LA PRESIDENTA
Claudia Sheinbaum just became the first woman ever elected president of Mexico. She’ll be a key new player in one of America’s hottest political issues: immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border.
-
It’s worth pausing for a moment to savor history being made. Sheinbaum isn’t just about to be Mexico’s first female president. She’ll also be the country’s first president of Jewish heritage. She happens to be a progressive climate scientist, too, with a Ph.D. in energy engineering. As the former mayor of Mexico City, she’s a protege of popular outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known by his initials, AMLO). Sheinbaum won one of the biggest elections in Mexico’s history in a landslide. Okay, wow, Mexico, you didn’t have to dunk on us this hard.
-
She’s now about to become the key foreign interlocutor with the U.S. on immigration and border security issues, where relations have recently frayed. U.S. politicians have pressured AMLO over trade disputes and drug trafficking, and AMLO has fired back with undiplomatic language. When the State Department criticized Mexican police and military for alleged arbitrary killings in 2023, AMLO slammed the report as “trash” written by “liars.” Now, U.S. voters call migration and border security a top concern, which puts this bilateral relationship in the hotseat of an American election.
-
Biden plans to unveil an executive order cracking down on border-crossings on Tuesday, according to press reports. The order will reportedly allow Biden to temporarily close the border and allow officials to prevent migrants from claiming asylum, according to the New York Times. Biden has recently veered to the right on border issues, in an apparent attempt to steal some of Trump’s political thunder, and this executive action comes just weeks before the first Trump-Biden debate, where Trump is likely to hammer Biden on his immigration policies. Sheinbaum, who takes office in October, will be under the microscope for her response.
Sheinbaum said Mexico wants a “good” relationship with the U.S., “whether President Biden or President Trump wins.” But she added that “we are not in favor of any discriminatory discourse,” possibly referring to Trump’s racist and xenophobic comments about immigrants.
Want more?
NEWS NEWS NEWS
A jury was seated on the opening day of Hunter Biden’s criminal trial over gun charges in Delaware. The president issued a statement, saying: “Jill and I love our son.” But he added that he won’t get involved — which is bad news for Republicans, who keep trying (and failing) to smear Biden for supposedly weaponizing the DOJ. Every successful American is entitled to one adult failson!
Dr. Anthony Fauci’s first public hearing since 2022 descended into chaos when Republicans used their time to berate him, ask nonsensical questions, and accuse him of covering up the origins of COVID-19 — allegations that Fauci called “simply preposterous.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was, as usual, the loudest in the room, and got so amped up that she asked Fauci a question before cutting him off, saying, “Nah, I don’t need your answer.”
Google claimed it has made “technical improvements” to its new AI feature, which has been widely mocked for giving ludicrous answers to basic search queries. AI Overviews touted the cardio benefits of running with scissors, suggested putting glue in pizza sauce, and claimed a dog played in the NHL. [Glue-covered pizza falling out of our mouths] Keep us updated on those technical improvements!
Trump launched his own TikTok account on Saturday and amassed 4 million followers in two days, blowing past Biden’s 350,000 followers. The two old fellas don’t agree on much, but apparently they both think TikTok is a national security threat that should also be used for presidential campaigns. If either posts a dance vid, it’s time to pick a new app, guys. Or maybe we just call this election a wash and try again next year.
The IDF said four more hostages have been confirmed dead. Haim Peri, Amiram Cooper, Nadav Popplewell, and Yoram Metzger were “killed together” a “few months ago” while the IDF was “operating” in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari. The IDF is “examining the circumstances” of their deaths, he said. About 125 hostages remain in Hamas’ captivity.
South Africa’s long-ruling African National Congress lost its majority for the first time since taking power three decades ago after the fall of apartheid. The ANC’s share of the vote in the last election fell to 40 percent from 57 percent, and the party will now have to share power in a coalition government. The ANC has been criticized over widespread unemployment, violent crime and failure to keep electricity flowing.
Love to keep things simple?
Welcome to the club. We’ve put a lot of thought into our designs (and literally everything else), so you don’t have to.
