Month: August 2022

America’s largest warehouse market is full as major U.S. retailers warn of slowing sales of the clothing, electronics, furniture and other goods that have packed the distribution centers east of Los Angeles.

The merchandise keeps flooding in from across the Pacific, and for one of the busiest U.S. warehouse complexes, things are about to get worse.

Experts have warned the U.S. supply chain would get hit by the “bullwhip effect” if companies panic-ordered goods to keep shelves full and got caught out by a downturn in demand while shipments were still arriving from Asia.

In the largest U.S. warehouse and distribution market — stretching east from Los Angeles to the area known as the “Inland Empire” — that moment appears to have arrived.

“We’re feeling the sting of the bullwhip,” said Alan Amling, a supply-chain professor at the University of Tennessee.

The sprawl of Inland Empire warehouses centered in Riverside and San Bernardino counties grew quickly in recent years to handle surging demand and goods imported from Asia.

That booming area, visible from space, anchors an industrial corridor encompassing 1.6 billion square feet of storage space that extends from the busiest U.S. seaport in Los Angeles to near the Arizona and Nevada borders. That much storage space is nearly 44 times larger than New York City’s Central Park and 160 times bigger than Tesla Inc’s TSLA.O new Gigafactory in Texas.

But a consumer spending pullback now threatens to swamp warehouses here and around the country with more goods than they can handle — worsening supply —  chain snarls that have stoked inflation. Retailers left holding unwanted goods are faced with the choice of paying more money to store them or denting profits by selling them at discount.

Inland Empire warehouse vacancies are among the lowest in the nation, running at a record 0.6% versus the national average of 3.1%, according to real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. 

The market is poised to get even tighter as shoppers at Walmart WMT.N, Best Buy BBY.N and other retailers retreat from early COVID-era spending binges.

Binge to backlog

While U.S. consumer spending remains above pre-pandemic levels, retailers and suppliers are raising alarms about backlogs in categories that have fallen out of fashion as consumers catch up on travel and struggle with the highest inflation in 40 years.

Last week, Walmart said surging food and fuel prices left its lower-income customers with less cash to spend on goods, and Best Buy said shoppers were curbing spending on discretionary products like computers and televisions. Those cautionary signals followed Target Corp’s TGT.N alert that it was saddled with too many TVs, kitchen appliances, furniture and clothes.

Suppliers —  ranging from barbecue grill maker Weber Inc WEBR.N to Helen of Troy Ltd HELE.O, a consumer brands conglomerate that includes OXO kitchen tools — also have warned of slowing demand and an urgent need to clear inventories.

While the U.S. economy was downshifting, goods kept pouring in at near-record levels.

Imports to U.S. container ports that process retail goods from China and other countries jumped more than 26% in the first half of 2022 from pre-pandemic levels, according to Descartes Datamyne. Christmas shipments and the reopening of major Chinese factory hubs could goose volumes further.

Meanwhile, cargo keeps flooding in to the busiest U.S. seaport complex at Los Angeles/Long Beach. During the first half of this year, dockworkers there handled about 550,000 more 40-foot containers than before the pandemic started, according to port data.

Christmas toys and winter holiday decor landed on those docks in July, along with some patio furniture for Walmart and stretch pants, jeans and shoes for Target, said Steve Ferreira, CEO of Ocean Audit, which scrutinizes marine shipping invoices.

Retailers ordered most of those goods months ago and many are destined for the Inland Empire’s already jam-packed warehouses.

“It’s a domino effect. Now the inventory is going to really build up,” said Scott Weiss, a vice president at Performance Team, a Maersk MAERSKb.CO company with 22 warehouses in greater Los Angeles.

Demand for space in the Inland Empire is so intense that when 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of space frees up, it “gets gobbled up in a second,” said Weiss.

Sears and parking lots

Investors have almost 40 million square feet under construction in the Inland Empire — including Amazon.com Inc’s AMZN.O biggest-ever warehouse — and at least 38% is spoken for, said Dain Fedora, vice president of research for Southern California at Newmark, a commercial real estate advisory firm.

While Amazon’s 4.1 million square-foot facility rises on former dairy land in the city of Ontario, the online retailer has been shelving construction plans in other parts of the country.

Amazon is the biggest warehouse tenant in the Inland Empire and the nation. Its decision to scale back on building, coupled with rising interest rates and the slowing economy, is sidelining other would-be Inland Empire warehouse builders, area real estate brokers and economists told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the scramble for space continues.

Trucking company yards and spare lots around the region have already been converted to makeshift container storage, so entrepreneurs are marketing vacant stores as last-resort warehouses in waiting.

Brad Wright is CEO of Chunker, which bills itself as an AirBNB for warehouses, and works with everyone from state officials to the owners of vacated big-box stores to find new places to stash goods.

During a recent tour at the former Sears anchor store in San Bernardino’s Inland Center mall, Wright and a potential tenant strolled past collapsed ceiling tiles, sagging wall panels and idled escalators while working out how forklifts would navigate the abandoned space. Wright sees the empty stores as one answer to easing the log jams.

“There’s a lot of them sitting around, and they’re in good locations,” he said.
…

Three Republican U.S. House members who voted to impeach Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection are being challenged in Tuesday’s primary elections by rivals endorsed by the former president.

The primaries for Reps. Peter Meijer, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse are the biggest test yet for Republican Party (GOP) incumbents who broke with Trump after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep him in power. Trump has vowed revenge against the 10 House Republicans who crossed party lines for the impeachment vote.

Of the 10, four opted not to run for reelection in this year’s midterm elections. As for the ones who did, Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina lost to a Trump-endorsed challenger in June, while Rep. David Valadao of California survived a challenge that same month from a fellow Republican, advancing to the general election. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is bracing for defeat in her Aug. 16 primary against a Trump-backed rival.

In other races Tuesday, two Democratic incumbents in Michigan are facing each other in a newly drawn congressional district, and two members of the progressive “Squad” have primary challengers in Missouri and Michigan. In Arizona, GOP voters will decide whether to nominate a major QAnon figure for a congressional seat.

Facing voters after impeachment votes

The three House Republicans facing primary challenges Tuesday for impeaching Trump say they don’t regret their vote.

In Michigan, Meijer voted for impeachment just days after he was sworn into office for his first term. The former president has endorsed Meijer’s opponent, John Gibbs, a businessman and missionary who served in the Trump administration under Housing Secretary Ben Carson.

Gibbs has contended Meijer is not a true Republican because he voted to impeach Trump, and Gibbs chastised Meijer for supporting bipartisan gun control legislation that President Joe Biden signed into law in June.

