Vox Sentences - Weekend plans: Pass a climate bill?

Democrats close in on a climate deal; China severs some ties with the US.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Sen. Sinema agrees to Dems' climate package 

 Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

• On Thursday, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) said she would move forward with a revised version of the Democrats’ climate and health care bill, now called the Inflation Reduction Act, setting up President Joe Biden for a victory on his long-stalled agenda. [New York Times / Emily Cochrane]
• The Arizona senator was the only holdout after centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) reversed course to support the legislation last week. [Wall Street Journal / Andrew Duehren]
• Sinema agreed to support the bill after party lawmakers dropped a proposal to increase taxes on wealthy investors and changed the minimum tax on corporations. As part of the deal, Democrats will also reserve funding for addressing climate impacts like drought. [Washington Post / Tony Romm]
• With Sinema’s vote, Democrats aim to pass the legislation after approval from the Senate parliamentarian to use the reconciliation process, which requires a simple majority rather than the typical 60 votes. In the evenly divided Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris casts the tie-breaking vote. [USA Today / Joey Garrison and Dylan Wells]
• The Inflation Reduction Act would pump $369 billion into clean energy and climate initiatives to help the US slash its planet-warming emissions. It also seeks to lower the cost of some prescription drugs and reduce the federal deficit. [Guardian / Lois Beckett]
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hopes to bring the bill to the floor Saturday, where both parties will debate amendments before voting. [NPR / Deepa Shivaram]

China halts cooperation with the US

• On Friday, China cut ties with the US on major issues, including climate and the military, following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. [Associated Press / Ellen Knickmeyer, Zeke Miller, and David Rising]
• Pelosi’s visit to the self-governing island angered Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of China. After her departure Thursday, China began firing missiles around Taiwan. [CNN / Jessie Yeung]
• In response, officials summoned Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang to the White House Friday. They told him the exercises went against the longstanding peace policy around Taiwan. [Washington Post / Yasmeen Abutaleb, Michelle Ye Hee Lee, and Ellen Nakashima]
• The suspension of climate talks between the world’s top two polluters threatens the global goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius. [ABC News / Alexandra Hutzler and Karson Yiu]

On Thursday, Donald Trump-backed 2020 election denier Kari Lake won the Arizona GOP primary for governor. [Politico / Joseph Gedeon]

• Texas conservatives embraced far-right Hungarian leader Viktor Orban’s speech decrying fake news and gay marriage. [BBC]
• A jury on Thursday awarded two Sandy Hook parents $4.1 million in their defamation case against Infowars' Alex Jones. [CNN / Oliver Darcy]
• On Friday, the Pentagon denied a request from DC’s mayor for national guard help to address buses of migrants sent from Texas and Arizona. [AP / Lolita C. Baldor]

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“This is a dramatically large climate bill, the biggest in US history if it passes. It doesn’t mean the US won’t need to do more to achieve its emissions goals, but it will make a meaningful difference.”

[Anand Gopal, executive director of policy at Energy Innovation / Guardian]

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