Tag Archives : Build House

These figures in Trump’s orbit have pleaded the 5th Amendment

Former President Trump announced he’d invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during a deposition by the New York Attorney General on Wednesday, joining a number of prominent Republicans in his orbit who have elected to remain silent during recent calls to testify. 

The former president had been subpoenaed as part of N.Y. AG Letitia James’s (D) probe into his business and financial dealings. 

Despite multiple efforts to resist the probe and subpoena, Trump reportedly arrived at the office Wednesday morning. There, he declined to answer questions, asserting his Fifth Amendment rights almost 450 times, according to NBC. 

The Fifth Amendment gives Americans certain rights in legal proceedings, including the protection that no one can be “compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” 

Though the amendment makes specific reference to criminal proceedings, the protection has been interpreted to apply to witnesses broadly. 

“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” Trump wrote in a statement on his 45office.com website Wednesday. 

“When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice.”

The civil investigation is examining whether the former president misled investors, insurers and tax authorities about the value of the Trump Organization, inflating the value to attract investments and subsequently deflating them to get tax breaks and loan benefits.

But Trump is also being looked at by the House select committee examining the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, as well as by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which has focused its probe on Trump after facing pressure from Jan. 6 committee lawmakers to criminally investigate the former president. 

Several witnesses have been called to appear before the House committee and elsewhere about the Jan. 6 riots and efforts by the Trump camp to challenge and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election — a number have now pleaded the Fifth to avoid responding to the inquiries.

Eric Trump

The former president’s son, Eric Trump, was questioned as part of the N.Y. AG’s probe back in 2020 after attempts to delay the deposition failed.  

Eric Trump pleaded the Fifth to over 500 questions related to his role as the Trump Organization’s executive vice president, according to The New York Times. 

He and his father have long accused James of a political vendetta against the former president and dismissed the investigation as politically motivated. 

Two of Trump’s other children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., were subpoenaed in the N.Y. AG investigation earlier this year. Their questioning was initially scheduled for mid-July, but James agreed to postpone when the former president’s first wife, Ivana Trump, died the day prior.

Ivanka and Donald Trump, Jr., sat for depositions earlier this month.

Roger Stone

Political consultant Roger Stone was one of several Trump allies subpoenaed to testify before the House Jan. 6 committee and invoke the Fifth to avoid responding to questioning.

Stone was sentenced to prison as part of an investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He was pardoned by the former president days before his sentence would begin. 

Stone was called before the committee on account of his connections to Trump and his involvement in the Jan. 6 riots, during which he reportedly used far-right militia members as his own security detail.

Before the Jan. 6 committee, Stone invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to every question in a 90-minute deposition, CNN reported.

Michael Flynn

The Jan. 6 committee also subpoenaed former national security adviser Michael Flynn, seeking information on a December 2020 meeting where a number of people in the Oval Office allegedly discussed the 2020 presidential election and baseless fraud claims.

Flynn attempted to sue the committee, but ultimately appeared and took the Fifth during questioning. He declined to even answer whether he believed in a peaceful transition of power, according to CNN.

After he testified, Flynn’s lawyers released a statement accusing the committee of implying “that General Flynn’s decision to decline to answer their questions constituted an admission of guilt” and calling the inquiry “political theater designed to set up a false narrative based on the Committee’s wrong view of the 5th Amendment.” 

John Eastman

Conservative attorney John Eastman, who counseled Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence on overturning the 2020 presidential results, reportedly invoked the Fifth dozens of times during an appearance before the Jan. 6 committee. 

Eastman helped devise the plan to push Pence to block the certification of the presidential election by Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

He also appeared with Trump at the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse, from which rioters marched to the Capitol.

Eastman later sought a pardon from then-President Trump.

The DOJ announced in late July that it had obtained Eastman’s phone records. 

Jeffrey Clark

Former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark was the first witness to plead the Fifth before the Jan. 6 committee.

The committee initially voted to refer Clark for prosecution by the DOJ for contempt of Congress after he resisted the subpoena.

The committee then met again with Clark, after his lawyer announced he’d assert his right against self-incrimination.

Clark reportedly attempted to send a letter telling Georgia officials of nonexistent Justice Department concerns about the 2020 presidential election results in the state, according to the New York Times.

In July, Clark was charged with ethics violations by the District of Columbia Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel for his involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. 

Alex Jones

The far-right radio host touted that he’d pleaded the Fifth “almost 100 times” during questioning by the Jan. 6 committee earlier this year. 

Jones told NBC News that “it’s a good thing” he didn’t answer any inquiries, expressing caution that his testimony could be used against him.

Jones was allegedly involved in the planning and funding of Jan. 6.

He’d initially sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Jan. 6 committee over the subpoena, resisting the call to testify and efforts by the committee to obtain his phone records. 

Jones’ phone records were reportedly turned over to the committee after his legal team mistakenly sent them to attorneys in a separate defamation case against him.

Source: TEST FEED1

Hillicon Valley — FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search fuels online vitriol

Backlash from the right over the FBI’s search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence is raising concerns about the risk of political violence, and experts are warning law enforcement and tech platforms not to dismiss incendiary online posts.

Meanwhile, the Federal Election Commission said Google can allow campaign emails to bypass spam filters, and Republicans pushed back on the Federal Trade Commission’s vote to review privacy protections.

This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Send tips to The Hill’s Rebecca Klar and Ines Kagubare. Subscribe here.

Pro-Trump backlash raises violence concerns

The stunning FBI search of former President Trump’s Florida residence this week has inspired a fierce backlash on the right, fueling concern among experts about the escalating risk of political violence.

The response among Trump supporters has ranged from sharp criticism over the Justice Department’s tactics to outright incendiary rhetoric, with Trump himself comparing the search of his home to the Nixon-era burglary of the Watergate complex.

• Some of Trump’s most fervent backers described this week’s legal development as reflecting a country in the midst of civil war, and in isolated cases some far-right extremists called for mobilization in response to what was depicted as an act of tyranny by lawless federal agents.
• Although the FBI’s search was based on a warrant approved by a federal judge, that did not stop Republicans from claiming the probe arose from a desire to damage President Biden’s main rival rather than potentially criminal conduct linked to Trump. 

“The GOP’s choice to turn a probe into the mishandling of classified documents into a cause célèbre is dangerous, particularly given Trump’s history of calling on private violence, mobs, and militias for support,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “A democracy cannot allow anyone to be above the law.”

Read more here.

Campaigns can bypass spam filters, FEC says

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted Thursday to allow Google to push forward a Gmail pilot program that would allow campaign emails to dodge spam filters, a move that comes after accusations from Republicans that the filters were biased against their messages.

The FEC voted 4-1 to approve the program, concluding that the test of new features is permissible under campaign law.  

• Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat who voted against the order, said she has “a hard time getting around the fact that this is a unique benefit offered to political committees, and only to political committees.”
• Democratic Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum joined the three Republicans in voting for the program, but expressed similar hesitation.
• “I don’t want to [support this], and it’s for the same reasons all the commenters don’t want to, but I think the law and commissioner regulations and commission precedent permits this,” Lindenbaum said. 

