts of climate change and the urgent needs to invest in making our communities more resilient to it.”
Monday's trip was Biden's second visit to Kentucky since taking office last year. He previously visited in December after a string of tornadoes whipped across the state, killing 77 people and leaving a trail of destruction.
Democrats’ climate bill could bring more offshore wind to the U.S.
A little-noticed provision in the tax and climate bill passed by the Senate on Sunday would open up waters off the coasts of Puerto Rico, Guam, and other U.S. territories to offshore wind development for the first time, Jennifer A Dlouhy reports for Bloomberg News.
The provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which the House is expected to pass on Friday, would reverse a decades-old quirk in federal law that barred renewable energy developers from pursuing offshore wind energy leases in the five U.S. territories. It would also require the Interior Department to seek public comment on potential offshore wind lease sales there.
The proposal comes as the island territories, which are largely dependent on oil and gas for electricity, are being increasingly hit by worsening extreme weather events due to human-caused climate change.
“The territories need to be able to diversify their energy,” said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore oil, gas and wind firms.
Stress of climate change is aging lizards before they’re even born — Dino Grandoni for The Post
Composting in NYC is hard. Cyclists and a pug named Rocky are helping. — Meghan McDonough and Rengim Mutevellioglu for The Post
U.S. fuel retailers rail against green aviation fuel tax credit — Laura Sanicola for Reuters
Climate change could aggravate over half of known human pathogens, scientists say — Julia Jacobo for ABC News
We also eat 25 percent of our body weight in food every day while writing this newsletter: 😂
Awwwwtters! Sea otters eat 25% of their body weight in food every day. Their diets include sea urchins, crabs, mussels and clams, which they’re known to crack open with a rock and eat while floating in the water.
Photo by David Ledig / @BLMNational pic.twitter.com/JeiTlRWpKg
— US Department of the Interior (@Interior) August 6, 2022 | 2022-08-09T13:19:32Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Is a major Alaska oil project a 'carbon bomb' or a nothingburger? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/is-major-alaska-oil-project-carbon-bomb-or-nothingburger/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/is-major-alaska-oil-project-carbon-bomb-or-nothingburger/ |
Serena Williams suggests upcoming retirement: ‘Something’s got to give’
Serena Williams acknowledges that her days as a competitive tennis player are nearing an end. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Serena Williams says the countdown to retirement has begun. In an Instagram post about her cover article in Vogue magazine, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said the pressure of wanting to expand her family, coupled with her outside interests, means that “something’s got to give.”
“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family,” Williams told writer Rob Haskell. “Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia. I was one of those annoying women who adored being pregnant and was working until the day I had to report to the hospital — although things got super complicated on the other side. And I almost did do the impossible: A lot of people don’t realize that I was two months pregnant when I won the Australian Open in 2017. But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give.”
Williams admits she has “never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family.”
Just when that last moment will come is uncertain and Williams admits that. It could come after the U.S. Open next month.
Serena Williams suggests upcoming retirement: ‘Something’s got to give.’ | 2022-08-09T14:23:35Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Serena Williams suggests upcoming retirement from tennis - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/serena-williams-vogue/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/serena-williams-vogue/ |
Police for thee, but not for me.
A police car is seen outside former president Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday. (Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images)
Following concerns about being unfairly targeted by unchecked members of law enforcement, a new movement has emerged calling for agencies to be stripped of power and funding. Rampant distrust and fears about abuse of power are fueling calls to push back, to limit authority and constrain personnel counts.
This isn’t the left’s “defund the police.” It’s the right’s “stop the FBI.” It’s the GOP’s explicit opposition to boosting staff at the IRS.
Over the weekend, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a concisely named bill that includes a range of new measures. Among them is increased funding for the Internal Revenue Service, to the tune of some $80 billion over the next decade. That funding includes plans to increase IRS staff by nearly 87,000 full-time employees over that same time period.
The administration’s argument for this move is that the agency has been depleted in recent years, making it less effective. Adding funding and staff will pay for itself in part, the argument goes, because the agency will be better able to identify cheating on taxes. In recent years, both the total number of IRS staff and the number focused on examination and collection have not grown significantly and are at or near levels seen 20 years ago, when there were 30 percent fewer filers.
The additional $80 billion in spending is projected to yield $124 billion in revenue through better enforcement. But, for obvious reasons, Democrats are eager to make clear that only higher-income Americans will see more frequent audits.
“[T]he additional resources will go toward enforcement against those with the highest incomes,” the administration’s explanation of the funding argues, “and audit rates will not rise relative to recent years for those earning less than $400,000 in actual income.”
The specter of tens of thousands more IRS agents, though, was hard for Republicans to resist. Sure, not all of those 87,000 additional employees would be tasked with poking around in tax returns, but some were — and who wants that!
So we got Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) intoning about “BIDEN’S SHADOW ARMY,” a crew that would “target regular, everyday Americans,” and GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel warning that those taking part-time jobs to pay bills are “exactly the people the 87,000 new IRS agents will likely go after.” And so on.
It’s very useful to consider this rhetoric in the broader context of the recent debate over law enforcement. People like Cruz and McDaniel are presumably not worried about overreach by their local police departments. Importantly, they understand that this is not something their voters are terribly worried about. Complaints that municipal police might be treating some segments of the population differently than others — pulling them over disproportionately, searching them more — are not things Cruz’s and McDaniel’s bases lose sleep over.
But an audit? Sure. So the idea that the IRS is gaining clout is cause for concern, particularly because there had been an effective defund-the-tax-police movement for years that’s now being reversed. In 1999, there were 60 examination and collection agents for every 1,000 filers reporting incomes of $500,000 or more. Two decades later there were only 17.
This was the state of play until about 7 p.m. on Monday. I made those graphs expecting to write about the response to IRS funding in this context. Then, suddenly, I got a new example: FBI agents had searched former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
In short order, the bureau became a target of even more virulent opposition. Take this, from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
This is not irony. It is Greene extending her belief that the FBI’s targeting of Mar-a-Lago was an unacceptable overreach to a specific conclusion: the bureau is too powerful and should be constrained. She’s co-opting the verbiage of those who view local police departments with similar skepticism, but she is not being insincere in her demand.
As with the IRS, complaints about the FBI — and Greene was by no means alone in offering one — were rooted in assumptions about what the agencies were or would be doing. Republicans and conservative media very quickly leaped to criticize the bureau as overstepping boundaries in conducting its search, despite the dearth of information about what was being sought or what laws the government (and the judge who signed off on the search) believed were committed. Thanks in large part to years of dishonest representations from those same parties and Trump himself about the FBI targeting him unfairly, Republicans quickly framed the search as unacceptably partisan, as political strike by their opponents.
We should at no point grant law enforcement a reflexive benefit of the doubt that it is operating with complete directness and objectivity, certainly. Any use of governmental force — from arrests to searches to financial reviews — should be conducted with transparency and evenhandedness, something that demands our collective oversight and scrutiny.
But it is impossible not to notice how the response to the Mar-a-Lago search and the IRS expansion reveal the gulf in what sorts of oversight Americans fear. Black Americans in particular have drawn focus in recent years on how police departments apply force, including deadly force, prompting the political right to largely circle the wagons in defense of cops. When, however, the cops work for the IRS or target a popular Republican political figure — even one with a lengthy track record of blurring legal lines — that reflexive support evaporates. Instead, there’s default skepticism and concern about systemic problems. Which, for the original supporters of “defund the police” will seem familiar.
One refrain that emerged following the Mar-a-Lago search was that it demonstrated how far federal law enforcement was willing to go. “If they can target a president, they can target you,” the common line went. Setting aside the unique circumstances here — if the search was, as reported, targeting classified documents Trump kept at his home, that’s an uncommon situation — a fair response is: sure. Yes, if the feds or the police think that a law was broken, they might search my house, too. And sometimes those searches will be specious. Sometimes the police will engage in coverups to protect themselves. That can happen to you, indeed — but, at certain levels, it seems to happen to some people more than others.
If you demand accountability for members of law enforcement you fear but not for ones you don’t, you aren’t demanding accountability for law enforcement. | 2022-08-09T14:27:56Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The Mar-a-Lago search and IRS funding spur defund-the-police calls — on the right - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/suddenly-its-right-that-wants-defund-law-enforcement/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/suddenly-its-right-that-wants-defund-law-enforcement/ |
Can an Atypical Democrat Unseat an Extremist Republican?
How does she compare to her colleagues? (Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg)
This is not an especially promising year for a Democrat challenging a Republican member of Congress — especially in a place where a Democrat hasn’t held the seat for more than a decade. Nevertheless, the race in Colorado’s huge 3rd Congressional District is worth watching.
The incumbent, Representative Lauren Boebert, is not a typical Republican (and that’s an understatement). And her challenger, Adam Frisch, is not a typical Democrat — in fact, he doesn’t even like to use the word to describe himself.
Frisch says he is a “Western small businessman” trying to build a “bipartisan coalition” to help the rural and working-class voters that both parties have left behind. “I’ve been unaffiliated my entire life,” says Frisch, who joined the Democratic Party last year and won the June primary by less than 300 votes.
The race will test not only whether Boebert’s extremist views and minimal legislative record still have appeal among Republican and Republican-leaning voters. It will also test whether Frisch’s “I’m not really a Democrat” is a winning Democratic message.
To be clear, Frisch remains a long shot in a district that the Cook Political Report rates as solidly red. President Donald Trump won the district by 5.5 points in 2020, but the map was redrawn last year, giving Republicans a nine-point advantage.
At the same time, Frisch points out, Boebert won in 2020 with just 51% of the vote. And the district is 25% Democratic, 31% Republican and 43% unaffiliated.
Unaffiliated is how Frisch sees himself. A former currencies trader and member of the Aspen City Council, Frisch looked at some polling last fall and realized that if a moderate, pro-business candidate could make it through the Democratic primary, he’d have the best shot at defeating the polarizing one-term Republican.
Boebert’s narrow victory two years ago compares unfavorably to those of many of her Freedom Caucus colleagues. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, for example, won with 75% of the vote in a district Trump won by 48 points. Matt Gaetz of Florida got 65% in a district Trump won by 34 points.
Of those “wackos” and “extremists,” Frisch tells me, Boebert “is the only one that actually has a chance to be defeated.” That’s what he tells voters and donors, too.
Almost as prolific a tweeter as Trump, Boebert has a well-earned reputation as a liberal troll. She has opposed mask mandates, invoked the Holocaust to oppose vaccination efforts and espoused conspiracies like replacement theory. She tweeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s location during the Jan. 6 insurrection and voted against certifying the 2020 election results. In March, she voted against Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill, but recently asked for $33 million to build a bridge in Glenwood Springs.
Dennis Anderson, a Republican newspaper publisher in western Colorado, once called Boebert the “real deal when it comes to conservative values.” But last November he wrote an op-ed deriding her “immature insults and pathetic props” as well as her “own selfish ambitions.”
And even though he views Boebert as an ineffective legislator, Anderson still isn’t sure who he’ll vote for — he’s concerned about the economy and wants to make sure he’s still represented by some “red” at the state level. He is wary of Frisch emphasizing issues such as abortion and climate change, if he wants to stand a chance in the district’s rural, more conservative areas.
That said, the politics of abortion may be a game changer for Democrats this year. In Colorado as elsewhere, the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision has motivated Democratic voters, notes Craig Hughes, a Democratic strategist. Boebert is pro-life and says life begins at conception. In 2020, Colorado voters defeated by 59% to 41% a ballot initiative that would have banned late-term abortions. Frisch describes the Dobbs decision as “tragic and destructive,” and says he doesn’t want “Republicans choosing who’s going to be on the Supreme Court.”
Guns is a more nuanced debate in Colorado. But it’s not clear that Boebert’s gun antics will have the same appeal they did two years ago. She recently said that a ban on assault weapons would lead people to eat dogs, and late last year tweeted a Christmas photo of her and her four young sons posing with assault rifles.
Frisch released an internal poll last week showing him seven points behind Boebert, but leading among unaffiliated voters 49% to 41%. He says national Democrats and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have told him to keep them posted on his fundraising and polling and to “check back in with us.” For now, Frisch is trying to raise $3 million and says the campaign has events lined up in Denver, Minneapolis (where he was born) and the Democratic fundraising bastions of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington.
Still, Frisch isn’t calling himself a Democrat. His new website won’t have the word “Democrat” anywhere on it, he says, and neither will his yard signs.
And as for the D on the ballot? What does that stand for? Frisch says he’s working on it. One thing’s for sure: It doesn’t stand for Defeatist.
• The Midterm Guessing Game Just Keeps Getting Weirder: Jonathan Bernstein | 2022-08-09T14:49:48Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Can an Atypical Democrat Unseat an Extremist Republican? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/can-an-atypical-democrat-unseat-an-extremist-republican/2022/08/09/2ed63c20-17e8-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/can-an-atypical-democrat-unseat-an-extremist-republican/2022/08/09/2ed63c20-17e8-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Killed by police bullets — and poor police training. (Photographer: Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
Do we have a right to a well-trained police force? The question is one we should be discussing in the wake of two recent developments in the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor: last week’s announcement that the federal investigation has led to indictments against four police officers, and the less publicized decision by a federal judge in late July to dismiss most of the lawsuit filed by Taylor’s neighbor, whose apartment was hit by the fusillade of bullets fired that night. Although the indictments are understandably the bigger story, the neighbor’s lawsuit might also point the way toward avoiding such tragedies in the future.
• Can Mass Shootings Be Foiled?: Sarah Green Carmichael
• America’s Gun Laws Are as Old as Its Gun Politics: Francis Wilkinson | 2022-08-09T14:50:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Police Training Is Expensive and It’s Still Not Enough - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/police-training-is-expensive-and-its-still-not-enough/2022/08/09/98c41082-17f0-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/police-training-is-expensive-and-its-still-not-enough/2022/08/09/98c41082-17f0-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Wall Street Is Failing Women in Retirement
Signage outside Blackrock headquarters in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. BlackRock gains 1.7% in premarket trading after reporting revenue and adjusted EPS for the third quarter that beat the average analyst estimates. (Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg)
When it comes to a comfortable retirement, women in the US have the cards stacked against them. New efforts to start changing this are laudable, and yet they’re still missing the mark because they’re being shaped by decades of misperceptions.
The inequities a woman faces throughout her working life — from earning less to shouldering the lion’s share of childcare responsibilities — add up over the years and take their toll. More than 80% of women don’t think they’ll be able to retire without running out of money compared with 65% of men, according to a recent TIAA study.
While much of the problem is rooted in culture and history — along with subpar US policies — the financial services industry bears its share of the blame. It’s long neglected women, alienating them with patronizing attitudes and outdated thinking, making wrong assumptions about what they care about, relying on technical jargon and telling them to spend less rather than invest.
Instead, they should be working with women to help them overcome the specific financial obstacles they face.
There seems to be a glimmer of awareness now, perhaps as banks realize the total pool of wealth controlled by women globally will rise to as much as $93 trillion by 2023, according to estimates by Boston Consulting Group. There are mutual funds that only invest in companies that prioritize women’s advancement, banks conducting studies on women and their finances, and firms that are focused on making their wealth management teams more diverse.
Unfortunately, most of these efforts are woefully inadequate, unlikely to give women any kind of constructive assistance to reverse their disadvantages in retirement.The latest attempt is from BlackRock Inc., which introduced a new set of model portfolios to help women have more money in retirement. The firm’s thinking is that since women live longer, earn less and may experience gaps in employment, they could benefit from gender-specific portfolios that put more of their cash in stocks.
It sounds nice on paper, and the firm seems to have put a lot of thought into it, but I’m still underwhelmed. It’s a set of products just for women, while most women don’t actually want products made exclusively for them.
A 2020 report from BCG that looked at wealth management and women highlights how firms too often treat women as a homogenous group, ignoring the varying needs and preferences of different clients.
“Women do not want or need products that are different from those offered to men. Rather, they want a personalized approach that is tailored to their financial objectives,” according to the report’s authors.
Debra Brede, a financial planner in Needham, Massachusetts, has the right idea: She constructs her clients’ portfolios, whether for men or women, as though they will live to 100, using investments from every asset class.
BlackRock’s model portfolios for women are based on the firm’s target date fund framework (but they’re sold through financial advisers rather than offered through 401(k)s for regulatory reasons). So there’s some customization that may be happening, but it still seems like the portfolios aren’t really that bespoke, or taking a woman’s individual preferences and needs into account.
Perhaps for women with a more modest level of assets the BlackRock setup can be attractive. Some financial advisers don’t want to go to the trouble of customizing portfolios for clients if they don’t have a certain net worth — but if that’s the case, women would likely be better off just going with low-cost exchange-traded funds.
It’s dangerous to make generalizations, but if there’s anything that differentiates women investors, it’s that they care more about their investments making enough money to achieve certain goals as opposed to just outperforming an index or generating a set return. This holds true at different levels of wealth.
There are also some misconceptions around how women investors view risk. Some studies have shown women to be more risk-averse , and on average they have a high amount (40%) of their portfolios dedicated to cash, according to BlackRock. But there are important caveats to this idea.
If women know from the outset that they have to take on more risk for their investments to get them to a specific goal, say, buying a house, then they’re comfortable with it. Sallie Krawcheck, co-founder of Ellevest, a wealth management firm for women, calls this being risk-aware rather than risk-averse.
“In my 24 years, women are no less likely than men to be OK with an aggressive asset allocation as long we’re all super clear about which buckets of money we’re talking about,” says Stephanie McCullough, a financial adviser in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
The more assets a woman has, the higher her risk tolerance often is, which suggests it’s less about gender and more about wealth level.
It’s important to point out that most women are in a terrible position for retirement because they don’t have access to 401(k)s in the first place. More women tend to be part-time workers or employed in jobs that don’t provide access to retirement savings plans.
Even if they do, their earnings are often too low to have enough left over to invest for retirement. About 50% of women ages 55 to 66 have no personal retirement savings and just 22% have $100,000 or more (compared with 30% of men who have $100,000 or more in savings).
This is more of a policy problem than something the financial services industry should be responsible for fixing. But it could do its part, perhaps by supporting financial education programs for low- and middle-income women, which have been shown to increase retirement savings.
Helping women to be in a better position in retirement is a tricky business, with deeply rooted and complex issues to sort through. The industry may be stepping up its efforts, but it still has a long way to go.
Roth IRAs Are a Smart Way to Invest for College: Erin Lowry
Female CEOs Become Less Rare in Industrials: Brooke Sutherland | 2022-08-09T14:50:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Wall Street Is Failing Women in Retirement - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/wall-street-is-failing-women-in-retirement/2022/08/09/74ed5b18-17ec-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/wall-street-is-failing-women-in-retirement/2022/08/09/74ed5b18-17ec-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
BALTIMORE — Two medics were injured while responding to a call in south Baltimore on Monday night, when a driver fired an air pellet gun at them then struck one medic with the car while fleeing, officials said.
Both medics were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation of their injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, officials said in a news release. | 2022-08-09T14:50:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Driver shoots 1 medic with air pellet, hits another with car - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/driver-shoots-1-medic-with-air-pellet-hits-another-with-car/2022/08/09/05d29766-17f1-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/driver-shoots-1-medic-with-air-pellet-hits-another-with-car/2022/08/09/05d29766-17f1-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
The raid at Mar-a-Lago proves Garland isn’t afraid to investigate Trump
The Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., in July 2019. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)
Not much is known about the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. But one thing has been made clear enough: The Justice Department has no qualms about criminally investigating the defeated former president.
The Post reported, “Former president Donald Trump said Monday that the FBI had raided his Mar-a-Lago Club and searched his safe — activity related to an investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents, according to two people familiar with the probe.” It might be that Trump’s retention of documents now is considered to pose a serious national security threat. The raid might also be related to other potential crimes. It all depends on what the documents show.
In any event, a search warrant requires two things: probable cause and a judge to sign off on it. In other words, a judge needs to determine there is probable cause a crime has been committed and that the raid will turn up evidence of that crime. While it is always possible the crime at issue might have been committed by someone other than Trump, prosecutors say this is rarely the case. After all, if the documents are not about a person’s own wrongdoing, the FBI would simply ask that person to produce the documents or a grand jury would subpoena them.
And that brings us to the next point: Since Trump’s attorneys are reportedly in discussion with the Justice Department regarding the Jan. 6 investigation, the department’s attorneys must have determined a simple request to Trump or his attorneys might have resulted in destruction of evidence. Again, this concern would strongly suggest the subject of the raid is Trump and that the documents are of great importance.
Certainly, this is no ordinary warrant. In executing a warrant on a former president, approval from the deputy attorney general, if not the attorney general himself, would have been required. Remember that Attorney General Merrick Garland recently affirmed his predecessor’s policy requiring the “attorney general to sign off on investigations involving presidential candidates and their staff.” That policy is in place specifically so that no FBI agent or U.S. attorney goes off half-cocked and pursues a candidate or would-be candidate.
Garland’s well-known caution and determination to play by the book suggest he would not authorize a move this dramatic unless there is a very good reason to seek the evidence. And that’s why I find it hard to believe this has nothing whatsoever to do with the Jan. 6 investigation. Garland surely would not take such a momentous step if he were not looking at a serious crime.
The warrant’s execution should dispel any doubt that Garland is shying away from a Trump investigation and, if the facts and law indicate, prosecution. In addition, the over-the-top reaction from Trump and the chorus of Republicans expressing horror that a warrant should be served on a former president underscore how anxious Trump must be and how quickly he puts the call out to his docile party members for reinforcement. (They don’t all spontaneously put out similar messaging without prompting.) It also highlights how utterly incapable the GOP is to get off the Trump train. (Really, Republicans are willing to nominate someone for whom there is probable cause to believe he is implicated in a crime?)
Trump and his cronies might be surprised that the rule of law actually applies to former presidents. Trump never seemed to grasp the concept that the law restrains him in any fashion. For the more sober-minded Republicans, the search warrant should be yet another sign that this will not end well for the former president and his underlings. | 2022-08-09T14:51:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | The raid at Mar-a-Lago proves Garland isn’t afraid to investigate Trump - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/mar-a-lago-raid-garland-investigate-trump/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/mar-a-lago-raid-garland-investigate-trump/ |
As water demand has grown, researchers say a lack of rain and mismanagement has led to one of the worst droughts in the northern half of the country
Lauren Tierney
Reservoirs have been hitting the bottom of their basins. Taps have been running dry for millions of people in Monterrey, where the water shortage was called a matter of national security. Water bills have skyrocketed.
People have burned pipes that could divert water away to other cities. Truck drivers delivering water have been kidnapped.
Ranchers in rural areas have lost livestock or sold them prematurely because they can’t feed them.
“People are making lines to obtain a few liters of water…I wonder how it is possible that they reach this level?” said Víctor Magaña-Rueda, a climatologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “In March, nobody was talking about the socioeconomic drought, and all of a sudden we realized that Monterrey was facing one of the worst droughts ever seen in the area.”
For more than a year, northern Mexico has experienced abnormally dry to exceptional drought conditions, but water shortages have become increasingly dire in recent months.
As demand has grown, researchers say a lack of rain and especially water mismanagement has led to one of the worst droughts in the northern half of the country. As populations continue to increase and temperatures keep rising, speeding up evaporation from the land surface, water issues will worsen without better adaptation.
“We should really change water management in not only in terms of climate change and what may result from it, but also in terms of water demands. Our population has grown. Water demands grow. So things should change,” Magaña-Rueda said.
Dry conditions are not rare in northern Mexico. Much of the land consists of desert or a semi-arid climate, typically receiving less than 30 inches of rain per year.
Rainfall this year has been lower than normal, however. Northeastern Mexico has been perpetually dry since January, receiving no rainfall during some months, which is somewhat unusual even during dry season.
The North American Drought Monitor shows drought conditions across Mexico, primarily based on precipitation amounts; about half of the country is experiencing at least a moderate drought.
Drought intensity
Data as of June 30
Abnormally
Exceptional drought
Guat.
Oceanographer Benjamín Martínez López said some of the rainfall deficit is because of the temporary presence of La Niña, which is characterized by a cooling of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The cooler ocean temperatures are linked to fewer clouds, less rainfall and more evaporation in northeastern Mexico.
Increased temperatures from human-caused climate change can also intensify evaporation, dry out soils and worsen drought. Mexico has warmed around 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius) since pre-industrial times. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has already documented an increase in drought in the region, which is projected to continue worsening in the future as temperatures rise.
Human-induced climate change can also amplify the effects of naturally occurring patterns, such as La Niña.
However, researchers say the low rainfall and rising surface temperatures do not fully explain the water shortages, especially in Monterrey.
“Monterrey has been increasing their water consumption very, very rapidly,” Magaña-Rueda said.
Water levels in the three dams that supply water to the city are dwindling. In July, water levels were so low in the Cerro Prieto reservoir that no water could be extracted. The Presa Rodgrigo Gomez reservoir, commonly known as La Boca reservoir, is also nearly empty, as shown in satellite imagery at the top of the page and below. The reservoir near the El Cuchillo Dam, located east of Monterrey, was at less than half capacity a few weeks ago.
2021 shoreline
1/4 MILE
Note: 2021 shoreline is the median extent between
June 28 and July 12. 2022 shoreline is the median
extent between June 27 and July 11.
Note: 2021 shoreline is the median extent between June 28 and July 12. 2022 shoreline is the median
Groundwater is also near record lows. Groundwater is used to help supplement supplies when surface water is often unavailable or running low, overexploited during drought. It usually takes months to years to replenish. As of Aug. 1, satellite data showed groundwater across northern Mexico was near record lows compared to the long-term average.
“What this shows is that they are pumping a lot of water to face the drought,” said Magaña-Rueda, who cited illegal well pumping activity too. “There is no real control…and it’s more critical in regions where precipitation is, in general, meager, like in northern Mexico.”
Groundwater conditions
Groundwater wetness percentile as of
August 1, compared to 1948-2012
Groundwater wetness percentile as of August 1, compared to 1948-2012
Benjamín Ordoñez-Díaz, an adjunct researcher at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, said water demand has gone up in recent decades due to a growing population and an increase in the number of large companies and agriculture activity. Monterrey’s population has doubled since 1990, with the metropolitan area exceeding 5 million people today.
“The drought in the past only affects cattle and farmers in the beginning, but in this moment affects families, affects farmers, cattle and all the industries who have been developing in this area,” Díaz said.
Much of the drought has affected people in poorer neighborhoods. While authorities limited water supplies to residents, several large companies such as breweries and soda factories in Monterrey continued to receive water needed to maintain their activities.
These maps illustrate the seriousness of the drought in the western U.S.
“People in Monterrey don’t have access to water, but at the same time, you get pictures from golf fields— green – receiving enough water,” said López, a lecturer at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “The distribution of water is not okay.”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged that the growing number of industries has strained water supplies and called on companies and farmers to give some of their water supplies to the public during the drought. Heineken, the beer producer, offered some of its water provisions and donated a well.
The end of the drought is uncertain. Many are relying on tropical cyclones to bring water to the desert and replenish reservoirs. Hurricane forecasters have projected an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, another effect of La Niña, but activity has been low so far. Forecasters expect it to pick up soon but depending on a tropical cycle for rainfall is risky in a constantly changing climate.
“Expecting a tropical cyclone to help water management in the region is not an intelligent activity,” said Magaña-Rueda. “We have been maintaining the same practices as a few decades ago, and so that is unsustainable.”
Magaña-Rueda said the government and locals need to implement more sustainable practices, including less overall water consumption even outside of times of drought. People need to diversify water sources, not only relying on surface and groundwater in a warming world. The government should also create better drought mitigation plans and update water policies.
“The best time to act against drought is when there is no drought,” said Magaña-Rueda. “That is what what adaptation is all about."
Groundwater conditions data sourced from NASA Grace. Drought monitor data sourced from North American Drought Monitor. Satellite imagery and reservoir shoreline extents for 2021 and 2022 sourced from analysis by Planet Labs PBC. | 2022-08-09T15:20:10Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Northern Mexico has a historic water shortage. These maps explain why. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/08/09/drought-mexico-water-monterrey/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/08/09/drought-mexico-water-monterrey/ |
National Theatre executive director David Kitto and archivist Lana Mason in a former dressing room that houses the historic theater's archives. (John Kelly/The Washington Post)
If you were a culturally-minded Washingtonian in the first week of December 1852, you might have headed over to the National Theatre. The smorgasbord of attractions on offer included a Grand Troupe of French and Spanish dancers, including Mlle. De Melisse and Senorita Soto, followed by the comic-drama “Good for Nothing,” featuring Miss Annie Lonsdale in her celebrated turn as Nan, and then a farce called “Sketches in India” and a grand ballet in two acts.
“Sounds like a good time,” says archivist Lana Mason, leaning over a poster advertising the fare.
“Something for everyone,” agrees David Kitto, the theater’s executive director.
We’re on the fourth floor of the Pennsylvania Avenue NW theater, in what was once a set of dressing rooms, now repurposed as an archive. Nine filing cabinets line one wall, the folders inside containing information on every show done at the National from 1900 to today. Another wall is lined with books. Shelves hold photos, scrapbooks, plastic sleeves of color slides, old videotapes. Further back, posters are piled up, announcing shows with the likes of Carol Channing and Tim Curry.
The 1852 poster rests on a counter beneath a mirror framed in lightbulbs. (How many actors have checked their makeup here before heading onstage?) Next to that poster is another framed broadsheet, from 1853.
“These are the oldest materials in the collection that I’ve found so far,” says Mason, who was brought on board three months ago to sort through the somewhat neglected archives. “They’re in really remarkable condition.”
The National is Washington’s oldest continuously operating theater and the second oldest in the country (behind only Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre). There has been a National on this spot since 1835. The current building dates to 1924. The very first show was “The Man of the World” by Charles Macklin. The current offering is “Six,” a musical celebration of Henry VIII’s half-dozen wives that debuted at Edinburgh’s Fringe festival, hopped to London’s West End, then opened on Broadway before sending out this road company.
“We’ve probably got the best record of touring theater on the East Coast in existence, considering its position between New York and Richmond,” Kitto says. “Vivien Leigh played here. Laurence Olivier played here. Churchill spoke here.”
That was in 1900, when a 26-year-old Winston Churchill was on a lecture tour, recounting his exploits during the Boer War. (“He possesses no marked traits of the professional public speaker,” wrote a critic from the Washington Times, who did allow that “the recital was brightened by many shafts of humor.”)
Says Kitto: “This was the Kennedy Center before the Kennedy Center.”
As befits a theater three blocks from the White House, the National has attracted its share of presidents. Mason has pulled out a photo of Jack and Jackie Kennedy at a performance of “Mr. President” starring Nanette Fabray.
An 1885 history published to mark the theater’s 50th anniversary notes that John Wilkes Booth appeared at the National only once, on April 11, 1863, playing the title role in Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” In the audience: Abraham Lincoln.
“Tad Lincoln was actually at the then-version of the National Theatre when his father was assassinated,” Kitto says. Lincoln’s son was seeing a production of “Aladdin.”
The theater’s history intertwines with the nation’s history. It’s a place for both national figures and local ones. Some are both. Mason points out a program signed by the cast of the 1943 play “Harriet.” In the title role as Harriet Beecher Stowe was a D.C. native: Helen Hayes, the first woman to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Hayes was among those who fought to integrate the National’s audience. In 1948, the theater’s then-owners refused to allow Black patrons. After “Oklahoma!” closed in July of that year, the National switched to showing movies rather than integrate.
The archives contain a ledger book with a handwritten entry in the first week of May 1952: “Reopening of Natl. Theatre as a legit house.” The musical “Call Me Madam” — with Ethel Merman (and another D.C. native, Chita Rivera) — was back as a live theater, with new owners and an integrated audience.
Just as the show must go on, so must the archives. Kitto and Mason are hoping to add to the collection.
“I’m looking for material that helps build a narrative of the theater’s history, to help us understand not only the creative side — who are the people who came in and played here? — but also the administrative side,” Mason says. “Who are the main people who kept the theater running all those years?”
If you have something related to the National Theatre that might make a good addition to the archives, email information@nationaltheatre.org or call 202-783-3370. | 2022-08-09T16:12:24Z | www.washingtonpost.com | In D.C., National Theatre's archives hold decades of stage history - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/national-theatre-dc-history/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/national-theatre-dc-history/ |
3 more items Democrats should get done before the midterms
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) holds a news conference after the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Aug. 7. (Michael Reynolds/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
There have been few summers in modern history in which Congress has done as much as it has this year. From passage of expanded health care for sick veterans to the gun-safety bill to the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats have been able to muscle through the most consequential series of legislation since the Affordable Care Act.
But not everything is done. Lawmakers won’t have much time when they return from recess in September before they have to leave again for the remainder of the election season. But Democrats would be wise to complete action on three items that are smart policy and smart politics.
First, a ban on stock trading by members and spouses seems like a no-brainer. Many voters are surprised and appalled when they find out there is not already such a law in place.
A House bill, sponsored by Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Chip Roy (R-Tex.), and a companion bill in the Senate, sponsored by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), have been introduced, but have not yet received floor votes. Passing such a measure would provide an additional boost to incumbent Democrats and show they are responsive to constituents’ concerns about conflicts of interest and corruption. Indeed, it has become a campaign issue in some races. Democrats should help themselves by passing it quickly — and not settle for a watered-down version that would exempt spouses.
Second, the Senate should complete work on the Electoral Count Act reform bill. With some key changes, the bipartisan proposal can go a long way toward heading off future coups. Subsequent events have underscored the flaws in the existing bill. With Republicans nominating election deniers for governor in Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, the proposal deeming a governor’s certification of electors “conclusive” is dangerous in the extreme.
Third, Democrats should put to a floor vote the proposed tech antitrust bill. CNBC reports: “The most promising tech antitrust bill to move through Congress won’t get a vote before the summer recess, according to its lead sponsor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. Klobuchar said on Saturday she talked with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., last week about having a vote on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act in the fall.”
Co-sponsored by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the bill would prohibit tech platforms from favoring their own products over rivals. The proposal has met resistance from the tech industry, which argues that the bill could have unintended consequences for online speech and content moderation. But as The New York Times reports, “four Democratic senators in June called for amending the bill to ensure it was not misinterpreted.”
This might be the last time to make progress on an issue on which lawmakers have grandstanded for years but never seriously addressed. At a time of high inflation, it makes sense to respond to consumers’ complaints that the tech behemoths are limiting choice and hindering price competition. And if Republicans oppose it, Democrats can defend it on the campaign trail alongside other cost-saving measures that Republicans have opposed, such as the $35 monthly cap on insulin.
Democrats have had a remarkably productive summer. With a few finishing touches in the fall, they could go into the midterms with a head of steam. Now is no time to rest on their laurels. | 2022-08-09T16:16:46Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | What Democrats should pass before midterms - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/democrat-agenda-eca-stocks-tech-antitrust/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/democrat-agenda-eca-stocks-tech-antitrust/ |
(Marco Bello/Reuters)
In his recent speeches, Donald Trump has taken to saying that he is “the most persecuted person in the history of our country.” The millions who lived and died in slavery? Native Americans who endured the Trail of Tears? Sure, they suffered. But did they get kicked off Twitter?
Now that the FBI has executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, the former president can indulge what has become his most important impulse, his driving motivation, his very reason for being: to whine and complain.
But the nearly universal GOP response has been that the search can only have been politically motivated, despite the fact that no one commenting knows what the FBI was looking for or what it found.
“I stand with President Trump against this outrageous action of the FBI,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). “The Biden Admin has fully weaponized DOJ & FBI to target their political enemies,” tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.” On Fox News, the hosts and guests all but lost their minds in rage. Kari Lake, the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee for governor of Arizona, thundered in a statement that “We must fire the Federal Government,” whatever that means.
Meanwhile, Republicans immediately began using it in fundraising appeals.
There’s no question that this was an extraordinary action for the Justice Department to have taken, which is why it’s almost certain that it came after lengthy deliberation and in the belief that a crime (or multiple crimes) had been committed. The department had to be fully aware of the political firestorm that would erupt.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is hardly some kind of hothead, and the other top Justice Department officials likely to have been part of the decision-making aren’t the collection of knaves and buffoons Trump had gathered around himself. You can question their decisions, and they’re capable of making mistakes, but in this Democratic administration, the officials in charge are serious people.
And of course, the reaction of Trump’s defenders was going to be political. But the way that they’re making their case shows how profound a hold Trump’s cult of personality still has on his party.
Imagine you’re a voter, perhaps one who voted for Trump in 2016 but crossed over to Joe Biden in 2020. What are Republicans saying to you right now, besides “Donald Trump should be above the law”? It’s not as though Republicans will be running on an anti-corruption platform, or standing up for strict adherence to an independent Justice Department. They’re making more than clear that they “support law enforcement,” but they’re not so keen on it enforcing certain laws.
However, some did make a halfhearted effort to link Trump’s personal oppression to some hypothetical future oppression you might experience yourself:
What’s the “it” here? Execute a search warrant approved by a judge to investigate unlawful seizure of classified materials, and perhaps other crimes as well? I suppose in theory the federal government might do that to me or you, but I confess I’m not particularly worried.
This gets to something important about why Trump was voted out of office in 2020 and what is likely to hamper his bid in 2024: His narcissism is so all-encompassing that he is unable to tell anyone not already deep within his cult why the things that matter to him should also matter to them.
He’s consumed with re-litigating his 2020 election loss and obsessed with his alleged persecution, and his defenders see no higher purpose than shouting that Donald Trump is the greatest victim we have ever known, and nothing could be more important than freeing him from his oppression. Some seem positively elated at the possibility that this will help Trump’s 2024 bid to win the White House.
But to believe that, you’d have to think the American electorate will rise up to defend poor, persecuted Trump, no matter what crimes he might have committed, and sweep him back into office for no reason other than his personal victimization. Let’s hope that isn’t true. | 2022-08-09T16:16:47Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | With FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump's whining kicks into overdrive - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/fbi-search-trump-whining/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/fbi-search-trump-whining/ |
The War in Ukraine Is Speeding Europe’s Pivot to Renewables
Mothballed coal-fired power stations are cranking back to life in Europe as utilities try to keep the lights on after Russia choked off supplies of natural gas. Even before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the region was rocked by a series of supply disruptions that revealed the vulnerabilities of an energy system that’s become more reliant on intermittent wind and solar power in recent years. While the race to avoid winter blackouts and a deep recession requires a return to dirtier fuel sources for now, the crisis is also spurring European leaders to accelerate the longer-term shift to renewables.
1. How did the crisis come about?
Europe’s vulnerability was laid bare by an unexpected chain of events: After an unusually cold and long winter in 2020-2021, the post-pandemic recovery led to higher demand for energy. That coincided with weather patterns creating unusually low wind speeds that cut output from wind turbines, all at a time when natural gas was in short supply. As a result, electricity prices more than tripled in the second half of 2021. Then in February 2022, Russia’s military campaign triggered sanctions against Moscow. Putin hit back by weaponizing natural gas flows to his neighbors. He began to turn the screws by restricting flows in April. By the end of July, the prospect of a complete collapse of Russian supplies was looking increasingly likely.
2. Why is Russia such a big factor?
Russia is one of the world’s biggest exporters of gas and Europe is still its biggest customer. As coal and nuclear plants around the bloc were shuttered in recent years, Germany and some other countries became more dependent on the giant pipelines carrying gas from Siberia. For many years, EU officials talked about the need to become less reliant on Russian supplies, but since both sides benefited, and gas delivered by pipeline was often cheaper (and cleaner) than other energy sources, little action was taken. The EU relied on gas for about a quarter of its energy, with Russia accounting for more than a third of that supply in 2021, up from 26% in 2001. When the conflict in Ukraine erupted, it was suddenly untenable for Europe to continue spending as much as $1 billion a day on coal, gas and oil imported from Russia -– since it was funding the war machine.
3. How did Europe respond?
As the U.S. and other allies went ahead with an embargo of Russian energy, EU policymakers rushed to find alternative supplies. They hashed out a tiered retreat that began with a ban on Russian coal. Then they wrestled for weeks to try to develop a plan to phase out Russian oil in 2022 and reduce imports of gas by two-thirds. It’s difficult as some refineries and chemical plants in the eastern part of the bloc are captive customers, receiving their feedstocks via pipelines from Russia. In July, EU nations reached an agreement to cut their overall gas use by as much as 15%. The plan involves walking a tightrope between preserving energy supplies for residential users while mitigating the risk of lasting damage to vital industries. Heat waves in July and August boosted demand for power as consumers and businesses turned up their air conditioners, making those energy savings harder to achieve.
4. How are utilities avoiding shortages for now?
Use of hard coal and lignite to generate power in the EU rose 15% in the first half of 2022 from a year earlier as decommissioned plants were revived. A push to bring in more liquefied natural gas by ship, which costs about four times more than Russian pipeline gas, was constrained by infrastructure and limited global supplies. There was talk of delaying the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany and other countries, a source of stable electricity virtually free of emissions. The approach was initially rejected, but gained appeal as the crisis escalated, with Germany’s environment minister signalling she was willing to consider extending the life of one plant beyond its planned closure by the end of the year.
5. How is the crisis affecting Europe’s economy?
Industrial manufacturing has taken a hit because energy prices rose faster than in other regions. By August, benchmark Dutch gas futures were more than six times more expensive than those in the US and about a third pricier than in Asia. Chemicals giant BASF SE planned to cut production of ammonia, for which gas is a key feedstock. In the UK, CF Industries Holdings Inc. said it was closing a fertilizer plant permanently. Steel producers and aluminum smelters cut output because power and gas prices at least four times higher than historical norms made them uncompetitive on world markets. German officials asked citizens to curb energy use and warned about possible rationing of natural gas, rattling companies from car manufacturers to cement makers. It also got too expensive to light Germany’s presidential palace in Berlin, while the city of Hanover was dialing down the hot water in showers at local gyms and pools. As the war dragged on, more economists predicted the energy crisis would cause Europe’s economy to shrink, tipping it into a recession.
6. How are consumers affected?
The energy crunch is driving Europe’s fastest inflation in decades, pushing what’s known as the “cost-of-living crisis” to the top of the political agenda. The UK in late May announced a £15 billion aid package for households, while France in early August approved a 20 billion-euro anti-inflation package for homes. Other nations from Italy to Sweden also compensated its citizens. While these are presented as temporary measures, the rupture with Russia means Europe faces higher energy costs for the foreseeable future. And with subsidies for renewables being phased out, energy prices will also need to cover the cost of green investments.
7. What about Europe’s green ambitions?
In the short term, the dash back to dirtier fuels looks like bad news for the climate. Further out, the crisis has made European governments more determined to ditch Russian gas, and fossil fuels in general, and accelerate adoption of cleaner technologies. They’ve stuck with the EU’s flagship climate policy, the Green Deal, which includes a massive package of laws to meet a target of zeroing-out greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. The 27 countries in the EU got about a fifth of their total energy from renewables in 2020 and had planned to double that share to 40% by 2030. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, the target was raised to 45%. Germany, which relied on Russia for the bulk of its oil, natural gas and coal, brought forward its goal of 100% renewable power by more than a decade to 2035. That’s an ambitious challenge since wind and solar farms take years to plan and build.
• A Bloomberg editorial on why Europe’s emergency energy plans don’t look ambitious enough.
• Bloomberg Opinion’s Javier Blas highlights the European industries under threat of closure, from aluminum to chicken farming.
• David Fickling breaks down Russia’s gas exports to Europe.
• Related QuickTakes on the EU’s Green Deal, how Europe became dependent on Putin for gas and the EU’s plans for a carbon border levy.
• A data vizualization on how Russia’s war in Ukraine is choking the world’s supply of natural resources.
• More on Europe’s wartime mission to ditch Russian oil and gas. | 2022-08-09T16:21:08Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The War in Ukraine Is Speeding Europe’s Pivot to Renewables - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/the-war-in-ukraine-is-speeding-europes-pivot-to-renewables/2022/08/09/f2d197fe-17f8-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/the-war-in-ukraine-is-speeding-europes-pivot-to-renewables/2022/08/09/f2d197fe-17f8-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler with Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in 1942. (German Federal Archive)
Former president Donald Trump has proved time and again that he is no student of history, despite citing the past with the regularity of a thunderstorm on a summer afternoon.
The latest example comes from the New Yorker, which has published an excerpt from Peter Baker and Susan Glasser’s upcoming book, “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021,” focused on Trump’s troubles with the military men in his administration whom he once referred to as “my generals.”
At one point, according to the book, he complained to his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, a former Marine general, asking why he and others couldn’t be “totally loyal” to him, like the “German generals in World War II.”
“You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?” Kelly allegedly responded.
So were Adolf Hitler’s generals yes men? Or did they really plot to assassinate him three times and get close once?
In total, there were at least 42 plots to assassinate Hitler, according to historian Roger Moorhouse in his book “Killing Hitler: The Plots, the Assassins, and the Dictator Who Cheated Death.” Of those, at least 10 attempts involved German generals.
One of the earliest came in 1938, before World War II even began. A handful of generals led by Hans Oster conspired with government ministers and diplomats to overthrow Hitler, and kill him if necessary, believing he was about to thrust Germany into a massive war it could not win. The plot fell apart when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain negotiated a peace treaty, heading off the immediate threat of war. Most of the generals involved quietly joined the German resistance; Oster was executed by the Nazis in 1945.
Hitler shot himself 75 years ago, ending an era of war, genocide and destruction
Gen. Hubert Lanz developed another plot in 1943. When Hitler arrived for a scheduled visit to the eastern front in Ukraine, Lanz and other officers planned to surround Hitler and his security with tanks and, if they resisted arrest, blow them to bits. Hitler ruined the plan by visiting a different spot than they had expected. Lanz was later convicted of war crimes at Nuremberg.
Maj. Gen. Henning von Tresckow organized a number of assassination attempts, including a bomb in a suitcase on Hitler’s plane, which failed to detonate when it froze in the cargo hold, and a bomb timed to go off during Hitler’s appearance at an armory, foiled when he raced through the building before the timer expired.
The best-known plot — probably the “almost pulled it off” to which Kelly was referring — was the 20 July Plot, sometimes erroneously called Operation Valkyrie, which was the name of the continuity-of-government plan that Tresckow and his conspirators wanted to use to take over after they killed Hitler. Col. Claus von Stauffenberg — played by Tom Cruise in the 2008 film “Valkyrie” — placed a bomb in a suitcase close to Hitler in a conference room at his Wolf’s Lair retreat. Stauffenberg was driving away when he heard the bomb go off and presumed Hitler dead.
He wasn’t. An aide had moved the briefcase before it blew up, and Hitler was protected from the blast by a table leg. Four others died, and many more were injured. If the plotters had hoped to decapitate the Nazis, the attempt had the opposite effect: Hitler’s doctor recalled him saying over and over, “I am invulnerable. I am immortal,” according to Moorhouse.
In the following days, Tresckow killed himself, Stauffenberg died by firing squad, and thousands of alleged conspirators were rounded up, tortured and executed — including a raft of generals. Even Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, a national hero and talented commander, was caught up in the dragnet and forced to kill himself.
The next year, as the Allied forces closed in, Hitler — who had survived dozens of attempts on his life — died by suicide.
Letters found in an attic reveal eerie similarities between Adolf Hitler and his father
Historians are split on to what degree, if any, the generals plotting against him were motivated by a desire to stop Nazi atrocities such as the Holocaust. Many were aware of atrocities for years before they began to plot against Hitler and did nothing. Some may have been motivated more by the Nazis pushing aristocrats out of government than by high-minded ideals like democracy or human rights. Even the generals who wanted to kill Hitler to end the war planned to claim in their surrender terms much of the territory Germany had taken during the Nazi regime.
Like Trump, Kelly has previously been criticized for his questionable takes on history. In 2017, he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the Civil War was caused by “the lack of an ability to compromise” and that Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was “an honorable man,” views popular among the now-discredited “Lost Cause” hagiography to which many students in the 20th century were subjected.
Hitler’s generals are, by and large, not held up as principled heroes or honorable men, not even the ones who plotted to kill him. They are remembered as the men who stood by while Hitler murdered millions.
More on World War II
Lost grave markers surface from a distant World War II battlefield
To liberate Auschwitz, David Dushman drove a Soviet tank through its barbed wire. Horrors awaited inside. | 2022-08-09T16:21:10Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Trump wanted 'loyal' generals like Hitler's. They tried to kill him. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/09/trump-kelly-hitler-german-generals/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/09/trump-kelly-hitler-german-generals/ |
Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. On this day in 1942, British authorities in India arrested nationalist Mahatma Gandhi; he was released in 1944.
On July 20, the CIA said Russia had suffered 60,000 casualties in Ukraine since widening its war there Feb. 24. On July 27, the Biden administration told lawmakers Moscow’s losses ran to 75,000 killed and wounded. On Monday, the Pentagon’s number crept higher, to up to 80,000.
Even 60,000 would be catastrophic. Over two decades of war in Afghanistan, the United States endured 2,448 dead and more than 20,000 wounded. At, 80,000, it would be more than half the 150,000 troops Russia was estimated to have massed on Ukraine’s border by Feb. 23.
But if you think it’s unlikely that Moscow lost 15,000 over the stretch of a week, you’re right. Instead, officials are working not from a fixed number but a scale, and some go with the higher end, while others are more confident at the lower end.
“It’s always a range. And, you know, there’s no perfect number,” CIA Director William Burns told the Aspen Security Forum on July 20. “I think the latest estimates from the U.S. intelligence community would be, you know, something in the vicinity of 15,000 killed and maybe three times that wounded, so a quite significant set of losses.”
(“Russia classifies military deaths as state secrets even in times of peace and has not updated its official casualty figures frequently during the war. On March 25 it said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed,” Reuters reported July 20.)
This isn’t a “gotcha.” The Daily 202 wanted to look at the casualty number because so much U.S. policy toward Ukraine aims to escalate the cost to Russia of sustaining its war there, and so much of U.S. analysis of the conflict asks the question “how much more can Moscow take?”
On Monday, those two dynamics were very much in evidence as Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl briefed reporters about a fresh disbursement of $1 billion in military aid for Kyiv — the largest U.S. package to date.
“There's a lot of fog in war, but, you know, I think it's safe to suggest that the Russians have probably taken 70- or 80,000 casualties in less than six months,” Kahl said. “That number might be a little lower, a little higher, but I think that's kind of in the ballpark.”
Asked how long Russia could sustain that, Kahl replied: “A lot of it would depend, I think, on the political decisions that Vladimir Putin will make ultimately about whether he can continue to recruit and send additional forces to the front, whether he was at some point, you know, willing to engage in national mobilization or some other effort.”
Zelensky wants more
Escalating the costs for Russia was also central to The Washington Post’s interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who pressed the United States and its allies to ban all Russian citizens.
Russians should “live in their own world until they change their philosophy,” he said, my colleague Isabelle Khurshudyan reported Monday. “Whichever kind of Russian … make them go to Russia.”
That’s a bridge too far for President Biden’s administration, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be more candid.
“We would not want to implement a total ban on all Russians,” the official told The Daily 202.
A total ban would mean denying entry to Russian dissidents and those who have criticized the war, as well as those who are “persecuted for politics or sexual orientation,” and that would upend a “bedrock principle” that Americans welcome such people, the official said.
It would also run against a theme Biden has woven into his rhetoric about the war, namely that America’s quarrel is with Putin and his government, not the Russian people, the official said.
But that has been something of a mixed message. The unprecedented economic sanctions the United States and its partners have leveled on Russia since February are surely hitting the Russian people, while Putin rages against them but hasn’t relented in Ukraine.
Biden signs Chips Act, kicking off one of government’s biggest ever industrial projects
“The long-pursued legislation looks set to spur construction of more than half a dozen big semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the United States, providing more secure supplies of the tiny components that are so important to modern electronics that they are viewed as essential to national security,” Jeanne Whalen reports.
Republicans call for Garland, Wray to hold news conferences, testify to Congress
“Leading Republican lawmakers are calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray to hold news conferences and appear before Congress to explain why the search of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was necessary,” John Wagner reports.
“During a television appearance Tuesday morning, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said Garland and Wray — as well as President Biden — should appear before cameras and ‘take all questions, explain why they’re doing what they’re doing, what each of them knew when.’ ”
Pelosi downplays McCarthy’s threat to investigate Justice Department
“First of all, I think the Democrats are going to win the House,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show. “Whatever the leader is saying is probably idle.”
“But nonetheless, we believe in the rule of law, and that’s what our country is about,” Pelosi added. “And no person is above the law, not even the president of the United States, not even a former president of the United States.”
“All over the country, the Dobbs decision has drawn attention to the power of state judiciaries, transforming once-sleepy races into high-energy elections that could bring out voters focused on abortion and other civil rights issues, candidates, legal experts and party officials said. Even where abortion has not yet been on the docket since the fall of Roe v. Wade, courts are making decisions on hot-button issues from gerrymandering to affirmative action,” James Bikales and Praveena Somasundaram report.
“With Rudy Giuliani just days away from his scheduled Tuesday appearance before an Atlanta grand jury, his lawyer asked for a last-minute delay — providing a doctor’s note saying the 78-year-old was not cleared to fly because of a recent ‘invasive procedure.’ The email response from the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was unyielding,” Tom Hamburger, Ann E. Marimow and Matthew Brown report.
Mini-scoop
How the news of the Mar-a-Lago raid broke
"The news of the raid was first reported by Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics, a news organization that closely covers congressional and down ballot races in the state. In a phone call with Slate, Schorsch said that he had heard about the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago from a ‘longtime source in Republican politics who has a law enforcement background’ and knew a lot about ‘south Florida law enforcement,’ ” Slate's Natalie Shutler and Molly Olmstead report.
"When Schorsch reached out to another source—someone who would have intimate knowledge of Trump’s whereabouts and goings-on of his inner circle—he said that Trump’s people ‘were still playing catch-up.’ The Trump camp put out a statement at 6:45 p.m. confirming the raid, leading with the line, 'These are dark times for our Nation.'”
“In a recent closed-door meeting with leaders of the agency’s counterterrorism center, the CIA’s No. 2 official made clear that fighting al-Qaida and other extremist groups would remain a priority — but that the agency’s money and resources would be increasingly shifted to focusing on China,” the Associated Press's Nomaan Merchant reports.
“As part of a major push by the Biden administration to address the nation’s maternal health crisis, senior officials have traveled the country for the past year, talking to midwives, doulas and people who have given birth about their experiences. They’ve held summits at the White House,” Akilah Johnson reports.
