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IMPORTANT
| | | Moving Forward | Manchin Shakes Hands With Fellow Democrats on Spending Package It’s a deal. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin says he’s reached a deal with party leaders on a wide-sweeping spending package. It’s welcome news to President Joe Biden, whose election promises to slash health care costs and tackle climate change have been held up over the internal stalemate. Manchin infuriated colleagues and voters alike with his initial holdout, citing concerns for his home state’s coal industry. “This is the action the American people have been waiting for,” the president said in a statement. The bill is expected to proceed to the next stage in the coming weeks with Manchin’s support. (Sources: WaPo, The Hill) |
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| | | Steady Hand | Surging Inflation Spurs Huge US Interest Rate Increase Fed Chairman Jerome Powell flagged “ongoing increases” on Wednesday as the central bank boosted interest rates 75 basis points, pushing it into the 2.25-2.5% range. It’s a matter of wait and see, he said. Still, Powell expects a bumpy ride ahead: “While another unusually large increase could be appropriate at our next meeting, that is a decision that will depend on the data. The labor market is extremely tight, and inflation is much too high.” While global markets responded favorably to the guidance, economists see a murky future. One put the chances of a recession at “50-50.” (Sources: Bloomberg, WSJ) |
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| | | Not So Fast | More ‘Trigger Laws’ Delayed in Court Challenges Slow down, courts in Wyoming and North Dakota ruled Wednesday, siding with activists and abortion providers over state legislatures. Both states were set to ban abortion this week. They join Kentucky, Louisiana and Utah, which have found the post-Roe legal reality unexpectedly difficult to maneuver. Still, anti-abortion lawmakers have vowed to press on with the so-called “trigger laws” after the Supreme Court decision. Meetra Mehdizadeh, attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the clinic she represents “will do everything in our power to fight this ban and keep abortion accessible in North Dakota for as long as possible.” (Source: AP) |
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| | | | | Travel Exchange | US Makes ‘Substantial Proposal’ to Bring Griner, Whelan Home A deal to see WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan returned home from detention in Russia may be in the works, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. He made an offer — the details of which are under tight wraps — weeks ago, revealing that he hopes to speak directly to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, as soon as possible. It is believed the U.S. may offer convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange. Griner is still on trial for drug charges, while Whelan was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years for spying, a charge he denies. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: Going hungry. Bakeries across Lebanon report huge lines and unmanageable demand for subsidized bread amid the country’s worsening food crisis. Economy Minister Amin Salam said a shipment of wheat is expected this week and will help alleviate the tight demand. (Source: Arab News) Ongoing. Sri Lanka’s Parliament has opted to extend the country’s state of emergency as unrest continues. Opposition figures say it’s aimed at cracking down on dissent. (Source: Al Jazeera) Hacked? EU officials are on the defensive after revelations that Israeli-made spyware, known as Pegasus, was identified by Apple on the phone of EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders. Pegasus manufacturer NSO is assisting enquiries. (Source: Reuters) |
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INTRIGUING
| | | Flushed | Is Your Protein Shake Destroying the Environment? Maybe, researchers say. Excessive protein consumption isn’t harmful to humans as it’s expelled from the body via urine. Still, nitrogen compounds in high-protein urine feed algae blooms on a scale rivaling fertilizer runoff, and that, via the greenhouse effect, impacts global warming and acid raid. Changing how we treat wastewater could be the solution. The technology to remove 90% of nitrogen is available — but currently it’s used in just 1% of U.S. sewage systems and would be very expensive to roll out. There is a simpler and cheaper option: Reducing how much protein we have in our diets. (Source: Scientific American) |
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| | | Sinking Platform | The End of Zuckerberg’s 10-Year Growth Spree Facebook’s second-quarter revenue declined for the first time ever, dropping 1% to $28.8 billion. It could be a sign of things to come for the social network, which warns another dip is expected for Q3. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, fell harder, dropping 36% to $6.7 billion. There is some cause for celebration, though. Users across Meta’s stable of apps and networks grew 4% to 2.88 billion, and founder Mark Zuckerberg has an idea to get eyeballs stuck to screens. It may not be popular: He wants to double the content from non-followed accounts in every user’s timeline. (Source: The Verge) |
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| | | Reading Rainbow | Texas Library Promotes Prohibited Books at ‘Banned Camp’ A summer program from the Austin Public Library and an independent bookstore is putting contraband literature in children’s hands. Through in-person and remote events, kids are reading books that Texas conservatives banned from schools over race, gender and sexual identity content. The program features LGBTQ reads like graphic novel Heartstopper and coming-out memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue, as well as George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel 1984. “Our local community members reached out to us to see what we could do, what voice that we had in preventing this from happening in our local schools,” BookPage CEO Charley Rejsek said. (Source: NBC) |
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| | | War Drums | Trump Threatens Fresh Suit Over CNN’s ‘Big Lie’ Coverage Former President Donald Trump has picked another fight with a familiar enemy. He says the network’s coverage of his claim that Democrats stole the 2020 election — which CNN calls “the big lie” — amounts to defamation. His lawyers delivered a 282-page letter arguing the unproven theory can’t be called a “lie” because Trump believes it. “In this instance, President Trump’s comments are not lies: He subjectively believes that the results of the 2020 presidential election turned on fraudulent voting activity in several key states.” They demand a full retraction and apology. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened legal action against more media outlets. (Source: Deadline) |
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| | | | | Sticky Wicket | International Cricket Council: The One-Dayer Is Here to Stay (For Now) Rumors of the end of one-day cricket have been wildly overblown, the sport’s governing body says. Cricketers worldwide are finding less room for one-day internationals, or ODIs, in ever-busier schedules dominated by the rise of lucrative domestic T20 leagues. It’s come to a head in recent weeks as South Africa canceled an ODI tour of Australia and England’s Ben Stokes retired from ODI play. Not to worry, the ICC promises fans. There will be a “healthy” number of ODIs in coming years, with programming confirmed through 2027. After that? Australian test batsman Usman Khawaja says it’s “dying a slow death.” (Source: Reuters) |
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