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      The Russia-Ukraine War and the Weaponization of Food

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

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      in US Politics

      Republicans rush to label economic slowdown as ‘Joe Biden’s recession’

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      Republicans rush to label economic slowdown as ‘Joe Biden’s recession’Republicans are quick to call a recession as the administration points to brighter employment numbers Prices are rising in the US at the fastest rate in four decades. The Fed raised interest rates again. And new data showed the American economy shrank for a second consecutive quarter, intensifying fears of a recession and handing Republicans a potent line of attack just months before the midterm elections.For embattled Joe Biden, Thursday’s gross domestic product figures were the latest in a string of worrying economic developments clouding his presidency this week. The news came as Democrats celebrated a breakthrough on the president’s long-stalled economic agenda after Senator Joe Manchin announced his support for a version of the plan in a shock reversal for the West Virginia holdout.Joe Biden hails Senate deal as ‘most significant’ US climate legislation everRead moreWith control of Congress in the balance, Republicans seized on the turn of events to accuse Democrats of deepening economic disarray with their spending plans. Widespread pessimism about the state of the economy has shaped up to be Biden’s biggest political vulnerability, weighing down his approval ratings and threatening Democrats’ chances in November.Moments after the Bureau of Economic Analysis published the highly anticipated GDP report on Thursday morning, Republicans declared the economy well into the throes of “Joe Biden’s recession” and blamed Democrats’ policy initiatives for making life costlier for Americans.“Biden and Democrats are responsible for our shrinking economy, and they’re only trying to make it worse,” said Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.GDP, the broadest measure of economic activity, fell by an annual rate of 0.09%, following a 1.6% annual decline in the first three months of the year, according to the commerce department. The numbers recorded two consecutive quarters of declining economic output, a common – but not official – definition of recession.On Thursday, Biden dismissed fears that the US was in a recession, arguing that the economy was “on the right path”.“There’s going to be a lot of chatter today on Wall Street and among pundits about whether we are in a recession,” Biden said on Thursday afternoon. “But if you look at our job market, consumer spending, business investment, we see signs of economic progress in the second quarter as well.”In anticipation of the report, the White House has sought to convince Americans that two quarters of economic decline does not necessarily mean the US is in recession, particularly because unemployment remains low, job growth robust and household savings elevated.Biden stressed those sources of strength in the economy during an earlier appearance on Thursday, concluding: “That doesn’t sound like a recession to me.”The president also urged Congress to move quickly to pass his economic agenda that the White House argues will help ease the financial burden on American households by lowering the costs of healthcare and prescription drugs.Biden did pause to take a victory lap on Thursday, interrupting his meeting with the CEOs of five US businesses to announce that the House had enough votes to pass a sprawling bipartisan package designed to strengthen American manufacturing and increase the US’s competitiveness against China.The bill, which next goes to his desk for signatures, will “make cars cheaper, appliances cheaper, and computers cheaper”, Biden said in a statement. “It will lower the costs of every day goods.”But Republicans said the Democrats’ climate, healthcare and tax plan, formerly known as “Build Back Better” and recast as the “Inflation Reduction Act”, would only cause further financial hardship, especially after they passed a $1.9tn coronavirus relief package last year.“The definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” the Republican congressman Vern Gale Buchanan of Florida wrote on Twitter. “Yet here we are now entering a recession and Democrats are trying to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on Green New Deal priorities and raise taxes on America’s job creators.”Soaring inflation – now running at 40-year highs – led the Federal Reserve on Wednesday to increase interest rates in an effort to bring down prices, the second such increase in just over a month.Labelling the downturn a recession may be more politically charged than economically precise. Recessions are officially declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private research group, and usually only after the decline is over.“Bottom Line,” Diane Swonk, chief economist for KPMG, said on Twitter, “We are not in a recession – yet. But the current environment is [not] healthy. The cure will be painful but is necessary to avoid an even worse outcome. Rock & hard spot. Scars likely. Hard.”The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said the US economy is in a state of transition, from a period of fast-paced growth to a period of more sustainable growth.Recession, she explained, is generally viewed as a “broad-based weakening of our economy” that includes “substantial job losses and mass layoffs, businesses shutting down, private sector activities slowing considerably”.“That is not what we are seeing right now,” she said.Yet even without an official determination of whether the US is in a recession, polling has found that most Americans believe it is: something likely to cause Democrats pain at the ballot box in November’s crucial elections.According to a recent CNN poll, 64% of Americans “feel” the economy is in recession, including 56% of Democrats and 63% of independents. The same survey found that four in 10 view the economy as “very poor”, an 11-point rise since the spring.Biden defended his administration’s actions, arguing that the economic stimulus plan was “the reason why we still had teachers in school, kids going to school, the reason why we had cops on the beat, the reason we had essential workers,” during the depths of the pandemic. But he admitted that the “vast majority of Americans have no idea what the recovery plan did”.Now, with their congressional majorities hanging in the balance, Democrats must persuade voters to trust their economic leadership as they rush to pass Biden’s economic agenda, which they vow will help, not hurt American pocketbooks.Manchin, who just weeks ago appeared to walk away from his party’s economic plans over concerns that it would worsen inflation, said his newfound support for the measure was based on assurances that it would not.Explaining his decision, Manchin told reporters: “This is truly going to be around inflation reduction.”TopicsBiden administrationInflationEconomicsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Biden hails ‘most significant legislation to tackle climate crisis’ after Manchin says yes – as it happened

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      Joe Biden hailed the Inflation Reduction Act as “the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis” in a White House address welcoming the wide-ranging legislative package.The president outlined the benefits to Americans during his remarks, which followed the surprise announcement of a deal last night between Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and holdout West Virginia senator Joe Manchin..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This bill will be the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis and improve our energy security right away, and give us a tool to meet the climate goals… we’ve agreed to by cutting emissions and accelerating clean energy. It’s a huge step forward.
      This bill will reduce inflationary pressures on the economy. It will cut your cost of living and reduce inflation, it lowers the deficit and strengthens our economy for the long run as well.
      This bill has won the support of climate leaders like former vice-president Al Gore, who said the bill is, quote, long overdue and a necessary step to ensure the United States takes decisive action on the climate crisis that helps our economy and provides leadership for the world.Climate activists have broadly welcomed the bill which, if passed by Congress, would give Biden a massive victory ahead of November’s midterms. Inflation at 40-year highs and soaring prices in supermarkets and at gas pumps have contributed to the president’s low approval ratings.It also follows months of stalling on Biden’s agenda, specifically by Manchin, who didn’t like the cost of $1.8tn Build Back Better spending package featuring measures like extended child tax credit.Biden acknowledged: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This bill is far from perfect. I know the bill doesn’t include everything that I’ve been pushing for since I got to office. For example, I’m going to keep fighting to bring down the cost of things for working families and middle class families by providing for things like affordable childcare, affordable elder care, the cost of preschool, housing, helping students with the cost of college, closing the health care coverage gap…
      My message to Congress is this. This is the strongest bill you can pass to lower inflation, cut the deficit, reduce health care costs, tackle the climate crisis and promote energy security, all the time while reducing the burdens facing working class and middle class families.
      So pass it. Pass it for the American people. Pass it for America. We’re closing the politics blog now on a rollercoaster Thursday for President Joe Biden. The day began with depressing economic news that the US was technically in a recession, but was brightened considerably by a bipartisan vote in the House that sends the $280bn Chips Act to his desk.And then there was the unexpected development that Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, blamed for single handedly blocking the majority of Biden’s first term agenda on the climate emergency and the economy, had reversed his position.The Inflation Reduction Act Manchin negotiated with Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is, Biden said, “the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis.”Thanks for joining us today. Before you go, please have a read of my colleague David Smith’s report on the reconciliation bill here. Here’s what else we followed today:
      Former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has spoken with the House panel investigating Donald Trump’s January 6 insurrection, and the committee is negotiating to obtain testimony from other members of the former president’s cabinet, the Associated Press reported.
      Politico reported that the House panel and the justice department’s criminal inquiry had struck an testimony-sharing deal on witness transcripts and other evidence. The report came as Trump’s former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney spoke with the panel virtually.
      Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke for more than two hours by phone, in what was reported to have been a sometimes testy conversation including a discussion of Nancy Pelosi’s controversial upcoming trip to Taiwan.
      At least 43 abortion clinics in 11 states have closed since the supreme court eliminated federal protections for the procedure last month, and seven states no longer have any providers, a study published Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute revealed. Prior to the ruling ending Roe v Wade protections, the 11 states had a total of 71 clinics providing abortion care, the report says.
      The Miami Herald reported that a state operation touted last month by Republican governor Ron DeSantis as a successful law enforcement action to “keep illegals out of Florida” ended up arresting mostly legal residents. Of 22 arrests in a three-day sweep from 7 to 9 June, the “vast majority” were not related to immigration, the Herald said.
      While chief of staff to Donald Trump, the retired general John Kelly “shoved” Ivanka Trump in a White House hallway, Jared Kushner writes in his forthcoming memoir. The detail from Breaking History, which will be published in August, was reported by the Washington Post.Kushner, the Post said, writes that he and his wife saw Kelly as “consistently duplicitous”.“One day he had just marched out of a contentious meeting in the Oval Office. Ivanka was walking down the main hallway in the West Wing when she passed him. Unaware of his heated state of mind, she said, ‘Hello, chief.’ Kelly shoved her out of the way and stormed by. She wasn’t hurt, and didn’t make a big deal about the altercation, but in his rage Kelly had shown his true character.”Kushner writes that Kelly offered a “meek” apology about an hour later.Kelly told the Post: “I don’t recall anything like you describe. It is inconceivable that I would EVER shove a woman. Inconceivable. Never happen. Would never intentionally do something like that. Also, don’t remember ever apologising to her for something I didn’t do. I’d remember that.”A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump said her husband’s description was accurate, the Post said.The Post also said Kushner writes that Kelly gave his wife “compliments to her face that she knew were insincere.“Then the four-star general would call her staff to his office and berate and intimidate them over trivial procedural issues that his rigid system often created. He would frequently refer to her initiatives like paid family leave and the child tax credit as ‘Ivanka’s pet projects.’”Read the full story:Trump chief of staff ‘shoved’ Ivanka at White House, Kushner book saysRead moreBarack Obama’s presidential portrait will be unveiled at the White House in a September ceremony hosted by his former vice-president Joe Biden, the Associated Press reports.Portraits of the former president and first lady Michelle Obama will be presented in the East Room on 7 September, according to Obama’s office.It will mark the first time the former first lady has returned to the White House since her husband left office in January 2017. Barack Obama went back in April to mark the 12th anniversary of his signature health care law.The House of Representative has delivered a big win for Joe Biden, passing the $280bn Chips and Science Act that includes $52bn to boost the production of semiconductors.The bill cleared the Senate 64-33 in a bipartisan vote yesterday, the president urging the House to get the bill to his desk as soon as possible to help ease a shortage in semiconductors he said is holding back US defense, healthcare and vehicle manufacturing industries.Biden received the news of the bill’s House passage, 243-187 in a strong bipartisan vote, during a virtual round table with business leaders at the White House this afternoon.The moment @POTUS gets word that the CHIPS Act has enough votes to pass the House pic.twitter.com/2CqAnr8oVc— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) July 28, 2022
      Biden earlier highlighted the Chips Act as a central plank of his agenda to boost American industry, as he also hailed the newly announced $739bn Inflation Reduction Act.In a statement, the president said the Chips Act “will make cars cheaper, appliances cheaper, and computers cheaper. It will lower the costs of every day goods. And, it will create high-paying manufacturing jobs across the country and strengthen US leadership in the industries of the future at the same time.”Republicans had threatened to whip members against voting for the Chips Act after they were angered by last night’s announcement of the reconciliation bill, brokered in a deal between Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and previously reluctant West Virginia senator Joe Manchin.Read my colleague David Smith’s report on the proposed new legislation here:Joe Biden hails Senate deal as ‘most significant’ US climate legislation everRead moreIt’s a double helping of Joe Biden today, the president just delivering remarks on the economy at an afternoon White House roundtable of business leaders.Once again, the president is downplaying the suggestion, bolstered by this morning’s dismal GDP figures, that the US is in a recession:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}There’ll be a lot of chatter today on Wall Street and among pundits about whether we are in a recession. But if you’re looking at our job market, consumer spending business investment, we see signs of economic progress in the second quarter as well.
      And yesterday, Fed chairman [Jerome] Powell made it clear that he doesn’t think the US economy is currently in a recession. He said, quote, there are too many areas of economics where the economy is performing too well.For the second time today, following his address earlier this afternoon on the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden listed positive factors, including job creation, low unemployment and foreign investment in US industry..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I applaud by the bipartisan effort to get the Chips Act to my desk, which would advance our nation’s competitiveness and technological edge by boosting our domestic semiconductor production and manufacturing.
