The Daily Valet. - 8/5/22, Friday

✔️ This Could Be Something Big

Friday, August 5th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I’m ready for the weekend. And a vacation.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

↦We'll be off next week for an end-of-summer break. The newsletter will be back in your inbox on Monday, August 15th.

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Today’s Big Story

Democrats to Vote on Inflation Reduction Act

Final holdout Sinema signs onto the party-line bill ahead of momentous Saturday vote

Democrats cleared a huge hurdle Thursday night by securing Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s support for a modified signature climate, tax and health care proposal, and will move forward on the legislation this weekend.

The reconciliation bill, renamed the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” has been called a major piece of President Biden’s domestic agenda. But as Paul Waldman of the Washington Post writes, “it’s only incidentally about inflation; mostly it’s a bill addressing climate change and prescription drug prices, with a hodgepodge of provisions on a variety of other issues.”

According to Vox, who spoke with three different economists, the legislation is a landmark bill that contains multiple provisions that could help achieve the goal of bringing down inflation. For one, the Congressional Budget Office has found that it’s likely to reduce the deficit by up to $102 billion over 10 years (maybe twice that, depending on the proposal’s final taxation rules). Deficit reduction, as well as other policies in the bill, could curb demand in the economy. Additionally, the bill would increase the supply of resources like energy. As the thinking goes, when supply is up and demand is down, prices decline.

What does this mean for everyday Americans? The bill directly raises funds in several areas: a new minimum tax on some corporations and new money to help the IRS chase down tax cheats. Republicans have called the package “a new tax on American jobs.”But while backers of the bill acknowledge some corporations may indeed pass along the costs of their increased tax bills, they say its overall impact on middle earners is positive. One recent study found the bill could save the average household $1,800 per year on energy bills. And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen weighed in Tuesday in a letter to lawmakers. The bill “would either reduce or have no effect on the taxes due or paid by any family with income less than $400,000,” she said.

Biden said in a statement on Thursday night that the U.S. had “taken another critical step toward reducing inflation and the cost of living for America’s families” and he looked forward to taking up and passing the legislation as soon as possible.

With Republicans united in opposition, the measure needs the unanimous support of Democrats to move forward in the 50-50 Senate, so the party cannot afford even one defection. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, confirmed in a statement that he had reached an agreement “that I believe will receive the support of the entire Senate Democratic conference.” He said the revised legislation would be released on Saturday and that they plan to pass the final version next week before leaving for their August recess.

↦ Dig Deeper: According to the nonpartisan Committee for Responsible Federal Budget, of the $790 billion of savings and offsets in the bill, about $125 billion would come from improving tax compliance. Narrowing the “tax gap” is one of the best ways to raise revenue and has a long history of bipartisan support.

U.S. Declares Monkeypox a Health Emergency

The designation will free up emergency funds and lift some bureaucratic hurdles

The federal government declared a public health emergency Thursday to bolster the response to the monkeypox outbreak that has infected more than 6,600 Americans.

According to PBS NewsHour, this can trigger grant funding and open up more resources for various aspects of a federal response. It also allows the Health and Human Services Secretary to enter into contracts for treatments and other necessary medical supplies and equipment, as well as support emergency hospital services. Officially, public health emergencies last for 90 days, but can be extended by the Secretary.

The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over the outbreak late last month. And the Biden administration has been criticized at times for its handling of the outbreak—supplies of the monkeypox vaccine, called Jynneos, have been severely constrained and tests have been difficult to obtain, making it challenging to get an accurate count of cases.

But now things will hopefully move a bit more efficiently. The FDA is exploring a strategy that would expand the number of available Jynneos doses, while alternate treatments are currently being explored as well. And while it's primary passed through skin-to-skin contact, some high contact items like clothing, towels and doorknobs have the potential for transmission. But medical experts say that hand sanitizers are highly effective at killing this virus.

↦ FYI: Traveling soon? Here’s what you need to know, where it’s spreading and what health experts advise to protect yourself.

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The End of HBO Max As We Know It

This messy merger will combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into a new platform in 2023

Don't worry. HBO Max isn't dead ... yet. But come the summer of 2023 it will be, and there will be a new service replacing both HBO Max and Discovery Plus, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav said Thursday.

There have been lots of reports, rumors and official announcements from the company over the past few days revolving the future of HBO, its original shows and films like Batgirl which are no longer being released. Zaslav made efforts to calm those fears during the call and insisted the HBO Max programming overall was good and supported by the company at large.

However, Vulture discovered that the streamer has removed more titles from its library than previously reported. And Indiewire reports that a “long list of films and series” will continue to be pulled. “The content being targeted for removal tends to be shows and movies that are not performing on the service, but have an opportunity for a partial write off.”

Sounds messy, right? In fact, it's such a fixer-upper that Warner Bros. is moving Chip and Joanna Gaines in and bringing multiple shows from their Magnolia Networks banner to HBO Max. No shade to everyone's favorite HGTV couple, but so much for prestige programming, huh?

↦ FYI: These seven “must-watch” HBO Max shows all have 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so watch them while you can.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Prey’ + a Poison Arrow Cocktail

The Predator franchise is going back in time for its next installment. Prey (streaming on Hulu today) is actually a prequel—billing itself as an origin story of the first Predator alien to appear on Earth. The unique spin this time? It takes place in 1719, which technically makes this a period piece. Even more shocking, the protagonist is a woman and she's part of a Native American tribe—all of which kind of bucks the trend for movies like this, right?

Amber Midthunder plays a young Comanche woman who wants to be hunter and warrior like her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers), and is constantly pushing against the expectations placed on her. Of course, when they encounter a brutal and highly-advanced alien, she's thrown into that warrior role a little sooner than expected. While the franchise has had its ups and downs, critics seem to be really enjoying it. One told me personally that it's criminal this isn't being shown in theaters. RogerEbert.com gave it three and a half stars while Rolling Stone called it a “masterpiece.” And The AV Club says the stripped down nature of the film is the key to what makes it interesting. Director Dan Trachtenberg “strips the Predator franchise back down to its core elements—the ruthlessness of this alien species and the ingenuity of humanity when confronted with nearly impossible odds.”

↦ Your Pairing:There are a lot of bows and arrows in this film and this dangerously named sipper seems like the ideal pairing. The Poison Arrow mixes bourbon with bitter Campari and a liqueur made from a blend of sweet and bitter orange peels macerated in beet neutral alcohol. The end result is deep, strong and yet refreshingly citrusy.

In Other News

↦ Brittney Griner Sentenced to Nine Years in Russian Prison

↦ Alex Jones Must Pay Sandy Hook Parents $4 Million in Damages, Jury Rules

↦ Meta Is Secretly Testing a Twitch-Like Platform Called ‘Super’

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Doing nothing

Talking to strangers

The cult of A24

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