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Today’s 3-by-3 travels across fentanyl seizures in Mexico, a Johnson & Johnson drug policy in South Africa, a new Grammy Museum exhibit for K-pop, and more. Let’s fly!

Politics

• India's Prime Minister Modi visits Putin

After skipping last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow — aiming to deepen their “privileged strategic partnership” and increase their $65 billion bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. Modi emphasized a peaceful end to the War in Ukraine, especially in light of a Monday missile strike that damaged the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine’s capital and killed 42 people, while also coordinating the discharge of 35 Indians who were misled into Russian military combat roles. Modi’s visit was disappointing to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and concerning to the U.S. State Department, demonstrating India’s difficult positioning between Western and Eastern powers — aiming to partner with the U.S. but still preserve 60% of its military equipment and 40% of its oil imports which it receives from Russia.

• Mexico seizes less fentanyl despite U.S. pressure

Despite the 70,000 annual American deaths caused by Mexican-made fentanyl and a U.S. call for help in containing its crossing over the border, Mexican federal forces have reported a notable decrease in fentanyl seizure — 286 pounds in the first half of 2024 compared to 5,135 pounds in 2023. Mexico’s Army and National Guard seem to have instead focused on methamphetamines, which are much more domestically consumed than fentanyl, seizing 12x more meth in 2023 than in 2022. The meth seizures have likely been caused by a cartel dispute between the “Mayitos” and “Chapitos” in which the two organizations inform authorities about their rival’s shipments, but the decrease in fentanyl is harder to explain — perhaps due to President López Obrador’s unfounded claim that fentanyl is not made in Mexico and his suggestion that the U.S. “take care of [its] problem of social delay” rather than blame his country.

• NATO seeks to strengthen Indo-Pacific relations

The 75th-anniversary summit of NATO (one of the world’s leading political and military alliances between 30 European and 2 North American countries) has commenced in Washington, D.C., and Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand are attending to strengthen NATO’s presence in the Indo-Pacific. As the U.S. aims to curb China’s global power and push back against North Korea, NATO nations will launch 4 joint projects with the Indo-Pacific attendees across Ukraine, artificial intelligence, disinformation, and cybersecurity — though they will not have the power to intervene in the region militarily. China’s foreign ministry has accused NATO of violating its boundaries with this new measure and called for the U.S. to abandon its suppression of China’s inevitable rise, claiming that the “real intent of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy is… the Asian version of NATO in order to maintain the hegemony as led by the United States.”

Business

• Johnson & Johnson facilitates TB medication in South Africa

Johnson & Johnson has decided to ease medical access in South Africa by not enforcing its patent on bedaquiline (a critical tuberculosis medication) and allowing generic manufacturers to sell it at lower prices. J&J applied to extend its patent last year while charging the South African government $282 per treatment course, causing activists to protest the drug’s inaccessibility and nearly prompting the South African Competition Commission to prosecute the pharmaceutical giant for “abuse of dominance.” As the country’s leading cause of death for two decades, having killed 50,000 people in 2021, J&J will combat the country’s TB crisis by also reducing its own bedaquiline price by 40%.

• Chinese textile industry raises major sustainability concerns

As the world’s largest textile producer, China reportedly disposes of 26 million tons of clothes annually and recycles only about 20% of all textiles — largely due to “fast fashion” clothing made from petrochemical-based synthetics. Even as one of the country’s largest cotton plants implements a recycling effort and young Shanghai designers innovate new methods to create clothing out of waste items, the industry’s progress is hampered by a domestic ban on using recycled cotton to make new garments inside China, an import restriction on Chinese cotton due its forced labor origins, and Chinese consumers’ general preference to buy brand-new clothing. With fast fashion giants Shein and Temu thriving in the global marketplace and recycled garments being inherently more costly, experts suggest that the Chinese government will need to establish targets and incentives for its manufacturers if sustainability is to improve.

• Ammunition vending machines installed in grocery stores

Texas-based gun company American Rounds has installed 5 vending machines at grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas, aiming to sell ammunition in a more accessible yet secure way. Despite critics’ belief that bullets should not be further normalized in a country where gun violence is the leading cause of death for kids, the company argues that its technology verifies age reliably and protects against shoplifting more effectively than other retail methods — scanning for a valid driver’s license that shows the purchaser is 21 or older and then using facial recognition to ensure the consumer matches the license. American Rounds describes itself as very pro-Second Amendment but seeks to make gun ownership more responsible with their vending machines, paralleling other age-restricted materials such as alcohol and cannabis sold in similar devices.

Culture

• Hollywood star George Clooney calls for Biden to drop out

Actor George Clooney is one of the latest to advise President Biden to suspend his reelection campaign, notably just weeks after helping Biden raise a record-breaking $30 million at a Hollywood fundraiser. A long-time supporter and Democratic donor, Clooney wrote a New York Times opinion piece saying the party would lose the race and its control in Congress if Biden remains the nominee — encouraging the party to select a new nominee at the DNC next month such as Vice President Kamala Harris or Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland. Adding that “every senator and congress member and governor” he’s spoken with shares his opinion, Clooney emphasized his experience with Biden at last month’s fundraiser and observable differences in the president’s energy and presence compared to years prior.

• Grammy Museum opens K-pop exhibit

The Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles has announced a new full-floor exhibit to explore and honor Korean pop music, running from Aug. 2 to Sep. 15. Partnered with Hybe (a South Korean entertainment conglomerate widely credited for the popularization of K-pop), the exhibit features costume pieces from 78 K-pop stars including boy band BTS, interactive singing and dancing experiences, and extensive information about the genre’s music, culture, and business. The 4,000-square-foot activation will be one of the biggest the Grammy Museum has ever launched, and Hybe leadership hopes it will help its younger, less established artists build awareness among American fans.

• Ellen DeGeneres says she is done with fame

Two years after her renowned talk show came to an end amid allegations of racism, sexual misconduct, and intimidation behind the scenes, Ellen DeGeneres is performing on her “Ellen’s Last Stand… Up” tour — using the upcoming Netflix comedy special to address the accusations and the prevailing notion that she was mean to employees. When asked during the Q&A part of her latest show if she will return to movies or try Broadway, DeGeneres declared: “This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done.” Vocally hurt over the way her show ended, certainly tainting her legacy as a lifelong entertainer, Ellen has insisted that she “can be demanding and impatient and tough” but is not mean.

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