Heritage Foundation's plan for America

Plus a collapsing Biden impeachment and Kuala Lumpur travel tips [View this email in your browser]( [The Week Evening Review]( Heritage Foundation's vision for America, AI in air traffic control, and the collapsing Biden impeachment   Good evening, Last week, we covered the effort by a right-wing think tank to push former President Donald Trump toward overt Christian nationalism. And that group isn't the only one that sees the potential return of Trump as an opportunity to advance conservative values. The Heritage Foundation, along with 80 other conservative groups, is spearheading a plan to "rescue the country from the grip of the radical left," starting with a "sweeping expansion of presidential power." Read more below. Summer Meza The Week Digital     In Depth Project 2025 wants Trump to reshape America It is possible former President Donald Trump will return to the White House in 2024. Polls show him in the lead against President Joe Biden, though this could change. Trump previously committed to being a "dictator on day one" if he were to regain power, and there is one group planning to assist with this goal through a plan called Project 2025. What is Project 2025?This brainchild of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation works in collaboration with 80 conservative groups to "rescue the country from the grip of the radical left" and carry out its agenda “on day one of the next conservative administration," according to Project 2025’s website. Many have alleged the project is part of a greater effort by conservatives to turn the United States into a Trump-led autocracy. What does it seek to accomplish? The full Project consists of a 920-page outline that mandates doctrines to implement. The main aim is to execute a "sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return [Trump] to the White House," The New York Times said. This would involve the consolidation and retooling of federal agencies to place them fully under Trump's auspices. The plan also seeks to fill the government with Trump loyalists. The project is mostly based on a legal principle called the unitary executive theory, which asserts that the president of the U.S. has complete power to control the executive branch of the government. Project 2025 presents a "Christian nationalist vision of the United States, one in which married heterosexuality is the only valid form of sexual expression and identity; all pregnancies would be carried to term, even if that requires coercion or death; and transgender and gender-nonconforming people do not exist," The New Republic said. What has Trump said about it?Trump has made little mention of the project by name. However, many of his indicated plans for a second term fall in line with Project 2025, including giving the president unchecked power over federal agencies and the total ability to bypass Congress.     Statistic of the day $1.7M: The amount of money a Texas man made by eavesdropping on confidential conversations his wife had while working from home as a mergers and acquisitions manager. The man pleaded guilty to securities fraud after purchasing thousands of shares of a truck stop operator that his wife's company, BP, was planning to acquire. The man then liquidated his shares after BP's acquisition. The Washington Post     The Explainer How AI can — and cannot — help air traffic controllers Why should artificial intelligence be used to help land planes? Air traffic controllers are plagued by fatigue and long hours. An investigation by The New York Times found they often come into work drunk and fall asleep on the job, pointing to a "workforce that is increasingly prone to making dangerous mistakes." So the industry is seeking alternatives. But while AI may be a useful tool in some workplaces, there are debates over whether it belongs in the skies. How is AI currently being used in air traffic control?Artificial intelligence is not yet telling planes when to take off and land. However, some organizations have looked into how AI can be used to supplement data that air traffic controllers need to manage their runways. Engineers at Arizona State University used AI to "create a novel air traffic management software platform, which will be adopted for domestic air travel in the upcoming decade," the university said. Companies are also working on predicting weather-related delays. Tomorrow.io received a "$19 million grant from the U.S. Air Force to launch more than 20 weather satellites," The New York Times said. Currently, pilots radio in encounters with bad weather to warn other planes, but satellites “could warn them earlier." U.K. researchers at Project Bluebird have also produced a "computer model of air traffic control in which all flight movements are directed by artificial intelligence rather than human beings," the Financial Times said. Will AI ever replace human air traffic controllers?Probably not. While Project Bluebird is making progress, researchers "emphasized that the AI system would have no authority to actually determine aircraft routing," Richard Cannon, the project leader, said to the Financial Times. AI has limitations and can perform "only those functions that are planned for during its design and so can't modify standard procedures," Amy Pritchett, an aerospace engineering professor at Penn State University, said in The Conversation. However, if even a small number of air traffic controller activities can be assigned to AI systems, it will benefit the industry.     WORD OF THE DAY gonk The word for "sleep" used by residents at Antarctic research stations who have developed what one researcher described as a "weird, nuanced vernacular." The isolated group includes scientists from around the world, some of whom are also "subtly changing their accents," BBC Future said.   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   TALKING POINTs Did the Biden impeachment inquiry just collapse? Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who is accused of falsely telling the FBI that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden took $5 million in bribes from Ukrainian energy company Burisma, met with Russian intelligence operatives who fed him lies about the Bidens, special counsel David Weiss revealed in a court filing. House Republicans had made Smirnov's bribery story a pillar of their efforts to impeach Biden. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said to ABC News that the "Smirnov revelations destroy the entire case." Republicans scrubbed mention of Smirnov from impeachment literature, but Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said the news didn't "change the fundamental facts," The Hill said. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Smirnov was just one witness, but the case is based on a "large record of evidence." The inquiry is toastWith the implosion of the GOP's "star witness," the campaign to impeach Biden has "crashed and burned," said Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling in The New Republic. Insisting the facts haven't changed only gets you so far when "those 'facts' were lies fed by the Russian government." Diehards in the party are "still scrambling to revive the probe." But even Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told CNN some of the allegations "might have been a little oversauced." "This turn of events is devastating" for impeachment-seekers because they relied so heavily on Smirnov's outrageous claims, said The Washington Post editorial board. Now their only hope is that Smirnov is also "lying about Russian officials providing him with dirt on the president." Smirnov's arrest doesn't absolve Biden"The Smirnov indictment doesn't mean Joe and Hunter are in the clear," said Miranda Devine in the New York Post. "Far from it." Comer has gathered "overwhelming" evidence from bank records showing millions of dollars being "laundered through multiple shell companies for the Biden family" and "jaw-dropping testimony" about "Joe's meetings with Hunter's foreign benefactors right before big payments dropped." The "hard-core impeachment heads" are certainly right about one thing, said Jim Newell at Slate. Republicans won't be dropping their inquiry any time soon. "Even before Smirnov's tales blew up, this impeachment investigation was already heading toward a bust." Comer has admitted Republicans might not hold a vote on impeaching Biden. So Republicans will "just keep their Biden investigations running through the election, because the last thing they'll ever do is exonerate the president."     Poll watch Almost half of Americans are comfortable with their economic situations, according to a new poll from the Ipsos Consumer Tracker. The poll surveyed 1,119 adults and found 48% of respondents were comfortable with their economic status, compared to 32% who were not. Americans ages 55 and up were most likely to be comfortable with their situation.     INSTANT OPINION Today's best commentary 'France's pot shot at Ukrainian chicken says a lot'Lionel Laurent at BloombergA "fight over food in Europe shows the growing problem of weariness" of Ukraine's allies as its war drags on, says Lionel Laurent. Polish farmers are protesting shipments of cheap Ukrainian grain. French poultry farmers are "calling for a halt to cheap Ukrainian chicken imports," and the government, losing ground to far-right rivals, is promising to "protect protesting farmers." Subsidizing them might help, but so would making it clear what defeat on Europe's border would look like. 'An EPA squeeze on fossil fuels'The Wall Street Journal editorial boardThe EPA recently is "slashing" ambient air quality rules, says The Wall Street Journal editorial board. It is reducing the standard for fine particulate matter, generated in fossil-fuel combustion, by 25%. But 84% of this pollution comes from "nonindustrial sources" like road dust and agriculture. The change could make permitting harder for "everything from new gas-fired power plants to semiconductor factories and highway construction," yielding "negligible public-health benefits" but big costs. "Climate trumps all in the Biden administration." 'Recycling doesn't work — and the plastics industry knew it'Kate Aronoff in The New Republic"Hardly any plastics can be recycled," says Kate Aronoff. One study found that between 1990 and 2015 90% of plastics "ended up in a landfill, were burned or leaked into the environment." Another study concluded that "just 5% to 6% are successfully recycled." The petrochemical industry knew decades ago recycling was no solution but insisted it worked to ward off potential plastic bans. "Plastics are a plague, and the executives who produce them should be made into pariahs."     Picture of the day Hat dip Swimmers, dressed as Santa's reindeers, participate in the 25-meter hat competition during the 10th annual Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival in Newport, Vermont. Charles Krupa / AP   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   Good day 🥐 … for Paris tourists. The Eiffel Tower reopened to the public on Sunday after being closed for six days while striking employees demanded better maintenance of the historic landmark and salary hikes. The tower's operator said it reached an agreement with unions representing the staff and promised to allocate an "ambitious 380 million euro ($412 million) investment by 2031" for renovation work.     Bad day 🦉 … for celebrity owl Flaco. The beloved New York City resident died from a "traumatic impact" after he reportedly flew into an Upper West Side building. Zoologists planned to determine if he was sick, per The Associated Press. The Eurasian eagle owl became a local darling after someone let him out of his enclosure at the Central Park Zoo a year ago.     Puzzles [Daily crossword]( Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes [sudoku]( and [codewords](. [Play here](     The Week recommends [Kuala Lumpur: a guide to Malaysia's colorful capital]( Tour elaborate temples, marvel at the tallest twin towers in the world and gobble down nasi lemak and roti canai in this vibrant city. Melting pot of flavorsKuala Lumpur is often called Southeast Asia's melting pot, which is reflected in the food. Restaurateur Leonard Tee told National Geographic the dish that "best symbolizes multicultural Malaysia" is nasi lemak. It combines coconut-flavored rice with fried anchovies, toasted peanuts, chile sauce and cucumber, and Eater recommends heading to Village Park Restaurant to try some. Another staple is roti canai, a fluffy pan-fried flatbread filled with sweet or savory delights. In a Lonely Planet guide, local writer Yi Jun Loh recommends Valentine Roti for the best of the best. Endless sights to seeSri Mahamariamman Temple is an intricately decorated place of worship, with a tower covered by designs of Hindu gods. There are also shrines to Mariamman, the Hindu goddess of weather, Ganesh and Murugan. You can visit the 13-acre National Mosque, built in 1965 to mark Malaysia's independence. It has a 240-foot minaret and an impressive roof in the shape of a 16-pointed star and holds 15,000 people. The Kuala Lumpur skyline is a marvel, with the tallest twin towers in the world rising above it all. Visitors can take guided tours up to the Petronas Towers’ observation deck and sky bridge. At the bottom, there is a huge shopping center and aquarium. [Read more](     QUOTE OF THE DAY "If you have an algorithm do it, is it not speech?" Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett during today’s oral arguments, questioning whether tech companies' content moderation is on par with the editorial discretion of traditional newspapers, citing a hypothetical example of TikTok’s algorithm promoting pro-Palestinian posts over pro-Israel posts     In the morning Tomorrow, you can read about a Cambodian company turning plastic bottles into brooms, why it might be time to add another hurricane category, and more. Thanks for reading, Summer     Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Kelsee Majette, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images; Nicolas Economou / NurPhoto via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images; Matteo Colombo / Getty Images   © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.