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Macron sought clarity – and has brought his centrist project tumbling down

Macron sought clarity – and has brought his centrist project tumbling down

Angelique Chrisafis writes: When Emmanuel Macron strolled through the seaside resort of Le Touquet on Sunday afternoon, near his holiday home, dressed in a leather jacket with his collar up and aviator shades, smiling and asking passersby how they were doing, he seemed a world away from the fact that his gamble of a snap election was about to dramatically backfire. Macron had said he needed “clarity” three weeks ago, when he shocked even his own government ministers by calling…

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Leading Democrats need to ‘have the guts’ to urge Biden to drop out, says ex-DNC vice chair

Leading Democrats need to ‘have the guts’ to urge Biden to drop out, says ex-DNC vice chair

Politico reports: A former Democratic National Committee vice chair wrote Sunday that leading Democrats must be pushed to urge President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race or history will judge them harshly. “Our elected officials,” wrote former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak on Facebook, “are staying shockingly silent in public, especially considering how many of them acknowledge privately that this has to happen.” “They fear political retribution but they should really fear that if we lose this election…

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Reckless loyalty: Biden’s family blame the president’s staff for his abysmal debate performance

Reckless loyalty: Biden’s family blame the president’s staff for his abysmal debate performance

The New York Times reports: President Biden’s family is urging him to stay in the race and keep fighting despite last week’s disastrous debate performance, even as some members of his clan privately expressed exasperation at how he was prepared for the event by his staff, people close to the situation said on Sunday. Mr. Biden huddled with his wife, children and grandchildren at Camp David while he tried to figure out how to tamp down Democratic anxiety. While his…

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What was revealed during Thursday’s debate had until then been carefully hidden from most of Biden’s own staff

What was revealed during Thursday’s debate had until then been carefully hidden from most of Biden’s own staff

Axios reports: Joe Biden’s close aides have carefully shielded him from people inside and outside the White House since the beginning of his presidency. Why it matters: The intermittent access has resulted in many current and former White House aides being shocked at the 81-year-old president’s limitations at the debate Thursday night. Driving the news: Current and former White House aides are feeling whiplash — and now questioning whether Biden could fulfill a second term. “It’s time for Joe to go.” That’s…

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For Biden to stay in the race would be pure vanity

For Biden to stay in the race would be pure vanity

David Remnick writes: There is an immense bounty of bunk about the wisdom of age available to all of us who require it from time to time, but, as the pitiless Mark Twain put it in his autobiography, “It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it.” On Thursday night, it was Joe Biden’s turn. But, unlike the rest of us, he went to pieces on CNN, in front of tens of millions…

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The U.S. and Israel missed many opportunities for peace with Hamas

The U.S. and Israel missed many opportunities for peace with Hamas

Sandy Tolan writes: The continued failure of the Biden administration to secure a full and lasting ceasefire in Gaza may go down as the most terrible and deadly diplomatic catastrophe of our time. The principles have been in place for weeks; Hamas has agreed to the general terms, and endorsed the June 10 ceasefire resolution by the UN Security Council. Yet US deference to Israeli intransigence – no matter that it stubbornly blames Hamas – is costing thousands of Palestinian…

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Israel: Police launch probes into cops who told protester ‘I’ll rape your mother,’ shoved Knesset member

Israel: Police launch probes into cops who told protester ‘I’ll rape your mother,’ shoved Knesset member

The Times of Israel reports: The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) said Sunday it had opened probes into a police officer who was filmed telling a demonstrator that he would rape his mother, and other officers who clashed with a lawmaker. In a statement, the DIPI said it would contact the protester and Labor MK Naama Lazimi, and that the incidents would be investigated in depth. At the weekly protest at Jerusalem’s Paris Square, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s…

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Is conscious AI possible?

Is conscious AI possible?

Andrew Maynard writes: It seems that barely a week goes by these days where there isn’t some degree of speculation that the current crop of large language models, novel AI systems, or even the internet, are showing signs of consciousness. These are usually met with a good dose of skepticism. But under the surface there’s often a surprisingly strong conflation between advanced artificial intelligence and conscious machines — to the extent that much of the current wave of AI acceleration…

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Trump’s debate victory raises fears Biden may be replaced by a more formidable opponent

Trump’s debate victory raises fears Biden may be replaced by a more formidable opponent

The New York Times reports from a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Virginia: Never one to miss out on a spidery conspiracy theory, Mr. Trump seemed as freaked out as any of his supporters about what is now possibly, perhaps, underway. “Many people are saying that after last night’s performance, Joe Biden is leaving the race,” he said from the stage, followed by scattered, seemingly confused applause. “The fact is, I don’t really believe that,” he continued, “because he does better…

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James Carville on Biden: ‘That which can’t continue … won’t.’

James Carville on Biden: ‘That which can’t continue … won’t.’

Axios reports: The public backing of former presidents and current members of Congress says little about Biden’s future. Most know him too well and for too long to humiliate him in public. Instead, if he decides to go, it’ll follow private conversations with them — then a decision with this oligarchy [Dr. Jill Biden; his younger sister, Valerie Biden; and 85-year-old Ted Kaufman, the president’s longtime friend and constant adviser — plus a small band of White House advisers]. Remember,…

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Major Democratic donors ponder how to persuade Biden to stand down

Major Democratic donors ponder how to persuade Biden to stand down

The New York Times reports: Cash is a sudden priority for the Biden campaign. After opening a $100 million advantage over Mr. Trump a couple of months ago, the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee entered June with $212 million in the bank, compared with $235 million for the Trump operation and the Republican National Committee. The Biden campaign had hoped to close the gap through a major fund-raising push in the 72 hours after the debate. The scramble…

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Israelis envision indefinite confinement for Palestinians who denounce Hamas

Israelis envision indefinite confinement for Palestinians who denounce Hamas

Denounce Hamas and you get to live under military guard in a smaller prison camp within a larger prison camp? What an inducement. https://t.co/c8QC1LcASt — Megan K. Stack (@Megankstack) June 29, 2024 The Wall Street Journal reports: A plan that is gaining currency in the government and military envisions creating geographical “islands” or “bubbles” where Palestinians who are unconnected to Hamas can live in temporary shelter while the Israeli military mops up remaining insurgents. Other members of Prime Minister Benjamin…

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American environmentalism just got shoved into legal purgatory

American environmentalism just got shoved into legal purgatory

Zoë Schlanger writes: In a 6–3 ruling today, the Supreme Court essentially threw a stick of dynamite at a giant, 40-year-old legal levee. The decision overruled what is known as the Chevron doctrine, a precedent that governed how American laws were administered. In doing so, it likely unleashed a river of litigation, much of which could erode away the country’s climate and environmental ambitions. The Chevron doctrine held that when Congress passed ambiguously worded statutes, courts would defer to agencies’ interpretations of how to implement them….

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Keir Starmer has lost the British Arab voter. He doesn’t care

Keir Starmer has lost the British Arab voter. He doesn’t care

Yusef Rabiah writes: As Keir Starmer’s Labour Party readies itself to form a new government on July 5, there are many lingering uncertainties and blurred lines. Are the party’s plans ambitious enough to meet the nation’s needs? Will Starmer make a stand or continue to flip-flop between policies? Is the forthcoming election victory merely a castle made of sand? One element however is crystal clear: Labour has irrevocably lost the support of the 500,000-strong British Arab community, likely for generations…

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