Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who in prose both dense and brittle took readers from the southern Appalachians to the desert Southwest in such novels as The Road, Blood Meridian and All the Pretty Horses, died Tuesday. He was 89.

McCarthy died of natural causes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, publisher Alfred A. Knopf said.

McCarthy, raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, was compared to William Faulkner for his Old Testament style and rural settings. McCarthy’s themes, like Faulkner’s, often were bleak and violent and dramatized how the past overwhelmed the present. Across stark and forbidding landscapes and rundown border communities, he placed drifters, thieves, prostitutes and old, broken men, all unable to escape fates determined for them well before they were born.

McCarthy’s own story was one of belated, and continuing, achievement and popularity.

Little known to the public at age 60, he would become one of the country’s most honored and successful writers despite rarely talking to the press. He broke through commercially in 1992 with All the Pretty Horses and over the next 15 years won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer, was a guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show and saw his novel No Country for Old Men adapted by the Coen brothers into an Oscar-winning movie.

The Road, his stark tale of a father and son who roam a ravaged post-apocalyptic landscape, brought him his widest audience and highest acclaim. It won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was selected by Winfrey for her book club. In his Winfrey interview, McCarthy said that while typically he didn’t know what generates the ideas for his books, he could trace The Road to a trip he took with his young son to El Paso, Texas, early in the decade. Standing out of the window of a hotel in the middle of the night as his son slept nearby, he started to imagine what El Paso might look like 50 or 100 years in the future.

“I just had this image of these fires up on the hill … and I thought a lot about my little boy,” he said.

He told Winfrey he didn’t care how many people read The Road.

“You would like for the people that would appreciate the book to read it. But, as far as many, many people reading it, so what?” he said.

McCarthy dedicated the book to his son, John Francis, and said having a child as an older man “forces the world on you, and I think it’s a good thing.”

In 2022, Knopf made the startling announcement that it would release McCarthy’s first work in more than 15 years, a pair of connected novels he had referred to in the past: The Passenger and Stella Maris, narratives on a pair of mutually obsessed siblings and the legacy of their father, a physicist who had worked on atomic technology. Stella Maris was notable, in part, because it centered on a female character, an acknowledged weakness of McCarthy’s.

“I don’t pretend to understand women,” he told Winfrey.

His first novel, The Orchard Keeper — written in Chicago while he was working as an auto mechanic — was published by Random House in 1965. His editor was Albert Erskine, Faulkner’s longtime editor.

Other novels include Outer Dark, published in 1968; Child of God in 1973; and Suttree in 1979. The violent Blood Meridian, about a group of bounty hunters along the Texas-Mexico border murdering Indians for their scalps, was published in 1985. His Border Trilogy books were set in the Southwest along the border with Mexico: All the Pretty Horses (1992) — a National Book Award winner that was turned into a feature film — The Crossing (1994) and Cities of the Plain (1998).

McCarthy said he was always lucky. He recalled living in a shack in Tennessee and running out of toothpaste, then going out and finding a toothpaste sample in the mailbox.

“That’s the way my life has been. Just when things were really, really bleak, something would happen,” said McCarthy, who won a MacArthur Fellowship — one of the so-called “genius grants” — in 1981.

McCarthy attended the University of Tennessee for a year before joining the Air Force in 1953. He returned to the school from 1957 to 1959 but left before graduating. As an adult, he lived around the Great Smoky Mountains before moving West in the late 1970s, eventually settling in Santa Fe.
…

The World Food Program said Tuesday it will be forced to end food assistance to 2.5 million Syrians next month if it does not receive at least $180 million in donations to fund programs through the end of this year.

“Further reductions in ration size are impossible; our only solution is to reduce the number of recipients,” said WFP Syria Director Ken Crossley in a statement. “The people we serve have endured the ravages of conflict, fleeing their homes, losing family members and their livelihoods. Without our assistance, their hardships will only intensify.”

The WFP currently assists 5.5 million people in Syria. Without the drastic cuts, the agency says it would run out of food completely by October.

After more than a decade of conflict, a spiraling economic crisis and a series of deadly earthquakes in February, many Syrians are barely getting by. The WFP says even those who receive regular food assistance are struggling to cope.

Overall, the United Nations says 15.3 million people – or 70% of the population – need some form of humanitarian assistance. More than half the population are food insecure, and malnutrition and childhood stunting are reaching unprecedented levels.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the European Union will host a ministerial conference in Brussels focusing on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region.” The conference aims to revitalize international political and financial support for Syrians in their country and in host countries.
…

Sudan’s warring factions are not taking advantage of talks facilitated by the United States and Saudi Arabia meant to yield a permanent ceasefire they originally agreed, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday.

The United States is now consulting with Saudi Arabia and other partners, including in the Arab world and in Africa, about a path forward and hopes to announce a recommended approach in the next few days, the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters in Washington.

“We think we’ve given them every shot. We’ve given them this venue to try and come together and try and find a way forward that doesn’t involve achieving an outcome that’s based on violence or military dominance,” the official said.

“They are clearly not taking advantage of the format that we’ve given them. It’s not succeeding in the way they had originally agreed in terms of this step-by-step process to reach a permanent cessation of hostilities.”

The war between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has raged for almost two months, forcing almost 2 million people to flee and wrecking the economy, causing frequent electricity and water outages.

Talks in Jeddah have failed to permanently halt fighting and clashes intensified as soon as a frequently violated ceasefire pact expired on Sunday.

Air strikes, artillery and gunfire rocked several areas of the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday with further fighting trapping civilians in a worsening humanitarian crisis.

A second senior State Department official told reporters there was a “dawning realization” among the parties to the conflict that there is no acceptable military solution.

But this had not yet translated into the willingness to take tangible steps to lock in a longer cease-fire and a broader permanent cessation of hostilities, the official said.
…

Consumer prices in the United States cooled last month, rising just 0.1% from April to May and extending the past year’s steady easing of inflation. At the same time, some measures of underlying price pressures remained high.

Measured year over year, inflation slowed to just 4% in May — the lowest 12-month figure in over two years and well below April’s 4.9% annual rise. The pullback was driven by tumbling gas prices, a much smaller rise in grocery prices than in previous months and less expensive furniture, air fares and appliances.

Tuesday’s inflation figures arrive just as Federal Reserve officials begin a pivotal two-day meeting, after which they’re expected to leave interest rates alone after imposing 10 straight rate hikes dating back to March 2022. On Wednesday, the central bank will likely announce that it’s skipping a rate hike but may hint that it will resume raising rates as soon as July. Top Fed officials have said they’re leaning toward a so-called “skip” to allow time to assess how their rate hikes have affected inflation and the overall economy.

Still, last month’s drop-off in overall inflation isn’t likely to convince the Fed’s policymakers that they’re close to curbing the high inflation that has gripped the nation for two years. The Fed tends to focus more on “core” prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs and generally provide a clearer view of inflation.

And core prices remained high last month, rising 0.4% from April to May, the sixth straight month of increases at that level or higher. Compared with a year ago, core inflation slipped to 5.3% from 5.5%. That is still far above the Fed’s target of 2%.

Last month’s core inflation was fueled mainly by high apartment rental costs and a second straight jump in used car prices, which soared 4.4% just from April to May. On the other hand, wholesale prices of used cars declined last month, which may foretell lower retail used-car prices in coming months.

Gas prices, adjusted for seasonal patterns, fell 5.6% from April to May; they’re down nearly 20% from a year ago. And grocery prices ticked up just 0.1%, a relief to consumers, though they’re still 5.8% higher than they were a year ago.

The stubbornness of underlying inflation reflects a fundamental challenge for the Fed: The economy has steadily defied long-standing forecasts for a recession, dating back more than a year. Instead, businesses have kept hiring at a healthy pace, average paychecks are climbing and workers are freely spending their larger wages.

Though a resilient economy is great for households and businesses, it may also be helping fuel chronically high inflation. Some economists argue that many companies are keeping prices artificially high, more than is needed to cover their own higher costs, to drive profit growth. The nation’s consumers might have to pull back, en masse, before most businesses will reduce prices. In the meantime, steadily robust hiring is allowing Americans, as a whole, to keep spending.

The Fed has raised its benchmark rate by a hefty 5 percentage points over the past 15 months — the fastest pace of rate increases in four decades. Those hikes have led to much higher costs for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and business borrowing. The Fed’s goal is to slow borrowing and spending, cool the economy and tame inflation — without causing a deep recession. It’s a notoriously difficult task.

There are some signs that the Fed’s efforts are having the desired effect. Inflation is expected to take another big step down in the June figures that will be reported next month. Price growth could slide as low as 3.2% from a year earlier, according to some economists’ estimates. That would be significantly below inflation’s peak of 9.1% in June 2022, the highest level in four decades.

Yet any sharp declines in May and June will in part reflect the fact that prices soared in both those months last year. As those months drop out of the year-over-year inflation calculations, they are replaced with smaller monthly gains. The effect can sharply lower measures of annual inflation.

Still, core prices are expected to stay high in May, driven up by another jump in used car prices and steady increases in rental costs. Used car prices soared 4.4% just from March to April. Economists expect another increase, though not quite as large, from April to May.
…

For many American children, running a lemonade stand during the hot summer months serves as their first venture into the world of business. Two sisters from Seattle took the idea to a whole new level. VOA Correspondent Natasha Mozgovaya has their story.
…

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to meet outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Tuesday as jockeying to secure Stoltenberg’s successor intensifies.

The meeting was originally set for Monday but was postponed after Biden underwent a root canal procedure.

While the White House says the official agenda for the meeting is to discuss the alliance’s upcoming July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the issue of who will be next at NATO’s helm during this difficult period in its 74-year history will no doubt be front and center, as the alliance faces Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, is the longest running NATO chief in a generation and has had his tenure extended three times since taking the job in 2014. In February, his spokesperson said he will leave office when his current term ends in October.

Stoltenberg is widely credited for managing rocky transatlantic relations between former U.S. President Donald Trump and European allies over defense spending; the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan in August 2021; and overseeing the alliance’s response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. His preference about his successor carries weight and Biden is expected to consult with him.

“A lot of people will look to him to say, ‘Who do you think is the best to follow up your leadership?” said Andrew Hyde, senior fellow at the Stimson Center, to VOA.

Whoever succeeds Stoltenberg will face the daunting challenge of shepherding the security of 1 billion people in 31 countries and growing. He or she must manage the tough balancing act of supporting Ukraine militarily while preventing the conflict from bleeding into the territory of a NATO member, which would trigger the alliance’s Article 5 principle of collective defense and potentially lead to World War III.

Selections done through consensus

A U.S. general is traditionally the Supreme Allied Commander Europe but the post of NATO chief has always been assumed by a European, even though there’s nothing in the organization’s charter that requires it.

There’s no formal process to pick a new leader, and candidates don’t announce that they’re running for the post. Selection is done through consensus, achieved mostly through quiet and informal diplomatic channels.

As the biggest donor, the U.S. plays a key role — the reason why two contenders have paid a visit to the Oval Office recently.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen met with Biden at the White House last Monday. She is seen as a front-runner; however, her candidacy would mean a third successive secretary-general from a Nordic country.

Another potential hurdle is that Denmark has long failed to meet the 2% minimum requirement in defense spending for member states. In December, her government launched a plan to meet NATO’s target by 2030, and recently ramped up military aid to Ukraine.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Washington days after Frederiksen, with a broad agenda that includes lobbying for his defense secretary, Ben Wallace. Britain, supplier of more military assistance to Ukraine than any country after the United States, has clout. And as one of the first defense ministers to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, Wallace is well-known among the alliance.

However, out of 13 chiefs in NATO’s history, three were British.

Biden was non-committal when asked whether it was time for another one. “Maybe. That remains to be seen,” he said during a joint news conference with Sunak Thursday.

All who have filled the post since 1952 were male.

Several women likely candidates

There is a sense that it’s time the alliance selects a female leader, Hyde said. With the Russian war raging, “there’s also a feeling it should be somebody from Eastern Europe,” he added.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and her Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte meet both requirements. However, some observers argue that a leader from one of the Baltic countries, which are usually hawkish on Russia, could be perceived as a provocation by Moscow.

Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of Germany have been floated as potential candidates. So has Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, although her Ukrainian heritage may prove to be a complication.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also has been mentioned as a contender. And there’s always the possibility that the allies might prevail on Stoltenberg to extend his tenure yet again.

The issue of who is the next NATO secretary-general is expected to be settled by July, when the group’s leaders meet in Vilnius.
…

On their home court, the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 94-89 Monday to win the 2022-23 National Basketball Association championship.

The Nuggets entered the game holding a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, but found themselves down 51-44 against a Miami franchise that reached the NBA Finals despite entering the playoffs as one of the lowest-seeded teams in the Eastern Conference.

Denver relied on solid defense and clutch play from role players such as Michael Porter Jr., and Bruce Brown to help the Nuggets overcome the Heat’s desperate effort to keep their season alive.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, a two-time regular season Most Valuable Player, was named the Finals MVP. Jokic, who shares the nickname “The Joker” with tennis star and fellow Serb Novak Djokovic, finished the game with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Teammate Jamal Murray, who returned to the Nuggets this season after suffering a devastating knee injury in 2021, had 14 points.

The title is the first for the Denver Nuggets in the team’s 56-year history, which includes 10 seasons in the old American Basketball Association before the ABA merged with the NBA after the 1975-76 season.

Jimmy Butler scored 21 points and teammate Bam Adebayo finished with 20 points for Miami. The two had led the Heat to its second trip to the NBA Finals in three seasons. Miami lost to the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of the 2019-20 season during which the league played in isolation at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Miami has won three NBA championship titles since their debut in the 1988-89 season.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
…

Former President Donald Trump arrived at his golf club outside Miami on Monday ahead of his arraignment on charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified national security documents after he left the White House in 2021.

The arraignment, set for 3 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, will take place under heavy security in a federal courtroom in downtown Miami.

Federal authorities have beefed up security around the court building, and Miami officials say they’re prepared to prevent violence from Trump supporters and counterprotesters.

“In our city, we obviously believe in the Constitution and believe that people should have the right to express themselves,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said at a news conference. “But we also believe in law and order. And we know that, and we hope that tomorrow will be peaceful.”

