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Harris says she's concerned about 'integrity' of Supreme Court

Vice President Harris on Friday said she is concerned about the integrity of the Supreme Court in the wake of the decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, which had protected a woman’s right to an abortion for decades.

“I think this is an activist court,” Harris told NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked about her confidence in the court.

“It means that we had an established right for almost half a century, which is the right of women to make decisions about their own body, as an extension of what we have decided to be, the privacy rights to which all people are entitled,” Harris continued. “And this court took that constitutional right away. And we are suffering as a nation, because of it.”

“That causes me great concern about the integrity of the Court overall,” Harris added, calling it a “very different court” from the one served by Justices Earl Warren, Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O’Connor.

Harris has taken a leading role in the Biden administration in pushing back on the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe v. Wade. The vice president, who is the first woman to hold the role, has met with health care providers and activists in recent months to voice support for abortion access and reproductive health.

Democrats have ridden the wave of outrage over the court decision to wins at the ballot box, including in Kansas where voters rejected a referendum that would have stripped abortion protections from the state constitution.

The court has a 6-3 conservative majority, even with the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who joined the court in July upon the retirement of Stephen Breyer.

An Associated Press poll released in late July found 43 percent of Americans don’t have any confidence in the Supreme Court, an increase of 16 percentage points since April.

Source: TEST FEED1

The five issues that will decide the midterm elections

There are less than two months left before the midterm elections.

Lately, Democrats have become more hopeful and Republicans more nervous as the polling lead the GOP enjoyed earlier in the year has eroded.

The battle for the Senate looks, for now, to be balanced on a knife-edge, even as the GOP remains favored to take over the House.

Candidates and local issues will clearly be vital in many races. But this is a national election too.

Here are the five biggest issues that will determine the outcome.

Inflation

Inflation is the single biggest political liability the Democrats face.

President Biden polls worse on inflation than on any other issue. In an ABC News-Ipsos poll last month, for example, just 29 percent of adults approved of Biden’s handling of inflation.

The low marks are hardly surprising given that inflation hit a 40-year high in June, at 9.1 percent. 

The latest figures, for July, saw the headline number taper off to 8.5 percent. But the slight reduction is cold comfort to millions of struggling Americans.

Inflation can be a devastating political issue because, unlike many other topics, it affects every voter — including those who do not follow every twist and turn in politics — in ways that cannot be ignored.

Democrats hope that inflation will continue to fall as supply chains return to normal after the massive disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also point to the Inflation Reduction Act as a new weapon in the battle, especially when it comes to its capacity to bend the cost of prescription drugs downward. The law allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time ever.

Still, there is no real question that inflation will weigh Democrats down in November. 

The question is, by how much?

Abortion

If inflation is a headwind for Democrats, the same is true for Republicans and abortion.

The catalyst for these troubles is the June decision by the Supreme Court to strike down Roe v. Wade.

The GOP’s edge in opinion polls has been declining since that day. And while other factors may have also played their part, such as gas prices ticking down at roughly the same time, abortion clearly plays a key role.

Several opinion polls have indicated that around 60 percent of the population supports Roe, the 1973 decision that enshrined a constitutional right to abortion.

There have been even more concrete examples of the political potency of the issue, too.

An August ballot initiative in Kansas, a conservative state, was won by the pro-abortion rights side by almost 20 points.

A special House election in New York’s 19th District — a classic bellwether — was won by a Democrat who put abortion rights at the heart of his campaign.

Some Republicans, including Blake Masters, the party’s Senate candidate in Arizona, have deleted references to their own anti-abortion positions from their websites.

But that might not be enough to neutralize the issue.

Right now, it looks like the GOP could have real trouble, especially with female voters, in November.

Former President Trump, Mar-a-Lago and “ultra-MAGA Republicans”

Former President Trump was never going to retire to the sidelines of American political life. But the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 has injected him right back into the center of the midterms campaign.

The investigation adds to legal challenges the former president already faces.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, and a Georgia probe is looking into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results in that state.

Trump, meanwhile, is hitting back hard against the Mar-a-Lago probe. In a speech in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., last weekend, the former president described his enemies as “tyrants” and the DOJ and FBI as “vicious monsters.”

The broader picture is one in which Trump and Biden are battling each other once again, almost two years on from their presidential contest.

Biden, who was reluctant to attack Trump frontally for much of the early phase of his presidency — he would sometimes obliquely refer to Trump as “the former guy” — has changed tack.

In recent weeks, he has blasted “ultra-MAGA Republicans” as a danger to American democracy and branded elements of current conservative ideology “semi-fascism.”

Trump, for his part, has called Biden an “enemy of the state.”

Opinions about Trump are so fixed that the whole debate might not shift many voters from one column to the other. 

But it has certainly affected the framing of the contest, which could have a direct impact on turnout.

Immigration

Illegal immigration remains a huge issue with conservative voters and in right-leaning media, even as it is not seen as so big a problem among liberals.

Concerns about border security often get portrayed as xenophobic or racist. But many voters who don’t fit into either of those categories clearly have concerns about the huge numbers of unauthorized border crossings that are taking place.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Border Patrol agents had made more than 1.8 million arrests at the southern border during the current fiscal year. By the time the fiscal year ends at the end of this month, that number is expected to have surpassed 2 million for the first time ever.

