Good Evening,
It's Wednesday, January 27th. |
Biden Focus on Climate Change
President Biden sought Wednesday to focus on climate change, signing an array of executive actions, including one that directs federal agencies to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution. He also imposed a moratorium on new federal oil and gas leasing and announced he would host an international climate summit on Earth Day in April, as the Washington Post reports. |
U.S. Faces Heightened Domestic Terror Threat
The United States will face heightened threats from violent extremists emboldened by the assault on the Capitol for weeks, according to a rare national terrorism warning released on Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security, as the NYT reports. |
Biden Freezes U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia, U.A.E.
The Biden administration has imposed a temporary freeze on U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as it reviews billions of dollars in weapons transactions approved by former President Donald Trump as the WSJ reports. |
Executive Education
CSIS is now accepting applications for the Spring 2021 Belt and Road Executive Course. Drawing insights from leading experts and the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project, this course reveals how China's $1 trillion foreign policy effort is impacting commercial and strategic realities on the ground. |
Global Forecast 2021
 Global Forecast is an annual collection of essays by CSIS experts focused on the critical issues facing the United States and the world in the year ahead. The latest papers examine the challenge of China's state capitalism and tackling food insecurity at home and abroad. |
Coronavirus Crisis Update
The Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast brings you the latest updates and analysis from CSIS experts and the leaders directing the global response. Past guests include NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray, Covid-19 Advisory Group members Dr. Luciana Borio and Dr. Celine Gounder, chef Jose Andres, and more. Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify. |
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel! |
In That Number
19.9 million
The CDC said about 19.9 million people have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and that about 3.5 million people had been fully vaccinated.
Source: CDC |
Critical Quote
“We’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis. We see it with our own eyes. We feel it. We know it in our bones. And it’s time to act.”
— President Joseph Biden |
iDeas Lab
The CSIS Trade Commission on Affirming American Leadership summarizes the nine elements of a new approach to workforce development that would put the United States in a position to pursue an ambitious trade agenda.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia. |
Optics
(Photo credit: Carlos Barria/AFP/Getty Images.) Newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a welcome ceremony at the State Department in Washington, D.C. |
Recommended Reading
“Toward a Climate-Driven Trade Agenda,” by CSIS's Jack Caporal and Bill Reinsch. |
This Town Tomorrow
Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hosts a discussion with Ann Linde, the Swedish Foreign Minister, on the challenges that President Biden will inherit in Eastern Europe.
Then, at 10:00 a.m., the Wilson Center's Middle East Program hosts a discussion on the latest results of the "Arab Barometer," which polled locals on their views towards great power foreign policy (the U.S., China, and Russia) in the MENA region.
Also, tomorrow at 12:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council examines the prospects for U.S. diplomacy with Iran under the Biden administration. |
Video
Today, the CSIS-LSHTM High-Level Panel on Vaccine Confidence and Misinformation hosted a conversation on how traditional media outlets and social media companies can play a role in improving the information climate related to Covid-19 vaccines. Watch the event here. |
Podcasts
On today's episode, I sat down with my CSIS colleagues Scott Miller and Bill Reinsch to unpack how President Biden’s new Buy American executive order might impact the U.S. economy.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
Earlier this week, I played a clip from Playing for Change that covered Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up.” Bob Marley’s producer Chris Blackwell told me years ago in an interview that “every single place you go in the world, people know who Bob Marley is. You can’t say that about any other artist.” There was no one like Marley and I don’t think we’ll ever see anyone like him again. Here’s why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLYOOezs3DA. |
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I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow
me on Twitter @handrewschwartz
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