Trump’s arraignment comes five days after a federal grand jury in Miami indicted him on 37 criminal counts, including 31 counts accusing him of “willfully retaining” classified national defense documents in violation of the Espionage Act.

A Trump aide, Walt Nauta, was also indicted in connection with obstructing government efforts to retrieve the documents.

Trump is the first former president to face a federal indictment. This is the second time in two months that he has been indicted.

The former president faces separate state criminal charges in New York in connection with a hush money payment to an adult film star during his 2016 presidential campaign.

At Tuesday’s hearing, a judge will inform Trump of his rights and read the charges against him. He’s expected to enter a plea of not guilty.

Usually, arraignments happen within a day of an arrest. But given the unprecedented nature of Trump’s case, his initial court appearance was delayed for five days.

The case has been assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who drew fire for favoring the former president in her rulings in the case last year.

Cannon briefly blocked federal investigators from examining the documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort last August and appointed a special master to review them. But an appeals court later overturned her ruling, saying she did not have the authority to rule as she did.

The charges against Trump stem from an investigation that began after Trump allegedly spurned repeated efforts by the National Archives to take possession of the documents that he had taken from the White House and kept at Mar-a-Lago.

The federal indictment accuses Trump of 31 counts of “willful retention” of classified national defense information, each for a different document that he took from the White House.

Twenty-one of those documents were among the more than 100 that the FBI recovered during a search of Mar-a-Lago last August.

The indictment says the documents contained information about U.S. nuclear programs, the potential vulnerability of the U.S. and its allies to an attack and plans for a possible response. Their disclosure, the indictment says, could endanger U.S. national security.

The six other charges against Trump — which include counts of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements — are related to efforts by Trump to obstruct the investigation and conceal his retention of classified documents.

Trump has claimed that he had an order to declassify all documents taken from the Oval Office to his residence in the White House.

But the indictment says Trump was well aware of laws governing classified national security information and willfully flouted them.

In one case, in July 2021, Trump allegedly showed a document about a “plan of attack” to a group of four unauthorized people — a writer, publisher and two staff members — at his New Jersey golf club, telling them it was “highly confidential” and “secret” and that he could no longer declassify it.

In another instance, in September 2021, Trump showed a classified map to a representative of his political action committee, telling him that he “should not be showing it to (him) and that (he) should not get too close,” according to the indictment.

After his arraignment, Trump will be released on his own recognizance. The start date of his trial remains uncertain. Some experts speculate that it could take months to begin and might even be postponed until after the 2024 election.

Despite his growing legal troubles, however, Trump is free to pursue his presidential bid and has vowed to continue campaigning even if he is found guilty.

“I’ll never leave,” Trump told Politico in an interview Saturday.

Trump is reportedly planning to fly to New Jersey following his arraignment where he’ll host the first fundraiser for his campaign at his golf club.
…

A jury in the northwestern U.S. state of Oregon on Monday found the electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day weekend in 2020, ordering the company to pay tens of millions of dollars to 17 homeowners who sued and finding it liable for broader damages that could push the total award into the billions.

The Portland utility is one of several owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. The property owners, suing on behalf of a class of thousands of others, alleged that PacifiCorp negligently failed to shut off power to its 600,000 customers during a windstorm, despite warnings from then-Governor Kate Brown’s chief of staff and top fire officials, and that its power lines were responsible for multiple blazes.

There has been no official cause determined for the Labor Day fires, which killed nine people, burned more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) in Oregon, and destroyed upward of 5,000 homes and structures. The blazes together were one of the worst natural disasters in Oregon history.

In a written statement, lawyers for the plaintiffs called the decision historic and said it “paves the way for potentially billions of dollars in further damages for the class members.”

PacifiCorp immediately said it would appeal.

“Escalating climate change, challenging state and federal forest management, and population growth in the wildland-urban interface are substantial factors contributing to growing wildfire risk,” PacifiCorp said in an emailed statement after the verdict. “These systemic issues affect all Oregonians and are larger than any single utility.”

The Multnomah County Circuit Court jury awarded more than $73 million to 17 homeowners who sued PacifiCorp a month after the fires, with each receiving between $3 million and $5.5 million for physical damage to their property and emotional distress.

The jury also applied its liability finding to a larger class including the owners of nearly 2,500 properties damaged in the fires, which could push the price tag for damages well into the billions of dollars. Those damages will be determined later.

The jury heard testimony Monday afternoon over whether to make PacifiCorp pay punitive damages. Nick Rosinia, an attorney for plaintiffs, told the jurors they should award punitive damages totaling five times what they have already been awarded for the harm PacifiCorp caused.

Doug Dixon, an attorney for the power company, insisted that none were warranted. The company keeps working on safety and was not recklessly negligent, he said. And while lawyers for the property owners described PacifiCorp as deep-pocketed, the company is $9 billion in debt.

Among those in court for the verdict was Rachelle McMaster, whose home in the town of Otis near the Oregon coast was destroyed in the fires. Wearing a tie-dye T-shirt that read “keep Earth awesome,” she wiped her eyes and clasped her spouse’s hand after it was read.

The seven-week trial wrapped with closing arguments last Wednesday, Oregon Public Radio reported.

The plaintiffs alleged PacifiCorp was negligent when it didn’t shut off its power lines despite extreme wind warnings over the holiday weekend.

“They have no real response to any of this,” plaintiffs’ attorney Cody Berne said during closing statements. “(PacifiCorp) started the fires. They destroyed the evidence. And now they have come before you and are asking not to be held accountable.”

Jurors were to determine PacifiCorp’s responsibility in four of those blazes: the Santiam Canyon fires east of Salem; the Echo Mountain Complex near Lincoln City; the South Obenchain fire near Eagle Point; and the Two Four Two fire near the southwest Oregon town of Chiloquin.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said utility executives kept the power on even as the company’s line workers took calls about damaged electrical equipment. The same executives, attorneys said, took no responsibility at the trial, saying it was front-line workers who make de-energization decisions, the news outlet reported.

In his closing arguments, Dixon said “alleged power line fires” in Santiam Canyon, where more than half the class members live, could not have spread to plaintiff’s homes. Plus, PacifiCorp does not have equipment in some areas where they were accused of causing damage, he said.

The risk of wildfires is increasingly fraught for power companies in the West. Pacific Gas & Electric declared bankruptcy and pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter after its neglected equipment caused a fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills in 2018 that destroyed nearly 19,000 homes, businesses and other buildings and virtually razed the town of Paradise, California.
…

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Monday a bill that he says will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans.

Illinois public libraries that restrict or ban materials because of “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will be ineligible for state funding as of Jan. 1, 2024, when the new law goes into effect.

“We are not saying that every book should be in every single library,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who is also the state librarian and was the driving force behind the legislation. “What this law does is it says, let’s trust our experience and education of our librarians to decide what books should be in circulation.”

The new law comes into play as states across the U.S. push to remove certain books in schools and libraries, especially those about LGBTQ+ themes and by people of color. The American Library Association in March announced that attempts to censor books in schools and public libraries reached a 20-year high in 2022 — twice as many as 2021, the previous record.

