"The move marks a major step back from the nuclear accord in response to U.S. sanctions and a military buildup in the Persian Gulf region. But Iran’s known enrichment levels still remain well below weapons grade, offering possible room for negotiations with Europe and others to lower tensions."

At the White House

HMMM: The president who proudly withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement, whose administration has expunged references to climate change in global agreements and government websites and in recent weeks, issued the most significant action to unwind federal climate change policy, will deliver a speech today to tout his “environmental leadership.”

AD

AD

The Guardian's Emily Holden first reported on President Trump's plans to “go on the offensive against criticism of his industry-friendly rollbacks of environment protections in a speech” where he will “tout America's clean air and water.”

“The media has largely ignored the fact that the United States under President Trump’s leadership and policies has made the air, water, and environment cleaner and he’s going to share that with the American people,” deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere wrote in a statement to Power Up. “We are the party of conservation, environmental protection, and expanding responsible clean energy technologies while the Democrats’ radical Green New Deal would outlaw cows, cars, and planes, crippling America’s economy and crushing the poorest communities across the globe that rely solely on fossil fuels to survive.”

FACT CHECKS: There is little substantiating that statement and Trump's repeated claims the U.S. has the cleanest air and water “in the world” and that his administration is “setting records, environmentally”:

“Trump’s own Environmental Protection Agency data show that in 2017, among 35 major U.S. cities, there were 729 cases of “unhealthy days for ozone and fine particle pollution.' That’s up 22 percent from 2014 and the worst year since 2012,” per a fact check by the Associated Press's Hope Yen and Seth Borenstein. “The Obama administration, in fact, set records for the fewest air polluted days in 2016. In 2017, after Trump took office, the number of bad air days per metro area went up 20%."

“The State of Global Air 2019 report by the Health Effects Institute rated the U.S. as having the eighth cleanest air for particle pollution — which kills 85,000 Americans each year — behind Canada, Scandinavian countries and others.”

The Green New Deal also makes no mention of 'outlawing' your “hamburgers, cows or beef . . . Among its many goals, it calls for 'working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible.'” Nor does the resolution propose getting rid of cars and planes.

And as my colleague Dino Grandoni pointed out last week: “Clear air and climate change, though related, are hardly the same thing . . . The gases that are causing temperatures to rise globally and those that make the air “dirty” — that is, those that contribute to health problem when inhaled — are not always the same.”

There's also the fact that climate change — and “hyper-polluters” — disproportionately impacts lower income and minority communities, contrary to the White House statement.

Trump will be delivering his speech against the backdrop of a record-breaking summer:

Record heat: Weather stations in Alaska recorded a temperature of 90 degrees last week for the first time in more than 100 years if Anchorage.

“With the combined forces of climate change that has disrupted temperature trends around the state, a remarkable dearth of ice in the Bering Sea and weather patterns generating a general heat wave, Alaska is facing a Fourth of July unlike any before. Anchorage has canceled its fireworks display because of wildfire concerns, city officials are worrying about air quality and forecasters expect temperatures to rival those in Miami,” reports the New York Times's Mike Baker.

Meanwhile in Antarctica: Sea ice has shrunk to record low levels, according to a Sea ice has shrunk to record low levels, according to a new study released last week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.

In a Washington Post/ABC News poll released over the weekend, “Trump's approval rating on most issues is net negative,” per my colleagues Dan Balz and Emily Guskin.

AD

That includes “a net negative of 33 points on climate change.”

Climate change trails the top issues for Americans as the 2020 election heats up, such as the economy, health care and immigration. “But still over half say it’s at least 'very important,'" per Dan and Emily.

Although Republicans and Democrats diverge dramatically on the issue: " . . . with 27 percent of Democrats and 6 percent of Republicans calling it one of the single most important issues for 2020,” Dan and Emily report.

You are reading the Power Up newsletter. Not a regular subscriber? Sign up

The People

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONS: The U.S. women's national soccer team clinched it's fourth World Cup title on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over The Netherlands.

AD

“This was a sporting triumph, defending the 2015 title and extending a tradition of excellence that dates nearly four decades,” my colleague Liz Clarke reports from France. “With Sunday’s triumph, the Americans have won four of the eight World Cup titles contested since 1991 and four of the six Olympic gold medals awarded since 1996. But Sunday’s victory was about far more than sports.”

“Each goal was a statement about the quality and value of women’s soccer around the globe, the power of female athletes in all sports and the importance of ensuring that the next generation’s girls have an opportunity to compete, be coached and develop into champions,” Clarke writes.

