Foreign Aid Falls Through & A World Record Goes Up In Flames
February 8, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’re talking about Senate infighting, Israel declining a hostage release deal, Hungary upsetting the E.U., the ongoing Nord Stream probe, the largest survey of trans Americans, who’s exporting the most to the U.S., and a matchstick dream deferred.
Here’s some good news: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed a long-shot constitutional reform that would guarantee people pensions equal to their full salaries at the time they retire. It might just be a ploy for the upcoming elections, but it would be a first-of-its-kind move if he were successful. Also, this week, the EPA finalized new limits on soot, which the agency called “a critical step forward that will better protect workers, families and communities from the dangerous and costly impacts of fine particle pollution.”
“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.” – Paulo Coelho
Laws & Borders
The Senate voted down a bipartisan, $118 billion border security and foreign aid bill 49-50 yesterday, with Republicans arguing it didn’t do enough to address the influx of people crossing the border. “This is the most outrageous thing that I have been a part of in my 16 years in Congress,” Sen. Chris Murphy told NBC News after the vote – Republican leadership had negotiated and approved the legislation just three days ago.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s attempts to work with Democrats on the bill that tied aid for Ukraine and Israel to border security measures has earned him the ire of his party. Several Senators, led by Ted Cruz, held a press conference to express their displeasure with his handling of the border talks. Cruz even called on McConnell to step down from his role.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer decided to introduce a new bill with none of the border stipulations. Yesterday evening, some Senate Republicans demanded from Democrats that if they voted to allow the foreign aid bill to move forward, they would be allowed to propose changes, while other Republicans continued to request more be done about the border (even after voting down that very thing earlier in the day). The night ended with Schumer calling for a recess, but a vote on his bill is expected later today.
Bibi Blows Off A Bargain
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release. Hamas had proposed a three-phase deal, each lasting 45 days, that would allow for the gradual release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Hamas also requested a humanitarian and rebuilding effort for the enclave, but did not call for an immediate end to the war.
Netanyahu said, “We are on the way to complete victory. The victory is achievable; it’s not a matter of years or decades, it’s a matter of months,” but he didn’t rule out the possibility of continuing negotiations. He added that “continuing pressure, military pressure, is a necessary condition. Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional demands will only ask for another disaster for the state of Israel, another massacre.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently in Israel hoping to get things in the region under control. Blinken told Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that the Biden administration is very concerned about a possible expansion of Israel’s military operation into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where over a million Gazans are currently located.
Hungary’s Law Is Eating At The E.U.
- In December, Hungary’s parliament approved a law that creates a new sovereignty protection office with the power to ask Hungary’s intelligence services for information on individuals and organizations without judicial oversight. Independent Hungarian media outlets have warned that the law is “capable of severely restricting the freedom of the press” and leading civil society groups have warned it is “part of the government’s attempt to silence all critical voices.”
- On Wednesday, the European Commission said it had decided to send a letter of formal notice to Hungary for violations of E.U. law. Tensions between Hungary and the E.U. are already at a high as the country gets friendlier with Russia, but the E.U.’s letter, which says the law goes against “the principle of democracy,” is another nail in the coffin. Hungary has two months to reply to the letter.
The Sweden-To-Germany-Pipeline-Investigation Pipeline
- Sweden has completed its investigation of the Nord Stream pipeline explosion, handing all evidence over to Germany to continue the probe. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia will be transparent in its own ongoing probe into the explosions, and Denmark is continuing its investigation as well.
- Russia has blamed the U.S., the U.K., and Ukraine for the blast at different points. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines brought Russian natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov will add an interesting layer to the investigation, since it’s “a country that has lost a lot in relation to this terrorist attack.”
