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Global pushback can make the Taliban rethink its burqa decree

Last week’s news that the Taliban was bringing back the burqa came as no surprise to anyone following the intensifying attacks against women in Afghanistan. Months of encroaching restrictions, backtracking on girls’ rights to education, and a passive and distracted international community, resigned to the fact that the Taliban is now de-facto in charge, led to a moment that we all feared.

Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, announced via the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice that it is “required for all respectable Afghan women to wear a hijab.” A follow-up statement identified the chadori or burqa (the blue full-body veil) as the “best hijab” of choice.   

The edict then goes further. It also makes clear that women are no longer allowed to drive a car and can only leave home when necessary. All of this is bad enough. But in the most shocking abuse of power, the edict shifts all responsibility for women complying with this edict to men — with criminal consequences for the men if the women disobey. Male guardians (mahram) will be warned the first time a woman is caught without a hijab, summoned the second time, and imprisoned for three days for repeat offenses.

The edict takes the public misogyny of the Taliban’s leadership and implements it in private. It pits family members against each other and creates an environment that is essentially institutionalized domestic violence. It is gender apartheid of the most egregious form, unmatched by anything else in the world.

Long gone are the days the Taliban felt obliged to reassure the international community that they would protect women’s rights. They are emboldened by the lack of consequences for their actions and the toothless statements of concern and condemnation from global leaders.

Many argue that the hands of the international community are tied without troops on the ground. They are wrong. There is still leverage. The Taliban wants to be seen and recognized as a legitimate government, complete with respected diplomats and an international presence. This can, and must, be denied to them.

In parallel, the U.S. and its allies must oppose any renewal of the United Nations exemption to the international travel ban on Taliban leadership, scheduled to be reviewed again in June. The exemption was put in place to allow these individuals to participate in the “peace process” but Taliban actions over the past eight months have shown they have no peaceful intent. Allowing the exemption to continue for this reason is laughable. Similarly, the U.S. must apply the same strength and determination that it has shown in the Ukraine conflict to ensure financial sanctions against Taliban leadership continue. The international community must cite the Taliban’s egregious actions against women as justification for these restrictions.

There are also still practical ways of supporting women and girls in Afghanistan that the international community must not ignore. Palwasha Hassan, director of the Afghan Women’s Educational Center and senior fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, told Mina’s List last month that many women’s groups have been forced to close or drastically cut back their services tailored for women due to lack of funding, on top of the extremely harsh operating environment. Donor governments must find ways to channel increased funding to women’s organizations, so they can provide services to women and girls in desperate need while continuing to push for the restoration of women’s rights.

In the U.S., the administration should immediately develop a legal mechanism that creates a pathway to safety for at-risk Afghan women activists, leaders and human rights defenders. In extraordinary displays of bravery, protests led by Afghan women’s civil society have continued, even against last week’s edict. Understandably, however, numbers of protestors are dwindling as they face harsher and more violent consequences including detention and torture. These women and other leaders, remain in desperate need of relocation — especially those with a history of leadership who were almost entirely left behind during evacuation efforts last August — and grow more desperate by the day.  

The “burqa edict” is not just an escalation in the oppression of women. It is a declaration of war against their basic humanity. And with it, the Taliban has exposed its true intentions. How we respond is essential not only to the women of Afghanistan but for women everywhere.

Passively accepting this edict and all that has led up to it, sends a message to the world that women are expendable. And if we fail to use every tool at our disposal to hold the Taliban accountable and support Afghan women and girls practically, we are complicit in their silencing and erasure.

Teresa Casale is Executive Director of Mina’s List, which has worked in Afghanistan since 2014 on advancing women’s participation in political leadership and the peace process.

Source: TEST FEED1

Helping Afghans who got out — and those who didn't

Joseph Azam’s path to the U.S. mirrors that of many Afghans who were evacuated — or are still seeking to flee — from the country. 

Born in Kabul, his parents fled Afghanistan when he was a toddler, worried for their safety as Russia invaded. 