Meijer, a member of the Army Reserves who served in Iraq, has criticized Biden over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as his handling of the economy. The congressman’s family is well known in the Midwest as owners of the chain of Meijer grocery megastores, and he has a large fundraising advantage over Gibbs. The winner will face Democrat Hillary Scholten in November in the state’s Democratic-leaning 3rd Congressional District.

In Washington state, the two Republicans who voted for impeachment are competing in crowded primaries, from which the top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, will move on to the general election in November.

Herrera Beutler’s primary against eight challengers, four of whom are Republicans, in Washington state’s 3rd Congressional District will be one of the toughest of her career. Trump is backing Joe Kent, a former Green Beret who has promoted the former president’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen.

Beutler has been in Congress since 2011 and represents an area that has favored Republicans.

In the central part of Washington, Newhouse, a four-term congressman, is facing seven challengers, six of whom are Republicans, in the solidly conservative 4th Congressional District. His rivals include Loren Culp, a former small-town police chief who refused to concede the governor’s race in 2020. Culp has Trump’s backing but has lagged other candidates in fundraising.

Candidate linked to QAnon

Ron Watkins, one of the most prominent figures in the QAnon conspiracy movement, is running for a House seat in Arizona’s sprawling 2nd Congressional District.

He served as the longtime administrator of online message boards that helped seed the conspiracy movement whose adherents believe a group of satanic, cannibalistic child molesters secretly runs the globe.

Watkins no longer runs the message boards and has denied fueling the QAnon movement. He said he is running for Congress because he hopes to “fix the machine from the inside.”

He is considered a long shot in the crowded GOP field, having been outpaced in campaign fundraising by the other candidates.

State Rep. Walter Blackman and Eli Crane, a former Navy SEAL who owns a bottle opener business and was endorsed by Trump, are considered the leading GOP contenders. The winner will take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom O′Halleran in November in a district that favors Republicans.

From colleagues to competitors

Two incumbent Michigan Democrats, Reps. Andy Levin and Haley Stevens, are running against each other for a newly drawn 11th Congressional District in suburban Detroit. They’re vying for a left-leaning area, which means the winner of Tuesday’s contest will likely win the seat in November.

Stevens flipped a district in 2018 that was long held by Republicans. Before running for office, she led the auto bailout under President Barack Obama.

Levin also won his first term in 2018, taking over the seat long held by his father, Rep. Sander “Sandy” Levin. He’s been endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Challenging the ‘squad’

Two members of the Squad in Congress are facing primary challenges on Tuesday.

In Michigan, Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces three Democratic challengers as she seeks a third term in office. She’s running in a newly drawn Detroit-area district where the winner is expected to easily carry the 12th Congressional District seat in November. Tlaib’s main competition is longtime Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, who has strong name recognition in the city.

In Missouri, first-term Rep. Cori Bush is facing a challenge in the state’s 1st Congressional District. State Sen. Steve Roberts is betting that Bush, a vocal advocate for defunding the police and moving money to social services and mental health programs, is too liberal even for heavily Democratic St. Louis.

Roberts has twice faced rape allegations, though prosecutors said they didn’t have enough evidence to merit charges. He has accused the Bush campaign of dredging up the allegations to distract from her record.

Bush has touted her accomplishments, including persuading the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up radioactive waste near a St. Louis County creek, pushing for climate change action and standing against evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ten years after Tucson shooting, intern seeks Giffords’ seat

Daniel Hernandez Jr., the hero intern credited with saving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ life after an attempted assassination in 2011, is running for her former seat in Congress.

Hernandez, who recently stepped down from the state Legislature to focus on his campaign, faces another former lawmaker in the Democratic primary. However, the once highly competitive district centered in Tucson now favors Republicans after the boundaries were redrawn.

Hernandez was a 20-year-old college student in his first week interning for Giffords when he went to her “Congress on your corner” constituent event. A gunman there opened fire, killing six and injuring 13. Hernandez kept the Democratic congresswoman conscious and applied pressure to her head wound until paramedics arrived.
…

The public health response to the outbreak of monkeypox in the United States has so far failed to prevent significant community spread of the disease, leading to a call for a reassessment of the strategy for containing it.

Since the first reported U.S. case of the outbreak on May 17, the number of infections has soared to more than 5,000, with the majority found among men who have sex with men.

Although reporting of case numbers is scattered across different agencies, the U.S. appears to account for more than 25% of global cases identified during the current outbreak, which the World Health Organization has identified as a “public health emergency of international concern.”

‘You have to act fast’

Infectious disease experts have been dismayed by what they saw as a lack of urgency on the part of U.S. public health agencies in the early weeks of the outbreak.

“What I expected to see would have been a more vigorous kind of a response based on lessons that we’ve learned from … COVID-19, as well as lessons we’ve learned from the HIV response,” Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, founder and director of ICAP at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, told VOA.

“When you have an outbreak, the most important thing is you have to act fast, you have to mobilize, and … you have to rally all your assets to work together really quickly to be able to do what’s needed,” El-Sadr said.

Facing criticism at the end of June, the White House announced what it called the “first phase” of a national monkeypox vaccine strategy designed to “help immediately address the spread of the virus by providing vaccines across the country to individuals at high risk.” The administration said that it would “rapidly deploy vaccines in the most affected communities and mitigate the spread of the disease.”

Similar to smallpox

The monkeypox virus comes from the same family as the deadly smallpox virus, but infections with the disease tend to be far less severe and are rarely fatal.

The disease typically presents with a fever and body aches, followed by the eruption of skin lesions, which can occur all over the body but which are often found on the face and hands.

Though the disease is rarely fatal, the skin lesions can cause severe pain lingering over several weeks.

International scope

According to data collected by the World Health Organization, diagnosed new cases of monkeypox have been concentrated in Europe and North America during the latest outbreak, with more than 14,000 reported in the WHO’s European Region and nearly 6,800 in North America.

By contrast, there are far fewer cases in other regions tracked by WHO. The agency’s African Region has reported only 328 cases, and numbers are far lower in the Western Pacific Region (65), the Eastern Mediterranean Region (26) and the South-East Asia Region (6.)

It should be noted that case numbers are affected by countries’ capacity to test and report active cases of monkeypox, meaning that in some developing countries, the numbers reported to the WHO may represent an undercount.

More manageable than COVID

Monkeypox is the sort of disease that the U.S. public health infrastructure ought to be able to combat effectively.

First, because it spreads primarily through close skin-to-skin contact, it is far less contagious than the virus that causes COVID-19, which can be transmitted through the air.

In addition, effective tests to diagnose the disease are available, as is a vaccine to prevent infection. There is also a highly effective treatment available for infected people.

However, the public health response in the U.S. has so far failed to take full advantage of the opportunity to counter monkeypox.

