Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have overruled a veto by Governor Roy Cooper to pass legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy in the state. Members of the party claimed the limits were a middle ground as the state already bans nearly all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy without rape or incest caveats. The votes were part of a wider shift on the issue across the US, with lawmakers in South Carolina and Nebraska also considering new abortion limits. The North Carolina law will include rape or incest exceptions through 20 weeks of pregnancy and exceptions for "life-limiting" fetal anomalies during the first 24 weeks. The bans are possible as in 2020 the US Supreme Court struck down landmark 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade which had established a nationwide right to abortion.
The Guardian has published a list of possible summer hits, from albums that have already been released to those that have yet to be recorded. Included on the list is an album from Fred again.. and Brian Eno, which has been inspired by the art-rock and ambient-music giant. Meanwhile, Kaytranada and Aminé have released a full album together, and rock mainstay Dave Grohl has released his first track from an upcoming Foo Fighters album. Quebecois folk singer Félix Leclerc is having a seminal album reissued through Universal and American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis has transformed her music into a more country-focussed style with the help of Dave Cobb. The list also includes a potential new album from R&B artist Frank Ocean, who last released an album in 2016, and projects from Pusha T and DJ Drama.
The US Capitol Police want to set up more field offices around the country to investigate threats to members of the US Congress after a man with a baseball bat attacked staff members of Rep. Gerald E. Connolly in the Democrat’s Fairfax City, Va., district office. The chief of the Capitol Police, J. Thomas Manger, also said his agency needs more officers to its dignitary protection division, which he said is currently 30% short of full staffing. They also have received increased funding after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, where most of the money was used for hiring officers and buying equipment for the protection of the main Capitol campus, not for members’ security away from Washington, Manger said.
Manger said: “These events demonstrate how the Capitol Police need to transform into a more protective agency. One that concentrates on protecting members and their families throughout the country, not merely in Washington D.C. … The old approach of member protection has been replaced by the need to protect the members’ environment as well as the members’ family. Keeping you and your families safe must be a top priority.” U.S. Congress members faced an increased number of threats; this is demonstrated by their threat assessment section rising from about 4,000 in 2017 to more than 9,600 in 2021.
Capitol Police reportedly said that most of the threats did not meet the legal definition of threats and they were monitored but not actively prosecuted. The number of threats that have been prosecuted in recent years has steadily decreased, with federal prosecutors declining charges in 93% of cases presented by the police last year. It is expected that five or six Capitol Police field offices will be set up around the country, adding offices in the Northeast, Midwest and Southwest to existing offices in Florida and California, all located in cities near where many threats originate.
Biden off to Japan for Group of Seven summit, says there’s ‘work to do’ on global stage
The Toronto Star
23-05-17 17:05
US President Joe Biden has warned that there is “work to do” on the global stage, amid high-stakes negotiations in Washington over a federal default and geopolitical concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s assertiveness in the Pacific. Although Biden pledged to remain in contact with negotiators in the capital while travelling overseas, his trip has already been cut short. Speaking before leaving the White House, Biden stated that he had made “clear America is not a deadbeat nation”, amid concerns that a federal default would not just spark a deep recession but could also weaken its standing on the international stage.
President Joe Biden has gone to Japan for a summit with allied powers focusing on issues such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China’s actions in the Pacific. As he departed Washington on Wednesday, talks were ongoing to head off a federal default. Biden is pledging to remain in contact with negotiators in Washington while conducting international diplomacy. Biden had also planned to visit Papua New Guinea and Australia amid the showdown over raising the federal debt limit, but has scrapped these plans. The president is expected to attend the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima to discuss global economic issues, climate change and development.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs anti-LGBTQ laws affecting gender-affirming care, bathroom use and drag shows
CBC
23-05-17 16:58
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors and restrict pronoun use in schools as well as force people to use the bathroom corresponding with their sex in some cases. This happened during the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, an annual event held on May 17 that is meant to honour the fight for equality and the efforts to stamp out hate and discrimination against LGBTQ people worldwide. DeSantis made this legislation into his agenda as he is expected to announce his presidential candidacy in the coming days.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has returned to the US Senate after almost three months of absence due to a shingles virus. Feinstein's absence led to Democrats calling for her resignation, fearing that her missing votes could hurt their efforts to push through President Joe Biden's top issues. Her health had also been a concern among media and colleagues in recent years. Though little has been revealed about her health or workload balance, Feinstein assisted in pushing through bipartisan-supported nominations that had been stalled during her absence.