It’s a journey that Azam, 40, carries with him as he advocates for the swelling Afghan diaspora in the U.S., as well as the needs of those now living under Taliban rule. 

The Afghan American Foundation, whose board Azam chairs, came together with the help of some who initially started Afghan Americans for Biden-Harris, a group formed in the hopes of electing a team that would battle anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. and secure the best possible military drawdown in Afghanistan. 

“We sort of assumed that the withdrawal would happen, right? But how was something that we thought we could influence, in terms of timeline, in terms of the ongoing commitment, in terms of how committed the U.S. government would be in supporting the Afghan government and the Afghan people from a security and humanitarian and economic perspective,” Azam said. 

Those hopes were dashed in the chaotic evacuation last year. 

While the military successfully evacuated 78,000 Afghans to the U.S., they remain in the country under a tenuous status, with many required to adjust their immigration status within two years in order to avoid risking deportation. 

Meanwhile, an estimated 100,000 vulnerable Afghans were left behind after aiding U.S. efforts or otherwise participated in the democratization of the country, including work advancing free speech and women’s rights.  

Many have little chance of leaving the country — usually a requirement for applying for refugee status — as Afghanistan grapples with an economic crisis and widespread hunger. 

The lead up to the withdrawal, and the challenges faced by Afghans afterward, has led the Afghan American Foundation to join forces with a number of refugee, veteran and immigration groups to form the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition. While initially designed to help Afghans get out of the country, it now aids those in the U.S. as well as advocates for those left behind.  

Chris Purdy, director of Veterans for American Ideals at Human Rights First, one of the coalition’s members, credited Azam with helping them better connect with the Afghan community and rethink how to approach some of their advocacy. 

“He brings a fresh perspective to the work, and we’ve been able to learn more about the Afghan experience and work together to provide real solutions to those seeking refuge. He’s been a voice that challenges us to think and advocate differently, and we are all better for it,” Purdy said.  

Azam knows the experiences — and persecution — some newly arrived Afghans will undoubtedly face in the U.S. 

“I’m worried about hate crimes; I’m worried about just the general tenor Afghans are going to be facing here that I think is completely unwarranted but almost expected at this point,” he said.  

A longtime compliance and ethics lawyer, Azam left his job at the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp., working in the same building with Fox News hosts he heard forwarding anti-Muslim sentiment, in 2017. Azam initially left quietly, but disclosed his reasons for leaving in 2019. 

He said speaking out “still comes at a cost” from both the right and the left, as some liberal-leaning critics ask why he would ever work there. 

“It was my decision to stay there; it was my decision to leave,” he said. 

“The reason I spoke out though was because I recognized that no one ever spoke out, right? No one ever actually — as a participant in this marketplace of ideas — no one actually ever said, ‘Hey, you guys are acting like rabid racists. Some of your honor personalities are saying really racist, horrible, antisemitic, anti-Muslim things.’” 

It’s a sentiment Azam worries could stymie one of the main goals of the coalition — securing a pathway to citizenship for the 78,000 Afghans evacuated in August. 

The group was brought into the country through the humanitarian parole process, which allows for the temporary waiving of immigration requirements. But the status only lasts for two years at most, and many Afghans will have no other method for securing a legal way to remain in the country. 

“I don’t think people fully understand — Afghans either — fully understand how tenuous their position is,” he said.  

The Biden administration granted Temporary Protected Status for Afghans in the U.S., but those protections expire around the same time as humanitarian parole status for many.  

The coalition has pushed for the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would essentially allow for Afghans to qualify for green cards after one year in the U.S. and apply for citizenship four years thereafter. 

But even with initial broad support for Afghan evacuees, many advocates are nervous that a vote on the act just hasn’t materialized — something Azam worries will be even harder to secure as the midterm elections approach. 

“I don’t see urgency,’ he said. “I don’t see urgency around this with members of Congress.” 