In an Economist-YouGov poll last month, Biden’s ratings on immigration were dismal. Overall, 49 percent of adults disapproved of his handling of the issue while just 30 percent approved.

Republican voters, as expected, were overwhelmingly negative. But they were joined in that opinion by self-described independents, a mere 17 percent of whom backed Biden’s performance on the issue.

Democrats ignore figures like those at their peril.

Biden’s performance

Midterm elections are always, at some level, a referendum on the party in power. 

Biden and the Democrats also have to contend with the historical pattern in which a president’s party almost always loses seats in the first midterms of his tenure.

Biden has had some success in broadening the focus in this year’s campaign. But voters will still be rendering a verdict on him in November.

That doesn’t augur well for Democrats. Biden’s approval ratings have bounced back to some degree from a low point at the height of summer — but they’re still nothing to write home about. 

In the average maintained by data and polling site FiveThirtyEight, Biden was 11 points under water — 53 percent disapproval against 42 percent approval — as of Thursday evening.

The president has, to be sure, hit a hot streak recently. In addition to passing the Inflation Reduction Act, he has also enacted the CHIPS bill, to boost the semiconductor industry. He has expanded health care to better cover veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. And he has announced executive action to lighten the burden of student loan debt.

In the final stretch of the campaign, Democrats will also try to remind voters of earlier or broader successes, such as prodigious job creation, the passage of the 2021 American Rescue Plan and the infrastructure bill Biden signed into law late last year.

Right now, though, it’s very hard to see Biden’s popularity surging between now and November. 

If he dooms his party to the loss of even one chamber of Congress, he will likely be hamstrung from further significant action for the rest of his first term.

If that happens, all 2024 bets are off.

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden says he'll attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

President Biden said Friday that he plans to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, following the British head of state’s death the previous day.

“Yes. I don’t know what the details are yet but I’ll be going,” Biden told reporters while on a trip to Ohio.

The funeral could take place on Sept. 19, which would be 10 days after her death, at Westminster Abbey in London. The plan for the queen’s death, which is called Operation London Bridge, has been in place for decades and outlines the protocol for each day up until the funeral.

The president, along with many other world leaders, is currently scheduled to be in New York on Sept. 19 for the beginning of the United Nations General Assembly.

Earlier on Friday, the White House would not confirm if the president would attend the funeral.

“One of the things that we want to be mindful one, as you all know, there’s a process,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

The president has honored the life of the queen in various ways since her death, putting out an official statement, signing a condolence book at the British Embassy and mentioning her at the top of remarks at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) event on Thursday evening.

“I had the opportunity to meet her before she passed and she was an incredibly decent and gracious woman. And the thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in their grief,” he said.

During the DNC event, Biden told a Daily Mail reporter that he would “probably” attend the queen’s funeral.

Source: TEST FEED1

Charles pays tribute to queen, wishes Harry, Meghan 'love' in first speech as king

King Charles III vowed to “uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation” as he delivered a stirring tribute to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, during his first televised address since ascending the throne.

“The affection, admiration, and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign,” Charles said on Friday following the death of his mother a day earlier. Buckingham Palace said the 96-year-old queen “died peacefully” at Balmoral Castle, the royal family’s Scottish estate.

“As every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humor, and an unerring ability always to see the best in people,” Charles, Elizabeth’s 73-year-old son, said in his first speech as king.

Charles nodded to the past and his mother’s historic 70-year reign, but also outlined a “time of change” for the royal family.

The king announced new titles for his family members, saying his “darling wife,” Camilla, would become Queen Consort. Charles said his son Prince William and William’s wife, Kate Middleton, would “continue to inspire and lead our national conversations.”

He also took time to wish his younger son, Prince Harry, and Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, well following years of tension after an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 alleging a toxic environment and racist attacks.

“I want also to express my love to Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” Charles said of his 37-year-old son and daughter-in-law. The couple stepped down as full-time working members of the royal family and moved to California in late 2020.

“When the queen came to the throne, Britain and the world were still coping with the privations and aftermath of the Second World War and still living by the conventions of earlier times,” Charles told viewers in the pre-recorded message.

“In the course of the last 70 years, we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths. The institutions of the state have changed in turn.”

“Our values have remained, and must remain, constant,” Charles said. “The role and the duties of monarchy also remain.”

Charles also noted remarks his mother made more than 75 years ago, when then-Princess Elizabeth addressed the British people in a radio broadcast to mark her 21st birthday and delivered a now-famous pledge.

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” Elizabeth said at the time.

“As the queen herself did with such unswerving devotion,” Charles said, “I, too, now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.”

“And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life.”

Thanking the public for the outpouring of condolences, Charles said, “They mean more to me than I can ever possibly express.”

“In our sorrow, let us remember and draw strength from the light of her example.”

“And to my darling mama,” Charles said as he ended his address, “as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late papa, I want simply to say this: Thank you.”

“Thank for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years,” he said.

“May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Source: TEST FEED1

More than 70 House Democrats join push against Manchin's permitting reform

More than 70 House Democrats are signing on to a letter pressing Democratic leaders to not include a side-deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on permitting reform in a bill funding the government.

The permitting reform language was offered to Manchin to win his vote on the massive climate, tax and health care bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act that was signed into law by President Biden last month.

Manchin provided the critical support to get that bill through the evenly-divided Senate after winning concessions from Democratic leaders.