Read more here.

🔎  FTC TO REVIEW DATA PRIVACY LAWS

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will launch an effort to review and update rules on how companies collect and use data, the agency announced Thursday.  

The FTC said it will explore rules to “crack down on harmful commercial surveillance and lax data security,” expanding on Democratic Chair Lina Khan’s aggressive action targeting tech companies.  

“The growing digitization of our economy—coupled with business models that can incentivize endless hoovering up of sensitive user data and a vast expansion of how this data is used—means that potentially unlawful practices may be prevalent,” Khan said in a statement. 

“Our goal today is to begin building a robust public record to inform whether the FTC should issue rules to address commercial surveillance and data security practices and what those rules should potentially look like,” she added. 

Read more here.

Twitter rolls out midterm misinformation plan

Twitter on Thursday said it was rolling out plans to combat misinformation on the platform ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Those plans include enforcing its civic integrity policy, which prohibits content that contains false or misleading information about the election or content that may suppress voting; preventing misleading tweets from being recommended to users; and providing protections for candidate and journalist accounts, Twitter said. 

“Twitter is the place to find real-time, reliable information about the 2022 midterms — whether you’re looking for breaking news from reporters, information on voting or policy positions from candidates,” the company said in a statement.  

“We aim to enable healthy civic conversation on Twitter, while ensuring people have the context they need to make informed decisions about content they encounter,” Twitter wrote. 

Read more here.

🛰  FCC RESCINDS $1B IN SPACEX SUBSIDIES

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rescinded nearly $1 billion in rural broadband subsidies to SpaceX‘s Starlink satellite service. 

In a news release, the agency said that it determined that applications from SpaceX and another firm, LTD Broadband, failed to meet the requirements for government funding for its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program.

The FCC previously awarded Space X nearly $886 million in 2020 in an effort to expand high-speed internet access to rural areas through its Starlink satellite service. 

The agency also awarded LTD Broadband $1.32 billion for the same purpose, but the Las Vegas-based business struggled to expand its service, failing to receive eligible telecommunications carrier status in seven of 15 states. 

Read more here.

🇷🇺  STATE DEPT OFFERS $10 MILLION FOR RUSSIAN HACKERS

The State Department announced on Thursday that it was offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identity and location of five individuals believed to be tied to the Conti ransomware group.

The agency accused the hackers — known by their online aliases as “Target,” “Reshaev,” “Professor,” “Tramp” and “Dandis” — of participating in malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure. 

“Stripping anonymity from key players, offering bounties, seizing illicit funds, and making public declarations of intent are important actions that may help to increase the real and perceived risks of engaging in ransomware operations,” said Jeremy Kennelly, a senior manager of financial crime analysis at cybersecurity firm Mandiant, in a statement.  

Conti, a Russia-based hacker group, have supported the Russian government following its invasion of Ukraine and have threatened critical infrastructure of countries it perceives as a threat to Russia, the State Department said. 

Read more here.

BITS & PIECES

An op-ed to chew on: It’s time to double down on drones for future conflicts 

Notable links from around the web:

The Boy Bosses of Silicon Valley Are on Their Way Out (The New York Times / Erin Griffith

A shake-up could be coming for banks working with crypto (Protocol / Ryan Deffenbaugh) 

Opioid addiction treatment is collateral damage in online prescription backlash (The Verge / Nicole Wetsman)

🎧 Lighter click: A questionable time

One last thing: Conservative dating app set to launch

A dating app for conservatives called The Right Stuff will launch next month, seeking to open up a new door for the political right who hope to find more like-minded people in the romantic world.

The upcoming debut was announced in a video featuring Ryann McEnany, the younger sister of former Trump White House secretary Kayleigh McEnany. 

The Right Stuff is a free application but can be accessed by invite only, according to the promotional video. Moreover, female users can achieve a premium subscription service on The Right Stuff by inviting other people onto the app. 

Read more here.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Technology and Cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.

READ THE FULL VERSION HERE

Source: TEST FEED1

Defense & National Security — Garland defends FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday defended the FBI’s search of former President Trumps’ Mar-a-Lago as the Justice Department asked a judge to unseal the warrant authorizing the search. 

We’ll talk about Garland’s first public comments since the Monday search. Plus, we’ll talk about Russia confirming the existence of prisoner swap negotiations for WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. 

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.

Want a copy of this newsletter in your inbox each day? Subscribe here.

DOJ asks court to unseal Trump search warrant 

The Justice Department on Thursday moved to unseal a warrant authorizing a search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate this week following escalating demands for answers about the unprecedented investigation. 

‘Clear and powerful interest:’ “The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in a court filing submitted Thursday afternoon. 

What’s at issue? In addition to the search warrant itself, the sealed materials at issue include the FBI’s inventory of what it seized during Monday’s search and likely a law enforcement affidavit laying out the basis to suspect there was evidence of criminal conduct at Mar-a-Lago. 

‘Personally approved:’ The filing coincided with a public statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland, his first since FBI agents executed the search warrant on Monday. 

Garland said he personally signed off on the decision to apply for and execute that search warrant, and that the decision was not made “lightly.” 

“All Americans are entitled to the even-handed application of the law, to due process of law and to the presumption of innocence,” Garland said in remarks at DOJ headquarters. “Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations. Federal law, long standing department rules and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time.” 

What happens now? Trump will have an opportunity to argue against unsealing the materials if he disagrees with the move. Attorneys representing the former president did not immediately respond when asked for comment. 

Read the full story here.

Garland, Wray denounce threats against FBI

Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray denounced threats against the bureau this week after its agents executed a search warrant at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.  

“I’m always concerned about violence and threats of violence against law enforcement,” Wray said during remarks at the FBI’s Field Office in Omaha, Neb., on Wednesday. “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter what anybody’s upset about or who they’re upset with.” 

Garland, in short remarks from DOJ headquarters on Thursday, specifically slammed “unfounded attacks” on DOJ and FBI agents and prosecutors. His comments came hours after an armed man in Ohio tried to break into the Cincinnati FBI field office.   

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” Garland said.  

“The men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. Every day, they protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism, and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work alongside them,” he continued. 

Read more here.

Russia confirms prisoner exchange negotiations

Russian officials confirmed on Thursday they are negotiating with the United States over a prisoner swap. 

U.S. officials have reportedly proposed exchanging notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. 

A quick recap: Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin was ready to negotiate with the U.S. after the Biden administration reportedly offered the two-for-one swap involving Griner and Whelan. 

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who has been talking to both sides, predicted Sunday that Whelan and Griner will be freed in a “two-for-two” swap with Moscow. 

What Russia said: Russian Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Ivan Nechayev said at a news briefing that “corresponding competent authorities have been instructed to negotiate the issue” and “are in talks” on the matter, according to Russian news outlet Tass. 

Nechayev also urged reporters and the public “not to speculate on the sensitive issue affecting specific individuals.” 

“We would recommend abandoning futile attempts to put pressure on us and we are calling on them to concentrate on practical work along the available channels,” he said, according to Tass. “We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account.” 

