New poll reveals warning signs for GOP on abortion ahead of midterms

Andrew Romano
·West Coast Correspondent
Fri, May 6, 2022, 


Many right-wing politicians and pundits have spent the week rejoicing over Monday's momentous report that five conservative Supreme Court justices appear poised to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion almost half a century ago.

Yet a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, one of the first to be conducted entirely after the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s controversial draft opinion, suggests that Republicans risk overplaying their hand on abortion ahead of the 2022 midterms — and that Democrats could benefit if the hot-button issue is on the ballot.

The survey of 1,577 U.S. adults, which was conducted from May 3 to May 6, found that registered voters initially preferred a generic Democrat (44%) over a generic Republican (39%) by 5 percentage points when asked how they would vote in their district if the congressional election were being held today.

But when voters were asked to choose instead between a “pro-choice Democrat” and a “pro-life Republican,” GOP support fell to 31% while Democratic support held steady — more than doubling the gap between the two candidates, to 13 percentage points.

By the same token, 69% of Americans say they would “oppose Congress passing a law that bans abortion nationwide.” The Washington Post reported this week that conservative groups have already met with their congressional allies about a possible “nationwide ban on the procedure if Republicans retake power in Washington,” and several GOP senators have started sketching out policy details.

“I think you could expect that pro-life activists would push for federal protections” if the Supreme Court overturns Roe, GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told NBC News. “I wouldn't take that off the table.”

A mere 22% of Americans say they would favor such a law — while more than twice as many (48%) would support a law "that keeps abortion as legal and accessible nationwide as it had been under Roe.”

These warning signs for Republicans reflect a deeper, and remarkably consistent, pattern. On question after question, only about a third of Americans say they agree with the transformative decision the court is now careening toward — that is, a decision to end all federal protections for abortion, allowing state legislatures to restrict or ban the procedure as they please.

Abortion rights activists rally in front of the Supreme Court building on Thursday. 

(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Just 31% of U.S. adults, for instance, say Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Just 34% say abortion should be illegal in “all” or “most” cases. Only 33% say they want their own states to make all or most abortions illegal. And just 30% say abortion is “something that individual states should be [able to] outlaw.”

In contrast, nearly twice as many Americans see abortion as “a constitutional right that women in all states should have some access to” (56%) and say the procedure should be legal in all or most cases (55%).

The question now is whether this lopsided dynamic — a small minority in favor of the court’s likely decision and a clear majority opposed to it — will be enough to energize otherwise unenthusiastic Democrats and alter the course of an election that had been trending in the GOP’s direction.

The new Yahoo News/YouGov poll holds some possible hints. A full 28% of pro-choice Americans, for instance, now say they will vote only for a candidate who “shares [their] view on abortion.” Among Americans who identify as "pro-life" — who are traditionally seen as the more motivated group — that number is significantly lower (21%).

The new survey also measured a sizable jump in dissatisfaction among Democrats, with the number who say "things in this country are off on the wrong track" rising 8 points (to 43%) since last month, likely because of the leaked draft opinion. Neither Republicans nor independents shifted nearly as much. Whether such unease translates into turnout, however, remains to be seen.


Meanwhile, 20% of Democrats — including 22% of Democratic women and 27% of liberal Democrats — now select abortion as “the most important issue” for this year’s election, ahead of inflation (19%), health care (16%) and climate change (14%). In November 2021, just 4% of Democrats, 6% of Democratic women and 5% of liberal Democrats selected abortion as their most important issue.

Republicans (6%) and independents (6%) are far less inclined to cite abortion as the most important issue.

Already, Democratic candidates in key races from Georgia to Pennsylvania to Texas are seizing on the likely end of Roe to argue that voting Republican — or sitting out the election — will pave the way for those states (and possibly Congress as a whole) to outlaw abortion going forward. Many Republican candidates, meanwhile, are jockeying to prove they’re more anti-abortion than their GOP rivals as they aim to appeal to an increasingly right-wing primary electorate.

However, it’s still unclear how these new arguments might reshape the midterms.

For one thing, President Biden's job-approval rating — 40% approve vs. 52% disapprove in the new survey — remains low, and inflation (33%) is still a far more important issue for the general electorate than abortion (10%).

Ultimately, most Americans have mixed feelings about abortion itself, making it hard to predict how the upheaval around Roe will play out politically. According to the new poll, more than half of U.S. adults (54%) say they know someone who has had an abortion, while 27% say they do not, 13% say they’re not sure and 6% prefer not to say. Personal awareness of the abortion issue is higher among women (60%) than among men (48%) and also higher among those who describe themselves as pro-choice (64%) than among those who say they are "pro-life" (54%).

Abortion-rights and anti-abortion advocates confront each other in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

That familiarity helps inform and harden views on abortion in a way that differs from most other public policy issues. The country is more closely split on the morality of abortion, for instance, than on its legality, with 46% saying abortion is morally acceptable in all or most cases and 40% saying it is morally unacceptable in all or most cases.

Similarly, far more Americans believe abortions should be "generally legal" during the first three months of pregnancy (61%) than during months three to six (32%) or the last three months (19%). And motivation matters, too, with roughly three-quarters of Americans saying abortions should be generally legal "when the woman's life is endangered" (76%) or "when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest” (71%) — while less than half say the same "when the woman does not want to go through with the pregnancy for any reason" (44%).