“Illinois legislation responds to disturbing circumstances of censorship and an environment of suspicion,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

To be eligible for state funds, Illinois public libraries must adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which holds that “materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation,” or subscribe to a similar pledge.

Downers Grove Democrat Representative Anne Stava-Murray sponsored the legislation in the Illinois House of Representatives after a school board in her district was subject to pressure to ban certain content from school libraries.

“While it’s true that kids need guidance, and that some ideas can be objectionable, trying to weaponize local government to force one-size-fits-all standards onto the entire community for reasons of bigotry, or as a substitute for active and involved parenting, is wrong,” Stava-Murray said Monday at the bill’s signing, which took place at a children’s library in downtown Chicago.

Despite Giannoulias’ assertion that “this should not be a Democrat or Republican issue,” lawmakers’ approval of the bill splintered across party lines, with Republicans in opposition.

“I support local control,” said House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, a Republican who voted against the measure, in an emailed statement. “Our caucus does not believe in banning books, but we do believe that the content of books should be considered in their placement on the shelves.”
…

The United States may not be resilient enough to fend off and survive Chinese attacks on its critical infrastructure should the present great power competition between Washington and Beijing evolve into an actual conflict, according to a top U.S. cyber official.

U.S. officials have ramped up efforts to bolster cybersecurity for the country’s electric grid and water systems — much of them run by private companies — since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, but the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned Monday that more precautions need to be taken in case China decides to strike.

“In the event of a conflict, China will almost certainly use aggressive cyber operations to go after our critical infrastructure, to include pipelines and rail lines to delay military deployment and to induce societal panic,” CISA Director Jen Easterly told an audience at the Aspen Institute in Washington.

“Given the formidable nature of the threat from Chinese state actors, given the size of their capability, given how much resources and effort they’re putting into it, it’s going to be very, very difficult for us to prevent disruptions from happening,” she said.

And what worries her just as much as the cyberattacks themselves is the ability of Americans to repair any damage while also being able to demonstrate the strength to carry on.

“We as an American people need to understand not just cyber resilience, but the imperative of operational resilience and the importance of societal resilience,” Easterly said. “I worry, frankly, that we’ve lost a bit of societal resilience.”

This is not the first time that key U.S. officials have warned about China’s ability to inflict considerable damage using cyberattacks.

Most of the warnings have centered on scenarios in which China tries to take Taiwan by force.

“If the Chinese have a plan to invade Taiwan in 2027, I would expect they have a cyber plan to go along with that,” a senior defense official told reporters this past April.

Other U.S. officials have warned that China could use a series of cyberattacks against Taiwan and the U.S. as part of an opening blow aimed at minimizing Washington’s ability to help fend off the incursion.

China rejected the U.S. assertions.

“We have always firmly opposed and cracked down on all forms of cyber hacking in accordance with the law,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an emailed statement.

“The allegation by the U.S. side that the Chinese government is ‘supporting hacking’ is completely distorting the truth,” Liu added, accusing the U.S. itself of engaging in “large-scale, organized and indiscriminate cyber theft and monitoring of foreign governments, enterprises, and individuals.”

Easterly has also warned that Beijing will likely seek to create “panic and chaos” in cyberspace ahead of any move on Taiwan.

And just last month, CISA, along with partner agencies in Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, warned of activity by a Chinese threat actor known as Volt Typhoon, which had been targeting networks linked to U.S. critical infrastructure.

On Monday, however, Easterly said recent incidents like the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the scare from China’s high altitude spy balloon have given her cause for concern beyond a scenario involving Taiwan.

“We need to be prepared to be able to respond, recover, learn from disruptions and to be able to move forward in a way that we can continue to operate our critical services and our networks and our businesses even under the threat of Chinese state actors who want to hold that critical infrastructure at risk,” she said.

To improve American resilience, Easterly said CISA could soon launch a “Shields Up” awareness campaign focused on China, similar to the one it launched following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The ongoing campaign encourages private companies to take additional security precautions to protect against potential cyberattacks by Russia itself or by criminal hackers working on Moscow’s behalf.
…

Across central Florida, the 49 victims killed and dozens more survivors of the massacre at a gay-friendly nightclub were remembered with the unveiling of mural, the ringing of church bells and an overnight vigil Monday, the seventh anniversary of the tragedy.

Several people gathered at the site of the Pulse nightclub near downtown Orlando at 2 a.m. Monday, around the time that gunman Omar Mateen opened fire in 2016, leaving 49 people dead and 53 wounded. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, but that number was surpassed the next year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

Mateen was killed after a three-hour standoff by SWAT team members. He had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

At the Orlando Museum of Art, a colorful, a 13.4 meters by 5.5 meters mural depicting the victims was unveiled. In the afternoon, a downtown church was planning to ring its church bells 49 times in what has become an annual tradition.

“After seven years, our hearts remain broken from the senseless act of violence that took the lives of 49 innocent people and injured so many others,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said. “It is comforting to know that our community has not forgotten the pain and suffering of the families and survivors, for it is the only way that love will prevail over hate.”
…

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to Florida to face an indictment accusing him of willfully and illegally retaining highly classified national security documents after his White House tenure ended in early 2021.

Trump left his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort late Monday morning and boarded his personal jet at Newark International Airport for the flight to the southern state of Florida. He is staying at his Doral resort overnight before surrendering to federal authorities Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. courthouse in Miami.  

There, Trump will face U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a former federal prosecutor he nominated to the federal bench in 2020, as she arraigns him on a 37-count indictment. Cannon could set dates for his lawyers to file legal motions to dismiss the charges and begin to consider how soon he could face trial.

Special counsel Jack Smith said prosecutors want a “speedy” trial in the case, although it is likely Trump’s lawyers will try to push off the date as long as possible, including until after the November 2024 presidential election. National polls show Trump is the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination after losing a reelection bid in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden, who is running for a second four-year term.

Trump is the first U.S. president to face a federal indictment, although a state grand jury in New York accused him in March of altering business records to hide a $130,000 hush money payment to a porn star in 2016 just ahead of Trump’s successful campaign that year to keep her from talking about her claim that she had a one-night tryst with Trump a decade earlier.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing, including allegations that he illegally tried to upend the 2020 election results, which Smith and a state prosecutor in the southern state of Georgia are continuing to investigate.

Despite his claim of innocence, Trump over the weekend also acknowledged his legal peril in the classified documents case. If convicted, he could face years in prison.  

“Nobody wants to be indicted,” he said. Trump has assailed the Justice Department as “a sick nest of people that needs to be cleaned out immediately,” while calling Smith “deranged” and “openly a Trump hater.”

He says the classified documents allegations will not end his campaign to reclaim the White House.  

“I’ll never leave,” Trump told Politico, a political news site.

Federal law enforcement agents and Miami police, some with dogs on leashes, searched the courthouse perimeter for explosives in advance of Trump’s appearance. Several groups of Trump enthusiasts started to peacefully mass outside the courthouse Monday afternoon as a show of support, with police watching closely to avert any signs of violence.

The indictment alleges that Trump illegally retained 31 documents that “included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”

As his presidency ended on January 20, 2021, the indictment said, “Trump was not authorized to possess or retain those classified documents.” At various times, the indictment alleges that Trump stored boxes of the documents in a bathroom and shower stall at Mar-a-Lago, his oceanside retreat, and also on a ballroom stage, and in a bedroom, an office and a storage room.

