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'This is terrorism': Howard University forced to evacuate after two bomb threats within 48 hours

Students at Howard University were forced to evacuate their dormitories for the second time in 48 hours early Friday morning following news of a bomb threat on the institution.

Howard University President Wayne Frederick announced to the public in a letter on Friday that the school had received two bomb threats within 48 hours on the east and west towers of the university.

The president decried the bomb threats as “terrorism” adding that this was the eighth bomb threat the school has endured this year alone. The university head also commended the students for their “understanding” during the time of difficulty.

“For the second time in 48 hours, students have had to evacuate residence halls during the late hours of a school night,” he wrote. “This is terrorism, and it must stop.”

These threats are the latest in a pattern of threats students, faculty and staff have endured at HBCUs throughout the country.

Representatives from Howard, Xavier University and Jackson State University testified concerning the bomb threats in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee in March.

“Racially charged acts like the bomb threats are not only an attack to our campus, but they are an attack on the ideals and values of HBCUs and their collective mission,” said Xavier Student Association President Emmanuel Ukot at the hearing.

Frederick called for further law enforcement support of HBCUs in his letter on Friday, saying that he would speak with “as many law enforcement agencies and elected federal officials” as possible to “ensure that the gravity of this situation is elevated and prioritized.”

“This isn’t about resilience and grit,” he wrote. “We require extra resources from all law enforcement agencies directed towards solving this ongoing threat and bringing those who perpetrate its negative effects to full justice under the law.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Democrats press Senate to vote on bill removing Dred Scott justice bust from Capitol

Top House Democrats are pressing the Senate to vote on a bill to remove the bust of former Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, the author of the Dred Scott v. Sanford ruling, from the Capitol.

In June 2021, the House passed a bill 285-120 that would replace the bust of Taney with that of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and remove statues of individuals who served in the Confederacy. All opposition came from Republican lawmakers.

The legislation, however, has not yet been brought up for a vote in the Senate, which House Democrats are now pushing for.

In a letter on Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and other Democrats asked that the upper chamber bring up the bill for a vote “without delay” as the end of the current Congress approaches.

“Memorialization as part of the collection of artwork in the U.S. Capitol is one of the highest honors available to Americans and those who have stood with our country in defense of liberty and democracy. It is shameful that individuals who fought to uphold slavery, participated in seditious rebellion, or worked to promote segregation remain honored in such a way,” the House Democrats wrote.

The note was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rules Committee Ranking Member Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

House Democrats said it is “an indignity” that African American individuals in the Senate are “confronted with these memorials to those who viewed African Americans as inferior and unworthy of full and equal inclusion under our Constitution.”

“It is essential that we correct this injustice now,” the lawmakers add.

Hoyer introduced the bill in May 2021.

Taney wrote the majority opinion in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, in which the Supreme Court upheld slavery and ruled that Black people could not be American citizens. The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery and the 14th Amendment granting citizenship to all individuals born in the U.S. overturned the ruling.

Hoyer, Clyburn and others previously penned a letter to Schumer in September asking that the Senate hold a vote on the bill.

Friday’s letter cited the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, noting that “Americans were shocked and appalled to see the Confederate battle flag carried into the Capitol by  insurrectionists; African-American Members, staff, and visitors must see just as poignant a symbol of injustice every single day in the likenesses of these individuals who were at the root of what that flag represents.”

“That must end,” they added.

The Democrats specifically called for the removal of busts of former Vice President John C. Calhoun, who defended slavery, and Jefferson Davis, who served as president of the Confederate States of America, among others.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.), Karen Bass (Calif.) G.K. Butterfield (N.C.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.), Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.), John Sarbanes (Md.), Anthony Brown (Md.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), David Trone (Md.), Kweisi Mfume (Md.), Jim McGovern (N.J.), Nikema Williams (Ga.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) joined Hoyer and Clyburn in signing the letter.

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden is failing to defend religious freedom abroad

This past Thursday there was an interesting exchange between White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and a correspondent for the Catholic Eternal World Television Network. When Jean-Pierre was asked about the White House’s reaction to the latest persecution of Catholics in Nicaragua — the abduction of a bishop, incarceration of priests and seminarians, and the shutting down of Catholic radio stations — her answer was baffling: “There has been a dramatic deterioration of democratic principles and human rights by the regime in Nicaragua including the imprisonment of democratic leaders, members of the political opposition, students and journalists. The Biden-Harris administration finds this unacceptable and condemns these actions.”  

Wait, what? Madam Press Secretary, did you not hear the question?  

Don’t get me wrong. I agree that Daniel Ortega and his thugs are trying to silence “political opponents, students and journalists.” And I’m relieved that the Biden-Harris administration finds this “unacceptable and condemns these actions.” But there is something different going on here that cries out for a response. I’d really like to know what our country’s second Catholic president has to say about Daniel Ortega’s war against the Catholic Church.  