“The result: an almost 70-page plan aimed at taking the United States from being the worst place to give birth among high-income nations — especially for Black, Native American and rural women — to ‘the best country in the world to have a baby.’ But maternal health experts say it remains to be seen whether the federal initiative is enough to accomplish the administration’s goal.”
“The Department of Homeland Security said late Monday it is preparing to quickly end the Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ program and will no longer send asylum seekers back across the border to await a decision on their applications for U.S. protection,” Nick Miroff reports.
“The Pentagon on Monday said it is sending Ukraine an additional $1 billion in military assistance, including tens of thousands more munitions and explosives — the largest such package since Russia launched its invasion in February,” Karoun Demirjian reports.
"With Russia and China looming in the background, America’s top diplomat pitched a ‘new chapter’ in U.S.-African relations on Monday, promising robust trade and calling for democracy despite political upheaval in much of the continent. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken insisted his five-day swing through sub-Saharan Africa is aimed at making the region a priority for the administration in a dynamic of ‘equal partners,’ ” the Los Angeles Times's Tracy Wilkinson reports.
How Sweden and Finland could alter NATO’s security, visualized
“The addition of the countries could offer the alliance expanded land, sea and air capabilities. Sweden has a strong navy, which would strengthen NATO’s defenses in the Baltic Sea, and builds its own fighter jets, which it exports to countries around the globe. Finland’s well-funded military maintains mandatory conscription for men…The countries also offer key geographic advantages, which would enhance NATO’s defenses,” Ruby Mellen and Dylan Moriarty report.
“A decisive victory for abortion rights in conservative Kansas — which voted overwhelmingly last week to continue guaranteeing access to the procedure in the state constitution — has galvanized Democrats hopeful that the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe will reshape the midterms by opening inroads with key voters,” Hannah Knowles reports.
“Michigan, a purple state with competitive races for governor and Congress, is shaping up as one of the most politically consequential battlefronts. Democrats here are working to win over women who might otherwise be inclined to vote Republican, such as [52-year-old Lois] Smith, and turn out base voters who have been difficult to excite, all as Republicans and antiabortion activists aim to counter their efforts.”
“The quick defense of Trump and combative posture by leading Republican officeholders and potential 2024 presidential aspirants underlined the former president’s status as a standard-bearer in the party, even as he was tainted anew by another investigation. With fewer than 100 days before the midterm elections, many Republicans continue to rally around Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election, his baseless attacks on a slew of officeholders and his divisive rhetoric,” Colby Itkowitz, David Weigel and Josh Dawsey report.
At 2 p.m., Biden will sign the ratification of Finland and Sweden to join NATO and deliver remarks in the East Room, with Vice President Harris in attendance.
In memory of Olivia Newton-John
“Everyone loved a little Olivia Newton-John, even our moms. The singer and actress, who died Monday at 73, had this unthreatening, sustaining beauty: the soft-focus treatment, the pearly whites, the big blue eyes, the voice that could be surprisingly strong even when it was whispery and ethereal. If the station wagon only got AM radio stations, something about her still came through crystal-clear. She was sunny beaches and dewy meadows and warm fireplaces,” Hank Stuever writes. | 2022-08-09T16:21:51Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Russia has lost up to 80,000 troops in Ukraine. Or 75,000. Or is it 60,000? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/russia-has-lost-up-80000-troops-ukraine-or-75000-or-is-it-60000/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/russia-has-lost-up-80000-troops-ukraine-or-75000-or-is-it-60000/ |
The Commanders announced Aug. 9 that they'd fired defensive line coach Sam Mills III, who had spent the past two seasons with the team. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
The Washington Commanders fired defensive line coach Sam Mills III on Tuesday morning, Coach Ron Rivera announced. The timing was surprising — Rivera has never fired a coach during training camp — and Rivera said he made the decision not because of the defensive line’s underperformance last season, but because of “philosophical differences,” though he declined to offer specifics.
Mills spent the first 15 years of his career with the Carolina Panthers and worked on Rivera’s staff in Carolina from 2011 through 2019. Washington hired him in January 2020.
Jeff Zgonina, the assistant defensive line coach, was promoted to replace Mills. Zgonina played for seven teams across 17 seasons in the NFL. He retired after the 2009 season, started his coaching career in 2013 and served as the defensive line coach in San Francisco in 2017 and 2018.
“At the end of the day, it’s sad,” defensive tackle Jon Allen said. “I think me and Coach Sam were getting along really well. We were really making some progress as a defensive unit. It’s the NFL. People just got to remember it’s a great game but a terrible business.” | 2022-08-09T17:09:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Commanders fire defensive line coach Sam Mills III, promote Jeff Zgonina - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/commanders-mills-fired-defensive-line/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/commanders-mills-fired-defensive-line/ |
Coheed’s frontman masked his feelings in art. Twitch helped him open up.
(Washington Post illustration; Miikka Skaffari/Getty)
In 1998, Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez took a trip to Paris. There, he conceived of the sci-fi storyline that has come to span nine of his now-beloved progressive rock band’s ten records. At the time, the still-small tale functioned as an escape, a means by which Sanchez — uncomfortable with the idea of belting his autobiography to sweat-soaked masses — could shroud his true feelings in fiction. Flash forward a couple decades: The once-reclusive singer and guitarist is now a Twitch streamer.
Coheed and Cambria has been around since 2001, though other, differently named incarnations of the New York-based band span back even further. Sanchez’s storyline, “The Amory Wars,” has sprawled to encompass novels, comic books and even an oft-forgotten mobile game, in addition to the aforementioned albums. It’s set in a sci-fi universe called Heaven’s Fence and centers on the two titular characters — at least until they die at the end of the band’s first album. From there, the saga goes on to introduce numerous additional arcs and characters, one of whom is a talking bicycle. This willful strangeness has endeared Sanchez’s epic to fans, as have catchy hooks and emotive lyrics that are relatable even if listeners don’t know the full story, serving more as a soundtrack to characters’ feelings rather than a literal telling of the narrative. Ultimately, though, it all comes from a personal place; for example, Coheed’s latest album, Vaxis II, which came out in June, is inspired by Sanchez’s son and explores what it means to raise a child in an increasingly cruel world.
Sanchez has largely preferred to let his creations do the talking, making his metamorphosis into a livestreamer is a surprising one. Twitch, after all, is not generally known as a place to go if you don’t want to talk — and talk and talk, for hours on end. (Twitch is owned by Amazon, whose founder, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) On top of that, Sanchez’s band has amassed a fan base with cultlike zeal (just ask any other band that’s ever been pitted against Coheed in any sort of online popularity poll), primed to pounce and pelt him with questions even when he’s just trying to get in a few rounds of “Fortnite.” To the 20-year-old version of Sanchez, this might sound like a nightmare straight out of one of his own music videos.
The 44-year-old version, however, has managed to find joy in speaking to hundreds of chatty fans at once.
“I feel like I’m talking with a sector of our audience that’s like myself,” Sanchez said. “We’re all kind of in that boat. I have those off days where I’m like, ‘Why do I do this? It’s very uncomfortable.’ But there are others where it’s really sort of helping me — even with my approach to banter when we play live. I’m using it as a tool to feel a bit more comfortable with myself.”
One of the UFC’s most decorated champions dreamed of being a Twitch star. Not anymore.
Sanchez does not fit the profile of a typical rock star. Certainly, he’s got the voluminous mane for the job, but in person he comes across as reserved bordering on anxious, casting his gaze downward as he answers questions and fidgeting with rings on his hand. A self-professed introvert, he overcomes the dissonance between his personality and his career by disappearing into another identity when he takes the stage.
“When I’m up there playing with my friends, I’m almost anonymous,” Sanchez said. “I feel like someone else. It’s only in those moments where I have to engage that I come back. And I’m like, ‘Oh no!’ ”
Streaming on Twitch, he explained, has helped take some of the oomph out of those “Oh no!” moments. You never know what you’re going to get from Twitch chat — which might ask questions one moment and turn some offhand comment you made into a meme the next — and that’s taught Sanchez how to roll with the punches no matter what awkward angles they might come from.
“[It’s helped me with] just being kind of impulsive,” he said of the way lessons from Twitch have impacted his stage banter. “There’s somewhat of a comfort I get now when the moment comes where I have to engage. I think that has to do with understanding what the audience might want from a moment like that. That’s what I’m getting from the Twitch stream — from the fans that are participating in it.”
That increased impulsiveness feeds back into the Twitch stream, with Sanchez even going so far as to follow a whim earlier this year and share unreleased music with Twitch viewers from a musical adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” he’d previously worked on, but which had been shelved.
“I’m not entirely sure what the motive was when I decided to share that music,” he said. “I’m not that type of person most days. But that stream sort of allows me to be something else.”
At the time, only a few hundred people got to hear snippets of the left-field project, and it’s largely stayed that way. Sanchez does not keep VODs (videos on demand) of his streams, and he generally prefers that fans not upload copies to services like YouTube. Even though — or perhaps because — his band has millions of fans around the world, he has no designs on becoming the next Tyler “Ninja” Blevins or Félix “xQc” Lengyel. He wants his Twitch streams to carry the intimacy of a tour meet and greet — fittingly the kind of place where fans can walk up to him and tell him they’ve been in his Twitch chat.
“It’s why I don’t keep the VODs,” Sanchez said, “because I’m not entirely sure I want [the stream] to get any bigger, you know?”
Ninja is no longer Twitch’s biggest streamer, but he’s made peace with it
Sanchez enjoys broadcasting and commenting on licensed music by other bands from time to time, which — given Twitch’s struggles with record labels over the years — also gives him plenty of motivation to live in the moment.
“Absolutely!” he said, laughing, when asked if the prospect of getting in trouble also factored into his decision to delete Twitch VODs.
Sanchez added, however, that he’s very interested in making Coheed’s library available to Twitch streamers: “I think at some point, that’ll probably become a reality,” he said.
Gaming and streaming help Sanchez when he’s offstage, as well. Some singers get up in front of audiences and attack sets with bestial ferocity before partying all night long, but that approach has an expiration date. Video games, Sanchez explained, help him take care of himself.
“The older I get, the more I need rest, fluids, and all sorts of stuff to execute the set we’ve put together,” Sanchez said. “Sitting in that room with a console reminds me, ‘Oh, I have to drink this. These are the lozenges I need to take.’ It helps me sit in isolation, not talk, and rest my voice. Falling into a game like ‘Fortnite’ is perfect for that.”
In service of this, Sanchez is constructing a gaming rig to take with him on tour. For now, it consists of a PlayStation 5 and a screen attached to a Coheed and Cambria equipment case that’s no longer fit for duty. Eventually, the port-o-pod will include music recording gear as well.
Sanchez isn’t just interested in playing games, though. Last year he found himself wowed by the virtual concert Ariana Grande put on in “Fortnite,” and in an ideal world, he would love for Coheed to be able to do something similar. He also believes that thanks to the Coheed narrative and all its accompany art and imagery, the band is better equipped than many to make the jump onto a virtual stage. | 2022-08-09T17:17:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Coheed and Cambria's Claudio Sanchez streams on Twitch. Here's why. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/08/09/coheed-and-cambria-claudio-twitch-fortnite/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/08/09/coheed-and-cambria-claudio-twitch-fortnite/ |
A 12-year-old Alabama boy “unintentionally” shot and killed his mother over the weekend in their home after initially making up a story about how she died, according to authorities.
The child, who has not been publicly identified, discharged a firearm early Saturday morning, killing his mother, 29-year-old Ayobiyi Cook, in Forestdale, Ala., authorities said. Cook’s husband, a police officer in nearby Birmingham, was at work at the time of the incident, according to AL.com.
Detectives said evidence shows the incident appears to be unintentional. The case will be handled in the family court system.
A spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond early Tuesday to a request for comment.
How often do children in the U.S. unintentionally shoot and kill people? We don’t know.
Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the boy admitted to the incident after first fabricating a story about what had happened. In an initial statement, authorities said a 911 call came in just after midnight Saturday. When police arrived, Cook was found dead, authorities said.
There “appeared to be no forced entry into the home” but “a man was seen fleeing from the residence,” authorities said in a statement. Detectives were unable to recover evidence, according to the statement.
But the story soon changed. Detectives said in an updated statement that it was determined the boy’s account “was not possible” and that “the child eventually gave a true account of what happened.”
There have been 10 other accidental shooting deaths in Alabama so far in 2022, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which collects information about shootings from across the United States. A child or teen was a suspect in three of those cases, data shows.
There have already been more than 250 such cases across the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. In June, a Florida mother was arrested and charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence after her 2-year-old son found a firearm and fatally shot his father.
Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office called Saturday’s shooting a “tragedy.”
“The family has been cooperative throughout the process and the child will remain with them,” according to the statement. “This offense is a tragedy for the Cook family and the entire community.” | 2022-08-09T17:35:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Alabama boy, 12, 'unintentionally' shot and killed mother, Ayobiyi Cook, police say - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/alabama-boy-fatally-shoots-mom-cook/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/alabama-boy-fatally-shoots-mom-cook/ |
London and Paris are forecast to reach 90 degrees or higher late this week
The American (GFS) model shows predicted temperatures 10-15 degrees Celsius (18-27 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal in southern England and France on Thursday. (WeatherBell)
It has been barely three weeks since a historic spate of extreme temperatures baked western Europe, smashing all-time records in Britain. Now a new heat wave is building over the continent, with alerts issued and more records in jeopardy.
By Thursday, much of France and southern parts of the England are expected to see high temperatures 18 to 27 degrees (10 to 15 Celsius) above normal — with highs in the 90s (above 32 Celsius) rather than the 70s (above 21 Celsius).
Amber warnings, the second-highest level, have been hoisted in southern parts of England by the U.K. Met Office.
In mid-July, the Met Office issued its first-ever red warning for “extreme” heat, with more than 40 weather stations surpassing the previous record 101.7 degrees (38.7 Celsius) in Britain. Several stations even spiked to 104 degrees (40 Celsius), a feat that was made 10 times more likely because of human-caused climate change.
Driving the heat is a ridge of high pressure, colloquially known as a heat dome, which will be parked directly over Britain by Tuesday night into Wednesday. In addition to bringing hot, sinking air, it will deflect any inclement weather — making for incessant sunshine.
In Britain, temperatures are expected to peak Friday into Saturday before easing next week. Highs will generally range between 85 and 95 degrees (29 to 35 Celsius), although a few locales may approach 96 or 97 (35.5 to 36 Celsius). It’s unlikely that anyplace will hit the century mark.
The Met Office is forecasting that London will see highs in the upper 80s to near 90 (30 to 32 Celsius) Thursday through Sunday. Showery weather will arrive to kick off the workweek. The average early August high temperature in London is closer to the lower 70s (low 20s Celsius).
Eighteen departments in France also are under orange heat alerts, and Météo France is calling for temperatures in southwestern parts of the country reaching 97 to 102 degrees (36 to 39 Celsius), with an isolated 104-degree (40 Celsius) reading not improbable.
In Spain, which had its hottest July on record, an orange warning for heat is in effect just south of Madrid — where maximum temperature could approach 104 degrees, with many other areas under yellow alerts. But the core of the heat dome should remain farther north in western Europe.
According to climate historian Maximiliano Herrera, it was record dry in some parts of England, including in London. He tweeted that the city had seen “virtually no rain” during the month of July, with less than a millimeter recorded. July typically features closer to 1.8 inches (45 millimeters) of precipitation, with an average of 8 rainy days during the month.
July 2022 in the United Kingdom had an average temperature of 16.6C ,+1.3C above the 1991-2020 normal. It was record dry in parts of England,including London where virtually no rain fell (less than 1mm). Only Northern Scotland had near normal conditions. Maps by UK Met Office. pic.twitter.com/gklXW8VvsW
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) August 8, 2022
There are concerns that the hot, dry atmosphere, combined with parched antecedent conditions, could support the risk of wildfire. The Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service wrote that fire risk “is now very high to exceptional” and that firefighters were especially busy over the past weekend. They urged individuals participating in outdoor recreation to avoid campfires and bonfires.
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France is also enduring an exceptional drought, one of its worst on record, according to Météo France. Rainfall was the country’s lowest observed in July and 85 percent below normal.
The very dry conditions are again generating a very high fire danger, especially in southern France.
While the core of the heat will be situated over southern Britain and France from Thursday through Sunday, above-average temperatures will also swell from the Netherlands through southern Scandinavia. The heat will retreat from western Europe early next week shifting toward Eastern Europe.
It’s well-established that human-caused climate change is amplifying the severity, duration and frequency of high-end heat events. In addition to the ultrarare heat that baked Britain last month, a similar-magnitude event brought record-shattering temperatures, including a high of 109 degrees in Paris, in late July 2019. | 2022-08-09T17:52:33Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Another wave of extreme heat targets Europe, prompting alerts - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/09/another-wave-extreme-heat-targets-europe-prompting-alerts/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/09/another-wave-extreme-heat-targets-europe-prompting-alerts/ |
By Jaclyn Schildkraut
Amanda Nickerson
A sign is seen on the main entrance of Jennie Dean Elementary School in Manassas. (Tom Allen/The Washington Post)
Jaclyn Schildkraut, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Oswego, is interim executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Amanda Nickerson is a professor of school psychology and director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
As we approach the back-to-school season, we feel the need to write in defense of a safety measure that has met much resistance lately: school lockdown drills. Contrary to what critics say, these interventions have proved to save the lives of students and staff on their worst days.
Given the tragic massacre of children at schools, such as the one in May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Tex., security will likely be at top of mind for many administrators and parents as classes resume. Lockdown drills should help put their minds at ease.
The practice prepares schools to implement a set of procedures when there is any active threat inside the building: lock the door, turn off the lights and remain quiet and out of view. Including Uvalde, there have been just four school shootings in which anyone was killed behind a locked door — and in none of those cases was it because the door lock failed. The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission highlighted door locks as one of the most important lifesaving devices in its report, and the Columbine Review Commission credited the practice of lockdowns with saving many lives during the 1999 shooting. A recent research study also finds that lockdowns have a protective effect during real-world mass shootings both in and out of schools.
There are two main critiques for these drills: First, they have been falsely blamed for not preventing shooting events, even though they are a response strategy to reduce harm if a shooting does occur, not a preventive strategy.
The second is that it can be traumatizing for children to imagine an active shooter in their school. This is no doubt boosted by stories of drills gone wrong — teachers being shot with pellet guns and students being exposed to crisis actors, simulated gunfire and other sensorial tactics. This has led many to suggest they are harmful and shouldn’t be used.
Our research, featured in our forthcoming book “Lockdown Drills: Connecting Research and Best Practices for School Administrators, Teachers, and Parents,” shows this is wrong. When done right, lockdown drills lead to a number of positive outcomes. We have found that both students and staff feel more prepared to respond to emergencies where lockdowns would be used. Students also express less fear of harm and perceived risk of victimization — and even less anxiety after conducting a drill. Moreover, training can help students master important protocols, such as locking doors and not responding to door knocking.
This leaves us with one question heading into the new school year: How can we ensure that schools are properly preparing students and staff without causing harm?
Current best practices can help to provide schools with the answer. This guidance emphasizes the importance of protecting students and staff from any dangers at school while actively working to minimize trauma or other adverse outcomes in the process.
First, drills should be planned by a multidisciplinary team that includes administrators, educators, safety specialists, school-based mental health professionals, facilities personnel and others responsible for comprehensive emergency preparedness. This team can identify and plan for students with different developmental levels and attend to mental health needs before, during and after the drills. Students who have experienced recent trauma or who have disabilities might require additional support or accommodations.
Next, always incorporate training on the procedure ahead of the drill. Teaching the steps of the drill is important, but just as important is explaining why each is performed. This can help remind people that lockdowns are practiced just like drills for other emergencies, including fires, tornadoes and earthquakes.
During the practice itself, it should always be announced that “this is a drill” so that everyone is clear there is not an actual emergency. Adults should model calm behavior when talking about and participating in the drills, as children take their cues from them. Additionally, sensorial tactics should not be used. Just as schools conduct fire drills without lighting fires, simulating an active shooter while practicing a lockdown is unnecessary. Finally, a debrief should be conducted at the end of each drill to remind participants about what they did and why they did it. This time can also be used to answer questions they may have.
Events such as Uvalde are rare, but they highlight the need for schools to be prepared to respond. The evidence is clear: Lockdowns save lives, and drills are necessary to develop and maintain the skills needed to stay safe. These drills don’t have to be scary to achieve this; they just need to be done right. | 2022-08-09T17:53:11Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | The critics are wrong. School lockdown drills can help save lives. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/school-shooting-lockdown-drills-save-lives/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/school-shooting-lockdown-drills-save-lives/ |
Biden’s summer blitz reinforces how vital a small number of voters can be
For both Biden and Trump, small electoral margins had a huge impact on the legislative course of our country
From left, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) watch as the casket of former senator Bob Dole (R-Kan.) is carried down the East steps of the Capitol in December 2021. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
It appears unlikely that Democrats will maintain control of all three levers of lawmaking power after the 2022 elections, with their razor-thin majorities in both the House and Senate severely endangered.
But if they got only two years of solo control of Washington under President Biden, they at least have a significant amount to show for it now. That’s because of a flurry of unusually late legislative wins this summer, which culminated in what Biden called the “final piece” of his agenda for the 117th Congress — a climate and health-care bill — passing in the Senate over the weekend. The bill, which is expected to pass in the House later this week, comes on top of a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, the most significant gun bill in decades and possibly the codification of a nationwide right to same-sex marriage next month.
And much of it is thanks, apparently, to about 14,000 people in Georgia.
The story of the first half of Biden’s first term is an increasingly familiar one in American politics: Relatively few votes decide whether one party or the other has the power to make major changes. Shift a few votes here or there — such as depriving Democrats of a Senate seat in Georgia in the 2020 elections — and we have a very different political reality on the Supreme Court, taxes, health care, stimulus spending and now, perhaps to a lesser extent, guns and climate change.
As Democrats do now, Republicans controlled all three levers of power for the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, and they controlled the Senate for all four years. This allowed them to pass Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and install three Supreme Court justices, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority on the court — alongside, of course, Trump’s many far-reaching executive orders.
How close were we to a very different reality? Trump won the three decisive states in the 2016 election each by less than 0.8 percentage points. Fewer than 80,000 voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin gave us President Donald Trump rather than President Hillary Clinton. (Exit polls suggest that these 80,000 people might well have swung the race at the 11th hour.)
The most significant practical policy impact of that — setting aside the more diffuse effects of Trump on our body politic — appears to be on the Supreme Court. Senate Republicans left a vacancy for him by refusing to hold hearings for almost all of 2016, and then the retirement of moderate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave him two more — with the latter two filled by very tight margins.
Were Clinton to have won in 2016? It’s unclear a GOP-controlled Senate would have confirmed her Supreme Court nominees, given how things are these days. But keeping the seat vacant for four years of a Clinton presidency would’ve been significantly more difficult than it was for the 11 months after Antonin Scalia’s death, when Republicans argued that voters should pick the president who got to fill the seat. It seems far less likely that Kennedy would’ve retired under Clinton, since justices tend to time their retirements to allow the party that selected them to fill the vacancy. What’s clear is that we wouldn’t have a 6-3 conservative majority.
But that hypothetical also shows how this dynamic works both ways; it isn’t just Democrats who can lay claim to the dynamic in which a small number of votes have massive implications.
The tax cuts Trump championed certainly wouldn’t have even been proposed in that timeline. But consider Trump’s other monumental first-term legislative effort: repealing Obamacare. This was killed off by the thumb of John McCain, falling one vote shy in the Senate. But Republicans in 2016 were about 1,000 New Hampshire votes shy of another Senate vote, when then-Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) defeated Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) by that margin. That doesn’t mean the “skinny repeal” of Obamacare would’ve been signed into law — there remained major hurdles in reconciling differences between the Senate bill and one that passed very narrowly in the House — but those 1,000 votes surely loomed large.
If it was fewer than 80,000 votes that gave Republicans complete control of Washington in 2016, it was arguably 14,000 that proved the turning point in giving it back to Democrats in 2020. That’s the margin by which then-Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) fell short of an outright majority (he got 49.73 percent) on Election Day, meaning he faced a runoff. He and fellow Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) then both lost their runoffs in January, giving Democrats an effective 50-50 majority and the trifecta.
So close are Democrats’ majorities in the House and Senate that you could’ve potentially handed Republicans the presidency, the House and the Senate in the 2016 election by flipping 90,000 votes in the right places.
But those 14,000 votes have now proved huge. Republicans made clear they had very little appetite for such a large pandemic stimulus package, and they surely wouldn’t have passed anything like the climate and health-care bill that just made its way through the Senate; they voted in unison against both. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s retirement and replacement with a far-younger liberal justice would’ve been less likely for reasons noted above. (And indeed, both Trump and Biden also rapidly filled vacancies for lower courts in ways that wouldn’t have happened without trifectas.) It also seems very unlikely a Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would ever bring up same-sex marriage for a vote as Democrats plan to next month, even as Republicans might provide the necessary votes to overcome a filibuster.
About the only conceivable signature pieces of legislation that might have passed in a GOP-controlled Senate under a President Biden would be a bipartisan infrastructure bill and, perhaps, a gun bill after the tragedy in Uvalde, Tex., both of which got enough GOP votes in the Senate, including McConnell’s. But again, it’s not clear anything like what passed would even have been brought to a vote.
We’re a closely divided and polarized country, meaning it’s likely we’ll see a repeat of these narrow margins proving so crucial in the near future. And if nothing else, it should serve as a reminder ahead of November’s elections that small numbers of votes can make a big difference. | 2022-08-09T17:53:23Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden’s summer blitz reinforces how vital a small number of voters can be - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/bidens-summer-blitz-reinforces-how-vital-small-number-voters-can-be/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/bidens-summer-blitz-reinforces-how-vital-small-number-voters-can-be/ |
Serena Williams waves after a first-round loss at Wimbledon in June, 2022. (Alberto Pezzali/AP)
Retirement is the one opponent Serena Williams can’t overpower. All great athletes, no matter how masterful they are, no matter how in charge of their field or court, have to reckon with this moment, when they realize with a sense of rank injustice that their sports immortality has run bang into their human mortality. There is no victory over retirement, other than to accept it gracefully — and it’s hard to do the thing more gracefully than to bow out on the cover of Vogue, in blue Balenciega and dripping Bulgari.
Williams leveled about this in her first-person announcement in Vogue. “I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis,” she wrote. “Alexis [Ohanian], my husband, and I have hardly talked about it; it’s like a taboo topic. … It’s like it’s not real until you say it out loud. It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry. The only person I’ve really gone there with is my therapist! One thing I’m not going to do is sugarcoat this. I know that a lot of people are excited about and look forward to retiring, and I really wish I felt that way.”
Most of all, there will be a great absence of opponents. Williams has had a lot of opponents — more opponents, both visible and invisible, than any of her counterparts. Maybe the greatest was her own temperament, a gripping and sometimes unnerving test of wills, as she faced down White tennis audiences and censorious authorities. All along the way she has resisted anyone else’s definition of who a champion should be, who a Black champion should be, a female champion should be — hence her category-defying business flurries in tech, and in the pages of Vogue. It was one thing to be the little kid from the public court in Compton, Calif. who broke through economic and racial barriers in the sport of elites, and another to be the regnant champion whose female aspiration was constantly under threat of being suffocated by the inevitable narrowing of eyes, and the deadening, devaluing assumptions of others about how she was supposed to behave.
But there is something exceedingly sweet that can happen for athletes in retirement, too. They tend to become slightly more psychologically candid, forthcoming about their inner lives, and thus better understood. They don’t have time to explain themselves as players — even to themselves. In fact, mystery is something they cultivate, a competitive suit of armor; candor is not their friend. But sometimes champions open up in retirement about what they were really thinking and doing out there, as opposed to what we the audience imposed on them from our seats at the margin. | 2022-08-09T17:56:53Z | www.washingtonpost.com | For Serena Williams, retirement could mean rebirth - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/serena-williams-retiring-tennis/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/serena-williams-retiring-tennis/ |
An American Bald eagles catches a fish on the Susquehanna river at the base of the Conowingo Dam in Darlington, Md. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
U.S. lawmakers are bitterly divided on many subjects, environmental issues chief among them. But Congress could be on the verge of passing the most significant conservation law in decades — with bipartisan support.
The Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973, has long been the federal government’s primary tool for conservation. More than 1,600 plant and animal species have been listed as endangered or threatened under the landmark law, which gives them protections and resources to aid their recovery. This has saved some creatures at the brink of disappearing in the wild, from beloved bald eagles to lesser-known black-footed ferrets.
Yet today, one-third of U.S. wildlife and fish species face “increased risk of extinction.” While the number of species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has steadily grown, funding has not kept up. Because more species are under threat than can feasibly be protected, officials are forced to make difficult prioritizing decisions. And even when species are saved, their populations often hover around the minimum viable range for survival, which is too low to thrive.
Though advocates, landowners and authorities may disagree on where the existing framework falls short, most stakeholders believe it can be improved. That is the impetus for the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. The House bill, introduced by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and then-Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), passed 231-190 in June. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) have introduced a version in the Senate, where it currently has 16 Republican co-sponsors.
The bill would provide nearly $1.4 billion in annual funding to protect vulnerable wildlife and help them recover. This includes species classified as endangered or threatened, and thousands more that are at varying degrees of risk but do not face immediate peril. Experts believe that protecting species before they need to be listed would be a more efficient strategy. Mr. Heinrich likens this to investing in primary health care rather than waiting for a trip to the emergency room.
Crucially, resources would be directed to states, territories and tribal nations to enact jurisdiction-specific plans. This would fund and empower bodies that understand local contexts and have the trust of their communities, and avoid the cumbersome processes that come with federal intervention. States, which take the lead on most wildlife management, have had action plans in place since 2005, but they are chronically underfunded. Tribes, meanwhile, do not receive dedicated federal funding for conservation. The bill would bridge that gap.
While the House bill was not paid for, the Senate version hopes to at least partially offset new spending with penalties and fines from “environmental-related violations.” A smart idea under consideration would be to combine the bill with other legislation, introduced by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), to close loopholes on charitable deductions for conservation easements. These tax breaks were created to encourage landowners to preserve land but have been heavily misused. Whether this measure will gain enough support in the Senate remains to be seen, but momentum around the wildlife bill is growing.
Nearly 50 years after the Endangered Species Act passed Congress with resounding support from both sides of the aisle, it is encouraging to see bipartisan legislation to protect our nation’s biodiversity gain traction. It would be even more heartening if the Senate decisively passes it. | 2022-08-09T19:02:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would be beneficial conservation law - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/recovering-america-wildlife-act-conservation-law/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/recovering-america-wildlife-act-conservation-law/ |
A Texas candidate’s claims equating the U.S. and Venezuela are disqualifying
Voters leave an early voting poll site, Feb. 14, in San Antonio. (Eric Gay/AP)
The Republican Party is entrusting a big portion of its political future in 2022 and beyond on a wave of Hispanic candidates in several key races. This is good news for Latino political representation, which has lagged far behind other constituencies. But electoral ambitions come with a considerable measure of responsibility, especially for candidates who have emigrated to the United States.
Recently, I got a chance to interview Carmen María Montiel on Al Punto, Univision’s Sunday morning talk show. Born in Venezuela, Montiel emigrated to the United States three decades ago and is now running for Congress in Texas's 18th District. Her bid is a longshot: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) has held the seat in the traditionally Democratic Houston district since the mid-90s. But Montiel is a solid example of the kind of Latino candidates the GOP has recruited recently.
What drew me to interview Montiel was trying to get a deeper understanding of how Republicans have been gaining ground with Hispanics in Texas, and across the country. Montiel said it was because of shared values. “Faith and family are very important to us,” she said. She said the way to prevent tragedies like the death of 53 people inside a trailer truck in San Antonio is to “close the border down and have people enter legally.” I asked her if, after Uvalde, she favored more gun control. “We don’t need new laws,” she replied. “We need to enforce those we already have.”
Nothing new there — these are standard conservative views.
By sowing doubt over the 2020 vote count — with an association with Venezuela, no less — Montiel might be unwittingly abetting in the destruction of the same American democratic institutions she insists she holds dear.
This is why is so concerning to hear candidates such as Montiel repeat baseless conspiracy theories for political gain. Public figures who understand real, demonstrable electoral fraud in Latin America have the responsibility to add context and restraint to U.S. political debate. To nurture toxic and divisive conspiracy theories is, after all, the most certain way to lose a country. | 2022-08-09T19:15:17Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Carmen María Montiel’s claims equating U.S. and Venezuela are alarming - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/texas-candidate-conspiracy-us-venezuela-election-fraud/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/texas-candidate-conspiracy-us-venezuela-election-fraud/ |
Secret Service officer assaulted outside White House, agency says
A U.S. Secret Service officer was assaulted outside of the White House on Aug. 9. (Oliver Contreras for The Washington Post)
A man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after a uniformed officer with the U.S. Secret Service was assaulted outside the White House, according to a spokesman for the agency.
The incident occurred about 12:30 p.m. in the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, which is a pedestrian thoroughfare and a prime location for tourists and others wishing to see the White House.
In a statement, the Secret Service said the attack, near a guard booth at 15th Street, was “without provocation” and remains under investigation. The identity of the person who was arrested was not immediately made public.
Injuries to the officer were described as not life-threatening. | 2022-08-09T19:15:23Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Man detained after assault on Secret Service officer outside White House - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/secret-service-assault-white-house/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/secret-service-assault-white-house/ |
Primaries live updates Voters in four states, including Wisconsin and Minnesota, to choose nominees for November
Who is Tony Evers?
All eyes on Minn. special election for possible impact of court’s decision on abortion
How many election deniers will win their primaries?
On our radar: Who is Richard Blumenthal?
On our radar: Who is Themis Klarides?
Dispatch from Wisconsin: Democrats see reelecting governor as way to fend off GOP
On Our Radar: Who is Scott Jensen?
On Our Radar: Who is Tim Walz?
Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial contender Tim Michels votes in the primary election on Aug. 9 in Hartland, Wis. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Voters in four states — Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut — are choosing their nominees for November as the primary season enters the final stretch and the matchups for the U.S. Senate are nearly set.
In Wisconsin, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) is heavily favored to win the Senate nomination and face Sen. Ron Johnson (R) in one of the most competitive races in the country. In Vermont, the retirement of Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D), who was first elected in 1974, creates a rare open seat and voters there are selecting nominees, with Rep. Peter J. Welch (D) likely to win the party nomination. Connecticut Republicans are selecting a challenger to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D), who is favored to capture a third term.
In Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, voters have a twofold assignment: choosing a successor to congressman Jim Hagedorn, who died in February of kidney cancer, and selecting nominees for the November general election. The top candidates are former state representative Brad Finstad (R) and Jeff Ettinger (D), the former CEO of Hormel Foods.
The Republican race to take on Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) pits former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch, who has the backing of former vice president Mike Pence and former governor Scott Walker, against Tim Michels, a construction executive endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
Vermont could make history in November as the Democratic primary for the lone congressional seat pits Lt. Gov. Molly Gray against Becca Balint. The winner will be the heavy favorite in November, when voters could elect the first woman to represent Vermont in Congress.
In Minnesota, Republicans are expected to nominate former state senator Scott Jensen to challenge Gov. Tim Walz (D). Jensen, a physician, has questioned the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines and recently suggested locking up the Democratic secretary of state over election-fraud conspiracy theories.
Polls close at 7 p.m. in Vermont, 8 p.m. in Connecticut and 9 p.m. in Minnesota and Wisconsin. All times are Eastern.
By Amy Wang and Patrick Marley
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D), 70, is running for reelection to his second term. He will face the Republican who wins Tuesday’s primary, a bitter race between several GOP candidates who have embraced former president Donald Trump’s baseless claims that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Before to running for governor, Evers, a longtime educator, served as Wisconsin’s Superintendent of Public Instruction for a decade. In 2018, Evers defeated former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), a major win for Democrats who had been trying to recall Walker since 2012.
The midterm elections in Wisconsin, a key swing state, are being closely watched as a bellwether for 2024: Biden won the state in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes, four years after Trump also narrowly won the state by roughly the same margin.
The 2020 outcome has been upheld in two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a review by a conservative law firm and multiple lawsuits by pro-Trump Republicans seeking to overturn the results. For 3½ years, Evers has blocked Republican efforts to rewrite election laws, and Trump said he endorsed business executive Tim Michels because he believed Michels was most capable of defeating Evers.
In doing so, Trump passed over two other major Republican contenders: state Rep. Tim Ramthun, who has rallied behind Trump’s false assertions, and former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch, who has argued the 2020 results were rigged by election officials.
Read more about the Wisconsin governor’s race here.
Republicans are favored to win the special election for the U.S. House seat in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, given its demographics and history.
Plus, a Republican — the late congressman Jim Hagedorn — held the seat from January 2019 until his death in February after a battle with kidney cancer.
Yet, all eyes are on the race to see whether a Democratic upset — with base voters outraged by the Supreme Court decision’s in June to overturn Roe v. Wade — is possible and whether the political environment is improving for Democrats.
Brad Finstad, a former state lawmaker, won the GOP primary. A member of a family of farmers, Finstad is the former director of rural development in Minnesota for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 46-year-old Minnesota native had been appointed to the position by former president Donald Trump.
Jeffrey Ettinger is the Democratic nominee. The former chief executive of Hormel Foods, Ettinger now oversees the food processing company’s foundation. The 63-year-old lawyer is a California native who joined the Minnesota company as a corporate attorney.
Ettinger boasts that he is “not a politician. He’s never run for office before, and he’s in this race now to address the problems that politicians seem unable or unwilling to fix.”
Voters are not only selecting a successor to Hagedorn but also nominating the candidates for the general election in November.
At this point in the primary season, it’s not a question of if election deniers will win Republican primaries, but how many. Though there is evidence that Republican voters are losing excitement about the idea of a Trump 2024 run, the former president’s election lies continue to dominate and animate GOP campaigns.
On Tuesday, Wisconsin Republicans could nominate election deniers to at least two statewide offices — governor and secretary of state — and nominate someone who was at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, to Congress. (Then there’s Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has cast doubt on the seriousness of the Jan. 6 riot insurrection, calling it “by and large” a “peaceful protest.” He doesn’t have a primary but will need Republicans’ support to keep his seat in November.) Minnesota Republicans could also nominate election deniers as their candidates for governor and secretary of state.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who is running for reelection, has been a stalwart of the Senate Judiciary Committee after serving for some 20 years at Connecticut’s attorney general.
A Brooklyn native, Blumenthal, 76, was appointed U.S. attorney in Connecticut by President Jimmy Carter several years after graduating from Yale Law School. He first became a lawmaker not long after that when he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1985.
Blumenthal waded into national politics when he was elected to the Senate in 2010 and has since established a reputation for championing liberal causes, including LGBT rights, expanding health-care access, advocating for more gun control and abortion rights.
He responded to ongoing concerns among Americans about inflation by backing the Inflation Reduction Act, a $739 billion bill that aims to combat climate change, lower health-care costs and have corporations pay more taxes.
“This legislation is history-making & record-setting,” he tweeted. “It will save money, it will save lives, & it will help save the planet.”
“Our bill will cut costs for consumers,” Blumenthal added. “It will help families better afford groceries, gas, and utilities while billionaire tax cheats will finally have to pay their fair share.”
He is heavily favored to win another term in November.
Themis Klarides is seeking the Republican nomination in the race to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Senate. The former state lawmaker would face Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in the general election.
Klarides was born in Connecticut to parents who emigrated from Greece. She attended undergraduate and law school in state and was a model and bodybuilder before launching her legal and political career.
“I grew up in a grocery store, so I understand when groceries cost more,” she said in a campaign ad. “Working families are hit hardest.”
“Yet Joe Biden and Dick Blumenthal want to spend billions more, feeding the inflation crisis,” Klarides added. “I don’t back down if people are putting pressure on me if I believe it’s best for the people of Connecticut.”
Before launching her campaign, Klarides was minority leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives.
The 57-year-old is viewed as a moderate Republican and has said she did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Klarides has touted fiscal conservatism on the trail and the law-and-order politics that have won her the support of the Connecticut State Police Union. But unlike many Republicans, she backs abortion rights, supports same-sex marriage and gun control.
MADISON, Wis. — Second-grade teacher Julie Traxler is hoping to keep Republicans at bay this fall.
Traxler, of Madison, said she wants to see Gov. Tony Evers (D) reelected in November to make sure Republicans don’t take full control of state government. Republicans have large majorities in the legislature, and there’s no real chance they will lose them in November.
“I feel like he protects us,” Traxler said of Evers after voting at a botanical garden. “He’s kind of what is standing in between a complete one-party minority rule and what the majority of Wisconsinites want.”
Republicans on Tuesday are choosing a candidate to challenge Evers this fall. On the ballot are former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch, construction executive Tim Michels and state Rep. Tim Ramthun.
Traxler, 42, voted for Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Senate. The other major Democrats have dropped out of the race, clearing the way for Barnes to take on Sen. Ron Johnson (R) in November.
Traxler called Johnson “super shady,” “anti-democratic” and “propped up by disinformation.”
She said she likes the way Barnes has framed his campaign. “He talks about issues that are really progressive in a way that’s just matter of fact — abolishing the filibuster, about abortion rights, legalizing marijuana,” she said. “He just crystallizes the issues in a way that’s super relatable. He doesn’t shy away from it. Like, he doesn’t shy away from big issues, but he also is not combative.”
Scott Jensen is the favorite to secure the GOP nomination in the Minnesota gubernatorial race. If he wins, he will face Gov. Tim Walz (D) in the general election in November.
Jensen, a physician, was a state senator before announcing his campaign for governor. He originally had a reputation as a moderate Republican, but his politics moved right with the election of President Donald Trump. The 67-year-old is a Minnesota native who opened a small family medical practice after graduating from the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Jensen has frequently criticized Walz’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdowns imposed on schools and businesses to curb the spread of the virus.
“This whole concept of locking down Minnesota just because you think you can is absolutely an abomination of government overreach,” he said.
Jensen has criticized the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man, by a White police officer, calling them “riots” in which cities were “burned and looted.”
The Republican has refused to say Trump lost the 2020 presidential election and went on to call for the jailing of Minnesota’s Democratic secretary of state, suggesting that he might “look good in stripes.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is seeking the Democratic nomination for another term as the state’s top elected official after a tenure marked by coronavirus-related restrictions; racial justice protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis resident, by a White police officer; ongoing concerns about election integrity; and an increasingly divided state.
Walz, 58, served in the Army and was a high school teacher and football coach before entering politics. He was a member of Congress for just over a decade before heading to the governor’s mansion.
“We’re facing challenges,” he said in a debate last week. “When we face challenges the solution is not to divide more of us — it’s to come together.”
He has spent his primary campaign advocating core liberal issues such as protecting voting rights but also seeking to win over the rural residents who have increasingly left the Democratic Party by pledging to boost the state’s agriculture industry.
Scott Jensen, a physician who is skeptical of coronavirus vaccines, is the leading Republican candidate. A June poll from MinnPost showed a close race between Walz and Jensen, a former state senator. Walz had the support of 42 percent of likely general-election voters, while 40 percent were backing Jensen. | 2022-08-09T19:24:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Primaries today: Updates from Wisconsin, Vermont, Minnesota, Connecticut - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/primaries-wisconsin-vermont-minnesota-connecticut/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/primaries-wisconsin-vermont-minnesota-connecticut/ |
Altaf Hussain cries over the grave of his brother Aftab Hussein at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque on Aug. 5, 2022. (Chancey Bush/AP)
Officers on Monday had announced they were searching for a silver Volkswagen sedan. On Tuesday, Police Chief Harold Medina said in a tweet that officers had found the vehicle and detained the driver. They believe him to be the “primary suspect for the murders,” Medina said.
Police have not yet released details on the driver’s identity or charges filed against him, and have not publicly discussed a motive for the killings.
Four Muslim men of South Asian descent have been shot and killed in the city since November. Three of the shootings took place in the last two weeks, leaving Albuquerque’s Muslim community living in fear. Police said a fourth killing that took place Nov. 7 may be connected to the recent spate of shootings. | 2022-08-09T19:50:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Man arrested in four Muslim killings in New Mexico - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/new-mexico-muslim-killings/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/new-mexico-muslim-killings/ |
Monday’s search of Donald Trump’s property triggered a political firestorm that Garland, a former federal judge, had wanted to avoid
President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland arrive in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 16. (Oliver Contreras for The Washington Post)
But the FBI’s highly unusual, court-approved search Monday of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club put Garland square in the middle of a huge political firestorm. The search, part of a long-running probe into the possible mishandling of presidential documents, drew praise from Democrats who have been hoping the Justice Department would seriously investigate Trump and the ire of conservatives who decried the search as an abuse of power.
Trump called the court-authorized search “prosecutorial misconduct” and the “weaponization of the Justice System.” Some of his supporters say the FBI’s action could galvanize Trump’s base if he runs for president in 2024.
Republican allies on Capitol Hill denounced Garland and pledged to turn the tables and investigate the Justice Department. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said the attorney general should resign or be impeached.
Merrick Garland’s goal is to restore the integrity of the Justice Department. His legacy will still be defined by Trump.
The partisan outcry was the opposite of what Garland has sought in his 17 months on the job, during which he has launched multiple high-profile civil rights investigations and efforts to fight gun trafficking and hate crimes, while also overseeing the sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and the unprecedented efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Time and again, Garland has refused to discuss that probe or any other investigation in progress, whether or not it involves the former president. He has repeatedly pledged to follow the facts where they lead, and to hold anyone who breaks the law accountable, regardless of who that person may be.
At news conferences, he dodges reporters’ queries about Trump, which come up inevitably. Two of the four reporters permitted to ask questions at a news conference last week on charges filed against police officers in connection with the killing of Breonna Taylor chose to ask about investigations into Trump. Both times, Garland declined to answer.
For months, Trump’s critics — especially, but not limited to, the left — pummeled Garland for not moving quickly to investigate Trump on multiple fronts. In recent weeks and months, without fanfare, the Justice Department and U.S. attorney’s office in Washington began obtaining communications from people in Trump’s inner circle and subpoenaing witnesses to appear before a grand jury, clearly indicating that Trump’s actions and conversations had become part of the scope of the Jan. 6-related probe.
“You are undoubtedly going to have people saying that this is the ultimate political act,” said Donald B. Ayer, a deputy attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, said of the raid. “But that’s just nonsense. ... He has a job to do.”
The Justice Department would not comment on whether Garland signed off on the FBI raid, and Garland has not discussed it. He made just one public comment on Monday, about the sentencing of three men convicted on federal charges in connection with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man killed while jogging in his Georgia neighborhood.
“The Justice Department’s prosecution of this case and the court’s sentences today make clear that hate crimes have no place in our country,” Garland said in a statement. “Protecting civil rights and combatting white supremacist violence was a founding purpose of the Justice Department, and one that we will continue to pursue with the urgency it demands.”
What might the Mar-a-Lago search mean for Trump legally?
Kristy Parker — a former federal prosecutor and counsel at the advocacy group Protect Democracy — said that while it’s inevitable the reaction to the search would be politicized, Garland’s silence before and after the search of Trump’s property was critical to him building trust in the process. She said it showed the attorney general wasn’t trying to appeal to any group during the investigation and has been letting the probe run its course.
“It is important to look at the manner of what is being done, and not just the substance of what is being done,” Parker said. “And it’s just as important to depoliticizing the department to ensure that no one is above the law as it is to try to avoid prosecuting the president or someone from the opposite political party.”
But some lawyers questioned why the Justice Department and FBI would execute such a high-profile search on a former president’s residence over missing documents, even if some of them are classified (sitting presidents have broad powers to declassify documents, further complicating the situation).
Stanley Brand, a former House counsel who represents some of the Jan. 6 defendants and witnesses, said that search warrants don’t always yield any blockbuster or useful information. He called the FBI search of Trump’s property a huge escalation in the investigation of documents improperly taken to Mar-a-Lago. If investigators don’t recoup materials that showed that there were serious national consequences for the materials he potentially kept, Brand said, it could tarnish the Justice Department’s reputation.
“If they are trying to rebound from the perception that their decision-making was skewed from the Trump Era, this is not going to help that,” Brand said. “Part of it depends on what happens hereafter.” | 2022-08-09T20:03:10Z | www.washingtonpost.com | For Garland, FBI search of Trump property makes it hard to avoid political fray - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/garland-trump-raid-politics/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/garland-trump-raid-politics/ |
Lamont Dozier, left, with singer Diana Ross and songwriting partners Brian and Eddie Holland, after the songwriting team was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. (Ron Frehm/AP)
Mr. Dozier and his songwriting partners, brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, formed a powerhouse collaboration that churned out hit after hit — “Heat Wave,” “Baby Love” and many more — and helped propel the careers of Motown legends such as Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers.
The team, known as H-D-H, so thoroughly put their stamp on Motown that dozens of major artists from the era have at least one H-D-H song in their hit catalogue, including 10 of 12 No. 1 recordings by the Supremes, such as “Stop! In the Name of Love” (1965) and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (1966). In a six-decade career, Mr. Dozier had credits on more than 100 Top 40 hits.
Mr. Dozier said much of his inspiration for melodies and lyrics came from his boyhood in Detroit, listening to adults gab about the ups and down of love and relationships. He was often told to leave the room when the conversation moved to “grown-up talk” about sex. “But I’d still listen,” he recalled in a 2015 interview.
Mr. Dozier and the Holland brothers left the Motown label of impresario Berry Gordy in 1968 to start their own home for artists, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records. Later, Mr. Dozier carved out a solo career that included writing back-to-back hits in 1970, “Give Me Just a Little More Time” performed by Chairmen of the Board, and Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold.”
Mary Wilson, founding member of the Supremes, dies
In 1988, Mr. Dozier worked with British rocker Phil Collins on “Two Hearts” for the film “Buster,” with the song earning a Grammy and an Academy Award nomination. The H-D-H team was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
“Whatever you called it, it was the ghetto,” Mr. Dozier recalled this year after the 1966 H-D-H song “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” made famous by the Four Tops, became part of the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Watch Eddie and Brian Holland recount the songwriting years with Lamont Dozier
He began writing songs while still a teen, turning some lyrics into love letters he sold to friends, Cyrano de Bergerac-style, for 50 cents, according to the music website Songfacts. Mr. Dozier got a foot in the Motown door — first sweeping floors, and then in 1960 as a singer under the name Lamont Anthony. On 1961’s bluesy “Benny the Skinny Man,” he sang for the label Anna Records, owned by Gordy’s sister.
Two years later, he partnered with the Holland brothers, who were already making their mark in Gordy’s Motown empire. Eddie had a Top 30 hit as singer in 1961 with “Jamie,” but turned to writing lyrics because of crippling stage fright; Brian was co-writer on the Marvelettes’ No. 1 “Please Mr. Postman.” Mr. Dozier contributed both music and lyrics to the team.
Mr. Dozier said he found inspiration from his own life.
For 1965’s “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” he recalled his grandfather flirting, “a twinkle in his eye,” with local ladies in their Detroit neighborhood. “Bernadette” was the name of his preteen crush and “muse.” “Heat Wave” came from his memory of a sticky Detroit summer. “But it was always about love though — hot, cold or whatever,” he said.
Mr. Dozier liked to watch “The Honeymooners,” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” is ripped right from a catch line of star Jackie Gleason: “How sweet it is.” When H-D-H was crafting the song for Gaye, they deliberately put it in a key slightly higher than Gaye’s comfort zone.
“If it was too easy, he’d get lazy,” Mr. Dozier said.
H-D-H continued to contribute to Motown into the early 1970s, but under the collective pseudonym Edythe Wayne or sometimes Edith Wayne because of legal disputes with Gordy over royalties. For their own labels, the trio’s most successful work was “Why Can’t We Be Lovers” in 1972. Mr. Dozier left the team in 1973 to pursue solo projects. He eventually settled in the Encino section of Los Angeles with his family.
During Gordy’s reign at Motown, the record label was run like an auto plant because that was the only other work environment the boss knew, Mr. Dozier said. The songwriters, session musicians and others had to punch a clock. As part of “quality control” each Friday, H-D-H and other songwriters had to write down their songs from the week, and Gordy and other executives would vote on the ones they liked.
The H-D-H songs were usually the winners, Mr. Dozier said. | 2022-08-09T20:20:35Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Songwriter Lamont Dozier, an architect of the Motown sound, dies at 81 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/09/motown-songwriter-lamont-dozier-dead/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/09/motown-songwriter-lamont-dozier-dead/ |
Elicia John outside the American University Kogod School of Business in Washington. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)
When I met Elicia John in 1994, she was a ninth-grader at Alice Deal Junior High in D.C. She’d created a “secret-admirers’ box” to promote the school’s Halloween dance. The names of admirers and the admired were written on paper and stuffed into the box. On the day of the dance, the names were read over the school loudspeaker.
The dance was a screaming success, Elicia’s secret-admirers’ box a huge draw.
Today, John is an assistant professor of marketing and a behavioral data scientist at American University. That box has been replaced by supercomputers, the names on pieces of paper replaced by petabytes of demographic data.
But her quest for jaw-dropping revelations continues.
What she’s working on now — projects such as discerning the impact of policing on mobility in Black communities and measuring how bias affects decision-making and behavior — could rock this country the way that Halloween box rocked her junior high.
How she learned such a highly technical skill set is pretty remarkable, too.
John attended D.C. public schools, then transferred to Prince George’s County public schools after her parents divorced. Isn’t a parental breakup supposed to be crush a kid’s spirit? Aren’t D.C. and Prince George’s schools supposed to be the pits?
And yet, John went on to earn an engineering degree from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard and a PhD from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
So where did she get the strength and inspiration to persevere?
Turns out, it was the very thing that some people tend to look at as hindering: growing up in Black D.C. and Prince George’s.
“After attending college in the Northeast and on the West Coast, I had a greater appreciation for the Black communities where I lived,” John said. “I grew up seeing a lot of highly motivated political activists, a lot of committed civic activists and a lot of strong Black women role models. I didn’t always realize it at the time, but I had a community helping to raise me. By the time I left for college, there wasn’t anything in life I felt was impossible to accomplish.”
In a widely publicized new study of social capital and economic mobility, Harvard economist Raj Chetty and his team say that having wealthy friends is one of the best ways for the less affluent to move up the economic ladder, especially the poor.
John does not recall having wealthy friends, just culturally rich Black communities. Her father was a Washington Post distributor; her mother got a job in the federal government right out of high school. They were not wealthy. But even after the divorce, they made sure their daughter had access to academic enrichment activities while showering her with love.
