Ousters, upsets halfway through 2022 primary election season
More than halfway through a tumultuous primary season, voters have rendered verdicts in a number of contests, many of which featured candidates arguing they best represented a continuation of policies favored by former President Donald Trump. While not on the ballot himself, Trump has played a role in several races, with candidates bearing his endorsement meeting a variety of electoral outcomes. There have also been tumbles by several incumbents, some taken out by Trump-backed challengers and others bested by fellow representatives in faceoffs forced by redistricting. So far, eight U.S. House incumbents have lost their seats after primary elections.
Brittney Griner to Biden: ‘I’m terrified i might be here forever.’
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who has been detained in Russia on drug charges since February, sent a handwritten letter to President Joe Biden on Monday asking him not to forget about her. “As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner said in an excerpt from the letter shared by her representatives. Griner, 31, was detained Feb. 17 after she was accused of having hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.
Biden close to rollback of Chinese tariffs to fight inflation
President Joe Biden may announce as soon as this week a rollback of some U.S. tariffs on Chinese consumer goods — as well as a new probe into industrial subsidies that could lead to more duties in strategic areas like technology. Biden has not yet made a final decision, and the timing could slip, according to people familiar with the deliberations, who asked not to be identified without permission to discuss private conversations. It would mark his first major policy step on trade ties between the world’s two biggest economic powers. The president in recent weeks held a number of meetings with senior economic advisers where options for a decision on the Trump-era tariffs were discussed, according to the people.
Bullet too damaged to prove who killed Palestinian American journalist, US says
The bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian American journalist shot in the occupied West Bank in May, was most likely fired from Israeli military lines but was too damaged to say for sure, the State Department said Monday. A State Department statement released after U.S. officials observed Israeli ballistic tests said the damage to the bullet made it difficult to draw a definitive conclusion about the gun it was fired from. But shots fired from the position of the Israel Defense Forces were “likely responsible for the death,” U.S. officials had concluded after reviewing evidence compiled by both Israeli and Palestinian investigators.
Sydney floods impact 50,000 around Australia’s largest city
Hundreds of homes have been inundated in and around Australia’s largest city in a flood emergency impacting 50,000 people. Officials said Tuesday emergency response teams made 100 rescues overnight of people trapped in cars on flooded roads or in inundated homes. New South Wales state Premier Dominic Perrottet said evacuation orders and warnings to prepare to abandon homes impacted 50,000 people in and around Sydney. That’s up from 32,000 on Monday. Days of torrential rain have caused dams to overflow and waterways to break their banks, bringing a fourth flood emergency in 16 months to parts of the city of 5 million people.
Putin declares victory in eastern Ukraine region of Luhansk
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared victory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, one day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from their last remaining bulwark of resistance in the province. Putin’s declaration came as Russian forces were trying to press their offensive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the Luhansk stronghold of Lysychansk on Sunday. The Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces are now focusing their efforts on pushing toward the line of Siversk, Fedorivka and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, one of the two regions that make up the country’s eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. About half of Donetsk is controlled by Russia.
By wire sources