About Griner and Wheelan: Griner was arrested in Russia in February for bringing cannabis oil cartridges into the country, where marijuana is illegal. She was sentenced to nine years in prison last week. 

Whelan was detained in Russia in 2018 on spying charges he denies and sentenced to 16 years in prison. 

Read the full story here.

ARMY IDENTIFIES RANGER CANDIDATES KILLED IN STORM

The Army has identified the two Ranger candidates killed by a falling tree Tuesday during a training exercise in the north Georgia mountains.  

Staff Sgt. George Taber, 30, and 2nd Lt. Evan Fitzgibbon, 23, died after they were hit by the tree while sheltering from a storm on Yonah Mountain near Dahlonega, Ga., according to an Army statement.  

‘Deeply saddened:’ “We are all deeply saddened by the loss of these two outstanding Soldiers and send our heartfelt condolences to their families,” Maj. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, the commanding general of Fort Benning and the Maneuver Center of Excellence, said in the release. “They are in our thoughts and prayers.” 

What happened? Fitzgibbon and Taber, along with three other Ranger candidates, were struck by the tree around 3:15 p.m. “during a weather-induced training hold.”   

All injured personnel were transported to a local hospital, where Fitzgibbon and Taber were later pronounced dead. 

Yonah Mountain, which sits about 80 miles northeast of Atlanta, is used for training as part of the Army’s grueling, two-month Ranger School.   

About the victims: Taber, a medical sergeant with the 7th Special Forces Group at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., enlisted in the Army in March 2017, according to the service. 

Fitzgibbon, who was commissioned in May 2021 after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was assigned to a training unit at Fort Benning. 

Read the full story here.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

The Foreign Policy Research Institute will host a discussion on “Speaker Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip: What It Meant and What Comes Next?” at 12 p.m. 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Bolton ’embarrassed’ at ‘low price’ allegedly offered in assassination plot 
• The Hill Opinion: Saving the Veterans Administration means adequately staffing it 
• The Hill Opinion: It’s time to double down on drones for future conflicts 

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

READ THE FULL VERSION HERE

Source: TEST FEED1

Energy & Environment — Western drought threatens water, power resources

Today we’re examining the drought conditions impacting Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Plus: Average gasoline prices drop below $4 per gallon and a new study finds the Arctic is warming even faster than previously thought.

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. 

Want a copy of this newsletter in your inbox each week? Subscribe here.

💧 Shrinking reservoirs pose problems for the West

Nowhere is the Southwest’s worst drought since the year 800 more evident than Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the pair of artificial Colorado River reservoirs whose plunging levels threaten major water and power sources for tens of millions of people. 

Already, the region is being forced to adapt to the sweeping effects of climate change, and the lakes and their surrounding area are nearing an environmental point of no return. 

The retreating waters have revealed everything from World War II-era boats to multiple sets of human remains, including one in a barrel, a morbid reminder of Las Vegas’s history of organized crime. 

• Lake Mead is projected to get down to 22 percent of its full capacity by year’s end, while Lake Powell is expected to drop to 27 percent, according to estimations from the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Both now sit at record lows.
• In Lake Mead alone, the net water loss has worked out to more than 6 trillion gallons, according to data from the National Park Service.

Hoover Dam is already seeing reduced electricity production from Lake Mead’s shrinking size, and the reservoir is projected to fall to approximately 150 feet above “dead pool” status, or the point at which the levels are too low to flow downstream, endangering both power and drinking water.  

“The moment of truth is here for everyone,” said Christopher Kuzdas, a senior water program manager with the Environmental Defense Fund. The issues, he added, are an “unmistakable signal that people — we need to change fundamentally how we manage and use water.”   

Some background: The Colorado River Basin is in a unique position when it comes to drought: The river’s waters are governed by a century-old agreement among seven states, which allocates more water than actually exists in the river because it was based on data from one of the wettest decades in U.S. history.  

The river, America’s sixth-longest, winds through Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and its basin covers about 8 percent of the continental U.S. Approximately 80 percent of its waters eventually go to agriculture, but it also provides drinking water for 25 million people, and its hydroelectric dams produce an average of 8,478 gigawatt hours a year in power-generating capacity.  

Under the interstate usage compact, a new round of water cuts will kick in automatically on Jan. 1 for Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and possibly California if water levels have not increased by year’s end.  

For Lake Powell, specifically, the seven states reached an agreement in April to forfeit their water from the reservoir so that it can keep producing power. The federal government, meanwhile, plans to move about 162 billion gallons from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir into Lake Powell.   

A ticking clock: And if the states involved in the Colorado River compact can’t agree on a plan to reduce water use by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet by Monday, the federal government will step in to determine the cuts. 

Read more from The Hill’s “DRIED UP” series on the drought.

• Related: Seven stats that explain the West’s epic drought

⛽️ Average gasoline price falls below $4

The average national price of gasoline fell below $4 per gallon on Thursday for the first time since March, according to AAA.

• Prices averaged $3.99 on Thursday, AAA said.
• The drop represents a dip of more than $1 since prices peaked in June at about $5.02. 

Experts say they expect gasoline prices to continue to fall at least a bit more.  

Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told The Hill that he expects an additional decline of about 5 cents per gallon in the coming weeks and a further drop of about 15 cents per gallon after mid-September, when refiners are able to sell lower-cost winter gasoline.  

But why? Lipow noted that prices have been on the decline as the high prices caused people to drive less in the U.S. and around the world.  

“The consumer has changed their buying habits and reduced consumption of gasoline as they’ve combined local errands,” Lipow said, adding that they have also taken shorter driving trips for vacation.  

“Worldwide, the rising costs of energy have caused demand destruction that has pressured oil prices as well,” he said. “Especially in Southeast Asia and countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka where they simply don’t have the money to pay for higher energy [costs].” 

Lipow also said that markets have stabilized after Russia, which is facing embargoes from many Western economies over its invasion of Ukraine, was able to find new buyers for its oil from countries like China, India and Turkey. 

“Now that some time has elapsed, you’re seeing increases in Russian production as they’ve found new customers,” he said.  

Earlier this week, AAA also cited a drop in oil prices due to fears of economic slowdown as another factor in the falling prices. 

The politics: While presidents typically have little control gasoline prices, especially since oil is traded globally, lowered prices are likely to give the President Biden and the Democrats at least some political reprieve.  

Republicans for moths have hammered the White House over the price increases, even though analysts have long pointed to global factors as the causes of their rise and subsequent fall.  

Meanwhile, the White House touted the lowered national average on Thursday, tweeting, “Big news: The average national gas price has dropped below $4 per gallon. With over a dollar drop in just 58 days, this is the fastest decline in gas prices in over a decade.” 

Read more here.

ARCTIC IS WARMING EVEN FASTER THAN THOUGHT: STUDY

The Arctic is warming at a more rapid pace than previously thought — and four times faster than the world at large, according to research published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Between 1979 and 2021, the Arctic warmed about four times as fast as the global average, significantly more than previous estimates of two or three times as fast, researchers found. 

