July 11, 2023

Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Joe is always busy.

President Biden was in the United Kingdom on Monday, where he met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Touch to Watch.👇

He also met with King Charles III and participated in an event on climate change with the King.

King Charles III and President Biden at Windsor Castle on July 10.

Touch to watch 👇 the President with King Charles.

Last night, the President traveled to Lithuania, the site of this year’s NATO summit.

He did it. Now we see what great diplomacy guided by a great President can do!

NATO gets stronger and stronger, and Putin is more and more isolated. When the war ends, Ukraine will be the next country in.

Turkey Agrees to Support Sweden’s NATO Bid, Clearing Main Obstacle.

The decision clears the way for Sweden to join the defense alliance, a move that had been held up by Turkey’s demands. (New York Times).

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Kamala is always busy.

Yesterday, Vice President Harris ceremonially swore in two officials:

1. Jared Bernstein, as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.

   Touch 👇 to watch.

   https://twitter.com/archivekamala/status/1678510300876685320?s=61&t=I_Od53CbnPTsbLcD0baXPg

2. and Geeta Rao Gupta, as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.

   

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Thanks to Republican obstructionists, the 118th Congress has not been productive. Will that change?

Congress has a busy few months coming up.
Both chambers of Congress are back from recess this week.

Congress’ ability to get stuff done will be put to the test in a major way in the months ahead, as a trio of urgent deadlines bear down on Washington. Here’s what’s on the agenda:

• Funding the government (deadline: September 30)

The biggest item on Congress’ to-do list is passing a government funding bill; if lawmakers don’t manage to pass at least a short-term fix by the end of September, the government will shut down.

In theory, the appropriations process was supposed to be easier this year because the two parties already agreed to Fiscal Year 2024 spending caps as part of last month’s debt limit deal. However, after the deal sparked a revolt from the right-wing Freedom Caucus, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to their demands to move forward appropriations bills with spending underneath the caps set by him and President Biden.

Although Republican say this technically doesn’t violate the debt deal — the compromise represented “a ceiling, not a floor,” GOP lawmakers have said — Democrats have accused Republicans of reneging on the spirit of the agreement, as it is commonly understood on Capitol Hill that spending caps equal spending levels. This dispute threatens to derail the spending process.

Although government funding will technically run out in October, the real deadline isn’t until January 1. According to the debt ceiling deal, Congress can pass a stopgap funding bill until then, but after January 1, if lawmakers still haven’t approved a full budget, all government services will receive a 1% cut. Such across-the-board cuts would cover domestic and military spending alike — an outcome no one wants, meaning the two sides are incentivized to reach a deal by the new year.

• Setting defense policy (deadline: December 31)

The other major bill Congress must pass annually is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets U.S. defense policy for the next year and specifics how the Defense Department should spend its budget.

So far, the NDAA process has been smooth sailing. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 24-1 to approve an $844 billion version of the package, while the House Armed Services Committee voted 58-1 in favor of an $842 billion proposal — a fairly conciliatory place to start from. The full House is set to vote on its NDAA bill this week.

However, that’s when things could start to get messy: House members have filed more than 1,000 amendments to the NDAA. Not all of those proposals will receive a vote, but if McCarthy bows to Freedom Caucus pressure and allows a string of conservative policy ideas to be considered, the package might be stuffed with so many “poison pills” that it becomes too toxic for Democrats. Per Politico, hot-button amendments includes proposals to “restrict diversity and inclusion programs, limit punishment for troops who refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine, and roll back aid for Ukraine.”

The DOD’s policy of reimbursing troops who travel to seek abortions — which has caused Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) to hold up all Pentagon nominations for months — is also expected to become an NDAA flashpoint.

• Reauthorizing Section 702 (deadline: December 31)

Section 702, a post-9/11 addition to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), is a controversial provision that “allows the government to collect — on domestic soil and without a warrant — the communications of targeted foreigners abroad, including when those people are interacting with Americans,” in the words of the New York Times.

Under Section 702, the government can order tech companies to hand over the communications of a certain foreign national, and the companies must comply.

The provision has previously been renewed on a bipartisan basis, but with skepticism of the intelligence agencies at an all-time high, this year’s reauthorization is expected to be trickier. Republicans have historically championed the measure since its Bush-era creation, but Trump-inspired fears of the “deep state” have led the GOP to sing a different tune; Democrats are also calling for expanded civil liberties protections to be included in any FISA renewal.

In an effort to persuade lawmakers to re-up Section 702, the FBI announced new reforms last month, including a “three strike” policy that will ensure analysts are disciplined if they misuse the surveillance program three times. It is unlikely that these changes will be enough to assuage the program’s critics. (Gabe Fleisher, Wake Up to Politics).

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Climate Change Alert.

More extreme weather is happening in America this week.

New York’s Hudson Valley.

CNN — 

Severe storms that left at least one dead in southeastern New York are dumping heavy rainfall at intense rates over parts of the Northeast, prompting road closures, water rescues and urgent warnings about life-threatening flash floods.

Over 9 million people are under flood alerts across the Northeast on Monday, including parts of New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine – as well as across the country in Washington and Alaska. Flash flood emergencies and landslides are expected, with heavy rainfall continuing throughout the day.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency warning for central Vermont on Monday, where flooding is already underway and up to 6 inches of rain has fallen. Ten people were rescued from a campground in Andover amid severe flooding, said Jeannette Haight, the town clerk and treasurer. A bridge at the Horseshoe Acres Campground was washed out and campers were trapped. A call for help came in around 4 a.m. and rescuers were able to get the campers to safety, Haight told CNN.

Touch 👇 to watch what happened in New York’s Hudson Valley on Monday.

“New York Gov. Kathy Hochul de­clared states of emer­gency across sev­eral coun­ties in the Hud­son Val­ley re­gion.” (WSJ).

Vermont too.

Emergency crews in Vermont have rescued 19 people by boat.

Officials in Vermont on Monday morning described flooding harrowingly similar to that accompanying Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, with several communities inaccessible and teams rescuing and evacuating people from mountainous areas along the spine of the Green Mountains even as much more rainfall was predicted.

Downpours are expected to keep pummeling parts of southern Vermont over the next two days, the National Weather Service said, as what could be the worst storm to hit New England since Irene continues to lash the region.

Another two to six inches of rain are expected through Tuesday, Marlon Verasamy, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Burlington, Vt., said. As of 8 a.m. Monday, Mr. Verasamy said, areas of southern Vermont had received one and a half to five inches of rain.

Speaking at a news conference in Waterbury with state emergency officials, Gov. Phil Scott said the situation in Vermont was driving an “all-hands-on-deck response.” (New York Times).

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This is both sad and immoral.

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

When a court dismisses an action, they can either do so “with prejudice” or “without prejudice.” Dismissal with prejudice means that the plaintiff cannot refile the same claim again in that court.

An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dashing an effort to obtain some measure of legal justice by survivors of the deadly racist rampage.

Judge Caroline Wall on Friday dismissed with prejudice the lawsuit trying to force the city and others to make recompense for the destruction of the once-thriving Black district known as Greenwood.

The order comes in a case by three survivors of the attack, who are all now over 100 years old and sued in 2020 with the hope of seeing what their attorney called “justice in their lifetime.”

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said in a statement that the city has yet to receive the full court order. “The city remains committed to finding the graves of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims, fostering economic investment in the Greenwood District, educating future generations about the worst event in our community’s history, and building a city where every person has an equal opportunity for a great life,” he said.

A lawyer for the survivors — Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis — did not say Sunday whether they plan to appeal. But a group supporting the lawsuit suggested they are likely to challenge Wall’s decision.

“Judge Wall effectively condemned the three living Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors to languish — genuinely to death — on Oklahoma’s appellate docket,” the group, Justice for Greenwood, said in a statement. “There is no semblance of justice or access to justice here.”

Wall, a Tulsa County District Court judge, wrote in a brief order that she was tossing the case based on arguments from the city, regional chamber of commerce and other state and local government agencies. She had ruled against the defendants’ motions to dismiss and allowed the case to proceed last year.

Local judicial elections in Oklahoma are technically nonpartisan, but Wall has described herself as a “Constitutional Conservative” in past campaign questionnaires.

The lawsuit was brought under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law, saying the actions of the white mob that killed hundreds of Black residents and destroyed what had been the nation’s most prosperous Black business district continue to affect the city today. (Associated Press)

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The Georgia Case against Trump and others races forward today.

Georgia grand jurors selected Tuesday are expected to consider Trump charges.
Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis (center here) heads the Georgia case against Trump and his allies.
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The selection of two Fulton County grand juries will be made Tuesday, with one of the panels expected to decide whether to hand up an indictment for alleged criminal interference in the 2020 presidential election.

One set of jurors is likely to be asked to bring formal charges against former President Donald Trump and other well-known political and legal figures. In a letter to county officials almost two months ago, District Attorney Fani Willis indicated the indictment could be obtained at some point between July 31 and Aug. 18.

Willis began her investigation shortly after hearing the leaked Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump asked Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the 11,780 votes he needed to defeat Joe Biden in Georgia. She later convened a special purpose grand jury which examined evidence and heard testimony over an almost eight-month period. Its final report, only part of which has been made public, recommended multiple people be indicted for alleged crimes.

Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversaw the special purpose grand jury, will preside over Tuesday’s selection of the two grand juries for this term of court.

Each panel will have 23 grand jurors, plus three alternates. One panel will meet Mondays and Tuesdays, the other Thursdays and Fridays. Both will work in secret and are expected to decide whether to hand up indictments in hundreds of cases. It is unclear which one will consider the much-anticipated election-meddling case.

When a grand jury meets, at least 16 members must be present to conduct business. At least 12 grand jurors must vote to bring an indictment. The burden of proof is much lower for a grand jury to indict someone than it is for a jury to convict or acquit someone and grand jurors typically hear only from the prosecution.

“What an awesome responsibility they will have, a responsibility no other group of Georgia citizens has ever dealt with — the potential indictment of a former president,” Atlanta attorney Ed Garland said. “This is a case that has been saturated in the media with political overtones, so it is imperative for them to be fair and impartial and for our judicial system to live up to its ideals.”

If Trump is charged here, it will mark the third indictment against him. In April, a grand jury in Manhattan indicted the former president for allegedly falsifying business records involving payoffs to porn star Stormy Daniels. Last month, a federal grand jury in Florida indicted Trump for 37 counts over his alleged mishandling classified government documents and obstruction of the Justice Department’s investigation. (Atlantic Journal-Constitution).

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Hawaiian on President Obama’s mind.

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Thursday’s sky should be amazing in many states.

Solar storm on Thursday expected to make Northern Lights visible in 17 states.

A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give skygazers in 17 American states a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere.

Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that’s expected to peak in 2024 is making the lights visible in places farther to the south. Three months ago, the light displays were visible in Arizona, marking the third severe geomagnetic storm since the current solar cycle began in 2019.

The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks has forecast auroral activity on Thursday in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine and Maryland.

Auroral activity also has been forecast for Canada, including Vancouver.

Light displays are expected to be visible overhead in Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Helena, Montana, and low on the horizon in Salem, Oregon.; Boise, Idaho; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Annapolis, Maryland; and Indianapolis, according to the institute.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center said people wanting to experience an aurora should get away from city lights and that the best viewing times are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time.

Northern Lights occur when a magnetic solar wind slams into the Earth’s magnetic field and causes atoms in the upper atmosphere to glow. The lights appear suddenly and the intensity varies.

A geomagnetic index known as Kp ranks auroral activity on a scale from zero to nine, with zero being not very active and nine being bright and active. The Geophysical Institute has forecast Kp 6 for Thursday’s storm. (Associated Press).

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