      Another thing Congress should do is to pass the Inflation Reduction Act to lower prescription drug costs, reduce the deficit, help ease inflationary pressures and ensure 13m Americans can continue to save an average of $800 per year on health care premiums.
      Both of these bills are going to help the economy continue to grow, bring down inflation and make sure we aren’t giving up on all the significant progress we made in the last year. Former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has spoken with the House panel investigating Donald Trump’s January 6 insurrection, and the committee is negotiating to obtain testimony from other members of the former president’s cabinet, the Associated Press reports.The panel is looking into the days following the deadly Capitol riot and discussions between senior officials over whether to try to remove the then-president from office.The negotiations come as the committee was interviewing Trump’s former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, on Thursday. The former South Carolina congressman was special envoy for Northern Ireland on January 6 2022, a post he resigned immediately after the riot.The AP says Mnuchin’s interview, and the negotiations with others, were confirmed by three people familiar with the committee’s work, who spoke on condition of anonymity.The agency says the committee asked Mnuchin about discussions among cabinet secretaries to possibly invoke the constitutional process in the 25th Amendment to remove Trump after the attack on the Capitol, according to one of the people, and is in talks to interview former secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The panel has already interviewed former acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen, former labor secretary Eugene Scalia and former acting defense secretary Christopher Miller as it focuses on Trump and what he was doing in the days before, during and after the riot. We’ve written plenty about the Inflation Reduction Act today, and heard that Joe Biden believes it’s “the most significant bill to tackle the climate crisis in history”. So what’s actually in it?My colleague Oliver Milman has this handy explainer to what made it into the package. And what didn’t:What’s in the climate bill that Joe Manchin supports – and what isn’t Read moreWe now have the White House readout of Joe Biden’s two hour conversation with China’s President Xi Jinping this morning:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The call was a part of the Biden administration’s efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between the US and PRC [People’s Republic of China] and responsibly manage our differences and work together where our interests align.
      The two presidents discussed a range of issues important to the bilateral relationship and other regional and global issues, and tasked their teams to continue following up on today’s conversation, in particular to address climate change and health security. It seems they also touched on Nancy Pelosi’s controversial upcoming trip to Taiwan, which has angered Chinese leaders. The White House readout said:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States policy has not changed and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese take, according to the Associated Press, was equally defiant.The news agency quoted an account of the call by China’s ministry of foreign affairs.“Those who play with fire will perish by it. It is hoped that the US will be clear-eyed about this,” it said.“President Xi underscored that to approach and define China-US relations in terms of strategic competition and view China as the primary rival and the most serious long-term challenge would be misperceiving China-US relations and misreading China’s development, and would mislead the people of the two countries and the international community.” At least 43 abortion clinics in 11 states have closed since the supreme court eliminated federal protections for the procedure last month, and seven states no longer have any providers, a study published Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute has found.Prior to the ruling ending Roe v Wade protections on 24 June, the 11 states had a total of 71 clinics providing abortion care, the report says. 🚨 As of July 24, these 7 US states 👇 had banned abortion completely following the SCOTUS decision to overturn #RoeVWade:❌ Alabama❌ Arkansas❌ Mississippi❌ Missouri❌ Oklahoma❌ South Dakota❌ Texas#BansOffOurBodies https://t.co/6r9oaGNzqJ— Guttmacher Institute (@Guttmacher) July 28, 2022
      As of 24 July, there were only 28 clinics still offering abortions, all located in the four states with six-week bans. Across these 11 states, the number of clinics offering abortions dropped by 43 in just one month. The seven states no longer offering any abortion provision are Alabama (previously 5 clinics), Arkansas (2), Mississippi (1), Missouri (1), Oklahoma (5), South Dakota (1) and Texas (23 ).“Obtaining an abortion was already difficult in many states even before the supreme court overturned Roe,” Rachel Jones, Guttmacher’s principal research scientist, said.“These clinic closures resulting from state-level bans will further deepen inequities in access to care based on race, gender, income, age or immigration status since long travel distances to reach a clinic in another state will be a barrier for many people.”Joe Biden thanked Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, for their “extraordinary effort” in negotiating the reconciliation bill.It had looked like Manchin had killed hope of any of the president’s signature policy goals on the climate emergency or the economy passing when he withdrew from talks on Build Back Better earlier this year.The West Virginia senator, however, insisted earlier today he “never walked away” and was always open to renewed discussions, on parts of the package at least, which were finally concluded on Wednesday after weeks of secret meetings with Schumer and his staff.Biden said: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I know can sometimes seem like nothing gets done in Washington. I know it never crossed any of your minds. But the work of the government can be slow and frustrating and sometimes even infuriating.
      Then the hard work of hours and days and months from people who refuse to give up pays off.
      History has been made. Lives have changed with this legislation. We’re facing up to some of our biggest problems. And we’re taking a giant step forward as a nation. Biden closed his address with remarks on data that came out this morning showing the economy had shrunk for a second successive quarter, and that the US was technically in a recession.He listed low unemployment, overseas investment in US manufacturing and yesterday’s passing by the Senate of the Chips Act boosting semiconductor production among a number of reasons why he believes the US economy is strong.“That doesn’t sound like a recession to me,” Biden said.Joe Biden hailed the Inflation Reduction Act as “the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis” in a White House address welcoming the wide-ranging legislative package.The president outlined the benefits to Americans during his remarks, which followed the surprise announcement of a deal last night between Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and holdout West Virginia senator Joe Manchin..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This bill will be the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis and improve our energy security right away, and give us a tool to meet the climate goals… we’ve agreed to by cutting emissions and accelerating clean energy. It’s a huge step forward.
      This bill will reduce inflationary pressures on the economy. It will cut your cost of living and reduce inflation, it lowers the deficit and strengthens our economy for the long run as well.
      This bill has won the support of climate leaders like former vice-president Al Gore, who said the bill is, quote, long overdue and a necessary step to ensure the United States takes decisive action on the climate crisis that helps our economy and provides leadership for the world.Climate activists have broadly welcomed the bill which, if passed by Congress, would give Biden a massive victory ahead of November’s midterms. Inflation at 40-year highs and soaring prices in supermarkets and at gas pumps have contributed to the president’s low approval ratings.It also follows months of stalling on Biden’s agenda, specifically by Manchin, who didn’t like the cost of $1.8tn Build Back Better spending package featuring measures like extended child tax credit.Biden acknowledged: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This bill is far from perfect. I know the bill doesn’t include everything that I’ve been pushing for since I got to office. For example, I’m going to keep fighting to bring down the cost of things for working families and middle class families by providing for things like affordable childcare, affordable elder care, the cost of preschool, housing, helping students with the cost of college, closing the health care coverage gap…
      My message to Congress is this. This is the strongest bill you can pass to lower inflation, cut the deficit, reduce health care costs, tackle the climate crisis and promote energy security, all the time while reducing the burdens facing working class and middle class families.
      So pass it. Pass it for the American people. Pass it for America. Joe Biden is about to deliver a hastily arranged address about the Inflation Reduction Act, the White House says.You can watch the president’s remarks here. More

