| Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. The Associated Press informs me that, on this day in 1961, first-class passengers heading from New York to Los Angeles aboard a Trans World Airlines plane watched "By Love Possessed," the first regularly scheduled in-flight movie. | | |  | The big idea | | President Biden faces the disastrous politics of disaster politics |  A previously submerged boat on Lake Mead on June 14, 2022 in Boulder City, Nevada. (Roger Kisby for The Washington Post) | | | Drought-parched Lake Mead, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border, is normally the country's largest water reservoir by volume. But its levels are at historic lows, which probably means more water cuts for America's southwest. Texas power companies are apparently adjusting customers' thermostats remotely to lower electricity demand during a heat wave – and some customers can't reject the changes. On France's sweltering Atlantic coast, the community of Biscarosse posted a record 108.68 degrees on Monday. A run-down bridge in London required foil wrapping to prevent the heat from doing potentially dangerous damage. One movie theater chain in Britain is offering redheads free tickets to get away from this week's hottest days in their air-conditioned havens. Out-of-control wildfires in France and Spain have scorched forests and sent tens of thousands scrambling for safety, even as much of Western Europe grapples with deadly heat waves. Blazes also have consumed wide swathes of the American West. Droughts in Italy have generated fears for crops – and arresting images as rivers retreat. | | | | | | | Walmart supports career growth & opportunity. 75% of store, club and supply chain management started as hourly associates. At Walmart, there is a path for everyone. Learn more. | | | |  | | | | | Scientists and governments blame global warming. Climate change accelerates and worsens dangerous weather phenomena. Any one of the stories listed above would merit attention from the news media. Taken together, they're the portrait of a worldwide crisis. If you think the definition of politics includes how a society organizes itself to allocate finite resources and to blunt external threats, what's happening is a political story. Arguably the biggest, spanning the globe, with life-and-death stakes. My colleagues Tony Romm and Jeff Stein reported late Monday night that President Biden may declare a national emergency about climate as soon as this week, which in theory would enhance his ability to take executive actions to combat global warming. Biden also plans some unspecified other steps, Tony and Jeff reported. But "[t]he exact scope and timing of any announcements remain in flux." And any actions would face "a formidable court challenge," they predicted. The report came as American politics has been doing a number on Biden's plans to combat climate change. And with Republicans favored to retake at least the House and possibly the Senate in November's midterm elections, time is running out for his environmental agenda. First, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court issued a ruling in late June that sharply restricted the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to reduce the carbon output of existing power plants. Then, late last week, after months of negotiations, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) told fellow Democrats he wouldn't sign on to plans to spend money to fight climate change or raise taxes on the rich and corporations. (He cited concerns about inflation. But consider that, a year ago, he was being described as a "staunch defender" of his state's coal industry – from which he gets considerable income – and someone who "supports an energy policy that's 'not elimination, it's innovation.'") And while Democrats' anger has focused on Manchin, it's lockstep Republican opposition to Biden's environmental proposals that has forced the party to use a parliamentary tactic called reconciliation that lets them pass something with just "D" votes in the 50-50 Senate. That's if, as the West Virginia senator just reminded everyone, they all stick together. | | (As my colleague Maxine Joselow noted the other day, it's not just Biden's problem: "Climate activists also argue it's a major setback for the planet, whose catastrophic warming would have been slowed by the significant new spending on climate and clean energy.") | | On the surface, public opinion about the climate crisis would seem to favor action. Majorities of varying sizes say the federal government needs to do more; characterize the situation as an emergency; and agree human activity, like burning fossil fuels, is mostly to blame. But a September 2021 poll from the non-partisan Pew Research Center found some interesting political divisions. Overall, 67 percent of Americans said extreme weather events were happening more often than in the past, against 28 percent who said they were happening as often, and 4 percent who said they were less frequent, Pew found. But among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 85 percent said "more often." Just 44 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents said the same, while 52 percent of that cohort said they were happening as often as in the past. How about the government response? The poll, which looked at attitudes toward infrastructure, found 62 percent of Americans overall said they were more concerned government will not go far enough in limiting new construction in areas at high risk for disasters like storms or wildfires. A little over half of that group – 33 percent – said they were more concerned government would go too far. That was overall. Get into opinions by party, and you find 79 percent of Democrats are in the "not far enough" camp, while 53 percent of Republicans fret more about government overreach. Still, 43 percent of GOP respondents said they worried more government would not go far enough. Even catastrophic developments for the planet can't escape today's partisan divisions. | | |  | What's happening now | | House poised to pass bill providing same-sex marriage protections |  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) addresses reporters during a weekly news briefing on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (Tom Brenner/The Washington Post) | | | "Today, the Democratic-led House is poised to pass legislation providing federal protections for same-sex marriages, including a provision that would require states to recognize valid marriages performed in other states," John Wagner and Mariana Alfaro report. | - "The legislation on same-sex marriage is expected to draw some Republican votes in the House, but its fate is unclear in the evenly divided Senate, where 60 votes are required to advance most legislation."