“I’m really worried about Afghans being demonized, being scapegoated and being used as a cudgel right against Democrats,” Azam said, adding that early calls from both sides of the aisle to support allies cannot be “gutted by hatred.” 

“What happens to them if there’s not an Adjustment Act? They’re going to get ground up in our machine of an immigration system. That’s really hard, because explaining to people who basically at this point would be on kill lists if they went back to Afghanistan that they’re not permanently here actually, from a legal perspective yet, that’s psychologically very damaging,” he said. 

Those who remain in Afghanistan are dealing with their own avalanche of problems, from a steep climb in the price of basic goods to a drought that has worsened already severe food insecurity.  

The economy has spiraled as assets are frozen and aid has dried up, leaving some so destitute and saddled with debt they’ve turned to a black market for organs to settle them. 

Even for a country that has faced decades of war, resisted and outlasted foreign influence from a number of countries and struggled with the rise of terrorism groups, the current challenges feel overwhelming.  

“This is the most perilous moment in the history of Afghanistan,” Azam said. 

“I really think that from a strategic value perspective, from a moral perspective, from an economic perspective, from a political perspective, I feel like the world is on the verge of giving up and truly letting it become a failed state.” 

The U.S. has rolled out several refugee programs to help Afghans, but many require leaving the country or supplying documents that may have been destroyed out of fear of being seen as a U.S. ally. 

But the U.S. government hasn’t outlined any plan to help those who are not U.S. citizens or residents leave Afghanistan. And it’s denied more than 85 percent of the handful of applications it has reviewed from some 40,000 Afghans still in the country seeking to enter via humanitarian parole.  

On the financial front, President Biden froze $7 billion in Afghan assets, pledging to return half as aid while setting aside the other half for the families of 9/11 victims. 

“Why are we being so sheepish? We still carry a lot of economic leverage in the world and political leverage. Choosing to use that capital to help on humanitarian issues, I think it’s something that we are capable of doing and we decided not to do,” Azam said.  

That’s been weighing on Azam and other members of the coalition who remain focused on efforts to find pathways for at-risk Afghans to exit the country. It’s a mission that has relied heavily on other Evacuate Our Allies coalition members’ connections with the administration and knowledge of immigration pathways. 

“These are people who have been with us, losing sleep with us, on calls with us, in meetings with us, for months, even before we got involved actually. … None of this would happen without those people,” he said. 

“They’ve sacrificed nights and weekends for the last year to help Afghans — having no prior connection to Afghanistan.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden must not apply the wrong Ukraine lessons to Taiwan’s situation

Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine reportedly has caused the Biden administration to reassess Taiwan’s national defense posture against similar aggression from China — Vladimir Putin’s “no-limits strategic partner.” 

Ukraine’s success at employing asymmetrical defenses and counter-measures has reinforced a decades-old call for Taiwan to adopt a “porcupine” strategy that would make it an unappealing target for an invading force. Mines, obstacles, bunkers and other hardened defenses would be supplemented by a robust citizen defense and insurgency capability, increasing the costs of an invasion and making Taiwan an indigestible target. Presumably, Beijing would be dissuaded from attacking to avoid repeating Russia’s disastrous mistake.

Ukraine’s experienced, battle-hardened military has fought Russia’s protracted aggression in Eastern Ukraine since 2014 and was prepared to confront the new escalation — albeit at great human and material cost — even before President Biden and NATO began providing substantial weapons. 

Taiwan, on the other hand, last engaged in combat with China after the communists took over the mainland in 1949, when it successfully repulsed an amphibious assault by elements of the People’s Liberation Army on the island of Kinmen, then known as Quemoy.  

The fighting resembled the initial phase of the Ukraine war. Chinese forces invaded, confidently expecting an easy conquest that would serve as the launching-point for an attack on Taiwan’s main island. But, within days, all 9,000 PLA soldiers who landed on Kinmen were killed or captured by the tenacious defenders.

Taiwan’s military has had no direct combat experience in the decades since, while China has been involved in aggressive wars in South Korea, South Vietnam, India, the Soviet border, and unified Vietnam.