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      Judge blocks Georgia DA from investigating ‘fake elector’ in setback for Trump inquiry – as it happened

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      The criminal inquiry into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his election defeat by Joe Biden in Georgia has hit a speed bump. In what the Atlanta Journal Constitution calls “a surprise decision and a significant rebuke” of Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis, superior court judge Robert McBurney said Monday she cannot pursue her investigation of state senator Burt Jones.Jones was one of the 16 secretive “fake electors” who were lined up to fraudulently certify a Trump victory in the state he lost to Biden in 2020 by almost 12,000 votes.McBurney granted a motion by Jones, a Republican running for Georgia lieutenant governor, to remove Willis and her team from looking into his role in the scandal, citing the fact Willis hosted a campaign fundraiser last month for Jones’s now opponent, Democrat Charlie Bailey.McBurney wrote: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}An investigation of this significance, garnering the public attention it necessarily does and touching so many political nerves in our society, cannot be burdened by legitimate doubts about the district attorney’s motives.
      The district attorney does not have to be apolitical, but her investigations do. As a consequence, an alternative prosecutor must now decide whether to continue treating Jones as “a target” of the investigation, as Willis designated the 16 “fake electors” last week, and whether to charge him with criminal misdeeds.The Georgia inquiry is widely seen as one of the best chances of holding Trump liable for his “big lie” that the election was stolen from him, and efforts to alter the result, which included the deadly 6 January Capitol insurrection.Earlier this month, the Georgia prosecutors issued subpoenas for several members of Trump’s legal team, including South Carolina’s Republican senator Lindsey Graham and former New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani to testify.On Monday, CNN reported, Georgia governor Brian Kemp, who has clashed frequently with Trump over the state’s certification of Biden’s victory, gave recorded testimony to a grand jury assisting the investigation.The inquiry has focused in part on an infamous phone call Trump made to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election urging him to “find” the number of votes the outgoing president needed to win the state. We’re closing the US politics blog now. It’s been a busy day, thanks for being with us, and please join us again tomorrow.Here’s what we’ve been following today:
      Joe Biden appeared at a virtual White House roundtable on the semiconductor industry, sounding somewhat hoarse from his Covid-19 infection, coughing occasionally and sipping from a mug, but otherwise looking relatively healthy. White House physician Kevin O’Connor said the president was “almost completely” recovered after contracting the virus last week.
      Six staffers were arrested in Congress for staging a sit-in at Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s office to protest a lack of legislative action on the environment. One male staffer said they were demanding renewed negotiations on the climate reconciliation package.
      Elaine Luria, a member of the January 6 House panel looking into Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat, posted to Twitter a video featuring handwritten changes he made to a speech the day after the deadly Capitol riot. The original script showed deletions and changes including the removal by Trump of a line saying the rioters “do not represent me”.
      A Georgia judge has blocked Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis from investigating one of the 16 “fake electors” who falsely certified Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in the state. Superior court judge Robert McBurney said Willis’s hosting of a fundraiser for a Democratic rival to Burt Jones, Republican candidate for Georgia lieutenant governor, precludes her from pursuing him.
      Nancy Pelosi received rare praise from Republican former House speaker Newt Gingrich for her planned trip to Taiwan. Gingrich, the highest ranking American official ever to the island, said during a conservative conference in Washington DC that his Democratic successor should take a bipartisan delegation with her.
      Joe Biden’s Covid-19 symptoms are “almost completely” resolved, the president’s physician Dr Kevin O’Connor said in a letter. O’Connor said Biden’s blood pressure and breathing are normal, and he will continue to take the antiviral drug Paxlovid.
      Meanwhile, Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator for West Virginia, announced he had contracted the virus. Manchin said on Twitter he is experiencing only mild symptoms and is working remotely.
      Kamala Harris met with state lawmakers in Indiana to discuss a push for legislation to secure abortion rights, one month after the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade protections. Politico reports the vice-president is taking the lead in a push to promote action at state level, as Democrats’ efforts to codify federal abortion rights falter.
      The White House is bracing for a slew of bad news in economic reports due this week, including the consumer confidence index and second quarter gross domestic product results, which could confirm the US is in recession. Biden administration officials have been talking up the strength of the economy, and low unemployment.
      Joe Biden was asked at the conclusion of the meeting how he was feeling, and says he hopes to be back at work in person “by the end of this week”.Four days after testing positive for Covid-19, Biden said:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I’m feeling great. I’ve had two full nights of sleep all the way through. My dog had to wake me up this morning, my wife’s not here. She’s takes him out in the morning while I’m upstairs working out, so I felt this nuzzle of my dog’s nose against my chest about five minutes to seven.
      I’m feeling good. My voice is still raspy… I’m feeling better every day. I still have this little bit of a sore throat and a little bit of a cough.
      But it’s changing significantly. It’s now up in the upper part of my my throat, actually around my nose and everywhere else, and they tell me that’s par for the course. And I think I’m on my way to full recovery, God willing.Joe Biden is appearing virtually at a White House roundtable with leaders of the US semiconductor industry, sounding somewhat hoarse from his Covid-19 infection, but otherwise appearing relatively healthy.White House physician Kevin O’Connor gave an update on the president’s condition earlier, saying he had “almost completely” recovered from symptoms after contracting the virus last week.He was seen occasionally coughing during the meeting, and regularly sipping from a mug on the desk beside him, but exhibited few other signs of his illness.Biden’s appearance at the summit, which also featured labor leaders, commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, and Brian Deese, the president’s senior economic adviser, was announced at short notice, an apparent indication of the strength of his recovery.Biden, wearing a blue suit and tie, and seated at his desk, gave brief opening remarks and listened attentively as the speakers laid out the importance of the US semiconductor industry to national security, healthcare and manufacturing.The Chips act moving through Congress this week seeks billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits for the industry. A semiconductor shortage has disrupted production in industries from automobiles to electronics and high-tech weapons. “We are unable to get the components we need. Semiconductors are what makes everything happen in the industrial sector just as they do in the medical sector,” said Tom Linebarger, chief executive of Cummings Inc, a manufacturer of engines and power generation equipment.Biden asked Linebarger about the effect any increased availability of semiconductors would have, particularly in the electric car industry.“The exponential curve will keep growing,” Linebarger replied. “We solve the problems we need to solve in the US and use the same technology to export to the rest of the world. “We have a big opportunity here but we need to invest now.”Six staffers were reportedly arrested in Congress on Monday afternoon for staging a sit-in at Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s office and protesting about a lack of legislative action on the environment.A tweet posted by NBC News reporter Julia Jester features a short video purporting to show one of the staff members in handcuffs, explaining why the group jeopardized their careers to take the action.USCP arrested six House staffers this afternoon for protesting inside @SenSchumer’s office demanding the majority leader restart negotiations to pass climate legislation.“He’s giving up, but some of us are going to live through the climate crisis,” @saaaauuull told @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/YDHc0N1FFD— Julia Jester (@JulesJester) July 25, 2022