A separate policy question captures some of these nuances. When offered three choices, just 24% of Americans prefer to “overturn Roe v. Wade altogether” rather than “let Roe v. Wade stand as it is” (42%). But another 13% want to “limit” Roe by letting states outlaw abortion “two months earlier” in a pregnancy “than the current law permits.” If the Supreme Court were to let the Mississippi law at the center of the current case stand — the “middle way” that Chief Justice John Roberts reportedly prefers — that is precisely what would happen.

______________

The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,577 U.S. adults interviewed online from May 3 to 6, 2022. This sample was weighted according to gender, age, race and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as 2020 presidential vote (or nonvote) and voter registration status. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 2.7%.

USA

In abortion fight, conservatives 

push to end all exceptions

REBECCA BOONE and JOHN HANNA

Fri, May 6, 2022,

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Angela Housley was halfway through her pregnancy when she learned the fetus was developing without parts of its brain and skull and would likely die within hours or days of birth, if it survived that long.

The news came during her 20-week ultrasound.

“The technician got a really horrible look on her face,” Housley said. “And we got the really sad news that our baby was anencephalic.”

It was 1992 and abortion was legal in Idaho, though she had to dodge anti-abortion protesters outside the Boise hospital after the procedure. If the same scenario were to happen later this year, she would likely be forced to carry to term.

That’s because Idaho, which bans abortion after six weeks, is one of at least 22 states with laws banning abortion before the 15th week, many of them lacking exceptions for fetal viability, rape or incest, or even the health of the woman. Several of those bans would take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, as a leaked draft of the opinion suggests.

Such exceptions were once regularly included in even the most conservative anti-abortion proposals. But as the battle over abortion access heats up, experts on both sides of the issue say the exceptions were a temporary stepping stone intended to make anti-abortion laws more palatable.

Many of the current abortion bans are designed as “trigger laws," automatically going into effect if the high court overturns the nationwide right to abortion. That ruling is expected to be released by late June or early July.

Alabama and Oklahoma have enacted bans with no exceptions. Alabama's 2019 law is blocked in federal court but could be reinstated based on the Supreme Court's ruling. The Republican sponsors envisioned the legislation as a vehicle to challenge Roe in court, and said they could add rape and incest exceptions later if Roe is overturned.

“They’re basically using people — in this particular situation, women — as collateral damage," said Democratic Rep. Chris England, the chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. “In the debate, we tried to talk reasonably to them and say, ‘What happens if you win? This is the law, You’re not going to have the opportunity to change it before people get hurt.'”

Several other states, including Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, also have bans or trigger laws in place that lack exceptions for rape or incest, according to the Guttmacher Institute and Associated Press reporting.

Idaho and Utah have exceptions for rape or incest, but require the pregnant woman to first file a police report and then prove to the abortion provider the report was made. Only about a third of sexual assaults are reported to police, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

Texas and Idaho allow exceptions for “medical emergencies" but leave that interpretation up to physicians, making some critics fear doctors will wait to intervene until a woman is near death.

Public support for total abortion bans appears to be low, based on a Pew Research Center survey released Friday and conducted in March. The survey showed that just 8% of U.S. adults think abortion should be illegal in all cases with no exceptions, and that 61% of adults say abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances. Surveys consistently show that many Americans have nuanced attitudes around the legality of abortion depending on the stage of pregnancy, circumstances of conception and health of the mother or fetus.

Arkansas has two near-total abortion bans — a trigger law from 2019 and one passed last year that is blocked in federal court. Neither have exceptions for rape or incest, though they do allow abortions to save the woman's life. The state also never repealed its pre-1973 total abortion ban with no restrictions.

Republicans in the state were split on the issue last year, with Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Sen. Missy Irvin expressing reservations about the lack of protections for sexual assault survivors.

“Do you know how many young girls are on suicide watch because they were raped, because they were a victim of incest?” asked Irvin, who ultimately voted for last year’s bill.

The sponsor of last year’s ban, Republican Sen. Jason Rapert, defended the lack of exemptions, saying it still allowed the use of emergency contraception.

Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst for the abortion-rights supporting Guttmacher Institute, said that of 86 pending proposals for abortion restrictions this year, only a few — including one each in Idaho, New Jersey and West Virginia — include rape and incest exceptions.

The exceptions were always “incredibly limited,” she said. "You might think these exceptions are helpful. But in fact they’re so restricted, they’re very hard to use.”

Troy Newman, president of the national anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, said exceptions to abortion restrictions for rape and incest and to protect a pregnant woman’s life in the past have been “thrown in there to appease some centrists.”

Newman said his group, based in Wichita, Kansas, opposes rape and incest exceptions. Their rationale: “Don’t punish the baby for the crime of the father.”

The Ohio Legislature is weighing a trigger law that lacks sexual assault exceptions. During a hearing last month, the bill’s GOP sponsor, Rep. Jean Schmidt, caused controversy when she called pregnancy resulting from rape “an opportunity” for the rape victim to “make a determination about what she's going to do to help that life be a productive human being.”

She was responding to a question from Democratic Rep. Rich Brown, who asked if a 13-year-old impregnated during a rape would be forced to carry to term.

Rape “emotionally scars the individual,” Schmidt conceded, "but if a baby is created, it is a human life.”

Democratic Rep. Tavia Galonski countered that pregnancy is often traumatic and dangerous on its own, adding: “To then force a survivor of rape to carry a pregnancy to term and go through childbirth is utterly vile and only adds to the trauma they have already suffered.”

In South Carolina, supporters of a 2021 abortion ban added exceptions for rape and incest because it was the only way to get the law passed. During debate, Republican Sen. Richard Cash argued against the exceptions.

“Punish the rapist ... but it doesn’t belong on the baby,” he said.

Democratic Sen. Mia McLeod responded that it was obvious Cash had never been raped.

“Well, I have. You’re looking at a sexual assault survivor,” she said, adding that requiring rape victims to carry babies to term could lead them to desperate measures, including dangerous illegal abortions or suicide.

"I’m just asking that the men in this body give the women and girls of this state” a choice, McLeod said.

New Hampshire has banned abortion after 24 weeks of gestation except for when the woman's health is threatened, though the state will soon add an exception for fatal fetal anomalies. The Republican-led legislature has rejected attempts to add rape and incest exceptions.

Republican Rep. Beth Folsom, who said in January that she is a rape survivor, argued the exceptions aren't necessary because rape victims carefully track their menstrual cycles and wouldn’t wait 24 weeks to seek an abortion. An incest exception wasn’t needed, she added, because “that aggressor is going to make sure that young girl or woman has an abortion before anyone finds out.”

Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Pro-Choice Missouri, expressed concern that provisions in laws like the one in Texas that allow abortions past six weeks in medical emergencies, will require doctors to wait until a patient appears to be dying to perform an abortion.

“Any of those kind of pieces that are left up to interpretation are generally going to have a broad chilling effect on providers who don’t want to jeopardize their career and livelihood and practice and ability to care for other patients,” Schwarz said.

Many bans outlaw abortion after six weeks, when vaginal ultrasounds can first detect electrical activity in embryonic cells that may later become the heart. Proponents call them “heartbeat laws,” arguing that cardiac activity is a reliable indicator of life.

In Idaho, Housley has repeatedly testified against the state's abortion bans in the Legislature, but said the lawmakers were uninterested in hearing about her experience.

“My baby had a heartbeat, but that’s not the only thing a baby needs,” said Housley. Anti-abortion politicians "are not at all interested in the reality of this issue. They’ve hijacked this discussion, and that’s why we are where we are.”

___

Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut and AP statehouse reporters from around the U.S. contributed.

Elon Musk's Tesla is paying for employees to get abortions out of state as the Supreme Court looks likely to overturn Roe v. Wade

Bryan Metzger

Fri, May 6, 2022, 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and protesters outside the Supreme Court this week.Angela Weiss / AFP and Amanda Andrade-Rhoades / The Washington Post via Getty Images

• Tesla began covering costs for its employees to receive out-of-state abortions in 2021.

• The policy came as states like Texas, where Tesla is now based, passed tighter abortion restrictions.

• It puts Elon Musk at odds with his conservative fans as the Supreme Court looks likely to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Tesla, the electric vehicle company owned by billionaire and soon-to-be Twitter owner Elon Musk, is paying for employees to get out-of-state abortions.

According to the company's 2021 Impact Report, Tesla began providing an "expanded Safety Net program and health insurance offering" last year, which includes "travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state."

That came after the company relocated to Texas, where abortion was outlawed after the six-week mark in August 2021.

That policy places Tesla among a growing list of companies that are helping employees access abortion care in the wake of new restrictions passed at the state level, as well as fresh concerns that Roe v. Wade could be overturned next month following the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion doing just that.

And it puts Musk — who's otherwise become a hero among conservatives following his purchase of Twitter last month — at odds with some of his cheerleaders.

Chief among them is Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who introduced a bill this week to prevent companies from making tax deductions for employees' abortion-related travel costs or for gender-affirming care for minors.

"Too often our corporations find loopholes to subsidize the murder of unborn babies or horrific 'medical' treatments on kids," said Rubio in a statement touting the bill. "My bill would make sure this does not happen."

Though Tesla's impact report makes no mention of minors, the company does tout the fact that it has provided "transgender benefits aligned with the clinical protocol set forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health" since 2018.

Rubio's bill is part of a long-standing crusade by the one-time 2016 presidential candidate against what he sees as collusion between big business and "Marxism."

"[Corporate leaders] are the product of decades of anti-American indoctrination at our elite universities and they feel no obligation to America or its national interest," said Rubio during a speech last fall. "I'm not here to tell you big business is the enemy. But I'm here to tell you big business is not our ally in the fight against socialism."

But Rubio has also showed cautious optimism for Musk's recent purchase of Twitter, which he said had caused a "meltdown" among the "far left" because they fear "losing the power to threaten, silence and destroy anyone who doesn't agree with them."

Rubio's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Some of the Florida senator's Republican colleagues were even more enthusiastic about Musk's Twitter purchase.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called it the "most important development for free speech in decades," while Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana lauded the purchase as a "clear win for free speech and America."

But while Musk's self-avowed commitment to free speech and seeming disdain for the progressive left has given hope to some conservatives, the tech billionaires' ideology may prove too libertarian for a party increasingly interested in using the power of the state to promote conservative values.

"In general, I believe government should rarely impose its will upon the people," wrote Musk in a tweet in September 2021. "That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics."

Feds accuse Starbucks of unfair labor practices in Buffalo


 Michelle Eisen, a barista at the Buffalo, N.Y., Elmwood Starbucks location, helps out the local Starbucks Workers United, employees of a local Starbucks, as they gather at a local union hall to cast votes to unionize or not, on Feb. 16, 2022, in Mesa, Ariz. Federal labor officials filed a sweeping complaint Friday, May 6, 2022 accusing Starbucks of unfair labor practices at its stores in Buffalo, New York, including retaliation against pro-union employees.

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Fri, May 6, 2022,

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Federal labor officials filed a sweeping complaint Friday accusing Starbucks of unfair labor practices at its stores in Buffalo, New York, including retaliation against pro-union employees.

