The Economist

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September 26th 2024

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

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The US in brief

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

Federal prosecutors indicted Eric Adams, the beleaguered mayor of New York City, for an as-yet undisclosed crime. He is the first sitting mayor of the city to be criminally charged. Mr Adams denied wrongdoing. Several investigations of other members of his administration are under way, though no one else has been charged. A number of figures in New York politics, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a congresswoman from the city, have called for Mr Adams to resign. He already faced a tough primary for the Democratic nomination for mayor next June. The indictment will make that race all the harder, if he manages to resist calls for him to step down and stay out of legal peril. Whether the controversy will hurt Democrats running for election in November is another matter.

Both houses of Congress passed a bill to continue funding the government at current levels until December 20th, averting a shutdown. Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, had to rely on Democratic votes to pass the measure, though a majority of Republicans also backed it. Mr Johnson earlier tried to pass a package that would have extended funding through March and required voters to show proof of citizenship at polling stations. He withdrew it after protests from Democrats and from some Republicans. When the issue comes up again in December a new president-elect may change legislators’ calculations.

The House Oversight Committee is investigating the Biden administration over Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit on Monday to a factory in Pennsylvania that supplies shells to Ukraine. Republicans allege that the tour was a Democratic campaign event. They cited as evidence the Ukrainian president’s record of criticising Donald Trump and the presence of Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, who was on Kamala Harris’s shortlist of potential running-mates.

Mr Trump said he would hold a “big and beautiful rally” next week in the same venue in Butler, Pennsylvania where a gunman tried to assassinate him. On Wednesday a bipartisan Senate committee investigating the attack on July 13th called on Congress to “evaluate” the Secret Service’s budget. It said that the shooting was “directly related” to the agency’s planning failures and “siloed communications”.

A bankruptcy judge in Texas ordered the sale of Infowars, a website that peddles conspiracy theories. In 2022 a court ordered its founder, Alex Jones, to pay $1.5bn to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, in which 20 children and six adults died. Mr Jones had repeatedly claimed that the school shooting was a hoax. Proceeds from the auction of Infowars will go to them.

Sympathy for the devil

PHOTO: tony luong / guardian / eyevine

A Satanists have a bad reputation, but their schtick is pretty innocuous. They apply for permission to do anything that Christians do, and complain vociferously if this is denied. Ironically, Satanism is looking more like a religion than ever. The Satanic Temple is now a federally recognised, tax-exempt church, and even marries people. Read about the troll-turned-faith in 1843, our sister magazine.

A view from elsewhere

“Not only did Harris do well in the debate”, she has had some “great weeks” since, wrote Ana Paula Ordorica in El Universal, a Mexican newspaper. “At the same time, things have gone poorly for Trump.” Yet “the race is a toss-up.” “How is this possible?” she asks. The polls reflect America’s polarisation and show that “changing the electorate’s preferences is really tricky.”

Figure of the day

$588bn, the value of the containerised imports processed last year by ports that will be affected if dockers walk off the job on October 1st. Read our story on the impending strike.

We want to hear from you
Will you be tuning into the vice-presidential debate on October 1st, and do you think J.D. Vance or Tim Walz will come out on top? Please send your views to usib@economist.com. And, of course, we welcome your feedback on this newsletter.

Editor’s picks

Our latest US coverage

Back to sleep

America is becoming less “woke”

Our statistical analysis finds that woke opinions and practices are on the decline

Hizzoner and dishonour

Eric Adams, New York’s mayor, is indicted

New Yorkers are sadly familiar with scandal at City Hall

From the archive

America’s dumbest, wildest budget fight yet

Sensible lawmakers should exploit it to make some demands of their own

Today’s poll

Every week YouGov polls Americans on behalf of The Economist. This week we asked whether they plan to cast their vote because they like the candidate or because they dislike their opponent. Both sides showed some degree of negative partisanship, but it was more pronounced among people who favour Ms Harris. Whether that indicates their hatred of Mr Trump, or his supporters’ devotion, is unclear.

Daily quiz

From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on all things American. Diplomats descend on New York City this week for this year’s session of the United Nations General Assembly. Our questions for you are on UNGAs of yore.

Thursday: A playground built on the grounds of the UN’s headquarters in 1941 was named for which imperious New York City official, known as much for knocking buildings down as for constructing them?

Wednesday: Hugo Chávez once called his American counterpart “the devil” and claimed that he had left the “smell of sulphur” behind him when he visited the UN. Who was Venezuela’s president referring to?

See how to take part in the quiz at the bottom of this page.

If you enjoyed this week’s quiz, play Dateline, The Economist’s new history game.

Heard in NYC

I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you that I would be a target, and a target I became.

—Eric Adams channels his inner Trump by linking his indictment to his service to the people.

Read all of our recent coverage of the 2024 election. Confused about a term? Check out our A-Z of American politics.

Live digital event

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War in the Middle East, one year on

A year after the October 7th attack, Gaza is in ruins and war may engulf the region. Join our editors as they assess the crisis on Thursday October 3rd at 4pm BST / 11am EDT / 8am PDT.

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