“'Everyone is ready for this conversation to move to the next step,' said U.S. co-captain Megan Rapinoe, 34, who scored Sunday’s go-ahead goal after a scoreless first half and was awarded both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards as the tournament’s top scorer and overall player, respectively. 'I think we’re done with, ‘Are we worth it? Should we have equal pay? [Are] the [male and female] markets the same?’ Yada, yada. Everyone is done with that. Fans are done with that. The players are done with that ...

What’s next? How do we support women’s federations and women’s programs around the world?. . . It’s time to move that conversation forward to the next step.'”

BY THE NUMBERS: As of Sunday, the USWNT has won more World Cups than any other women's soccer team in the world, but according to the lawsuit filed by the women's team seeking equal pay, the men's players may make three times as much than the women per game.

AD

“According to documents obtained by The Guardian , the USWNT’s contract guarantees a player will receive $3,000 for each qualification game they win (since they won all five that’s a total of $15,000); a $37,500 bonus for qualifying for the World Cup; $37,500 for making the final US World Cup roster; and $110,000 if they win the whole World Cup — a potential grand total of $200,000 each,” per CNBC's Abigail Hess.

“In contrast, had the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) qualified for the 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup, which the team did not, players would have received $108,695 each. Had the team won all of their 16 qualifying games, made the final World Cup roster and won the World Cup, USMNT players would have been paid a total of over $1.1 million each.”

The Bottom Line: " In the three years after the U.S. women’s soccer team won the 2015 World Cup, U.S. women’s games generated more total revenue than U.S. men’s games, according to audited financial reports from the U.S. Soccer Federation,” In the three years after the U.S. women’s soccer team won the 2015 World Cup, U.S. women’s games generated more total revenue than U.S. men’s games, according to audited financial reports from the U.S. Soccer Federation,” The Wall Street Journal's Rachel Bachman reported.

“From 2016 to 2018, women’s games generated about $50.8 million in revenue compared with $49.9 million for the men, according to U.S. soccer’s audited financial statements. In 2016, the year after the World Cup, the women generated $1.9 million more than the men. Game revenues are made up mostly of ticket sales. In the last two years, at least, the men’s tally includes appearance fees that opposing teams pay the U.S. for games.”

Always read Post columnist Sally Jenkins:

“Power is taking an epic shot, betting on yourself the way these players did and then coming through. They sued , filing a headliner of a pay discrimination suit against U.S. Soccer just three months before the World Cup. Then, with the massive burden of expectations on their supremely confident backs, they went out and gave the world a lesson in pure unadulterated clout. They swept through the tournament like a tremendous swell, carrying ever-bigger global TV audiences with them as they went, scoring a record 26 goals while giving up just three.”

“As of 2016, U.S. Soccer was still giving men’s players $75 a day in meal money while paying the women $60.”

“Everyone who enters the program understands she is expected to perform with a certain ethic: to handle discrimination with equanimity while charging across lines that previously seemed impassable, and to do so without an audible word of complaint that life isn’t fair. When they were asked if they could fight a discriminatory pay suit and still play quality World Cup soccer, Ali Krieger answered: 'Women can multitask. Imagine that; we can do two things at once.'”

Outside the Beltway

2020 ROUND UP: We won't hold it against you if you were checked out over the holiday weekend. Here's your speed read on what happened on the trail.

AD

In one line: “When I talk about the Obama years, my opponents talk about it like it was ancient history. When others talk about something I said in the ’70s, they talk about it like it was yesterday. Kinda strange isn’t it?”

Bernie Sanders: The Vermont senator marched in five Independence Day parades in two days, the Des Moines Register’s Nick Coltrain reports. On Saturday during a town hall in Las Vegas, Sanders gave a noncommittal answer on the difference between sex work and sex trafficking, CNN’s Annie Grayer reports.

AD

Beto O’Rourke: The former Texas congressman pushed forgiving student-loan debt for all of America’s public school teachers at an event organized by the powerful National Education Association. He also stumped in Nashville on Sunday in a speech largely focused on immigration, according to the Nashville Tennessean’s Natalie Allison.

AD

Cory Booker: The New Jersey senator delivered a powerful speech at Essence Fest, extolling the power black women have held in the biggest political movements in the nation’s history. He also campaigned for the first time with girlfriend and actress Rosario Dawson.

In one line: “From abolition to civil rights, from workers’ rights to women’s rights, Black women have been at the center of every movement for social justice in our country’s history,” Booker said.

Julián Castro: The former secretary of Housing and Urban Development toured flood damage in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Sunday, after stumping in northern Nevada a day earlier, where he became the first presidential candidate ever to campaign in West Wendover.