In a July 15 letter to senior public health officials, including Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Beccera and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, a group of physicians and activists complained, “Multiple unnecessary regulatory barriers to treatments, diagnostics, and vaccines have prevented people in the United States from accessing medical countermeasures necessary to protecting their health, allowing the continued spread of monkeypox virus.”

Delays and confusion

While tests exist that can reliably identify cases of monkeypox, in the early weeks of the outbreak only labs affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control were authorized to administer them, creating significant backlogs in testing. They have since been made available to several large commercial laboratory chains, but the initial delay may have contributed to the early spread of the disease.

Even though there is an effective vaccine against monkeypox, U.S. officials failed to order new doses to add to the country’s limited stockpile until June, the month after the disease began spreading. In addition, U.S. regulators did not approve the use of a facility in Denmark, where the vaccine is manufactured, until the middle of July.

While the medication tecovirimat is known to be highly effective against smallpox and has shown success against monkeypox as well, at the beginning of the outbreak, the CDC required doctors to go through an onerous application process for each patient, greatly slowing the distribution of the medication.

‘Public health failure’

In a blistering op-ed published in the New York Times on Saturday, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb wrote, “Our country’s response to monkeypox has been plagued by the same shortcomings we had with Covid-19. Now if monkeypox gains a permanent foothold in the United States and becomes an endemic virus that joins our circulating repertoire of pathogens, it will be one of the worst public health failures in modern times not only because of the pain and peril of the disease but also because it was so avoidable.”

He continued, “Our lapses extend beyond political decision making to the agencies tasked with protecting us from these threats. We don’t have a federal infrastructure capable of dealing with these emergencies.”

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has challenged criticisms from Gottlieb in the past. Earlier in July, she said in a statement to CNN, “It is true that we have work to do — here and internationally — and are likely to see more monkeypox cases in the near term, but it is possible to significantly decrease the number of cases and contain the current monkeypox outbreak through education and increased testing and access to vaccines – all priorities we’ve made dramatic progress on.”

The CDC has launched an effort to support case identification and contact tracing nationwide, as well as support for testing and “case confirmation.” In addition, the agency has expanded outreach to medical professionals to help them identify cases of monkeypox and has expanded its efforts to communicate information about the disease to the public, particularly to the populations most at risk.

CDC researchers are also investigating the nature of the disease, including precisely how it is transmitted and what course the illness typically takes once a person is infected.

At a global level, the CDC reports that it is sharing information with other countries to help coordinate a global response to the virus. This includes close cooperation with the government of Nigeria in an effort to sequence the DNA of the virus, in order to better understand its evolution.

Window is closing

El-Sadr, of Columbia University, told VOA that while she is concerned about the response to the disease this far, she believes there is still an opportunity to bring it under control.

“We have enough tools already,” she said. “If we could just mobilize and communicate and utilize those tools, I think we have a shot at stopping this outbreak. But the window of opportunity closes very fast when it comes to outbreaks and that’s the reason why there’s a profound need for urgency.”

Failure, she said, could leave the U.S. facing the prospect of monkeypox becoming endemic in the country, meaning that it would persist at a fixed level in the country even if no additional infected people arrive from other countries.
…

WASHINGTON (AP) _ As the sun was rising in Kabul on Sunday, two Hellfire missiles fired by a U.S. drone ended Ayman al-Zawahiri’s decade-long reign as the leader of al-Qaida. The seeds of the audacious counterterrorism operation had been planted over many months. 

U.S. officials had built a scale model of the safe house where al-Zawahiri had been located, and brought it into The White House Situation Room to show President Joe Biden. They knew al-Zawahiri was partial to sitting on the home’s balcony. 

They had painstakingly constructed “a pattern of life,” as one official put it. They were confident he was on the balcony when the missiles flew, officials said. 

Planning takes years

Years of efforts by U.S. intelligence operatives under four presidents to track al-Zawahri and his associates paid dividends earlier this year, Biden said, when they located Osama bin Laden’s longtime No. 2 – a co-planner of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. – and ultimate successor at the house in Kabul. 

Bin Laden’s death came in May 2011, face to face with a U.S. assault team led by Navy SEALs. Al-Zawahiri’s death came from afar, at 6:18 a.m. in Kabul. 

His family, supported by the Haqqani Taliban network, had taken up residence in the home after the Taliban regained control of the country last year, following the withdrawal of U.S. forces after nearly 20 years of combat that had been intended, in part, to keep al-Qaida from regaining a base of operations in Afghanistan. 

But the lead on his whereabouts was only the first step. Confirming al-Zawahiri’s identity, devising a strike in a crowded city that wouldn’t recklessly endanger civilians, and ensuring the operation wouldn’t set back other U.S. priorities took months to fall into place. 

That effort involved independent teams of analysts reaching similar conclusions about the probability of al-Zawahiri’s presence, the scale mock-up and engineering studies of the building to evaluate the risk to people nearby, and the unanimous recommendation of Biden’s advisers to go ahead with the strike. 

Aim for accuracy 

“Clear and convincing,” Biden called the evidence. “I authorized the precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all. This measure was carefully planned, rigorously, to minimize the risk of harm to other civilians.”

The consequences of getting it wrong on this type of judgment call were devastating a year ago this month, when a U.S. drone strike during the chaotic withdrawal of American forces killed 10 innocent family members, seven of them children. 

Biden ordered what officials called a “tailored airstrike,” designed so the two missiles would destroy only the balcony of the safe house where the terrorist leader was holed up for months, sparing occupants elsewhere in the building. 

A senior U.S. administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the strike planning, said al-Zawahiri was identified on “multiple occasions, for sustained periods of time” on the balcony where he died. 

The official said “multiple streams of intelligence” convinced U.S. analysts of his presence, having eliminated “all reasonable options” other than his being there. 

Two senior national security officials were first briefed on the intelligence in early April, with the president being briefed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan shortly thereafter. Through May and June, a small circle of officials across the government worked to vet the intelligence and devise options for Biden. 

On July 1 in The White House Situation Room, after returning from a five-day trip to Europe, Biden was briefed on the proposed strike by his national security aides. It was at that meeting, the official said, that Biden viewed the model of the safe house and peppered advisers, including CIA Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and National Counterterrorism Center director Christy Abizaid, with questions about their conclusion that al-Zawahiri was hiding there. 

Biden, the official said, also pressed officials to consider the risks the strike could pose to American Mark Frerichs, who has been in Taliban captivity for more than two years, and to Afghans who aided the U.S. war efforts who remain in the country. U.S. lawyers also considered the legality of the strike, concluding that al-Zawahiri’s continued leadership of the terrorist group and support for al-Qaida attacks made him a lawful target. 

The official said al-Zawahiri had built an organizational model that allowed him to lead the global network even from relative isolation. That included filming videos from the house, and the U.S. believes some may be released after his death. 

