Tuesday Briefing: Biden’s plan for the Supreme Court

Plus, protests in Caracas.

View in browser|nytimes.com July 30, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering President Biden's call to reform the Supreme Court and protests over the election in Venezuela. Plus: The latest from the Olympics. President Biden wants term limits and an enforceable code of ethics imposed on the Supreme Court. Eric Lee/The New York Times Biden's plan to overhaul the Supreme Court At a public engagement in Austin, Texas, President Biden warned that U.S. courts were being weaponized to push an "extreme and unchecked" conservative agenda, and he said he would push for legislation that would reform the Supreme Court, including imposing term limits and creating an enforceable code of ethics for the justices. The proposal, which would require congressional approval, has little hope of success in a Republican-controlled House and a divided Senate. In a social media post, Speaker Mike Johnson called the proposal "dead on arrival" in the House. Democrats argue that Americans are broadly concerned about the inner workings of a court that has swung to the right since 2020. Recent polls show that the Supreme Court's approval rating is at a historic low and that a majority of Americans believe the court's decisions are driven by ideology. For more: See how the current Supreme Court would look under Biden's term-limit plan. The U.S. presidential election has been transformed by the events of the last few weeks. With 100 days from now until Election Day on Nov. 5, we'll keep you up to speed with contributions from Times journalists covering the biggest news. Here's what to know: Democrats could formally make Kamala Harris their nominee this week. She's trying to maintain momentum as the honeymoon phase of her campaign winds down, but may struggle to explain the progressive positions she embraced during the 2020 race. Donald Trump will speak to supporters in Harrisburg, Pa., tomorrow, a return to a friendly crowd after some awkward events this weekend. His running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, will appear at events in Nevada and Arizona after drawing criticism for his mockery of "childless cat ladies." Silicon Valley billionaires are bickering over the election in an unusually public and personal fashion. Some are backing Trump, in part because of his support of cryptocurrencies, while others have been energized and emboldened by Harris's rise. Stay up-to-date: Live coverage | Poll tracker | The "Run-Up" podcast | On Politics newsletter Venezuela's presidential election was riddled with irregularities. Alejandro Cegarra para The New York Times Protests erupt over disputed Venezuelan election Hundreds of young people marched through the streets of Caracas, Venezuela's capital, yesterday, furious over a presidential election in which the incumbent, President Nicolás Maduro, declared victory despite widespread accusations of fraud. With results from 80 percent of voting stations counted, Venezuela's election authority claimed that Maduro, the country's authoritarian leader, had received 51.2 percent of the vote on Sunday, with the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González, getting 44.2 percent. Those results did not appear to match statistical estimates based on partial counts and other data that showed the president losing by a wide margin. Maduro's government has invented election results before, and the vote was riddled with irregularities. Some officials refused to release printouts verifying the electronic vote count, leaving the country without a way to confirm the result announced by the ruling party. Reactions: The U.S. and countries around the world denounced the official results. By yesterday afternoon, the Venezuelan government announced that it had kicked out the diplomatic missions of seven Latin American countries that had joined the condemnation. People in Majdal Shams, a town in the Golan Heights, mourned the children and teenagers killed by a rocket from Lebanon. Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times Israel promises a 'severe' response to strike Israel's security cabinet authorized its leaders to decide on the nature and the timing of a significant military response to a deadly rocket attack from Lebanon on Saturday, which killed 12 children and teenagers in a Druse Arab village in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. "Our response is coming, and it will be severe," Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, said yesterday. For months, Israel has been firing back at sites in Lebanon used by Hezbollah to launch rockets and missiles across the border, as well as killing Hezbollah commanders and fighters. Analysis: Experts said Hezbollah had most likely been aiming at a nearby army base and had not intentionally targeted the village, but its use of inaccurate rockets in an area dotted with civilian communities could tip the balance toward all-out war. War in Gaza: Negotiations for a truce remained stalled, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other. And in the U.S., junior political aides started an anonymous website criticizing U.S. policy on Israel and the war. Other news: The Israeli military detained nine reservists over suspected sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee. Civilians supporting the reservists briefly broke into a military base in protest. MORE TOP NEWS Michele Spatari/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images South Africa: The African National Congress expelled former President Jacob Zuma after he helped form a rival political party. Trump: The former president agreed to be interviewed by the F.B.I. as part of its investigation into the motives of the man who tried to assassinate him. France: A man was detained after breaking into a railway site as the police searched for the arsonists who caused travel chaos before the Olympics opening ceremony. Climate: Plug-and-play solar panels are popping up across Germany, driven by bargain prices and looser regulations. Tech: Elon Musk says self-driving taxis are Tesla's future. Experts have doubts. Sinead O'Connor: A recently registered death certificate showed that the Irish singer died last year of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma. U.S.: Rainstorms in Tennessee caused significant floods at Dollywood, Dolly Parton's theme park. At least one person was injured. News From Britain Knife crime: Two children were killed and nine others were injured, along with two adults, in an attack on a dance class near Liverpool. A 17-year-old was arrested. Politics: The Labour government accused its predecessor of leaving the country's finances in a mess and said it would have to cut some road and rail projects and pension benefits. BBC: Huw Edwards, who until recently was a high-profile TV anchor for the broadcaster, has been charged with making indecent images of children, the police said. The Olympics Swimming: The Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh won her first gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley. Here's what's next. (For more, read why some swimmers think about math in the pool.) Women's basketball: Nigeria upset Australia for the team's first Olympic win in 20 years. Lighting the torch: The Olympic flame is an impressive spectacle, with the appearance of a burning hot air balloon. But it's not a flame at all. Sports science: Six Olympic athletes described the delicate mechanics behind their chosen events. Fencing: The Ukrainian athlete Olha Kharlan dedicated her bronze medal to the Ukrainian athletes "who couldn't come here because they were killed by Russia." SPORTS NEWS Soccer: Manchester United is working on plans to build a new 100,000-seat stadium. Formula 1: Carlos Sainz has announced he will join Williams for the 2025 season. MORNING READ Sanjay Baid/EPA, via Shutterstock With their diet of carrion and their featherless heads, vultures are often viewed with disgust. But they have long provided a critical cleaning service by devouring the dead. Now, economists have put an excruciating figure on just how vital they can be: The sudden near-disappearance of vultures in India about two decades ago led to more than half a million excess human deaths over five years, according to a new study. CONVERSATION STARTERS Fired up: Here's how the creators of "House of the Dragon" made the titular beasts big, bad and believable. Tight fits: A researcher determined which New York City sidewalks were the most crowded. Sleep like an Olympian: You can get your own cardboard bed, but they're not without flaws. ARTS AND IDEAS Pool photo by Esa Alexander A changing France on full display A new France was consecrated on Friday evening during the Olympic opening ceremony. When Aya Nakamura, a popular French Malian singer, came sashaying in a short fringed golden dress out of the august Académie Française, she redefined Frenchness. Nakamara uses slang like verlan that reverses the order of syllables, and West African dialects like Nouchi. She mixes languages, including English, and R&B and Afropop. Her performance was a powerful salutation to a France whose language is increasingly infused with expressions from its former African colonies — against the stern edicts of the Académie, whose role has been to protect the French language from outside influence, and the concerns of a rising far right. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS David Malosh for The New York Times Cook: This cheery chicken dish is inspired by patatas bravas. Read: Check out these 15 new books coming in August. Clean: Less than five minutes of attention each week can keep your keyboard looking fresh. Travel: A new walking path in Tuscany offers beauty and an escape from crowds. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. 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