AD

In one line: “I hope you saw that I can hold my own. Democrats want someone who can go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump and I think I showed that,” : “I hope you saw that I can hold my own. Democrats want someone who can go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump and I think I showed that,” Castro said at an event in Omaha.

Kamala Harris: The California senator introduced a $100 billion plan to increase minority homeownership. She also spoke about her race and the question of electability in an interview with the Associated Press published Sunday.

In one line: Harris at Essence Fest, courtesy of her niece:

Pete Buttigieg: The South Bend mayor announced a minority-focused small business investment plan. (You might be noticing a trend for announcing plans for voters of color. That’s because many candidates appeared at an event focused on black women hosted by Essence magazine.) Politico’s Daniel Strauss and Elena Schneider reported on how the mayor is hoping to turn his incredible fundraising prowess into an increasingly larger campaign.

AD

In one line: Buttigieg at Essence Fest:

HE'S RUNNING: "Billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer has privately told friends and associates in recent days that he plans to enter the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to two Democrats familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly," my colleague Bob Costa reports. The Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere first reported the news.

AD

"While Steyer announced in January that he would not seek the White House, he has grown dissatisfied with the Democrats’ 2020 field and is now eager to jump into the contest, the people said, despite some of his confidants and friends warning him about the challenges and political cost of a bid."

"The former hedge fund manager could make an announcement Tuesday, the people added, but a firm rollout plan is still being deliberated."

ALASKA’S UNIVERSITY COULD BE CUT BY 41 PERCENT: Alaskan lawmakers will today begin consideringwhether to override Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of $444 million from the state budget, including a $135 million cut or 41 percent of the state university system’s budget, our colleagues Zachariah Hughes and Susan Svrluga report. If you missed this over the holiday, here’s what's happening:

Alaska’s economy is hurting: The largest U.S. state by size continues to have the highest unemployment rate. And as The largest U.S. state by size continues to have the highest unemployment rate. And as Bloomberg reports , “since oil prices began to decline in 2014, the state has been hit with credit-rating downgrades and a shrinking economy.” That's partly why while 41 states proposed more money for colleges and universities in 2020, in many cases erasing recession-era cuts, Alaska is moving firmly in the opposite direction.

Lawmakers want a balanced budget with no tax increases: Alaskan lawmakers previously decided to slash residents' cut of oil payments versus imposing a state sales or personal income tax. However, as Alaskan lawmakers previously decided to slash residents' cut of oil payments versus imposing a state sales or personal income tax. However, as the New York Times's Mike Baker reports , “the reductions were unpopular with some voters, and Mr. Dunleavy won election last year promising not only to restore the full dividend payments for the future but to fight for catch-up payments to make up for past reductions.”

The governor: But perhaps the biggest factor in this whole debate is the governor himself. “As a state senator, Dunleavy was a staunch conservative, even But perhaps the biggest factor in this whole debate is the governor himself. “As a state senator, Dunleavy was a staunch conservative, even losing a prominent committee assignment after breaking with the Republican-majority caucus by voting against its budget in 2017,” Zach and Susan write. “Though the proposal included steep reductions to state programs, Dunleavy said it did not go far enough in reducing the size of government.”

An interesting fact: Per the Times, Dunleavy is a former teacher who received his master’s degree in education from the state’s university system. He has defended all of the cuts, including the education-related ones, as a way “to lay a better foundation for private-sector job growth.”

What this all means: The state’s fiscal year started July 1, would be the largest in the system’s 100-year history . Bloomberg reports as many as 2,000 people could be dismissed if the cuts go into effect. By July 15, the system would declare “financial exigency,” a rare maneuver allowing officials to expedite the slashing of programs and firing of professors, including those with tenure. The state’s fiscal year started July 1, the Anchorage Daily News’s James Brooks reports , Dunleavy announced his veto on June 28, providing officials just three days to prepare for what the Daily News reports . Bloomberg reports as many as 2,000 people could be dismissed if the cuts go into effect. By July 15, the system would declare “financial exigency,” a rare maneuver allowing officials to expedite the slashing of programs and firing of professors, including those with tenure.

What happens next: Starting today, state lawmakers have five days to try to override the cuts, which require three-fourths of lawmakers to agree. But things are not off to a great start. Due partly to a disagreement how to govern special sessions, Starting today, state lawmakers have five days to try to override the cuts, which require three-fourths of lawmakers to agree. But things are not off to a great start. Due partly to a disagreement how to govern special sessions, the Daily News reports lawmakers are planning to meet today in two different cities. Republicans also hold more than half of the seats and some have supported the vetoes.

In the Media

IN OTHER NEWS: