❧ Thousands of people in Brazil are protesting Trump’s interference in the country’s domestic affairs. Last Wednesday, Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on Brazil unless the country ended its prosecution of its former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. (Bolsonaro was a key Trump ally while in office, and embraced the moniker “Trump of the Tropics” on the campaign trail.) And perhaps another reason for Trump’s admiration: Bolsonaro is charged with orchestrating an unsuccessful coup that shares many similarities to Trump’s January 6 riots.
After Bolsonaro lost the 2023 election to left-wing candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known affectionately as Lula), his supporters camped around military barracks to try and convince soldiers to overthrow the government. After that didn’t work, thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s Supreme Court and Congress. These rioters were fueled by unfounded claims of election fraud spread by Bolsonaro, who has yet to concede that he lost the election. Bolsonaro, who is currently taking the stand in his trial, continues to deny involvement in a coup attempt. But prosecutors allege that he met with army officials to discuss the logistics of a forceful takeover of the government. Other members of Bolsonaro’s inner circle have been arrested for plotting to assassinate Lula.
But Brazilians aren’t taking Trump’s interference in the trial lying down. This week, thousands of people rallied in the streets of Sao Paulo to protest the tariffs. Protestors burned Trump effigies as they demanded he refrain from trying to interfere with the Brazilian justice system. Lula, in response to Trump’s threat, said “Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not be told what to do.” (The Real News)
Protestors burned an effigy of Trump, who we admit looks good in cardboard. Image credit: Inside Edition
❧ Far-right groups have won the right to lead the EU’s climate plan. The Patriots for Europe bloc of the European Parliament, the party that represents the likes of France’s Marine Le Pen and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, have seized control of drafting the EU’s 2040 climate target. The 2040 target is a set of interim goals and practices meant to ensure the continent reaches its goal of climate neutrality by 2050, as prescribed in the European Green Deal. The European Parliament chooses which legislators write the interim targets through an auction—this is one of many similar, non-climate related assignments up for grabs. But because no group outbid the Patriots, they now have the power to draft the Parliament’s position on the EU’s 2040 interim climate target and negotiate those targets with member countries.
This poses a serious threat to the EU’s action on climate change. The most immediate concern is that the Patriots, who want to abolish the Green Deal, will simply delay the legislative process such that no climate regulations can be enacted. But even if they allow the process to move forward, the Patriots plan to “revise in depth” the EU’s climate policy, which will likely entail significant cuts to protections against greenhouse gas emissions. (Politico)
POLL OF THE WEEK
According to an explosive new poll by the British firm Find Out Now, the new socialist party led by MPs Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn—which was only announced 11 days ago, doesn't even have an official name yet, and hasn't done any publicity or outreach—is now polling at 15 percent, dead even with the Labour party. Turns out Keir Starmer's government hasn't exactly inspired anyone, and the Left is back in business! (The National)
AROUND THE STATES
❧ The Texas floods illustrate FEMA’s mismanagement. By now, you’ve likely heard of the flash floods that killed more than 120 people in Texas. But as more reporting has emerged about FEMA’s response to the disaster, it is worth taking a moment to illustrate how Trump’s cuts will have an immediate impact on the most basic ways we engage with the government. While Trump promised that cuts to the agency would make it more nimble and better able to respond to disasters, unsurprisingly, the exact opposite has happened.
The single change that most delayed FEMA’s response to the floods is a new policy that requires Kristi Noem, the rootin’-tootin’-dog-shootin’ head of the Department of Homeland Security (which oversees, among other things, ICE and FEMA), to personally approve any expenses greater than $100,000. FEMA’s budget is more than $30 billion, and disaster aid is inherently expensive, so this caused serious issues. For example, as CNN reported, FEMA usually pre-positions search and rescue teams near imminent disaster zones. But Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of the rescuers for more than 72 hours after the flooding began.