But in the new letter, the Democratic lawmakers are asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) not to include the permitting reforms championed by Manchin into a stopgap funding measure that Congress is expected to take up this month.

Without a stopgap funding measure, the government will shut down on Oct. 1.

“The inclusion of these provisions in a continuing resolution, or any other must-pass legislation, would silence the voices of frontline and environmental justice communities by insulating them from scrutiny,” they lawmakers wrote. 

“We urge you to ensure that these provisions are kept out of a continuing resolution or any other must-pass legislation this year,” they added, in the letter that was spearheaded by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

The opposition from Democrats is a significant problem. If the group follows through on the letter, Democrats might not have the votes to pass a government funding bill if it includes the language backed by Manchin. 

And the fact that so many members signed onto the push may give them some additional leverage. 

Democrats have historically opposed any changes perceived as undercutting environmental reviews in the permitting process, arguing that this could hamper the consideration of climate and pollution concerns. 

When they announced the agreement on the major climate, tax and healthcare bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Manchin said that they, along with Pelosi and President Biden, had reached a deal to pass permitting reform by October to secure Manchin’s vote.

Schumer has already said publicly that he would include the provisions in a stopgap funding measure, known as a continuing resolution.

Legislative text on these reforms have not yet been released, but a summary from Manchin’s office says they would set maximum timelines for environmental reviews assessing an energy  project’s potential climate and pollution impacts, restrict states’ abilities to block projects that run through their waters and require the president to prioritize certain projects. 

Specifically, the president will be required to prioritize permitting for a “balanced” list of projects including both fossil fuels and renewable energy. 

The summary also said the package will require the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a controversial vessel that would carry natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia. 

Grijalva previously told The Hill that he didn’t feel an “obligation” to vote for the changes since he was not part of the negotiations with Manchin. He has argued that members should not have to choose between funding the government and voting for changes that they oppose. 

In the new letter, the lawmakers said that they support bolstering the environmental review process by providing more funding for government agencies, but oppose “attempts to short-circuit or undermine” a key environmental law requiring the reviews.

Updated at 1:04 p.m.

Source: TEST FEED1

King Charles gets unexpected kiss on return to Buckingham Palace

King Charles III accepted a kiss on the cheek from a woman as he greeted members of the public for the first time as monarch on Friday. 

Charles and Queen Consort Camilla returned to Buckingham Palace in London on Friday after his predecessor and mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died at age 96 on Thursday. 

Charles walked near the crowd that gathered outside the palace and shook hands with several of his subjects. He stopped briefly in front of a woman who asked if she could kiss him, and he accepted, video shows. 

The Daily Telegraph, a British daily newspaper, reported that Camilla followed closely behind Charles as he met with the crowd before joining with him to observe the flowers that had been left at the palace’s gates in honor of Elizabeth. 

The Telegraph reported that cheers of Charles’s name could be heard as he walked down the line of people. 

Charles is set to give a televised address to his people at 6 p.m. U.K. time, and Parliament will swear allegiance to him.

Source: TEST FEED1

The Hill's Morning Report — Queen Elizabeth II dies; DOJ appeals special master ruling

Queen Elizabeth II was a tiny woman dressed in candy colors and extravagant hats, mourned and celebrated within hours of her death on Thursday for her charm and wit, determination to protect the British monarchy and grace in the public eye for more than seven decades.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” the palace said in a statement, referring to the queen’s summer residence in Scotland. 

According to the BBC, members of the royal family, including her children and grandchildren, Prince William — who is now first in line to the throne — and Prince Harry, rushed to Balmoral as Buckingham Palace announced health concerns early on Thursday.

King Charles III, as he is now known, will deliver a televised address today from London. At 73, the environmentalist, ex-husband of Britain’s beloved Princess Diana, husband of Queen Consort Camilla and a father and grandfather, is the oldest British king to assume the throne. The U.K. news media immediately described the king, an heir to the monarchy since he was three, as a man forever in his mother’s shadow, destined to be less popular and consequential.

“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” Charles said in a statement. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.

“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held,” he added.

Elizabeth II’s death appeared to surprise the United Kingdom and much of the world despite her advanced age and reports of health issues in recent years. She was the only monarch most Britons have known. Her official coronation in 1953 followed the death of her father, George VI, in 1952.

Obituary roundup:

▪ BBC: Queen Elizabeth II.

▪ The New York Times: Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96; Was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

▪ The Telegraph: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1926 — 2022.

▪ The Times: Queen Elizabeth II: Britain’s longest-serving monarch, whose reign was defined by an unwavering sense of commitment to her people and her country.

President Biden joined other former U.S. presidents and elected officials in praising the queen, 96, as a stateswoman who linked the post-World War II era and the 21st century and who affirmed a “special relationship” between the U.K. and the U.S. She met with 13 of 14 sitting U.S. presidents during her reign and was head of state alongside 15 prime ministers.

“She endured the dangers and deprivations of a world war alongside the British people and rallied them during the devastation of a global pandemic to look to better days ahead,” Biden said in a statement. “By showing friendship and respect to newly independent nations around the world, she elevated the cause of liberty and fostered enduring bonds that helped strengthen the Commonwealth, which she loved so deeply, into a community to promote peace and shared values.”

The president on Thursday evening stopped at the British embassy in Washington to leave a handwritten message in a condolence book for visitors. Greeting the ambassador and embassy staff, Biden called Elizabeth II “a great lady,” adding he had been fortunate to meet her while he and first lady Jill Biden were in England last year.

Earlier in the day, Biden canceled White House remarks about COVID-19 upon receiving news of the queen’s death (The New York Times). He ordered White House flags to be flown at half-staff. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also ordered flags at the Capitol to be flown at half-staff and said the House would pass a bereavement resolution in honor of the late queen. The lighting on the Eiffel Tower in Paris was turned off on Thursday night in the queen’s honor. 

Elizabeth II’s funeral, to take place at Westminster Abbey 10 days after her death, will be her country’s first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s in 1965. 

Thursday’s historic events capped a week of changes in the U.K., following the exit from No. 10 Downing Street of Boris Johnson as prime minister and the queen’s Tuesday appointment of Liz Truss to lead the Conservative Party as his successor. Truss will meet with King Charles today at Buckingham Palace.

Related Articles

▪ The New York Times: Queen Elizabeth II: A life in photos.

▪ The New York Times and Politico: “London Bridge is Down:” A plan was long in place for the queen’s death.

▪ The Guardian: The queen’s funeral: What we can expect over the next 10 days, including five days in which the late monarch’s coffin will lie in state at Westminster Hall. 

▪ The Boston Globe: British royal family line of succession following the queen’s death.

▪ Reuters: Death of Queen Elizabeth is marked around the world with tributes and flowers.

▪ Mark Landler, The New York Times: Long an uneasy prince, King Charles III takes on a role he was born to.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS & INVESTIGATIONS

The Justice Department on Thursday appealed a federal judge’s ruling in favor of appointing an independent arbiter to review documents collected on Aug. 8 during a search of former President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, citing national security and an ongoing investigation in its request for reconsideration of part of the ruling.

“Without a stay, the government and public also will suffer irreparable harm from the undue delay to the criminal investigation,” the Justice Department wrote in its filing. “Any delay poses significant concerns in the context of an investigation into the mishandling of classified records.” 

In the 21-page appeal, prosecutors laid out a multitude of reasons why Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling was flawed and should be reversed. They criticized Cannon’s claim that Trump might have a legitimate claim of executive privilege over some of the documents, saying that the only person who can reasonably do that is the current Oval Office occupant (Politico). 

In addition, the Justice Department said that the judge’s push to halt the FBI’s probe and concurrently allow a national security review of the seized documents is not “feasible.” 

“[S]uch bifurcation would make little sense even if it were feasible, given that the same senior DOJ and FBI officials are ultimately responsible for supervising the criminal investigation and for ensuring that DOJ and FBI are coordinating appropriately with the [Intelligence Community] on its classification review and assessment,” Justice Department counterintelligence chief Jay Bratt said in the filing.

The appeal will be heard by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, on which a majority of judges were appointed by Trump. 

As The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch writes, the motion for a partial stay would allow the government to continue its review of the classified records found at Trump’s home and block the independent arbiter from examining some 100 documents of roughly 10,000 taken in the Aug. 8 search.

Prosecutors also said that a stay is needed so the FBI can help with the investigation into empty folders that were found at Mar-a-Lago that contained classification markings in order to figure out what documents they originally held and whether they “may have been lost or compromised.”

▪ The New York Times: Trump’s post-election fundraising comes under scrutiny by Justice Department. 

▪The Washington Post: Stephen Bannon charged with fraud, money laundering, conspiracy in “We Build the Wall.”

▪ The Hill:Wall Street hits back at GOP state officials over shift away from fossil fuels.

On the midterm scene, Democrats are trying to turn Ohio from the right-leaning state it has emerged as in recent years back to its previous role as one of the preeminent swing states, as polls show that Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) has a puncher’s chance against Republican J.D. Vance in November. 

Since Biden’s 2020 loss in the Buckeye State, political observers have increasingly seen the Buckeye State as Trump territory. However, as The Hill’s Alex Gangitano notes, various Democratic House candidates are showing strength in addition to Ryan — most notably Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who looked like she’d be in trouble after redistricting made her district more Republican. She is now in a toss-up race with Republican J.R. Majewski, who has come under scrutiny because he was at the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Next door, the Michigan Supreme Courton Thursday ruled in favor of addinga proposal to the November ballot enshrining the right to an abortion in the state’s Constitution, ending a partisan feud that unexpectedly erupted when a state board refused to approve the question last week (The Washington Post).

▪ Alexander Bolton, The Hill: Same-sex marriage bill expected to pass Senate this month.

▪ Axios: Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz calls for a September debate, criticizing Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s (D) offer of one in October. 

The Hill: Liberals push Biden on marijuana reform ahead of midterm momentum.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL

Russia’s war with Ukraine has caused significant economic turmoil in Europe that leaders fear could undermine allied support for Ukraine while undercutting living standards and economic growth, especially because of projected energy shortages in the winter (The New York Times).

Inflation is soaring. In the 19 countries that use the euro, consumer prices rose 9.1 percent in August, according to the most recent data reported by the Times. Nine of those nations were in double-digit territory. The highest was Estonia, where inflation topped 25 percent.

Skyrocketing energy prices are at the center of rising costs. Natural gas and electricity prices recently set records in August as the flow of oil and gas from Russia to Europe dwindled, raising the specter of recession in economies across Europe, according to the Times. The average European household is facing a monthly energy bill of 500 euros ($494) next year, triple the amount in 2021, according to Goldman Sachs (The New York Times).

On Thursday, the European Central Bank raised key benchmark interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, the largest hike since the launch of the euro in 1999, joining other central banks in an aggressive move to try to calm inflation (The Associated Press). A “substantial slowdown” is expected in the eurozone economy ahead of a winter energy crisis, signaling pain ahead and possibly political upheaval (The New York Times). 

Against that ominous backdrop, European Union energy ministers met on Thursday in Brussels following the Wednesday announcement of an EU plan that calls for capping revenues of low-carbon energy companies, renewable and nuclear suppliers that have reaped “enormous revenues” from generating electricity, with proceeds earmarked to help domestic consumers and companies pay “astronomical” bills (The Guardian).

In Great Britain, Truss announced on her third day in office a sweeping plan to freeze gas and electricity rates just as news broke of the queen’s death (The New York Times).

EuroNews and Reuters: France plans to restart its entire nuclear fleet by early next year. One of the largest producers of nuclear power in the world, state-owned EDF is trying to avoid disruption to its energy supply over the winter. Electricity rationing is possible.

At the same time, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday and pledged $2.6 billion in U.S. military and security assistance ($675 million in military aid and $2 billion in long-term security assistance to Ukraine and its neighbors), hoping to fortify Ukraine’s defenses along with unity among allies behind the war effort (NBC News and The Associated Press).

In Germany on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met their counterparts in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Force Base. Austin, who also announced the $675 million in military aid to Ukraine, told reporters that Ukrainian forces showed “demonstrable success” against Russian forces (Al Jazeera). “This is the Biden administration’s twentieth drawdown of equipment from U.S. stocks for Ukraine since last August,” he added.

OPINION

■ With dignity, Queen Elizabeth II embodied an endangered principle: unity, by David Von Drehle, columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3qlea1r

■ Queen Elizabeth’s old-school virtues, by Peggy Noonan, columnist, The Wall Street Journal. https://on.wsj.com/3B2S4FQ

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at 9 a.m. for a pro forma session and return to work in the Capitol on Tuesday.

The Senate convenes on Monday at 3 p.m. and will resume consideration of Salvador Mendoza Jr. to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the 9th Circuit.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 8:30 a.m. Biden will travel to Licking County, Ohio, to speak at 12:15 p.m. about American manufacturing at a groundbreaking event for an Intel Corp. semiconductor manufacturing facility (The Associated Press). The president will depart Ohio and arrive in Wilmington, Del., at 3:20 p.m. 

Vice President Harris will speak with International Space Station astronauts at 9:55 a.m. CDT from the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. She will chair at 1:20 p.m. CDT a meeting of the National Space Council and return from Texas to Washington this afternoon. (The council will hear from two State Department officials, including the assistant secretary of state for arms control, with a focus on “responsible” international behavior in outer space and “shared international commitment against destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing.”)

The secretary of state, who just left Poland, is in Brussels this morning with NATO ambassadors and will hold a joint press conference at 1:15 p.m. local time with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Blinken will meet virtually while in Brussels this afternoon with his counterparts from France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The first lady will participate in the Philadelphia Phillies’ sixth annual “Childhood Cancer Awareness Night” game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia at 6:30 p.m. as part of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot. She will join the Phillies and Major League Baseball to honor pediatric cancer patients and survivors and their families at the game.

🖥  Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://thehill.com/hilltv, on YouTube and on Facebook at 10:30 a.m. ET. Also, check out the “Rising” podcast here.

ELSEWHERE

➤ PANDEMIC, POX & HEALTH

Uber announced on Thursday that masks as COVID-19 precautions are now optional for New York passengers, albeit recommended (Yahoo News).

Confirmed reports of monkeypox cases in the United States are dropping, but racial disparities are growing among reported cases. While cases in white men have dropped in recent weeks, Blacks made up a growing percentage of infections — nearly 38 percent during the final week of August, according to the latest data available. In the early weeks of the monkeypox outbreak, Black people made up less than a quarter of reported cases. Latinos are also disproportionately infected, making up roughly a third of infections. That trend means that public health messaging and vaccines are not effectively reaching those communities, said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (The Associated Press).

The Food and Drug Administration issued a new alert on Thursday after reports that various types of cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma and various lymphomas, have been found in the scar tissue of breast implants. Binita Ashar, the director of the Office of Surgical and Infection Control Devices in the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a release that the agency received reports of the cancers in the capsule or scar tissue near the implants, but that the occurrences are considered rare (CNN).

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha plan a virtual roundtable event at 2:30 p.m. with youth leaders to promote COVID-19 vaccinations and booster doses among young people this fall.

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,049,749. Current average U.S. COVID-19 daily deaths are 313, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

➤ COURTS

A bankruptcy judge on Thursday greenlighted the Boy Scouts of America’s proposed $2.46 billion reorganization plan that would allow it to continue operations as it compensates tens of thousands of men who reported being sexually abused as children while taking part in the organization. More than 80,000 men have filed abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America (The Associated Press).

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Bravo to this week’s Morning Report Quiz winners! The Hill’s Al Weaver created his final newsletter quiz before he resets his alarm clock to begin covering the Senate. He has the NFL and the upcoming season in mindbecause, let’s face it, much of America does, too. 

🏈 Victorious is Pam Manges, the lone pigskin puzzler who went 4/4.

The Washington Commanders this weekend will take the field under the franchise’s new nickname, and there’s another change: Black is the color of the alternate jersey for the team’s upcoming season.

Ten NFL teams made head coaching changes ahead of the 2022 season.

Teams can wear alternate helmet designs during the upcoming season (the correct answer from among our options).

Super Bowl LVII will happen in Glendale, Ariz., which will make three Super Bowls played in the greater Phoenix area.

Stay Engaged

We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. Follow us on Twitter (@alweaver22 & @asimendinger) and suggest this newsletter to friends!

Source: TEST FEED1

Same-sex marriage bill expected to pass Senate this month

Senate negotiators expect to reach a deal on a bill to protect same-sex marriages in time to begin considering it on floor next week, which would put it on a path to pass before the end of the month.  

Republican negotiators caution they haven’t yet locked down 10 GOP votes to overcome an expected filibuster against the bill, but they say they are making good progress. 

“We’re not there yet,” said one Senate GOP source familiar with the soft whip count. “I think we’ll get there, but we’re not there yet.”  

Negotiators believe they will work out a compromise to protect the views of religious groups that don’t recognize same-sex marriage, which would then attract more Republican support for the legislation.  

“I’m uncertain what exactly the schedule will be but [we] will start the process, next week, I’m told, but it will really be the following week” that the bill gets done, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said while leaving the Capitol Thursday.  

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the lead Democratic negotiator, confirmed the expectation is to “start the process at the end of next week.”  

Negotiators still need to finalize the language of an amendment to modify the original bill crafted by Baldwin and Collins in order to address the concerns of some Republican senators who worry the legislation could create legal problems for religious groups that don’t recognize same-sex marriage.  

But those final details are expected to get hammered out next week.  

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told The Hill Thursday that he expected the final legislative language to be worked out by next week, but expressed uncertainty about the timing of the bill. 

He and other negotiators, including Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), have kept in close touch with each other since returning to Washington after Labor Day to get the bill ready for the floor.  

Senators have a small window to act before Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) moves to a short-term government funding measure, which needs to pass by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown.  

Schumer on Wednesday said he does not want to add the marriage equality legislation to the funding stopgap, an idea Senate Democratic leadership floated Tuesday to force Republicans to commit to a path for getting the bill passed through the Senate.  

GOP lawmakers — and Baldwin — balked at the idea of combining the two pieces of legislation, putting pressure on Republicans to commit to considering a standalone marriage equality bill on the Senate floor in the next few weeks, according to Senate Democratic aides.  

The trial balloon about wrapping marriage equality legislation into a two-and-a-half-month government funding measure got lawmakers and media outlets focused on the marriage issue at the start of the week, putting a spotlight on whether GOP senators would block it.  

Senators are still uncertain, however, which 10 Republicans will support the bill when it comes to the floor.  

One prospect, retiring Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), said Thursday that he was not involved in the negotiations. 

“I’m going to look at the bill when they produce it, but I’m not involved in any talks,” he said.  

Another possible yes vote, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), said he is still deliberating over how to vote.   

“I’m consulting with my constituents about it,” he said.  

A Senate aide noted that Young was spotted on the floor Thursday afternoon chatting with a couple of the negotiators who are working on the final version.  

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), another Republican who has joined past bipartisan efforts, said he’s a “no” vote.  

“It’s not necessary, I don’t think,” he said. “I personally am not planning on voting for it.”  

Collins, Baldwin and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced the Respect for Marriage Act in July to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensconce marriage equality into federal law.  

The senators announced the legislation after conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged fellow justices to reconsider the court’s landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, when it ruled that the 14th Amendment’s protection of the right to marry applies to same-sex couples.  

The House passed its version of the Respect for Marriage Act in July by a vote of 267 to 157, with 47 Republicans joining all Democrats in passing the measure.  

Some Republicans, however, worry the legislation could create unintended legal consequences for religious groups that don’t support same-sex marriage.  

“One of the things that has been raised is that an institution that doesn’t support gay marriage, say a Catholic charity helping orphans, that they would somehow face consequences such as funding cuts,” said a source familiar with the negotiations.  

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said his vote will depend on how the language to protect religious liberty is drafted. 

“I have questions and concerns about religious liberty and that being included as part of the legislation, so we’re working on that,” he said, adding he is a possible “yes” vote, “depending on how it turns out.”  

Republican lawmakers also want to make sure that the legislation isn’t drafted in a way that might somehow be interpreted as granting federal protection to polygamous marriages.  

People familiar with the negotiations say that Republicans who are raising concerns over sections of the bill are, by and large, getting the changes they have requested, building momentum for final passage of the bill in the third full week of September.  

Schumer on Wednesday guaranteed a vote on the bill “in the coming weeks.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Changes spark chatter of CNN shifting to the right

Major changes at CNN in recent weeks have sparked chatter in media and political circles that the network’s new corporate ownership is pulling it to the political right.   

CNN strongly denies such a change is taking place, saying it is entirely focused on objective journalism.  

But recent high profile on-air departures, coupled with what’s seen by some as a shift in tone in the network’s political coverage, are drawing intense scrutiny.  

Criticisms of President Biden by on-air personalities in particular have triggered questions from the political left about whether things are changing at CNN, which has a new corporate owner in Discovery.  

Brianna Keilar, an anchor on CNN’s flagship morning program, lambasted Biden’s White House last week over a decision to use U.S. Marines and a dark-red backdrop in the background of a speech slamming Trump Republicans.  

“Whatever you think of this speech the military is supposed to be apolitical. Positioning Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech flies in the face of that. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it,” the anchor wrote on Twitter.  

Keilar has also offered pointed criticism of Trump over the years, which to some made the comments about Biden even more significant. 

Keilar’s commentary also reportedly angered staffers inside the White House and came a day before the network departure of White House reporter John Harwood, who had been strikingly critical of former President Trump as well. 

In late August, CNN canceled “Reliable Sources,” the long-running Sunday show focused on the media, parting ways in the process with host Brian Stelter, one of the most prominent critics in media of Trump and Fox News.  

“The message coming out … is that this is part of a deliberate effort to get rid of people at CNN who are seen as too critical of Donald Trump and Fox News,” said Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters for America, a liberal media watchdog.  

He also noted “some very high-profile cases of CNN staffers making a sort of public display of criticizing President Joe Biden.”  

CNN in a statement to The Hill said criticism from those like Gertz are completely off base.  

“CNN is not shifting from left to right or pursuing a centrist position,” a CNN spokesperson told The Hill. “We are entirely focused on our core strength and mission — objective journalism, presented in a fair and compelling way. We will continue to acknowledge different worldviews and experiences. We will always stand up for democracy and call out lies — regardless of their origin. That is not centrism, that is journalism.” 

It has been a year that has brought significant change for CNN, which is still churning from the departure in February of former President Jeff Zucker.  

Zucker was an imperious presence at CNN, well-known for messaging questions from his control room to on-air personalities as they interviewed public figures and guests. 

During the Trump presidency, CNN saw its ratings boom during an often confrontational period with the president that at times seemed personal: Zucker had been a leading executive at NBC when Trump’s show “The Apprentice” was a hit for the network.  

Trump regularly derided CNN, Zucker and some of the network’s stars, such as Jim Acosta — at the time a White House correspondent. Trump at one point retweeted a video that showed him wrestling and punching a person whose head had been replaced by the CNN logo.  

Zucker was replaced as president of the network by Chris Licht, a broadcast veteran who has come under online criticism over the Harwood firing and other changes since his tenure began — some of which was shared on social media by White House chief of staff Ron Klain.  

The hashtag #BoycottCNN was briefly trending on Twitter late last week after the Harwood news broke.   

“I decided to #BoycottCNN as soon as the network began its shift to the right,” wrote Jon Cooper, a former finance chair for President Obama. “If I wanted to watch right-wing propaganda, I’d watch Fox.”  

Some liberals have suggested any tone shift for CNN can be traced back to John Malone, a billionaire media mogul who is a major shareholder in Discovery, which purchased CNN’s parent company, Warner Media, last year.  

Before the purchase, Malone turned heads with comments saying he “would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing.”    

Warner Media declined to comment this week on recent changes made to CNN’s programming and personnel, while Malone told The New York Times he had “nothing to do with” the decision to cancel “Reliable Sources.” 

That hasn’t stopped the chatter.

“A lot of people on the outside are seeing this as some sort of gambit for audience and viewership,” said Michael J. Socolow, a former assignment editor at CNN who is now an associate professor at the University of Maine’s Department of Communication and Journalism. “There are much bigger economic and regulatory benefits for the political positioning than any kind of viewership gains.”  

More shake-ups to the network’s daytime and prime-time evening programs are widely expected, and the recent changes have left a feeling of nervousness among staffers since Licht took over.  

“There isn’t a bigger, faster rumor gossip machine than a newsroom,” said Joe Ferullo, a former network television executive who writes occasional columns on the media for The Hill. “In a vacuum, that rumor machine goes in overdrive, so it has to be addressed.”  

Since arriving at CNN, Licht has engaged on what he has called a “listening tour” while promising advertisers and staffers his vision for the network is one where partisan rhetoric takes a back seat to objective analysis and sensationalism is trumped by sobriety and context in the outlet’s news reports.  

He also met with a number of Republicans on Capitol Hill earlier this summer to solicit feedback, a move that rubbed some liberal critics the wrong way.  

“To contend that there are two sides to the Jan. 6 insurrection or Trump’s methods really is beyond remarkable, it’s kind of repulsive,” said Larry Sabato, a pundit who runs the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “Why are they doing it? The media moguls want it done because they’re fairly conservative themselves, whether they openly admit it or not. So they’re pleasing themselves and justifying it by saying we’ve all got to get back together.”  

Licht, whom people close to him have described as a methodical tactician more than a top-down visionary as Zucker was, has also not done a sufficient job communicating his ideas internally and externally, others point out.  

“While Twitter is not necessarily real life, one can’t help but notice that CNN viewers are growing frustrated with some of these recent developments,” wrote Tom Jones of the Poynter Institute. “It would behoove Licht to get out ahead of this and explain what CNN is doing and where it is going.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Democrats aim to make Ohio a swing state again

Democrats are looking to make Ohio a swing state again this midterm cycle as poll numbers show the party has a chance of winning a key Senate race between Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance.