“I am blessed to have outstanding parents,” she said.
The Chetty study used data similar to the kind John uses in her research. Big data — in this case anonymous demographic information from 21 billion Facebook friends. The study concluded that wealthy people are using some of their influence and resources to help their less fortunate friends, and those interventions are putting those friends on a path of upward mobility.
In fact, the study says, having wealthy friends is one of the best predictors of economic gain by the poor.
Unfortunately, the Facebook data did not include the race of the friends.
Are lots of wealthy Whites befriending poor Blacks and helping them overcome life challenges? That would be amazing.
During a webinar on the study hosted by the Brookings Institution last week, Camille M. Busette, director of Brookings’ Race, Prosperity and Inclusion Initiative, called the lack of racial data “glaring and problematic.”
Chetty said that he hoped other researchers will build on the study and “find ways to measure race and measure interaction across racial lines.”
This is where John comes in. She has drawn on Chetty’s open-source raw data before. And she knows how to measure the impact of race. Not that she needs a computer to do that.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always had to find community with people who look like me, who are supportive and understand that we live in a society where bias has a tremendous impact on our life outcomes,” she said.
As an engineering major at the University of Maryland, she found support from Black women members of the National Society of Black Engineers. One of the reasons she enjoyed engineering was because it was science based; the correct answers were matters of fact, not opinion. But that couldn’t shield her from the realities of race and gender.
“Some people become very uncomfortable when a Black woman speaks with authority and confidence, particularly in technical areas,” she said. “It’s as if they can’t believe that the words they are hearing are coming from this Black body.”
As race continued to matter in her work, John decided to focus more on the study of human behavior, trying to get the bottom of the racial problems in the country.
She began extensive research on implicit and explicit bias, developed psychological tests and specialized algorithms. And the closer she looked, the more she realized that race was so deeply rooted in American life that it might as well be a part of the national DNA.
“We are not just physically segregated but also separated by the way we frame and view the world,” John said. “We haven’t been able to see beneath the surface because we have so many blinders. In my work, I hope to bring that which is unseen to light and get to the core of the problem.”
Change the DNA.
What a screaming success that would be.
Love doves: The enduring marriage of Willie and Angela Scott | 2022-08-09T20:24:56Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Big data may help us understand America's race problems - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/elicia-john-raj-chetty-racism-data-facebook-american-harvard/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/elicia-john-raj-chetty-racism-data-facebook-american-harvard/ |
A closed Domino's Pizza outlet in Rome on Aug. 9. (Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg News)
Who would have guessed that denizens of Italy, where pizza is an internationally recognized national treasure, wouldn’t have gone crazy for mass-produced, over-the-top American riffs on the country’s national dish offered by a multinational chain?
Someone probably should have. Domino’s will no longer be offering its specialty cheeseburger, Hawaiian and bacon-and-chicken-topped pizzas, after the company running the Italian franchises shuttered all of its locations, according to a Bloomberg News report. The company blamed reduced demand on consumers’ preference for delivery from mom-and-pop shops and for restaurants reopening after pandemic shutdowns.
Italian company ePizza s.p.a. became a “master franchiser” for the U.S.-based company in 2015, opening as many as 33 locations, according to a report to investors, which tracked fourth-quarter results for 2021. But sales were down nearly 38 percent from their projections at the end of the year.
“We attribute the issue to i) the significantly increased level of competition in the food delivery market with both organised chains and ‘mom & pop’ restaurants delivering food to survive and ii) restaurants reopening post pandemics and consumers out and about with revenge spending,” the report stated.
Adding to its woes, digital ordering didn’t seem to catch on: Although the company’s business model is “heavily geared towards 'leading edge’ digital technologies,” more than half of orders were made in person or by phone, per the report, and app downloads had lagged.
Representatives from Domino’s and ePizza s.p.a. did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment. Bloomberg and local media also reported that a Milan tribunal had this year granted ePizza protection from creditors, but that expired July 1, Bloomberg News said.
As word of the closures spread on U.S. social media, people predictably poked fun at the very idea of the chain’s ambitions (Domino’s had reportedly hoped to open as many as 800 locations) in the land where pizza is so revered that an organization exists to protect the traditional Neapolitan style and its twirling preparation won a spot on UNESCO’s “intangible heritage” list.
Tweets included: “Omg can u imagine anyone other than drunk American tourists ordering dominos in Italy?” and “Trying to open Dominos Pizza in Italy is like trying to sell snow in the North Pole.” Others noted that pizza from local shops is often cheaper than at Domino’s.
The snark was rampant across the Atlantic, too. A Monday headline in the Italian daily newspaper Il Messaggero concluded that “Italians don’t like pineapple pizza: Domino’s is shuttering all pizzerias in the country.” The article mentioned the chain’s American-style menu items such as “Pepperoni Passion” and the “Hawaiana,” noting that such fanciful concoctions had failed to impress purists. “These products would turn up the nose of traditional pizza lovers, while intriguing xenophiles,” it wrote.
Pineapple on pizza is easy to hate — at least in theory
Some agreed pizza culture in Italy was just too strong for an American incursion. “Italy repels the invader!” one person tweeted. “Is pizza the last bastion of Italian-ness?” While some defended Domino’s in Italy as being superior to the American version, many in the country were blithe about the chain’s demise. “Domino’s pizza goes bankrupt in Italy,” another tweeted. “Didn’t even know it had opened up shop.”
Stefano Pitrelli in Rome contributed to this report. | 2022-08-09T20:24:57Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Domino's closes Italy locations as diners prefer local pizza - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/08/09/dominos-italy-franchise-closures/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/08/09/dominos-italy-franchise-closures/ |
Chris Sale’s run of injuries continues with season-ending bike accident
Chris Sale delivers a pitch against the New York Yankees on July 17. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher Chris Sale’s injury-plagued season came to an end Monday after he underwent surgery to repair the broken right wrist he suffered in a bike accident over the weekend. Sale, who didn’t make his 2022 debut until July 12 because of a rib cage injury, had been sidelined since a line drive fractured his left pinkie finger in his next start on July 17.
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom told reporters that Sale was biking to lunch after a throwing session on Saturday at Boston College when he hit something that caused “a pretty rough spill.”
“You couldn’t make this up, right?” Bloom said Tuesday. “It stinks. It’s really unfortunate. We’re relieved this wasn’t worse, obviously. Very glad this wasn’t worse. But it’s been such a run of bad luck for him and obviously for us.'”
Sale, who finished the season with a 3.18 ERA in 5⅔ innings across two appearances, is expected to be ready for the start of spring training. The 33-year-old has endured four difficult years — and numerous injuries — since helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series. After signing a five-year, $145 million extension with Boston in March 2019, Sale posted a career-high 4.40 ERA in 25 starts. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and was sidelined for the coronavirus pandemic-shortened season. The seven-time all-star was limited to nine starts last year after his return was delayed by neck stiffness and a bout with covid.
Sale’s run of bad luck continued earlier this year, when he suffered a stress fracture in his rib cage while training during MLB’s lockout. Sale, who was captured on video destroying a television in the clubhouse after a rehab start with Class AAA Wooster, threw five scoreless innings in his 2022 Red Sox debut against the Tampa Bay Rays last month.
“I’m not broken anymore,” Sale said after that start. “It’s different this year. It’s definitely different this year.”
Five days later, Sale was removed from his second start after taking a line drive by New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks off his left pinkie.
“This is just an incredibly bizarre run of events,” Bloom said Tuesday. “He should be full go next spring. We obviously need to think through what that means as far as planning out a full season with him not having carried very much of a workload the last few years.”
In a bit of good news, Bloom said Sale did not reinjure his healing pinkie in Saturday’s bike accident.
The Red Sox entered Tuesday in last place in the American League East and 4½ games out of the final wild-card spot. | 2022-08-09T20:38:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale breaks wrist in bike accident - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/chris-sale-injury-red-sox/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/chris-sale-injury-red-sox/ |
Greg Penner, left, Carrie Walton Penner, and Rob Walton lead the group that purchased the Denver Broncos. On Aug. 9, NFL owners voted to ratify their $4.65 billion purchase of the team. (Dave Campbell/AP)
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The NFL officially has a new wealthiest team owner, and the Denver Broncos have new leadership.
Meeting Tuesday at a hotel by the Mall of America, NFL owners voted to ratify the $4.65 billion purchase of the Broncos by a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton from the Pat Bowlen Trust. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Walton’s ownership group received “unanimous support” from the other owners.
Applause could be heard inside the owners’ meeting room shortly before the approval was announced.
Group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton agrees to buy Broncos for $4.65 billion
Walton called it “a big, big day for us” and said at a news conference: “Putting a winning team on the field is our No. 1 priority. We can’t wait to get to Denver, join our new colleagues and get to work.”
Walton, 77, has a net worth of $59.9 billion, according to Forbes, and is among the world’s 20 wealthiest people. Approval by the owners had been considered a mere formality since the deal was struck in early June. The owners on the NFL’s finance committee previously recommended ratification.
“This is a group that is going to be great for the Denver community, [with] their commitment to winning but more importantly their commitment to making sure the Broncos franchise is an important part of the Denver community,” Goodell said. “So we’re thrilled about that.”
The Broncos’ new ownership group includes Walton’s daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and his son-in-law, Gregory Penner, who was elected the chairman of Walmart’s board of directors in 2015.
“We’re committed to making sure the Denver Broncos are the best team to play for, to work for and to cheer for,” Walton Penner said. “We can’t wait to get back tomorrow and get this started.”
Said Rob Walton: “Working together as a family is going to be great fun on this project. It’s a good business, but it’s a fun business, and we’re going to enjoy it. Mostly we’re just honored to steward this historic franchise. We appreciate the opportunity.”
Walton called the Broncos “the one sports franchise that we would have considered buying” and recalled family conversations about the topic a decade ago. Penner said those conversations never advanced to discussing a possible purchase with Bowlen.
“We know our fans’ expectations are high,” Penner said. “And we embrace that. We’re really anxious to get started. And we want to compete, and we want to win.”
Condoleezza Rice joins Broncos’ new ownership group
Penner called it “premature” to publicly address the topic of a potential new stadium for the team in Denver, adding: “We’ll evaluate all of our options and really dig in and understand the situation before making any decision.”
Investors in the group include two Black women: Mellody Hobson, the co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State.
“We think diverse organizations are more successful organizations,” Walton said.
The new owners inherit a team with a winning history, a devoted fan base and a recent history of on-field frustration. The Broncos have failed to reach the NFL playoffs in six straight seasons since winning the Super Bowl to conclude the 2015 season. This offseason, they hired a new coach, Nathaniel Hackett, and traded for Russell Wilson, the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.
“They’ll have to perform,” Walton said. “But we think we’ve got the pieces to really fit together and have a great season. We’re very excited.”
Goodell said the owners spoke during Tuesday’s meeting about Bowlen, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who died in 2019.
“He made extraordinary contributions to the league,” Goodell said. “Many of us talked about it in the room. He’s not just a Hall of Famer. But he was a friend and someone who cared deeply about the league, the Broncos, the Denver community. We’re going to miss him along the way, and his family. But we want to thank them for all that they’ve done for the National Football League. They’ve been extraordinary partners.” | 2022-08-09T20:38:26Z | www.washingtonpost.com | NFL owners approve purchase of Denver Broncos by Walton-Penner group - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/nfl-denver-broncos-sale/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/nfl-denver-broncos-sale/ |
The US has been a laggard in an important measure of freedom: holding former leaders accountable to the law. From Brazil, France and South Africa to Israel, the Philippines and South Korea, many of the world’s major democracies have tried — and frequently, convicted — former presidents and prime ministers, mostly for crimes committed, covered up or both when they were in power.
The closest a US president came to joining the list was over Watergate, but President Richard Nixon was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, before he faced a day in court. Ford’s explanation, that Americans “would needlessly be diverted from meeting [our] challenges if we as a people were to remain sharply divided” over prosecuting Nixon, has been invoked by those seeking to draw a curtain of charity across misdeeds by subsequent occupants of the White House, notably Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and, of course, Trump.
And this isn’t just a matter of partisan politics. Americans as a whole are leery of prosecuting former presidents. In a recent PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll, barely half of all respondents said Trump should face criminal charges — and only 28% felt he would — for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.
But if such charges are brought against Trump, it would strengthen the argument for the US to follow the example of those other democracies.
After Mar-a-Lago Search, the Public Deserves Some Answers: Editorial
Trump Search Should Just Be Garland’s Opening Act: Timothy L. O’Brien
Three Major Takeaways From the FBI Search on Trump’s Home: Noah Feldman | 2022-08-09T20:55:38Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Democracies Can Weather Prosecutions of Former Presidents - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/democracies-can-weather-prosecutions-of-former-presidents/2022/08/09/2b749472-181b-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/democracies-can-weather-prosecutions-of-former-presidents/2022/08/09/2b749472-181b-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Police: Suspects used slur and referenced monkeypox in Shaw attack
Incident is being investigated as a hate crime
D.C. police are investigating an assault on two men that occurred Sunday afternoon in the Shaw neighborhood as a suspected hate crime, after the suspects were said to have used an anti-gay slur and referenced monkeypox, according to an offense report.
The men told police they were each punched by two assailants about 5:40 p.m. as they walked in the 1700 block of 7th Street NW, north of Rhode Island Avenue and near the Shaw-Howard University Metro station.
A police report says the victims told police the assailants used an anti-gay slur and referred to monkeypox, a virus that spreads person to person and has been detected primarily among networks of men who have sex with men.
The attack was first reported by Metro Weekly, a publication that focuses on D.C.’s LGBTQ community.
One of the victims, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no one is in custody, said in an interview with The Washington Post that he and his partner had left an establishment on U Street and walked by a group of older teenagers.
That man, who is 25 years old, said people in the group yelled derogatory remarks. He said he and his partner stopped and turned, but then decided to ignore the taunts and continue walking.
The 25-year-old man said one assailant punched him in the forehead and he fell to the ground. The man said his 23-year-old partner shouted, and another teen punched him in the face. He said he stood up and was punched a second time, breaking his glasses.
A woman across the street called police, the 25-year-old man said, and the assailants ran away. He said police drove them to a hospital, where his partner required stitches.
A total 64 hate or bias-related crimes have been reported in the city through June 30, according to D.C. police data, down from 74 at the same time last year. But police said hate crimes based on sexual orientation are up this year, with 23 reported through June 30, compared with 17 at the halfway point of 2021. | 2022-08-09T20:56:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Police: Suspects used slur and referenced monkeypox in Shaw attack - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/shaw-attack-monkeypox-slur-hate/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/shaw-attack-monkeypox-slur-hate/ |
President Biden applauds as Ketanji Brown Jackson delivers remarks at the White House on her confirmation to be Supreme Court Justice on April 8. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
When Joe Biden secured the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, many progressives were wary of their party’s new leader. He had run as the moderate in the race and had a long history of seeking the center of gravity within the party, which didn’t always mean standing up for progressive goals.
With the party’s recent round of legislative successes, those progressives are hardly overjoyed, but they do feel that things are going reasonably well. Yet there’s one area where Biden can fairly be said to exceeded the left’s expectations: the appointment of judges.
A new analysis from the Pew Research Center shows that Biden, a president whose electoral appeal rested in no small part on him being a supposedly reassuring older White man, has appointed a far more diverse set of judges than any president in history, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Pew compared Biden with previous presidents at the same point in their terms, and the numbers show the success of both the White House and Senate Democrats in moving through his nominees:
Biden has had 75 judges confirmed, more than any president at this point in his term since John F. Kennedy.
Seventy-six percent of Biden’s confirmed judges are women, more than any president in history. Obama ended up with 42 percent women among his appointees; Trump had only 24 percent, while Bill Clinton had 28 percent.
A full 65 percent of Biden’s appointees have been non-White, compared to 40 percent for Obama and 12 percent for Trump at this stage.
Biden and the people finding judicial nominees for him have also put a premium on a greater diversity of experience, seeking not just former prosecutors and sitting judges but also people who have worked as public defenders. The most notable example is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first public defender to sit on the Supreme Court.
You don’t hear much criticism from Republicans of this record, since it’s hard to say “Biden should appoint more White men to the bench!” and not sound racist and sexist. They did, of course, engage in a forthright round of race-baiting when Justice Stephen G. Breyer retired and Jackson was appointed to fill his seat, but since then, they’ve been largely quiet on the issue.
That might be because so much focus has been on the Supreme Court, where Republicans successfully engineered a 6-3 conservative supermajority. That supermajority does in some ways render this newly diverse crop of judges less relevant than it might be, given how their opinions on major issues can and will be overruled.
Republicans also hope to take back the Senate in November’s elections, and if they do, they are likely to essentially shut down all judicial confirmations for the remainder of Biden’s term. That’s what they did to Obama: He saw more than 300 judges confirmed in his first six years in office, but only 20 of his picks were confirmed in his final two years, after Republicans took over the Senate in the 2014 elections.
Which is why Trump’s appointees account for a full 28 percent of the federal judiciary despite the fact that he served only one term in office. When Trump took over for Obama, there were 105 vacancies on the federal bench for Trump to fill.
And fill them he did, appointing a collection of inexperienced and ideologically extreme lawyers. A number of them were rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association, yet they still received support from nearly every Republican senator. Their most important qualifications were that they would be loyal to the GOP and that they were young enough to serve for a long time.
Thanks to some weak Republican candidates, Democrats have a pretty good chance of holding on to the Senate, which would mean Biden could keep filling judicial vacancies. And his future picks are likely to be as diverse as the ones he has made so far.
But that diversity isn’t primarily a function of Biden’s goodwill and fervent desire to diversify the bench. I’m not claiming he doesn’t believe in what he’s doing on this score; he certainly does. But just as Trump stocked the judiciary with a succession of right-wing hacks because it was what Republicans wanted, Biden is likewise influenced by forces within the Democratic Party.
Even before the Supreme Court went on the tear that culminated with overruling Roe v. Wade, Democrats were becoming increasingly aware of the importance of the courts. And in a party that is supposed to represent the diversity of America, it simply wouldn’t have been possible for any Democrat elected in 2020 to have appointments that were only as diverse as, say, Bill Clinton’s (28 percent women, 25 percent non-White).
So while Biden and his aides delivered a diverse bench, it was the party and the progressive movement that made them do it. Everyone should get a share of the credit. | 2022-08-09T20:56:46Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Biden's judicial appointments are his biggest unnoticed success - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/biden-courts-judges-appointments-his-biggest-unnoticed-success/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/biden-courts-judges-appointments-his-biggest-unnoticed-success/ |
In this photo provided by the University of Arizona and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a male jaguar photographed by motion-detection wildlife cameras in the Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona on April 30, 20215 as part of a Citizen Science jaguar monitoring project conducted by the University of Arizona, in coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. According to Borderlands Linkages, a binational collaboration of eight conservation groups, this cat is known as “El Jefe,” or “The Boss,“ is one of the oldest jaguars on record along the border and one of few known to have crossed the border. (University of Arizona and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP) (Uncredited/University of Arizona and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) | 2022-08-09T20:58:26Z | www.washingtonpost.com | 'El Jefe' the jaguar, famed in US, photographed in Mexico - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/el-jefe-the-jaguar-famed-in-us-photographed-in-mexico/2022/08/09/03fff40a-181f-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/el-jefe-the-jaguar-famed-in-us-photographed-in-mexico/2022/08/09/03fff40a-181f-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Virginia makes advances in helping rape victims seek justice
A Claude Monet poster hangs Jan. 16, 2018, above the exam table in the examination room at the Chesapeake Forensics office. It gives a rape victim something else to focus on and think about while a rape kit is administered. (Adam Ewing for The Washington Post Magazine)
The Aug. 5 front-page article on Gretchen Van Winkle’s nightmare experience dealing with the Fairfax County Police Department in 1995 and 1996, “ ‘What the police did was worse than the rape,’ ” highlighted how rape victims are quite often brutally victimized by both the perpetrator and the criminal justice system. However, the article missed an important opportunity to bring to light the major advances Virginia has made as recently as 2020, when it eliminated a backlog of 2,665 untested rape kits and, in 2022, when a law was passed requiring the storage of physical evidence recovery kits for at least 10 years.
These advancements might not help Ms. Van Winkle, but they are very meaningful improvements in the fight to bring justice to victims of this heinous crime.
Carolyn Dutrow, Herndon | 2022-08-09T21:34:38Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Virginia makes advances in helping rape victims seek justice - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/advances-helping-rape-victims-seek-justice-virginia/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/advances-helping-rape-victims-seek-justice-virginia/ |
Migrants from Venezuela who boarded a bus in Del Rio, Texas, disembark in D.C., on Aug. 2. (Stefani Reynolds / AFP)
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is catching it from all directions over a problem she had no hand in creating, and for which she, as D.C.'s chief executive, lacks both the responsibility and capacity to solve.
On one front, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, both Republicans, have been busing asylum-seeking migrants from the southern border to D.C. on the grounds that the Biden administration’s immigration policies encourage waves of arrivals that are too burdensome and expensive for their states to handle. Said Abbott at a news conference announcing his busing plans: “We’re bringing the border to President Biden.”
On the home front, Bowser (D) is being condemned for not devoting more city treasure and staff to helping volunteer groups overwhelmed by the task of greeting thousands of asylum seekers with the intake processing, food, medical care, clothing, hygiene kits and emergency housing that they need.
Bowser is also taking a huge hit from some city politicians and immigration advocates for asking the Biden administration to mobilize the D.C. National Guard to help respond to the crisis. Bowser seeks a suitable federal site for a processing center, along with space for feeding and housing support.
Some aid groups characterize Bowser’s National Guard request as akin to treating migrants like combatants. “The last thing we want is a militarized response to a humanitarian crisis,” said Andrea Scherff, an organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network.
A few words about the National Guard and ill-informed references to militarization.
There wasn’t much of an outcry against a “militarized” response when thousands of National Guard members were deployed to provide humanitarian relief to Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Neither were Guard members issued a “confined to quarters” command when the covid-19 pandemic struck. Guard members have administered more than 8 million coronavirus tests, and they’ve also helped out in long-term care facilities.
When covid-19 first hit, there were concerns about space for medical and other facilities — the same kinds of concerns now expressed by Bowser. Fear of being “militarized” didn’t enter the picture as National Guard members worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to create care facilities in major cities. “Ultimately, we built a 15,000-bed capability that didn’t exist prior to the pandemic,” said a Guard spokesman.
A fact: Guard members do fight. In fact, they are actively engaged in fighting wildfires in the West, rescuing civilians along the way. Wonder how those survivors feel about their rescuers showing up in uniforms?
It makes sense for D.C.’s mayor, confronted with an unplanned arrival of thousands of migrants in desperate need to seek a contingent of Guard members and the D.C. Armory to serve as staff and location for a humanitarian respite center. Unfortunately, Bowser does not have the same authority over the National Guard afforded to governors of states and territories.
Are Abbott and Ducey cynically exploiting the innocent to pull a stunt aimed at Biden? Of course. But the price is being paid by D.C.
The migration crisis is not a military event. The ongoing migrant surge is, however, a federal problem. And it requires a federal response. And shame on the White House officials criticizing Bowser’s federal aid request, suggesting it plays into the hands of Biden’s Republican critics.
What, pray tell, is the White House saying? “C’mon Bowser, take one for the team?”
Local jurisdictions such as D.C., New York City and state capital leaders in Austin and Phoenix can help address the needs of people coming across the southern border. But ultimate responsibility must rest with a federal government that created the policies and rightly supports international agreements giving those arriving at the U.S. border the right to request asylum without being criminalized or turned back.
The Biden administration must own up to the asylum-seeking migrant problem, just as it responded to last summer’s arrival of thousands of Afghan refugees. Just as it announced in July a contribution of more than $350 million in humanitarian assistance to displaced Ukrainians.
At a minimum, state and local jurisdictions should be reimbursed for every dime spent helping destitute immigrants admitted into the United States. The money is there, fully appropriated in the foreign aid budget.
The United States provides millions in foreign aid helping El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala stanch migration flow by fighting poverty, violence and corruption. Nicaragua, despite its repressive antidemocratic ruler Daniel Ortega, is also receiving millions in assistance.
The ongoing trek of migrants away from their countries may well be evidence of foreign aid’s failure. Those American tax dollars should be transferred to where they might do the most good: back in to the United States helping vulnerable migrants with meager belongings to get off park benches, out of train stations, and on the path to obtaining human services they need.
Mayor Bowser, and local jurisdictions around the country, properly and federally supported, can and should help with that. | 2022-08-09T21:34:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Busing of migrants to D.C. can’t be Mayor Muriel Bowser’s problem to solve - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/migrants-bused-abbot-ducey-dc-responsibility/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/migrants-bused-abbot-ducey-dc-responsibility/ |
A lawyer for Donald Trump said agents seized about a dozen boxes on Monday, months after 15 boxes of items were returned
Spencer S. Hsu
Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 21, 2016, weeks after he was elected president. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
In the months before the FBI’s dramatic move to execute a search warrant at former president Donald Trump’s Florida home — and open his safe to look for items — federal authorities grew increasingly concerned that Trump or his lawyers and aides had not, in fact, returned all the documents and other material that were government property, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Officials became suspicious that when Trump gave back items to the National Archives about seven months ago, either the former president or people close to him held on to key records — despite a Justice Department investigation into the handling of 15 boxes of material sent to the former president’s private club and residence in the waning days of his administration.
Over months of discussions on the subject, some officials also came to suspect Trump’s representatives were not truthful at times, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Garland vowed to depoliticize Justice. Then the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago
People familiar with the investigation said that Justice Department and FBI officials traveled to Mar-a-Lago this spring. They spoke to Trump’s representatives, inspected the storage space where documents were held and expressed concern that the former president or people close to him still had items that should be in government custody, these people said.
By that point, officials at the National Archives had been aggressively contacting to people in Trump’s orbit to demand the return of documents they believed were covered by the Presidential Records Act, said two people familiar with those inquiries. Like the others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation.
Christina Bobb, a lawyer for Trump, said his lawyers engaged in discussions with the Justice Department this spring over materials held at Mar-a-Lago. At that time, the former president’s legal team searched through two to three dozen boxes of material contained in a storage area, hunting for documents that could be considered presidential records, and turned over several items that might meet the definition, she said.
Bobb said the Justice Department officials commented that they did not believe the storage unit was properly secured, so Trump officials added a lock to the facility. When FBI agents searched the property Monday, Bobb added, they broke through the lock that had been added to the door.
The FBI removed about a dozen boxes that had been stored in the basement storage area, she said. Bobb did not share the search warrant left by agents but said that it indicated agents were investigating possible violations of laws dealing with the handling of classified material and the Presidential Records Act.
Trump announced Monday that the FBI had searched Mar-a-Lago and his safe, decrying the move as the latest unfair action against him by the Justice Department and FBI. Spokespeople at both agencies declined to comment.
Asked for comment Tuesday about whether the former president or his advisers had withheld documents or been untruthful, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich called the FBI’s action “not only unprecedented, but completely unnecessary.”
“President Trump and his representatives have gone to painstaking lengths in communicating and cooperating with the appropriate agencies," Budowich said in an emailed statement. "In the Democrats’ desperate attempt to retain power, they have unified and grown the entire conservative movement.”
One adviser who spoke to Trump after the search said the former president sounded buoyed by the development, bragging about how many Republicans were supporting him publicly, and said he thought the search would help him politically in the end, this person said.
“It furthers his inclination to run and galvanizes the Republican base on his behalf,” said Jason Miller, a longtime adviser and former spokesman.
Analysis: Donald Trump has been waiting for this moment for a long time
Some of the Trump’s advisers have urged him to move up his expected announcement that he will run for president in 2024 and make it soon at Mar-a-Lago, with the FBI search as a backdrop. But Trump has made no commitment to doing so, one person with direct knowledge of the conversations said.
Two people familiar with the initial recovery of the materials at Mar-a-Lago said that Archives officials believed that more records were missing and were skeptical that Trump had handed everything over. As the investigation gained steam, some Trump advisers have sought to stay away from the issue, fearing it would become a messy legal and political situation, according to people familiar with the discussions.
After Monday’s search, lawyers close to Trump sought advice or recommendations of criminal defense lawyers who could represent Trump, said a person familiar with the lawyers. According to this person, the lawyers said the warrant was related to allegations that classified information was retained by Trump.
Trump already has a number of lawyers working for him, but it is not uncommon for individuals facing investigative activity to seek local attorneys to navigate a particular court district.
Some top Republicans echo Trump's evidence-free claims discrediting FBI search
Dozens of die-hard Trump supporters came to West Palm Beach on Tuesday to express their support. Adriane Shochet, 64, of Lake Worth, Fla., bought a $14 broomstick, which she attached to an American flag and waved as she stood on the causeway that overlooks part of Mar-a-Lago.
“I just needed to come out and show the whole free world that this is frightening, and if they can do this, what’s next?” Shochet said. “This is the polar opposite of whatever effect politically they thought they were going to get because all it’s doing is empowering the right politically.”
Passing motorists honked in support. One man stood on the bridge, which crosses the Intracoastal Waterway, holding the American flag upside down — widely recognized as a symbol of his belief that the country is in distress.
Pat Stewart, 85, found the “Trump 2020” flag that used to fly at her house in Jupiter, Fla., which she had expected to keep tucked away until the next presidential election. For the next several hours, she stood in the sun alongside a friend who was visiting from Michigan, who is also 85, waving at passing motorists.
“I was very angry, very angry, and very upset, that our government would do this to an ex-president,” Stewart said. Even though aides said Trump was in New York and at his golf club and residence in Bedminster, N.J., this week, she held out hope that he was at Mar-a-Lago.
“We want him to come out and announce he’s running for president,” Stewart said.
One person familiar with the investigation said agents were conducting a court-authorized search as part of a long-running examination into why documents — some of them top-secret — were taken to the former president’s private club and residence instead of shipped to the National Archives and Records Administration when Trump left office. The Presidential Records Act, which requires the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes and other written communications related to a president’s official duties.
Some of the materials Trump took from the White House included letters and notes from foreign leaders, such as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Searching a former president’s property to look for possible evidence of a crime is highly unusual and would probably require approval at the top levels of the Justice Department.
A department spokeswoman declined to comment when asked whether Attorney General Merrick Garland approved the search.
The search triggered a torrent of outrage from Trump and his political supporters, along with vows to investigate the Justice Department and the FBI.
Tim Craig in West Palm Beach, Fla., contributed to this report. | 2022-08-09T21:47:47Z | www.washingtonpost.com | FBI search of Mar-a-Lago helps show how probe of Trump documents has changed - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/trump-fbi-search-mar-a-lago/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/trump-fbi-search-mar-a-lago/ |
Minnesota county settles with minority officers blocked from Chauvin
Eight minority jail officers alleged only White officers were allowed to interact with Derek Chauvin after his arrest in the 2020 killing of George Floyd
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, in a June 2021 video image, addresses the court. (AP)
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota county agreed to pay $1.5 million to eight minority correctional officers who sued after they said only White employees were allowed to guard or interact with Derek Chauvin at the jail where he was held after his arrest in the killing of George Floyd.
The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to settle a lawsuit claiming racial discrimination by current and former employees at the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center in St. Paul, where the former Minneapolis police officer surrendered after being charged in the 2020 killing.
Under settlement terms, the county agreed to pay the officers an amount roughly between $250,000 and $75,000 apiece to settle claims of discrimination, a hostile work environment and mental distress. They had said the then-superintendent at the jail, who is White, ordered employees of color to “segregate” on a separate floor from Chauvin and blocked them from doing their jobs because of their race. Chauvin is White and Floyd, the man Chauvin was convicted of murdering, was Black.
As part of the settlements approved Tuesday, Ramsey County admitted no wrongdoing. But after voting to approve the settlement, board members issued a formal apology to the corrections officers for what one described as a “racist act” by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees operations at the jail, and criticized the department for continued “failure in leadership” and a “lack of accountability” for its handling of the May 29, 2020, incident.
“No one should ever should have questioned your ability to perform your job based on the color of your skin,” Ramsey County board chair Trista MatasCastillo said.
The eight officers — including four who still work for Ramsey County — filed a state civil rights complaint in June 2020 and later sued in state district court over allegations of racial discrimination. The officers said they were on regular duty at the jail when Chauvin was taken into custody after days of fiery unrest across the Twin Cities following Floyd’s death on May 25.
As the jail prepared for Chauvin’s arrival, a supervisor pulled all officers of color from their regular duties, according to the lawsuit, and asked them to report to the third floor of the facility, away from the fifth floor where Chauvin would be held in a secluded cell. All were replaced by White officers, the lawsuit claimed.
One of the plaintiffs, Devin Sullivan, an acting sergeant who is described in the lawsuit as Black with dark skin, had regularly processed high-profile inmates while working at the jail for more than a decade. According to the lawsuit, Sullivan was patting down Chauvin when he was interrupted and told to stop by Steve Lydon, the jail’s superintendent who replaced him with White officers.
Sullivan, who is also a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and spent three years as chief commander of the largest company in the state National Guard, subsequently learned from other minority officers that they too had been ordered by Lydon to stay away from Chauvin.
The lawsuit said Sullivan checked security camera feeds and saw that officers with dark skin who usually worked on the facility’s fifth floor were being reassigned. Lighter-skinned officers who appeared to be White were “not moved,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also claimed Chauvin received special treatment at the facility, including from a jail official who is related to his sister.
Two of the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit that they watched on a security camera as a fellow corrections officer, who is White, was granted “special access” to the unit where Chauvin was being held. The officers said in the lawsuit that on security camera footage they observed the woman enter Chauvin’s cell, sit on his bed and pat him on the back “while appearing to comfort him.” The corrections officer, who is not named in the lawsuit, allowed him to use her cellphone, the plaintiffs said — a violation of jail policy.
The lawsuit alleged that Lt. Lugene Werner, one of the White jail officials on duty that day, asked a Black officer to help her “explain” the “segregation order” to the jail’s minority staff. According to public records, Werner is a relative of Chauvin’s sister. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office did not respond to questions about Werner, including whether jail officials were aware of her personal connection to Chauvin.
Lydon, who was reassigned but still works for the sheriff’s office, later defended his actions. He claimed in a June 2020 statement to reporters that he had been given only 10 minutes’ notice that Chauvin would turn himself in at the jail and that he was concerned about how that might affect employees of color in a region reeling from Floyd’s death and the protests that followed.
“Recognizing that the murder of George Floyd was likely to create a particularly acute radicalized trauma, I felt I had an immediate duty to protect and support employees who may have been traumatized and may have heightened ongoing trauma by having to deal with Chauvin,” Lydon said in the statement.
On Tuesday, board chair MatasCastillo strongly criticized Sheriff Bob Fletcher and his office for its handling of the incident. “The lack of any real apology from the sheriff’s office and the fact that Steve Lydon remains to this day an appointed employee within the office reflects poor leadership and perpetuates the systemic racism that allowed a decision like this to occur,” MatasCastillo said.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Lucas Kaster, one of the attorneys for the correctional officers, praised the “courage” of his clients for coming forward to speak about the racism they had experienced, saying it had “not been easy for them.” The plaintiffs had previously spoken about being criticized by other officers within the department for speaking out about the jail’s handling of Chauvin.
In a statement, Sullivan, who still works for Ramsey County, pressed the sheriff’s office to continue pursuing “overall culture changes that create a safe and welcoming work environment for all.” | 2022-08-09T21:56:23Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Eight minority officers win settlement for bias in Derek Chauvin case - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/chauvin-jail-settlement/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/chauvin-jail-settlement/ |
How a former Florida political operative broke the Mar-a-Lago FBI story
Peter Schorsch, the publisher of a state politics news site, tweeted his scoop while acknowledging “I’m not a strong enough reporter hunt this down.”
Peter Schorsch, publisher of the website FloridaPolitics.com, broke the news about the Mar-a-Lago FBI search in a tweet. (Allison Davis) (Allison Davis)
The text came from someone Peter Schorsch knew from his many years in Florida political circles.
“Yyyyyuuuuugggggeeeee scoop,” his source wrote on Monday afternoon.
Intrigued, Schorsch, a former political operative who is now the publisher of the website FloridaPolitics.com, picked up the phone, expecting to hear a tip about Sunshine State resident Donald Trump. Perhaps the former president had dropped by a local business or something? He and the tipster traded gossip and chitchat for about 20 minutes before turning to the topic at hand. “Oh, by the way,” the person said, “did you know Mar-a-Lago is being raided right now?”
“Excuse me?!” replied Schorsch. He scrambled to get off the phone call and start making some others.
Within five minutes, Schorsch had gathered enough intel to validate the tip. Instead of publishing a story, though, he unloaded knowledge directly to social media — with a few modest caveats that belied the explosive nature of the news.
“Scoop — The Federal Bureau of Investigation @FBI today executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago,” he tweeted, adding that two people had confirmed it for him. “Not sure what the search warrant was about. TBH, Im not a strong enough reporter to hunt this down, but its real.”
The way Schorsch delivered the news stands in stark contrast to the norms of a hyperventilating digital political news environment, where scoops are treated like currency and clout that can lure valuable traffic to one’s website and each micro-development is labeled with an emergency siren emoji and all-caps “BREAKING” or “SCOOP” labels. (“I feel like all-caps is loud,” Schorsch told The Washington Post.)
Schorsch essentially gave the news away, asking bigger national publications to seize his headline and build out their own stories about one of the biggest developments of the Trump post-presidency.
His only reward: several thousand new Twitter followers, the admiration of some media insiders — and the satisfaction of getting the news out to the world. “The story,” he said, “is much bigger than the person who is breaking it.”
A registered Republican, Schorsch started blogging in 2009 and bought the FloridaPolitics.com domain around 2013. It was a comeback of sorts for a once-rising political star who had pleaded no contest to grand theft. With a cleared record, he reinvented himself as a publisher. The site employs 17 journalists and prints a quarterly magazine, with revenue coming from advertising and sponsorships.
Even while the site has become a must-follow source for Florida political obsessives, some have raised questions about whether Schorsch’s approach qualifies as journalism; he has been accused of giving favorable coverage to ad buyers. (The local sheriff’s office investigated him for pay-to-play allegations but dropped the matter without filing charges.)
“I don’t think I’m a journalist. I’ve been very adamant about that,” Schorsch said. “You can swing a sword but that doesn’t make you a samurai.”
On Monday, after Schorsch received his initial tip, he called a second person with ties to Trump world. “I know you’re not going to like this,” Schorsch recalled telling this person, “but I kind of, sort of, think the FBI is raiding Mar-a-Lago.”
His source replied with, “Oh, f---.” Schorsch then heard something that sounded like a shuffling of papers. The person eventually confirmed that what Schorsch had been told was true, and that agents had just left the property, but asked him to wait five minutes before acting on the news.
Schorsch quickly called a third person, higher up in Trump world, just to make sure the story was solid. He had been burned before by reporting news he had to later retract: In 2013, a source told him Florida Rep. Bill Young (R) had died when, in fact, he hadn’t. And since then, “I’ve always been a little scared to get to the top of the diving board.”
Still, he worried that once he had alerted Trump allies, they would leak the story themselves. “I’ve seen it: You go to another reporter and say, ‘Hey, Peter has got it.’ ” But the second person called him back and said there would soon be an official statement.
He opted against trying to publish a story on his own website. His team of reporters were tapped out — “they had already worked on four Florida politics stories each that day” — and as far as he was concerned, FloridaPolitics.com had already done just fine in terms of readership Monday, with two juicy stories about new state election polls driving up the click count.
As a courtesy, he decided instead to tip off three other reporters he knew and trusted, to see whether they could find out more about what was going on with the search.
But in the meantime, Schorsch knew the search had happened — of this, he was confident. And he did not want the Trump camp to scoop him on the story.
So he turned to Twitter to get the news out to as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
“I’ve got a decent Twitter following but I’m not Katy Perry,” he recalled thinking, “so let me put out this big matzo ball, and it could sink, or I am going to get bigfooted.”
He posted his tweet at 6:36 p.m. It didn’t take long for it to get noticed.
Rick Wilson, the Tallahassee-based former Republican political consultant and anti-Trump activist, saw it. Schorsch’s understated delivery triggered no hesitations for him about the story’s validity. “I’ve known Peter for almost 20 years now, and he’s a guy deeply wired into Florida politics at a level that is nearly unrivaled,” Wilson told The Post. At 6:37 p.m., he retweeted it to his 1.4 million followers with a single-word observation: “WHOA.” It went viral.
Just 15 minutes later, Trump posted a lengthy statement on his social media site confirming the FBI had searched Mar-a-Lago. Political reporters such as Maggie Haberman of the New York Times and CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tweeted about Trump’s statement — and followed up by crediting Schorsch as the first to break the news. “Credit where due,” Haberman wrote.
“Credit to @PeterSchorschFL who had this enormous scoop tonight,” CNN national security correspondent Zachary Cohen tweeted. “Local news matters.”
Other reporters soon followed up by confirming and delivering details about the unprecedented search; The Post reported that the court-authorized action was part of a long-running investigation into whether top-secret documents were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office, instead of the National Archives, which could be a violation of law.
For Schorsch, this story was too consequential to not ask others for help with unraveling it.
“This is not about false humility,” he said. “I knew what I was carrying in my hands … It needed to be put into the public domain. That was more important than [getting] clicks out of it.” | 2022-08-09T22:00:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | How a former Florida political operative broke the Mar-a-Lago FBI story - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/08/09/peter-schorsch-trump-fbi-mar-a-lago/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/08/09/peter-schorsch-trump-fbi-mar-a-lago/ |
Residential skyscrapers beyond the sands of Al Mamzar beach in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Russian buyers snapped up Dubai real estate in the first quarter of this year, climbing two places to fifth in a country ranking by brokerage Betterhomes. (Bloomberg)
Other close contenders like Tokyo, Singapore and Shanghai don’t hold the same allure as they once did. So what’s left?
Factors like tax rates and the ability to draw capital — equity and debt — that facilitate business and bolster a city’s competitiveness help, too. There are various ways to measure that: The size and depth of capital markets, along with detailed, weighted indices that take into account everything from tax rates to office occupancy and legal jurisdiction.
These measures, though, ignore an underappreciated but increasingly relevant factor in the post-Covid era: human capital. We can no longer measure workers based on one-dimensional factors like education level or income bracket. Where do people want to live? And where can professionals do their jobs smoothly and, therefore, successfully? That’s changed since Covid turned our world upside down.
Contrary to popular understanding, financial-sector development was the lowest on that list because remote working and the ease of digital services through the pandemic have shown that there’s a different way to do business. The caveat, however, is the need for “a reliable and trustworthy ecosystem.”
It’s time to redefine global financial centers based on more subjective criteria. But where do you even begin? Cost and quality of living, for instance, help set a baseline to assess the cities that help attract — or put off — talent. Hong Kong remains the most expensive city, with its sky-high rents and Covid-19 measures that have made the cost of logistics, and life in general, exorbitant. Even the price of beer has shot up there. It ranks 71 on consultancy firm Mercer LLC’s quality of living index, while places like Vienna and Zurich top the list. London is 41, while the world’s foremost global financial center, New York, comes in at 44.
Then there’s connectivity. Travel to and from any of the top three financial centers is currently in shambles during what executives have described as the busiest season ever. Hong Kong barely has any flights out, and let’s not even start talking about its quarantine system, while London can’t handle passengers and New York remains hectic and full of delays.
It isn’t hard to see why, then, people in the US and elsewhere are leaving their jobs for greener pastures. The Great Resignation has been as much about people doing what they want — and not being tied to work — as the other economic factors that have allowed it. People choose to live in big cities because being employed in the finance world, or the ecosystem around it, is lucrative. Yet, it’s also expensive to live in and around these areas. Consider what’s happening with tech jobs — the first sector to go remote: US white-collar salaries are converging across the country, regardless of whether they are in a major hub or away from headquarters. Wages in DC are reaching those in the Bay Area.
To retain talent and lure the best and brightest, businesses will have to shift tactics. As BlackRock Inc.’s and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s office openings in places like West Palm Beach and Birmingham show, it isn’t all that difficult. Spreading talent out across places that offer better living standards, easy travel and flexible work hours to match time zones and trading hours could go a long way to resolve the current labor problems and, ultimately, the cost of human capital.
This isn’t to say companies should let workers head off to remote islands with spotty wi-fi and poor infrastructure. Instead, it’s about acknowledging that places traditionally thought of as white-collar finance workers’ hubs just aren’t that anymore.
Globally, there are now few places where the world’s financiers want to live. One fast emerging hub for instance, is Dubai. (Full disclosure: I’ve lived in New York, London and Hong Kong and am a recent Dubai transplant.) It isn’t just the influx of expats fleeing other less-friendly regimes like Singapore and Hong Kong. Capital is flooding in too. The emirate has put in place measures to attract talent through visa programs, housing and incentives for asset managers to set up shop. Schools are plenty and increasingly well-established. Its neighbor, Abu Dhabi, has done similar things, too.
There are, no doubt, shortcomings, like Dubai’s move to protect its telecom operator at the expense of consumers (you can’t use applications like WhatsApp or FaceTime to make voice or video calls, for example).
But history shows financial centers can evolve quickly, breaking with their traditional molds. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, hubs vying for importance like Dubai, Shanghai and Sao Paulo emerged, although some haven’t quite lived up to their promise.
Such changes — and the ability for employees and employers to live with them and make it work — show that it’s time for a reassessment.
More From This Writer:
• Hong Kong Expats, Where’s Your Next Destination?: Anjani Trivedi
• Covid Has Transformed the Psychology of Ambition: Anjani Trivedi
• Hong Kong Is Determined to Lock Out the World: Anjani Trivedi | 2022-08-09T22:26:53Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Over New York, London and Hong Kong? Time to Move On - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/over-new-york-london-and-hong-kong-time-to-move-on/2022/08/09/0fe3ca78-1827-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/over-new-york-london-and-hong-kong-time-to-move-on/2022/08/09/0fe3ca78-1827-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Calls from right for militant action in response to FBI raid span mainstream and extremist circles
By Hannah Allam
Police outside Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)
For months, right-wing agitators with millions of followers have peddled the idea that a moment was coming soon when violence would become necessary — a patriotic duty — to save the republic.
With the FBI search Monday of Donald Trump’s compound in Florida, that moment is now, according to enraged commentators’ all-caps, exclamation-pointed screeds urging supporters of the former president to take up arms. Within hours of the search at Mar-a-Lago, a chorus of Republican lawmakers, conservative talk-show hosts, anti-government provocateurs and pro-Trump conspiracy theorists began issuing explicit or thinly veiled calls for violence.
“Today is war. That is all you will get on today’s show,” right-wing podcaster Steven Crowder announced Tuesday to his nearly 2 million followers on Twitter, referring to the program that goes to his YouTube audience of 5.6 million.
Extremist organizers have tried to hold on to the momentum they built in recent years by finding big-tent causes disparate factions could rally around, such as opposition to pandemic restrictions, “Stop the Steal” election denial, or an imagined socialist “indoctrination” of schoolchildren. With each iteration, analysts say, the networks have grown more sophisticated and more violent, as evidenced by the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
The FBI’s search at Mar-a-Lago for classified documents is now presented as a tipping point, an existential threat to the United States that true patriots must thwart.
Extremism researcher Caroline Orr Bueno compiled a collage of dozens of screenshots of tweets calling for violence in response to the search, or “raid” in the parlance of Trump supporters. “I already bought my ammo,” one person boasted in the sampling. “Civil war! Pick up arms, people!” ordered another.
An immediate concern is the safety of the federal judge in Florida who approved the search warrant. Once his name made its way to right-wing forums, threats and conspiracy theories soon followed. Online pro-Trump groups spread his contact information and, as of Tuesday afternoon, the judge’s official page was no longer accessible on the court’s website.
Orr Bueno said it was ominous to see “a disturbing number of elected Republicans and influential right-wing figures joining in on the ‘civil war’ rhetoric.”
“This whole situation is red meat for their base. They use events like this to feed into this fantasy they’ve co-created with their supporters, and defusing the situation would require stepping out of that alternate reality,” said Orr Bueno, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Maryland who studies disinformation. “They’re not going to do that, particularly with 2024 right around the corner.”
Since the search Monday, Telegram channels popular with right-wing militants have been awash with vows to “lock and load” for civil war against what they deem a tyrannical federal government subverting the Constitution and “persecuting” a patriotic leader. NBC News identified one user who referenced civil war on TheDonald, a Reddit-like forum for Trump supporters, as Tyler Welsh Slaeker, who is awaiting sentencing for his role in storming the Capitol.
In mainstream GOP quarters, extremism trackers say, the nudges toward violence are more subtle, with statements delegitimizing the government as a “police state” or a “banana republic” that must be opposed, starting with the dismantling of federal agencies. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called the search “the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents.”
At 9:42 p.m. on Monday, Charlie Kirk, leader of the student conservative group Turning Point USA, which has held its annual gala at Mar-a-Lago, tweeted: “The people who did this want to stoke civil conflict. Don’t fall for it.” Not even an hour later, Kirk had changed his tune, adding another tweet at 10:39 p.m. that read, “They will not stop until they fear a cost for their abuse. That is how it works.” The comments below the post made clear that both his supporters and detractors interpreted the message as a call for militant action.
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tweeted “DEFUND THE FBI!!” She added an image of an upside-down U.S. flag, which many on the right have embraced as a symbol of the nation in distress.
“If this line of thought continues, I suspect we’ll see more far-right chatter about federal government buildings or people being legitimate targets,” warned Casey Cox, a political scientist at Texas A&M University who studies domestic terrorism.
The Mar-a-Lago probe put a spotlight on violent and dehumanizing political speech, but it has been lurking in the background for months. Examples in the past year include Jarome Bell, a Republican running for Congress in Virginia, who tweeted a call to put to death anyone convicted of voter fraud: “Arrest all involved. Try all involved. Convict all involved. Execute all involved.” Wendy Rogers, a far-right state senator in Arizona, told a white nationalist convention in Florida that “we need to build more gallows” to handle “traitors.”
In remarks in Nashville, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said “the militant left wing in our country has become the enemy within.” He added: “You may think that’s pretty dramatic, right, calling them the ‘enemy within’? Yes, I am.”
National Archives had to retrieve Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago
If the goal is to normalize vigilante violence as a political response, studies show that the tactic seems to be working.
A recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found that about 1 in 3 Americans say they believe violence against the government can at times be justified, the largest share to feel that way in more than two decades. Other studies similarly have found a growing tolerance of violent ideologies that historically were confined to fringe elements.
In his classroom at Texas A&M, Cox shows students how these ideas were laundered into the mainstream right over decades, creating an “increasing undertone of violence that has been simmering from the early ’90s.” By 2008, coinciding with the right-wing backlash to Barack Obama’s presidency, the messaging was becoming more overt.
“Certainly by 2008 or ’09 we do see more pronounced violence. We see more campaign ads either on TV or online featuring ‘targets.’ You have Ted Cruz cooking bacon on the barrel of a gun. And I don’t think it’s a big leap to go from that to Eric Greitens and his ‘RINO-hunting,’ ” Cox said, referring to a U.S. Senate candidate’s recent campaign ad promoting vigilante violence against people described as “Republicans in name only.”
Cox said aggressive gerrymandering has created a more extreme electorate, forcing politicians to veer further right to stay in office. Violent rhetoric that once was considered disqualifying is now politics as usual, a shift that began before Trump but was hastened under his presidency. As shown by the Jan. 6 riot investigation, Cox said, veiled calls for violence in political speech move quickly from more mainstream outlets such as Fox News to far-right extremist forums.
“By the time you get through some of that, you can really see a lot of the sheen coming off, where ‘We’re going to have a wild rally’ becomes, ‘Bring weapons, we’re going to storm the Capitol,’ ” Cox said.
Extremism analysts said that’s what they fear is happening now, with a burst of inflammatory rhetoric this week telling millions of Republicans that they should abandon trust in the FBI, the electoral system, schools — virtually all functions of government.
Holley Hansen, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University who researches political violence and conflict mediation, cited a description of democracy as “governance through conflict,” a system that encourages vigorous debate but with mechanisms to resolve disagreements peacefully. The problem, Hansen said, is that the 2020 election denial was a catalyst in the militant movement’s long game to undermine democratic institutions and seize power by force.
“If you can’t trust the institutions that are designed to peacefully resolve disputes and you begin to see the other side as an enemy,” Hansen said, “the desire to act — and the need to act — really becomes more easily justified.” | 2022-08-09T22:26:53Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Simmering threat of violence comes to fore with search of Trump property - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/trump-violence-threats-fbi-search/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/trump-violence-threats-fbi-search/ |
If a sitting president is in some circumstances subject to criminal subpoenas from state officials, a former president can most certainly be subjected to criminal process by federal agents. This has never happened before but as with all things Trump, the past is no guide to the present.
Citizens need to know if this a reasonable search based on probable cause of some crime by someone with access to Mar-a-Lago — as a judge has clearly decided there is probable cause to conclude — or yet another unmerited strike at the 45th president by the latest in the long line of former federal officials who have tried to take Donald Trump down a peg, or behind bars, and failed.
“We are a nation of laws, nobody’s above the law that’s for darn sure,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) told me Monday night. “But the politics around getting Trump have been going on so long and so often that we’re talking about constitutional principles here. This is a dangerous moment for the American Constitution. We’ll see how this plays out.”
“You know,” Graham warned, “just be careful what you wish for … this guy, he’s been the most blessed person in the world in terms of his enemies.” Be careful what you wish for indeed. “When you strike at a king,” warned Ralph Waldo Emerson, “you must kill him.” More recently the character Omar Little in “The Wire” (played by Michael K. Williams) updated the thought with his memorable line “You come at the king, you best not miss.” | 2022-08-09T22:27:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Why Trump should release the search warrant - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/trump-search-warrant-make-public/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/09/trump-search-warrant-make-public/ |
Authorities stand outside Mar-a-Lago, the residence of former president Donald Trump, amid reports of the FBI executing a search warrant as a part of an investigation. (Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
On Monday, former president Donald Trump announced that his Palm Beach, Fla., home had been searched by the FBI. No former president has ever faced a search by federal investigators like this.
This is the next step in an investigation of whether Trump took classified documents with him when he left the White House. The National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.
Matt Zapotosky, an editor at The Post who formerly covered the Justice Department, explains what federal agents were looking for and the complex calculations behind the FBI’s search. | 2022-08-09T22:27:54Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Why the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/why-the-fbi-raided-maralago/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/why-the-fbi-raided-maralago/ |
Transcript: Future of Work: Leadership & Employee Well-Being
MS. ABRIL: Hello, and welcome to Washington Post Live. I’m Danielle Abril, a reporter who covers technology and its impact on work for The Washington Post. Today we have two segments on the future of work, so I encourage you to stick around.
First up, we have Tim Ryan. He’s the U.S. chair and senior partner at PwC, and he joins us to discuss leadership and employee well-being in a changing workplace. Welcome, Tim.
MR. RYAN: Hi, Danielle. Thank you for having me. It’s great to see you.
MS. ABRIL: Yeah, great to see you as well.
And remember, we always want to hear from you, our audience. You can share your thoughts and questions for guests on Washington Post Live by tweeting at @PostLive.
So, let’s go ahead and get started. I’d love to pick up, Tim, on where the video left off. A company-wide vacation may sound intriguing to some folks. Can you tell us a little bit more about when it started, where it came from, and what the expectations are moving forward?
MR. RYAN: Yeah, absolutely, Danielle. Something we've done for the last 10 years is we've given the week in--the holiday week in December. We've done that and we've always taken that off. It's 10-plus years old. Feedback from our people has been tremendous. While we--while we get a generous vacation package, what they've told us around that holiday shut down is it's incredibly valuable to them because we all take it off, so email traffic goes down, the pressure of connecting with each other goes down, and people can really enjoy the time off without being interrupted, because vacation isn't just about being away from work. It's actually not being interrupted and having time to refresh and re-energize.
So, as we listened to our people, we said we should do this again, because, while, we encourage everybody to take their individual weeks or sabbaticals, what we really found out is that is the most valuable time. So listening to our people, getting feedback on how we can evolve the firm, we tried it this July 4 week, and it was a homerun. We not only got formal feedback from our people around--were they able to take the time off uninterrupted--we also qualitatively--we heard from thousands it was the best week of the year because we were all off and they got to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday.
MS. ABRIL: Got it. And so, is there an evolution of that here, and are others following in your footsteps? Are you seeing a lot more companies now trying to do this as well?
MR. RYAN: So, Danielle, the answer is yes. But I'll actually take a step backwards if I can, because as I travel the country and the globe, what I'm hearing from CEO after CEO, board after board, executive after executive, is something's changing here. What's clearly happening is workers have a different value proposition, expectations for their employers, like, are you going to do things differently? Work is evolving. Frankly, the debate around physical versus virtual, that is really yesterday's conversation. And what CEOs and leaders all across the world are saying is, our employees are asking for something different. So, I do see it evolving.
I see protected time off, and we see it at PwC as just one element. The reality is the world has changed, and I think it's for the better and we think it's for the better. At the end of the day, when you look at the major trends that are out there, the worker shortage, the power that workers have today is stronger than ever, and we don't see it going away. Some have said to me, Tim, are we one good recession from having the power go back to the employer, and we don't believe that. And the trends would support our view that we don't see it changing.
Some of the trends, Danielle, the reality is for the last 15 years, the U.S. has been an aging workforce. We're seeing full time workers decrease. We've also seen for the last 15 years that the contracting work or the gig workforce is increasing. We're an aging population. We saw 5 million people leave the workforce in the pandemic. We've closed our borders from an immigration perspective, which all points to workers having more power. Whether we hit a recession or not, we don't see it changing, especially when we see new business formation.
So, the question then becomes, what are we going to do change? Protected time off is just one element. And what I'm encouraged by as I'm seeing the dialogue in the C-suite shift from are we going to get the power back, physical versus virtual, to a more holistic approach of which protected time is just one element.
MS. ABRIL: So just to clarify something you just said, which is really interesting in that power dynamic, so the power that employees have now, that's something that won't go away, despite economic conditions. Like that's here to stay. Do I--do I have that correct?
MR. RYAN: Absolutely. I--when I look at--I always tell people we don't need to be the smartest people in the world. We copy our best clients. Our leading clients have said--and they've studied it; we've studied it--it's not going away. Anybody who thinks the power dynamics are going go back, honestly and humbly, I think they're making a mistake. The reality is, every trend would point in the same direction. All of us, whether we're leading a professional services firm, whether we're running the largest manufacturing operation in the world, whether we're a startup organization, we are only as good as our talent, and top talent is going to have their pick. So, we don't see those dynamics changing.
And the real question is, strategically, how do we change. One of the big topics of this show is leadership. And there's a saying which is there’s a different time for a different leader in any organization's history. There was a time where we needed technology visionaries in the C-suite. There's a time where we needed finance people, we needed marketing people. From our perspective, the leaders of the future are going to be the ones who are in touch with their workforce, are visionaries around what work is going to look like going forward. And frankly, how do you inspire, motivate, excite people to achieve the organization's mission? That skill set, given what's happening with the workforce, is at a premium in the C-suite today more than ever.
MS. ABRIL: So, given that dynamic, I'm curious how you view this idea or emerging idea of the four-day work week. Is that something that you guys are considering or looking at? Where do you land on that?
MR. RYAN: I think that is one element of it. From PwC’s perspective, we have taken a holistic approach. We have--with support from our partners, our board, and most importantly from our people--we are going big. We launched last spring an effort called My+. Well, My+ is a three-year digital transformation of how our 60,000 people work. It will change every element of work. It’ll change wellbeing, rewards, development in every element of the employee experience. Think of it as a complete digital transformation of our business.
If I were to keep it simple, Danielle, what it is, is our people will control their careers by their phone. Our people will steer, and it's all about their choice. They will decide when they work, where they work, how they work, the type of work they want to engage in. They'll decide how they want to develop their careers. It is a complete turning upside down the corporate paradigm of employers in charge and we tell employees what to do. What we're doing is giving them a choice.
I'll give you an example. What we realized talking to our 60,000 people is every human is different. We gave up trying to figure out what people want, because it's too complicated, because everyone has a different thing that makes them tick. And so, what we decided to do is leverage the power of digital, leverage the power of power of AI, leverage the power of the cloud, to give our people choice. And it causes us to run our business differently.
For example, we may have somebody who says, you know what, the benefits package, I'd rather choose a la carte. We should be able to accommodate that. So, as we go on this transformation, our people will choose their benefits a la carte, not high deductible, medium deductible, and low deductible, but actually choose the benefits that are right for them.
Hours worked. Somebody might say, in January, February, March, I choose 30 hours. Somebody else might say I choose 80 hours, and that's what I want. We should be able to run our business differently to allow them to choose while at the same time not only meeting our client's needs, but because people are happier and more fulfilled about work, exceeding our client's needs, because they're more engaged, energized, and inspired in what they're doing.
Some of them might say, I've grown up, and I've worked on pharma life science companies, and I'd really like to try consumer banking. We should let them choose, and then link it with their learning development program to say, Tim, in order to meet that need, here's what we have in this supply chain from a client opportunity standpoint; but also, here's what your development journey needs to look like, and you decide you go on that journey, the development that you want to do.
When we talk about choice, we're talking about not only what I'll say a great speech from the top, but changing every business process in our firm to give our people the work environment that they want as individuals, not as a homogeneous population.
MS. ABRIL: So, I actually wanted to go into this later. But since we're already in it, I might as well clarify a few things, because I find this so fascinating. How exactly are you doing that? Like in terms of the flexibility that you guys are giving, let's say I use the My+, and I'm now saying, you know what, it works better if I work different hours than what was traditionally expected of me. Maybe there--as you mentioned, maybe they’re 30 hours, and maybe I start at 11 o'clock instead of 8 a.m., and maybe whatever it may be. How does that work? Does that affect my pay? Does that affect your goals? I mean, it just seems like a lot of puzzle pieces to put together to make sure all the work gets done the same way or at the same deadlines, if everybody's sort of working in a different manner than they were before.
MR. RYAN: Yeah. So, Danielle, thank you. And I'm going to start from the client perspective. We not only want work done the same way; we want work done better. We want our clients to be even more satisfied. We want to meet and exceed their expectations to quality, meet and exceed their expectations and values. And the only way to do that is to have the most inspired, most excited, most engaged workforce ever. Like that's where we start from.
The question is, how do you do that? And what you what you do is, you allow for more choice. And it requires us to leverage the power of technology to have our--have the courage to run our business differently. The reality is, like, our clients don't necessarily care how the sausage is made. What our clients care is about the outcome. They care about the quality of the work that we do in every element of our business. Did we help them achieve their business goals? Did we help them drive a different ROI? Did we help them on their digital transformation? Did we help them grow their business? And that's what they care about. How that work gets done is really up to us around how do we leverage the power of technology to do it.
So, use your example. You talked about maybe I don't want to work a traditional nine-to-five day. That's fine. Like it requires teams to leverage technology differently, to put a cohesive team together. We all talk about the power of inclusive leadership. What we're talking about is taking inclusive leadership to a fundamentally different level. Inclusive leadership just isn't about skin color, or gender. Inclusive leadership are about--is taking many different skills and many different ways people want to work and putting together.
Now that's easy to do if you're a team or a firm of 5, or 50. But when you’re a team in a firm of 60,000, it requires leveraging the power of technology. If we look at what the cloud and AI has allowed companies to do to deliver packages, take manual work out of the system, to drive cars automatically, it's the same technology that we're using to run our business differently. And so that's how it’ll work. You'll put in your own requests. We'll match it up against the needs that we have from a client perspective, skill sets, et cetera, and you'll get fully transparently what does it mean to you from a can we meet that demand, what does it mean to you from a compensation standpoint, what does it mean to you from a development standpoint, what have your peers said about that path you went on? You may say I want to try working on Tim's jobs. And you can sit there and know how your peers have rated Tim jobs. Is Tim a good person to work with or a not so good person? What is his style, his preferences? How have people been promoted? How have they succeeded. All of that will be done leveraging the cloud and leveraging AI to give our people that experience.
MS. ABRIL: Very interesting idea here, especially with the use of technology sort of driving this. I want to ask you in terms of since you opened this up and you started this--allowing people to work remotely and being a lot more flexible in how people work, what worker trends are you seeing? Is there a consistent idea of what workers want right now, and what does that tell you about the future?
MR. RYAN: Yeah, so, Danielle, it is--I’ll maybe go back and tell your audience a story. So, a year ago, just about just a little less than a year ago, we made the decision to offer all of our people the ability to work remote if they wanted to. Now, look, we believe in culture. We believe in development and teaming, but we also know that the old way of doing that is not the only way to do that. And so, what we did is we gave our people the choice, and what was remarkable when we gave our people the choice, 22 percent grabbed it. And they, in grabbing it, they were telling us, this is important to us. Like, where I work is important to us. By the way, 78 percent of our people said they wanted some type of hybrid model. They didn't want to go back to five days in the week and commuting, but they wanted more of the client and the office experience physically. That's what they were looking for and it caused us to change the way we run our business, and we've been able to accommodate that. And by the way, we surveyed our people this year, and 20 percent still want that option. So, it's about the same.
But what we learned, Danielle, is that it is really about personal choice. As a consumer, we don't want to be treated homogeneously. As a consumer, we want to choose when we shop, where we shop, how we buy. We're trying--what we're seeing the trend is, it's more and more about personal choice. And what our people and workers are telling us is the more fulfilled I feel, the more I get the experience at work that I'm looking for, the more engaged, the happier, and the better position I am to add value.
So, to me, the big trend isn't about whether workers want to work virtually or physically. The big trend is about I want to be treated as the unique human being that I am. It causes managers and leaders to really think differently. Frankly, it causes us to be in touch. It causes us to have the courage to reimagine the way we're going to run our businesses, and that is what we see leading companies do.
MS. ABRIL: And that sounds like a challenge, though, right? To rethink everything. And I think one of the pushbacks I'm hearing from leaders is, you know, this idea around culture. And you mentioned that a little bit. You've got a much more distributed workforce. Some are going fully remote. Some are doing hybrid. Maybe some are still coming in five days. I don't know.
But, you know, the question about how do we maintain or even build a culture and bring people into that culture if we're working in this new manner where you may not even see some of your co-workers. How would you respond to that criticism?
MR. RYAN: I would say we're all in good company. We're all struggling with it. We've grown up--people of my vintage, we grew up knowing how to build culture one way, and that one way was physical in person-experiences, walking down the hallway coaching, developing, showing on the job. And that's how I learned, and that's how most of my generation learned. And all of a sudden, our world is turned upside down. Culture is really important. On the job training is important. But how it gets delivered is changing for some. And we're all on that journey trying to figure it out. I would tell you at PwC, have we fully figured that out? Heck no. Are we evolving? Yes.
I'll give you one example. Are we spending less on our physical real estate footprint today than we did a year ago and two years ago? Absolutely. But what we're spending way more on is getting people together within a quarter, within a month, and doing things differently, in large in-person sessions, we’re using more hotel space or large gathering space. So, we're redeploying our capital and our spends in a different way so we can develop culturally and the on the job training the way our people want to, not the way that we want to. So we're shifting and we're learning and we're figuring out. We're measuring it. We're adjusting. And that's the journey that we're on. And whether we're--whether we like it or not, that's the journey the top talent is saying they want us to go on, and therefore we think it's worth it.
MS. ABRIL: Got it. And you know, another trend that's happening among the workforce right now, you talked about that shift of power to the employee and employees are really demanding that their employers be a lot more vocal and take a stance on political issues or issues that may be politicized. I'm curious how PwC sees navigating the post-Roe landscape.
MR. RYAN: Yep, sorry about that. It's my energy-saving lights. What I--what I--one of the big things almost every CEO is struggling with is, I want to treat my workforce well, when do I engage and when I don't engage. I can tell you again, almost every leader I meet with is struggling with that. It is a big topic of discussion in the boardroom of C-suites.
From my perspective, a big job, a big role that I play is to make sure our people feel safe, to make sure our people feel heard, and also to make sure we're attracting the best talent to serve our clients. The only way I know how to do that is we lead with transparency, we talk openly about the issues that we're struggling with, we encourage an environment where people can talk. But we also know that many people have many different views in creating the safe space in a way--in a way that people can talk about, whether it be issues such as abortion and Roe versus Wade, whether it be other issues that our people are passionate about. What our job and my job is not to tell someone what their politics are, what their beliefs should be but to create an environment where everybody is respected, and everybody has the chance to speak their view.
One of the big things I try to do with our people is make sure they know that I care and make sure that I know, however they feel about a particular issue, that they care. A big thing that we try to do is create those safe spaces, Danielle. And I think, frankly, in this world, we're going to find ourselves more and more pulled in that different direction. As a CEO who's charged with serving our clients and making sure we're creating that environment with the best talent, it's not necessarily agreeing with everybody on their point of view but making sure we know they know their view is respected but asking them to respect that there are other views as well.
MS. ABRIL: Got it. Yeah, I think that's a really great point to leave it on. But unfortunately, we're actually out of time. So, I'm going to leave us on that last thought which I think was a really good one. Tim Ryan, thank you so much for joining us here on Washington Post Live.
MR. RYAN: Thank you, Danielle. Take care. Bye-bye.
MS. ABRIL: And thanks to all of you for joining us here today. Please stay with us for our next segment of this conversation with Ian Siegel. He is the CEO and co-founder of ZipRecruiter.
MS. KOCH: Hi, I’m Kathleen Koch. Businesses of all sizes are facing well-being and productivity challenges. But we're hearing that incorporating health and well-being programs can help address and overcome those difficulties. I'm here in conversation today with Cindy Ryan, Cigna’s Executive vice president and chief human resources officer. Hi, Cindy.
MS. RYAN: Hi, Kathleen.
MS. KOCH: Cindy, there's a lot of talk right now about the concept of whole person health. It's something Cigna and most health experts promote. What does that mean to Cigna, and what steps have you taken over the past two years to address how the pandemic has impacted whole person health?
MS. RYAN: That's a great question. And when we think about whole person health here at Cigna, we think about the individual. So most people equate health with physical health, and that's certainly an important component. But it means other things such as emotional health, financial health, the physical environment, as well as family health. And so our approach has been to really focus on that through the pandemic.
I would argue, too, that during the pandemic, the needs for our employees and what we see from our customers in terms of supporting whole person health has never been greater. So, some of the steps that we've taken with our own workforce here at Cigna include offering emergency time off during the pandemic so they could care for themselves and their loved ones. Secondly, was financial support and benefits. And then the third was really providing that emotional support through expanded mental health benefits and increase the frequency of visits that people could have and offered virtual mechanisms for accessing mental health resources.
HR leaders right now are faced with so many different challenges. But one of the most important things that HR leaders can do is focus on that whole person health, because at the end of the day a healthy workforce will lead to a productive workforce.
MS. KOCH: What can HR leaders do to improve employee engagement and then evolve that engagement into an overall healthy work culture?
MS. RYAN: Well, I think there's a number of things that HR leaders can do. The first is to focus on things that are reducing stress and burnout, because so many people are facing challenges today with everything that they're carrying. There's a lot of weight on people's shoulders right now. So, if you reduce stress and burnout, and also focus on boosting productivity, engagement, and retention, it will lead to better business results.
And at Cigna, we've recently partnered with the economist, because we wanted to better understand what we and other employers could do. And that study showed that 89 percent of employees will recommend their place of employment to others, if they feel that there are healthy initiatives that are supporting their whole person health. Secondly, 86 percent said that they had better work performance and lower absenteeism, if and when they needed to access mental health benefits, that those benefits were there.
The other few things I would offer in terms of suggestions in terms of the work environment right now, is it's never--more important than ever right now to survey the workforce, to understand what's on the minds of employees, both through formal and informal mechanisms, because the needs are constantly evolving. And so it's important for the employer to know that. It's important for their leaders to know that, and then for the leaders in turn to start to lead by example, in terms of exercising those behaviors that we're seeking employees to do--so things like mindfulness, using paid time off, and also leading by example with work-life balance.
And then finally, I would say, employers have an opportunity to work with their health plan to make sure that they're offering the broadest array of benefits that will meet the needs of their workforce as those needs continue to change.
MS. KOCH: You know, you just mentioned work-life balance. What can employers do today to help their employees with work-life integration, and how do health benefits play a role in that?
MS. RYAN: Oh, it's ever changing. I would argue that the pandemic has changed the way that work is done dramatically, both in terms of how, when, and where. And so employers have an opportunity to think about how to provide that work-life balance, that flexibility, and different things in terms of their benefits such as caregiver leave and providing those flexible arrangements.
At Cigna, we've adopted a practice called purposeful presence. We have not mandated that people come back in the office on a set number of days per week. Rather, we've provided that flexibility and encourage people to do their work where it's best delivered to drive the right business outcomes. So, for some, that may mean that they come to the office where there's times to celebrate, to collaborate, to brainstorm. Other times work may be best done in their home office environment where they need to focus and there's analytical work, et cetera. And so that flexibility for the employee, and where leaders can set norms, have really served us well. So, I think it's important for employers to be super adaptable and resilient during this time. The needs are ever changing. And so trying those programs and listening to the workforce and putting programs in place that allows that flexibility is going to be super important for productivity, engagement, and retention.
MS. KOCH: Just really briefly, there's so much uncertainty today about the pandemic, the economy, the workplace. What can be done to help employees during these hard times and also keep businesses productive and growing?
MS. RYAN: Yeah, I would argue that right now, a healthy workforce is the key to a successful business and to driving the right business results. So, a number of ways to do that is leaders staying connected with their employees. As people are working in a more distributed way, that ongoing communication, the connections, collaboration is more important than ever before. I think having well-rounded benefit programs is incredibly important as well to make sure that the employee needs are being met. As I said before, surveying and listening is super important.
And then the final thing I would offer is for mission-based companies to stay true to their purpose. At Cigna, we're focused on improving the health, well-being, and peace of mind of those we serve. And so for us that connection, our mission has been our anchor point. And it's really improved the vitality, the well-being of our workforce, and in turn has allowed us to stay quite productive and meet our business outcomes and in turn meet the needs of our customers.
MS. KOCH: Thank you so much, Cindy, Cigna’s executive vice president and chief human resource officer.
And now I'll hand it back to The Washington Post.
MS. ABRIL: Welcome back. For those of you just joining us, I'm Danielle Abril, a reporter covering technology and the future of work for The Washington Post. I'm pleased to now be joined by Ian Siegel. He's the co-founder and CEO of ZipRecruiter.
Ian, welcome.
MR. SIEGEL: Thanks for having me.
MS. ABRIL: Absolutely.
And remember, we always want to hear from you, our audience. You can share your thoughts and questions for guests on Washington Post Live by tweeting @PostLive.
So, Ian, I want to start off with just a brief explanation of ZipRecruiter for our viewers who may not be as familiar with you. Can you tell us a little bit about its origins and what it exists for?
MR. SIEGEL: Sure. Well, for those unfamiliar with ZipRecruiter, who apparently have never listened to a podcast, let me tell you what ZipRecruiter does. ZipRecruiter is what I would describe as a modern jobs marketplace. And the reason I don't call it a job search site is, unlike traditional job sites, we don't leave anything to chance. On ZipRecruiter, we use modern matching algorithms to make sure that you as a job seeker are introduced to the just right employers for someone with your skills, employers who are going to be interested in talking to you, and who have a need for your specific skills.
We also do the opposite for the employers in that we curate hard to find candidates or just right candidates for the jobs that they have open, and we use modern matching technology to perform this task. So, on ZipRecruiter, think of us more like a full-service matching marketplace where we introduce you to opportunities, whether you’re an employer who's looking for talent or a job seeker who's looking for work.
MS. ABRIL: So, the dating app for Jobs. Got it.
MR. SIEGEL: Yeah. Thanks for that.
MS. ABRIL: Yeah, I want to actually just jump into the great resignation, Ian, and get your thoughts here. First of all, there's a lot of debate on the actual term "the great resignation." I've heard several different terms of what it should be called. And I'm curious if you think that that's a term that accurately represents the labor market as it stands, and if not what you would actually call what we're seeing now.
MR. SIEGEL: That's a good question. Well, let's put some numbers behind the great resignation, which is pre-COVID in a normal month in the economy, somewhere between one and a half million and 2 million people would change jobs or leave their job without having certainty of their next job. Since the COVID recovery began, for 13 months in a row, 4 million people have been quitting their jobs. That's basically double. And that's what everybody's talking about when they talk about the great resignation. I don't actually think that what we're seeing is, in fact, a protest from job seekers. What I think we're seeing is job seekers who are having a conversation with employers about what they want to see from work. And COVID was a really interesting mass social experiment we all participated in, because for a lot of people, they found a higher quality of life by working remotely full time, or even stopping whatever job they were doing. And so that left them with a taste for this higher flexibility lifestyle and/or a different type of work, and that's what they’re goal seeking right now.
To be very clear, when you have 4 million people quitting every month, you would think that the unemployment rate would be going up. But it turns out that the unemployment rate is actually going down. So, in fact, what we're seeing is 4 million people a month changing jobs. So, what they're really doing is voting with their feet. They're going to jobs that offer two things. And these are the real drivers behind all these resignations. Over 60 percent of them are going to jobs that have higher salaries, and often significantly higher salaries than they were being offered at their last job. That one's obvious, and that's always been true. But over 40 percent are changing jobs because they want more flexibility. And that's this key word in modern recruiting that really wasn't as prevalent if you go back even just two years ago. But right now, more than 60 percent of job seekers are looking for hybrid or fully remote work, and that is a radical change from where we were pre-COVID, when basically less than 2 percent of jobs were done either remotely or in a hybrid form.
MS. ABRIL: Yeah, I actually wondered what kind of trends you might be seeing on that spectrum. Are you seeing sort of this flexibility element as sort of a make-or-break deal in a lot of cases? Or how much does that play into the job hunt, and are some employers more attractive because of it?
MR. SIEGEL: Well, I mean, whether we like it or not, there's no going back to the way we used to work. And when I say whether we like it or not, there are some CEOs at some very famous companies who are insisting that their employees return to work. And one of them, a very famous large bank in America, ordered all of its employees back and said they had a you had to be in the office policy, and they've had less than half their employees return. And I won't name the bank. I’m not sure this is public yet. But it just demonstrates that the power is--the power that the workforce has in this modern discussion, which is by simply not showing up, there is no recourse for the employer if they want to keep business continuity steady. And so as a result of that, that bank is now a hybrid office. Twenty-five percent of all jobs are now being done remotely. If you compare that to the pre-COVID period, it was is basically less than 5 percent, and they measured it in number of days that somebody was working remotely. So, this does encapsulate hybrid as well. But this is a sea change, like I said earlier, and this is a fundamental shift in the future of work.
And clearly, jobseekers know what they want, because that's why you're getting the 4 million quits a month. And clearly employers are rapidly adapting to it because you just saw over 500,000 new jobs get filled last month, if you looked at the BLS report, and unemployment fall to below three and a half percent. So, it feels like the conversation is actually moving towards resolution where both sides of the market have just fundamentally agreed this is the way we're going to work going forward.
MS. ABRIL: Yeah, I want to return actually to those numbers that you just mentioned. You know, unemployment, as you mentioned, kind of coming down to historic lows and more than 500,000 new jobs created last month. Are those numbers surprising to you? Or, again, is this sort of just an evolution of this new working style and the future of work?
MR. SIEGEL: Well, I'm going to say those numbers were surprising to everyone. Nobody saw 500,000 jobs last month coming. And I think what it speaks to is a couple of things. Number one, employers are rapidly adapting to speak to job seekers and candidates they're trying to pry away from other companies where they're currently employed. Employers are learning to speak to them the right way. And that is rapidly happening, whether it's in job descriptions or in the recruiting process.
On top of that, there has been so many gloom and doom headlines in the newspapers and online and on TV that I think a lot of job seekers are scared. And you see that we do a monthly job seeker sentiment index, and what we're finding is that job seeker confidence is rapidly waning. And so they are more likely to take a job that is offered. They're more likely to take the first salary offer that they receive without negotiating. And so the combination of these two factors is leading to an elevated level of hiring, but it cannot be sustained.
And clearly, now that we have fully recovered--I mean, effectively over 20 million people lost their jobs during COVID and now more than 20 million people have been hired back into the workforce--so I think we're going to see a period of more pre-COVID normal as we go forward. But it's going to be defined by these new expectations around quality of life, work-life balance, and what sorts of benefits and amenities that businesses are now going to be expected to offer to their workforce.
MS. ABRIL: And in terms of the job growth, are there specific industries where most of this is happening? And to be frank, are these good jobs, or are these jobs that, you know, not a lot of people want?
MR. SIEGEL: Well, the reality is that the biggest growth, the most successful hires, so the biggest growth categories for jobs, have been in job opportunities that offer flexible work or some form of hybrid work. And in fact, it's jobs that require you to interact with the public at high velocity. Those are the ones that are still really struggling to hire. So, you look at categories like leisure and hospitality, where they're having a lot of trouble both attracting new hires and retaining the talent that they have. And the same thing goes for a lot of the retail districts where you have restaurants and movie theaters and clothing apparel shops and so forth. Those places are really struggling to bring in talent.
And it's really interesting, because the way employers have been responding over the last few months was with signing bonuses. So, when we survey people, the thousands of people hired over the last six months, we found that 22 percent of people received a signing bonus, which is just unheard of. And more to the point, 33 percent of people who are taking their first job got a signing bonus for taking that job. And that just speaks to those sort of lower skills required category where those employers have been incentivizing people to take work. But I think we're now seeing more of a shift towards longer-term solutions. And there's a variety of techniques that even those jobs that require regular interaction with the public, those companies are now deploying tactics that really are unprecedented. We've never seen businesses compete this way. And it's all sorts of fun stuff related to burnout and mental health, where they're taking measures and offering, I'm going to call them benefits, but they're really like a different style of work that wasn't even considered two years ago.
MS. ABRIL: So from the worker side, somebody looking for a job, I guess what advice would you give a candidate? And I also want to just briefly stick this question in there because I'm starting to see this, and I'm not sure if it's a trend or if it's a one-off. Video resumes. Are they a thing?
MR. SIEGEL: Well, first off, if you're a job seeker, or you are someone currently employed and you are unsatisfied with either your environment or your compensation, let me be very clear. Let me make this as simple as I can. This is a golden age for job seekers. All of the leverage in the labor market has tilted towards the employees. We’re at three and a half percent unemployment, which means there's a shortage of unemployed people who are talented who are looking for work, and so employers are forced to try and pry talent away from each other. This gives you incredible advantage when you are out there looking for work. You do have the power to take your time and go speak to multiple companies. You do have the power to negotiate whatever compensation offer it is that they make as their initial offer. I strongly encourage anyone who's even has had the remotest thought of going to look for work to do it right now, because the world is tilting. And a couple years from now, it's not going to look anything like this.
MS. ABRIL: So, on that train of thought, you talked about now is the time, you have the power. The power shift that we're seeing move to employees, is that a temporary thing? You mentioned things might look different in two years. Can you give us a sense of, you know, will employees ultimately always have this power?
MR. SIEGEL: It's a really good question. And what I think we've experienced over the last two years has effectively been not a resumption of the--of the economy, but a reopening of the economy, and a hiring up. So there has been a frothy, high volume of opportunity across every industry, across every experience level for two years. And what just became true as of this month is that suddenly, we might be very close to peak employment, which means that the number of opportunities that are available for you to go interview for are going to start to dwindle. And that in and of itself is going to create more competition and start to reduce the leverage that you have.
So, you still have a long runway, you still have many months where it's going to be heavily tilted towards job seekers. But the idea that this is going to last forever, probably not. And how it's going to change and what employers are going to do, a really interesting open question. So, we don't know how the market will morph in terms of what employers will do when they get the power back. But we do know that right now, you're still heavily advantaged.
MS. ABRIL: That makes a lot of sense. I want to talk a little bit more about flexibility. You talked about sort of that being an advantage if you're an employer. Do you think flexible work, you know, options for remote work is becoming more standard at this point? And what does that mean for the future of work?
MR. SIEGEL: I think unquestionably, fundamentally, capitalism drives most of our decisions. And the incentives that employers have in terms of the style of work they'll allow is going to be a capitalism-driven decision. And so if you're in a battle for talent, if you're in any of the high-skilled categories, whether it's pharma, or technology, or even things like accounting, and you're fighting to try and just get qualified quality people onto your team, if you aren't recruiting nationwide and allowing remote work, you are at a significant disadvantage today already. And the winners who were successfully hiring over the last year, when all the headlines were reading about war for talent, were those that more quickly adopted either fully remote or hybrid options.
And so undoubtedly, that is going to be here to stay. Undoubtedly, businesses are going to continue to leverage whatever advantage they can in recruiting. And this is something that's played out multiple times over the last several decades, where you can see companies experimenting a small percentage with some novel way to attract talent. And then once it catches on, everyone's got a 401(k). So, it becomes standard that this is an option. So, there is a first mover advantage and an early market opportunity to be an early adopter and gain a recruiting advantage.
And also, you're skating to where the puck is going, because 60 percent of job seekers are looking for that style of work. So, it massively widens your pool, potentially also reduces your cost depending on where you hire those individuals. So again, capitalism is going to drive a lot of this decisioning. So almost certainly remote work is here to stay.
MS. ABRIL: Got it. And in terms of candidates looking for jobs, I'm curious if you've seen any trends in technologies or ways that they're trying to make themselves more attractive. I know I said the video resume, but are you seeing any interesting emerging ways that candidates are positioning themselves to get a job?
MR. SIEGEL: It's a really great question, because it's something that a lot of people are thinking about right now. But the truth about how the labor market works, especially today, is 75 percent of applications are read by a robot or a piece of software before they're ever read by a human, and that robot tries to interpolate the data that it sees on that resume about a person and create a simple summary that it will then present to a human which that human will review before they ever see the complete resume. So all of the work being done to make resumes fancier or resume stand out or resumes cooler, all it's doing is disadvantaging today the individuals who deploy those sorts of tactics.
In reality, what you want as a job seeker is the most boring, simple template you can possibly find using basic, non-trumped-up language to describe what you did, with a clear list of exactly what your skills are and your level of experience with each of those skills, because that's what's going to make it easy for the robots to know who you are and move you to the top of the list.
MS. ABRIL: So write for the robots. Got it.
MR. SIEGEL: Write for the robots.
MS. ABRIL: Ian, I do want to ask you for some final thoughts here. And you know, we know you look at a lot of data. You have a lot of insights to the labor market. Can you give us any kind of surprising or unexpected learning or insight that you have identified from your own trends and data?
MR. SIEGEL: Yeah, I mean, I think--and this isn't something just internal to ZipRecruiter, but it's something we're really seeing start to play out across the market, which is nearly 40 percent of the people who have changed jobs over the last six months, did so because they were recruited. They didn't initiate the action first. The employer initiated. And that's a huge step up. It's more than double what was going on pre-COVID.
And so it speaks to a fundamental shift that we see playing out in the labor market, and it's something that plays out on ZipRecruiter every single day, which is simply that employers are going first. On ZipRecruiter, as soon as you post a job as an employer, our algorithms identify a shortlist of candidates in market who are the best fit for that job, and you can literally directly invite them to apply. That is not only our most popular feature with employers, but it is our highest response rate from job seekers. They love being recruited. When you have not spent your whole career getting outreach from employers, having them tell you that you would be great for their job is intoxicating.
And so it's leading to both accelerated hiring; it's leading to satisfaction with both job seekers and the employers, because they're getting response at such high volume and so quickly. And this is a trend that we're seeing play out really across the country and across all job categories, which is the labor market, which has always been sort of an employer posts a job and then job seekers go first, they initiate by applying, is flipping on its head. And more and more, we see that as employers who are compelled to go first because that's how they get the best outcome, and that seems very much where the labor market is moving.
MS. ABRIL: Well, this has been a super fascinating conversation, Ian. I really appreciate your time and sharing all your insights with us. Thank you so much for being here.
MR. SIEGEL: It's been a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
MS. ABRIL: And thanks to all of you for joining us here today as well. To check out what interviews we have coming up, please head to WashingtonPostLive.com to register and find more information about all of our upcoming programs. I’m Danielle Abril. Thanks again for joining us. | 2022-08-09T22:29:26Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Transcript: Future of Work: Leadership & Employee Well-Being - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/08/09/transcript-future-work-leadership-employee-well-being/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/08/09/transcript-future-work-leadership-employee-well-being/ |
‘Greek Watergate’ wiretap scandal throws government into turmoil
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece's prime minister, speaks during a panel session on day three of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in May. (Hollie Adams/Bloomberg)
Recent revelations that Greek intelligence tapped an opposition leader’s phone have left the embattled prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, struggling to fend off a mounting scandal ahead of next year’s elections.
Mitsotakis has denied knowledge of the incident and called the actions of the National Intelligence Service, or EYP, “politically unacceptable.”
The turmoil, which one political party referred to as “Greek Watergate,” has already forced the intelligence chief, and a close aide of the prime minister to resign. Parliament is cutting short its summer recess and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou has called for an investigation, saying on Tuesday that individual privacy was “a fundamental condition of a democratic and liberal society.”
“What took place may have been lawful but it was a mistake,” Mitsotakis said Monday in a televised address to the nation. “I did not know and obviously I would have never allowed it.”
The scandal first broke last week when Nikos Androulakis, leader of the PASOK socialist party, announced that the European Parliament had informed him of an attempted hack on his phone using Predator spyware.
Androulakis, who is also a member of the European Parliament, said that he contacted the institution’s cyber security service after receiving a suspicious message on his phone. In an address on Friday, he said he later learned that the EYP was listening to his conversations over a three-month period in 2021, when he was campaigning for the PASOK party leadership.
“I never expected the Greek government to put me under surveillance with the darkest practices,” Androulakis said, the Associated Press reported.
Mitsotakis has vowed to strengthen the EYP’s legal framework and transparency mechanisms. The agency reports directly to the prime minister’s office — and any surveillance must be approved by a prosecutor.
Earlier this year, two Greek journalists filed similar complaints of being monitored by the EYP. The European Parliament in March decided to investigate the use of spyware, including against citizens, officials and journalists in European Union member states.
Predator was developed by Cytrox, a North Macedonian start-up purchased by former Israeli intelligence officer and entrepreneur, Tal Dilian, in 2019. Researchers say it is comparable to the Pegasus software developed by Israel’s NSO Group, and can harvest messages and other information from a target’s cellphone.
“European governments are lending legitimacy to [spyware] vendors — companies that are built around selling to abusers,” said John Scott Railton, senior researcher at the Citizen Lab research group at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.
It is typical for spyware abuse revelations to reflect a broader pattern. Railton said. “If there is one case, there are probably many more,” he said.
Elinda Labropoulou contributed reporting from Athens, Greece. | 2022-08-09T22:29:32Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis battles fallout from wiretap scandal - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/09/greece-intelligence-surveillance-kyriakos-mitsotakis/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/09/greece-intelligence-surveillance-kyriakos-mitsotakis/ |
The Trailer: Your hour-by-hour guide on what to watch in four states tonight
In this edition: A primary day cheat sheet, GOP worries about political oppression, and a talk with the CEO of AIPAC.
The “Dark Brandon” meme got awful serious awful quickly, and this is the Trailer.
It's the story everyone in America woke up talking about: Voters going to the polls for four state primaries and one special congressional election. Here's what to watch:
7 p.m. Polls close across Vermont, where the state's sole U.S. House seat and one of its U.S. Senate seats are open for the first time since George W. Bush was president.
Both Democratic primaries have been molded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — not a member of the party, but a validator for the party's left. After Sanders endorsed Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) to replace retiring Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), other potential candidates sat out the race. Brattleboro activist Isaac Evans-Frantz and emergency physician Niki Thran have run to Welch's left, with Evans-Frantz targeting Welch as “beholden to the corporate interests that dominate our national agenda.” National Democrats expect Welch to win easily.
An endorsement from Sanders helped state Sen. Becca Balint in her campaign to win the Democratic nomination to replace Welch; so did a serious spending investment from the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which hopes to make Balint the state's first openly gay member of Congress. Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, with a shorter political record and a campaign that portrayed her as a problem-solver, has trailed in polls; 13 years younger than Balint, she's run on “fresh energy” while the senator has run on her record. Either would be the first woman to represent Vermont in Washington. Ex-Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, who lost the 2020 gubernatorial election by a landslide, faces three other Democrats in the race for his old job.
Gov. Phil Scott, the moderate Republican who steamrolled Zuckerman two years ago, faces only long-shot Democratic opposition in November, after another term where he signed off on some liberal priorities like abortion rights. In 2018, GOP challengers to Scott grabbed about a third of the primary vote; in 2020, they got a bit more than a quarter. He faces two primary challengers today. A better test of GOP voter attitudes might come in the U.S. Senate primary, where ex-U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan (who The Trailer interviewed last month) faces more conservative opponents.
In Burlington's Chittenden County, the race for state's attorney pits liberal incumbent Sarah George against Ted Kenney, a fellow Democrat endorsed by police unions and who has accused George of going soft on rising crime.
8 p.m. Polls close in Connecticut, where Republicans hope to break a 14-year losing streak and win at least one of five seats in the House. But that's in November. Today, their candidates in the targeted 3rd and 5th Congressional Districts have no challengers. Neither does Bob Stefanowski, a Republican businessman who's seeking a rematch with Gov. Ned Lamont (D). There's some competition in the GOP and Democratic primaries for Secretary of State, but no Republicans in that race have suggested that the 2020 election was stolen. as Republicans elsewhere have baselessly claimed; Dominic Rapini has only gone as far as saying the state needs to crack down harder on fraud.
There's a bigger debate happening in the GOP's U.S. Senate primary, where the state party is supporting ex-state legislative leader Themis Klarides and former president Donald Trump has endorsed RNC member Leora Levy. You know the drill by now — Levy, who supported Jeb Bush for president in 2016, is now a loyal Trump supporter, while Klarides has admitted that she cast a protest vote in 2020, not picking Trump or Biden. Democrats have a few intraparty ideological fights to settle, with party-backed Erick Russell facing Working Families Party-backed Karen DuBois-Walton in the race for treasurer, and antiabortion state Rep. Treneé McGee facing a long-shot challenge from a young party activist, Joseph Miller — who, as McGee puts it, is a “White man.”
9 p.m. Polls close in Wisconsin and Minnesota, the last Midwest swing states to pick their midterm nominees. In Wisconsin, Republicans allowed Trump to define the terms of their race for governor — Trump endorsed construction company owner Tim Michels over ex-Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and did so, in part, because Kleefisch's family remains friendly with the state Supreme Court swing voter who ruled against Trump's election lawsuits.
State Assembly member Tim Ramthun, the only GOP candidate who promises to decertify the 2020 election if he wins — a promise that is not possible to deliver on — has trailed in polls, but his numbers could prove decisive if the race between Michels and Kleefisch is close. Trump campaigned for Michels last week at a rally where the ex-judge running a probe of the election gave the invocation; former vice president Mike Pence has rallied with Kleefisch.
Trump also gave a last-minute boost to Adam Steen, a conservative activist challenging Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in his southeast Wisconsin primary. Vos easily fended off Steen at party caucuses earlier this year, but Trump has continued to demand that Vos — who hired Judge Michael Gableman for the aforementioned 2020 probe after Trump urged him to — find some way to decertify the election. In an interview with The Trailer earlier this year, Steen suggested that the “decertify” promise was a GOP litmus test.
Republicans also have contested races for attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state; while the latter office does not have power over state elections, the GOP candidates running for it support dissolving the state's election commission, which angered Republicans by allowing temporary changes to voting go forward during the pandemic. There's not much competition between Democrats, especially after three challengers to Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes abandoned the field to endorse him. In the 3rd Congressional District, a Republican-trending part of western Wisconsin that Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) has won narrowly, the congressman is backing state Sen. Brad Pfaff over the field, while Republicans have rallied behind 2020 nominee Derrick Van Orden, who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in January 2021 but has said he didn't enter the U.S. Capitol afterward.
In Minnesota, Republicans expect to hold on to the 1st Congressional District with nominee Brad Finstad, a state representative who won a close primary for the right to replace the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R). (GOP jitters about the seat were mostly about Jennifer Carnahan, Hagedorn's widow and a former party chair who resigned under a storm of scandals. She lost the primary badly.) Democrat Jeff Ettinger, a former Hormel CEO whose campaign has focused on his work with one of the district's big employers, is trying to beat the odds in a seat Trump carried by about 10 points. Despite that, Democrats nearly won this seat in 2020, when a candidate for the Legal Marijuana Now party split liberal votes; a different pro-legal marijuana party is on the ballot today.
Republicans, who haven't won a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006, are poised to nominate a conservative, pro-Trump ticket. Former state Sen. Scott Jensen has little competition in the race for governor, after sweeping opponents away at the party's convention; Doug Wardlow, who lost a 2018 race to Attorney Gen. Keith Ellison, is trying to get to a rematch. Both of the party's potential nominees for secretary of state insist falsely that the 2020 election was stolen, and Democratic Secretary of State Scott Simon has a gadfly primary opponent who says the same.
There's no primary competition for either party in the suburban 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts, both of which have remained contested in general elections since Democrats flipped them in 2018. But there are real primaries in St. Paul's 4th Congressional District, where activist Amane Badhasso is facing Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), and Minneapolis's 5th Congressional District, where Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) faces yet another primary challenge — this time from Don Samuels, a former city council member who campaigned against last year's failed effort to replace the Minneapolis Police Department.
Samuels raised more than $1 million for the race, less than Omar's last opponent, but enough to get her to burn through most of her cash in a race that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey — who Omar didn't support for reelection — wants her to lose.
“FBI searches Trump safe at Mar-a-Lago for possible classified documents,” by Devlin Barrett, Mariana Alfaro, Josh Dawsey, and Jacqueline Alemany
Why the ex-president's adopted home got raided.
“With deal in hand, Democrats enter the fall armed with something new: Hope,” by Shane Goldmacher and Katie Glueck
How to sell an agenda that had been looking dead.
“Culture wars could be a winning issue — for Democrats,” by Paul Kane
Post-Roe politics and the midterms.
"Balint, Gray work to seal the deal as congressional primary rolls into final week," by Sasha Goldstein
The last days on Vermont's campaign trail.
“Trump targets top Wisconsin GOP lawmaker for not overturning election,” by Patrick Marley
Why the ex-president wants Adam Steen to defeat Robin Vos.
“Tensions rippling through the Wisconsin Republican Party take hold in GOP stronghold Waukesha County,” by Molly Beck
A divisive gubernatorial primary comes to an end.
“Trump voters back his candidates. Some aren’t so sure about a 2024 bid," by Isaac Arnsdorf and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez
The DeSantis voter rises.
“Policing, abortion at forefront of primary race between Rep. Ilhan Omar and Don Samuels," by Ryan Faircloth
A “defund the police” rematch in Minneapolis.
“Sarah Palin has long been ridiculed. I wanted to tell a different story,” by T.A. Frank
New respect for the 2008 VP nominee.
“Kansas win mirrors increased Democratic engagement in several states,” by Justine D'Elia-Kueper
A dive into the election result that gave Biden's party hope last week.
DALLAS — The CPAC audience turned on Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) in a hurry.
On Friday, the Arizona conservative was seated next to Brandon Straka, the founder of the #WalkAway campaign that urges freethinking Americans to quit the Democratic Party. Straka pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6., 2021, and Biggs was one of the few elected Republicans who’d tried to visit other “J6” defendants in prison.
“What are you going to do about it?” he asked Biggs. The congressman sat silently as the audience cheered. “If you can even name the names of five people sitting in the D.C. prison right now, I’ll write you a check for $10,000.”
Biggs didn’t take the dare, but as members of the crowd shouted at him — “It’s still happening!” and “Do something!” — he apologized. “What you went through is not just inappropriate. It’s inhumane,” he said. “It’s unjust. And it’s un-American.”
Days later, after Trump revealed that the FBI had searched Mar-a-Lago, many Republicans denounced the search, without presenting evidence, with some calling it a political “persecution” worthy of the “late Roman republic.” There were calls to “dismantle” the FBI itself, and zero-source accusations that President Biden himself had ordered the search.
Anyone who watched or attended last weekend’s CPAC in Dallas could have seen that coming. A major theme of the weekend was perpetuating claims that opponents of the Biden administration were being targeted and punished by a regime that was overcompensating for its lost credibility. Straka dramatized his arrest and the experience of other J6 prisoners by sitting in a cage in the CPAC exhibit hall; for others, the administration's reaction over civil disobedience at school board meetings or its plan to hire more IRS agents was proof of how it would hound conservatives.
“The Biden FBI believes this is a room of dangerous radicals,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) told the crowd on Friday. (Since 2021, the American Conservative Union has organized two annual red state CPACs; a winter conference in Orlando and a summer conference in Dallas.)
Some of the worries about conservative persecution were based on the investigations into Trump himself, which had badly damaged the credibility of the FBI with Republicans even before the raid. Many were rooted in the ill-fated letter that the National Association of School Boards sent to the Biden administration last year, when it compared some of the flack that administrators were getting to “domestic terrorism.” One panel, featuring organizers of the effort to root Critical Race Theory and gender ideology out of schools, was named “We are all domestic terrorists now.”
The trial of Alex Jones, the Infowars founder who was losing his legal battle with Sandy Hook parents as CPAC was underway, was another source of concern. In her own appearances at the conference, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) conceded that Jones “did say some things” — she didn't get into specifics about his false claims that the deadliest elementary school shooting in U.S. history was a “giant hoax” — but that he had been silenced by tech and media companies.
In his own remarks, on Saturday, Trump frequently talked about the opposition to him and to like-minded conservatives, saying that they'd been targeted by a security state that he couldn't bring to heel during four years in Washington. A future GOP administration, he said, would need to “remove rogue bureaucrats and root out the deep state,” preventing further persecution.
“If I renounced my beliefs, if I agreed to stay silent, if I stayed home or if I stayed in my basement, the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately,” Trump said. “That’s what they want me to do, but I can’t do that.”
Michels for Governor, “Blueprint.” When he ran for U.S. Senate 18 years ago, construction company owner Tim Michels centered his campaign on three issues: “Jobs, affordable health care, and keeping our country safe.” As a GOP candidate for governor, he's run as a conservative outsider again, but his focus for GOP primary voters is on fighting the left and preventing a 2020-style set of pandemic restrictions. “Keep schools open five days a week, no matter what Fauci says,” Michels says.
People for Rebecca, “One Conservative.” How much do Republican voters in Wisconsin still care about ex-Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining reforms? The bet here is “plenty,” with Walker talking up his former lieutenant governor's role in the Act 10 debate. “When Rebecca and I were fighting for reform, Tim Michels and his company were teaming up with the union bosses and those lobbying for a gas tax increase,” says Walker. Michels's role at a manufacturer advocates' group that supported a gas tax has been used against him since he started running for governor.
Neighbors for Samuels, “A Leader Who Can Make A Difference.” Ex-Minneapolis city councilman Don Samuels is the second Democrat to challenge Rep. Ilhan Omar since she got to Congress, with the same basic pitch as her last opponent: He'd share her priorities, but she's not effective. “I knew that after a shooting, it wasn't time to make another speech,” Samuels says in a spot that dramatizes him setting up a community comment forum.
Ilhan for Congress, “Persistence.” Isra Hirsi, Rep. Ilhan Omar's daughter, has been a prominent political activist since 2019, when she co-founded U.S. Climate Strike. She voices one of the closing pre-primary ads for her mother, focused on abortion rights, an issue that Democratic pollsters have seen helping female candidates in primaries. “She will persist until my generation and those after don't have to continue this fight,” Hirsi says.
Finstad for Congress, “Harder.” Minnesota state Rep. Brad Finstad was the favorite to win today's special election in the 1st Congressional District as soon as he won the primary. Biden, who lost the district in 2020, is less popular now, and after a short introduction of his seven kids, Finstad points out that his opponent donated to the president presiding over painful inflation. “He backs Biden; I back Minnesota families,” says Finstad.
Ettinger for Congress, “Robots.” Finstad's Democratic opponent, former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger, doesn't mention his party at all in this ad. After an odd introduction, designed to look like a news report on politicians existing as “robots,” Ettinger says that “people are squeezed,” that he ran a business, and that Finstead voted “the party line” in St. Paul. No other issues are discussed.
Becca Balint for Vermont, “This Is A Time For Courage.” Balint has the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in her race for Vermont's sole House seat, which he held for 16 years. The senator appears at the end of this spot, but the focus is on Balint's family story and the worries she shares with Democratic voters. At risk now, she says, are “the right to vote, for reproductive rights, even to marry” — that last freedom illustrated by a clip of Balint and her wife, with whom she formed a civil partnership with before the state legalized same-sex marriage.
Molly for Vermont, “Only One.” Vermont Lt. Gov. Molly Gray is light on issues in this bio ad, which inverts questions about her experience — she won her current job 21 months ago — by focusing on her work as a congressional staffer and state attorney. “I'll work with anyone to do what's right for Vermont,” she says, a nonideological message for what tends to be a very liberal electorate.
Vicky for Governor, “How Well Do You Know Josh Green?” Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green built an early lead in this week's Democratic gubernatorial primary, thanks to his high-profile role overseeing the public side of the state's pandemic response. Former Hawaii first lady Vicky Cayetano uses that record against him, combining an old attack (a $300 campaign finance fine for Green, from 2016) with a new allegation that his campaign got support from a company that got a state covid-testing contract.
Josh Green for Hawaii, “Unite.” One effective way to respond to attack ads is to call them baseless without getting too specific. Green's jab back at Cayetano — a super PAC has also bought ads supporting his opponent — cites a news report that questions her credibility, then gets to his key issues of “affordable housing” and tackling homelessness. It features a two shot of Green and his wife Jaime, another way that campaigns like to establish character and credibility after an attack.
Do you favor or oppose charging Trump with crimes related to his involvement in January 6th, or are you not sure? (Monmouth University, July 28-August 1, 808 adults)
Not sure: 25%
The speedy Republican denunciation of the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago helped polarize the coverage of what happened — Democrats mostly declining to comment, Republicans predicting a backlash that would propel Trump back to power. This poll wrapped up a week before the search, but it found predictable partisan divisions of a potential criminal investigation into Trump. Seventy-three percent of Democrats support charging Trump over his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob; 66 percent of Republicans oppose it, and just one-in-thirty-three partisans disagree with their side's majority opinion.
The idea of putting Trump on trial is less popular; independents favor charging Trump, but most worry that a trial would “hurt” the country. Democrats are also twice as likely to say that a trial would hurt the country as Republicans are to say that it wouldn't. But all of these questions are about Jan. 6, 2021, and while we don't definitively know what the Monday search was after, we don't have polling on the popularity of a search for possible classified documents.
Howard Kohr has been the chief executive of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for 26 years. Last week, for the first time, he gave an interview to The Washington Post. The subject was the win AIPAC had just celebrated in Michigan, where the United Democracy Project, a super PAC spin off of the pro-Israel group, spent more than $4 million to boost Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) to a win over Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.).
“We’re seeing much more vocal detractors of the U.S.-Israel relationship, who are having an impact on the discussion,” Kohr explained. “And we need to respond.” This is an edited transcript of the conversation:
The Trailer: What does it mean to be “pro-Israel?”
Howard Kohr: There is a lot of confusion about it. The affirmative part of being pro-Israel is about those that deeply believe in, and support, and want to build upon and strengthen the bonds between the United States and Israel. It is the recognition that Israel is an important ally of the United States and shares our values and interests. And for pro-Israel individuals, building upon that relationship is a priority. We’d characterize the detractors of that relationship as those that want to weaken or diminish the ties between our countries, and to do that in a partisan fashion. And institutions and individuals that are detractors embrace the loudest and most vocal opponents of the US.-Israel relationship.
From our point of view, this is a bipartisan issue. It is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue — it is an American issue. There's a progressive argument for the U.S.-Israel relationship, and there is a conservative argument for it, and they’re both powerful.
TT: Why was the super PAC created? How does that fit into the strategy that you’re talking about?
HK: We’ve been monitoring a whole variety of trends taking place in the body politic. We’re seeing hyper-partisanship, the increasing cost of campaigns, turnover in Congress, and the rise of a very vocal minority on the far left of the Democratic Party that is anti-Israel and seeks to weaken and diminish the relationship. Our view is that support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is both good policy and good politics. We wanted to defend our friends, and to send a message to detractors that there's a group of individuals that will oppose them.
TT: Let’s talk about the Levin-Stevens race — two members running against each other. Why did AIPAC get involved, and what exactly was the problem with Levin’s positions, like his support of the Two-State Solution Act?
HK: It was Congressman Levin's willingness to defend and endorse some of the largest and most vocal detractors of the U.S.-Israel relationship. That, in addition to the legislation, led us to take a look at that race, where you also had Rep. Stevens, who wants to build the relationship, strengthen the relationship; who’s willing to work in a bipartisan fashion.