The National Labor Relations Board’s Buffalo regional director outlined a host of labor law violations in a filing seeking reinstatement and backpay for the employees.

There’s been a wave of unionization drives at Starbucks stores nationwide, with the first union votes coming in December at three stores in Buffalo.

The coffee chain called the allegations “false” and vowed to fight them at an upcoming hearing.

“Starbucks does not agree that the claims have merit, and the complaint’s issuance does not constitute a finding by the NLRB,” spokesman Reggie Borges wrote in an email. “It is the beginning of a litigation process that permits both sides to be heard and to present evidence.”

Starbucks Workers United, the group behind the unionization effort, said the complaint “confirms the extent and depravity of Starbucks’ conduct in Western New York for the better part of a year.”

“Starbucks is finally being held accountable for the union-busting rampage they went on,” Danny Rojas, a fired shift supervisor, said in a statement. “Starbucks needs to understand that it is morally corrupt to retaliate against union leaders, and I am looking forward to the NLRB forcing Starbucks to make this moment right.”

Last month, federal labor officials asked a judge to force Starbucks to reinstate three union activists at its Phoenix location, alleging the coffee giant engaged in unfair labor practices.

As of this week, workers at more than 250 U.S. stores have filed petitions with the labor board to hold union elections, labor organizers say. At least 50 of those stores have voted to unionize with Workers United, a branch of the Service Employees International Union.

Starbucks reported Tuesday that its sales climbed to record levels in its fiscal second quarter but noted it faced higher employment costs, which set to grow even higher in the coming months as the company introduces new pay raises and other benefits.

However, workers who have voted to unionize or stores that have petitioned to hold a union election won’t be eligible for those additional wage hikes and benefits.

Starbucks Workers United has said it filed charges with the labor board against Starbucks on Tuesday. The group alleges the company is violating labor law by threatening to exclude unionized stores from receiving the new benefits.

Toilet explodes after freak lightning strike at Oklahoma apartment, firefighters say

Screengrab of Facebook post by Brooke Griffin.

Mitchell Willetts

Sun, May 8, 2022, 9

Toilets can stand up to a lot of things and keep on flushing, but Mother Nature’s wrath is more powerful than even the worst dietary decisions.

A bolt of lightning struck a commode inside an apartment in Oklahoma, causing it to explode into dozens of charred pieces, leaving a blackened wreck around a shattered bowl, photos shared to news outlets by Okmulgee firefighters show.

“The past 12 hours have been a wild ride,” firefighters said in a Facebook post.

Okmulgee firefighters responded to a call from the Oxford Apartments on the night of Wednesday, May 4, a KOTV reporter said in a post.

A “bizarre lightning strike” appeared to have gone through a vent overhead and then struck the toilet, firefighters told KOTV.

While firefighters say an act of God obliterated this commode, commenters have suggested other possibilities, including Taco Bell and Chipotle.

Or perhaps the john was smited?

“Thor decided that was not a throne worthy of a king!” a commenter wrote.

Others are upset by the news, worried that the place they felt safest in their home isn’t as safe as they thought.

“Adds ‘no sitting on toilets during lightning storms in case of electrocution’ to list of unnecessary anxieties,” a comment read.

“Okay, I apologize to my Grandmother (posthumously) for laughing at her when she told me not to use the bathroom during a storm,” read another.

Nobody was living in the apartment, but it was scheduled to be rented out the next day, the KOTV post said.

A farewell to foie gras? There’s a shortage of the fatty favorite in France
Charles Passy - Yesterday 6:53 AM
© Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images


THE MARGIN

Sacre bleu! There’s a foie gras shortage in France.

The fatty, unctuous treat, otherwise known as duck or goose liver, is in short supply throughout the country, according to CNN and other news outlets. The culprit: the bird-flu epidemic that has spread throughout Europe. One report says that France has culled 16 million birds, including ducks, in an effort to curb the disease. And that means far less foie gras to go around.

“This week we got none,” said French chef Pascal Lombard in an interview with CNN. Lombard is the owner of Le 1862, a Michelin-starred restaurant in southwestern France.

Of course, many animal-rights activists might welcome this news. Foie gras has long been a controversial foodstuff, since its production requires the force feeding of ducks or geese (that’s what gets their livers extra fatty). As a result, foie gras has been banned in many places throughout the world. For example, New York City has a ban that’s set to go into effect later this year.

Still, foie gras has its many fans. Marco Moreira, chef and proprietor of Tocqueville, a restaurant in New York, once told the Wall Street Journal that his customers can’t get enough of the stuff.

“Some people will have multiple courses of foie gras,” he said, calling the citywide ban “preposterous.”

Meanwhile, as France contends with the current shortage, Marie-Pierre Pé, who directs a committee of the country’s foie gras producers, told CNN that consumers should think in terms of rationing so that everyone is ensured at least a small taste.

“We have to share with each other,” she said.

Appeals court upholds limit on California's foie gras ban


Jorge Vargas uses a funneled pipe to force-feed a measured dose of corn mush to a Moulard duck in its pen at Sonoma Foie Gras in Farmington, Calif. A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that limits California's 2012 foie gras ban. The court in San Francisco on Friday, May 6, 2022, declined to overturn a ruling the year before that said individual Californians can order the delicacy from out-of-state producers and have it delivered. However, the product can't be produced in California or sold here by restaurants or other businesses. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)More


Fri, May 6, 2022, 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Californians can buy foie gras produced out of state despite California's ban on the delicacy, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2020 lower court ruling that said Californians can order foie gras from out-of-state producers and have it sent by a third-party delivery service.