      The reporter asked the male staffer what they were demanding of the senior Democrat. He replied: “to reopen negotiations on the climate reconciliation package … and pass climate legislation”.Joe Biden’s efforts to advance climate legislation have been thwarted largely because of the opposition of Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, who has been branded a “modern day villain” for his ties to the fossil fuel industry and killing off the president’s environmental proposals.The reporter asked why the group had chosen Schumer’s office, and not that of Manchin. (Earlier today, Manchin announced he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was working remotely).The staffer replied cryptically: “Because there’s always going to be a sheep that strays away from the herd.”Earlier today, a tweet from an activist named Saul, who identified himself as a staffer for Democratic Missouri congresswoman Cori Bush, said he was among the group.Right now, we Hill staffers are peacefully protesting Dem leaders INSIDE. To my knowledge, this has never been done. We’ve also never seen climate catastrophe, so we’re meeting the moment. Follow along as we fight with everything we have to jumpstart climate negotiations. pic.twitter.com/PwuWVFQoED— Saul (@saaaauuull) July 25, 2022
      “Right now, we Hill staffers are peacefully protesting Dem leaders INSIDE. To my knowledge, this has never been done,” he wrote.“We’ve also never seen climate catastrophe, so we’re meeting the moment. Follow along as we fight with everything we have to jumpstart climate negotiations”.Elaine Luria, a member of the January 6 House panel looking into Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat, has posted to Twitter a video featuring handwritten changes he made to a speech the day after the deadly Capitol riot.The committee showed last week during a public hearing outtakes of Trump’s speech on 7 January 2021 in which he refused to speak certain phrases critical of his supporters who violently ransacked the Capitol building.It took more than 24 hours for President Trump to address the nation again after his Rose Garden video on January 6th in which he affectionately told his followers to go home in peace. There were more things he was unwilling to say. pic.twitter.com/cJBIX5ROxs— Rep. Elaine Luria (@RepElaineLuria) July 25, 2022
      The original script posted Monday by Luria, a Virginia Democrat, shows deletions and changes made by the outgoing president. Lines included in the original stating that the justice department would “ensure all lawbreakers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” and that the rioters “do not represent me” were struck through in black ink, presumably by Trump.The video also includes Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, confirming to the panel the document “looks like a copy of a draft of the remarks for that day” and the writing “looks like my father’s handwriting”, the Associated Press reported.In her tweet Monday, Luria said: “It took more than 24 hours for President Trump to address the nation again after his Rose Garden video on January 6th in which he affectionately told his followers to go home in peace. There were more things he was unwilling to say”.In other highlighted changes to the script, in the original line: “I am outraged and sickened by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem”, the word “sickened” is crossed out. So, AP reports, are the later lines, “I want to be very clear you do not represent me. You do not represent our movement.” But Trump left in, “You do not represent our country.” The line “you belong in jail” was replaced with “you will pay”.In its succession of public hearings, which has concluded for the time being, the panel was attempting to present to the American public substantial evidence of Trump’s illegal efforts to reverse his election loss to Joe Biden. The justice department is pursuing its own inquiry.Read more here:‘US democracy will not survive for long’: how January 6 hearings plot a roadmap to autocracyRead moreHere’s where things stand on a busy Monday in US politics:
      A Georgia judge has blocked Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis from investigating one of the 16 “fake electors” who falsely certified Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in the state. Superior court judge Robert McBurney said Willis’s hosting of a fundraiser for a Democratic rival to Burt Jones, Republican candidate for Georgia lieutenant governor, precludes her from pursuing him.
      Nancy Pelosi received rare praise from Republican former House speaker Newt Gingrich for her planned trip to Taiwan. Gingrich, the highest ranking American official ever to the island, said during a conservative conference in Washington DC that his Democratic successor should take a bipartisan delegation with her.
      Joe Biden’s Covid-19 symptoms are “almost completely” resolved, the president’s physician Dr Kevin O’Connor said in a letter. O’Connor said Biden’s blood pressure and breathing are normal, and he will continue to take the antiviral drug Paxlovid.
      Meanwhile, Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator for West Virginia, announced he had contracted the virus. Manchin said on Twitter he is experiencing only mild symptoms and is working remotely.
      Kamala Harris met with state lawmakers in Indiana to discuss a push for legislation to secure abortion rights, one month after the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade protections. Politico reports the vice-president is taking the lead in a push to promote action at state level, as Democrats’ efforts to codify federal abortion rights falter.
      The White House is bracing for a slew of bad news in economic reports due this week, including the consumer confidence index and second quarter gross domestic product results, which could confirm the US is in recession. Biden administration officials have been talking up the strength of the economy, and low unemployment.
      There’s plenty more politics to come this afternoon, including the release by the January 6 committee of additional evidence detailing Trump’s efforts to reverse his election defeat. Please stick with us.Newt Gingrich, the last speaker of the House of Representatives to visit Taiwan, has backed current speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned trip to the self-governing island.“I feel very strongly that Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and she should take a bipartisan congressional delegation,” Gingrich told a conservative gathering in Washington on Monday. “And I say this with some authority as the highest ranking American official ever to visit Taiwan.”Gingrich, a Republican, went to the island in 1997. Pelosi’s planned visit has prompted China to threaten “forceful measures” and even a possible military response, the Financial Times reported, causing a headache for the White House.Joe Biden has said the US military assessed “it is not a good idea right now”.But Gingrich, addressing the America First Policy Institute – a thinktank comprising many Donald Trump administration alumni – accused the state department of “timidity covered by insecurity and an eagerness to appease” and claimed that the “woke” defence department’s own timidity is “dangerous”.Would it surprise you to learn that Nancy Pelosi got a round of applause at a meeting of the Trump-backed America First Policy Institute? Because that’s exactly what just happened, when Newt Gingrich declared support for her upcoming trip to Taiwan. “I commend Nancy,” said Newt pic.twitter.com/FJ1Xh8H0PK— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) July 25, 2022