China may well try again to seize Kinmen on the way to attacking Taiwan proper. But it likely will come with an exponentially larger naval, air and amphibious force — and only after days of extensive bombing, missile and cyber attacks.

Given China’s demonstrated willingness in past conflicts to expend the lives of thousands of its soldiers to achieve its political ends, Washington’s strategy of Taiwan asymmetry, while appropriate for defensive purposes, falls short of what is needed to deter an attempted Chinese invasion.

The expectation of such tactics by more-seasoned Ukrainian forces did not prevent fellow totalitarian Putin from launching his campaign of death and destruction on Ukrainians and his own forces. Neither did the West’s threats of punishing economic sanctions. The objective must be to help Taiwan avoid such a fate altogether, not just to survive a devastating attack.

Putin would have had to reconsider his plans if a direct U.S.-NATO role seemed a likely prospect, instead of the assurance President Biden gave him that it would not happen. That nonintervention declaration reinforced Putin’s experience with U.S. passivity after Russia’s 2014 invasion of Eastern Ukraine, seizure of Crimea, and horrific actions in Syria. 

U.S. reluctance to establish a no-fly zone over sovereign Ukrainian territory or to provide Kyiv with the jet fighters and heavy weapons that Putin might see as “offensive” also encouraged him to think his war in Ukraine would be a cake-walk. A similarly constricted view of “arms of a defensive character” — which Washington is obligated to provide Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) — unnecessarily limits its ability to defeat a Chinese attack, not simply to weather it until the next wave. 

The less Taiwan is allowed to do to defend itself, the greater the need for a direct U.S. role. Just as the U.S. Navy is uniquely suited to break Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and allow its grain to feed the world, the U.S. is the only power that could thwart a full-fledged Chinese air and sea attack across the Taiwan Strait. 

In contrast to his refusal to intervene directly against what he has called Putin’s war crimes and genocide, Biden twice has stated that America will defend Taiwan — only to have his aides rush to deny any change in official U.S. policy, which includes an unwillingness to dispense with strategic ambiguity on the question. The TRA obligates America to “maintain the capacity to resist” Chinese aggression or coercion against Taiwan but does not commit it to do so.

Many Americans, including majorities in both houses of Congress, not only favor U.S. intervention in a Taiwan crisis, but fully expect it to happen. But the critical audience — Chinese leader Xi Jinping — apparently remains unconvinced and continues to prepare for Washington to blink in a showdown. His confidence can only have been bolstered by the dynamic of Putin threatening nuclear war and Biden echoing the danger of “World War III” as the basis for staying out of the conflict. Xi’s subordinates already have flashed the nuclear threat card, and more can be expected.

Despite Russia’s own renewed apocalyptic threats, Biden and NATO are gradually shaking off their inhibition on the volume and lethality of the weapons systems they are willing to provide Ukraine. That prompted Putin’s former presidential placeholder, Dmitry Medvedev, to warn last week that the actions threaten “open conflict between NATO and Russia [and] the risk of turning into a full-fledged nuclear war … a disastrous scenario for everyone.”

Fiery rhetoric aside, Putin has failed to accomplish his military or political objectives in Ukraine — toppling Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, dividing NATO, or constraining its expansion.  Instead, he has made Zelensky a heroic figure domestically and internationally, united NATO, and motivated Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. 

Biden must make clear that an attack by China on Taiwan likewise would fail and would achieve the reverse of Xi’s objectives — by permanently separating the Taiwanese population from China, isolating Beijing from the world, precipitating war with the United States, and causing immediate U.S. recognition of Taiwan.  

It also would bring about further security cohesion among regional countries, leading potentially to an Asia-Pacific version of NATO, perhaps a new version of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) that disbanded after the Vietnam War.  

If China commits the threshold war crime of aggression against Taiwan, on top of its ongoing Uyghur genocide that goes largely unseen, unlike Russian atrocities in Ukraine, Biden could react as dramatically as he has with Putin. He could proclaim that Xi, like Putin, “cannot remain in power.” His “personal” view, along with a robust sanctions program, could encourage the same kind of domestic opposition in China that Putin now reportedly faces.   

As the fall of the Soviet Union demonstrated, regime change can happen unpredictably. The scenario is yet to play out in both Russia and China.

Joseph Bosco served as China country director for the secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2006 and as Asia-Pacific director of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief from 2009 to 2010. He served in the Pentagon when Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia and was involved in Department of Defense discussions about the U.S. response. Follow him on Twitter @BoscoJosephA.

Source: TEST FEED1

Pelosi calls for condemnation of 'vile hate' on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday urged for Americans to condemn “vile hate” against members of the LGBTQ community on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, saying that the “fight remains as urgent as ever.”

“International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is an opportunity to join together in condemning the vile hate that still threatens the safety, well-being and fulfillment of our LGBTQ friends, neighbors and loved ones,” Pelosi said in a statement.  

“Today, and every day, we recommit to rooting out discrimination from our schools, our workplaces and the very fabric of our society,” she continued. “That fight remains as urgent as ever, as right-wing forces target trans students, Republican leaders threaten to unwind marriage equality and a radical Supreme Court takes aim at Americans’ most fundamental rights.”

The California Democrat highlighted pieces of legislation that the House passed in upholding protections for the LGBTQ community, including the Equality Act that bans people from being discriminated in areas such as housing, credit and education due to a person’s gender identity, sex or sexual orientation, and was sponsored by LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus Chair David Cicilline (D-R.I.).

Pelosi also noted the repeal of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” legislation, enacted in 1994, which barred openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military and was later repealed under former President Obama. 

Pelosi’s comments come against the backdrop of laws being passed in states across the country that ban transgender women athletes from competing in sports that align with their gender identity. 

The issue has split some members of the Republican Party, where Republican Govs. Spencer Cox (R-Utah) and Eric Holder (R-Ind.) vetoed similar legislation. Utah lawmakers have already overridden Cox’s veto, and some lawmakers are anticipating overriding Holder’s veto on their legislation soon.

Amid a looming final decision over the fate of Roe v. Wade after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicated the high court would get rid of federal level abortion protections, some are worried that the case could have consequences for other rulings, such as the 2015 landmark decision that found it unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriage.

“We remain committed to ending this intolerance. Everyone deserves to live with respect, dignity, and safety. The United States affirms that all LGBTQI+ individuals, couples, and their families are valid and valuable,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in his own statement.  

“In line with commitments made at President Biden’s Summit for Democracy and resulting Year of Action, we will continue to support reforms to yield a world free from discrimination and violence, so that all of our LGBTQI+ friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family may live freely with dignity and equal respect for their human rights.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Here's the latest on the baby formula shortage

A nationwide shortage of baby formula has been at the top of the news cycle in the U.S. for weeks now as parents stress and struggle to find the products to feed their children.

The infant formula first started disappearing from store shelves due to supply chain issues and a massive recall of products produced by one of the top companies. 

Abbott Nutrition was shut down by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which cited unsafe practices after the deaths of two babies who contracted a rare bacterial illness, although it is not clear that the illness was obtained by using the product.

Lawmakers have scrambled to investigate the issue while the FDA and Abbott Nutrition, under a deal to restart operations, are working to quickly get baby formula back on the shelves. 

Here is the latest news you need to know about the baby formula shortage:

Abbott Nutrition faces blame, says deal reached to restart factory

Baby formula manufacturer Abbott Nutrition has faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers over the shortages.

“Fundamentally, we are here because a company was not able to guarantee that its plant was safe, and that plant has shut down,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on “Face the Nation.”

“Let’s be very clear. This is a capitalist country. The government does not make baby formula, nor should it. Companies make formula, and one of those companies — a company which, by the way, seems to have 40 percent market share — messed up and is unable to confirm that a plant, a major plant, is safe and free of contamination,” he added.