The ruling only applies to people who buy foie gras for individual consumption. The 2012 state law still bans foie gras production in California while restaurants and retailers are forbidden to sell it or give it away.

Foie gras is made from the enlarged livers of force-fed ducks and geese. The Humane Society and other groups supported California’s law, arguing the process constituted cruelty to animals.

Producers argued that the force-feeding process mimicked something that happens in the wild, when ducks and geese overeat to store up extra nutrition for their long annual migration.

The law was challenged by producers, including New York-based Hudson Valley Foie Gras, which said it lost nearly one-third of its total sales when the ban took effect.

They argued that the state law conflicts with interstate commerce and federal food regulations that allow force-feeding for foie gras production.

In a 3-0 ruling, the appellate panel upheld the previous ruling but rejected efforts to overturn the entire law.

Ralph Henry, a lawyer for the Humane Society, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the ruling didn't significantly weaken the law.

“Only a narrow form of transaction — a sale by sellers outside the state, shipping to end-use consumers in the state — is still allowed,” he said in an email.

Lawyers for producers said they would ask the appellate court for a new hearing before a large panel.

Chef Sean Chaney told The Chronicle in a statement that while he considers the law unconstitutional, “I’m also glad that 40 million Californians can continue to enjoy the foie gras products they buy online, and I hope to be able to cook it for them soon again.”

UK
Boris Johnson urged to revive ban on fur, foie gras and hunt trophies



Jane Dalton
Sat, May 7, 2022,

Dozens of the UK’s leading animal charities have written to Boris Johnson asking him to include in the Queen’s speech an earlier promise to ban imports of hunting trophies, fur, foie gras and shark fins.

The measures were in the Animals Abroad Bill, which the government dropped earlier this year in a dramatic U-turn to the anger of campaigners who have devoted years fighting for the changes.

The bill also included a ban on the advertising of cruel tourism activities abroad, such as elephant rides and elephant entertainment venues.

The heads of 38 organisations have joined forces to back the letter, including the RSPCA, the Born Free Foundation, Peta, World Animal Protection, World Horse Welfare, Compassion in World Farming, and Whale & Dolphin Conservation.

The sister of a woman killed at an elephant theme park in Thailand last month told The Independent of her bitter disappointment that the government was shying away from a ban, instead stating it expected tourists to do their own research.

“How do holidaymakers know if you don’t tell them?” asked Helen Costigan.

The Independent previously reported that the various measures were agreed at cabinet level, before Jacob Rees-Mogg, Brandon Lewis and Mark Spencer are thought to have vetoed them – even though the changes were promised in the government’s action plan for animal welfare published last year.

Every year, hunters from the UK travel abroad, often to southern Africa, and pay thousands of pounds to legally shoot animals, such as lions, elephants and even baboons.

They are allowed to bring back body parts such as stuffed heads, paws and horns in a grisly trade that critics say is driving wildlife populations towards extinction.

The last Conservative Party election manifesto included a pledge to ban trophy hunt imports. But according to The Times, Mr Johnson has indeed dropped plans to ban the import and sale of foie gras and fur.

Conservationists have made repeated trips to Westminster to hand in petitions and have meetings with government representatives over the issues of the imports and adverts.

The charities’ latest letter tells the prime minister: “We would welcome the opportunity to meet with your office and discuss the government’s plans and ambitions for animals in the next session and look forward to hearing from you.”

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said: “Boris Johnson made a promise to the people that after Brexit, Britain would become world leaders in animal welfare.

“He can keep that promise by ensuring that the Animals Abroad Bill with proposed bans on cruel fur, foie gras, shark fins and other horrors, is in the Queen’s speech next week.

Protests outside parliament against the dropping of the bill (HSI/UK)

“These bans would stop Britain propping up animal cruelty that is already banned from happening here, such as killing animals for fur fashion, cutting off the fins of sharks for shark fin soup, or force-feeding ducks to the point of morbid obesity to produce a pate.

“We urge the prime minister to stop hesitating on a Bill of which Britain should be proud, and for which Britain would be applauded around the world.”

More than 200,000 people have signed a petition started by television presenter Chris Packham calling for the government to uphold its pledge to ban fur and foie gras, while a separate campaign petition to end fur imports has gathered more than a million signatures.

A crackdown on foie gras was promised in the Queen’s speech this time last year.

The Kept Animals Bill, which bans live exports, keeping primates as pets and tackles puppy smuggling, was postponed in the last parliamentary session and is due to continue its passage into law via a carryover motion in the next.

The government refused to comment on what would be in next week’s Queen’s speech.

A spokesperson said: “This government is firm in its commitment to upholding its world leading standards in animal welfare.

“The Animals (Penalty Notices) Bill, Glue Traps (Offences) Bill and Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill have now received royal assent, further strengthening the UK’s position as a world leader for animal health and welfare now that we have left the EU.”

‘Like frogs in a slowly boiling pot’: How India’s heatwave is only set to get worse


Stuti Mishra
Sun, May 8, 2022

A workers quenches his thirst next to power lines as a heatwave continues to lashes the capital, in New Delhi (AP)

Naresh Ahirwar doesn’t stop working when the midday sun beats down on his construction site on the outskirts of Delhi, amid the sustained heatwave conditions that have afflicted northern India for well over a month. The 56-year-old feeks like he is going to faint with each heavy load he carries in and out of the half-erected building — yet resting out the afternoon is not an option, even as the mercury soars above 40C.