Ohio has been a perennial swing state, and former President Obama won it twice in 2008 and 2012. But Ohio has mostly delivered bad news for Democrats ever since, as Democrats have lost various statewide races, and former President Trump took the state in 2016 and 2020 relatively easily.

Since President Biden’s loss in 2020, political observers have increasingly seen the Buckeye State as Trump territory, with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) being a notable holdout.

Ryan’s strong candidacy is changing that. Polls show him in a tight race with Vance, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author who Trump backed in the GOP primary.

Various Democratic House candidates are also showing strength — most notably Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who looked like she’d be in trouble after redistricting made her district more Republican. Kaptur is now in a toss-up race with Republican J.R. Majewski, who has come under scrutiny because he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“When you look at all of the major cities across the state of Ohio, they’re all Democrat. Ohio was a swing state for a long time. I’m not convinced that it’s not a swing state at this point,” said Derrick Clay, a former Midwest political director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “I know that Tim Ryan has really went out of his way to talk to rural voters and talk to working class people across this state, and that’s something that I believe is the reason why he has advanced so well in his current campaign for Senate.”

Biden will visit Ohio on Friday to deliver remarks at a new Intel semiconductor facility. The visit is a signal of Democrats’ hopes for Ohio not only in 2022 but also in 2024, when they are optimistic that Biden could be competitive again in a presidential race.

Mark Weaver, a Republican political consultant in Ohio, dismissed Democrats’ hopefulness.

“Ohio becomes less crucial every cycle,” he said. “Ohio’s a big state and there are a lot of people who still think it’s a bellwether and so schedulers put it on the calendar and send their candidates here … but Ohio is a red state is now.”

Weaver noted that Republicans control every statewide office, with the exception of Brown.

“I think that Ohio has been a pro-Republican state for the last decade or so. There’s some exceptions to that,” said Paul Beck, professor emeritus of political science at the Ohio State University. “Now, the Democrats of course hope to change this in 2022.”

Democrats point to Ryan’s fundraising edge and polling to argue Ohio is among their better pick up opportunities in the Senate and one of the races that could decide the majority.

Ryan holds a razor-thin lead over Vance in FiveThirtyEight’s average of polls, 45.2 percent to 44.6 percent but a recent survey by Emerson College Polling had Vance leading Ryan by 3 points. 

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race “lean Republican.”

“Right now, I can tell you that for the mere fact that Congressman Ryan has been consistently neck and neck or in the lead in this race should tell you something,” Clay said. “We’re talking more about Tim Ryan than we are about J.D. Vance … I think that he has proven over the years that he has been consistently for the people, and I think that’s going to resonate with voters in November.”

It’s unclear how much Democratic strength in 2022 would transfer to 2024, however. The Democrats in the tightest races in Ohio have taken steps to distance themselves from some of Biden’s policies. 

Kaptur, whose race is rated a “toss up” by the Cook Political Report, broke with Biden last month with a new campaign ad saying that, “Joe Biden’s letting Ohio solar manufacturers be undercut by China.”

Ryan has also distanced himself from Biden and didn’t appear with him when the president was in Cleveland in July. He also didn’t support Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and said he instead supports a broader package of debt relief and a tax cut “for all working people.”

But Ryan announced last week that he will join Biden at the Intel event on Friday.

“Tim Ryan in some ways is a test case for whether the Democrats can kind of reclaim or pull back this working-class base,” Beck said. “He’s trying to reclaim this part of the Democratic base, he also is going after suburban women, particularly college educated women who have been the ones who have been less enthusiastic about Trump.”

The new Intel facility is in Licking County, Ohio, which Trump won in 2020 with more than 63 percent of the vote, outpacing his overall performance in Ohio, where he won more than 53 percent of the vote.

The White House has touted that the facility will be built by union labor, creating more than 7,000 construction jobs followed by 3,000 jobs producing semiconductor chips.

But, who will get credit for the plant in November is up for debate.

Biden has been focused on manufacturing in the U.S. throughout his presidency, mostly as a way to fix the supply chain crisis brought on by disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been touting openings of manufacturing plants throughout the U.S., like Intel’s, and recently signed the CHIPs and Science Act that he has billed a way to boost American manufacturing.

But the announcement of Intel’s Buckeye State facility came in January, predating the passage of the CHIPs Act and Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who Trump officially backed on Thursday, was largely behind its opening.

“The mere fact that Intel’s coming to Ohio is a true picture of bipartisanship,” Clay said. “Mike DeWine should take some credit for this, but at the same time, there were several people behind the scenes helping to make this happen too. The Biden administration and Congress and Senate have a role to play with the CHIPs Act.”

Republicans though see the Intel facility opening, and the jobs it will create, as a Republican success and not one Biden or Democrats can take credit for.

“The Intel plant was negotiated by Gov. Mike DeWine and … Joe Biden is showing up for the ribbon cutting. He had no major role in getting it to Ohio. He did sign the CHIPs Act, but that act would have been signed if the plant had been located in another state,” Weaver said.

Weaver looked ahead to 2024, predicting that if the election was held today, Biden would lose Ohio.

“Mike DeWine’s very popular, he’s going to win by double digits. Ohioans like him. Joe Biden is the opposite,” he said. “He would lose Ohio by double digits if he were to run. Ohio’s a great state, it’s just not the bellwether it once was.”

Source: TEST FEED1