The factory has been shut down for three months after the FDA found five different strains of Cronobacter in the company’s Michigan factory, although the company argues the strains are different from the ones that affected the two infants that died. 

Abbott Nutrition announced Monday they have reached a deal with the FDA that as long as the company meets the initial requirements of the FDA’s reopening terms, the factory can begin producing baby formula. 

The exact details of the steps the company will take to ensure food safety were not released and Abbott Nutrition said the deal still must be approved by a judge. 

Once the deal is approved and the conditions are met, it will take two weeks to start the factory back up and six to eight weeks to get previous amounts of baby formula back on the shelves.

FDA gives new guidelines to combat formula shortage

The FDA announced Monday it is loosening restrictions on baby formulas in order to get more product on the shelves. 

For the next 180 days, companies that don’t normally sell baby formula in the U.S. but manufacture it and send it abroad will be able to get their products in stores. 

The companies must send over information to the FDA for the agency to review and make sure packaging is in English so the instructions can be read. 

“We’ve set up a mechanism that streamlines the ability for companies that do not normally sell infant formula in this country to do so. And it provides other flexibilities to domestic distributors who can help increase availability,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said.

The U.S. has different regulatory standards for baby formulas than other countries. 

“We’re casting a broad net. We are seeking manufacturers from around the globe who have available product that could meet our regulatory standards for both nutrition and food safety — to reach out to us let us know what they have available and we can discuss with them what that might look like to get that product into the U.S.,” Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said.

What to do if there’s no formula on the shelf

American Academy of Pediatrics released a list of guidelines to follow in urgent situations when a person can’t find baby formula for their children. 

Among the recommendations is to check smaller stores that are used less, buy formula online, switch to an available baby formula if the baby does not have specific food guidelines and check social media groups that are looking to help parents find formula. 

The website advised parents against watering down baby formula to make it last longer, making their own baby formula and using plant-based milk.

In dire situations, the group says that cow’s milk can be used for a short period of time, premature baby formula can be used to feed full-term babies and goat’s milk, which is not approved in the U.S. but in other countries, may be used.

Military bases affected by baby food shortage

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Monday the infant formula shortage is also affecting those at U.S. military bases around the world. 

“We’re not immune to the same supply chain problems that other families across America are experiencing,” Kirby said. 

The Defense Commissary Agency is “doing everything they can to keep things on the shelf as best they can” by “working daily with distributors.”  

In the U.S., baby formula stock levels are at 50 percent at U.S. bases and 70 percent at bases overseas.

“The Defense Commissary Agency is already ahead of that problem and doing everything they can do to keep things on the shelf,” Kirby said. “We obviously take it very, very seriously, our responsibility to make sure that the kinds of things families need to take care of themselves to feed their children.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Meghan slams Tucker Carlson for 'eyepatch McCain' quip about Dan Crenshaw

Conservative pundit Meghan McCain blasted Fox News host Tucker Carlson for using the name of her father, the late Republican senator from Arizona, to insult Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas).

“You know the more I think about it, it takes a lot of gall for eye-patch McCain to attack moms who are worried about baby formula as pro-Russia,” Carlson said on his nightly show Monday.

Carlson was referring to Crenshaw’s recent criticism of lawmakers who do not support sending money and arms to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.

“This is just trash,” Meghan McCain tweeted in response to a clip of Carlson’s remark circulated online Monday night. “That being said I’m sure [Crenshaw] doesn’t mind the comparison.”

Crenshaw lost his right eye in combat before being elected to Congress in 2018. He has spoken openly about the injury, saying at one point he is “very self-conscious” about the glass eye he wears.

Carlson has repeatedly questioned the merits of sending money and resources to Ukraine and used his show to attack lawmakers who have argued the U.S. should do more to help the war-torn European nation.

McCain, a former co-host of ABC’s The View, left the show last year and has been working as a columnist at The Daily Mail since.

