US Politics

Sarah Palin advances to November election for Alaska House seatFormer governor clinches one of four spots on ballot for seat formerly occupied by Don Young Sarah Palin looks set to be on the ballot in November’s general election after the former governor of Alaska and ex vice-presidential candidate clinched one of four spots vying for a seat in the US House, according to the Associated Press.Palin, who rose to fame more than a decade ago as John McCain’s running mate, advanced to the general election along with her two challengers, Nick Begich III, a tech millionaire backed by the Alaska Republican party, and Mary Peltola, a former state legislator and Democrat. It was too early to call the fourth spot.Palin, Peltola and Begich are competing for Alaska’s only House seat, formerly occupied by Don Young, who died in March. The trio were also competing in a special election to serve the remainder of Young’s term, which ends early next year.The results of the special election could take days to finalize as Alaska voters are using a ranked voting system for the first time.Liz Cheney loses Wyoming Republican primary to Trump-endorsed rivalRead moreYoung was first elected to the office in 1973 and was the longest-serving Republican member of the House, holding the state’s sole seat in the chamber for nearly 50 years.Palin, 58, first shot to prominence as McCain’s running mate in the 2008 elections, when she branded herself a “mama grizzly” and built a persona as a loose-lipped loose cannon. Palin’s attacks on the media, her racist rabble-rousing and her eschewing of policy or traditional politics in favor of demagoguery in many ways paved the way for Trump, of whom she was an early endorser.After that failed 2008 campaign, Palin left her post as Alaska governor and took a long hiatus from politics amid ethics scandals. This year, she staged a comeback, appearing with Trump at rallies and fundraisers but often skipping traditional campaign events and candidate debates within her home state.Elsewhere in Alaska, Senator Lisa Murkowski faced 18 challengers – including the Trump-backed Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka – in a non-partisan primary in which the four candidates garnering the most votes will advance to November’s general election.The Congress and Senate races will offer insights into the power Trump still commands over voters, even in the “last frontier” of Alaska, where most voters have not declared a party affiliation.As perhaps one of the most famous Alaskans, Palin remained the most familiar among the candidates, despite the perception among many voters that she abandoned her state after quitting the governorship. After leaving politics, she launched a career in reality TV, showcasing her life and state in shows such as Sarah’s Alaska and belting out Baby’s Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot while dressed in a pink and blue bear outfit on an episode of The Masked Singer.“I knew who Sarah was before I became an Alaskan,” said Kari Jones, 47, who moved to the state five years ago after her husband, who is in the military, was posted there. But Jones said her husband backed Begich, in large part because the former governor didn’t show up to a local meet-and-greet event and had been less accessible than her opponents. “She did lose some votes because of that,” Jones said.“I’m looking for candidates that show they’re really dedicated to the state, not just during election time,” Aundra Jackson, 60, who was fishing for coho salmon in Anchorage.Nearly 15 years ago, when Palin first took the governor’s seat, she was a fiery newcomer who unseated a powerful incumbent: Lisa Murkowski’s father, Frank Murkowski. Back then, Palin’s approval rating had peaked just over 90% according to Ivan Moore, an Anchorage-based pollster. She was briefly reputed for her bipartisanship, creating a sub-cabinet on climate change and taking on the oil and gas industry, before she leaned into more rightwing politics.“Palin is probably the most attractive, charismatic candidate out there,” Jackson said. “But when she’s asked any specific questions, all I hear from her are soundbites. So it just surprises me that she’s got the popularity.”Begich, who painted Palin as absentee and vacuous in the days before the election, had earned endorsements from many prominent state Republicans. Peltola, the Democratic candidate, has presented herself as a fiercely amicable moderate who was willing to collaborate with conservatives and progressives. “I’m not interested in speaking ill of Sarah, she has her supporters and I respect her and her supporters,” she said in an interview with the Guardian before the election.The congressional election on Tuesday was the state’s first ever ranked-choice race, where voters were able to choose their first, second and third choice for the role. In “pick one” Senate and congressional primaries, voters also choose their favorite candidate from a longer list of choices. The four with the most votes in each race will advance to the ballot in November.The Associated Press contributed reportingTopicsUS midterm elections 2022House of RepresentativesUS politicsAlaskaSarah PalinJohn McCainDonald TrumpnewsReuse this content More

Liz Cheney has been defeated in a GOP primary, losing her seat in Congress to Harriet Hageman, who was backed by the former president Donald Trump. Cheney, a third-term congresswoman, and her allies entered the contest downbeat about her prospects, aware that Trump’s backing gave Hageman a considerable lift in the state where he won by the largest margin during the 2020 campaign. 
‘Two years ago, I won this primary with 73% of the vote. I could easily have done the same again,’ Cheney said. ‘The path was clear, but it would have required that I go along with President Trump’s lie about the 2020 election. It would have required that I enabled his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic. That was a path I could not and would not take’

Liz Cheney loses Wyoming Republican primary to Trump-endorsed rival
Sarah Palin’s political career in the balance as Alaska holds special election More

Wednesday briefing: What Cheney’s drubbing means for US politicsIn today’s newsletter: Is Liz Cheney’s defeat in the Wyoming primary a triumph for far-right populism – or the beginning of a new chapter?

Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition
Good morning. Like Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson, I’ve had a lovely summer holiday; unlike them, nobody seems to have been that bothered by my absence. With apologies to those who were hoping for more from Nimo, I’m writing to you this morning with news breaking in the US state of Wyoming, where Representative Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6 insurrection, has been handed an absolute drubbing.In the last couple of hours, Cheney conceded defeat in the primary contest for her seat in the US House of Representatives to Trump’s preferred revenge candidate, standing 37 points behind Harriet Hageman with 95% of precincts reporting. Two years ago, Cheney won her primary with 73% of the vote. Hageman will go forward to the midterm elections in November – and with Democrats nowhere in Wyoming, she will be returned as the state’s sole congressional representative.Cheney’s defeat means that Washington DC will lose its most authoritative and best-known Republican critic of Trump – and yet some Democrats are willing to bet that the more extreme their opponents, the better they will do.Today’s newsletter, with the help of David Smith reporting from Wyoming, is about Liz Cheney – and what her result tells us about Trump’s continuing influence over the Republican party and American politics. That’s right after the headlines.Five big stories
Conservatives | An audio recording leaked to the Guardian has revealed that Liz Truss said British workers lacked the “skill and application” of their overseas counterparts and needed “more graft”. Her campaign claimed the recording of Truss – who has accused her critics of “talking Britain down” – “lacked context”.
Farming | UK food tsar Henry Dimbleby has said reducing the consumption of meat and dairy is the only way to sustainably farm in England and avoid ecological breakdown.
Ukraine | Ukraine is engaged in a counteroffensive aimed at creating “chaos within Russian forces” by striking at supply lines deep into occupied territories, a key adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Guardian.
Inflation | The real value of wages in the UK dropped by 3% in June, the fastest fall in 20 years, as inflation continues to outpace average pay.
Culture | The former Pop Idol contestant and theatre star Darius Campbell Danesh has died at the age of 41. His family said Danesh died at his apartment in Rochester, Minnesota and that the cause of death was as yet unknown.
In depth: What went down in WyomingLiz Cheney is, by almost any measure, as conservative as they come. She opposes abortion rights, denies that human activity is responsible for the climate crisis and supports tax cuts for the wealthy. When Trump was president, she voted with him 93% of the time.All of which would appear to make her a solid match for Wyoming, which last elected a Democrat to her congressional seat in 1976. But Cheney differed from what now counts as the GOP mainstream on one crucial subject: the result of the 2020 presidential election, and in particular Donald Trump’s responsibility for the events that followed on January 6.She went on to be vice-chair and the most prominent voice of the House January 6 select committee, and, in the face of credible and numerous death threats, become an unlikely hero for Democrats nostalgic for a bygone age of (some) principled, bipartisan politics. But close to 70% of Wyoming voters went for Trump in 2020, and 70% of Republicans across the US believe his false claim that the election was stolen. As a direct result, Cheney will be out of a job on 3 January next year.“There wasn’t much of a note of sadness or disappointment in her concession speech,” said David Smith, speaking shortly after attending Cheney’s campaign event in Jackson, Wyoming. “She knew this was coming.” Even so, “it’s worth remembering how unthinkable this would have been a couple of years ago. It’s another symbolic indicator of how Trump has transformed his party.”What happened last night?The margin against Cheney, even bigger than polls had suggested, represents an “absolutely crushing victory for Trump,” David said. “There’s no two ways about it. We’ve talked about what these primaries show us about Trump’s influence all year, but Wyoming was always the most watched.”For a sense of how deeply Cheney is opposed in her state, see David’s dispatch published on Saturday, and this line from one critic: “​​She’s going to ‘educate’ us in the constitution and how ‘we’re wrong and she’s right.’ Well … She’s gonna find out if she educated us or not.”While Trump’s false claims about the election and his role in the January 6 riot were clearly a crucial factor here, David also notes that Cheney’s opponents sought to argue that she was “interested in Washington over Wyoming, and had forgotten her constituents. And to some extent she leaned into that – she wasn’t discussing Wyoming policy at her concession speech, she was talking about the big national picture.”How does the result in Wyoming fit into the wider story?One measure of the big picture for Republican critics of Trump, and of his enduring influence, might be an analysis of the fates of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the Capitol riot. Of those 10, four including Cheney have lost their primaries, four have retired and just two have survived.As David wrote last week, Cheney’s result can be seen as “a final national pivot away from the Bush-era establishment to the Make America Great Again movement – from old school conservatism to far-right populism.” Symbolically enough, David pointed out, Cheney’s father Dick, “Darth Vader of the Bush era himself,” was present last night “to see his daughter crushed by the MAGA movement. If you were looking for symbols, that’s pretty on-the-nose.”Trump hasn’t had it all his own way in 2022, David added, and the different outcomes are indicative of the contrasting political landscapes in deep red states like Wyoming and other more balanced races. “In Georgia, for example, the candidates he endorsed flopped,” he said. “But he’s had a surge in congressional primaries recently. After some speculation that his grip is weakening, he’s reasserted himself.”Where does that leave Democrats?Grim as the depth of Republicans’ commitment to Trumpism is for American democracy, it isn’t necessarily the worst news for Joe Biden – or, at least, that’s what Democrats appear to think. One notable feature of this primary season (in races more likely to be competitive in November than Wyoming) has been Democratic funding of ads designed to elevate the chances of the most extreme Republican candidates, in the hope of ensuring unelectable opponents.The jury’s out on whether that’s a good idea. In a piece on that strategy last week, Lauren Gambino quoted Richard Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy project, who said that at a moment when the stolen election myth is such a potent force in American politics, the Democrats’ approach is “immoral and dangerous”.While Biden has endured dismal poll ratings, the picture has gotten a little better in recent weeks, with many on his own side appearing newly motivated by the supreme court’s ruling to overturn Roe v Wade and the unexpected passage of a $739bn healthcare and climate bill.That has changed the political weather: polling analysis site FiveThirtyEight still expects Republicans to win the House, but it now views Democrats as slight favourites to keep control of the Senate. (One reason why, as Adam Gabbatt lays out here, is the calibre of some of the celebrity candidates the GOP has chosen.)Even if this helps in November, though, Cheney’s result and the Democratic strategy still point to the looming threat in 2024: a national election where Republican positions are defined by their most extreme anti-democratic voices – with Trump himself at the top of the ticket.What will Cheney do next?Cheney appeared to have accepted the inevitably of her defeat some time ago. An ad featuring her father excoriating Trump appeared more likely to appeal to a national audience than the party faithful at home. She has stayed in Washington when she might have been expected to be campaigning on the ground in Wyoming. And she has held back much of her considerable war chest.Cheney will keep her role on the January 6 committee for the rest of the year. Many suspect that one reason she kept some money back is a larger ambition in the future: a run at the presidency. In her concession speech, she dropped a clear hint about that prospect, saying: “Abraham Lincoln was defeated in elections for the Senate and House before he won the most important election of all.”Most analysts believe that she would be a long-shot candidate – and, as this Washington Post piece reports, she is herself “clear-eyed” about her prospects. Instead, she may see her possible role as a spoiler for Trump should he run again.But as David also noted: “The Cheneys always play a very long game. Her father was chief of staff to Gerald Ford decades before he was vice president. I assume Liz Cheney will view this as one setback in a very long story.”What else we’ve been reading
Oliver Wainwright spoke to the architects who believe that “demolition is an act of violence” and are breathing new life into old buildings instead. Nimo
Ballon d’Or winners Ada Hegerberg and Megan Rapinoe’s conversation about the state of women’s football is full of insight on how to capitalise on England’s success in the Euros – and features this bracing quote from Rapinoe: “Welcome, everybody, to the party. You’re extremely fucking late, but fine.” Archie
In the last two years, the number of Asian Americans buying guns for the first time has risen by 43% – Claire Wang explains why. Nimo
Comedian Nish Kumar writes about why, despite rising costs for performers and fewer younger acts, the Edinburgh fringe festival is still an invaluable place for artists to hone their craft. Nimo
As a walking liberal cliche, I spent a good chunk of my holiday dutifully catching up on the New Yorker. Easily my favourite piece was this hilarious, fascinating story by Tad Friend about a door-to-door salesman blessed with low cunning – and cursed with a bit of a conscience. Archie
SportTennis | Emma Raducanu defeated Serena Williams 6-4, 6-0 in a first round match at a tournment in Cincinnati. Williams’ defeat to the British No 1, 21 years her junior, is likely her penultimate tournament appearance.Athletics | Daryll Neita won bronze for the UK in the European women’s 100m as Dina Asher-Smith pulled up with cramp. Germany’s Gina Luckenkemper won gold in the race. Zharnel Hughes took silver and Jeremiah Azu bronze behind the Italian Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs in the men’s 100m.Football | Rangers were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in their Champions League playoff first leg against PSV Eindhoven after an Armando Obispo equaliser in the 78th minute. Rangers last reached the Champions League group stage 12 years ago.The front pagesThe Guardian leads with “Truss condemns British workers for lack of ‘graft’” while the Express has “Truss fury over EUs Brexit betrayal”. The Times goes with “Sunak turns on rival over ‘moral’ duty to ease bills”.The Telegraph’s splash reads “Modern slavery law is the ‘biggest loophole’ for migrants” and the FT says “Record fall in wages signals more cost of living pain for households”.The i newspaper has “Omicron jab: Blair calls for every adult to get a booster,” while the Mail leads with “Cyclists may need number plates”.Ryan Giggs, on trial over alleged assault, makes the Mirror’s front page with the headline: “I’m a love cheat, I can’t resist”. The Sun has “Pop idol Darius dead”.Today in FocusUnderstanding the violent attack on Salman RushdieColumnist Nesrine Malik on the history of the fatwa against the author Salman Rushdie and power of his workCartoon of the day | Steve BellThe UpsideA bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all badIn 2001, a band called Panchiko played a festival in the Nottinghamshire town of Sutton-in-Ashfield. It was a flop: the crowd wasn’t enthused, and the band disbanded soon after, drifting apart from one another. That was until 2016, when their album turned up in a charity shop. The person who bought the CD made it their mission to find out who was behind the album. Thus began Panchiko’s journey into the cultural zeitgeist. For years, internet sleuths looked for Panchiko – and eventually found them. The former bandmates were shocked that, after all these years, they had, without their knowledge, acquired a dedicated fanbase. Now in their 40s, the band have come together for a US tour that is already partly sold out.Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every SundayBored at work?And finally, the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
Quick crossword
Cryptic crossword
TopicsRepublicansFirst EditionUS politicsWyomingJanuary 6 hearingsnewslettersReuse this content More

