First Thing: Biden makes final plea in high stakes midterms
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Version 0 of 1. The Democrats could lose their majorities in both chambers today. Plus, developing countries ‘need $2tn a year in climate funding’ Good morning. The president has repeated his promise to strengthen abortion rights if Democrats expand their congressional majorities, but recent polls suggest Americans are more concerned with economic issues. Rallying with fellow Democrats last night, Joe Biden attempted to defy widespread concerns about how his party would show in today’s midterm elections and warned of what a Republican-controlled Congress could do to roll back Americans’ rights and dismantle social welfare programmes. “Remember, these are the guys who passed the $2tn tax cut benefiting the wealthy and big corporations and didn’t pay for a penny of it,” Biden said, referring to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump signed into law. “We’re the ones bringing down the deficit, allowing us to afford to provide ordinary, hardworking Americans a little break.” But in the final days of campaigning, some Democrats are concerned that candidates have not done enough to address dismay over the state of the economy, leaving the party vulnerable. Biden points to own metrics. In the face of near record-high inflation and fears of a potential recession, the president highlighted the low unemployment rate and the 10m jobs created since he took office. ‘Gentlemen, we interfered.’ A close Vladimir Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted to “surgically” interfering in US elections on the eve of the vote, but the apparent admission should not necessarily be taken at face value. Donald Trump has said he would make a “very big announcement” on 15 November, as speculation continued that he is about to announce a 2024 presidential run. Biden points to own metrics. In the face of near record-high inflation and fears of a potential recession, the president highlighted the low unemployment rate and the 10m jobs created since he took office. ‘Gentlemen, we interfered.’ A close Vladimir Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted to “surgically” interfering in US elections on the eve of the vote, but the apparent admission should not necessarily be taken at face value. Donald Trump has said he would make a “very big announcement” on 15 November, as speculation continued that he is about to announce a 2024 presidential run. Developing countries ‘need $2tn a year in climate funding’ New data suggests around $2tn would be necessary each year to help developing countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the results of climate breakdown. Far higher than any climate finance yet earmarked, the funds would allow poor countries to end fossil fuel use, invest in renewables, and protect against increasing extreme weather with sea walls, early warning systems and other infrastructure, according to a report commissioned jointly by the UK and Egyptian governments and presented at the Cop27 UN climate summit. Nicholas Stern, the climate economist and lead author of the report, said: “Most of the growth in energy infrastructure and consumption projected to occur over the next decade will be in emerging market and developing countries, and if they lock in dependence on fossil fuels and emissions, the world will not be able to avoid dangerous climate change, damaging and destroying billions of lives and livelihoods in both rich and poor countries.” ‘Real leadership required from the top institutions.’ The World Bank has come under increasing criticism in recent months for its perceived failures to direct sufficient funds towards the climate crisis. ‘Poor nations face double jeopardy.’ Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, has criticised industrialised nations for achieving prosperity at the expense of the global south, who now must pay twice owing to climate breakdown. Family of hunger striking British-Egyptian activist demand proof of life. Alaa Abd el-Fattah continues to refuse all food and water while delegates gather for Cop27 as he is held in desert prison on ludicrous charges. ‘Real leadership required from the top institutions.’ The World Bank has come under increasing criticism in recent months for its perceived failures to direct sufficient funds towards the climate crisis. ‘Poor nations face double jeopardy.’ Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, has criticised industrialised nations for achieving prosperity at the expense of the global south, who now must pay twice owing to climate breakdown. Family of hunger striking British-Egyptian activist demand proof of life. Alaa Abd el-Fattah continues to refuse all food and water while delegates gather for Cop27 as he is held in desert prison on ludicrous charges. ‘Blood moon’ total lunar eclipse appears today The moon has pulled off a disappearing act, and those who missed it will have to wait three years for another chance to see something like it again. A total lunar eclipse was visible throughout North America before dawn today, giving those further west the best view. In Asia, Australia and the rest of the Pacific, it was visible after sunset. Uranus was set to be visible just a finger’s width above the moon, resembling a bright star, at that time. The eclipse’s totality was expected to last nearly 90 minutes – from 5.16am to 6.41am ET – as Earth passes directly between the moon and sun. For next time, here’s how to take a good photograph of the full blood moon. Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don’ts of photographing the moon. For next time, here’s how to take a good photograph of the full blood moon. Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don’ts of photographing the moon. In other news … Boys should be encouraged to ignore gender stereotypes and share their emotions, according to the team behind a new UK initiative aimed at encouraging them to talk about their feelings and speak out against inequality. The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has taken aim at banks in the country for collecting billions in profits as the cost of living crisis deepened, saying they risked losing “social licence” to operate. China’s super-rich have seen their wealth fall by the largest amount in over two decades, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing’s zero-Covid measures and falling local stock markets pummelled fortunes, an annual rich list showed. Only 130 Russian draftees out of 570 survived one Ukrainian attack, which would make it the deadliest known attack involving conscripts since the start of the mobilisation drive, according to estimates. Boys should be encouraged to ignore gender stereotypes and share their emotions, according to the team behind a new UK initiative aimed at encouraging them to talk about their feelings and speak out against inequality. The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has taken aim at banks in the country for collecting billions in profits as the cost of living crisis deepened, saying they risked losing “social licence” to operate. China’s super-rich have seen their wealth fall by the largest amount in over two decades, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing’s zero-Covid measures and falling local stock markets pummelled fortunes, an annual rich list showed. Only 130 Russian draftees out of 570 survived one Ukrainian attack, which would make it the deadliest known attack involving conscripts since the start of the mobilisation drive, according to estimates. Stat of the day: ‘I applied for radiotherapy nine times and got no reply’ For specialist treatment, Palestinians often need to be referred to a hospital outside Gaza – then apply for a travel permit. Tight budgets and restrictions mean few are granted. “I applied with my doctor to go to the Augusta Victoria hospital in Jerusalem for radiotherapy nine times, and we never even got a reply saying yes or no,” says Ghada Hammad, a public health worker who grew up in the Gaza Strip. During the process, she had to have a security interview with Israeli authorities. “In the meeting the officer didn’t ask me anything about why I wanted to travel or my medical case, they just wanted to know about the men in my family: who they are, what they do, phone numbers.” She added: “Apparently, radiotherapy is useless if you don’t have it within a certain time frame of a few weeks after surgery, so in the end, more than a year later, I just gave up.” Don’t miss this: Atlanta’s rap scene mourns murdered Migos member Takeoff “A lot of people are good people but get caught up and do bad things. Mistakes happen – I know that happens in life,” said the rap artist manager Justin “Meezy” Williams. But “he’s not one of them”, he added of Takeoff – born Kirshnik Khari Ball – of the rap trio Migo, who was killed aged 28 earlier this month in a shooting at a Houston bowling alley. “So it doesn’t hit me as something like, ‘Damn, where was he at? What was he doing?’ I know he wasn’t doing something he wasn’t supposed to do.” In the immediate aftermath of Takeoff’s death, the rap luminary Chuck D blamed the music industry for “normalising” gun violence, telling TMZ: “You have people who’ve grown up thinking that hip-hop death is a normal thing.” Climate check: Fiji’s radical plan to escape rising sea levels In Fiji, the climate crisis means dozens of villages could soon be under water. Moving so many communities is an epic undertaking but now there is a plan – and the rest of the world is watching. “We keep on trying to explain this,” Satyendra Prasad, Fiji’s ambassador to the UN, told the Guardian last year. “It is not just pulling out 30 or 40 houses in a village and moving them further upfield. I wish it were that simple.” He rattled off a list of the things that needed to be moved along with homes: schools, health centres, roads, electricity, water, infrastructure, the village church. “And in case even that you were able to achieve, you have to relocate people’s burial grounds. Try doing that.” Last Thing: Why we shouldn’t try to be happy “We should not aim at happiness, then, not even indirectly, but try to live as well as we can,” writes Kieran Setiya, the author of Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way. “This doesn’t mean that we should strive to be unhappy, or be indifferent to happiness, but there is more to life than how it feels. “Living well means living in the real world, engaging with people we care about and activities that are worth our time, even when they cause us pain. When we do that, we are not taking an oblique route to what really matters – our own happiness – but responding to what matters as we should.” Sign up First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now. Get in touch If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com |