Nation & world news – at a glance – for Sunday, July 2, 2023

Hunter Biden and the politics of paternity in the media’s glare

There is a 4-year-old girl in rural Arkansas who is aware her father is Hunter Biden and her paternal grandfather is the U.S. president. She speaks about both of them often, but she has not met them. On Thursday, her parents ended a yearslong court battle over child support, agreeing that Biden, who has embarked on a second career as a painter, would turn over a number of his paintings to his daughter in addition to providing a monthly support payment. Still, several of the president’s allies fear the case could damage his reelection prospects by bringing more attention to a son whom some Democrats see as a liability.

Ability to pay tuition is often first hurdle for students in the Affirmative Action debate

The Supreme Court’s decision striking down affirmative action will very likely have powerful consequences for elite college admissions, potentially limiting the pool of Black and Hispanic students at the most selective universities and affecting the diversity of future leaders in business, government and beyond. But the effect of race-conscious admissions was always limited to a relatively small number of students because for the vast majority, these schools are not an option — academically or financially. For many students, the biggest barriers are practical: applying to, paying for and completing college.

Supreme Court decisions on education could offer Democrats an opening

In striking down race-conscious college admissions, the Supreme Court handed Democrats a way to shift from a race-based discussion of preference to one tied more to class. The court’s decision could fuel broader outreach to the working-class voters who have drifted away from the party because of what they see as elitism. The question is, will the party pivot? Infrastructure spending, electric vehicles investment, broadband expansion and semiconductor manufacturing have promoted jobs across the U.S. “By next year, Democrats will be able to say we’ve invested in red states, blue states, urban areas, rural areas,” said Simon Rosenberg, a Democratic strategist. “We’re not like the Republicans. We’re for everybody.”

An early heat wave upsets the rhythm of life in the South

During summer in the South, the heat is pervasive and demands adaptation. Construction workers, landscapers and delivery drivers wear cooling rags underneath their wide-brimmed hats. Dog walkers, joggers, farmworkers and almost everybody else know it’s best to venture out in the early mornings or evenings. This long-standing patchwork of medical and homemade remedies is becoming increasingly crucial for the preservation of both livelihoods and summer traditions, especially before the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, as the stifling humidity is set to persist along the Gulf of Mexico, maintaining hazardous and sweltering conditions.

From the docks to Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles workers are flexing union muscle

In the two months since they went on strike, screenwriters have become a fixture outside studios in Southern California. At the behemoth ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, operations were disrupted for weeks until West Coast dockworkers reached a tentative contract deal. Across the city, schools shut down when bus drivers, cafeteria workers and teachers walked out. Now the union representing some 15,000 hotel workers in LA is threatening to strike this weekend, and more than 160,000 actors are poised to shut down Hollywood productions if they cannot reach a new contract deal. Unions have been embattled nationally, but in California, they are having a moment.

U.S. cities have a conversion problem, and it’s not just offices

Healthy cities must build new things and rehabilitate old ones. But they also perform regular tricks of transmogrification, turning existing building blocks into something new. Factories become loft apartments. Industrial waterfronts become public parks. But over decades, that flexibility has eroded. U.S. cities have developed a conversion problem. Zoning codes have grown sprawling and more prescriptive. Well-intended speed bumps to development, like environmental reviews and public meetings, have often been used to protect narrow interests over societal ones. Piles of regulations, or “kludge,” and a culture of “no” are now limiting the ability to turn building blocks into something new.

Everyone knew the migrant ship was doomed. No one helped.

From air and by sea, using radar, telephone and radio, officials watched and listened for 13 hours as the migrant ship Adriana lost power, then drifted aimlessly off the coast of Greece in a slowly unfolding humanitarian disaster that killed more than 600 migrants. Satellite imagery, sealed court documents, more than 20 interviews with survivors and officials, and a flurry of radio signals transmitted in the final hours suggest that the scale of death was preventable. Dozens of officials and coast guard crews monitored the ship, but the Greek government treated the situation like a law enforcement operation, not a rescue.

Wagner uprising highlights China’s risks with Russia

Three months ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Moscow clinking glasses with Vladimir Putin and expressing his confidence in the “firm support” the Russian president enjoyed among his people. That confidence is now in question, after the Wagner private military group waged an insurrection in Russia that has shaken Putin’s image of invulnerability. Close watchers of China say that the mutiny, short-lived as it was, could lead Xi to hedge a close relationship with Russia that had exposed Beijing to global criticism and threatened some of its interests abroad. Putin’s appetite for risk has forced Beijing to defend its bond with Russia in the face of Western pressure.

Ukraine says it is ready for arrival of Wagner troops in Belarus

As Belarus has ratcheted up its messaging about plans to offer refuge to Wagner group mercenaries after a failed rebellion in Russia, Ukrainian forces say they are ready for any potential threat from their neighbor to the north. In recent days, Ukrainian officials have tried to tamp down concerns about the Wagner forces, which until recently were fighting for Russia in Ukraine, while heralding preparations for their possible arrival. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — who Saturday was hosting Spain’s prime minister as part of his continuing diplomatic push — nodded to plans for reinforcing the border in his nightly address Friday, and top commanders have emphasized that no current threat had been found.

Dutch king apologizes for his country’s role in the slave trade

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands formally apologized Saturday for his country’s role in the slave trade, a rare direct apology for a historical injustice by a sitting European monarch. Willem-Alexander, who ascended to the throne in 2013, made the apology in Amsterdam at an annual commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Suriname and the Netherlands’ Caribbean colonies, which was also the start of a memorial year that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the end of the practice there. “We carry the horrors of the slavery past with us,” Willem-Alexander said, adding that the consequences of the slave trade could still be felt in the form of racism today.

Macron cancels state visit to Germany amid unrest at home

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday postponed a scheduled state visit to Germany as his government struggled to rein in violent protests over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old this past week. Although the Interior Ministry described the violence overnight Friday as being of “lower intensity” than the previous night, more than 1,300 people were arrested as the turmoil continued to grip major cities such as Marseille and Lyon. Hundreds of cars have been set on fire, buildings have been damaged and stores in some cities have been looted since the protests erupted over the teenager’s death Tuesday.

Botswana and De Beers sign deal to continue rich diamond partnership

A Botswana government official and the CEO of De Beers, an international diamond conglomerate, signed interim agreements Saturday to continue a decadeslong diamond mining partnership that had appeared to be breaking down in recent months. Minutes before a midnight deadline Friday, the parties announced that after years of negotiations, they had agreed in principle on a deal to renew a partnership that supplies De Beers with most of its diamonds and Botswana’s government with the largest chunk of its revenue. Details of the deal were still being worked out. The agreements were signed by Lefoko Fox Moagi, minister of minerals and energy, and De Beers CEO Al Cook.

By wire sources