Are Latino voters really moving right? The end of Roe may muddy the pictureLatinos support reproductive rights by large margins – and that could prove a powerful mobilizing tool in the midterms After the Republican party made some inroads among Latino voters in the 2020 presidential election, when Latino support for Trump went up by 3% compared with 2016, many commentators declared this group was decisively moving away from the Democratic party.As November’s midterms approach, the GOP is aiming to capitalize on these gains. The recent victory of the Latina Republican Mayra Flores, who won a congressional seat representing southern Texas, is one they are hoping to replicate across the country.Yet, with increased support largely limited to Florida and Texas, the political landscape is more complicated than it seems heading into this year’s midterms, and experts say the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade may play a role in halting the GOP’s gains.Christine Sierra, professor emerita of political science at the University of New Mexico and a specialist in Latino politics, says that any Republican gains in the 2020 presidential election did not mark a definitive trend. “While Republicans managed to make a few inroads in very specific counties in Florida and Texas, for example, Democrats maintain a majority of the Latino vote,” she recently told the Guardian. More than 60% of Latinos voted for Joe Biden.Historically, Latinos have focused on issues such as economics, jobs, education and immigration to determine their vote – areas in which the GOP believes it has an upper hand among more moderate voters. However, the quickly changing landscape of sexual and reproductive rights in the United States might influence what matters most to Latino voters. Abortion bans are expected to have a greater effect on women of color, and Latina women account for about 25% of abortion patients in the US.“Now, given the controversy and salience of abortion as an issue, it may go to the top one, two, or three issues [that matter to Latinos],” Sierra said.A poll conducted in June by Change Research on behalf of the political organization Voto Latino found that 64% of Latinos in battleground states “are more motivated to vote in November” due to the fall of Roe, and 52% are “much more motivated”. The poll surveyed Latino voters in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.Another poll by the same organization conducted in May found that across the battleground states of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia, 70% of Latino voters are in favor of protecting the right to choose. At least 30% of Latino Republicans in these states believe abortion should be legal “in all or most cases”.Moreover, a recent Axios-Ipsos Latino poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo revealed at least 50% of Latino voters in the US say abortion should be legal while another 21% don’t have a view. One-fourth believe abortion should be illegal “at any time under any circumstances”.Lina-Maria Murillo, assistant professor of gender, women’s and sexuality studies as well as history and Latinx studies at the University of Iowa, believes this extreme conservative stance among a minority of Latino voters can be traced back to the influence of the evangelical Christian church, where Latinos have been considered “one of the fastest growing segments’’, and of which Flores is a member. Bucking what Murillo says is a common stereotype that Latinos oppose abortion due to their Catholicism, the May Voto Latino poll shows Catholic Latinos support a woman’s right to choose at about the same rate as Latinos in general.Still, Ameer Patel, vice-president of programs at Voto Latino, says the belief that Latinos are generally conservative is more anecdotal than anything else. “They’re actually really in favor of reproductive rights. And that number obviously increases when we look at younger Latinos,” he said. In the May Voto Latino poll, 75% of respondents between the ages of 18 through 39 said they support a woman’s right to choose.Every year, about 1 million Latinos turn 18 and become eligible to vote in the US. Patel says their stance on abortion represents a unique mobilization opportunity for Democrats. “If you’re able to use this as a mobilization issue for young Latino voters in places like Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, this is an extremely powerful tool,” he said.In Arizona, where the end of Roe could revive a civil war-era law banning abortions, Latinos account for about 25% of voters and played a critical role in flipping the state in the 2020 presidential election. Moreover, 64% of respondents to the Voto Latino poll in Arizona said they would not support a candidate who stands for a complete abortion ban, stating “it would be a deal breaker.” This picture could affect contests like the attorney general race, where the Republican candidate Abraham Hamadeh has campaigned on the promise of upholding Arizona’s anti-abortion laws.Patel says Republicans are taking note of this trend and choosing not to focus on reproductive rights as an issue to sway Latino voters, “because [they know] this is not a message they can win them on”. While Arizona’s Democratic candidate for governor, Katie Hobbs, has been outspoken about her stance on abortion, for instance, the Republican candidate, Kari Lake, has recently shied away from discussing the issue. In Texas, the Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke has repeatedly vowed to repeal the state’s abortion ban if elected governor. In Florida, the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, is avoiding the subject.Murillo believes the role of Latinas working for reproductive justice is often overlooked. “If we look at some of the major abortion funds in Texas, like West Fund and Frontera Fund, they have been established and are run by Latinx folks,” she said.If O’Rourke can “galvanize the youth in Texas, especially around issues of abortion”, said Murillo, “then I think he has a chance and I think that Latinx people in Texas have a major role to play in that”.According to a New York Times analysis, Democrats are vastly outspending Republicans on midterm ads talking about abortion. Still, Murillo believes Democrats are not fully seizing the opportunity to sway Latino voters. “Democrats are stuck in these old pandering ways; they’re not seeing the changes that are coming and the ways that Latinx people are not a monolith and that the youth component of this community is overwhelmingly progressive,” she said.If Democrats don’t act, she says, while Latino voters “are not necessarily going to be turning to Republicans, they may just not vote at all”.TopicsAbortionUS politicsUS midterm elections 2022newsReuse this content More

‘Biggest step forward on climate ever’: Biden signs Democrats’ landmark billParty leaders hope approval of Inflation Reduction Act will boost their prospects in the midterm elections this November Joe Biden signed Democrats’ healthcare, climate and tax package on Tuesday, putting the final seal of approval on a landmark bill that party leaders hope will boost their prospects in the midterm elections this November.During a bill-signing ceremony at the White House, the US president celebrated the bill as a historic piece of legislation that would reduce healthcare costs for millions of Americans and help address the climate crisis.“With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost,” Biden said. “Today offers further proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright and the promise of America is real and just beginning.”The signing came four days after the House passed the bill, formally known as the Inflation Reduction Act, in a party-line vote of 220 to 207. The bill had previously passed the Senate in a party-line vote of 51 to 50, with Vice-President Kamala Harris breaking the tie in the evenly divided chamber.The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act capped off more than a year of negotiations among Democrats, after the bill’s predecessor, the Build Back Better Act, stalled in the Senate due to opposition from one of the party’s centrist members, Joe Manchin.The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, spent months quietly negotiating with Manchin over a more narrow spending package, resulting in the Inflation Reduction Act.While the Build Back Better Act was much larger in scope, Democrats have still celebrated the climate and healthcare provisions included in their compromise bill.The law directs $369bn toward investing in renewable energy and reducing America’s planet-heating emissions, marking the country’s most significant effort yet to combat the climate crisis. Experts have estimated the bill could reduce US emissions by about 40% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, close to Biden’s goal of cutting emissions in half by the end of the decade.“This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever,” Biden said Tuesday. “It’s going to allow us to boldly take additional steps toward meeting all of my climate goals, the ones we set out when we ran.”In terms of healthcare provisions, the bill will allow Medicare to start negotiating the price of certain expensive drugs and will cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for those in the government insurance program for seniors and some with disability status. It will also alleviate premium hikes for those who receive insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, the federal program informally known as Obamacare.The cost of the legislation is covered through a series of tax changes, which are expected to bring in hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue for the US government. Those changes include a new corporate minimum tax, a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks and enhanced enforcement from the Internal Revenue Service targeting high-income households.After the House passage of the bill last Friday, Democratic party leaders took to the airwaves to tout the benefits of the legislation, promising that it would help ease the financial burden for Americans struggling under the weight of record-high inflation.“It’s making sure that billionaires in corporate America are paying their fair share, making sure that the tax code is a little bit more fair,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told ABC News on Sunday. “When you put it in its totality, you will see that it will lower the deficit, which will help fight inflation.”But Republicans have dismissed Democrats’ arguments that the bill will help ease inflation, accusing them of ramming through a reckless spending spree that will do little to aid working Americans.“[Democrats’] response to the runaway inflation they’ve created is a bill that experts say will not meaningfully cut inflation at all,” the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, said earlier this month. “Democrats have proven over and over they simply do not care about middle-class families’ priorities.”According to a report issued by Moody’s Analytics, Democrats’ spending package will “modestly reduce inflation over the 10-year budget horizon”. But regardless of the bill’s impact, there have been some signs that inflation may be cooling off.US inflation hit an annual rate of 8.5% last month, which represented a slight decrease from the 40-year high of 9.1% recorded in June. If inflation does indeed start to taper off and Democrats can sell the passage of their spending package on the campaign trail, it could help them prevent widespread losses in the midterm elections this November.“I’ve been prepared to win the midterms all along. It depends on getting out the vote. This probably could be helpful,” the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said of the bill’s passage last week. “But I do know it will be helpful to America’s working families, and that’s our purpose.”TopicsJoe BidenUS politicsUS domestic policyClimate crisisUS healthcarenewsReuse this content More

Joe Biden has signed into law a plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars fighting the climate crisis and lowering healthcare costs for Americans, capping more than a year of negotiations ahead of elections in which voters may oust his Democrats from control of Congress.Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act was a major accomplishment for the Biden administration, and marks the first time the United States has passed legislation specifically geared towards lowering its carbon emissions.“With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost,” the president said as he signed the legislation in a White House ceremony. He called it proof for “the American people that democracy still works in America, notwithstanding … all the talk of its demise, not just for the privileged few, but for all of us”.The act will invest $386bn into programs to speed the transition into energy and climate programs, most of which are meant to speed the transition towards renewable sources. It will also extend health insurance subsidies, and expand coverage under government health care programs.“This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever,” Biden said.Joe Biden signed into law his landmark spending plan to fight the climate crisis and lower healthcare costs, in what his administration hopes will turn around the president’s fortunes after months of worrying unpopularity. Elsewhere, more details about the many investigations surrounding Donald Trump were revealed.Here’s a look back at today’s news:
Two Democratic committee chairs accused the homeland security inspector general of not complying with their investigations into the January 6 attack. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported two of Trump’s former lawyers were interviewed by the FBI regarding classified documents that made their way to Florida.
Jill Biden has tested positive for Covid-19, and will isolate in South Carolina, where she was on vacation with her husband. Joe Biden remains negative, but will wear a mask indoors and around others for the next 10 days.
The White House is making plans for a campaign to convince men and women alike of the harm of abortion bans, and to sue states that restrict the procedure.
Democrats consider the Inflation Reduction Act to be a major win, but in an interview with the Guardian, independent senator Bernie Sanders outlined the many ways in which he feels it falls short.
Joe Biden has signed into law a plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars fighting the climate crisis and lowering healthcare costs for Americans, capping more than a year of negotiations ahead of elections in which voters may oust his Democrats from control of Congress.Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act was a major accomplishment for the Biden administration, and marks the first time the United States has passed legislation specifically geared towards lowering its carbon emissions.“With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost,” the president said as he signed the legislation in a White House ceremony. He called it proof for “the American people that democracy still works in America, notwithstanding … all the talk of its demise, not just for the privileged few, but for all of us”.The act will invest $386bn into programs to speed the transition into energy and climate programs, most of which are meant to speed the transition towards renewable sources. It will also extend health insurance subsidies, and expand coverage under government health care programs.“This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever,” Biden said.In a few minutes, Joe Biden will sign the Democrats’ marquee spending plan into law, channeling hundreds of billions of dollars towards fighting climate change and lowering health care costs.Biden and other Democrats have been trying to hype up the legislation – dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act – as much as they can. Here’s how he cast it on Twitter:Later today, with the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act into law, we make history.— President Biden (@POTUS) August 16, 2022
Congress is in recess and many lawmakers are visiting their districts across the United States. In a letter to Democrats sent this afternoon, House speaker Nancy Pelosi offered advice on how to sell constituents on the legislation:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It is crucial that, during this District Work Period, we communicate to our constituents how America’s families will benefit from this new law:
Health: reducing pollution to secure clean air and clean water in every community across the country.
Economy: securing an estimated nine million new good-paying jobs, saving families around $1000 per year on their energy bills and offering more stability from the volatile oil market that inflames inflation.
National Security: declaring our energy independence so that foreign dictators cannot hold families and our economy hostage by manipulating the price of oil.
Justice: delivering $60 billion in environmental justice initiatives so that we repair the mistakes of the past and ensure all communities feel the benefits of a cleaner, greener economy.
Future: taking a giant step to honor our sacred responsibility to build a healthier, more sustainable future for our children.
It took more than a year of negotiations to reach an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act, which garnered no Republican votes in either chamber. Its name is a nod to the ongoing wave of high inflation in the United States, though the legislation itself may not make much difference. According to the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model, it will lower the US’ budget deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars, but “the impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero.”At the same time as voters in Wyoming head to the polls, the top House Republican is in the state for a fundraiser that Bloomberg reports will feature a special guest: Elon Musk.The Tesla boss is considered the world’s richest man, but has kept his politics murky, often announcing that he had voted for Democrats but lately expressing sympathy with some Republican positions. McCarthy, meanwhile, is likely to become speaker of the House of Representatives should Republicans win a majority following the November midterm elections. He also also been vocal in support of Harriet Hageman, the Trump-backed candidate expected to triumph over Liz Cheney in today’s GOP primary.Despite the investigations swirling around him, Donald Trump’s influence within the GOP will likely be confirmed again today in Wyoming, where Republicans are expected to oust Liz Cheney from her seat in the House of Representatives in favor of a challenger backed by the former president. The Guardian’s David Smith reports:Widely praised for her defence of democracy during the January 6 committee hearings, Liz Cheney looks set to lose her seat in Congress on Tuesday to a rival backed by former US president Donald Trump.Opinion polls show Cheney trailing far behind conservative lawyer Harriet Hageman – who has echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud – in a Republican primary election to decide Wyoming’s lone member in the House of Representatives.Victory for Hageman would continue a recent winning streak for Trump-backed candidates in congressional primaries and deal a blow to remnants of the Republican party establishment.Liz Cheney looks set to lose Congress seat to Trump-backed rivalRead moreThe New York Times reports that the FBI has interviewed Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel under Donald Trump, and his deputy Patrick Philbin regarding classified documents the former president may have taken with him to Florida after he left office.The lawyers are the most senior Trump White House officials the FBI has contacted as it investigated the documents, according to the report, which cites people familiar with the matter. The two men were appointed by Trump to deal with the National Archives, which usually takes possession of an outgoing president’s documents. Philbin spoke to investigators in the spring, while it was unclear when Cipollone was interviewed, the Times reports.The FBI last week searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida as part of their investigation into the documents, and turned up papers that were deemed “top secret” and other classifications that require special handling. Cipollone and Philbin have also been subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating the January 6 attack.Trump under investigation for potential violations of Espionage Act, warrant revealsRead moreTwo House Democratic committee chairs have today sent a letter to Joseph V. Cuffari, the department of homeland security’s inspector general, accusing him of blocking their probe into the January 6 insurrection.Cuffari has been at the center over the scandal caused by the Secret Service’s deletion of texts from around the time of the attack on the US Capitol, which the agency has said was caused by a change in their phone technology, but which lawmakers investigating the attack worried may be an attempt to cover up details of what happened that day.“In response to the committees’ requests, you have refused to produce responsive documents and blocked employees in your office from appearing for transcribed interviews. Your obstruction of the committees’ investigations is unacceptable, and your justifications for this noncompliance appear to reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of Congress’s authority and your duties as an inspector general,” Carolyn B. Maloney, chairwoman of the oversight and reform committee, and Bennie G. Thompson, chairman of the homeland security committee, wrote to Cuffari.“If you continue to refuse to comply with our requests, we will have no choice but to consider alternate measures to ensure your compliance.”Last week, it was revealed that Cuffari apparently failed to act on a memo from top career officials in his office to Congress informing lawmakers that the texts had been erased.Secret Service watchdog suppressed memo on January 6 texts erasureRead moreIndeed, the federal government has followed through on its plans to ration water as the west faces a “megadrought”, with the interior department announcing it will again cut water releases from the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams.The two embankments create lakes Powell and Mead, which together provide water to 40 million people in the southwestern United States.Here’s more from deputy interior secretary Tommy Beaudreau:Today, @Interior announced urgent actions to improve and protect the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River System in the face of climate change-driven drought, extreme heat and low precipitation. https://t.co/bPFnmy3nwF— Tommy Beaudreau (@DepSecBeaudreau) August 16, 2022
We are committed to using every resource available to conserve water and ensure that irrigators, Tribes and communities receive assistance and support to build resilient communities and protect our water supplies.— Tommy Beaudreau (@DepSecBeaudreau) August 16, 2022
As drought shrivels Lake Powell, millions face power crisisRead moreThe federal government may today announce water cuts in western states in an attempt to conserve resources amid the region’s “megadrought”, Richard Luscombe reports:Water cuts are expected to be announced on Tuesday to western states in the grip of a severe “megadrought” that has dropped levels in the country’s largest two reservoirs to record lows.The flow of the Colorado river, which provides water to more than 40 million people across seven states and Mexico, will be stemmed to reduce supply to Arizona and Nevada initially, if the federal government confirms the proposal.The crisis, which has dropped levels in Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US to an 80-year low of barely one-quarter its 28.9m acre-feet capacity, is threatening the future of the crucial river basin.It has also led to potential disruption of water delivery and hydropower production, forcing the US Bureau of Reclamation to consider drastic action.Drastic water cuts expected as ‘megadrought’ grips western US statesRead moreJoe Biden will this afternoon sign into law his marquee spending plan to fight climate change and lower healthcare costs, as his administration looks to make the most of hopeful political developments ahead of November’s midterm elections.Here’s a look back at what has happened today so far:
First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for Covid-19, and will isolate in South Carolina, where she was on vacation with her husband. Joe Biden remains negative, and is heading back to the White House for the 3.30pm eastern time signing of the Inflation Reduction Act spending plan.