      He added: “If the Department of Defense is not certain that it can protect the American speaker of the House in a public visit, why would they think they could protect Taiwan? If you’re the Chinese communists and you watch us flinch after the total mess in Afghanistan and the total mess in Ukraine, you begin to think this is an administration that’s just begging to be bullied.”Gingrich added that he has “enormous disagreements” with Pelosi on many issues. “But on this one, I think her instinct is right and I hope she sticks to her guns. The only thing I would suggest is she should make it a bipartisan congressional delegation to show both parties are committed to the independence of China.” The criminal inquiry into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his election defeat by Joe Biden in Georgia has hit a speed bump. In what the Atlanta Journal Constitution calls “a surprise decision and a significant rebuke” of Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis, superior court judge Robert McBurney said Monday she cannot pursue her investigation of state senator Burt Jones.Jones was one of the 16 secretive “fake electors” who were lined up to fraudulently certify a Trump victory in the state he lost to Biden in 2020 by almost 12,000 votes.McBurney granted a motion by Jones, a Republican running for Georgia lieutenant governor, to remove Willis and her team from looking into his role in the scandal, citing the fact Willis hosted a campaign fundraiser last month for Jones’s now opponent, Democrat Charlie Bailey.McBurney wrote: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}An investigation of this significance, garnering the public attention it necessarily does and touching so many political nerves in our society, cannot be burdened by legitimate doubts about the district attorney’s motives.
      The district attorney does not have to be apolitical, but her investigations do. As a consequence, an alternative prosecutor must now decide whether to continue treating Jones as “a target” of the investigation, as Willis designated the 16 “fake electors” last week, and whether to charge him with criminal misdeeds.The Georgia inquiry is widely seen as one of the best chances of holding Trump liable for his “big lie” that the election was stolen from him, and efforts to alter the result, which included the deadly 6 January Capitol insurrection.Earlier this month, the Georgia prosecutors issued subpoenas for several members of Trump’s legal team, including South Carolina’s Republican senator Lindsey Graham and former New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani to testify.On Monday, CNN reported, Georgia governor Brian Kemp, who has clashed frequently with Trump over the state’s certification of Biden’s victory, gave recorded testimony to a grand jury assisting the investigation.The inquiry has focused in part on an infamous phone call Trump made to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election urging him to “find” the number of votes the outgoing president needed to win the state. Dan Cox, an extremist pro-Trump Republican, won his party’s nomination for governor in Maryland last week thanks to “collusion between Trump and the national Democrats”, the current Republican governor said. “I don’t think there’s any chance that [Cox] can win,” Larry Hogan added, speaking to CNN’s State of the Union.Hogan previously called Cox “a QAnon whack job”.“Collusion” is a loaded word in US politics, in the long aftermath of the Russia investigation, in which the special counsel Robert Mueller scrutinised election interference by Moscow and links between Trump aides and Russia.The battle to succeed Hogan as governor of Maryland might seem small beer in comparison. But the race attracted national attention.Cox, endorsed by Donald Trump, surged past Kelly Schulz, a member of Hogan’s cabinet, to win the Republican nomination.In the Democratic race, Wes Moore, a bestselling author, beat candidates including Tom Perez, a former Democratic national committee chair and US labor secretary.In a midterm election year, Democrats have sought to boost pro-Trump Republicans in competitive states, placing the risky bet that as the January 6 committee remains in the headlines, extremists who support the former president’s lie about electoral fraud in his 2020 defeat will prove unpalatable to voters.Hogan said: “There’s no question this was a big win for the Democratic Governors Association that I think spent over $3m trying to promote this guy [Cox]. And it was basically collusion between Trump and the national Democrats, who propped this guy up and got him elected.“But he really is not a serious candidate.”Read the full story:How a Trump-backed ‘QAnon whack job’ won with Democratic ‘collusion’Read moreHere’s the letter from Joe Biden’s physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor, giving the president an (almost) clean bill of health as he recovers from Covid-19.Biden is apparently now feeling so robust he’s willing to take on a virtual meeting later today with chief executives of Lockheed Martin, Medtronic, Cummins Inc and labor leaders to discuss the US semiconductor industry.A bill moving through Congress this week seeks billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits for the industry. A semiconductor shortage has disrupted production in industries from automobiles to electronics and high-tech weapons. Progressive Democrat Tom Nelson has dropped out of the race to challenge incumbent Republican Ron Johnson for his Wisconsin Senate seat in November, he announced on Monday.Nelson was trailing Lt Gov Mandela Barnes, businessman Alex Lasry, owner of basketball’s Milwaukee Bucks, and state treasurer Sarah Godlewski, in support and donations for the 9 August primary.Barnes and Lasry are in a close tussle for the nomination, with Nelson now opting to support Barnes. Toppling Johnson and flipping the Wisconsin seat is one of the Democratic Party’s top priorities in the midterms, with the most recent polling indicating the race is a toss-up.Joe Biden’s Covid-19 symptoms are “almost completely” resolved, his physician said in a memo on Monday, according to Reuters.Biden tested positive for the virus last Thursday, and carried on working remotely. He is scheduled shortly to address remotely a gathering of black law enforcement executives.In a White House memo released Monday morning, the president’s physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor, said: “When questioned, at this point he only notes some residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness”.Biden, the memo said, is experiencing no shortness of breath, his blood pressure is normal, and he is continuing to take the prescribed antiviral Paxlovid.First lady Jill Biden, who remained in Delaware while her husband was in Washington, tested negative for Covid-19 this morning, her office said.While we’re (briefly) discussing Trump’s apparently falling star, another bête noire, congressman Adam Kinzinger, says the former president’s waning popularity is extending even to his formerly “hard core” supporters.The Illinois Republican and 6 January committee member made the comment on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, warning that “Trumpism isn’t dying, even though Trump is becoming irrelevant”.Asked if he believed the 6 January panel’s revelations about Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden was having any impact on colleagues, Kinzinger said:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Every day I ceased to be amazed at how much they’re willing to accept and not say anything. In terms of Republicans in general, you have kind of the bulk of Republican voters, this doesn’t appear to be having a ton of impact, maybe people are shifting more towards a potential for, I don’t know, a Ron DeSantis.
      I’m hearing a lot of anecdotal stuff around the edges of people who have been hard core with Trump that now just can’t stand him… in like five years I still believe that it’s going to be hard to find somebody that will admit they were ever a Trump supporter. West Virginia’s Democratic senator Joe Manchin has Covid-19, he announced this morning on Twitter.Manchin, who is vaccinated and boosted, said he was experiencing “mild symptoms” of the infection and was continuing to work remotely.This morning I tested positive for COVID-19. I am fully vaccinated and boosted and am experiencing mild symptoms. I will isolate and follow CDC guidelines as I continue to work remotely to serve West Virginians.— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) July 25, 2022
