A (mostly) non-election news roundup: U.S. official spoke with Putin aides on nukes & more
Russian oligarch makes headlines after appearing to admit to election interference, demonstrating continued sensitivities about secure voting as Election Day nears.
Welcome to the Monday news roundup for the Weekly Dystopia! If you’re like me, your email inbox is teeming with media dispatches on the latest prognostications about the outcome of the 2022 mid-term elections. Luckily for us, we have fewer than two days of that and we’ll finally have actual results.
Here’s a roundup of news stories on non-election issues showing the world is still otherwise working — or in many cases not working:
BIDEN OFFICIALS TALKED WITH PUTIN AIDES ON NUCLEAR THREATS: Nuclear war would definitely be a hallmark of a dystopic world, to say the least. Our top story is major news from the Wall Street Journal on White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan having met in undisclosed talks with aides to Vladimir Putin over threats to deploy Russia’s nuclear arsenal amid the Ukraine crisis.
From the Wall Street Journal’s Vivian Salama and Michael Gordon:
WASHINGTON—President Biden’s top national-security adviser has engaged in recent months in confidential conversations with top aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to reduce the risk of a broader conflict over Ukraine and warn Moscow against using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, U.S. and allied officials said.
I remember when Putin first made his threat about use of Russia’s nuclear arsenal shortly after invading Ukraine, then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had to issue a public reminder nuclear war cannot be won. It’s remarkable that had to be said in 2022. It sounds like something more appropriate for the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, or the moral to one of the many “Twilight Zone” episodes from that era drawing on fears of nuclear war.
UKRAINE PREPARES FOR CHILLING WINTER WITH NO HEAT OR POWER: In related news, the Associated Press reports Ukraine officials are warning citizens they may have to go into the winter without heat, water or power at the war rages on.
From the Associated Press’ Sam Mednick:
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, is warning residents that they must prepare for the worst this winter if Russia keeps striking the country’s energy infrastructure — and that means having no electricity, water or heat in the freezing cold cannot be ruled out.
“We are doing everything to avoid this. But let’s be frank, our enemies are doing everything for the city to be without heat, without electricity, without water supply, in general, so we all die. And the future of the country and the future of each of us depends on how prepared we are for different situations,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko told state media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address an estimated 4.5 million people in Ukraine were living without electricity, according to the Associated Press.
In other Russia-related news (and the one news story I allowed here related to the upcoming mid-term election):
RUSSIA OLIGARCH SEEMS TO ADMIT INTERFERENCE IN U.S. ELECTIONS: One breaking news story as this newsletter was being wrapped, a Russian oligarch with ties to Vlamidir Putin appeared to admit out in the open Russia has taken a role in interfering with the U.S. election.
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova:
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Kremlin-linked oligarch known as “Vladimir Putin’s chef,” appeared to admit to Russian interference in US elections in a Telegram post on Monday.
Prigozhin said that Russia has interfered, is interfering and will continue to interfere in the US democratic process, in response to a journalist’s question about Russia potentially meddling in US congressional elections on Tuesday.
“I will answer you very subtly, and delicately and I apologize, I will allow a certain ambiguity. Gentlemen, we interfered, we interfere and we will interfere,” Prigozhin said.
The mainstream media seized on this news story on Monday on the eve of Election Day in the United States. It’s unclear, however, whether this oligarch’s response is an indication of anything substantive or just bluster. There doesn’t appear to be any other indication or warnings about Russia interfering in the 2022 election.
Even the report in CNN indicates the comments from Prigozhin — who has no active post in the Russian government — may have been less than serious, although the oligarch has a history of being a bad actor.
It was not immediately clear how serious Prigozhin was being in his comments, which appeared to have been made somewhat sarcastically. But the US has sanctioned Prigozhin for funding the Internet Research Agency, a notorious Russian troll farm accused of meddling in several recent US elections. Prigozhin was also charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States in 2018 by special counsel Robert Mueller in relation to the alleged election meddling.
If anything, the attention to the news story demonstrates the ongoing sensitivity about foreign interference heading in U.S. election, as well as the possibility of political violence, amid general fears certain members of the public may not accept the 2022 election results.
TWITTER NOT THE ONLY SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY DOING LAYOFFS: For all the ballyhoo about Elon Musk downsizing Twitter and engaging in mass layoffs upon purchase of the company, a report in the Wall Street Journal reveals the owner of Facebook and Instagram is warning employees about similar cuts.
From the Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Horwitz and Salvador Rodriguez:
Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week, according to people familiar with the matter, in what could be the largest round in a recent spate of tech job cuts after the industry’s rapid growth during the pandemic.
Elon Musk’s job cuts at Twitter and Meta’s plan to layoff staffers are the latest sign social media companies are having a lot of trouble with their business models. For all the attention social media gets in our media and the degree it facilities public discourse, the companies operating these platforms appear to have serious challenges with revenue.
Advertising opportunities alone on social media platforms doesn’t seem to be a workable formula. Elon Musk’s plan to charge $8/month for blue check-mark status would be consistent with these companies trying to address the sustainability problem.
In related news, after laying off nearly half of the workforce at Twitter, Elon Musk is now asking dozens of those employees to return to work, according to a report in Bloomberg.
From Bloomberg’s Kurt Wagner and Edward Ludlow:
Some of those who are being asked to return were laid off by mistake, according to two people familiar with the moves. Others were let go before management realized that their work and experience may be necessary to build the new features Musk envisions, the people said, asking not to be identified…
BIDEN’S USE OF STRATEGIC OIL RESERVES LEFT SUPPLY AT 1984 LEVELS: Remember the White House promoted President Biden’s decision to dip into the strategic oil reserves as the nation was struggling with gasoline prices? It turns out those efforts to reach into the energy stockpile has left the nation with a diminished backup supply at a level not seen since the Reagan era.
The Biden administration is on pace to dump millions of barrels of crude oil on the market, shrinking the nation's oil reserve to its low[est] level since 1984.
In October, the White House announced the Biden announced the distribution of 15 million barrels from the reserve, following up on a plan to distribute 180 million barrels amid American consumers’ struggles with gasoline prices.
TURKEY SHORTAGE AHEAD OF THANKSGIVING DUE TO AVIAN FLU: Americans, having to make sacrifices in their spending practices as a result of inflation, may be in for an additional surprise when purchasing their Thanksgiving dinner — and not just because of general price increases.
According to a report in Axios, the Avian Flu has killed more than 8 million turkeys, limiting their supply on the market and making a find for a 20-pound bird more challenging.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said as much in a call with reporters last week, Axios’ Kelly Tyko and Kelly Teck report:
"Some of the turkeys that are being raised right now for Thanksgiving may not have the full amount of time to get to 20 pounds," Vilsack said on the call, which was about the administration's effort to reduce meat and poultry prices in the long-term.
Turkey is one of the foods on the market rapidly increasing in price as inflation continues to bear down on the American consumer. Turkey prices are up around 28 percent compared to this time last year, according to Axios.