The Evening: Under pressure, Biden hosts NATO summit

Also, Middle America is paying more for home insurance.

View in browser|nytimes.com July 9, 2024 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Tuesday. Biden at the NATO summit Distorted home insurance rates Plus, Hollywood's new mogul Thirty-eight world leaders are in Washington for the NATO summit. Eric Lee/The New York Times At the NATO summit, the attention is on Biden NATO leaders gathered in Washington today for a summit organized to celebrate the alliance's 75th anniversary and emphasize the members' long-term commitment. The three-day event is designed in large part as a show of strength meant for Russia. American officials have assessed that Russia is unlikely to gain much, if any, territory in the coming months, a significant change in the dynamic of the war. Western leaders believe that their efforts in Ukraine are working. But overshadowing the display of unity and optimism is uncertainty about the future of American leadership. President Biden, who is perhaps NATO's most vocal advocate in Washington, has faced intense scrutiny about his age, acuity and ability to campaign after his disastrous debate performance last month. Biden encouraged voters to watch him closely and judge his ability to lead on the world stage for themselves. On Thursday, at the end of the summit, the president is scheduled to hold a news conference — his first full, solo face-off with reporters in the U.S. since November 2022. His troubles have spurred conversations among European allies about what another Donald Trump presidency would mean for the alliance. The former president, who once declared NATO "obsolete" and threatened to exit the alliance, was leading Biden by a significant margin in several post-debate polls. What to watch: At the top of Ukraine's wish list are more air defenses, more air defense missiles and a timeline for NATO membership. Members of the alliance are worried that Russia could increase covert actions in Europe to disrupt the summit. Senator Tom Carper, Democrat of Delaware, supports President Biden staying in the race. Cheriss May for The New York Times Democrats appeared unwilling to break with Biden Several congressional Democrats have over the last few days raised grave fears about President Biden's ability to win re-election in November. But when the party's House and Senate contingents emerged today from crucial meetings, neither group appeared willing to push Biden aside. House Democrats' closed-door meeting over Biden's path forward wrapped seemingly without any real consensus. Based on the responses from senators leaving the weekly Democratic conference meeting, it is clear that they are not unified about how to proceed. The mood was dour, with many lawmakers staring grimly as reporters asked questions. His most vocal backers were eager to fill the void. "We are ridin' with Biden," Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina proclaimed nine times. In related news, Black women, the Democratic Party's most loyal voting bloc, remained Biden's firewall of support. Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Banking Committee today. Cheriss May for The New York Times Powell said that inflation is on the right track Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, testified to senators today that recent economic data had given the central bank more confidence that inflation was returning to normal. He said that continued progress would allow the Fed to feel more comfortable about reducing borrowing costs. Powell avoided zeroing in on a specific month for when the Fed might cut interest rates, but did little to push back on expectations that a reduction could come in September. In related news, a new study found that the reliability of U.S. economic data is in jeopardy. The New York Times Middle America is paying more for home insurance Increasingly damaging weather caused by climate change is driving home-insurance rates higher. But risk does not fully explain the rising costs: Some Americans, especially in the middle of the country, pay far more for home insurance than others with similar levels of risk, an examination by The New York Times found. Research suggests that higher premiums are being charged in states where regulators apply less scrutiny to requests for rate increases. Check out how your area compares. More top news New Jersey: Prosecutors in the bribery trial of Senator Robert Menendez targeted his blame-the-wife strategy in closing arguments. Health: The Federal Trade Commission criticized pharmacy benefit managers in a scathing report, ramping up its scrutiny of the industry. New York: Manhattan prosecutors said they were "actively pursuing" a fresh prosecution of Harvey Weinstein on sex crimes charges. India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited President Vladimir Putin of Russia, angering Ukraine. Russia: A court ordered the arrest in absentia of Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Aleksei Navalny, accusing her of "participating in an extremist community." Weather: Tropical Storm Beryl left millions in Houston without power. Tesla: The auto maker's share of the electric vehicle market fell below 50 percent in the second quarter. Immigration: The Times followed one Venezuelan family across eight countries and 5,000 miles, all the way to Times Square. TIME TO UNWIND David Ellison, the tech scion behind Skydance. Jessica Chou for The New York Times There's a new mogul in Hollywood David Ellison ascended to movie mogul status when he agreed this week to take control of Paramount Pictures, once among the most cherished assets in Hollywood. But Ellison, 41, bears no resemblance to the robber barons who came before him, partly because there is precious little left to rob. Movies no longer tower over entertainment, many streaming services are financial disasters, and almost everyone is trying to cut costs or change strategies. That includes Ellison, who acknowledged that his legacy at Paramount could be defined by his skills as a fix-it man. His plan: remake its assets into a "tech hybrid." Joyce Lee for The New York Times Are fiber supplements worth it? Fiber slows the movement of food through the digestive tract, helping to reduce blood sugar spikes and lower cholesterol. If that's what you're looking for, then fiber supplements can help improve your bowel movements or reduce some digestive symptoms. But experts we spoke to recommend trying to get most of your daily fiber through fiber-rich foods. Those deliver the benefits in addition to a host of vitamins and minerals. The statue may depict the god Hermes.  Vassil Donev/EPA, via Shutterstock Dinner table topics Accidental find: Archaeologists in Bulgaria made an unexpected discovery in an ancient Roman sewer: a well-preserved marble statue. Sloth hugging? Attractions allowing visitors to interact with animals have surged. Many experts are worried. Behind "The Bear": Will Guidara used to run an acclaimed restaurant. Now he's helping replicate one on television. Slap fighting: In Las Vegas, a new and violent sport is causing controversy. WHAT TO DO TONIGHT Julia Gartland for The New York Times Cook: For a light dinner, add prosciutto and roasted peppers to caprese antipasto. Watch: Here are five science fiction movies to stream right now. Read: Aysegul Savas's new novel celebrates the unremarkable grace of a couple's ordinary days. Listen: These songs make for an excellent beach playlist. Garden: Weeds are worth reconsidering. Spin: You probably don't need a Lazy Susan, but they make meals a lot more fun. Chop: Wirecutter tested 23 chef's knives. This one is the best. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here. ONE LAST THING Dana Golan for The New York Times Wigs that don't look wiggy Wigs might not seem as popular as they were in the 1960s or '70s, but they're still out there. Today, many wigs and toppers go undetected on red carpets, at galas, in movies and on magazine covers. One of the wig makers who specialize in the natural look is Shani Lechan, whose clients include cancer patients, neighborhood moms and supermodels. Lechan first got into the industry because she wanted better wigs for herself: As a married Orthodox Jew, she covers her hair in public to adhere to religious customs. Have a luxurious evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew Emree Weaver was our photo editor today. 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 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