      The announcement comes as Joe Biden, whose agenda Manchin has blocked in recent months, continues his own recovery after the president tested positive for Covid last week.Biden is reportedly in much better condition this morning, and will address a gathering of black law enforcement executives at lunchtime remotely. It’s not been a good few days for Donald Trump in media circles. Two prominent newspapers owned by one-time cheerleader Rupert Murdoch have turned against him, and one of the former president’s favorite bugles, the far-right One America News (OAN), has lost its last major US television platform.My colleague Ed Helmore has this report on the New York Post issuing an excoriating editorial indictment of Trump’s failure to stop the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.The editorial, in a tabloid owned by Murdoch since 1976, began: “As his followers stormed the Capitol, calling for his vice-president to be hanged, President Donald Trump sat in his private dining room, watching TV, doing nothing. For three hours, seven minutes.”Trump’s only focus, the Post said, was to block the peaceful transfer of power.“As a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again.”Notable from the Murdoch-owned NY Post: “It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again.” https://t.co/yiLjAVhDe6— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 23, 2022
      The Wall Street Journal, another Murdoch paper, issued a similar critique in which it said evidence before the House January 6 committee was a reminder that “Trump betrayed his supporters”.Meanwhile, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports Verizon Fios will no longer carry OAN from the end of this month, dealing a major blow to the network that has become a hotbed of misinformation.Verizon was the largest pay-TV provider still carrying the OAN, according to the Daily Beast, which first reported the network was getting dropped. Verizon and OAN were unable to reach an agreement to continue providing the network and customers will not be able to access the service after 30 July.The development means that OAN in effect will not have a major television platform in the US. DirecTV, a major revenue provider, announced it was dropping the network in April.OAN is facing billion-dollar lawsuits from voting equipment vendors Dominion and Smartmatic over its false claims the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.Read more:Is Murdoch tiring of Trump? Mogul’s print titles dump the ex-presidentRead moreKamala Harris is in Indianapolis this morning, talking to lawmakers in her new role as spearhead for the Biden administration’s push to codify abortion rights into law.According to Politico, the vice-president is taking the lead on what looks to be an uphill fight following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade abortion protections one month ago.She is planning an “aggressive bid to elevate Democratic state legislators and governors on the abortion rights frontlines”, Politico says, claiming Harris recently told staff:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We need to make it a goal that we’re out in America three days a week. In a bleak assessment of the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court decision, the Guardian’s Jessica Glenza reports today on the creation of a “dystopian American reality” and consequences “both chaotic and predictable”.Alarmingly, activists are promising even more draconian restrictions to come.Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research organization, told the Guardian:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Everything is super in flux right now. We’re looking at probably about 15m women living in a state with an abortion ban.
      That number we expect to increase, because more states are looking to ban abortion – and we could see as much as half of the country without abortion access very soon. Democrats lost their first attempt to enshrine abortion rights into federal law in May, West Virginia senator Joe Manchin crossing the aisle to join Republicans in voting down the measure.A renewed effort passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, but was largely symbolic because of ongoing Republican resistance in the evenly-divided Senate, where it would need 60 votes to pass. Harris’s upcoming tour is, Politico says, aimed more at securing action at state level. A poll taken in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision showed 62% of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases.Read more here:The dystopian American reality one month after the Roe v Wade reversalRead moreWhat some are calling Joe Biden’s “moment of truth” on the economy comes this week, with a number of key data indicators likely to paint a bleak picture for the president as Congress heads for summer recess and the midterm elections loom ever larger.That’s why treasury secretary Janet Yellen and other White House figures have been prominent, attempting to talk up the strengths and resilience of the US economy while inflation rages at four-decade highs.On Sunday, Yellen told NBC’s Meet the Press that, despite what she conceded were “threats on the horizons”, the US was not in recession: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}You don’t see any of the signs now – a recession is a broad-based contraction that affects many sectors of the economy – we just don’t have that. It’s a message Brian Deese, Biden’s senior economic adviser and director of the national economic council, was keen to reinforce in an appearance on CNN on Monday: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We have seen extraordinary resilience in this economy due largely to the resilience of our businesses and our consumers, but we need to take more action right now to make things more affordable.In a tweet, Deese insisted that “hiring, spending and production data look solid”. Their comments are widely seen as efforts to get ahead of bad news on the economy coming this week, starting with the consumer confidence index report coming tomorrow, an expected steep interest rate hike on Wednesday, then second quarter gross domestic product results the following day.Analysts say the predicted interest rate rise by the Federal Reserve could help slow inflation, but fuel the recession risk at the same time. It’s a gamble that Biden, whose popularity ratings are at term lows, is likely to support. In a CNN poll last week, only 18% of Americans described the nation’s economy as in good shape, while 82% said economic conditions are poor.Tellingly, 75% said inflation and the cost of living were the most important economic problems facing their family, up from 43% last summer. Impt context ahead of this wk’s Q2 GDP release:The data will capture Apr-Jun economic conditions, ie backward lookingHiring, spending, and production data look solidCEA outlines why economists look broadly at data to assess the economy’s healthhttps://t.co/vzl38Z2g5E— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) July 24, 2022
      The conservative National Review on Monday accused Biden’s economic team of being in “recession denial”, and predicted that official confirmation the US was in recession could come as early as Thursday when the second quarter GDP figures are released.Good morning, politics blog readers. Joe Biden’s allies are scrambling to get ahead of what’s likely to be a troubling week of economic news for the White House, with Congress beginning to think about its August recess with little to no progress on the president’s economic agenda, and inflation at 40-year highs.Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has been talking up the resilience and “historical strengths” of the US economy, and low unemployment, while conceding “threats on the horizon” could nudge the country closer to recession, just as the midterm elections loom. We’ll get a snapshot of consumer confidence in a report tomorrow, while Wednesday is likely to bring a sharp hike in US interest rates that could help slow inflation, but fuel the recession risk. Biden, whose popularity ratings are slumping, has plenty else on his plate. Here’s what else we’re watching today.
      We’ll get the chance to gauge the progress of the president’s recovery from Covid-19 when he addresses the national organization of black law enforcement executives at 12.30pm.
      Covid-19 will feature heavily at the White House press briefing. Pandemic response coordinator Dr Ashish Jha will join WH press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the podium.
      It’s the last full week in Congress before the August recess. Today, senators will discuss healthcare benefits for veterans episode to toxins, and vote to progress a bill providing grants to the computer chip industry.
      There’s also a push to get the same-sex marriage bill through the Senate this week, after it passed the House with supports from dozens of Republicans last week.
      We’ll bring you all the developments as they happen. Please stay with us… More

