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O'Rourke uses slave owner ancestors find to highlight racial disparities

Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourk and wife Amy Sanders. Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke wrote Sunday night on Medium that he's just discovered that he and wife Amy Sanders are descended from slave owners, as he vowed to have a national conversation on racial injustice.

Details: O'Rourke said it's increased his urgency to address disparities if he's elected in 2020. "I benefit from a system that my ancestors built to favor themselves at the expense of others," he said. Unlike Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who's descended from slave owners but opposes reparations for U.S. slave descendants, O'Rourke backs the plan.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

Go deeper: Beto O'Rourke on the issues, in under 500 words

Go deeper

Ben Geman, author of Generate
11 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Biden's carbon emissions-cutting pledge faces tough climb

Image from the Rhodium Group study "Pathways to Paris." Courtesy of the Rhodium Group.

The verdict is in: President Biden's U.S. emissions-cutting pledge isn't a fantasy, but the path to meeting it is very difficult and relies on forces outside of White House control.

Driving the news: The Rhodium Group just released an analysis of policy combinations that could close the gap between the current U.S. trajectory and Biden's vow under the Paris Agreement to cut emissions in half by 2030.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Felix Salmon, author of Capital
Updated 14 mins ago - Economy & Business

Johnson & Johnson pulls the trigger on Texas talc gambit

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

It's official: Johnson & Johnson has invoked a Texas legal loophole in an attempt to protect the bulk of its corporate assets from claims that its baby powder caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.

Why it matters: It's the biggest and boldest invocation yet of the so-called Texas two-step defense. But it's still not clear whether it's going to work.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Poll: U.S. leadership approval rebounds from Trump low

A Gallup report published Tuesday found approval of United States leadership in 46 countries and territories hit 49% — up from 30% at the end of Donald Trump's presidency, and matching former President Obama's first year (2009).

Why it matters: Biden's efforts to reengage with the international community following the Trump administration appear to be improving the global approval ratings for U.S. leadership, though this poll does not take into account the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow