What to Know
- Worried vintners surveyed the damage as wildfires sweep through counties whose famous names have become synonymous with fine food and drink
- The Trump administration's new birth control rule is raising questions among some doctors and researchers
- Ben Affleck is apologizing for inappropriately groping a young woman during an interview with MTV in 2003 in light of the Weinstein scandal
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House Expected to Pass $36.5B for Hurricane, Wildfire Relief
The House is on track to backing President Trump's request for billions more in disaster aid, $16 billion to pay flood insurance claims and emergency funding to help the cash-strapped government of Puerto Rico stay afloat. The hurricane aid package totals $36.5 billion and sticks close to a White House request, ignoring — for now — huge demands from the powerful Florida and Texas delegations, who together pressed for some $40 billion more. A steady series of disasters — massive flooding in Texas, hurricane damage in Florida, and a humanitarian crisis in hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico — could be putting 2017 on track to rival Hurricane Katrina and other 2005 storms as the most costly set of disasters ever. Katrina required about $110 billion in emergency appropriations. The bill combines $18.7 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency with $16 billion to permit the financially troubled federal flood insurance program pay an influx of Harvey-related claims. Another $577 million would pay for western firefighting efforts.
Vintners Vow to Rebuild After Wildfires Destroy Wineries
Worried California vintners surveyed the damage to their vineyards and wineries as wildfires sweep through counties whose famous names have become synonymous with fine food and drink. At the Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma County, workers were not sure the grapes above the winery survived a second night of fires that have destroyed at least two wineries and damaged more. Speedy, wind-driven wildfires that continued to burn came as workers in Napa and Sonoma counties were picking and processing ripe grapes to make chardonnay, merlot and other wines that have made the region a global hot spot. Millions of locals and out-of-staters flock to the counties every year to sample wine, sit in mud baths and soak in the region's natural beauty. At least five wineries belonging to members have had "complete losses" in facilities, with another nine reporting some damage, said Michael Honig, board chairman of the Napa Valley Vintners trade association and president of Honig Vineyard & Winery. He said the group has not heard from all members, especially those in the most vulnerable parts of the valley.
U.S. Demands Raise Fears That Leaving NAFTA Could Hurt Economy
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The North American Free Trade Agreement is in its 23rd year. But there are growing doubts that it will survive through its 24th. President Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement if he can't get what he wants in a renegotiation. But what he wants — from requiring that more auto production be made-in-America to shifting more government contracts to U.S. companies — will likely be unacceptable to America's two NAFTA partners, Mexico and Canada. Round 4 of NAFTA talks began in Arlington, Virginia. In a sign of how contentious things could get, the countries extended the negotiations for two extra days, through Tuesday. Blowing up the deal appears to be Trump's favored choice. On the campaign trail, he called NAFTA a job-killing disaster. The end of NAFTA would send economic tremors across the continent. American farmers depend on Mexico's market. Manufacturers have built complicated supply chains that cross NAFTA borders. Consumers have benefited from lower costs.
Trump Birth Control Rule Ignores Science, Critics Say
The Trump administration's new birth control rule is raising questions among some doctors and researchers, who say it overlooks known benefits of contraception while selectively citing data that raise doubts about effectiveness and safety. Two recently issued rules — one addressing religious objections and the other, moral objections — allow more employers to opt out of covering birth control as a preventive benefit for women under the Obama health care law. Although the regulations ultimately address matters of individual conscience and religious teaching, they also dive into medical research and scholarly studies on birth control. It's on the science that researchers are questioning the Trump administration. They say officials ignored some recent research and stretched other studies.
Ben Affleck Apologizes for 2003 On-Camera Grope of MTV Host
As the Harvey Weinstein scandal continues to reverberate throughout Hollywood appears old chickens are coming home to roost. Now Ben Affleck is apologizing for inappropriately groping a young woman on camera during an interview with MTV in 2003. The woman in question is actress Hilarie Burton, who currently stars in the "Lethal Weapon" TV series and formerly starred "One Tree Hill." In 2003 Burton, then 21, was an on-camera reporter for the celebrity interview show TRL. During a segment that aired live on the MTV show TRL, Affleck apparently reaches around and gabs Burton's left breast. A video clip from the show shows Affleck telling Burton a story mid-interview. He leans his arm around Burton. The actual grope is not seen on camera but Burton noticeably jumps and looks shocked as Affleck smiles and returns to his seat. When someone tweeted about the incident following Affleck's condemnation of Weinstein, saying that the act had largely been forgotten, Burton responded to the tweet saying "I didn't forget."