Within the region itself there are also numerous variations in the pace of the warming — the northern Russian island chain of Novaya Zemlya is warming at seven times the global average, according to researchers from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.  

Researchers calculated the average of four sets of satellite data during the four decades covered by the research, and found that while global average temperatures saw an increase of about 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade, the Arctic saw warming of over 0.75 degrees.  

The big picture: The Arctic Circle is at particular risk for warming simply because so much of it is ocean, compared to other regions. As a result, when its sea ice melts, the increased portion of water contributes to further warming because it absorbs the sun’s heat rather than reflecting it.  

The impacts of this warming go far beyond the Arctic region, contributing to sea-level rise and the ocean’s surface temperatures, which can tie into extreme weather events like hurricanes. The World Wildlife Fund describes the region as “the world’s refrigerator,” noting that when the Arctic reflects less heat, it can lead to both an increase in extreme heat and more cold snaps as it destabilizes the polar jet stream that blows around the Arctic Circle. 

Read more about the findings here.

ON TAP TOMORROW

The House is expected to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, a major climate, tax and health care bill, sending it to President Biden

WHAT WE’RE READING

• “He has total veto power”: Greg Abbott takes control over who will lead Texas’ troubled power grid, sources say (The Texas Tribune) 
• OPEC Cuts Oil-Demand Forecasts as Economic Growth Slows (The Wall Street Journal) 
• Jury hung in Flint water crisis civil trial, mistrial declared (The Detroit Free Press) 
• These Groups Want Disruptive Climate Protests. Oil Heirs Are Funding Them (The New York Times) 
• Oil and gas industry attacks New Mexico’s air pollution controls as feds step in (The Carlsbad Current-Argus) 

ICYMI

• Newsom unveils new water strategy, warning California’s supply could drop 10 percent by 2040 
• Oil residue from Deepwater Horizon spill still detectable along Louisiana coast: study 

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 tomorrow.

READ THE FULL VERSION HERE

Source: TEST FEED1

Suspect in Cincinnati attempted FBI breach killed by police

An armed man who allegedly attacked the FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio, was killed by police on Thursday after a chase and standoff, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The armed suspect attempted to breach the FBI field office early Thursday morning and fled in a vehicle after he triggered a security alarm, according to a statement from FBI Cincinnati. 

The FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement responded, following the suspect until he stopped the vehicle and exited in Clinton County, after which gunfire was exchanged, according to the OSHP.

Law enforcement reportedly attempted negotiations, but opened fire again when the suspect raised his firearm.

More than six hours after the attempted breach of the FBI building, the suspect succumbed to fatal injuries at the scene of the standoff, OSHP confirmed to The Hill in a statement Thursday.

Multiple outlets have identified the suspect as Ricky Walter Shiffer.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump, Mar-a-Lago and Merrick Garland — five key questions answered

There’s been a new and dramatic twist in the saga of former President Trump, Mar-a-Lago, and the FBI. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday afternoon that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to unseal two key documents: the search warrant that authorized agents to raid Trump’s Florida estate Monday, and the inventory of what they found. 

Soon after Garland’s announcement, a judge set a 3 p.m. deadline Friday for a decision on whether the former president would oppose the request or accede to it. 

Here are five key questions — and their answers. 

What was sought and what was found? 

We don’t know but we soon might. 

The search was reportedly undertaken on the suspicion that Trump had classified material at Mar-a-Lago. But not even that has been officially confirmed — yet. 

This will change if Garland’s request to unseal documents is fulfilled.  

The list of material that agents took away from the property will be fascinating. It also seems likely to show, at least by implication, what kind of case the DOJ is looking at bringing against Trump. 

The current dispute apparently has its genesis in efforts by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to retrieve material that it believed Trump had wrongly taken with him at the end of his presidency.  

Earlier this year, NARA said that it had found classified information among 15 boxes of material that it eventually got from Mar-a-Lago, and alerted the DOJ. 

One key element that remains unanswered is the nature and sensitivity of the material that was seized on Monday. 

If it turns out that seemingly innocuous documents have fallen prey to the government’s tendency toward over-classification, Garland and the DOJ will face even louder complaints about overreach. 

But it’s precisely because of that danger that many people assume there must be something more vital within the material.  

The unsealing of the documents seems designed, at least in part, to take the wind out of the sails of some of the wilder conspiracy theories doing the rounds. 

Can Biden maintain his silence? 

So far, yes. 

The president and his aides have been at pains to assert a wall of separation between the DOJ investigation and the White House. 

Officials told reporters Thursday that they had not been informed in advance of Garland’s plans for a news conference. 

That is consistent with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s comments on Tuesday that the White House had learned about the search of Mar-a-Lago from news reports “just like the American public did.” 

On that occasion, Jean-Pierre emphasized that Biden had always believed that “the Justice Department conducts its investigations independently.”  

Beyond the ethical questions, Biden has nothing to gain from commenting publicly on the legal developments.  

Any comment he could make would be parsed for signs that he was putting a thumb on the scales against Trump, suggesting the DOJ pursue a particular action, or both. 

All that being said, the president has a well-documented tendency to wander off-script, and it is 100 percent certain he will be asked about the latest developments as soon as reporters get the chance. 

Does the whole episode complicate life for Trump’s GOP rivals? 

Yes, unquestionably. 

One of the most striking developments right after Monday’s raid was the procession of potential challengers for the 2024 GOP nomination lining up behind Trump. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former Vice President Mike Pence were among those who were critical of the law enforcement action, and implied or stated that the former president had been wronged. 

In one sense, they had little choice. The FBI raid has enraged huge swaths of Trump’s MAGA base and inflamed the talking heads of conservative media. Any failure to demonstrate support for the former president would have been duly noted. 

But these dynamics also copper-fasten Trump’s primacy within the GOP — even as he is in legal peril on several other fronts. Moreover, his would-be rivals have nailed their colors to his mast without knowing the strength or weakness of the evidence against him. 

There have been some dissenting voices. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a onetime prosecutor, told SiriusXM the search of a safe at Mar-a-Lago was “fair game.”  

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) waited longer than many others in his party to make any public comment, and settled on insisting that the nation “deserves a thorough and immediate explanation” of what happened on Monday. 

Garland appears to be in the process of providing one. 

What does it all mean for Democrats? 

It’s too early to tell. 

A former president who might yet be the GOP nominee for a third time is in legal peril. On its face, that can’t be bad for Democrats. 

The potential problem is twofold.  

First, the raid appears to have fired up Trump’s supporters to an even higher pitch than normal. Whether the intensification of MAGA passions lasts, and whether it has any effect headed into November’s midterms, are impossible questions to answer at this point. 

One odd downside for Democrats is that they were enjoying their best stretch in months, and now they’ve lost the spotlight.  

Several key pieces of legislation have been passed or, in the case of the Inflation Reduction Act, are on the cusp of passing. U.S. forces killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. There are even some signs that inflation could be leveling off. 

Now, it’s all Trump all the time — again. 

Will the story fade? 

Not anytime soon. 

Garland’s Thursday move gave new life to a story that has dominated the week. The pressing Friday deadline for Trump’s legal team to decide their response ensures another cliff-hanger. 