| China says it will take 'forceful measures' if Pelosi visits Taiwan | | "China's Foreign Ministry lashed out Tuesday after reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is planning a trip to Taiwan in August, saying it firmly opposes a visit," Adela Suliman and Christian Shepherd report. | White House unveils new steps to help Americans detained overseas | | "As part of an executive order set to be issued by President Biden, the U.S. government will be authorized to increase the sharing of intelligence and other information with the families of those held overseas, officials told reporters ahead of the order's release. The administration will also be able to impose sanctions on those involved in unlawfully holding Americans, sometimes as a result of suggestions or tips from detainees' relatives, the officials said," Missy Ryan reports. | Senate Foreign Relations Committee meets to consider adding Sweden, Finland to NATO | | Today, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will begin the process of giving formal U.S. approval to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. | U.S. requests more information on UAE arrest of Khashoggi lawyer | | "State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday that the United States is requesting 'additional information' from the United Arab Emirates about the arrest of Asim Ghafoor, a U.S. citizen and former attorney for slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," John Hudson and Kareem Fahim report. | | |  | Lunchtime reads from The Post | | Do Jewish New Yorkers care about identity politics? Jerry Nadler hopes so. |  Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) takes a selfie with a voter during a campaign stop at a fairway in New York. (Jeenah Moon/The Washington Post) | | | "Nadler's Jewishness has taken on new importance since redistricting has left him in a pickle, pitting him in a showdown against another powerful Democrat, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, in a new district that melds his West Side and her East Side," Paul Schwartzman reports. "If Nadler's 30-year reign in Congress ends, his campaign recently warned in a fundraising appeal, New York City would lose its 'last remaining' Jewish representative — a seemingly incongruent decline for a city that is home to more Jewish people than anywhere in the world outside Israel." | As Biden eyes 2024, one person weighs heavily: Donald Trump | | "Biden may seek reelection in any case, people in his inner circle say, but if Trump runs, Biden is far more likely to do so. And if Trump holds off, it will be far easier for other Democrats to approach Biden about letting someone else take on a younger Republican nominee," Matt Viser reports. | Two cities took different approaches to pandemic court closures. They got different results. | | "Many courts around the country still aren't operating at full capacity, and law-and-order types aren't the only ones concerned. Defense attorneys and members of the progressive prosecutor movement are worried too. The Sixth Amendment guarantees defendants a speedy trial, but many have been sitting in jail for months on end. 'A lot of the Constitution has been kind of glossed over,' Doug Wilber, a public defender in Albuquerque, told me," Alec MacGillis writes in a collaboration between ProPublica and the Atlantic. "The link between any one instance of violence and courtroom delays can be hard to prove. But sometimes it couldn't be more obvious." | Democrats boosted a MAGA longshot in the Pa. gov's race. Now he's got a real shot at winning. | | "Jackie Kulback was just one of the Pennsylvania GOP leaders who was worried in May when Doug Mastriano clinched the Republican primary for governor. Mastriano was a MAGA state senator who worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election and Kulback thought he would struggle to win the critical battleground state in the fall. But she's feeling differently these days," Politico's Holly Otterbein reports. | | Jackie Kulback, chair of the Cambria County Republican Party | "The higher the gas prices go, the more electable Mastriano is. Honestly, I feel this is Mastriano's campaign to lose." | | | | | | | |  | The Biden agenda | | Three journalist deaths fit uneasily in Biden's human rights push |  Biden attends a security and development summit in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. (Bandar