Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/briefing/biden-budget-medicare-france-strike-pension.html

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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.

1. President Biden will propose a tax increase designed to bolster Medicare.

In a budget proposal set to be released on Thursday, Biden plans to call for high earners to pay more in Medicare taxes in an attempt to increase the program’s solvency by 25 years. He detailed the plan, which would increase the tax rate to 5 percent from 3.8 percent for people making above $400,000 a year, in a Times Opinion essay.

By focusing on Medicare in the proposal, Biden is seeking to sharpen a contrast with Republicans and cast himself as a protector of cherished retirement programs — both for his likely re-election campaign and for a looming battle with House conservatives who are demanding steep cuts in federal spending in order to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.

The early release of the Medicare proposal also underscores the degree to which Biden has fully embraced the political upside of taxing high earners. But with the Republicans in control of the House, there is little chance his tax increases will become law.

In related news, the U.S. economy could quickly shed a million jobs and fall into recession if lawmakers fail to raise the nation’s borrowing cap, a new analysis warned.

2. The Fed is likely to raise interest rates higher than expected.

Jerome Powell, the chair of the central bank, said today that the Fed was prepared to react to signs of sustained inflation by raising interest rates more than previously expected and possibly even returning to a quicker pace of rate increases. 

A number of recent economic reports have suggested that, despite a year of increasing borrowing costs, inflation did not weaken as much as expected last year.

The pressures behind Powell’s statements reveal an economic paradox of sorts: What are seen as good signs for many workers — strong consumer spending, wage growth and low unemployment — are considered bad news for the Fed as it fights inflation. Powell acknowledged that the Fed’s efforts to rein in inflation would “very likely” come at a cost to the labor market.

3. New intelligence suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines.

U.S. officials who reviewed the newly collected intelligence said they had no evidence that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine or his lieutenants were involved in the attack on the pipelines last year, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials.

The review suggests the group’s members were opponents of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, but it does not specify who directed or paid for the operation.

In other news from the war, Ukraine said that the Wagner private military company in Russia has been forced to use more of its professional soldiers in the battle for Bakhmut as its supply of prisoner recruits dwindles.

4. Two of the four Americans who were kidnapped last week in Mexico were found dead, while the other two were found alive.

The Americans were attacked by gunmen in Matamoros, a town in Mexico along the U.S. border where one of them was planning to undergo a medical procedure. At least one of the victims was killed at the scene of the attack on Friday, according to a senior Mexican official. Here’s what we know so far.

The Mexican authorities transferred the two surviving Americans to U.S. authorities today, Mexican officials said. Mexican authorities are considering various theories about motives for the attack, including the possibility that the Americans were mistaken for smugglers of Haitian migrants.

In other news from Mexico, the country’s armed forces spied on a human rights defender as well as journalists investigating allegations that soldiers had gunned down innocent people.

5. Workers in France took part in the biggest mobilization yet against pension reform.

Trains were at a standstill, ports were closed, schools were empty, flights were canceled and trash went uncollected as striking workers marched in cities around the country to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the legal age of retirement to 64 from 62.

The pension reform plan has struck a deep nerve in a society that cherishes retirement and reveres a generous balance between work and leisure perhaps more than any other Western industrial country. Neither the workers nor Macron have shown any signs of backing down.

In other international news, six Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank aimed at arresting a suspect in the shooting of two Israeli brothers.

6. Cities are giving up their parking spaces.

The U.S. has about two billion parking spots — nearly seven for every car. In some cities, as much as 14 percent of the land is covered by black asphalt. Some local leaders believe it’s far too much.

Paved paradise — to quote Joni Mitchell — is being blamed for a number of societal woes, including the housing shortage, climate change and rising fatalities among pedestrians and cyclists. Now, cities across the country are overhauling parking requirements for developers, scaling back the minimum number of spots for shopping centers and apartment complexes.

If you’re looking for a walking city, our magazine writer suggests strolling in Los Angeles.

7. It turns out that male mice behave more erratically than female mice.

For decades, researchers have used male mice for experiments because female mice, which experience a four- to five-day cycle of fluctuating hormones, were thought to be too complicated. The belief stemmed from century-old stereotypes that, until the 1990s, had also prevented women from participating in clinical trials.

A new study shows that the estrous cycle has little to do with the way female mice behave. In fact, male mice actually exhibited more erratic behavior than female mice did.

In related news, momentum is building for alternatives to animal testing, which experts have said could improve patient outcomes.

8. Judy Blume is finally getting her chance in Hollywood.

For more than five decades, Blume, 85, has been one of America’s most successful authors. Her novels have walked countless young readers through the teenage experience, yet she never received the red carpet welcome from Hollywood when it came to adapting her books into films or television shows — and she tried.

But now, the entertainment industry is finally entering a Blume-aissance. Next month Amazon will release “Judy Blume Forever,” a documentary tracking her career, and Lionsgate will adapt her novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” into a feature film. All that was needed, apparently, was for Judy Blume fans to grow up and take powerful positions in the entertainment industry.

9. What to do tonight:

Chill: You can make any drink a spectacle with the addition of luxury ice.

Cook: This rich and creamy coconut curry can be eaten on its own or served over rice.

Read: These books dig into the scandal-soaked history of the Oscars.

View: Todd Field, the director of “Tár,” narrates the moment in the film when Cate Blanchett breaks down.

Appraise: Think your project is big? This couple gutted a 3,850-square-foot townhouse.

Unwind: Here are five ways to soothe a mind overstimulated by anxiety, stress and streams of information.

10. And finally, is cannabis good or bad for sleep?

As legal cannabis products have become increasingly available across the country, many Americans have turned to them to solve sleep issues. We asked experts if cannabis actually improves slumber.

The research is mixed and limited, the experts said, but there is some evidence that cannabis may indirectly help with sleep by alleviating chronic pain and anxiety. The effects of cannabis on sleep can also vary based on how much you take, how you consume it and which compounds you use. However, if you’re looking for help with sleep, it’s best to try other sleep improvement methods first.

Have a restful night.

Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.

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