Meanwhile, the story has so many intriguing unknowns that it won’t go away fast. The traditional media, and the partisans of social media, are spoiled for choice as to which loose thread they might pull on. 

In the medium term, the Mar-a-Lago drama also replenishes public interest in the other legal challenges Trump faces, from New York to Washington to Georgia. 

It’s a story that could run and run.

Source: TEST FEED1

Health Care — CDC issues relaxed COVID-19 guidance

San Francisco has hired a hawk to scare pigeons away from metro stations. That may seem like a lot of effort to prevent pigeon poop, but apparently you can’t argue with the results. 

Today in health care, the CDC loosened its COVID-19 guidance, representing a major shift toward living with the virus.  

Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi.

Want a copy of this newsletter each day in your inbox? Subscribe here.

CDC loosens COVID guidance, scraps quarantine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday relaxed many of the guidelines for COVID-19 in communities, a major shift that emphasizes living with the virus rather than strict prevention of infection. 

• The new guidance puts the onus on individuals to assess their own personal risk levels, rather than businesses, governments or schools. CDC indicated it will focus on protecting people at high risk for severe illness.
• CDC officials told reporters the new guidelines are an acknowledgement that 95 percent of the population has some form of protection, either from prior infection or from vaccination, and are unlikely to become seriously ill. 

“The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years,” CDC epidemiologist Greta Massetti said during a briefing.  

Key Changes: If you’ve been exposed to the virus, you no longer need to quarantine, regardless of vaccination status.

• Routine surveillance testing in schools and other community settings is no longer recommended. Neither is contact tracing.
• The six-foot physical distancing recommendation? No longer needed. 

Context: The changes show a tacit shift from the Biden administration, which has faced criticism for continuing to recommend strict prevention methods even as vaccines and antiviral treatments have been widely available.  

“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” Massetti said.

Read more here.

Monkeypox vaccine maker raises concerns on doses

The CEO of the company that makes the only vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent monkeypox told Biden administration health officials he was concerned about a new strategy to split doses and change the way the vaccine is injected.

In a letter shared with The Hill, Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin said the company has “some reservations” about the new approach, “due to the very limited safety data available,” as well as the fact that more people experienced adverse reactions after vaccination. 

Chaplin said the company fully supports approaches to conserve limited supply, but “it would have been prudent” to roll out the new strategy with much more comprehensive guidance that would allow additional safety data to be collected. 

Flashback: The letter was dated Aug. 9, the day the administration announced a major change to its monkeypox vaccination strategy.  

The new method splits up the doses and uses one-fifth as much vaccine per shot. The partial dose of the vaccine is injected into the upper layer of skin, rather than the full dose into the underlying fat, which is how shots are typically administered. 

Public health officials confused: Chaplin said the company has been “inundated with calls from U.S. state government officials with questions and concerns” since last Thursday regarding the new vaccination plan. 

Read more here.

CDC OFFICIAL: SEVERAL HUNDRED POLIO CASES LIKELY IN NEW YORK

An official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that a polio case detected in New York last month, the first confirmed U.S. case in nearly a decade, could very well be an indication of “several hundred cases” within that community. 

In late July, a 20-year-old man from New York’s Rockland County was found to have developed symptoms of polio, including paralysis. The man was unvaccinated, and no other cases have been identified thus far. 

José Romero, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told CNN the one case detected last month could be “just the very, very tip of the iceberg.” 

“There are a number of individuals in the community that have been infected with poliovirus. They are shedding the virus,” Romero said. “The spread is always a possibility because the spread is going to be silent.” 

A vulnerable community: Rockland County is known to be a vaccine-resistant area, with the populace having a polio vaccination rate nearly 20 percentage points lower than the general U.S. population, according to the New York State Department of Health. 

Last week, the New York State Health Department said the CDC had detected poliovirus through its wastewater surveillance. Six samples were collected from Rockland County across two months and five samples came from neighboring Orange County, which has a lower polio vaccination rate than Rockland. 

Read more here.

WHAT IS THE NEW LANGYA VIRUS THAT HAS INFECTED DOZENS IN CHINA?

A new virus has infected dozens of people in China, with researchers suggesting shrews might be a “natural reservoir” for the virus. 

Research published in The New England Journal of Medicine last week said that the Langya henipavirus was found in 35 people in the Chinese provinces of Henan and Shandong. 

Scientists said that 26 of those people had no other pathogen detected in their body besides Langya and had a range of symptoms, including nausea, fever, vomiting and cough. 

“Among 25 species of wild small animals surveyed, [Langya] RNA was predominantly detected in shrews (71 of 262 [27%]), a finding that suggests that the shrew may be a natural reservoir of [Langya],” researchers said.  

Researchers think there may be only “sporadic” infection among humans. 

“There was no close contact or common exposure history among the patients, which suggests that the infection in the human population may be sporadic. Contact tracing of 9 patients with 15 close-contact family members revealed no close-contact [Langya] transmission, but our sample size was too small to determine the status of human-to-human transmission for [Langya],” they said.   

Read more here.

FDA: Repeat at-home tests to avoid false negatives

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance on Thursday recommending that people testing themselves for COVID-19 at home take a repeat test within 48 hours to rule out a potential false negative. 

• In its guidance, the FDA noted that at-home tests are less likely to detect the coronavirus than PCR lab tests. This inaccuracy is more likely to occur early in the infection in people who display no symptoms.
• “Currently, all at-home COVID-19 antigen tests are FDA-authorized for repeat, or serial use. This means people should use multiple tests over a certain time period, such as 2-3 days, especially when the people using the tests don’t have COVID-19 symptoms,” the FDA said. 

People should keep multiple tests on hand for the purpose of this new guidance, the agency said. Most over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests are sold in multipacks. 

The guidance: 

• The FDA recommended that people take one initial test if they suspect they may be infected or exposed to COVID-19. If they test negative and have some symptoms, then they should test again 48 hours after the first test. If the second test is still negative, a laboratory molecular-based test should be considered.
• If a person has no COVID-19 symptoms but believes they have been exposed to the virus, the FDA said they should also test themselves a second time, also 48 hours after their first at-home test. If the second test is negative, they should take an additional third test another 48 hours afterward. 

If any of these at-home tests come back positive, then the individual likely has COVID-19 and should follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Read more here.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Most parents are saying no to COVID-19 vaccines for toddlers (Wall Street Journal) 
• With support on monkeypox hard to come by, queer communities turn to one another (Stat) 
• Social media posts warn people not to call 988. Here’s what you need to know (NPR) 

STATE BY STATE

• Medicaid patients and county workers brace for the end of the COVID public health emergency (North Carolina Health News) 
• Gov. Kay Ivey’s office dismisses rumors of health concerns (Associated Press) 
• Michigan health department offering lead abatement training scholarships (ABC57) 

OP-EDS IN THE HILL

Saving the Veterans Administration means adequately staffing it 

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

READ THE FULL VERSION HERE

Source: TEST FEED1

Former Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao met with Jan. 6 committee: report

Trump-era Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao met with the House committee investigating the insurrection that occurred on Jan. 6, sources reported to CNN.

The former Transportation Secretary, who resigned from former President Donald Trump’s cabinet on Jan. 7, 2021, is one of multiple figures related to Trump who are speaking with the committee.

Sources said that the Jan. 6 committee is also in talks with former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.

DeVos joined Chao in resigning the day after the attack on the Capitol.

Both cabinet members also floated the idea of invoking the 25th Amendment, which deals with the presidential order of succession, to remove Trump from office after the incident.

The proposal to remove Trump from office using the 25th Amendment was also discussed in the committee’s meeting with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday, sources told CNN.

The Hill has reached out to the Jan. 6 committee, Chao, DeVos and O’Brien for comment on the talks.

Reports of discussions between the committee and allies of the Trump administration come days after the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home using a search warrant.

The Department of Justice moved to unseal the warrant on Thursday after upheaval among the public and political figures.

“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” wrote lawyers for the Justice Department in a court filing.

Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke publicly on Thursday for the first time since he authorized the raid, saying that “All Americans are entitled to the even-handed application of the law, to due process of law and to the presumption of innocence.”

“Federal law, long standing department rules and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time,” he added.

Source: TEST FEED1

Equilibrium/Sustainability — How COVID lockdowns affected bird behavior

The lockdown periods that marked the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic meant human isolation, cancelled plans and inactivity.  

But as humans shut their doors, birds that live in developed areas of the Pacific Northwest were able to take advantage of a wider range of urban habitats, a new study has found.  

These birds were likely able to spread their wings due to the reduction in noise and commotion related to the lockdowns, according to the study, published in Scientific Reports on Thursday.  

Many birds were just as often found in highly developed urban areas as they were in less-developed green spaces during the peak of the lockdowns, the study determined.  

“Our findings suggest that some birds may have been able to use more spaces in cities because our human footprint was a little lighter,” lead author Olivia Sanderfoot, who was a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington at the time of the study, said in a statement.  

For about half of the animals that the researchers observed, neither land use nor canopy cover influenced their site use, according to Sanderfoot, who is now a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

“That’s very interesting, because we would expect that whether a habitat was mostly covered in concrete or vegetation would tell you something about what birds would be there,” Sanderfoot added.  

Among the 35 species that showed the biggest shifts in behavior were some of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic birds: black-capped chickadees, great blue herons, downy woodpeckers and Wilson’s warblers, according to the study.

Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. We’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Send us tips and feedback. Subscribe here.

Today we’ll look at what California’s doing to face the coming drop in its water supply, and why the threat along the Colorado River and Rio Grande is even worse. Then we’ll explore new findings about heavy metals in baby foods.

Newsom shifts California water strategy

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced a new set of water strategies on Thursday, while warning that the state’s supply is expected to plunge by up to 10 percent by 2040.  

Expanding storage, eliminating waste: In anticipation of these shortfalls, Newsom unveiled a 16-page action plan that focuses on “adapting to a hotter, drier future” — by adjusting state priorities “based on new data and accelerating climate change.”  

Among the strategies are plans for the expansion of water storage and water recycling capacity, as well as the elimination of water waste and the deployment of new technologies.  

Multiplicity, instead of scarcity: “The science and the data leads us to now understand that we will lose 10 percent of our water supply by 2040,” Newsom said at a press conference in the Bay Area city of Antioch on Thursday.  

“We have a renewed sense of urgency to address this issue head on,” the governor continued. “But we do so from a multiplicity of perspectives and ways, not just from a scarcity mindset.” 

Storage and reuse: One such strategy includes creating a storage space for up to 4 million acre-feet of water and capitalizing on big storms, as outlined in the document. 

Other plans involve recycling and reusing at least 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030 and freeing up 500,000 acre-feet for new purposes, by eradicating water waste. 

An average California household uses between one-half and one acre-foot of water each year, according to the Water Education Foundation. California has about 13.1 million households, per the U.S. Census.  

Emphasis on technology: The document also calls upon Californians to “move smarter and faster” to upgrade its water systems. Such modernization effort could generate enough water for more than 8.4 million households, per the plans. 

Additional water could become available by optimizing high flows during storm events and desalinating ocean water and salty — or brackish — water in groundwater basins, according to the document.  

How will the California fund these plans? The state will do so by harnessing last year’s $5.2 billion surplus and this year’s $2.8 billion surplus, the governor said.  

California will be using this money “to actualize, not just promote” these water supply plans — “moving these projects and doing them with urgency,” without “waiting for the voters,” according to Newsom.  

To read the full story, please click here.

Fixes for West’s failing rivers possible, painful

Local solutions and a broad cultural shift around water use will be crucial to helping the farms and cities of the Colorado River basin survive in an era of climate change, researchers and activists told our colleague Zack Budryk for The Hill. 

Budryk’s piece — published on Thursday — is the first installation in The Hill’s Dried Up series, which looks at how the West is adapting to meet the extreme stress post by climate change. 

Climate change is accelerating processes of inevitable decline across the Colorado River basin as a century of chronic overuse crashes into a new reality of megadrought, Christopher Kuzdas of the Environmental Defense Fund told Budryk. 

Tough but solvable: “I often get the question, ‘Can we fix it?’ … and the answer is, absolutely yes,” Jonathan Deason, director of the Environmental and Energy Management Program at George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science told Budryk. 

“We caused it and so humans can fix it. We will fix it. But how much pain will we go through before we do?” Deason added. 
 

Some alarming numbers. In an accompanying piece, Budryk found that: 

• The entire state of California — the U.S.’s most populous — is abnormally dry, and 97 percent of the state is under severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. 
• Across the region, the drought has a 90 percent chance of reaching into next year and a 75 percent chance of continuing to 2030. 
• Climate change accounts for about 40 percent of the problem, with cyclical patterns and over-pumping making up for the rest.

CLIMATE CHANGE CHOKES ANOTHER VITAL LIFELINE

East across the mountains, another key regional artery — the Rio Grande — is already being overtaxed by the needs of all its users, our Nexstar colleague Curtis Segarra from KRQE Albuquerque reported on Thursday. 

Now that situation is getting worse for reasons very similar to those causing the Colorado River’s slow but implacable collapse. 

Major artery: While the Rio Grande is much smaller than the Colorado, the river serves some 6 million people and 2 million acres of farmland in the Southwest and northern Mexico, according to the International Boundary Waters Commission. 

Now residents of Texas and New Mexico are facing the reality of the river’s long-term and likely irreversible decline, Segarra reported. 

“Just stop using the word drought. Because really, this is a product of climate change,” Joaquin Baca, a director at the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District told Segarra.  

While seasonal monsoons help break up dry spells, they don’t generate enough water to make up for these losses, according to Baca. “Those are actually pretty small events water-wise, quantity-wise,” he added. 

Washing out canals: Post-fire debris washed down by the monsoons have also threatened to silt up and overwhelm the traditional New Mexico irrigation ditches known as acequias, Segarra reported.

