Weekend Papers Summary
FINANCIAL TIMES
-A $95B US aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan is set for a final vote on Saturday, following Democratic lawmakers' support for the plan. The package, which includes $60B for Kyiv, is crucial for Ukraine as it struggles to hold back Russian forces with superior numbers and firepower. The package also includes a crackdown on Chinese-owned TikTok. If passed, it will head to the Senate, where it is likely to pass before being sent to President Joe Biden for signing into law. Democrats' leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said the bill had "cleared the way" for the legislation, overcoming opposition from "pro-Putin MAGA extremists" such as Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
-Israel may have used an air-launched Sparrow ballistic missile to demonstrate its ability to attack targets within Iraq at range. The pictures, scoured by military analysts and open-source intelligence enthusiasts, suggest that the primary attack vectors were airborne, with no entry into Iranian airspace. The exact combination of arms used in the counterstrike remains unclear, but it comes a week after Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile salvo at Israel. Experts believe the missile segments are likely expended fuel propulsion units of Israeli-made Blue Sparrow missiles.
-New York's attorney-general has called for the invalidation of a $175M bond issued by Donald Trump to stop enforcement of a half-billion dollar fraud judgment against him and his businesses. The bond, underwritten by Knight Specialty Insurance Company, is deemed ineffective and Trump given another week to find an alternative backer. If Trump fails to post a valid bond, James could seize his properties to satisfy the judgment. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Monday.
-Nvidia's share price fell by 10% on Friday, marking the worst run for US stock markets since October 2022. The chipmaker lost over $200B of its market value, accounting for half of the 0.9% fall in Wall Street's S&P 500. Netflix also shed about 9% after its announcement to stop disclosing subscriber numbers overshadowed stronger earnings. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the session down 2.1%. Stocks driven by investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence also suffered, with Advanced Micro Devices, Micron Technology, and Meta closing 5.4%, 4.6%, and 4.1% lower, respectively.
-India is facing severe heatwaves during its general elections, with hundreds of millions of voters at risk due to public health experts and concerns about record summer temperatures. Around 1 billion people are expected to vote over six weeks, with temperatures expected to exceed 45C in some areas. The India Meteorological Department predicts 10-20 days of heatwaves between April and June, more than double the typical summer average.
-Workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted to form a union, marking the first victory in the United Auto Workers' campaign to organize factories across the US south. The workers voted 2,628 to 985 against underpaying Volkswagen, targeting the German group as part of a $40M campaign to organize workers at 13 mostly foreign-owned carmakers with non-union plants in the US. The election highlights the resurgence of the labor movement in America, with union organizers seeing southern states like Tennessee as hostile territory.
-The IMF warns Europe that a "subsidy race" with the US and China could damage its economy. The IMF suggests that lifting internal trade barriers to EU trade could boost the region's long-term growth by 7 percentage points. The IMF advises Europe not to become protectionist, as it is damaging globally and a subsidy race is not in Europe's interest. The EU has not proposed a similar scheme to the US Inflation Reduction Act, but has suspended state aid rules after the pandemic and allowed countries to offer subsidies for green energy projects.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
-An air attack occurred on a base used by the Iranian-backed armed group, Harakat al Nujaba, in Iraq's Babylon Province. The Popular Mobilization Forces, responsible for the Kalsu military base, reported the attack. At least three people were wounded in the explosion. The US military, which has previously attacked Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq, denied involvement in the attack. The attack came a day after Israel attacked a military air base near Isfahan in central Iran, marking Israel's first military response to Iran's attack.
-Israel's war cabinet chose not to launch a limited strike on Iran's nuclear production capability, despite previous attempts to do so. The decision was seen as a clear attempt by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to avoid further escalation. The US officials urged the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence agencies to remain quiet about the operation, hoping to ease Iran's efforts to calm tensions in the region. The decision was seen as a telling move by analysts and nuclear experts.
-Israel has launched a military strike on Iran, marking its first military response to Iran's recent attack. The strike hit a military air base near Isfahan, central Iran. Initial reactions in both countries were muted, suggesting a desire to lower their conflict. World leaders have urged Israel and Iran to avoid starting a broader war in the region. The Israeli military declined to comment on the strike, and the US has notified Israel through multiple channels. The explosions came less than a week after Iran fired over 300 missiles and drones at Israel in response to an April 1 strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria.
-23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance seven months before the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. However, they were allowed to continue competing after Chinese officials cleared them of doping and the global authority on sports did not intervene. Many of the athletes who tested positive won medals, including three golds. China acknowledged the positive tests in a report by its antidoping regulator, stating that the swimmers had ingested the substance unwittingly and in small amounts.