On July 25, as Biden was isolated in The White House residence with COVID-19, he received a final briefing from his team. 

Each of the officials participating strongly recommended the operation’s approval, the official said, and Biden gave the sign-off for the strike as soon as an opportunity was available. 

That unanimity was lacking a decade earlier when Biden, as vice president, gave President Barack Obama advice he did not take – to hold off on the bin Laden strike, according to Obama’s memoirs. 

The opportunity came early Sunday – late Saturday in Washington – hours after Biden again found himself in isolation with a rebound case of the coronavirus. He was informed when the operation began and when it concluded, the official said. 

A further 36 hours of intelligence analysis would follow before U.S. officials began sharing that al-Zawahiri was killed, as they watched the Haqqani Taliban network restrict access to the safe house and relocate the dead al-Qaida leader’s family. U.S. officials interpreted that as the Taliban trying to conceal the fact they had harbored al-Zawahri. 

After last year’s troop withdrawal, the U.S. was left with fewer bases in the region to collect intelligence and carry out strikes on terrorist targets. It was not clear from where the drone carrying the missiles was launched or whether countries it flew over were aware of its presence. 

The U.S. official said no American personnel were on the ground in Kabul supporting the strike and the Taliban was provided with no forewarning of the attack. 

In remarks 11 month ago, Biden had said the U.S. would keep up the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries, despite pulling out troops. “We just don’t need to fight a ground war to do it.”

“We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities,” he said. 

On Sunday, the missiles came over the horizon.
…

Biden says “justice has been delivered” after US unmanned vehicle kills al-Qaida leader, in Afghanistan
…

The death of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a U.S. airstrike is likely to test the terror group’s resolve and coherence – and possibly strain long-crafted succession plans – just as it was seemingly positioned to be the world’s preeminent jihadist threat.    

Recent intelligence assessments had warned al-Qaida appeared to be benefiting from a period of relative stability within its leadership and that the group was taking advantage of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, with al-Qaida leadership communicating more freely than in the past.    

“The international context is favorable to al-Qaida,” a United Nations report said last month, further warning al-Qaida “may ultimately become a greater source of directed threat” than its rival, Islamic State.  

Only some former counterterrorism officials and analysts warn that although al-Qaida also used its new-found freedom in Afghanistan to solidify its hierarchy and line of succession, there are serious questions about how-well those plans can be put in motion, given geographical concerns and the growing influence of the terror group’s African affiliates.  

“This is challenging for al-Qaida,” a former Western counterterrorism official told VOA, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss recent intelligence assessments.  

In particular, the official cited concerns echoed by a number of intelligence agencies worldwide about the status of Zawahiri’s longtime heir apparent, Saif al-Adel.  

Al-Qaida and Iran  

“He’s in Iran … do the Iranians let him leave?” the former official asked. “It’s sort of tough to be the leader of al-Qaida while stuck in a gilded cage.”    

Al-Qaida’s number three, Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi, the terror group’s general manager and the head of its media operations, is also believed to be in Iran, along with several lower-ranking al-Qaida officials.  

And it is not just al-Adel and al-Maghrebi.    

The proliferation of al-Qaida officials in Tehran once prompted former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to accuse Iran of becoming al-Qaida’s new operational headquarters.

Other U.S. intelligence and diplomatic officials, however, have been more cautious in their assessments, describing the relationship between Tehran and al-Qaida as one of convenience, and often transactional in nature.  

In any case, some analysts see the connection to Iran as a problem.  

“It does create dilemmas,” said Aaron Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who specializes in jihadism. “[There are] questions of legitimacy or of Iranian influence.”  

Rise of African affiliates  

So too, there are potential challenges should al-Qaida turn to those next in line to replace Zawahiri: Yazid Mebrak with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ahmed Diriye with al-Qaida’s Somali affiliate al-Shabab.

“That would be also unprecedented where the senior leadership would move from the historical sanctuary of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region to different parts of Africa,” Zelin told VOA.     

“Many of those groups, while paying lip service to sort of the global fight, have historically mainly focused on their local insurgencies or regional conflicts than on anything related to the West,” he said.  

Yet despite a long-standing local or regional focus, the African affiliates have been growing in power and influence.  

Over the last couple of years, intelligence shared by U.N. member states warned that AQIM had becomes a logistics hub for al-Qaida affiliates in Mali while also finding ways to supply, and possibly influence, other militant groups.    

Al-Shabab’s rise has been even more pronounced, with one U.N. member state warning that it has morphed from affiliate to benefactor, providing al-Qaida’s core leadership with financial support.  

A new caliphate?  

At the same time, U.S. military and intelligence officials warn al-Qaida’s Somali affiliate is growing more ambitious, with a growing appetite for territory and for taking on Western targets.  

“I think it is likely that Africa will be the home of the next emirate-style experiment on al-Qaida’s part … based on the prevalence of strong militant movements in Africa along with weak states and frustrated populations that are open to a range of alternatives,” Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a counterterrorism analyst and CEO of the threat analysis firm Valens Global, recently told VOA.  

Still, Gartenstein-Ross, speaking prior to the death of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, said a stronger, more prominent African affiliate would not have to be home to al-Qaida’s core leadership.  

“Al-Qaida’s system of guidance is not a traditional command and control system,” he said. “Its ideal tends to be centralization of strategy with decentralization of the action.”  

Zawahiri’s legacy    

Late Monday, a senior U.S. administration official said Zawahiri’s death deals al-Qaida “a significant blow … and will degrade the group’s ability to operate including against the U.S. homeland.”  

But some analysts and former officials are wary.  

“The loss of Zawahiri is not the end of al-Qaida,” Katherine Zimmerman, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA via text.  

“As uninspiring as his diatribes were to many, he successfully led the organization beyond the death of its founder, Osama bin Laden, and the challenge from the Islamic State,” she said. “He and senior al-Qaida leaders have already planned for his death, and many capable individuals are ready to take the lead.”    

Other analysts argue that al-Qaida, while decentralized and reliant on affiliates, is still stronger now than ever before.

There are those, though, who disagree.  

“There is a case against him which says he wasn’t a very inspiring leader, he wasn’t a very dynamic leader,” the former Western counterterrorism official told VOA, sounding a note of caution.  

“If you subscribe to the theory that Zawahiri was not an effective leader, then you have the possibility of a more inspiring leader taking over,” the official said.
…

New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency Monday over the spread of monkeypox.

“This order will bolster our existing efforts to educate, vaccinate, test, and treat as many New Yorkers as possible and ensure a whole-of-government response to this outbreak,” Adams said in a statement released with the executive order.

The order allows Adams to suspend local laws and temporarily impose new rules to control the spread of the outbreak.