Study warns of heavy metals in baby foods

Most baby foods — both store-bought and homemade — that American parents feed their children contain detectable amounts of toxic heavy metals, a new study has found. 

No toxin-free options: The study, conducted by the Health Babies Bright Futures alliance, found that 94 percent of pre-packaged foods marketed for babies and toddlers contain heavy metals like lead and arsenic. 

What if it’s homemade? The exact same percentage applied to homemade purees and pre-packaged “family food” options geared toward the entire family, the study found. 

Building on previous research: The new findings build upon a 2019 study conducted by the same group, in which 95 percent of store-bought baby foods tested were contaminated with heavy metals. 

This time, the alliance — which includes nonprofits, philanthropies and scientists — set out to determine whether homemade options were, in fact, a superior choice. 

After assessing 288 different products, the researchers said they “found no evidence” to corroborate this notion. 

“Heavy metal levels varied widely by food type, not by who made the food,” the authors stated. 

An emerging national issue: Baby food safety has increasingly emerged on the national radar, particularly following a 2021 congressional investigation that identified “dangerous levels” of toxins like lead and arsenic in such products. 

Thus far, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set or proposed limits for heavy metals in two types of baby foods: infant rice cereal and juice.  

The FDA also established its Closer to Zero program, with a variety of goals for reducing early childhood exposure to heavy metals. 

What were the most contaminated foods? Rice cakes, crisped rice cereal, rice-based puffs, brown rice, rice-based teething biscuits and rusks, white rice, raisins, non-rice teething crackers, granola bars with raisins and oat-ring cereals. 

And the least? Bananas, grits, baby food brand meats, butternut squash, lamb, apples, pork, eggs, oranges and watermelon. 

To read more of the findings, as well as commentary from the American Academy of Pediatrics, please click here for the full story.

US to feel brunt of extraction reshoring

The vital rush for minerals to produce the batteries for electric vehicles (EV) is running into environmental concerns across the globe — and in the United States. 

Waiting on the starting gun: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that the House of Representatives would vote on Friday to pass the Democrats’ signature Inflation Reduction Act, Reuters reported. 

Meeting requirements: To qualify for billions in tax credits in the new bill, the EV industry will have to develop new networks of mines, refiners and factories in the U.S., The Washington Post reported on Thursday. 

A lot of local residents near mines aren’t thrilled about that, according to the Post. 

“The history with these types of mines is pretty terrible in the U.S.,” landowner Tom Anderson said of an enormous proposed nickel mine near his land in Minnesota. 

“They could make it clean if they spent enough money, but nobody has ever done that,” he added. 

Bringing the damage home: The new manufacturing will force the U.S. to confront problems it has historically dumped on other countries, the Post noted. 

Mining for rare earth minerals to meet demand for clean energy has poisoned mountain forests across the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, the Associated Press reported. 

“There’s still this push to find the right place to mine them, which is a place that is out of sight and out of mind,” geographer Julie Michelle Klinger of Boston University told the AP.  

Positive production: Relocating mining and battery production to the U.S. doesn’t prevent human rights abuses, which “can occur in any jurisdiction,” nonprofit Human Rights Watch wrote on Wednesday. 

“If America is heading for an electric car revolution, we need to make sure car manufacturers produce greener vehicles responsibly,” the report concluded.

Thursday Threats

Energy prices in Europe sore, oil drilling puts African rainforests at risk and rising seas are swallowing beachfront territory.  

European energy crisis worsens, as power prices sore 

European power prices climbed to new records on Thursday as a heatwave and wildfires cut energy supplies in France — and as the E.U. struggles to boost gas stores amid Russian cuts, Bloomberg reported. A plunge in nuclear output, as well as low wind and hydroelectric production, has driven up prices even further, according to Bloomberg. 

Oil, infrastructure and climate threaten African national parks 

A new auction for oil and gas drilling sites is putting thick — and climate-vital — rainforests in the Democratic Republic of Congo at risk, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday, according to The New York Times. That potential adds to a continent-wide pressure on Africa’s protected areas from both infrastructure projects and climate change, The Associated Press reported. 

Rising seas are covering beachfront bit by bit 

Sea levels around the world have risen about four inches on average since 1992 — enough to swallow about 34 feet of beachfront, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. These findings build on a February NASA report that predicted a sea level rise of 10 to 12 inches by midcentury — which could lead to an eventual loss of 62 feet of beachfront.

Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you tomorrow.

READ THE FULL VERSION HERE

Source: TEST FEED1

NotedDC — Garland puts ball in Trump's court

Attorney General Merrick Garland is attempting to shift pressure to former President Trump while defending the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago this week.

Garland announced Thursday that the Justice Department had asked a federal court to unseal the contents of the search warrant authorizing the FBI raid at Trump’s Florida estate earlier this week.

In announcing the move, Garland responded to growing pressure to disclose more details while also putting the ball in the former president’s court on whether to allow more information to be released or try to block it.

“In these circumstances involving a search of the residence of a former President, the government hereby requests that the Court unseal the Notice of Filing and its attachment … absent objection by former President Trump,” the DOJ said in a court filing Thursday.

Trump’s lawyers have had a copy of the warrant since Monday but have not disclosed it to the public, though the former president has depicted the raid as a political conspiracy against him. Pushing back, Garland revealed that he personally approved of the unprecedented search. 

Another added wrinkle came Thursday when The New York Times reported that Trump was subpoenaed by the DOJ concerning possible classified material at Mar-a-Lago. 

Meanwhile, the DOJ is not seeking to unseal the affidavit, a detailed document that lays out the reasons why the FBI suspected criminal conduct at Mar-a-Lago, according to the Times.

Garland will likely still remain tight-lipped on the rest of the investigation, as our colleagues Rebecca Beitsch and Harper Neidig note. He refused to take questions after the press conference Thursday.

Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy and people of consequence in D.C. Have some news, juicy gossip, insight or other insider info? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan. 

Want a copy of this newsletter in your inbox each week? Sign up here: thehill.com/noted.

Trump-appointed FBI chief walking political tightrope

FBI DIRECTOR Christopher Wray is treading a fine line following the bureau’s search at Mar-a-Lago this week, amid widespread backlash among Trump’s backers.

• During a stop at an FBI field office Wednesday, Wray condemned violent rhetoric used by Trump supporters against law enforcement following the raid.
• At the same time, the FBI chief declined to answer questions about the search itself by agents at the former president’s Palm Beach, Fla., resort.

Why it matters: Former FBI Director James Comey was widely panned during the 2016 election for speaking out publicly about the agency’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

A unique position: Wray, who was appointed as FBI director by Trump in 2017 after the former president fired Comey, finds himself in the unique position of overseeing a bureau investigating his former boss, who once praised his “impeccable credentials.” 

For now: Wray is focused on defending members of the bureau against threats. “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with,” Wray said Wednesday.

RISKS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE ESCALATING

Republican lawmakers furious over the FBI’s search of Trump’s home have threatened to investigate or defund law enforcement agencies following the Monday raid, but some warn that political violence among supporters could also escalate.

Our colleagues spoke to experts about why some of the rhetoric being used by GOP leaders claiming the raid was meant to hurt Trump politically can be dangerous.

