HeadlinesAugust 17, 2022

Voters in Alaska and Wyoming went to the polls Tuesday for primary elections. In Wyoming, pro-Trump primary challenger Harriet Hageman has unseated incumbent Congressmember Liz Cheney, who has emerged as the leading anti-Trump Republican in Congress. Cheney voted for Trump’s second impeachment and is serving as vice chair of the House January 6 committee. Hageman won about 66% of the vote; Cheney received about 29% of the vote. Cheney, who is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, spoke to supporters last night in Jackson, Wyoming.

Rep. Liz Cheney: “Two years ago, I won this primary with 73% of the vote. I could easily have done the same again. The path was clear. But it would have required that I go along with President Trump’s lie about the 2020 election. It would have required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic. That was a path I could not and would not take.”

In Alaska, former governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin appears set to be one of four candidates to advance to November’s general election for Alaska’s sole House seat, which was held by Don Young, who died in March.

Meanwhile, Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and her fellow Republican rival, Kelly Tshibaka, who was endorsed by Trump, have both advanced to November’s general election. We will have more on the primary results later in the broadcast.

President Biden has signed a sweeping $739 billion bill to address the climate crisis, reduce drug costs and establish a 15% minimum tax for large corporations.

President Joe Biden: “This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever. Ever. And it’s going to allow — it’s going to allow us to boldly take additional steps toward meeting all of my climate goals, the ones we set out when we ran. It includes ensuring that we create clean energy opportunities in frontline and fence-line communities that have been smothered, smothered by the legacy of pollution, and fight environmental injustice that’s been going on for so long.”

At a signing ceremony at the White House, Biden handed his pen to conservative Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who agreed to back the deal after securing a number of major handouts to the fossil fuel industry. Manchin is the largest recipient of fossil fuel industry donations in Congress. We will have more on Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act later in the broadcast.

The New York Times has revealed the FBI interviewed two of Donald Trump’s top White House lawyers earlier this year about classified documents being stored at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy, Patrick Philbin, are the highest officials known to be interviewed as part of the probe. The Times reports Philbin tried to help the National Archives retrieve the materials but was opposed by Trump, who reportedly said, “It’s not theirs, it’s mine.” Last week the FBI searched Trump’s residence and seized 11 sets of documents. The unsealed search warrant revealed Trump is being investigated for violating the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal handling of government records.

The Russian Defense Ministry has admitted a major blast at a Russian ammunition depot in occupied Crimea on Tuesday was caused by an act of sabotage. On Tuesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked those “who oppose the occupiers.” He also urged Ukrainians to stay away from Russian military bases and ammunition stores.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of trying to drag out the war in Ukraine and to provoke China over Taiwan. He spoke at the Moscow Conference on International Security.

President Vladimir Putin: “The situation in Ukraine shows that the United States is trying to drag out this conflict, and they act in exactly the same way, fueling the potential for conflict, in Asia, Africa and Latin America. … We also see that the collective West is seeking to extend its bloc system to the Asia-Pacific region, similarly to NATO in Europe. For this purpose, bellicose military-political alliances are being formed, such as AUKUS and others.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting an internal Israeli military report has acknowledged that an Israeli airstrike near the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza killed five Palestinian children on August 7. The youngest child was 4 years old. The finding contradicts public statements by Israeli officials who had claimed the Palestinian children had died after being hit by an errant rocket fired by the militant group Islamic Jihad. Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have killed 19 Palestinian children. The United Nations has denounced the surge in child deaths as “unconscionable.”

Kenya is facing a political crisis following last week’s presidential election, with the apparent runner-up rejecting the results of the vote. On Monday, the chair of Kenya’s election commission announced Deputy President William Ruto had won the election. But four of the seven members on the election commission have disavowed Ruto’s victory and are critiquing how the votes were counted. The apparent runner-up, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has also refused to concede.

Raila Odinga: “The figures announced by Mr. Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law. In our view, there is neither a legally and validly declared winner nor a president-elect.”

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has formally launched his campaign to challenge Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in October’s election. On Tuesday, Lula held his first campaign rally at a car factory outside of São Paulo. Lula denounced Bolsonaro’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 700,000 Brazilians. Lula also vowed to reshape the role of government in Brazil if he returns to office.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “We don’t want a government that distributes weapons; we want a government that distributes books. We don’t want a government that feeds hate; we want a government that feeds love.”

While polls show Lula in the lead, fear is growing Bolsonaro may try to steal the election possibly with help from the Brazilian military.

European officials are expressing hope that a new Iranian nuclear deal is within reach. On Monday night, Iran submitted a written response to what’s been described as the final text of the new agreement. Officials have told The New York Times that Iran has asked for some clarifications but has not raised any significant new objections to the text. The Biden administration has not yet submitted its response to the final text.

Federal officials have announced a new round of water cuts to the states of Arizona and Nevada as an extreme drought has led to plummeting water levels on the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people in the West. Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest reservoirs on the river, are now about 75% empty. Seven states are part of the century-old Colorado River Compact, which determines how water is distributed among the states. Tanya Trujillo, an official at the U.S. Interior Department, said, “In order to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water use in the Basin must be reduced.”

First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for coronavirus. She has been prescribed the antiviral drug Paxlovid and is reportedly experiencing mild symptoms. This comes nearly a month after President Biden first tested positive. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also tested positive. He, too, is reportedly experiencing mild symptoms.

A coalition of immigrant rights organizations have sued the data broker LexisNexis for collecting detailed personal information on millions of people and then selling it to governmental entities including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE. The lawsuit alleges LexisNexis has helped create “a massive surveillance state with files on almost every adult U.S. consumer.” The groups also accuse ICE of using information collected by LexisNexis to circumvent local policies in sanctuary cities. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Organized Communities Against Deportations, Mijente and Just Futures Law.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has formally apologized to Indigenous activist and actress Sacheen Littlefeather. In 1973, she took the stage at the Oscars on behalf of Marlon Brando, who boycotted the ceremony to protest Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans. Some members of the audience booed and mocked Littlefeather as she addressed the awards ceremony wearing traditional Apache clothing. The actor John Wayne reportedly attempted to remove her from the stage but was restrained by six security guards. Clint Eastwood mocked Littlefeather later in the ceremony. This is part of what Sacheen Littlefeather said on that night in 1973.

Sacheen Littlefeather: “He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry — excuse me — and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”

In September, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will host Sacheen Littlefeather for an evening of “conversation, healing and celebration.”