The White House is making plans for a campaign to convince men and women alike of the harm of abortion bans, and to sue states that restrict the procedure.
Democrats consider the Inflation Reduction Act to be a major win, but in an interview with the Guardian, independent senator Bernie Sanders outlined the many ways in which he feels it falls short.
The Guardian’s Ramon Antonio Vargas spoke with the mother of a man who shot himself after driving into a barricade at the US Capitol. She attributed his actions not to politics, but rather brain trauma from playing football:The mother of a Delaware man who shot himself to death after driving into a US Capitol barricade over the weekend says she believes he was struggling with brain trauma from growing up playing football.Richard Aaron York III’s mother, Tamara Cunningham, said she suspects his past as a high school football player left him with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain condition colloquially known as CTE. Some football players develop CTE because of repeated head blows that are common to the sport.“Something was going on for a while,” Cunningham told the Guardian in an interview Tuesday. “And it was progressively getting worse.”Mother of man who shot himself after driving into Capitol barrier speaks outRead moreThe Biden White House has plans for capitalizing on both the defeat of the anti-abortion ballot initiative in Kansas this month and the supreme court’s June decision overturning Roe v Wade, Reuters reports.The campaign is targeted at both women and men, and among its goals is getting Americans to better understand the economic and mental health effects abortion bans can have. The justice department also plans to use two laws to sue states that try to crack down on access to the procedure, as well as on abortion pills.“The idea is to be much more disciplined and consistent in messaging to break through to the everyday American,” a source with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters. More

Liz Cheney looks set to lose Congress seat to Trump-backed rivalPolls show congresswoman trailing far behind conservative lawyer Harriet Hageman in Wyoming’s Republican primary Widely praised for her defence of democracy during the January 6 committee hearings, Liz Cheney looks set to lose her seat in Congress on Tuesday to a rival backed by former US president Donald Trump.Opinion polls show Cheney trailing far behind conservative lawyer Harriet Hageman – who has echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud – in a Republican primary election to decide Wyoming’s lone member in the House of Representatives.Republicans rue price of fame as celebrity Senate candidates struggleRead moreVictory for Hageman would continue a recent winning streak for Trump-backed candidates in congressional primaries and deal a blow to remnants of the Republican party establishment.Cheney is vice-chairwoman of the House panel investigating the deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. She has used the committee’s televised hearings to eviscerate Trump and members of her own party who remain loyal to him and his “big lie” that electoral fraudsters caused his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020.The three-term congresswoman has also made the existential struggle for American democracy a central part of her re-election campaign in Wyoming.In a closing video message, she said: “America cannot remain free if we abandon the truth. The lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen is insidious. It preys on those who love their country. It is a door Donald Trump opened to manipulate Americans to abandon their principles, to sacrifice their freedom, to justify violence, to ignore the rulings of our courts and the rule of law.”But Cheney’s status as an unyielding leader of the anti-Trump resistance has alienated many Wyoming Republicans, many of whom accuse her of putting personal ambition in Washington ahead of her constituents at home.She trailed Hageman 52% to 30% in a survey of likely primary voters from 7 to 11 July published by Wyoming’s Casper Star-Tribune. A University of Wyoming poll released last week put Hageman’s lead at 29 percentage points.Supporters of Cheney, the 56-year-old daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney, believe she still has a fighting chance if enough Democrats and independents cross over and vote for her, which is allowed in the state’s primary system.But political strategist Terry Sullivan, who managed the Republican senator Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, regards Cheney’s defeat on Tuesday as a “foregone conclusion” but sees her efforts as part of a larger battle.“Liz Cheney isn’t fighting for re-election – she’s fighting for the direction of the Republican party,” he told the Reuters news agency, noting that some observers have discussed whether Cheney should mount a presidential campaign in 2024. “It’s more of a kind of a beginning, not an end.”Cheney supported Trump’s agenda 93% of the time, according to the FiveThirtyEight website. But she was stripped of her role as the No 3 House Republican for voting to impeach him on a charge of inciting the January 6 Capitol attack.She was among 10 House Republicans to do so and to earn the former president’s wrath and vow of revenge. Three others have already lost their primaries – four decided not to run again and two won their contests.The fate of another Trump adversary, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, was less clear on Tuesday as the state’s non-partisan primary format allows the top four vote-getters to advance to the 8 November general election, which could bring a possible rematch of Murkowski and Trump-backed Kelly Tshibaka.Alaska voters will also determine whether to pick Sarah Palin, a former governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee whom Trump endorsed for the state’s only House seat.Palin finished first among 48 candidates to qualify for a special election seeking to replace congressman Don Young, who died in March at age 88, after 49 years as Alaska’s sole House member.Palin is on Tuesday’s ballot twice: once in a special election to complete Young’s term and another for a full two-year House term starting in January.Most of the candidates Trump has backed this election season have triumphed in what his supporters say is a sign of his continued sway over the party as he considers whether to run for office again in 2024.TopicsHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsWyomingAlaskaUS CongressUS SenatenewsReuse this content More