DeSantis signs bills targeting drag shows, pronouns, bathroom use and transgender children
The Toronto Star
23-05-17 15:10
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed bills that ban gender affirming care for minors, restrict pronoun use in schools, and require people to use the bathroom corresponding with their sex in some cases. This is part of the governor's efforts to legislate against LGBTQ+ issues as he is building his presidential campaign as a Republican candidate. DeSantis signed the bills in front of a Christian school in Tampa, with a banner reading "Let Kids Be Kids" behind him, while lawmakers said that this legislation protects children from "sexually explicit" content while invoking their religious beliefs to defend the state's actions. Democrats opposed the bills, however, Republicans have a supermajority in both chambers, and the bills passed easily.
A US Marine has pleaded guilty after entering the Capitol building with two colleagues on 6 January, and subsequently spending more than 50 minutes wandering around. Corporal Micah R. Coomer is employed in intelligence gathering at Quantico Marine Corps Base, but neither he nor his colleagues have been charged with violent conduct or other felonies. Coomer is the first active-duty military member to plead guilty in relation to the Capitol riot. He remains on active duty at Camp Pendleton as an “intelligence surveillance reconnaissance system engineer”. Four other active service members, including Coomer’s colleagues, have been charged with breaching the Capitol.
US President Joe Biden has expressed confidence that the nation will avoid defaulting on its debt obligations. Speaking from the White House’s Roosevelt Room before heading to Japan for a G7 summit, Biden said that recent talks with Republican congressional leaders had been constructive. While he said that the separate budget talks were still separate from debt limit discussions, he expressed confidence that both sides would work together constructively to ensure that America did not default. Negotiators have been working to reach an agreement on budget spending that will make it possible to raise the debt limit as soon as 1 June, the date that the Treasury Department suggests could be the trigger point for such an event. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was also upbeat after the discussions. However, an agreement between negotiators would still need to receive approval from both Democrat-majority Senate and Republican-majority House.
The US federal courts will soon terminate public audio access to proceedings. The experiment was launched in 2018 and intended to assist greater transparency for judicial procedures; however, the Judicial Conference executive committee decided to abandon access because the pandemic no longer hampers the facilities, and remote sites will no longer be able;e to access audio and visual feeds of the legal process. Whilst some judges may view the ban as positive, law professor Sonja West has argued that remote broadcasts continue to be a "powerful tool" for citizens who otherwise faced obstacles attending court.
Two FBI agents set to appear before a House subcommittee Thursday had their security clearances revoked this month over security concerns, according to a letter sent by the FBI to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and obtained by The Washington Post. Friend and Allen have been billed by the committee as whistleblowers and are expected to testify Thursday in a hearing about alleged abuses by the bureau and retaliation they allegedly faced for raising their concerns.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remains a prominent figure in Kentucky politics, despite being hugely unpopular nationally. Republicans in Kentucky recently resoundingly backed former McConnell legal counsel Daniel Cameron, who is now their gubernatorial nominee. McConnell remains deeply concerned with the Kentucky governor’s race, where Cameron is in a close contest with Democratic incumbent Andy Beshear. Cameron is equally tipped to make an impact in national politics following this term. In terms of his own future, McConnell’s Senate term runs through 2026, at which point he would have to consider running for a six-year term that would end when he’s 90 years old. McConnell's continued success in Kentucky in many senses is comparable to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid's standing in his home state of Nevada. Reid's influence lives on today, giving hope to McConnell of an equally long-lasting impact in Kentucky.
The US House of Representatives has voted largely along party lines to refer a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to the Ethics Committee. The final vote on the motion was 221-204, with the Ethics Committee being asked to consider a litany of allegations against the freshman congressman, including about his past business practices, campaign finance expenditures and an allegation of sexual misconduct. The matter was referred to the committee as it has been investigating Santos since March, while Democrats were looking to quickly oust him from Congress following his being charged with 13 financial crimes.
Emerging market (EM) stocks are trading at a discount in comparison to developed world equities, with the spread of price/book multiples indicating EM is cheaper compared to developed markets than at any other point this century. Indications are that it is time to rethink how investors approach EM investing, particularly in respect of indexing which looks at market cap.