Similarly, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency last Friday. She previously announced that over the next four to six weeks, the federal government would distribute 110,000 vaccine doses to the state in addition to the 60,000 already distributed.

As of Monday, New York City has reported 1,472 cases, according to monkeypox data on the NYC Health website. Most cases worldwide have affected men who have sex with men.

In an announcement Saturday declaring a public health emergency in the city, Adams and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan estimated that about 150,000 New Yorkers may be at risk of monkeypox infection.

Cases are continuing to rise across the country. New York currently has the highest number of recorded monkeypox cases among the 50 states, followed by California with 799 cases as of Friday, the CDC reports. San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency on Thursday.

Though California has distributed more than 25,000 vaccine doses, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a KTVU-TV interview last week that the state is “not even close to where we need to be.”

The rapid spread of monkeypox worldwide has sparked alarm over the past few months. Since May, more than 22,000 cases have been reported in 80 countries, despite the virus naturally occurring only in Central and West Africa.

The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over monkeypox on July 23.
…

President Joe Biden said Monday that a U.S. missile strike over the weekend has killed the leader of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists.   

For the past decade, al-Zawahiri headed al-Qaida, the Islamist terror group that spawned franchises around the world after the stunning attacks on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001.    

“Now, justice has been delivered,” Biden said Monday night. “And this terrorist leader is no more.” He added: “We make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.”  

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan shortly after the September 11 attacks, and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was the prime target. U.S. forces killed him in Pakistan in 2011.   

Al-Zawahiri, born in Egypt to a wealthy family and trained as a surgeon, took over the terror group in 2011. Before that, he was said to be bin Laden’s personal doctor.   

The confirmation of his death came more than an hour after the Taliban rulers in Kabul said a missile attack on Sunday against a residential compound in the Afghan capital was the work of an American drone. 

Senior White House officials told reporters Monday night that the operation targeted a house in Kabul with an unmanned aerial vehicle, with no U.S. personnel on the ground. Administration officials also said they concluded with “high confidence” that only al-Zawahiri was killed, and that they were aware that senior members of the Taliban’s Haqqani network knew he was in Afghanistan. Officials said they did not alert the Taliban ahead of the strike.  

A senior administration official said al-Zawahiri “continued to provide strategic direction to al-Qaida affiliates worldwide, calling for attacks on the United States.”  

WATCH: Biden Delivers Remarks on Counterterrorism Operation

The Taliban were quick to share their ire.   

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns this attack on whatever the pretext,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, using the official name for the Taliban government.    

He denounced the strike as a “blatant violation of international principles and the Doha agreement,” referring to the 2020 talks that Taliban leaders held with the U.S. and Western leaders in Qatar over the withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops the subsequent year.  

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15 as the U.S.-led foreign troops withdrew and the Western-backed government in Kabul as well as its security forces collapsed in the face of the stunning nationwide Taliban assault.    

U.S. officials have been in contact with Pakistani leaders to seek an “over-the-horizon” facility to conduct counterterrorism operations in landlocked Afghanistan after American troops left the country and the Taliban took over.  

The U.S.-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and dislodged the then-Taliban government in Kabul to punish it for harboring the al-Qaida terror network. Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri escaped the international military action.   

The U.S.-Taliban agreement also required the Islamist group not to allow any terrorist organization, including al-Qaida, to pose a threat to the security of the United States and other countries from Afghan soil.    

But recent United Nations assessments suggested that al-Qaida, boosted by leadership stability and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, appeared to be positioning itself to once again be seen as the world’s preeminent terror group and as the greatest long-term threat to the West.   

Intelligence shared by United Nations member states and published in a new report earlier this month found al-Qaida was enjoying a degree of freedom under Taliban rule, allowing its leadership to communicate more often and more easily with affiliates and followers. The report further concluded that al-Zawahiri, long rumored to be in ill health or dying, was “alive and communicating freely.”   

The U.N. report similarly cautions that while al-Qaida may be better positioned, it is likely to refrain from launching external attacks in order to not embarrass Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and because the al-Qaida core still lacks “an external operational capability.”   

Analyst Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said it is important for the U.S. to cut out terror groups at their roots. 

“The goal is to keep pressure on terrorists over there so they don’t have the ability to kill us here,” he said. “Every policy decision in Washington should be judged, at least in part, by that metric.” 

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz praised the operation.  

“This is an important accomplishment,” the Texas senator said in a statement. “All Americans will breathe easier today knowing Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, has been eliminated. This strike should be a message to terrorists near and far: if you conspire to kill Americans, we will find and kill you.”  

Biden said the killing could lead to a new era.   

“Now we have eliminated the emir of al-Qaida,” he said. “He will never again – never again – allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he’s gone and we’re going to make sure that nothing else happens. You know, it can’t be a launching pad against the United States. We’re going to see to it that won’t happen.”  

Meanwhile in recent years, al-Qaida has continued to expand, launching violent affiliate groups in the Middle East, West and East Africa, and South Asia.   

Jeff Seldin, VOA’s national security correspondent, contributed to this report.   

 
…

Floods unleashed by torrential rains in eastern Kentucky have killed at least 35 people, including four children, Gov. Andy Beshear said on Monday while warning that more dangerous weather is approaching the region.

Beshear, who has said he expects the death toll will rise further, verified five additional fatalities in an afternoon update after announcing a total of 30 confirmed deaths in the morning.

Authorities continued to work to rescue residents and provide food and shelter for thousands who have been displaced.

“It is really tough,” Beshear said of the weather forecast in a video posted to social media. “Isolated flash flooding and damaging wind are both possible.”

The National Weather Service forecasted several rounds of continuing showers and storms through Tuesday. The additional rainfall could also hamper rescue and recovery efforts.

Beshear, who declared a state emergency last week, said over the weekend that authorities would likely “be finding bodies for weeks” as teams fan out to more remote areas.

Days of heavy rainfall — described by Beshear as some of the worst in the state’s history — caused some homes in the hardest-hit areas to be swept away. Video clips posted online showed rescue teams guiding motorboats through residential and commercial areas searching for victims.

The Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team on Sunday published footage on Facebook of a helicopter airlifting an 83-year-old woman from a home to safety. Five people in total were trapped in an attic and rescued from the roof of the home, which was nearly submerged in water, the crew said.

At least 16 deaths were reported in Knott County, including at least four children.

One of those deaths was Eva Nicole “Nikki” Slone, a 50-year-old who ventured out in the storm on Thursday to check on an elderly friend, according to her daughter, the Lexington Herald Leader reported. Slone’s body was recovered the next day near home.

“My mom was a very caring woman,” Misty Franklin told the newspaper.

