Good morning.
Joe Biden has warned that American democracy is in grave peril from Republican forces loyal to Donald Trump who “fan the flames” of political violence in pursuit of power at any cost.
In a primetime address from Philadelphia, the city where American democracy was born, Biden said the US was in a continued battle for the “soul of the nation”.
It reprised a theme that animated his campaign for the White House in 2020, to frame the stakes of the November elections as an existential choice between his party’s agenda and Republicans’ “extreme Maga ideology”.
“Donald Trump and the Maga Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” Biden said in remarks delivered at Independence Hall. Maga is an acronym of “Make America great again” – a slogan from Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
What else did Biden say? He said Trump Republicans “promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence”, adding that they believed there were only two possible outcomes to an election: either they won or they were cheated. “You can’t love your country when only you win,” Biden said to thundering applause.
Why was the speech significant? It forms part of a newly aggressive line of attack Biden has unleashed on Republicans in the run-up to the midterm elections and comes as Trump, who is facing various legal problems, lays the the groundwork for a potential 2024 presidential run.
US judge hints she may grant Trump request for Mar-a-Lago ‘special master’
A federal judge yesterday appeared inclined to grant Trump his request to have a so-called special master set aside documents seized by the FBI from his Mar-a-Lago resort that could potentially be subject to privilege protections in the investigation surrounding his unauthorized retention of government secrets.
The Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, did not formally rule from the bench on the former president’s request, saying at an hours-long hearing in West Palm Beach, Florida, that she would review the matter further before making a final decision.
But the judge gave serious indications that she would appoint a special master to determine what materials the justice department could use in its investigation, while potentially allowing for the intelligence community to continue its assessment about whether Trump’s retention of the documents risked national security.
“What’s the harm?” Cannon asked the government towards the end of the hearing, referring to the prospect of appointing a special master.
More details about what the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago are expected to be revealed after the judge unsealed a more detailed inventory of what was collected by the justice department, as well as a status report from the team conducting the investigation after Trump’s lawyers agreed to make it public.
‘All of a sudden it’s undrinkable’: why an entire US city has no clean water
Jackson, Mississippi, has lost access to safe running water after flooding – but it is the capstone to years of problems with race a possible factor.
The overwhelming majority of people – more than 150,000 – in the predominantly Black city have lost access to safe running water. Most had already been without drinkable water for more than a month but flooding last weekend, caused by weeks of rain, further interrupted operations at the city’s beleaguered main water plant. Currently large numbers have nothing coming out of their taps, and for those who do, it must be boiled before being consumed.
The situation has raised questions about the impact of underinvestment since white families abandoned the city en masse. It also suggests how extreme flooding, exacerbated by the climate crisis, will take a toll on infrastructure.
The crisis is acute, with temperatures forecast to exceed 90F (32C) on Thursday and Friday. Schools have shuttered their buildings and gone virtual. The Mississippi emergency management agency announced water distribution plans on Thursday. The city has created water distribution points, and some community organizations are doing what they can to fill the gaps.
What’s causing the crisis? Limited staff at the main water treatment facility struggled to treat water arriving in far higher volumes owing to the flooding, and dealt with a pump failure. But it is the capstone to years of problems. Financial and staff constraints and equipment malfunctions have long affected the city’s water treatment facilities’ operations.
In other news …
Venus and Serena Williams are out of the US Open women’s doubles in the first round after losing 7-6 (5), 6-4 to the Czech team of Lucie Hradecká and Linda Nosková last night. With Serena having strongly hinted that she will be retiring soon, it the match is likely to have been the final appearance of the Williams-Williams team.
A man has been detained after he aimed a handgun at point-blank range at Argentina’s vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in what the president said was an attempt on her life. She survived only because the gun – which was loaded with five bullets – did not fire.
A retired New York police department officer has received a record 10- year sentence for his involvement in the Capitol attack, during which he used a metal flagpole to assault one of the police officers trying to hold off a mob of Trump supporters.
The Canadian singer-songwriter Feist has announced she will leave a tour with Arcade Fire after allegations of sexual misconduct against the band’s frontman, Win Butler. A Pitchfork investigation published last week detailed claims against the Butler, which he denies.
Stat of the day: Aid continues to arrive in Pakistan as deaths from floods exceed 1,200
Planes carrying supplies are forming a humanitarian air bridge to flood-ravaged Pakistan as the death toll exceeded 1,200, officials have said, with families and children at special risk of disease and homelessness. The ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates and the first from Uzbekistan were the latest to land in Islamabad overnight, as a military-backed rescue operation elsewhere in the country reached more of the 3 million people affected by the disaster. Officials blamed the unusual monsoon and flooding on the climate crisis.
Don’t miss this: Wind in Democrats’ sails as Sarah Palin humbled in Alaska special election
Analysts are poring over the results of the special election for Alaska’s only seat in the US House, which was won by the Democrat Mary Peltola, delivering a blow to the former vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s hopes of a political comeback and putting wind in the sails of the Democratic party as it heads for November’s midterm elections. It was seen as a significant outcome on several levels – a potential response to the recent US supreme court overturning of the constitutional right to abortion, to Trump’s enduring grip on the Republican party, and to Palin herself.
Climate check: Nighttime heat is killing crops. Scientists are rushing to find resilient plants
While the climate crisis is pushing daytime temperatures to record highs, those at night are rising significantly faster. It is a crisis for plants, which have fewer defense mechanisms available at night, posing a huge threat to the global food system. Every 1C rise in nighttime temperatures could cause wheat yields to drop by 6% and rice yields by up to 10%. Scientists are part of a race to figure out how to create varieties of rice – the main food source for billions of people and a vital crop for farmers around the world – that can withstand the impacts of a fast-changing climate.
Last Thing: Crab and lobster shells could be used to make renewable batteries
Scientists want to use a chemical found in crab and lobster shells to make batteries more sustainable, according to research. “We think both biodegradability of material, or environmental impact, and the performance of the batteries are important for a product, which has the potential to be commercialised,” said Liangbing Hu, the lead author of the paper, published in the journal Matter. As the world transitions towards deploying green energy solutions and electric vehicles, the batteries being used for such technology also need to be eco-friendly.
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