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      Alarm in Ireland About Natural Gas Supplies Next Winter

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

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      The Russia-Ukraine War Proves That We Must Define National Security Differently

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

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      Why is US inflation so high – and how long will it last?

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      Why is US inflation so high – and how long will it last? Soaring prices a top concern for many Americans, and likely influencing many voters in a midterm election year Inflation in the US is at a 40-year high – an astounding 9.1% year-over-year, according to a government report released Wednesday.Prices have climbed every month, while consumer confidence has hit record lows. Inflation is now a top concern for many Americans, and is likely influencing many voters in a midterm election year.What is driving this inflation, however, is not new: rather, it is largely the fallout of two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is what we know.Why is inflation in the US so high?The Covid-19 pandemic strapped the US economy on to a rollercoaster. In early 2020, nationwide lockdowns caused millions of Americans to be temporarily laid off from their jobs. Then president Donald Trump responded by signing a $2tn aid package aimed at directly helping businesses and individuals, including stimulus checks that put money directly into people’s pockets. It would ultimately be the first of three stimulus packages, together pumping an eye-watering $5tn into the economy.That summer, businesses slowly started to reopen. But it would take another year and a half for the unemployment rate to fall back to where it was before the pandemic, and with wages rising due to a tight labor market, consumer spending started to climb: people wanted new homes, restaurant meals, appliances and furniture.As the demand for goods soared, supply remained constrained – because of the infamous supply chain crisis, which is only just now starting to ease. At the peak of the crisis, ports were clogged with ships trying to dock, containers were falling into the ocean and there was a shortage of truck drivers. The war in Ukraine, along with China’s own coronavirus lockdown in the spring of this year, also played roles in keeping supply tight during 2022. That means higher prices.What sectors are driving inflation?Gas, food and housing prices have all soared, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year-over-year, gas prices are up 7.5% – though Joe Biden has called the inflation rate “out-of-date”, as gas prices have been falling the last few weeks.Prices have also gone up at grocery stores, particularly for fruit, vegetables and non-alcoholic beverages. Grocery prices over the last year have risen 12.2% – the highest increase since April 1979. Home prices and rent have increased too – up 5.6% compared with last year.How long will inflation last?No one can really predict, nor do we know if it has peaked, because so many factors are at play. Gas prices are going down, it’s true, but it’s unclear whether that will be enough to send inflation downward as well.The Federal Reserve, headed by Jerome Powell, has been aggressive in its response to inflation, raising interest rates twice this year. Early reports indicate that the Fed is looking at yet another three-point interest rate hike at the end of the month.What are the lasting effects of inflation?High, long-lasting inflation is worrisome because it decreases the value of currency, weakening the purchasing power of the American dollar and eroding savings.The Fed’s control of interest rates is its most powerful tool to curb inflation. But it is a tough balancing act, as it risks a recession. A slowdown in investments could have a cascading effect on jobs and spending, though it remains too early to predict any recession – not that that has stopped certain people, and banks, from doing so.And there are some things inflation doesn’t necessarily affect. The unemployment rate has held steady at 3.6% – around the same rate as before the pandemic. And the economy has shown other signs of resilience – particularly in jobs, which grew 372,000 in June.TopicsUS economyEconomicsConsumer spendingFederal ReserveBiden administrationUS politicsexplainersReuse this content More

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      Oil Realpolitik Has Returned With a Vengeance

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More