As a former president, Trump could have sought a waiver of the requirement that only people with a “need to know” could continue to retain and look at the documents, but the indictment said that the former president “did not obtain any such waiver after his presidency.”

The 37-count indictment against Trump also alleges that the country’s 45th president conspired with a personal aide, Walt Nauta, to hide the documents from a Trump attorney, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the grand jury that was hearing evidence in the case. Nauta faces six charges in the case.

Among the other charges, Trump is accused of making false statements to investigators and ordering boxes to be moved to various locations at Mar-a-Lago so that his lawyer would not be able to locate all the documents that federal authorities had subpoenaed.
…

The U.N. cultural and scientific agency UNESCO said Monday the United States plans to rejoin the organization in July, nearly five years after leaving.

UNESCO said in a statement the move included a “concrete financing plan” that must be approved by member states.

Before its withdrawal, the United States was a leading financial supporter of UNESCO, providing about 22% of its budget. But it stopped financial contributions in 2011 after Palestinian membership was approved and withdrew altogether in 2018 with the Trump administration accusing UNESCO of anti-Israel bias.

UNESCO said in recent years it has worked to “reduce political tensions and find consensus on the most sensitive topics, such as the Middle East.”

“This is a strong act of confidence, in UNESCO and in multilateralism,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement. “Not only in the centrality of the Organization’s mandate – culture, education, science, information – but also in the way this mandate is being implemented today.”

U.S. President Joe Biden has requested $150 million in next year’s budget for UNESCO dues and back payments.

U.S. officials said ahead of Monday’s announcement that not having a presence at UNESCO was giving an edge to China, including on the issue of setting standards for artificial intelligence.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
…

Data tracking biases against women has shown no progress over the past decade, with prejudices remaining “deeply embedded” in society despite rights campaigns such as MeToo, a United Nations report said Monday.

Among both men and women, “biased gender social norms are prevalent worldwide: almost 90% of people have at least one bias” among the seven analyzed by the United Nations Development Program.

These prejudices “are widespread among men and women suggesting that these biases are deeply embedded and influences both men and women to similar degrees,” the report says.

The U.N. agency has updated its Gender Social Norms Index — which takes into account political, economic, education and physical integrity metrics — using data from the World Values Survey, an international project studying how values and beliefs are changing worldwide.

The index shows “no improvement in biases against women in a decade,” the UNDP said, “despite powerful global and local campaigns for women’s rights” such as MeToo.

For example, 69% of the world’s population still believes that men make better political leaders than women, and only 27% believe that it is essential for democracy that women have the same rights as men.

Nearly half the population (46%) believes that men have more right to a job, and 43% that men make better business leaders.

A quarter of the population also think it justifiable for a man to beat his wife, and 28% believe that university is more important for men.

Prejudices create “hurdles” for women and are “manifested in a dismantling of women’s rights in many parts of the world,” the report said.

“Without tackling biased gender social norms, we will not achieve gender equality or the Sustainable Development Goals,” it said.

The lack of progress on gender biases comes as the U.N. also reports declining human development metrics in general, linked in particular to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Social norms that impair women’s rights are also detrimental to society more broadly, dampening the expansion of human development,” Pedro Conceicao, director of the UNDP’s Human Development Report Office, said in a statement.

“Everyone stands to gain from ensuring freedom and agency for women,” he said.
…

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to meet outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House Monday as jockeying to secure Stoltenberg’s successor intensifies.

While the White House says the official agenda for the meeting is to discuss the alliance’s upcoming July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the issue of who will be next at NATO’s helm during this difficult period in its 74-year history will no doubt be front and center, as the alliance faces Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, is the longest-running NATO chief in a generation and has had his tenure extended three times since taking the job in 2014. In February, his spokesperson said he will leave office when his current term ends in October.

Stoltenberg is widely credited for managing rocky transatlantic relations between former U.S. President Donald Trump and European allies over defense spending, the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan in August 2021, and overseeing the alliance’s response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. His preference about his successor carries weight and Biden is expected to consult with him.

“A lot of people will look to him to say, ‘Who do you think is the best to follow up your leadership?” said Andrew Hyde, senior fellow at the Stimson Center, to VOA.

Whoever succeeds Stoltenberg will face the daunting challenge of shepherding the security of 1 billion people in 31 countries and growing. The next leader militarily while preventing the conflict from bleeding into the territory of a NATO member, which would trigger the alliance’s Article 5 principle of collective defense and potentially lead to World War III.

Consensus based

A U.S. general is traditionally the Supreme Allied Commander Europe but the post of NATO chief has always been assumed by a European,  even though there’s nothing in its charter that requires it.

There’s no formal process and candidates don’t announce that they’re running for the post. Selection is done through consensus, achieved mostly through quiet and informal diplomatic channels.

As the biggest donor, the U.S. plays a key role — the reason why two contenders have paid a visit to the Oval Office recently.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen met with Biden at the White House last Monday. She is seen as a front-runner; however, her candidacy would mean a third successive secretary-general from a Nordic country.

Another potential hurdle is that Denmark has long failed to meet the 2% minimum requirement in defense spending for member states. In December, her government launched a plan to meet NATO’s target by 2030, and recently ramped up military aid to Ukraine.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Washington days after Frederiksen, with a broad agenda that includes lobbying for his defense secretary, Ben Wallace. Britain, supplier of more military assistance to Ukraine than any country after the United States, has clout. And as one of the first defense ministers to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, Wallace is well-known among the alliance.

However, out of 13 chiefs in NATO’s history, three were British.

Biden was non-committal when asked whether it was time for another one. “Maybe. That remains to be seen,” he said during a joint news conference with Sunak Thursday.

All who have filled the post since 1952 were male.

Several women likely in running

There is a sense that it’s time the alliance selects a female leader, Hyde said. With the Russian war raging, “there’s also a feeling it should be somebody from Eastern Europe,” he added.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and her Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte meet both requirements. However, some observers argue that a leader from one of the Baltic countries, which are usually hawkish on Russia, could be perceived as a provocation by Moscow.

Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of Germany have been floated as potential candidates. So has Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, although her Ukrainian heritage may prove to be a complication.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been mentioned as another contender. And there’s always the possibility that the allies might prevail on Stoltenberg to extend his tenure yet again.

The issue of who is the next NATO secretary-general is expected to be settled by July, when the group’s leaders meet in Vilnius.
…

Best musical: “Kimberly Akimbo” 

Best play: “Leopoldstadt” 

Best revival of a musical: “Parade” 

Best revival of a play: “Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog” 

Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical: Victoria Clark, “Kimberly Akimbo” 

Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play: Sean Hayes, “Good Night, Oscar” 

Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play: Jodie Comer, “Prima Facie” 

Best book of a musical: “Kimberly Akimbo,” David Lindsay-Abaire 

Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical: J. Harrison Ghee, “Some Like It Hot” 

Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical: Alex Newell, “Shucked.” 

Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play: Miriam Silverman, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” 

Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical: Bonnie Milligan, “Kimberly Akimbo” 

Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play: Brandon Uranowitz, “Leopoldstadt” 

Best direction of a play: Patrick Marber, “Leopoldstadt” 

Best direction of a musical: Michael Arden, “Parade” 

Best choreography: Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like It Hot” 

Best original score: “Kimberly Akimbo,” Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: David Lindsay-Abaire 

Best orchestrations: Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, “Some Like It Hot” 

Best costume of a musical: Gregg Barnes, “Some Like It Hot” 

Best costume of a play: Brigitte Reiffenstuel, “Leopoldstadt” 

Best lighting design of a play: Tim Lutkin, “Life of Pi” 

Best lighting design of a musical: Natasha Katz, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” 
…

Whether a constitutional right to a healthy, livable climate is protected by state law is at the center of a lawsuit going to trial Monday in Montana, where 16 young plaintiffs and their attorneys hope to set an important legal precedent.

It’s the first trial of its kind in the U.S., and legal scholars around the world are following its potential addition to the small number of rulings that have established a government duty to protect citizens from climate change.

The trial comes shortly after the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature passed measures favoring the fossil fuel industry by stifling local government efforts to encourage renewable energy while increasing the cost to challenge oil, gas and coal projects in court.

By enlisting plaintiffs ranging in age from 5 to 22, the environmental firm bringing the lawsuit is trying to highlight how young people are harmed by climate change now and will be further affected in the future. Their testimony will detail how wildfire smoke, heat and drought have harmed residents’ physical and mental health.

The plaintiffs’ youth has little direct bearing on the legal issues, and experts say the case likely won’t lead to immediate policy changes in fossil fuel-friendly Montana.

But over two weeks of testimony, attorneys for the plaintiffs plan to call out state officials for pursuing oil, gas and coal development in hopes of sending a powerful message to other states.

Plaintiff Grace Gibson-Snyder, 19, said she’s felt the impacts of the heating planet acutely as wildfires regularly shroud her hometown of Missoula in dangerous smoke and as water levels drop in area rivers.

“We’ve seen repeatedly over the last few years what the Montana state Legislature is choosing,” Gibson-Snyder said. “They are choosing fossil fuel development. They are choosing corporations over the needs of their citizens.”

In high school, Gibson-Snyder was an environmental activist who was too young to vote when she signed on as a plaintiff. The other young plaintiffs include members of Native American tribes, a ranching family dependent on reliable water supplies and people with health conditions, such as asthma, that put them at increased risk during wildfires.

Some plaintiffs and experts will point to farmers whose margins have been squeezed by drought and extreme weather events like last year’s destructive floods in Yellowstone National Park as further evidence that residents have been denied the clean environment guaranteed under Montana’s Constitution.

Experts for the state are expected to downplay the impacts of climate change and what one of them described as Montana’s “miniscule” contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions.

Lawyers for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, a Republican, tried repeatedly to get the case thrown out over procedural issues. In a June 6 ruling, the state Supreme Court rejected the latest attempt to dismiss it, saying justices were not inclined to intervene just days before the start of a trial that has been “literally years in the making.”

One reason the case may have made it so far in Montana, when dozens of similar cases elsewhere have been rejected, is the state’s unusually protective 1972 Constitution, which requires officials to maintain a “clean and healthful environment.” Only a few other states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York, have similar environmental protections in their constitutions.

In prior rulings, State District Judge Kathy Seeley significantly narrowed the scope of the case. Even if the plaintiffs prevail, Seeley has said she would not order officials to formulate a new approach to address climate change.

Instead, the judge could issue what’s called a “declaratory judgment” saying officials violated the state Constitution. That would set a new legal precedent of courts weighing in on cases typically left to the government’s legislative and executive branches, environmental law expert Jim Huffman said.

“A declaratory judgment would be a symbolic victory, but would not require any particular action by the state government. So, the state could, and likely would, proceed as before,” he said.

Economist Terry Anderson, a witness for the state, said that over the past two decades, carbon dioxide emissions from Montana have declined, but that’s in part due to the shuttering of coal power plants.

“Montana energy or environmental policies have virtually no effect on global or local climate change because Montana’s GHG (greenhouse gas) contributions to the global total is trivial,” Anderson said in court documents.

Supporters of the lawsuit predicted an overflow crowd when the trial starts Monday in Helena. They rented a nearby theater to livestream the proceedings for those who can’t fit in the courtroom.

The case was brought in 2020 by attorneys for the environmental group Our Children’s Trust, which has filed climate lawsuits in every state on behalf of young plaintiffs since 2011. Most of those cases, including a previous one in Montana, were dismissed prior to trial.

A ruling in favor of the Montana plaintiffs could have ripple effects, according to Philip Gregory, Our Children’s Trust attorney. While it wouldn’t be binding outside Montana, it would give guidance to judges in other states, which could impact upcoming trials such as one in Hawaii, Gregory said.

Attempts to get a similar decision at the federal level were boosted by a June 1 ruling allowing a case brought by young climate activists in Oregon to proceed to trial in U.S. District Court. That case was halted by U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts on the eve of the trial in 2018.

While Montana’s Constitution requires the state to “maintain and improve” a clean environment, the Montana Environmental Policy Act, originally passed in 1971 and amended several times since, requires state agencies to balance the environment with resource development.

Lawmakers revised the policy this year to say environmental reviews may not look at greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts unless the federal government makes carbon dioxide a regulated pollutant.

A key question for the trial will be how forcefully the state contests established science on human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, said Jonathan Adler, environmental law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. If the state doesn’t deny that science, the trial will deal with the question of whether courts can tell governments to address climate change.
…

An elevated section of Interstate highway 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo caught fire, closing a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely, authorities said.

Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area in the northeast corner of the city. Officials said the tanker contained a petroleum product that may have been hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The fire was reported to be under control.

Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 onto the road below. There were no reports of injuries.

The northbound lanes of I-95 were gone, and the southbound lanes were “compromised” due to heat from the fire, said Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines were causing explosions underground, he added.

Some kind of crash happened on a ramp underneath northbound I-95 around 6:15 a.m. The northbound section above the fire collapsed quickly, state Transportation Department spokesman Brad Rudolph said.

Mark Fusetti, a retired Philadelphia police sergeant, said he was driving south toward the city’s airport when he noticed thick, black smoke rising over the highway. As he passed the fire, the road beneath began to “dip,” creating a noticeable depression that was visible in video he took of the scene, he said.

He saw traffic in his rearview mirror come to a halt. Soon after, the northbound lanes of the highway crumbled.

“It was crazy timing,” Fusetti said. “For it to buckle and collapse that quickly, it’s pretty remarkable.”

The southbound lanes were heavily damaged, “and we are assessing that now,” Rudolph said Sunday afternoon.

The collapsed section of I-95 was part of a $212 million reconstruction project that wrapped up four years ago, Rudolph said. There was no immediate time frame for reopening the highway, but officials would consider “a fill-in situation or a temporary structure” to accelerate the effort, he said.

Motorists were sent on a 43-mile (69-kilometer) detour, which was going “better than it would do on a weekday,” Rudolph said. The fact that the collapse happened on a Sunday helped ease congestion.

He expected traffic “to back up significantly on all the detour areas.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a Twitter post that President Joe Biden was briefed on the collapse and that White House officials were in contact with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s offices to offer assistance.

“This is a major artery for people and goods, and the closure will have significant impacts on the city and region until reconstruction and recovery are complete,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a social media post.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to investigate the fire and collapse.

Most drivers traveling the I-95 corridor between Delaware and New York City use the New Jersey Turnpike rather than the segment of interstate where the collapse occurred. Until 2018, drivers did not have a direct highway connection between I-95 in Pennsylvania and I-95 in New Jersey. They had to use a few miles of surface roads, with traffic lights, to get from one to the other.

Officials were also concerned about the environmental effects of runoff into the nearby Delaware River.

After a sheen was seen in the Delaware River near the collapse site, the Coast Guard deployed a boom to contain the material. Ensign Josh Ledoux said the tanker had a capacity of 8,500 gallons, but the contents did not appear to be spreading into the environment.

“As far as waterways go, it’s being contained, and it seems like things are under control,” he said.

Thousands of tons of steel and concrete were piled atop the site of the fire, and heavy construction equipment would be required to start to remove the debris, said Dominick Mireles, director of Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management.

The fire was strikingly similar to another blaze in Philadelphia in March 1996, when an illegal tire dump under I-95 caught fire, melting guard rails and buckling the pavement.

The highway was closed for several weeks, and partial closures lasted for six months. Seven teenagers were charged with arson. The dump’s owner was sentenced to seven to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $3 million of the $6.5 million repair costs, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

More recently in Atlanta, an elevated portion of Interstate 85 collapsed in a fire, shutting down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city in March 2017. A homeless man was accused of starting the blaze, but federal investigators said in a report that the state transportation department’s practice of storing combustible construction materials under the highway increased the risk of fire.
…

President Joe Biden on Saturday hosted what he described as the largest-ever White House event celebrating members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, during a month dedicated to celebrating gay pride.

This year’s event comes amid a flurry of laws passed in U.S. states and around the world that critics say hamper the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens.

At this year’s colourful event, Biden stressed his administration’s support for the community.

“You are loved,” he said to the crowd gathered on the South Lawn of the White House. “You are heard, you are understood and you belong. And as I made clear, including in my State of the Union address, your president, my entire administration has your back. We see you — you are made the image of God deserving of dignity, respect and support.”

Not all Americans agree or think these conversations should be held in public. Earlier this month, protesters in Glendale, California, gathered to air their opposition to teaching LGBTQ+ issues in public schools. The crowd of several hundred shouted at each other and at one point even exchanged punches.

Presidential challenger and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed several bills concerning LGBTQ+ rights, including the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which Biden described as “hateful.”

DeSantis says he is protecting conservative values.

“But we will, as president, lean in against woke ideology and against the sexualization of children,” he told a FOX News journalist on air.

The East African nation of Uganda recently passed the so-called “kill the gays” law, prompting some Ugandans to flee for safety to neighboring Kenya. Biden has described the law as “wrong” and “shameful.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told VOA that the trend of using the law to restrict gay rights makes this year’s celebration even more important.

“Let’s not forget what we’re seeing across the country from statehouses: more than 600 pieces of legislation, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation,” she said. “A few hundred of those are against transgender youth. And so we have not seen that type of ‘anti’ sentiment, anti — against this community in decades.

“And so we believe that not only does this community need to be celebrated and continue to be celebrated,” she added.

The faith community has mixed views on gay rights and at times members of the same religious congregation will have opposing views on the issue.

Pope Francis this year said homosexuality is not a crime, but that any sexual act outside of marriage is a sin. The Catholic Church does not bless same-sex unions.

There are some churches that minister specifically to the LGBTQ+ community.

“You have to take a look at the overall message of the Bible, which is affirming of the dignity and the humanity of every human being made in the image of God,” said the Rev. Lea Brown, who ministers in North Carolina at Metropolitan Community Church, a protestant congregation with outreach to the LGBTQ+ community. “That is the context — and a God that stands for love, a God that stands for social justice, a God that stands for an end to poverty and economic exploitation of human beings.”

The White House declared June as Pride Month in 1999. And this Pride Month, across the U.S. members of the LGBTQ+ community say they’re undeterred.

“We’re not going back into the closet, it’s not going to happen,” Brown said. “And so, absolutely, we’re going to be out there. We’re going to be voting. We’re going to be marching and hopefully, I really hope sharing our stories, showing the truth about our lives.”
…

In a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about $200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn’t factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost $300 a month. The pause in repayment has been a lifeline keeping the 25-year-old afloat. 

“I don’t even know where I would begin to budget that money,” said Chanthanouvong, who works in marketing in San Francisco. 

Now, after more than three years, the lifeline is being pulled away. 

More than 40 million Americans will be on the hook for federal student loan payments starting in late August under the terms of a debt ceiling deal approved by Congress last week. The Biden administration has been targeting that timeline for months, but the deal ends any hope of a further extension of the pause, which has been prolonged while the Supreme Court decides the president’s debt cancellation. 

Without cancellation, the Education Department predicts borrowers will fall behind on their loans at historic rates. Among the most vulnerable are those who finished college during the pandemic. Millions have never had to make a loan payment, and their bills will soon come amid soaring inflation and forecasts of economic recession. 

Advocates fear it will add a financial burden that younger borrowers can’t afford.

“I worry that we’re going to see levels of default of new graduates that we’ve never seen before,” said Natalia Abrams, president of the nonprofit Student Debt Crisis Center.

Chanthanouvong earned a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of California-Merced in 2019. She couldn’t find a job for a year, leaving her to rely on odd jobs for income. She found a full-time job last year, but at $70,000, her salary barely covers the cost of living in the Bay Area. 

“I’m not going out. I don’t buy Starbucks every day. I’m cooking at home,” she said. “And sometimes, I don’t even have $100 after everything.” 

Under President Joe Biden’s cancellation plan, Chanthanouvong would be eligible to get $20,000 of her debt erased, leaving her owing $5,000. But she isn’t banking on the relief. Instead, she invited her partner to move in and split rent. The financial pinch has them postponing or rethinking major life milestones. 

“My partner and I agreed, maybe we don’t want kids,” she said. “Not because we don’t want them, but because it would be financially irresponsible for us to bring a human being into this world.” 

Out of the more than 44 million federal student loan borrowers, about 7 million are below the age of 25, according to data from the Education Department. Their average loan balance is less than $14,000, lower than any other age group. 

Yet borrowers with lower balances are the most likely to default. It’s fueled by millions who drop out before graduating, along with others who graduate but struggle to find good jobs. Among those who defaulted in 2021, the median loan balance was $15,300, and the vast majority had balances under $40,000, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Resuming student loan payments will cost U.S. consumers $18 billion a month, the investment firm Jefferies has estimated. The hit to household budgets is ill-timed for the overall economy, Jefferies says, because the United States is widely believed to be on the brink of a recession. 

Despite the student loan moratorium, Americans mostly didn’t bank their savings, according to Jefferies economist Thomas Simons. So they’ll likely have to cut back on other things — travel, restaurants — to fit resumed loan payments into their budgets. Belt-tightening could hurt an economy that relies heavily on consumer spending. 

Noshin Hoque graduated from Stony Brook University early in the pandemic with about $20,000 in federal student loans. Instead of testing the 2020 job market, she enrolled at a master’s program in social work at Columbia University, borrowing $34,000 more. 

With the payments paused, she felt a new level of financial security. She cut costs by living with her parents in New York City and her job at a nonprofit paid enough to save money and help her parents. 

She recalls splurging on a $110 polo shirt as a Father’s Day gift for her dad. 

“Being able to do stuff for my parents and having them experience that luxury with me has just been such a plus,” said Hoque, who works for Young Invincibles, a nonprofit that supports student debt cancellation. 

It gave her the comfort to enter a new stage of life. She got married to a recent medical school graduate, and they’re expecting their first child in November. At the same time, they’re bracing for the crush of loan payments, which will cost at least $400 a month combined. They hope to pay more to avoid interest, which is prohibited for them as practicing Muslims. 

To prepare, they stopped eating at restaurants. They canceled a vacation to Italy. Money they wanted to put toward their child’s education fund will go to their loans instead. 

“We’re back to square one of planning our finances,” she said. “I feel that so deeply.”

Even the logistics of making payments will be a hurdle for newer borrowers, said Rachel Rotunda, director of government relations at National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. They’ll need to find out who their loan servicers are, choose a repayment plan and learn to navigate the payment system. 

“The volume of borrowers going back on the system at the same time — this has never happened before,” Rotunda said. “It’s fair to say it’s going to be bumpy.”

The Education Department has promised to make the restart of payments as smooth as possible. In a statement, the agency said it will continue to push for Biden’s debt cancellation as a way to reduce borrowers’ debt load and ease the transition. 

For Beka Favela, 30, the payment pause provided independence. She earned a master’s in counseling last year, and her job as a therapist allowed her to move out of her parents’ house.

Without making payments on her $80,000 in student loans, she started saving. She bought furniture. She chipped away at credit card debt. But once the pause ends, she expects to pay about $500 a month. It will consume most of her disposable income, leaving little for surprise costs. If finances get tighter, she wonders if she’ll have to move back home.

“I don’t want to feel like I’m regressing in order to make ends meet,” said Favela, of Westmont, Illinois. “I just want to keep moving forward. I’m worried, is that going to be possible?” 
…

Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.

Biden Administration Relies on Deterrence to Manage Immigration at US-Mexico Border

The Biden administration is using new rules to manage the flow of migrants by discouraging them from coming to the U.S.-Mexico border, delaying them once they arrive or removing them if they don’t follow the guidelines. Immigration reporter Aline Barros has the story.

Nigerian-Born Political Newcomer Becomes Colorado City Mayor

After a history-making victory, Nigerian immigrant Yemi Mobolade was sworn in on June 6 as the mayor of Colorado Springs, the second-largest city in the western U.S. state of Colorado. Mobolade moved to the U.S. 27 years ago as a student and became a U.S. citizen in 2017. He started a family, opened two restaurants and a church, and then won election in this traditionally conservative city as its first elected Black leader. Haruna Shehu reports from Colorado.

California Attorney General Blames Florida for Migrant Charter Flight

Florida appears to have arranged for a group of South American migrants to be transported from Texas to California and dropped off in Sacramento, California’s attorney general said, noting that he’s looking into whether any crimes may have been committed. The Associated Press reports.

Vietnamese Families Calling Remote Alaskan Islands Home

Off the coast of Alaska, an outpost of about 4,000 people spills over two of the Aleutian Islands, Unalaska and Amaknak. A few Vietnamese families have braved the harsh conditions to build lives and businesses. VOA’s Dong Hai has the story, narrated by Titi Tran.

VOA Day in Photo:

A wooden boat carrying migrants waits to be rescued by a Spanish coast guard vessel, near Bahia Feliz Beach, in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain.

Immigration around the world

Visa Program for Afghans Gains Momentum; Many Applicants Trapped Under Taliban

Nearly two years after the United States evacuated approximately 124,000 people from Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government remain inside the country, fearing Taliban persecution. VOA’s Akmal Dawi reports.

Malawi Revokes Dubious Citizenship of Refugees Wanted Abroad

Malawi’s government has started revoking the citizenship of refugees and asylum-seekers who they say obtained their status fraudulently. Officials say the campaign is aimed at flushing out criminals from other countries, including Rwandan genocide suspects. But critics say the program is too broad and will ensnare legitimate refugees. Story by Lameck Masina.

Rights Groups Urge Malawi to Stop Forced Refugee Relocations

An international rights group is asking the Malawi government to stop the forced relocation of 8,000 refugees living outside a congested camp. Human Rights Watch says it is concerned by reports that children are among those caught up in the sweeps and forcibly taken to a prison in the capital, Lilongwe. The rights group says the forcible relocation violates international conventions for refugees which Malawi ratified. Story by Lameck Masina.

Caught Between Two Wars: Sudan’s Ethiopian Refugees

Tigrayans who fled Ethiopia’s civil war to neighboring Sudan say they are not receiving enough aid because of the outbreak of violence there, but that they are afraid to return to Ethiopia because of alleged ethnic cleansing. Others, resorting to desperate measures, are falling victim to human traffickers promising to help them find passage to Europe. Henry Wilkins reports from N’Djamena, Chad.

Food Rations for Each Rohingya Refugee Drops to $8 Per Month

Rights activists and refugees have expressed concerns over the United Nations food agency’s decision to cut food aid for the second time in three months for more than 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar who are living in shanty colonies in Bangladesh. Story by Shaikh Azizur Rahman.

Taliban Move to Address Pakistan’s Cross-Border Terror Complaints

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan announced their plan Sunday to move thousands of Pakistani refugees away from border provinces amid sustained allegations the displaced population is the source of growing terrorism in neighboring Pakistan. Ayaz Gul reports for VOA from Islamabad, Pakistan.

News Brief

—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new process that will enable Afghan nationals to renew their parole and continue to live and work in the United States.
…

Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, has died in federal prison, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press Saturday. 

Kaczynski was found dead around 8 a.m. at a federal prison in North Carolina. A cause of death was not immediately known. 

He had been moved to the federal prison medical facility in North Carolina after spending two decades in a federal Supermax prison in Colorado for a series of bombings that targeted scientists. 

Kaczynski was serving life without the possibility of parole following his 1996 arrest at the primitive cabin, where he was living in western Montana. He pleaded guilty to setting 16 explosions that killed three people and injured 23 others in various parts of the United States between 1978 and 1995. 
…

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Friday she is “gravely concerned by the growing military cooperation” between Russia and Iran because it enables “Russia’s prosecution of its brutal war against Ukraine.”

Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement, the recent release of information by the United States documenting how Iran has provided Russia with hundreds of one-way, attack unmanned aerial vehicles and UAV production equipment, has enabled Russia to use the UAVs “in recent weeks to strike Kyiv, destroy Ukranian infrastructure, and kill and terrorize Ukrainians civilians.”

She said Russia and Iran’s actions violate U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, “which prohibits all countries – including permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – from transferring these types of weapons from Iran.”

Many countries, including Ukraine and the United States, have reported these violations to the Security Council and have also provided supporting material and analysis, according to Thomas-Greenfield.

“There is an urgent need for the secretary-general to respond to calls from the international community to investigate these violations,” she said. “Doing so could save lives.”
…