Look, the good news is that there is still just a small group of vocal detractors of the U.S.-Israel relationship here [in Congress]. Obviously, from my point of view, we would like to keep it small. But there is a vocal minority out there. They’re recruiting candidates, and they're encouraging people to run for office.
TT: Is there no other ideological component to this? The people being outspent say there is; there are candidates who find themselves on the political left for other reasons, not Israel, but their coalition includes people who support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
HK: Absolutely. I remember the days when the Democratic Socialists of America, led by Michael Harrington, was actually pro-Israel. Now, the DSA is among the loudest detractors of the relationship. It's become part of the matrix of the far left to be anti-Israel. The majority of progressives, and particularly progressives in Congress, are pro-Israel. There's a battle going on between that group and a far-left group that wants to change that and says, you can't be progressive and be pro-Israel. We believe you can do both. Where’s one of the largest gay pride parades in the world? It’s in Israel.
TT: Is there a risk that AIPAC’s intervention in primaries leads to more polarization, along those lines — left-wing Democrats associating it with the right? That’s sort of the critique from Jeremy Ben-Ami at J Street.
HK: We think just the opposite is true — there's going to be a whole class of progressives and Democrats that are pro-Israel, and they'll become empowered. It will reinforce what has been the historic position within the party, since Harry Truman recognized the state of Israel. One of the things we hope to do is to ensure that the Democrats getting elected to Congress are opponents of BDS. We think that in the next Congress, there'll be fewer supporters than there are today. Over time, we hope there’ll be even less.
TT: The UDP’s ads haven’t focused on Israel. They’ve focused in whether candidates have criticized Joe Biden, whether they’ve been effective; they have not been necessarily about where they stand on Israel. Why is that?
HK: Like other super PACs, it’s focused on the issues that are important to the voters in that district. The objective here is to ensure that your candidate emerges victorious and that the anti-Israel candidate is defeated. So in that sense, like other super PACs, we focused on the issues that matter in the district. UDP itself says proudly who it is. If you go to its website, it is clear. Everybody understands what the motivation is, even though the issues that it may be talking about in the race are about the issues of that district.
TT: Is there really a mandate for AIPAC's position on Israel if the ads in these races aren’t about Israel?
HK: It’s clear to the candidates, on both sides, what our position is on the U.S.-Israel relationship.
TT: How do you separate pro-Israel Republicans from some of the ideas that have traction on the right? I’m at a conference right now, for example, where Viktor Orban is speaking, a few days after he gave a speech railing against Europe becoming “mixed race.”
HK: The most important thing about AIPAC — and this is both a virtue and a difficulty — is that we're single issue. It's about the U.S.-Israel relationship. That's the mandate our supporters give us. In the organized Jewish community, there are organizations whose focus is to combat antisemitism and take on those forces on the right and left who are trafficking in this. And it's a serious problem.
TT: Another criticism AIPAC is getting — you’ve seen this in campaigns, but it hasn’t moved many votes — is you’re helping some Republicans who voted to throw out the 2020 election.
HK: We're about addition. We're not trying to constrict the community. We’re trying to enlarge the community that's both on the left and on the right.
TT: Is there anything that a candidate who supports Israel could support that would rule them out for AIPAC's support?
HK: I’d have to think about that. Again, because we're a single issue organization and we're bipartisan, that’s the reason that the majority of Republicans and the majority of Democrats have been recipients of our PAC support. The good news about American politics is that there are many organizations that deal with a whole range of issues that are in the American political system.
TT: During the Levin-Stevens primary, David Victor, who was a former AIPAC president living in the district, organized potential donors to Stevens with this argument. Basically: It’s one thing if Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) or somebody who's been associated with BDS takes a critical position of Israel; it’s “unusually corrosive” if a Jewish Democrat does. Is that right, that Levin, or Bernie Sanders — because they're Jewish — can pull colleagues along and give the ideas more credibility?
HK: As we commonly say around here, not everyone who is pro-Israel is Jewish. It’s also the case that not everyone who is Jewish is pro-Israel. That has nothing to do with, religion, race, ethnicity, party affiliation, etc. It has to do with an orientation. If you wake up every morning finding ways to consistently criticize only Israel, that sends a message. In the majority of these races, voters have supported the pro-Israel progressive candidate. For us, that was the proof of concept.
TT: What role does President Biden play here, enforcing what the mainstream Democratic view on Israel is?
HK: The president's playing a very important role. He has demonstrated as strong support for the U.S.-Israel relationship as anybody. This visit that he made to Israel was seen by the people of Israel, and in support of Israel as a remarkably strong visit. At the very beginning of the trip, he says you don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist. That’s a powerful statement for not only the president of the United States, but the leader of the Democratic Party. A member of Congress was going to the floor not that long ago calling Israel an apartheid state.
TT: And what about the next generation of Democratic politicians? Obviously, Haley Stevens is younger — younger than me, actually. But you’ve seen the polling on this, and you’ve seen the trends on campus. Young Democrats view Israel more negatively than Biden does.
HK: We obviously pay a lot of attention to this. The answer is dependent on a lot of things. Having a president continuing to signal strong support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is a powerful message to as to the party itself. We think it can have a tremendous impact on the younger generation when they see young women like Haley Stevens or a guy like Ritchie Torres begin to emerge in the party as figures in the party — progressive and pro-Israel and attractive.
That can have a tremendous impact on the views of young people in America today, and particularly within the Democratic Party. And to the extent that figures emerge with hostility to Israel, that can have the opposite effect. We want to make sure the former happens and not the latter.
TT: What are the next plans for the super PAC? We’re almost through the primaries — are you looking at other races?
HK: The focus up until now has been in these critical Democratic primaries where there have been two progressives vying with each other, a pro-Israel progressive and anti-Israel progressive. We've been supporting the pro-Israel progressives. We're going to continue to take a look at what may happen through the rest of the primaries and into the general election.
TT: What happens after the election with someone like Summer Lee, who won in Pennsylvania? She’s a state representative, doesn’t really have much of a voting record on Israel. But her first interaction with pro-Israel groups was that money was spent against her.
HK: With everyone that gets elected, we're going to reach out. We’ll continue to have an open door and an extended hand and try to encourage them that on the issue of the U.S.-Israel relationship, here they can be joining us. We hope they will.
TT: I mentioned Sanders before, but there’s one more critique he makes that I’d like you to respond to. It’s that in many of these races, certainly by taking on the Squad and allies, AIPAC is taking on women of color.
HK: There’s a double standard that exists when it comes to our involvement. They forget that we were involved in helping Shontel Brown to victory [in Ohio] or Valerie Foushee to victory [in North Carolina]. Women of color who are pro-Israel will get the support from us, and those who aren’t won’t. It's not about who they are. It's what policy positions they have.
No other super PAC or PAC faces the same kind of criticisms. When a PAC helps Andy Levin it’s a good thing. And when it helps Haley Stevens, it's a bad thing. That’s just reality. We live with it.
… four days until primaries in Hawaii
… seven days until primaries in Alaska and Wyoming
… 14 days until primaries in Florida, runoffs in Oklahoma, and congressional primaries in New York | 2022-08-09T22:48:38Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The Trailer: Your hour-by-hour guide on what to watch in four states tonight - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/trailer-your-hour-by-hour-guide-what-watch-four-states-tonight/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/trailer-your-hour-by-hour-guide-what-watch-four-states-tonight/ |
Roger Goodell discusses Commanders investigation, Deshaun Watson appeal
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (right) met with NFL owners Tuesday in Bloomington, Minn. (Dave Campbell/AP)
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The NFL has not established a timeline for the completion of its latest investigation, conducted by attorney Mary Jo White, into the Washington Commanders and owner Daniel Snyder, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday.
Daniel Snyder faces House committee under oath for more than 10 hours
White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, began the NFL’s latest investigation into the Commanders and Snyder after allegations made during a congressional roundtable in February. Tiffani Johnston, a former cheerleader and marketing manager for the team, told members of Congress that Snyder harassed her at a team dinner, putting his hand on her thigh and pressing her toward his limo. Snyder denied the accusations, calling the allegations made directly against him “outright lies.”
Asked Tuesday about a possible timeline for the completion of White’s investigation, Goodell said: “We don’t force timelines on those.”
Late last month, Snyder participated remotely for more than 10 hours in a sworn deposition with the House Oversight Committee after weeks of negotiations about the terms of the interview. Snyder gave a voluntary deposition under oath on issues related to the team’s workplace.
“We were not party to that,” Goodell said Tuesday of Snyder’s testimony to the committee. “We did not participate in that in any way.”
The Washington Post reported in June details of a former employee’s claim that Snyder sexually assaulted her during a flight on his private plane in April 2009. Later that year, the team agreed to pay the employee, whom it fired, $1.6 million in a confidential settlement. In a 2020 court filing, Snyder called the woman’s claims “meritless.”
In April, the committee detailed allegations of financial improprieties by Snyder and the team in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission. The attorneys general for D.C., Karl A. Racine (D), and Virginia, Jason S. Miyares (R), announced they would investigate. The team denied committing any financial improprieties.
Following a previous NFL investigation conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson, the league announced in July 2021 that the team had been fined $10 million and that Snyder’s wife, Tanya Snyder, the team’s co-CEO, would assume responsibility for the franchise’s daily operations for an unspecified period.
Meanwhile, Goodell said it was “the right thing to do” for the NFL to appeal the six-game suspension imposed on Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson by an independent disciplinary officer.
Goodell designated Peter Harvey, the former attorney general of New Jersey, to resolve that appeal, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. The original ruling of a six-game suspension was made by Sue L. Robinson, a former U.S. district judge who is the disciplinary officer jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players Association.
Robinson found that Watson violated the personal conduct policy, calling his behavior “egregious” and “predatory,” but said she was bound by precedent on the length of the suspension. In its appeal of Robinson’s ruling, the NFL is seeking an indefinite suspension of at least one full season, along with a fine and required treatment, according to a person familiar with the case.
Asked why the league continues to seek a season-long suspension, Goodell said Tuesday: “Because we’ve seen the evidence. [Robinson] was very clear about the evidence. She reinforced the evidence that there [were] multiple violations here, and they were egregious and it was predatory behavior. Those are things that we always felt were really important for us to address in a way that’s responsible.”
Robinson considered the cases of four women presented to her by the NFL. Goodell said Tuesday that the league believes Watson committed four violations of the personal conduct policy, adding: “I think that’s the case. Those were the facts.”
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam attended Tuesday’s meeting and was asked beforehand about the NFL’s appeal of Watson’s six-game suspension. “I’ll just say we’ll respect and honor the process,” he said.
White also attended the meeting. She conducted the NFL’s just-completed investigation of the Miami Dolphins based on the allegations of tampering and game-tanking made by the team’s former coach, Brian Flores, in his racial discrimination lawsuit against the league and teams. White’s findings in that probe resulted in Dolphins owner Stephen Ross being fined $1.5 million and suspended through Oct. 17 and the team being stripped of first- and third-round draft picks.
“The integrity of the game is critically important,” Goodell said Tuesday. “I think the findings were very clear on the tampering charges. While tanking clearly did not happen here, I think we all have to understand that our words and our actions have implications, can be interpreted. We have to be careful.” | 2022-08-09T23:06:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell discusses Commanders investigation, Deshaun Watson - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/roger-goodell-snyder-watson/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/roger-goodell-snyder-watson/ |
Emmett Till's photo on his grave marker in Alsip, Ill., in May 2005. (Robert A. Davis/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
Five people were sifting through dusty files in the basement of a Mississippi courthouse two months ago when they laid eyes on a document that hadn’t been seen for decades.
It was a warrant from August 1955 for the arrests of those involved in the kidnapping of the Black teenager Emmett Till. Two of the names on the documents had checks beside them. A third did not — “Mrs. Roy Bryant,” now Carolyn Bryant Donham, the White woman whose accusations against Till led to his lynching.
But a grand jury in Leflore County — where Till was lynched and tossed into a river by Bonham’s then-husband and his brother — decided not to indict her, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson said in a news release Tuesday.
The grand jury found that there was not sufficient evidence to indict Donham on charges of kidnapping and manslaughter after hearing seven hours of testimony from investigators and witnesses last week.
In the weeks since the unserved warrant was found, Till’s family and the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation urged Richardson to serve the warrant that was never executed nearly 70 years ago.
In September 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley, Till’s mother, had an open coffin funeral for her son, whose body was so badly beaten it was only recognizable by a ring he wore. Till-Mobley’s decision and fervent telling of her son’s story to reporters reignited the civil rights movement.
That same month, Donham’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his brother, J.W. Milam, were acquitted of murder by an all-White, all-male jury after deliberating for a little more than one hour.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation said on Facebook that it would “Never Give Up” trying to hold Donham accountable, to keep its promise to Till-Mobley.
“Carolyn Bryant Donham’s actions, and the unserved warrant proves her culpability,” the organization’s post said. “There was probable cause for her arrest.”
The discovery of the warrant also ignited a search for Donham, who is now in her late 80s and whose whereabouts have been kept secret by her family. When author Timothy Tyson interviewed her in 2008 — the only known interview Donham has given outside of investigations — she was staying in Raleigh, N.C.
Donham said her testimony in court that Till had made sexual advances was not true, according to Tyson’s book “The Blood of Emmett Till.” During a news conference in 2018, the author said he believed that Donham’s family wanted her to do the interview so she could speak about what happened in 1955 before she died.
Donham, 21 at the time, accused the 14-year-old Till of improper advances at a family store in Money, Miss. Four days later, her husband and Milam kidnapped Till from a relative’s home, lynched him and tossed him into a river. Till’s body was found attached to a 75-pound fan.
In Donham’s unpublished memoir, which was obtained by reporters last month, she said she pleaded with her husband and his brother not to hurt Till, calling herself “a victim.”
Lawyers and Till’s family have disputed the claims in her memoir, titled, “I Am More Than a Wolf Whistle: The Story of Carolyn Bryant Donham.”
When a federal case was presented in 2007, another Leflore County grand jury decided not to indict Donham on a charge of manslaughter. Last year, the state of Mississippi and Justice Department closed a second investigation that began after information came out that Donham had recanted her statements from the previous case during her interview with Tyson.
The lack of indictment this month is a letdown for Till’s family and activists across the country who have advocated for Donham to be prosecuted.
“The murder of Emmett Till remains an unforgettable tragedy in this country and the thoughts and prayers of this nation continue to be with the family of Emmett Till,” Richardson said in the news release. | 2022-08-09T23:14:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Woman in Emmett Till killing not indicted by Mississippi grand jury - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/carolyn-bryant-donham-emmett-till-accuser-grand-jury/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/carolyn-bryant-donham-emmett-till-accuser-grand-jury/ |
U.S. Border Patrol agents speak with migrants at the Eagle Pass Commercial Port of Entry in Eagle Pass, Texas, in July before they board a bus to D.C. (Paul Ratje/Bloomberg News)
It’s been nearly four months since migrants seeking U.S. asylum began arriving in D.C. by the hundreds on buses from Texas and Arizona, a situation created when the governors of the two border states began providing free rides to the nation’s capital as a way to criticize the Biden administration’s border policy.
With some of those people sleeping outside or at Union Station as volunteers scramble to find them food, clothing and temporary shelter, neither the city nor the federal government has been willing to play a direct role in addressing what immigrant advocates say is a building humanitarian crisis.
City officials have been encouraging nonprofit groups to seek additional federal aid, rather than funding from the D.C. government, after the Department of Defense last week denied Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s request for the National Guard to take command of a more centralized form of assistance to the migrants.
Bowser (D), who has not devoted local government resources to the matter, said last week that she plans to renew her request for National Guard assistance. Guard officials “appear to say a more specified request would help them understand our needs,” Bowser said Friday. The Defense Department declined to comment Tuesday on Bowser’s plan to renew her request.
Immigrant advocates, who were against deploying the National Guard over concerns it would be militarizing the issue, argue the problem requires a coordinated local government response.
“The mayor is sitting on millions of dollars within the D.C. budget,” said Ashley Tjhung, an organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, a collection of mostly volunteer groups that have been greeting the migrants as they arrive and giving them rides to nearby hotels or churches that have served as temporary lodging.
So far, more than 7,000 migrants have arrived, according to estimates provided by the volunteers. Though many have left for other parts of the country, an increasing number have chosen to settle in the area, making their presence a longer-term challenge, Tjhung said.
“Services need to be expanded to help people find housing, to help people enroll their children in schools, to provide legal services so they can successfully seek asylum here,” she said, arguing that the District would could more easily secure aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The aid available to the migrants is increasingly stretched thin.
A 50-person “respite center” in Montgomery County that is meant to provide temporary shelter and other assistance to the migrants is often full, leaving the aid groups to search for alternative lodging. Scott Peterson, spokesman for Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D), said the county is “committed to supporting the regional effort to assist these new arrivals” but is running out of resources.
“Montgomery County has been assisting the migrants since they have arrived but we are nearing capacity with the resources we are currently providing to these individuals,” Peterson said. “It is unfortunate that these migrants are being used as political pawns by the Governors of Texas and Arizona. Furthermore, immigration and interstate issues are a responsibility of the federal government. We hope the federal government will intervene, assist, and work with us to handle this unprecedented situation.”
FEMA has given a $1 million grant to SAMU First Response, a Spain-based group, for its aid to the migrants. Tatiana Laborde, operations director for the organization, said it has not been able to find a suitable building closer to Union Station that would make assisting the migrants easier.
The neighborhood surrounding the station is one of the city’s priciest real estate markets and is home to federal government buildings already in use, Laborde said.
Available buildings that are affordable don’t have the amenities required under the FEMA grant to temporarily house the migrants, such as bathrooms or a kitchen, she said.
“We are just continuing to try to be creative on where to have this space,” Laborde said. “We have specific conditions that we need to meet to welcome these migrants, and, unfortunately, near Union Station that’s very, very challenging.”
Bowser’s office has not allocated local resources toward the aid effort, despite being able to apply to FEMA for reimbursement. In the past, the District has had trouble getting the reimbursement it sought from federal agencies after other major expenses, such as President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
In the meantime, several of the migrants have been housed at a hotel in Northeast Washington along a stretch of industrial buildings, hotels and fast-food joints near the Maryland border.
On Tuesday, a few chairs and blankets in a parking lot outside one of the hotel’s buildings revealed where some of the migrants had slept for the night.
Families on the buses have received higher priority for aid — including lodging — which sometimes means the single men who’ve arrived alongside them must fend for themselves, immigrant advocates said.
In other cases, buses have arrived with no one available to meet them, causing those passengers to also sleep outside, with some knowing to travel to the hotels where migrants are staying and where they feel safety in numbers, advocates said.
Cristián José Jimenez and Yranyelín Landaeta Aguirre were among those who had a hotel room.
The couple from Venezuela arrived in D.C. by way of Texas about a week ago, with Aguirre three months pregnant.
They described a four-month journey from Venezuela by foot, walking with others through the jungles of Central America and evading kidnappers and other predators near Mexico’s border with Texas.
Their plan is to settle in the District and try to find stability for their child while waiting to hear from Immigration and Customs Enforcement about their asylum applications, Jimenez said.
“There is nothing for us in Venezuela,” he said in Spanish. “Society as we knew it no longer exists. I want to find work and begin a new life here.” | 2022-08-09T23:49:33Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Migrants from Texas keep arriving in D.C. amid dispute over who should help them - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/dc-migrants-aid-federal/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/dc-migrants-aid-federal/ |
At double-murder trial, jury won’t see defendant’s racist social media
Judge says prosecutors cannot show posts containing praise for Adolf Hitler, among other things
A home in Reston, Va., where two people were killed in 2017. (Cal Cary/For the Washington Post)
A Virginia judge has ruled that prosecutors cannot tell the jury in an upcoming double-murder trial about the defendant’s social media posts containing praise for Adolf Hitler and support for Nazi book burnings and the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, according to newly unsealed court records.
Nicholas Giampa was indicted in 2019 on charges of shooting and killing his girlfriend’s mother, Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, and stepfather, Scott Fricker, 48, after they confronted him inside their Reston home three days before Christmas in 2017. The court had kept records in the case hidden from public view, but a judge last month ordered them released after a motion from The Washington Post and the Associated Press, over the objection of prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Police say Giampa, who was 17 at the time, shot himself between the eyebrows after the killings. Kuhn-Fricker’s daughter, who was 16 at the time, told police after the shooting that she and Giampa formed a suicide pact after her family forced her to leave him and that they had “discussed wounding her parents” if they tried to stop their plan, according to a police report that was among the newly released documents.
Prosecutors have ruled out charges against the daughter, court records show. Giampa survived, underwent brain surgery and rehabilitation, and now is being tried as an adult. His trial is expected to begin next year. The next pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23.
Fairfax County Circuit Judge Brett A. Kassabian ruled July 8 that prosecutors cannot mention the neo-Nazi allegations during the trial “due to it being highly prejudicial,” according to a July 21 filing from the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors are appealing a separate ruling from the judge that bars them from using Giampa’s January 2018 confession to police from his hospital bed as evidence. Giampa, who was recovering from his brain injury during the interviews and had difficulty recalling his father’s and girlfriend’s first names, told police that he felt half of his brain was asleep, according to court records. Kassabian ruled that Giampa had not waived his right to remain silent knowingly or intelligently at the time.
Prosecutors are not appealing the judge’s ruling that prohibits mentions of the neo-Nazi allegations, they said.
“We are only appealing the suppressed statement because we don’t have the legal authority to appeal on any other issue,” said Rebecca Campbell, a commonwealth’s attorney spokeswoman. She declined to comment further.
Before her death, Kuhn-Fricker had emailed the principal of the Fairfax County private school for teens with emotional and learning issues that her daughter and Giampa attended, expressing concern that Giampa had retweeted messages praising Hitler, supporting Nazi book burnings, calling for a “white revolution” and making derogatory comments about Jewish people and gay people.
Other tweets embraced the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group, and disparaged the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “a low IQ pervert and sex abuser.”
Kuhn-Fricker’s mother, Janet Kuhn, has said her daughter told her she thought Giampa was trying to indoctrinate the 16-year-old with white-supremacist ideas.
Members of Giampa’s family have said he was no racist and instead posted the tweets to provoke people online. They said he struggled with isolation and depression. Giampa was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in 2021, after his brain injury.
According to the unsealed police report, after the 16-year-old told her parents she would end the relationship, she still would meet with Giampa secretly in her bedroom from about 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. The parents had forbidden Giampa from entering their home, but their daughter gave him the code to unlock the front door, the police report says.
When the teens were discovered by the parents in the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 2017, they refused to open the bedroom door, until they heard attempts to remove the lock from the outside, the police report says.
Giampa removed a gun from his bag, shot Fricker and then shot Kuhn-Fricker, each multiple times, police alleged. In denying a request for bond in July, Kassabian said the attack Giampa is accused of carrying out included an “execution-type kill shot to the back of the head.”
The report from Craig Guyton, who was a county police detective, says Giampa and the girl then went to another room to carry out their suicide pact. Giampa first tried to shoot the girl but the gun did not fire, police said. He then shot himself, the report says.
Giampa’s public defender, Dawn Butorac, declined to comment.
Another public defender for Giampa, Kasey H. McNamara, wrote in a court filing that a search warrant covering his home and electronic devices “returned social media posts, chats, and photographs which depict imagery or discuss issues involving neo-Nazi-related groups such as the Atomwaffen Division.”
“In several emails, Mrs. Fricker accused Mr. Giampa of using social media to post neo-Nazi content and alleged he committed other acts in furtherance of spreading messages from these organizations,” McNamara wrote in the May 20 court filing, adding that Giampa had been charged previously in juvenile court with child pornography offenses — and that the tweets, Kuhn-Fricker’s emails with allegations about Giampa, and his delinquent adjudication on child pornography charges would be too prejudicial to admit as evidence in the double-murder case.
“The fact that the decedents disapproved of Mr. Giampa and did not want him to be in a relationship with their daughter is sufficient for the Commonwealth to try to establish a motive without introducing any alleged associations with neo-Nazi organizations,” McNamara wrote. “Introducing Mrs. Fricker’s emails and evidence of her beliefs about Mr. Giampa’s associations with neo-Nazi organizations would be highly prejudicial against Mr. Giampa. Moreover, allegations that Mr. Giampa was associated with these groups is tangential and speculative at best.”
The prosecution argued that the neo-Nazi postings were what drove the couple to urge their daughter to break up with Giampa and that those allegations were “highly probative as to Defendant’s motive, intent, and state of mind when he killed Mr. and Mrs. Fricker.”
They cited another Virginia trial court’s decision to admit into evidence an image of Hitler that James Alex Fields Jr., who killed one woman and injured 35 other people when he plowed his car into a group of counterprotesters at a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, had texted to his mother.
“The court concluded that … the picture of Adolf Hitler had probative value and was highly relevant as Fields’ intent, motive, and state of mind were at issue in the case,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing June 3. “Similar to Fields, Defendant’s intent, motive, and state of mind will be at issue in this case.”
Fields was sentenced in Virginia to life in prison without possibility of parole, plus 419 years. He then received another life sentence for federal hate crimes. | 2022-08-09T23:49:40Z | www.washingtonpost.com | At double murder trial, jury won’t see defendant’s racist social media - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/giampa-trial-racist-social-media/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/giampa-trial-racist-social-media/ |
Former President Donald Trump paints a picture of himself as the country's victim in chief. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Trump encourages the belief that the government is out to get him and therefore is out to get those who support him. (Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.) wants to “defund the FBI!”) He insists that the law is politicized and weaponized. He tells everyone that he is great and that everything he did as president was great. “The establishment hated it,” his statement read. | 2022-08-09T23:53:55Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Oh, how the powerful wail and whine - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/oh-how-powerful-wail-whine/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/oh-how-powerful-wail-whine/ |
Gabby Petito’s parents to sue Utah police, claiming missed chance to save her life
A still from police camera video provided by the Moab Police Department shows Gabby Petito talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. (Moab Police Department/AP)
When Gabby Petito’s mother saw the video of her daughter telling police about a fight with her fiance, she “wanted to jump through the screen and rescue her.”
The footage, captured by body-worn cameras on Aug. 12 of last year, showed the 22-year-old aspiring video blogger crying as an officer in Moab, Utah, explained that a witness had reported seeing Brian Laundrie hit her. In a decision an independent review would later cast as flawed, police ultimately let the two go, telling them to spend a night apart.
Weeks later, Petito was dead. An autopsy determined she had been strangled. Laundrie, who vanished as police investigated the case, confessed to killing her in writings discovered after his death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Petito’s parents announced during a Monday news conference that they plan to sue the Moab City Police Department over its handling of the domestic violence incident, saying officers failed to recognize their daughter was in danger and needed help. Had the officers responded properly, the family argues, the case could have ended differently.
“If the officers had been properly trained and followed the law, Gabby would still be alive today,” James McConkie, one of their attorneys, said in a prepared statement.
Lisa Church, a Moab spokeswoman, said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
The disappearance of Petito, a “van life” enthusiast who traversed the country with Laundrie, documenting their travels on social media, captivated the American public last year. On Sept. 11, her family reported her missing, 10 days after Laundrie had returned home to Florida without her. It was the start of a months-long mystery: What happened to Gabby?
Laundrie and his family refused to provide information, frustrating police. Then, in mid-September, he vanished, too. The saga fueled a national discourse about the attention generated by social media, the inequities in cases of missing people and the complexity of domestic violence.
In late September, Petito’s body was found near a camping area along the border of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Laundrie’s remains were discovered weeks later in a vast wilderness area in Sarasota County, Fla.
But questions still remained — including whether police in Utah missed a chance to prevent the tragedy that befell Petito.
The couple came to the attention of law enforcement on Aug. 12 after a witness called police, saying he had seen what he called a “domestic dispute.” He said he saw a “gentleman slapping the girl,” adding that the two had run up and down the sidewalk and then got into a van and drove off. He took a picture of the license plate and gave the plate number to the dispatcher. Another witness reported seeing Petito hitting Laundrie.
Before Gabby Petito's body was found, she was pulled over with Brian Laundrie on Aug. 12 in Utah. A clinical psychologist analyzed the footage for The Post. (Video: Joshua Carroll/The Washington Post)
Moab Officers Eric Pratt and Daniel Robbins tracked down the van near the entrance to Arches National Park and separated the couple. In body-camera footage, a distraught Petito told police she and Laundrie had been fighting over “some personal issues,” adding that she had obsessive compulsive disorder and became frustrated while straightening up the van. She said Laundrie had locked her out of the van, telling her to “take a breather,” and she had fought to get back in.
She said he had hit her, but she took the blame for what happened, saying she hit him first. The officer asked where Laundrie hit her, encouraging her to be honest.
“Well he, like, grabbed me with his nail, and I guess that’s why it looks … definitely I was cut right here,” Petito said, pointing to her cheek. “Because I can feel it. When I touch it, it burns.”
Laundrie told police Petito thought he was trying to leave her in Moab without her phone and tried to slap him. He said he took her phone, claiming he did not have one and “if she goes off without me, I’m on my own.” Yet later in the interview, he took his phone out of his pocket and gave the officers the number.
The police determined Petito was the perpetrator and Laundrie the victim. They considered charging her with domestic violence and taking her to jail, a decision that would have also resulted in a no-contact order between the two. Both Petito and Laundrie pleaded for the incident to be handled differently, with Laundrie saying he was “not going to pursue anything, because she is my fiancee, and I love her.”
The officers wrote in a report that the situation did not escalate to domestic assault “as much as that of a mental health crisis.” They found a place where Laundrie could stay for the night, leaving Petito to stay in the van.
An independent investigation later concluded that the officers made “several unintentional mistakes.” The two failed to follow state law and department policy while handling the case, according to the 102-page report completed by Capt. Brandon Ratcliffe of the Price City Police Department, and erred by failing to interview one of the witnesses and by not citing Petito for domestic violence after determining an assault had occurred.
Ratcliffe noted that just because Petito was believed to be the aggressor in the one incident did not mean she was the predominant aggressor in the relationship. He wrote that oftentimes in domestic violence cases, the long-term victim reaches a point where they defend themselves or act out in a way that summons law enforcement. In fact, he added, Petito was likely to have been a long-term victim of domestic violence.
Despite the officers’ missteps, Ratcliffe said, it was not clear whether anything would have changed if the case was handled flawlessly.
“There are many ‘what-if’s’ that have presented itself as part of this investigation, the primary one being: Would Gabby be alive today if this case was handled differently? That is an impossible question to answer despite it being the answer many people want to know,” he wrote. “Nobody knows and nobody will ever know the answer to that question.”
Petito’s family, however, believes her life might have been saved. In a notice of claim, a first step toward filing a lawsuit, they name the two officers along with former chief Bret Edge and Assistant Chief Braydon Palmer. The notice filed Aug. 5 — by Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, and stepfather, Jim Schmidt, along with her father, Joseph Petito, and stepmother, Tara Petito — lists possible claims including negligence and wrongful death. They plan to seek $50 million.
During their news conference Monday, they said their aim was to hold law enforcement accountable. They described the lawsuit as part of their efforts to help domestic violence victims in their daughter’s name, along with launching a foundation and donating to groups that help find the missing and support victims.
“We just want to help people,” Nichole Schmidt said. “We’re going to do whatever we can. That’s why were here.” | 2022-08-09T23:54:01Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Gabby Petito's parents to sue Utah police over domestic violence case - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/petito-police-lawsuit/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/09/petito-police-lawsuit/ |
3 Palestinian militants killed in Israeli raid
Israeli troops killed three Palestinian militants and wounded dozens of protesters in a shootout that erupted Tuesday during an arrest raid in Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli security forces encircled the home of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, who they say was wanted for shootings in the West Bank this year. They said that Nabulsi and another militant were killed in a shootout and that troops found arms and explosives in his home.
The Israeli military said that troops came under attack from Palestinians throwing rocks and explosives, and that soldiers responded with live fire. It confirmed that other Palestinians were shot.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said three people were killed — Nabulsi, Islam Sabouh and Hussein Jamal Taha, all claimed by the al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade as members — and at least 40 were wounded.
Blaze at oil depot expands to 4th tank
Flames engulfed a fourth tank at an oil storage facility in western Cuba on Tuesday as firefighters and specialists from Mexico and Venezuela helped fight the blaze.
The fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base has killed at least one person and injured 125 others; 14 firefighters are missing. It also has forced officials to evacuate over 4,900 people and shut down a key thermoelectric plant, prompting concerns about blackouts.
The eight-tank facility, which caught fire late Friday after a lightning strike, plays a crucial role in Cuba’s electric system: It operates an extensive oil pipeline that receives Cuban crude that is then ferried to thermoelectric plants. It also serves as the transshipment center for imported oil and fuel.
Congo opposition leader arrested, lawyer says: Jean-Marc Kabund, a former right-hand man to the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo and now an opposition leader, has been arrested, his lawyer said, during controversy over a remark about his onetime boss. The former vice president of parliament and current lawmaker had a falling out with President Félix Tshisekedi this year, after which he launched his own political party. He has been under investigation in recent weeks on charges that authorities have not specified. His lawyers say he is accused of contempt of the head of state after calling him "a danger."
Blast kills 15 soldiers in Burkino Faso: At least 15 soldiers were killed in northern Burkina Faso when a transport vehicle drove over a hidden explosive, killing several troops before a second explosion killed those who rushed to their aid, the army said in a statement. The blast occurred on a rural road in Bam province in the country's Central-North region, where soldiers are routinely targeted by Islamist insurgents.
Key member of Pakistani opposition party arrested: Pakistani police arrested a prominent politician from the party of former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of attempting to incite soldiers to revolt against the top military leadership. The arrest of Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff at Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party, was quickly condemned by party officials.
Right-wing appears to have strong support in Italian race: Italy's mainly right-wing bloc is on track to win a broad majority in both houses of Parliament in next month's national elections, a study by the Cattaneo Institute showed. The conservative alliance, benefiting from divisions among its foes, leads opinion polls ahead of the Sept. 25 vote, with the Brothers of Italy set to be the largest single party. The institute's study suggests the alliance could elect 245 out of 400 members in the Chamber of Delegates, and 127 out of 200 in the Senate.
French try to save beluga whale found in Seine: French environmentalists prepared to move a beluga whale that strayed into the Seine River last week to a saltwater basin in Normandy, hoping to save the life of the marine mammal, which has become dangerously thin. A medical team plans to transport the 13-foot-long whale to a coastal spot in the northeastern French port town of Ouistreham for "a period of care," according to Lamya Essemlali, president of the conservation group Sea Shepherd France. | 2022-08-09T23:58:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | World Digest: Aug. 9, 2022 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/world-digest-aug-9-2022/2022/08/09/df54b24c-17f3-11ed-8c9b-37f55528c617_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/world-digest-aug-9-2022/2022/08/09/df54b24c-17f3-11ed-8c9b-37f55528c617_story.html |
Some Republicans dismissed concerns about extreme rhetoric
A helicopter flies near former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 9. (Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images)
Republican condemnations of an FBI search at former president Donald Trump’s residence widened and intensified Tuesday as lawmakers and candidates likened the investigation to “Third World” political persecution and even Nazi rule — underscoring Trump’s grip on the party and raising concerns about stoking the kind of anti-government fervor that preceded the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Lawmakers throughout the party continued to cast the search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf club, without evidence, as the act of a tyrannical regime, using terms like “dictatorship” and “banana republic.” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the federal government has gone the way of “the Gestapo.” The New York Young Republican Club issued a statement calling for the arrest of anyone involved in the search or other alleged persecutions, suggesting the suspension of normal legal processes if needed “to secure our Republic from the insidious monsters that have wrenched it from the American People’s control.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), who has clashed with Trump, was silent much of Tuesday before issuing a more tempered response, calling for a “thorough and immediate explanation” of what led to the search. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) in a radio interview called a search of Trump’s safe “fair game” and said he would not jump to conclusions. But even prominent Republicans who have at times distanced themselves from Trump — including some who could challenge him for the presidential nomination in 2024 — joined the former president’s suggestions of a politically motivated probe.
Former vice president Mike Pence, who has been jockeying with his onetime running mate for influence in the party, said “the appearance of continued partisanship by the Justice Department must be addressed.” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) — who like Pence is considered a potential presidential candidate — denounced a “stunning move by the DOJ and FBI” and tweeted, “Selective, politically motivated actions have no place in our democracy.”
The search was related to an investigation into the handling of classified documents, two people familiar with the probe told The Washington Post on Monday. One person said it was a court-authorized search in an investigation of how documents, including top-secret ones, were taken to Mar-a-Lago instead of the National Archives when Trump left office. The Presidential Records Act requires the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes and other written communications related to a president’s official duties.
Some longtime Republican critics of the party’s direction under Trump saw the overwhelming and virulent GOP response as part of a dangerous loyalty to the former president over the law. Online statements denouncing the FBI’s action have drawn a slew of comments declaring or anticipating “civil war.”
People are “ready to fight … and the silence by some in the GOP, and the capitulation by others, does nothing to abate that type of rhetoric,” said Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He said the most extreme rhetoric in response to the Mar-a-Lago search should be taken seriously.
“We saw what happened on January 6,” he said. “ … So all of this noise about, let’s suspend habeas corpus, we’re going to defund the FBI — this is all projection, all projection of how they would handle this situation if they were in power.”
Others in the party dismissed suggestions the GOP reaction could fan extreme responses. “That’s like saying everyone who has a ‘Save the Planet’ bumper sticker is going to blow up an oil tanker,” said Rory McShane, a Republican strategist. “There’s extreme rhetoric on both sides of the political spectrum.”
RNC spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez suggested questions about party members’ rhetoric are a distraction.
“It’s outrageous that instead of asking tough questions of the White House and DOJ and demanding they answer for this abuse of power, the media is spending their time filtering through every single Republican reaction and asking if we agree,” Alvarez said in a statement.
Many of the party’s top leaders are among those most forcefully criticizing the FBI. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) on Monday told Attorney General Merrick Garland to “preserve your documents and clear your calendar,” saying that if Republicans take control of the House he will hold federal oversight investigations into the Justice Department.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, lashed out at McCarthy in an interview Tuesday. “Kevin McCarthy shoots his mouth off and creates a very dangerous situation by whipping up a bunch of radical people,” he said. “Why? Because he’s looking for some short-term political benefit by kissing up to Donald Trump. It’s dangerous and irresponsible.”
“Responsible adults stand back and find out the facts and measure their words carefully when there’s a federal criminal investigation,” he said.
Asked about the search at an event Tuesday, the McConnell declined to weigh in, saying he was there to talk about the recovery from flooding in Kentucky. But later he issued a statement saying Garland and the Justice Department “should have already provided answers to the American people and must do so immediately.”
Representatives for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee also did not respond to requests for comment.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), ranking Republican of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was more measured than many in his party Tuesday, calling for “transparency” on Twitter.
“Transparency brings accountability & if the FBI & DOJ aren’t transparent about raiding a former presidents home they risk further damaging their credibility,” he wrote.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee had a darker message, telling people on Twitter that “Democrats raise your taxes then send the FBI to raid your house.” Earlier they warned: “The IRS is coming for you. The DOJ is coming for you. The FBI is coming for you. No one is safe from political punishment in Joe Biden’s America.”
The dire tone was echoed Monday and Tuesday by GOP candidates in high-profile races. Adam Laxalt, the GOP nominee for Senate in battleground Nevada, tweeted, “We don’t live in a 3rd world country.” Blake Masters, the Republican Senate nominee in Arizona, said that “Everyone knows this was politically motivated. And that should terrify us all.”
Maryland Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox on Tuesday called the FBI search “criminal” and said that if elected, he would use the full force of government — including the state police and Maryland National Guard — to oppose President Biden’s administration.
Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the GOP in New Hampshire, said the heated responses from candidates are “another reminder that when something happens that gives Republicans around the country an opportunity to show fidelity to Trump … you see almost all of them jumping at it.” He expressed particular alarm at the notion — furthered by the New York Young Republican Club — that “we can just sort of suspend parts of the Constitution because we feel like it.”
In its statement Tuesday, the organization said political persecutions called for more retribution than voting people out of office. Its list of purported wrongs included “the Big Steal” of the 2020 election and the “Fedsurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, a reference to the false claim that federal agents — rather than Trump supporters — were behind the storming of the Capitol that day.
“Anyone involved in the listed political persecutions should be arrested and prosecuted with expediency, and in cases of extreme undue resistance, we recommend consideration of the suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus,” the statement read. A writ of habeas corpus is an order that brings someone before a court to determine if their detention is legal.
Cullen said he saw echoes of Trump’s calls to jail his former Democratic rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton, and his supporters’ chants of “lock her up.”
“If we can just disregard these kinds of civil liberties over what really amount to political disagreements, where does that end?” he asked, warning of a slide toward lawlessness and adding, “The French Revolution didn’t happen in a day.”
Many Republicans criticizing the investigation previously called for Clinton to be investigated — and pointed this week to the lack of charges against her as evidence of a double standard. Then-FBI Director James B. Comey said in 2016 he found no reason to charge Clinton, a former secretary of state, after an investigation into her use of a private email server.
A GOP strategist who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be more candid also shared deep concerns about what could come next.
“If the president is prosecuted for crimes committed while in office, I am very concerned that this country could erupt in civil war,” the strategist said.
Susan Benesch, faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, said when it comes to “dangerous speech ... what matters most is how the language was understood by the people most likely to react. And on January 6, we learned that there were all too many people in this country ready to react with violence, because they saw it as necessary.”
Jason Roe, a former executive director of the Michigan GOP, said there are “legitimate concerns” about the rhetoric stoking unfounded vitriol against the government. But he mostly shared Republicans’ outrage at the search, suggesting the backlash “makes Trump stronger than he’s ever been.”
Annie Linskey, Erin Cox and Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
Trump and White House records | 2022-08-09T23:58:48Z | www.washingtonpost.com | GOP reacts to Trump search with threats and comparisons to ‘Gestapo’ - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/trump-search-gop-reaction/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/trump-search-gop-reaction/ |
The National Transportation Safety Board said the flight attendant thought the plane had crashed because of the force involved
A Southwest Airlines jet arrives in Chicago. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News)
A hard landing on a Southwest Airlines plane that was carrying 142 passengers and crew fractured a flight attendant’s vertebra last month at California’s John Wayne Airport, according to federal investigators.
“She indicated that the plane hit the ground with such force that she thought the plane had crashed,” the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report published Aug. 5. The flight attendant’s back and neck were in such pain she couldn’t move. Paramedics transported her to the hospital, the NTSB said.
The airport in Santa Ana, Calif., has a short runway, the NTSB said, and the pilots “were aiming for the touchdown zone” and seeking to land “with minimal floating. However, it ended up being a firm landing.”
Flight attendants say injuries from turbulent skies are generally of greater concern when walking around the cabin. The flight attendant in this case was harnessed in her jump seat toward the back of the plane ahead of the landing.
No one else was injured in the July 1 incident, investigators said, and Southwest said the plane continued to its next destination. The airline said it conducted an internal review but declined to answer questions about the cause of the rough landing.
Southwest said in a statement that safety is its top priority, adding, “We are concerned when any Employee is injured.”
The Dallas Morning News first reported the incident.
A passenger allegedly urinated outside a Southwest lavatory. He faces federal charges
The nonprofit Flight Safety Foundation said in a report this year that runway incidents made up a significant share of those it tracked around the world in 2021. Among them are “events such as tail strikes, amphibious aircraft landing on water with their landing gear extended, heavy or hard landings that resulted in substantial air-frame damage, and landing gear collapses or other landing gear issues,” according to the report, which cited 13 such incidents. | 2022-08-09T23:59:53Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Southwest Airlines flight attendant fractures back in landing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/08/09/southwest-flight-attendant-fractured-back/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/08/09/southwest-flight-attendant-fractured-back/ |
Fans watch the final round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series event in Bedminster, N.J., last month. (Seth Wenig/AP)
The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs will take place without any of the players who have defected to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational Series.
A federal judge Tuesday denied the bid by three golfers — Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford — seeking spots into this week’s St. Jude Championship, which begins Thursday in Memphis. The trio had sought a temporary restraining order that would allow them to play in the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs, a three-tournament competition that includes the top 125 golfers in season-long standings.
In ruling against the players, U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman said the golfers failed to demonstrate their exclusion from the PGA’s year-ending event amounted to “irreparable harm,” noting that they stand to earn more money by competing in the LIV Golf series.
“The evidence shows almost without a doubt they will be earning more than they would have made and could have reasonably been expected to make in a reasonable period of time under the PGA tournaments,” Freeman said.
The temporary restraining order request was part of a federal antitrust lawsuit filed last week by 11 golfers who contend their careers were hurt when the PGA Tour punished them for signing on with the competing LIV Golf, the controversial start-up that lured away some of the sport’s biggest names with eight- and nine-figure contracts.
A LIV spokesman said in a statement Tuesday, “We’re disappointed that Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones won’t be allowed to play golf. No one gains by banning golfers from playing.”
Tuesday’s hearing was narrowly focused on the temporary restraining order request, not the broader antitrust issues, but Freeman’s ruling and her comments pertaining to irreparable harm amount to an important legal win for the PGA Tour. The judge had access to some of the golfers’ contract details, which were redacted in court filings, and said the players clearly understood what they were forgoing by signing with the LIV Golf series.
“It appears to the court that the LIV contracts negotiated by the players and consummated between the parties were based on the players’ calculation of what they would be leaving behind and the amount the players would need to monetize to compensate for those losses,” Freeman said.
The 11 golfers behind the lawsuit — Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Gooch, Swafford, Jones, Ian Poulter, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Pat Perez, Jason Kokrak and Peter Uihlein — were suspended by the PGA Tour when they made the leap to LIV Golf.
Based on the most recent standings, the three golfers seeking the temporary restraining order would have qualified to compete in the tournament — Gooch (No. 20 in the FedEx Cup standings), Jones (No. 62) and Swafford (No. 63) — but they’ve been banned by the PGA Tour.
In urging Freeman to deny the golfers’ requests, the PGA’s attorneys said in court filings that the LIV golfers wanted “to have their cake and eat it too,” cashing the Saudi-backed checks while still trying to earn money from the PGA’s year-end tournaments. The tour’s attorney, Elliot R. Peters, told the court allowing the LIV golfers to compete in a PGA-sanctioned event would be “devastating” to the tour.
“If we’re ordered to lift the suspension and they show up Thursday morning to play with their LIV golf hats, and LIV golf shirts and their news conferences are about LIV Golf, our event becomes a stage for our competitor,” Peters told the judge Tuesday. “ … Wouldn’t LIV Golf love that? The opportunity to have its players promoting it at our marquee event? That’s not fair to the PGA Tour.”
While not addressing the antitrust claims, Freeman noted on multiple occasions that LIV has made strides to become a competitive entity in a relatively short period of time. At one point, the tour’s attorney shared a slide that showed half of the top 10 players in the tour’s Player Impact Program last year left for the Saudi-backed breakaway organization.
“That’s remarkable,” Freeman said.
That group includes DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and others, but three tournaments into its nascent year, the LIV ranks are apparently still growing. Cam Smith, the Aussie golfer who won last month’s British Open, has agreed to $100 million contract and will soon jump circuits, according to the Telegraph, and his countryman Marc Leishman is also reportedly LIV-bound.
Smith is in the field at this week’s St. Jude championship and declined to discuss his plans at a news conference Tuesday. “My goal here is to win the FedEx Cup playoffs. That’s all I’m here for,” he told reporters. “I have no comment on that.”
At Tuesday’s hearing, Freeman didn’t spend much time considering the merits of the antitrust claims laid out in the lawsuit, focusing on the temporary restraining order request. The players’ attorneys told the court the golfers should be permitted to compete in PGA-sanctioned events while they appeal their suspensions.
The tour’s lawyers, meanwhile, said that the players waited too long — less than a week before the first round of the St. Jude championship — to request emergency intervention, urging the court in a filing to “use its equitable powers to redress real emergencies, not engineered ones by parties who knowingly accepted multimillion-dollar payouts to place themselves in the situation they are in.”
Attorneys at times alluded to redacted portions of the court filings that apparently divulge details of the players’ contracts with LIV Golf. At one point Tuesday, the players’ attorney, Robert C. Walters, made reference to the player earnings from LIV events counting against upfront money they’ve received for signing on with the start-up series, something LIV officials have repeatedly denied.
While the LIV players’ lawsuit will continue — Freeman indicated a trial might not happen before next summer — the U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating the tour for potential antitrust violations, according to the Wall Street Journal. | 2022-08-10T00:07:18Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Judge denies LIV golfers' bid to play PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoffs - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/pga-tour-liv-golf-hearing/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/pga-tour-liv-golf-hearing/ |
She listed ‘sex work’ on LinkedIn. Here’s what happened next.
A woman speaks on her phone in Beijing. (Ng Han Guan/AP)
About a month ago, Arielle Egozi decided to post on LinkedIn about her decision to leave an in-house job as a brand director and about how sex work empowered that decision. That post would send shock waves around the globe and reignite conversations about sex work.
“I had just enough saved from selling and engaging my image that i could ask myself if i was happy. i wasn’t,” Egozi wrote. “Yeah, the few grand i’d stashed up over time helped, but the biggest reason i could walk away is because sex work shows me what my power can do when i own it intentionally.”
Egozi, who uses she and they pronouns but whom The Washington Post will address as she, boasted about charging “exorbitant amounts” for her sex work and explained that she only engages in sex work that feels “safe, playful, and abundant,” eschewing the need to barter and negotiate her time and value.
“Why is this different than any other client work,” Egozi wrote. “The answer i come to, again and again, is that it isn’t. so it’s now up on my linkedin.”
LinkedIn told The Post in a statement that “conversations that inform and educate are welcome on LinkedIn, so long as they comply with our Professional Community Policies.”
The Brooklyn resident, who declined to specify the type of sex work she does for legal and safety concerns, told The Post in an interview that the LinkedIn post stemmed from deep-rooted unhappiness from contorting herself to fit into workplaces where she felt undervalued.
Contortions and the workplace
“I’m queer. I’m femme. Latina. First-generation American. I’m Jewish,” Egozi said, adding that she is also neurodivergent. “I’m spanning so many identities that are seen as unprofessional.”
She said she was told she was being too rigid and boxed-in when her last company had an audit of the culture there.
“I gave two hours of being radically honest and giving suggestions on how things can change,” she said. “I got the response of ‘you’re being too rigid.’ It was at that moment I realized that this is not going to get better and nobody actually seems to care.”
Even when she ascended to director status, Egozi said she felt like she had the illusion of “power,” where she felt like authority was expressed on paper but not in practice to actually enact change.
Egozi is among the millions of Americans who have quit their jobs since the pandemic’s onset.
A May survey from consultancy firm PwC’s Global Workforce found that 1 in 5 workers planned to switch employers in 2022, with pay being the main reason along with showing up as one’s true self listed, among others.
Sabharwal co-wrote a scholarly article that found hiring women and people of color isn’t enough to change an employee’s perception about organizational justice if the companies aren’t actively trying to make their workplaces inclusive.
Minority groups in the article reported feeling tokenized as well as a sense of not belonging.
“These women have broken through the glass ceiling but do not feel empowered enough in policymaking or decision-making,” Sabharwal said. “After they break thought the glass ceiling, they’re faced with the glass cliff where they just want to leave.”
That’s exactly what Egozi did.
“I felt objectified for all of my creative energy. I felt very used, which is what you hear about people in sex industry,” she said. “For me, that my work there has been primarily been a healing space, a place where I could show up as my full self. ”
Testing convictions
“I was like, ‘I need to make money, and I need to make things,’ ” Egozi said. “It was something from home. I could really confront a lot of personal stuff. … As a creative person and a person who creative directs and writes it was very transferrable.”
Egozi said she wasn’t prepared for the rush of emotions awaiting her as a newly minted sex worker.
“It was very different being an ally and sex workers’ rights supporter,” she said. “I was feeling the stigma, realizing how you can be naive, how you enter this. There’s just so much wrapped up into it.”
Egozi monitored her reactions to her new work. If consistent sex work didn’t feel good, she’d pull back. Pursuing it full time didn’t quite fit, so she hasn’t done so.
She said the work has made her an unofficial counselor for men who had troubles expressing their loneliness at the pandemic’s height.
Egozi reentered the tech world after her pandemic respite with a newfound internal authority discovered through sex work that’s seeped into how she intends to interact with her branding, tech and creative partnerships.
A gift?
“That’s such a bummer because [sex work] has been such a safe space,” Egozi said. “I’m easily recognized. That’s really scary. I’ve gotten death threats and all that before but never felt like it could be real. Things are changing … there’s no way of knowing what’s next and what this means for my life, my family and my safety.”
She has needed to remain calm for family members who were identified on social media accounts that weren’t privatized, a task that has involved her consoling them more at times than the other way around.
Egozi hopes her post could lead to the de-stigmatization of sex workers, she said, but noted that such change isn’t up to her and one LinkedIn post alone — it’s up society.
“I made this post for myself to feel ownership and powerful,” she said. “I hope that anyone seeing that post that they move closer to listening to themselves and feeling powerful.”
“The next few moments could be a culmination and a gift out of all this,” she said of the aftermath of her post. “Otherwise, I don’t know why it had to be my face for all this. My whole journey has been unique and it’s put me in this situation.” | 2022-08-10T01:29:39Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The unexpected face of the sex work positivity movement - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/sex-work-positivity/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/09/sex-work-positivity/ |
U.S. joins other democracies in investigating former leaders
If you were immersed in the right-wing media ecosystem of the United States, you would think the end times had come. The Monday evening FBI search on former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida was “the worst attack on this republic in modern history,” declared Fox News host Mark Levin. That remarkable demonstration of myopia was followed by a slate of Republican lawmakers who insisted that if Trump was not safe from investigation, neither were ordinary Americans.
The FBI was acting Monday with a search warrant signed by a federal judge, apparently as part of an investigation — a rarity in the annals of former U.S. presidents but relatively common in much of the world — into the potential mishandling of classified White House documents, some top secret. Trump might have taken them to his private golf club residence, it appears, rather than sending them to the National Archives, as is mandated by the Presidential Records Act. Though Trump, in a statement, likened the search to Watergate, neither he nor his lawyers had yet to release details of the warrant they were served.
There’s no evidence Trump’s political opponents, let alone President Biden, demanded the search. As my colleagues catalogued, Trump, who was impeached twice and has a long history of legal troubles, is involved in a sprawling series of investigations into his political and personal conduct. He also, at times, showed open disregard for the rule of law while in office — raging at U.S. generals to start shooting protesters on the streets of Washington, according to a forthcoming book by journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser.