Aljaloud/Handout/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock | | | "Biden's handling of the killings of the three journalists reflects what has become a central dilemma of his foreign policy: how to keep his promise of restoring human rights to a marquee role while at the same time urgently building a world coalition against Russia and China," Yasmeen Abutaleb, Kareem Fahim and Missy Ryan report. | Biden warns schools not to over-punish students with disabilities | | "The Biden administration issued new school discipline guidelines Tuesday aimed at avoiding discrimination against students with disabilities, students who historically have been suspended and expelled at greater rates than their peers," Donna St. George reports. | Biden isn't burning up the TikTok charts. Dems are happy he's there. | | "The Democratic National Committee took the dive into TikTok four months ago, and officials are so far happy with the results. But while the committee is pushing out its party's leader to the millions upon millions of young users who congregate on TikTok, Biden hasn't necessarily been the party's most viral messenger," Politico's Sabrina Rodriguez reports. | - "Some of the DNC's other most viewed TikTok videos feature Democratic figures, such as Hillary Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio and Rep. Katie Porter of California."
| CNN Poll: Most Americans are discontented with Biden, the economy and the state of the country | | "The summer of 2022 is a season of deepening and widespread discontent, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. The survey finds the public's outlook on the state of the country the worst it's been since 2009, while its view on the economy is the worst since 2011. And nearly 7 in 10 say President Joe Biden hasn't paid enough attention to the nation's most pressing problems," CNN's Jennifer Agiesta reports. | | |  | The diversity of metro areas in the U.S., visualized | | | "The least-diverse metro areas are concentrated in Appalachia, the northern Great Plains and Rockies, and just outside major cities in the Midwest, such as Chicago, Minneapolis and Indianapolis," Andrew Van Dam explains. | | |  | Hot on the left | | Democrats' tax-hike plans are imperiled — with or without Joe Manchin | | "The US Senate's arcane budget rules threaten Democrats' plans to increase taxes on the wealthy and corporations and invest in climate programs before November's midterm elections, even if they can win Joe Manchin's support," Bloomberg News's Erik Wasson and Laura Davison report. "Manchin, the key holdout vote who last week scuttled talks of a revived economic agenda, said he could support a broader tax and spending bill in September, if inflation cools. But there simply may not be time then for the grueling late-night votes and other procedures required to push the legislation through." | | |  | Hot on the right | | Rand Paul lights into McConnell over 'secret' judicial deal |  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) talks with journalists as he leaves the U.S. Capitol on June 23. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | | | "Sen. Rand Paul unloaded on fellow Republican Mitch McConnell for the Senate GOP leader's handling of an anti-abortion judicial nomination, criticizing McConnell for refusing to consult with him about abandoned nominee Chad Meredith. The White House pulled Meredith's nomination last week, with both McConnell and administration officials blaming Paul for refusing to sign off," Politico's Burgess Everett reports. | | |  | Today in Washington | | | The president does not have any public events scheduled this afternoon. | | |  | In closing | | We asked Emmanuel the TikTok-interrupting emu about his sudden fame | | "Emmanuel, arguably the world's most famous emu, stared deeply at the phone camera with his reddish-brown eyes. He looked, at best, mildly curious," Annabelle Timsit reports. "Millions of people have watched videos of the giant bird strutting into the frame of [Taylor Blake's] TikTok videos, uninvited and oblivious to anything going on around him. In some cases, Emmanuel attacks the phone while it's recording — pecking the device to the ground — and he constantly interrupts the social media content creator's educational videos about animals and farm life." | | Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow. | | | | | |
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