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The World
A transformed Supreme Court returns to the bench today to start a momentous term in which it will consider eliminating the constitutional right to abortion, vastly expanding gun rights and further chipping away at the wall separating church and state. The abortion case, a challenge to a Mississippi law that bars most abortions after 15 weeks, has attracted the most attention. The court, now dominated by six Republican appointees, seems poised to use it to undermine and perhaps overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion and barred states from banning the procedure before fetal viability. The highly charged docket will test the leadership of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who lost his position at the court’s ideological center with the arrival last fall of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. He is now outflanked by five justices to his right, limiting his ability to guide the court toward the consensus and incrementalism he has said he prefers. (New York Times)
Many liberals don’t trust moderates. Key moderates no longer trust congressional leaders or the White House. And few in the House trust the Senate. As Democrats embark this week on their latest effort to save President Biden’s agenda, they are dealing with more than policy differences among their razor-thin majority. The rival factions sparring over when and how to pass an upgrade to the country’s roads, bridges and Internet connections as well as an expansion of heath-care, education and climate change programs have made clear in recent days that the trust needed to get these policies into law has greatly eroded. (Washington Post)
‘That’s not going to happen’: Rep. Pramila Jayapal expressed openness Sunday to a White House-backed climate and social spending plan that cost less than $3.5 trillion, but she firmly rejected Sen. Joe Manchin’s suggested $1.5 trillion price tag for the massive legislative proposal. (Politico)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will this week announce that all of Britain’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2035 as he seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on gas and other fossil fuels. The PM will use his conference speech to commit his party to plans to hugely increase investment in renewable and nuclear energy as Britain faces a crisis caused by a surge in the cost of gas. (The Times)
Japan’s Parliament elects former diplomat Kishida as new PM. (Associated Press)
Thousands of Brazilians take to streets, calling for Bolsonaro to be impeached. (Washington Post)
Biotech CEO Ugur Sahin, head of the group behind the first Covid-19 vaccine, said a new formulation is likely to be needed by the middle of next year to protect against the virus as it mutates. (Financial Times)
How France overcame Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy: The French have long been wary of vaccines, but a mixture of mandates and inducements encouraged millions to get the shot as the Delta variant spread. (Wall Street Journal)
South Pole posts most severe cold season on record, a surprise in a warming world. While the rest of the world sizzled, the South Pole shivered with an average temperature of minus-78 degrees over the past six months. (Washington Post)
'Catastrophic' California oil spill kills fish, damages wetlands: A 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore rig – the largest spill in Orange County in three decades – led to major ecological damage in Huntington Beach over the weekend, prompting officials to close beaches that could remain off-limits for weeks or months. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the response to the spill, which covers about 5.8 nautical miles between the Huntington Beach Pier and Newport Beach. The oil emanated from a facility operated by Beta Offshore, and likely was caused by a pipeline leak. (Reuters, Orange County Register)
Economy
House prices are rising at a record pace but incomes aren’t keeping up, which is making home ownership less and less affordable. The median American household would need 32.1% of its income to cover mortgage payments on a median-priced home. That is the most since November 2008, when the same outlays would eat up 34.2% of income. Supercharged home prices in markets across the country are canceling out the impact of modestly higher incomes and historically low interest rates, two factors that typically make owning a home more affordable. (Wall Street Journal)
Supply chain disruptions sweeping major economies have reawakened an old nemesis for investors: stagflation. Anxiety over rising inflation has been ever-present in markets this year. But with oil topping $80 a barrel, global food prices a third more expensive than they were a year ago and other commodities at decade highs, investors say a longer-than-expected inflationary surge is coinciding with a slowdown in growth — and making it worse. Economists and investors play down comparisons with the aftermath of the 1970s oil shock, which gave rise to the term “stagflation.” But with energy bills now rocketing, many worry about a growth slowdown at a time when central banks are edging towards lifting interest rates in a bid to keep a lid on longer-term inflation. (Financial Times)
Inside America’s broken supply chain: How industry failures to collaborate and
share information left the system vulnerable. The pandemic exposed weaknesses in the nation’s transport plumbing: investment shortfalls at key ports, controversial railroad industry labor cuts, and a chronic failure by key players to collaborate, according to interviews with more than 50 individuals representing every link in the nation’s supply chain. (Washington Post)Global supply chains are at risk of collapse unless governments worldwide restore freedom of movement to transport workers and give them priority over vaccines, a coalition of international business leaders has warned. (Financial Times)
Fashion brands like Benetton are increasingly turning away from globe-spanning supply chains and low-cost manufacturing hubs in Asia, in a shift that could prove a lasting legacy of the pandemic. (Reuters)
‘A perfect storm’: The supply chain crisis could blow world economy off course. From Liverpool to LA, shortages of energy, labour and transport are threatening recovery from Covid. (The Guardian)
Private jet providers are experiencing “unprecedented demand” from wealthy customers seeking to avoid the “mosh pit” of commercial flights on autumn getaways as coronavirus travel restrictions ease. Flexjet and PrivateFly, which supply private jets to rich families and business executives, said they were “experiencing exceptionally strong demand” for September and October travel at a time of year when bookings normally fall away. Flexjet, which offers shared ownership in its fleet of private jets in Europe, said it operated 53% more flights in September than the previous month, bucking the usual seasonal trends. (The Guardian)
Private jet fliers are facing increasing delays, cancellations and lack of available flights as the industry struggles to serve a record number of new fliers, while facing supply chain troubles. July was the busiest month ever for private jet flights, with more than 300,000 flights, according to Argus International. While business usually cools in the fall, September saw nearly 300,000 flights and Argus projects October’s pace will break the July record. (CNBC)
Technology
Buyers of Apple’s new iPhone 13 are facing longer than expected delivery times due to the Covid wave in Vietnam and the US tech giant’s deployment of a new camera feature. The disruption is mainly associated with constrained supplies of camera modules for the four iPhone 13 models because a significant number of its component parts are assembled in Vietnam, according to people familiar with the matter. (Financial Times)
Apple canceled its plans to release an updated iPad Air with an OLED display next year due to concerns around quality and costs. (MacRumors)
Apple doesn’t make video games. But it’s the hottest player in gaming. CEO Tim Cook quietly turned the iPhone company into a superpower in the video game business. Now he’s fighting rivals in a multiplayer universe. (Wall Street Journal)
Honda Motor will launch a test rocket by 2030 as it looks to enter the small satellite launch business, applying combustion-engine and other automotive technologies to new areas, even as the car industry shifts to electric vehicles. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Her name is Frances Haugen. That is a fact that Facebook has been anxious to know since last month when an anonymous former employee filed complaints with federal law enforcement. The complaints say Facebook's own research shows that it amplifies hate, misinformation and political unrest—but the company hides what it knows. One complaint alleges that Facebook's Instagram harms teenage girls. What makes Haugen's complaints unprecedented is the trove of private Facebook research she took when she quit in May. The documents appeared first, last month, in the Wall Street Journal. Frances Haugen is revealing her identity to explain why she became the Facebook whistleblower. (60 Minutes)
The former Facebook Inc. employee who gathered documents that formed the foundation of The Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files series said she acted to help prompt change at the social-media giant, not to stir anger toward it. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
The Nobel Prizes will be announced this week. Here’s what to know. (New York Times)
YouTube TV, NBCUniversal reach new carriage deal, keeping NBC, MSNBC, Bravo on the air. (Los Angeles Times)
U.S. sidelines Europe in battle to stem China's ambitions. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Robots take over Italy’s vineyards amid worker shortages. (Wall Street Journal)
"Axios on HBO" interviews JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. (Axios)