Earlier this summer, Ortega’s government outlawed the missionary order founded by Mother Teresa and expelled the order’s nuns from the country. Their exile followed the expulsion in March of the Vatican’s envoy to Nicaragua, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag. Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who heads the diocese of Matagalpa in Nicaragua, was recently arrested and thrown into jail together with eight of his companions. Police previously arrested seven other priests on trumped up charges. Father Uriel Vallejos went into hiding after the police raided his parish’s radio station and surrounded his residence for several days. The radio station managed by Vallejos was among the Catholic television and radio channels that have recently been shut down by the government. Ortega’s government silenced yet another Catholic radio station earlier this week.   

The United States is a country with an unusually deep commitment to religious liberty. Ours was the first nation to guarantee religious freedom in its constitution. And for over 20 years, we have expressly advanced the cause of international religious freedom. Congress unanimously passed the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) in 1998, establishing the Office of International Religious Freedom in the State Department, led by an IRF Ambassador at Large. IRFA was amended in 2016 to further bolster religious freedom as a foreign policy priority. But today, religious freedom experts warn that the Biden administration is ignoring our responsibility under the IRFA. 

President Biden often remarks on the importance of his Catholic faith. His administration’s tone-deaf response to the plight of persecuted Catholics in Nicaragua, however, is yet more evidence that this administration has little concern for religious freedom — not only here at home but also abroad. 

But the president’s apparent indifference to this scandal doesn’t justify a similar reaction from the American people. There is so much at stake here. Ortega is simultaneously attempting to squash the Catholic Church and democracy — for the simple reason that the Church is upholding democratic rights in a country where its voice is powerful; Nicaragua, after all, is an overwhelmingly Catholic country.  

It’s vital that Americans don’t allow our response to Ortega’s brutality to be influenced by our own political views. Back in the 1980s, Nicaragua’s dictator headed a Sandinista government that was routinely portrayed by liberals as a utopia of social justice. It would be a terrible thing if residual affection for the Sandinistas, and the socialist sympathies of some young Democrats led them to play down the horrors of today’s Ortega regime.   

We have, after all, been down that road before. For decades, some left-wingers sought to minimize the suffering of those in Fidel Castro’s Cuba.  

It would be shameful if, before assessing their reaction to the escalating persecution of Catholics in Nicaragua, Americans were to first ask themselves, in the words of the old protest song, “Which side are you on?” On this occasion there can be no debate about “sides.” The rights of the human person are being viciously attacked, and our solemn duty is to mobilize domestic and world opinion in support of the persecuted in Nicaragua. Even if our government can’t be bothered to.  

Andrea Picciotti-Bayer runs the Conscience Project and is director of strategy for the Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America, the only national university of the Catholic Church in America.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Ukrainian nuclear plant reconnected to power grid, but ‘situation remains very risky’: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is connected to its power grid, but cautioned that the “situation remains very risky.”

“I want to emphasize that the situation remains very risky and dangerous,” said Zelensky in a presidential address.

“Any repeat of yesterday’s events, that is, any disconnection of the plant from the grid, any actions by Russia that could trigger the shutdown of the reactors, will again put the plant one step away from disaster.”

Zelensky applauded nuclear scientists for protecting the power plant, which he said is “constantly being provoked by Russian forces,” from the “worst-case scenario.”

Ukraine’s nuclear power plants have caused concern amid the Russian invasion that warfare could prompt a nuclear disaster. The Russians seized control over the plant at the start of the conflict.

The Zaporizhzhia plant was disconnected from its grid on Thursday after fire broke out around the lines connecting to the grid.

Shortly after the disconnection, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that it would send a delegation to the nuclear power plant for safety and security reasons.

The delegation was previously scheduled to visit Zaporizhzhia to take inventory of its resources.

Zelensky addressed the IAEA visit during his speech on Friday, supporting its involvement with the nuclear power plant.

“That is why it is so important that the IAEA mission arrives at the plant as soon as possible and helps keep the NPP under continuous control of Ukraine,” Zelensky said, referencing possible future dangers resulting from Russian possession of the plant.

Zelensky called on the international community to support Ukraine both in supervision of the Zaporizhzhia plant and in holding Russia accountable for the delays the war has caused in grain exportation from Ukraine.

“I emphasize that it is the full responsibility of the partners to prevent any Russian provocations and disruption of exports,” he said.

Zelesnky shared that the recent “grain export initiative” had moved a million tons of food out of the country and that Ukraine intends to continue that work.

“This is a victory,” said Zelensky, adding that 44 grain vessels were sent to 15 countries while Ukraine waits on 70 additional applications for the arrival of vessels at ports.

Source: TEST FEED1

Energy & Environment — Biden officials push to label two PFAS as 'hazardous'

The Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on cancer-linked “forever chemicals,” Democrats are bracing for a clash over permitting — which could end up impacting government funding — and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is asking fuel refiners to rein in their exports. 

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Subscribe here.

EPA: More clean up, liability for toxic contamination

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to designate two types of “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances, aiming to expand both cleanup and accountability for this pollution.

• “Forever chemicals,” also called PFAS, have been linked to illnesses including kidney and testicular cancer and thyroid disease. They’re also notorious for lingering for decades in the environment and human body instead of breaking down over time.
• PFAS contamination has become widespread across the U.S. as it has been discharged over the years by both industrial facilities and military bases, the latter of which used it in firefighting foam. The compounds can be found in a number of household products including nonstick pans, cosmetics and waterproof apparel.  

The new proposal from the Biden administration seeks to help impacted communities clean up this waste. If it’s finalized, declaring these substances as “hazardous” under the Superfund law is expected to both speed up the cleanup process and hold polluters responsible.  

Melanie Benesh, Vice President for Government Affairs at the Environmental Working Group, said that the proposal would “jumpstart the cleanup process at a lot of contaminated sites and help the EPA hold polluters accountable for the mess that they have been making over decades.” 

On the hook: The hazardous substance designation would allow the EPA to put either the military or a private company that contaminated a given area with these substances on the hook to clean it up, and, if they refuse to do so, would give the EPA the power to recoup the costs.

“Both private parties and [the] Department of Defense will really be incentivized to move out on cleanup when they’re responsible for this now that this designation is going to take place,” said Betsy Southerland, former director of the Office of Science and Technology in the EPA’s Office of Water. 

The designation would also require the reporting of releases of the substances, which is expected to give communities information on where these chemicals are being discharged.  

The two types in focus: While there are thousands of types of PFAS — an acronym that refers to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — the EPA’s proposal only addresses the two most notorious types, called PFOA and PFOS.  

Recently, the agency said that these two substances are dangerous to drink, even in miniscule amounts.  

An industry perspective: A chemical industry trade group pushed back on the EPA’s latest proposal, arguing that it would impose significant costs on businesses.   

“A proposed [hazardous substance] designation would impose tremendous costs on these parties without defined cleanup standards,” the organization said. 

Read more about the proposal here.  

Dems set for permitting clash, raising shutdown risk

Liberal lawmakers are pressing Democratic leaders in the House to not include a side deal undercutting environmental reviews worked out with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in a short-term measure funding the government.   

House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is circulating a letter asking leadership to separate the Manchin deal out from a continuing resolution that would temporarily avert a government shutdown.  

“Don’t attach it to a budget, to a CR, must-pass legislation and therefore take this essential Republican agenda and have Democrats pass it,” he told The Hill earlier this month.   

The issue is expected to come to a head in September, when lawmakers return from recess, as Democrats try to secure funding for the government and prevent a shutdown.   

A refresher: The deal was part of the agreement Manchin made with Democratic leaders as they won his support for their now-passed climate, tax and health care bill.

• Under the deal with Manchin, worked out by President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the trio agreed “to pass comprehensive permitting reform legislation before the end of this fiscal year,” which ends on Oct. 1.
• The provisions are designed to expedite energy and infrastructure projects subject to environmental reviews.  

That sets up a potential shutdown crisis if progressives block a funding bill over the inclusion of the permitting reform language and Democrats can’t find the votes elsewhere.

Between the lines: An actual shutdown is highly unlikely, as Democrats don’t want to shutter the government months before the midterm elections.

While Grijalva’s office declined to say Thursday how many lawmakers are signing his letter, at least a few others have signaled resistance to the deal.

A potential wrinkle: If progressives do make a stand, it will complicate life for House Democratic leaders.

Democrats enjoy a very narrow majority in the House, meaning even a handful of progressive votes could block a measure to fund the government — if there’s not the Republican support to make up the difference. The more signatures on the Grijalva letter, the more leverage progressives could have.

Democratic leaders would face a difficult choice between passing a clean continuing resolution, or “CR,” funding stopgap and potentially angering Manchin; convincing their own members to shed their environmental concerns and back the Manchin side deal; or leaning on GOP votes to prevent a shutdown.  

A number of GOP members support the permitting changes advanced by Manchin. Whether they’ll want to back a Democratic funding measure that includes them — or allow Democrats to fight it out internally ahead of the elections — is another question.

And some Republicans are skeptical of the way it came about: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has pledged to vote against the permitting deal on principle, even if he may actually like the policies included in it.

“I will not vote for a continuing resolution that is part of a political payback scheme,” Graham said in a press conference this month. “Senator Manchin, if you think you’re going to get 60 votes to get the sweeteners that can’t be done in reconciliation, you need to think long and hard about what you’re doing.”  

Read more about the tensions here.  

GRANHOLM TO REFINERS: CUT EXPORTS

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called on major U.S. oil refiners to build up capacity and reduce exports of refined products ahead of the winter in a letter shared with The Hill.

• In the letter, written last week, Granholm noted the reduced availability of diesel inventories along the East Coast, which are nearly 50 percent below the five-year average. Refined product exports are at a record high.
• A likely above-average hurricane season, followed shortly by the winter heating season, is likely to compound demand in the northeast.   

“Given the historic level of U.S. refined product exports, I again urge you to focus in the near term on building inventories in the United States, rather than selling down current stocks and further increasing exports,” Granholm wrote, saying that such a buildup would be an alternative to emergency measures such as releases from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve.

The letter was reported first by The Wall Street Journal. The paper accused Granholm in a Wednesday editorial of attempting to strong-arm the energy industry and abandoning European nations weaning themselves off Russian imports.  

An Energy Department official sharply disputed this characterization, saying “as we get closer and closer to peak hurricane season right now, and we’re running our internal models, we are calling on [the industry] to be more proactive.”

Read more here.  

COLORADO DEMS ASK BIDEN TO PROTECT LOCAL LAND 

Colorado Democrats urged President Biden in a letter on Friday to use his executive powers to preserve the historical legacy of key Rocky Mountain landscapes and ban new oil and gas leasing in certain spaces.  

The politicians — Rep. Joe Neguse, Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. John Hickenlooper and Gov. Jared Polis — asked the president to protect the public spaces included in the Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act, the progress of which has stalled in Congress, despite strong local support.  

Chief among their requests is the designation of Colorado’s Camp Hale and the Tenmile Range as the “Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument,” by means of the Antiquities Act.  

This area, they explained, was instrumental “in preparing the 10th Mountain Division for some of the most difficult moments of World War II,” while many veterans returned to establish Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy.  

The politicians also urged the president to protect Colorado’s Thompson Divide through a Federal Lands Policy and Management Act mineral withdrawal, which would ban new oil and gas leasing, as well as mining, in the region. 

Read more about their request here, from The Hill’s Sharon Udasin.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Environmental groups sue to stop federal approval of exploration at Alaska oil project (Anchorage Daily News) 
• Drought threatens coal plant operations — and electricity — across the West (NPR) 
• Fears of a radiation leak mount near Ukrainian nuclear plant (The Associated Press) 
• St. Louis, Death Valley and now Dallas: Why ‘1,000-year’ floods suddenly seem so common (NBC News) 
• Ukraine Reconnects Power to Nuclear Plant Amid Pressure for U.N. Inspection (The Wall Street Journal) 
• How Fracking Billionaires, Ben Shapiro, and PragerU Built a Climate Crisis–Denial Empire (Vice)

ICYMI

• White House moves to make all federally funded research available to public for free by 2026
• GOP targets powerhouse Wall Street firms over investments meant to fight climate change

🦎  Lighter click: Take off your shoes. 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you next week!  

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Defense & National Security — DOJ releases redacted affidavit in Trump search

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday released the much-anticipated affidavit that convinced a federal judge to approve a warrant to search former President Trump’s Florida home.

We’ll take a deep dive into the warrant. Plus, we’ll talk about the 1-year anniversary of the bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 13 U.S. service members.

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Jordan Williams. Subscribe here.

Affidavit: 184 classified docs found at Trump’s resort

A redacted FBI affidavit used to convince a judge for a search warrant for former President Trump’s Florida home noted that authorities found 184 classified documents in their initial review of boxes recovered from the home in an effort that began just a few months after he left office.  

Authorities’ concern that Trump may have additional national security information at his private residence was spurred by a review of the 15 boxes recovered by the National Archives in January. 

Inside the affidavit: The affidavit indicates that among the 184 documents were 25 that contained top secret information, including those gained from “clandestine human sources,” information prohibited from being shared with foreign governments, and information obtained by monitoring “foreign communications signals.” 

The 28-page affidavit contains numerous redactions but indicates authorities believed “evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed” would be found at Mar-a-Lago. 

Entirely redacted is a provision explaining why the government believed additional “classified [national defense information]” would be found on the premises.

What else is new? The affidavit offers new information about the extent of the saga to recover documents from Mar-a-Lago. The document says the National Archives first reached out about retrieving records as early as May 6, 2021 — just a few months after Trump left office. 

Yet it wasn’t until late that year that the Trump team alerted Archives that they had 12 boxes ready for pick up. The agency would instead leave with 15. 

Trump’s response: In a statement from Trump shortly after the affidavit’s release, the former president called the document “a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ” that was not reflective of “our close working relationship regarding document turnover – WE GAVE THEM MUCH.” 

A few disclaimers: Trump has not been charged in connection with the search, and the affidavit does not name him as having potentially violated various statutes, instead saying evidence of violations may be found at the premises. 

Trump had called for the release of both the warrant and the affidavit. He filed a separate case, however, seeking an injunction to stall the FBI’s investigation and asking a court to appoint a special master for the case. Doing so would let an outside party approved by the court first review the evidence taken during the search before the FBI can review it. 

Check out other coverage of the affidavit: 

• Five takeaways from the Mar-a-Lago search affidavit
• Affidavit suggests ‘some of our most sensitive intelligence’ mishandled” Senate intel chair
• Read the unsealed warrant affidavit here

Biden marks 1 year since deadly Afghan bombing

President Biden on Friday marked the anniversary of the “heinous” terrorist attack amid the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that killed 13 American service members and dozens of civilians. 

Biden issued a statement in which he recognized each of the 13 American service members by name. They died in a suicide bombing outside the airport in Kabul last year in the thick of chaotic attempts to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan. 

What Biden said: “Today, I am praying for the families of those 13 fallen warriors, who lost a piece of their soul one year ago. Our nation can never repay such incredible sacrifice—but we will never fail to honor our sacred obligation to the families and survivors they left behind,” Biden said Friday. 

“I am also holding in my heart all those who lost their child, partner, parent, sibling, loved one, or battle buddy over our two decades of war in Afghanistan. 2,461 American troops made the ultimate sacrifice. 20,744 were wounded, so many whose lives are forever marked by their injuries. It is a painful reminder that there is nothing low-cost or low-grade about war for those we ask to fight for us.” 

Who died? The attack, which was attributed to a branch of the terrorist group ISIS, killed Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover; Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario; Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee; Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez; Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page; Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui; Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak; and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss. 

A low point: The terrorist attack at Abbey Gate in Kabul a year ago is widely regarded as the low point of Biden’s first term by officials within the administration. It also served as a flashpoint for critics of his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan after roughly 20 years. 

Biden has insisted he does not regret the handling of the U.S. withdrawal, even as accounts have shown the administration appeared unprepared for the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and a chaotic effort to get civilians out of the country culminated with the terrorist bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops and more than 100 Afghans in the area. 

The president has argued that remaining in Afghanistan would have cost more American lives and forced the U.S. to commit more forces to fight off the Taliban. 

Read the full story here.

Biden faces calls to let Vindman twin retire as colonel

President Biden is facing calls to allow Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, who alongside his twin brother Alexander blew the whistle on former President Trump’s July 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to retire with the title of colonel.  

Vindman was promoted to colonel in March of last year by Biden after his career was sidetracked by a bad review — something the Defense Department’s inspector general later determined was likely a reprisal for his involvement in expressing concerns over Trump’s actions on the phone call. 

But to officially retire as a colonel, one must hold the rank for three years.  

The backstory: Two days after Trump was acquitted of impeachment charges over his dealings with Ukraine in the Senate, both Vindman brothers were escorted out of the White House. Their promotions to colonel were delayed.

While Alexander Vindman retired, Eugene Vindman received a career-damaging negative performance review from a superior who, one year earlier, had praised him as one of the best military lawyers and officers he had ever worked with.  

Eugene Vindman is set to retire this coming Wednesday.  

The argument: Lawyers Defending American Democracy, which wrote the letter to Biden, said the move would have significance beyond a formal title.  

“In granting this waiver, you will reinforce a critical message: those who stand up with courage for the constitution and the rule of law will be rewarded, and retaliation will not be tolerated,” they write. 

Vindmans are ‘military heroes’: “There are military heroes. There are legal heroes. Then there are those like Colonel Vindman who are both. He deserves to retire with the rank that he has so well earned,” Norm Eisen, an attorney who served as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment. 

Read more here.  

ON TAP FOR MONDAY

The American Enterprise Institute will host an event, “An (Air) Force to Be Reckoned With: Defense Strategy and Innovation with Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.,” at 10 a.m.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Ukraine can launch counteroffensive with new US support, says key Zelensky aide
• Here’s every weapon the US has supplied Ukraine with $13 billion

🐼 Lighter click — The Hill’s photos of the week: Panda birthdays, primaries, and preseason football 

That’s it for today. Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you next week!

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Health Care — Legal showdown over vaccine patents

Behold, dear readers, a poem that the people at NPR wrote about that one time a scientist unearthed and then ate part of a 55,000-year-old frozen bison. We don’t know. 

Today in health care, two of the major COVID-19 vaccine makers, Moderna and Pfizer, are now in a legal battle over patents.

Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Moderna sues over COVID-19 vaccine patents 

Moderna said Friday it is suing Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, alleging patent infringement over the COVID-19 vaccine.   

The move sets up a showdown between two major vaccine makers that together have helped blunt the impacts of the pandemic in the United States and other countries.   

“We believe that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions, and they have continued to use them without permission,” Moderna Chief Legal Officer Shannon Thyme Klinger said in a statement.   

Moderna is seeking compensation from Pfizer for the use of technology that Moderna says it pioneered. 

• New phase of pandemic?The move also indicates Moderna views the pandemic as being in a different phase. The company said that it previously pledged not to enforce it patents while the pandemic continued. But, it said, “in March 2022, when the collective fight against COVID-19 entered a new phase and vaccine supply was no longer a barrier to access in many parts of the world, Moderna updated its pledge.”  
• It now says that while it will not enforce its patents in 92 low and middle-income countries, it will in other parts of the world. 

Pfizer is going to fight: Pfizer said it would “vigorously” defend against the suit.  

“Pfizer/BioNTech has not yet fully reviewed the complaint but we are surprised by the litigation given the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was based on BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology and developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer,” Pfizer said in a statement. “We remain confident in our intellectual property supporting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and will vigorously defend against the allegations of the lawsuit.” 

Read more here. 

As Fauci exits, public health experts lament attacks  

Anthony Fauci is preparing to leave the public stage — but health experts are worried the toxic atmosphere that tailed him will hang around for years to come. 

Opinions of Fauci among the general public cleave along partisan lines, but most experts think he did about as good a job as anyone could in managing a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.  

They worry that the unremitting personal attacks he faced are emblematic of a broader, sneering tone toward scientific expertise and advice. 

Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown Law who specializes in public health, has known Fauci for almost half a century and considers him a friend.  

‘Rabid politicization’ “He has got caught in the rabid politicization of American culture,” Gostin lamented, “and he has got caught right in the crosshairs of the COVID culture wars these past years.” 

• Gostin, who said he shared Fauci’s dismay at the “venom” of some of the attacks, also expressed concern about the general climate surrounding science, which seems unlikely to change after Fauci leaves government service in December.  
• “Public health and science itself has been pilloried. There is an enormous fatigue, resignation and sheer exhaustion in the entire scientific community. People are quitting their jobs, or when they are keeping their jobs, they are keeping their heads down,” he said. 

Read more here.  

DNC ROLLS OUT NEW AD ON ABORTION AS TRIGGER BANS TAKE EFFECT 

The Democratic National Committee rolled out a digital ad buy in four states hitting Republicans on abortion following bans on the procedure going into effect in Idaho, Texas and Tennessee.  

The five-figure ad buy, which was first reported on by The Hill, is slated to run in Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Colorado. The spots will air on video mediums and be seen on platforms like YouTube and Facebook.  

The spots highlight efforts to restrict abortion. One fifteen-second clip ends with the caption “your state could be next.” 

“Democrats will continue to remind voters that if Republicans gain power this November, they will go even further than overturning Roe and work to take away the freedom for millions more women to make their own health care decisions,” DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement to The Hill. 

Big picture:  

• Democrats have been more aggressively messaging on the issue since Kansas voters rejected a ballot measure earlier this month that would give the state legislature the authority to ban abortion.  
• On Tuesday, Democrat Pat Ryan defied expectations in the special election for New York’s 19th Congressional District, winning the election after centering his message on abortion. 

Read more here.  

UP TO 4M OF AMERICANS REMAIN OUT OF WORK DUE TO LONG COVID 

Up to 4 million Americans may be out of work due to long Covid and it carries steep economic repercussions for not just the U.S. economy but the productivity of working people.  

• The U.S. Census Bureau found 16.3 million working-age Americans have long Covid today and of those 2 to 4 million are out of work because of the condition.  
• The annual cost of wages lost to long Covid is around $170 billion a year and could potentially run as high as $230 billion.   

Long Covid is defined as having symptoms of COVID-19 for at least 12 weeks after being infected with the virus and it comes in multiple forms — including respiratory symptoms and neurological problems like brain fog, poor memory and headaches. 

Researchers at the Brookings Institution analyzed Census Bureau data, along with other studies that looked at rates of people with long Covid, and found the loss of jobs is consistent with the current labor market shortages, like in education, transportation, food service, hospitality and health and social care industries.

Taking a closer look at wages, Brookings found that the average U.S. worker earns $1,106 per week, and if up to 4 million Americans are out of work due to long Covid, that translates to $230 billion a year in lost earnings — nearly 1 percent of the total U.S. gross domestic product.   

Read more here.  

CDC director ‘cautiously optimistic’ on monkeypox cases 

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Friday she was “cautiously optimistic” about the direction of the monkeypox outbreak amid early reports of cases trending down both in the U.S. and globally. 

During a press briefing, Walensky noted that some jurisdictions including New York, Chicago and San Francisco have begun to report a downward trend in monkeypox cases. 

What may be driving down cases: 

• The majority of vaccinations for monkeypox in the U.S. are reported to be first doses so it is unclear how much immunization efforts can be credited with pushing down cases. 
• However, the White House’s national monkeypox response deputy coordinator Demetre Daskalakis noted that recent data from the American Men’s Internet Survey (AMIS) found that men who have sex with men have reported changing their sexual habits in response to monkeypox, likely helping reduce transmission. 
• Speaking on the AMIS data, Daskalakis said it indicated that “the LGBTQIA+ people are doing things that are actually reducing their risk and it’s working.” 

“I want to be cautiously optimistic about this, not only because of the downward trend but because of the AMIS data that Dr. Daskalakis just noted,” Walensky said. 

While cases appear to be trending down in some places, Walensky stressed that they are still on rise nationally. Nearly 17,000 cases have been confirmed by the CDC. 

Too soon to celebrate: “The rate of rise is lower, but we are still seeing increases. And we are of course a very diverse country and things are not even across the country,” she said. “So we’re watching this with cautious optimism and really hopeful that many of our harm reduction messages and vaccines are getting out there and working.” 

Read more here. 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• White House directs health, science agencies to make federally funded studies free to access (Stat) 
• EPA wants to label certain ‘forever chemicals’ as hazardous substances (CNN) 
• At 988 call centers, crisis counselors offer empathy — and juggle limited resources (NPR) 

STATE BY STATE

• ‘He stood his ground’: state senator will leave office as champion of tough vaccine laws (California Healthline) 
• More polio virus detected in upstate New York wastewater (Associated Press) 
• USDA begins airdropping rabies vaccines for wildlife in 13 states (Axios) 

THE HILL OPEDS

• The loss of Roe complicates Biden’s plan for safer pregnancies 
• Privacy is being ignored as lines blur between health care and social care 
• The monkeypox mistake the US government won’t stop making 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week.

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Yuh-Line Niou mulling Working Families Party run in NY House race after primary loss

New York state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou (D) is mulling a run for the U.S. House as a member of the Working Families Party after she lost the Democratic primary for the Empire State’s 10th Congressional District this week.

Niou fell short in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the district to Dan Goldman, an attorney who served as the lead counsel during former President Trump’s first impeachment trial. Goldman secured 25.8 percent of the vote, while Niou raked in 23.7 percent.

Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), who decided to run in the 10th District after redistricting, won 18.2 percent of the vote.

But days after narrowly losing the contest in the Big Apple, Niou is thinking about jumping back into the race — this time as a candidate from the Working Families Party.

“I’m currently speaking with WFP and my community about how we can best represent the needs of this district. Because what we can do together is too important to give up this fight, we must count every vote,” Niou told The Hill in a statement on Friday.

“I’m so grateful for the outpouring of support and all of the people who showed up and turned out. Our people need and deserve a voice,” she added.

The progressive Working Families Party endorsed Niou in the Democratic primary in June. The party’s New York state director, Sochie Nnaemeka, in a statement on Twitter said the assemblywoman would “put the needs of everyday New Yorkers before the whims of billionaires and special interests.”

Major outlets have called the race for Goldman — with more than 95 percent of the vote in, he is leading Niou by upwards of 1,300 votes — but the assemblywoman has not yet conceded. As of Thursday, roughly 600 absentee ballots remained to be tallied, according to The Washington Post.

On Wednesday, Niou wrote on Twitter, “We’re going to keep working until every vote is counted,” teasing at the end “More to come soon!”

Niou and Jones campaigned together towards the end of the Democratic primary campaign in an attempt to counter Goldman, an heir to Levi Strauss & Co. who invested millions of dollars of his personal wealth into his campaign. He secured the coveted New York Times endorsement.

“We can’t let a candidate so out of step with this district’s values buy themselves a congressional seat,” Niou said, according to Spectrum News NY1.

Goldman shot back, asserting, “I think what the voters recognize is that my progressive ideals are aligned very much with theirs,” according to the outlet.

The seat for New York’s 10th Congressional District was left open after redistricting. Jones decided to run in the area — which includes parts of Lower Manhattan — after Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, decided to run in a newly drawn district that included much of Jones’s old area.

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 10th Congressional District, but eventually dropped out in July.

Source: TEST FEED1

DOJ grants nearly $50 million for assault survivor legal services

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday announced nearly $50 million in grants for assault survivors to obtain legal services.

The department’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) will distribute the money to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking to help cover legal fees and “improve effective coordination of justice systems impacting victim and family safety.”

“These grants will help expand access to the services and support that are essential to bringing justice within reach for survivors of gender-based violence,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement with the announcement.

“The Department’s Office on Violence Against Women will continue its important work to empower survivors with the resources they need to navigate our justice system, including by expanding access to legal representation, language assistance, and court-related programs.”

The $49.85 million in grants is divided by the OVW between the Legal Assistance for Victims Program, which was awarded $35.7 million, and the Justice for Families Program, awarded $14.2 million.

The Legal Assistance for Victims program encompasses 59 grantees that directly aid survivors with pro bono legal services.

“Legal services and systems, including family courts, have a tremendous impact on survivors’ and their families’ livelihood, wellbeing, and freedom,” OVW Acting Director Allison Randall said of the grant announcement.