France, ‘Back From the Far-Right Brink’

A surprise election result for Macron and his country, plus: Labour rises; Iran chooses a reformist; and NATO's tall tasks …

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.   July 9, 2024 France, 'Back From the Far-Right Brink' "C'est ouf," read the front-page headline of the left-leaning French daily Libération: "That's crazy." Indeed, the mainstream reaction to France's election result seemed to be surprise and relief. After the far-right National Rally (RN) had surged in European Parliament elections last month, and again in the first round of snap elections called by President Emmanuel Macron in response to that result, it seemed the RN was poised to secure a legislative majority in the runoff round of voting on Sunday and form a government. Instead, the opposite happened. Agreements between the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) and Macron's centrist Ensemble coalition saw various candidates drop out to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote, and the far right ultimately finished third, with the NFP in first and Ensemble in second.  France has "edge[d] back from the far-right brink," the Financial Times declares in an editorial. Macron will have to reckon with his opponents as colleagues in government for the first time, but for the French president, "The predicted catastrophe did not occur," Nathalie Segaunes writes for the center-left French daily Le Monde. And yet, it's not clear what comes next. New York Times Paris Bureau Chief Roger Cohen notes that Macron had sought "clarification" by calling snap elections, but instead parliamentary deadlock could follow, as the various factions try to sort out a governing coalition. Unlike other European parliamentary democracies, Cohen notes, France has no tradition of forging such compromises. "Instead of waking up on Monday to a country dominated by the far right," Cohen writes, "France awoke to becoming Italy, a country where only painstaking parliamentary negotiation may eventually yield a viable coalition government." Some, in fact, argue that by losing, the RN has positioned itself for success in the 2027 French presidential election. By falling short of a legislative majority, far-right icon Marine Le Pen did herself "a favour because none of what is now unfolding is her fault," Jonathan Miller writes for The Spectator. "The chaos was authored by president Macron. Le Pen will reap the rewards." The FT's editorial board suggests the same, writing: "Despite its third place in the second round, the RN is nonetheless a strengthened force. It is the largest single party, as opposed to bloc or alliance, in the parliament. It will now receive millions of euros in additional state financing. And either a protracted power vacuum or a destabilising, tax-and-spend leftwing government could play into its hands." Labour Rises July 4 elections in the UK, by contrast, produced the widely predicted outcome: a landslide win for Labour and the collapse of the Conservatives' majority. Labour regained its so-called "red wall" of working-class constituencies that had swung toward the populist Conservative Boris Johnson in 2019. Taking a granular look at the results, Marcus Ashworth writes for Bloomberg Opinion that the vote didn't reflect the rise of Labour so much as a strong showing by smaller parties that tipped the outcome: "The most notable winners … were the UK's smaller political parties, winning their biggest share of the votes in more than a century. The emergence of three distinct new political forces—the Green Party, the Reform Party and pro-Palestine independent MPs—has cracked, if not broken, the traditional Westminster mold, casting a weirdly European vibe over the UK political map. … No party in UK electoral history has won this big a majority with so few votes—[Labour] secured two-thirds of the seats with just one-third of the vote." Indeed, Labour's vote share (34%) only rose by about two percentage points from its devastating loss in 2019 (32.1%). Some commentators are puzzling over how new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer will deliver on his promise of "change," given an unambitious campaign platform that proposed neither major fiscal redirection nor any effort to undo Brexit. At Project Syndicate, Anatole Kaletsky observes that Labour "holds positions that are indistinguishable from the defeated Conservatives" on spending and borrowing, relations with the EU, the challenges posed by Russia and China, and the UK's democratic system.  