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the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, August 6th. Here's what we're
covering. On Capitol Hill, a controversial measure is working its way through Congress that would reshape America's relationship with Israel when it comes to military support. For years, the U.S. has sent Israel $3.8 billion in annual military assistance. But that deal runs out in a couple of years. And some law makers who support Israel are worried that the chances of re-upping it are
dwindling as public support in the U.S. for that kind of arrangement is dropping
“sharply, following backlash to Israel's conduct in Gaza. Recent times,”
Sienna polling, for example, found that among Republican voters aged 18 to 44, about two-thirds said the U.S. should not give more economic and military support to Israel. And in the House last month, nearly half of Democrats backed a measure that would have ended USAID to the country. Facing that, a group of lawmakers has put forward a new proposal that would phase out the annual financial commitment. And
instead, create a new office at the Pentagon that would be legally required to facilitate a U.S.-Israel defense industrial partnership. The kind of partnership that the U.S. already has with close allies like Britain and Australia. Supporters of the plan, including President Trump and his really prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, say it's a way to collaborate on things
like AI, missile defense, and cybersecurity. And for the U.S. to capitalize on
“Israel's defense and intelligence innovations. But critics say it would give Israel”
too much control of sensitive U.S. military matters. And that it could intertwine Israel's military with the Pentagon in ways that might be dangerous and difficult to unwind. Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky, one of the few Republicans who have spoken out against the measure, called it a "betrayal of American sovereignty." And in an interview with the Times, Senator Chris Van
Holland, a Democrat from Maryland, argued that the U.S. government could always
choose to work with another country on a case-by-case basis. But that quote, "what's sort of jaw-dropping about this is that it mandates it." One version of the plan passed the House last month, and is now waiting for action in the Senate. Today, the Senate Homeland Security Committee will vote on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's former top infectious disease expert, in
contempt of Congress, following a heated hearing last week in which he declined to answer any questions. Let's try some of them. What day the week is it today? On the divisive council, I respectfully declined to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
We'll call it Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment, his constitutional right not to incriminate himself, more than 100 times, in response to questions, big and small, as Republican senators accused him of funding research that led to the coronavirus pandemic. Something there's been no evidence of. We'll call this a carpet in front of you. On the divisive council, I respectfully
declined to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the
Constitution. Legal experts say that Fauci basically took a better safe than
sorry approach to avoid any accusations that he was lying under oath, but his repeated responses frustrated Republicans. Let's just get one thing straight. You don't have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you've been pardoned as you very well know. And today, they're going to argue that Fauci's not entitled to plead the Fifth
because President Biden gave him an unconditional pardon covering his work during the pandemic. Biden issued that pardon on his way out of office after Republicans vowed to pursue several prominent figures from his administration, including Fauci. So Republicans are basically saying that because Fauci's protected by that pardon, he has no right to refuse their questions.
If the contempt vote passes the committee today, the case could eventually be referred to federal prosecutors, and Fauci could face a fine or up to a year in prison. Many legal scholars predict it won't get to that point. And one law school professor who's an expert on pardon power told the times that if
A court rules Fauci can't claim the Fifth, it would be a huge break in preced...
"That would say you take the Fifth at your own risk of going to jail, and that turns the Fifth Amendment upside down."
“Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first ever mRNA flu vaccine.”
mRNA is a molecule found in all human cells, and mRNA vaccines prompt the cells to make it tiny bit of a virus, which can then train the body's immune system. It was the technology used in COVID vaccines that were given to hundreds of millions of people. And now scientists believe it will let them develop new flu shots more quickly than traditional vaccines, which can take months to prepare. The head of the American Public Health Association said
the mRNA vaccine will make it possible to rapidly adjust to emerging new strains, quote,
"a capacity we have not had before." The flu remains a major public health challenge, which kills an estimated 300,000 people a year worldwide, according to the CDC.
“The new vaccine, which is made by the company Moderna, is expected to be ready for the upcoming”
flu season, and will be available to most Americans, 50, or older. The FDA's approval marks a stark turnaround, initially the agency refused to even review Moderna's application, following moves by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to limit mRNA research. After public outcry, the FDA reversed course. There's also been pushback against flu vaccines in general within the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the Pentagon lifted a decade-old flu shot requirement for troops.
That was reinstated after a major flu outbreak at an air force base in Texas. I've been writing about the tax dodging strategies of the world's biggest companies for more than 20 years, and the new hot spot for big companies that want to hide their profits from the IRS is Malta. My colleague, Jesse Drucker, is an investigative reporter on the Times Business Desk. So I went to Malta recently and went to several of the buildings that were listed
as the headquarters that were claiming billions of dollars of profits for big U.S. multinationals, got buzzed into one building that claimed it had quarters of dozens of companies, and every office, quote-unquote office was empty with the lights turned out. Another building I went to claimed to be the headquarters of Crocs. That was just two people in this office claims all of Crocs profits around the entire world. Jesse says that Malta, a tiny chain of islands south of Italy,
has been a tax haven for decades, but it's become even more appealing in the past few years, after the country delayed joining an international effort that would have put in place a global minimum corporate tax. And companies are piling in there. You can see in the records that
“Victoria is secret and craft times and Pepsi are all setting up new shell companies in Malta. So they”
can do strategies that are similar to what we're seeing with Crocs. And now what is also happening is that other countries look like they may soon follow Malta's lead places like Switzerland and Singapore may soon go the way of Malta, not taking part in this global crackdown. Jesse says that the U.S. had been making an effort to crack down on tax havens, and had made some progress under the Biden administration by signing on to that global minimum
tax initiative. But President Trump withdrew the U.S. from that on his first day back in office, essentially giving corporate America a huge gift. According to it times analysis,
the move has helped American companies avoid at least $40 billion in income taxes since the
beginning of last year. And finally, so there's more products in there where last time I was here, there are some greeting cards, mugs, what is that? Dates. A couple months ago, my colleague Heather Knight, the San Francisco bureau chief, stopped by what's been billed as the world's first ever store run by AI.
When you walk in, you really smell incense. Loona seems to be very big on incense, not sure why we could go ask it. Essentially, an AI agent named Loona is in charge of everything, choosing the products, doing the ordering, setting the prices, et cetera, even if some of its
Choices have been a little head scratching.
how AI performs as a boss. The shop has human employees since AI can't unpack boxes or ward off shop
lifters. Loona posted an ad interviewed people and brought them on. So, how is that part going? Apparently,
“AI is super nice as a boss, but there are some issues. The best way to describe it might be like”
working for a teddy bear with amnesia. The AI has approved every single request for time off,
even if that has meant there's no one there to work and the shop has to close. It has also struggled with privacy and boundaries, publishing and employee salary on public Slack channels,
“and messaging employees late at night and on weekends. One employee said she suggested that”
Loona could up the store's social media presence to try and bring in more business, but the
bot forgot its Instagram password for several weeks. It also keeps reordering products that aren't selling. Still, the co-founders of the whole operation say they're pleased that Loona has kept
“its friendly attitude, saying having happy employees could be one of the most important recipes for”
success, but also so far Loona has lost $62,000. Those are the headlines. Today on the daily, how the cyclospoora outbreak got so bad and why it's been so hard for authorities to get it under control. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. And one last thing before we go, the Times just made a change to that app that gets you more access to our reporting even if you are not subscribed to the Times yet. When you download the Times
app, you now get a free month of access. Totally free 30 days, all the stories, you do not even have to put your credit card in. Download the Times app now to get started. I'm Tracy Mumford, we'll be back tomorrow with the latest and the Friday news quiz.