Nevertheless, Republicans rallied around the former president. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) railed against the “weaponization of federal agencies” and the perfidious workings of the “Regime,” invoking the same shadowy specter of the “deep state” often conjured by Trump when in the White House. It is what happens in a “Banana Republic,” suggested DeSantis — whose critics, incidentally, also accuse him of weaponizing local state institutions in his relentless prosecution of an illiberal culture war.
Republican lawmakers seemed unencumbered by the irony, let alone rank hypocrisy, of representing the faction that openly called for the prosecution of its chief presidential campaign opponents not long ago. Only now that Trump is feeling the squeeze do they have cause for outrage. “Using government power to persecute political opponents is something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) “But never before in America.”
The history of executive power in the United States is replete with conspiratorial intrigues, skulduggery and acts of corruption. It is true that very few U.S. presidents have been held accountable for alleged criminal acts — former president Richard M. Nixon, for example, received a full pardon just weeks after he departed office. But the Republican pearl-clutching over the current administration replicating the habits of autocratic regime elsewhere ignores the obvious counterexample — that it is normal for healthy democracies to investigate, convict and sometimes imprison their former leaders. Indeed, the principle that no one is above the law is a fundamental cornerstone of all democracies.
A decade ago, soon after his presidential immunity expired, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy had his Paris mansion raided by local authorities. Sarkozy’s lawyers decried the move as “futile” at the time. But it was part of a long-running investigation that wound its way through the French judicial system and ended with Sarkozy being convicted last year of corruption and influence peddling. There was recent precedent: In 2011, Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac was found guilty of embezzling public funds and handed a suspended prison sentence.
As my colleague Rick Noack explained a few years ago, democratic governments around the world have various safeguards to prevent politically motivated investigations into their elected leadership. That includes the protections afforded to U.S. presidents, like the “absolute immunity” that Trump has invoked amid his various legal battles.
Most European democracies afford their heads of government or state a more narrowly defined immunity. But that doesn’t mean their societies are any more or less vulnerable to the predations of cynical political elites. Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi, a business mogul turned domineering former prime minister, went through years of legal proceedings and was found guilty, separately, of tax fraud and paying for sex with an underage prostitute. But he received light sentences, still commands an influential center-right political party and could be a major player in a future right-wing government.
Often, investigations into the alleged misdeeds of former presidents have served as a litmus test for democracies. In South Africa, the prosecution of former president Jacob Zuma on a string of corruption charges was widely viewed as a necessary move to bolster rule of law in the country. On the other hand, the Brazilian investigation and conviction of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has become irrevocably tainted as one shaped by political bias. Lula, no longer in prison, may find vindication this year in presidential elections where polls show him holding a commanding lead.
In Asia, countries that have looked to the United States for inspiration and support in building their democracies have prosecuted and imprisoned their former presidents. In 2009, a Taiwanese court gave former president Chen Shui-bian a life sentence after he and his wife were found guilty of embezzling funds and receiving bribes that were laundered through overseas banks. The sentence was later commuted to 20 years, and Chen received medical parole in 2015 on condition that he not participate in political life.
South Korea may be one of Asia’s most stable democracies, but it is arguably in a class of its own for its record of jailing ex-presidents. In 2018, as one commentator noted, half of all living South Korean presidents were in prison. That is no longer the case, with the pardoning last year of Park Geun-hye and the temporary release earlier this summer of Lee Myung-bak.
Both former presidents were convicted on various corruption charges, but their venality is neither a sign of entrenched corruption throughout Korean society — graft seems mostly a habit of the upper echelons of the Korean political class — nor of the weaknesses of the country’s consolidated democracy, which arguably only truly emerged in 2002.
On the contrary, despite being home to a political scene as angrily polarized as the United States, South Korea has managed to weather the storms over corrupt former presidents and maintain peaceful democratic order as power shifted from right to left and back. Americans would do well to pay attention.
“A high-profile example of accountability would indeed strengthen U.S. democracy, not undermine it, and boost the rule of law,” tweeted Arturo Sarukhán, a former Mexican ambassador to the United States. He added that such accountability also “ensures the U.S. doesn’t speak out of both sides of its mouth when it pursues these values abroad.” | 2022-08-10T01:30:43Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Trump FBI raid: Healthy democracies often investigate former leaders - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/09/global-investigating-former-leaders-trump-sarkozy/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/09/global-investigating-former-leaders-trump-sarkozy/ |
Analysis by Evan Peng and Gregory Korte | Bloomberg
The White House in Washington, D.C., US, on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 50 basis points earlier this month and the chairman indicated it was on track to make similar-sized moves at its meetings in June and July. (Bloomberg)
The FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home as part of an investigation into whether he improperly took documents from the White House was celebrated by some as proof that no one is above the law and denounced by others as a political attack. Little is known about the aims of Department of Justice investigators and what evidence they may have gathered. There are laws governing how presidents are supposed to handle documents that, at least theoretically, can trigger prosecutions for failure to comply, chief among them the Presidential Records Act. But as with so much related to Trump’s time in office, the search appears to have landed investigators in uncharted territory.
1. What is the Presidential Records Act?
It’s a law enacted by Congress in 1978 as one of several post-Watergate measures aimed at combating potential corruption in the White House. President Richard Nixon had challenged the legality of a predecessor to the PRA, which sought to prevent him from destroying any of 42 million page of documents and 880 tape recordings from his time in office, but the US Supreme Court said Congress had the authority to regulate presidential documents both for posterity and to ensure their availability for criminal prosecutions.
2. What does the PRA say?
It established that presidential records belong to the US and that the president must transfer control of them to the National Archives and Records Administration after leaving office. Furthermore, while in office, the president may only dispose of records after an archivist determines they “no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value.”
3. What happens if the PRA is violated?
Though the PRA by itself doesn’t specify any penalties, violations could trigger several federal statutes that make it a felony to mishandle government property. These potentially include laws barring injury to US property, improper disposal of records belonging to the US, unauthorized removal or retention of classified materials and removal or destruction of any record deposited with a US office or official. Obstruction of justice statutes could also apply if the documents removed or destroyed were relevant to a criminal, civil or Congressional investigation. Convictions for injuring US property or improperly disposing of records can carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
4. Could a conviction keep Trump from running again?
The statute regarding removal or destruction of deposited records has attracted particular attention because it also says a convicted offender would “be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.” But a number of legal scholars have said they doubt this statute could actually prevent Trump from running in 2024. They point to the provisions of the Constitution that lay out qualifications for the presidency as likely to be seen as the governing law, since Congress can’t overrule the Constitution.
5. What does the Trump investigation involve?
The search, which Trump said included his safe, was related to a request from the National Archives and Records Administration to the Justice Department to look into the transfer of presidential documents to Mar-a-Lago, including classified materials. The Archives in January retrieved 15 boxes of records from Mar-a-Lago, the former president’s Palm Beach home. Trump turned those documents over only after facing possible legal action over their removal. More broadly, some former aides have said he had a cavalier attitude about handling classified material and preserving documents, saying that he was known to rip them up, pocket them or even flush them down the toilet. On the morning of the FBI search, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman released photos allegedly showing White House toilets clogged by torn-up presidential records.
6. Is any of that a basis for prosecution?
Not necessarily. Even if all of those accounts are true, prosecutors would need to show Trump knew he was violating the law. To do so, they could rely on witnesses who served under Trump. The Washington Post reported in February that Trump had been warned about aspects of the PRA by former White House Counsel Don McGahn as well as his first two chiefs of staff, Reince Priebus and John F. Kelly.
7. Have there been cases like that brought before?
Not against a former president, but Sandy Berger, national security adviser under President Bill Clinton, pleaded guilty in 2005 to removing classified records from the National Archives. Berger admitted that in 2003 he concealed and removed five copies of classified documents that he was reviewing in connection with a request for records by the 9/11 Commission. He took the documents to his office and destroyed three of them. The former White House aide was ultimately sentenced to two year’s probation and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. Berger’s guilty plea was announced by then-Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray, the current Federal Bureau of Investigation director, who would have played a key role in authorizing the Mar-a-Lago search. There have also been a number of prosecutions of Archives employees who stole documents to sell on eBay.
8. Could Trump have declassified the removed documents?
Presidents do have ultimate decision-making power over the classification of documents, and Trump could theoretically have declassified any records he removed from the White House. Indeed, former Trump National Security Council member Kash Patel has claimed Trump did just that before leaving office. There is no set procedure for presidential declassification, meaning that could be the basis for a defense if a case proceeds against Trump. But even if Trump was found to have declassified documents, he could still potentially be prosecuted for removing or destroying them. And Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, points out that declassification of documents for an improper purpose could be a crime in itself. “If he declassified documents in order to remove them and destroy them, he’s destroying evidence, and that’s obstruction of justice or obstruction of Congress,” Painter said. | 2022-08-10T02:57:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Why Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Document Dump May Be a Crime - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-trumps-mar-a-lago-document-dump-may-be-a-crime/2022/08/09/38932ca6-1850-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-trumps-mar-a-lago-document-dump-may-be-a-crime/2022/08/09/38932ca6-1850-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
The GOP primary in Wisconsin is among contests highlighting internal divisions in four states where voters cast ballots Tuesday
Patrick Marley
Jessica Brundage stands with her two sons, Isaiah, center, and Cyrus, as she votes in Milwaukee on Aug. 9. States holding primaries Tuesday were Wisconsin, Vermont, Connecticut and Minnesota. (Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)
Competing wings of the Republican Party squared off anew Tuesday, with candidates backed by Donald Trump and Mike Pence vying for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in battleground Wisconsin — one of four of states where voters cast ballots that day in primaries highlighting internal divisions.
Trump-backed construction executive Tim Michels, one of several political outsiders the former president has supported this primary season, was in a close race late Tuesday with Pence-supported former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch, with more than 70 percent of the vote counted. They vied to challenge Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, in a perennial swing state.
Evers was unopposed in his primary and on Wednesday plans to launch a statewide tour focused on his record of cutting taxes, repaving and repairing roads and bridges and expanding high-speed internet. Unlike in Georgia and Arizona, where Trump and his vice president have clashed over preferred candidates, there were fewer clear political and policy differences between Michels and Kleefisch. Both have pledged to do away with the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, which was created by Republicans oversee voting.
Democrats were also deciding some closely watched intraparty contests in other states. In neighboring Minnesota, Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the liberal “Squad,” was in an unexpectedly tight race against former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, an anti-crime advocate whose pro-police views clashed with Omar’s. Omar clung to a slim lead late Tuesday with more than 95 percent of the vote tallied.
Omar’s race was a microcosm of some larger disputes that have erupted in the Democratic Party. The two contenders took opposite sides on a ballot measure last year that would have replaced the Minneapolis Police Department with a newly created department of public safety. Omar supported the effort, while Samuels, who has worked to stem gun violence, opposed it and even sued to block it from moving forward. Voters rejected the measure.
“I think that when you push power, power pushes back,” Omar said in a brief interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday. “We’ve never been afraid to challenge the status quo. And when people feel threatened by the kind of progress that’s being made, they’ll do anything to take it back.”
Tuesday’s contests were the first to be held since news broke of the federal law enforcement search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, which has angered prominent Trump backers. In addition to Wisconsin and Minnesota, voters in Connecticut and Vermont also picked nominees . And a special election for a conservative U.S. House district in southern Minnesota offered a snapshot of the energy in both parties.
One of the year’s marquee Senate races was officially set in Wisconsin, as Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) was projected to take on Sen. Ron Johnson (R) in the fall. The two sides swiftly traded barbs, with Barnes labeling Johnson a “self-serving millionaire,” and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.) attacking Barnes’s “liberal record.”
Barnes entered the day well-positioned to win the Democratic nomination after his top rivals ended their bids and endorsed him.
Johnson has made a series of political blunders, most recently suggesting that Social Security and Medicare be eliminated as federal entitlement programs and instead become programs approved by Congress on an annual basis as discretionary spending.
Barnes would be the state’s first Black senator, should he win in November. He regularly campaigns with both of his parents and emphasizes the family’s roots: His mother was a teacher, and his father an assembly line worker at an auto plant. Democrats say his working-class background will give him a favorable contrast to Johnson, who is among the wealthiest members of the Senate.
But Barnes’ path to victory in the purple state is complicated by a series of liberal positions and people that he is associated with, including backing Medicare-for-all, endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and being photographed holding up a T-shirt that reads “Abolish ICE.” Barnes says that he has never endorsed that movement, but held it up in solidarity with those protesting Trump’s immigration policies.
Voters in Minnesota were also selecting a new member in the state’s 1st Congressional District, which stretches along the southern state line. There, the February death of Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a Republican, prompted a special election. Trump won the district by about 10 points in 2020, and though it was favored to remain red headed into the day, the results were being closely watched as a barometer for voter attitudes.
With less than 10 percent of the vote tallied, Republican Brad Finstad, who worked in the Trump administration as an agriculture official, held an early lead over Democrat Jeff Ettinger, a onetime top executive at Hormel Foods, a major employer in the state.
Some voters casting ballots Tuesday were thinking about issues that have resonated nationally. In Wisconsin, Mike Radke, 57, said he voted for Michels. But if one of Michels’ Republican opponents were to prevail, he’ll gladly support him or her against Evers, she said.
Radke, a supporter of Trump, said he was outraged by the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club.
“I think it’s a vulgar display of power,” he said. “Think about this. He’s the 45th president.”
Also in Wisconsin, Trump weighed in on the Republican primary for a seat held by Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. The former president endorsed little-known candidate Adam Steen, saying he felt Vos hasn’t done enough to overturn the 2020 election. Trump lost the state by about 21,000 votes out of 3.3 million cast.
Four Democrats were vying in Wisconsin for their party’s nomination for a House seat that’s open due to the retirement of Rep. Ron Kind (D). Candidates included state Sen. Brad Pfaff; small-business owner Rebecca Cooke, who played up her ties to rural parts of the state; Army veteran Deb McGrath; and La Crosse City Councilman Mark Neumann.
The winner was slated to take on Republican Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL, who ran unopposed on the GOP side. Republican strategists see the seat as a strong pickup opportunity.
In secretary of state races, which have taken on more significance this year because the role the office can play in overseeing elections, all three GOP candidates pledged to eliminate the state’s election commission, a bipartisan body that manages voting. Currently, Wisconsin’s secretary of state does not oversee elections, but some Republicans in the state are pushing to change that.
The candidates included Jay Schroeder, who has backing from America First Secretary of State Coalition, a new organization pushing for tighter voting rules; Justin Schmidtka, who launched the “Badger State Resistance” podcast; and Amy Loudenbeck, a member of the state assembly.
In Vermont, Democrats chose between candidates representing different wings of their party for an opening for the state’s single at-large congressional seat.
In that race, Becca Balint, Vermont’s Senate president pro tempore, who received the backing of Sanders, was projected to win, according to the AP. She beat Lt. Gov Molly Gray, who received the backing of Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, a Democrat who’s retiring.
The seat is open because Rep. Peter Welch is leaving the post to try to replace Leahy. Welch won the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat, the Associated Press projected. The Senate seat is favored by nonpartisan analysts to remain in Democratic hands in November.
In Connecticut, there was a contested GOP primary to take on Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat. Three Republicans competed for the nomination — former state House minority leader Themis Klarides, Cuban-born Leora Levy who was endorsed by Trump, and frequent candidate Peter Lumaj.
Marley reported from Madison, Wis. Sheila Regan in Richfield, Minn., contributed to this report.
Levy wins GOP Senate primary in Connecticut
1:33 AMJohnson wins GOP nomination for Wisconsin Senate as he vies for third term | 2022-08-10T03:09:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | GOP primary voters pick between candidates for governor backed by Trump, Pence - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/trump-pence-wisconsin-governor-primary/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/trump-pence-wisconsin-governor-primary/ |
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, center, and her husband, Tim Mynett, right, meet with Keith Ellison after polls closed during a voter engagement event near the Target at the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. (Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) narrowly defeated a primary challenger on Tuesday, topping former Minneapolis city councilman Don Samuels by single digits after a campaign focused on crime and Omar’s effectiveness in Congress.
“Tonight’s victory is a testament to how much our district believes in the collective values we are fighting for, and how much they’re willing to do to help us overcome defeat,” Omar said in a statement after Samuels, 73, conceded defeat.
With all but a few precincts reporting, Omar led Samuels by fewer than 3,000 votes out of more than 110,000 cast in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
It was the narrowest win yet by an incumbent member of “The Squad,” the name adopted by six left-wing Democrats who defeated more moderate opponents in 2018 and 2020. The margin was also a surprise to supporters of Omar, who had prevailed in the face of millions of dollars in spending against her two years ago.
Omar’s close call came after her critics in the party mobilized against her, arguing that Samuels, who had campaigned against a 2021 ballot measure that would have disbanded and replaced the Minneapolis Police Department, would better represent the heavily Democratic district. That ballot measure sprung out of the police reform movement that grew after the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin — a movement that has been blamed by some Democrats for alienating suburban voters.
Trump-backed Michels projected to win Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial primary, setting stage for marquee fall race
“We need partners across levels of government who prioritize teamwork, collaboration, and a seriousness of approach to match the seriousness of the issues we face,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said last week, announcing his support for Samuels.
Omar’s campaign had initially dismissed the threat from Samuels, a longtime Democratic activist who left the council in 2018 and lost a race for mayor nine years ago. He entered the race in March, after no other challenger emerged. Omar had won an expensive primary in 2020, when pro-Israel groups and donors poured in resources for her opponent — a result that kept some groups that had opposed her, like the pro-Israel group AIPAC, on the sidelines this year.
In an interview shortly after he announced his campaign, Samuels told The Washington Post that Omar had been wrong to support the 2021 ballot measure, and that she had made trouble for Democratic leadership without notching her own accomplishments.
“She’s making points, gaining notoriety, and we are left unrepresented and unaccounted for,” Samuels said at the time.
The 2021 election was a major setback for Omar and the Democratic Party’s left wing in Minneapolis, just a year after Floyd’s murder inspired a political uprising, including riots that torched the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd precinct.
Several members of the Minneapolis city council who’d voted to disband the police department lost re-election that year, while Mayor Frey won re-election over a policing “abolitionist” supported by Omar. The ballot measure to disband the police department failed by 12 points, in a city that had voted for Joe Biden in 2020 by a 75-point landslide.
“The Black Lives Matter movement didn’t really take off in Minneapolis,” Samuels told the Post. “It was a couple other groups that benefited from the drama around the George Floyd crisis.”
Omar declined to debate Samuels during the campaign, and spent less on this primary than she did to win in 2020. Her campaign opted not to run TV ads, while a pro-Samuels PAC went on the air in the final week. Omar outspent Samuels overall, spending $2.1 million to Samuels’s roughly $800,000. But the Make A Difference MN05 PAC, founded just two weeks before the primary, spent more than $600,000 against Omar.
In an interview Tuesday at an affordable housing apartment complex in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield before polls closed, Omar said she wasn’t surprised at the challenge from Samuels.
“I think that when you push power, power pushes back,” she said. “We've never been afraid to challenge the status quo. And when people feel threatened by the kind of progress that's being made, they'll do anything to take it back.”
At a voting location at the nearby House of Prayer Lutheran Church, 59-year old Dawn Welter, a coffee shop worker, said abortion rights were the main issue bringing her to the primary. She was one of the only people walking out of the polls around 10 a.m.
“I’ve always been a liberal, but it just reinforces the importance to get out in the primaries,” she said. “Ilhan is very smart. She is for everybody. I feel like she speaks her mind, and she backs up what she says.”
Turnout was tracking lower this year than it had in 2020, another factor that liberals saw as a problem for Omar. While she had avoided the kind of multi-million dollar ad campaigns that brought down other Israel critics in Democratic primaries this year, Omar’s supporters called the win a triumph for grassroots politics.
“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has faced some of the ugliest attacks of any elected official and had hundreds of thousands of dollars spent against her,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement.
Local Democrats who opposed Omar said that they’d done so because they felt the incumbent had gotten away from the needs of the district.
“I endorsed Samuels because he listened to what my constituents wanted, which is a closer relationship with our member of Congress,” said Jake Spano, the mayor of St. Louis Park. “I hope Congresswoman Omar hears that request and is willing to work with me on it.”
Sheila Regan contributed reporting from Minneapolis. | 2022-08-10T04:06:19Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Rep. Ilhan Omar survives close primary after campaign focused on policing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/ilhan-omar-primary/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/09/ilhan-omar-primary/ |
Keibert Ruiz watches his three-run homer in the fourth inning of Tuesday night's game, the second of two homers for the catcher. He came into Tuesday's game with four on the season. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
CHICAGO — Before the Washington Nationals’ game Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs, catcher Keibert Ruiz sat in the dugout, shaking his bat in his hands as he watched his teammates take infield at Wrigley Field.
“I need some more home runs, man.” Ruiz said.
The wood listened. Or perhaps he just got the right pitches. Whatever the case, Ruiz launched two home runs in the first four innings off Marcus Stroman to jump-start the Nationals offense, which then got a big boost from a two-run homer by Joey Meneses in the eighth, and the visitors held on for a 6-5 win despite a seventh-inning bullpen meltdown.
The outburst marked the first multihomer game of Ruiz’s career and it made him only the fifth Nationals catcher to accomplish the feat. It also snapped a six-game losing streak — including the first five contests on this seven-game trip.
When the Nationals traded Max Scherzer and Trea Turner last year, they acquired Ruiz in hopes of getting a catcher who could be stout defensively and provide a middle-of-the-order bat.
If he’s a defensive-first catcher moving forward, that would be good value for the Nationals. Ruiz entered Tuesday’s game tied with the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto for the league lead with 18 runners caught stealing and moved ahead when he caught Seiya Suzuki trying to swipe second base in the ninth.
But the bonus could be Ruiz’s bat, which has been inconsistent in his first full season in Washington. He has chased balls outside the zone at times and entered Tuesday with just four home runs in 317 at-bats.
In the second inning, Ruiz turned on a sinker in on his hands and turned on the ball, sending it 384 feet down the right field line to give Washington a 1-0 cushion. That lead was short-lived when Paolo Espino allowed a solo shot to Suzuki in the bottom of the inning.
So Ruiz stepped up again in the fourth, this time with two men on. Stroman tried to jam him inside again — with a cutter instead of a sinker — but Ruiz’s swing beat the ball to the spot.
The ball ricocheted off the bleachers and back onto the field, so the umpires didn’t immediately signal a home run, unsure if the ball went out. Ruiz was certain. He kept rounding the bases and after the umpires conferred, they officially ruled it a home run and the Nationals led 4-1.
The Cubs jumped out in front in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring four runs on seven singles. The inning included a play at the plate when Lane Thomas threw out Rafael Ortega on a play that included Ruiz making a nice tag.
Meneses then provided the difference in the eighth, blasting a misplaced curveball from Mark Leiter Jr. 358 feet to left to score Maikel Franco. Carl Edwards Jr., a former Cub, got through the ninth to end the Nationals’ skid.
Is Patrick Corbin still in the rotation? Yes, and he is scheduled to start Aug. 16 at home against the Cubs. The Nationals are off Thursday, Corbin’s start day on regular rest, so Manager Dave Martinez opted to skip his start so he could get some extra work in bullpen sessions with pitching coach Jim Hickey.
Corbin’s struggles are well-documented and have been especially acute lately. He has failed to make it out of the first inning in two of his past three outings and his ERA has soared to 7.02. Martinez said Corbin was clearly frustrated when he spoke with him and Hickey, but the left-hander wanted to continue starting and finish the season strong for next year.
“Regardless of what anyone thinks, he’s going to be one of our starters next year and the year after that,” Martinez said.
Corbin is in the fourth year of a six-year, $140 million contract.
What move did the Nationals make before Tuesday’s game? They claimed left-handed reliever Jake McGee from Milwaukee and designated outfielder Donovan Casey for assignment to clear space on their 40-man roster. Casey was one of the four prospects that the Nationals received in last year’s deal for Scherzer and Turner; Ruiz and Josiah Gray are in the majors, Gerardo Carrillo is rehabbing with High-A Wilmington.
McGee will meet the team in Washington on Friday. The move gives the Nationals a left-handed arm out of the bullpen, something they have lacked for most of the year. Sean Doolittle filled that void until he was injured early in the season, Josh Rogers and Evan Lee were also southpaws who were available as long relievers. But Doolittle and Lee are both injured. Rogers was designated for assignment earlier this month.
The move to DFA Casey is a reminder that not every prospect in these trade deadline deals work out. Casey was called up on April 15 and looked slated to make his major league debut, but never played and was optioned five days later. He never made it back to the majors and struggled with Class AAA Rochester, hitting .219 with a .293 on-base percentage in 67 games. | 2022-08-10T04:06:25Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Nationals end skid behind homers from Keibert Ruiz, Joey Meneses - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/nationals-cubs-keibert-ruiz-homers/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/09/nationals-cubs-keibert-ruiz-homers/ |
Dear Amy: I’m a senior woman, divorced for more than half my life. Recently I’ve hired a worker (30 years younger than I) to update my home, which badly needed some work done.
I’m uncomfortable with these feelings, but seem powerless to stop. I’ve never in my life done anything like this and truly don’t want to now.
Older Woman: Fifteen years ago, I called a guy I went to high school with to renovate my house. He renovated my life, instead.
If you truly don't want to become involved with this man, then you should limit your time spent with him, get him to finish up the contracted work, pay him, send him on his way and continue to live your life — as is.
Any involvement with him would bring on questions, uncertainty, and quite possibly an uncomfortable upheaval for you. But — I repeat — a sexual reawakening is life affirming and lovely.
I was taken backpacking at age 3. I learned to ski when I was 2. When I inevitably fell behind, my parents said they wanted me to learn independence and stamina and that they would “just go on ahead.”
By the time I was 14, I’d been left on the Knife Edge of Mount Katahdin in Maine, rescued by the snow patrol in Italy, and found by strangers who CARRIED ME ON THEIR SHOULDERS up Mount Washington — to name just three episodes.
It's one thing to “not spoil” or to “not give in” to a child.
JA: Some readers responded that the parental behavior described in the question from “Trying to be Accommodating” amounts to abuse, and I agree.
Thank you for your response. Mount Katahdin is described as a “very strenuous” eight- to 12-hour hike. I could hardly bear to even watch a video of a hiker on the mountain’s famed Knife Edge (described as “deadly”); I cannot imagine being left there alone.
Annoyed: Parents write the script, and siblings spend the rest of their lives reciting it. | 2022-08-10T04:28:25Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Ask Amy: He’s much younger but I fantasize about being with him - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/08/10/ask-amy-friends-with-benefits/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/08/10/ask-amy-friends-with-benefits/ |
Carolyn: I have a friend who is pressuring me (and others) to fix her brother up on dates. He seems nice, but I know his story, and it involves professional disgrace, financial problems and depression. None of us feels comfortable introducing this man to anyone. I’ve tried to put her off, but she won’t stop. She is blind about her brother and a real control freak. How can I get her to back off without telling her that her bro is a loser no one should date?
— Crazed
Crazed: Wow.
This reads like an advice columnist’s philosophy exam: “Who’s in worse shape: the loser, the myopic control-freak sister who defends him, or the person who befriends the myopic control-freak sister, yet plainly dislikes her?”
Never mind. Rhetorical test only.
Obviously, if this man is corrupt, then you can’t play matchmaker. Done.
But disgrace, debt and depression are three D’s that leave room for recovery. Must everyone who is brought low, even by his own poor behavior, be sentenced to remain low for life? Are you really as comfortable with that as your letter suggests?
Maybe this disgraced brother hasn’t done the hard work to fill those holes he dug, or you aren’t close enough to know. Fair enough. Even if he were fully redeemed and restored to health, you’d still be under no obligation to fix him up, or anyone else, for that matter.
But you made no mention of this guy’s current state, just his past one. That alone makes a case for showing this family a little compassion, even as you say no.
You: “I’m sorry, but I won’t set up anybody I don’t know well, not even your brother.” Repeat as needed.
Her: “Why not? He’s [insert sisterly rationale here].” Or, “Come on, you’re so [guilt trip here].”
You: “My answer is final.” Repeat as needed. It’s Control Freak Handling 101: the gentle but unyielding no.
Carolyn: What type of person thinks he never does anything wrong? After yet another argument with my boyfriend of 4½ years, he called and asked whether I was willing to change my behavior to make the relationship work. When I said of course and asked whether he was willing as well, he said, “No, I think I am doing right by this relationship.” How can he possibly think he does nothing wrong if we have had ongoing problems over the past few years?
B.: I’ll bite. It’s the type of person who thinks the other person will change and then everything will be perfect.
Upside: You two have more in common than you think.
Your “few years” translates, I assume, to three. That would mean you have now spent more of your relationship fighting than getting along.
So, I propose a different conversation. Not, “What changes are you willing to make,” but instead: “I’m me. You’re you. What next?” Elective changes would have happened by now, so evaluate what you actually have.
Do this for yourselves, for each other — and for your friends and family. I don’t know either of you, and I know you’re both driving them nuts. | 2022-08-10T04:28:31Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Carolyn Hax: Friend won’t play matchmaker for ‘loser’ brother - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/08/10/carolyn-hax-friend-matchmaking-loser-brother/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/08/10/carolyn-hax-friend-matchmaking-loser-brother/ |
We were in tears, from laughter, by the end of the service, and it was the most cathartic feeling I've ever experienced.
It will no doubt be a comfort to you that it sounds like your mother would have approved of your behavior.
Dear Miss Manners: I have a close friend who lives nearby, and over the past several years, she has asked me to water her 25-plus house plants when she and her husband travel.
Say that, unfortunately, you will not be available at that time, and would hate to have her return to dead plants.
In a handwritten letter that includes an apology for the delay. The formality will help friends and family understand that the delay is related to your grief, not your forgetfulness. | 2022-08-10T04:28:37Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Miss Manners: It was cathartic to go to my abusive mother’s funeral - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/08/10/miss-manners-mother-abusive-funeral/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/08/10/miss-manners-mother-abusive-funeral/ |
Italian politics bears a striking resemblance to South American telenovelas: filled with episodes of unrequited love, bizarre couplings and multiple breakups. Narrative lines reach a fever pitch of crisis before an unexpected turn of events makes everything right — the deus-ex-machina moment. That’s the climax in ancient dramas when a god is swung on stage by a machine to snatch away a troublesome character who can’t be written out of the script otherwise.
The Italian left, led by the Democratic Party, is now hoping for a deus-ex-machina moment after its election strategy came undone with the sudden departure of a centrist ally just four days after they’d agreed to join forces against the surging right. But who will play God? The party is betting on the sacred aura of Mario Draghi.
Led by Enrico Letta, the Democratic Party is still reeling from the collapse over the weekend of its alliance with the centrist Carlo Calenda. If he can form a government after the September ballot, Letta says he will continue Draghi policies and avenge the sudden and rude departure of the former central banker. He accuses the Right of subverting Draghi and betraying Italy’s interest by forced the early election.
The problem? Draghi himself has no intention of playing the savior in this drama. Those who still hope the man who saved the euro will enter the heat of the campaign to sway the outcome are bound to be disappointed. He won’t.
Throughout his time in office, Draghi made it clear that he was responding to a specific mandate, one to which he was appointed not elected. He was given a mission by the President of the Republic which consisted on steering Italy’s pandemic recovery plan in the right direction to get European Union funding in exchange for reforms.
That was the work of a manager, not a politician — and Draghi has shown no appetite for the dirty politics required to hold on to power in Rome. Considering the antics of the past two months, who can blame him. He made his historic reputation saving the Euro in 2012. He doesn’t want his name dragged through the mud now. Neither does he want it exploited in the ongoing electoral game.
The Democratic Party will find it impossible to do Draghi without Draghi. Boasting that it is pursuing the Draghi agenda without the technocrat’s participation will be a hard sell. Draghi’s work is done and the politicians know it. Giorgia Meloni, the head of Brothers of Italy and front runner, may be short on detail on pretty much everything, but she’s the loudest voice in the room screaming more freedom and less state. For Letta’s party to be compelling, it needs to do more than to repeat Draghi, Draghi, Draghi.
Letta had the good instincts to pursue a broad coalition from centrists to the hard left. But his so-called campo largo — which roughly translates as broad field — required so much flexibility from everyone it ended up stretching to the breaking point. And indeed that’s what happened. Calenda, who pulled the plug, broke off the deal arguing that some members of the alliance were equally populist as the Right and even had a record of voting against the Draghi government.
There’s now talk of a Terzo Polo — a group of centrists who could come together to offer voters a third option. This sounds complicated. It’s also inefficient. The more splits there are among the center-left forces, the better for Meloni, who is rejoicing after the latest drama. The polls indicate that Letta’s Italian Democratic party is neck and neck against Meloni’s Brothers. But she’s got a viable — if argumentative — coalition. The center-left doesn’t have an alliance to beat the one on the right led by Meloni. Their numbers simply don’t add up.
This may all be entertaining but Italian life after Draghi won’t be much fun. Moody’s reminded investors — and Rome — about the cost of political turbulence when it downgraded the country’s outlook to negative following Draghi’s departure. Gone is the famous “Draghi put” — his ability to soothe markets — which provided a ceiling for Italian yields for most of his time in office.
The few weeks left before the vote are a lifetime in Italian politics. And anything can happen. But there is now a greater probability of a right-wing government holding the keys to Palazzo Chigi, the home of the prime minister, come autumn. Letta and his Italian Democratic Party should waste no time chasing after Draghi’s ghost.
Meloni Will Keep Jousting With Salvini. Just Wait.: Maria Tadeo
The Woman Who Might Lead Italy to the Far Right: Rachel Sanderson
Italy’s Romance with Meritocracy Has Been On-Again, Off-Again: Adrian Wooldridge | 2022-08-10T06:03:50Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Draghi Isn’t Coming to Italy’s Rescue Anymore - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/draghi-isnt-comingto-italys-rescue-anymore/2022/08/10/1acc7690-186a-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/draghi-isnt-comingto-italys-rescue-anymore/2022/08/10/1acc7690-186a-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Lamont Dozier, part of the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team that penned most of the Motown songs you’ve ever heard, has passed. His oeuvre included Heat Wave (originally by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas), Where Did Our Love Go by the Supremes (and later Soft Cell), Reach Out I’ll Be There by The Four Tops, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by Vanilla Fudge, and later the Supremes and Kim Wilde, “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You” by Marvin Gaye and later James Taylor, “Give Me Just A Little More Time” by the Chairmen of the Board and later Kylie Minogue, There’s A Ghost In My House, later covered by The Fall, Stop! In the Name of Love by the Supremes, and “You Can’t Hurry Love” which has been covered by everyone from the Dixie Chicks to Phil Collins, although the Supremes still reign supreme. OK, some of them are a bit similar to each other, but what a great formula. | 2022-08-10T06:03:56Z | www.washingtonpost.com | What’s Missing From Bond Markets, No Matter the CPI - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/whats-missing-from-bond-markets-no-matter-the-cpi/2022/08/10/1a7b1e94-186a-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/whats-missing-from-bond-markets-no-matter-the-cpi/2022/08/10/1a7b1e94-186a-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
One day after FBI agents executed a search warrant at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, he posted a campaign-style video that has the earmarks of a nascent campaign to reclaim the presidency.
“We are a nation that has the highest inflation in over 40 years …”
True. The Labor Department reported that inflation in June was 9.1 percent — the fastest increase in prices since November 1981.
“ … where the stock market just finished the worst first half of a year in more than five decades.”
True. The S&P 500 index fell more than 21 percent in the first six months of 2022, the worst half since 1970. Stocks had risen sharply in the early part of President Biden’s tenure so even with that loss the stock market was essentially flat from when he took office. As Trump himself knows, the stock market is a fickle barometer of a president’s performance.
“We are a nation that has the highest energy cost in its history …”
False. Trump is speaking about nominal prices, not real prices. Gasoline prices spiked after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but adjusted for inflation, monthly retail prices still did not top June 2008’s inflation-adjusted price of $5.38 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. U.S. residential retail electricity prices jumped sharply in 2021 but inflation-adjusted prices have been higher, according to the EIA. Natural gas prices, adjusted for inflation, also have been higher.
“ … and we are no longer energy independent or energy dominant, which we were just two short years ago.”
False. This was one of Trump’s favorite false claims from his presidency. The United States was never energy independent when he was president; it continued to import millions of barrels of oil per day.
Misleading. Canada is by far the largest oil exporter to the United States, accounting for more than 60 percent of total U.S. crude oil imports in 2021, according to the EIA. Saudi Arabia supplied just 6 percent. Russia supplied 3 percent, but after the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Biden banned Russian energy imports. The administration has urged Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela to increase gas exports to help reduce prices in the United States.
“We’re a nation that surrendered in Afghanistan, leaving behind dead soldiers, American citizens …”
Misleading. Biden implemented the withdrawal plan that Trump had negotiated and wanted to act on. The departure was certainly mismanaged, but it’s unknown whether Trump would have done any better.
“ … and $85 billion worth of the finest military equipment in the world.”
False. We’ve previously given this claim Three Pinocchios. The $85 billion number represents all the money appropriated to train, equip and house the Afghan military and police since the U.S. invasion of 2001; moreover, not all of it had been disbursed by the time the Afghan government fell. At best, about 30 percent of this money was spent on equipment, but over two decades, a significant percentage of this equipment may have become obsolete or been destroyed.
“We are a nation that allowed Russia to devastate a country, Ukraine, killing hundreds of thousands of people, and it will only get worse.”
False. The United States did not allow Russia to do anything — and Biden has been credited with rallying U.S. allies to stand firm against the Russian attack and imposing sweeping sanctions against the government led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We’re a nation that has weaponized its law enforcement against the opposing political party like never before. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Misleading. Trump appears to associate any investigation of him as an investigation of the “opposing party” — and of course he dismisses any queries into his post-election efforts to overturn the election or his business practices as illegitimate.
“We are a nation that no longer has a free and fair press. Fake news is about all you get. We are a nation where free speech is no longer allowed.”
False. The ad here flashes an image of Trump’s Twitter account that was suspended after he repeatedly violated the company’s rules. But Trump posted this video on his new platform, Truth Social — showing free speech is still alive and well. Trump is also hosting the video on Rumble, a platform for far-right content that gained popularity after social media companies cracked down on misinformation related to the coronavirus and the 2020 election.
“Where crime is rampant like never before.”
False. Violent crime rose during the pandemic, but one or two years of data is not enough to make a trend — and murder and violent crime rates are still well below levels reached in the early 1990s.
“Where the economy has been collapsing.”
False. Economists are divided as to whether the United States is at risk of entering a recession, but the robust July jobs report showed that all of the jobs lost during the pandemic-related economic collapse that started under Trump have been recovered.
“Where more people died of covid in 2021 than in 2020.”
Misleading. The pandemic effectively emerged in March 2020 — only 26 deaths were recorded for January and February — so in effect 2020 is a 10-month number compared with 12 months in 2021. Moreover, a surge in cases at the end of 2020 — when Trump was still president — led to many deaths at the start of 2021, before vaccines became widely available.
“We are a nation that is allowing Iran to build a massive nuclear weapon …”
Misleading. Trump terminated the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration that had halted Iran’s program, claiming he could get a better deal. He never did, and Biden so far has been unable to revive the previous agreement.
“ … and China to use the trillions and trillions of dollars it’s taken from the United States …”
False. Trump persists in misunderstanding trade deficits. Countries do not “take” money from another country if it has a trade surplus. Trade deficits with China persisted during every year of Trump’s presidency — the goods and services trade deficit was $285.5 billion in 2020 — but the trade benefited both countries. China was the United States’ third largest goods export market in 2020, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.
“..to build a military to rival our own.”
Misleading. China announced in 2019, when Trump was president, it would seek military parity with the United States by 2027. The Indo-Pacific Command, in a May report to Congress, said $67 billion in new military spending was needed to maintain the U.S. military edge.
“We are a nation that over the past two years is no longer respected or listened to all around the world.”
False. A Pew Research Center survey of 16 countries found a significant uptick in ratings of the U.S. image after Biden became president.
“We are a nation … whose educational system is ranked at the bottom of every nation.”
False. For decades, U.S. students have lagged some of their peers in industrialized countries such as South Korea and Finland, but it’s wrong to claim the U.S. educational system is “ranked at the bottom of every nation.” The United States ranked in the middle of the pack in the 2018 OECD program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triennial survey of 15-year-old students. “Students in the United States performed above the OECD average in reading (505 score points) and science (502), and below the OECD average in mathematics (478),” the report said. “Their scores were similar to those of students in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom in at least two of these three subjects.” | 2022-08-10T07:22:31Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Fact-checking Trump’s new campaign-style video - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/10/fact-checking-trumps-new-campaign-style-video/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/10/fact-checking-trumps-new-campaign-style-video/ |
A jaguar known as “El Jefe” is seen in the central area of Sonora, Mexico, in November 2021. (AP)
“El Jefe,” a jaguar last seen in Arizona nearly seven years ago, was spotted in the Mexican state of Sonora last year, researchers confirmed recently, reviving hopes that the species can thwart the border wall that bisects its natural habitat.
El Jefe — “the boss” in Spanish — was seen in photos captured in November by a Mexican nonprofit organization, Profauna, which uses more than 150 motion-sensor cameras to track wildlife. With such a large volume of photos, it took researchers until this summer to make the discovery.
The researchers cross-checked the images with previous photos of him using photo-analyzing software and found a 100 percent match, identifying the feline by his unique markings. At first, “I was skeptical,” said Carmina Gutiérrez-González, a research coordinator for the Northern Jaguar Project.
“But after making a detailed visual revision, skepticism gave way to surprise and then excitement,” she said in a statement, adding that “there is no doubt this is the same animal photographed in Arizona that many feared could have died when he stopped showing up in trail cameras almost seven years ago.”
El Jefe became famous after he was first photographed in 2011 in the mountains near Tucson, one of the few jaguars to be seen on the northern side of the border since the species was “all but extirpated” from the Southwest more than a half-century ago, the Wildlands Network, which is part of an initiative that aims to protect wildlife near the border, said in a statement.
The jaguar — who, with a swaggering walk, was given the name by Tucson schoolchildren — is thought to have lived mostly in the Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona. For a time, he appeared be the only one of his species in the United States, until another male was spotted nearby. El Jefe was about 2 years old when he was first spotted, making him at least 12 years old now — one of the oldest male jaguars ever recorded in Sonora, the Wildlands Network said.
The recent sighting is “a sign that large-scale habitat connectivity persists between Arizona and Sonora, despite growing threats by development, mining and the border wall,” said Juan Carlos Bravo, Wildlands Network’s conservation programs director.
Environmentalists have long raised concerns that border walls — including the one that stands along parts of the border between the United States and Mexico — are bad for wildlife, as they obstruct natural migration paths and break up natural habitats.
Border walls are bad for wildlife
Parts of the border wall erected during the Trump administration were put in “extremely rugged mountainous terrain that includes some of the remaining corridors jaguars use to move back and forth between the United States and the core of a small, vulnerable breeding population” of jaguars in Sonora, the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit that focuses on conserving endangered species, said in a statement following El Jefe’s sighting.
The jaguar, whose scientific name is Panthera onca, is protected in the United States under the Endangered Species Act. The animals historically inhabited wide swaths of the Southwest, from California to Louisiana, but were hunted to near extinction.
Conservationists have also criticized plans for a proposed mine, the Rosemont Copper Mine, in southern Arizona, which conservationists say would disrupt prime jaguar habitat in the area.
‘El Jefe’ is one step closer to sharing its habitat with a massive copper mine
“We can’t allow El Jefe’s territory to be carved up for a copper mine,” Russ McSpadden of the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. “Arizona’s Sky Islands, including the Santa Ritas, are critical habitat for jaguars and key to their survival in the U.S.” | 2022-08-10T08:44:52Z | www.washingtonpost.com | El Jefe, Arizona jaguar feared dead, photographed in Mexico - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/el-jefe-jaguar-found-mexico/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/el-jefe-jaguar-found-mexico/ |
Ukraine Live Briefing: 13 killed in Dnipropetrovsk strike; Zelensky vows ‘C...
Ukraine Live Briefing: 13 killed in Dnipropetrovsk strike; Zelensky vows ‘Crimea is Ukrainian’ after blast
Rising smoke can be seen from the beach at Saky after explosions were heard from the direction of a Russian military airbase near Novofedorivka, Crimea, Aug. 9, 2022. (AP)
At least 13 people have been confirmed dead Wednesday after overnight Russian strikes in Dnipropetrovsk, in central Ukraine, local officials said. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed never to give up Crimea, after an unclaimed strike on a Russian air base in the occupied territory. Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
A series of overnight Russian strikes in Dnipropetrovsk have killed at least 13 in the Nikopol region in central Ukraine, according to its regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko.
President Zelensky underscored that “Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up.” He was speaking after an attack on a Russian air base in occupied Crimea on Tuesday near an area of beach resorts reportedly killed one and injured nine, including two children. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Post it appeared Ukrainian forces had carried out a strike using a weapon not provided by the United States. If conducted by Ukraine, the strike would amount to a dramatic escalation in the nearly six-month war.
Russia has “almost certainly established a major new ground forces formation” to engage in Ukraine, made up of volunteer male troops being incentivized with cash bonuses, Britain’s defense ministry said Wednesday in a daily intelligence update. However, it said the new troops are “unlikely to be decisive to the campaign” given “very limited levels of popular enthusiasm for volunteering for combat in Ukraine.”
In the northern town of Bucha, 15 bodies were buried Tuesday after they were found four months after Russian forces withdrew from the area. Following meticulous and at times gruesome investigation, officials in Bucha said that they had reached what may be the closest they will get to a final accounting of victims of the murderous rampage by Russian troops that set off worldwide outrage over alleged atrocities: 458 bodies, of which 419 bore markings they had been shot, tortured or bludgeoned to death.
The United States “would not want to implement a total ban on all Russians,” a U.S. official told The Washington Post’s Daily 202. A total travel ban would mean denying entry to Russian dissidents and those who have criticized the war, as well as those who are persecuted for politics or sexual orientation, the official said. The comments come after President Zelensky called for a total Russian travel ban in an interview with The Post this week, comments quickly condemned by Russia.
President Biden signed documents endorsing Finland and Sweden’s NATO Accession Protocols. It represents the most significant expansion of the military bloc in decades and was prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia successfully launched a satellite on behalf Iran on Tuesday. The satellite is likely to enhance Tehran’s ability to spy on military targets across the Middle East, however Moscow may intend to first use the spacecraft to assist its own war effort in Ukraine, according to Western security officials familiar with the matter.
Sweden and Canada announced that they will help Britain train Ukrainian soldiers in the United Kingdom.
In the Ukraine war, a battle for the nation’s mineral and energy wealth: After nearly six months of fighting, Moscow’s sloppy war has yielded at least one big reward: expanded control over some of the most mineral-rich lands in Europe. Ukraine harbors some of the world’s largest reserves of titanium and iron ore, fields of untapped lithium, as well as massive deposits of coal. Collectively, they are worth tens of trillions of dollars.
The lion’s share of those coal deposits, which for decades have powered Ukraine’s critical steel industry, are concentrated in the east, where Moscow has made the most inroads. That’s put them in Russian hands, along with significant amounts of other valuable energy and mineral deposits used for everything from aircraft parts to smartphones, according to an analysis for The Washington Post. | 2022-08-10T08:44:53Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Russia-Ukraine war latest updates - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates/ |
An international team of scientists said the Langya virus, a new type of henipavirus, may have infected shrews before being transmitted to humans. (Erhard Nerger/Getty Images/ImageBroker RF)
The next pandemic is already coming, unless humans change how we interact with wildlife, scientists say
Francois Balloux, a computational systems biology professor at University College London who was not involved with the study, said the Langya virus does not appear to “look like a repeat of Covid-19 at all.” He noted on Twitter that the new virus is far less lethal than other henipaviruses and “probably doesn’t transmit easily from human to human.” .
Viruses that spill over from animals to humans are not uncommon. Some 70 percent of emerging infectious diseases in humans are of zoonotic origin, scientists say, and nearly 1.7 million undiscovered viruses may exist in mammals and birds. The Hendra and Nipah viruses, two henipaviruses with high mortality rates, can be contracted through close contact with sick horses, pigs and bats. | 2022-08-10T09:06:41Z | www.washingtonpost.com | New Langya zoonotic henipavirus found in China - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/10/langya-virus-china-shrews-henipavirus/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/10/langya-virus-china-shrews-henipavirus/ |
Will Ghana’s new e-levy help the economy recover from the pandemic?
Ghana isn’t the only country to try to tax mobile money transactions
Analysis by Richard Aidoo
Head porters march in the streets on the second day of protests over recent economic hardships in Accra, Ghana, on June 29. Many protesters are not happy about the country's new e-levy on mobile money transactions. (Francis Kokoroko/Reuters)
With a tweet in May, Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, enthusiastically announced the start of a government e-levy — a 1.5 percent charge on mobile money transactions above 100 Ghanaian cedis ($12). Some merchant, bank and individual money transfers are now subject to the new tax.
Ghana’s parliament passed the measure in March amid contentious debate. In May, the Supreme Court dismissed an injunction filed by the opposition party to stop the implementation of the electronic levy because of a perceived irregularity in its parliamentary passage.
Like many developing countries, Ghana’s economy is challenged both by the effects of the pandemic and by disruptions due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ghana has achieved rapid economic growth in recent years, but the economy struggles with double-digit inflation, a weak currency, rising public debt and a high cost of living. To aid the recovery and continue development without abandoning Akufo-Addo’s signature vision of “Ghana Beyond Aid,” his administration introduced the e-levy to help expand domestic revenue net. Initially, the administration hoped to avoid the need for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout but made an about-face for IMF support. A government projection in July, meanwhile, cut projected e-levy revenue to around $70 million, a sharp drop from earlier estimates of about $800 million.
A World Bank report from April attributed the country’s disappointing economic performance to poor public finance management, and Ghanaians have protested the controversial e-levy. These developments raise questions about viable solutions to post-pandemic economic recovery in Africa. Here’s why.
Is Africa losing ground in the battle for water and sanitation?
Ghanaians want to know where their taxes go
Ghanaians pay high prices for goods and services — and many see reasons to protest the added tax. IMF economists revised growth projections for the region to 3.8 percent in 2022, and predicted that higher food prices resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict will hurt consumer purchasing power in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, some politicians argue that the e-levy adds further economic pressures, as two-thirds of households indicate that incomes have yet to recover to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.
A 2021 Afrobarometer survey suggests that Ghanaians are willing to contribute to their own economic progress but want increased transparency about how tax revenue is used. They also want solutions to counter widespread corruption among public officials. The survey shows that 72 percent of respondents in Ghana are willing to pay more taxes to support development with domestic resources rather than external loans. But 70 percent aren’t sure of how their government uses taxes.
This sentiment was clear in a recent Afrobarometer survey, conducted after the introduction of the e-levy: 76 percent of respondents think the e-levy is a bad idea and will increase the burden on poor and ordinary citizens, while 51 percent are not at all confident that government will use revenue for development programs. The popular disapproval of the e-levy may thus stem not only from ordinary Ghanaians’ present plight, but also from a deeper distrust in government promises to deliver social services.
Are there flashbacks to Ghana’s VAT rollout?
The heated rhetoric — including the threat of a coup — that followed the introduction of the e-levy with Ghana’s 2022 budget statement is quite familiar to many citizens. In 1994, the government introduced an unpopular value added tax (VAT). This led to deadly protests, particularly in Accra. The government subsequently withdrew the VAT, then reintroduced it in 1998. The VAT has become part of the Ghanaian tax system, with several amendments through the years.
Much of the political wrangling and ugly protestations about the e-levy parallel what followed after Ghana’s initial 1994 VAT Act. Some scholars argue that, among other lessons from that experience, the government failed to adequately prepare citizens ahead of a major public policy. In Ghana’s case, for example, much of the population is employed in informal sectors of the economy, and just 42 percent of the current population have bank accounts.
Can Africa ‘leapfrog’ the traditional electricity model?
As in other parts of Africa, informal workers and the unbanked are likely to heavily rely on “mobile money” to easily transact business — they can simply transfer money with mobile phones and conduct business without a bank account.
Will the mobile money industry contribute to post-pandemic recovery?
Criticisms of the e-levy claim that the tax is insensitive and poorly timed. Former president and opposition leader John Mahama argues against the e-levy, claiming that the current administration lacks political vision and leadership — and engages in economic mismanagement. He promised to repeal the tax if his political party is voted into power after the 2024 election.
In any event, the adoption of this e-levy is yet another validation of the exponential growth of the mobile money transaction industry across Africa. The use of mobile money has increased tremendously in recent years, and the pandemic further accelerated this preferred payment method. Ghana’s total digital transactions for 2020 were estimated around $81 billion, up from $12.5 billion in 2016.
It’s not just Ghana — Uganda and Kenya have also begun taxing mobile transactions. Critics in Ghana, similarly, worry that the introduction of such a levy won’t necessarily expand the tax base. Instead, the new tax could reverse gains made in electronic payments and financial inclusion, particularly among the informal sectors of the economy. Intriguingly, the Afrobarometer survey reveals an almost 50-50 split between Ghanaians who would continue to use — or avoid using — electronic financial transactions after the e-levy. Other experts argue, conversely, that with the exponential increase in registered active mobile money users — an estimated 61 percent of Ghanaians by November 2021 — this industry will undoubtedly remain a crucial part of the post-pandemic recovery.
The effects of the covid-19 global economic slump, and ongoing supply disruptions, add further incentives for developing economies like Ghana to enact resilient domestic economic policies based on sound public expenditures and inclusive revenue mobilization. Ghana’s recent e-levy launch and the public reaction suggests that broad-based public consensus-building and effective public education alongside government accountability will be a critical part of these policy moves. Though public education campaigns may not eliminate anxieties about a new tax, they may lessen setbacks and frustrations.
Richard Aidoo is a professor of political science at the Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences at Coastal Carolina University. | 2022-08-10T09:06:58Z | www.washingtonpost.com | African economies are struggling after the pandemic. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/10/ghana-elevy-electronic-tax-phones/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/10/ghana-elevy-electronic-tax-phones/ |
Serena Williams discussed her upcoming retirement in Vogue. (Jason Szenes/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Now that the actual mother of storylines has hurled itself atop the New York heap for the upcoming U.S. Open — Serena Williams’s imminent farewell to tennis, announced Tuesday in Vogue magazine, making this probably her last U.S. Open — it can justify firing up the video and venturing 23 U.S. Opens back.