Additional World News
- Opposition politicians try to storm Polish parliament (Politico)
- Ex-Mountie intelligence official sentenced to 14 years for breaking Canada’s secrets law (ABC)
- Russia unleashes ‘massive’ airstrike on Ukraine, Zelenskyy says (ABC)
- Rishi Sunak faces calls to apologise over trans jibe to Starmer at PMQs (BBC)
- Indonesian rebels say they’re ready to free a New Zealand pilot taken hostage a year ago (ABC)
Middle East Reads
- Macron leads ceremony for French victims of Hamas attacks (BBC)
- ‘Our last stop is Rafah’: trapped Palestinians await Israeli onslaught (Guardian)
- Saudi Arabia: no Israel ties without recognition of Palestinian state (Reuters)
- Diapers and baby formula are hard to find in Gaza, leaving parents desperate (ABC)
Survey Says…There’s Some Good News!
- The 2022 U.S. Trans Survey, which surveyed more than 92,000 people who identify as binary or nonbinary transgender adults, was released this week, marking the largest-ever survey of trans people in the U.S. Amid a slew of anti-trans legislation across the country, the coalition found that there are a lot of bright spots as well.
- The survey found that 94% of transgender people who live at least part of the time in a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth were either “a lot” (79%) or “a little more satisfied” (15%) with their lives. Of the 98% of respondents receiving some kind of hormone replacement therapy, 84% reported being “a lot” more satisfied and 14% were “a little” more satisfied.
- 43% of trans individuals aged 16-17 said their families were supportive, and 63% of individuals older than 65 felt their families were supportive. Of course, the entire survey wasn’t uplifting, with multiple states across the country instituting anti-trans legislation – 47% of respondents said they have considered moving because of lawmakers in their state.
Not Made In China?
- The Commerce Department released new data on Wednesday that showed Mexico is now the top exporter of goods into the U.S. Mexico sent $475.6 billion worth of goods into the country last year, a 5% increase from 2022, outdoing China, which was the top-ranked exporter for the last 20 years.
- Economist Brad Setser posited on X (formerly Twitter) that tariffs the Trump administration put in place have limited the amount of goods the U.S. imports from China. China only exported $427.2 billion worth of goods to America in 2023, down 20% from 2022.
Additional USA Reads
- Jury foreperson in Jennifer Crumbley case says the mother failed to ‘secure’ the gun used in the mass shooting from her son (NBC)
- Ronna McDaniel offers Trump her resignation as RNC head (BBC)
- Nikki Haley loses to ‘none of these candidates’ in the Nevada GOP primary (NBC)
- How a botched impeachment laid bare a GOP House that cannot function (CNN)
- Hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel leak after Colorado trail derailment (AP)
- Four reported migrants who attacked NYPD officers have not been arrested in Arizona, officials say (NBC)
- Senior Biden officials meeting with Arab-American, Muslim community in Michigan (CNN)
Making A Mountain Out Of A 23.6-Foot-Tall Matchstick Eiffel Tower
- Richard Plaud spent the last eight – yes, eight! – years creating a 23.6-foot-tall model of the Eiffel Tower using 706,900 matchsticks. Plaud hoped to beat the ultra-specific Guinness World Record for the tallest Eiffel Tower built out of matchsticks, which is currently held by a 2-foot-tall model.
- Despite building a model ten times the size of the current record holder, Plaud was informed by the Guinness Book of World Records that his version didn’t qualify because it used the wrong kind of matchsticks. Guinness told him the matches used must be available commercially and can’t be cut, disassembled, or distorted beyond recognition.
- Plaud was having to buy matchsticks from the supermarket and manually remove the sulfur heads before he contacted a manufacturer willing to sell him 33-pound boxes of headless matches. Luckily, Plaud’s displeasure with the ruling may have earned him a second look – Guinness told NBC News that it admits it may have been “heavy-handed” in judging Plaud’s model and would review it.
Additional Reads
- Everyone is using the Apple Vision Pro all wrong (WaPo, $)
- Thanks to Taylor Swift, ads aimed at women are taking the Super Bowl by storm (CNN)
- WeWork’s ousted boss plots buyback of bankrupt firm (BBC)
- Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon has hidden ocean under its crust, say scientists (Guardian)
- Actress Gina Carano sues Disney and Lucasfilm with Elon Musk’s help (BBC)
- Ukrainian-born Miss Japan relinquishes crown following alleged affair (CNN)