The floods were the second major disaster to strike Kentucky in seven months, following tornadoes that claimed nearly 80 lives in the western part of the state in December.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Kentucky on Friday, allowing federal funding to be allocated to the state.

Power lines were widely damaged, with more than 15,000 reports of outages on Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.US.
…

The U.N. secretary-general warned Monday at the start of a nuclear non-proliferation conference that the risks of more nuclear weapons is growing as guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening.

“Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” Antonio Guterres told the opening of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference.

He warned that there are crises with nuclear undertones from the Middle East to the Korean Peninsula, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said there are nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled around the world.

“States are seeking false security in stockpiling and spending hundreds of billions of dollars on doomsday weapons that have no place on our planet,” he said. Noting that people are in danger of forgetting the lessons of World War II.

Guterres said he would travel to Japan to attend commemorations on August 6 at Hiroshima, where the United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb 77 years ago in an effort to end that war.

Since it entered into force in 1970, the NPT has been a cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Under it, parties are called on to prevent the spread of nuclear arms, promote disarmament as well as international cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear power.

Guterres also urged nations to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear technology to advance development, such clean energy and medical breakthroughs.

“When used for peaceful purposes, this technology can be a great benefit to humanity,” he said.

Russian nuclear saber rattling

Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine was condemned at the meeting by leaders, as well as several regional groups, including those from the Pacific region and Nordic countries.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that in January the five nuclear powers – Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S.—all affirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

“The very next month, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Blinken said. “And it has engaged in reckless, dangerous nuclear saber rattling, with its president [Putin] warning that those supporting Ukraine’s self-defense “risk consequences such as you have never seen in your entire history.”

Blinken pointed to Russia’s seizure of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, saying they are now using it as a military base because they know the Ukrainians cannot fire back at their positions because they could hit a nuclear reactor.

“There is no place in our world—no place in our world—for nuclear deterrence based on coercion, intimidation or blackmail,” Blinken said. “We have to stand together in rejecting this.”

Japan’s prime minister echoed international concerns about Russia’s actions.

“The recent attacks on nuclear facilities by Russia must not be tolerated,” said Fumio Kishida.

“In attacking a country that gave up nuclear weapons, Russia is brutally violating the assurances it gave in the Budapest Memorandum,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, referring to the 1994 agreement in which Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons left on its territory after the USSR’s collapse in exchange for security guarantees.

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said at the start of Russia’s invasion, he laid out seven pillars of nuclear safety that must not be violated during the conflict, including on the safety and security of facilities and the personnel that work at them.

“All these seven principles have been trampled upon or violated since this tragic episode started,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the meeting.

Russia is expected to speak later in the debate.

Trouble spots

Parties to the agreement—there are 191, including the five recognized nuclear weapon states (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States)—are attending the conference, which runs until August 26 and will review implementation and ways to strengthen it.

Ahead of the conference, President Joe Biden said in a statement that the United States is committed to the NPT, its obligations as a nuclear state, and working towards a nuclear-free world. He said his administration is ready to negotiate a new arms control framework with Moscow to replace New START when it expires in 2026.

“But negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith,” Biden said. “And Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and constitutes an attack on fundamental tenets of international order.” He said Moscow should demonstrate that it is ready to resume work on nuclear arms control with the U.S.

At the conference, Secretary Blinken said the United States keeps its nuclear arsenal—which has shrunk 90% since the end of the Cold War—as a deterrence and would use it only in “extreme circumstances” to defend its own vital interests or those of its allies and partners.

More than 133 governments and nuclear organizations will speak at the debate that started Monday and continues through Thursday.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Reza Najafi is also due to speak this week. World powers have been trying to get Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.

Britain and France, which are a part of the agreement, along with the United States, which withdrew under former U.S. President Donald Trump but is seeking a mutual return with Iran, said in a statement that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon.

“We regret that, despite intense diplomatic efforts, Iran has yet to seize the opportunity to restore full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” they said urging Iran to return to the deal.

There was also concern about advances in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Secretary Blinken said Pyongyang is planning its seventh illicit nuclear test.

IAEA chief Rossi said he hopes his agency’s inspectors can return to North Korea after being expelled in 2009. “Without that, there will be no trust and there will be no confidence,” Rossie said.

Absentees at the review conference include Israel, India and Pakistan. All are believed to have nuclear weapons but are not NPT signatories.

Some countries also expressed unease about China’s growing nuclear arsenal.

“China’s arsenal is growing,” Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on behalf of Nordic countries. “We call on China to actively engage in processes on arms control as a responsible nuclear weapons state.”
…

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Chinese and other companies it said were used by one of Iran’s largest petrochemical brokers to sell tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian products to East Asia, as Washington continues to crack down on Iranian oil sales to the region.

The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement accused the designated companies of being used by Iran’s Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. to facilitate the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products from Iran to East Asia.

The United States imposed sanctions four companies from Hong Kong, one from the United Arab Emirates, and one from Singapore on Monday, according to the Treasury website, the latest salvo in its stepped-up effort to enforce U.S. sanctions designed to slash Iran’s revenues from oil and petrochemicals.

The action freezes any U.S.-based assets and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those that engage in certain transactions with the firms also risk being hit by sanctions.

Since taking office in January 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden has been reluctant to sanction Chinese entities engaged in the oil and petrochemical trade with Iran due to hopes of securing an agreement to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Efforts to resurrect the deal – under which Iran had curbed its nuclear program in exchange for relief from U.S. and other sanctions – have so far failed, leading the U.S. administration to look for other ways to increase pressure on Iran.

“The United States continues to pursue the path of diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the Treasury’s Under Secretary of for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement, referring to the 2015 deal by its formal name.

“Until such time as Iran is ready to return to full implementation of its commitments, we will continue to enforce sanctions on the illicit sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals.”
…

Following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, an annual classic, antique and unique car show is back. Veronica Villafañe shares a glimpse of car history that attracts thousands of enthusiasts to the city of Glendale, California.
…

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived Monday in Singapore for a two-day visit, leading a congressional delegation to Asia amid speculation the trip could include a stop in Taiwan.

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said Pelosi would meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other officials.

In a statement Sunday, Pelosi said she is leading a group of five other Democratic Party lawmakers to Asia “to reaffirm America’s strong and unshakeable commitment to our allies and friends in the region.”

She did not mention whether she will defy China by making a stop in Taiwan on the trip that has Malaysia, South Korea and Japan among the U.S. delegation’s scheduled visits.

U.S. media reports Friday suggested Pelosi was tentatively planning to stop in Taiwan. Pelosi herself has indirectly spoken about such a possibility, even though her office has not confirmed it, citing security protocols.

It would be the highest-level U.S. visit to Taiwan since 1997, when former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led a congressional delegation there.