Another example: after a disaster, thousands of people access aid by calling FEMA help centers. On July 5, the day after flooding began, FEMA answered 3,018 of the 3,027 calls from disaster survivors. But the New York Times reported that on that evening, Noem did not renew the agreements with the contractors who handle the vast majority of calls. That meant that on July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls and answered only 846, and on the 7th, FEMA fielded 16,419 calls and answered only 2,613. The vast majority of people calling for help could not receive it.
Over the past year, Trump, in his mercurial way, had promised to “begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.” Noem had been more direct, saying “we are going to eliminate FEMA.” Now, after the floods, Trump claims that eliminating FEMA is no longer necessary—his aides “fixed it up in no time.” Throughout these sometimes contradictory statements, Trump and his allies have expressed a desire to make FEMA “nimble” and “lean.”
But Noem’s actions, particularly her desire to sign off on virtually every agency expenditure, are the exact opposite of a nimble, active agency. Anyone who has ever worked with a micromanaging boss (or editor) understands the productivity loss that comes with getting every little thing approved. Already FEMA had to create a task force to expedite the process of getting Noem’s expense approvals. It is almost as if the Trump administration is more interested in hamstringing the state than running it. Almost. (CNN & The New York Times)
This flood was a tragedy. But it was an extremely localized disaster in a single state. FEMA's real test will come when the next major hurricane hits. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
❧ In other disaster-related news, rising insurance premiums are crushing poor Floridians. As climate change makes natural disasters like hurricanes and floods more common, insurance companies are raising premiums to offset their increased payouts. But reporting by Inside Climate News has found that insurance companies aren’t just raising rates and dropping customers in the areas most likely to be impacted by hurricanes. Instead, “non-renewals were highest in the Florida counties where climate-related hazards are compounded by poverty and other factors that make it harder to withstand and recover from extreme weather events.” In other words, insurance companies are more willing to drop low-income customers, who often cannot afford a $10,000-plus annual premium.
This is part of a broader trend. Across the U.S., states and neighborhoods most impacted by climate change face soaring insurance costs. In some cases, insurance companies have pulled out of states completely. In California, State Farm, the state’s largest insurer, has stopped writing new policies and is in the process of cancelling thousands more, citing the risk of wildfires. And as more people cannot afford private insurance, they are added onto state-run insurers of last resort.
In Florida, the state insurance program is called Citizen, perhaps because citizens end up paying to rebuild the homes of people living in flood zones. When Citizen pays out more in claims than it receives in premiums (as in the case of especially bad hurricane seasons), Citizen can impose additional charges on all Florida homeowners (not just Citizen’s customers) to make up the difference. A similar program in California recently had to be given a $1 billion bailout. So every year that fossil fuels and planetary warming aren’t curtailed, it literally costs everyone money. (Inside Climate News)
❧ A Kansas community is fending off private prisons. In Leavenworth, Kansas, a coalition of activists is organizing to prevent the reopening of the Leavenworth Detention Center, a for-profit prison. The world’s largest private prison operator, CoreCivic, wants to use the facility to inter immigrants (and sometimes American citizens) awaiting deportation. Before being shut down in 2021, the prison was described by theMissouri Independent as “an understaffed ‘hell hole’ of violence, death and drugs.” When stabbings, sexual assaults, and murders took place within its walls, local police were barred from investigating. It’s telling that in a town with five other prisons (and a new $500 million federal prison under construction), residents want to keep CoreCivic out.
The coalition, which includes nuns, former inmates, and former prison guards, has found success. They sued to prevent the prison from opening, claiming that the prison failed to get necessary permits. That argument won them a temporary injunction from a Kansas state court, which is preventing the prison from reopening for the duration of the lawsuit. But the city has asked the court to formalize the injunction because “the federal government might apply pressure on CoreCivic to defy or look for loopholes in this Court’s orders.”