Before the vote, Philip Collins, a former speechwriter for the transformative Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, wrote for CNN Opinion that Starmer's Labour Party appears far less bold and different than Blair's did. Casting doubt on the degree of change Starmer's new government will bring, Collins concluded: "It may be that he has the momentum to win well but lacks the goodwill on which governments rely, especially when times are hard as, sadly, they will be." Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf observes: "Starmer's challenge, and that of his chancellor Rachel Reeves, is quite simple: he has promised to make things better while also changing very little. This caution was self-evidently excessive and will now make it far harder to govern." Iran Chooses a Reformist In yet another notable election result, Iranians chose the reformist heart surgeon and former health minister Masoud Pezeshkian over his hardline conservative opponent in Friday's presidential-election runoff. Analysts disagree over how much this result will mean. In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes the biggest decisions and retains ultimate power. (And elections, it should be noted, are not considered free or fair.) But before the vote, Ana Palacio argued in Project Syndicate that "the world should be paying attention. At a time of deep tensions and shifting alliances, the results will reverberate across the region and beyond." Iran may remain a nuclear-threshold state and may not seek any rapprochement with the US, Palacio wrote, but its revival of ties with Arab states last year moved its foreign policy into an interesting moment. The war in Gaza and the danger of another conflict between Israel and the Iran-allied Lebanese Islamist militia Hezbollah mean Iran's decisions will carry high stakes. The Middle East Institute's Marjan Keypour is skeptical that much will change, writing: "Pezeshkian's election is unlikely to bring about significant domestic changes as key issues, like Iran's long-standing economic problems and the compulsory hijab rule, reflect the regime's priorities; there may be a glimmer of opportunity for Western nations interested in potential diplomatic engagement with Tehran though." In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Sanam Vakil of the British international-affairs think tank Chatham House noted various implications. For one, Vakil argued, low voter turnout showed that Iran is now a "status-quo power," not a vibrant revolutionary regime. Pezeshkian's election may provide a kind of opening for Western powers to deal with Tehran differently, in Vakil's view, but it will not usher in any wave of new rights for Iranian women. NATO's Tall Tasks In Washington this week, NATO is holding a summit that coincides with the alliance's 75th anniversary. Uncertainty is deep, and tasks are tall. In a Foreign Policy preview, Robbie Gramer, Amy Mackinnon and Jack Detsch write: "[T]he birthday celebrations will be muted as Russia's war in Ukraine continues unabated and European allies simmer in quiet anxiety over the U.S. elections, President Joe Biden's frailty, and the prospect of a second term for former President Donald Trump." Attention will turn to the creation of a new command to coordinate assistance for Ukraine, questions over Ukraine's ambition to join NATO, Biden's struggling reelection campaign, and China's rise in importance (including as a partner for Moscow), they write. On Ukraine's position at the summit, David J. Kramer, John Herbst and William Taylor write for Foreign Policy: "The more weapons, technology, and assistance provided to Ukraine and the faster it is done, the more successful Ukraine's outlook will be in defeating Russia. Success for Ukraine is difficult but by no means impossible. Failure is not an option." NATO may strain to find a way to offer Kyiv a "bridge" to future membership, and M.E. Sarotte writes for Foreign Affairs that NATO's Article 5 commitment—to defend any member against attack—is the crux of the problem with that. Were Ukraine a member of NATO, all allies would be obligated to join its war with Russia. Sarotte suggests a workaround: getting Kyiv to define provisional borders and promise to attack beyond them only for defensive purposes. 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. 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