She added: “Grantees under OVW’s Legal Assistance for Victims and Justice for Families Programs help survivors navigate complicated processes and potentially dangerous points along the way, including supervised visitation, protection orders, and divorce.”

The Justice for Families Program consists of 26 projects focused on bolstering justice system responses to families with a history of domestic violence and supporting “supervised visitation and safe exchange of children.”

Funds are also given to court-related programs and training programs for relevant officials, including court personnel and child protective services workers.

The DOJ announced an additional $35.7 million in grants through the OVW last week, which will be awarded to all 50 states, five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia to fund direct intervention services for sexual assault.

The department announced its new grants shortly after the conclusion of the National Sexual Assault Conference, an annual meeting on sexual assault prevention that occurred last week.

Source: TEST FEED1

On The Money — Powell warns of pain from Fed rate hikes

The chairman of the Federal Reserve had a stark warning: The central bank will keep hiking rates to fight inflation, and no one is going to like how it feels. We’ll also look at the evolving price tag of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and a welcome decline in inflation. 

But first, check out the most popular potential 2024 presidential candidate. 

Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Fed chief says there’s no end in sight for rate hikes 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday the central bank will lean into interest rates meant to restrict the economy until inflation steadily declines. 

Speaking at the Fed’s annual policy summit in Jackson Hole, Wyo., the Fed chief said the bank will keep taking “forceful and rapid” steps to curb price growth even though it could cause higher unemployment and a recession. 

“While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” Powell said Friday. 

“These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain,” he continued. 

The background: Powell’s speech comes as the Fed races to bring inflation down from levels last reached during the 1980s. Annual inflation as measured by personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, was
6.3 percent in July — more than three times the Fed’s target of 2 percent.  

• The Fed has already raised its baseline interest rate range from a span of 0 to 0.25 percent in March to 2.25 to 2.5 percent as of July, hiking borrowing costs at a historically rapid pace.  
• Powell did not specify whether the Fed’s monetary policy panel will raise rates by 0.75 percentage points for the third consecutive meeting at its meeting in September, or if it would opt for a smaller 0.5 percentage point hike. But he made clear the Fed will keep hiking rates and leave them at levels intended to slow the economy enough to curb price growth. 

“History shows that the employment costs of bringing down inflation are likely to increase with delay, as high inflation becomes more entrenched in wage and price setting,” Powell said. 

“Our aim is to avoid that outcome by acting with resolve now,” he continued. 

Sylvan has more here. 

Read more: Consumer prices fell, incomes rose in July as inflation eases 

OUCH

Dow drops 1,000 points following Powell speech at Jackson Hole 

Stocks closed sharply down on Friday following comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the Fed will press forward with raising interest rates amid lingering inflation. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,000 points, while the Nasdaq composite dropped almost 500 points. The S&P 500 dropped by more than 140 points. 

All three declines meant a more than 3 percent drop. All are still slightly above their levels a month ago, but much of their gains in that time were erased on Friday.

CRUNCHING NUMBERS

White House estimates student loan plan to cost $240B 

The White House on Friday offered a cost estimate for President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, saying it would cost $24 billion annually over 10 years, or
$240 billion.    

Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council Bharat Ramamurti told reporters at a White House briefing that the estimate assumed that 75 percent of those eligible for the student loan relief would take advantage of it.   

• The White House estimate is significantly lower than other outside estimates, and comes after administration officials for days declined to offer a precise figure amid criticisms from Republicans and some Democrats about the potential for the relief plans to exacerbate inflation.   
• An analysis released by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business estimated that the cost of Biden’s changes to student loans could balloon to $1 trillion over the next decade.   

The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant breaks it down here. 

GREEN SCREEN

GOP targets powerhouse Wall Street firms over investments meant to fight climate change 

Republicans are fighting against a social movement in the financial sector meant to address systemic issues like climate change.   

Governmental initiatives in Florida, West Virginia and Texas are targeting powerhouse Wall Street firms that they say are engaging in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, which they view to be harmful to their states’ economies.  

• The letter to Blackrock requested “all documents and communications relating to the actual or potential effects of ESG integration practices on the financial outlook, risk/return profile, performance, or profitability of any of your funds, portfolio companies, or institutional accounts of ESG integration practices.”  

While ESG doesn’t have a hard and fast definition, it generally aligns with the United Nations’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), a massive international program of environmental and social equality objectives agreed to by all of the U.N.’s 193 member states, including the U.S.  

The Hill’s Tobias Burns digs in here. 

Good to Know

The Biden administration announced a historic student debt forgiveness plan for eligible borrowers, but the Education Department has multiple other options for borrowers that also offer loan forgiveness. 

Here’s what else have our eye on: 

• Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, is urging the Department of Labor to regulate how companies are using invasive technology to monitor their employees during work hours. 
• Liberal lawmakers are pressing Democratic leaders in the House to not include a side deal undercutting environmental reviews worked out with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in a short-term measure funding the government.   

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you next week. 

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