Source: TEST FEED1

Retail sales rose 0.9 percent in April

Retail sales rose 0.9 percent in April as a rebound in automobile sales and a pick-up in dining powered another monthly increase in consumer spending, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.

Sales by retailers, restaurants and bars totaled $677.7 billion in April, according to the Census Bureau, up from a revised March total of $671.6 billion. Retail sales are adjusted for seasonal spending pattern changes, but not for inflation.

Economists expected retail sales to rise 1 percent last month after auto dealers reported a sharp pickup in sales and restaurant activity rose in April. Both were key drivers of the April increase in retail sales, which has steamed ahead despite inflation hitting an annual rate of 8.3 percent last month, according to Labor Department data.

Sales by restaurants and bars rose 2 percent in April, in line with 1.9 percent monthly increase in March. Retail sales minus auto dealers and auto parts shops rose by 0.6 percent in April and retail sales without the food and beverage industry rose 0.7 percent. 

Federal stimulus and the speedy development of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. drove a surge in consumer spending that began in early 2021 and has stretched through the first half of this year. Consumer spending has been resilient even in the face of several waves of COVID-19, supply chain snarls, and hiring troubles—all of which have fueled higher prices for many goods.

While the steady rise of retail sales has helped power a remarkably quick recovery for the U.S. economy, it also pushed inflation toward the highest annual rate in 40 years. The combination of unprecedented federal stimulus and several pandemic-driven supply chain issues—including material shortages, factory shutdowns, port bottlenecks and hiring issues—have left businesses unable to keep up consumer demand without major price increases.

Economists have hoped a shift in consumer spending from goods toward services would help reduce pressure on supply chains and help businesses keep up with demand overall. Even so, sales by non-store retailers, miscellaneous retailers, clothing stores, electronics and appliance stores, and department stores all rose in April.

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden to meet with leaders of Finland, Sweden on plans to join NATO

President Biden plans to meet with the leaders of Finland and Sweden on Thursday about their plans to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the White House announced Tuesday.  

“The leaders will discuss Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO applications and European security, as well as strengthening our close partnerships across a range of global issues and support for Ukraine,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. 

Biden’s meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson will take place before the president departs for a high-stakes trip to Asia later this week. 

Both countries have announced in recent days that they are seeking NATO membership, a major development that comes amid Russia’s bloody war in Ukraine.  

The White House has welcomed their applications. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with officials in Berlin over the weekend to discuss the plans, and Biden spoke to both leaders last week about joining NATO. 

The administration is trying to assuage concerns from Turkey, another NATO member, which has objected to Sweden and Finland seeking membership in the alliance. 

“I heard, almost across the board, very strong support for Finland and NATO joining the alliance if that’s what they choose to do,” Blinken said at a press conference over the weekend. “And I’m very confident that we will reach consensus on that.” 

Biden already met with Niinistö earlier this year in March at the White House and the two discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine among other topics. Thursday’s meeting will be his first White House meeting with Andersson, who was elected in November.

Source: TEST FEED1

Sheila Jackson Lee tests positive for COVID

Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D) announced Tuesday that she has tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.

“Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee tested positive for COVID,” her official Twitter account wrote. “She is fully vaccinated and has received her boosters.”

Lee used the opportunity to encourage others to get vaccinated and boosted as a precaution against the virus.

“She encourages everyone to get tested and fully vaccinated along with their booster shots,” the statement said of Lee. “She looks forward to a full and complete recovery.”

Lee on Saturday hosted a baby formula giveaway for parents and children in need amid a national shortage of infant formula.

COVID-19 testing and vaccinations were also provided at the event. According to video released by KPRC-TV Houston, Lee was wearing a mask for the entire event, including during her speech.

COVID-19 continues to spread in the U.S., despite being stalled by increased vaccination rates and other precautions such as the Pfizer treatment pill Paxlovid.

Figures released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the U.S. has reached 1 million reported deaths related to the virus.

Over 300 people each day continue to die from COVID-19, less than at nearly any other stage in the pandemic.

Source: TEST FEED1