Taiwan is now a touchstone issue for the UK, the US and for us in China. This is how we see itZheng ZeguangAfter Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, relations between the countries are at a delicate stage. There must be no miscalculation

Zheng Zeguang is the Chinese ambassador to the UK
Chinese ambassador warns UK not to cross ‘red lines’ over Taiwan
Over the past weeks, the world has seen the resolute response from China after the visit to Taiwan of US House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some people have asked why this is necessary. To understand, one needs to learn some history.Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China’s territory since ancient times. Throughout history, the island has been twice lost and regained. During the colonial expansion of western countries, it was occupied by the Dutch for 38 years before it was recovered in 1662 by Chinese national hero Zheng Chenggong. When imperial powers were carving up the world among themselves, Taiwan was subjected to Japanese occupation for 50 years. The Cairo declaration of 1943 and the Potsdam proclamation of 1945 made it clear that Taiwan should be returned to China.Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been caught up in prolonged political antagonism since 1949 as a result of the Chinese civil war, China has never been divided, the island has remained part of China’s territory, and the historical and legal fact that the two sides of the Strait belong to the one and same China has never changed. The Chinese people will firmly safeguard, at any cost, their national sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Taiwan independence” means war and will lead to a dead end. Opposing and defeating such attempts is meant to avoid war and safeguard peace and stability in the region.That is why China strongly opposed and had been repeatedly warning against the provocative visit of the US House speaker, a move that seriously infringed upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.Over the years, the US has been playing the “Taiwan card” to contain China by approving arms sales to the island, upgrading its relations with the authorities there and hollowing out the one-China principle. The authorities on the island, led by the Democratic Progressive party, have refused to recognise the 1992 consensus that embodies the one-China principle. They have gone all out to advance “de-sinicisation” and promote “incremental independence”. Against such provocation, it is only natural that China takes necessary measures in response. These measures are aimed at opposing interference from the US in China’s internal affairs, restraining the separatist attempts of “Taiwan independence” forces, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and upholding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The US side and “Taiwan independence” separatist forces must bear full responsibility for their wrongdoings. Some people may say that by suspending cooperation with the US in certain areas, China is “punishing the world”. But China will continue to stand by its commitments to the international community on issues such as climate change. China has the best record of fulfilling its pledges to the world.The right way for China and the US, two major countries, to handle their relations is to respect each other and avoid confrontation. China has made enormous efforts to promote the healthy and steady development of China-US relations, but we will never sit by and do nothing in response to provocative moves that undermine our core interests. The right thing for the US to do is to acknowledge the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communiques: stop playing the “Taiwan card”; sever any official ties and military cooperation with the island; and stop creating further crises.The Taiwan issue has always been a sensitive matter at the centre of relations between the UK and China. Our countries began to explore diplomatic ties in the early 1950s, but it was not until 1972 that the relationship was upgraded to the ambassadorial level, with the signing of a joint communique. Full diplomatic relations had to wait until the UK clearly recognised the Chinese government’s position that Taiwan is a province of the People’s Republic of China, decided to revoke its official representative office on the island, recognised the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, and promised to maintain only an unofficial relationship with Taiwan. This history must never be forgotten and pledges should be honoured.The Taiwan question is a major issue of principle. There is no reason for the UK to disregard that fact and follow in the footsteps of the US. Calls to “help Taiwan defend itself” and the like are extremely irresponsible and detrimental. Any move that violates the one-China principle and the provisions of the joint communique, or crosses the red line of the Chinese side, will bring serious consequences to bilateral relations. There should not be any miscalculation on this.Over the past 50 years, the exchanges and cooperation between China and the UK have brought enormous benefits to the peoples of both countries. These hard-won outcomes must be cherished. China-UK relations are now at an important juncture. The Conservative party will soon elect a new leader and the country will have a new prime minister. The trajectory of Britain’s policy on China is being followed closely from all quarters. Around the world, daunting challenges, such as the lingering pandemic, the economic downturn, energy shortages and the climate crisis, remain.Under such circumstances, China and the UK should strengthen rather than weaken their cooperation. The two sides should follow the principles of mutual respect, equality and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, engage in dialogue and cooperation, and join hands to address common challenges. This is the right choice, one that conforms to the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries.
Zheng Zeguang is the Chinese ambassador to the UK
TopicsChinaOpinionTaiwanAsia PacificUS politicscommentReuse this content More