“Earlier I used to carry everything without any problem, now it feels like every step is a struggle and I am going to die here,” says the 56-year-old. “But people like me working on daily wages don’t have an option [to stop].”

Near the construction site, a shopkeeper who sells earthenware pots shuts down his shop during the afternoon and takes shelter from the scorching sun under the tarpaulin sheet that otherwise serves as his store’s roof, even if it means he will not make enough money to get by.

“My products are made for the summer season,” explains Sunil Kumar. “I can’t sit at home for the whole summer, but it is getting impossible to stay through the afternoons.”

No one in Delhi is a stranger to this kind of heat, but temperatures that were once reserved for the two peak summer months now stretch on for much longer. This April was by far the hottest since records began, and a heatwave was declared in northern Indian as early as mid-March. There was a momentary respite for some areas with brief rains at the start of May, but forecasters say the mercury is set to rise again to 45C later this week.

“If it was just about a few weeks in May and June we could be prepared to stay at home, but how do we shut our shops entirely if the heat begins in March and stays on for most of the year?” asks Kumar, a 36-year-old father of four.

A delivery agent with a popular food chain says he dips a cloth in cold water and wears it on his head like a turban when he is driving during the hottest hours, in order to get through the day.

“That gives some respite, but the cloth gets dry within minutes,” says 21-year-old Varun. “We have some financial problems at home, because of which I had to pick up this job. I can’t quit it even though many delivery boys like me have fallen sick in this season.”

A woman uses her bag to protect herself from the sun in New Delhi on Wednesday. (REUTERS)

The heatwave affects India’s poorest the most, but no section of society is completely immune to its impacts. In the densely populated high-rise societies of Noida, a satellite city of Delhi, residents switched on their air conditioners much earlier this year and parents are demanding schools be shut or changed to a different schedule because many children have complained of weakness.

“Summers have been getting worse for several years now, our electricity bills have skyrocketed because the house feels unlivable most of the day. But nobody complained, you get used to It. It’s like being a frog in a slowly boiling pot,” says Vivek Arora, a resident of Greater Noida whose children have been home all week due to heat stress. “But this year feels extraordinarily different.”

Hundreds of millions of people have been affected by the extraordinary heat seen this year in India and neighbouring Pakistan — where some places have seen temperatures as high as 52C. Scientists have been warning that this level of heat has cascading effects, not just on human health, but also on ecosystems, agriculture, water, energy supplies and even key sectors of the economy.

The country is already suffering from an acute energy shortage as demand for electricity increases, landfills have caught fire amid the high temperatures, wheat crops have been destroyed leading to a shortage and prices of lemons — a popular remedy for the heat — have skyrocketed with rising demand.

Delhi fire officials take a break while dousing a fire at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi on Wednesday. (AP)

Government action so far has been limited to advising people to stay inside during afternoons where possible, and a high-level meeting by prime minister Narendra Modi urging states to come up with plans of their own to combat the heatwave.

But scientists say the footprint of climate change is clear to see in these sorts of extreme weather events, and while the heatwave situation has been unprecedented this year, it is only going to be repeated and get worse as the planet warms.

A study by Imperial College London found that climate change has made heatwaves like this year’s much more likely. “Before human activities increased global temperatures, we would have seen the heat that hit India earlier this month around once in 50 years,” says Dr Mariam Zachariah, Research Associate at the Grantham Institute, Imperial College.

“But now it is a much more common event — we can expect such high temperatures about once in every four years. And until net emissions are halted, it will continue to become even more common.”

In the coming year, more frequent and long-lasting heatwave events are projected to affect the Indian sub-continent as a result of the warming of the tropical Indian Ocean and the increasing frequency of extreme El Nino events, according to an analysis by the Delhi-based communications initiative Climate Trends.

The impacts of this heatwave have already extended beyond the dusty plains of northern India to ravage the Himalayan region, with forest fires reported in the hilly state of Uttarakhand. But such events will also come to affect verdant southern India, which is currently not influenced by heatwaves, by the end of the 21st century, according to Climate Trends.

Climate scientists say it is essential to work on both mitigation through reducing carbon emissions, and at the same to develop adaptation strategies to provide relief to people already suffering from global warming. If governments are not careful, rushing to solve one side of the equation can risk making things worse in the long term —such as India’s current scramble to acquire more coal to meet its spiking electricity demand during the heatwave.

Experts admit it’s a tough balance to strike. “While taking mitigation measures is a must to limit future warming, the extreme, frequent, and long-lasting spells of heatwaves are no more a future risk. It is already here and is unavoidable,” says Dr Abhiyant Tiwari, an assistant professor and programme manager at the Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management.

“Our heat action plans must ensure adaptation measures like public cooling areas, ensuring uninterrupted electricity, access to safe drinking water, and changing the work hours of labourers for the most vulnerable ones at the bottom of the pyramid, especially during extreme heat days.”

Rickshaw pullers sleep as they wait for the few customers venturing out in Delhi (PA)

While India is set to face some of the worst impacts of climate change, so far only one city, Mumbai, has come up with a net-zero plan aimed at decreasing the city’s emissions and increasing its adaptability. Climate change rarely finds a mention in India’s political discussions even though the country faces year-round challenges, from extreme heat to monsoon flooding.

“During extreme winters, there are at least shelter homes for the poor and the homeless, no matter how poor their conditions are there is roof to cover your head for most people. But during the extreme heat, which we now know is going to stay on for longer, there is no arrangement for daily wage labourers or homeless [people] to find respite,” says Sunil Kumar Aledia of the Centre for Holistic Development, an NGO.