“The GOP’s choice to turn a probe into the mishandling of classified documents into a cause célèbre is dangerous, particularly given Trump’s history of calling on private violence, mobs, and militias for support,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The issue is also on President Biden’s radar, according to The Washington Post, after he met with four prominent historians last week who compared the current political atmosphere to “pro-fascist movements before World War II.”

What we’re watching: An armed man allegedly tried to break into an FBI building in Cincinnati on Thursday morning after reportedly making threats.

While details are still emerging, the incident came one day after the FBI director spoke out to condemn threats against law enforcement in the wake of Monday’s raid.

Cheney’s last stand

Embattled Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is making a final pitch to hold onto her seat in what’s arguably the most high-profile House primary of the 2022 cycle.

In an ad released Thursday, Cheney defends herself against former President Trump‘s ongoing attacks and insists the 2020 presidential election was valid.

Here’s what Cheney says in the ad:

“America cannot remain free if we abandon the truth. The lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen is insidious. It preys on those who love their country. It is a door Donald Trump opened to manipulate Americans to abandon their principles, to sacrifice their freedom, to justify violence, to ignore the rulings of our courts and the rule of law … This is Donald Trump’s legacy, but it cannot be the future of our nation. History has shown us over and over again how these types of poisonous lies destroy free nations.”

The race for Wyoming’s sole House seat, which Cheney has held for three terms, has become the ultimate personification of the battle between the traditional GOP base and Trump’s staunch allies.

The former president has taken particular interest in defeating Cheney because she voted for his impeachment last year after a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of President Biden‘s 2020 win.

Trump has consistently refused to accept the election outcome while Cheney has used her perch as vice chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot to chastise the former president for his actions leading up to and during the riot.

Cheney was previously ousted from her House GOP leadership post over her rift with Trump and her refusal to keep quiet about what she sees as the former president’s role in the Jan. 6 attack.

“Like many candidates across this country, my opponents in Wyoming have said that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen. No one who understands our nation’s laws, no one with an honest, honorable, genuine commitment to our Constitution would say that. It is a cancer that threatens our great Republic,” Cheney says in her latest ad.   

Cheney, 56, is trailing Trump-backed rival Harriet Hageman by double digits in polling. Trump and more than 100 House GOP members have endorsed Hageman ahead of the Tuesday primary.

Given the uphill climb she faces in the primary, speculation has run rampant that Cheney may be mulling a run for president in 2024. And Thursday’s ad would do little to discourage it. 

“No matter how long we must fight, this is a battle we will win. Millions of Americans across our nation — Republicans, Democrats, Independents — stand united in the cause of freedom. We are stronger, more dedicated, and more determined than those trying to destroy our Republic,” she said.

White House seeks to revamp economic message

INFLATION is starting to cool, the job market is strong and Congress just passed two major bills addressing the economy — but is it enough for Democrats to hold off Republicans? 

The White House thinks so. 

The administration is starting to shift its message to attempt to tie Republicans to special interest groups, framing the party as pursuing an “extreme MAGA agenda” that will hurt families’ pocketbooks.

Our colleague Morgan Chalfant writes that a large part of the message unveiled Thursday focuses on how every Senate Republican voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping bill on tax, climate and health care reforms. 

Still, prominent economic policy consultant Tony Fratto told our colleague Amie Parnes that the White House should focus solely on jobs instead of inflation because “people are upset about it, so if you can’t win the argument, change the subject.”

• Most experts’ predictions for the July jobs report were blown out of the water when data released last week showed that a whopping more than 528,000 jobs were added.
• Republicans are also unlikely to change their course on slamming Democrats for record levels of inflation, even if they are declining, less than 100 days until midterms.
• “Put it on billboards. Shout it from the rooftops. Everything and anything,” a Democratic strategist told The Hill about the strong job market.

SEARCHING FOR CREDIT

The Inflation Reduction Act must still pass the House and get the president’s signature before it becomes law, but already Democrats are jockeying for credit over the long-awaited legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) credited centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) while speaking back in his district this week.

“[Manchin] said ‘We have to do this in secret, you and I only,’ and we did,” Schumer said during an event in New York this week. “Under Joe Manchin’s request, which I honored, the White House didn’t know any of the details until everybody else did.” 

However: As The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Alex Gangitano reported, Biden officials have been touting the White House’s behind-the-scenes efforts to broker a deal, with Biden himself working the phones over the weekend. The officials credited the president with the vision for the package and patience. 

‘Two more seats’: During a radio interview with SiriusXM Urban View talk radio show host Joe Madison on Thursday, Schumer noted Manchin’s role in securing the reconciliation agreement while emphasizing that Democrats would have an easier time passing priority legislation if they could net several more Senate seats.

“If I got two or three more seats, the bill we did now, as good as it is, would be nothing … We would get the kind of things that, you know, Joe Manchin was against,” he said.  

Schumer added that with “two more seats” he also could get the Democrats’ voting rights legislation through the chamber. 

• Schumer, who is hoping to hold onto his majority leader role past the midterms, has been using the August break to promote Democratic candidates and priorities.
• Democrats hold a razor-thin majority in the chamber, which has required Vice President Harris to cast multiple tie-breaking votes.

Who’ll be in the House Friday? 

The House will be back in session Friday to pass Democrats’ $740 billion climate, health care and tax bill, sending it to President Biden‘s desk. But don’t expect everyone to make the brief trip back to D.C. for the vote.

At least 167 House members — nearly 40 percent of the chamber — have active “proxy letters” on file that will allow other members to vote for them even if they don’t come back to the District for the vote, House Clerk records show.

Nearly six dozen of them were filed just this week alone, in the days since the Senate approved the Inflation Reduction Act that it spent months trying to hash out. The Senate passed the bill on Sunday, sending it back to the House, where it’s expected to win final approval from the Democratic majority.

Members from both sides of the aisle have granted voting authority to fellow House members, copies of the letters show. 

The remote House floor voting process was adopted in May 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has repeatedly extended the proxy voting period on the advice of the House physician.  

It’s been used countless times in the two years since it was implemented, but it hasn’t been without controversy.  

Republican leaders, who raised an unsuccessful legal challenge to the rule, have vowed to permanently end the process if the GOP takes control of the chamber.

📺  MEDIA MOVE

Fox News anchor Shannon Bream will take the reins of “Fox News Sunday,” one of the networks most-watched programs, replacing longtime anchor Chris Wallace. 

• Bream will be the first woman to host “Fox News Sunday” in its 26-year history, our colleague Dominick Mastrangelo writes, after Wallace left for a show at CNN, initially for the now-defunct CNN+ streaming service.
• She’s been at the network for 15 years, most recently hosting an evening program.

And finally…the Commanders are back 

If you want to see the Washington Commanders play on home turf before tickets get expensive, you’re in luck!

The Commanders will play the Carolina Panthers this Saturday at FedEx Field in their first preseason game. Tickets start at $30. 

Check out how you can see them in preseason action.

Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend NotedDC to others: thehill.com/noted. See you next week!

Source: TEST FEED1