The Evening: Biden puts new pressure on Israel

Also, Biden and Harris hit the campaign trail.

View in browser|nytimes.com May 8, 2024 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Wednesday. A U.S. shift on Israel Campaigning on Wednesdays Plus, the latest "Planet of the Apes" Palestinians inspecting the site of an Israeli strike in Rafah on Tuesday. Hatem Khaled/Reuters The U.S. increased its pressure on Israel to reach a truce The Biden administration dispatched the head of the C.I.A. to meet today with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a push by the U.S. to clinch a deal for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. The visit came only hours after the White House confirmed that it was withholding some military aid from Israel. Together, the moves are among President Biden's most significant attempts to limit Israel's military operation in the Gazan city of Rafah and ratchet down the Israel-Hamas war. The hold on weapons is limited to a few thousand massive bombs, but it is the first time since the start of the war that Biden has used his power over aid to influence Israel's approach. Here's the latest. The U.S. defense secretary publicly linked the withheld shipment to Israel's long-threatened ground invasion of Rafah, which American officials worry could lead to a humanitarian disaster. Israel has insisted that it needs to invade Rafah in order to dismantle Hamas, and this week Israeli tanks entered the city and took control of its border crossing with Egypt. Israeli officials have downplayed the disagreement and said they are continuing to negotiate on a potential cease-fire. But experts suggested that the hold was a warning from Biden that he was willing to use U.S. aid as leverage if the Israeli military presses farther into Rafah. For more: We have new satellite imagery of Rafah, showing widespread damage. President Biden greeted voters after making remarks at the Dr. John Bryant Community Center in Racine, Wisconsin. Doug Mills/The New York Times It's Wednesday, so Biden and Harris are campaigning President Biden spent his afternoon in Racine, Wis., where he announced that Microsoft planned to build a major artificial intelligence data center there. The project in the battleground state is expected to create thousands of jobs, Biden said, and deliver on his promise to boost domestic manufacturing. The president also held a campaign event nearby targeting Black voters. Vice President Kamala Harris was on the move as well: She spoke in the Philadelphia suburbs about abortion access. The flurry of activity has become a Wednesday standard, as my colleague Reid Epstein reported. It's the off day for Donald Trump's Manhattan trial, so the White House and the Biden campaign have sought to cut off his chances of driving the news by sending the president and Harris to get voters' attention. David Banks, chief of the New York City schools, and Karla Silvestre, the school board president in Montgomery County, Md. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The New York Times School leaders rejected charges of ignoring antisemitism House Republicans questioned public school leaders from liberal pockets of the country, accusing them of "turning a blind eye" to an alarming rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7. But unlike last year, when a similar hearing with college leaders prompted months of upheaval, the school chiefs forcefully defended their actions. The latest: Police broke up an encampment at George Washington University; U.S.C. scrambled to preserve its graduation; and Chicago officials urged everyone to stop the comparisons to 1968. Cheickna Sarambounou is one of 10 men suing companies for exploiting them as undocumented workers. Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times France left migrant workers off its Olympic toll The Olympic flame arrived today in Marseille, where it will begin a 79-day relay across France, culminating in Paris with the start of the Games in July. President Emmanuel Macron said that the infrastructure for the Olympics was built without the hazards that tarnished the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But the Olympics sites have been more dangerous than organizers have let on. Some fatal accidents were omitted because of narrow definitions for what is Games-related; other cases involving undocumented immigrants were handled off the books. More top news Congress: Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene moved to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. The vote is likely to fail. Trump: A Georgia court will hear an appeal of the ruling that kept Fani Willis as the prosecutor in the former president's election-interference case, most likely delaying the case. Politics: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that doctors found a dead worm in his brain. Ukraine: Russia hit several power plants across the country, further straining its electrical grid. Cars: General Motors said it would stop making the Chevrolet Malibu, and focus more on EVs and S.U.V.s. Weather: One person died when strong storms hit the Eastern U.S. today. Here's how to get Times notifications on extreme weather. Florida: State lawmakers voted to outlaw intentionally letting go of balloons. Lives lived: Steve Albini, a musician who helped develop the alternative rock sound of the '80s and '90s, died at 61. TIME TO UNWIND Noa (Owen Teague) and Nova (Freya Allan) in "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." 20th Century Studios 'Planet of the Apes' continues to deliver More than half a century ago, filmmakers presented audiences with a goofy premise: What if talking apes overthrew humanity? Now "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," the 10th installment of what has become an uncommonly thoughtful franchise, is arriving in theaters. Our critic Alissa Wilkinson found it to be a worthy new chapter. Through the apes, the new movie probes the way idealisms can be co-opted and converted into dogmas. Check out Alissa's review. "All I'm doing is showing up as a vessel," LaToya Ruby Frazier said. Gioncarlo Valentine for The New York Times LaToya Ruby Frazier heads to MoMA LaToya Ruby Frazier is now perhaps America's foremost social documentary photographer. She first made her mark with photos of her family and her industrial hometown, Braddock, Pa., before widening her field to the challenges of working-class Americans across the country. This weekend, an exhibition of Frazier's work will open at the Museum of Modern Art. We talked to her about what inspires her. Aaron Dessner of the rock band the National at his Long Pond Studio in Hudson, N.Y. Jane Beiles for The New York Times Dinner table topics A serene oasis: Aaron Dessner's Long Pond recording studio breaks a lot of design rules. That's why musicians love it. For retirement: Was the 401(k) a mistake? We tried to find out. Big new canvas: Six midsize galleries pooled their money to buy a sprawling, abandoned school in upstate New York, where they will exhibit their art. A reader asked: Why do feet smell, and can anything be done about it? ADVERTISEMENT WHAT TO DO TONIGHT Julia Gartland for The New York Times Cook: These French onion sliders make for a comforting meal. Sip: Tiny drinks are on the rise. Watch: Here are the movies and shows arriving on streaming services this month. Listen: Our pop music editor made a playlist from Madonna's Celebration Tour. Book: Some online A.I. tools can actually help with your summer planning. Style: Wirecutter tested dozens of mascaras. These are the best options. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here. ADVERTISEMENT ONE LAST THING Adrienne Grunwald for The New York Times New York is awash in blue and orange The New York Knicks — once the laughingstock of the city's sports world — are now real contenders in the N.B.A. playoffs. They have a legitimate star in Jalen Brunson, who along with a collection of fun and unassuming players are transfixing the city. Their success has attracted a crush of celebrities and converted many once-uninterested New Yorkers into fans. Maria Luisa Rocca, for example, spent her more than 90 years caring little about basketball. Now, she refuses to miss a Knicks game. "I love this team," she said. Have an enthusiastic evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editorial Director: Adam Pasick Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Photo Editor: Brent Lewis Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018