China had repeatedly warned Pelosi’s trip would be an unacceptable violation of what it sees as its sovereignty over the self-ruled island.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war, with the defeated nationalist forces fleeing to Taiwan and setting up a government that later grew into a vibrant democracy.

Since then, China’s Communist Party has vowed to take Taiwan, using force if necessary, even though the island has never been led by the Communist Party.

Chinese leaders strongly object to U.S. shows of support for Taiwan’s government, which they see as illegitimate.

In a Thursday phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a blunt warning over Taiwan, saying “those who play with fire will perish by it,” according to a Chinese government readout.

China’s foreign ministry has also vowed Beijing would “act strongly” and “take countermeasures” in response to a Pelosi visit.

White House officials said Friday they saw no evidence China’s military was preparing major action against Taiwan.

China announced Saturday it was holding “live-fire” military exercises off its coast facing Taiwan. The drills, which were set to last from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time, occurred near the Pingtan islands off Fujian province, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency. The report did not specify what type of weapons were used in the exercises.

On Sunday, a spokesman for China’s air force said Beijing has the “firm will” and “sufficient capability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The spokesman, who was quoted in state media, also said China had various fighter jets that can circle “the precious island of our motherland.”

China has flown an increasing number of warplanes through Taiwan’s self-declared air defense identification zone in recent years, greatly raising tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

In recent weeks, Chinese state media editorials have warned Chinese fighter jets could follow and intercept Pelosi’s plane.

Hu Xijin, a fiercely nationalistic commentator for the Communist Party’s Global Times, even suggested in a tweet that the Chinese military has the right to “forcibly dispel” any U.S. aircraft traveling or escorting Pelosi to Taiwan.

“If ineffective, then shoot them down,” Hu said in the tweet, which was later removed because it violated Twitter guidelines.

Despite China’s warnings, a large, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers had urged Pelosi to not back down, saying China should not be allowed to dictate where U.S. officials visit.

“It would make it look like America can be shoved around,” former House Speaker Gingrich told VOA’s Mandarin Service earlier this week. Gingrich said he supports Pelosi’s trip, which will likely only amount to “an irritation” to U.S.-China ties.

“I think this is at one level a lot of noise about nothing,” Gingrich said. “I think if she holds her ground, and if the Biden administration doesn’t act timidly and almost cowardly, I think everything will be fine.”

Taiwan is one of the most dangerous points of tension in an increasingly fraught U.S.-China relationship.

The United States formally cut official relations with Taiwan in 1979 when it switched diplomatic recognition to China. However, the United States has continued to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons as mandated by the U.S. Congress.

U.S. presidents have long used a policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan — essentially leaving their options open in the case of a Chinese invasion of the island.

However, Biden’s recent comments have raised doubts about that approach. Since taking office, Biden on three occasions has said the U.S. is committed to defending Taiwan.

Biden has been cautious, though, on the prospect of a Pelosi visit. Earlier this month, Biden said the U.S. military does not think a visit would be a good idea.

Pelosi’s possible visit comes at a sensitive moment for Xi, who is expected to use a Communist Party Congress later this year to secure a controversial third term as China’s top leader.

Observers have said Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, may want to send a tough message on Taiwan ahead of the meeting. But he may also want to preserve stability around a sensitive political moment.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday there is “no reason” for increased tension with China because U.S. policy has not changed.

Kirby reiterated that Pelosi “does not need nor do we offer approval or disapproval” for travel. He added: “The speaker is entitled to travel aboard a military aircraft.”

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

Pat Carroll, a comedic television mainstay for decades, an Emmy-winner for “Caesar’s Hour” and the voice Ursula in “The Little Mermaid,” has died. She was 95. 

Her daughter Kerry Karsian, a casting agent, said Carroll died at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Saturday. Her other daughter Tara Karsian wrote on Instagram that they want everyone to “honor her by having a raucous laugh at absolutely anything today (and everyday forward) because besides her brilliant talent and love, she leaves my sister Kerry and I with the greatest gift of all, imbuing us with humor and the ability to laugh…even in the saddest of times.” 

Carroll was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1927. Her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was 5 years old. Her first film role came in 1948 in “Hometown Girl,” but she found her stride in television.

She won an Emmy for her work on the sketch comedy series “Caesar’s Hour” in 1956, was a regular on “Make Room for Daddy” with Danny Thomas, a guest star on “The DuPont Show with June Allyson” and a variety show regular stopping by “The Danny Kaye Show,” “The Red Skelton Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show.” 

Carroll also played one of the wicked stepsisters in the 1965 television production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” with Lesley Ann Warren. 

In addition, she also played one of the wicked stepsisters in the 1965 television production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” with Lesley Ann Warren. Plus, she won a Grammy in 1980 for the recording of her one-woman show “Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein.” 

A new generation would come to know and love Carroll’s voice thanks to Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” which came out in 1989. She was not the first choice of directors Ron Clements and John Musker or the musical team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who reportedly wanted Joan Collins or Bea Arthur to voice the sea witch. Elaine Stritch was even cast originally before Carroll got to audition. And her throaty rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” would make her one of Disney’s most memorable villains. 

Carroll would often say that Ursula was one of her favorite roles. She said she saw her as an “Ex-Shakespearean actress who now sold cars.” 

“She’s a mean old thing! I think people are fascinated by mean characters,” Carroll said in an interview. “There’s a fatal kind of distraction about the horrible mean characters of the world because we don’t meet too many of them in real life. So when we have a chance, theatrically, to see one and this one, she’s a biggie, it’s kind of fascinating for us.” 

She got the chance to reprise the role in several “Little Mermaid” sequels, spinoffs and even theme park rides. 

Carroll was also the voice of Granny in the English-language dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro.”
…

Bill Russell, the cornerstone of a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA titles and a powerful voice for social justice, died Sunday at the age of 88, his family said. 

“Bill Russell, the most prolific winner in American sports history, passed away peacefully today at age 88, with his wife, Jeannine, by his side,” said a statement posted on Russell’s Twitter page. 

U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama – who awarded Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 – were among those who paid tribute to Russell’s contributions on and off the court. 

“The promise of America is that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives,” Biden said in a statement. “We’ve never fully lived up to that promise, but Bill Russell made sure we never walked away from it.”

Eight titles in a row 

Russell’s 11 titles with the Celtics included eight in a row from 1959-1966. Today’s NBA Finals MVP award is named for him. 

He averaged 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds per game for his career, building a famed rivalry with Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960s. 

Russell became the first Black coach in the NBA when he served as player-coach of the Celtics in 1966 and the first Black player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. 

His skills revolutionized the NBA game, but Biden noted that throughout his stellar career Russell “faced the hostility and hate of racism embedded in every part of American life. Yet, he never gave up. Throughout his life, he forced us to confront hard truths. And on this day, there are generations of Americans who are reflecting on what he meant to them as someone who played for the essential truth that every person is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.” 

Russell’s family said his “understanding of the struggle is what illuminated his life.” 

“Bill called out injustice with an unforgiving candor that he intended would disrupt the status quo, and with a powerful example that, though never his humble intention, will forever inspire teamwork, selflessness and thoughtful change.” 

Obama said the world had “lost a giant.” 

“As tall as Bill Russell stood, his legacy rises far higher – both as a player and as a person,” Obama said in a statement posted on Twitter. 

“Perhaps more than anyone else, Bill knew what it took to win and what it took to lead. On the court, he was the greatest champion in basketball history. Off of it, he was a civil rights trailblazer, marching with Dr. King and standing with Muhammad Ali,” said Obama. “For decades, Bill endured insults and vandalism, but never let it stop him from speaking up for what’s right. I learned so much from the way he played, the way he coached, and the way he lived his life.” 

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Russell “the greatest champion in all of team sports,” but added that his accolades “only begin to tell the story of Bill’s immense impact on our league and broader society. 

“Bill stood for something much bigger than sports: the values of equality, respect and inclusion that he stamped into the DNA of our league,” Silver said. 

‘Making things better’ 

Those beliefs, more than his prowess on the court, were what inspired Magic Johnson’s love of Russell, the Lakers legend said on Sunday as he joined in an outpouring of tributes. 

“He was one of the first athletes on the front line fighting for social justice, equity, equality, and civil rights,” Johnson said. “Over the course of our friendship, he always reminded me about making things better in the Black community.” 

Current Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown remembered the franchise legend, the club saying in a statement that “Bill Russell’s DNA is woven through every element of the Celtics organization.” 

Michael Jordan, who for many inherited the mantle of greatest-ever NBA player from Russell, said Russell “paved the way and set an example for every Black player who came into the league after him, including me.”

In a sentiment echoed by former New York Knicks great Patrick Ewing, “the world has lost a legend,” said Jordan.
…

Crews battling the largest wildfire so far this year in California braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions that created the potential for more fire growth Sunday as they sought to protect remote communities.

The McKinney Fire was burning out of control in Northern California’s Klamath National Forest, with expected thunderstorms a big concern Sunday just south of the Oregon state line, said U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman.

“The fuel beds are so dry, and they can just erupt from that lightning,” Freeman said. “These thunder cells come with gusty erratic winds that can blow fire in every direction.”

The blaze exploded in size to more than 207 square kilometers just two days after erupting in a largely unpopulated area of Siskiyou County, according to a Sunday incident report. The cause was under investigation.

The blaze torched trees along California Highway 96, and the scorched remains of a pickup truck sat in a lane of the highway. Thick smoke covered the area and flames burned through hillsides in sight of homes.

A second, smaller fire just to the west that was sparked by dry lightning on Saturday threatened the tiny town of Seiad, Freeman said. About 400 structures were under threat from the two California fires. Authorities have not confirmed the extent of the damage yet, saying assessments would begin when it was safe to reach the area.

A third fire, which was on the southwest end of the McKinney blaze, prompted evacuation orders for around 500 homes Sunday, said Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson with the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. The office said crews had been on the scene of the fire since late Saturday but that the fire Sunday morning “escaped its containment line.”

Several people in the sheriff’s office have been affected by the evacuation orders “and they’re still showing up to work so, (a) very dedicated crew,” she said. A deputy lost his childhood home to fire on Friday, she said.

As the McKinney fire threatened, some residents chose to stay behind while others heeded orders to leave.

Larry Castle and his wife, Nancy, were among about 2,000 residents of the Yreka area under evacuation orders. They left Saturday with some of their prized possessions, including Larry’s motorcycle, and took their dogs to stay with their daughter near Mount Shasta.

Larry Castle said he wasn’t taking any chances after seeing the explosive growth of major fires in recent years.

“You look back at the Paradise fire and the Santa Rosa fire and you realize this stuff is very, very serious,” he told the Sacramento Bee.

Montana and Idaho

In northwest Montana, a fire sparked in grasslands near the town of Elmo had grown to about 44 square km after advancing into forest. Crews were working along the edges of the fire Sunday, and aircraft were expected to continue to make water and retardant drops to help slow the fire’s advance, said Sara Rouse, a spokesperson with the interagency team assigned to the fire. High temperatures and erratic winds were expected, she said.

A section of Highway 28 between Hot Springs and Elmo that had been closed was reopened with drivers asked to watch for fire and emergency personnel. Visibility in the area was poor, Rouse said.

In Idaho, the Moose Fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest has burned on more than 196 square km in timber land near the town of Salmon. It was 21% contained by Sunday morning. Pila Malolo, planning operations section chief on the fire, said in a Facebook video update that hot, dry conditions were expected to persist Sunday. Officials said they expected fire to grow in the steep, rugged country on the fire’s south side.

Elsewhere in the West

Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

The Pacific Coast Trail Association urged hikers to get to the nearest town while the U.S. Forest Service closed a 177 km section of the trail from the Etna Summit to the Mt. Ashland Campground in southern Oregon.

In Hawaii, the Maui County Emergency Management Agency said a brush fire was 90% contained but a red flag warning was in effect for much of Sunday.

And in north Texas, firefighters continued to work to contain the 2-week-old, 27-square-kilometer Chalk Mountain Fire. The crews now report 83% containment of the fire that has destroyed 16 homes and damaged five others about 80 kilometers southwest of Fort Worth. No injuries have been reported.
…

The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has fallen dramatically in recent months. Still, many investors are excited about the future of digital currencies despite the risks. VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports from San Francisco. VOA footage by Matt Dibble and Michelle Quinn.
…

Bill Russell, the National Basketball Association (NBA) great who anchored a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 championships in 13 years — the last two as the first Black head coach in any major U.S. sport — and marched for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr., died Sunday. He was 88.

His family posted the news on social media, saying Russell died with his wife, Jeannine, by his side. The statement did not give the cause of death.

A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell in 1980 was voted the greatest player in the NBA history by basketball writers. He remains the sport’s most prolific winner and an archetype of selflessness who won with defense and rebounding while leaving the scoring to others. Often, that meant Wilt Chamberlain, the only player of the era who was a worthy rival for Russell.

The battles on the court between the centers were fierce — signature showdowns in the NBA. Russell led the University of San Francisco to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956 and won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics.

In Boston, Russell left a lasting mark as a Black athlete in a city — and country — where race is often a flash point. In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Russell the Medal of Freedom. Two years later, a statue of Russell was unveiled on Boston’s City Hall Plaza.
…