-The Senate has approved an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was expected to expire over the weekend. The legislation, which is crucial to fighting terrorism but is criticized by privacy advocates, was sent to President Biden. After hours of negotiation, the Senate reconvened and rejected proposed revisions, resulting in the bill winning approval, 60 to 34. Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer stated that allowing FISA to expire would have been dangerous for America's national security.
-Left-leaning House Democrats are pushing for opposition to the $26B aid package for Israel, aiming to maximize "no" votes and signal President Biden's discontent over his support for Israel's tactics in Gaza. Progressive leaders in the House are framing the vote as a moral choice similar to Congress's votes to authorize and fund the Iraq war. Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, believes this is a "defining vote" and calls it a "carnage moment" as it could determine whether the Democratic Party will participate in the ongoing conflict.
-The final jurors for Donald Trump's criminal trial were chosen, with lawyers preparing to present opening statements. The jury consisted of 12 seated jurors and six alternates, who will hear accusations from the Manhattan district attorney's office that Trump sought to cover up a sex scandal that could have impacted his 2016 presidential run. The day was marked by intense emotion, with some jurors asking to be excused and others becoming upset. The incident led to a noticeable stir in the courtroom, prompting reporters to leave the room.
-Max Azzarello, a man from St. Augustine, Florida, set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald J. Trump was being tried, causing widespread attention and temporarily overshadowing the trial. The man, who was reportedly a caring person, had a dark path of paranoia and a confusing worldview. He threw pamphlets into the air before dousing himself with an accelerant and setting his body ablaze. The police rushed to extinguish the flames, and he was taken to a hospital burn unit, gravely injured, and died on Friday night. Azzarello's actions were not directed at any particular political party, but his social media postings and arrest records suggest that his immolation stemmed from conspiracy theories and paranoia.
-The drone combat in Ukraine is transforming modern warfare by causing a deadly toll on the American M1 Abrams tank, which is considered one of the most powerful symbols of American military might. Russian forces have taken out five of the 31 American-made M1 Abrams tanks that the Pentagon sent to Ukraine last fall, and at least three have been moderately damaged since they were sent to front lines early this year. This is a small fraction of the 796 of Ukraine's main battle tanks that have been destroyed, captured, or abandoned since the war began in February 2022. Russia has lost more than 2,900 tanks so far, although Ukraine claims the number exceeds 7,000. German Leopard tanks have also been targeted in Ukraine.
-Since the Myanmar junta's coup in February 2021, the country has turned against the military, with a new generation of rebels joining the ranks. The world's attention has shifted to other conflicts, but the battle lines are changing rapidly. The rebels have overrun military bases and taken over dozens of towns, and the tempo of victory has quickened in recent days. Anti-junta forces now claim to control more than half of Myanmar's territory, from lowland jungles to the foothills of the Himalayas. This has caused concern among many in Myanmar, who wonder why the chaos and death in the country brings little global outcry.
-Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has qualified for the ballot in Michigan, potentially threatening the presidential race. The Natural Law Party's decision to grant Kennedy his ballot line in November ensures he will be a factor in a pivotal swing state where the presidential election is expected to be close and President Biden has already shown vulnerability with key Democratic constituencies. Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat and the scion of a famous Democratic family, is running as an independent in 2024 and polling higher in early surveys than any third-party candidate since Ross Perot. His independent candidacy has earned him the estrangement of his family and many of his previous colleagues from the environmental movement, who have denounced his candidacy publicly.
-The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed that an outbreak of bird flu on dairy farms may be more serious than initially thought, with evidence suggesting the virus is spreading among cows and from cows to poultry. Officials in North Carolina have detected bird flu infections in a cattle herd with no symptoms, suggesting the infections may be more widespread than previously thought. The US Department of Agriculture is not requiring farms to test cattle for infection, but is now reimbursing farmers for testing cows without symptoms. The department plans to begin reimbursing farms for testing cows without symptoms.
THE NEW YORK POST
-Florida man Max Azzarello, a self-described "investigative researcher," set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse during former President Donald Trump's hush money trial. Azzarello, 37, threw a stack of pamphlets into the air, including links to a Substack newsletter called "The Ponzi Papers." The manifesto, filled with conspiracy theories on topics such as cryptocurrency, Hollywood actors, COVID, and former President Bill Clinton, was authored by Azzarello and published on a Substack newsletter. The incident highlights the erratic behavior of Azzarello over the past year.
-US banking regulators are planning to revive a proposal that would require big banks to defer executive compensation and claw back more bonuses if losses pile up. Six agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, are involved in developing the plan, which could be proposed in the coming days.