So, Is It a Cold War?

A debate over China and the US, plus: Gaza-deal whiplash; how will AI change war?; and cocoa boom and bust …

View this email in your browser  Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Chris Good   Seeing this newsletter as a forward? Sign up here.   May 8, 2024 So, Is It a Cold War? Are the US and China locked in a new cold war? It's a matter of serious debate these days.   First, the case for "yes": In a recent Foreign Affairs essay, former top Trump China hand Matt Pottinger and now-former GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher argued China is already waging a cold war against the US. Washington, in their view, should acknowledge this and try to win. "[Chinese leader] Xi [Jinping], who has vilified [dovish former Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev and fashioned his own leadership style after that of Joseph Stalin, has proved time and again that he is not a leader with whom Americans can solve problems," they wrote. "He is an agent of chaos," the leader of a country that helps Russia as it besieges Ukraine and propagandizes against the US online. Pottinger made the case to Fareed on GPS, arguing the US should reopen its Cold War playbook and seek to contain China until it collapses under its own weight as the USSR did. In another Foreign Affairs essay, keen China watcher and now-former Biden-administration official Elizabeth Economy writes that it is "undeniable" Xi wants "to remake the world" on terms more favorable to China. "He wants to dissolve Washington's network of alliances" and remove "Western" values from international bodies like the UN, Economy writes. "In his new multipolar order, global institutions and norms will be underpinned by Chinese notions of common security and economic development, Chinese values of state-determined political rights, and Chinese technology."   Fareed has argued the contrary. Today's China isn't like the USSR, Fareed pointed out on Sunday's GPS. Where the Soviet Union saw its economic model sputter well before it collapsed, its lifespan extended by the 1970s' oil-price surge, China today has a diversified economy with a booming tech sector. Where the USSR was walled off from the West, China is deeply intertwined with it thanks to massive volumes of trade. Hoping China's party-state will collapse, Fareed argued, sounds a bit like calls for regime change in Iraq in 2003—and thus merits extreme caution. As Wang Jisi noted in a Foreign Affairs essay last fall, China also seems uninterested in converting other countries to its political system as the USSR sought to.   At Foreign Policy, a substantive review essay by columnist Michael Hirsh touches on the above points and more. As a "balanced and farsighted" middle-ground, Hirsh nods to New York Times correspondent and recent GPS guest David Sanger's book "New Cold Wars," which notes for instance that the iPhones Americans carry are still largely made in China, and that may not change soon. Hirsh's own assessment: We're not in a "cold war," which involves a zero-sum clash for total dominance, but a "cold peace" (a term Fareed has used): a nonlethal competition for influence with "no winner and no finish line." In other words, today's superpower politics aren't nearly as stark or as deadly as in the 20th century. "China is doing little to displace the international system that the United States and other Western powers created," Hirsh argues. "Instead, China seems mainly intent on beating the United States at its own game within that system. Beijing really has no other choice if it wants to sustain its economy, many experts say." Gaza-Deal Whiplash This week, an announcement by Hamas that it had accepted a ceasefire-for-hostages deal was quickly followed by Israeli pushback—and an incremental Israeli military advance on the Gazan border city of Rafah. (To hear The Times of Israel's David Horovitz characterize what Hamas has agreed to, for instance, it's merely a "sinister alternate proposal" offered up by the militant group.)   Confused? The Atlantic's Yair Rosenberg writes that this kind of whiplash has been a feature of the Israel–Hamas war. Rosenberg notes a similarly tantalizing inkling of a ceasefire deal in March, the "breathless" news coverage of Israel's momentarily open conflict with Iran, and the fact that despite these supposedly game-changing moments the fighting in Gaza continues. To understand the oscillating direction of headlines, Rosenberg recommends keeping four things in mind: "As they negotiate, both [Israel and Hamas] are attempting to shape international media coverage—and their statements should be read with this in mind. … Israel and Hamas aren't the only ones negotiating—and this makes things very complicated. … Several core sticking points still need to be resolved. … There is no agreement, but there are negotiations and they are at a pivotal point." How Will AI Change War? What will artificial intelligence change about warfare? On Sunday's GPS, Fareed asked James Stavridis, the retired US Navy admiral, former NATO supreme allied commander Europe, and coauthor of the near-futuristic war novel "2054." To Stavridis, three things will be salient: AI's potential ability to manage logistics and maintenance for battalions and fleets; to offer tactical and strategic input to battlefield commanders; and to operate unilaterally on the battlefield in the form of autonomous, unmanned drone swarms—which Stavridis predicts will be the top military threat by the middle of this century Cocoa Boom and Bust West Africa's cocoa loss is Latin America's gain, as a global market shift underpins the rising price of chocolate.   Cocoa production has plummeted in West Africa this 2023–2024 harvest season, sending global cocoa prices skyrocketing as Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Joe Bavier wrote for Reuters in March: "Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60% of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. Expectations of shortages … have seen New York cocoa futures more than double this year alone. … More than 20 farmers, experts and industry insiders told Reuters that a perfect storm of rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, sector mismanagement, and rapidly spreading disease is to blame." As Ken Opalo noted in his An Africanist Perspective newsletter last month, Ghanaian and Ivoirian cocoa farmers are hurting especially, as government authorities set prices in those countries, leaving farmers unable to fetch higher global market prices.   Latin American producers, meanwhile, are profiting, and this disruptive crop cycle is not only pushing up chocolate prices but could also reshape the global cocoa trade. The Economist writes: "The areas [in Latin America] where cocoa is grown, such as the coastal provinces in Ecuador and north-eastern Brazil, escaped the worst of the weather" that a recent El Niño (Pacific heating weather cycle) caused for Latin American farmers broadly. And they sell at global market rates: around $10,000 per metric ton, where Ghanaian and Ivoirian farmers are getting $2,460, the magazine writes. "Tempting though it may be to bank the windfall cash, many farmers spy an opportunity to invest in order to produce more. Many are buying high-yielding seedlings, expanding their growing areas and planting cocoa instead of less profitable crops. … The hope is to return Latin America's cocoa industry to its former glory." What did you think of today's newsletter? Send ideas, questions and feedback to globalbriefing@cnn.com   You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for Fareed's Global Briefing. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or sign up to manage your CNN account   Learn more about the CNN app |  Get CNN web alerts  |  Sign up for a free CNN account   ® © 2024 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. 1050 Techwood Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318