Perspective charges in from late last century, from the 1999 U.S. Open women’s final, from Williams’s upset title at 17 in a raging ruckus against then-No. 1 Martina Hingis, from Williams’s teenage ampleness of hair beads, from Williams’s reaction when Hingis’s last backhand fluttered long.
She brought her left hand toward her heart in some state not all that far from bewilderment, and she beamed from there to Melbourne and Paris and Wimbledon and back, and she yelled, “Oh, my God!” and she wondered: “Should I scream? Should I yell? Should I cry?” — and, yeah, that’s the same person, the same lifetime, as the almost-41-year-old who won 22 more major titles and will amplify this U.S. Open with a ciao.
Score that as another form of bewilderment, 23 U.S. Opens after a girl — technically, a girl — won a sudden title, and a viewer might have wondered, “What’s in that person, besides the astonishment?”
Then the years proceeded to show, the way sports tend to do and tennis tends to do even more. We technically never saw what’s in there even as we constantly saw what’s in there.
What’s in there proved to be oh-my-God. What’s in there was a Grand Central Station of a mind, a concrete avenue of a gut and some inner skyscraper of a will. To call what’s in there “ferocious” is to sort of slight what’s in there. What’s in there burned way on past that point in time near the mid-2000s when — remember this? — onlookers wondered if she might lose interest and move on to other ventures, other careers outlasting hers. What’s in there grew familiar enough that there’s only one reaction to what Williams said in Vogue, as told to Rob Haskell: “The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus Grand Slams.”
What’s in there included this Michael Jordan aspect, from Vogue: “There were so many matches I won because something made me angry or someone counted me out. That drove me. I’ve built a career on channeling anger and negativity and turning it into something good.” And what’s in there included this utmost case of kid-sister envy: “I was so sad when I didn’t get all the early opportunities that Venus got, but that helped me. It made me work harder, turning me into a savage fighter. … I followed her around the world and watched her. When she lost, I understood why, and I made sure I wouldn’t lose the same way.”
What’s in there treated bushels of big points strewn across the years as though they belonged to her no matter how much they resisted at the time. What’s in there made her pure hell when cornered, almost as if it were bad strategy to corner her while it wasn’t all that good, either, to refrain from cornering her. What’s in there played on into four more major finals after a harrowing childbirth in 2017, even as it might have worked against her in those four as she tried to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 major titles, even as that record pales next to Williams’s 23 given modern upgrades in the steepness of Grand Slam tasks.
What’s in there? It could push the gamesmanship across the line to those age-old tennis netherworlds, to that row with that U.S. Open lineswoman in a 2009 semifinal, the row with that U.S. Open chair umpire in the 2011 final, maybe even that row with the U.S. Open chair umpire in the 2018 final.
What’s in there? Watch the 1999 final with the benefit of 23 years, and early clues appear. She lost two championship points at 5-3 in the second set against the world’s No. 1 player but wouldn’t cave. She lost her serve at 5-4 but wouldn’t cave. She faced Hingis’s set point in the fracas of a six-deuce game while Williams served at 5-6 but wouldn’t cave. She mentored all the elders in her news conference when she said, after winning, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4): “There comes a time when you have to stop caving. You have to stop. I encourage all of you guys to stop.”
A roomful laughed, as she had left evidence of not-caving across that old draw — down a set to Kim Clijsters in the third round, again to Conchita Martinez in the fourth round, again to Monica Seles in the quarterfinals, then a lost 6-1 second set against Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals.
In the same life, all the way through the balance of her teens and the entireties of her 20s and 30s, it figures she’s loath to use the word “retirement.” She’s in the pages of the September issue of Vogue saying, “I’ve been thinking of this as a transition,” and as “evolving away from tennis,” such that she has hardly discussed it with her husband, “can’t even” discuss it with her parents and finds the topic brings “an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry.” She points to the happy retirements of Ashleigh Barty at 25 and Caroline Wozniacki at 29 but notes the differences from person to person, noting there’s “no happiness in the topic for me,” and says: “I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain [about leaving]. It’s the hardest thing I could ever imagine. I hate it.”
So even as “something’s got to give” and she would like to have another child and she’s excited about her investment business, it’s easy to imagine one more reemergence somewhere up ahead.
That might be erroneous, but that, too, stems from long since knowing what’s in there. | 2022-08-10T09:07:04Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Serena Williams has chance to finish career at U.S. Open - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/10/serena-williams-us-open-retirement/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/08/10/serena-williams-us-open-retirement/ |
Smoke rises after explosions were heard from the direction of a Russian military air base near Novofedorivka, Crimea Aug. 9, 2022. (Stringer/Reuters)
A Ukrainian government official told The Washington Post on Wednesday that an airfield explosion in occupied Crimea was the work of Ukrainian special forces.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, did not disclose details on how the Tuesday attack was carried out. However, the attack marks a dramatic escalation in the nearly six-month-old war, demonstrating an ability by Ukrainian forces to strike at Russia far from front lines.
The explosions rocked a Russian air base Tuesday, close to an area of beach resorts in occupied Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces have been known to infiltrate enemy-held territory and coordinate with sympathetic locals on the ground. Guerrilla activity has been especially prevalent in the occupied southern Kherson region, just north of Crimea.
An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially distanced Kyiv from the attack on Tuesday, however, in a nightly address to the nation Zelensky vowed to win back the territory. “Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up,” he said, without mentioning the air base strike.
Russia has said the blast was caused by an ammunition explosion and reportedly killed at least one and injured at least nine, including two children.
The Ukrainian Air Force in a statement Wednesday said that nine Russian aircraft were taken out in the strikes.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told The Post Tuesday that it appeared Ukrainian forces had carried out the strike but using a weapon not provided by the United States. U.S. officials referred additional questions about the operation to Ukraine. | 2022-08-10T09:50:09Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Ukraine's special forces undertook Crimea attack, says official - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/ukraine-russia-crimea-beach-blast/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/ukraine-russia-crimea-beach-blast/ |
Readers and fans took to social media where they paid tribute to a man they called “a visionary” and “a genius.”
Author Raymond Briggs poses for media in Hyde Park, May 28 2008 (Anthony Devlin - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
LONDON — British author and illustrator Raymond Briggs, best known for creating the immensely popular picture-book “The Snowman,” has died at the age of 88, his publisher and his family said Wednesday.
“We know that Raymond’s books were loved by and touched millions of people around the world, who will be sad to hear this news,” his family said in a statement, adding that Briggs “was much loved and will be deeply missed.” No cause of death was disclosed, but his family thanked members of Royal Sussex County Hospital “for their kind and thoughtful care of Raymond in his final weeks.”
Briggs’ publisher Penguin Random House also confirmed he passed away Tuesday morning, as readers and fans took to social media where they paid tribute to a man they called “a visionary” and “a genius.”
Born in 1934, Briggs showed a keen interest in illustrating from a young age and soared to fame after creating “The Snowman,” a picture-book that first published in 1978. The book, which tells the story of a boy who makes a snowman that comes to life, went on to sell more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.
“The Snowman” was later turned into an Oscar-nominated, Bafta award-winning film, featuring the song “Walking in the Air” by Aled Jones, which became the soundtrack to the cartoon — and to Christmas in Britain.
“I still watch The Snowman every year and it still hits me right in the heart every time,” read one of many tweets hailing Briggs and his legacy.
Briggs’ publisher praised him for inspiring “generations of creators of picture books, graphic novels, and animations.” Francesca Dow, Managing Director of Penguin Random House Children’s said Briggs leaves behind “a big hole” in the industry.
Raymond Briggs, so effective at conveying a sense of innocence & wonder, as well as pure terror. What a writer pic.twitter.com/peeUIUNHOm
“Oh no. Not Raymond Briggs,” tweeted illustrator Rob Biddulph who said Briggs inspired him and his work. “A titan in our industry and a true one-off. The Snowman was a work of undeniable genius — a game-changer, not just in the world of children’s books, but books full stop.”
“Raymond Briggs, so effective at conveying a sense of innocence & wonder, as well as pure terror. What a writer,” wrote another fan.
In 1983, “The Snowman” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film. It went on to win a BAFTA.
One year later, David Bowie recorded a special introduction to the animation.
In 2017, Briggs won a lifetime achievement award from the Book Trust, a British reading charity, for his outstanding contribution to children’s literature.
On Wednesday the trust said it was “devastated” at the news of the a man who produced “wonderful” work. “He will live on in his stunning, iconic books,” the charity tweeted.
Fans of Briggs also remembered his other works and characters including “Father Christmas,” “Fungus the Bogeyman,” and “Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age.”
Hilary Delamere, Raymond Briggs’ literary agent said in a statement that he would be remembered for his tales of “love and loss.”
Delamere said that Briggs’ final book, a collection of thoughts, poems, sketches and observations entitled “Time For Lights Out,” had been described as “grimly amusing but never dispiriting,” and captured his very essence.
Both his family, and his agent, reflected that Briggs’ work had touched millions around the world.
“I know from the many letters he received how his books and animations touched people’s hearts,” Delamere said, while his family added: “Drawings from fans — especially children’s drawings – inspired by his books were treasured by Raymond, and pinned up on the wall of his studio.”
We're so sorry to hear of the passing of Raymond Briggs. In 2018 we began an annual collectable series with a 50p celebrating 40 years of The Snowman - which is now one of our most popular thanks to Mr. Brigg's magical characters. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/gOavJjsLMd | 2022-08-10T10:16:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Raymond Briggs, author illustrator of The Snowman, dead at 88 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/raymond-briggs-death-the-snowman/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/raymond-briggs-death-the-snowman/ |
Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, 65, said her Emmy nomination for “Abbott Elementary” was meant “to happen right here, right now, at this time.” (Sean Black)
Sheryl Lee Ralph didn’t plan on preaching today. But how else can you describe what the veteran actress is doing from her Southern California backyard via Zoom? Sure, Ralph is just talking, peeling back the layers of her decades-long career and delighting in her first Emmy nomination at 65 for her role in “Abbott Elementary.” But she does not simply speak. She emotes. She inspires. She preaches.
“I’m here to enjoy my life. I am here to respect the journey,” said the actress, looking prototypically regal in athleisure and a ball cap emblazoned with the Jamaican flag. “When people say, ‘Oh, this whole Emmy [nomination] should have happened much earlier’? No, it was supposed to happen right here, right now, at this time,” she added, slapping her patio table as if it were a pulpit.
“As far as I can see the sky is the limit,” she continued. “Better days are ahead and everything will work out for me just the way they are supposed to. Because nothing that is for you will miss you. It just will not.”
For those who’ve been captivated by Ralph since her 1981 Tony-nominated Broadway debut in the musical “Dreamgirls,” gobbling up her steady work in television (“Designing Women,” “Moesha,” “Ray Donovan”) and film (“The Distinguished Gentlemen,” “Sister Act 2”), it’s hard not to imagine Ralph with a different career — one marked with little golden statues and the phrase EGOT (an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner) trailing her name. But the actress banishes that type of thinking.
“That doesn’t enter the chat. If I was supposed to be EGOT, I would have been. And just because I’m not EGOT now doesn’t mean I won’t be later,” she said.
Awards are nice but not the point. And yet when the news of her Emmy nomination came last month — delivered while she was on vacation in her late mother’s native Jamaica — “all of a sudden, my whole career shot in front of me,” Ralph said.
With more than 100 credits to her name, a handful of roles stand out.
Barbara Howard is the one you’re probably most familiar with. The queenly kindergarten teacher played with Ralph’s signature diva-come-down-to-earth aplomb on “Abbott Elementary” seems tailor-made for the actress but it wasn’t.
Quinta Brunson, creator and star of the hit ABC mockumentary, said she knew she wanted an actress who had the feeling of “requiring respect that wasn’t mean or harsh,” someone who simply got what they deserved.
‘Abbott Elementary’ could make Quinta Brunson a household name
“I needed the essence first,” Brunson said. “Sheryl had that, and on top of that she’s a fantastic actress. That’s something I felt like the world had forgotten. She’s beloved and she’s in our hearts — and she’s also a fire-a-- actor.”
Which is why Ralph’s genuine disbelief when receiving accolades for best supporting actress for the role was both gratifying and grating; it was a career milestone that was both well-deserved and long overdue for an actress with her experience and reputation.
“I am the performer that can tell you about an actor’s true journey. What it is like to hold on to my peace. What it is like to hold on to my confidence. What it is like to come up the rough side of the mountain and know that better days are still ahead. Oh, yeah,” she said with the timbre of a minister.
Ralph’s fans in the industry said her legacy, despite still being very much in progress, is one of staying power.
“Sheryl makes her opportunities,” said Sara Finney Johnson, co-creator of the ’90s sitcom “Moesha,” which co-starred Ralph. “It wasn’t about awards, it was about the work. She should have had all these things long ago, but I don’t think that was her concern — it was just keep grinding. She deserves every flower and that Emmy.”
The role she considers “one of the greatest” of her career came 45 years ago. It was the mid-’70s and Sidney Poitier cast a 20-year-old Ralph in his buddy comedy “A Piece of the Action,” co-starring Bill Cosby. In her first movie, Ralph plays Barbara Hanley, a disaffected teen living on the wrong side of Chicago who has had, in the character’s own words, enough with all the “bourgeoisie bull----.” Barbara delivers a scathing monologue midway through the film that wannabe actors still perform.
“That was a performance I didn’t know that I had and it showed me that I could do this,” she said. “My father saw it and said, ‘I know you’re an actress because I don’t know who that little girl is.’ ”
It was a watershed moment. But the advice Poitier gave the budding star after the project wrapped could have easily made her quit the business: “I am so sorry this industry has nothing more to offer you, because you deserve it.”
The Oscar winner knew Hollywood wouldn’t be a hospitable place for a girl like Ralph — young, Black and talented. But instead of letting that deflate her, she used it as fuel.
“My mother and my father were very instrumental in preparing me for life,” she said. “They were always letting me know that there are hurdles and you’ve got to be ready to jump. Just because ‘no’ is no today doesn’t mean it won’t be ‘yes’ tomorrow. Going to Hollywood, I was just like, wow, now I see what this was all for. It was rough.”
Robert De Niro would echo the same sentiment 15 years later on the set of the 1992 comedy “Mistress,” about a screenwriter forced to put his financiers’ girlfriends in his picture. Ralph plays De Niro’s girl, Beverly, an actress with actual talent. By then, Ralph had already experienced the whiplash of being the toast of Broadway and being told by La La Land casting directors that she was either too Black or not Black enough. The actors were in between takes when the “Raging Bull” star turned to her and said, “You are good. You’re like, really, really good. You better climb that mountain and wave the red flag because they are not looking for you. They are not looking for the Black girl, and you should be seen.”
She never switched to the white flag of surrender. Ralph became known for playing women with a distinct type of dignity — Barbaras and Beverlys who were poised no matter what happened around them — crumbling schools, unruly stepchildren, wizened gangsters — delivering an “above-it-all” air minus the disdain.
“It’s a rare when an actor knows how to both be a diva and also play against that and normalize herself,” explained David Hollander, showrunner for the Showtime series “Ray Donovan.” Ralph starred in several episodes as Claudette, the longtime love of “retired” gangster Mickey Donovan (played by Jon Voight). “What makes Sheryl so compelling to watch, in my opinion, is that she can walk that line between her power and formality.”
Hollander was looking for a “funny, powerful, alluring” actress to play Claudette. “We also needed an actor who could be raw, believably hold the history of her own complicated backstory, and who had the talent to come and play with Jon Voight and the rest of the spectacular cast,” he said. “So, Sheryl Lee Ralph.”
“So, Sheryl Lee Ralph”: the increasingly obvious answer to the question of who can play a layered character with equal parts authenticity and aspiration.
“I don’t think people in positions — I don’t think their eyes were open enough to be able to see you, much less see your talent or see what it is you have to offer to the industry,” Ralph said of the Hollywood bigwigs who were gatekeeping when she first arrived. “Now I guess people have awakened to being able to see Black people and that’s a shift in the industry, a good one.”
The actress could barely keep count the number of successful projects she appeared in that were promptly dismissed as “flukes.” “No, it wasn’t a fluke,” she said. “It was success, it was excellence, it was talent. But people just could not see it.”
Now, thanks to “Abbott Elementary,” people finally are.
“No matter what, I thought she deserved Emmy-worthy television material,” said writer-producer Brunson. “It made me really confident in myself for being able to deliver on something I said I would do. It made me trust myself.”
Brunson herself is part of the legacy that Ralph, who has a track record of working with young Black women on the rise (Brandy in “Moesha,” Lauryn Hill in “Sister Act 2”), is actively building. If she’d quit all those years ago, then where would they be?
“I was never going to give up because somebody was trying to tell me how valuable I was not,” Ralph said of her early years. “Obviously they did not know me and they didn’t know my people and they didn’t know where I come from. So they got it all wrong.”
Ralph, who didn’t come here to preach today, is preaching again nonetheless. “Give up? Are you kidding me? They might not get it now, but they will see. Oh, yeah, they will see. I always believed that. Always.” | 2022-08-10T10:38:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | With ‘Abbott Elementary,’ Sheryl Lee Ralph is finally getting her flowers - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/08/10/sheryl-lee-ralph-abbott-elementary/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/08/10/sheryl-lee-ralph-abbott-elementary/ |
The due diligence you need to do before buying a condo
Before buying a condo, review the association's financial statements and hire a home inspector to assess the condition of the building. (iStock)
Q: I purchased my condo in July 2021. Since then, the condo board put through a special assessment for $120 per month for the next 84 months to pay for “unsafe balcony” repairs. This was not disclosed at the time of my closing.
I’ve made two payments so far, and no work has begun, nor has there been any update furnished by the board. My attorney said there wasn’t enough money involved for him to pursue it. Also, a neighbor across the hall is paying a special assessment “in case the roof needs to be repaired.” My seller assumed that assessment of $5,000 at my closing.
We currently have no board president; [the previous one] resigned due to threats made to her. And another board trustee also resigned. There are two buildings with 12 units in each, and the monthly HOA fee is $280.
Is this a mess, or what? I’d appreciate your opinion. Thank you.
A: We certainly can’t say whether it’s a mess or not. We’re not living there. But we can share our perspective on what might be happening.
What we know from your question is that your association is going through with repairs to the building. On the positive side, it’s good that a board intends to maintain and keep its building in good shape. We’ve seen with the Surfside condominium collapse what can happen if a property does not maintain itself. On the other hand, owners get cranky about ongoing special assessments that never end.
Before you purchased the home, you knew the building was in the middle of repairing the roof. We know you knew because the seller put up the cash to cover their share of the cost. So why didn’t the special assessment for the balcony repairs come up? The question for you is whether you should have known or found out about the balcony repairs when doing your due diligence.
We can’t know for sure what the particular facts are of your situation. It’s possible that the association had been talking about the balcony repairs for some time. But it’s also possible that fixing the balconies just rose to the top of the list as other items were completed.
In prior columns, we’ve mentioned that buyers looking to purchase a condominium unit should do several things before committing to the purchase. One important thing to do is to have your home inspector take a look around at the common elements of the building: the roof, exterior walls, common plumbing, heating and air conditioning units, hallways and stairways, basements and other areas.
Many inspectors might only inspect the individual unit, but many others will look over other parts of smaller association buildings to give the buyer a sense of the building’s condition.
Along these lines, a buyer should look into the association’s minutes, budgets and financial statements. The minutes may indicate what the building’s board of directors is discussing relating to repairs or problems with the building. The budget will show where the association is spending money. And the financial statements will show how much money the building has on hand for future repairs.
Smaller building HOAs tend to run informally and you might not have board minutes. But you should find out where they are spending money and how much money they have in reserves. Sam has seen some smaller buildings where the building has no reserves and the owners pool money together each time they have to make a repair or need to spend money.
If you have no reserves or the building collects money as it goes for all repairs, you should expect to pay more than the usual monthly assessments from day one after you buy into that association.
In your situation, you’re expecting to pay around $10,000 for the balcony repairs. We’d like to know whether you had an inspection of the unit and whether the inspector noted problems with the balcony. We’d also like to know whether there were any board minutes discussing problems with the balconies. Lastly, we’d want to know whether the state in which your condominium is located has any seller disclosure requirements that would place a burden on the seller to inform you of the balcony issue — if the seller was aware of the problem.
Sam has many clients that never participate or care about how their condominium buildings are run. They simply live in their units and leave the management of the building to others. It would be hard to go after that seller if they did not know of a problem with their building. Others are intimately involved with their buildings and let buyers know of any problems with their buildings.
Should your seller have told you about this issue? Does it meet the threshold for a seller disclosure case? To find out, you might need to talk to a different attorney about your situation. Some state seller disclosure statutes allow you to sue the seller for the failure to disclose and would allow you to recover the attorney’s fees you incur if you win. That would be something to talk about with an attorney on this issue.
Finally, living with and running a self-managed small condominium association can be a thankless job. Unit owners resent having to pay for repairs. Volunteer owners who run the affairs of the building take the brunt of the anger unit owners have when assessments go up or a special assessment is levied.
Unfortunately, buildings need maintenance, repairs, upkeep, upgrading and redecorating, among other things and that costs money. You may live in a building that needs substantial repairs, and the volunteer officers of the board feel that they are better off not dealing with the many angry unit owners. But that just leaves the building in worse shape. We hope that the unit owners can come together and determine what needs to be done and how fast and moves to get it done as best they can.
On a separate point, if the association does not have sufficient money on hand to make repairs, it will need to collect money; and once it has sufficient funds, the association can hire a contractor to take care of the balconies. As you can imagine, the contractor won’t want to do the work and wait six years to get paid. If the building has obtained a loan from a bank to pay for the repairs, we suspect they will borrow that money, undertake the repairs and then use the money that comes in from the special assessments to pay down the loan. Again, this takes time.
We suggest that you go to the board meetings and familiarize yourself with the people running the building. See if you can help them. Consider running for the board yourself. It may be time-consuming, but it will certainly help you understand where your property is, as well as the good and bad of owning a unit in a small condominium association. | 2022-08-10T10:38:03Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The due diligence you need to do before buying a condo - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/10/due-diligence-you-need-do-before-buying-condo/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/10/due-diligence-you-need-do-before-buying-condo/ |
The Bank of England’s role has been in flux ever since it was founded in 1694 to fund a war with France. Its main job these days is to keep prices in check, something it has largely achieved since being handed control over interest rates 25 years ago. But like other central banks, it’s now struggling to calibrate policy in response to the economic shocks unleashed by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Inflation in the UK is soaring, leaving an institution long seen as a model for others to follow facing a crisis of credibility.
1. How does the BOE achieve its goals?
The BOE is tasked with achieving a rate of inflation set by the government each year. Right now that rate is 2% based on the Consumer Prices Index, a goal it shares with most central banks in advanced economies. If inflation diverges by more than 1 percentage point in either direction, the bank’s governor must write to the chancellor of the exchequer -- Britain’s finance minister -- explaining why, and what the bank will do about it. Its main policy tool is the Bank Rate, the rate of interest it pays to commercial banks that deposit money with the BOE. Those banks need to make higher returns than they can earn from risk-free central bank deposits, so when the Bank Rate rises, so does the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses, restricting the supply of money in the economy and curbing prices. In times of crisis, the BOE can also buy government bonds, a tool known as quantitative easing, to bring down borrowing costs and stimulate spending. Between 1997 and the eve of the pandemic, inflation averaged 2% a year.
2. How has the BOE’s role changed?
Prior to 1997, rates were set by the chancellor, with the BOE governor providing advice. Within days of taking office, Tony Blair’s Labour government gave the bank operational independence, a move designed to insulate monetary policy from the risk of political opportunism. The BOE initially targeted an inflation rate of 2.5% based on the Retail Prices Index excluding mortgage interest payments. In 2003, the goal was shifted to 2% based on the CPI. In 2013, the BOE saw its remit change again when George Osborne, the Conservative chancellor, said that letting inflation overshoot the target was tolerable if it was required to support growth and employment. At the time, inflation was running close to 3% and the economy was emerging from the euro area’s sovereign debt crisis.
3. What might happen now?
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, the front-runner to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister, has said the UK is facing an unprecedented economic situation and that the “business as usual economic strategy” isn’t working. The BOE should remain independent but the time has come to revisit its mandate, she said. In a recent newspaper article, Truss said the recent commodity-induced inflation spike has been “exacerbated by monetary policy.” How she would revise the current system is unclear. She hasn’t said she would scrap inflation targeting, but did mention the possibility of widening the target to include a measure of money supply or nominal gross domestic product. Inflation in the UK is not out of line with the pressures being experienced in other advanced economies, where prices are rising at their fastest pace in decades.
Some analysts have expressed concern that talk of revising the BOE’s remit again raises questions about the independence of the central bank from political meddling. Any loss of credibility for the BOE could damage the economy by making monetary policy less predictable, leading investors to demand higher returns for owning UK government debt. The chancellor can change the BOE remit overnight if needed by sending a letter to the governor. In practice, the government would probably formally consult on the matter to signal its intentions.
• The chancellor who introduced Britain’s first inflation target in 1992 says it would be a mistake to abandon the regime in favor of a money supply goal. | 2022-08-10T10:38:05Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Why Change the Bank of England’s Inflation Target? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-change-the-bank-of-englands-inflation-target/2022/08/10/97e3b230-188b-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-change-the-bank-of-englands-inflation-target/2022/08/10/97e3b230-188b-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
Demonstrators during a rally outside the White House as part of the “Climate Chaos Is Happening Now” protest on Oct. 13, 2021, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
This is the moment climate activists had been working toward.
After years of protests and political fights, Congress is poised to pass its largest-ever climate bill: a record $369 billion that will be invested in clean energy projects, electric vehicle incentives and a program to curb methane pollution. The legislation will position the biggest greenhouse gas producer in history closer to achieving the emissions cuts scientists say are required to avert disastrous warming.
Yet the celebrations over the bill among Democrats and activists this week troubled Rhiana Gunn-Wright, one of the authors of the Green New Deal framework that had animated so much of the climate movement in recent years.
“What was so painful for a lot of people, including me, was seeing the one-note celebration of this ‘historic’ bill,” said Rhiana Gunn-Wright, director of climate policy at the liberal Roosevelt Institute think tank.
Though Gunn-Wright agreed the bill was probably the best this Congress could deliver, she wanted environmental groups to be just as vocal about its potential harm to low-income people of color who are disproportionately likely to live near the polluting fossil fuel infrastructure that will also get a boost in the bill as part of a hard-fought political compromise.
After the bill passed the Senate on Sunday, she recalled seeing mostly White activists tweet about hugging their children, proud that progress on climate had finally been made.
How the inflation reduction act might impact you -- and change the U.S.
With the House poised to approve the bill Friday and President Biden signing it into law shortly thereafter, the climate movement is on the brink of its biggest legislative success. But tensions within the movement have also emerged in recent days as activists grapple with the challenge of figuring out what comes next — having tested the limits, for now, of the American political system.
“Its clear to me that this is both a big step forward and there’s more work to do,” said Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive director of the youth-led Sunrise Movement. “And we have to make the case to young people that this happened because of them and we have to keep going.”
Prakash called the moment “bittersweet.”
“I find myself thinking that this bill is not enough. It leaves people out,” she said. “Many communities will still be left to a status quo of pollution and degradation in the places they live and work.”
“And yet,” she added, “it has to pass to give my generation even a fighting chance [of] living in a world that averts the worst of the climate catastrophe.”
The legislation that emerged this summer from secretive talks between Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) is a far cry from the $3.5 trillion climate and social spending package originally proposed by Biden.
It’s even further from the original vision backed by the Sunrise Movement and other liberal groups: a sweeping program for social justice and environmental action that would invest trillions of dollars in reshaping the economy.
To secure Manchin’s support, the Inflation Reduction Act includes several provisions that will benefit the fossil fuel industry: a pledge to open up new oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico; a commitment that congressional Democrats and the White House will complete a controversial pipeline carrying gas from West Virginia; and a promise to pursue a separate measure that would ease permitting requirements for fossil fuel facilities as well as clean energy infrastructure. It also allocates billions of dollars for carbon capture and storage — a technology that many climate advocates say does not address air pollution and other local threats to communities.
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That the Senate has passed any kind of climate legislation is a testament to the growth and unity of the environmental movement in recent years, said University of Maryland sociologist Dana Fisher, who has studied climate policy and activism for more than 20 years.
Environmental groups have increasingly framed fighting climate change as an opportunity to address economic inequality, racial injustice and a swathe of other social issues. That vision drew younger and more diverse activists to the climate movement, and — combined with the increasingly apparent dangers of global warming — helped mobilize millions of people to protest and vote, Fisher said. By the time Biden was elected, climate and environmental justice concerns had become centerpieces of the Democratic agenda.
And when Manchin announced in December that he would no longer participate in negotiations over Biden’s climate and social spending package — part of a protracted drama over the legislation — “they continued to put pressure on [Democrats] and shine a light on the issue,” Fisher said. “Its impossible to imagine we would have this bill otherwise.”
But Fisher has also spent decades tracking the rise and fall of proposed climate legislation: The 1997 vote against a U.N. pact to cut greenhouse gas pollution; the failure of multiple bipartisan efforts to reduce emissions; and the 2009 demise of an ambitious cap and trade program.
“Basically all of my research showed that vested interests, and fossil fuel interests, have been extremely successful in consolidating power and translating their power into success when it comes to legislation,” she said.
“It makes me sound terrible,” she said, “but bundling fossil fuel interests and climate interests in some way … was why we finally got a bill that works.”
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That political calculus has led to some rifts within the coalition of traditional “Big Green” groups, youth climate activists and environmental justice organizers that helped bring about this moment.
Anthony Rogers-Wright, director of environmental justice for the nonprofit New York Lawyers for Public Interest, resigned from the advisory board of the climate group Evergreen Action on Monday out of frustration with the group’s response to the bill.
Rogers-Wright said he is especially concerned about the side deal to ease permitting requirements, which could weaken a critical environmental protection law that requires federal agencies to scrutinize the impacts of major infrastructure projects. Black, Latino and Indigenous communities have frequently used the law to contest projects that could have harmed their neighborhoods.
“This could be a demotivator,” Rogers-Wright said. “And that’s my challenge to people who are celebrating this with victory laps. Are you going to go to poor environmental justice communities and sell this and say, ‘Look, we had to sell you out to get to this point?’ ”
“There’s no such thing as ‘net justice,’ ” he added.
Evergreen Action’s co-founder and executive director, Jamal Raad, sees it differently.
“I think we need to not think of this as a conclusion but a kind of a catalyzing moment where we use this to make ourselves stronger and build off it,” he said.
By lowering the cost of wind and solar energy, he said, the bill can make it easier for states to set clean electricity standards. The investments in electric vehicles and low-carbon heating systems can catalyze industries that will then build support for more climate policy.
And he pledged that Evergreen would prioritize supporting environmental justice groups in their efforts to block harmful infrastructure.
“I fundamentally disagree that this is worse than nothing,” Raad said. “With Democrats possibly on the precipice of losing one or more chambers in November, it was imperative to act now.”
The looming midterm elections put still more pressure on advocacy groups to figure out their next steps. While some worried that the disappointments of the bill would make voters less enthusiastic this fall, others turned that logic on its head, arguing that its shortcomings show the need to elect more politicians who support climate action.
“We need to have more environmental champions so we can do even bigger, bolder, more transformational things at federal level through legislation,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president for government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters.
Prakash said Sunrise would continue to lobby for Biden to declare a climate emergency and take further executive actions to curb emissions. The organization is also launching campaigns to help young people join school boards and advocate for Green New Deal-style policies at the city and state level.
“If anything, the last few years have taught us real lessons in the fact that it’s really hard to achieve the full scale of your vision and your values when you’re not governing,” she said. “And we need a lot more power if we want to do this bigger next time.” | 2022-08-10T10:38:11Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Climate activists grapple with what comes after climate bill - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/10/victory-whose-expense-climate-activists-grapple-with-political-compromise/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/10/victory-whose-expense-climate-activists-grapple-with-political-compromise/ |
High ticket prices cast doubt on Springsteen’s values and bond with fans
The musician has forged deep ties with fans and long extolled the virtue of the little guy — and excoriated price gouging
Perspective by Jonathan D. Cohen
Bruce Springsteen at his home in Colts Neck, N.J., on Sept. 26, 2019. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
If you have a Bruce Springsteen fan in your life, they are probably upset, confused and short on cash. Last month, tickets for the U.S. leg of the artist’s 2023 tour went on sale. As usual, demand was high. This time, so were prices. Some tickets were listed for thousands of dollars (not including fees), in part because of TicketMaster’s use of “dynamic pricing”— an algorithm similar to that used for hotel rooms and airplane tickets. Initially, fans hoped that this was a misunderstanding, but those hopes were dashed by comments Springsteen’s manager made to the New York Times that seemed to acknowledge that Springsteen himself knew these types of prices might be in play.
The ticket fiasco is not just a public relations crisis. It calls into question Springsteen’s reciprocal relationship with his fans and the message he has repeatedly sent about the danger of unchecked corporate greed. As a living embodiment of what he famously called the “runaway American Dream,” Springsteen has never been against making a buck. But shows that are accessible only to the rich — or very lucky non-rich fans — seem to violate what Springsteen stands for and may lead fans to question the Boss’s commitment to the values that he and his music have exemplified for five decades.
Springsteen has spent his entire career engaging his audience in what he has called a “conversation.” This conversation has included everything from accepting song requests at concerts via homemade signs to making appearances at Jersey Shore haunts.
More than anything else, the live show is at the heart of the Springsteen/fan conversation. For years, he has played three-hour concerts — sometimes longer — with plenty of back and forth between artist and audience. From singalongs to call-and-response to crowd surfing, Springsteen concerts deliver a cocktail of joy, humor, grief, gravity, honesty, hope, deliverance, and — for many — even spiritual awakening.
And it didn’t always cost a fortune to get in. In 1984, tickets for Springsteen’s blockbuster “Born in the U.S.A.” tour cost around $15 apiece ($42 in 2022 dollars), half the price for Michael Jackson’s tour that same summer. Even as Springsteen tickets became more expensive over the years, they remained cheaper than comparable acts including Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and even fellow New Jerseyan Whitney Houston. There were complaints about the cost, to be sure, but also an understanding that Springsteen could have charged far more if he wanted to and that the prices reflected the inclusive atmosphere he wanted to create at his concerts.
And fans appreciated that, despite his legendary performances, Springsteen didn’t charge top dollar. Few musicians work as hard in concert, from bounding all over the stage to play to every seat in the arena to jumping onto pianos and wringing the sweat from his shirt. This is not Dylan, who rarely speaks during his shows, or Billy Joel, who puts on a good show but generally remains stationary behind his piano.
Springsteen’s effort is born in part from a sense of obligation he feels toward his audience. “You don’t go out there to deliver $7.50 worth of music,” he explained in the late 1970s. “My whole thing is to deliver what money could not possibly buy.” He has even acknowledged the widespread bootlegging of his shows and offered joking greetings to those illegally recording his concerts. He knew that he was creating magic onstage, and he understood fans’ desire to capture some of that magic to listen to over and over again.
This approach to his concerts fits nicely with the themes and characters that dominate much of Springsteen’s canon. A focus on the American working class has been a long through line in his music. “Born to Run” (1975), “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (1978) and much of “The River” (1980) are replete with blue-collar characters seeking satisfaction and personal dignity in the face of dehumanizing work. The narrator of “Out in the Street,” for example, works five days a week “loading crates down on the dock.” Like many other Springsteen characters, he suffers through drudgery, abuse and boredom, waiting for the chance to be himself after the whistle blows. Once the clock strikes 5, he hits the town where he can “walk the way I wanna walk” and “talk the way I wanna talk.”
On “Nebraska” (1982) and then the breakthrough “Born in the U.S.A.” (1984), Springsteen’s characters are not just looking for satisfaction. They are looking to survive in a corporate economy that seems to have no regard for their well-being, their livelihood or their community. Factories are closed. Men — and they are all men — are laid off with no explanation, straining their relationships and their sense of self-worth.
Starting in 1987, Springsteen’s music generally moved away from its focus on the working class (with the exception of his 1995 solo album “The Ghost of Tom Joad”).
Then came the 2007-2008 financial crisis. For Springsteen, already skeptical as to whether Wall Street had Main Street’s best interests at heart, the behavior of the banks and financial firms represented no less than a betrayal of the American people. In 2009, he added Stephen Foster’s 19th-century song “Hard Times (Come Again No More)” to his set-list, an acknowledgment of the pain and insecurity experienced by millions of Americans who lost their homes or their jobs.
He also put pen to notebook and responded with his own music. In 2012, he released “Wrecking Ball,” whose title was a metaphor for what he called “the flat destruction of some fundamental American values” that had occurred since the late 1970s.
For Springsteen, the financial crisis was not a one-off event. It was a manifestation of the greed that was both common in American history and also particularly acute in the late 20th century. Springsteen’s America had a different set of values, encapsulated in the title of the opening track of his 2012 album: “We Take Care of Our Own.” The nation had an obligation to take care of its people but was failing to do so. The message clearly resonated. The song served as an anthem for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and was played in 2020 after Joe Biden’s victory speech.
Springsteen’s politics, his attention to the working class and his anger over the behavior of Wall Street are what make ticket prices for his 2023 tour such a “crisis of faith” for his fans. Even if only a small percentage of tickets were subject to dynamic pricing — as Ticketmaster insisted — after a half-century, charging full market rates feels like a betrayal for the Springsteen faithful. Both the artist and his art have long recognized the dangers of unchecked markets that do not have people’s best interests at heart. Though never opposed to capitalism, Springsteen has been vocal in his opposition to the rich and powerful taking care of only their own, which is exactly what seemed to happen when his tickets went on sale.
Ultimately, the adoption of dynamic pricing probably will be a small blip on Springsteen’s legacy, one that will irk die-hard fans without shattering their unconditional love for someone with whom they have a decades-long bond. This could be his last tour, and even after he stops performing, his music will continue to ring out as a testament to the struggles of the working class and as a call for an economy that works for everyone.
On “Land of Hope and Dreams,” Springsteen invites his audience to ride with him on a train destined for a place where “dreams will not be thwarted” and “faith will be rewarded.” As conductor, he offers a clear invitation, one that reflects what his music stands for: “You don’t need no ticket / You just get on board.” | 2022-08-10T10:38:35Z | www.washingtonpost.com | High ticket prices cast doubt on Springsteen’s values and bond with fans - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/08/10/high-ticket-prices-cast-doubt-springsteens-values-bond-with-fans/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/08/10/high-ticket-prices-cast-doubt-springsteens-values-bond-with-fans/ |
Peter Jackson weighed hypnosis to see Lord of the Rings with fresh eyes
Director Peter Jackson arrives at the 2001 premiere of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” in Los Angeles. (Lucy Nicholson/AP)
That desire was so intense that the director sought help to forget he made the films at all, he said on a recent episode of the Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast, explaining that he consulted with a hypnotherapist to wipe the slate clean.
“It was such a loss for me not to be able to experience them like everyone else was, that I actually did seriously consider going to a … hypnotherapy guy and to hypnotize me, to make me forget about the films and forget about the work I’d done over the last six or seven years, so at least I could sit and enjoy them.”
Jackson said he consulted with Derren Brown, a celebrity illusionist, and that Brown thought he could help. But Jackson did not go through with it, he said, not explaining why.
It’s unclear what Brown would have done to help the director forget the years of hard work Jackson put into the classic trilogy, and a representative for Brown told The Washington Post the illusionist was not available to answer questions.
But some hypnotherapists say that a memory erasure a la “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” — a 2004 film in which a broken-up couple seeks out a fictional service to completely erase memories of each other — is mostly the stuff of Hollywood.
Andrew Cunningham, a British hypnotherapist, wrote in a 2015 HuffPost essay that hypnotherapy cannot erase memories entirely but rather can alter the way a person feels about a negative event.
“Each time we remember we are adding to that memory even though it may seem we are simply recalling. And it is in the style of recall that hypnotherapy can help us to ‘forget,’” he wrote. “Because what we want to forget is not the fact that it happened but the way we feel about that memory, the way the emotions and the body responds on recall.”
Ava Evans, a Los Angeles-based hypnotherapist, also said it’s impossible to erase memories, and others in her field would agree, she said. She told The Post that while people seek her out to forget traumatic experiences, she instead works with them to take the “negative emotion” out of a memory.
But to use hypnotherapy to completely forget a memory, “I’ve never heard about that,” she said, adding, “To forget about a strong memory like forgetting a movie you directed, I believe that would be unlikely using hypnotherapy.”
Jackson’s remarks came ahead of the release of Amazon’s new series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which premiers Sept. 2 and whose first season cost nearly a half-billion dollars to make. Jackson said he was initially approached to work on the project, but when he asked to see the script, he was never sent a copy. So Jackson did not work on the show, he said.
In response to Jackson’s remarks, Amazon Studios told the Hollywood Reporter that, “In pursuing the rights for our show, we were obligated to keep the series distinct and separate from the films.”
Jackson noted that, in some ways, he was blessed not to be involved. He’ll finally get a version of his wish — to watch the series with fresh eyes and no knowledge of how it was made.
“The one thing that I am looking forward to is actually seeing it as a perfectly neutral viewer because I always felt when we did the Lord of the Rings movies, that I was the unlucky person who never got to see them as a … coming-out-of-the-blue type film.”
Amazon is also excited, adding in its statement: “We have the utmost respect for Peter Jackson and The Lord of The Rings films and are thrilled that he is looking forward to watching The Rings of Power.” | 2022-08-10T10:38:47Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Peter Jackson said he considered hypnosis so he could rewatch LOTR - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/peter-jackson-hypnosis-lotr/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/peter-jackson-hypnosis-lotr/ |
Rinn was commander of the USS Samuel B. Roberts when it hit an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf in 1988.
By David Larter
Bradley Peniston
Capt. Paul Rinn, seen in the 1990s as commanding officer of the USS Leyte Gulf, died unexpectedly this month. (Courtesy of Cappy Surette)
Paul X. Rinn, a Vietnam War veteran and ship captain who in 1988 led a desperate effort to save a U.S. Navy vessel from sinking after it struck an Iranian mine, died Aug. 3. He was 75.
His inspirational leadership in the face of crisis made him an icon among fellow sailors long after his retirement at the rank of captain in 1997. He served 29 years in the Navy and settled in Fairfax Station, eventually turning full-time to lecturing on military leadership and shipboard operations at the service’s professional schools and elsewhere.
Capt. Rinn died unexpectedly while in Boston for a speaking engagement, his family said. A cause of death was not provided.
As skipper of the frigate Samuel B. Roberts, Capt. Rinn took his crew into the war-torn Persian Gulf where they joined other U.S. warships protecting Kuwaiti tankers that had been reflagged as American vessels during the Iran-Iraq War. Returning from a convoy on April 14, the frigate struck an Iranian contact mine, which blew a massive hole in the hull.
The explosion broke the Roberts’s keel and knocked out its electrical power. The ship immediately began taking on water. But Capt. Rinn had prepared his crew for such an emergency, crew members recalled, and over four grueling hours they saved the vessel, which the Navy repaired and kept in service for another 27 years.
The fight to save Samuel B. Roberts remains a case study in combat preparedness and a model emulated by successive generations of commanding officers, said Bryan McGrath, a retired U.S. Navy destroyer captain and consultant.
“Captain Rinn had enormous influence in the way that captains who commanded after him approached their job,” Capt. McGrath said. “What we all heard from our captains and what we all heard from the training pipeline was a similar story: We’re going to practice this over and again, until it’s perfect. And then we’re going to practice it perfectly over and over again.
“That’s what I told my crew maybe 500 times. That is the legacy of Paul Rinn and the lessons that came out of Samuel B. Roberts: They were ready. They had prepared. They had actually thought through things. And they performed when it was most important.”
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Born in the Bronx on Sept. 13, 1946, Paul Xavier Rinn was educated in Catholic schools and at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Commissioned as a naval officer in 1968, he was sent a few years later to advise Thai riverine units in southeast Asia.
Firefights on the muddy Mekong River taught Capt. Rinn that he had to let go of the things he could do nothing about, and focus with all of his intensity on the things he could change, he told an interviewer many years later. Combat would push you past anything you could imagine, he said; for those who weren’t already prepared, it was too late.
Successful tours aboard surface warships led Capt. Rinn to his first command in 1984: the guided missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts, then under construction at Bath Iron Works. As the ship came together, the captain gathered his chief petty officers to set the tone for the crew. “There aren’t any second-place awards in combat. I don’t intend this ship to be a second-place ship. I want this ship to be the best ship there ever was,” he recalled telling them. “But the key is that I want every sailor who ever served on the ship to think this the best thing he could ever possibly have done with his life for those three years.”
Capt. Rinn put the crew through months of intense training, and by the time the Roberts sailed on its maiden deployment, it had beaten out seven other frigates to win the squadron’s Battle E award, which goes to the best overall ship.
Gordon Van Hook, a retired Navy captain who served as the Roberts’s chief engineer, recalled that the crew responded to Capt. Rinn’s energy and demanding standards.
“Paul had that sports mentality of: I want to be the very best. And the crew loved it; they ate that stuff up. And that’s not always the case, you know. A lot of times if you have a really demanding captain, it can be difficult.”
On the day of the mine strike, the Roberts was returning from escorting a reflagged Kuwaiti tanker, which it was protecting from roving Iranian frigates and fighter jets hunting for vulnerable targets. The blast severely injured 10 U.S. sailors, including four burn victims and Capt. Rinn himself, who suffered a broken foot.
Though wounded, Capt. Rinn and his sailors fought fire and flooding into the evening, beating long odds and making headlines around the world.
While naval analysts marveled that such a heavily damaged warship could remain afloat, American military leaders planned their response. Four days later, U.S. forces sank two Iranian warships in the short battle called Operation Praying Mantis.
Capt. Rinn went on to command the cruiser Leyte Gulf and eventually to serve as special assistant to two chiefs of naval operations: Adm. Mike Boorda and Adm. Jay Johnson. The lessons of the Roberts were taught across the Navy, from Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, R.I., to damage-control classes in Pearl Harbor.
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After leaving the Navy, Capt. Rinn worked for defense consultancy Whitney, Bradley and Brown. But he spent increasing amounts of time in Navy schoolhouses, talking about leadership and the lessons of his experience and forging relationships with hundreds of officers and enlisted sailors. In 2008, Capt. Rinn was inducted into the hall of fame of the Surface Navy Association, cementing his status as a Navy icon.
“For those of us who have been in command, for our whole careers we’ve had our captain standing over our shoulder,” said Thomas Rowden, a retired Navy rear admiral who served as the service’s top surface warfare officer in 2018. “And then the day comes when you take command and there’s nobody over your shoulder. It’s just you. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.
“Now, there will always be challenges and dangers when you take ships to sea and what Paul gave us was the power of his example. We can all look at Paul, and we can all look at the [Samuel B. Roberts], and hope that if push comes to shove and I’m tested in that way, that I can measure up. Because Paul measured up.”
Capt. Rinn is survived by his wife, Pamela Rinn; daughters Courtney Surette of Windermere, Fla; and Kirstin LeTellier of Summerville, S.C.; son Matthew Rinn of Castle Rock, Colo.; and six grandchildren.
Larter, a Navy veteran, was a defense journalist for more than a decade. Peniston is deputy editor of Defense One and the author of “No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf.” | 2022-08-10T10:38:59Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Capt. Paul Rinn, who saved USS Samuel Roberts from sinking, dies at 75 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/10/paul-rinn-navy-obituary/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/10/paul-rinn-navy-obituary/ |
Two people killed, two others hurt in crash on Suitland Parkway
Part of the Suitland Parkway was closed for several hours following a crash. (iStock)
Authorities said two people died and two others were hurt in a crash early Wednesday on the Suitland Parkway in Maryland.
The incident happened just before 1 a.m. on the parkway near Forestville Road. Officials with the Prince George’s County Fire Department said crews arrived and found several vehicles involved in a crash. Two people were trapped inside vehicles, and one was ejected from a vehicle.
Officials said two people were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others were taken to a hospital — one with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and the other with life-threatening injuries.
Approx 12:54am #PGFD units were dispatched to Suitland PKWY & Forestville Rd for a rescue call. On scene crews found a multi-vehicle collision w/2 patients trapped & 1 ejection. 2 patients declared deceased on scene.
The names of those who were killed were not immediately released pending the notification of their relatives.
The crash is under investigation, and part of the parkway was closed for several hours. | 2022-08-10T11:12:52Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Crash in Prince George's County leaves two people dead, two others hurt - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/10/fatal-crash-suitland-parkway/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/10/fatal-crash-suitland-parkway/ |
Come on, Bernie. Admit Joe Manchin outmaneuvered you.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) checks his phone before the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act on Capitol Hill, Aug. 7. (Shuran Huang for The Washington Post)
Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act is a much-needed political win for President Biden and the Democratic Party. But before the multi-hundred-billion tax-health-climate package rolls through the House, en route to a White House signing ceremony, consider one of this saga’s losers: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). He got far less of what he wanted than did his intra-caucus nemesis, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who cut a deal with Majority Leader Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in secret negotiations of which Sanders was apparently unaware.
It’s a remarkable denouement to a ferocious Sanders-Manchin battle that was not only intriguing as a political personality clash, and rich in lessons about how Washington really works, but also possibly consequential for Democrats’ ideological future.
Sanders spearheads the left wing of the Democratic Party (with which he nevertheless stubbornly does not fully affiliate). Buoyed by Democrats’ trifecta win in the 2020 elections, Sanders in mid-2021 sought to use the party’s control of the White House, House and a 50-50 Senate to advance $3.5 trillion, over 10 years, in new and expanded programs — on top of $1.9 trillion of pandemic relief Congress approved shortly after Biden’s inauguration.
The Sanders plan included everything from a civilian climate corps to tuition-free community college; he wanted to pay for it with taxes on corporations, estates and high-income individuals. Sanders called the $3.5 trillion the “minimum” number, scaled down from an initial $6 trillion.
Manchin balked, hinting $1.5 trillion would be his maximum. The Vermonter publicly pressured Manchin, chiding him for making vague demands and protecting an unjust economic status quo. On Oct. 15, Sanders published an op-ed in a West Virginia newspaper calling out Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) for obstructing benefits to seniors and children.
“This isn’t the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to our state,” countered Manchin, who knows his state and its unique working-class culture intimately — certainly better than Sanders does. With inflation on the rise, Manchin said, he would not vote for a “reckless” expansion of government: “No op-ed from a self-declared Independent socialist is going to change that.”
It’s hard to imagine two more dissimilar legislators than the Brooklyn-born democratic socialist, who represents a state with nearly 200 organic dairy farms, and the product of coal-mining Farmington, W.Va., who earned his degree in business from West Virginia University on a football scholarship.
Shortly after this exchange, the two tried a Capitol Hill peace conference, ending with Manchin’s slightly mocking comment in the Senate parking lot: “Never give up, Bernie.”
Last month, Sanders accused Manchin of “intentionally sabotaging” Biden’s agenda. “We continued to talk to Manchin like he was serious. He was not,” Sanders fumed to ABC News’s Martha Raddatz on July 17.
Brushing Sanders off, but entertaining private pleas from moderate Democrats, some of whom no doubt quietly sympathized with his stand all along, Manchin two days later approached Schumer to talk. The rest is history.
Advantage, Manchin — on both substance and process. Substantively, the bill’s very name accepts his view that inflation is America’s main issue. None of his dealbreakers, such as a family and medical leave subsidy, made it into the bill; goodies for his fossil-fuel allies did. The $369 billion for green energy and climate goals is substantial — but far smaller than the $555 billion that Democrats initially sought and nowhere near a Green New Deal. Corporate America faces only a modest tax increase and Medicare drug price restraint.
Tepidly progressive as it is, this could be the last such bill for years, given Congress’s limited legislative bandwidth and the likelihood of a Republican House in November.
On process, the deal vindicates Manchin’s style, an inside game during which he ignored — or reveled in — Sanders’s outbursts while leveraging his vote (and Sinema’s). He focused on West Virginia’s interests and did not move until his party leadership’s fear of electoral wipeout in November peaked. Now, among Democrats who might have scapegoated him, all is forgiven; if they hold the Senate, he’ll be the hero.
What a contrast to Sanders’s political modus operandi, as he expressed it in 2016: “What we need is a political movement in which millions of people stand up and demand that our government represent all of us, not just the billionaire class and large corporations.”
On net, events of the past two weeks help reposition Democrats closer to the political center — as Republicans careen rightward. We’ll never know if Democrats would have been even better off if they had met Manchin halfway sooner.
And Sanders? He’s damning the bill with faint praise, calling it “better than nothing.” On the Senate floor, he criticized the legislation’s insufficiencies and alienated Democratic colleagues by making them cast “no” votes, for purely procedural reasons, on his amendments to restore a $300 per month child tax credit and a higher corporate tax rate — which they would otherwise support. They did not appreciate it. “Come on, Bernie,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) grumbled into a hot mic.
When it came time for final passage, all 50 senators who conference with the Democrats voted “aye,” Bernie Sanders included. | 2022-08-10T11:30:23Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Come on, Bernie. Admit Joe Manchin outmaneuvered you. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/10/joe-manchin-outmaneuvered-bernie-sanders/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/10/joe-manchin-outmaneuvered-bernie-sanders/ |
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Analysis: Biden, trying to tout his policies, faces a familiar intruder in Trump
The latest: Mar-a-Lago search appears focused on whether Trump, aides withheld items
Analysis: Fact-checking Trump’s new campaign-style video
The latest: Rep. Scott Perry says the FBI seized his phone
Noted: Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler concedes in Washington state
President Biden enters the East Room of the White House on Tuesday to deliver remarks and sign protocols for admitting Sweden and Finland to NATO. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
Today, President Biden plans to sign legislation that aims to expand health-care access for military veterans fighting diseases believed to be linked to toxic exposure, particularly those who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The signing ceremony in the East Room comes amid a flurry of late-summer legislative wins for Democrats ahead of the fall midterms. On Friday, the House is expected to pass a sweeping economic package known as the Inflation Reduction Act and send it to Biden for his signature.
Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump appeared to confirm that he will be questioned under oath Wednesday by the New York attorney general as part as a civil investigation into his business dealings. The probe is one of many that Trump faces and is separate from the investigation by the Justice Department that apparently led to the search of his Florida home earlier this week.
