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By Sophia Tulp

August 4, 2023

Good morning, I'm Sophia Tulp filling in for Sarah Naffa for a few days. In the news today: The future of the Endangered Species Act; capital punishment; and an important ceasefire in Colombia. Also, a crew safety landed a JetBlue plane after a close call.

A bald eagle flies over the Des Moines River, Dec. 21, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

CLIMATE

At the 50-year mark, the Endangered Species Act may be in peril

Fifty years after the U.S. Endangered Species Act took effect, officials say 99% of the animals and plants it protects have survived. But opposition has grown from industry and landowners who say it hampers economic growth and property rights. Some lawmakers are trying to weaken the law. Read more

Why this matters:

Enacted in 1973 amid fear for iconic creatures such as the bald eagle, grizzly bear and gray wolf, it extends legal protection to 1,683 domestic species. More than 99% of those listed as “endangered” — on the verge of extinction — or the less severe “threatened” have survived.
Environmental advocates and scientists say the protections are as essential as ever because habitat loss, pollution, climate change and disease are putting an estimated 1 million species worldwide at risk.
The law has become so controversial that Congress hasn’t updated it since 1992.

Related coverage ➤

Oregon crabbers and environmentalists are at odds as a commission votes on rules to protect whales

Vanishing whale’s decline worse than previously thought, feds say

GOP measures would undo protections for endangered lesser prairie chicken, northern bat

POLITICS

Biden’s inaction on death penalty may be a top campaign issue as Trump and DeSantis laud executions

Capital punishment could emerge as a major campaign issue in the U.S. presidential race for the first time in 30 years, with top GOP rivals Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis already one-upping each other. Meanwhile, Joe Biden hasn’t even spoken about his 2020 campaign pledge to strike capital punishment from U.S. statutes. Read more

Why this matters:

Support for the death penalty has fallen from nearly 80% in the mid-1990s to around 55% in recent years. As support waned, it faded as a campaign issue. But declaring support has long been a way for politicians to send a message that they’re tough on crime.
While the Justice Department announced a moratorium on federal executions in 2021, it’s a temporary pause. Nothing precludes a pro-death penalty candidate elected next year from quickly resuming them.

Related coverage ➤

Trump was told not to talk to witnesses in 2020 election conspiracy case. That could be a challenge
Play It Again, Joe. Biden bets that repeating himself is smart politics
Republican National Committee boosts polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for 2nd debate

WORLD NEWS

Colombia begins a cease-fire with its last remaining rebel group

Colombia and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, formally began a six-month cease-fire Thursday as part of a process to forge a permanent peace between the government and the country’s last remaining rebel group. Read more

Why this matters:

The cease-fire agreement comes amid skepticism among some Colombians that the peace process can fully end an insurgency dating back to the 1960s or halt the alleged involvement of the group’s estimated 5,000 remaining members in drug trafficking. The ELN leadership denies involvement in the drug trade.

Related coverage ➤

UN given green light to monitor peace deal between Colombia’s government and its largest rebel group

Son of Colombia’s president is charged with money laundering

A wave of political turbulence is rolling through Guatemala and other Central American countries

HAPPENING TODAY

The U.S. Labor Department’s monthly jobs report is expected to show that employers added 200,000 jobs last month.
Ballistics experts will fire up to 139 shots at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during a reenactment of the 2018 Parkland massacre organized as part of a lawsuit.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is due to hear the verdict in his latest trial on extremism charges.

IN OTHER NEWS

Civil rights: White ex-officers in Mississippi plead guilty to racist assault on 2 Black men during raid

Russia-Ukraine: Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Black Sea navy base and Crimea with drones

Coup in Africa: Mutinous soldiers in Niger sever French military ties while ‘hostage’ president pleads for US help

Gun control: Both expelled members of ‘Tennessee Three’ win back their state House seats

Immigration: Appeals court allows Biden asylum restrictions to temporarily stay in place

Hunter Biden: Testimony from Hunter Biden associate provides new insight into their business dealings
Close call: Learjet pilot thought he was cleared to take off. He wasn’t. Luckily, JetBlue pilots saw him

TODAY IN HISTORY

On August 4, 1916: The United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million. The image above is a view of Frenchtown, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands from 2002. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes).

A look at what else happened in history on August 4

A CHANGE OF PACE

French judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

WATCH: Breastfeeding Olympians mix careers and motherhood
Breastfeeding and high-performance sports were long an almost impossible combination. That’s becoming less common ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games where women, competing in equal numbers with men for the first time, are showing that it is possible to breastfeed and be competitive.

Clothes for kids with disabilities are getting better

Some of the largest U.S. fashion brands and retailers have made their way into the adaptive-wear market. Among them is Adidas, which consulted a panel that included young people when it developed an adaptive backpack with a flat bottom that can easily attach to wheelchairs.

Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. We also have several others you may like. We’d love it if you invite a friend to sign up. - Sophia

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