Issue Jul-17-15 - The Week Magazine (2024)

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NEWSGreece asks for one more bailoutWhat happenedRacing against a deadline from European creditors, Greece this week requested a three-year bailout loan to salvage its financial system before banks run out of cash, a catastrophic default that could force the nation off the euro. In return, Athens promised immediate economic reforms, vowing to overhaul its tax and pension systems. But Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also insisted on major debt relief, to “show there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” The loan request comes after months of contentious negotiations. Last week, Athens missed a crucial $1.7 billion debt payment to the International Monetary Fund, which had provided a five-year, $265 billion rescue package that required Greece to raise taxes and reduce spending, especially on public pensions. When Eurozone leaders demanded further austerity measures for…3 min

NEWSIt wasn’t all badFor the first time in 16 years, the U.S. Women’s National Team won the World Cup this week, trouncing Japan to become the first threetime soccer champion. The 5-2 final drew 26.7 million TV viewers, more than any other soccer match in U.S. history. And with good reason: Within the first 16 minutes, the American team scored four goals. Carli Lloyd scored three of them, including a jaw-dropping 50-yard kick from midfield that sailed just over the fingertips of Japan’s backpedaling goalie. Her three-goal “hat trick” had the crowd of 50,000—including Vice President Joe Biden and his grandkids— roaring and chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”Lloyd, 32, was declared the tournament MVP and awarded the Golden Ball trophy. “The energy in the air was unbelievable,” she said. “A lot of us needed…2 min

NEWSU.S. nears deal with IranNegotiators from Iran, the U.S., and five other world powers this week missed their second “final” deadline in the space of 7 days as they hammered out the last details of a deal aimed at restricting Tehran’s nuclear program and preventing the regime from building a nuclear bomb. As The Week went to press, the two sides were stuck on several key points: what to do with a United Nations arms embargo on Iran; a “snap-back” mechanism that will reimpose sanctions if Iran breaks the accord; and the scope of nuclear research that Iran will be allowed to conduct. Other issues, including allowing international inspectors to access Iranian military sites, have reportedly been resolved.The negotiators’ failure to meet the latest deadline triggers a clause that will give Congress 60 days,…2 min

NEWSCosby’s damning testimonyBill Cosby’s defense against allegations that he sexually abused dozens of women suffered a severe setback this week, after unsealed court documents revealed the comedian had confessed under oath to obtaining sedatives to give to women he was pursuing for sex. Cosby made the admission during a 2005 civil case filed by Andrea Constand—one of at least 25 women who have publicly accused Cosby, 77, of sexual assault. Many of the women say Cosby drugged them beforehand. Cosby denies the allegations and has not been charged with any crime, but the 2005 deposition could bolster the claims of three women who filed civil suits against the comedian. The Los Angeles Police Department said it had opened a criminal investigation into allegations against Cosby.When the accusations against Cosby went public earlier…2 min

NEWSTHE WEEKAt a Fourth of July barbecue last weekend, my buddy Tom was mocking the absurdity of Hillary Clinton’s attacks on the wealthy elitists she usually calls donors and friends, when my other buddy, Aron—Tom’s usual foil—said Clinton’s hypocrisy didn’t really matter. The next presidential election, he said, “is all about the Supreme Court,” so he’d vote for any Democrat. I suspect many liberals and conservatives will cast their ballots in 2016 on that same, single-minded basis—and sad to say, it’s an entirely sound rationale. The court has become the most powerful branch of government, making decisions that polarized voters and a gridlocked Congress and president cannot. It’s the court that decides whether gay couples can marry, how campaigns are financed, whether to pull the plug on Obamacare or the death…1 min

NEWSTrump: What his surge means for the GOP“How do you solve a problem like The Donald?” asked David Drucker in WashingtonExaminer.com. Donald Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate, has seen his poll numbers zoom upward after he attacked Mexican immigrants as “not the best” people, calling them “rapists,” drug dealers, and criminals. Polls of likely GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, as well as nationally, now show him in second place behind Jeb Bush, ahead of supposedly more viable candidates such as Scott Walker and Marco Rubio. This gathering “Trumpnado” is causing Republican leaders some serious anxiety, as his surge in the polls all but guarantees Trump a spot in the upcoming GOP debates, where his rhetoric about Hispanics—and his withering dismissals of his fellow candidates as “pathetic” and “weak”—will be in…5 min

Issue Jul-17-15 - The Week Magazine (2024)

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