The impact of heat stress on health is also highly undercounted in India, with the country only tracking heatstroke deaths where they are medically certified as having been caused by direct exposure to the sun. As a result, while more than 2,500 were reported dead during a really intense heatwave spell in 2015, only a handful of such deaths are reported in other years. Doctors say prolonged periods of warm nights can prove deadly as they limit the body’s ability to recover from daytime heat — but such fatalities would be unlikely to be counted as heatstroke-related.

Failure to adapt working practices to extreme heat also has a major impact on the economy. A study by Duke University found that India lost 259 billion hours of labour annually between 2001 and 2020 because of the impacts of humid heat.

Activists say the government needs to carry out a fresh vulnerability assessment and work towards combatting heatwaves at a disaster level.

“In countries like Saudi Arabia where temperatures of 50C and above have been witnessed, the government policies aim at providing relief to the masses, including changing work timings to ensure no one has to toll in the afternoons,” says Lubaina Rangwala, programme head at WRI India. “The Indian government needs to draft new policies like that.”

The question of how to adapt to a warming planet is no longer hypothetical when it comes to India — meteorologists say that erratic and unpredictable weather patterns are here now. Prior to the first heatwave declaration of the year on 11 March, northern India had seen an unusually cold winter season, something which itself brings risks to pubic health and infrastructure in a country not used to such lows.

Experts point to several different reasons for this year’s erratic weather, including the disruption of the cooling Western Disturbance — a phenomenon associated with rainfall in India — a heatwave in the Arctic and the La Nina phenomenon. But the underlying cause in all these situations can ultimately be attributed to climate change, they say.

“There is no doubt that extreme heat events are increasing in India,” says Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather Services, a private forecaster. “Global warming has a primary role in this, although there are several other factors at play as well.”

The concern now is that India will continue to break heat records into the summer months, further extending the strain on its energy infrastructure and populace.

“Not only are these heat extremes in India and Pakistan record-setting by far for the month of April, but they’re also setting the stage for further and even more extreme heat waves into May and June, which are already typically hotter months,” says Dr Zachary Zobel, a climate scientist who studies the intersection of climate change and extreme heat and precipitation.

“These patterns are expected to continue, and likely worsen, in the coming years,” Zobel adds. “Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the planet will continue to warm for at least another decade.”

Elizabeth Warren is not happy with America’s banks: ‘They are still squeezing families on overdraft fees’

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing this week to discuss bank overdraft charges

Last Updated: May 6, 2022 
By Zoe Han

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. ‘If Citibank and Capital One can eliminate overdraft fees, so can Chase and BOA and Wells,’ she said Wednesday. AP

The Senate is taking a look at overdraft fees, and how they burden working class families.

Several Senators, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, wrote a letter ahead of the hearing to CEOs of JPMorgan Chase JPM, -0.16%, Bank of America BAC, -0.24% and Wells Fargo WFC, -0.47%, urging them to end overdraft fees.

“Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are making tens of billions of dollars in profits. And yet they are still squeezing families on overdraft fees,” Warren told the hearing. “If Citibank C, +0.60% and Capital One COF, -2.52% can eliminate overdraft fees, so can Chase and BOA and Wells.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Warren helped create, promised a crackdown on overdraft fees last December after a key report by the government agency revealed that banks were making billions of dollars from overdraft fees and other non-sufficient fund fees. The report showed that JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America accounted for 44% of the profits in 2019 made by banks with more than $1 billion in assets over those fees.

“There is a difference between offering a service that will win the hand and offering a service that will kick someone while they’re down,” Chairman Raphael Warnock, a Democratic senator from Georgia, told the hearing.

He cited studies’ that found overdraft fees disproportionately hurt neighborhoods with people of color. “Customers who overdraft the most throughout the year tend to have lower income, poor credit scores and disproportionately Black and Hispanic,” Warnock said, “So [it’s a] vicious cycle.”

Such fees disproportionately impact Black and Latinx households. They are 1.9 times and 1.4 times more likely to incur overdraft fees, respectively, versus white households, a June 2021 report published by the Financial Health Network, a nonprofit organization that receives funding from Citi Foundation, concluded.

Overdraft fees disproportionately impact Black and Latinx households.

In 2019, U.S. banks charged their customers nearly $15.5 billion in overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees, a report published last December by the CFPB found.

The hearing came as U.S. banks — both traditional and online —- move away from charging overdraft fees to consumers. Ally announced its plan to eliminate the fees across the board last June, becoming the first among the major U.S. banks.

Capital One and Citibank followed suit in the intervening months. Others are lowering their overdraft fees: Bank of America will reduce its overdraft fees from $35 to $10 starting from May; Wells Fargo announced plans in January slashing non-sufficient fund fees and overdraft protection fees, and offered a 24-hour grace period before charging overdraft fees.

JPMorgan Chase also announced last December that it would eliminate insufficient fund fees, and will increase the overdraft cushion from $5 to $50 in addition to a one-day grace period and early access to direct deposit.

Increased competition from the fintech companies in Silicon Valley also prompted more U.S. banks to give up overdraft fees, analysts say. As fintechs offer easier access and services online, mainstream banks have offered more fintech-inspired services in an effort to stay relevant, including no-fee overdrafts.

Thom Tillis, a Republican senator for North Carolina, said the main challenge is to understand how the market is transitioning and whether interference at the federal level is needed.