8:30 a.m. Eastern time: Consumer price index data, a closely watched gauge of inflation, will be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
9:05 a.m. Eastern time: Vice President Harris leaves Washington en route to Las Vegas, where she plans to address a labor group and later speak about reproductive rights.
10 a.m. Eastern time: Biden signs the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promises to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act into law. Watch live here.
12:30 p.m. Eastern time: Biden departs from the White House for South Carolina, where he plans to vacation.
Former president Donald Trump raised the possibility Wednesday that FBI agents could have planted evidence while searching his residence earlier this week at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla.
In a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, Trump provided no specific evidence to back up the possibility but claimed that the FBI “would not let anyone, including my lawyers, be anywhere near the areas that were rummaged and otherwise looked at during the raid on Mar-a-Lago.”
Trump continued: “Everyone was asked to leave the premises, they wanted to be left alone, without any witnesses to see what they were doing, taking or, hopefully not, ‘planting.’”
Trump also questioned why the residences of former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were never searched despite being involved in “big disputes.”
The Post has reported that before the search, federal authorities grew increasingly concerned that Trump or his lawyers and aides had not returned all the documents and other material that were government property that were taken from the White House.
Our colleagues report that officials became suspicious that when Trump gave 15 boxes of items to the National Archives about seven months ago, either the former president or people close to him held on to key records — despite a Justice Department investigation into the handling of classified and other material that had been sent to the former president’s private club and residence in the waning days of his administration.
Former president Donald Trump appeared to confirm that he will be questioned under oath Wednesday in an ongoing civil investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) into his business dealings.
“In New York City tonight,” Trump wrote late Tuesday on Truth Social, his social media platform. “Seeing racist N.Y.S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history!”
James, who is Black and has been frequently derided by Trump, has been looking into the practices of Trump’s real estate businesses, particularly allegations that he misrepresented the value of his assets to lenders and tax authorities to secure loans and get breaks on his taxes.
The investigation is among several Trump is facing as an ex-president and is separate from the Justice Department probe that appears to have led to the FBI’s dramatic move to execute a search warrant at Trump’s Florida home. That investigation focuses on whether he took classified records when he left the White House.
Voters in four states — Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut — chose their nominees for November on Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights, from The Post’s Annie Linskey and Patrick Marley:
Former president Donald Trump’s preferred candidate, Tim Michels, won the Republican nomination for governor of Wisconsin, defeating former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch, a rival supported by former vice president Mike Pence. Michels will face Gov. Tony Evers (D) in November.
One of the year’s biggest Senate races was officially set in Wisconsin, as Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) was projected to take on Sen. Ron Johnson (R) in the fall.
Also in Wisconsin, state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos beat back a challenge from a Trump-backed candidate. The former president endorsed little-known candidate Adam Steen, saying he felt Vos hasn’t done enough to overturn the 2020 election.
In Minnesota, Republican Brad Finstad, who worked in the Trump administration as an agriculture official, led Democrat Jeff Ettinger, a onetime top executive at Hormel Foods, a major employer in the state, in a special election to succeed the late Republican congressman Jim Hagedorn, who died in February after a battle with cancer. The race has yet to be called.
Also in Minnesota, Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the liberal “Squad,” narrowly defeated former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, an anti-crime advocate, in a Democratic primary.
Scott Jensen, a physician who is skeptical of coronavirus vaccines, was projected to win the Republican nomination for Minnesota governor. He will face Gov. Tim Walz, who won the Democratic nomination.
In Vermont’s Democratic primary for the state’s single at-large congressional seat, Becca Balint, the state’s Senate president pro tempore, who received the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was projected to defeat Lt. Gov Molly Gray. She had the backing of Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, a Democrat who’s retiring.
You can read the full story from Annie and Patrick here.
That may be true. But they also may not remember it tomorrow, writes The Post’s Matt Viser in a debrief from The White House. Per Matt:
Cable news channels covered his remarks, but then quickly returned to the topic they had been covering before the brief Biden interlude: Donald Trump.
For much of his presidency, Biden has had a hard time competing for attention with the predecessor he calls “The Former Guy,” the one who left office a year-and-a-half ago but never really left the public consciousness.
The news is often not particularly positive for Trump — revelations about his presidency, congressional testimony and hearings, legal rulings and complications — but it can nonetheless eclipse Biden’s ability to deliver his message and command public attention.
You can read Matt’s full analysis here.
Officials became suspicious that when Trump gave 15 boxes of items to the National Archives about seven months ago, either the former president or people close to him held on to key records — despite a Justice Department investigation into the handling of classified and other material that had been sent to the former president’s private club and residence in the waning days of his administration, The Post’s Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey, Rosalind S. Helderman, Jacqueline Alemany and Spencer S. Hsu report.
One day after FBI agents executed a search warrant at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, he posted a campaign-style video that has the earmarks of a nascent drive to reclaim the presidency.
Writing for The Fact Checker, The Post’s Glenn Kessler says, “We’ve tried to be judicious about fact-checking Trump since he left the White House, but this seemed like a good opportunity to scrutinize some of the claims he makes to audiences at his rallies.”
Glenn offers a line-by-line accounting of Trump’s statements of material fact in the order in which they appear in the ad. He assessed 18 statements — and found 89 percent were false or misleading.
The Post’s Perry Stein reports that the congressman, a Trump ally who played a key role in promoting the former president’s claims of election fraud, did not say why federal agents took his phone. He wrote in a statement that the contents of his phone are not the “government’s business.” Per The Post’s Perry Stein:
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump last year, has conceded in her tough primary contest against Joe Kent, a retired Green Beret endorsed by the former president.
The Post’s David Weigel reports that Herrera Beutler conceded her race Tuesday evening, with Kent leading the incumbent by fewer than 1,000 votes at the time. Per Dave:
The Associated Press had not officially signaled that Herrera Beutler would not advance to the general election as of Tuesday evening. But if Kent ultimately advances, he will face Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D), an auto repair shop owner who got the most votes in the Aug 2. primary, the Associated Press projected. A close race kept the outcome in doubt for an extended period.
In saying the contest was too early to call, AP cited the small margin of Kent’s lead, 0.42 percentage points among a total of 217,626 ballots counted Tuesday evening, and the fact that Washington state allows automatic recounts if a contest is within 0.5 percentage points. As of the time of Herrera Beutler’s concession, there were about 10,000 votes left to be tallied. | 2022-08-10T11:52:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden to sign legislation aiding veterans; legal challenges continue for Trump - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/10/biden-veterans-toxins-trump-james/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/10/biden-veterans-toxins-trump-james/ |
House rich, cash poor: Why a home equity loan may not be a good idea
Thinking about tapping into your home equity to remodel? Read this first.
A home equity line of credit is a popular way for homeowners to finance repairs. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)
U.S. homeowners with mortgages have watched their equity increase by about 32 percent year over year, representing an equity gain of $3.8 trillion, or an average increase of $63,600 per borrower, since the first quarter of 2021, according to CoreLogic, a real estate analytics company.
The increase in home equity wealth is expected to spur a record amount of home-improvement spending, CoreLogic projects.
Background: The caller is single and 62. No children. She’s retired. She owns her home outright, and it’s worth approximately $520,000. She has about $350,000 in retirement funds spread across bank accounts, mutual funds, 401(k)s, 457s, and IRAs. But this money has to last throughout her retirement years.
Cash-out refinancing and HELOCs are expected to surge in 2022. But are they right for you?
Her options: Homeowners have a few ways to access the equity in their homes — a cash-out refinance, home equity loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC).
With a cash-out refinance, you replace your current mortgage and borrow cash from your home equity. If you own the home outright, you’ll get more cash out of the deal because there is no existing mortgage to pay off.
A home-equity loan, also known as a second mortgage, enables a homeowner to borrow money by tapping into the equity in their home. The loan is dispersed in one lump sum and paid back in monthly installments.
A HELOC is secured by your home and gives you a revolving credit line similar to a credit card. As you repay the balance, your available credit is replenished. HELOCs often have a variable interest rate. The interest rate tends to be lower than what lenders charge for a credit card or personal loan.
To beat back inflation, the Federal Reserve expects to continue to raise interest rates. If your loan has a variable rate, the interest rate will likely increase.
Alternatives to a HELOC: There are state and local programs that may assist with home repairs. Contact your local or county government housing department to check if you are eligible for such a program.
Unlike a traditional home loan, you don’t have to make monthly payments on a reverse mortgage. The loan isn’t paid until the homeowner moves, sells or dies. When the home is sold, any equity that remains after the loan is paid off is distributed to the person’s estate.
Borrowers can take the reverse mortgage loan as a line of credit, a lump-sum payment, fixed monthly payments or a combination. The loan size depends on the borrower’s age and other factors.
To qualify for a reverse mortgage, you must be 62 or older. You have to have paid off your mortgage or paid down a considerable amount so that you have equity. Your home must be your principal residence. Most importantly, borrowers must maintain the home and pay property taxes and homeowners insurance.
A reverse mortgage wouldn’t be a bad option. She could use the loan to get rid of the credit card and student loan debt and make the repairs she wants.
Should you tap into your home equity to fund your retirement?
One thing she should keep in mind. Since she hasn’t reached her full retirement age, Social Security will deduct $1 from her benefit payments for every $2 she earns above a certain annual limit. For 2022, that limit is $19,560.
This is a case of being house rich and cash poor. I generally recommend you only cash in on your home equity when you have to make needed repairs. By that, I mean your roof is leaking, or there’s an issue that jeopardizes the safety of your home.
If you have equity in your home, don’t let debt be your first choice to get at that cash. Make it your last resort. | 2022-08-10T12:09:27Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The pros and cons of using home equity to remodel your house - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/10/home-equity-loan-remodel-pros-cons/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/10/home-equity-loan-remodel-pros-cons/ |
Newcomers to Loudoun Valley Estates say they like the good schools and city living with the option of experiencing the country
Nikhil Midda, left, and Curran Kasireddy run as Archit Jain prepares to throw a football in the Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhood. (Craig Hudson for The Washington Post)
When asked why they chose to live in Loudoun Valley Estates in Ashburn, Va., many residents echoed a similar answer: the affordability and quality of the homes in a prime location.
“We’re centrally located in Ashburn where everything is close enough,” said Lisa Moore, a resident of Loudoun Valley Estates since 2018.
After her husband transitioned from active duty to the U.S. Army Reserve, Moore said, they wanted to live in Northern Virginia for employment opportunities. “We needed to be as close to Washington, D.C., as we could afford but also near really good schools for our three young kids,” she said.
Loudoun Valley Estates checked all their boxes, Moore said, especially given the planned Ashburn Metro station, about three miles away, for access to the nation’s capital.
Because of its location off Loudoun County Parkway and Ryan Road, the neighborhood is a quick drive to the rural west via Route 50 as well as to the commercial east via Route 7. “For us, it’s the perfect combination of good schools and city living but also having the option to experience the country,” Moore said. “It’s the best of both worlds.”
Moore’s family lives in one of the 235 townhouses in Loudoun Valley Estates, many of which are rentals and include a notable feature: yard space. “In the area, this community seems like the last to provide any significant yard space for a townhome,” Moore said.
When Sasank Melanathuru was house-hunting in 2018 for his growing family, he couldn’t find a larger home in Herndon, their former place of residence, that was in their price range, he said.
The large lot sizes in Loudoun Valley Estates, which provide enough space that the homes are not too close to one another, drew him in, Melanathuru said. “You don’t really find lot sizes like this anymore here,” he said.
Throughout the community, there are 476 single-family homes available on quarter-acre lots, half-acre lots and lots one acre or larger.
Constructed in the early 2000s by Toll Brothers, the traditional brick-front properties positioned alongside sidewalks and wide streets were “built really well,” Melanathuru said.
An added value is the well-maintained open space and greenery. “There are a lot of mature trees here,” Melanathuru said. “I have nine trees on my lawn alone, and I’m planning to add more.”
Unique to Loudoun Valley Estates is Lyndora Park, a 17-acre dog-friendly Loudoun County Parks, Recreation and Community Services facility in the community with a picnic area and land for football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball.
Additional amenities available to families in Loudoun Valley Estates include a fitness center, three tennis courts, two clubhouses, three tot lots and two outdoor pools.
The Loudoun Valley Estates Torpedoes summer swim team is fun for kids, Melanathuru said, including his 11-year-old daughter.
Other nearby resources include the Brambleton Regional Park and Golf Course, about 3.5 miles west of Loudoun Valley Estates, and the Brambleton Town Center, which features a Regal Cinemas movie theater, a Onelife Fitness facility, several restaurants and a Harris Teeter grocery store.
Development has continued in the area through the creation of adjacent neighborhoods such as Loudoun Valley II and Loudoun Valley Estates III, each with their own homeowners associations. The trails winding throughout Loudoun Valley Estates, including Broad Run Trail, allow residents to walk to these neighboring communities.
On summer nights, it’s not unusual to see families enjoying the warm weather during an evening stroll and kids riding their bikes before gathering for a game of basketball on one of the cul-de-sacs.
The HOA has been able to build a strong community through events, said Ratnarajah Kularajah, HOA president since 2021 and resident of Loudoun Valley Estates since 2003.
Prior to covid-19, everything from an end-of-summer concert with a band and food trucks to large Diwali “Festival of Lights” functions have taken place.
Recently, residents got the chance to reunite for a wine tour in Leesburg sponsored by the HOA in June. Plans for future events, such as a fall “Return to School” party for the kids, are in the works, Kularajah said.
Madison Manor is a place to come home to
The HOA fees are around $148 for single-family homes and $166 for townhouses.
Living there: Loudoun Valley Estates is bordered by Loudoun County Parkway and Ryan Road to the north, Unison Knoll Circle to the west, Scattersville Gap Terrace to the east, and Loudoun Valley II to the south. A parcel of land to the west of the community is also officially Loudoun Valley Estates but is under a conservation easement.
According to Michelina Queri, a real estate agent from MQ & Associates, there are six homes for sale in Loudoun Valley Estates, ranging from a three-bedroom townhouse with two full bathroom and two half bathrooms for $639,900 to a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom detached home at $1,128,800. In the past 12 months, 35 homes have sold in Loudoun Valley Estates. The average sales price was $937,087, and the average rent price for a townhouse was $2,822. Prices ranged from $583,000 for a three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom townhouse to $1,850,000 for a five-bedroom detached house with five full bathroom and three half bathrooms.
Schools: Stone Hill Middle and Rock Ridge High. Students on the east side of Loudoun County Parkway in Loudoun Valley Estates go to Moorefield Station Elementary; those on the west side go to Legacy Elementary.
Transit: The Broadlands Park and Ride, Loudoun Station Park and Ride and Brambleton Park and Ride are all within four miles of Loudoun Valley Estates. Dulles International Airport is about six miles away. The Wiehle-Reston Metro station on the Silver Line is about 10 miles away, and the future Ashburn Metro station complex is about three miles away. The community is a short drive from Route 7 and Route 267 (Dulles Greenway). | 2022-08-10T12:09:28Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Neighborhood profile: Loudoun Valley Estates - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/10/loudoun-valley-estates-neighborhood-profile/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/10/loudoun-valley-estates-neighborhood-profile/ |
A giant mural depicting Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, on the side of an apartment block in Kashira, Russia, on Thursday, June 9, 2021. Inflation jumped to the highest level since 2016 in May, fueling expectations that the Bank of Russia will move more aggressively to raise interest rates Friday. (Bloomberg)
Electricity costs for homes and businesses are set to soar from October, as the surge in oil income allows Putin to sacrifice gas revenue and squeeze supplies to Europe. UK prices are likely to jump by 75%, while in Germany some municipal utilities have already warned prices will increase in excess of 100%. Russia has successfully weaponized energy supplies; Western governments will come under increasing pressure to spend billions either subsidizing household bills or, as is already the case in France, by taking control of power companies.
The second indicator is the price of Russian oil. Initially, Moscow was forced to sell its flavors of crude at huge discounts to other varieties to entice buyers. In recent weeks, however, the Kremlin has regained pricing power, taking advantage of a tight market.
ESPO crude, a category of Russian oil from the Far East, is a good example of the new trend. At the low earlier this year, it sold at a discount of more than $20 a barrel to Dubai crude, the regional oil benchmark for Asia. Recently, ESPO crude has changed hands at parity to Dubai. Urals crude, the flagship Russian oil export to Europe, isn’t benefiting as much as ESPO, as its key buyers have traditionally been countries such as Germany rather than India. But it’s also recovering in price, selling recently at $20 to $25 a barrel cheaper than the Brent benchmark, after trading at a discount of almost $35 in early April.
Moscow is finding new commodity traders, often operating from the Middle East and Asia and probably financed by Russian money, willing to buy its crude and ship it to hungry markets. With Brent crude hovering at close to $100 a barrel, and with Russia able to offer smaller discounts, there’s plenty of money coming in to the Kremlin. For now at least, energy sanctions aren’t working. | 2022-08-10T12:09:35Z | www.washingtonpost.com | In the Energy Markets, Putin Is Winning the War - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/in-the-energymarkets-putin-is-winning-the-war/2022/08/10/6db68b0c-189c-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/in-the-energymarkets-putin-is-winning-the-war/2022/08/10/6db68b0c-189c-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html |
D.C. student, standout baseball player’s life cut short on Potomac River
Ceph Christie was a rising senior at Dunbar High School, his father said
Ceph Christie, 17, was recovered from the Potomac River on Aug. 5, according to D.C. police. The 17-year-old played baseball at Dunbar High School and for Ground Breakers Baseball Academy, his father said. (Ground Breakers Baseball Academy)
The 17-year-old stood just outside the baseball diamond, clutching in one hand a golden trophy and wooden plaque. “I thank my team, of course, couldn’t do it without my team,” he told an interviewer from a local high school baseball show in May.
Ceph Christie, an up-and-coming baseball player and rising senior at Dunbar High School, had just been named the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association’s high school baseball player of the year and First-Team All-League catcher.
He had dreams of making it to the major leagues — he had already committed to play ball at Western Carolina University, said his father, Marlon Christie. But those plans were cut short Friday when his son’s body was pulled from the Potomac River.
“He loved his sisters, loved his family,” said Marlon Christie, who founded Ground Breakers Baseball Academy, a youth team on which Ceph Christie played catcher, middle-fielder and outfielder, according to the team’s website. The teen also ran track, his father added. “He always tried to motivate and had a good word for everyone else.”
17-year-old dead after being pulled from Potomac River
Marlon Christie said his family is still trying to understand what happened, but he believes his son was out boating Friday morning. The boat may have drifted away and Ceph tried to swim back to shore but got overtaken by the current, his father said.
Shortly after 5:30 a.m. Friday, D.C. fire authorities tweeted that they were conducting a rescue operation in Northwest Washington to look for a person “possibly missing” from a boat in the river. Authorities later wrote that witnesses had reported “seeing someone trying to swim to a loose skiff” and that the person was “not seen again.”
Around 7 a.m., the city’s fire department tweeted the incident had changed from a “rescue to a recovery operation.” D.C. police conducted a dive operation, according to a police report. Police have not released any additional details or answered questions about the incident.
2022 Spring All-Met: Baseball first team, second team, honorable mention
Coaches and players across the world of youth baseball have taken to social media in the days since Ceph’s death to share memories and to grieve. “We mourn with those who loved him as they honor his life & memory,” MLB Develops wrote on Twitter. The Dunbar student was an alumnus of the Hank Aaron Invitational — an annual training event Major League Baseball hosts for high school players — as well as the Nationals Philanthropies Youth Baseball Academy.
We send our deepest condolences to the Christie family on the tragic loss of Ceph. We will forever be proud to call him an alumnus of the Hank Aaron Invitational & @Nationals Philanthropies Youth Baseball Academy. We mourn with those who loved him as they honor his life & memory pic.twitter.com/pWDtUmv6dp
— MLBDevelops (@MLBDevelops) August 8, 2022
His teammates on the Ground Breakers described their friend as someone who constantly motivated others, often offering words of encouragement during challenging moments on the field.
“It was always nice to see him do great,” said Zinny Kemahu, 17, a recent graduate of Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Va. “But also if we weren’t doing so great, he was right there.”
Eric Cueto, 18, who met Ceph while playing Little League Baseball, said the two grew up together, sharing rooms and sometimes beds while traveling for games. “Ceph was always that kid that wanted you to be happy, no matter what you were going through, no matter what was happening in your life,” said the rising senior at Theodore Roosevelt High School.
They became like brothers, Cueto said, a relationship that inevitability came with its share of spats. But Ceph would never let a disagreement linger, and they would quickly make up.
Alex Ozuna-Nunez, 17, a rising senior at Jackson-Reed High School and another Ground Breakers player, said he and Ceph would often take long walks after games and muse about the future. After a recent competition in Georgia, the two roamed Atlanta’s Lenox Square shopping mall and fantasized about representing the District at the Minority Baseball Prospects All-American Game in October.
“That was the goal, to put on for the city,” Ozuna-Nunez said. “Ceph was the person to lift you up, make you laugh … the teammate where, off and on the field, you could just talk to him about anything.” | 2022-08-10T12:10:31Z | www.washingtonpost.com | D.C. student, baseball player's body pulled from Potomac River - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/08/10/dunbar-student-baseball-player-potomac-river/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/08/10/dunbar-student-baseball-player-potomac-river/ |
A lithograph displays a man from the Pony Express on horseback, fleeing Native Americans, on Indian burial grounds. (J.H. Bufford's Lith./Library of Congress)
At about 9 p.m. on a Saturday in late December 1860, Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson rushed to his department’s D.C. headquarters to inspect a safe that held bonds and stocks for Native American tribes. The safe key was missing. So Thompson sent for a blacksmith, who smashed the iron safe open with a sledgehammer.
Thompson had heard that hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks and bonds had been secretly removed and “loaned” to an unknown official. To his shock, the securities were indeed missing from the safe. The recipient turned out to be the president of the Pony Express, who had used the bonds to raise operating money for the private mail service.
The search didn’t rise to the level of this week’s announcement by former president Donald Trump that his home and safe at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Springs, Fla., had been raided by FBI agents. But it was big news in its day. “Washington City yesterday was thrown into a high state of excitement” by the news that the Interior Department “had been robbed of a very large amount of stocks and bonds held in trust for the benefit of different Indian tribes,” the New York Herald reported.
The Justice Department and FBI haven’t revealed what the agents were looking for at Mar-a-Lago, but the search required approval by a federal judge. The 1860 break-in was anything but authorized — an inglorious chapter in the legendary Pony Express’s horseback transport of mail across the northern plains of America’s wild west in the months leading up to the Civil War.
In early 1860, Pony Express President William H. Russell and two business partners created the Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Co., following protests over the postmaster general’s cuts in mail service to California. At that time, mail trains and telegraph service to the west ended in St. Joseph, Mo. Stagecoaches then carried the telegrams to a station in northern California and the mail on to San Francisco. The trip took up to three weeks.
The new company promised mail delivery by its Pony Express service in 10 days using relays of riders and fast horses. The company bought 400 horses and hired 80 riders. Mark Twain wrote that “the pony-rider was usually a little bit of a man, brimful of spirit and endurance.”
Riders traveled light, carrying only a specially designed mail pouch called a mochila, a Bible and a revolver. They were paid about $100 a month, equal to nearly $3,200 now. The most famous rider was a young William “Buffalo Bill” Cody.
The first rider left from St. Joseph on April 3, 1860. A large crowd gathered “to witness the inauguration of this great and novel enterprise,” the New York Times reported. At 7:15 p.m., the rider’s “spirited bay mare … dashed off at a rapid rate, bearing her burden towards the Gold State.” The rider carried 49 letters, five telegrams, newspapers and other items. Ten days later, crowds lined the streets in Sacramento to witness the arrival of the Pony Express rider just after 5 p.m., as church and fire engine bells rang.
To promote the service, the Pony Express made an “extra” run in November to deliver the results of the 1860 presidential election to the West Coast in a record seven days from the new end of the telegraph line in Fort Kearney, Neb. The “Pony” delivered the news that Republican Abraham Lincoln had won New York state and was assured of election.
The federal government partially subsidized the Pony Express route, but the company wasn’t able to get the major mail contract. Behind the scenes, the Pony Express was losing money hand over hoof. Russell desperately began seeking ways to pay off creditors.
He turned first to the War Department, which owed the Pony Express’s parent company money for transporting military supplies. Congress hadn’t appropriated the funds yet, but War Secretary John Floyd illegally gave Russell and his partners a written assurance of future payment. Russell used the document as collateral to get short-term bank loans. Now the loans were coming due.
Then Russell learned about an Interior Department clerk named Godard Bailey, who was the custodian of a fund that made payments to Native American tribes for land sold to the U.S. government. Bailey was related to Floyd by marriage and worried that Floyd’s illegal assurance would be exposed if he didn’t help Russell. So he gave Russell bonds and stocks worth about $870,000, or $29 million today. Russell pretended the securities were his and used them to raise cash.
In December, the guilt-ridden Bailey wrote a letter to a friend confessing his theft. On hearing of the letter, Thompson raced to his agency and discovered the bonds were missing. A search of agency books went on “with members of the Cabinet and other prominent public men until three in the morning,” the New York Herald reported.
That same morning, federal authorities issued a warrant for Bailey’s arrest. “He attempted to cut his throat, but was prevented by his wife,” the Chicago Tribune reported. On Christmas Eve, Russell was arrested at his office in New York City.
The story of the Great Bond Robbery quickly became a newspaper sensation. In April, Russell resigned under pressure as Pony Express president. Floyd also resigned his Cabinet position under President James Buchanan because of the scandal and disclosures that he was siphoning federal supplies to Southern rebels. After the Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861, Floyd, a former Virginia governor, became a Confederate general. (Thompson, who had served as a congressman from Mississippi, also quit his post in the Buchanan administration in 1861 to become inspector general of the Confederate Army.)
Meanwhile, the rising tensions between the North and South boosted the Pony Express’s business, as people on the West Coast were anxious for timely news about the crisis. But the Pony’s days were numbered. On Oct. 26, the opening of a telegraph station in Salt Lake City established nearly nationwide service.
Two days later, the Pony Express company announced it was closing. Soon afterward, the last rider to California journeyed into the sunset. Over the 18 months the Pony Express existed, four riders were killed by Indians, one was hanged for murder, two froze to death and one was killed in an unrelated accident, according to the National Park Service.
With the Civil War underway, the missing bonds were never recovered. Russell and Bailey were never prosecuted. Eventually, U.S. taxpayers footed the bill for replenishing the Indian Trust Fund.
More on Civil War history
A live Civil War explosive was found in Georgia. Does it need to be destroyed?
Let’s get real about Robert E. Lee and slavery
Memphis is digging up the remains of a Confederate general who led the early KKK | 2022-08-10T12:10:37Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Interior secretary's safe was raided illegally to fund Pony Express - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/10/interior-secretary-safe-pony-express/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/10/interior-secretary-safe-pony-express/ |
Concert poster for the Zolas’ show with Hotel Mira. (The Zolas)
Hiatus Kaiyote has defined its genre of music as “future soul.” The Australian band’s instrument and production choices feel fresh and free from traditional boundaries, while lead singer Nai Palm’s stirring and unparalleled voice bring plenty of soul. Kaiyote’s second album, “Choose Your Weapon,” came out in 2015 with a loud and multilayered bang. The group made fearless choices and grabbed inspiration from many places but still made the occasional whiplash enjoyable. “Mood Valiant” was released in 2021 and finds the band in an even braver place than before. The song “Chivalry Is Not Dead” features Nai Palm’s voice floating atop the junkyard-sounding production: “We could get lost in our lust,” she sings while listeners get lost in her sultry vowels. On “All the Words We Don’t Say,” she sings the title over and over again in the chorus and sounds more far away than usual. But before listeners can yearn for her to come closer, warm drums and intricate, electric strumming fill the space. Hiatus Kaiyote has never had trouble taking up space. Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. at Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. fillmoresilverspring.com. $40.
The Zolas
The Zolas’ 2021 album “Come Back to Life” opens with echoing, faraway voices and sounds reminiscent of old-school video games. The effect is that the song “Violence on This Planet” feels like it’s arriving from a different planet. That otherworldly feeling is a consistent musical theme throughout the project that leans more into the psychedelic than the indie Canadian band has before. A song like “I Feel the Transition,” with its lush production and occasionally rowdy drums, benefits greatly from some electronic sound effects. So when founding member and lead singer Zachary Gray sings, “Today’s like a shooting star, no coming back to where we are,” it fits. But that doesn’t mean the band doesn’t find a way to anchor its songs’ stories. The song “PrEP,” Gray told the Vancouver Sun, was inspired by a Reddit thread of older gay men recounting their experiences with the AIDS epidemic. Gray sings heart-wrenching lyrics like, “Remember all those years we kept our black suits by the door / Like a soldier every week / Which friend will I be dressing for,” while the durable drumming complements his moving vocal performance. The Zolas are reminding us the horrors of our own planet are worse than anything we could imagine about space. Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. (doors open) at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. blackcatdc.com. $20.
Blk Odyssy
Singer Juwan Elcock and guitarist Alejandro Rios make up the soulful duo Blk Odyssy. They released “Blk Vintage: The Reprise” in June — building on their 2021 debut album, “Blk Vintage,” by adding new features and songs. “Let me stick this funk in your veins,” Elcock promises on the second track, “Funkentology.” It’s a slower jam, with Elcock’s vocals tiptoeing elegantly throughout. His mesmerizing cadence is key to connecting Blk Odyssy’s funk-based sound with its darker storytelling turns. The last song, “Drinking Good” featuring Eimaral Sol, is striking. Here, Elcock drinks with one hand and contemplates his brother’s death at the hands of the police with the other. He closes the first verse describing a bloodstain he won’t forget before starting the chorus with, “I’m drinking good / Face it you’re wasted.” Then there are more upbeat musical moments such as on “Ghost Ride” featuring Mereba, which has a catchy chorus and undeniable production. Still, lyrics like “But why is it so that the world doesn’t know / That all my brothers drowning slow in the watеr” stand out among textured production. Blk Odyssy continues to pierce through the funk. Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. at Songbyrd, 540 Penn St. NE. songbyrddc.com. $15-$20.
The Kid Laroi’s “Stay” wasn’t just a hit because of Justin Bieber’s massive assist. Sure, that didn’t hurt, and Laroi’s Bieber-like, craze-inducing hair didn’t hurt either. But the Australian rapper and singer’s undeniably catchy, breakout single is doing what pop music loves to do: giving listeners a good time and a sad story. Laroi has messed up and he’s begging for forgiveness — at least for now — so whoever he’s appealing to can stay. His melodic inflection makes you sing along to lyrics like, “I realize the time that I wasted here / I feel like you can’t feel the way I feel.” The 18-year-old is already three projects into an album series, with the latest one subtitled “Over You.” The album features some big names in popular rap today like G Herbo, Lil Durk and Machine Gun Kelly. It’s a two-sided album, and Laroi rap-sings his way through a whopping 24 songs. A song like “I Wish” shows the rapper in a vulnerable state, and it’s in these moments that Laroi cracks open his shiny pop-rap exterior. When he fiercely sings, “I’m in the way, I’m in the way of myself,” his frustration with himself is evident. The Kid Laroi isn’t scared to let listeners in — and that’s his strength. Aug. 17 at 8 p.m. at Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE. echostage.com. Sold out. | 2022-08-10T12:10:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | 4 concerts to catch in the D.C. area: Aug. 12-18 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/08/10/concerts-dc/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/08/10/concerts-dc/ |
Being adopted has shaped their views on abortion — in different ways
Conversations about abortion are often connected to adoption.
In oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last year, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett suggested that adoption may render abortion irrelevant. And in his majority opinion on the case, Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote: “A woman who puts her newborn up for adoption today has little reason to fear that the baby will not find a suitable home.”
The conversation has been happening on social media, too: In one viral post, an antiabortion couple was photographed at a rally holding up a sign that read, “We will adopt your baby.”
The sign sparked online support, outrage and an outpouring of memes. But for some adoptees, it prompted a more personal conversation — one about their own lived experiences, as well as the complexities of adoption as an alternative to abortion.
Indeed, since the fall of Roe v. Wade, a number of people who were adopted have been vocal on both sides of the debate: For some, it’s galvanized them to advocate for abortion bans and restrictions so that children can have opportunities that they’ve had. Others say the opposite is true — and have spoken out about the emotional trauma adoption can incur for everyone involved.
Women denied abortion rarely choose adoption. That’s unlikely to change.
Ryan Bomberger comes from a family of 15. He was adopted out of the foster-care system — along with 9 of his 12 siblings. Bomberger is staunchly antiabortion, in part due to the circumstances around his own conception, he said.
“I am 100 percent antiabortion, 100 percent pro-life,” said Bomberger, a 51-year-old living in Virginia. “Being rescued from the violence of abortion ... is what compels me to actually be as pro-life as I am.”
Bomberger said his adoptive parents were told by the adoption agency that he was a product of rape, a point that has been an integral aspect of his advocacy, he said: In 2009, he co-founded the Radiance Foundation, a faith-based antiabortion nonprofit.
“All the things I’ve been able to become in my life are the result of that singular decision,” Bomberger said.
Bomberger is now a father of four children, two of whom are adopted. Adoption, according to him, is not all “sunshine and rainbows.” But he does believe that it is one of two alternate paths to abortion.
“Either you can choose to parent or you can make a powerful parenting decision and say ‘I’m not ready or prepared or able to take care of this child but another family can,’ ” he said.
Amanda L. Baden, a professor at Montclair State University who specializes in transracial adoption, multicultural counseling competence, identity and racial and ethnic issues in adoption, called the emotional impact of adoption “complex.”
Baden, who is a psychologist, says that adoptees are often told and feel “their adoptive parents did a wonderful thing and they rescued them.” But some can still have “really strong traumatic reactions” because of the loss of that relationship with their biological parent, she said.
“Everyone shares this common theme of loss and can feel some of the things that come with that, some of the core issues of adoption, like rejection, guilt, shame, intimacy issues,” she added.
It is also a difficult emotional decision for birthparents: As The Washington Post reports, women who are denied abortions rarely choose adoption — largely because of “powerful emotional reasons.” Abortion rights advocates often cite the emotional weight of being a birth parent, as well as the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth, as reasons adoption isn’t a substitute for abortion.
Sarah Meadows, a 40-year-old living in London, feels adoption “is still socially hugely misunderstood.” Meadows was adopted through the Catholic Caring Society when she was about 1-year-old, after living with a foster family for a short period of time. She views adoption as a “painful” and often corrupt process, even when everyone involved has the best intentions.
She said she’s a supporter of abortion rights, and believes that the lives of adoptees should not be used to justify antiabortion sentiments.
“Many adoptees have their whole identities changed and lives hijacked by adults with their own agendas. I had my name changed — many have this and their whole cultures erased,” said Meadows, who is now a mother of two.
Melissa Guida-Richards, a 29-year-old adoptee and author of “What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption,” believes the recent conversations around adoption as an alternative to abortion show how little people know about the “ethical issues” with adoption.
She referenced Ethiopia’s 2018 ban on foreign adoptions, which was created, in part, after a U.S. couple was convicted of killing an adopted Ethiopian girl. Guida-Richards said that children are not always safer in American houses than in their home countries; just because she had a more positive experience doesn’t mean all children do.
Guida-Richards was adopted out of Colombia as a baby and was the third child in her birth family to be put up for adoption, she said. She grew up believing that her adopted parents were her biological parents; it was only after she looked through papers in her adopted father’s office that she learned the truth about her past, she said. (She later wrote about the experience for HuffPost.)
As an adoptee from a country that didn’t decriminalize abortion until this year, Guida-Richards believes that pregnant people should have the right to make decisions about their bodies.
“I feel like having a country that highly regulates pregnant people’s bodies just leads to more issues, more trauma, more children that are inevitably going to be in more difficult situations,” she said.
“People just think [adoption is] this happily ever after thing when it’s way more complicated than that,” she added.
Antiabortion advocate Annie Fitzgerald, 20, agrees that adoption is not a quick fix. It’s “not an easy solution, it’s not an easy decision,” she said. “However, there are resources and places that will help women.”
Fitzgerald, who is the founder of No Such Thing As Unplanned, an antiabortion organization for adopted people, was adopted out of Russia when she was 6 months old. Her birth mother was 17 and unable to care for her, Fitzgerald said.
“When I started hearing things about why women ‘needed abortion,’ it felt like a big jab in the side because it’s all of the things that my own birth mother defied,” she said.
“I’m just so grateful that I’m alive and that my birth mother chose life for me,” Fitzgerald continued. “And I’m thankful that Roe v. Wade has been overturned because more children will be protected and will have that chance at life.”
Some other adoptees don’t agree with that sentiment.
Mya Pol, 21, a student, disability advocate and content creator, was born when her mother was 16 and in foster care.
“The system had completely failed her, and the foster home that we were in was completely neglectful and was actually shut down shortly after I left because it was not safe for children to be in,” said Pol, who moved in with her adoptive family as a toddler and had her adoption finalized when she was 5.
Pol, a supporter of abortion rights, believes that “every single birth person should have full anatomy over whether they want to keep that child, because every child deserves to be born into this world as a wanted child.”
Her emphasis is on the children who are currently in the foster-care system, rather than bringing more children into that system. “We’re already losing children, children are already being abused and neglected in the foster-care system,” said Pol, who referenced the approximately 20,000 foster children who go missing each year. Studies have also found that children in foster homes are more likely to experience physical abuse and sexual abuse than their peers.
As she put it: “That system is already overrun, and we’re just going to be adding to it instead of adding more support and more services to support the people already in the system.” | 2022-08-10T12:10:55Z | www.washingtonpost.com | How being adopted shapes people's thoughts on abortion - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/adoptees-abortion-beliefs/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/adoptees-abortion-beliefs/ |
Taylor Swift says peers, not 3LW, taught her about ‘players’ and ‘haters’
The musician filed a declaration in court saying she had ‘never heard’ the 3LW song she’s accused of copying in her 2014 hit
Taylor Swift with her trophy at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last year. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/Shutterstock)
For decades, musicians have griped about players and haters on the airwaves. But those common complaints are playing out in a courtroom in a lawsuit the writers behind a 3LW hit filed years ago against Taylor Swift.
The copyright suit accuses Swift of ripping off lyrics from the 2000 single “Playas Gon’ Play” in her 2014 hit “Shake It Off.” Since it was filed in 2017, the case has been tossed, appealed and revived by the courts — but it’s now heading to a jury trial. Ahead of the upcoming legal proceedings, Swift filed a declaration Monday, defending the track in question as “entirely written by me.”
The pop star added that she couldn’t have copied material from a song she’d never heard.
“Until learning about Plaintiffs’ claim in 2017, I had never heard the song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ … or the group 3LW,” Swift wrote in the filing.
The singer, who was 10 when 3LW’s song burst onto the scene, also said she wasn’t allowed to watch MTV’s “Total Request Live” until she was a teenager — meaning she wasn’t able to hear “Playas Gon’ Play” during its brief chart run in the early aughts. The song peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard Top 100 before — six years later — being placed on the magazine’s “100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time” ranking.
Andrea Swift vouched for her pop-star daughter, adding that she “carefully monitored both the television she watched and the music she heard.”
“Taylor did not attend sleepovers at friends’ houses as a young girl because we lived on a farm until she was 10 years old and I always preferred having friends come over to our home,” Andrea Swift wrote in a filed declaration.
Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who wrote the lyrics to “Playas Gon’ Play,” shrugged off those explanations. Their attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post, but in a statement to the Guardian said that “the two works are so strikingly similar that Ms Taylor’s denial of access makes no difference to the outcome.”
The members of 3LW, short for 3 Little Women, are not affiliated with the lawsuit.
When it comes to rhythm and style, the songs differ greatly. While “Playas Gon’ Play” is a seminal piece of Y2K R&B, “Shake It Off” is pure bopping pop. Nevertheless, the two share a couplet of lyrics with the same play on words — 3LW’s “Playas, they gon’ play / And haters, they gonna hate” versus Swift’s “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”
In 2018, a judge tossed the lawsuit because he found the lyrics were “too banal” to be stolen. A year later, an appeals panel resurrected the case — prompting Swift to request a dismissal. However, the same judge who had earlier dismissed the case refused the star’s motion in December, saying the songs had “enough objective similarities” for the suit to proceed, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Short phrases and cliches typically don’t qualify for protection because they lack the originality required by the federal Copyright Act. And the concept of players and haters isn’t necessarily groundbreaking — neither in the music scene nor in English lingo.
In 1977, Stevie Nicks crooned about how “players only love you when they’re playing” in Fleetwood Mac’s song “Dreams.” Then, the idea of brushing off criticism gained popularity in the ’90s thanks to myriad songs, where it manifested itself in phrases like “haters gonna hate” and “playa haters.” The Right Rhymes, a hip-hop dictionary, traces the term “hater” back to Cypress Hill’s 1991 song “Psycobetabuckdown.” Some years later, the combo of players playing and haters hating took off with the Notorious B.I.G.’s 1997 “Playa Hater” and Ice-T’s 1999 “Don’t Hate the Playa.”
In the 2010s, the phrase “haters gonna hate” became a popular meme genre, peaking in Google web searches in 2012 and being enshrined as Urban Dictionary’s word of the day on Jan. 25 that year, according to Know Your Meme.
Its frequent use is what inspired Swift when she was writing “Shake It Off,” she wrote in Monday’s filing.
“I recall hearing phrases about players play and haters hate stated together by other children while attending school in Wyomissing Hills, and in high school in Hendersonville,” Swift said of growing up in Pennsylvania. “These phrases were akin to other commonly used sayings like ‘don’t hate the playa, hate the game,’ ‘take a chill pill,’ and ‘say it, don’t spray it.’”
The phrasing was so common, she added, that she even wore an Urban Outfitters “haters gonna hate” T-shirt during a 2013 concert — a year before “Shake It Off” was released. | 2022-08-10T12:11:01Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Taylor Swift says she 'never heard' 3LW song she's accused of copying - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/taylor-swift-3lw-players-haters/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/taylor-swift-3lw-players-haters/ |
Wednesday briefing: Why the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago; Wisconsin primary results; Carolyn Bryant Donham; Serena Williams; and more
The FBI was searching Donald Trump’s home for possible White House records.
What records? Officials suspect the former president or his advisers kept some documents at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, instead of returning them with other records (some classified) earlier this year.
What did the FBI find? We don’t know yet, but agents took about 12 boxes after their search on Monday, Trump’s lawyer said.
What else to know: Trump is set to be questioned by the New York attorney general today as part of a separate investigation.
A report this morning will give us a key snapshot on rising prices.
What to expect: Inflation likely went down a little last month, though it will still be much higher than normal.
Why? Gas and energy prices have been falling steadily — the average cost of gas is now just above $4 a gallon.
What this means: The U.S. central bank has been trying to get rising prices under control for months by hiking interest rates, and this could be a sign of progress.
A suspect was arrested in the killings of Muslim men in Albuquerque.
The details: There have been four fatal shootings — three in the past two weeks — that left the city’s Muslim community living in fear.
A 51-year-old man faces murder charges in the killings of Aftab Hussein, 41, and Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, 27. Police are still investigating a link to the two other shootings.
The Wisconsin governor’s race is turning into one to watch in November.
Why? The candidate backed by Trump, Tim Michels, won his primary yesterday, setting up a key battle in an important swing state. He’ll face the current governor, Democrat Tony Evers.
What else to know: Vermont is set up to send its first woman to Congress, the last state in the nation to hit this milestone.
A woman linked to Emmett Till’s lynching won’t be indicted.
Who is she? Carolyn Bryant Donham. Her accusations against Till, a Black teenager, led to his kidnapping and lynching in Mississippi nearly 70 years ago.
Why are we talking about this now? An unserved warrant for Donham’s arrest from 1955 was discovered recently, but a grand jury just decided there wasn’t enough evidence against her.
Serena Williams hinted that her tennis career is coming to an end.
What she said: It’s time to move “toward other things that are important to me.” She also wrote on Instagram that “the countdown has begun.”
The timing: The U.S. Open, which starts at the end of this month, could be her final tournament. With 23 Grand Slam singles titles, she’s one of the greatest professional athletes of all time.
Domino’s is leaving Italy, for obvious reasons.
What happened? The pizza chain has closed all its Italian locations after seven years because it turns out locals preferred more authentic versions of their national dish.
The reaction: The chain has been ridiculed for its misguided ambitions. One Italian newspaper concluded: “Italians don’t like pineapple pizza.”
And now … some advice if you’re worried about debt, and, for some escapism, this fascinating tale about the Titanic. | 2022-08-10T12:11:56Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The 7 things you need to know for Wednesday, August 10 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/the-seven/2022/08/10/what-to-know-for-august-10/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/the-seven/2022/08/10/what-to-know-for-august-10/ |
Two Ind. officers suspended after arresting man thought to be anti-police
During a July 19 hearing, Franklin County Prosecutor Chris Huerkamp dropped charges that included rape and drug possession against Trevin Thalheimer after an officer and witness recounted how Brookville police talked about Thalheimer. Huerkamp said he was “disturbed beyond words” by the alleged police conduct and reported the incident to the Indiana State Police, which has launched a criminal investigation. The transcript of the hearing was made public Monday.
Brookville Police Chief Terry Mitchum and the investigating officer, Ryan Geiser, were suspended with pay from the nine-person force Thursday by the town’s council, which ordered them to stay away from other officers and town property. The council installed an interim chief in a brief emergency meeting and said it would begin searching for a permanent replacement.
Local police say they’ve already implemented many of Biden’s reforms
Thalheimer said he decided not to run for town council since the arrest rocked his hometown of 2,500 people and consumed his life. Immediately after he got out of jail, he said he couldn’t leave his bed. He said he felt he had been “destroyed” by the criminal charges, which exacerbated his depression and anxiety.
After his arrest, it took months before the hearing that cleared Thalheimer’s charges.
During the hearing, Elise Whittamore, a friend of Thalheimer, testified that Geiser called to ask her to run for the seat herself. He mentioned Thalheimer’s interest in the race, saying, “We don’t want him on the town board because he hates cops.” Three days later, Thalheimer was arrested.
“I was upset,” Whittamore said about reading in the local news that Geiser arrested Thalheimer.
Shortly after calling Whittamore, Geiser said he investigated a report from Thalheimer’s neighbor that items in his house were stolen and that Thalheimer was supposed to watch the house. Geiser went to Thalheimer’s house and spoke with Thalheimer’s roommate and alleged that he smelled marijuana. He returned with a search warrant Jan. 30 and arrested Thalheimer because of drugs allegedly found there but also for a months-old rape allegation that a prosecutor had said he wasn’t able to substantiate.
Geiser testified that another officer had told him there was new DNA evidence, but Geiser didn’t know what that was, and he wasn’t an officer on the investigation.
He also said he didn’t recall mentioning Thalheimer to Whittamore, but he said that he thought Thalheimer did not like police, and that the police chief was “not a huge supporter” of Thalheimer. The police chief ordered Thalheimer’s arrest, Geiser said.
“From everything that I’ve heard throughout the law enforcement community is that he wasn’t a fan of law enforcement,” Geiser said of Thalheimer.
Huerkamp cross-examined Geiser, asking him how he came to the “unusual” step of lodging a rape charge without seeing DNA evidence or consulting anyone in the prosecutor’s office.
“Did that make you feel uneasy that your department was — I mean, didn’t this case feel just a little bit too close to you considering, you know, what was going on?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yeah,” the officer said.
“Okay. And yet, today is the first time that a lot of this is coming out to the surface, isn’t it?” Huerkamp asked.
“Yes,” Geiser answered.
Indiana State Police spokesman Stephen Wheeles declined to comment further about the criminal investigation, saying it’s “in its earliest stages.” If state police find any employees of the Brookville Police Department committed a criminal violation, charges would be filed with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, or a special prosecutor could be appointed.
McMillinone said Thalheimer is not his only client to face false or exaggerated charges. Still, he said it’s highly unusual that the prosecutor stepped in to stop the case as Huerkamp did, in a legal maneuver McMillinone said he had seen just twice in 20 years. Huerkamp said this is the first time he joined a defense motion to suppress charges.
“That’s the scary part, is that these things are happening everywhere,” McMillinone said. | 2022-08-10T12:31:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Indiana officers suspended for arrest of possible candidate they thought was anti-cop - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/indiana-police-arrest-political-candidate/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/indiana-police-arrest-political-candidate/ |
The Taliban take Afghanistan
Taliban meets with opposition militia representatives in Iran
Taliban cracks down on more rights while demanding Western aid
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Taliban recruits flood into Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan as the gr...
Taliban wages campaign of targeted killings against former members of Afgha...
Taliban sends hundreds of fighters to eastern Afghanistan to wage war again...
Blasts and clashes at military hospital in Kabul kill 20 people
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Pakistan using informal intelligence channels to prop up Taliban fight agai...
U.N. to launch a polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan with Taliban per...
Suicide bombers hit Shiite mosque in Afghanistan killing dozens — the secon...
Routes out of Afghanistan dwindle as Pakistan cancels flights
After the Taliban seized their school, Afghanistan’s all-female orchestra t...
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Hundreds of Afghans gather outside passport office as Taliban resumes issui...
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Inside the Afghanistan airlift: Split-second decisions, relentless chaos dr...
By Ruby Mellen
An exit door at Forward Operating Base Lightning, a former U.S. Army base in eastern Afghanistan. The base is now abandoned. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post)
Aug. 15 — The Taliban takes over
Aug. 16 — A frenzied airport exodus begins
Aug. 26 — Nearly 200 die in suicide attack
Aug. 29 — A U.S. drone strike kills 10 civilians
Aug. 30 — Thousands of Afghans are left behind as withdrawal ends
One year ago, the fall of Kabul to the Taliban stunned the world. Afghans fled to the airport in droves. A suicide bombing killed nearly 200 people. The departure of U.S. forces just days later brought an eerie quiet as the country grappled with its new reality.
The chaos and bloodshed reflected the fraught legacy of America’s longest war.
“Those last two weeks of August were really a microcosm of much of the previous 20 years of the war in Afghanistan, in the sense that you had a situation where there did not appear to be a type of U.S. plan or strategy,” said Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center in Washington.
Here’s a look at the final days of America’s presence in Afghanistan.
Kabul fell quickly. Taliban fighters faced little resistance as they entered the capital on the main roads. Afghan officials — including the country’s president — fled. And as the militants took over the presidential palace, so began a new era of Taliban rule.
This footage from Al Jazeera shows Taliban fighters in Kabul's presidential palace on the day the group swept into the capital. (Video: Al-Jazeera)
Intelligence assessments did not predict such a swift collapse. In June, U.S. officials had said Kabul could capitulate within six to 12 months after U.S. withdrawal, leaving many stunned and unprepared when it fell in mere hours.
Within days, billboards depicting women were defaced or torn down. Afghan flags were lowered. Cafes stopped playing music.
The Taliban, wary of international isolation, claimed women would be treated equally.
“We assure the international community that there will be no discrimination against women,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at an Aug. 17 news conference. “But,” he added, “within the frameworks we have.”
Thousands of people rushed to Kabul’s airport after the government’s collapse. They left behind loved ones and carried only their most precious belongings. The crush of people trying to escape underscored the fears of Taliban rule upending life, especially for young Afghans who had never lived under its regime.
Afghans and foreigners rushed to the Kabul airport on Aug. 16 in hopes of leaving the country as the Taliban declared victory. (Video: John Farrell/The Washington Post)
Desperation drove some people to cling to the wings of airplanes as they took off. Fada Mohammad, a young dentist, fell to his death on Aug. 16. His remains were found on a rooftop four miles from the airport. A teenage soccer player also died after plummeting from a U.S. aircraft.
The rush to flee Kabul was made worse because “down to the final days of collapse, people were in denial,” said Anthony H. Cordesman, a former U.S. military adviser on Afghanistan and the emeritus chair in strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Biden administration’s earlier decision to vacate Bagram air base, 35 miles north of Kabul, only made it harder for Afghans to escape.
Kabul’s airport, added Cordesman, “was from the start a terrible place to get to. The roads are very narrow, it’s not easy to secure. It’s very, very hard once people actually cram in there to manage access.”
A suicide bombing at the airport’s perimeter killed more than 170 people, including 13 U.S. service members.
(Video: Asvaka News Agency via AP)
“People were burning alive, people could not breathe,” one Afghan eyewitness, who was with his wife and other family members waiting for an evacuation flight, told The Washington Post that day.
The attack was claimed by Islamic State-Khorasan, the Islamic State’s arm in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Terrorists are opportunists at the end of the day,” Kugelman noted. “And ISK was taking advantage of a crowded, scared, chaotic scene.”
President Biden traveled to Dover, Del., on Aug. 29 to attend the dignified transfer of 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport. (Video: The Washington Post)
The United States may have succeeded in preventing Afghanistan from again becoming a training ground for attacks on U.S. soil, he said, “But the U.S. military presence failed to prevent the emergence of a new terror group in Afghanistan. It’s hard to think of a more sobering reflection of failed U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan."
As one of its last acts in the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. military conducted a drone strike that killed 10 civilians. The United States said it was targeting an Islamic State operative with a car full of explosives linked to ISIS-K. In fact, the man was a longtime aid worker for the United States.
Seven victims were children.
A U.S. drone strike targeting the Islamic State on Aug. 29, reportedly killed 10 civilians in Kabul including several small children. (Video: The Washington Post)
The strike was a grim reminder that U.S. efforts to combat terrorism in the country often put innocent people in the crossfire. As of April 2021, more than 71,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians died because of the war, according to an estimate by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs’s Cost of War project.
The United States completed its withdrawal, evacuating more than 122,000 people from the country in the final several days. Between 100 and 200 Americans remained in Afghanistan, despite wanting to get out.
The last U.S. troops leave Kabul on Aug. 30, ending a 20-year war. (Video: Reuters)
Thousands more Afghans, who feared they might be targets for the Taliban, were also stranded.
Since September, violence has decreased in most parts of Afghanistan. Yet security has not brought stability or prosperity.
Despite the Taliban’s assurances that women would not be discriminated against, it has issued a steady stream of laws curbing their rights. Girls are still not permitted to attend high school, and their travel and dress are now restricted.
As the country’s economy tanked amid a cutoff of international aid, the country faced mass hunger and displacement. Today, the World Food Program estimates more than 18 million people in Afghanistan the country are facing crisis levels of hunger.
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This U.S. soldier’s boots were the last on the ground in Afghanistan | 2022-08-10T13:19:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Two weeks of chaos: a timeline of the U.S. pullout of Afghanistan - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/afghanistan-withdrawal-timeline/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/afghanistan-withdrawal-timeline/ |
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