Indexing can be a challenge in many emerging markets since the larger companies are often formerly state-controlled, monopolies, in utilities or banking–and while they may be the largest companies, their growth prospects aren’t thought to be exciting, so it makes little sense to direct investment there.
In China, it seems that after a four-year rally in consumer tech stocks, Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have led the markets following a government clampdown. The crackdown has created the opportunity to buy non-SOE companies while they are cheap.
Christiane Amanpour voices dissent over Trump town hall, says she had ‘very robust exchange’ with CNN chief
CNN
23-05-18 04:05
CNN's Christiane Amanpour has voiced dissent towards management over Donald Trump's appearance on the station. Speaking whilst accepting the Columbia Journalism Award, Amanpour said she disagreed with the decision to allow Trump on the show, calling his behaviour "well known". She also criticised the audience who "cheered Trump on as he mocked sexual abuse claims". Amanpour argued that it is up to the press to "cut through the noise, counter disinformation, and summon the public back to reality", and that "there is a 100% connection between a robust, independent, free and fair press and a functioning democracy."
Former US President Donald Trump has used his social media platform Truth Social to attack Florida governor Ron DeSantis, his biggest rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Trump posted stories from The New York Times and Newsweek to undermine DeSantis after two of the latter's endorsements lost in key races in Kentucky and Jacksonville on Tuesday evening. Trump said that "Ron's magic is GONE!" Trump also took "credit" for the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade, claiming that without his three nominees to the court, abortion bans would not be possible, and questioned DeSantis's six-week ban on abortions, claiming it was too harsh and was damaging his image among women voters.
Key attorney Timothy Paraltore, who was in charge of the legal team representing Trump in the investigation by Jack Smith, the special counsel of the Justice Department, into classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate, announced that he would be leaving the team. The investigation shows signs of nearing its conclusion. A Republican poll suggests that President Joe Biden would, if Donald Trump faces further criminal charges from the federal and state criminal investigations into his conduct, be vaulted to a massive lead over Trump.
US House Republicans have proposed a permitting overhaul as part of negotiations with President Biden on raising the debt limit. The permitting reforms would cover energy projects, but Democrats are reluctant to support them, at least in part because they suspect Republicans would not honour a pledge to revisit the reforms later and add in Democrats’ priorities. There is bipartisan enthusiasm for permitting reform, which Republicans included in the bill they recently passed to lift the debt limit. However, some Democrats want the priority to be building new transmission lines for clean energy projects financed under the Biden administration’s climate law. Changes to the permitting process for energy projects is a high-stakes issue in the negotiations to raise the debt limit before the federal government runs out of money to pay its bills on 1 June. It is unclear whether Congress could regulate artificial intelligence, another thorny issue, which has prompted calls for the creation of an independent regulator, although legislation introduced by Democratic Senator Michael Bennet has failed to make it through Congress.
From Renaissance ideals to Ebenezer Howard's Garden City, architects and urban planners have created some of the most famous cities with specific ideals in mind. The author mentions an 8th century Kyoto, which had a grid system modeled from China's Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an), long before Manhattan existed; a scaled-down version was made of Nara, the capital before it; the city had temples, shrines, and delicate gardens to the city's backdrop of mountains. 15-minute cities were polarizing in the UK due to their association with low-traffic neighborhoods; Blooming with parks, temples and huge statues, Ramesses II's Pi-Ramesses, was built on the banks of a now-dry branch of the Nile, but was little more than a lost city buried under Egyptian fields for 3,000 years. In the wake of Europe's Black Death, Renaissance idealists harked back to Roman and Greek settlements, developing the concept of the Ideal City. Architects such as Maverick Filarete named his pioneering, star-shaped prototype the Sforzinda. Lastly, urban planner Ebenezer Howard sought a way for normal working-class families to escape the city, leading to garden cities such as Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City that influenced the capital cities of New Delhi and Canberra.
Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticised Democratic Rep Jamaal Bowman for confronting her at the US Capitol calling her a white supremacist. The incident came after Bowman and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez heckled Republican Rep George Santos outside of the Capitol as he spoke to reporters. The House voted to refer the resolution to expel Mr Santos to the House Ethics Committee rather than to a House vote.