“It seems like the market forces and innovation are pushing things in the right direction,” he said. “And it always gives me pause when the government wants to come in because when the government comes in, it tends to stifle competition and stifle innovation.”

JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on the hearing and the issues raised by the Senate committee. Wells Fargo and Bank of America also declined to comment.

Spokespeople for JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo previously told MarketWatch that their banks provide services to help customers avoid overdraft fees.

Northern Ireland Protocol ‘to be scrapped’ as Sinn Fein celebrates historic victory


Edward Malnick
Sat, May 7, 2022

Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill - Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Britain is preparing to unilaterally override the post-Brexit border arrangement to avoid the Northern Ireland crisis “dragging on and on”, government sources have claimed, as Sinn Fein won the largest share of seats in Stormont for the first time on Saturday night.

Liz Truss has concluded that negotiations with the EU have almost “run out of road”, after Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, told her that Brussels will “never” back down on its refusal to overhaul the Northern Ireland Protocol, according to government sources.

A source close to the Foreign Secretary described the remark as “alarming” after she repeatedly called for member states to redraw Mr Sefcovic’s mandate in order to allow for a breakthrough in the talks.

Ministers are concerned about disruption being caused to businesses by customs checks on British goods sent to Northern Ireland, and the Democratic Unionist Party has indicated that it will refuse to form an executive with Sinn Fein until the problems are resolved.

Sinn Fein won 27 of the 90 Stormont seats, putting it ahead of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which fell by two seats to 25.

It is the first time a party seeking a united Ireland will have topped the poll in the elections for the Northern Ireland executive, with a unionist party until now the largest in government since the province was formed in 1921.

Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, piled pressure on Ms Truss and Boris Johnson to act, saying: “Every unionist candidate standing in the election stood in opposition to the Protocol and attracted some 360,000 votes. Forty per cent of all votes cast were explicitly for parties who opposed the Protocol.

“Given that the political institutions in Northern Ireland operate on the basis of cross-community consensus, the lack of any unionist support for the Protocol means that it is unworkable as it does not command sufficient consensus.”

He added: “The electorate has spoken. The view of unionism is clear. Now is the moment for the Government to act. No more words. It’s time for action.

“The Irish Sea border must go and the Protocol must be replaced by arrangements that restore Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom internal market.”

Sir Jeffrey set out seven tests for any plan to override the Protocol, including that any new arrangement must avoid a border in the Irish Sea.

Liz Truss - Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Government sources indicated that ministers were drawing up proposals for such a move, despite the Conservatives denying reports that a bill setting out a replacement arrangement would be included in next week’s Queen’s Speech.

In a telephone call with Ms Truss on April 28, Mr Sefcovic is said to have “made clear... that the EU did not have, and in his view would never have, a mandate to renegotiate the Protocol or to go beyond their existing proposals”, according to a government source.

A source close to Ms Truss said: “The admission made by Sefcovic on the call is alarming. Liz’s first, second and third priority in all this is protecting peace made and stability in Northern Ireland. Clearly, the situation is getting increasingly urgent, and the feeling is we can’t let this crisis drag on and on.

“It feels like we have run out of road with negotiations unless something significant happens in terms of the EU changing its position.”

Mr Sefcovic is understood to insist that unilateral action by the UK would not solve the problems on the island of Ireland, and that the threat of such a move will not help to strengthen Ms Truss’s hand in the negotiations.

Maros Sefcovic - Julien Warnand/Pool via Reuters

Theresa Villiers, the former Northern Ireland Secretary, said: “We must deal with the Protocol. It must be radically changed or replaced. We can’t continue as we are. The people who really need to listen and wake up as a result of this election result are the EU and the Commission.

“If negotiation isn’t going to do the business, we need unilateral legislation. We need to be getting on with it even if we don’t implement it straight away.”

A Foreign Office source said: “It’s incredibly disheartening that despite the political and economic damage the Protocol is causing in Northern Ireland, the Commission continues to adopt such a rigid and hard-line negotiating position.

“The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement is being undermined and the situation is now very serious. Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have always been clear that action will be taken if solutions can’t be found.

“The Assembly elections are now over and we need to see the EU move significantly. Our focus has been, and will continue to be, preserving peace and stability in Northern Ireland.”

On Saturday, Sinn Fein called for an immediate resumption of the power-sharing executive.

Mary Lou McDonald, the party’s president, urged unionists “not to be afraid”, saying “the future is bright for all of us”.

Ms McDonald said there was a collective responsibility to get the government “up and running quickly”.

She added: “This is not a time for theatrics, this is not a time for playing games, this is the time for grown-up sensible partnership politics, that’s what people want.

“The idea, at a time of a cost-of-living crisis, that people would stand on the sidelines and allow people to struggle, and struggle badly for us is unthinkable, so we would appeal to everybody to take stock.”

A spokesman for the US government said political leaders should "take the necessary steps" to re-establish a power-sharing executive.

Ned Price, from the US Department of State, said: "We call on Northern Ireland's political leaders to take the necessary steps to re-establish a power-sharing executive, which is one of the core institutions established by the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

"Critical and immediate challenges concerning the economy, health, and education are best addressed through the collective efforts of a devolved government chosen by, and accountable to, its people.

"The United States enjoys a deep and long-standing relationship with Northern Ireland, grounded in ties of kinship, culture, commerce, and shared values.

"We remain deeply committed to preserving the peace dividend of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and will always strive to protect these gains for all communities.

"We look forward to continuing our work with democratic partners in Northern Ireland, and with the governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland, to support peace, prosperity, and stability across the region."