“Pressure” is not the word we would use to describe how the federal government is requesting private prison operators’ cooperation with mass deportations. Instead, the Trump administration has been much more carrot than stick. CoreCivic was set to be paid $23 million to house “residents” in Leavenworth for six months. And on a February call with investors, CoreCivic’s CEO described Trump’s second term as “one of the most exciting periods in my career,” adding that he expected “perhaps the most significant growth in our company’s history.” As long as the government remains committed to more than doubling the number of beds holding detained immigrants, millions more dollars will go to shady private prison operators. (The Marshall Project)
CROOKS vs. SICKOS (or, “What’s going on with our politicians and oligarchs?”)
❧ The FBI is using polygraph machines to find disloyal agents. Trump’s FBI Director, Kash Patel, has reportedly forced high-ranking personnel to undergo so-called “lie detector” tests to discover if they have ever said negative things about Patel. At least once, the FBI fired an employee only to then reinstate them for the purposes of giving them a polygraph test. This comes after the administration began using polygraphs to try to find individuals who leaked information to the media.
This maneuver is emblematic of the Trump administration’s chilling willingness to stifle dissent. It is also emblematic of the Trump administration’s hilarious incompetence. Polygraph machines do not detect lies. While national security agencies like the FBI sometimes use them during background checks, polygraphs are generally not admissible in court. Even Clarence Thomas, writing in 1998, concluded that polygraphs are “little better than could be obtained by the toss of a coin.” (New York Times)
Of course I’m fine. Why do you keep asking me that?
❧ Congress is forcing DC to close its public bathrooms. Last Saturday, DC closed its six free public toilets due to Congress’ interference with the District’s local budget. In March, the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring DC to cut $1.1 billion from its budget. To be clear, that is local tax revenue that had already been collected by the local government. But because DC lacks real democratic protections, the House has the power to force DC not to spend that money.
Through accounting wizardry, the District managed to reduce the amount they must cut from the budget, but DC is still looking at a $350 million crisis. That required the District to eliminate many government programs, and unfortunately these free toilets got flushed away. (The 51st)
❧ More evidence has emerged about the Department of Justice’s purposeful lying to courts. Over the past week, significant new evidence has been unveiled showing the extent to which the DOJ is lying in court to advance illegal deportations. First, last Monday, lawyers for individuals threatened with deportation filed a United Nations report which included admissions from the Salvadoran government that the Trump administration, not the Bukele regime, was responsible for the continuing detention of deportees in Salvadoran prisons. You may recall that earlier this year, the DOJ had argued to courts that they had no means to remedy the “accidental” deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia because El Salvador, not the U.S., was in charge of his release. This filing clearly disproves this narrative—the U.S. is calling the shots; keeping people in inhumane conditions.
Then, on Thursday, Senator Dick Durbin releasedevidence confirming the details of a DOJ whistleblower statement from earlier this month. The whistleblower had alleged that lawyers at the DOJ knew that deportees were to be imminently flown to Venezuela when they had told a judge that no such flights were planned to occur. To quote from texts between DOJ attorneys at the time, “Oh shit that was just not true.” “About to enter the find out phase following fuck around.” (Law Dork)
BOVINE FACT OF THE WEEK
Cows have best friends!
Research affiliated with the University of Northampton has attempted to prove what those of us familiar with these gentle beasts already know: cows have friends and are comforted by their presence. Scientists watched cows to determine their friend groups, then separated pairs of cows from the herd. Cows who were separated with their friends were much less stressed than cows separated with a random partner. (Go Veg)
Current Affairs encourages you to replicate this experiment at home! Take a “friend” and lock yourselves in a small enclosure, like a broken elevator or the attic of an abandoned home. If they become distressed, they’re not really your bestie.Image credit: USDA
Writing and research by Grady Martin. Editing and additional material by Nathan J. Robinson and Alex Skopic. Header graphic by Cali Traina Blume. This news briefing is a product of Current Affairs Magazine. Subscribe to our gorgeous and informative print edition here, and our delightful podcast here.
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